Council advances term-limits ordinance

At the Homer City Council meeting last night, Mayor Ken Castner offered up names of citizens interested in serving on the city’s commissions and committees.
    One of them was Roberta Highland, who has served more than a decade on the Planning Commission. The topic was discussed in the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
    “I actually gave some consideration to replacing Roberta because she'd been on for 11 years,” Castner said. “And I did talk to Roberta about it today for quite a while, just about the longevity of serving on a commission.”
    It was a position that Councilmember Joey Evensen said he could support.
    “I think at least one of these folks have served for a long time. And I just wondered if we shouldn't have a discussion about about the length of time folks are on here versus just passing along and continuing the term cycle,” Evensen said.
    Councilmember Heath Smith was also interested in term limits for commission members.
    “I think without any added interest from the community, then it's very easy to just continue to reappoint. And it's good to have fresh ideas, new voices, and people from the community from different walks of life that want to be involved,” Smith said.
    Councilmember Donna Aderhold pointed out someone new was recently appointed.
    “I mean, we just appointed a new person to the planning commission at our last meeting. So we do have new people coming onto these commissions,” Aderhold said. “I think valuing the perspectives of people who are just coming on and they've got fresh eyes, and the perspectives of people who have some institutional memory, are very valuable.”
    The threat of limiting participation of a volunteer to a committee or commission shocked Councilmember Caroline Venuti.
    “If we have term limits on commissions, we lose history. I've served on a couple of committees on the city, and when I joined, I looked for the people who had the history. Without that knowledge, we would have had long meetings and lots of miscommunication, perhaps. You lose that history. I would think that would be a shame,” Venuti said. “And I think someone wants to dedicate 11 years and she's good, and she's effective, then more power to her. There's no money involved. It's only her time. And so I would think that we're fortunate to have people that want to do that. And I'm kind of embarrassed that we're talking about term limits for commission and committee work. I'm just shocked.”
    Later, in the regular city council meeting, Roberta Highland prefaced her report from the Planning Commission with thanks for being reappointed.
    “I did hear the committee of the whole, and I understand the pros and cons of long service on the commissions,” Highland said. “I have been pleasantly surprised at how the planning commission has continued to hold my interest. So thank you for the reappointment.”
    Also reappointed to the Planning Commission last night was Scott Smith.
    An ordinance was introduced by Mayor Castner and Councilmember Evensen at the meeting to limit terms, but it only applies to the mayor and council members. The roll call vote on its introduction passed five-to-one, with Venuti voting no. It will be debated during July’s meetings.