2026-10-28 - Board of Representatives Appointments Committee

00:00Okay so the time is 6.31pm. It is the 28th of October 2026. This is the 32nd Board of

00:08Representatives Appointments Committee. I'm Co-chair Felix Gardner joined by Representative Karl Weinberg

00:14in the room. Also Representative Weathers on the call, Representative Camarelli, Representative

00:18Bradford and Representative Hyatt as well is here. So we do have a quorum and we can get started.

00:27For our guests, how this is going to work. We're going to run down the visit of interviews from

00:31top to bottom. I think we have eight interviews in person. The ninth one is just a vote. So we're

00:39going to do all eight interviews, one after the other. It's nothing too serious. I would be very

00:43stressed about it. We're just going to ask you a couple of questions about why you think you're a

00:46good fit for the role. This is the last final step in the process. We know you've been a long journey

00:50and you're ready to get here. We appreciate it. We're a huge pain for you. This is it. This is the last

00:54thing. Second of mine. So after we vote tonight, we'll do a vote at the end. We'll just do a quick

01:00vote. After that, we will then bring our approvals to the main board meeting and then they will get

01:06voted on there. And after that, you can finally go and do your job, which you want to do. So this

01:10is all just pure formality. The next board meeting is Wednesday, November 4th. Exactly.

01:18So after that, we will do the final vote and then you'll get your seat and you can get started.

01:23Which we try and just keep these interviews pretty quick and light. We're talking for 10 minutes.

01:27Nothing too crazy. And if you want, this is fully public. So you can leave and come at any time.

01:32Completely up to you. If you leave or stay after interview, you can stay to the end if you want.

01:36It's all fully public. We're going to vote at the very end. You can stay because leave is not going

01:40to influence our decision up to you. I'm sure you've got other stuff to do. Anyway, that all

01:44being said, let us begin with item number one. Alpha 32.066. It's our interview for the Zoning

01:50Board with William Morris. Reappointment, last appointed on the 6th of March, 2017.

01:56So you think it's only 10 years, Morris. That's the record. Oh, is it? No, I was originally

02:01appointed in January 2013. Even longer. I may or may have paved it. For some reason, the record

02:09is wrong. I have no idea what. But that was the last time you were reappointed. Reappointed, yes.

02:15A reappointed interview. That's correct, yes. Wow. And I was looking at your CV. You've been on

02:20the EP as well. Yeah, I got about 22 years on the EPV. So you've given a ridiculous amount of your time.

02:26First married, appointed me. You've probably never heard of blue clouds.

02:35So I've been around. Yeah, but why do you want to keep going? I really enjoy it. I want to just

02:40give back to the community. I mean, you know, I've been here just going with life. A parent,

02:45my mother, father, mother still lives here in the house. She was born in Stanford. She's 96.

02:50We've been here a long time, and I'm committed to the community. And

02:54I enjoy it, too. I really enjoy it. And I think I'm providing a good service. I've got experience.

03:00I know Stanford. I've been around for 76 years there. So I think it's a good addition.

03:06Yeah, but I'd never really have to believe his own question as well. It's really about your

03:11experience. You've got all the experience you've ever asked. Do you have any questions?

03:14Yeah, please. So two questions. Actually, I want to just think of two questions, if I can.

03:21Could you just tell us, you've taken so many books on his own years. Can you focus on one

03:30you know, you look back and say, you know, I'm especially proud of that, you know, that

03:34decision that they made. Oh, dear. Well, I'm proud of it. I mean, as you said, there's been

03:45so many. I can't specifically think of one that, one particular decision I'm proud of,

03:54but I am proud to tell you, I am proud of it, like, are moving on to affordable housing,

04:00little market rate units, to really increase that rate. We now increased somewhere between

04:0610% and 12%. You know, we've added 650-ish affordable units that are either in the process

04:19of build or in the process. We raised, as far as fee in Lewis was concerned, well, $38 million.

04:27You know, those funds went to projects like, you know, New St. John's Tower is going to come up

04:32here. I mean, we're taking down two old buildings. There's, there was 200 and some odd units that

04:39we're going to put 305, four units in. So I'm very proud of that. Maybe I'll make that my

04:47proudest moment. Well, I think that's St. John's. That's a good pick. You know, one of the issues

04:53that we're getting a lot of comments about in the community is concerns about, about conservation

05:05and how it relates to land use and in particular the tree canopy in Stanford. Of course, a lot of

05:11the tree canopy is on public land, but much of it is not. Looking forward, and I know that the

05:22zoning board has taken some steps, you know, in approvals, particularly in the special permit

05:28approval of that regarding tree removal and tree replacement. Looking forward, are there things

05:38that you can foresee the zoning board doing to both grow and sustain the private tree canopy

05:52in Stanford? Well, we just, for a second, I don't know, but we just did a new text change.

05:59The trees was involved through comps and can't remember the act because it's fairly new. I

06:07can't remember the exact amount of time prior to it coming from a permit, but to have an inventory

06:13of trees which are on the property that are going to develop. And they have to explain, you know,

06:18rather great detail if and why they have to take down many trees. And they have to, if they take

06:24down 100 trees, they're going to have to match that on site with approximately the same number

06:30of trees, obviously not as big, but the same number of green. I don't think that's a separate

06:35direction. We've also, you know, just did a recent text change for sustainability with, you know,

06:44new developments of green roofs or solar panel. We've increased the past requirements, open space

06:53requirements. So, you know, we're moving in the right direction. We're trying to, you know, catch

06:58up to a comprehensive plan, since that's the blueprint for the city for the future.

07:06Good. Very helpful. As I'm sure you know, this has become a big concern with, in particular,

07:15in the city right now. And if I can make, if I can offer one suggestion, there are trees that

07:25need to be removed. The project, it'll either be too close to the building or whatever, and create

07:35other other kinds of hazards. That's also not, wouldn't be healthy for the tree itself. But

07:43sometimes trees are removed for the convenience of, for example, getting equipment in and out.

07:50And if I could make one encouragement, it would be to be less supportive of those kinds of

07:59removals. So that, you know, and, you know, if they have to, you know, in building, you know,

08:10the road to get in, to get equipment in and out, you know, up to the, up to the building, if they

08:15have to take a little bit more of a circuit with this roof. Makes sense. So be it. Makes sense.

08:21You know, because the long-term health benefits of wetland's benefits and so forth, of retaining

08:33the mature tree canopy is so important. This is the actual point about the fact that

08:39they saw on this road for the equipment, the most efficient way for them, as opposed to

08:45trying to protect the environment. And that's why, I think, you know, not that you remember

08:51public, but we get information in the members of the public during our meetings. And sometimes

08:55it gives you some information that you just didn't know or didn't think of. That's why I think it's

08:58so important to have a public hearing whenever they're required. Thank you. I do. Any questions

09:07from the call? Karen Countess Phil? Laurie? I'm here. Okay. I think we're good. Sure. Are you

09:19aware that the meeting link doesn't work? The one that's listed at home? No. Sorry. And in the

09:26agenda? No. Christina, perhaps you could look at that for us, Christina. Is the meeting link

09:31not right on the website, maybe? Let me look into that for you. Give me one second, please.

09:39No problem. Actually, I think you're using Zooms for Zooms. Because we threw a hissy fit.

09:46Yes. We didn't like it. Maybe we should do that.

09:49We had so many... I'd not believe we had any product problems. I just want to avoid the

09:56problem. We have teams that we just... We threw a hissy fit. Representative Wollston is also

10:02complaining that the link is not working. This is Angie. Hi. I just updated it on the website.

10:09So, I see that it was... someone put it up wrong. So, I just corrected it. Cool. Thank you.

