North Liberty to appoint new council member

The North Liberty City Council is seeking applications for the newly vacated council seat.

North Liberty residents who are at least 18 years old are can apply for the position. The application is available on the City of North Liberty's website, northlibertyiowa.org, and is due to the city clerk by 4 p.m. July 22.

'I would like to encourage women to fill out an application if they're interested, but ultimately we are looking for the best candidate to serve on the council,” said council member Colleen Chipman.

The council will not hold individual interviews, so applicants are encouraged to attend a special council meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 29 to discuss their interest in holding a council seat.

'We can have applicants here and ask questions of them and have that out in the public (because) this is not something that the other 10,000 voters are going to have the chance to participate in,” said council member Chris Hoffman.

Former mayor Tom Salm died in May. The council appointed Mayor Pro Tem Gerry Kuhl as the new mayor and he was sworn in June 24 during the council meeting. Kuhl's appointment left his council seat vacant and the seat must be filled by Aug. 3.

The council previously appointed a new member in 2007, following Salm's initial appointment as mayor.

The appointments for the mayoral and council seats would likely last until November, when Iowa City and neighboring communities are to vote on a new local-option sales tax.

City Administrator Ryan Heiar said the application is meant to evaluate a candidate's community involvement, why they want to be on the council, and information about the expected time commitment of being on the council.

'I would like to encourage anybody who's interested in applying to call a current council member,” Chipman said.

All council members said they welcomed calls from potential candidates who are interested in the responsibilities and commitments of being a council member.

Kuhl also formally appointed council member Terry Donahue as the new mayor pro tem during Tuesday's meeting.

'Terry brings with him 25 years of council experience as a mayor and a council person, but recently he served on the Iowa League of Cities executive board. I believe we as a city cannot ignore that experience, and that's a good reason to appoint him as the mayor pro tem,” Kuhl said.