Pleasanton arts commissioners affirm municipal code, set minimum of four meetings a year

The Pleasanton Civic Arts Commission voted on a motion to formally affirm Municipal Code chapter 2.39 as amended by ordinance 22-78 and to operate with a minimum of four meetings per year, the commission’s chair announced after a roll-call vote.

The motion, moved by Commissioner Jan Coleman Knight and seconded by Commissioner Elena Sousade, passed unanimously in a roll call that recorded aye votes from Coleman Knight, Alicia Dooley, Dana Fry, Jan Coleman Knight, Lamb, Sazade, Mary Ann Simmons and Chair Huiling Song.

Heidi Murphy, the city’s Library and Recreation Director, said the citywide budget reductions prompted a review of commission duties and meeting cadence. “We reduced our budget significantly, particularly in our department effective July 1,” Murphy said, urging commissioners to consider efficiencies including commissioner-led ad hoc subcommittees between fewer regular meetings.

Commissioners debated whether proposed code language was too vague and emphasized the need for measurable duties under the Brown Act. Jan Coleman Knight, who led the motion, argued the current ordinance provides needed clarity: “The ordinance stands,” she said, pointing to ordinance 22-78 as establishing measurable duties for acquisition, maintenance and installation of public art.

The commission’s motion also asked staff to include the first sentence from the proposed duties in the commission’s statement of function — that the commission “serve in an advisory capacity to the city council regarding city policies and programs within its scope of expertise, specifically on matters pertaining to cultural, visual, performing and public art programs, services, and policies that meet the needs of the community” — with the addition of the word “programs.”

Commissioners said quarterly meetings, plus commissioner-led ad hoc subcommittees that comply with the Brown Act (no ad hoc may include a quorum), would let the commission do deeper work while reducing staff time. Murphy told the group that meetings cost roughly $10,000 each to host when accounting for staff hours and related expenses, a number that surprised several commissioners.

The commission’s formal action reaffirms the existing municipal code and records the body’s intent to continue operating under those provisions unless and until changed by the City Council.

What happens next: staff will document the commission’s recommendation and forward feedback from tonight’s discussion — including suggested wording and the request to retain the nine current duties — to the City Council ad hoc subcommittee reviewing commission structure.