Volume 2 Number 6: November 2006
Photo: East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority

Inside Dearborn City Hall

Director's Message

To Do List
1. Winterize the house, 2. Save a city, 3. Rake the leaves . . .

Sure it’s a busy season.  There’s family coming to town, holiday shopping to kick off, vacation to plan.  It’s also, coincidentally, a great time to take some practical steps toward improving the quality of life in your hometown.  Here at the Suburbs Alliance, we completely understand how hectic life gets, especially when school, work and home all seem to be developing crushing priorities.  Nonetheless, there are really important issues that need your support and attention – revenue sharing, clean water, public safety, and on and on.  We don’t expect you to dedicate a whole lot of time to these things, so we’ve developed a call-to-arms for those of us who really only have time to think about our pressing regional challenges on the drive home but who also want to have a part in making southeast Michigan thrive.   Finish reading

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Project Updates

  
Talk o' the Town

If you haven't seen it yet, get your hands on our latest issue of the Suburban Hubbub.  This election edition features statements from Governor Granholm and  gubernatorial candidates Gregory Creswell and Dick DeVos, ballot question analyses, insight from regional leaders, and more! Download your copy of the Hubbub here or email Sharon for a hard copy.  And don't miss our online election coverage!

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Hotcake Help

We need volunteers to help with our Mayors & Managers Policy Breakfast next Thursday.  We won't force you to flip pancakes, but we will put you to work!  Volunteers get a $50 discount on tickets and front row seats to stimulating conversation.  (We'll also love you forever, if that counts for anything!)  Email Melanie if you can make it.  Event details are below.

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UniverCities News

WSU Professor Gary Sands' students are wrapping up their semester of classroom projects in the cities of Allen Park, Berkley, Grosse Pointe Woods, Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak and Ypsilanti.  They'll present their progress December 4th and 11th.  Finishing up the semester, MSU Professor Igor Vojnovic will lead a team of students in a redevelopment project targeting the vacant Kmart site at 8 Mile Road & Gratiot Avenue in the city of Eastpointe.  For more information about the UniverCities Connection program, email Brittany Galisdorfer. 

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Say Cheese...

Send us your most interesting, unique or quirky pictures from around the region, and we'll showcase them in our newsletter, on our website and in our developing online album.  We've already received many great photos - like the one from the East Dearborn DDA above - and we can't wait to see what else you've got.  We're especially interested in photos of our member communities, so make sure to check the list to see which cities are part of the Alliance.  Send your photos to sharon@suburbsalliance.org.

 

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In the News

  

Check out the new report from the Brookings Institution examining the challenges facing the Great Lakes states.  The Vital Center: A Federal-State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region prescribes a series of educational, economic, social and infrastructure initiatives to help Michigan and its neighbor states reassert their global economic leadership.  Read it here.

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  Welcome our newest corporate members, DTE Energy and Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc.!  We are proud to have the support of these reputable organizations.  Click here to learn how your company can become a Corporate Partner of the Suburbs Alliance. 

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Upcoming Events

  

Hungry yet?

There is still time left to register for our debut Mayors and Managers Policy Breakfast!  Mayors, managers and all interested others are invited to participate in a creative, high-level discussion of what will be one of the most important issues of 2007 - revenue sharing.  Amidst the delicious aroma of fresh-flipped hotcakes, Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First will present brand new research on the impact of Michigan's tax incentives on economic development and urban growth. Dan Gilmartin of the Michigan Municipal League will also join us to outline current trends in revenue sharing in the Legislature, kicking off our interactive table discussions.   Register now! 

Event sponsors: DTE Energy, Miller Canfield, Comcast, C.S. Mott Foundation

Mayors & Managers Policy Breakfast

Thursday, November 9.  7:45 - 10:00 a.m.

Wayne Community Center in the City of Wayne

Tickets: $75  Register here!

Sponsorships $400.  Call Melanie Piana at (248) 546-2380 for information.

Click here for additional event details.

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Hit the Polls on November 7!

Next Tuesday is election day, so don't forget to hit the polls to cast your vote.  Besides an exciting gubernatorial race and important statewide proposals, there are many interesting issues on municipal ballots.

 

For example, cities across the region will be looking to see if Dearborn voters will continue to charge non-residents who use public parking structures.  Elimination of this revenue would challenge the city to support the maintenance of those parking structures by some other means – usually through property taxes. Proponents argue free parking could encourage more visitors to go downtown. Visit the City of Dearborn website to learn more about Dearborn's user-paid parking system and this ballot proposal.  See what else is on municipal ballots in our Election Edition of the Suburban Hubbub.

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6th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

This year's Smart Growth Conference promises to be dynamic, and registration is now open!  Professionals from virtually all fields – local and state government, architecture, building, planning, public health, real estate, crime prevention, and more – will gain insight of Smart Growth principles as well as tools and strategies for building safe, healthy and livable communities.  Hands-on workshops, interactive breakouts, tours...the list goes on!  Register today!

 

February 8-10, 2007

Los Angeles, CA

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites       

more info

 

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