As it turned out, a town council by any other name might not be as effective – or an improvement.
That’s what the voting members of Pacific Beach Town Council determined, as a July vote by the group’s membership on a proposed name change to the Pacific Beach Community Association was ultimately defeated by a vote of 26 to 11.
PBTC president Marcella Bothwell noted that a final vote on the name change was delayed temporarily delayed in July because it was believed at that time that 37 votes were not enough to constitute a quorum.
So the matter was deferred to the council’s governance committee for review of the proceedings and recommendations on how best to move forward.
A review of the group’s bylaws by the governance committee revealed that there was a standard 5% requirement for a quorum for a meeting. The committee noted that a special circumstance for a 10% quorum was not invoked by the presiding officer at the time of the vote. Thus, with 37 votes out of 370 members, a quorum was achieved.
The motion therefore failed and the name of the Pacific Beach Town Council will remain the same.
“The name change can always be brought back,” pointed out Bothwell. “There is nothing to stop a name change being brought back if someone wants to do it again.”
Bothwell noted there was a lot of positive discussion about the branding of the town council and its purpose. And, she added, more information may be needed for members to make a better-informed decision about a name change in the future.
“We have no data showing that changing the name would increase our membership,” she said adding this may also prompt the group to consider other forms of membership, and perhaps, other forms of fundraising.
“We have about $10,000 worth of operating expenses,” Bothwell said of the town council’s annual budget. “Our membership dues usually cover that. But maybe we need some other format for paying our operating expenses. Maybe there just needs to be more discussion on ways to increase our membership, rather than a name change.”
Bothwell said Plan B, now that the name change has been put to rest, is to consider new ways to recruit new members. “We’ve got 1,500 followers on social media,” she pointed out. “And our board lately has been transformed by a small group of younger folks. That’s going to change the makeup of the town council.”
The current PBTC president added that the demographics of the town council are changing along with the community it represents.
“We’re not only a council of homeowners but a council that includes renters,” Bothwell said adding a recent survey showed 31% of PB residents own homes while 69% are renters, with some staying for a couple of years before they move on.
“But there are some renters who have been here for years,” Bothwell added, pointing out that some renters “don’t have time to be on the PBTC Board because they work so hard.”
Another demographic change Boswell said she was happy about is that there “seems to be more families with kids moving in, so we’ve tried to reach out to the schools.”
Bothwell said there has been increased interest in the council’s community enhancement committee.” People want to live in a place that is nice with people willing to do beach cleanups, etc.” she said. “Everyone wants to live in a nice, safe neighborhood. So the enhancement committee has been stellar in promoting that.”
