By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- On Monday night, the township board voted 5-2 to reappoint Donna Ferrara to the planning commission. Trustees Jayson Rumball and Dana DePalma voted against the reappointment. Ferrara has been on the planning commission for 20 years. She moved out of the township in 2016, though Michigan law states that one member of the planning commission can reside outside the township.
Her residency is what concerned board members in December when she was up for reappointment. Some members of the township board wanted to see if there was an equally qualified resident that would be interested on serving on the board.
“I reviewed the applications, and I did receive one application in the interim, and I didn’t find anyone as qualified, except for one gentleman was pretty qualified but he was unavailable on Tuesday evenings,” said supervisor Kathy Thurman. “So I would like to ask the board to reconsider Donna again.”
Ferrara’s new term will last through Dec. 31, 2022. Members of the planning commission have stated that she is the person on the board that everyone goes to for advice on topics.
“She just has a wealth of knowledge and experience,” said trustee Kris Kordella, who is also a member of the planning commission.
The board also expressed interest in having an ex officio member of the planning commission so that interested members of the community could learn about being a planning commissioner and possibly be on the board when current members terms end or they don’t wish to be on the commission anymore.