HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01142014 - D.1RECOMMENDATION(S):
1. ACCEPT report and findings from the survey of municipal advisory committees (MACs; used here to also
encompass two advisory committees and community services districts that are appointed as MACs) regarding the
addition of an alternate seat(s) to 7 member MACs and an option to add a non-voting Youth seat to any MAC,
regardless of composition.
2. FIND also that quorum requirement is statistically nearly the same for both 5 and 7 member bodies (at 60% and
57%, respectively).
3. MODIFY the MAC Policy to permit up to two alternate seats for each MAC, which can be recruited and filled
upon Board approval at the discretion of the corresponding District Supervisor.
4. MODIFY the MAC Policy to permit the addition of one non-voting youth representative seat to each MAC, which
can be recruited and filled upon Board approval at the discretion of the corresponding District Supervisor.
5. DIRECT the County Counsel to develop parental permission/release of liability forms for youths participating on
County MACs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 01/14/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:See Addendum
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV
Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: Julie DiMaggio Enea
925.335.1077
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 14, 2014
, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
D.1
To:Board of Supervisors
From:David Twa, County Administrator
Date:January 14, 2014
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:SURVEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON PROPOSALS TO ADD MAC ALTERNATE AND
YOUTH SEATS
BACKGROUND:
On December 11, 2012, in response to a proposal to add Youth and Alternate seats to the Alamo MAC (Item
C.111), the Board asked the County Administrator to survey County MACs to determine if the Countywide MAC
Policy should be modified to provide:
(1) an option to add an Alternate seat for a 7-member MAC
(2) an option to add a non-voting Youth seat to any MAC, regardless of size
Working through the County Supervisors’ offices, the County Administrator distributed surveys to the following
MACs:
5 Member Composition 7 Member Composition
Bethel Island
Byron
Diablo
Kensington
Knightsen
M-16 (Clyde)
Pacheco
Alamo
Bay Point
Contra Costa Centre
El Sobrante
North Richmond
Rodeo
Eight of the thirteen MACs responded, four each of 5 and 7 member MACs. The Discovery Bay Community
Services District was not surveyed because, while it serves the function of a MAC, the MAC itself was terminated
in 1998 and, therefore, the body’s composition is fixed and the survey is not applicable to it.
The survey responses, attached for information, produced the following findings:
Ability to Convene. Both 5 and 7 member MACs reported a 10% meeting cancellation rate due to lack of
quorum, regardless of the difference in committee composition and availability of alternate members. While
the 5 member committees convened no special meetings, the 7 member committees convened special
meetings, which resulted in the same meeting cancellation rate as the 5 member committees. Seat vacancies
– both the frequency and duration – appear to be a more significant attendance factor for 7 member MACs
than the 5 member MACs.
Need/Desire for Alternate Seats. All of the respondents reported that their committees can function
effectively without the addition of an alternate seat. Five of the eight respondents reported that their
committees would benefit from having an alternate seat. Four of these five are 7 member MACs. Two of
the three MACs that anticipated no benefit to adding an alternate seat already have alternate seats.
Need/Desire for Youth Seats. With the exception of the North Richmond MAC, youths do not frequently
attend MAC meetings nor do they frequently offer public comment when they do. Half of the respondents
indicated that they have had youth-related issues on their agendas but youth issues represent a very small
percentage of the agenda items. Youth issues tend to focus around parks, civic events, school resources, and
youth health.
Six of the eight respondents indicated that a youth representative would benefit their MACs but only three
of the eight identified a youth seat as a need. All of the MACs reported that they meet during times
normally available to school aged children.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Disapproval of the recommendation will maintain the status quo.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
The recommendation would support Children's Report Card outcome (5) Communities that are Safe and Provide
The recommendation would support Children's Report Card outcome (5) Communities that are Safe and Provide
a High Quality of Life for Children and Families, by providing a formal avenue for youths to voice concerns and
provide input on community issues affecting them.
