A quick city council meeting in McCleary Wednesday saw a new face at the table as Jacob Simmons joined the body, replacing Jenna Amsbury, who resigned her seat earlier in the summer to take the city’s clerk-treasurer position.
Simmons has been a regular presence at city meetings for months, and is currently running unopposed for a seat after his interim position runs its course at the end of the year.
“You can sit back and complain or you can step forward and help make a difference,” Simmons said in an interview after Wednesday’s meeting. “I chose to step forward and help make a difference.”
A McCleary resident for more than a decade, Simmons said he hoped the public will be patient with the city council as they reform and work towards a more unified McCleary.
“I’m looking forward to bringing some unity back to this community and helping this community progress together toward the future,” Simmons said.
Simmons won’t be the only new face on the city council. Councilmember Joy Iverson resigned her seat at the beginning of the month, entering a letter read by Councilmember Brycen Huff during the meeting.
“This was a very difficult decision to make for me and it did not come easily,” Iverson said. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the council.”
Iverson said in her letter that she would continue to work towards a better McCleary for all.
The city council is currently accepting applications to fill the seat. The applicant selected will fill the position until the end of 2025.
The council and Public Works Director Chad Bedlington also discussed other items of business, including the gradual changeover to a new website and the acceptance of the Complete Streets protocol. Working within the strictures of the Complete Streets process opens up McCleary for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding that’s earmarked for projects within the protocol, Bedlington said.
“We want to try and capture that as best we can,” Bedlington said. “Having this in place sets a standard that says yes, we will work with our school districts, we will work with our city, we will work with our state agencies.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
