Atwater must fill vacancy on ‘super’ commission

Less than a month after commissioners were selected to serve on Atwater’s newly formed “super” commission, which handles parks and recreation, planning and traffic issues, one commissioner resigned, leaving city officials looking at plans to fill his seat.

Atwater resident Eric Lee resigned Nov. 12 in an email to City Manager Frank Pietro. He was one of seven commissioners selected by the City Council during a special meeting Oct. 13.

The commission – formally called the Community Development and Resources Commission – grouped the parks and recreation, planning and traffic commissions into one. The positions of 15 city commissioners on the three panels were reduced to seven.

Lee’s resignation email provided no reason for stepping down, but Friday he said he quit the commission because it required a large time commitment.

“I really believe it’s going to be a somewhat time-consuming endeavor, and I honestly don’t have the time for it,” Lee said. “I originally applied for it and thought it was a great idea. But I realized suddenly that I was spending more time doing this than I was spending on my business.”

Lee regained his seat on the Measure H Committee, which he’d left to serve on the Community Development and Resources Commission. The city prohibits residents from serving on multiple committees or commissions at one time.

Pietro said Friday that no one has applied for Lee’s seat on the commission. The commission met in November and December with the vacancy on the panel; the next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 21. Commissioners do not get paid for their service, Pietro said.

Roughly 11 people applied last year for the seven commissioner seats. Atwater Mayor Jim Price said the City Council will give those people another chance to re-interview for Lee’s spot. Other interested residents can pick up an application at City Hall, 750 Bellevue Road in Atwater, and turn it in there, he said.

Prospective applicants will be interviewed and scored by the City Council.

The mayor said the challenge in recruiting for the new commission is finding people well-versed in all three arenas: parks and recreation, planning and traffic. Price previously spoke against dissolving the three commissions into one, but the ordinance passed on a 3-2 majority vote.

“To find people that have knowledge or qualifications of all three areas makes it a little more challenging in how your selection process is going to go,” Price said Friday. “I’d be a fan of seeing the commissions go back to the way they were, but we have other, more pressing issues to tackle.”

Late last year, there was some talk of adding two more seats on the Community Development and Resources Commission, but Price said there’s been no further discussion or interest in doing that.

“I haven’t heard a good argument to go to nine people,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re benefiting by doing that.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2015 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Atwater must fill vacancy on ‘super’ commission."