ANNA MARIA – With six applicants already seeking to fill two vacant city commission seats, the application period remains open until Friday, Dec. 15.
John Kolojeski recently became the sixth applicant seeking appointment to the city commission in January. Kolojeski joins previous applicants Gary McMullen, Kathleen Morgan, Pat Olesen, Susan Stephen and Sharon Wisniewski in the quest to fill the commission seat vacated by Deanie Sebring in September and the commission seat vacated by Robert Kingan on Dec. 7.
The one-page application form is available in person from the city clerk’s office by email at amclerk@cityofannamaria.com, or online at www.cityofannamaria.com by clicking the “I Want To” tab at the top of the city homepage.
During the Dec. 7 city commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said that having six candidates, and possibly more, may require some procedural revisions for the applicants’ public forum to be held at city hall on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
The applicant presentation process was first used in January when Charlie Salem and Brian Seymour applied to fill the commission seat vacated by Carol Carter. One at a time, the two applicants were given as much time as they needed to answer 24 questions provided to them in advance. Those presentations resulted in Salem being appointed to the commission.
During Thursday’s meeting, Murphy said the format would likely need to be adjusted to accommodate a forum featuring six or more applicants. He added that the city has already received at least 30 questions to potentially be posed to the applicants.
Murphy suggested that the order in which questions are answered be rotated so each applicant gets a chance to answer some questions first, some questions last and some in the middle.
Salem suggested grouping the questions into similar categories.
Commission Chair Mark Short suggested capping the Jan. 11 forum to no more than two hours.
Commissioners authorized Murphy to work out a revised forum format as he sees fit.
The city will continue accepting written questions from the public until Wednesday, Dec. 27. The compiled questions will be presented in advance to the candidates on Friday, Dec. 29.
On Jan. 25, commissioners Short, Salem and Jon Crane will each rank all the candidates in order of their personal preference, with the combined scores then determining who fills the two vacant seats. The resident appointed to fill the seat Deanie Sebring vacated in September will serve until December 2024. The resident appointed to fill the seat vacated by Robert Kingan in December will serve until December 2025.
