Dear Mr. Lewis,  

I am in the process of familiarizing myself with the current practice of noticing appointments and the history of the Arts Commission.  

In the meantime, you indicate in your e-mail that you would be interested in submitting an application for the Arts Commission. The City Clerk accepts applications year round for all commissions and committees even if there is no current vacancy. To be appointed to a commission or committee, you must be a resident of the City of Menlo Park, unless the resolution/ordinance/by-laws of the commission/committee explicitly states otherwise. If you are resident of the City of Menlo Park and would like to submit an application for any of the commissions or committees, please feel free to do so. The application form is available on our website at http://www.menlopark.org/commissions/com_appl.pdf  

Sincerely,  

Sherry Kelly, City Clerk             

From: JimLewis@aol.com [mailto:JimLewis@aol.com] Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 1:37 PM
To: Kelly, Sherry M
Cc: Rojas, Glen; _CCIN
Subject: Arts Commission  

Hi Ms. Kelly,  

For clarification, could you explain the procedure regarding when there is a vacancy on a City Council Commission regarding when you 1) go to the city council and 2) when you don't go to the city council in order to commence advertising for new volunteers from the general public?  

For instance, it is my understanding when there is an opening on a City Council Commission due to  

1. someone resigning early before their term is up, or
2. when there is an expiration of a term

the City Clerk has the authority on their own without direction from City Council to simply advertise for new candidates. No city council action is needed to simply solicit applications in the process of trying to interest the public in volunteering.  

If that is the case, why is the Arts Commission any different? At the moment, there are 7 openings. I'm sure there are members of the general public interested in the arts, that is music, dance, paintings, sculpture, etc. and may consider submitting an application.  

As the Arts Commission is still on the books, is on the website, is on the mutli-commission application form, is in the little multi-colored brochure, etc. it doesn't entirely make sense why we aren't soliciting from the general public new applications.  

As long as the Arts Commission is on the books, I don't see why any direction is needed from the City Council. Should the Arts Commission be treated much like any other of the 8-10 Commissions that have equal statute?  

It doesn't make any sense. I guess I'm missing something. Your assistance in clarifying this would be much appreciated. I've checked with three council members, and they all seem open to the concept.  

Your comments would be most welcome. For the good of the community, I for one would love to see the Arts Commission meetings being held once again, helping to add culture, smiles, joy and fulfillment to our wonderful community in this great place known as Menlo Park.  

Thanks, Jim

It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and advice on AOL Money & Finance. <http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001> Received on Mon Mar 17 11:38:18 2008