Butler City Council decided Tuesday night on who will fill its empty seat, but not without debate.

Bill May, 54, was picked for the open seat by a 3 to 1 vote, and he will oversee the Parks and Recreation Department.

The seat was left open following former Councilman Lisa Guard’s resignation at the end of 2013.

Council narrowed down the list of nine candidates to three finalists by tallying the scores of an anonymous questionnaire.

May, a computer teacher at Lakeview High School in Stoneboro, Mercer County, received the most points on the graded questionnaire with 197 out of a possible 240 points. Corey Roche, 32, and Nick Landon, 29, finished second and third with 190 and 189 points, respectively.

May and Landon are Republicans, while Roche is a Democrat.

Council members debated and voted on the three finalists.

The decisive third vote needed for an appointment, per third class city code, came from Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. after council was at a 2 to 2 deadlock for several minutes.

Mayor Tom Donaldson and Councilman Cheri Scott both ranked May as their top choice, while Councilman Kathy Kline and Schontz were in favor of either Landon or Roche.

Kline campaigned for Landon or Roche because of their young age.

“I think this is an opportunity to bring in young blood,” she said. “We have been preaching we want young families to move to Butler, both of these young men have done that.”

Schontz had Roche rated the highest from his survey, but he also liked Landon.

Fearing the decision would be sent to county court, Schontz relinquished his vote for May.

“My concern is if this goes to a judge, he may pick someone we didn’t want,” he said.

While the decision was debated, each council member was confident in each of the three finalists.

“I think we’ll work well with anyone,” Kline said.

Donaldson joked he wanted to draw names out of a hat.

“I really feel any one of the candidates is qualified for the position,” he said.

May, who was not at the meeting, said afterward in an interview that he is excited to be appointed.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “I look forward to working with the mayor and the rest of council to move the city of Butler in a positive direction.”

May ranked first with Donaldson and Scott because of his concerns about restoring Butler’s neighborhoods.

“My main focus is on restoring the vitality of Butler’s neighborhoods,” May said. “The city needs to focus on home ownership.”

May recently helped create the city’s preservation awards, which honor residential and commercial owners for restoring and maintaining city properties. He also has worked on other projects, including creating the Butler Ghost Walk and helping to stop the demolition of the Historic Lafayette Building.

“The thing that stuck out to me is that he is currently very active in the city,” Scott said.

May stated in his questionnaire answers that he thinks aggressive police work and a reworking of the city’s zoning and residential ordinances to limit rental and Section 8 housing will bring more single family homes to the city.

May is expected to be sworn in at council’s Thursday night meeting. He will serve the remaining two years on Guard’s four year term.

The salary for a council member is $2,500.

The other candidates for the seat were Tom Graham, Pat McIntyre, Phillip Neyman, Bill Criley, Amy Keys and Greg Reesman.