Politics

Bethel City Council unanimously rejected adding a new city position, which would have employed a half-time dogcatcher, half-time city code-enforcer. 

Michelle DeWitt has been appointed to the final open seat on the Bethel City Council. There were five applicants for the one-year term, which became vacant when Carole Jung-Jordan resigned last month. DeWitt currently works at the Bethel Community Services Foundation. She called into last night’s council meeting to make her opening statement.

The search for Bethel’s new city manager has taken a step backwards. Last night, the city council rejected both finalists for the position, Aaron Easton and Michael Patterson, due to concerns over their backgrounds. The council then voted to re-open the application period for the city manager job.

Bethel City Council chose a mayor and vice-mayor for Bethel. Perry Barr, who’s in the second year of his council term, was elected mayor. Brand-new council member Haley Hanson is the vice-mayor.

Bethel residents have the opportunity to chat with their next city manager. The two final candidates, Aaron Easton and Michael Patterson, will be available to the public at 5:00 p.m. today, Oct. 16, at Bethel City Hall for a meet and greet. 

Five candidates have expressed interest in the final seat on Bethel City Council. The seat opened up when former council member Carole Jung-Jordan resigned last month. The candidates are Rick Garcia, Courtney Trammell, Joni Beckham, Jon Cochrane, and Michelle DeWitt. Absent from the list are the two candidates who ran for city council this year but were not elected: Raymond "Thor" Williams and Fritz Charles will not be considered for the final council seat. 

Bethel City Council protested two marijuana stores Tuesday night. But to get there, council had to re-vote on one protest, which could still be lifted if the store came into zoning compliance. The other protest may bring a lawsuit. 

There is an official date for local option alcohol restrictions to begin in Bethel. Jan. 6 is the day that the liquor store licenses will expire. That same day, people will have to start marking alcohol in their luggage. There will be limits on how much alcohol can be imported and possessed, and the state will start tracking how much alcohol you order in a database. Bootlegging will become a felony, as will furnishing alcohol to a minor.