One of the Morro Bay City Council’s appointees to an advisory board had to pull out, and the other person who had applied was recommended to replace her. But the City Council had other thoughts.
Lyn Wickham and Michael Lucas had applied to fill an unexpected vacancy on the Public Works Advisory Board. On July 28, the Council conducted interviews and voted 3-2 to appoint Wickham to the post, which runs until the end of next January.
She was to replace Robert Nava, who had resigned from PWAB in May. He had served since August 2021.
But Wickham had to step away too.
“Ms. Wickham,” reads a report on the matter, “contacted the Clerk’s office Monday, Aug. 3, to notify staff of an unfortunate injury that would require medical follow-up and potentially prevent her from serving on the PWAB.
“After further consideration, on Aug. 6, Ms. Wickham confirmed she would decline the appointment to focus on her recovery.”
On Aug. 11, the City Council was asked to appoint Lucas to the re-opened PWAB spot.
But in an unanimous vote, the Council decided not to appoint him and to leave the spot open for now.
The City will begin recruitment in a couple of months to fill several spots on its boards and commissions, as terms end for some members at the end of January.
It’s an annual exercise the City Council goes through every year, as the various board and commission members terms are staggered.
Still, in Lucas they had an experienced person. Lucas is no stranger to the City’s boards and commissions, having served two stints on the Planning Commission — from 2005-2011 and 2013-2021.
But one possible sore point may be that in 2010-11, Lucas was one of 14 entities — including two Coastal Commissioners — that appealed the City Council’s approved sewer treatment plant project on Atascadero Road to the Coastal Commission.
The Commission ultimately rejected the project and sent the City and Cayucos Sanitary District back to the drawing board to replace their jointly owned plant.
However, none of the current council members were serving on the Council at the time.
