Montreal looks to fill 2 council seats

MONTREAL, Wis. — There will be some new faces on the Montreal council after two of its members resigned recently.

Montreal Mayor Erik Guenard said at Tuesday’s council meeting that the city received letters of resignation from Rick Swartz and Joan Levra.

The resignations were effective Monday, according to Guenard after he read the letters

“I would like to thank them for their service. Joan has been on for quite a long time, and Rick was appointed, and I appreciate the work both of them did,” Guenard said. “I’m sorry to see them leave and I’d just like to recognize their contributions to the city of Montreal and Gile at this time.”

Neither letter stated a reason for the resignation.

After the meeting, Guenard told the Daily Globe he was looking to appoint people to fill the two vacancies “sooner rather than later” and hoped to have the new council members in place sometime later this month.

Those appointed would need to run in the April election if they wanted to continue on the council, according to information presented at the meeting.

Guenard said those interested in serving on the council could contact the city.

Due to the vacancies, the council decided not to act on several agenda items Tuesday, including the renewal of two liquor licenses. Guenard indicated a special meeting later this month will be held, if needed, to deal with the issue.

He also said he would use his powers as mayor to approve moving forward with improvements to city hall designed to protect city employees and the public from the spread of the coronavirus. The work will cost $3,619 and be completed by Angelo Luppino Inc., which was the lowest of two bids the city received.

Guenard said he would like to see the work complete before the city hall completely opens. The offices are currently open by appointment or calling ahead, according to the information presented at the meeting.

Prior to the full council meeting, the city’s road committee met to discuss future projects. Although no formal action was taken, there was a general consensus to spend the available funds on several of the worst spots throughout Montreal and Gile rather than focus on a single large project.