In the recent past, the Planning Commission has reviewed applications, interviewed applicants, and made a recommendation to the Town Council as to whom they feel would be the best person for the position.
This process makes it a great deal easier for Town Council members by allowing them to simply follow the Planning Commission's recommendation.
Nothing says the Planning Commission can only recommend one person but that is what I have seen happen previously.
If the Town Council wants to do business that way fine, but I guarantee you I will be looking at who is appointed by the Town Council as a direct reflection of their job performance. Whoever votes to put someone on the Planning Commission can rest assured that I will take that person's performance into that voting booth with me when I go in to cast my vote. It is the Town Council's duty to be sure that the best qualified candidate is seated on the Planning Commission. I can not find a thing in the Town or State Codes that indicates the appointment should be based on how long someone has lived in the area, who they know, what groups they belong to, what church they attend, or who they went to school with.
If I were on the Town Council, I would do as Mr. Showalter suggested at the Town Council Meeting on 9/16/08. I would want all of the candidates before Town Council to allow Council members to ask some questions. I would want to make sure that the decision of who to appoint would be as near unanimous as is possible. And, I would want to make sure that the person who is best qualified to serve the people and the Town Council was selected.
Additionally, I would make the entire process as transparent as possible so that voting citizens can understand why the choice was made and what it is that the elected officials want from someone appointed by them to serve essentially as consultants to the Council.
This is extremely important when you are dealing with land use issues in a setting where the planning department is severely understaffed. Although Christiansburg has almost the same number of permanent residents as Blacksburg, Blacksburg has more than twice the planning staff that Christiansburg has. It is ludicrous to expect the planning department to be able to do all of the things that are necessary to support the Planning Commission and Town Council while simultaneously doing all of the daily business, public information, enforcement, and research that is required. To effectively handle the planning needs of the Town, research grants for funding of projects, participate in the myriad of meetings that are necessary to keep up with the latest changes in laws and coordinating efforts with other jurisdictions, the Planning Department staff needs to be doubled!!!!!
If you are going to force the Planning Commission to try to work without the staff support they need to perform their jobs well, then the very least the Town Council can do is to make sure that the people appointed have the training and expertise to do all of that work on their own.
Maybe sometimes saving money should not be more important than being sure the job is done right.