Before the official start of the first meeting of the new year, Mayor Donna Bowen, Councilor Steve Casaleggio, Councilor Mike McClain and Councilor Andrea Thompson were sworn into office by City Recorder Angela Watson.

After taking the gavel, Mayor Donna Bowen called the meeting to order, which was held virtually on Zoom for the public. The first order of business was the appointment of a new councilor to fill the 2 years remaining in Bowen’s 4-year council seat. Scott Selbe, a candidate in the 2020 council race, was picked to fill the vacancy. He’s a 5-year town resident, an Employee Benefits Specialist, and has served on numerous Citizens Advisory Committees, garnering respect for his committee work updating Chapter One of the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code. On a related note, Council elected Jim Lewis to serve as Council President in the mayor’s absence. Council also filled a vacancy on the Planning Commission with the appointment of Mike Schwartz, a 19-year town resident. Mike is employed by Asante and serves as a volunteer with the Jacksonville Dog Park and the Medford Food Project.

Interim Fire Chief Wayne Painter presented his annual report and discussed key points, including: equipment upgrades in 2020 and future needs to purchase a new fire engine and new fire hoses, grant funding success, upgrades to the current fire house, supporting the Firewise Program, building supplies of PPP equipment and intern program and staffing needs. Of note, Painter discussed his department’s involvement in fighting the Almeda and Obechain Fires, and the need to continue vigilance in clearing Jacksonville of overgrown brush and woodland areas. Of note in 2020, the department responded to 761 calls, 433 of which were medical and 328 fire-related. Find the full report on the city website.

Mayor Bowen announced the following council appointments to head-up city committees and commissions:

  • Cemetery Commission—Scott Selbe
  • Committee for Citizen Involvement—Andrea Thompson
  • Historic and Architectural Review Commission—Jim Lewis
  • Movie Committee—Donna Bowen
  • OSHA Committee—Steve Casaleggio
  • Parks and Visitors Services Committee—Mike McClain
  • Personnel Committee—Donna Bowen, Jim Lewis, Ken Gregg
  • Planning Commission—Steve Casaleggio
  • Transient Lodging Tax Committee—Ken Gregg
  • RVACT, MPO, RVCOG—Jim Lewis
  • RVCOG Alternate—Scott Selbe
  • ECSO—Wayne Painter
  • ECSO Alternate—Jim Lewis

Please see Mayor Bowen’s column above for important information on changes to the bi-monthly City Council meeting schedule.

Councilors Mike McClain, Steve Casaleggio, and Andrea Thompson being sworn-in.