Springfield City Council officially welcomed a new member and accepted the resignation of another.
Katherine Pridgeon was sworn in by Municipal Judge Grady Reddick to begin last week’s council meeting. Pridgeon will complete the term of Jeff Ambrose, who resigned from council at the end of last year. The term ends Dec. 31.
Springfield City council voted at its Jan. 8 meeting to appoint Pridgeon to the vacant council seat. She served four-and-a-half years on the city’s planning board.
“I enjoyed my time in that position, learning how the city works and what the different functions are of the different boards,” Pridgeon said. “So I’m looking forward to having some input … to hopefully move forward with some of the things that the residents find important as well as what city council finds to be good for the growth of the community.”
The city filled the council vacancy with an appointment rather than a special election, Mayor Barton Alderman said, because the timing of Ambrose’s resignation meant an election could not be held until March.
However, a special election will be held to fill the current council opening. City council voted to accept Troy Allen’s resignation and called for a March 19 special election to complete his term, which expires Dec. 31, 2015.
Allen had to step down from the seat after he moved from Springfield to Clyo. He had served on Springfield City Council since January 2008.
Alderman read Allen’s resignation letter aloud at the council meeting. Allen thanked the mayor and his fellow council members “for all of the efforts we have made to make Springfield a better place.”
“Together we have accomplished so much in my time on council,” Allen wrote in the letter. “Being an elected official has provided me the opportunity to serve the citizens of Springfield, and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.”
Qualifying for candidates to run in the March 19 election begins today at 8:30 a.m. at Springfield City Hall and continues through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The qualifying fee is $25.
Polls will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on election day. Any potential runoff would be held April 16.
Pridgeon’s appointment to city council created a vacancy on Springfield’s planning and zoning board. Council member Kenny Usher nominated former councilman Butch Kieffer for the post, and the council unanimously approved. Council also voted Springfield Merchants Association President Jamey Stancell as an alternate to the planning and zoning board.