10:21You're welcome to work for that, Ms. Robbins. Welcome to you. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank

10:28you so much, Ms. Morris. We appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much. Have a lovely rest

10:33of your day. We'll see you again, I'm sure. Until next time, we're live. Okay, next up we have

10:38item number two, alpha 32.069, but there's no permission. It's an open arm, which is a

10:43reappointment. Last appointed the first of May, 2023. Time expiring December 1st, 2028.

10:51Is that right? Not exactly. Not exactly. I filled someone's spot. Okay. You filled mine.

11:03If it was May 1st, 2023, yeah. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Because I wasn't

11:09appointed to this forum. Okay. Put very well. There we go. But here I am. Okay. Oh, fantastic.

11:18Well, it's clearly a step up for the Commission. Yeah, I mean, you're a seasoned professional

11:29in the world of, I guess you say, personnel issues and personnel and char and that sort

11:34of thing. Yeah. And as is a requiem, but I'm sure I'll let him do most of the question here. But

11:40why do you enjoy your time on the board so far? And why do you want to keep going?

11:45I have enjoyed my time very much. It's, let me see, it's been about seven months.

11:51Stuart's on the Commissioner as well. It's been about seven months. And it's been an introduction

11:59to the city of Stanford, which I've only seen as a, as a resident taxpayer. So it's, it's been fun

12:08to live not fun. I don't know if you've done it that way, but to see the city improving its

12:17org structure, elevating positions. So it's been a nice insight. And I have felt like I've made a

12:31bit of a difference. Yeah, that's why we all do it. And do you, have you seen large areas of

12:39improvement which could be made for your next upcoming term? Do you have any goals, specific

12:44goals you'd like to try to achieve or something you'd like to really focus on in an upcoming term?

12:49I haven't been in the position long enough. I am still learning sort of how the city is structured

12:58from a human resource perspective. So I mean, I read, I read my, my agenda and all the different

13:07action items so that I'm prepared to ask questions, but I don't know that I have a vision yet.

13:13Okay. It takes time. It takes a lifetime. Go ahead. So I, I served on the commission for nine years

13:22where it's appointed to, to the Florida reps. I thought it was the, I thought it was the best

13:32way to learn about city government and just how it is kind of what you were saying, how it is,

13:42how it is structured, how it is organized. And I was, I wonder if you shared this observation.

13:49I was astounded having worked, consulted to a lot of companies, a lot of large companies. I was

14:04astounded at the complexity of the organization design. Have you, have you seen this same thing?

14:10I have. As I say, I'm still kind of learning. And I learn about the complexity as certain

14:20positions are presented and modified. What I'm most impressed by is how the existing HR team

14:34does their research, does their comp analysis, and makes the case for any re-org, how the, the

14:47individuals who are presenting the changes that they are proposing are prepared and how they speak.

14:53So, yeah. Well, that's really, I'm really glad to hear that, because that was, I was a

15:02conversation person. Okay. So that was something that working with, with Mark as chair of the

15:14commission, something that I wanted to see significant improvement in from when I joined

15:25the commission back in, I guess, 2014. So I'm really glad to hear that that is continuing

15:35without me, Ansel. Yeah. No, I think it is. It's more that it's institutional, that they've

15:40institutionalized it. That's really, and that they've institutionalized it now through three

15:46HR directors. Oh, right. You know, starting with Clement Williams, when I started on the commission,

15:58through to, you know, to Dr. Russell, that's really good to hear. And with that, I was going

16:07to ask about that. Yeah. So you may, you answered my question before I got a chance. I anticipated.

16:12There we go. Like a good HR person without you. Go ahead. Thank you chair. Good evening and

16:23thank you for serving. No, it's not easy. During, during the current term that you just served,

16:31what do you consider to be the personnel commission's most significant accomplishments?

16:39I think it's the reorganization, slight reorganization of a couple of the departments,

16:51the town clerk in particular, reviewing those positions, who reports to whom, elevating some.

17:02I think there's a real attention to improving efficiencies.

17:11So, and how did the commission approve, improve the efficiencies of the town clerk?

17:19Don't remember the specific position change. Frankly, we didn't improve the efficiency.

17:30We approved the improvement. Do you know what I mean? I probably don't know how the city

17:39runs as well as you and Carl do. So I don't actually know what you mean. Well, if there are

17:47positions that are doing more than the job description and need to be elevated or there

17:55are positions that don't have the right reporting lines, reviewing those and modifying positions,

18:05sometimes increasing the pay band makes sense. Okay. Those are the sorts of things that this

18:15personnel commission reviews. And so in the town clerk's office, what were the things that

18:19you guys accomplished that you were? Yeah, I was afraid you were going to ask

18:23for that sort of detail. I'm sorry. I honestly don't recall.

18:27Okay. Believe me, I get it. Yeah. That was it. That was my question. Thank you.

18:36Thank you. Okay. Any further questions?

18:45If I can interject it, Karen, so one of the responsibilities of the personnel commission

18:56as per the charter is if a, because it has to approve any new positions that are created,

19:08has to approve the position, the reporting relationships and the position description

19:12itself. If an existing position requires a change in, I'm going to call it classification,

19:24because another word for salary is analogous to salary grade, because either the market

19:34for that position has changed, competitive levels have changed or the position responsibilities

19:44have changed. The change in classification or salary grade has to be approved by the personnel

19:54commission. And the role that the commission plays, commission doesn't propose those changes

20:06for those new positions, but in the questions it asks and the documentation and evidence that it

20:15requires in order to grant approval, it really elevates the performance of the HR function.

20:28That's very fair. So anyway, thank you. I appreciate that, Carl, because I really

20:35don't know anything about it. Now I have a follow up question. So he got you in trouble.

20:46My personal strength. Any recommendations that the commission has made in the last three years

20:54that has met resistance with HR or the administration that you guys had to really push

21:03for, for mostly smooth sailing? Kind of the other way around. They're making requests

21:11that we push back on. Okay. And I can't speak to the last three years. I can really only speak

21:17to the last six months, seven months. There have been some that have had lengthy discussion, but

21:26nothing that we didn't find substantive merit to approve. Okay. Thank you.

21:44Thank you so much. Thank you for your time and being here. Thank you. Okay. Next up item number

21:52three after 32.0 seven zero. It's another personal commission. It's Mr. Stuart Edelberg.

21:58It's a reappointment. Is this one correct? Yes, it is correct. So I believe the fifth or

22:03June of 2023, so I'm expiring December 1st, 2028. I feel like you're going through a good question.

22:14So, uh, this one has learned a lot from you as a, as a more seasoned potential member of the,

22:20you think, uh, essentially as a more seasoned member of the commercial personal commission.

22:24And I saw you have a CV that's just loaded with, uh, giving to this community and other volunteer

22:29events. So we really appreciate all the time, as you can do this. Um, I'll also have the good

22:38questions. What, um, what is it? Anything you'd like to see is changing the structure of the

22:44personal commission going forward, which you think could optimize it for the future of the city.

22:48That is a great question. Actually, I think, I think it's, um, one of the reasons that we

22:53enjoy being on it, I think is that it is, um, it's very well organized. Our work is well prepared.

22:59Our meeting's very efficient, a very collegial group, and that I think each of us has different

23:03strengths and yet, you know, so like, like their time, somebody will say something and I say,

23:07Jackie's going to ask that question. You know, Isabelle's going to wonder about this one and I

23:11think that's a good thing. So I don't think structurally, is anything wrong with it? Um,

23:16I will say we have not actually met in person ever since I've totally commissioned, it's always

23:21been by Zumba, which is kind of interesting because sometimes there are technical issues.

