NEW PALESTINE — Members of the New Palestine Town Council this week will start the process of filling two new seats as the council expands to five members from three.
The council will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, to review the letters of interest they received. Four people are vying for the two seats. The meeting will be in town hall, 42 E. Main St.
At Thursday’s meeting, the council will determine which of the four applicants it wants to invite to its regularly scheduled meeting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4. At that meeting, the council will interview the finalists and then vote on the appointments.
The council invited people to submit letters expressing their interest in the position. The four New Palestine residents who responded by the Dec. 18 deadline are Adam Axthelm, Clint Bledsoe, Angela Fahrnow and John Lytell.
Bledsoe was a longtime council member who lost during a town nominating convention before the November election. Fahrnow ran in the general election as an independent but finished fourth in the voting for the three seats.
The council currently is made up of Brandee Bastin, Bill Niemier and Jan Jarson. All are Republicans.
Town residents by a margin of 3-to-1 voted in November to expand the size of the council. Officials at the time said the bigger council would reflect the growing population in New Palestine. Having more members was also seen as a hedge against quorum issues: An absence of two members at a council meeting would mean the council could not conduct business.
