The Chapel Hill Town Council will appoint a new member at its 7 p.m. meeting today. The council will choose from 11 applicants.
Whoever the council appoints will fill the vacancy left by Town Council member Penny Rich’s departure to the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
The appointed member will serve until elections are held this fall, said Town Council member Donna Bell.
Bell and Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt emphasized the need to appoint someone who can hit the ground running.
Kleinschmidt and Bell said the council is currently heavily involved in budget discussions and needs someone who will be able to begin actively contributing immediately.
The high value that Bell and Kleinschmidt placed on experience suggests the council could appoint Sally Greene, who served on the council from 2003 to 2011.
“I am a strong supporter of Sally Greene,” Bell said. “I would be very happy if we could have her rejoin the team because I think she has the qualities we need at this moment.”
But Kleinschmidt said there were several candidates who would be qualified for the position whether or not they had been on the council before.
Council member Lee Storrow agreed. He said many candidates had served the town in various capacities, and relevant experience would not necessarily include prior service on the council.
