Larry’s back. A special meeting of the Dorr Township Board resulted in the reappointment of Larry Dolegowski to the Planning Commission, to a seat he’s held for more than 20 years.
The board had the meeting a half hour before the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday evening in order to have a full commission of seven members seated. It was necessary because the board deadlocked at 3-3 on the appointment at its regular meeting June 28.
Trustee Josh Otto, who was absent June 28, appeared Tuesday night to cast the deciding vote.
The very same scene played out a year ago when the board had a 3-3 tie with Otto absent on reappointment of Chairman Bob Wagner, who is perhaps Michigan’s longest serving planning commissioner with 43 years of service. He was reappointed, also by a 4-3 tally, in a subsequent special meeting.
The votes were the same in the two years by the same board members. In the deadlock, Supervisor Jeff Miling, Treasurer Jim Martin and Trustee Dan Weber voted in the affirmative and Clerk Debbie Sewers and Trustees Terri Rios and John Tuinstra voted in the negative.
Another sense of deja vu was provided by Tuinstra, who once again explained he is in favor of term limits, insisting they’ve done a good service to voters in Michigan over the past 22 years in selecting legislator, the governor, secretary of state and attorney general.
About Dolegowski, Tuinstra commented, “L like Larry, but he’s been on there over 20 years, that’s long enough. A person like that can have too much influence.”
Miling then asked Tuinstra, who is in the middle of his second four-year term on the board, if he plans to run again in 2020.
Tuinstra said he is leaning that way, to which Miling commented, “That’ll be 12 years then.”
Rios said, “I don’t think whether Larry does a good job is not the issue.”
Martin responded, “I think that’s the most important reason of all (to reappoint) — competency.”
Sewers, who said she apposed Dolegowski’s reappointment because she doesn’t know him, said she had received resumes with applications for the seat from Patty Senneker and Michelle Edsall.
In other business Tuesday evening, the commission:
• Noted the some 100 cars at the business complex just east of Dollar General along 142nd Avenue were the result of a 10-day lease from a dealership in the Otsego-Plainwell area (See cover photo).
• Was told by Wagner that the food sales at the Fourth of July celebration were shut down by the health department because meat temperatures were determined to be 45 degrees, four higher than requirements.
