Vacant city council seats in West Bountiful and Sunset have been filled.

Cheryl Searle has been picked for the open seat in West Bountiful, and James Bridges will serve on the council in Sunset.

Jay R. Bangerter, who had two years left on his term on the West Bountiful City Council, resigned recently to move to Layton.

West Bountiful Mayor James Behunin said Bangerter, an accountant, found a nice house in Layton that apparently was too good to pass up.

The remaining council members appointed Searle to fill the rest of Bangerter's term. Until the appointment, Searle had been a candidate for City Council for this year's election, but now she isn't required to run until Bangerter's term expires in 2009.

Searle said she wanted to join the council because she wants to play a part in shaping how West Bountiful is developed.

Her time on the city's historic preservation and transportation commissions have given her a chance to see what issues are facing the city of 5,200.

She said the city's residential west side has traditionally been rural, but as farmers moved out, their land became subdivisions.

Searle wants the city to manage its growth so the infrastructure can keep up with demands placed on it.

She also wants to help find a way to deal with the burdens traffic places on West Bountiful residents, especially during rush hour when backed up traffic spills onto 800 West in the city.

"Most of those running for council (this year) applied for the vacant seat," Behunin said.

Searle's appointment and a recent candidate withdrawal from the race mean that 10 people are still vying for the three open seats on the West Bountiful City Council.

The primary election is Sept. 11.

In Sunset, the municipal musical chairs game was in full swing after Mayor Tim Isom accepted a job promotion that moved his family to Virginia. The City Council appointed council member Fred Childs in July to fill the remaining two years of Isom's term.

But that left Childs' seat open, and five residents applied to fill the vacancy.

Former councilman James Bridges came out on top Tuesday after the council had narrowed the field to two candidates: Bridges and Brad Weller, who recently dropped out of the running for council in this year's election.

The 48-year resident of Sunset said he's excited to be back on the council after back surgery forced him to take a four-year hiatus. Before that, he'd served more than 16 years on the council.

Some of that experience involves pushing for a quiet zone at the train crossings through Sunset. A quiet zone is an area where enough safety measures are in place at crossings that approaching trains don't need to sound their horns.

"This is one of the things that I'm pushing for because I think that it's important that we have that quiet zone," Bridges said.

He said he's always been interested in city government since his high school days when he served on a mock city council and mock legislature.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com