LAUREL— The Laurel City Council is planning to a appoint a new mayor, after former mayor Dave Waggoner resigned in May.
The new mayor will serve through December 2027.
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The City Council must appoint a new mayor by June 21. Laurel City Council President Tom Canape will fulfill the role until then.
The city will accept nominations for the mayor June 9.
Residents and city council members disagreed in a Tuesday city council meeting over who could qualify for the mayor role.
“It’s not open to the public. It’s supposed to come from city council,” Canape said during the meeting.
“There is nothing in Montana statute, there’s nothing in the charter that says you pick the mayor from the council,” Laurel resident Kris Vogele said at the meeting.
MTN News left multiple messages for Canape at city hall seeking comment but did not hear back before deadline.
Waggoner resigned after several Laurel residents signed a petition to recall him as mayor.
Residents started the petition after finding the mayor had communicated with state officials, prior to them choosing Laurel for the upcoming state forensic mental health facility.
Many in Laurel oppose the facility coming to their town. The state is looking at a 114-acre plot of land just west of Laurel city limits for the facility.
Related: Key state official gets earful at Billings meeting over proposed state mental hospital
“We’re going to be facing probably something bigger than… ever in our city with the state and I would just encourage you guys to do some kind of interview process,” said Laurel resident Cheryl Hill, during Tuesday’s meeting.
One Laurel neighbor told MTN Friday he felt Waggoner’s recall was unnecessary.
“As far as appointing a new mayor, that's kind of sad, because over the years we even had hard times filling council seats,” said long-time Laurel resident Terry Kelly.
Kelly said he supports the building of the facility.
“I would like to see… (the new mayor) build the mental health facility because there's an awful lot of sick people out there that need the help,” he said.
Related: State officials face room full of frustrated Laurel residents over mental facility
Former Laurel mayor Ken Olson told MTN the role will require strong leadership.
“It’s a very contentious time,” said Olson.
Olson faced a similar situation when he entered the mayor role in 2003. He took over after the previous mayor resigned and fulfilled the rest of that mayor’s term.
Olson went on to serve as mayor through 2013.
“I think it's important that you listen to the people. The people always head you in the right direction,” said Olson. “And I think it's always great to have legal advice.”
