Chair ReportCHAIR REPORT
Date of Meeting: February 1, 2016
To: Parks and Recreation Committee
From: Ryan Jinks, Committee Chair
Re: Chair Report
PRC Committee Member Appointment Process
As the current chair of the Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee I'd like to place on -record a few
comments regarding the recent City Council decision to replace two long-standing contributors to this
committee, Matt Rasmussen and Alex Bildeaux.
Both Alex and Matt have been strong contributors to the work of the committee and to the community
of Scandia for the past 10 years. They deserve formal communication along with some justification of
the Council's decision.
It was brought to my attention that the City has not notified Matt nor Alex that they have been
replaced, nor has any member of the PRC received communication from the city on this matter.
Administrator Soltis noted the Council has discretion to remove a member if an appointment is not
working out, yet the PRC has received no feedback from the council that the contributions of these two
members or those of the full committee were unsatisfactory in any way.
Mayor Simonson expressed the opinion that denying new applicants "...is like telling residents they are
not really wanted when asking for applications to committees." While the two new appointees may
prove to be valuable additions, I note that the Council did not interview or otherwise examine the
qualifications of the new additions. The seemingly unconsidered dismissal of two valued committee
members strongly communicates to committee members that their contributions are not valued by the
Council.
In conclusion, as I look back at the PRC's accomplishments over the past year, including our success with
major projects such as the Lilleskogen parking lot paving, agreement to locate the Veteran's Memorial at
Lilleskogen, and a wildly successful Vinterfest, I am surprised and disappointed in the callous nature of
the Council's decision. Matt and Alex each gave many good years of strong support and commitment to
this City and its Parks and they deserve a better thank you than summary dismissal.