The Dorr Township Planning Commission Thursday night set a public hearing on a mining ordinance and welcomed back Chairman Bob Wagner after his being absent for the last six months,

The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, on a mining ordinance the commission has been working on for the past five months. The group had a final review, with Jason Derry of Professional Code Inspections (PCI) walking them through it.

Some of the key revisions on the document are:

• Specifically limiting hours of operation to Mondays through Fridays and dawn to noon on Saturdays.
• Limiting each operation to 12 months, but a company is permitted to seek renewals annually.
• Insisting the township has the right to require bonds for road projects if deemed necessary.
• Setting procedures so that the commission can recommend the request to the Township Board, which then will make the final decision.

Wagner had been absent from Planning Commission meetings for the past six months because of health issues. He had been hospitalized and underwent two surgical procedures.

Wagner is believed to be the longest serving public official in Michigan, beginning his tenure on the commission as a member since 1969 and as chairman since 1975.

Some members of the Township Board have engineered efforts to remove him, insisting he should be term limited, but his three-year appointments have been confirmed three times by 4-3 votes of the Township Board over the last decade.

Wagner quipped, “I think Dan (Beute) has done an excellent job (as acting chairman). I wasn’t even missed.”

In another matter, Derry told commissioners PCI would be willing to provide a zoning map, probably for less than $500 with six or fewer hours. The last Dorr Township zoning map was done in 2012.