The Pinehurst Village Council will meet Thursday to discuss filling the vacant position of mayor.

Mayor George Lane, 81, unexpectedly died on Feb. 23, a week after falling at his home. Though Mayor Pro Tem Virginia “Ginsey” Fallon is serving as acting mayor on an interim basis, the council must eventually find a permanent replacement for Lane.

There is no timetable to select one, but the council is expected to move fairly quickly. Without a mayor, there is no way to break a potential 2-2 deadlock.

The special meeting, to be held at 2:30 p.m., is open to the public.

“[A selection] could happen Thursday, it might not,” Village Manager Andy Wilkison said. “The four council members have to work it out amongst themselves.”

The council could select one of its current members to become the new mayor. If it does, it would have to subsequently appoint someone to fill the vacant council seat.

It also has the option to select a mayor from outside the council — any resident eligible to run for office in the village. Such a move would allow the council to avoid making a second council appointment.

Wilkison said it was important to keep in mind that the only vacancy on council right now is Lane’s mayoral seat, which is elected separately from the other council seats. Because of that, the council is unable to appoint a fifth council member first and then decide on a new mayor.

“The vacancy is the mayor’s seat, and that’s the vacancy that needs to be filled first,” he said.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Pilot.