Riverbank’s fourth council member was sworn in to office at last week’s first meeting of the new year.

Cindy Fosi, representing District 2, took the Oath of Office from Mayor Richard D. O’Brien at the beginning of the Tuesday, Jan. 10 meeting.

It also marked the first appearance of City Manager Sean Scully, who took up his new duties the week before. He comes to Riverbank from the City of Gustine, where he served in a similar position. Scully is a resident of North Modesto.

Mayor O’Brien and District 4 representative Darlene Barber-Martinez were sworn in at a meeting in December. Both were unopposed in the November 2016 General Election. Fosi defeated Anthony McKinney for the District 2 post.

The city switched to council representation by district last year, attempting to stave off any potential lawsuits over equal representation in local government. The recent election was the first where district voting was in place; only voters in District 2 cast ballots in the Fosi-McKinney race.

Council members Cal Campbell and Leanne Jones-Cruz, vice mayor, will remain at-large representatives, as does the mayor’s position. In 2018, electors will vote for seats representing Districts 1 and 3.

Voters may review district boundaries on the city’s website, at http://www.riverbank.org/DocumentCenter/View/817.

In addition to the installation, the council also heard a report from Donna Kenney, city Planning and Building Manager, concerning adjustment of building codes regarding development in town. They then held a public hearing and first reading of the proposed changes. A second reading and adoption will come at a future meeting.

In what she described as a ‘housekeeping’ matter, Kenney said the City of Riverbank must adopt the 2016 building code in order to be in compliance with State law. She said the California Building Standards Code (Building Code) is updated and published every three years under the direction of the California Building Standards Commission. It is intended to provide for the safety and welfare of all citizens through the implementation of the latest technology, materials, engineering, construction, and sustainability methods, as regulated by the latest adopted building codes.

As an example of how the changes might affect development here, Kenney pointed out that a local developer, who had previously taken out permits to build its model homes under the 2013 code, would be required to build the rest of their project under the new 2016 standards.

She said this is a routine situation in the industry and is taken into account as projects progress.