The Tuesday, June 17 meeting of the Marshall City Council is expected to be the eighth regular session where the mayor’s chair sits vacant.

Fourth ward councilman Craig Thompson has presided over the council as mayor pro tem since a special closed session Feb. 20, while then-mayor Vince Lutterbie was listed as “excused absent”, according to minutes obtained by KMMO News. Lutterbie resigned two months later, and the position has remained vacant since. Discussions have begun over the past two weeks, when second ward councilman Jim Papreck asked at the end of June 3 meeting when the council would find a successor for Thompson’s council seat. City administrator JD Kehrman noted that Thompson had not been appointed mayor and was still a councilman. After that meeting, Kehrman explained to KMMO News the steps the council needs to take to get back to full capacity.

While the vacancy is not listed on Tuesday’s printed agenda, the item could come up under other council business. The council will also give second reading to ordinances allowing code violations to go before the municipal court in lieu of the Board of Code Enforcement, as well as allowing notices to be visibly posted on a property where a code violation is reported. Meanwhile, the Marshall City Council’s Municipal Services and Personnel Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday in closed session to discuss personnel issues.