New mayor says council seats will be filled at next monthly meeting

CHESAPEAKE — A special meeting, which was set for Friday evening to fill vacancies on Chesapeake’s village council was canceled.

Mayor Nate Ittig said he plans to make appointments to fill the vacancies at the next regular meeting of council, set for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1.

The village was struck by mass resignations on Monday when Mayor Kim Oldaker and four members of the council announced their resignations, leaving Ittig and council member Paul Hart as the remaining council.

Mayor pro tempore Larry Estep, before resigning on Monday, named Ittig as mayor pro tempore.

And, with Estep’s resignation, Ittig became acting mayor, then mayor on Tuesday.

Ittig, 36, is the youngest mayor in the village’s history, according to Hart.

He works as a projector coordinator at Armstrong, where he has been employed for 16 years.

He said he intends to stay in the position and a ceremonial swearing in took place at village hall Friday afternoon. Ittiq was given the oath of office by village solicitor Derick Fisher.

“I really do have the village’s best interests at heart and I hope we can move forward,” he said.

As there is only one council member at present, there is not a quorum to fill the seats and, if the council is unable or unwilling to fill seats, the responsibility falls to the mayor in 30 days.

Ittig, who was himself appointed to fill a vacant council seat earlier this year, said he plans to appoint Lisa Blake, Drew Griffin and Jacob Wells to the three of the vacant seats, as they are already on the ballot, unopposed, in the Nov. 2 election.

Of the remaining two seats, he said he will have one to fill later and the other will be filled by council.

Fiscal officer Lenny Abrams also announced his resignation at Monday’s meeting, though Hart said this was unrelated to Oldaker and the council resigning and that Abrams will remain in the position through the end of the month.

Street commissioner Danny Burd, a former council member, has also announced his resignation, Hart said.