The Philomath Inclusivity Ad Hoc Committee has scheduled a meeting for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 27 at City Hall.
The agenda includes discussion on establishing official committee members. Per Oregon public meeting laws, the committee needs to clearly define who is a voting member “in order to legally call a meeting to order,” City Attorney Jim Brewer advised.
The City Council attempted to appoint members to the Inclusivity committee during an April meeting after soliciting applications from the public. However, the process fell apart when some of those interested in serving on the committee expressed frustration over results of the voting and the overall process. The council ended up sending the issue back to the committee itself to figure out the next move.
At an April 29 meeting, the committee had moved forward with a “participant consensus” approach without any official appointments of citizen members. City councilors, however, expressed legal concerns about the committee’s membership during a June 14 meeting.
City councilors serving on the committee include Mayor Chas Jones, Jessica Andrade and Teresa Nielson.
Also on Tuesday night’s meeting agenda:
• Review of inclusivity resolution.
• Review of recommended council rules.
• Mission statement and goals.
• Potential committee name change.
• Identifying potential training topics and consultants.
• Selecting a co-chair for the next meeting.
Although in-person meetings have returned, those interested can continue to watch proceedings on the city’s Facebook page.