Peninsula Township hires new planner Jennifer Cram | Jane Boursaw Photo
Peninsula Township hires new planner Jennifer Cram | Jane Boursaw Photo
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At a special meeting of the Peninsula Township Board on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, the Board voted unanimously to hire Jennifer Cram as the new Director of Planning, replacing Randy Mielnik, who retired earlier this year. At a special meeting last Monday, the Board interviewed Jennifer and one other candidate via Zoom in the Township Hall.

Jennifer was born in Traverse City and graduated from Michigan State University in 1994 with a B.A. in Landscape Architecture. She worked as a Landscape Architect for Meridian Charter Township in Okemos until 1999, and since then, has been working in various planning positions in Colorado. During her tenure as a Planner with the Town of Breckenridge, projects included preserving historic resources and the development of cultural assets to support tourism year-round.

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For the past four years, she’s held the position of Planner II for Larimer County, Colorado, where among other things, she drafted updates to the county’s Land Use Code related to agriculture, housing and recreation.

“I believe that my 25 years of professional planning experience in both current and long-range planning will be an asset to Peninsula Township,” she writes in her letter of introduction to the Peninsula Township Board.

“Having worked the past four years for Larimer County, CO, I have become passionate about the rich history and culture of agriculture. I have a keen understanding of the importance of agriculture to the socio-economic environment of the County. Balancing the needs of agriculture operations to be economically sustainable with the associated impacts to residents is complex.”

She notes that she has been diligently working to relocate back to the Grand Traverse area, where much of her family still lives.

“Peninsula Township has a great mix of history, beautiful shoreline, scenic landscapes, and thriving year-round tourism that are appealing to me. I would love to share my experiences to help preserve the charm of the area while supporting sustainable growth and vibrancy.”

Read Jennifer’s letter and resume in the meeting packet here.

Township Board Chooses Members of Citizens Committee

At that same meeting, the Peninsula Township Board chose the members for the citizens committee that will review the demands of the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP), as outlined in their amended complaint in the winery lawsuit. At a special meeting at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Oct. 6, the Board voted to reject WOMP’s settlement, and also voted to form a citizens’ committee.

Fourteen individuals expressed interest in being part of the committee, and you can view their notes in the meeting packet here.

After discussion regarding the availability of members to meet in-person throughout the winter, the importance of choosing a diverse group of members, and the importance of members being residents of the Township, the Board voted to install eleven members to the committee:

  • Two Township Board Members: Rob Manigold, Isaiah Wunsch
  • Three Protect the Peninsula (PTP) Members: John Jacobs, John Wunsch and Erin Gartland
  • Three Community Members: Brit Eaton, Rudy Rudolph and Jennifer Venigoni
  • Three WOMP Members: Awaiting members as selected by WOMP, should they decide to be included in the committee.

All residents of Peninsula Township are welcome to attend and voice input at all meetings of this committee.

Watch the Oct. 20, 2021 meeting of the Township Board at the Township’s YouTube channel here.

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A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb

Bay View Insurance of Traverse City Michigan

4 COMMENTS

  1. I think PTP representatives should not have added privilege of automatic seats on this citizens committee. They should have been chosen as citizens like everyone else. This may look bad as anti stacked winery committee rather than a citizen group that comes to the table to exchange and examine ideas. I wish the PTP persons were simply selected as citizens.

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