The Soldotna city council will soon have a vacancy. Keith Baxter will resign at the end of the month from Seat F, which he has held since last November.
He’d previously served a term on the council from 2013-2016. He says leaving for a new job at a marketing agency in Anchorage will be bittersweet.
“One thing I enjoyed was being able to contribute to the capital projects budget discussions and having some say over the timing of things. Supporting things like the sidewalk on Riverside Drive, to see them happen maybe sooner than they would have otherwise. And just working with great people in the community, both on the city council, at city hall, working with the council members from Kenai and the (borough) assembly. It’s been good.”
He has some advice for anyone interested in his seat on the council, as the city will be making some big decisions in the near future.
“The most important thing is that you want to do it, that you want to serve the community and you have a desire to do that. Secondly, if you are eligible to apply and you’re interested in doing the work and the service, then you should probably gather your thoughts about annexation.”
Professionally, Baxter leaves the Kenai Peninsula Tourism and Marketing Council. He says he’ll be excited to come back and enjoy that organization’s big annual event, Taste of the Kenai, as a guest. The council will take up Baxter’s resignation when it meets next on March 28th.