Planning for two

When the Saratoga Planning Commission meets in January, it will be unclear as to how many members the advisory board will have. While, according to Saratoga Municipal Code, the planning commission should be composed of seven members, it has struggled to retain that number and has even, at times, struggled to maintain a quorum according to its own bylaws.

During the December 8 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, Commissioner Tom Westring reminded the few in attendance that Chairman Jim Beckmann’s term was up at the end of the year. Beckmann, who works for Carbon Power & Light, was originally appointed to the board in December 2015.

In those five years, the planning commission has seen members come and go, often in the middle of their appointed five year terms. At the most recent meeting, Beckmann and Westring were joined by current council representative D’Ron Campbell. Commissioner Mike Lamprecht was unable to attend.

In November, the Saratoga Town Council approved the advertisement of the open positions on both the planning commission and the Saratoga Recreation Commission. As of December 1, however, it appeared that there had not been letters of interest for either advisory board. Additionally, the long-time recording secretary for the Saratoga Planning Commission, Susan Lane, recorded her last meeting on December 8. That position has also been advertised with apparent little interest.

“We make some decisions and discussions that, to me, we need to have more than two people up here discussing,” said Westring, who was appointed to the commission in 2018.

Westring, who also works at Carbon Power & Light, commented on how he had been unable to make the meetings in September and October due to work conflicts as well as the work conflicts that have kept Lamprecht from being able to attend in person.

Should both members make it to a meeting in the New Year, however, it would constitute a quorum according to the bylaws of the Saratoga Planning Commission, which were last amended in November 2014. Under Chapter 5 of the bylaws, it reads “a quorum is a simple majority (one over half) of the total appointed and acting membership of the Saratoga Planning Commission. All members present shall be counted as part of the quorum.”

While Campbell currently serves on the planning commission as a council representative, a position held since she was appointed to the Saratoga Town Council on August 4, the term she is currently filling expires on December 31. 

The next meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission will be at 5:30 p.m. on January 12, 2021 at Saratoga Town Hall.