Looking back, looking forward, and looking ahead

Last week was a busy one at SEMCOG. Our activities showcased a variety of work focused on both short- and long-term goals. We even spent some time studying lessons of the past.

Looking back

We made some preparations for SEMCOG’s 50th anniversary celebration next year, which kicks off in January 2018 at the Detroit Historical Museum. Our exhibit will celebrate 50 years of local governments working together. It will focus on what unites us, what makes Southeast Michigan special, and consider what the future holds for our region. Visitors will also have a chance to share their thoughts on the region’s future and gain an appreciation for the work and collaboration that it will take to make this future a reality.

We’re also finishing up our annual completion report, summarizing the work we accomplished over the past year. We spent some time with auditors, too. These activities are important to demonstrating that we use local dues and grant funding wisely.

Looking forward

Fall is here, and winter will arrive before we know it. This is why we held a workshop on winter road maintenance. We are grateful to the City of Ann Arbor, which hosted us and about 130 mostly public works staff from our member communities. It was a great exchange of best practices and lessons learned. There are some interesting trends at work in the area of winter maintenance in communities these days, including more emphasis on finding environmentally friendly solutions to snow removal. To that end, there is an increased use of liquids (brine) and decreased use of granular methods (salt). Not only environmentally friendly, liquids also create significant cost savings to communities.

We also saw great collaboration at work, communities eager to help each other learn the brine-making process. We appreciated Farmington Hills’ leadership role and, in the case of Farmington and Oak Park, their willingness to give them brine in exchange for salt. All in all, it was a great example of working together to make the region better.

Looking ahead

Our week also featured afternoon and evening public outreach meetings in Monroe County, Wayne County and the City of Detroit. We are visiting each of the our seven counties, plus the City of Detroit to share information about SEMCOG’s 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan and to receive input on priorities from people in each part of our region. Local partners throughout the region have helped by sharing insights into their decision-making processes as well as recent accomplishments.

As we know, our transportation system is in need of improvements and maintenance throughout the region. Limited funding makes it impossible to fix everything. This reality makes it important for us to ask, what is most important to you? What should we focus on? We have received lots of thoughtful answers, which will complement our data as we complete the plan that will guide investment for the coming years.