Title
New member applications review
Recommended Action
Move to recommend five candidates to fill the upcoming vacancies on the BPAC.
Report
Issue:
Evaluate and recommend to the City Council candidates to serve on the BPAC.
Staff Contact:
Michelle Swanson, AICP, Senior Planner, Public Works - Transportation, 360.753.8575
Presenter(s):
Michelle Swanson
Background and Analysis:
Introduction
20 people submitted applications to fill the five upcoming vacancies on the BPAC. At the November meeting, the BPAC decided that each Committee Member would review and rank the applications ahead of the meeting. Each member has submitted the results of their evaluation to the staff liaison. Those results are attached.
Scoring and ranking process
The scores and rankings are meant to be a guide for the meeting’s discussion. The candidates who are currently scored the highest may not be the candidates the BPAC recommends to the City Council for appointment.
The scores were based on criteria that the BPAC decided at the November meeting. They are:
• Unique perspective
• Engagement in walking, biking, and transit
• Interest in community involvement
Committee Members scored the candidates on a scale of 1 to 5 in each of those categories. Additionally, Committee Members considered a general idea of where each candidate lives in order to have fairly even geographic representation. For example, the staff liaison included a note such as “northeast” or “downtown” for each candidate in the evaluation sheet emailed to Committee Members.
Next steps
After the BPAC recommends five people to fill the upcoming vacancies, that recommendation will be shared with the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee, a subcommittee of the City Council. CLPS will likely consider the recommendation and then make its own recommendation to the full City Council in time for the new Members’ terms to begin on April 1st.
All of the candidates will be invited to attend this meeting virtually and may be listening in to the Committee’s discussion. They will not be asked to address the BPAC.
Climate Analysis:
This is routine Committee business that will not directly impact the City’s work around climate change. However, the BPAC’s work is focused on developing policy to make it easier to walk or bike in Olympia, which has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing drive-alone trips by walking or biking.
Equity Analysis:
The City does not collect demographic information on applicants. Since names and addresses can often indicate race, ethnicity, gender, or class, we have redacted them from the applications being reviewed. We have also done that out of respect for the applicants’ privacy.
Options:
1. Option 1: recommend five candidates to fill the upcoming vacancies. The Committee may also wish to choose some alternates.
2. Option 2: not recommend candidates to fill the upcoming vacancies. This will require that the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee evaluate all 20 of the applicants without the benefit of the BPAC’s input.
Financial Impact:
There is no financial impact from this item.
Attachments:
Candidate scores and ranking
Applications