23:25Um, you know, we're waiting for somebody to sign up, like you had, um, and you know, and the truth

23:30is we don't know each other as well as we might. You know, maybe we would work a little better

23:34together if we did know each other on a more personal level, which doesn't happen when you're

23:37only getting on Zoom. Um, but I, you know, and I will second what Isabelle said about the HR

23:42department. I think they're terrific. They really knocked themselves out and we get a million

23:47pieces of information before we're asked to do anything. Um, they provide us with a lot. We

23:51have pushed a little bit on the commission, on the HR side, um, a lot, basically looking for

23:57information to come to us earlier. A lot of times they're on very tight schedules to get things

24:01done. And so sometimes it's the day before the meeting and we get the information and we push

24:05back and we have, well Isabelle is correct, but we don't often turn out things. Actually our last

24:10meeting, two of, I think the three or four things that we were voting on actually were things that

24:14had been, had came, come back to us because we had turned them down or asked questions that they

24:18didn't have answers to and said, we're not comfortable acting on this until you can provide

24:22more background. So, so we do challenge a lot. Um, the positive side, I'd say it's incredibly

24:28impressive. Um, the quality of the staff that works for the city, whether everybody in the

24:33city doesn't know it or not is incredibly high. Um, when we get a proposal from the department

24:38chair or department head saying, you know, I'm totally revising the order of charge,

24:43I'm totally doing this, inherently the information is very impressive. Like they've really done

24:47their homework, um, not only about efficiency and about not overspending and, you know,

24:52we get a chart that says this is today's chart versus what I'm proposing and you see we're not

24:56increasing headcount, we're just rearranging to make sure the reporting structures are right

25:00and all of that. And those are the kinds of questions we asked a lot about because we're

25:03always so conscious of, you know, not wanting to elevate more than we need to while we want the

25:07best efficiency and best service. Um, but yeah, the way, the way things are justified, the independent,

25:13really good conversations, I think sometimes we surprised some of the department heads when,

25:17with the poly of the questions and how in depth we get, I think some of them might think that,

25:21you know, well, it's just an approval, it doesn't happen that way. Um, some of our meetings have

25:26been pretty long, but, but again, not challenging, but more so it's our job to do that, to really

25:32understand what the changes and why. Um, we also ask a lot of questions about existing staff. I mean,

25:37honestly, that I think we're all always concerned about what's, how does this impact, you know,

25:42there's elevating this, what does that do for parity in the department? What does that do for,

25:46you know, the person that's over here that may not be impacted directly, but is going to have

25:50to work with the new structure and all of that, you know, which again, I think speaks to the fact

25:54that we've been so impressed with the staff and we were concerned that, you know, that those who

25:58have given years and years of service, um, do they still fit? Do they not fit? You know,

26:03where does it fit with the new structures? Um, you often hear about changes, like you talked about

26:07the town clerk, you know, things like, you know, we used to have a cashier because people paid

26:11things with cash. Nobody pays for anything, and cash pay more. Do you need that cashier? You're

26:15doing that job anymore. Or, you know, is there a different role or a different way it should be

26:19structured? Things that, like, the average person doesn't necessarily think about these people.

26:25Probably way more than you wanted it, but that's been my observations over three years, over four

26:31years. Thank you. Thanks, Jim. Do you have any questions? Sure.

26:42So, Stuart, as, as you know, one of the responsibilities, again, as per the chart

26:47of the other personnel commission, because this is a charter based commission, not an,

26:52not an organization based commission, um, one of the responsibilities is if the city is proposing

26:59to hire someone, new hire, at a salary level that is above, I'll call, this is, again,

27:08different terminology, but, uh, it's above the midpoint of the salary range. That salary needs

27:17to be approved by the personnel commission. Um, what are some of the criteria that you

27:27and your fellow commissioners use to determine whether that, um, whether, whether or not to

27:34approve that, that above, um, uh, above midpoint, so when it's proposed, obviously the first

27:40question, why, why are we doing this? Is there a sense that this is inappropriate? We get the

27:45comps, you know, we get cops from all the towns in the area, you know, what are the jobs paying

27:49that are similar? Sometimes it's purely that, given to the four people and the three most

27:55qualified said, I'd never take the job for that amount, which leads you to wonder, well, what's

27:58wrong? Um, we also, among the things that we're not, despite the writing where you, um, the HR

28:06department did actually commission a salary study of all departments and, um, we're making our

28:11way through that. Some of that we had a couple of presentations from outside consultant that

28:15actually did that work. Um, again, to make sure that we're kind of keeping up, if we want the

28:20level of skill that we need for the city and that a city like this requires. Um, but I'd say we're

28:24pretty tough on it when it comes to get on the mid grade. You don't want to know that this is

28:27good, solid reason, because again, it's not just today's salary, what happens moving forward and

28:32what does that do? You know, to the, to the level of expenditures for all of us, um, as we move

28:37forward. And again, also what does it do for parity? You know, is there in certain departments

28:42that matters a lot? You know, there are union agreements and if somebody else is raised,

28:45what does it do to everybody else? You know, is it just, is it just this one person or is this

28:49not going to impact salaries moving forward for every single one of the people at that level or

28:53else? What does that do for, you know, the, not only the parity, but the, um, the working

28:59relationships in the department because we know in that matters, people aware of it. Obviously,

29:03public employees thought a secret with people getting paid and so on. So I'd say we push back

29:07a lot on that. And, or is there a good solid reason? Like, well, we were looking for something

29:11in the two years experience. This person came in, you know, with six years experience again,

29:15this is why it's worth it. We challenged those questions like, okay, so that person is way more

29:20qualified, but is that helpful or do you need that level of experience or is that person,

29:25excuse me, jump shifts and they get something better? Like, you know, the typical HR questions

29:29that any company would ask in irons, somebody at the typical level of expertise. So I would say

29:34we're pretty tough on it though. And, um, and we have had quite a number of them and I, and we

29:38have pushed back on a few as I said, I think that was one of the ones we just recently looked at

29:43that we had said, no, and they came back to us and actually we compromised. We said we wouldn't

29:47go to the level that was asked, but we would go somewhere above me, but not quite out the size

29:52the department was looking for. And they agreed to go back and offer that and hope that it worked

29:56out. So I'll see next month whether it works or not, but that's what we did. Um, okay. Thank you.

30:03Thank you. I got it. Just a quick question. Does, does that whole process of the salary

30:08negotiating, how would you go through the personal commission massively draw out the

30:11salary process? No, it's, it's only, they don't come to us with every salary. They come to us

30:15when they want to change a level. That's typical, like just regular hiring decisions. You know,

30:21they can fill a position without coming to personnel commissions when they want to change

30:25something or if there's, again, a position is classified at X level and they come to us

30:29and say, I need you to change it, you know, to either a higher level. Sometimes it's even a

30:33lower level. If you're changing the job description, you also need to look at those that,

30:37so some things we vote on, but when they're changing a job description again, like

30:42most of the time it's because person's already doing a different job, that description itself

30:47has never been updated. So there's a lot of that where we're literally getting a document

30:50that's all redlined and saying, you know, this is outdated, this is outdated, this is from four

30:54years ago, nobody ever changed it. And so we have to, that's, they call it notations and it's kind

30:59of for our information, but it does feed into the other discussion. So it's worth the fact that we

31:03spend the time looking at it because, you know, in two months we're going to have another thing

31:07that's somehow going to, you know, what didn't we look at something like that before? You know,

31:11why are we like reinventing or can we learn what we did two months ago to apply here? So it kind

31:17of works its way through, even though it's just informational. Okay, thanks. Any questions on the

31:23call for Mr. Edward? I talked to him. Oh, Karen, go ahead. Sorry about that. I couldn't find the

31:35little hand raised thing for a second. I was just wondering if you guys ever compare, if this is

31:41something that is a function of your commission, do you guys ever compare the size of our staff

31:49versus other cities of the same size? I always feel like we are functioning with so few people,

31:56but I don't know if that's just my imagination. That's a great question, actually. And I have

32:02to say we don't get a lot into it. Occasionally a department will come to us and say, you know,

32:07comparable communities, they would have four more people than what we were operating with.

