Amarillo City Council is set to make numerous board appointments during their upcoming regular meeting on Tuesday. Applications for various city boards were open from mid-September through October 15th.

The first appointment, which will be the council’s confirmation of Lilia Escajeda’s reappointment to the Civil Service Commission, is the only appointment item included on the consent portion of the agenda. Since it is on the consent portion of the agenda, it will likely be approved along with the other consent items with a single vote.

Before officially moving on to other appointments, the council will vote on members of the Potter County Appraisal District and the Randall County Appraisal District. Both boards have five members elected by taxing entities within each county.

For the Potter County Election, Amarillo City Council has 715 of the 5,005 votes, with the remaining votes going to Amarillo ISD, Potter County, Bushland ISD, Highland Park ISD, Amarillo College, and River Road. Only five nominees (John Coffee, Zachary Plummer, Cindy Spanel, Mitzi Wade, and Thomas Warren III) were made, so all five are expected to be officially elected to the board.

For the Randall County Election, Amarillo City Council has 680 of the 4,995 votes, with the remaining votes going to Canyon ISD, Amarillo ISD, Randall County, Amarillo College, the City of Canyon, Bushland ISD, and Happy ISD. Six nominees (Claudia Burkett, Bob Lindsey, Robin Patterson, Vance Sinder, Diane Thurman, and Jinger White) were made for the five seats, meaning all but one are expected to be elected. Kirk Chudej had also been nominated, however, he withdrew himself.

After Amarillo City Council finishes voting on the appraisal district boards, they will begin making their way through the board appointments.

There is one member of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors with an expiring term, though that member is ineligible for another term. No recommendation regarding that member’s replacement has been made by city staff.

There are five members of the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau Board with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint all five members: Phyllis J Golden, Christopher Jason Fenton, Vic Ragha, Beth Duke, and Bo Fowlkes.

There is one member of the Amarillo Animal Management & Welfare Advisory Board with an expiring term and one vacancy (left open by former Amarillo City Councilman Eddie Sauer). City staff is recommending that Alexandrea Ybarra be reappointed and Sandra McCartt be appointed to the vacant seat.

There are two members of the Amarillo Local Government Corporation Board with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that Megan Zanchettin be reappointed. City staff did not make a recommendation regarding the other open seat.

There are three members of the Amarillo Hospital District Board of Managers with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint all three members: Dean Frigo, Dr. Rodnay Young, and Wes Wright.

There are three members of the Amarillo Health Facilities Corporation Board with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint all three members: Dr. Sam Bass, Eddie Boyd, and Patrick Williams.

There are three members of the Amarillo-Potter Events Venue District Board with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that Vance Reed and Dipakkumar Patel be reappointed. City staff did not make a recommendation regarding the other open seat.

There are 4 members of the Beautification and Public Arts Advisory Board with expiring terms and one vacancy. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Beth Duke and appoint Latt Massey and Theresa Cruz to two of the open seats. City staff did not make recommendations regarding the other open seat or the vacant seat.

There are five members of the Parks and Recreation Board with expiring terms and one vacancy (left open by former Amarillo City Councilman Eddie Sauer). City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Jeff Brain, Sherrie Ferguson, and John David Terry. Staff is recommending that Hobert “Gunny” Brown and Thomas Riney be appointed to the two other open seats and that Ronnie Walker be appointed to the vacant seat.

There is one member of the Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities with an expiring term as well as one vacant position. City staff is recommending that Warren Coble be reappointed but did not give a recommendation regarding the vacant seat.

There are seven members of the Community Development Advisory Committee with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Margaret (Meg) Dejong-Shier and Amanda Holcomb and appoint Tommie T. Knox, Katt Massey, Maya Marrujo, Mara Kinoff, and Janet Van Altstine.

There is one member of the Library Advisory Board with an expiring term. City staff is recommending that the council appoint Krisha (Katie) Paul to the open seat, noting that she “is the only applicant listed that has an active/unexpired APL card.”

There are three members of the Planning and Zoning Commission with expiring terms as well as one vacancy. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Rennee Whitaker and Frederick (Fred) Griffin but did not make recommendations regarding the other open seat or the vacant seat.

There are two members of the Center City TIRZ #1 Board of Directors with expiring terms. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Gary Jennings but did not make a recommendation regarding the other open seat.

There is one member of the East Gateway TIRS #2 Board of Directors with an expiring term. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint John Attebury.

There are two vacancies on the South Gateway TIRZ #3 Board of Directors, one of which was left open by former Amarillo City Councilman Eddie Sauer. City staff did not make any recommendations regarding that board.

There is one member of the Construction Advisory and Appeals Commission with an expiring term as well as one vacant position. City staff is recommending that the council appoint Mario Bolanos to the vacant seat, which must be filled by a commercial and industrial contractor. Staff is also recommending that Frank O. Willburn be appointed to the open seat, which must be filled by a licensed plumber.

There are five members of the Condemnation Appeals Commission with expiring terms, including one alternate member. Each of these positions must be filled by members of the Construction Advisory Appeals and Appeals Commission. City staff is recommending that the council reappoint Tom Roller and James Banes as regular members, that Ryan Huseman be reappointed as an alternate member, and that Mario Bolanos and Frank O. Willburn be appointed to the open seats.

There is one member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment with an expiring term. City staff is recommending that the council appoint Thomas Warren III to the open seat. The council may also appoint up to 3 alternate members, though staff did not make any recommendations regarding those alternates.

There is one vacant position on the Council Audit Committee, which was left open when the city approved a separation agreement with former city manager Jared Miller. City staff is recommending that the council appoint Interim City Manager Andrew Freeman, as the position must be held by the City Manager.

There are two members of the Traffic Advisory Board and two members of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee with expiring terms. However, no appointments to either board are on the agenda. There is a discussion item on both boards set for the December 12th city council meeting, according to a rolling planner published by the city. Notably, the Traffic Advisory Board has not met since December 15th, 2021.

The City Council will also be making several appointments to Public Improvement District Advisory Boards. City Staff is recommending that Tommy Stafford and Seth Thomason be reappointed to the Greenways PID Board, that Wendell Davies, Mark Franklin, and Cleveland Turner be reappointed to the Heritage Hills PID Board, and that Richard Fausset be reappointed to the Point West PID Board. Staff is also recommending that Theresa Cruz be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Tutbury PID Board. Staff did not make a recommendation regarding the vacancy on the Vineyards PID Board.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, November 14th. It will be held on the third floor of City Hall. Before the regular meeting, Amarillo City Council will hold a closed-door executive session meeting at 1:00 pm. Councilman Tom Scherlen will be available to meet with members of the public in Room 203 of City Hall on Monday, November 13th from noon to 1:00 pm.

The full agenda and agenda packet for the meeting can be found at this link. Those interested in speaking during the meeting can sign up at this link.