It was the Gays Mills Village Board’s version of musical chairs Monday evening, as Harry Heisz was appointed to serve as village president following the recent resignation of Pat Brockway from that position.  That move alone would have caused some shuffling of personnel, but was combined with several other situations.

Appointing Heisz to serve the remainder of Brockway’s term, which runs until April of 2015, means the village trustee seat currently occupied by Heisz has become vacant. Since it is now too late to take action to place that trustee position on the spring ballot, it also means appointing another person to fill the vacated trustee position.

Hold on though, there’s more. Village trustee Earl Winsor will not run for the board in the April election when his term is up, because he has become the new Gays Mills Fire Chief and the fire chief cannot also sit on the board. 

So, if you’re scoring along at home, this means Heisz’s seat is unoccupied and Winsor will not seek re-election in April. In addition to Winsor, trustees Aaron Fortney and Albert Zegiel are also scheduled to stand for election this spring. As of the meeting Monday night, no one, including Zegiel and Fortney, had filed papers to have their names on the ballots for the three open village trustee positions in the spring election. The deadline for filing those papers with the village clerk was Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m.

Village trustee Geraldine Smith suggested the board appoint former village president Craig Anderson to the village trustee position formerly occupied by Heisz. Trustees Winsor and Zegiel questioned whether that move should be made immediately or whether more input should be solicited before the choice was made.

Anderson, who was in attendance at the board meeting on Monday night, told the board that they should take their time in making the decision and not feel pressured to make the decision.

Winsor moved to table appointing someone to fill out the village trustee position vacated by Heisz until the February meeting. Zegiel seconded the motion and it was passed.

Anyone interested in being appointed to serve out the trustee position until 2015 is being urged to contact village clerk Dawn McCann and let their interest be known.

In review then, Pat Brockway resigned as the Gays Mills Village President on Dec. 16 for health reasons. At Monday night’s meeting the board approved appointing Harry Heisz to serve as the village president until April of 2015, when Brockway’s term would have expired. This created an unfilled trustee seat, which will run until April of 2015. The board tabled acting on filling that seat until the February meeting. Earl Winsor can no longer serve on the  village board because he has become the fire chief. Winsor’s seat as well as those of trustee’s Fortney and Zegiel will expire this spring and all three positions are on the April ballot.