Coaldale Council will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, hoping to appoint a new mayor, council member, zoning officer and secretary/treasurer.

During a meeting Tuesday, council tried twice to appoint a new person to council, either Francis Hutta or Vincent "Skip" Miller, but ended up deadlocked both times.Councilwoman Linda Miller passed away Nov. 16. Council has 30 days to fill her seat.After that, the vacancy board has 15 days to fill the seat. Solicitor Mike Greek said the vacancy board consists of council and a person who is appointed to serve on the vacancy board.Councilman Mike Doerr nominated Hutta, seconded by Thomas Keerans, with Yvonnie Stoffey also voting yes. Council President Angela Krapf and council members Harry Hontz and Brenda Hosler voted no. Hosler nominated Miller, seconded by Hontz and joined by Krapf, but Doerr, Keerans and Stoffey voted no.With no mayor to break the tie Richard Kellner had tendered a resignation letter and he was not present at the meeting both votes were deadlocked. Keerans asked solicitor Mike Greek if council could appoint a mayor during the meeting, and have that person then cast the tie-breaker vote; and Greek said that could be done.Two people had submitted letters stating their interest in the mayor position. Former Police Chief Tim Delaney suggested that council wait, since there had been no advertisement seeking candidates for mayor, and council members agreed.There was some discussion as to whether or not the council had appointed someone to serve on the vacancy board when they reorganized in January.Before the special meeting, minutes from the January meeting will be checked to see if someone was appointed to the vacancy board.The board also accepted the resignation of secretary/treasurer Andrea Davis, who had worked for the borough since October 2013.Krapf said she took offense to a Times News article which quoted Davis as saying she had quit because of "workplace bullying.""I'm really trying to do positive things," Krapf said. "I feel that my actions will outweigh the negative comments that are being made."During the public comment portion of the meeting, residents spoke in favor and against Davis."How does the borough function without a secretary," Hutta asked, then commenting about the allegations of bullying. "If it is true, something has to be done in the borough; I thought she was doing a good job."Another resident said that it was Davis who was doing the bullying.Although she spoke during the public comment period, she declined to give her name after the meeting, saying she feared retaliation."I disagree that she was doing a good job," the woman said.