Ward 5 councillor to be chosen tonight
Welland city council tonight will declare the Ward 5 seat left by Michael Petrachenko vacant.
A report to come from city staff makes the recommendation and adds it be filled by appointment of a resident from the community.
Petrachenko resigned from council last month to take care of his terminally ill wife Monique.
While council discusses what to do with Petrachenko’s seat in open session, in a closed session it will discuss candidates put forward by councillors to fill the seat declared vacant after the death of Ward 5 Coun. Rocky Letourneau.
Letourneau died June 22 at age 61.
His seat was declared vacant on July 25.
Last month, council decided it will fill the position by choos- ing someone from the community instead of holding a byelection, which would have cost $57,000. A byelection would have seen nominations accepted starting Sept. 20 and ending Nov. 17, with voting taking place Jan. 2.
No one was able to apply for the position, and councillors were not bound to choose anyone who ran in Ward 5 during the 2014 election. Ward 5 is bordered by East Main Street to the north and Ontario and Ridge Roads to the south, Coventry Road and Burgar Street to the west and the Niagara Falls border to the east.
In the last municipal election, Claudette Richard came in third, with 879 votes, behind winners Letourneau and Petrachenko. Mark Dzugan was fourth with 523 votes. Dzugan last served in Ward 5 from 2006 to 2010.
The person chosen by council in tonight’s closed session will be announced later in open session. Council gets underway at 7 p.m.