City council leadership elected

A full house turned out for the Hill City Common Council meeting July 10 to celebrate the service of alderman Gary Auch and mayor Kathy Skorzewski as well as to welcome Lori Miner to the council.
To Auch, finance officer Stacia Tallon said, “On behalf of the staff and community, we want to say thank you for your service. You’re a joy to work with, and we really appreciate this.”
Auch was presented with a gag gift along with a certificate and a picture of a clock plaque he was to receive from the city for his service.
Next, Tallon presented Skorzewski with a similar gag gift and certificate along with a large handmade Dr. Seuss Card.
“Mayor Kathy,” Tallon said, “the staff and the citizens want to say thank you for everything you’ve done for us and your time spent as a council member and mayor.”
In response, Skorzewski took a moment to reminisce about her time as mayor and the things that were accomplished. She said, “The reason why I stepped up to the position of mayor has everything to do with the people and with the people who work here.”
Skorzewski said the job of mayor is not lucrative, but rather one of supporting the community and city. Her goal in being mayor was to bring some consistency and stability to the city. Along with this, she is proud of the community center that was given to the people to be used.
In achieving her goals, Skorzewski said it was time to make room for someone else.
“I’d like to thank the council. I’d like to thank my employees foremost. The staff has been amazing,” said Skorzewski. “And also to the people for trusting me and letting me lead you through some times that were pretty tenuous there that none of us expected, but that wound up highlighting Hill City and who we really are.”
With the farewells made, it was time for the newly-elected council members to take their places. Carl Doaty and Miner were both sworn into office as city council alderman.
Miner then nominated Doaty for the role of council president. The president acts as mayor in the absence of one and performs the duties required therein. After ensuring Doaty could provide the necessary time to represent the city as mayor for the time being, alderman Dale Householder seconded the nomination. Alderman Jason Gillaspie was not present.
For the role of vice president, Doaty nominated Householder. The vice president acts in the absence of the president and performs the duties therein. This nomination was seconded by Miner.
Stefanie Doaty, president of the Park and Recreation Board, requested the council’s approval for a special fundraiser to be held at Memorial Park July 28.
The Memorial Park fundraiser will take place from 5-8 p.m. with set up beginning at 4 p.m.
During the event the park board will provide food like hot dogs, hamburgers and desserts as well as non-alcoholic beverages.
Danya Tully is also donating her time to provide music for the event.
The fundraiser will be based on goodwill donations, and the money raised will go toward the renovation and improvement of Memorial Park.
The council unanimously approved this event and waived the fee.
Next on the agenda was the approval of the Memorial Park concession lease for Hill City Youth Athletics (HCYA). The only change made to the lease was a desire to allow other groups to use the concession stand when HCYA was not using it.
Doaty asked if there was a list of items in the concession stand that are owned by the city or if everything was owned by HCYA. Stefanie Doaty answered saying that she spoke with Travis Eckert regarding the lease, and everything inside the concession stand belongs to HCYA.
After reviewing the lease Householder said he did not think HYCA should be able to sublease the concession stand at a profit. He also asked what the dates were for the lease. This information was not available at the time. Therefore, Householder motioned to table the lease until the council had all the facts.
The next meeting of the  council is Monday, July 24 at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.