Don Johnson will not seek reappointment to the Rock River Township Planning Commission, putting the already contentious committee back into the forefront of a divided community.

The announcement was made at the Rock River Township regular board meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 21 in Chatham. Johnson has served on the planning commission for multiple terms and is the current chair of the committee. He is not resigning from the role, but will not seek reappointment after his current term ends.

Appointing a new planning commission member will be highly scrutinized after the previous appointment to the board. The township board approved Olivia Kingery as a replacement to Renee McLaughlin in July using a pool of former applicants. While that is a legal process according to Michigan state law and a commonly-used method by other committees and townships in Alger County, there has never been a recorded time in Rock River Township using this appointment method. Kingery was also sent to receive training as a planning commissioner before the formal vote to appoint her to the commission, which also sparked distrust amongst some of the community.

According to Rowan Bunce, a Rock River Township trustee and liaison to the township’s planning commission, the position will be publicly posted and a new pool of applicants will be created. They will try to appoint someone new at the December meeting. Those that want to apply are asked to send a letter of interest to the township.

The planning commission is dealing with an ongoing short-term rental ordinance that has been tabled for months. Bunce cited delays from CUPPAD reviewing the ordinance has prevented the township from taking any action. A township master plan is also being worked on by the planning commission, so there is increased interest in who is appointed to that board.