There soon will be two open seats on the Lakeland City Council, and city officials are asking people to apply.

Mayor Joe Paiement announced in May that he would retire at the end of June; his last day is Thursday. Paiement and his wife, Connie, have sold their house in Lakeland and are moving to Stillwater.

On Wednesday, Lakeland City Council Member Mike Thron said that he is resigning at the end of the July 16 council meeting; he and his wife, Julie, are moving to Bayport on July 22.

Paiement, 64, an attorney who owns his own practice, said he didn’t have any choice but to resign after his house “sold much faster than we thought it would.”

Lakeland Mayor Joe Paiement and Council Member Michael Thron. (Courtesy of Paiement and Thron)

“I’m pretty much fully retired, and we wanted to spend winters somewhere warmer, so we ended up getting a place in Palm Springs,” he said.

Paiement’s second term as mayor was set to expire at the end of the year. Prior to being elected mayor, Paiement served on the Lakeland City Council and the city’s planning commission.

After almost two decades in city government, Paiement said he is happy to be leaving the city at at a time when it is “functioning and stable.”

“People seem relatively content with local government,” he said. “The services are functioning well, the city is secure financially, and I’m happy that people seem to think local government is running smoothly.”

Council member Bob Craggs will serve as acting mayor until a new mayor is elected in November, he said.

Thron, 70, has been on the council since 2019; his term expires at the end of 2026. “We raised three daughters here in Lakeland, and I still have a lot of feelings for Lakeland,” he said. “I have no regrets, but it’s somebody else’s turn now.”

Lakeland residents interested in serving on the City Council are asked to send a letter of interest to city officials by July 8. Letters can be sent by mail to 1190 St. Croix Trail S. Lakeland, MN 55043 or by email to city@ci.lakeland.mn.us.

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