Providence Village will have a new council member as of the Nov. 18 Town Council meeting.
Adam Knesek was selected to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Wes Dautrich, but not without comments from the community in support of one of the other candidates.
'We did have a great interview process with a lot of great candidates,' Mayor Linda Inman said. 'We want to thank everybody who came out and put their application in and spent the 29th with us up here to interview.'
Following Inman's comments, council member Klayton Rutherford kicked off the conversation about who to select, moving fluidly into making a motion to appoint Knesek.
'I think our job tonight is to appoint the person who is best equipped to step in immediately and serve out the rest of this term, and I believe that person is Adam Knesek,' Rutherford said.
Council member Dustin Clay cited the community members' comments, saying he thought the council should listen to the comments from the five people who spoke or wrote in, all of whom did so to support Elise Jimbelick's bid for the seat.
'If there's an election today, who would Providence Village elect out of these [candidates]?' Clay said. 'Who do they want to serve? Is it as council that we're going to appoint who we believe is the best candidate or is it what the community wants?'
Rutherford responded. 'It's an important point, but I think we all have to keep in mind that the way this process works is not a perfect process, but the way this process works is for us to do the appointment,' he said.
He added that the 'community wasn't isn't aware of who applied' and thus is not fully informed about the people available to fill the seat.
When Clay asked whether 'the community should know,' Rutherford said the charter doesn't include community participation in the appointment process.
City Attorney Robin Cross said the discussion seemed out of order.
'If you've already conducted your interviews, I think you're kind of going backwards,' Cross said. 'Normally, you discuss the process, then you conduct your interviews, then you make a decision.'
Mayor Linda Inman, Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Nelson and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Doramus agreed that the process would need to change for the appointment process to work in that way.
'I appreciate … all the candidates coming out, and I appreciate the support of the candidates,' Doramus said. 'I do agree with Clayton. That's not our current process.'
He proceeded to second the motion for Knesek, which passed in a vote of 4-2, with Stephen Benton joining Clay in voting no.
Also during the meeting, the council selected an 11-member charter review commission that includes Inman, Clay, Board of Adjustments member Rebekah Corder, Economic Development Corporation board member Stephanie Milburn, Planning and Zoning Commission member Ray Meeks and former council member Jordan Woodard.
All but Woodard were approved unanimously, with Clay voting against Woodard's appointment.
