City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Special Meeting Minutes December 10, 2024 This was both a physical meeting location and a virtual meeting. Meeting was viewable live via YouTube at www,youtube.com/cityofoakharbor, on Facebook, and on Cable Channel 10/HD 1090 following the meeting CALL TO ORDER Mayor Wright called the special meeting for the City of Oak Harbor to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL City Council Present: City Staff Present Mayor Ronnie Wright City Administrator Sabrina Combs Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon Deputy City Administrator David Goldman Councilmember Jim Woessner Police Chief Tony Slowik Councilmember Bryan Stucky Fire Chief Travis Anderson Councilmember Eric Marshall Communications Officer Magi Aguilar Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein Executive Services Coordinator Macalle Finkle Councilmember Barbara Armes City Clerk Julie Nester Also in attendance: City Attorney Hillary Evans of Kenyon Disend, PLLC MAYOR Mayor Wright called the meeting to order and noted the purpose of the special meeting was to for the Council to review the applications received for the vacated City Council Position No. 5, and to determine a short list of applicants they wish to interview at the December 17, 2024 regular meeting. The City received seven applications, and greatly appreciate those who have taken part in this process two of whom were in attendance. The vacancy stems from the resignation of Councilmember Shane Hoffmire, effective November 30, 2024. The Council has 90 days to appoint an Oak Harbor resident of at least one year who is a regis- tered voter in Oak Harbor to fill the vacated position. The person appointed by the Council will serve until the General Election is certified in November 2025. Applications for Position No. 5 were due to the City Clerk by 4:30 p.m. on December 5, 2024, and all applicants have been confirmed to meet residency and voter registration requirements. The City received seven applications for the vacant position: Meredith Acosta James Croft Special Meeting Minutes December 10, 2024 Page 1 of 3 Andrea Lentz James P. Marrow Sandra “Sandi” Peterson Earl “Andy” Plumlee Tiffany M. Scribner Prior to turning the meeting over to the Council for their discussion, Mayor Wright thanked everyone who took the time to attend the recent community conversation about Spin Café. The City was requested to facilitate holding a meeting about this topic, due to community concerns. Mayor Wright noted the City moved the venue from City Hall to the First United Methodist Church to accommodate the number of people who attended. He thanked the Church for hosting, and offered many thanks as well to the Moderator, Stephanie Smith, who did a terrific job. Mayor Wright also thanked Police Chief Slowik for speaking on behalf of the City and addressing law enforcement related questions and statistics. Mayor Wright stressed this is an important issue in our community, and he encouraged everyone to be involved. He stated he had asked his staff to reach out to begin the process of establishing a Homeless Coalition “Pathways to Stability” Task Force because of the need to continue discussion of this topic in our community and work towards resolution or continual improvement. Mayor Wright noted he had al- ready identified individuals that are actively involved in this topic locally. Creation of a Short List for Interviews Mayor Wright turned to the Council for their review and discussion, if any, of the seven applicants, and a determination of how many they wished to interview on December 17th. The Council approved the schedule and procedure for the appointment of an applicant to fill the Position No. 5 vacancy at the November 19th Council meeting, noting their preference to have the vacancy filled in time for the start of the new year. The notice for applications was published in the November 23rd, 27th, 30th, and December 4th editions of the Whidbey News-Times, and on the City’s website. Mayor Wright explained that following the determination of the number of interviews the Council wants to conduct, he would poll the Council as to their selections for those interviews. The applicants receiving the highest number of votes will advance. After discussion, and clarification by the City Clerk of past practices for filling Council vacancies, the Council determined they would interview four applicants. All Councilmembers provided their top four list of applicants to the City Clerk. The top four vote recipients were James Croft, who received five votes, James P. Marrow, who received six votes. Sandra “Sandi” Peterson, who received two votes. Tiffany Scribner, who received five votes. The other three applicants received no votes. Motion: Councilmember Marshall moved to move forward with the top four applicants, seconded by Councilmember Wiegenstein. The vote on the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Wright called upon the Council for any additional comments. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon and Councilmember Stucky provided their respective questions and comments. Special Meeting Minutes December 10, 2024 Page 2 of 3 The Council thanked all of the applicants for their interest in serving on the Council. They encouraged participation on City Boards and Commissions, some of which have openings. ADJOURN There being no other business, Mayor Wright called for a motion to adjourn. Motion: Councilmember Wiegenstein moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilmember Stucky. The vote on the motion passed unanimously and the special meeting adjourned at 5:43 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Special Meeting Minutes December 10, 2024 Page 3 of 3