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General Assembly meets on March 25 SEMCOG delegates and alternates will convene on Thursday, March 25, 2004, at 4:30 p.m. at the Northfield Hilton (5500 Crooks Road), Troy, MI, for SEMCOG's Spring General Assembly (GA). The feature presentation will be a panel discussion on Sorting out the Challenge of Local Government Financing with panelists Mike McGee, Miller Canfield; Joe Ohren, Eastern Michigan University; and Earl Ryan, Citizens Research Council. The panel will be moderated by Gregory Pitoniak, Taylor Mayor and SEMCOG Vice Chair. The one action item on the agenda is a vote to adopt SEMCOG's FY 2004-2005 Annual Budget and Work Program Summary for the fiscal beginning July 1, 2004. The will also be a brief overview of the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for Southeast Michigan. Prior to the GA, beginning at 3:30 p.m., SEMCOG members are invited to attend one of two workshops. The Member Orientation workshop will discuss how to get the most for your membership dues by being an active participant. The Our Water. Our Future. Ours to Protect workshop will outline SEMCOG's new public education campaign and how members can use the materials to comply with new stormwater permit regulations. The Education Bloc will caucus at 4 p.m. to elect representatives to the Executive Committee. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.
TIP amendments announced The public is invited to comment on projects being considered for amendment to the FY 2004-2006 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is a short-range planning tool used to implement the goals, objectives, and projects of the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan. The amendment adds 62 projects and deletes 12 projects. The net increase as a result of these changes is $135 million, funded from federal, state, and local transportation agencies. Of the 62 projects being amended to the TIP, 24 address deficient bridges; 11 involve transit capital or operating costs; nine preserve roadways; seven projects fund safety improvements; four increase capacity; three improve nonmotorized corridors; three are other enhancements such as landscaping; and one provides additional funds for a study. Projects in a TIP amendment must undergo the same scrutiny as original projects æ an air quality conformity analysis, an environmental justice review, and a public comment process (details are available from SEMCOG). The TIP must be constrained to reasonably available funding; the proposed TIP, as amended, estimates $2.18 billion in revenues and $2.17 billion in expenditures. A complete list of all projects, including the amendment, is available from SEMCOG Information Services, (313) 961-4266, or on SEMCOG’s Web site. Comments on projects should be mailed, phoned, or faxed to SEMCOG Information Services; contact information is available in the box on the reverse side. Address e-mail comments to infoservices@semcog.org. Comments can be made in person at the following meetings, all held at SEMCOG offices:
Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
SEMCOG University: How much development is too much? scheduled for April 13 Communities will learn how to determine the traffic capacity of gravel roads and the threshold of impervious surface areas above which local streams will begin to degrade in a new SEMCOG University workshop, How much development is too much? æ Using impervious surface and gravel road capacity analysis to better manage development in rural and suburban communities. The workshop will be presented by the Huron River Watershed Council and the Washtenaw County Road Commission, on Tuesday, April 13, 2004, from 1:30-4 p.m. (registration begins at 1 p.m.) in SEMCOG's Buhl Building office in downtown Detroit. SEMCOG University workshops are free-of-charge for SEMCOG members and partners; there is a $75 fee for nonmember local governments. Contact: Sally Walt, SEMCOG Transportation Programs, to RSVP by April 6. You can register online at www.semcog.org; the link to the workshop is under Planning Issues on the home page.
SEMCOG transportation data tool live on Web SEMCOG's new transportation data tool is now live on www.semcog.org. It provides transportation planners, engineers, and other users with one central location for obtaining transportation data. The initial dataset available is traffic crash data for Southeast Michigan. With this tool, users can look up any intersection in Southeast Michigan and find details on every traffic crash that occurred there since 1997. You can also create maps showing the location of each traffic crash, view a crash profile of each community in the region, and see which intersections in your community are among Southeast Michigan's highest crash locations. Data on airports, bridges, traffic counts, and pavement conditions, will be added to the tool over time. Contact: Tom Bruff, SEMCOG Transportation Coordinator.
Spring Workshop election results SEMCOG announces the new members of the Executive Committee elected at its series of county Spring Workshops. Livingston
County Monroe
County The elections are for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2004. Five Spring Workshops remain on the schedule. We look forward to seeing you in your county; see the list below.
Contact: Durene Brown, SEMCOG Membership Manager.
Water quality monitoring grants available The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announces a grant application package for water quality monitoring projects using Clean Michigan Initiative Clean Water money. Specifically, $100,000 is available for inland lake beach monitoring grants; $200,000 for local water quality monitoring grants; and $200,000 for emerging issue monitoring grants. Local governments and nonprofit entities are eligible for funding. The application is available at www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3686_3728---,00.html. Applications are due April 1, 2004. Contact: Yuronda Glasscoe, MDEQ Water Division, (517) 373-2190, or glasscoy@michigan.gov.
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