32:12We also have, honestly, also tend to have a lot of open jobs. So that's when that becomes a

32:17conversation, honestly. It's more, not that we're overstaffed or questioned, that way it ends up

32:22being that we feel like, wow, we have four positions that are sitting open in some big department.

32:27What's the problem? You know, why can't we fill those jobs? And what are we not doing that we

32:31should be doing because we're missing those jobs? We get more into that. But actually, it's an

32:35interesting idea to actually ask, well, what's a comparable community department of X? What's

32:40their size? I have to say that doesn't often come up unless it's offered as kind of evidence

32:46or something to say, this is why we're adding a position because the world has changed and we're

32:50understaffed. But, again, it's a good question. Actually, now we're going to talk about it.

32:55Here's Drew, you have to refer to Representative Weinberg. Is that something the commission would

33:01look at when you were there? Occasionally. You know, we were also, you know, we would also raise

33:11questions about, you know, is there ways to substitute technology for, you know, for additional

33:17staff to make better use of technology, you know, in order to control, in order to manage costs.

33:25So, again, the Personnel Commission is primarily a reactive body, not a proactive one. So it's

33:41reacting to proposals by the city, whatever they may be. But certainly, when a department head

33:58is coming to introduce a reorganization, you know, changing the organization chart of that

34:07department, we would, that's when we might ask for organization charts at comparable departments

34:19and other municipalities to make comparisons. A lot of it, you know, to make sure that, you know,

34:26to try to make sure that we were right-sizing our staffing levels. That sounds like that's

34:31what you're doing. Yeah, that is, and we'll ask the question, but as I said, often they come in

34:35with that information and say, you know, that, you know, for a city, you know, we've checked

34:39three neighboring communities and they have departments that are larger than ours and yet

34:43we're much bigger in population, you know, or we have the same size department that we had

34:4810 years ago and now the population of Stanford is 20,000 more than it was then, you know, and

34:52yet we haven't grown. And so there is some discussion of that. Honestly, you know, I would

34:58say that increasing headcount is not the most common thing that happens, actually. It's way

35:03more up and, again, adjusting the org chart and changing job descriptions and like you mentioned,

35:11technology, that's been a big thing because, again, so much more is done with technology now

35:16and so that's why a lot of those job descriptions are kind of outdated, you know, we're now

35:20there, you know, and so do they need the same skill level as they needed before and, you know,

35:25and are there efficiencies as you say that, you know, so yeah, that's a major part of a lot of

35:31the conversations. Excellent. I hope you're happy, Camperelli. Let us know if you're not.

35:39That's it for me. Thank you. Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Emma. Really appreciate your time

35:46and your service. Next up, item number four out of 32.071, again, the Personnel Commission,

35:53Susan Johnson, who is in New York. Well, with a term expiring December 1st,

36:032020. How are you, Ms. Johnson? I'm well, how are you? Not too bad. Not too bad. You've probably

36:10heard from the seasoned members, you put on, you completely throw, you know, I'm no longer one of

36:15this position people who are out there. We've heard all the good stuff. Well, I see a ton of

36:24experience or a seasoned professional in the world with HR and some resources. What do you

36:31hope to bring to the future of your experience? I think it's a nice combination of being a happy

36:41citizen, wanting to improve the city and my private sector and public sector experience.

36:49So a lot of the city, a lot of experience in the private sector from an HR perspective,

36:55and then also some exposure to the public sector for issues as well. It's a dream combination.

37:02That's the dream combination. I guess, what do you hope to tackle in your first,

37:09like your first few meetings? I'm sure you'll be just listening to that. Is there anything you

37:13want to think the city is doing particularly badly at the moment, also really improve in the

37:18short term? I don't have enough information to say, absolutely listening and learning.

37:26Very good. Very good. I mean, I'm going to prove you right now for the job, but

37:32do you have any further questions? Of course you do. Of course you do.

37:39Susan, I am so glad that someone with your experience and your area of expertise and focus

37:54is joining the personnel commission because it's a skill set. Well, it's a skill set that

38:05that I think is not on the commission in the area of really culture change. It's a skill area

38:22that I think is not especially prevalent on the commission. There are other, as you probably

38:29have learned from these first few interviews, there are other skill areas that I think are

38:34very strong. And I think that the challenges to change the culture of city government

38:48are significant. So I'm going to throw down the gauntlet at you if that's okay. And I'm

38:56going to give you an example, okay, without getting into what, you know, without naming names

39:01or even, but there's a, there is a major project which can take place in my district, which is

39:13district 20, which is primarily the eastern part of, eastern half of North Stanford. It's a major

39:20project. It's significantly behind schedule over budget. It has been creating a lot of community

39:33challenges. And one of the people with overall responsibility for it says that he describes

39:49the project as a huge success because at the end of the day, it'll be done. And we'll have

39:56the benefits of what they try to accomplish. And he ignores the unanticipated costs of getting

40:11there. That to me is maybe you see it the same way. That to me, it seems like to me is a big

40:18culture, culture problem. He's taking a technocratic view instead of a client service

40:35view. I don't know what you can do on the Personnel Commission to start to influence

40:41the kinds of changes that I think are necessary culturally within the city. I've had these

40:47conversations here, but I hope that you look at the work that you're doing on the commission

40:58through that lens of how do we create a culture change from, it's not, I'm just going to do my

41:08job and that's it. It's not, I'm just nine to five people working very hard. It's, but it is

41:16this change from a, what I'll call a technocratic viewpoint, cultural viewpoint, which you probably

41:24see in certain parts of the artwork to a client centric view, cultural viewpoint, because the

41:34clients of course are the people who live here. So that's my challenge to do it. Good luck.

41:43I appreciate it. And to your point, I want to pick up from your conversations,

41:48what is the purview of the commission? Having said that, what I heard in your commentaries,

41:53questions about performance, behavior, engagement, values, alignment, and that I don't have any

42:02insight into. No, you'll have to, this is not a one and done problem. It's not an atypical

42:13organization. Yeah, no, I understand that and it's deeply entrenched. Okay, thank you for that

42:25insight. Thank you. Fantastic. Any questions from the Zoom call, Miss Johnson? Fantastic,

42:39thank you for all of that. I hope all the best. Thank you. I appreciate your time. Thank you so

42:42much. Okay, next up, item number five, I think 32.072, the Patriotic and Special Events Commission,

42:51the Missa Faye. Welcome. And Missa is a new, a new appointment, retiring December 1st, 2026.

43:05So you'll probably, what will probably happen if you, if you get approved for this role,

43:12if you will, you'll then probably get, we'll probably reappoint you again. Let's usually

43:18allow this. We won't make you into this if your time is actually expiring the end of the year,

43:22which it might be. I think you're taking someone else to see you step down. I think I was reading,

43:27I think it's my move. This person also moved. So you're taking that as a seat. Then likely we'll

43:34just vote you again. Welcome, welcome. And thank you so much for stepping up in this role. You

43:40have a fantastic, so to be a hell of a CV, dare I say it. And I think you're obviously

43:46shockingly overqualified for this role. We really appreciate you stepping up to do it.

43:50Why the Patriotic and Special Events Commission? Is there anything that drew you in particular to

43:54this commission or were you offered the position, offered the role for the mayor's office? I was

43:58offered it through the merit policy. And it makes sense. Yes. Your history, our whole course,

44:05doesn't fit your CV. But what are you looking forward to achieving the role? It's quite a fun,

44:12one of our more fun commissions. I've heard from a lot of people we've been to before,

44:15it's a lot of work. There's actually quite a lot to it, more than potentially with the AI.

44:20So are you looking forward to it? Yeah, I think, you know, I think at first listen and learn,

44:26and kind of see where health is needed. It does look like, you know, the responsibilities are

44:32not the two grades per year, but it does look like it is a lot of work resting on a few people.

