The Columbia City Council on Monday opened their meeting with a moment of silence for late city clerk Ron Colyer, 69, who passed away May 27 following a brief illness while in the midst of his second term of office.

Colyer, a retired educator and former coach, served as city clerk since May 19, 2009. For a complete obituary, turn to page 3A….>>>

Colyer’s position is one of three at Columbia City Hall that is undergoing change this spring, as city administrator Al Hudzik prepares to retire and event coordinator and administrative assistant Jackie Hausmann drops to part-time.

The city is accepting applications for Hudzik’s position and for another part-time person to fill the remainder of Hausmann’s position. To fill the void left by Colyer, Deputy City Clerk Donna Mehaffey is serving in the interim.

“I’m currently talking to folks who have shown interest in the position,” Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson said. “We’ll probably discuss it at the next committee meeting and we’ll probably have an appointment at the next city council meeting.”

The relevant statute is still being interpreted, Hutchinson said, to determine if the appointee will serve the remainder of Colyer’s term or serve until the next general election in April.

“There is some conflicting information, but I suspect the new clerk will serve until the next election in April,” Hutchinson said.

In other news from Monday’s meeting, the council acknowledged the receipt of more than $152,000 from the Jim E. Weinel Administrative Trust for the future maintenance, remodeling or expansion of the Scout Hut located at Metter Park.