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VIENNA -- Following the passing of Councilman Tom Azinger, members of Vienna City Council are beginning the search for his replacement.
Azinger passed on July 13 and left a long-lasting legacy as a public servant.
"You're not gonna find somebody like Tom," Mayor Randall Rapp said about Azinger.
Rapp said Azinger's connections were valuable to the city and his abilities to connect with others, even through a simple phone call, make his position difficult to fill.
A similar situation happened surrounding the passing of Councilman Mike Elam in October 2021. Following Elam's passing, council passed an ordinance regarding the process of filling vacancies on city council.
According to that ordinance, announcements and the candidacy certifications to fill the position are due between the second Monday of July and the first Tuesday of August.
Rapp said it was unclear whether the same procedure during Elan's replacement would be followed, but council would discuss it during Thursday's meeting.
"The discussion is on the Thursday meeting's agenda," he said
Rapp said any potential nominees would not include candidates for November's general election.
"(We are) definitely not considering anyone who is running for election in November because it would be an unfair advantage," he said,
Rapp said that his current nominee for replacement is Chuck Noffsinger, who served on the Vienna Building Commission. This commission oversaw the building of the Jackson Park pool and coordinated the financing of a $3 million bond towards the project.
Councilwoman Kim Williams said she had spoken to Rapp, who told her he would reach out to city attorney Russell Skogstad.
"I did reach out to the mayor and he was going to reach out to (Skogstad)," she said.
The News and Sentinel contacted Skogstad for comment but he was unavailable by press time.