A Few Minutes with the Mayor – April 2022

This month, I’d like to give you an overview of City Commissions and Committees. Jacksonville runs on a volunteer force, which is readily apparent in the folks who show up to serve.

There is a distinct difference between the two. To simplify, in Jacksonville, we have an elected Mayor and City Council that governs. Under the Mayor and Council, you have Commissions, Committees, and sometimes Sub-Committees or Ad-Hoc Committees. A Commission is a group that is empowered to make decisions based on our code and holds quasi-judicial hearings to legally state those decisions. Committees, Sub-Committees, or Ad-Hoc Committees are usually based on the need to research particular subjects. These committees then report their findings and recommendations to Council for final decisions.

Some Committees are short-term and some are long-term. In Jacksonville, active Commissions are the Cemetery Commission, the Historic and Architectural Review Commission, and the Planning Commission. Active Committees are the Budget Committee, Citizen Advisory Committee, Committee for Citizen Involvement, Movie Committee, Parks and Visitors Services Committee, Personnel Committee, Transient Lodging Expenditure Committee, and the Transportation Ad-Hoc Committee. Sometimes we find the need to add a committee or disband one. Both types use the procedures in Robert’s Rules of Order. All committees or commissions have an appointed “Council Liaison” member. Liaisons do not have a vote, but they may engage in meeting discussions. Liaisons report back to the Council on findings within their appointed Committee or Commission.

No Commission or Committee member receives compensation for their services, nor do the Mayor and Council members. The Committee/Commission members do their homework on issues, and make appropriate recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. The Commissions/Committees reduce the work of governing this city, decrease the burden on Council, and frequently provide professional expertise to solving issues. You can look at our City website for the Jacksonville Municipal Code, Title 4 – Committees and Commissions, with its picture of the purpose, powers, and rules of our City’s Committees and Commissions.

An overview of our Commissions:

Cemetery Commission—Dirk Siedlecki, Chair. Under the long-term guidance of Dirk Siedlecki, the Cemetery Commission (CC) continues to astound us with the scope of work they handle. The CC currently manages this historical cemetery comprised of over 32 acres, containing over 5,615 gravesites. It is an active cemetery and is registered as a part of Jacksonville’s National Landmark Status, as well as with the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries. Dirk reports regularly with articles in the Jacksonville Review to keep us all up to date.

Historic and Architectural Commission—Penni Viets, Chair. Penni Viets has been a member of HARC for over 10 years and has served as Chair since 2020. Penni brings calm, straightforward professionalism to an important job in a historic town. The HARC ensures the preservation and restoration of sites and structures by designating and maintaining a Landmark List. This protects historic sites or structures and regulates the design of development activities to enhance our city’s historic traditions.

Planning Commission—Mark Thomas, Chair. Mark is a long-term Planning Commission member and an able, qualified Chair. Issues relating to land use, public facilities, circulation, community appearance, and similar matters affecting the development of the City including, but not limited to zoning, signs, and capital improvements are all under the purview of the Planning Commission.

The eight Committees are:

Budget Committee—Mike McClain, Chair. Mike has been on Budget for a number of years and also is an elected City Council member. The Budget Committee members consist of the Mayor, the six City Council members and seven members from the community. Their purpose is to work with City Administrator Jeff Alvis and City Finance Director Stacey Bray to create a city budget. They must follow all rules and regulations of the State Budget Law. The Committee reviews, revises, advises and makes recommendations on the budget to the City Council. The Council must adopt a budget by June 30th of each fiscal year. We are currently working on the 2022-2023 Budget.

Citizen Advisory Committee—Beverly Smith, Chair. Many of you know Bev from her years of working for our city water department. Bev has a great working knowledge of our city that makes her uniquely qualified to understand the CAC’s purpose. The CAC is a sub-committee of the Committee for Citizen Involvement. The CAC is charged with developing policies for the management of town affairs and to make recommendations to the Planning Commission or City Council. The current CAC is updating our City Code, Chapters 15-18.

Committee for Citizen Involvement—John Jorgenson, Chair. John joined the CCI not long ago and has since become an active participant in the CCI. The CCI serves as the City Council’s planning and supervisory arm for carrying out functions and requirements of our required Civic Engagement Programs. They advocate for public participation in the City’s land use processes and programs. The CCI also guides CACs or other sub committees in their assignments from City Council.

Movie Committee—Donna Bowen, Chair. This Committee was formed to work with and advise the City Council regarding policy on movie making, filming and still photography within the City. The Committee may also be the support to a Movie/Film Liaison during a related film project within the City. This Committee is active on an as-needed basis.

Parks and Visitor Services Committee—Omer Kem, Chair. Omer is a long- time advocate and supporter of our city parks. The PVSC works with the City to discuss and recommend needs for the parks owned by the City. The Committee sends these recommendations to City Council. Jacksonville City Parks include Cottage Street Park, Nunan Square Park, Pheasant Meadows Park, Creekside Park, the Skate Park, the Dog Park, Scheffel-Thurston Park, Veteran’s Park, Beekman Arboretum, Doc Griffin Park, Britt Gardens, Jacksonville Woodlands, and Forest Park.

Personnel Committee—Members are Mayor Donna Bowen and Councilors Ken Gregg and Jim Lewis. Members meet, as needed, to hear recommendations from the City Administrator and Human Resources regarding personnel issues. The Committee sends any recommendations to City Council through the City Administrator.

Transient Lodging Expenditure Committee—Mike Thornton, Chair. You probably recognize Mike as a local business owner and active city volunteer. The TLEC usually meets semi-annually. They advise the Council on the expenditure of the City Beautification and Tourism Development Fund. The fund provides for enhancement of vehicle and pedestrian routes, plus the acquisition and construction of new cultural and tourist related facilities. This may include parking, operation of the Visitor’s Information Center, and other aspects promoting tourism.

Transportation Ad-Hoc Committee—This Committee is composed of Mayor Donna Bowen, City Administrator Jeff Alvis and three members of the community. Their purpose is to develop and recommend to the Council programs, projects and policies to improve traffic flow through the City of Jacksonville.

You are all welcome to attend any of the open meetings for Commissions and Committees. Agendas and meeting locations are posted at all City Kiosks, on the City Newsletter and the City webpage. Again, you will find current information on the Committees and Commission on the City website. I hope you now have a better picture and new appreciation on how the City of Jacksonville governs and why we rely so much on our citizen volunteers. I am continually thankful to have this large group of dedicated individuals sharing the job of making Jacksonville a great place to live. When you see any of them on the street, please give them a word of thanks for volunteering. Until next month…