Olympia receives 86 applications for 25 vacant positions on various committees

Olympia City received 86 applications for various city advisory boards, including 32 applicants for the newly-established Cultural Access Program, the city's Strategic Communications Director Kellie Braseth said during the Community Livability and Public Safety (CLPS) Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 25.

Braseth presented a table showing a list of vacancies on eight advisory boards.

• Arts Commission- two vacancies, seven applications
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)- five vacancies, twenty applicants
• Heritage Commission- two vacancies, three applicants
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC)- two vacancies, 11 applications
• Social Justice Equity Commission- one vacancy, ten applications
• Utility Advisory Commission- three vacancies, six applications
• Planning Commission- one vacancy
• Cultural Access Program (CAP) – nine vacancies, 32 applications

The vacancy in the Planning Commission opened after Commissioner Rad Cunningham announced that he is resigning.

"We were deep in our recruitment process when he announced that he was stepping off. We were not recruiting for the Planning Commission at the time. It was only in November when we figured that out," Braseth explained.

She said the city opened the recruitment process in October and ended on December 6.

Braseth noted that there are applicants who applied for multiple positions.

"Those applications are now at the individual advisory committees, and they are screening those applications to make interview recommendations for you," she told the committee members.

The recommendations are due on February 10, and the committee will start to roll in the interviews.

Cultural Access Program (CAP)

According to Braseth, there was strong interest from the community members who wanted to serve in the CAP. She said that out of 32 that submitted applications, only nine will be selected to make up the new committee.

Unlike other committees, CAP has no advisory members yet to review the applications. Braseth proposed that the CLPS might be the best reviewer for the initial interview list.

She said there was a precedent to the process when the city established the Use of Force Board. The General Government Committee, now the CLPS, reviewed the applications.

Yen Huynh, the new CLPS committee chair, wanted to involve the CAP ad hoc committee to go through the applications and screen them.

"I would ask the [committee] to consider having the ad hoc committee going through it…they have great perspectives and expertise," Huynh said.

CLPS wanted the ad hoc committee to come up with 16 names from the 32 applications. 

The CLPS will start interviewing advisory committee candidates in late February and early March.

In April, the CLPS is scheduled to interview candidates for the CAP board. In May, they will forward recommendations to the city council for approval.