44:37So hopefully I can lend a hand in the organization. And, you know, I think reading in the minutes that

44:45the challenges, you know, are probably just getting people or groups to register

44:50in a timely manner and also kind of getting the word out there, the publicity out there. So

44:56I'll have to try to help. We've definitely heard that they were, they were swamped with work.

45:03These events they put on a far greater in scope than most of us imagined, just

45:08telling them they're actually a huge undertaking to do. It looks like it. Yeah. I think there's a

45:12lot more to it than meets the eye. So are we? Is there, is there anything you, I presume you're

45:19going to attend the... Unfortunately, I already had a work trip on the books before I knew about

45:25any of this. Okay. Of course, I did not attend the event. Well, we'll, we'll be fine. We always

45:32going to get invited. Yes, I'd love to see what you hope to bring in terms of improvements,

45:38the events you go forward. And it's a very important thing for our reputation as a city,

45:43our opportunity to show off. So yeah, any further questions? Well, I'll come, yeah, just a couple

45:52things. First of all, we're glad that we're really glad you're here. And I did some reading about you.

46:01And, and I just want to salute you for turning your tragedy into something that's so generous.

46:19Speaks to, you know, to your character. I can put a plug in free community CPR training

46:27on November 14th, third place by Haffold Brewery. You've done, you've done before. Yeah. You see

46:37that loudly for the zoom, so the transcription gets it. That is literally chug and plug.

46:44I can send November 14th, Saturday November 14th, 11 a.m. at third place by Haffold free

46:51community CPR training. And again, as I do with the last candidate, I really want to make a

47:02challenge, which is with the understanding that is that this commission is pretty stretched

47:11with its current footprint. You know, it's current areas and responsibilities and rates and so forth.

47:18That I think that whatever, whatever, whatever city can do to increase,

47:34and I say this, it seems not that it's sort of the right word, but it's not the right word to, to

47:43increase the standing in the community of our veterans. I think we'll make Stanford a stronger

47:57and we'll, you know, these days when there are so many things that are pulling us apart. I'm not

48:11talking about Stanford specifically, but, you know, but generally throughout American society.

48:20This is an opportunity. That's an opportunity to bring recognition and esteem to our veterans

48:25community that can pull us together. You know, and just anything that the commission can do in

48:32that, in that regard, I think would be valuable. Yeah, thank you for serving. I was just wondering

48:51what types of things or ideas you have for bringing more people out, you know, to events,

48:56to the commission, things like that. That's a great question. I, I have to see kind of what's

49:05currently done, I suppose. I think, you know, maybe getting the word out more within the

49:11schools or kind of standardizing kind of the communication, communications throughout the

49:16schools and kind of, you know, parents. Ideas I have or that I want to, after kind of observing

49:25for a while, are to bring more younger and more diverse veterans, you know, and finding out who

49:33those are in our community. And I have attended the grades, you know, as my kids have played in

49:37the band, in the bands, but, and I've just noticed, you know, we're always honoring as we should,

49:44you know, kind of older men in their 70s and 80s. And I want kids in the community to see that a

49:51veteran can look like myself as well. So that's kind of something that was top of mind for me,

49:57even before considering, even before knowing about this commission. That's a great idea.

50:02Thank you. That's all. We really appreciate you stepping up for the role. And thank you so much.

50:14Nice to meet you. Your time. Okay, item number six, Alpha 32.073 for the Stanford Gulf Authority.

50:23Michael Miller. Do you have Michael Miller? I don't think we do. Okay, I guess Michael Miller,

50:31you'll make a note that we will reschedule him. If, I guess, Christina would make a note of that,

50:40Michael Miller, we've got to reschedule. Or maybe you'll come along.

50:49In which case, item number seven, Stanford Gulf Authority, Duffy Sasser. Reemployment,

50:54who was last appointed December 5th, 2022, is that right? Correct. Correct. So expiring

51:00December 1st, 2028. How's it going? Great. Honestly, some of the personnel commission,

51:08as you can see, I'm slightly out of my depth, can ask the people further questions about that.

51:15Especially Stirling Farms, which is a very cool place.

51:20I presume you're a lifetime golfer. You love Stirling Farms and you love...

51:24You know, I'm not a lifetime golfer, but I enjoy the game and I love the property.

51:32And I think that what Stirling Farms brings, we're very fortunate in the city of Stanford

51:37that we have two public golf courses. We have a beach, we've got a vibrant restaurant and

51:45bar scene for people. And all of that makes our people in a great school system. And that makes,

51:51and a lot of other things. And that just adds to the value of this city. And that's,

51:59I enjoy the game, I enjoy the, I don't get to play enough, but I really enjoy it. And that mattered

52:08to me when there was an opportunity to join the board was I wanted to make sure that we could

52:12preserve this beautiful property so that families could enjoy it for another hundred years.

52:20So I've learned an awful lot, but I bring a lot to the table. I don't need to know how to,

52:26I don't have to be a great golfer to sit on board because there's a lot of capital projects,

52:31capital improvement projects, and a lot of machinery and infrastructure that goes into

52:36running a facility like that. And that, that I can understand. And that's where I feel that I've

52:44added a bit of value to the overall organization. So I was, I go running with a chap called Mike

52:53Mannequin. Is that how you say his name? Mannequin? I think he's another one of the members of all

53:00members on the Sterling Farms. Mike, is that right? I don't know Mannequin, no. I was just

53:06pulling up his name here. Mannequin? I think he is. Manjarian? Okay, not on the board. So

53:14is he just a member of Sterling Farms? Probably, yeah. He could be a member of one of the clubs

53:19within Sterling. Okay. Because I was talking to, I was talking to Ryan extensively about,

53:23about Sterling Farms. I think he has some connections to them somehow. He could be on

53:27the Penn's Club or one of those. Yeah, it could be. And he was saying that the, the, the biggest

53:32issues for him as a sort of, I guess, a key player slash like slightly invested member.

53:37Booking, obviously is a perennial issue. Sure. And also potentially our lack of reciprocity of

53:43the clubs in the area, which could be something which potentially can add a large value to our

53:47course. In fact, we have, we have no reciprocity with Sterling Farms and other courses that you

53:53might want to play in the area. And that potentially is something that we have seen

53:56other courses offer in the sort of... Well, we offer such an incredible value at Sterling

54:01Farms. It's difficult to offer that because our rates tend to be much lower than what's around us.

54:12However, the booking issue, we just approved at our last meeting a software, a new software,

54:22which will allow the golfer to, rather than the archaic software that we've been using forever,

54:29they'll be able to, it's more of an app base. It's going to be much easier to book a tee time.

54:35The nice thing about Sterling is we have quite a few people that want to play there. And I think

54:43if Stanford had a third golf course, it would probably fill that as well. But you know, we

54:49have a lot of people that want to play. It's very competitive for folks that especially want to get

54:55up and play at 6am because they can get out there and play, you know, an early morning round and

55:01then have the rest of the day free. And so those early morning tee times are are highly sought

55:06after. But now we're going to have software in place that's going to allow people to not only

55:10book a little bit easier, it's more friendly, but should somebody have to drop out, we'll be able

55:18to backfill those tee times easier. People get on a waiting list and get an alert on their phone

55:24so they can say, okay, I'm available from two to four tomorrow. If anything opens up, then they'll

55:30have, you know, they'll get an alert and they'll be able to jump on that time. Where now you

55:35constantly have to log into a website. Yeah. So it's going to be a little easier. And that's

55:40the reason why we share it with Brendan. Well, we've offered it to Brendan. I think they want

55:45to see how it works out for us first, and then they'll take a look at it. But I don't think

55:50Brendan is ready to make that move yet. Brendan offers a different booking system. But it's okay.

