Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council elected Jim Gourley mayor in a 4-3 vote during its regular meeting on Jan. 8.
The council unanimously elected Scott McKee as president pro tem. The president pro tem fills in for the mayor when the mayor is absent.
Gourley succeeds Craig Fentiman, who served from 1991 to 1994, 2001 to 2002 and 2004 to 2012. Gourley served as mayor from 1997 to 1998 and has been on the council since 1993.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as mayor over the past number of years,” Fentiman said. “I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish as a council and a city.
“During the week I plan to focus my efforts on my business, but on the weekends and free time I am looking forward to spending more time with my wife and family. You will most likely find us on a lake, in our canoe fishing and taking photos. If the weather is bad then we will most likely be bowling somewhere.
“Thank you to all the citizens for the opportunity to have served as mayor.”
Fentiman has two years remaining in his term on the City Council.
Gourley said he thinks he’s taking the post in a good situation.
“I think we have a lot of good things going on in Sweet Home,” Gourley said. “I’d like to continue down the path we’re on and try to finish some of the projects we’ve started.”
Among those, the city will continue to work on reducing inflow and infiltration, which is storm water that leaks into the city’s sewer system through deteriorating pipes and cross connections with storm drains. During heavy rains, it can overload the Wastewater Treatment Plant, forcing the city to bypass highly diluted but untreated wastewater.
The city has been working under an agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality since 2000 to reduce I&I and resulting bypasses. The deadline was in 2010, but the city and DEQ have been working on a deadline extension since then.
That includes doing what the city needs to do in the future with its wastewater, Gourley asid.
“We’re trying to work with citizens and come up with solutions for our community,” Gourley said, among them, the community forest proposal and the ongoing downtown programs.
Gourley said he believes the city is headed the right direction, but “a lot of these projects just take a lot of time to accomplish.”
Councilors Dave Trask and Greg Mahler nominated Gourley, while Marybeth Angulo nominated Scott McKee Jr. for mayor.
In an initial vote, Trask, Mahler and Gourley voted for Gourley, while Angulo, McKee and Fentiman voted for McKee. Bruce Hobbs abstained.
Following statements by each, Hobbs voted for Gourley.
“One of the reasons I want to be mayor or would be willing serve as mayor is it just would be an honor,” McKee said. “I have the experience, and I want to use that experience.”
He has served on numerous committees, as part of the council and in the community, he said. He attends as many legislative events as he can, and he’s studying political science and planning to make a career in politics.
He can represent younger people and would represent the city well outside of Sweet Home, he said.
“I believe I’ve represented them (the city) well,” Gourley said. “I believe a lot of folks in this community feel they want to have a strong person in that position, as mayor. I’ve proved I can not only be fiscally responsible, I can also make sure our employees and the needs of the city are met.”
The city has a lot coming up, he said, as well as ongoing issues. The city needs to do everything in its power to reduce inflow and infiltration as it has been doing.
“I would try to represent the people of the city as well as I could,” Gourley said.
Expertise and tenure are important in choosing a mayor, Mahler said.
“Change is good and sometimes a younger person in the job can make things happen, not that they haven’t been happening,” Angulo said.