DATE: April 25, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Petition of Waiver of Absences from Planning Commission - Austin Ewell
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve petition for waiver of absences for Austin Ewell to allow him to retain his position on the Fresno County Planning Commission.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow Mr. Ewell to remain as a regular member of the Fresno County Planning Commission. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is not approved, Mr. Ewell will be deemed to have resigned if he misses a total of five meetings in 2023, and your Board would need to appoint a new regular member.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
DISCUSSION:
In accordance with Fresno County Ordinance Code, Section 2.68.010.C, regarding member attendance at meetings, except as otherwise specifically provided by the Ordinance Code, a nonelected member of any board, commission, committee or council appointed by the Board of Supervisors shall be deemed to have resigned his or her membership for absences in excess of three consecutive regular meetings or five regular meetings in a calendar year if the board, commission, committee or council has thirteen or more regular meetings per calendar year. The Planning Commission meets nineteen times per year.
Further, Section 2.68.035 states that, "Where a member has been absent from meetings such that one additional absence will result in an automatic resignation, that member may petition the board of supervisors for a waiver of one or more of the prior absences. Such petition may only be made once per calendar year. The granting of such petition shall be based on good cause as determined in the sole discretion of the board of supervisors."
Mr. Ewell was absent from four meetings held on January 26th, February 23rd, March 23rd, and April 13th, 2023 for the reasons mentioned in his petition, included as Attachment A. Mr. Ewell is asking for a waiver of the four absences to safeguard his opportunity to continue to serve on the Planning Commission.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino