BONNERS FERRY — With the resignation of Dick Staples as Bonners Ferry mayor, former board president Rick Alonzo was sworn in as mayor after being nominated by the city council on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at the board’s regular meeting.

This resulted in an open seat on the council. A vacancy was declared and as mayor, Alonzo appointed former council member Adam Arthur to return to the city council, as allowed by Idaho Code 50-704.

Arthur was on the council in 2021, but did not run for re-election.

The council approved Arthur’s nomination 3-0. Since councilman Brion Poston and Ron Smith attended the meeting remotely, Alonzo suggested the board president be decided at the next meeting when all council members could be present.

“I appreciate the confidence the council is showing by giving me the appointment,” Alonzo told the Herald. “I hope to live up to the expectation of the council and Bonners Ferry residents.”

Also on the agenda, was the recommendations for the golf course contractor from the search committee. This action item garnered high attendance to the meeting since former mayor Dick Staples resigned to avoid a conflict of interest and violating Idaho nepotism law due to his son, Ben, being an applicant and allegedly recommended the position by the committee.

The council tabled the agenda item as the request for the proposal information was too specific to be and did not allow anyone to be evaluated that didn’t have the right criteria.

Alonzo said the council would get back to the committee with the city attorney and create a new request for proposal.

City attorney Andrakay Pluid noted that there needed to be a scoring method when interviewing and evaluating applicants for the position. This is needed for an objective review and should be addressed before moving forward in filling the position.