To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Report Title: APPROVE the dissolution of the County Service Area P-6 Citizen Advisory Committee for Zones 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504 within the Discovery Bay area
Recommendation: APPROVE the dissolution of the County Service Area P-6 Citizen Advisory Committee for Zones 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504 within the Discovery Bay area
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE the dissolution of the County Service Area P-6 Citizen Advisory Committee for Zones 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504 within the Discovery Bay area.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None. The Office of the Sheriff will continue to administer the P-6 funds for the Discovery Bay area.
BACKGROUND:
Summary
This report recommends the formal dissolution of the County Service Area P-6 (Discovery Bay Zones) Citizen Advisory Committee. For the last 5 and a half years, the Committee has been unable to fulfill its advisory duties due to a chronic, systemic lack of participation.
Since the last Triennial Review period (2021-2023) until now, there were 19 potentially scheduled meetings, however, only 8 meetings were successfully held. The remaining sessions were cancelled due to a continuous failure to establish a quorum.
It is recommended that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approve the dissolution of this advisory body effective immediately to optimize County administrative resources.
Background
The County Service Area P-6 (Discovery Bay Zones) Citizen Advisory Committee was originally established in 2009 to provide a structured forum for P-6 residents of County Service Area P-6 zones 500, 501, 502, 503, and 504 within the Discovery Bay area to advise the Board of Supervisors on public services, budget allocations, and infrastructure needs within the designated P-6 zones.
To function effectively, the Committee relies on active resident participation and consistent meeting attendance to achieve a legal quorum. Over an extended timeline, securing this participation has proven unsustainable.
In 2024, through the coordination of District 3 staff and Office of the Sheriff, approximately $2,757 was spent on a recruitment letter campaign to encourage membership for the Committee. Additionally, many hours of staff time to coordinate the letter drive, print and mail, financial evaluation, field applications and conduct interviews were included in the effort. Attendance issues continued to persist after this recruitment effort.
Chronological Breakdown of Meeting Activity
Triennial Review Report (2021-2023)
• Meetings Scheduled: 9
• Meetings Held: 5
• Meetings Cancelled: 4 - All cancelled due to lack of quorum
• Community Output: No special projects or activities were provided to the community directly from this body during these three years.
Calendar Year 2024
The committee operated with only 2 out of 5 potential members for most of the year. All seats were finally filled in October, but attendance remained erratic:
• January Meeting: Cancelled due to lack of quorum.
• October Meeting: Cancelled due to lack of quorum.
• December Meeting: Held. 4 out of 5 members were present.
• Community Output: No special projects or activities were provided to the community directly from this body this year.
Calendar Year 2025
Attendance issues persisted into 2025 despite having a full roster initially, leading to scheduling conflicts and further cancellations:
• January Meeting: Cancelled due to lack of quorum.
• July 9th Meeting: Postponed and rescheduled to a July 23rd special meeting to accommodate member schedules.
• July 23rd Special Meeting: Cancelled due to a lack of quorum.
• October Meeting: Held. 4 out of 5 members were present.
• Community Output: No special projects or activities were provided to the community directly from this body this year.
Calendar Year 2026 (Year-to-Date)
At the end of 2025, one member stepped down, reducing the Committee to 4 members.
• January Meeting: Held. All 4 members were present.
• April 8th Meeting: Cancelled due to lack of quorum.
• April 29th Meeting: Cancelled due to lack of quorum.
• Community Output: No special projects or activities were provided to the community directly from this body this year.
Summary of Reasons for Dissolution
• Lack of Community Output: There have been no special projects or activities provided to the community from this body directly in the last 5 and a half years.
• Dual-Layered Quorum Issues: The Committee has suffered from both a lack of night-of meeting attendance and an inability to maintain enough appointed individuals to secure a roster quorum.
• Ineffective Scheduling Interventions: Administrative attempts to accommodate the Committee members include coordinating schedules to ensure availability for the proposed meetings dates, coordinating with the Town of Discovery Bay to confirm available meeting rooms and times, posting and re-posting (both online and in-person) meeting and special meeting agendas.
• Fiscal and Administrative Impact: Maintaining an inactive Committee incurs unnecessary administrative activity. Each scheduled meeting-regardless of whether it is cancelled-requires County staff to prepare public agendas, coordinate schedules with committee members, secure physical spaces with the Town of Discovery Bay’s Parks and Recreation Department and dedicate time waiting for meetings that cannot be held for lack of quorum.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the Committee is not dissolved, administrative resources will continue to be spent to cancel meetings due to lack of a quorum.