Two members of the public made strong complaints over the Mammoth Lakes Town Councils most recent pick for an open Planning Commission seat. The seat, which was left empty after the passing of longtime local Roy Saari, was filled by Sharon Clark.

Council chose Clark a little over two weeks ago after going through the usual application process that the Town uses for choosing new commissioners.

Peter Maw and Bruce Woodward made it clear that they believed Council had chosen the least experienced applicant out of the pool of eight applicants. The other applicants were: Warren Harrell, Tom Moody, John Vereuck, Marshall Minobe, Kirk Stapp, Corinna Korpi, and Leigh Gaasch.

Your decision was irresponsible and foolish, Maw stated, singling out Council members Skip Harvey, Jo Bacon and Wendy Sugimura. It makes people want to leave town because of your lack of leadership. I have nothing against Sharon as a person, just against the leadership in this town.

Woodward added that as an architect it was frustrating to watch the interview process and realize that the Council wasnt asking the applicants questions about design or the planning process.

You are sending the message that Planning Commission members dont need to know anything about those things, Woodward said. In reality he claimed that was the majority of what the Commission dealt with on a regular basis.

In Clarks defense, who was not present at the Council meeting, Mayor Wendy Sugimura stated that she had experience in a position similar to Mono Countys Supervisors, but in a different state.

Later in the evening, Council went forward in choosing four commissioners for the Tourism and Recreation Commission. The three incumbents for the spots, Ruth Harrell, Bill Sauser and Teri Stehlik, reclaimed their seats. The fourth spot was filled by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area VP of Sales and Revenue Management, Knud Svendsen.

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