Missouri Hall Director Zac Burden is the newest member of the Kirksville City Council.
The four Council members voted unanimously to appoint Burden at the Council meeting Aug. 20. Burden took the oath of office immediately following the meeting. There has been a vacant seat available on the Council since the resignation of Mayor Jerry Mills Aug. 6.
City manager Mari Macomber said Burden approached the Council after Mills’ resignation to express his interest in the position. She said the Council had requested his appointment be placed on the agenda so the council members could consider him for the position. Macomber said the appointment would last until the next April municipal election. Then, the winner of that election would take the seat on the Council.
Burden said he was already planning to run for a Council seat in the April 2019 election, so when the opportunity to join the Council came early, he decided to talk to them. Burden said when he joined People for Better Parks, which helped pass the half-cent tax for improvements to parks, he worked heavily with the Council and began regularly attending their meetings.
“I made a commitment that I wanted to learn more about what was going on in the city of Kirksville and understanding the different procedures and events that were happening,” said Burden. “Through that I started thinking, you know, I think I could be helpful sitting on the other side of the city council’s table — I think I could really make a contribution to the community.”
For more, pick up a copy of The Index on Thursday, Aug. 23.