The Philomath City Council filled seats on the Park Advisory Board and Public Art Committee during its Monday night meeting at Philomath City Hall.
The appointment of resident Yasha Duggal completes the seven-citizen Park board, which saw two vacancies created this past summer with two resignations. The council appointed Candy Garcia to the board in September.
Duggal, a sales manager, attended the Philomath Citizens Academy and has volunteer experiences with several organizations, including Marys River Grange and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.
“Philomath parks are especially meaningful because in a small community like ours, every park feels personal,” Duggal wrote in her application. “Each one holds memories and traditions that bring us together. They are not just places to pass through, but places that truly shape the quality of life in Philomath.”
The Park board term runs through December 2026.
The councilors also approved five at-large appointments to the Public Art Committee, an ad-hoc group formed in August after dissolving a streetscapes-focused committee that had gone dormant.
Appointed to two-year terms on the committee were Jennifer Edwards, Kathryn Jederlinich, Estella Murphrey, Lori Paul and Nina Petrovich. Mayor Christopher McMorran volunteered to represent the City Council on the committee.
Edwards is an academic advisor for the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University who attended the Citizens Academy and served on the streetscapes project committee. Jederlinich is an art teacher and artist who has been a volunteer art instructor at Blodgett School. Murphrey is a musician and artist with a heavy volunteer background. Paul is the founder of Maxtivity Arts and Crafts Creative Space in Philomath. Petrovich is a social-emotional and parenting skills coach who also has a heavy volunteer background.
McMorran thanked all of the applicants for volunteering.