CLERK'S ADDENDUM
The County Administrator, Mr. David Twa, noted that a suitable release form is already available and
Recommendation No. 5 is removed from consideration. ACCEPTED the report and findings from the survey of
municipal advisory committees; FOUND also that quorum requirement is statistically, nearly the same for both
5 and 7 member bodies (at 60% and 57%, respectively); MODIFIED the MAC Policy to permit up to one
alternate seat for each MAC, which can be recruited and filled upon Board approval at the discretion of the
corresponding District Supervisor; MODIFIED the MAC Policy to permit the addition of one non-voting youth
representative seat to each MAC, which can be recruited and filled upon Board approval at the discretion of the
corresponding District Supervisor.
ATTACHMENTS
MAC Survey Responses Nov 2013
5+1 5+255777+27IV VIIIIIIV5IIIVMAC Survey on Alternate and Youth SeatsPachecoM‐16 (Clyde Parks)ByronKnightsen CSDRodeoN. RichmondEl SobranteCC Centre1How many regular MAC meetings were scheduled during the period January 1-July 30, 2013 (18 month period)? 16 3 151616 1518102How many special MAC meetings were scheduled during the period January 1-July 30, 2013? 000010203How many regular meetings were cancelled due to a lack of quorum during the period January 1-July 30, 2013? 003223224How many seat vacancies occurred during the period January 1‐July 30, 2013 and what was the duration (in weeks) of each vacancy?1 open seat and 1 open alternate both positions are still open.1 open seat and 2 alternates1 seat vacant for 2 mos1 for four mos6, three‐four weeks per vacancy1 seat for several mos1 seat for 19 mos; 1 seat for 9 mos3: 11 weeks, 25 weeks, 8 weeks5Would your advisory committee benefit from the addition of an Alternate seat and, if so, why? (Note that “Alternate”, as used here, may vote only in the absence of a regular member and is not automatically appointed to the MAC when a regular seat becomes vacant.) We already have an open position for an alternate we do not need a second alternate.No No, not necessary Yes YesYes, MAC is unanimously in favorYes: We have one member that has an ill child and has not been able to attend hardly any meetingsYes6Does or could your MAC function effectively without an Alternate member? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, most of the time Yes Yes7aOf the items listed on your agendas for meetings during the period January 1‐July 30, 2013, how many items directly 0300212507b Please provide three examples of such issues, if any. N/A Parks issues affect kids. N/A N/ACivic events, good neighbor agreement grant awardsHealthy Richmond Update (includes youth objectives); Healing Circles of Hope – Youth services project; Young Adult Empowerment Center UpdateCrime reports, school bond issues, new highschool bldg, ES clean‐up day, ES StrollN/A8a Do youths frequently attend your meetings? No No No, not necessary No No Yes No No8b If yes, do they frequently offer public comment? No N/A N/A N/A N/A No N/A N/A9Are your meetings scheduled at a time of day that would permit school‐aged youth to attend, e.g., on weekends or after 4:00 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes10Would your advisory committee benefit from the addition of a Youth seat and, if so, why? (Note that “Youth seat” refers a high school aged youth with non-voting status and whose attendance does not affect the quorum.) Don’t see a benefit or need at this point.Yes, because our young people need to be aware of the issues affecting their parks (funding, grafitti, utilization) and are well‐suited to share the information with those of their age group. Yes YesThe Rodeo Municipal AdvisoryCouncil unanimously supportsany effort to include youth at their meetings and strongly supports the idea of adding aseat onto the current RMAC format.Yes, the North Richmond MAC used to have a Youth Seat years ago. The MAC unanimously supports the creation of a Youth Seat.Yes No11Does your advisory committee need the youth perspective on the matters that come before it? NoIn the narrow sense, no, but in the larger view yes.Infrequently No Yes Yes Yes NoPerson completing survey Olivier Fontana, Chair Cindy Welles Linnea Juarez, Chair Linda Weekes Paul AdlerLuz Gomez on behalf of Chair Don GilmoreBarbara Pendergrass Laura Case