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Executive
Committee meets January 28 SEMCOG's Executive Committee will meet on Friday, January 28, 2005, in SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office. Gloria Jeff, Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, will speak on a myriad of transportation-related issues including the 2005 construction season. The Executive Committee will be asked to approve several action items including:
In addition, there will be an update on air quality including results from a fuels study, and discussion of the 2035 Regional Development Forecast. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.
Dates set for three Membership Outreach meetings Once
again, SEMCOG will be visiting each county in the next couple of months
to talk about issues relevant to its members and to conduct Executive
Committee elections. Three of these Membership Outreach meetings (formerly,
Spring Workshops) have been scheduled:
As dates for the Membership Outreach meetings are finalized for Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, and Oakland Counties, they will be listed in Regional Update and letters will be sent to SEMCOG members. Contact: Durene Brown, SEMCOG Membership Manager.
Taubman Fellowship applications available Local elected officials and appointed staff from SEMCOG's member communities are eligible to participate in this highly competitive process that selects candidates to attend the Prestigious program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Sponsored by the Taubman Company since 1991, the fellowships cover the costs of tuition, room, and board; travel is not included. Taubman Fellowships offer local government officials, having demonstrated leadership experiences, opportunities to improve their leadership skills and broaden their awareness of effective approaches to public sector problems during the three-week program in June or July. Completed applications are due to SEMCOG by 3 p.m. on Friday, February 28, 2005. Contact: Durene Brown, SEMCOG Membership Manager.
2004 legislative activity: New laws impacting local government SEMCOG advocates in the areas of community and economic development, environment, and transportation. Below are new laws with which SEMCOG was actively involved. We track numerous bills each legislative session and provide members with information pertaining to a variety of legislative issues. SEMCOG supported:
SEMCOG opposed PA 361 of 2004 reducing the amount of sales tax revenue going into the comprehensive transportation fund for public transportation purposes by $10 million. SEMCOG voiced concern with safety issues presented by PA 511 of 2004, permitting trucks with a width of 102 inches on all Michigan highways, roads, and streets. We also helped defeat a bill (HB 4880) that would have increased the mobile home fee structure, but maintained current inequities in the system. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.
SEMCOG hosts state orientation program for Emerald Ash Borer tree removal Beginning this year, a three-year voluntary, self-funded program to assist the 13 quarantine counties with removal and disposal of ash trees will be available to communities, private landowners, and businesses. Access to the municipalities program must be coordinated through a local unit of government. In order to participate in this program, local governments must identify a municipal coordinator. The coordinator should attend an orientation session, one of which will be held at SEMCOG on Thursday, January 27, 2005, from 10 a.m.-noon. The EAB Tree Removal Program will be presented at this meeting. Future orientation sessions will be posted on the Michigan Department of Agriculture Web site at www.michigan.gov/mda. Contact: Patricia Lockwood, EAB Policy Director, Office of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, (517) 241-2576.
SEMCOG Web site has record number of hits SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org — recorded more than 1.5 million hits in 2004. A new feature was recently added to Community Profiles, available exclusively on SEMCOG's Web site. The Detroit Community Profile can now be viewed as a whole or by any combination of 10 planning clusters within the city. Community Profiles, one of the most popular destinations on SEMCOG's Web site, is accessible from a button in the upper left portion of the home page. Contact: Sue Stetler, SEMCOG Communications and Creative Services Manager.
MDOT invites public comment on proposed replacement of Fort Street bridge The Fort Street bridge over the Rouge River is deteriorating after 80 years of service and needs to be replaced. This historic bridge was built in 1922 and is one of three drawbridges on the Rouge River built to accommodate freighter traffic traveling to and from the Ford Rouge complex. The document describing the proposed replacement is available at the following locations — Detroit Public Library (5201 Woodward Ave.); Detroit Neighborhood City Halls (2300 S. Schaefer, Suite 4, and 7744 W. Vernor); Detroit Transportation Service Center (1400 Howard St.); and MDOT Metro Region Office (18101 W. Nine Mile Rd., Southfield). Public comments are due by Friday, February 11, 2005; send to Robert H. Parsons, Bureau of Transportation Planning, MDOT, P.O. Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909; fax to 517-373-9255; e-mail to parsonsb@michigan.gov.
Grant catalog available The Michigan Department of Natural Resources' 2005 Grant Programs catalog is now available on the Web. It is accessible from the DNR home page at www.michigan.gov/dnr; go to "Inside DNR/Grants Administration/Forms and Publications/Grants Catalog." Contact: James Wood, Chief of Grants, Contracts, and Customer Systems, (517) 373-9125.
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