Set An Alarm For Monday: Appointments Comin’

The greatest television character of all-time is probably Omar, the gay, “Farmer in the Dell”-whistling, drug dealer-robbing, trenchcoat-wearing Robin Hood from The Wire. And when Omar’s comin’, you best get in check.

Anyway, that explains (poorly, I admit) my ambiguous headline.

At 7:30 a.m. Monday, the University Park City Council will meet in executive session to discuss the appointment of close to 150 residents to the 16 citizen committees. The city’s gotten about 250 applicants, according to Steve Mace, so the council’s got a decent amount of winnowing.

“ This is like shuffling a bunch of playing cards,” Mace said. “They’ve only got so many slots, and have to re-up most of these.”

The reason it’s in executive session, Mace said, is basically because of the quasi-judicial nature of the Board of Adjustment and Planning and Zoning. After the session, councilmembers may come back into public session to announce their decisions intentions to continue deliberation (thanks for the clarification, Mr. Mace), or they may not.

Roll the dice with me?

By Bradford Pearson Jun. 21, 2012 | 11:03 am | 23 Comments | Comments RSS
23 comments to "Set An Alarm For Monday: Appointments Comin'"
  1. Avid Reader @ June 21, 2012 at 2:16 pm
    What are the 16 “citizen committees”? Does one of them get to decide which vacant residential lot gets to become a not-a-park park like Hillcrest/Lovers?

  2. Bradford Pearson @ June 21, 2012 at 2:22 pm
    AVid Reader- I added a link to the 16 committees into the post.

  3. Avid Reader @ June 21, 2012 at 3:44 pm
    Gracias.

  4. Steve Mace @ June 21, 2012 at 3:52 pm
    During the Executive Session the Council will only review applications for those interested in BOA and P&Z service. No “announcements” will be made Monday on any board or committee rosters. That won’t occur until the Council adopts the final list of those selected to serve on the 16 committees or boards. That will take place at a July Council Meeting.

    This past April the City advertized the application process in the Arbor and on the City’s hompage.

    This committee/board selection process occurs every two years.

  5. sweet @ June 21, 2012 at 6:42 pm
    I’ll take all the Omar references I can get, Bradford. I just love him and The Wire. I am still fascinated with that show to this day. He is the most amazing TV character of all time.

  6. Avid Reader @ June 22, 2012 at 1:58 pm
    These spots are by “appointment”, so what is the process of narrowing the field and ultimately choosing who would be best on each specific committee? Guessing they just send the list to the Community League and have them decide?

  7. omar @ June 22, 2012 at 2:25 pm
    its all in the game yo, its all in the game.

  8. DSquared @ June 22, 2012 at 10:18 pm
    Avid Reader- as Mr. Mace indicated the committee participation application process has been advertised in the Arbor and on the UP City Website. This link has the application that must be filled out. http://www.uptexas.org/index.cfm?FuseAction=page&PageID=000116
    it asks for a commitment to make the meetings (often once per quarter), and what skills/experience/interests the applicant has that would add value to the committee.
    It does help to participate in Leadership UP, an orientation to the departments, function and services the city provides to the client (citizens). Full disclosure: I have served on a committee for six of my eight years in UP and am an alumni of Leadership UP. It has been a great honor and duty to serve and I hope to be re-appointed. If it is time to give someone new an opportunity and it strengthens the community by increasing participation, I am happy to volunteer my experience and talents in other ways to contribute to our community.
    If you are interested, now is the time to start getting involved and learn as much about the various departments and citizen committees, so you can be prepared for the next selection process in 2014.

  9. bm @ June 23, 2012 at 12:08 pm
    16 Citizen Committees for a city of 23,000 !!!

  10. Parkie @ June 24, 2012 at 10:56 am
    @bm, what’s your point? That it’s too many or not enough? If you think it’s too many, take a look and offer a suggestion for elimination. If too little, what would you add?
    My guess is that you think it’s too many. To that I would say sign up for the Leadership UP course and learn why we have these committees.

  11. hata @ June 24, 2012 at 6:10 pm
    leadership up is nothing more than a fundraiser for the community league. The CL decides everything that happens in this city. They use their funds almost entirely for electioneering and are a registered PAC.

  12. hata @ June 24, 2012 at 6:11 pm
    is, i mean

  13. Parkie @ June 24, 2012 at 10:29 pm
    @hata, you are absolutely 100% wrong about Leadership UP! It’s goal is to create informed citizens who are interested in learning more about our city, and who might be willing to serve in the future. I learned an incredible amount about the way our city works and met many of the dedicated employees who keep our city running smoothly. If you care about the way things run, and you want your voice heard, SIGN UP!

  14. Sam Tamborello @ June 25, 2012 at 10:47 am
    @Parkie, why are you so aggressive? What committee are you on…. The big stick committee?

    Maybe form a committee for “how to respectfully spend taxpayer dollars” or “Economics 101?”

  15. Parkie @ June 25, 2012 at 3:03 pm
    @Sam, because I get tired of people complaining and spreading lies about Leadership UP. Instead of whining, be a part of the solution by getting involved.
    And who are you to talk about being aggressive? You’re always stridently complaining about one thing or another.

  16. Rico @ June 25, 2012 at 4:53 pm
    Tamborello- That chip on your shoulder is getting bigger everyday. The perpetual outsider schtick only goes so far you know. Have you ever dedicated time to serve on a citizen committee? No, too busy tooting your own tin horn I suppose. Meh.

  17. XT @ June 25, 2012 at 6:15 pm
    I searched for Leadership UP and couldn’t find much, but it would seem to be associated with the Community League.

    Is that true? If so, the “joke” that everything in this town (including elections) is decided by the Community League, would be more true than funny.

  18. Parkie @ June 26, 2012 at 1:07 am
    @XT, I think the Community League sponsors it–I honestly don’t remember the details, except that we were encouraged to be active in the League. Regardless, the programming was outstanding. We met with the directors of all city departments and many employees. We toured all city facilities, including the water department and jail. I went home after every meeting thinking that we were the luckiest people to live in UP. In addition, we learned how UP works with and compares to other municipalities. If any of this sounds interesting, watch for the application information in the monthly newsletter that comes with your water bill and apply for the next class.

  19. Sam Tamborello @ June 26, 2012 at 9:26 am
    Mr. Rico… now settle down. Sounds like you may be somewhat jealous? hey..

  20. FormerlyknownasRico @ June 26, 2012 at 3:33 pm
    Sam:
    1. twasn’t me.
    2. I agree with Nuevo Rico.
    3. Having recently left the Park Cities after many, many years to move to the country (west of Inwood) to raise a few chickens and keep the ‘possums, raccoons and coyotes at bay – definitely not jealous.

  21. Sam Tamborello @ June 26, 2012 at 4:35 pm
    ah.. yes,…all the alias names posting their thoughts but yet no one capable of standing behind comments with a real name.

    It says alot. Happy 4th of July!

  22. hpparent @ June 26, 2012 at 5:30 pm
    A lot. 2 words.

  23. Sam Tamborello @ June 27, 2012 at 7:41 am
    goodness..and chuckling..is this lower case hpparent or upper case HPparent (all said with fun). So many alias talking to each other is (it’s) funny.

    well, gosh hpparent thanks for catching my grammer. How are you? How about that coffee i’ve promised?

    @Parkie, most folks who step up in politics have a complaint (or complaints). That’s why people run for office. I would encourage all to get involved.

    Question? What lies are people telling about the “leadership UP” in the PC as you state? curious.

    thanks for your reply.

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