City Council will appoint McCausland’s replacement this month—here’s how to get the job

The Half Moon Bay City Council unanimously decided to appoint a replacement for the remaining 2 1/2 years of Sid McCausland’s term.

McCausland formally resigned at last night’s meeting, clearing the way for his replacement.

There will be a notice (and presumably an article) in next Wednesday’s Half Moon Bay Review.  The Review is a local newspaper that is published on most Wednesdays. However, the process is already known.

Anyone wishing to serve in McCausland’s seat needs to go to City Hall and fill out a form stating they are willing to serve, attaching information about their background, especially in public service, and a short statement of why they want to be a member of the City Council. Applications are due by Wednesday, March 23.

There will be a special meeting on Monday, March 28 at 7pm to interview candidates and choose a replacement. If necessary, the process can continue to the regular City Council meeting the following night. The replacement must be chosen within 30 days of the vacancy, which would be March 31.

In other business, the City Council voted unanimously to support Keet Nerhan’s application to add a drive-thru restaurant to his gas station at the intersection of Highways 1 and 92.  The application will come back to the Council next month for final review in a month.  There had been a dispute between the Planning Commission and Nerhan over whether earlier traffic studies had been adequate to approve the drive-thru.

"I think the Planning Commission did its job," Mayor Jim Grady told me. "They need to be conservative."

According to one observer, Council member Mike Ferreira joked that the station would probably cause more traffic than the drive-thru if Keet would lower his prices.  Toni Taylor loosened things up further, noting that everyone in the room was laughing except Keet.