District Board appoints new member during Sunday meeting

The MHCC District Board appointed Paul Capell as new interim member with a unanimous vote during a rare Sunday morning meeting.

An open meeting was held after a 9 a.m. executive session and allowed the board to vote in Capell before its next scheduled regular meeting Nov. 14.

Capell is due to be sworn in at that time, filling the board vacancy left when Ralph Yates resigned, effective last month. Capell must run for public election in May to retain the seat.

The board had originally planned to select a new member during its regular meeting on Oct. 17, also preceded by an executive session.

“The quality of the individuals that applied for the position, the number and their experience and their dedication is very amazing,” said board Chairman Dave Shields on Sunday. “It shows that Mt. Hood Community College has an important job and important impact on the community.”

A separate motion to make a unanimous vote was made by board member Brian Freeman.

“I made my motion on the basis on my review of the resumes, finding all the candidates to be well qualified. I made this motion on the basis on the candidate that I thought was best fitted and prepared to handle the heavy chores that we expect in the next nine months,” Freeman said.

Capell, who ran for a board position last year, is a member of the MHCC Foundation board and vice president at a local engineering firm.

He also served as mayor of Prineville, Ore., in 1997-98, which drew praise from board member Rod Monroe.

“We’re in the process of trying to find a new president and that’s the most important thing that any board does, is to hire a president,” Monroe said. “His (Capell’s) resume tells me that he’s had experience as a mayor and in other ways that will enable him to directly and immediately cause an impact on the process of selecting a president.”

Board member Diane Noriega said, “We have a broad diversity of strengths at the present time and Paul certainly will contribute another perspective to the board that will be extremely helpful. His business background, his experience with budgets, his experience with collective bargaining, are all going to bring very positive strengths.”