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BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte Borough Council has an open seat.
At Monday night's borough council meeting, council accepted the resignation of member Gina Thompson. Thompson, who represented the south ward, recently accepted a part-time position in the borough as HARB's Zoning and Planning administrator.
Borough manager Ralph Stewart explained Thompson's resignation letter.
"Gina is taking a position in the borough," Stewart said. "We did advertise, just like we do with all of our positions that go to the outside. We had one applicant and it turned out to be Gina … she has some very good experience."
Because the position with HARB represents a conflict of interest, Thompson was forced to give up her seat on council.
With the seat on council now open, the borough will advertise it for 30 days.
"Under the borough code, with any resignation, the council has a 30-day clock that starts ticking to fill the vacancy. If it's not filled, it would go to what's called a vacancy board of the borough … we have a 30-day window to fill this seat," Stewart said.
Thompson's resignation was accepted unanimously.
Council members lauded Thompson during a brief discussion period.
"I'd like to thank Gina for her time on council," said council member Randy Brachbill. "She did a good job with finances and she was a good council person."
Mayor Tom Wilson also thanked Thompson for her time on council.
"It's always great to have people in our community that are willing to step up and serve and I appreciate that … so thank you," Wilson said.
"She will be missed," said council member Michael Prendergast.
Pro tempore Doug Johnson said that Thompson played a vital role on council.
"I'd like to thank Gina for her time on council and all the due diligence she did during our finance meetings. We will miss her during those meetings. But I know if we need her, we can always count on her for advice until we get that position filled," Johnson said.
Council president Joanne Tosti-Vasey said that Thompson was a vital part of the borough's finance committee.
"When Gina came in, she was appointed to the finance committee. She was very anxious about it, but she stepped up to the plate quite well and I appreciate that," Tosti-Vasey said.
Stewart said that even though the resignation comes on the heels of Election Day, there is not enough time to get names on the ballot for the spring primary.
"(After) consultation with the Centre County Elections Office … this is not a position that is currently up for election," Stewart said. "What has to happen is that council puts an interim person in that seat."
If the person who takes the seat wants to run for the seat, they would do that in the November general election, Stewart said. Whoever takes the seat will have to be resident of the borough's south ward for at least one year.
"That is a borough code policy," Stewart said.
Thompson is heavily involved in the borough. Prior to taking the part-time position with the borough, she was the Main Street manager for Downtown Bellefonte, Inc.
Council member Anne Walker was absent from Monday night's meeting. Council will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 5. That meeting will be held via Zoom and televised by C-NET.