Cedar Park City Council Meeting Information Begins At 7 P.m. With Interviews Of Applicants To Fill Place Four Unexpired Term

Press release from the City of Cedar Park:

October 20, 2020

The October 22, 2020 City Council Meeting will begin with interviews of applicants to fill the expired term of City Council Member Mike Guevara, who resigned from City Council Place Four and whose position City Council declared vacant October 8, 2020. Pursuant to the City Charter and the Council Rules of Procedure, the vacancy shall be filled by a Council appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term. The appointee will serve until a candidate is elected from the November 3, 2020 Election and sworn into office, which is anticipated to occur at the November 19, 2020 City Council Meeting. Applications for City Council Place Four will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, 2020. Click here for more information.

As reflected on the agenda, this Thursday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with no preceding Executive Session. The meeting will start with an overview of the appointment process and in-person applicant interviews by the City Council in Council Chambers, located at 450 Cypress Creek Road, Building Four. Order of applicant interviews will be determined in a random drawing. Applicants awaiting interviews will wait in a location outside of City Council Chambers, and asked to refrain from using electronic devices to observe or communicate regarding the interviews being conducted. Once each applicant completes his or her interview, he or she may be seated in the Council Chambers, as room capacity allows. Once interviews are complete, City Council may recess into Executive Session to deliberate regarding the appointment pursuant to the Open Meetings Act. Following any Executive Session, City Council will reconvene into Open Session, vote on their selection and, if an applicant is chosen by majority vote, swear in the chosen applicant. The newly sworn-in City Council Member will then take a seat at Place Four on the dais and the meeting will continue. Again, this appointment is for the remainder of the unexpired term, and the appointee will serve until a candidate is elected from the November 3, 2020 Election and sworn into office, which is anticipated to occur at the November 19, 2020 City Council Meeting.

In consideration of state and local orders regarding the growing prevalence of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), there will be limited available seating inside Council Chambers. Therefore, the City of Cedar Park is continuing its practice of a hybrid in-person/videoconferencing meeting format, as it has been conducting public meetings, including City Council, since September 24, 2020.

This means that while some City staff and City Council Members will attend in-person under this new hybrid meeting format, other City Council Members, the public, outside consultants and other presenters should continue joining remotely. The videoconferencing is powered by WebEx, in order to advance the public health goal of limiting face-to-face meetings (also called Social Distancing).

This videoconferencing technology allows the public to not only watch meetings live and see all members who are in attendance – including the City Council Place Four applicants – but also participate in meetings (when applicable) such as speaking during citizen communication and public hearings. (Please note: the three-minute time limit will still be in effect.)

Click here to see instructions for how to participate in City Council meetings.

This press release was produced by the City of Cedar Park. The views expressed are the author's own.