UPDATE 03/04/2025: The Fairbanks Borough Assembly voted 8-1 to add a seat to the Borough Parks and Recreation Commission for an assemblymember. The member will be ex-officio and will not be able to vote or be counted for quorum purposes. See the ordinance HERE.
I got several questions and comments regarding the ordinance to add a Borough Assemblymember to the Borough Parks and Recreation Commission. I’ve answered them here as best I can. (Apologies if I’ve made any mistakes. I’m writing this while traveling.)
(This ordinance will have a public hearing at Thursday’s Borough Assembly meeting. See my original post below for more information, including how to comment.)
UPDATES 02/25/2025:
- Kristan Kelly plans to introduce a substitute ordinance that would make the Assembly ex-officio position non-voting, which is how it is on the Trails Advisory Commission.
- Ex-officio members are generally non-voting. The Borough Clerk sent me this from Borough Code (bold face italics is mine to emphasize the voting power of the position):
- 4.04.170 Ex officio members and staff.
The Mayor may appoint an employee of the Borough who shall be an ex officio member of a board or commission to furnish technical advice and information if not so provided for in the specific provisions pertaining to the board or commission. An ex officio member is not entitled to vote on any question to be determined by the board or commission nor is an ex officio member a member for the purpose of establishing a quorum of any board or commission. The Borough Clerk, or their designee, shall serve as the secretary to boards and commissions. Unless otherwise provided in the section establishing the board or commission, the Mayor shall provide or designate any required staff for the board or commission. (Ord. 2021-21 § 4, 2021; Ord. 82-30 § 2, 1984. 2004 Code § 2.21.170.)
- 4.04.170 Ex officio members and staff.
ORIGINAL Q & A
How many other boards and commissions have a guaranteed borough assembly seat?
The borough has 17 boards and commissions. You can find them HERE.
If you look at the web pages of the borough boards and commissions you will see that some have “ex-officio” members including the Borough Mayor, members of the administration, and/or the Borough Assembly. “Ex-officio” basically means the seat is guaranteed because of another office or position that person holds.
I checked the web pages of each. As far as I can tell, three have a Borough Assembly member:
- Pollution Control Commission
- Economic Development Commission
- Trails Advisory Commission
Five others have the Borough Mayor and/or one or more administrative staff:
- Health And Social Services Commission
- Chena Riverfront Commission
- Library And Literacy Commission
- Planning Commission
- Senior Citizens Advisory Commission
Is the P&R Commission advisory only or quasi-judicial?
The Parks and Rec Commission appears to be purely advisory (see the commission’s page HERE).
Would the assembly member seat have all the same powers and responsibilities of other commission members? Do they vote?
From the way the ordinance is written, the Assembly person would have the same powers as other members on the commission, so they would have one vote.
UPDATE: Kristan Kelly plans to introduce a substitute ordinance that would make the Assembly ex-officio position non-voting, which is how it is on the Trails Advisory Commission.)
Would the Assembly person have veto power?
No
Would the borough presiding officer and the appointed assembly person be able to throw a “monkey wrench” into works of the commission?
The ordinance requires that the other members of the commission be appointed by the Borough Mayor and confirmed by the Borough Assembly. So, manipulation could come from the mayor mainly, but not the presiding officer. The mayor could try to manipulate the commission by dismissing members and appointing others. However, the assembly would have to confirm the new members.
Why is adding an Assembly person to the Parks and Rec Commission in the best interests of the public?
Members of the commission are appointed by the Borough Mayor and confirmed by the Assembly. However, no elected official has a guaranteed seat on the commission. Having a guaranteed seat would give the Assembly a voice on the commission and presumably would give the commission better communication with the Assembly.
Parks and Recreation is one of the largest Borough departments, so it makes sense to me that the Assembly have an ex-officio seat on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
ORIGINAL POST
Fairbanks Borough Assemblymember Kristan Kelly has introduced an ordinance that would add an Assemblymember to the borough Parks and Recreation Commission. The member would be appointed by and could be removed by the Presiding Officer of the Assembly.
Do people have any strong opinions about that? Seems reasonable given that the Parks and Rec budget is one of the biggest departmental budgets of the borough. The department includes the Trails Office and all the parks run by the borough that have trails, such as Birch Hill, Tanana Lakes, Isberg, and Chena Lake recreation areas, as well as Skyline Ridge Park.
If you would like to comment on this, the ordinance is listed as 13e in the February 27 Assembly meeting agenda. It will be given its own public hearing that night at the meeting. Assembly meetings start at 6pm and can be attended via Zoom. Items with public hearings start at or after 7pm.
MEETING
An agenda for the meeting can be found HERE:
The ordinance can be found HERE.
Get more information on the meeting and how to attend HERE.
EMAILS, PHONE CALLS
You can also contact assembly members before the meeting. Find contact information HERE.
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