lizabeth Chaney Appointed To Fill Vacant Council Seat
Six resumes were sent to the city to fill the last two years of the Joseph Vigliotti’s seat on the City Council. Vigliotti resigned his council seat following his election to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners representing District 1, filling the seat previously held by held by Stephen Wantz, who was term limited as a Commissioner and made an unsuccessful run for a seat in the House of Delegates.
The City advertised to solicit resumes from those interested in filling the seat, and six letters of interest were sent to Fuller who then circulated them to the members of the council for their review.
At the November 3rd City Workshop, Mayor Wantz asked if council members had made their decision on who was the most qualified.
Councilman Haines said everyone who applied for the job was exceptional, and focused his decision on ‘community involvement." Based upon that criterion, he nominated Christopher Tillman to fill the vacant seat. However his nomination was not seconded by his fellow councilman.
Councilwomen Diane Forster then nominated Beth Chaney, who is currently a member of the Park and Recreation Board. Chaney’s nomination was seconded by Councilman Haines. Her nomination was unanimously approved by the members of the council and she was sworn in at the January City Council meeting.
The last time the Council followed this process to fill a vacant council seat was back in June of 2021 when they selected Leroy Hand to fill Councilman Darryl Hale seat following his resignation upon being selected as the City’s planning and zoning director.
Water Tower To Be Used For High Speed Broadband
The City Council has entered into a three year, $1,600/month contract with Tower Stream to allow it to use the city’s water tower to provide high-speed broadband service to residents within line of sight of the water tower.
According to City Manager Jim Wieprecht, the city had originally allowed Freedom Broadband to install the equipment on the tower in exchange for free broadband for the City government. Freedom Broadband was taken over by Tower Stream. In November, the City began using its own equipment on the tower and no longer needed the Tower Stream services.
According to Wieprecht, Tower Stream will now be using our tower, much like a cellar provider, to make money, and the town should be compensated for it. Wieprecht said the lease is structured the same way as current leases the Town has with Verizon and Sprint.
