Rosenbeck joins Medical Lake City Council

Medical Lake residents who attend City Council meetings may notice a new face among the current council members.

Elizabeth Rosenbeck was sworn in as the council's Position 5 representative at the June 15 meeting. She replaced the late Howard Jorgensen, who resigned from his seat in January and passed away in May.

Rosenbeck has lived in the Medical Lake area for 16 years. She said her interest in applying for City Council began after she asked herself "how can I serve the community more?"

"We've really had a great experience here (in Medical Lake)," Rosenbeck said. "I knew a lot about the school, which has been fabulous to us, but I didn't know a lot about the community itself."

Rosenbeck considered running for a school board position though she thought her job might have created a conflict of interest. She currently works at OAC Services Inc. in Spokane and her company works with school districts on construction and building projects.

It wasn't until Councilman John Paikuli approached her and recommended she apply for the vacant council position that she decided to seek the seat.

"He said 'you would be great at this,'" Rosenbeck said. "I told him that I didn't know anything about politics, but he said 'it's not really about that.'"

Paikuli said he's known Rosenbeck and her family for a long time and thought she had the "temperament and even-mindedness" to sit on the council.

"She had a lot of questions," Paikuli said. "After she got them answered, she took off and applied."

As for what she feels she brings to the council, Rosenbeck said she has a willingness to learn and is a team player.

Rosenbeck, along with the other candidates, were interviewed at the May 17 meeting. After a 20-minute executive session, council unanimously voted to have her fill the vacant seat.

Prior to her interview, Rosenbeck said she had never attended a council meeting. She said she was impressed with how friendly the council members were and was surprised at how casual the atmosphere was.

"My first impression of the meeting was, 'wow, everyone was in shirts and flip flops,'" Rosenbeck said. "I wasn't expecting that, but it's kind of cool. Medical Lake is a pretty laid back town anyways."

Rosenbeck has also known some of the council members through the city's parks and recreation programs, including Councilwoman Jessica Roberts, who used to run the department and A.J. Burton, who was her kids' soccer coach.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know all of them," Rosenbeck added.

As for council committees, Rosenbeck said she read that she would be on the Parks and Recreation committee, which she feels would be a "natural fit" for her.

"I'm happy to do that one for now," she said. "I'd like to make my rounds, I don't know if they change things up. I'd like to learn about all of them (committees)."

In addition to serving the community, Rosenbeck is looking forward to learning the inner workings of the city, as well as interacting with residents.

"I'm still a little starstruck at the moment," Rosenbeck added. "Give me six months and I'll be 'one of the guys.'"

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].