City of Wayland’s planning political intrigue persists

I apologize to readers most sincerely and plead guilty to falling asleep at the switch.

I fancy myself as a truth-seeking fiercely independent community journalist with a knack for connecting dots, but I failed to catch the discharge of longtime City of Wayland Planner Mark Sisson almost a couple of years ago. I mistakenly believed that because he seemed so busy with other area municipalities, he simply no longer served Wayland.

Indeed, Sisson had done a lot of work for City of Wayland, Leighton Township, Hopkins Township, Salem Township and Watson Township for more than a quarter of a century before taking on a full-time job last fall with Gaines Township.

I researched the archives and minutes of Planning Commission and City Council meetings and found no mention of him after the April 8, 2014, meeting in which he made comments about Speedway’s site plan. After that, it was sort of “Now you see him, now you don’t.”

I found no reference in agendas or minutes of the council or commission that Sisson had been “let go.” It is true the city hired the part-time services of Planning/Zoning Enforcement Administrator Brian Urquhart, but he and Sisson were both present at Planning Commission meetings in March and April 2014.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by Sisson’s departure. Former City Councilman Bruce Patrick publicly criticized Sisson’s work, prompting Planning Commission Chairman J.D. Gonzales to come to his defense. Patrick, in his brief stint on the Planning Commission, later engineered the chairmanship replacement of Gonzales in favor of Ron Kobish, who less than a year later left the city.

Not long after Urquhart left the city to work full time for the Village of Middleville, a special committee of Ron Kobish, Gary Ragan, Sam Dysktra, Lisa Banas, Jenifer Antel, Mayor Tim Bala and former City Manager Mike Selden hired Janis Johnson and Wade Trim to handle general planning consultant duties. Her first Planning Commission meeting was in November 2014.

Since then Johnson and her husband, Tim, have formed a new business, Main Street Planners, of Grand Rapids, and have left Wade Trim. Tim Johnson continues to be planner for Dorr Township, but the city now is seeking bids for planning services.

The fly in the ointment is that I reported City Manager Tim McLean as saying the Johnsons agreed to a “no-compete” clause with Wade Trim. Ms. Johnson adamantly insists they did not.

So the political intrigue that has surrounded planning services for the City of Wayland continues.

PHOTO: Tim and Janis Johnson have formed their new business, Main Street Planning, out of Grand Rapids.