Newest member joins the City Council

And then there were seven – again.

Longtime community volunteer Mike Todd joined the Mill Creek City Council on Tuesday, June 14, sworn in by city clerk Kelly Hennessey at the start of the meeting.

“I’m really looking forward to representing the citizens, looking to ensure we look out for each and everyone’s interests,” Todd said.

Todd’s family, wife Christy and children Ben, 14, and Micaela, 12, attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Todd replaces John “Jack” Start, who passed away in April. The Council had been a six-person body in the weeks following Start’s death.

Todd said the decision to try and replace Start was made in conjunction with his family.

“We talked about it as a family and decided it was the right thing to do,” he said.

Todd actually attended his first Council meeting June 7, when he sat in during a study session. He jumped in right away, asking questions about parking and building uses in relation to a proposed office building on Ninth Avenue SE, and about design standards for a new Wal-Mart store.

Hennessey said the Council has decided that “technically anyone is able to sit at the study session and participate.” Todd, however, would not have been allowed to vote or take any action until he was sworn in. Since no action is taken at study sessions, Todd could participate.

“We wanted him to get familiar with some of the items that will be voted upon at his first meeting on the 14th,” Hennessey wrote in an e-mail on June 8.

Todd will serve through at least the end of the year. Because of Start’s death, the position will appear on the ballot during this year’s municipal elections. The winner will serve the remaining two years of Start’s term, through 2007.

When he was interviewed for the position, Todd told the Council that he intended to run for the seat if he was appointed to it. Should Todd run, he already has competition. Steven Hypse, who applied for the open seat, has filed his intent to run for the position this fall with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Before coming to the Council, Todd served on the city’s Parks and Recreation Board and volunteered in a number of community organizations, including the Silver Lake Soccer Club.