The Philomath City Council appointed several individuals to boards and committees during its Monday meeting, including filling two vacancies on the Planning Commission.
“We are very grateful for our city of volunteers, for people who step up and give back to their community,” Mayor Christopher McMorran said. “We’re very happy to have you be a part of that … We look forward to seeing the work you’ll do over the years to come.”
Retiree Mike Kristosik was appointed to a full four-year term for the Planning Commission seat formerly held by Darlene Rose. Kristosik’s application indicates that he is a newer resident and outlines a background that includes astronomy, Meals on Wheels volunteer and member of the site council for the former Inavale Elementary School.
Former Philomath City Councilor Scott Ramsey will also fill a position on the commission, finishing out the final year of another term. Ramsey owns a machine shop, property management company and a deep-water diving certification company and also serves as president of the Philomath Community Corp.
Two individuals have filled seats on the Budget Review Committee with David Low and Amanda Polley completing terms. Replacing them are Kristosik and Cody Valencia, who has lived in Philomath for six years and works as a forest manager. Both positions come with three-year terms.
Giana Bernardini was reappointed to a three-year term on the Tree Advisory Board. Bernardini has a background filled with volunteer experience, including the Heritage Tree Committee and Planning Commission.
“I’ll just say that Giana has been a very, very dedicated member of the Tree Advisory Board so I was grateful that she wanted to continue,” McMorran said.
The Inclusivity Committee has two new members in Megan Irwin and Alba Sederlin. Both were appointed to two-year terms. Jenn Amador, Jane Sherwood, Nora Smith and Polley completed terms. Three seats on the committee remain vacant — two other two-year terms and a one-year term.
Candy Garcia was appointed to complete the final two years of a term on the Public Art Committee. Garcia also serves on the Park Advisory Board.
“I appreciated Candy’s application for talking about maybe it would be good to have someone who’s on both as kind of a nexus between parks and public art,” McMorran noted. “Those two kind of go hand-in-hand.”
The Park Advisory Board and Heritage Tree Program Committee each have two vacant seats. Terms were recently completed by Scott Austin and Tyler Pellett on the park board, and John Simonson and Eric Wiggins on the heritage tree committee. The city did not receive any applications for either group.
The city plans to readvertise all remaining vacancies.
In addition to filling seats on the various boards and committees, the mayor also went through various standing committee appointments:
- Finance and Administration Committee — Irwin, McMorran and Nielson.
- Police Committee — Crocker, Kaseman and Saalsaa.
- Public Works Committee — Kaseman, McMorran and Saalsaa.
- Public Art Committee — McMorran.
- Inclusivity Committee — Andrade and Crocker.
- Housing and Economic Committee — Andrade, Irwin and McMorran.
- Planning Commission — Irwin.
Representative and liaison assignments were also announced:
- Andrade — Benton County Historical Society, Benton County HOPE Advisory Board and Cascades West Area Commission on Transportation.
- Crocker — Philomath Fire and Rescue and Philomath Community Services.
- Irwin — Philomath Community Foundation.
- Kaseman — Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce and Philomath Youth Activities Club.
- McMorran — Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, Philomath 2050 Vision Project and Philomath School District.
- Nielson — Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce and Philomath Frolic and Rodeo
- Saalsaa — Cascades West Area Commission on Transportation and Corvallis Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.