Sylvania City Council voted unanimously Monday to appoint Mark Frye to fill its vacant seat.

Mr. Frye was chosen from among five applicants to fill the seat of former councilman Todd Milner. Mr. Frye will serve until Dec. 31, 2015, the end of Mr. Milner’s term. Mr. Milner resigned Sept. 30 to study to become an ordained pastor.

Mr. Frye sits on the city’s planning commission, a position he will have to resign. He is the president of the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities and owns Palmer Energy Co. The Toledo company serves as a consultant to Northwest Ohio Aggregation Coalition, advising on public utility contracts for entities including Sylvania.

At Monday’s meeting, Mr. Frye was sworn in and took his seat on council.

The other applicants for the seat were attorney Daniel Arnold, 33, co-owner of the Toledo law firm Gregory L. Arnold and Associates; Jennifer Archer, 41, Director of the Sylvania Community Arts Commission; Jason Mishka, 35, a network architect at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor; and former Sylvania councilman Patrick Kriner, 62.

Council used a two-step process to choose its new member. In the first vote, council members were asked to pick two of the five candidates. Mr. Frye, 51, led with five votes, followed by Mr. Arnold, who received three votes. In the second vote between the two, Mr. Frye won council’s unanimous support.

He said for now, there are no “burning issues” to tackle. He said he wants to learn from his council colleagues about what duties they face on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis.

Councilman Sandy Husman said serving on the planning commission is good experience for becoming a councilman. She said she believes Mr. Frye was ready for the job.

“He came across sincere in his wanting to serve the public,” she said.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.

First Published October 21, 2014, 1:44 a.m.