Planning Commission opening and reappointment

2:18:11Just wanna make a very brief announcement to the Planning Commission. Um there will be a posting probably coming out either before week's end or sometime next week for um the opening that's available on the Planning Commission. So there'll be a news release out. Uh there will be a thirty day application period um for new Planning Commission member. So just one or two.

2:18:40Okay. Well, get your question out, I have a different thing.

2:18:46I I wanna just have a discussion about this and and I wanna s before I even say anything, I want to make it abundantly clear this has nothing to do with um the reappointments that just took place. Right? I don't want you to uh Chuck, I don't want you to get mad at me because I'm just asking a question. I know. But I but that's what I'm trying to say, okay?

2:19:14Yeah.

2:19:16I'm leaving before this discussion

2:19:18takes place.

2:19:23So the my question is, what is the process that the county and our the board um is planning to follow when there is a uh term that has expired.

2:19:38I can give you the answer as of what I know today. Okay? Things change. So as of what I know today, the term the e w if a term is set to expire, I have been asked to advertise for openings with the opportunity for the board to reappoint the incumbent, of course, but I have been asked by my county administrator, again, these things can change to um Put the put it out there that there's openings

2:20:08on the planning commission.

2:20:09Several conversations I've had with county commissioners don't believe that that's the the the policy. They believe that if the incumbent commissioner w um would like to be reappointed and and the majority of the board of county commissioners uh agrees with that, then there won't be an opening Uh for people to make application.

2:20:30I can see clarification.

2:20:32So I would like to say that as a just a matter of fairness to the public. That I believe that when these

2:20:44And I'd like to see the this commission take a position on this and recommend to the Board of County Commissioners that they make that the policy. That when these positions our their term has expired, that it is opened up to the five hundred thousand plus people in Pasco County for an opportunity to serve their county. And it's a little offensive to me that when this recently happened that didn't happen. I mean what what's the point of having term limits? in the first place. I

2:21:14don't know why the staff did what they did. But I find it offensive. And as far as I'm concerned, when my term is up for if even if I uh reapply, please post it out there. You know, when I was a county commissioner It would have been wonderful if after four years we didn't open it up for everybody else to to apply, right? But they did, and that's what elections are for. I'm good with that. But I don't understand why we have a different set of rules for this board

2:21:44when we specifically said That There are term limits.

2:21:51Well I think there's ninety thousand reasons why Like we operate differently. We're not paid. uh for for one thing. And for another and for another thing. It's up to the Board of County Commissioners. It's their choice as to who they want to uh select. They can reach out to anybody they want to and pull 'em in and select 'em. They don't have to open it up to fifteen thousand people for us to review. If they want somebody else, they just go get 'em. And that's the way we've been doing it for God

2:22:21knows how long. You you if you're a county commissioner, you're paid for that position. And that's a completely different thing. You run for a s on a countywide election.

2:22:33We're talking about this decision these decisions are made by five people, the county commissioners. It's to support the actions that they take and the things that they do and that would and we're here to support them.

2:22:47Chuck all due respect the the role of the Planning Commission has changed greatly over the last several years. You don't have to tell me that. It it has changed greatly and Our county is growing and there are five hundred thousand people out there that no doubtly there are folks out there that would like to serve their their community that they may not know one of the county commissioners and therefore they may not get an opportunity to do that. But if we give them the opportunity to raise their hand and say, Yeah, I'd like

2:23:17to maybe serve the the the the county, there's no doubt in my mind there's folks out there a lot smarter and more qualified than me to sit here. I

2:23:24know they're right.

2:23:25And if and if that's the case

2:23:26and

2:23:27if that's the case then the board should have an opportunity to do So I just don't understand why w these these I get this is a volunteer position.

2:23:40No, they they don't. They don't because you you need to advertise that out for the public. for people that don't even know the county commissioners. I mean it the county commissioners are busy people. I know that. But They probably don't know fifty thousand people of the five hundred thousand. that live in this county.

2:24:02Now I I tend to disagree with uh with what you just said. I read on the county's website page that they were looking for volunteers from something first of all they're looking for somebody to help do sandbagging. They were looking for people to clean up. I saw something for uh the tourist commission. So they do advertise. It's just people are I don't want to say they're kinda like an ostrich really duck their head down in the grass uh sand, but but people do. They don't read those kinds of publications. In fact there was even something in the

2:24:32our local our paper, the the the St. Pete Times or whatever you call it now. Uh I live in a community where we have a website and people come to our C D meetings and they bitch and complain, whoops, wrong word. They complain about us not being able to provide them with the information. Yet we have a website for fifteen hundred homes. They know what it is. We publish it every single month. Go to this website. I say folks just don't some folks just don't care. I think the people on this board care well, except for maybe Chris because

2:25:02he was appointed by the school board. We cared enough to throw our name in there.

