HILLCREST — In a unanimous 6-0 vote, 15-year Hillcrest Village Board member Rich Elliott was nominated and voted in as acting president on Wednesday night during a special meeting.

The move took place after the board met in closed session for approximately 30 minutes as village attorney Paul Chadwick explained the village statutes and provisions related to filling the vacant president position that was created when Steve Dodson resigned last month.

Elliott chose to retain his position as trustee which means he will be able to vote on all motions at village board meetings. He will serve as acting president until the next election in spring of 2019.

"Rich has been a board member for 15 years, so I'm sure he will do a good job as acting president," Chadwick said after the meeting. "He is not resigning his trustee position, so he will be allowed to vote on all motions. The board will be operating with just six members for the next several months, so it is possible some motions could die if they end up in deadlocked votes."

Elliott said one of the first things he and board need to address is hiring a full-time village clerk and part-time village treasurer. Patty Moreno, who also announced her resignation in August, held both positions for the past few years.

"These are going to be two different positions again," Elliott stated. "We will be advertising for applicants immediately."

In other business on Wednesday night, the board unanimously approved the hiring of part-time water technician Brett Frasier to perform water testing on weekends and also help with occasional special water maintenance projects that require two individuals.