By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — For the second time in as many months, the Claremont City Council is looking to fill a seat left vacated by a member who submitted their resignation.
Joel Tremblay notified Mayor Dale Girard and City Manager Yoshi Manale via email on May 22 that he would be stepping down from his seat as an at-large councilor, citing the time commitment as his reason for leaving. Girard received the email that morning and later read the letter of resignation to the council at their meeting. The council approved his resignation, and has now put out an advertisement for the position to fill the seat with a term ending on Dec. 31, 2025.
“I feel that I cannot continue to give the council and the citizens of Claremont the attention they deserve,” he said. “I am grateful for the time I have spent with the council and being able to serve the community, but it is just too big of a time commitment for me currently.”
The outlier seat can be available for any registered voter in the City of Claremont, and applications are being accepted until June 19. Girard said that interviews will be scheduled for June 26, and the council will subsequently vote to appoint a new councilor. As of Tuesday, Girard said there were no applicants, but added that the advertisement had just been posted.
Tremblay’s departure comes on the heels of Spencer Batchelder leaving the board at the beginning of April, who also said he was resigning due to time constraints. He was replaced by Brian Zutter earlier this month, who Girard has been pleased with as far as hitting the ground running on city issues.
The council is currently in the midst of budget season, and Girard admitted that losing and replacing members at this time can present a challenge. This is the biggest policy the city council sets every year, with weekly meetings with department heads leading up to a vote on the final budget slated for June 12.
“We are sorry to see both of the two councilors leave after just being elected recently,” Girard said. “Like anything else, when you start working together as a group, the continuity and being able to work together is nice. We’ve been fortunate since Brian was appointed. I think he will fit right in with the group.”
Girard said that Zutter brings a fresh perspective to the city and helps with the discussion showing his own thought process on city business. When looking at applicants, Girard said knowledge of the city and its workings, as well as the time they can put into the role, would be paramount.
“Any time you join a board, sometimes you don’t even recognize how much time needs to be put in,” Girard said.
Claremont’s city charter includes the process on how councilors must choose a new member when a vacancy arises.
“Vacancies in the office of councilor resulting from a failure to elect a candidate thereto, or which occur at any time after the election of a candidate thereto, shall be filled by some qualified person who receives the votes of a majority of the remaining members of the city council,” the charter reads. “Such appointment shall be made at or before the second regular meeting after which such vacancy occurs and the councilor so appointed shall serve until his/her successor takes office. In the event a vacancy occurs, there shall be an election conducted at the next regular municipal election and the councilor elected to fill the vacancy shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term. The city clerk shall act as clerk to the council.”
A voicemail was left with Tremblay on Tuesday, but not returned by press time.
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