2:25:08But So

2:25:11your your your argument is is exactly what I'm trying to say. That these positions should be made available to anyone to apply. The lat the last two that were just reappointed, Chuck and the gentleman who just resigned out of shame. Well yours too. He he was both of these both of these seats Mike,

2:25:31that's not necessarily

2:25:35they were not advertised.

2:25:37I I don't exactly what you just said.

2:25:39I was appointed to you. No, but they weren't appointed.

2:25:44You don't know what

2:25:45went on there.

2:25:46They were not advertised.

2:25:47So c so can I interrupt for a second? Because I think what Denise is saying is for the current position that's vacant There is no incumbent. Well obviously. So we're gonna follow So I think she's intending to advertise that.

2:25:59Yes, I already have the I I I already have the news release written out. I'm just waiting for people to bless it and it'll be up there.

2:26:09Isn't that it's I don't think anybody has an issue with her advertising the vacant position. The issue is the incumbents. Uh and so the next incumbent when is the next incumbent due to be appointed?

2:26:22August of twenty twenty. And you have a gentleman right at the newspaper, he's gonna put it in

2:26:27his paper. Okay, so so so I think with Denise Saint, and I think we need to give her a chance to talk to the board and see what their desire is for those vac those terms when they expire. But I I don't know that we have a clear direction from the board. I mean you may have talked to one commissioner, you may have talked to a different commissioner. We I don't think that Denise has ever asked them as a body what their preference is when these terms expire. And so I think you need to let her do that. And let's I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter what you all

2:26:57think, it matters what they think. I'm not trying to be offensive, but but

2:27:01I know I understand that, but we're a recommendationary board. And and I personally would like to see us recommend to them that they open it up for applications. That's all that's all I'm asking.

2:27:12That's not a good thing.

2:27:13But that's not what happened very recently.

2:27:16Okay. So I think Denise got that thought and she'll convey that when she goes to the board, but ultimately the board has to decide how to handle this. But for the one that's vacant today There's no dispute that she's going to advertise it and so that's correct. Consistent with your concern now that's gonna be open.

2:27:31It's consistent with my concern, but I think it is not consistent

2:27:34with Mr. Grace.

2:27:38No, I mean you I thought you just said well there's ninety thousand reasons why the county commissioner should go out and find somebody of their own and put in there without advertising. I thought that

2:27:46was your argument. That's not what I said.

2:27:51Okay, so but the only immediate one we have to deal with is the vacant one. Right. And it doesn't sound like anybody disagrees, that needs to be advertised. Obviously. And so that's what Denise is trying to tell you.

2:28:01I think they all should be advertised.

2:28:02All right, but she'll get feedback from the board on that.

2:28:04Yes, absolutely. And and Commissioner Cox, in no way did we ever mean to disrespect f disrespect you.

2:28:12No, it's not that. I have no problem with r reapplying. and being subjected to uh

2:28:22Other people applying as well. I mean there's there's no doubt about that. When I was a commissioner appointing people to this board, every commissioner had appointments. Yes. And I tried to put people on here that would add some value to the board. I mean I put an engineer on here, I put a surveyor on here. Um I took out some people who were appointed because of their their strictly their um political involvement, so I got rid of them. So I think that people

2:28:52should be put on here based on qualifications. And that's all I'm trying to

2:28:57do. So I think if I could defend what just happened and I wasn't involved in it, but I think part of the reason it happened the way it did is because we just went through that process with with the five or six of you. I mean that we just did all of that. And so the re the first two appointments you got because of the way they got term the terms that created we had to have somebody have a one-year term, it it snuck up on staff. Almost immediately after you had just gone through that process. So I don't think that in Denise's defense she had a lot of time to

2:29:27re-advertise those because they got they happened to get the one-year terms. So I don't think there was any evil intent there. I think it just it was a logistical issue. I I haven't accused her of

2:29:37any intent. Okay. I haven't accused anybody of that. All I'm saying is that there ought to be a uniform way of doing it. Yeah.