June General Assembly meeting highlights
Officers elected; Regional Ambassadors honored

SEMCOG's General Assembly met on Thursday, June 17, 2004, at Cobo Center in Downtown Detroit. Officers for 2004-2005 and delegates-at-large were elected, and Maryann Mahaffey, outgoing chair, officially passed the gavel to incoming chair, Joan Flynn. The following is the complete list of SEMCOG leadership for 2004-2005:

• Joan Flynn, Chairperson; Commissioner, Macomb County;
• Gregory Pitoniak, First Vice Chairperson; Mayor, City of Taylor;
• Mary Blackmon, Vice Chair; Member, Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency;
• John Jones, Vice Chair; Supervisor, Ira Township;
• Chuck Moss, Vice Chair; Commissioner, Oakland County;
• Barbara Urban, Vice Chair; Trustee, Harrison Township; and
• Maryann Mahaffey, Immediate Past Chairperson; Council President, City of Detroit.

SEMCOG's highest honor — the Regional Ambassador Award —is given to individuals and organizations for their contributions to making Southeast Michigan a better place to live, work, and raise a family. This year's recipients are:

• Allen Dickinson, Councilmember, City of Grosse Pointe Woods — Dickinson has been involved with regional issues for many years, both as an employee of DTE Energy and as a local elected. At SEMCOG, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee, the Community and Economic Development Advisory Council, and the Regional Clearinghouse Review Committee. Dickinson was behind what became one of SEMCOG's most successful advocacy issues when he brought the issue of basement flooding liability to the Executive Committee. It was soon discovered that many communities were being pinched by the lack of legislative criteria for establishing liability, coupled with unfavourable court decisions. With Dickinson's help, and many others, SEMCOG was successful in getting legislation passed that established fair criteria for determining liability.
• Daniel Duncan, Chief Park Planner, Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority — In his many years with the Metroparks, Duncan has been a leader in bringing people together to coordinate and enhance recreation facilities and services to residents of Southeast Michigan. For many years, he convened the parks directors from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, State Parks Division, County Recreation Departments in Southeast Michigan, and the City of Detroit to discuss regional parks and recreation issues. Duncan has been involved in SEMCOG for many years. In addition to representing the Metroparks on the Executive Committee and General Assembly, he has been an active member of the Data Center Advisory Council, the Environmental Policy Advisory Council, and the Transportation Public Involvement Task Force. In the 1970s, Duncan was a member of SEMCOG's Recreation Advisory Committee that developed the Regional Recreation Plan for Southeast Michigan.
• Richard Rassel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Butzel, Long — As the former Chair of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, Rassel was the driving force behind its "Building One Community" program. Rassel cares passionately about our city and region and feels that the private sector has an obligation to more effectively explain to people the value and necessity of cooperating regionally. He is not afraid to say that everyone must do a better job of working cooperatively to improve the quality of life in Southeast Michigan.
  Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.

SEMCOG releases 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for public review and comment

SEMCOG's General Assembly released the draft 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for Southeast Michigan for public and agency review and comment. This plan is the "blueprint" for transportation planning in the seven-county Southeast Michigan region. It 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. It also fulfills requirements allowing federal transportation dollars to flow to the region and, specifically, enables about $1.5 billion to be spent annually in the region to improve roads and bridges and maintain transit.

The draft document and an interactive project list are available for review on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org. From the home page, click on the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan logo under Planning Issues. SEMCOG members are encouraged to provide links from their Web sites to the SEMCOG Web site; an electronic logo is available from SEMCOG Information Services.

The public can comment at the following five Town Hall meetings to be held in July.

• Thursday, July 15, 2004, 3-5 p.m.; Monroe County Commission Chambers, Monroe County Courthouse, 125 E. Second (Monroe, MI);
• Tuesday, July 20, 2004, 4-6 p.m.; Livingston County Road Commission; 3535 Grand Oaks Dr. (Howell, MI);
• Thursday, July 22, 2004, 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m.; SEMCOG offices, Buhl Building, 535 Griswold, Suite 300 (Detroit, MI); and
• Wednesday, July 28, 2004, 4-6 p.m.; Southfield Library, 26300 Evergreen Rd. (Southfield, MI).

Comments on the transportation plan can also be made via mail (mailing address is in box below), e-mail (infoservices@semcog.org), phone (800-961-3334), or fax (313-961-4869).

The General Assembly will take action to adopt the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan at its meeting on November 4, 2004. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

SEMCOG launches second step in water quality public education campaign

"Practice good car care" is the second of the "Seven Simple Steps to Clean Water" launched by SEMCOG and the Southeast Michigan Partners for Clean Water as part of their "Our Water. Our Future. Ours to Protect." public education campaign aimed at improving water quality in Southeast Michigan.

Since there are over four million vehicles in Southeast Michigan, practicing good car care helps protect our lakes and streams. How? Storm drains and roadside ditches lead to our lakes and streams. If dirty water from washing our cars or motor fluids gets into the storm drains or roadside ditches, our local waterways can become polluted.

Here are some of the ways residents can practice good car care:

• Make a date. Car wash facilities treat their dirty water before discharging it to our lakes and streams. So, make a date to take your car to a car wash.
• Wash it — on the grass. If you wash your car a home, consider washing it on the lawn. Or, if you can't use the lawn, try to direct the dirty water towards the lawn and away from the storm drain.
• Minimize it. Reduce the amount of soap you use or wash your car with plain water.

Posters and tip cards on practicing good car care will be mailed to SEMCOG member governments. Materials and additional information can also be found on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life.  Regional Update is a publication of SEMCOG, financed through funds from state and federal grants and dues from member communities. Joan Flynn, Chairperson Commissioner, Macomb County Paul E. Tait, Executive Director  Susan L. Stetler, Editor  SEMCOG contact information:  Southeast Michigan Council of Governments 535 Griswold Street, Suite 300 Detroit, MI 48226-3602 313-961-4266 - Fax 313-961-4869 staff e-mail:lastname@semcog.org  www.semcog.org

Read past issues of SEMCOG's Regional Update

Local Governments Advancing Southeast Michigan