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The Menlo Park City Council appointed new commissioners to five open city commission seats at its meeting on Aug. 13. The five new commissioners were appointed to one open seat on the Housing Commission, one open seat on the Library Commission and three open seats on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
There were 10 applicants for the five open seats, with several applicants applying for multiple commissions.
Council member Betsy Nash said that serving on a city commission is important and fulfilling work, and that she hopes to see those who were not appointed to seats this time re-apply for commissions in future rounds.
“(Vice Mayor Drew Combs and I) were both commissioners prior to becoming council members, and neither of us made it onto the commission the first round,” she said. “Serving on a commission is very, very interesting and fulfilling work.”
Housing Commission
There were four applications for the one open seat on the Housing Commission. Hadrian Trempont was appointed to the seat in a 3-1 vote with Nash voting for applicant Christopher Maxcy and Council member Jen Wolosin absent. Trempont’s term on the Housing Commission will expire on April 30, 2025.
According to his application for the commission, Trempont was born and raised in Menlo Park, attended Menlo-Atherton High School and has worked as a data analyst for a commercial real estate firm.
“I am passionate about helping solve California’s housing crisis and want to contribute to my community,” said Trempont in his application. “I have witnessed housing inequalities and disparities and I want to do my part to help.
The Housing Commission is charged with advising the City Council on housing matters, including housing supply, community attitudes about housing, programs for evaluating the quality and quantity of housing in the city, making recommendations to the council on the city’s Below Market Rate Housing Program, reviewing and recommending on housing programs for the city, reviewing and recommending on the housing element and more.
Library Commission
There were four applicants for the one open seat on the Library Commission. The council unanimously chose to appoint Kim Crockett to the seat. Councilmember Wolosin was absent. Crockett’s term on the Library Commission will expire on April 30, 2026.
Crockett, who holds a degree from Boston University School of Law, said in her application that she has lived in Menlo Park for 24 years. She has served as a substitute teacher for the Menlo Park City School District since 2022. She has also worked as a volunteer mediator for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center since 2023, and as a board member and vice chair of the Riekes Center since 2019, among other things.
“I want to serve on the Library Commission because I believe in the incredible importance of free and accessible community hubs for education (and) social and cultural connection,” said Crockett in her application. “I am especially interested in exploring ways in which we can bring people together to build community in Menlo Park and see our libraries as central to this goal.”
The Library Commission is charged with advising the City Council on matters related to the operation of Menlo Park’s libraries and library systems, such as the scope of library activities, the maintenance of city libraries, evaluation and improvement of library service, coordination with other libraries, acquisition of new library materials and long range planning for the libraries.
Parks and Recreation Commission
There were seven applications for the three open seats on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Two commissioners, Kevin Dawkins and Justin Van Buren were appointed to the commission unanimously by the council, with Councilmember Wolosin absent. Three council members voted to appoint Dawn Emms to the council, with Combs voting for applicant Edward Kaigh.
Emms was appointed to the seat with its term expiring April 30, 2025, Van Buren’s term will expire April 30, 2026 and Dawkins’ term will expire April 30, 2027.
Emms, who holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering, said in her application that she has lived in Menlo Park for 18 years, and has worked in the city for over 25 years. She has previously volunteered with a San Mateo County crisis line. Though Emms originally applied to the Library Commission, the council ended up selecting her for the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“As a long-time resident, I want to give back to my community,” she said in her application.
Van Buren holds a master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy. He said in his application that he moved to Menlo Park two years ago. He applied to all three advisory commissions with open seats, but was ultimately selected for the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“I have always been passionate about actively serving the community within which I reside,” he said in his application. “All three of these advisory bodies address community issues which I view as particularly important to sustaining a thriving Menlo Park.”
Dawkins, who holds a master’s degree in computer science, originally applied for the Housing Commission but was ultimately selected for the Parks and Recreation Commission. He has previously volunteered with several community organizations focused on helping people and families experiencing homelessness.
“My wife, our new daughter and I care deeply for our community,” he said in his application. “I am eager to contribute … by bringing a community-focused perspective and helping to foster a thriving, inclusive Menlo Park.
The Parks and Recreation Commission is tasked with advising the council on city programs and facilities dedicated to recreation, including maintenance of parks and playgrounds, operation and staffing of recreation programs, modification of programs to meet community needs and long range planning for recreation programs and facilities.
AI in commission applications
During the City Council’s discussion of applications, several council members commented that it was clear that ChatGPT or another AI aid was used by several applicants to complete their applications.
“One thing that was challenging for me as I went through (the applications) is, for example, there was one application that clearly had copied and pasted from ChatGPT with the prompt still in the line,” said Council member Maria Doerr. “This is the second time I’ve seen this in an application. … But I encourage folks that if you’re using these new tools to be really thoughtful and make sure your answer is what you want it to be.”
Doerr went on to say that when she is selecting applicants to appoint to city commissions, she is looking for people who are putting “their own time and care” into their answers on the application. “(Which means) that they will show up to serve on the commissions with similar care,” she said.
Combs said he shares Doerr’s concerns, and asked whether the council has a published stance on applicants using AI assistance to write their answers, and suggested that the council add guidance about appropriate usage of AI writing assistants for future rounds of commission applications.
“This isn’t like a test in college, and I wouldn’t want to make it some rule, but we should think about adding some sort of guidance or language in the application,” he said. “Saying something to the effect that … we want to hear directly from the applicants in response to the questions.”
Doerr said she would be amenable to adding that language to future applications.
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