LAKEPORT — A new mayor and mayor pro tem were appointed from among the Lakeport City Council members Tuesday evening. Appointments to various city committees and commissions were also made and discussed.
With each nominating the other, Tim Barnes and George Spurr were unanimously appointed mayor and mayor pro tempore, respectively. Outgoing mayor Mireya Turner, who was sworn in for her another term on the city council Tuesday along with council member Stacey Mattina, said she believed Barnes would do well as mayor.
“I really enjoyed my year as mayor,” Turner said. “It gave me serious street cred.”
Barnes told Turner he hoped he would do “half as well as you.”
While the in-council appointments went smoothly, the council’s appointments of members of the public to commissions and committees were hotly contested.
By the end of the meeting, the city council had appointed to the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee Denise Combs, Bill Eaton, Terre Logsdon and Wilda Shock, with terms expiring at the end of 2020.
The council appointed Susan King and Verna Schaffer to the Measure Z Advisory Committee, with terms expiring at the end of 2022.
Ashley Barrett, David Brown, and Vicki Cole were appointed to the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, with terms ending at the end of 2022.
Suzanne Lyons and Wayne Yahnke were appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission with terms ending at the end of 2022.
Michael Froio, Jeri Driver and Mark Mitchell were appointed to the Planning Commission with terms expiring at the end of 2020.
Public comment came from a number of local residents, including a few of the commission and committee applicants being considered. Concerns stemmed from the city council’s decision this year to form an ad hoc committee which interviewed applicants in a private setting with just two city council members present.
In previous years, the entire city council held public interviews where applicants would stand in front of the dais and answer questions from the council.
Mattina, who as part of the ad hoc committee nominated applicants with Turner, said the ad hoc committee was instated because applicant numbers had dwindled in recent years.
“We have gotten quite a few more people applying for positions” this year because of the ad hoc committee interviewing style, she said.
Arguing in favor of the new process, council member Kenneth Parlet joked that “80 percent of the public would rather be burned up in a fire than speak publicly,” and said on a more serious note that he can “understand that it seems different, but sometimes different is progress.”
Yet building contractor and incumbent planning commissioner Michael Froio expressed his frustration to the council over not having been nominated by the ad hoc committee to serve another term. Other community members, including District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott, stepped up to support his candidacy.
Scott told the city council, “I am surprised that you’re picking new people. I have had the opportunity to meet with Michael and I was blown away with how much he loved his community, to the point where he was going out and making a difference.”
In response, Turner reversed her previous nomination of Brian Disney to recommend the council appoint Froio, Driver and Mitchell to the commission. The council voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
Similarly, incumbent Suzanne Lyons argued in front of the council that she should be re-appointed to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission, citing the wealth of knowledge she held about the city and her experience on the commission as attributes.
Public comment from Froio and others supported Lyons’ work with the commission, and prompted council member Parlet to argue that “the two people that are here tonight are the ones I’d support,” pointing out that of the applicants to the positions, only Lyons and Wayne Yahnke were present.
Remaining undecided on a tie-breaking decision which could have selected past commissioner Lynn Andre as well as Yahnke to the positions, Mayor Barnes said “I’m stuck.”
A new motion was brought forward to appoint Yahnke and Lyons. The motion carried unanimously.
“You saw democracy in action by coming down tonight,” Parlet said.
