Over two months after the resignation of Eric Wilson from the Orion Township Board of Trustees, the board has yet to be able to find a replacement for him on the zoning board of appeals.
The board had postponed a decision on naming a replacement until the Sept. 2 meeting, but had to postpone the decision again until the Sept. 15 meeting after trustee Richard Tomczak declined a motion made by Jill Bastian to appoint him.
“He’s had previous experience on the ZBA and the planning commission,” said Bastian of Tomczak.
Treasurer James Marleau asked if supervisor Jerry Dywasuk could be allowed to serve on the ZBA, and township attorney Kristin Bricker Kolb said he could.
“The first rank (on the ZBA) must come from the committee, but other members (of township boards) may be on the committee, but they can’t be officers,” she explained.
Dywasuk said he wasn’t interested in being on the ZBA because he was already serving on numerous committees and had meetings almost every night. He wondered if the board could approve the ZBA alternate to serve until a permanent member from the township board had been chosen.
Kolb said the board could do that if they wished, but Bastian disagreed, saying that the township had been told by the Michigan Townships Association that that could not be done.
“I think we need to trust our attorney, who we’re paying big bucks,” said Dywasuk. “We’ll get that document and read it.”
Dywasuk added that lately the ZBA had been down to three-four members at a meeting.
“It’s kind of crippling their efforts,” he said.
Clerk Jill Bastian had resigned from the Orion Cable Commission, but said she might be interested in serving on the ZBA.
Dywasuk said he assumed Bastian had resigned from the commission because of health problems and not being in the clerk’s office full-time.
“You’re back to full work?” he asked.
“That was not why I resigned from the cable commission…I felt I’d done all I could on that board (at this time),” said Bastian.
“This is like musical chairs,” commented Dywasuk.
New trustee Will Wilsher, who replaced Wilson on the board after he resigned in June to become the new Oakland County Commissioner, said he might be able to serve on the ZBA at a later date.
“Unfortunately, I had prior commitments for that Monday night through the robotics program at the high school,” he said. “I just felt I would have been shortchanging the kids, for the planning end of it.”
The board voted to have Wilsher replace Bastian on the Orion Cable Commission, expiring Nov. 30, 2004; and to replace Wilson on the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) Board of Directors, expiring Nov. 20, 2004.
Trustee Michael Gingell was appointed as the second representative from the board to the Orion Veterans Memorial Board of Directors, for a term expiring Nov. 20, 2004.