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City Manager Fialho introduced the item, noting that nearly one and a half years ago the Council appointed then member Cindy McGovern to the Kottinger Place Task Force. Following her retirement from the Council, her seat was converted to an at-large representative position through which she continues to participate. The question before the Council is whether or not to appoint a Council representative to fill her former seat. Councilmember Pentin said the task force has operated with Council representation in recent years, which he could continue to support. He nominated Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio. Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio said it was her recollection that the task force had actually requested that they assign a Council representative but staff said this was not the case. She felt the task force had made significant progress with the contribution of such a representative and said she could support an appointment. Mr. Fialho explained that an appointment was made nearly two years ago because the task force was struggling with arriving at a recommendation that the Council could support. In addition to providing some broad principles of agreement, the Council appointed Councilmember McGovern to help facilitate the process in a way that both the task force and Council could support. This ultimately was proven to be a very beneficial addition to the task force. Mayor Thorne said his inclination would be to move away from Council presence on task forces and asked if they had requested appointment of a Council member. Assistant City Manager Bocian said "no." Councilmember Brown pointed out that she was removed from the East Pleasanton Specific Plan Task Force after joining the Council because other members of the Council felt that Council presence changed the tone of the process. Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio explained that the nature of this task force is different in that it is not driven by the City and the Council representative is only advisory in nature. The issue with the East Pleasanton Specific Plan Task Force is that it was created during a campaign and the Planning Commission had already been established as its leaders. Adding Council presence to that process would have interrupted the flow. She acknowledged Councilmember Brown's point but said this differs in that the driving force is a non-profit and not the city. Councilmember Brown said it seemed very much like a double standard. Councilmember Pentin respectfully disagreed; said the task force has operated with Council representation for the last two years and staff has indicated it is beneficial. Mayor Thorne said it is worth discussing how the Council would like to look at task forces in the future rather than splitting policy on a case by case basis. However, he could see the difference in this instance. He heard that staff believes Council presence has made an important contribution and said he could support the appointment. Councilmember Brown estimated that a larger portion of the task force's work was done and, with former Councilmember McGovern retaining her seat, there wasn't need for a new appointment. Mr. Bocian clarified that the task force has only completed conceptual site plans and will have a significant amount of work to do in preparing the architecture and design in the future. Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio again acknowledged Councilmember Brown's point but reiterated that this is different in that it is not a City driven task force. City Council Minutes Page 10 of 11 February 19, 2013