Montesano City Councilman Dan Wood is stepping down from the council after six years of being on the elected board.

Wood, who announced his planned resignation during the council comment segment of the Tuesday night, May 10, meeting, has more than 25 years of experience in the public policy arena as a volunteer activist, professional advocate, nonprofit association leader, and public official.

He praised the community of Montesano and called his time serving it “a big privilege.” His resignation is effective May 30.

“This is a great community and a privilege to be here. I appreciate being able to work with people (who) care about this community,” Wood said.

Wood clarified that the nature of his resignation is due to a commitment of prioritizing personal family matters and moving to a new area to accommodate those needs. He spent his council comment segment thanking each member of the council personally for the work they have done in Montesano and the fond memories he shared with each member.

As for the vacant seat, the council will begin to take applications for someone to hold the position that will be decided with a majority vote. Once the vote is decided, that appointed individual will hold the position until the end of the current term in 2023. That individual will also be able to run for reelection if they so choose.

In other news from the city council meeting, Councilman Dave Skaramuca announced via his Public Works Committee Report that a traffic altering project will be happening in the Montesano area. The project discussed and brought to the attention of the council is a railroad crossing replacement on Main Street that will require a multiple-day closure to complete.

“The railroad (Puget Sound & Pacific) has informed us that it’s time to replace the crossing and they’re asking for a three to five-day closure in the summer to complete it.” Skaramuca reported.

Although Public Works is hoping that the project could be delayed until October, the fear is that if delayed, any serious faults with the railway, such as a derailment could cause a 30-day closure in its wake. The plan is to have the replacement of the railroad crossing done in the middle of the work week to prevent traffic disruption as much as possible.