Aijala sworn in as new Hurley mayor

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Hurley — The city of Hurley held a special reorganizational meeting Tuesday to swear in the newly elected mayor and alderpersons to the city council.

This was the first virtual meeting held by Hurley since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that has state executive orders for closures and stay at home to avoid exposure to COVID-19. There were 16 participants attending the virtual meeting which by law is accessible to the public with the links made available by the city staff.

Mayor Paul Mullard opened the meeting before former alderman Jay Aijala, who was elected mayor in the April 7 spring election, took the oath of office. Mullard did not run for reelection and was thanked by the city staff and council for his “many years of service to the city of Hurley and to Iron County,” as expressed by Stacey Wiercinski, city clerk and treasurer.

Newcomer Thomas Conhartoski, who lost to Aijala in the mayoral race, also ran for a seat on the city council and was sworn in as a new alderman to fill Aijala’s former seat. Five other incumbent alderpersons were also sworn in for two-year terms include: Steven Lombardo, Joanne Bruneau, Stephanie Innes-Smith, Jamey Francis and Robert Lanctoe.

At this point Aijala took over officiating the meeting. The council’s first action was to elect Lombardo to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.

The council then approved the standing committee appointments.

—Finance Committee: Bruneau, chair; Lanctoe and Innes-Smith.

—Board of Public Works: Lanctoe, chair; Francis and Conhartoski.

—Police, Fire and License Committee: Lombardo, chair; Bruneau and Innes-Smith.

—Parks and Recreation Committee: Francis, chair; Lombardo and Conhartoski.

Lombardo was appointed by the council as the alderperson to serve on the Planning and Zoning Committee. The council then approved Robert Charbonneau and Paul Mullard as citizen members of the committee. 

The council approved Bruneau, along with citizen members Terry Finco and Frances Pudas to serve on the Hurley Public Library Board. 

The council then reappointed the same members to the Board of Appeals.

In separate actions the council appointed Dan Soine as the city assessor and as the building inspector.

The council approved Ray O’Dea to continue serving as city attorney.

The council then approved the mayor’s personnel appointments as:

—Lombardo to the Eagle Bluff Golf Club.

—Conhartoski to the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce.

—Gary Pelkola, citizen, to the Iron County Snowmobile Council.

—Bruneau to the Hurley Housing Authority pending approval of Darryl Kosma.

In other business, the council approved:

—Resolution 4-14-2020b, extending the State of Emergency Declaration.

—Resolution 4-21-2020, exempting city employees from the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act.

—Designated Associated Bank of Hurley and Northern State Bank of Ashland as the city’s official depositories.

—Designated the Iron County Miner as the city’s official newspaper.

—Robert’s Rules of Order for conducting city council meetings.

—Heard an update from members of Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts (ICORE) regarding a grant application for a former Canadian National rail bed acquisition project that would become a non-motorized trail to link Hurley and Montreal.