Wright County commissioners appoint Charlie Burrell to planning and zoning seat after divided debate

The Wright County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to appoint Charlie Burrell to a vacant Planning and Zoning seat, resolving a months-long vacancy ahead of a contentious meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The vote came after several commissioners expressed frustration that the seat had been open for more than three months and said Burrell, who formerly served on Planning and Zoning for eight years and as a county commissioner, could “hit the ground running.” Commissioner Holland moved to appoint Burrell; Commissioner Shane seconded the motion. The motion passed by voice vote, 3-2.

Commissioner Moynihan objected, saying the appointment should come from the district in which the vacancy occurred and that she had already submitted a different nominee, Randy Wilson, for that seat. Administrator Barry Kreiser and other commissioners noted it is not unprecedented for appointees to come from outside a particular commissioner district and that no state statute requires a commissioner to appoint only from their district.

Several commissioners said the vacancy had been difficult to fill and that Planning and Zoning has urgent business, including a scheduled meeting with major solar farm applications. Those supporters argued that placing an experienced member on the commission quickly would avoid delay and help manage contentious upcoming matters.

Opponents of appointing Burrell said they were uncomfortable selecting a second representative from the same district and that customary practice gave district commissioners the primary responsibility to nominate members. The transcript records repeated requests that Administrator Kreiser confirm whether alternative nominees had been submitted to administration prior to the meeting.

After the board chair called the question, the motion to appoint Burrell carried 3-2. The transcript does not record an individual roll-call vote by name; the board recorded only the final tally.

The appointee will be seated pending administrative processing and will be eligible to participate in Planning and Zoning meetings, including the upcoming session that commissioners said contains several high-profile items.

Speakers in the discussion included Commissioner Holland (mover), Commissioner Shane (seconder), Commissioner Moynihan (opponent), Chair Vetch, and Administrator Barry Kreiser.

The board moved on after the appointment to other agenda items.