Scott Celello

IRON MOUNTAIN — At Monday’s Iron Mountain City Council meeting, a new council member will be filling an at-large position previously held by Brad Coe.

Coe resigned his seat in a letter to the council on Jan. 2, according to Mayor Dale Alessandrini. No mention of the letter was made at either the Jan. 2 or Jan. 16 regular city council meetings.

Alessandrini said that Coe had indicated he was moving out of the city into Breitung Township.

During a special meeting on Jan. 26, Scott Celello, who recently retired as Dickinson County Sheriff, was appointed to fill Coe’s unexpired term.

Terms on the city council are for four years and Coe was elected to his current term in the November 2015 general election. He had been appointed by the council in May 2014 to fill the unexpired term of Bruce Rosen, who had resigned his seat on the council.

According to the minutes from the Jan. 26 meeting, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said that three citizens had expressed an interest in filling the vacancy.

“He (Stanchina) conveyed that only one applicant, Scott Celello, was qualified to accept the position,” the minutes stated.

Alessandrini said that the two other applicants were not registered voters, which is a requirement to be on the council.

According Section 4.2 of Chapter IV of the city charter, “Each elective city officer must be a duly registered elector in the city and shall have been a resident of the city for six months immediately prior to the election at which he is a candidate for office.”

Section 4.8 of Chapter IV in the charter deals with vacancies and says “any vacancy occurring in an elective office shall be filled by the concurring vote of at least four members of the council within 30 days after such vacancy shall have occurred. The person appointed by the council shall serve until the next general city election.”

According to the minutes from the special meeting, Alessandrini said Celello would be an asset to the city council.

The council unanimously appointed Celello to the at-large vacancy. Council members Amanda List and Pam Maule were absent.

The city recreation plan for 2017-2021 was also discussed during the special meeting. A public hearing on the plan was set for Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Notice of the special meeting had been posted on the bulletin board area outside of the city offices.

Alessandrini said they were thankful that Celello had submitted his application for the seat since the deadline to fill the position was Feb. 2.

Linda Lobeck can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 29, or llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.