Tom Kennis got a nice little send-off during his last meeting as a member of the Oxford Village Council.

His fellow council members praised him and expressed their gratitude for his service.

“I want to thank Tom for stepping up . . . and adding another point of view to our group,” said village President Sue Bossardet. “I’ve appreciated everything that he’s done – the phone conversations we’ve had, meetings in his office . . . I just want to thank Tom for the time that he’s given. It is a thankless job sitting up here.”

Council voted to accept Kennis’ resignation, which had been previously submitted in an Aug. 7 e-mail. He had served on council since November 2014.

“What I liked about Tom (was) if he didn’t agree with you in the audience, he was fine with that,” said Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth. “He wasn’t a jerk to you. He was very nice to you. He was polite and explained his position – why he didn’t agree with you.

“I liked the fact that he treated everybody out there as if they were his best friend just discussing who the better pitcher is for the Tigers. I respect that.”

Kennis reiterated there are “a lot of personal reasons” for his resignation, but he did not disclose any of them. He simply said, “This is a good decision for me.”

Although he’s left council, Kennis made it clear he’s not planning to disappear from the local scene.

“I will still be very involved in the village that I love and care about,” he said.

Kennis hopes council’s future decisions will be guided by “wisdom” and “respect.”

He was also very blunt about how council should handle the village’s finances.

“Don’t spend any money” was Kennis’ parting shot.

According to the village charter, council has to fill the vacancy within 30 days of accepting the resignation. Whoever is selected will serve the remainder of Kennis’ term, which expires in November 2018.

In order to be eligible for appointment to council, the village charter states applicants must be a village resident for at least six months, at least 21 years old and a registered voter.

Based on the charter, applicants also cannot be indebted to the village, meaning they cannot have “any water bill or other financial obligation to the village which is more than 90 days past due, in whole or in part.”

For more information about the vacant council seat or to apply for it, visit the village office at 22 W. Burdick St. or call (248) 628-2543. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s closed on Friday.