Editor, Ceres Courier,

On Monday, I experienced an embarrassing moment for myself and the Ceres City Council.  

I applied for the vacant spot at the Tuolumne River Regional Park Citizens Advisory Committee, a vacant volunteer position for the past five years. In that time, the position received zero applications. Staff recommended my appointment to the committee based solely on the fact that I was the only interested party. To my embarrassment, faced with appointing the only applicant or choosing someone else, the council voted to table the matter while they advertised further via city website and social media. 

Tabling the matter was honestly the best decision the council could have made, but it was embarrassing for the council because Councilman Daniel Martinez put forward the motion to table the matter because he was “unaware” that the position was available to the residents of Ceres. Mayor Lopez was also unaware and that struck me as odd because Mr. Martinez and Mayor Lopez were both appointed to the TRRP committee on Jan. 7. Are they that oblivious to what goes on in the committees for which they sit on? 

Mayor Lopez suggested I reapply. I will not. 

My purpose was to bring more awareness to our river. Having the city advertise for the position online achieves just that. My only remaining hope is that the council fund the park with at least as much money as they spend on questionable out-of-state trips, or more than the measly $25,991 they agreed on for downtown revitalization.

Alvaro Franco,

Ceres

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