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Members urged to attend General Assembly on March 29 The General Assembly (GA) of SEMCOG will meet on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Cobo Center, Room W2-63 (One Washington Blvd, Detroit) beginning at 4:30 p.m. SEMCOG will present the 30-year regional forecast of population and employment. Given how daunting the economic challenge will be, this information is essential to helping SEMCOG member governments make critical decisions on their budgets and services now and into the future. A panel of prominent regional leaders (N. Charles Anderson, Detroit Urban League; Joe Ohren, Eastern Michigan University; and Doug Rothwell, Detroit Renaissance) will engage the audience about how the private sector, education, and local governments must respond. All delegates and alternates, as well as other elected officials and staff, are encouraged to attend. Also at the meeting, the GA will be requested to adopt:
Contact: Kathleen Lomako, SEMCOG Deputy Executive Director.
Detroit leads region in new residential construction units in 2006 Infill development of new residential units in Detroit in 2006 totaled 739; the highest among Southeast Michigan communities, according to building permit data collected by SEMCOG. This is the second consecutive year that Detroit has led the region in residential construction. The Detroit number, while first in Southeast Michigan, is a 30 percent decrease over 2005. As the region's economy struggles, so does residential construction. This development has kept pace with development occurring in Macomb Township, which at 657 permitted units, was second in the region in 2006. Warren, also adding new housing through infill development and new subdivisions, was third with 433 new units. "Even in these tough economic times, these numbers demonstrate that housing in Detroit is at least competitive with housing in the suburbs. While the newer suburbs continue to grow, inner-ring suburbs, like Warren, are being redeveloped. This shows that Detroit and Warren are attractive places to live, too," noted Paul Tait, SEMCOG Executive Director. Final numbers from every community in the region are still being collected and SEMCOG will release its annual residential construction report in April. It is expected that the total number of new units permitted in the region will be about 46 percent below 2005's 18,728. Building permit data collected from every community in Southeast Michigan are available at www.semcog.org. Link to Building Permits from the Data drop-down menu. The database allows users to create a report for the region, for each of the seven counties, and for all communities. Data go back to 1969. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
Member Outreach election results SEMCOG announces the new members of the Executive Committee elected at the Oakland and Monroe County Member Outreach workshops. Oakland County Monroe County Elections are for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2007. Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Membership Manager.
SEMCOG University: Road Safety Audits (RSAs) for state and local governments SEMCOG invites federal, state, and local transportation personal and law enforcement to gain "hands-on" experience in conducting road safety audits (RSA). Creating safer roads for citizens and improving roadways are two of the most important services of any local government. The RSA is a way for an agency to improve traffic safety and communicate to the public how they are reducing traffic crashes. SEMCOG University presents a two-day workshop: Road Safety Audits (RSAs) for State and Local Governments on Thursday and Friday, April 19-20, 2007,from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30) in SEMCOG’s Buhl Building office in downtown Detroit. This SEMCOG University workshop is free-of-charge for SEMCOG members and partners. Please RSVP by April 2, 2007. Contact: Terri LaVoy, MDOT, (517) 322-6792.
Protect water quality in Southeast Michigan: Clean up after your pet SEMCOG launched the fourth year of the "Seven Simple Steps to Clean Water" public education program for water quality with messages about picking up after your pet. Dog parks are a popular and growing trend in Southeast Michigan. There are now 22 of them in the region. The City of St. Clair Shores opened its dog park in November 2006 and has already sold 200 passes. Due to resident support and popularity of the dog park, it will double in size and add amenities. Currently, the St. Clair Shores Parks and Recreation Department is educating users about dog etiquette and providing bag dispensers and trash cans to make a walk in the park a positive experience for dogs, residents, and Lake St. Clair. Please view the new SEMCOG video on picking up after your pet. We're interested in hearing about the experiences of other SEMCOG member communities with dog parks. Please contact Iris Steinberg, SEMCOG Communications Specialist. Also visit SEMCOG's Web site for additional materials and information. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
Michigan Transportation Asset Management conference and workshop set for April 11-12 Local governments can learn how transportation asset management is being implemented throughout Michigan at the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Conference on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 (Kellogg Hotel, 55 South Harrison Road, East Lansing). This meeting will be followed by the Asset Management Workshop on Thursday, April 12, 2007 (MDOT Aeronautics Building, 2700 East Airport Services Drive Lansing,). The workshop will help local governments develop an asset management program so that they can transfer up to 100 percent of their Michigan Transportation Fund dollars to local roads and take advantage of other benefits heard at the conference the previous day. Conference registration is $30 for public agencies and $100 for private companies. The workshop is free-of-charge. SEMCOG's Transportation Director, Carmine Palombo, is chairman of the Michigan Asset Management Council. Contact: (906) 487-2102 to register for either.
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