55:59We don't have a shared system now. I know. So yeah. One day I think that would be very

56:03cool, but difficult to do. It would be fine. But you know, if they wanted to go to that system,

56:09it would make sense. But I think they want to see how it rolls out for us. And then they can

56:13take a look at it later, you know, maybe for next year. Yeah. But there's a lot of work there.

56:20And we have a long, long list of capital projects that we're working on to constantly improve

56:28the course and the systems that have to support the golf course.

56:38Yeah. It's been great. It's been great. We should play a little more golf, but that's okay.

56:44It comes in time. Unfortunately, you know, as a board member, you can't even get around.

56:53I mean, it's like, it's very difficult. I understand how the book is together. Book

56:59a time over there, especially early morning times, but afternoons are easier than this.

57:03And that's what you get pulled out. I'm not complaining about that at all.

57:06I think it was Rep. Camperley for us? Yeah, go ahead, Rep. Camperley.

57:09Thank you, Chair. And thank you for serving. I have two questions for you. The first one is that

57:18recently, Representative Weinberg and I did a little tour of Sterling Farms. We had to meet

57:25with them for certain things. And one of the things that I noticed when I was there is that

57:30the property, which is incredibly beautiful and is actually in my district,

57:36has a number of historic buildings. Like it had a milk barn, which I think you guys are

57:43keeping your supplies, you know, lawn equipment, things like that. And I noticed some of the

57:51buildings are a little bit like shabby and disarray. And just now, when I heard you talk about,

57:57you know, advocating for funding for different things, one of the things that I didn't hear you

58:03talk about were the buildings. And in part, I'm not really even sure how that works. Is that on

58:10the city or is that on you? It's an interesting question you have there. And it is a challenge

58:18because, one, yes, the Sterling Farms is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance

58:27of the buildings on the property. However, at the same time, we're also responsible for making

58:34sure that we're not charging an exorbitant rate to the golfer in order to manage every single

58:43project that goes on there. And as you can imagine, just for, I'll give you an example,

58:49just to replace the primary irrigation pump, which we did a few years ago, about two years ago,

58:56that was $350,000 for a pump that nobody will ever see. And you know what I mean? And that's

59:04just one little piece. We definitely are making improvements as we go along. You know, we just

59:11redid the main staircase up to the main building where people come up and, you know, can participate

59:19in meetings or they may come up to the main building that was just redone. So we have a

59:27long list of capital projects that will take us through eternity, really, to tackle all of them.

59:34And those buildings are certainly on the list, but irrigation improvements, drainage improvements,

59:44you know, golf, playability. I understand that you have a lot. My concern is for those buildings.

59:53So let me ask you a question. Have any of you thought about connecting me?

1:00:00We would love it if there was a way to garner additional funding to put back into those buildings. That would be fantastic.

1:00:32And I think the board would be very open to that idea.

1:00:38I mean, I would appreciate it. And I think this board would appreciate it if maybe you connected with HPAC.

1:00:43And if it's not them, maybe they could connect you with other organizations.

1:00:47I don't know enough about how all the different boards and commissions work to know where to send you.

1:00:53But it just kills me when this city, and I've seen it in the past, you know, we have these historic buildings and they just fall apart.

1:01:02Like the Carriage House at Portland Park. I mean, that thing was from like the 1700s.

1:01:09And it just administration after administration just put it at the bottom of the list and then it fell apart and then it had to be torn down.

1:01:16You know, and you guys are the stewards of this amazing property with this historic thing. I'm not picking on you in any way.

1:01:24I know you're juggling a lot of different things. But if you could just put that in your head, I appreciate it.

1:01:31And I know the board would. And then the second thing is that, you know, golf courses are known not to be the most environmentally friendly things.

1:01:42And so as the comprehensive plan rolls out and as times change and, you know, we realize that we have to be more environmentally conscious, I'm wondering if you guys are thinking about water consumption and and tree management, like having more trees on the property

1:02:01even getting pollinator pathway in there, too. I've seen that you've done a lot of plantings in the last couple of years and that makes me so happy. I think it's amazing.

1:02:13Right. But I was just wondering along those lines, since that's part of.

1:02:16We're very cognizant of all of that. We try to really take care of that property in terms of making sure that if a tree has to come down, I mean, we're bringing in the tree warden.

1:02:32There's a hope we we're not just recklessly taking anything down. That's for sure. We're not removing trees to improve playability on the golf course.

1:02:42We would only remove something that might pose a safety issue or maybe a tree that is, you know, and that would be upon approval of the tree warden, not.

1:02:53And then and then we've had and then that I think that process also goes out to the local residents and they can also weigh in on whether or not that tree comes down has to get marked.

1:03:06So we really don't take down many. And I know that we have a firm that we've hired in that has done an amazing job just trying to make sure that we're planting flowers and keeping it, you know, just just to try and improve the overall look

1:03:26of the course itself, you know, as far as other ideas go, we're open to anything.

1:03:31It's just a matter of what can the course fund without raising rates because that's something we're very proud of is the fact that we can offer someone a Stanford resident four hours.

1:03:51Where else can you spend four hours at an average rate of about $10 an hour? You know, I can't do anything in my egg.

1:04:02I challenge anybody to try and find something that you can do for four hours for $40, $42 and spend that kind of time with, you know, loved ones or business partners or, you know, your high school team or whatever the case may be.

1:04:22It is an incredible value. And for our seniors, we've really held the price down $26. And for our juniors, it's $26 to play out there.

1:04:36And that is, you know, that's incredible. We can certainly do more to maintain, you know, some of those older buildings and things like that.

1:04:47But it comes at a cost. And I don't want to, you know, we don't want to prematurely jack the rates or increase rates where we don't have to because you know, do you guys look for grants or is that strictly a city thing?

1:05:03We don't have somebody on staff currently that is going out for grants. That is, I don't even know how we would begin to go out and get that.

1:05:18I'm open to that because we certainly as board members could take that on and try and find out if there are grants available.

1:05:26Or maybe you could just connect with the grant office and just tell them about some of the capital things that you'd like for them to fund.

1:05:35Maybe explain to them that you'd like to plant more trees. You'd like to have some groves and pollinator pathways.

1:05:43Maybe they can help you get some grant money. I understand the constraints. Believe me, it's not lost on me what you're trying to manage. That's a lot of land.

1:05:52It's a lot of grass. Not easy to maintain. Water is expensive. I swear to God, I get it. But I was just saying, maybe the authority could just think a little out of the box for those some of those long term things that I think are really important to the community.

1:06:09Preserving our history and also sustainability. Maybe the grants office can help. Maybe HPAC can help.

1:06:19That was all I wanted to say. I really appreciate you serving the city and I love that golf course. I am not a golfer myself, but I do attend some of the shows and things there.

1:06:29And the restaurant is wonderful and it's a beautiful place for the community to have. And I'm very grateful for your service. Thank you. Chair, I yield.

1:06:38Agreed. Do you have a question? Ok, go ahead.

1:06:44Thank you, Chair. I have a quick question. There's been some articles, and actually one of them is in a journal, one of the American Medical Society journals saying round up in golf courses may exacerbate or even cause, in some cases, Parkinson's disease.

1:06:59Do we use round up on this golf course or are you familiar with those studies?

1:07:03I have heard that. I am not familiar with what sort of, I don't believe that we are using round up specifically because that is a really powerful herbicide.

1:07:15I'm using the right term. I don't know about that because round up kills anything that it touches.

1:07:23And we certainly wouldn't want to be spraying something on a golf course that's going to affect the grass itself, which is the most important aspect of the golf course.

1:07:35So we're not going to put a chemical like that on the ground. To speak about some of the other fertilizers and things like that, I would have to defer that and I'd have to get back to you and I'd have to talk to the superintendent.

1:07:49Okay, well thank you. I yield. I think on that topic, there are some quite strong protections in the state we can ever get around, fly for say, using round up.

