The Powell City Council will kick off the new year with a new member. Lesli Spencer was unanimously approved for appointment to the recently vacated Ward 3 seat on Monday evening; she will be sworn in at the council’s Jan. 4 meeting.

“It will be nice to start out the new year with a fresh slate,” said Mayor Don Hillman.

The seat was vacated when former Councilman Josh Shorb resigned from the council in November because he moved outside of Ward 3 and out of city limits.

“It is rare to find a council when we are short — it is usually when someone moves,” Hillman said.

The city received letters of interest from six applicants: Spencer, William Petersen, Janice Bailey, John Sides, Zachary Coombs and Todd Voller.  Councilmen Tim Sapp and John Wetzel and Hillman interviewed their top three applicants before ultimately deciding on Spencer.

“It was tough; we had six good applicants,” Hillman said. “It would be nice to have a woman on the City Council, and Lesli has had good business experience with The Merc and other community activities, and she seemed like a perfect fit to me and the others.”

Spencer was born and raised in Powell and graduated with the Powell High School class of 1992. Now she is the business manager at Keele Sanitation LLC.

Spencer said she was “pleased and a little nervous” when she found out she was chosen to serve on the council since this will be her first time in that role. She also said she just wants to focus on gaining an understanding of the different aspects of serving on the council and working on budgets.

“It is something I have been interested in, and I hope to bring a different perspective, not that there is anything to change or fix — but want to bring a perspective that can benefit the community,” Spencer said.

Spencer will serve for the remainder of Shorb’s term and will then have the option to run for election in November for a full term.

“At this time, I am planning to run,” Spencer said. “With the one-year appointment, it allows me the opportunity to get my feet wet and see if I like it and then I can make an informed decision if I want to run. I am planning on it, but if it is not for me, I can gracefully bow out of it.”

If any Powell residents have questions, concerns or just want to share their opinion of what’s happening in the area, Spencer encouraged them to contact her.

Spencer is the first woman to serve on the City Council since LuAnn Borders — who served more than 10 years ago.

“I think it will bring a different perspective — it will be an asset,” Hillman said, noting that one of the best council members he’d worked with was a woman.