WINDHAM — For roughly seven months, six town councilors have been sitting at a table meant for seven. But that is set to change next month, when the council, which is soliciting applications for the vacant seat, hopes to have it filled.

The council last week discussed the process and time line for bringing in a new colleague. There was some disagreement over whether to prioritize expediency or go through a longer advertising process, which a few councilors said would open the process to a wider audience.

The Town Council vacancy has not had a major impact on the town’s daily operations, but filling it will “bring another perspective, and add more depth to (the council’s) conversations,” Town Manager Tony Plante said Wednesday.

Also, Plante said, having a full complement of councilors will help avoid tie votes and help to “clarify the council’s position” in cases where there are opinions on both sides of an issue.

The seat has been left empty since the death of former Councilor Thomas Gleason in May. Gleason, a beloved member of the council and community, died of a heart attack at a New Jersey hospital. He was 67.

Shortly after Gleason’s death the council discussed the possibility of filling the seat, but decided to leave it vacant until the November elections. Because no one ran for the position, the council is now tasked with appointing someone for a one-year term to the at-large seat.

Following the Dec. 6 meeting, the council decided to advertise the vacancy online and through local media outlets for the next two weeks. The deadline for the application is Dec. 23, and the council plans to select a new member in time for their day-long training session on Jan. 7.

At the beginning of the meeting, Councilor Donna Chapman suggested the council schedule an executive session to review the applications that had already been received, and pick from the applicants.

Chapman said news of the vacancy had spread largely through word-of-mouth.

Councilor Jarrod Maxfield said the application process should be publicized, “so that it’s an open process, and so people we don’t know get an opportunity (to apply).”

Maxfield said he wanted to encourage people who may not otherwise get involved in politics to apply for the position.

Further discussion revolved around how much time was sufficient to advertise, with several councilors advocating for having a two-week window and trying to appoint a new councilor by Jan. 7. Maxfield said he would prefer to have a longer window for accepting applications.

Plante said the charter does not outline how a vacant council seat should be advertised or for how long, but that typically councils run advertisements, take applications for a set period and then conduct interviews.

Four applications had been received before the council started advertising the vacancy, Tammy Hodgman, Plante’s executive assistant, said Tuesday. Applications came in before the elections but after the deadline for declaring candidacy, she said.

One application has been submitted since Dec. 7, when, following council orders, the town posted the application process on its website and Facebook page, Hodgman said.

Town Clerk Linda Morrell said at last week’s meeting that a change in state statute could spare the council from having to follow a similar process in the future.

During the previous election, the town followed a state statute that maintains only regular and declared write-in candidates would be counted, and votes for undeclared write-ins would not be tallied.

However, a new state statute introduced in fall 2015 allows towns to count undeclared write-in candidates if there are no candidates on the ballot for that position. Morrell asked the council to put forth a resolution, guiding the town staff to take that approach in the future. The council agreed to do so.

Windham Town Hall