ENTERPRISE — Councilor Jeffrey Yanke will serve as the new president of the Enterprise City Council following a vote by the council at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 12.

Yanke replaces Jenni Word as the council president. Word, who held council position No. 1, had served on the council for about 10 years but decided to not run for reelection in November. Mayor Ashley Sullivan recommended Yanke as council president and he will take over in January. As such, Yanke will serve as mayor pro term when Sullivan is unavailable.

Yanke was first elected to the council in November 2020.

Eric Stangel was elected to replace Word in position No. 1 during the Nov. 8 election in a vigorous write-in campaign against Devon Maxwell, who was reappointed Monday to the city’s Planning Commission. Once he begins service on the council in January, Stangel will serve on the Fire Department Committee and Sullivan will move to the Library Committee.

In another matter, city Administrator Lacey McQuead reported a successful Winterfest held downtown Dec. 10 and that the city earned $1,382 total in donations at its chili feed. She said the city administrative staff would like to continue solicitations for donations at the chili feed, and that the donations would be given to “a good cause for the holidays,” according to a summary of the meeting.

The council also heard an update from Jim Nave of the Wallowa County Athletic Network about improvements to the baseball complex. Nave told the council about delays in constructing a fence because of the weather. He said that the steel for the high school backstop has been received and it is currently being constructed by Stangel Industries. With the first high school game scheduled for March, there will be a large push come spring to have the field ready.

Other businessIn other business, the council:

• Approved an event permit on behalf of Lynnie Appleton for veterinarian checks Jan. 18 for the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race. McQuead said the vet checks will be the same as in previous years.

• Received a report from Public Works Director Shawn Young about the 10% threshold for water consumption and the state’s requirements. Young said that to audit the water use, a comparison is completed between the consumption reflected on his reports and the water consumption reflected in the administrative report (off the utility billing program). To meet the state’s requirements, the reports cannot differ by more than 10%.

• Heard a report from Police Chief Kevin McQuead explaining lower numbers in 911 calls and the department’s current focus on removing and towing vehicles.

• Approved an agreement with Wallowa County for dispatch services. A review and possible modification of the agreement could come in the future, the council agreed.

• Tabled an update on an electric vehicle charger until more information is received.

• Agreed to hold its next meeting Jan. 9.