The Battle Creek City Commission will interview six candidates for the at-large opening on the commission.
Interviews will take place near the beginning of the regular Tuesday, July 5 city commission meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the third-floor chambers of City Hall, 10 N. Division St. Anyone unable to attend in person can watch the meeting live in AccessVision Channel 17 or the City of Battle Creek YouTube channel.
Those wishing to give official public comment must do so in person, or by emailing cityclerk@battlecreekmi.gov before the meeting. The clerk’s office will share emailed comments with the commission; they will not read emailed comments aloud during the meeting.
The following candidates submitted letters of interest to be the next at-large commissioner, representing the entire city:
- Frank Drury
- Kelli Grenfell
- John Kenefick
- Steve Stockwell
- Lynn Ward Gray
- Cayley Winters
Their letters of interest will be publicly available later this week, attached to the agenda for the July 5 meeting. Find city commission agendas here, on our website: https://www.battlecreekmi.gov/420/Agendas-Minutes-Videos.
Each candidate will have four minutes to present to the commission, then commissioners can ask them questions. Next, an extra public comment period will allow interested speakers three minutes each, specifically about the candidates. Once this process is complete, commissioners will vote, and select a date for the partial term to begin; all commissioners are up for reelection this year. Once the new commissioner is sworn in, the commission will vote among themselves for a new vice mayor.
Vice Mayor Kaytee Faris resigned from the commission on June 7, because her family is moving out of state. The city charter requires the commission to appoint someone to fill her seat within 30 days.