At a pre-meeting on Feb. 5, the Cottonwood City Council offered a plaque to outgoing city council member and former Vice Mayor Kyla Allen, thanking her for her service to the town.
Allen is vacating her spot on the council after moving to a home outside Cottonwood’s city limits, making her no longer eligible for the position.
“Working for the city, this side of the counter or that side of the counter, has just been an amazing experience,” Allen said.
Allen’s exit also means that the city has to find her replacement. The city is holding an open application process for qualified applicants in the city, who will then be interviewed by the Cottonwood City Council at a future meeting before the council votes on their new member.
“The ideal candidate to fill the council seat vacancy will be someone who possesses a knowledge of the city’s budget and general plan and is familiar with council’s strategic goals, which are directly tied to our constituents’ and community’s needs,” Mayor Tim Elinski wrote in an email. “The ideal candidate should be passionate about Cottonwood and excited to work with the council and manager. We will be looking for someone who is responsive to the diverse needs of the community and willing to proactively solve problems that will keep Cottonwood moving forward.”
Applications are available at the city clerk’s office at 824 North Main St. The application consists of a few short questions about the applicant’s qualifications, involvement in the community and membership of any relevant boards or organizations, along with a letter of interest and resume, due to the city clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.
“To be eligible for appointment, a candidate must be 18 years old, a qualified elector residing within the city and must have resided within the city for at least one year immediately preceding the appointment,” the application states.
At the council meeting on Tuesday, the council discussed the question of how long the term would be for the new council member. Allen was just reelected to her position on the council in August and in November was sworn in, meaning that she was just at the beginning of what was supposed to be a four-year term.
This posed complications for the council, who worried that moving the election for that seat to 2020 would lead to four council members and the mayor all being elected at the same time, ruining the staggering of council elections.
The council plans to require the new council member to run for reelection in two years to ensure that voters have the chance to choose their representative, but to then have the staggered elections return to normal after that.
“We would fill the vacancy for two years, and then at the two-year point, when we have the next elections, we would have one open for two years and the other four seats open for four years,” Councilman Doug Hulse said. “I suppose that could work.”
Council members discussed various options for how to interview applicants, worrying that inter- viewing all the candidates one after another in open session would give unfair advantages or disadvantages to candidates based on when they were situated in order. They brought up ideas such as holding inter- views in closed session, or giving applicants written questions in advance but did not make any decisions at the Tuesday meeting.
Jackie Nairn, who ran for council in the August election but did not win enough votes to earn a
seat, has already indicated her intention to apply for the seat. Bill Tinnin, who also ran in August, did not respond to request for comment.
“My interest in serving in the Cottonwood City Council is motivated by my strong desire to give back to my community that has given me so much since I arrived here,” Nairn
wrote in an email. “I am committed to serving the citizens of Cottonwood in any way that I can and would like to see everyone that lives, works and visits here to enjoy their time in this fine community.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
