Crown Point Mayor Pete Land presided over his first city council meeting Monday. He said after years of attending meetings as police chief, the mayor's seat is a little different — but he's come to admire council members' ability to respect everyone's opinion and reach common ground.
"It's just an honor to be serving in my role, sitting up here with you all. So I look forward to working with everyone," Land told council members.
Land was chosen last week to replace David Uran, who stepped down to take over as president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. Uran didn't attend Monday's meeting, but offered his support in a comment on the meeting's livestream, thanking the council, mayor and clerk-treasurer for "continuing to work together for the best interest of our community."
Meanwhile, Land made an appointment of his own, announcing Ryan Patrick as his replacement as police chief. "Ryan is a 23-year veteran of our agency. He's our operations commander, which means that he runs our detectives, our investigations and then our school resource officers," Land explained.
Land also said Patrick is a graduate of the selective FBI National Academy.