Kim Bishop fills council vacancy

Kim Bishop was appointed as the new Grant City Council member at the Sept. 11 meeting, filling the vacancy left by Robert Bounds’ resignation in July. 

Mayor Mike Wyatt informed the council they would stay at the meeting until a candidate was chosen, or it would go to a special election at the city’s expense.

He again presented Mark Wendell as a candidate, encouraging the council members to take it to a vote this time. 

At the Aug. 28 meeting, Wendell was rejected as a candidate due to lack of a second. City Attorney Phil Pierce explained the statute is clear that a vote must take place, and it was the mayor’s choice whether to call for a motion and a second. 

Wyatt elected to have a motion and a second before the vote took place. After receiving a motion and a second, Wendell was rejected on a 1-2 vote, with Councilman Darrell Pierce voting yes and Council members Matt Greenwood and Andrea Brueggeman voting no.

The next candidate, Dennis Hansen was rejected on a 2-1 vote, with Greenwood voting no. The Tribune asked why Hansen was rejected since the statute calls for a majority vote. 

Attorney Pierce said it was a majority of the council and there were three council members there. Greenwood said it’s a four-member council, and they need a majority of the full council.

The Tribune stated it was specifically a council vacancy statute, obviously written to take into account a missing council member. Therefore, the council would be functioning as a three-member council, and 2-1 would be majority. 

Attorney Pierce said to proceed. The Tribune later contacted Pierce for further clarification, but did not receive a response. 

Candidates Kirk York and Tim Bishop were rejected on a 1-2 vote with Pierce voting yes. 

Kim Bishop was then approved with three yes votes. 

Wyatt thanked Jason Kirkpatrick for attending the meeting and “putting his name in the hat.”