1:08:01I think it's not allowed on golf courses. I think it might be allowed in certain scenarios, but it's definitely not like Connecticut as an old band on a state level.

1:08:11Yeah, I know that it's almost a product that they want to band all together.

1:08:19Do you have a question?

1:08:25In sort of defensive round up, it is the one thing that will kill poison ivings.

1:08:31But that's something that it's very focused just on that plant.

1:08:41Where to use, you know, on a broadcast basis is typically where, you know, the crop fields where the crops have been genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate.

1:08:59But that's probably the case for, you know.

1:09:04Yeah, I don't think they're using that at all. But obviously it sounds like they're allowed to anyone. So I'm happy to hear it.

1:09:13Karen, do you have a second question? Do you have any?

1:09:16Yes, to gentlemen and also Representative Brantford. I know that we banned pesticides in 2021 as a board, but the municipal golf courses were exempt.

1:09:29And so I would love to know the answer to that question, what we're using on the golf course, if you wouldn't mind getting back to us on that.

1:09:39Certainly, I know that we can, I'm sure we have a list of whatever we're using out there to promote the grass growth.

1:09:48We can get that back to you.

1:09:50I appreciate that. Thank you.

1:09:55Okay, so we go.

1:09:57Yeah.

1:09:58Could you assess the quality of relationships with the neighbors?

1:10:06What goes, what's going well, and what you think are opportunities for?

1:10:12Well, I think we've tried very hard to put up netting and work, just be just a really good neighbor to the neighbors that border the golf course and surround the golf course.

1:10:25In terms of netting, in terms of trying our very best to keep debris or keep drainage open.

1:10:33I know that that was that massive storm that we had recently where we had six inches of rain in a very short amount of time.

1:10:40No irrigation system, not irrigation, no drainage system across the city was ever designed to handle that amount of water.

1:10:49So I understand that there's, you know, there are a couple of neighbors that felt, you know, that live downhill from the golf course that felt that, you know, that was a challenge.

1:11:00So we're making every effort to look into maybe as we do course improvements building in swales or, you know, ways that maybe we might be able to potentially ever any other water that, you know, that might happen.

1:11:20We can't control. There's nothing, nothing in the city of Stanford is built to handle six inches of rain in, you know, in that short amount of time.

1:11:30I know that it's also been a challenge with the new noise ordinance and the backpack or ordinance and things like that.

1:11:37I mean, we're running a golf course that starts where, you know, the customer is out there at six o'clock in the morning and we have to prepare the facility for the customer and their safety things that we have to deal with.

1:11:51And so we have to get out there and those those employees are out there early trying to prepare the customer so when they come out there, they can enjoy the product that we expect to deliver.

1:12:04And that's a challenge and some of the new technology that is out there that I understand that we want to promote in terms of battery power equipment is and we've tested the best of what's out there and it's just not adequate at this time.

1:12:21Maybe in the future it will be and it's a real challenge during especially during leaf season to try and clear the golf course, clear the greens of leaves because we have trees that we want to keep on the golf course to prepare for that customer that wants to come out and enjoy a good round of golf.

1:12:42You can't play golf when you have leaves all over the greens and we have to clear that so that they, you know, we don't want to cut trees down and so we're kind of caught and we want to work with good technology, but when we have to send a cartload of batteries out and we're constantly changing batteries and slowing down the operation of trying to keep, you know, prepare the golf.

1:13:07It just leaf season is a big challenge and we're trying our best to try and find solutions to work within the guidelines that the city has put forward.

1:13:16So it's not easy and it's expensive.

1:13:21So there's ego batteries and they're not great.

1:13:26It's a big concern of mine as a fireman that, you know, I'm very worried about this because we've got a lot of fires and it's lithium ion batteries because somebody doesn't realize that they're buying a non-golf battery.

1:13:41Because that battery is $80 when the real one is 280, you know, and I'm very worried about that. So, okay.

1:13:56Any further questions for Mr. Sasson? Okay, thank you so much.

1:14:01Thank you. Try and get you back that information.

1:14:03Thank you. Thank you.

1:14:05And finally, thank you for being so patient.

1:14:11Item number is actually, we made pretty good time today, so we're actually doing better than usual. Out of 32.075, you'll be sure to point that out to Steve.

1:14:21But there's only Board of Appeals. It's Isabella Carillo, who's replacing Ms. Nikai, tele-experiencing in the first 2020.

1:14:31Thank you so much for being here and stepping up for the role.

1:14:35Thank you for having me.

1:14:36No, no. What drew you to the role? Were you offered by the mayor's office or?

1:14:41Yeah, the mayor reached out for this specific role, but I found it interesting specifically because I'm not an engineer, not a lawyer.

1:14:49So, like, the role is not necessarily, like, exactly what you would expect me to be, to fill this role.

1:14:55But I am a tax accountant who follows certain guidance specifically around what we refer to as ASE 740, and that rule will govern my job.

1:15:05Similar to the 740 appeals. And so similarly, like, I would have to go to that guidance and specifically say, what am I supposed to do?

1:15:14What am I allowed to do within that guideline? So, you're just enforcing the book. It's the bible of zoning and stuff.

1:15:23And the CBA is such an important commission we have, and I think it's such a dark house, as we've learned from the zoning board and the zoning board appeals.

1:15:31Zoning is a real, it drives everything that happens, and I think it's so important and so critical.

1:15:37And these appeals, which will come to you and truly hear about, are usually extremely, you know, a toss-up unit could go either way.

1:15:46They're usually extremely difficult, challenging situations, which have merit on both sides.

1:15:50It's up to you to follow the book and do that. So, I hope you're excited for a very interesting role.

1:15:56And yeah, what do you hope to learn on the board?

1:16:02Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because I looked at previous, like, type of cases that came, you know, like someone wants to move the fence, or they want to go to the pool, or whatever it might be.

1:16:15And what I would love to kind of, obviously in the first few months, it's all about listening, like everyone says.

1:16:21Not listening, hearing how everyone else is doing, making sure that, like, you're following all the other, the guidelines that all the other folks are following.

1:16:29But, like, what questions would they be asking, right? Because in the first few months, I'll probably have no clue exactly which questions to ask.

1:16:40So, I'm hoping to learn from my fellow peers, like, what exactly, what kind of evidence are they looking for? What kind of support would they like to get from either the residents or the commercial individuals in order to make sure that they're following the guidelines?

1:17:01In order to be able to say, yes, this is within the guidelines, what support do they need to have in order to be able to make that decision?

1:17:08So, I'd like to learn that, right? Because, obviously, there's a book, but there's always grey area.

1:17:12And so, how do they get comfortable within that grade? That's what I'd like to learn.

1:17:16Well, I think that ZBA operates exclusively in the grey area, I think, as we've learned.

1:17:23And I think, you know, the ultimate seat is a great thing that you get to learn, and it seems, from my, from my, you know, watching this commission, where we appoint people, you won't be able to do that.

1:17:35It does cycle fairly quickly, I think, you know, probably, it doesn't pay to be that long.

1:17:43Yeah. Any questions from you, Robert?

1:17:46Yeah, thank you. So, I think as a good, first of all, I think your experience at E&Y, I'm a retired PwC Mark.

1:17:59Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you're a landlord at your landlord's request review.

1:18:04So, your E&Y experience will actually be very valuable, but it's less going to be your ability to understand the rules and how to follow the rules.

1:18:25It's going to be your ability to, to balance competing interests, and your ability to explain things that people may not wish to hear, which you probably do on a daily basis.

1:19:03So, for example, the Zoning Board of Appeals is constantly faced with adjudicating the competing interests of the property owner and the neighbors.

1:19:26So, how will you use your consulting experience, which I appreciate is technically based, but it's still consulting, how will you use your consulting experience to balance those competing interests?

