North Liberty council plans to appoint mayor

The North Liberty City Council has unanimously agreed to fill the city's mayoral vacancy by appointing a member of the council to the post.

The council will make a formal decision on the appointment at its next meeting, June 24.

'There is such a huge learning curve when a new person is elected to a council or mayor position that it takes a while to get up to steam,” said city council member Colleen Chipman. 'We need someone who can pick up immediately and go on with the city goals that we've established. I believe whoever we would appoint as mayor would do an excellent job.”

The council discussed who would be interested in the position. Chipman and council member Brian Wayson expressed that they were not interested due to time constraints.

'I am willing to take the risk of losing my council seat to serve as the mayor,” said Mayor Pro Tempore Gerry Kuhl, who has been working as acting mayor since longtime mayor Tom Salm died suddenly after a heart attack May 18.

Salm had served as North Liberty's mayor since 2007, and ran unopposed in the last two city elections.

Residents have 14 days to petition the city clerk for a special election after the appointment is made. The petition needs at least 26 valid signatures.

'Due to the low turnout for the last election, the bar's low for calling for a special election,” Wayson said.

The council added that a special election would cost the city between $6,000 and $8,000.

'I can think of a number of other things we can do for $8,000,” Kuhl said.

If a council member is appointed to the position, that seat will become vacant and the same appointment process will apply to that seat.

'This is an important time in North Liberty. The best way of staying on track is to have someone in the mayor position who's familiar with all the projects going on,” Wayson said.