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Midvale Council appoints Denece Mikolash to fill District 5 vacancy after second ballot
Summary
After two rounds of private-ballot voting and a coin toss to break a first-round tie, the Midvale City Council voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2025-R-01 appointing Denece Mikolash to serve as District 5 council member through Jan. 5, 2026; she was sworn in immediately.
The Midvale City Council selected Denece Mikolash to fill the District 5 seat on Jan. 7, 2025, following a two-round private-ballot process and a coin toss used to resolve a first-round tie. In the decisive second ballot, Mikolash received three votes to Wayne Sharp’s two, and the council then approved Resolution No. 2025-R-01 to formalize the appointment for the remainder of the term (Jan. 7, 2025–Jan. 5, 2026).
City Manager Matt Dahl explained the selection procedure before voting, noting that ballots would be collected and verified by the City Recorder and City Attorney and that state law provides for a coin toss to break ties. Dahl said the City Recorder would conduct the toss using the same coin previously used in a mayoral selection; the coin toss advanced Wayne Sharp to the second round after a tie between Sharp and Jeannette Hernandez Heltman. "The City Recorder will conduct the toss," Dahl said when describing the procedure. After the second ballot, Mayor Dustin Gettel announced Mikolash as the choice.
Council Member Heidi Robinson moved to approve the appointment by resolution; Council Member Bonnie Billings seconded. The roll call vote on Resolution 2025-R-01 was unanimous (Council Members Bonnie Billings, Paul Glover, Heidi Robinson and Bryant Brown voted Aye), and Rori Andreason, the City Recorder, administered the oath of office to Mikolash immediately thereafter. Mikolash had told the council during her interview that she would "listen to the residents' needs by reaching them through events, social media, talking to them, and knocking on doors," and she said she would support downtown economic development and the planned recreation center.
The appointment completes the council’s process to fill the vacancy created when Dustin Gettel was appointed mayor on Dec. 10, 2024. The council’s record of ballots and the coin toss procedure were preserved by the City Recorder and City Attorney as part of the meeting record.
