HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRINZ, ROBERT EMAIL 011325
Marie Sunseri
From:Robert Prinz <robert@bikeeastbay.org>
Sent:Monday, January 13, 2025 2:25 PM
To:Marie Sunseri
Subject:Bike East Bay public comment - Danville Town Council meeting January 14, 2025
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Hello,
This is a public comment on behalf of Bike East Bay for the Danville Town Council's January 14, 2025,
meeting agenda item "8.1 Consider removal of two members of the Town’s Bicycle Advisory
Commission".
We encourage the Town Councilmembers to not vote to remove the two members of the Town’s
Bicycle Advisory Commission, and instead request that staff develop a guideline and training
document for all volunteer members of citizen committees and commissions.
By establishing a clear and consistently applied standard for how members engage with town staff,
electeds, and the general public, we can rest assured that individuals are not being singled out. If future
actions still need to be taken regarding committee/commission members, the guideline can be clearly
referenced as a justification.
If these proposed commissioner removals are approved and an engagement guideline is not established,
future committee/commission members may opt to self-censor to avoid accidentally breaching an
undefined convention. This could negatively impact the effectiveness of and participation in these
volunteer roles.
No information is provided in the agenda packet as to what behavior from the bicycle commission
members resulted in the current proposal, which may also contribute to confusion and a lack of trust in
the process by which this decision might be made. I am not aware of any forced removals of bike/walk
committee or commission members from any of the many Contra Costa or Alameda County jurisdictions
we represent, so the proposed action is indeed very abnormal.
As a former member of the Emeryville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Oakland's
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, I did at times respectfully challenge staff on various
issues in the interest of improving street safety and active transportation projects, plans, and policies.
But our relationships remained cordial, productive, and mutually supportive because we knew we were
all there for similar reasons. I am sure that staff in these jurisdictions will agree that our engagement
resulted in improved project outcomes in many cases, and I hope that Danville will remain supportive of
similar collaborations between staff and committee/commission members.
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Thank you for receiving these comments, and for taking them into consideration in your decision making
process.
Robert Prinz|Advocacy Director
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Pronouns: he/him
Mail: PO Box 1736 Oakland, CA 94604
Office: 466 Water Street Oakland, CA 94607
P: (510) 845-7433 x5 | E: Robert@BikeEastBay.org
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