The East Ellijay City Council welcomed a new councilmember in its first meeting of the year last Wednesday at East Ellijay City Hall.
Chris Callihan became the newest councilmember after being sworn in by Mayor Mack West and having his appointment approved by the rest of the council. His dad, Don Callihan, is also an East Ellijay councilmember.
The addition brings the council back to its full membership. Councilman Harold Crump passed away in 2021 while still serving, and no one had been nominated to fill the seat.
West said East Ellijay has a strong mayor system, in which the mayor can also vote, so the council, which also includes Linda Smith and Ed Forrester, has been able to maintain a quorum since Crump passed away.
Callihan, who grew up in East Ellijay, has worked for several years as a general contractor in the homebuilding industry.
“I’m a lifelong East Ellijay resident, and, as I see Gilmer County grow, I think there’s a need for local, historical representation in the governments of our cities and towns. I want people in the city to know what East Ellijay is about and the history of East Ellijay, which most people don’t know anymore,” he said.
Callihan hasn’t been elected to sit on the council, but City Planner Mack Wood said the city’s charter allows the mayor and council to appoint a new councilmember to fill a vacancy at the beginning of the last year of a four-year term. East Ellijay’s mayor and city council seats will be up for election this November.
“It’s an open seat, and we need a four-person council,” said Wood.
In September, Callihan will have to qualify, along with the mayor, other councilmemebers seeking re-election and anyone else vying for election.
“He will have to run for a four-year term this year. The top vote getters will (be elected to serve on the council),” Wood said. “The city council has to be in office the year of the presidential election.”
West said appointing a councilmember, who will later qualify to run with the rest of the council, was a better option than holding a special election.
“An election costs us about $10,000, and (there wasn’t) any opposition. We don’t like to waste $10,000,” he added.
In other news ...
﹣ West shared some results of a recent yearly city audit with the council. Among them — the city should no longer contribute funding to individual residents in need to help with such things as home repairs.
“(We met with) the head auditor, and she told us we could not do that. We could not give anything to underprivileged citizens. I told her we’d been doing it a lot of years. We’ve always helped people in need,” West said.
City Clerk Petrina Pritchett clarified that such a donation has to benefit the whole community, not just one person.
﹣ In discussion of alcohol pouring licenses, Wood said Poole’s BBQ, which recently closed, is under new ownership. Marcelo Sandrini, of Ellijay Woodfired Pizza and Kasei Sushi, is the restaurant’s new owner, he added.
Poole’s BBQ was approved for a beer and wine pouring license at the council meeting.