With a unanimous vote in favor of moving the City of Washington’s Park Board from elected to appointed, a public hearing will be held February 7th. The City Council elected Tuesday to move from the current three-member, six-year term elected board to an appointed board with four-year terms. City Administrator Brent Hinson explained the goal is to broaden the membership, and perhaps not having to put a name on a ballot will encourage others to show interest.

The council worked with the current board on the matter. It will take many steps for the change to go into effect, including a public hearing, developing an ordinance to dissolve the current board, and another to create the new board. The goal is to have the new board set up to take effect July 1st, 2017.