A total of 43 years of experience has left the Planning Commission following its June meeting.

William Goodman, Stan Perry and Thomas Savage have ended their current terms and been replaced by new appointees.

“It’s been both a pleasure and sometimes an agony,” Goodman said, “because sometimes we had to make some very, very important decisions.”

Goodman was on the commission for 20 years.

Perry, who has served for 15 years, said he believed many positive decisions have been made.

“I’ve seen many positive decisions made during this time, which I think has made the city of Suffolk a better place to live and made the quality of life better for the citizens,” Perry said.

Savage, who has served for eight years, recalled a story told by a former minister at Suffolk Christian Church where a father told his son, “Make it count.”

“That’s what I would wish, that my contribution has been equal to that,” Savage said. “I wish and hope I have done something to make it count.”

Chairman Howard Benton honored the three departing members with a few statements at the end of the meeting.

“It shows evidence that each of you have had the confidence of those that you serve and have had multiple appointments back to this body,” Benton said. “What is done is not often seen for the thought and time that has to go into the decisions we make. When we call for the vote at the end of public hearings, after we’ve studied the documentation, after we listen to those who come to the podium, sometimes … it can be challenging to know what is the right decision that is in the best interest of everybody to be served.”

The new members of the commission, who will begin service at the July meeting, are Anita Hicks, John Rector and Mills Staylor.

In other business at the meeting, the Planning Commission recommended approval of a communications tower that will help Verizon Wireless customers get service in the southern portion of the city.

The new tower will be placed at 2133 Copeland Road, according to Fred Womble of SBA Network Services LLC.

“This is a rare bird for us in the industry,” Womble said of the tower. New towers are rare, he added, because companies prefer to co-locate their service on the same towers.

This tower, however, is a necessity because of an existing hole in wireless coverage in the area and no option to co-locate, Womble added.

The commission also recommended approval of a small place of worship at 430 N. Main St. for Kingdom Building Outreach Ministries; an indoor soccer facility at 1000 Bowen Parkway; an encroachment into the resource protection area buffer for a pathway to a pier at the home of Norma and Kent Spain, 5024 Riverfront Drive; and ordinance text amendments that would chance a handful of definitions in city code to comply with the new state code going into effect July 1.