Tuesday marked the first meeting of the new year for the Powell City Council, but it may have also marked the last meeting for Mayor Don Hillman for a few months.

The meeting began on a positive note, with Mayor Hillman and council members Floyd Young, Jim Hillberry and Lesli Spencer sworn into their new terms of office by City Clerk Tiffany Brando — all having won their bids for re-election in November.

The end of the meeting took on a somber tone, however, as Hillman gave the council an update on his battle with cancer.

“I’m taking a drug that has bad side effects, and I think I got every one of them,” said Hillman, who was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014. “It affects your equilibrium and your ability to concentrate, to keep your mind on anything. So until I hear from the doctors, which should be within the next week, I probably will be pretty scarce for the next three months.”

It’s unclear at this time if Hillman will continue on the same medication regimen; he’ll know more after meeting with his doctors. As for now, there is no set schedule for when Hillman may be available or unavailable; he will continue to serve as mayor as his health allows. When the mayor is absent, Council President John Wetzel will act on his behalf.

“When I’m gone, I’ve asked John to take over for me, keep you guys in line,” Hillman said in a moment of levity met with laughter by those in attendance. “If you guys are troublemakers when I’m gone, you’ll have a substitute teacher keeping an eye on you.”

“Hopefully I’ll get to come back. But there is that possibility too, it just depends on how this thing plays out,” the mayor said. “I’ve got to be able to do my job, and I fully intend to do that. So basically, that’s where I’m at.”

Wetzel praised Hillman for his strength and assured him the council and the city departments would take up the slack when the mayor is unavailable.

“As substitute teacher, we’ll take care of things,” Wetzel told Hillman.

“You have your battle. We can take care of this here; this is a simple battle,” said City Administrator Zane Logan. “You just get better.”

Wetzel told the Tribune on Wednesday that it’s everyone’s hope that Hillman can get through his health issues and get back to work.

“Mayor Hillman has been such a great asset to the city,” Wetzel said. “He’s fun to work with. He cares about Powell deeply. I’m happy to do whatever it takes to keep things running along smoothly until Don can get back to work.”