Meeting Minutes January 26, 2011
Record of Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments
January 26, 2011
Page 1 Approved March 18, 2011
Meeting of the City of Janesville Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments held in the Municipal
Building first floor conference room on January 26, 2011.
Committee Members Present: Judith Detert-Moriarty, David Riemer, and Mary Willmer-Sheedy
Committee Members Absent: Ron Combs, Shena Kohler and Larry Squire
Staff Present: Rebecca Smith
Agenda Items
Roll Call
The meeting began at approximately 3:30PM with Detert-Moriarty, Riemer and Willmer-Sheedy
present. Willmer-Sheedy asked staff to contact Shena Kohler to see if she wants to continue to serve
on this committee.
Approval of December 8, 2010 meeting minutes
Detert-Moriarty motioned approval of the minutes, with a request to update the spelling of her name.
Riemer seconded the motion and the vote was 3-0-0 in favor.
Selection of recommended nominees for the following Boards, Commissions and
Committees:
Plan Commission
Smith provided a quick update on the residency question the group requested of the council. This
question went to the Council for direction on 1/24/11. Plan Commission requires residency due to
charter ordinance. With exception for the Police and Fire Commission and those boards, committees
and commissions governed by other legislation or policy statements concerning residency, the
Janesville City Council has a preference to appoint residents within the corporate city limits of the City
of Janesville to ad hoc committees, boards, standing committees, and commissions; however, non-
residents may be considered for appointment. If the Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments or
the City Manager recommends to the City Council a non-resident volunteer, information should be
shared as to why that person was selected for recommendation. The Janesville City Council requires
all members of the Police and Fire Commission to reside within the corporate city limits of the City of
Janesville. Staff will provide a report to the committee at the next meeting and will offer a table
indicating residency requirements for each committee for ease of reference.
The Committee offered the opportunity to the citizen present at the meeting to speak. Steve Knox
shared that he is vested in the Janesville community and is passionate about Janesville. He sees the
position of being on the Plan Commission as perfect for him and he desires to give back to the
community.
Following committee discussion, Detert-Moriarty motioned to recommend Edward Madere fill the
voting member vacancy. Riemer seconded the motion and the vote was 3-0-0 in favor.
Mr. Knox indicated for the record he is concerned that the Committee recommended someone, even
though they can’t pronounce his name. He also mentioned that he thought there was a time when the
electronic application for volunteering for a committee wasn’t working at the end of December. Staff
Record of Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments
January 26, 2011
Page 2 Approved March 18, 2011
indicated they weren’t aware of a problem, but that the server may have been down when the new
Sober Streets online mapping program started, as the initial popularity of the Sober Streets website
page overwhelmed the City’s IT system for a bit.
Willmer-Sheedy then shared with the group the history of the committee and the steps they have
taken over the past two years or so to improve the application process, including updating the form
with additional questions; rewriting questions; asking Chairs to contact them regarding attributes they
would like to see on their committees; requesting clarification from Council regarding residency of
committee members; and starting a process to inform groups of diverse thought or background of the
vacancies. Willmer-Sheedy also shared that the members present today were the very first members
of this committee, so they started from scratch with how this committee would work. She said it would
be difficult for committee members to know all of the applicants, but they try hard to pick the best
applicant. So far, none of their recommendations have been turned down by the City Manager or
Council.
Smith then shared with the group the diversity poster that went out to groups for the Plan Commission
vacancy and said the groups that were asked were receptive to sharing it. Detert-Moriarty reminded
the group that the text about residency may need to be updated, based on which committee is being
advertised.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:57 PM.
These minutes are not official until approved by the Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments.
Rebecca Smith, Management Assistant