The sudden death of Vice Mayor Elden “Red” Nutt has left a tremendous void, and not just for the City of Ripon.

At Tuesday’s Ripon City Council meeting, elected leaders – in this case, soon-to-be-selected mayor Leo Zuber, Jake Parks, Dean Uecker, and newly elected and former councilman Mike Restuccia – will look at filling the unexpired term created by Nutt, who died on Nov. 21.

At the 7 p.m. open session in the Council Chambers, 259 N. Wilma Ave., City Administrator Kevin Werner and City Attorney Tom Terpstra will open talks to filling that vacancy.

The first part of it is the necessity to appoint a new councilman per state Government Code.

The council, in this case, has two options, including filling the vacancy via appointment. That process would require a full council to be on hand to conduct interviews at a public meeting and during open session prior to Jan. 20.

However, if the council is unable or unwilling to make this appointment, a costly special election at the estimated tune of $60,000 could be called. The time tables on this would be no less than 114 days from the time a special election is called.

In each case, those interested must be 18 years of age and older, reside within the corporate city limits, and be registered to vote in the City of Ripon.

Nutt was re-elected in 2012 to another four-year term. He was the only incumbent that year to successfully retain his seat.

His death also left a vacancy on Local Agency Formation Commission-San Joaquin County, or LAFCO.

“(This) is an important hearing on South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s proposal to provide electricity services in Ripon,” Werner said.

He added: “With the passing of Councilman Nutt, council needs to designate a nominee for this position.”

Whoever the council selects will be considered and acted upon by the City Selection Committee made up of mayors of the six cities in San Joaquin County on Dec. 9. This newly appointed member would then be allowed to participate in the important LAFCO hearing scheduled Dec. 12-14.

Prior to these discussions, the council will conduct a reorganization meeting, calling for Zuber, under the rotation, to serve as mayor and Parks to be named vice mayor. Uecker and Restuccia will move up to the No. 3 and No. 4 slots, respectively, in the rotation.

For more information, call the City of Ripon at 209.599.2108 or log on to www.cityofripon.org.