Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Mayor O'Neal Suggests Special Meeting to Fill Council's Vacant Zone 3 Seat

Tuesday, led by Mayor Jim O'Neal, a plan and process was laid out for filling the Council seat which was abruptly vacated by Ralph K. Manley at the end of last evening's City Council meeting.

The first step in the process is to make paperwork available to qualified applicants. That paperwork can be picked up at the City Clerk's office, beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Those interested in applying for the vacant seat must have been a resident of of Zone 3 for at least one year, according to the City Charter.

O'Neal consulted with the City Clerk regarding the proper way to proceed, prior to the Council's luncheon meeting. He said applicants would not be required to gather petition signatures, as is required by candidates running in an election. He did however, recommend applicants include a resume.

The deadline for turning in applications will be Friday, April 24, at 5 p.m.

O'Neal recommended a special meeting be held a week from today, on Tuesday evening, April 28, wherein the applicants for the Zone 3 seat could address the City Council with a five minute oral presentation.

The Council would then discuss and vote for the Zone Council member.

O'Neal welcomed other ideas from the Council, but said he intended to follow through with a special meeting a week from today to select the new member.

"I have nothing but the highest regard for Mr. Manley," O'Neal said. "At some point I would like to appropriately honor his service to our City but, we have a lot of work on our plate and I do not believe we can hesitate nor delay the selection of a new Council person."

Update: The Special meeting, April 28, will be at 6 p.m. according to the City's news release.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No comments: