A special meeting of the Mtn. View City Council to appoint an alderman to fill a seat left open by the Nov. 14 resignation of East Ward Alderman Steven Sills and to conduct second interviews of city administrator candidates was held Tuesday, with the appointment of Bud Vines by Mayor John Krasuski. Vines accepted the appointment, and the seat will be on the ballot in April's city elections.
Sills left the office in the midst of a controversy around the possible hiring of a city administrator and the comment by East Ward Alderman Murray Anderson that he wanted to resign as well, after Sills expressed his intention to go.
That comment was rebutted by Krasuski, who reminded council members they needed to keep a quorum to vote in favor of a resignation, and wouldn't be possible with Sills gone. Anderson and the remaining council members, West Ward Alderman Lyndell Vandevort and West Ward Alderwoman Brenda Colter finished the meeting and were all present at Tuesday's meeting.
Before the council was slated to move into a closed session to discuss the city administrator position, former council member Laura Wagner weighed in on the issue, opposing the hiring — at this time. She noted, that while she agrees the city needs an administrator in the future, at present some citizens are opposed and have been vocal about it.
In meeting notes provided by City Clerk Sarah Chowning, Wagner reportedly called for a better job description for the position, and expressed concern about the qualifications for candidates.
Though discussion of personnel matters is to take place in closed session and none of the candidates' names have been disclosed officially during open session meetings, her opinion was that the current candidates were not qualified.
She closed by adding, "If you're planning on departing early, then you have no business voting on this issue," before Krasuski asked council members if they had anything to add before going into closed session to conduct second interviews for the position.
Citizen Rick Thornton reportedly then expressed frustration at Anderson, suggesting he should leave because he started to resign at the last meeting, and gave the opinion Anderson would not be making the best decision for the city if he didn’t want to be there. Thornton was asked to leave the meeting and Krasuski reminded everyone that town hall meetings take place at 5 p.m. prior to every regular monthly council meeting to give all a chance to talk about current issues and concerns.
Council members entered into closed session, which lasted about three hours, before returning to open session to take a vote on tabling the hiring until further notice. Colter made the motion to table the hiring, Vines seconded, and all voted in favor.
