Christiansburg residents should be looking to neighboring Pulaski, which is addressing a council vacancy in the public eye. Christiansburg residents could also look at neighboring Blacksburg for a similar example of a recent appointment made by its council (but some take great offense at doing what "they" do and possibly being compared) .
Come September 1, Jim VanHoozier will take on a new role, moving to town council from his appointed seat on the Planning Commission. He will be joined by newcomer Henry Showalter and returning councilman Mike Barber.
This change will create a vacancy on the Planning Commission, and it is the council's responsibility to choose the replacement.
Since the summer of 2006, these types of vacancies have occurred in Christiansburg on at least two occasions. This time, council has asked that interested applicants apply yet has not indicated what the selection process will be (other than choosing who the Planning Department Director and/or Town Manager likes).
Council seats and those they appoint to commissions or boards are not employment related concerns, per FOIA. Nor are they popularity contests, or matters to be discussed privately amongst themselves (by any means) to identify a preferred candidate.
The Planning Commission is responsible for many key decisions: reviewing conditional use permits (allowing special uses which often need to be monitored) and zoning/rezoning requests, maintaining and interpreting Town Code and the town's Comprehensive Plan, interpreting the Future Land Use Map, and approving the council's Capital Improvement spending during each budget cycle, among other duties.
It typically is more active than council itself, demanding additional time for site visits to compare paper perceptions versus physical realities. It generally meets on alternating Monday's, yet sometimes must meet weekly due to the volume or depth of matters before them. This official body meets during portions of regular council meetings as well. The majority of sitting council members initially began their public service for the Town of Christiansburg via the Planning Commission.
All of these responsibilities can be traced back to influencing the quality of life for town residents, today and for many years to come. Their decisions can have consequences on current or future tax revenue expectations and the town's budget.
Christiansburg Town Council should not delegate this decision. Who they select to fill any vacancy on the Planning Commission should be discussed in public, so citizens understand all candidate qualifications, and can see the vetting which leads to the rationale behind the decision. Even if neighboring peers did it first.