Welcome appoints Weyer to council
Jennifer Brookens — Staff WriterWELCOME - When longtime City Council member Stan Nelson died of a heart attack last month, he left a vacancy in Welcome that proved tough to fill.
During the regular City Council meeting Tuesday, remaining board members looked at five applications, hoping to fill the vacant council position until Jan. 1. The seat is up for election this fall, and names need to be on the ballot by Aug. 26.
The five applicants consisted of longtime Welcome residents - some with prior council experience - and others who just hoped to bring a new perspective to the council.
Louis Weyer, a former Welcome mayor, ended up being appointed, but not before some discussion.
Councilman Wes Strausser initially made a motion to appoint David Cook, a new businessman in town.
"He could give us some good insight on what's going on," Strausser said. His motion later died for a lack of a second.
"I would like to have more discussion on the other candidates," said John Borchardt. "We even have one with experience with the council. It's kind of a bearcat to throw somebody in here for four months and have them figure it out. Weyer at least has some experience."
H. Bocky Borchardt's motion went to John Larson, the only applicant in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.
"John's here, he's showing the most interest," he said. "Did we ask for the others to show up tonight? Apparently not."
Bocky Borchardt also pointed out that because the seat will be up for election and names need to be on the ballot before the next meeting, it will be difficult for the appointee to tell if serving on the council is something he wants to continue to do.
"There's no time for them to see if they like it," he said. "It's really short term."
Bocky made a motion to appoint Larson, but his motion also failed due to a lack of a second.
John Borchardt made a motion for Weyer, which Bocky seconded after about a minute of silence. The appointment passed 4-0.
Other applicants included Donald Schlager and William Peterson.
In other business, the council:
o Received a list of upcoming projects for the public works department. The list was meant to help the council plan for budgeting in future years.
o Tabled a motion on a proposed sewer rate increase until the next meeting.
