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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2012-12-22 InterviewWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22,2012 9:00 a.m. 1. Call to Order: Time: 9:01 a.m. 2. Roll Call. Present: Councilmembers Addiego and Garbarino, Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. Absent: None, 3. Agenda Review, None. 4. Public Comments — comments are limited to items on the Special Meeting Agenda. None. 5. Council Appointment Interviews- interview schedule was determined by random order drawing conducted by the Office of City Clerk and witnessed by Executive Assistant to the City Manager Donna Ochoa. 9:00 am.: William Lock 9:30 a.m.: Rhonda Marie Ceccato 10:00 a.m.: Pradeep C. Gupta Recess: 10:27 p.m. Meeting resumed: 10:32 p.m. 10: 30 a.m.: Nakshin Shah 11:00 a.m.: Mark H. Nagales 11:30 a.m.: Alan N. Wong 12:00 p.m.: John Harry Prouty, Jr. Council interviewed the applicants identified above. MINUTES 0 SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM 400 GRAND AVENUE SOUTI-1 SAN FRANCISCO WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22,2012 9:00 a.m. 1. Call to Order: Time: 9:01 a.m. 2. Roll Call. Present: Councilmembers Addiego and Garbarino, Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. Absent: None, 3. Agenda Review, None. 4. Public Comments — comments are limited to items on the Special Meeting Agenda. None. 5. Council Appointment Interviews- interview schedule was determined by random order drawing conducted by the Office of City Clerk and witnessed by Executive Assistant to the City Manager Donna Ochoa. 9:00 am.: William Lock 9:30 a.m.: Rhonda Marie Ceccato 10:00 a.m.: Pradeep C. Gupta Recess: 10:27 p.m. Meeting resumed: 10:32 p.m. 10: 30 a.m.: Nakshin Shah 11:00 a.m.: Mark H. Nagales 11:30 a.m.: Alan N. Wong 12:00 p.m.: John Harry Prouty, Jr. Council interviewed the applicants identified above. Recess: 12:20 p.m. Meeting resumed: 12:41 p.m. 6. Discussion and deters-nination of process for filling vacant City Council seat including: 1) Resolution appointing an applicant to fill the vacant City Council seat for the remainder of the term to expire November 3, 2015; item to include discussion of applicants and balloting; or 2) Resolution appointing an applicant to fill the vacant City Council seat for an interim term to expire November 5, 2013; item to include discussion of applicants and balloting; and Resolution setting a Special Election to be consolidated with the November 5, 2013 Municipal Election to elect a Councilmember for the remainder of the term to expire November 3, 2015; or 3) Resolution setting a Special Election to be consolidated with the November 5, 2013 Municipal Election to elect a Councilmember for the remainder of the term to expire November 3, 2015. Prior to discussion of the above listed options, Mayor Gonzalez suggested appointing someone fi-om outside the applicant pool to the vacant seat for a term to expire when the results of a November 2013 Special Election were finalized. He expressed a preference for appointing someone like former City Councilman and California State Assemblyman Gene Mullin, because he was familiar with the position and was unlikely to run again. City Attorney Mattas advised that any appointee to the position could not be prohibited from running for the seat in an election. Council determined that if an appointment was to be made, it would be made from amongst the 13 applicants for the position. Councilmembers discussed the high quality of applications before them and agreed that the leading applicants fell into two general categories, those with experience and those that might be described as "up and comers." They discussed the need to appoint an applicant who would come up to speed quickly, especially given that the person might need to run within the year if a Special Election was set for November, 2013. Councilmembers then culled the list with the following applicants being identified as contenders for an appointment: Rhonda Ceecato Dr. Pradeep Gupta Arnel Gutierrez Junio William Lock Carlos Martin Mark Nagales Rick Ochsenhirt Alan Wong SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 2 Councilmembers confirmed that they preferred an appointment, but were having difficulty with respect to the length of term. They agreed that their decision in this regard might be more easily made once an applicant was selected as the preferred appointee. Accordingly, Councilmembers determined to undergo the balloting process and come back to the issue of length of term once a preferred applicant was selected, City Clerk Martinelli issued the first round ballots. The results of first round voting yielded a tie with Dr. Pradeep Gupta receiving 2 votes and Rick Ochsenhirt receiving 2 votes. City Clerk Martinelli issued the second round ballots. The results of the second round of voting indicated a unanimous preference for appointment of Dr. Pradeep Gupta. Councilman Addiego and Mayor Gonzalez expressed a preference for appointing the applicant to a term that would expire upon certification of the Special Election for the seat, which they proposed to be set on the first available date of November 5, 2013. The Special Election would be consolidated with the City's General Municipal Election of the same date. Both Councilmembers wanted to put the issue to the voters at the first available opportunity, but believed a fifth member of the decision making body was needed to fill the seat until then. Councilman Garbarino and Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto expressed a preference for appointing the applicant to the remainder of the term through November 3, 2015. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto noted that she did not plan to run for reelection in 2013. She believed that much of the regional equity achieved on County and regional boards would be lost with her absence and the absence of former Councilman Mullin. She opined that appointing an applicant like Dr. Gupta that could come up to speed quickly and garner respect was critical to continuity and consistency in this regard. Accordingly, she preferred that the applicant focus on coming up to speed as a Councilmember and not be distracted by a campaign for the seat during the upcoming year. Councilman Garbarino noted he believed it to be generally unfair to the successful applicant to require an election for the seat within the year. Accordingly, he was opposed to a Special Election for the seat. At Council's request, City Attorney Mattas and City Clerk Martinelli explained the various hypothetical election scenarios depending on whether a Special Election for the seat was called for November 2013 and consolidated with the General Municipal Election. Throughout the discussion Councilmernbers could not come to a consensus on length of term and accordingly took no action with respect to filling the vacancy. Pursuant to the Municipal Code, January 2, 2013 is the deadline by which Council has to make a determination on this issue. Accordingly, it decided to hold a Special Meeting on December 31, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall to further deliberate this matter. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 3 7. Adjournment. Being no further business, Mayor Gonzalez adjourned the meeting at 2:35 p.m. Submitt d: - - - --- 'Ki,i,sta' Joy Ma tine 'C it lerk t C it I I uth San Francisco I— SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Approved: Pedro Gonzalez Mayor, City of South San Francisco DECEMBER 22, 2012 PAGE 4