Fall Creek Board of Parks and Recreation expanded Falls Park with the purchase of 38 acres from the heirs of Dr. Robert Begley. Pictured at the closing in Anderson on June 23 are (front row, from left) Brian Begley, son of Robert Begley, and Park Board President Bryan Williams; and (back row) estate attorney Ron Fowler, park attorney Bill Davisson and Park Director Aaron Burris.

PENDLETON — As three winners in November’s election wait for January to start those terms on Pendleton Town Council, the town’s elected body received its newest member last week following a recent Republican caucus.
Bryan Williams, 57 — a lifelong Pendleton resident and an attorney who has been on the town’s park board for about a decade — was sworn in to council on Wednesday, Dec. 6. His first meeting on the council is set for 6 p.m. today at Town Hall.
“I really didn’t have any intention of (running for council),” Williams said on Tuesday. “The timing just, it all just lined up, when Jen contacted me and told me that she was resigning her position.”
Jennifer Roberts was elected to the town’s District 3 seat on council last year. She resigned effective Nov. 10 for personal reasons, Madison County Republican Chairman Russ Willis.
“She was the first person to encourage me to try to replace her, since I live in her district,” Williams said. “And then my term on the park board was ending at the end of this year, not that I wouldn’t have been reappointed, but it was coming to an end. “
“And then, honestly, what happened that swayed me in that direction, was everyone that’s going to be on town council starting Jan. 1 reached out to me and encouraged me to join them, which was, I thought, very humbling, and it just seemed like the right time.”
A majority of precinct committee members voted for Williams, who had been president of the park board since 2019, to replace Roberts during the caucus on Nov. 28.
The current five-member town council was already set to change in the new year after November’s election. Current District 1 Democratic Councilman Jerry Burmeister defeated incumbent Republican Shane Davis for his at-large seat. Republican newcomer Cory Hall was elected unopposed to Burmeister’s District 1 seat.
The other two council members are President Marissa Skaggs, a Republican whose term expires Dec. 31, 2026, and Democratic Councilman Steve Denny, who was re-elected unopposed to a new four-year term last month.
Skaggs said she believes Williams will be a good fit for the council.
She said when a vacancy goes to caucus in town, “you’re guaranteed to get somebody good, because Pendleton has a lot of good people that step up and want to fill those roles.”
With Williams, “first and foremost, he has a love of Pendleton, like all of us on council do,” she said.
She also said it will be easier for the “tight-knit” council to adjust to Williams than the average person because there’s shared history.
“All of us have worked with Bryan for several years now via his spot on the park board,” she said. “It will be nice that we have a new appointment, who is new to the council, but who isn’t new to the way that the town functions and the people that work at the town.”
Williams said as he prepares for his first council meeting he doesn’t have an agenda but rather just a desire to serve the town.
“I don’t think there’s anything specific that I have, that I’m motivated by. I mean, Pendleton, I love it, obviously. I’ve lived here my whole life. I absolutely love the Town of Pendleton.
“Certainly with all of the growth happening, it’s an important time for Pendleton right now and planning for the future. And, you know, to be encouraged to be part of that is, you know, appreciated and humbling.
He said he thinks his experience as an attorney, helping people solve their problems, along with the relationships he’s fostered in town throughout his life, not only helped get him elected at the caucus but will help him serve effectively.
He said he does see a steep learning curve in front of him as a councilman and is working to address that.
“I feel very uneducated at the moment. Like I feel I have a lot to learn very quickly,” he said. “I’ve already met with (town manager) Scott Reske, and we spent about an hour and a half getting me up to speed on some things, and we plan to do that again sometime next week.
“Having a good relationship with everyone and having relationships around town, knowing who I can talk to for, you know, help, and certainly there’s all kinds of really bright people around Pendleton that I will continue to maintain good relationship with.
“I’ve always believed that surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you is the best route to success.”
He said the dominant issue that looms large in town is growth.
“I think — I’m going to speak for everyone in town and say — that’s what everyone’s most concerned about.
“We know Pendleton’s going to grow, we can’t prevent that from happening. But doing our best to manage it and, you know, having Pendleton look the way we want it to look five years from now and 10 years from now is really important, I think, to everyone.”
The park board will choose its next president at its January meeting, Williams said.