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During a special meeting convened on Thursday, Jan. 12, to establish the status of trustee Clayton Ryan and his ability to perform his duties as a trustee, Mayor Pat Means told the other trustees (Nancy Sturgill, Gene Welch, Nelson Cederberg and Dr. Laurence Smith) that she has been in contact with Ryan.

On Sept. 7, Ryan suffered a massive stroke while at work and was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital.

He is now at home undergoing rehab therapy, but is currently unable to participate in the town council meetings, work sessions, special meetings, or committees, and according to all reports, it is going to be a long, hard road before he can return to work.

Means explained that after returning home from the hospital and prior to this meeting, Ryan had indicated that he would like to keep his seat and remain on the Board of Trustees, if possible. He asked that the trustees delay making any decision regarding his seat on the town council until January 2012.

Means said she had sent Ryan a registered letter to inform him of the special meeting along with a request for any information that he would like to share with the trustees. Means said Ryan had not replied. Means said that his wife, Angela, did tell her, "He [Clayton] is not ready yet."

According to Means, Ryan still has difficulty speaking, making it hard for him to communicate and to perform his duties as a trustee. Noting that Ryan had the option to resign from the board, or to let the trustees make the decision regarding his seat on the board, Means told the trustees that they now need to make that decision, based on "What is, and not what could be."

Reminding the trustees that the April election is fast approaching, Means then asked the trustees to make their decision during this special meeting, as the town must declare how many vacant seats there are on the board by February to provide time for prospective candidates to pick up, complete and return their nomination petitions to be put on the April 3 ballot.

Welch commented that this is the toughest decision that he has had to make during his six years on the board. "But people voted us in to make decisions," said Welch, "as a board."

Means added, "This is not an easy decision, but it is an important decision."

The trustees were reluctant when Means called for a motion, so she made the motion to declare Clayton's seat vacant, "based on his [Ryan's] demonstrated inability to perform the duties of a trustee."

The motion to declare Clayton's seat vacant was seconded by Dr. Smith and unanimously approved.

It was noted that Ryan, when he is able, can still participate in the various committees and, if he so chooses, could run for a seat on the board of trustees in 2014.

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