EPHRATA - Grant County PUD budget analyst Heidi Schultheis was appointed this week to fill an empty Ephrata City Council position.

Schultheis, 31, is a single mother who grew up in Ephrata and recently moved back to the community to raise her 2-year-old son, her letter of interest states.

Schultheis traveled to Brazil in high school as a Rotary exchange student and studied international relations for two years in Brazil in college, she said.

She's interested in developing and enhancing the city's recycling program, shaping the city's parks, recreation and open space plan and planning for future city improvements, she stated.

Ephrata Mayor Chris Jacobson said five letters of interest were submitted to the city and every person who wrote letters was great. Beau Lamens, Thomas Stredwick, Clarke Morris and Matt Moore turned in letters of interest.

"The goal is to try to maintain a council that's a balance," Jacobson said.

Schultheis' life experiences, work experiences and gender will help provide a balance to the city council, he said.

She replaces city council member Chris Youngberg, who resigned last month for personal reasons.

Youngberg's term expires in 2011, said Ephrata City Administrator Wes Crago.

Schultheis must run for the seat in the next municipal election in 2009, Crago said.