John Frigmanski
officially submitted his resignation from the Wayland City Planning Commission Tuesday.
City Manager Mike Selden said he received nofication that afternoon that Frigmanski had sold his business on Reno Drive in Wayland to his son, thereby making him ineligible to serve because he does not live within the city limits.
Rules state that commissioners must be residents of the city or at least own a business within the city limits. Frigmanski, who had served as chairman over the past year, lives in Yankee Springs Township.
His stepping down leaves just six members, though commissioners agreed to recommend to Mayor Tim Bala and the City Council to appoint Abe Garcia as a replacement.
Garcia, who has worked for DTE Energy for 25 years has lived in Wayland for just over a year and has been a frequent attendee at City Council and Planning Commission meetings. He and his wife, Natalie, have a daughter, Lysette, who lives in Grand Rapids, and a son, Justin, who lives in Muskegon.
“I want to be part of the growth of our community and I’d like to give something back,” he said about prospects for serving.
Because of Frigmanski’s resignation, Plan Commission Vice Chairman J.D. Gonzales was moved to chair for the third time in the last two years. Gonzales had served as chair for a number of years, but Ron Kobish was selected chairman in March 2014. Kobish then won a seat on the City Council and Gonzales, by local statute, returned to the position. Frigmanski was appointed chairman last March and Gonzales remained as vice chair.
Nam
ed vice chairman at least until next March was veteran Sam Dykstra, who has served on the City Council and Planning Commission for more than 30 years.
“I’ll do the best I can, I promise you,” Dykstra told his colleagues after being chosen. “I don’t know everything. I find that out every time I come to a meeting.”
Frigmanski, in his letter to Selden said he was stepping down “with mixed emotions… I find myself no longer eligible to be a member of the Planning Commission… I think the city is moving in the right direction.”
Gonzales noted of Frigmanski’s resignation, “He left us not because he wanted to, but because he had to (by local laws).”
If Garcia is approved, the Plan Commission will remain at seven members. The City Council earlier this month agreed to reduce its membership from nine, officially beginning with the the year 2016.
PHOTOS: John Frigmanski Sam Dykstra Abe Garcia
