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Bill Roberts elected SEMCOG Vice Chair William Roberts, longtime mayor of Walled Lake and active member of SEMCOG for many years, was elected Vice Chair at SEMCOG's General Assembly on November 4, 2004. Roberts fills a Vice Chair position vacant as a result of the elections. He joins the following fellow officers:
Contact: Durene Brown, SEMCOG Membership Manager.
Transportation plan adopted SEMCOG's General Assembly voted by a wide margin to adopt the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for Southeast Michigan at its meeting on November 4, 2004. The Regional Transportation Plan enables about $1.5 billion to be spent annually in the Southeast Michigan region to improve roads and bridges and maintain transit services. The plan serves as a guide for developing a transportation system that is accessible, safe, and reliable and contributes to a higher quality of life for the region's citizens. Ás a result of this plan, Southeast Michigan residents will see many benefits, including better roads and bridges, and a decrease in congestion and auto emissions," explains Paul Tait, SEMCOG Executive Director. "While we have a vision for improving transit in our region, we will only have enough money to maintain our current bus service. This is a situation we would like to change," Tait added. Through its planning process, SEMCOG determined that $70 billion through 2030 was needed to fix everything. With $40 billion in available revenues, about half the needs will be funded. The plan includes 1,615 projects as submitted by state and local transportation agencies. Several minor project revisions were included in the final adopted plan which means a new air quality conformity analysis is required before the plan can be submitted to state and federal agencies for review. Results of this analysis are available for public review and can be obtained fromSEMCOG Information Services. The adopted document, an interactive project list, and background materials are available on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org. From the home page, click on the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan logo under Planning Issues. Printed copies and alternative formats are available from SEMCOG Information Services. "It is important to remember that the transportation plan is a dynamic document," noted Carmine Palombo, SEMCOG Director of Transportation Programs. "As we learn more, as we refine regional priorities, as we work to bring more transportation funding into the region, the plan can be adapted to take advantage of every opportunity to move the region forward." Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
General Assembly resolution will look at transit challenges A resolution introduced by Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey at SEMCOG's General Assembly directs SEMCOG to identify and address the impediments to mass transit in the region. A preliminary report will be presented at SEMCOG's Executive Committee meeting on Friday, December 10, 2004, beginning at 1 p.m. in SEMCOG's Buhl Building office. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.
Joint Public Services online database debuts at General Assembly, is now live on Web In conjunction with the workshop, "Using Partnerships to Strengthen Local Government Services," held at the General Assembly, SEMCOG announces a new online database highlighting specific collaborative projects submitted by local governments now live on its Web site at www.semcog.org. The goal of the database is to be a valuable resource for local governments seeking to find creative, cost-efficient ways to deliver services to citizens. We also ask that local governments help us populate the database. Tell us about any joint projects that are working for you that might also work for another local government. Please take a look at the database, contribute, and check back often as we continue to add projects. Contact: Naheed Huq, Senior Planner, SEMCOG Community and Economic Development.
Local government finance is focus of SEMCOG University workshops on December 9 and 15 SEMCOG and the Michigan Government Finance Officers Association are pleased to team up to co-sponsor a SEMCOG University. Government Finance: How to pay for services citizens demand will be presented in two half-day sessions on Thursday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 15, 2004, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.) at SEMCOG offices in downtown Detroit. The first session will be a crash course on Michigan's local government finance structure, concentrating on what every local official needs to know. The second session will focus on the challenges created by the current structure and pose some options for working within the system to provide the services that constituents demand. Local elected officials are strongly encouraged to attend these important sessions. SEMCOG University workshops are free-of-charge to SEMCOG members and partners; there will be a $75 charge for each session for nonmember local governments. Contact: Daria Wilson, SEMCOG Executive Assistant, to RSVP. You can also register online at www.semcog.org; the link to the workshop is under Planning Issues on the home page.
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department will discuss water and sewer rates on December 7 The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) will hold a workshop with its wholesale water and sewer customers as part of the process of establishing water and sewer rates for FY 2005-2006 on Tuesday, December 7, 2004, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in SEMCOG's offices. Sewer rates information will be discussed in the morning session, with water rates issues on the agenda for the afternoon session. All of DWSD's wholesale customers are urged to attend these meetings. More information, including agenda and data to be presented, will be posted on the DWSD Web site — www.dwsd.org. Contact: Ted Starbuck, Senior Planner, SEMCOG Environmental Programs.
Report on regional impact review of Milan Township project available from SEMCOG SEMCOG's Regional Clearinghouse Review Committee unanimously accepted the regional impact review of a proposed, nearly 4,900-acre residential and mixed-use project by Crosswinds Development in Milan Township. Although the project has been withdrawn, the resulting report was good not only for Milan Township, but is also a model for other communities facing similar large developments. The report will be presented at upcoming SEMCOG Advisory Council meetings. The printed report is available to SEMCOG members free of charge; it is also available in PDF on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
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