By Andy Foltz
NKyTribune Correspondent
Meet the new mayor, same as the old mayor.
In a special meeting Wednesday, city council voted 4-2 to bring back former mayor Mark Stoeber to serve until the general election. This was necessitated by the abrupt resignation of Cold Spring mayor Nancy Bay Tuesday. Stoeber, who was not present for the meeting, returned to the city building shortly after the meeting ended to be sworn into office.
During the meeting, council also re-appointed Brandon Voelker as City Attorney, citing the need to have legal counsel to guide them through the process of appointing a mayor. Voelker did so, explaining that they had a 30-day window in which to appoint a mayor, after which time it fell to the governor. He also informed council that this is considered an unexpired term according to Kentucky law, and thus will last until the next general election, which will be in November.
Anyone wishing to run for Cold Spring mayor this fall has until the second week of August to file, because the city holds non-partisan elections, Voelker said. The mayor elected in November will serve out the remainder of Bray’s term, not a full four-year term, he added.
During the roughly three months Bay was mayor, she dismissed Voelker as city attorney, Steve Taylor as city administrator, and Ed Burk as police chief. Her choice as city attorney, Cameron Blau, also resigned last week.
Stoeber said his first priority is to reassure residents that the city is the same as it ever was – safe and efficient.
“My job is to talk to the residents – they need to have the confidence they are safe. They turn over $3.5 million to us every year – they need to have be confident it’s not going all over the place willy-nilly.”
Stoeber appeared within minutes of the meeting ending, saying he didn’t want to be present at the meeting so as not to influence council’s decision. When asked how he got there so quickly, he laughed and said, “That’s the beauty of a small town, you’re never far away.”
Stoeber had served 12 years as mayor and six years on the council when he chose not to run for re-election last fall. He said he has stayed close to the city.
“I had 18 years under my belt. The city council members and I who chose not to run, we thought we had a really solid city in place,” he said. “But it killed me to have to leave. I care about the city. I loved the people I worked with here. So if council says, Mark, come back and help, I’m glad to.”
His first priority will be tackling administrative issues, such as the city being behind on the budget process. He also ranked hiring a permanent police chief as a higher priority than city administrator, because “Who touches the city more than the police?”
“I have great confidence in our police force,” he added. “We have an outstanding lieutenant (acting Chief Lt. Wayne Hall), and outstanding sergeants.”
Councilman Chris Ampfer was one of the two dissenting votes on appointing Stoeber. Brenda Helton was the other.
“I don’t like the idea that Mark didn’t run in the fall,” he said. “We should have at least considered the person who came in second.”
That person, David “Angelo” Penque was present at the meeting, and indicated he was willing to assume the mayoral duties.
“I would have nominated someone who would potentially run in the fall,” Ampfer added.
He had an interesting exchange with councilman Adam Sandfoss during the discussion of appointing the mayor. Ampfer asked Sandfoss if she resigned “because of pressure from you.”
“You would have to ask her that,” Sandfoss responded.
He added in his support for Stoeber, “The city did run well when he was mayor, and we need to reassure our residents right now.”
Former city councilman Stuart Oehrle spoke in favor of the decision, saying, “Thank you for bringing stability back to the city. Whether you like or dislike Mark Stoeber, he knows how to run the city.”
Dr. Mark Schroer disagreed, telling council: “I think we need fresh blood and fresh ideas for the city. We have a lot of difficult problems, and I hope you learn to think outside the box.”
Lisa Cavanaugh, in her second term on council, summed up her feelings by saying, “We’re not here to play small-town politics. It’s about what’s in the best interest of the city.”
