June General Assembly meeting highlights
Officers elected; Regional Ambassadors honored

SEMCOG's General Assembly met on Thursday, June 23, 2005, at the VisTaTech Center of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, MI. Officers for 2005-2006 and delegates-at-large were elected, and Joan Flynn, outgoing chair, officially passed the gavel to incoming chair, Gregory Pitoniak. The following is the complete list of SEMCOG leadership for 2005-2006:

• Gregory Pitoniak, Chairperson; Mayor, City of Taylor;
• John Jones, First Vice Chairperson; Supervisor, Ira Township;
• Mary Blackmon, Vice Chair; Member, Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency;
• Robert Cannon, Vice Chair; Supervisor, Clinton Township;
• Chuck Moss, Vice Chair; Commissioner, Oakland County;
• William Roberts, Vice Chair; Mayor, City of Walled Lake; and
• Joan Flynn, Immediate Past Chair, Vice Chair, Macomb County Board of Commissioners.

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:

• George Goodman, President of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation and retired Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League — Goodman's affiliation with SEMCOG goes back to the beginning of his career. When he was elected to the Ypsilanti City Council in 1970, one of his first assignments was to serve as a delegate on SEMCOG's General Assembly. More recently, he has served as a delegate at-large. While at the Michigan Municipal League, Goodman did much to showcase the talent and good work of local elected officials. At the same time, he was an effective advocate for the serious challenges facing many cities and villages as financial resources have become strained and resident demands have increased.
• Robert Hison, Mayor, City of St. Clair Shores — Hison is a leader who has guided the careful stewardship of SEMCOG's financial resources and assisted in communicating SEMCOG's data in a meaningful way. He has held a number of positions at SEMCOG, including Chair of the Finance and Budget Committee and the Data Center Advisory Council. Hison is also a member of the Regional Clearinghouse Review Committee and the Local Government Finance Task Force. In these positions, Hison has been a strong proponent of sharing information and best practices among local governments in order to improve local and regional decision making. He has helped guide effective communication of SEMCOG data and policies to our membership.
• Diana Kolakowski, Commissioner, Macomb County — Kolakowski is a past SEMCOG Chairperson and continues to serve on numerous committees and task forces. She is committed to environmental issues, serving on both the Environmental Policy Advisory Council and the Southeast Michigan Air Quality Task Force. Kolakowski also serves on the board of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, a private-sector partner of SEMCOG. She has led the way in finding areas of agreement on our toughest regional issues, be they environmental, transportation, or redevelopment, and helping to move the region forward based on common ground.

Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.

SEMCOG launches sixth step in water quality public education campaign

"Choose earth-friendly landscaping" is the sixth of the "Seven Simple Steps to Clean Water," launched at the General Assembly 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.

Did you know that you can protect your kids, pets, and the environment from the harmful effects of herbicides and pesticides by choosing earth-friendly landscaping? The chemicals in herbicides and pesticides pollute our waterways if washed from lawns and gardens into storm drains and roadside ditches. Remember, storm drains lead directly to lakes and rivers. Here are some ways residents can care for their lawns and gardens and help keep our water clean:

• Go native. Select plants native to Michigan. Native plants are better able to tolerate Michigan's climate, require less fertilizer and water, and are more disease resistant.
• Variety is the spice of life. Use a wide variety of plants to help control pests and minimize the need for pesticides.
• Water wisely. Lawns need about one inch of water per week. Use a rain gauge and water only when necessary, instead of on a fixed schedule.
• Use mulch. Place a thick layer of mulch (e.g., four inches) around trees and plants. This helps retain water, reduce weeds, and minimizes the need for pesticides.
• Mow high. Make your lawn cheaper and easier to maintain by mowing high — three inches is the rule. Tall grass promotes root growth and shades out weeds. Let grass clippings fall back on the lawn. Clippings recycle nutrients back into the soil, so fertilizer can be reduced by 25 percent or more.
• Rake it or leave it. Follow your community's leaf pick-up guidelines. Avoid raking leaves into storm drains or roadside ditches. Try mowing leaves into your lawn — they also make a good fertilizer.
• Use less for pests. Use pesticides and herbicides sparingly. Limit application of these chemicals to problem areas only.

Posters and tip cards on choosing earthy-friendly landscaping have been mailed to SEMCOG member governments. Materials and additional information can be found on SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

Attention clerks! SEMCOG seeking information on community newsletter editors

In order to disseminate information to SEMCOG members for potential use in their newsletters to residents, SEMCOG is seeking contact information for community newsletter editors. Regional Update may not be sent to those editors, so we're requesting that community clerks respond with that information (name, address, phone, e-mail, newsletter name). Thanks for those clerks who responded earlier. We will follow up with phone calls in the near future. Contact: Sue Stetler, SEMCOG Manager of Communications and Creative Services.

New SEMCOG member

SEMCOG welcomes new member Monroe Community College. SEMCOG membership now totals 149. Contact: Durene Brown, SEMCOG Membership Manager.

SEMNotes

The City of Dearborn received an Outstanding Achievement Award in the City Livability Awards Program at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual conference. The award recognized the creation of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The City of Northville has been named Michigan's safest city by a Web-based research group. Northville ranked 18th overall out of U.S. cities with a population of more than 5,000. Oakland County communities of Holly and Huntington Woods were also ranked in the top 100.

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. Greg Pitoniak, Chairperson Mayor, City of Taylor 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