MONTEREY >> The Monterey City Council voted unanimously to create a standing committee that will oversee interviews and nominations for all of the city’s boards and committees, consisting of the mayor and vice mayor.

Tuesday’s vote came after public commenters asked for more transparency during the interview process for boards like the Neighborhood Community and Improvement Program.

City staff will come back with details on how the interview process will take place in the future, likely with the mayor and vice mayor conducting public interviews at city hall that will be streamed online like regular council meetings.

The council also voted to combine the Architectural Review Committee with the Planning Commission. City staff brought up the option to combine the Historic Preservation Commission with the Museums and Cultural Arts Commission, but the council decided to ask city staff for more information on the matter.

The decision to create a standing committee stemmed from council members Jean Rasch and Ed Smith, who met with NCIP members to speak about concerns they had about the interviewing process.

“For me, the bottom line is that the public be able to come (to the interviews), witness the proceedings, and that it’s transparent and open to everybody,” Rasch said.

The city also provided a response to the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury over the deteriorating condition of the city’s wharves. On Tuesday, city leaders acknowledged the urgent need for millions of dollars in additional repairs, while defending the city’s recent efforts to keep the wharves in a decent condition.

The Grand Jury’s April report, Monterey’s Deteriorating Wharves: A Concern for Public Safety, found that both Old Fisherman’s Wharf and Municipal Wharf Number 2 are in “poor” structural condition and have remained in disrepair for years. The report concluded that the city’s failure to complete critical repairs threatens public safety, historic preservation, and leaseholder investments.

In response, city officials pushed back on the narrative of neglect while outlining more than $14 million in recent and upcoming investments.

“The City of Monterey acknowledges the age and challenges of maintaining these wharves,” Tuesday’s staff report read. “But we want to be clear: repairs are being made, inspections are ongoing and public safety remains our top priority.”

Over the past six years, the city says it has invested more than $3 million in structural repairs and allocated an additional $11 million in its five-year Capital Improvement Plan. That includes $1.3 million for emergency deck work on Wharf 2 in 2024 alone.

The Grand Jury estimates the city still needs $17 million more just to cover the city’s share of required repairs, not including structural responsibilities that fall to private lessees, some of whom are behind on mandated inspections and maintenance.

The city emphasized that under existing ground leases, many wharf tenants are legally obligated to inspect and repair their properties every three years. But according to the Grand Jury, several leaseholders have ignored or disputed findings from city-commissioned engineers, stalling critical work.

The city admitted some delays, citing complex permitting processes and funding limitations. Repairs often require approval from multiple regulatory bodies, including the California Coastal Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a process the city says can take more than six months — well beyond the timelines required in some leases.

One key criticism from the Grand Jury was that the city has failed to implement a comprehensive maintenance plan proposed back in 2019. That plan, which aimed to move away from a reactive, project-by-project approach, has sat dormant for years.

The city’s new response does not directly address why the plan was never enacted but claims its current “programmatic repair program” is meeting maintenance needs through prioritization of urgent fixes.