Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: April 16, 2026

Agenda Title Consideration of a motion to approve the Boards and Commissions Subcommittee’s extended recruitment recommended appointments effective immediately

Staff Contact • •

Elesha Johnson, City Clerk, City Manager’s Office John Morse, Elections Administrator, City Manager's Office

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion to approve the Boards and Commissions Subcommittee’s recommended appointments for the 2026 Boards and Commissions extended recruitment effective immediately.

Executive Summary The purpose of this item is to complete the extended 2026 boards and commissions recruitment by appointing new members to fill the remaining vacant seats on several boards and commissions. At the March 5, 2026, regular meeting, city council appointed members to fill vacancies on the city’s boards and commissions as part of the 2026 recruitment process. Because vacancies remained after the recruitment cycle, council directed the Boards and

Commissions Subcommittee to conduct a recruitment extension at their discretion and provide their appointment recommendations to Council. The Boards and Commissions Subcommittee chose to extend the recruitment period an additional 2 weeks for the following 4 Boards or Commissions:

• • • •

Boulder Junction Access District – Parking Commission (2 vacant seats) Boulder Junction Access District – Travel Demand Management Commission (2 vacant seats) Cannabis Licensing and Advisory Board (1 vacant seat) University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission (1 vacant seat)

During the recruitment extension, two vacancies arose due to resignations. The Boards and Commissions Subcommittee elected to reassess the previous pool of applicants to fill the vacancies for the following boards: • •

Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (1 vacant seat) Water Resource Advisory Board (1 vacant seat)

The Boards and Commissions Subcommittee recommendations for appointments are detailed in the analysis section of this memo.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve motion language as drafted

If the motion is approved, newly appointed board and commission members will be invited to participate in onboarding training and will immediately assume their respective appointed seats.

Deny the motion or take no If this motion is denied, existing board and action commission vacancies will remain vacant until the 2027 recruitment cycle. Refer back to staff

Council would need to identify desired next steps for staff.

City Council History City council conducts boards and commission appointments annually at a regular meeting before April as directed by city charter. For any remaining vacancies, city council defers to the Boards and Commissions Committee to plan and conduct a smaller mini-recruitment.

Analysis For this recruitment period, there were 8 open seats, and 2 new applications were received. One prior application for the Water Resource Advisory Board was reconsidered by the Boards and Commissions Subcommittee to fill a recent vacancy due to the appointed applicant not being available to serve on the board. Eight prior applications for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board were considered by the Boards and Commissions Subcommittee to fill a recent vacancy due to a resignation. Boards and commissions interviews were conducted via Zoom March 26th. Fifteen minute interviews were conducted for each candidate with one council member and one or more staff member(s) who directly support the board. The City Clerk’s team acted as zoom facilitators and provided technical support, generated links, and managed appointments. Staff liaisons and secretaries provided board specific questions to be asked of the applicant and were provided to applicants in advance. Three questions were asked of the candidate with the opportunity for the candidate to ask questions of the interviewers. Two of the three questions were updated to be board specific in nature. No applications were received for the Boulder Junction Access District Parking Commission, nor Travel Demand Commission. Following the virtual interviews, Council Boards and Commissions Committee members Mayor Pro-Tem Winer and Council Member Kaplan recommended the following applicants be appointed by City Council to fill remaining vacancies. University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission •

Ben Holland – Seat #1 - 5-year term through 3/31/2031

Parks and Recreation Advisory Board •

Dana Riess – Seat #1 - 5-year term through 3/31/2031

Water Resource Advisory Board

• Melinda Kassen – Seat #1 - 5-year term through 3/31/2031

Community Engagement The city’s Communications and Engagement Department collaborated with the City Clerk’s Office to facilitate outreach to Boulder residents by posting multiple advertisements before, during, and towards the end of recruitment on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Nextdoor. Boards and Commission staff liaisons, secretaries, and board members conducted outreach based on their specific needs.

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Attachments Attachment A – 2026 Recruitment Extension Application Packet