1:19:51Yeah, and I think in that, I always kind of just go back to what I refer to as the Bible or the rule block, right? So, it's not necessarily whose writer, like, emotionally who you're more attached to, or whether or not the neighbor cries the loudest, or whether or not the owner cries the loudest.

1:20:11It's really kind of going back to the rule block and going back and saying, "Okay, well, what is the guidance telling? What is the, what are the rules saying? And, you know, what are we, how are we following it?"

1:20:27So, you know, to your point, like the consulting aspect, I mean, it's like, nicely and gently kind of referring back and saying, "Well, the rules aren't as follows. Can you help me get back to that?"

1:20:40Like, so take the emotion out of it, and let's go back to what is in the back and right, and how are we following it, and what hardships that are not emotional hardships are you facing, then you're not able to follow those rules.

1:20:55Okay, okay. That's what you're going to, you'll find are the challenges on the, on that, on that board.

1:21:05Last but not least, people, you have on both sides, you have people who, it's my property and I want to do what I want to do. And, and you have neighbor, you know, people in the neighborhood who say it's our neighborhood and we want it the way it is.

1:21:34And regardless of what your, you know, what your property interests are, and it's trying to navigate those often conflicting interests that are the big challenges on the board.

1:21:49Good luck.

1:21:51Time to speak to you.

1:21:54And it's a hell of a process, so you can get to your, to get to the ZBA is a hell of a long process.

1:21:58Yeah.

1:21:59So, they've been, they've been on a mission, you know, to get this change or this exception, you know, as people have really tried.

1:22:06Yeah, I know a number of my friends who've been building in the Stanford area takes a while to go through.

1:22:16And it's nerve wracking. I remember one before the ZBA, I mean, this evil was three and Max was one and they're now in their 30s, so it's all done.

1:22:32And, you know, fortunately, you know, our neighbors were in need to care.

1:22:43But what we were doing was clearly outside the rules and we had to explain the hardship, which we were able to do successfully but we were, we were very nervous going before the board.

1:23:02And one of the things that really helped was the members of the board at the time really, really listening and making an effort to understand the hardships, which in our case, we couldn't do anything without coming within 10 feet of the property line.

1:23:25Yeah.

1:23:26Because the setting of our house. Yeah, you know, so it is really the that's what it was their sensitivity to our nervousness that really needed to be a pretty nice experience.

1:23:46Yeah.

1:23:48I do find it interesting because I do feel like after COVID, a number of folks have moved from New York, New York City to Stanford, I assume.

1:24:04And so I'm sure a number of folks from New York City are trying to make changes with your things that, you know, folks who have been in Stanford for many years would not necessarily approve of.

1:24:18But I can see that the ZBA could probably has a lot more cases since COVID, since we've had a lot number of folks from New York City that have moved through now have a lot of changes that they'd like to make to the property that are not necessarily within the guidance.

1:24:34Think of what it's like to go before an IRS auditor and then finding you have one that's willing to listen. Yeah.

1:24:42Not that I know that's not what you do, but you understand.

1:24:48Cool. Any further questions from the Zoom call?

1:24:53I don't think we're all good. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for stepping up. We really, really appreciate it.

1:25:12Okay, so let's move on to the vote portion of tonight's meeting.

1:25:19If you can unmute any members, that would be fantastic.

1:25:24Let's begin. So, I propose to approve item number 1 after 32.06 Mr. Morris for the Zoning Board. Do I have a second?

1:25:36I move.

1:25:38Do I have a second? Second.

1:25:39Any discussion? Okay, moving this forward to the voice vote. All those in favor of approving Ms. Morris for the Zoning Board, say aye.

1:25:47Aye.

1:25:49Any against? Any abstentions? I think there are six of us. That should be six zeroes in.

1:25:55It might be us, Lori and Candice. Yeah, Lori and Candice, can you unmute if possible? I have a second.

1:26:02Sorry, it's your second account.

1:26:04Apologies, you're up there. For some reason, you're up there twice.

1:26:07I got two phones going. Double the phone. Okay, I think we're going to say that's 600. Okay, item number 2, alpha 32.069, I propose to approve Isabelle Bernard for the Personnel Commission.

1:26:24So moved.

1:26:26And a second. Second.

1:26:29Any discussion? Okay, hearing none, move this to voice vote. All those in favor of Isabelle Bernard for the Personnel Commission, say aye.

1:26:39Aye.

1:26:43Any against? Any abstentions? Okay, item pass, 600.

1:26:50Item number 3, alpha 32.070 for the Personnel Commission is to Edelberg. I propose to approve Ms. Edelberg.

1:26:58So moved.

1:26:59Second.

1:27:00Second.

1:27:01Any discussion? Okay, hearing none, all those in favor, say aye.

1:27:06Aye.

1:27:07Any against? Any abstentions? Motion passes.

1:27:13Item number 4, alpha 32.071 for the Personnel Commission is Susan Johnson. I propose to approve Ms. Johnson.

1:27:23So moved.

1:27:24And a second.

1:27:25Any discussion on Ms. Johnson?

1:27:30Hearing none, move to voice vote. All those in favor of Susan Johnson for the Personnel Commission, please say aye.

1:27:35Aye.

1:27:36Aye.

1:27:37Any against? Any abstentions? Motion passes, 600.

1:27:43Item number 5, alpha 32.072 for the Metropolitan Special Events Commission, Melissa Faye, I propose to approve Ms. Faye.

1:27:50Some moved.

1:27:54Some moved.

1:27:55And a second.

1:27:56Second.

1:27:58Any discussion on Melissa Faye for the Metropolitan Special Events Commission?

1:28:02Hearing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

1:28:07Aye.

1:28:08Any against? Any abstentions? Motion passes, 600.

1:28:15We did not interview Mr. Miller, so moving on to item number 7, alpha 32.074 for the Standard Golf Authority, it's Duffy Sasser.

1:28:25I propose to approve Mr. Sasser.

1:28:28Some moved.

1:28:29And a second.

1:28:30Second.

1:28:32Any discussion on Mr. Sasser?

1:28:33Hearing none, all those in favor of approving Mr. Sasser for the Golf Authority, please say aye.

1:28:40Aye.

1:28:40Any against? Any abstentions?

1:28:45Motion passes, 600.

1:28:50Item number 8, alpha 32.075 for the Zoning Board of Appeals alternate, Isabella Perillo, I propose to approve Ms. Perillo.

1:28:59Some moved.

1:29:00And a second.

1:29:01Second.

1:29:03Any discussion on Ms. Perillo for the DBA?

1:29:06Hearing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

1:29:11Aye.

1:29:12Any against? Any abstentions?

1:29:17No, motion passes, 600.

1:29:19And finally, item number 9, alpha 32.076 for the Zoning Board of Appeals, it's Mr. Nikai, who you may recall we interviewed in July.

1:29:29So we haven't interviewed him again today, but he has now been promoted from his ultimate seat to a full seat on the ZBA.

1:29:36So he will recall Mr. Nikai.

1:29:38He was a lovely guy.

1:29:39Some moved.

1:29:40Exactly.

1:29:42Thank you so much.

1:29:43And a second for Mr. Nikai.

1:29:44Second.

1:29:45Wonderful.

1:29:46All those in favor of promoting Mr. Nikai to the full seat on the ZBA, please say aye.

1:29:49Aye.

1:29:50Aye.

1:29:51Aye.

1:29:53Any against?

1:29:54Any abstentions?

1:29:55Motion passes, 600.

1:29:57That concludes the vote.

1:29:59And I propose to adjourn the meeting at 8 0 1 p.m.

1:30:03Do I have a second?

1:30:06Second.

1:30:08A second.

1:30:09The meeting is adjourned at 8 0 1 p.m.

1:30:11Thank you so much, everyone, for your time.

1:30:13Have a great evening.

1:30:15Thank you.

1:30:16Thank you.

1:30:17Thank you.