Unless Dorr Township Supervisor Jeff Miling can pull together a special meeting before July 18, Dorr Township Planning Commission Chairman Bob Wagner will not be a voting member of the commission at its next meeting.
The Township Board, in a 3-3 deadlock Thursday evening, failed to have him reappointed to another three-year term. Voting against his reappointment were Trustees John Tuinstra and Terry Rios and Clerk Debbie Sewers. Miling, Dan Weber and Jim Martin voted for him. Trustee Josh Otto was absent.
Wagner has been a member of the Planning Commission since 1968 and served as its chairman since 1975. If he cannot be seated as a member, the July 18 meeting will have to be presided over by Vice Chairman Robert Traxler.
Meanwhile Thursday evening, Planning Commission Secretary Rich Osbun was appointed to a three-year term on a 6-0 vote. He was first appointed in 2015 and has earned positive reviews for his meticulous care of the meeting minutes.
The other members of the commission are Rios as a representative from the Township Board, Larry Dolegowski, John Conklin and Dan Beute.
The issue was so urgent for Martin that he asked Miling to call Otto on the phone to urge him to come to the meeting and cast the deciding vote. It is widely believed that Otto will support the longtime incumbent chairman.
Miling several years ago removed Wagner from the Zoning Board of Appeals with the explanation that the group needed new blood. However, not long afterward he championed Wagner’s continuation on the Planning Commission because of his experience and knowledge of local issues.
Miling’s proposal to reappoint Wagner to the commission in 2014 was opposed by Tuinstra and then-Trustee Patty Senneker, so it passed by a 5-2 vote. This time, Tuinstra had two allies in Rios and Sewers.
Tuinstra said he opposes Wagner’s reappointment because of his support of term limits. He said the same not long ago in opposing the reappointment of veteran Ethel Visser to the ZBA.
Noting the president of the U.S. and the governor and state legislators in Michigan have term limits, “I think it’s time to hand off these responsibilities to some else,” Tuinstra argued. “He’s been on a Planning Commission longer than anybody in the State of Michigan.”
Miling disagreed, saying, “I don’t see any reason to tell someone ‘no’ because of their age.”
Trustee Dan Weber, a former member of the Planning Commission, said, “He’s got a wealth of experience, and that’s good for the township.”
“I’m not opposed to experience,” Tuinstra replied. “Bob still could attend Planning Commission meetings. The problem is his excessive influence… It think it’s wise to get other people involved.
“There are some issues that need to be resolved in the way things are done.”
Weber said as a member of the commission, “I never saw anything that was wrong.”
Martin added, “I don’t think we’ll find anyone more qualified than he is.”
Tuinstra suggested tabling the vote and letting Township Board members recruit new blood in the meantime.
PHOTOS: Bob Wagner Rich Osbun
Bob Wagner is an outstanding man and an excellent chairman of the Dorr Township Planning Commission. People do not understand how much Bob accomplishes outside of the meetings in preparation.
Would you reject a surgeon because he or she was too accomplished? A professional planner would need to be used more with a new chairperson, causing a greater expense to the taxpayers.
I have nominated Mr. Wagner for the chair the last eight years because he is the best person for the job, plain and simple. The Planning Commission members have elected him as chairman unanimously.
Congratulations to Rich Osbun, an outstanding gentleman and a very hard working and productive member of the Dorr Planning Commission. Dorr is a better place because of his service.