Picking a new city councilor to fill a vacancy. Adopting new rules on who can challenge the inclusion of materials at the Banks Public Library. Restricting some new industrial uses in the city. Reports, reports, reports, and a proclamation honoring student athletes at the Banks High School.
These are some of the items the six Banks residents serving on the Banks City Council will see during their Tuesday, Dec. 10 city council meeting and work session.
The full agenda is available online. The council meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom.
To listen to the meeting by phone, call 1-253-215-8782 and use webinar ID 899 8557 5148 with passcode 107069.
One big ticket item is the interview of up to three candidates for a vacant city council position (CC5) during the work session starting at 6 p.m.
According to Banks City Manager Jolynn Becker, three candidates were planning to interview for the position as of a Dec. 6 email to the Banks Post.
All three candidates are familiar names to those involved with Banks’ volunteer boards and local politics.
Debra Berry, Pearcia Bogroff, and Jeremy Bench have applied for the position. Two other candidates withdrew earlier for personal reasons, Becker told the Banks Post.
Berry ran for a different City Council seat in November, losing to incumbent Marilyn McCalister. Berry also serves on the city’s Planning Commission and the city’s Budget Committee.
Bogroff doesn’t appear to be a current member of a city board in Banks, but her husband, Jimmy Bogroff, is a current Planning Commissioner.
Finally, Bench has served as chair of the Planning Commission in the past.
Earlier plans to accept applications for a second council position that will be vacated at the end of 2024 were postponed and will be accepted at a later date closer to the council’s January 2025 meeting (this newspaper will publish all the information on how to apply for that position when it becomes available).
The work session will largely be devoted to interviewing candidates, and then once the regular session begins, council members will quickly vote on adding a new member to their ranks before proceeding with the rest of the evening’s business.
The city of Banks administrative offices are located at 13680 NW Main Street. Find them online at www.cityofbanks.org or by phone at 503-324-5112.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
