(Estherville)– Discussion on how to fill yet another vacancy on the Estherville City Council was a topic of discussion at Monday evening’s Estherville City Council meeting.
The ward 1 seat, previously held by Tony Condon, is vacant after Condon was elected Mayor in last month’s election.
City Administrator Penny Clayton told council members they could hold a special election or fill the seat by appointment. About two years are left in the term. That had councilman David Hovenga advocating for a special election…
“I think that if we’re going to have somebody on the council for a couple of years it should be somebody that the public picks, that people from that ward would elect. I understand it does cost money but we also want to make sure that it’s somebody that has the public’s trust.”
Councilman Roy Gage said he’d be fine with an appointment…
“People trust us, they’ve all voted for everybody, all of the council members have been voted on. It will be our decision to make a good decision and the people put their trust in us. I personally would be comfortable doing that, doing an appointment.”
The cost of holding a special election was estimated at between $7,000 and $9,000.
A motion by Gage to fill the position by appointment was approved with Hovenga casting the lone dissenting vote.
