By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham City Council members said they were pleased with the number of residents interested in serving on entities such as the Pelham Industrial Development Board and Education Foundation.

Council members discussed their plans to appoint new members to several city boards – some of which have not met in several years – during a brief Jan. 6 work session, during which city leaders looked over a list of candidates who volunteered to serve on the city boards.

“We had 25 applicants, and I’m pretty happy with that,” City Council President Rick Hayes said during a Jan. 7 interview. “We had some people who, honestly, were great candidates.”

Hayes said the city has about 12 openings to fill on its various city boards, including the new Education Foundation to support the upcoming Pelham city school system and the currently dormant Industrial Development Board.

“Would we like more candidates in some cases? Sure,” Hayes said. “We were a little bit shy on candidates for the Board of Adjustments and Appeals. But overall, we’ve got plenty of candidates to look over.”

During a December 2013 meeting, council members expressed interest in restarting the Industrial Development Board to help spur retail and industrial economic development in the city.

Once seated, the Education Foundation will work to provide a stream of funding for special projects and other supplementary items for the upcoming Pelham city school system.

Hayes said council members are planning to look over the list of candidates for the city boards over the next few weeks, and will make appointments during an upcoming meeting.

“We will make a decision if that will be on the agenda in two weeks or not,” Hayes said during the Dec. 6 work session.