Volume 1  Number 2  |  July 2005

A Message from Executive Director Conan Smith

Governor Granholm's Special Projects Director, Maxine Berman, recently sat me down at a table with some of Michigan's great regionalists.  To my right sat Father John Sarge from the Saginaw-based Ezekiel project.  Next to him Bill Rustem of Public Sector Consultants held a tete-a-tete with Paul Hillegonds, recently departed from Detroit Renaissance.  On my left, the governor's environmental advisor, Dana Debel, intelligently honed in on common themes with Kentwood mayor Richard Root.  From across the table, however, came a voice that resonates with both reason and experience. 

"You have got to cede power to get power," opined John Logie who served more than a decade as mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan's second largest city.  He ought to know.  Logie is one of the original regional collaborators.  He helped found the Urban Core Mayors group and launch the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council- a coalition that boasts a six-county membership working on land use and transportation issues.  His call for magnanimity will serve us all well in this new climate of partnership.

This month, the Suburbs Alliance communities will launch a resource-sharing initiative aimed at discovering opportunities for us to share police or fire services, merge community development programs, join an insurance pool or go halves on an expensive but important staff position.  The barriers to this kind of cooperation are tremendous - and mostly they are social rather than legal.  Sometimes it's a turf issue between two communities; sometimes its tension with unions; sometimes it's a simple lack of political will. 

Logie recalls several occasions when his city, the west side's 800-pound gorilla, had to deliberately relinquish control over a process or a resource in order to reach a shared victory for the Grand Rapids region.  Giving up power isn't easy, but it is the essence of a good partnership.  In southeast Michigan, we've got to take that leap of faith and trust that our cohorts have got our backs, just as we've got theirs.  Getting to the big issues - like regional taxation for transportation, the arts or economic development, demands trust and good will. 

To be magnanimous is to exhibit true generosity, to be noble minded in one's dealings with others.  As we strive to bring more communities into the family of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance and to reap the benefits of regional collaboration, let's remember Logie's exhortation to rise above the fray, that sometimes we get more by giving away what may seem to mean the most.

Director's Message Online

Project Updates

The Resource Sharing steering committee will hold its kickoff meeting on Wednesday, July 13^th.  This meeting of city managers, mayors, professors, fire and police chiefs, and union leaders will guide the Suburbs Alliance research efforts to create fall educational forums regarding fire, police, insurance, community development block grants, and staff pooling.  The resource sharing project was given a boost this past month through the addition of several collaborative partners, including Wayne State University.  As a result of the partnership, the Suburbs Alliance will help to host a two day conference on regional cooperation and resource sharing this fall at Wayne State University.  The conference will bring together academics and practitioners from around the country for a discussion of the latest trends, best practices, and current research. 

The Michigan Universities program is off to a running start this summer as invitations for the first steering committee were sent out last week.  Many local government officials, professors, and community leaders have already confirmed their attendance for what is to be an innovative process to create an ongoing and successful program that connects member cities to our state's top universities.  Moreover, we are excited and honored to welcome Benjamin Tallerico, Director of Community Development and Planning for the City of Monroe, as the program's chair.  Mr. Tallerico has held positions in Detroit as the Director of Mexicantown.Hubbard.Communities and in Toledo as the Executive Director of the Ottawa Community Development Corporation where he successfully developed market rate and low income housing.  He also teaches at the University of Toledo.

The pilot cities of the Redevelopment Ready Communities program embark on the technical assistance step in the pilot program this month. Don Gross, our certification consultant, and the RRC committee reviewed each evaluation and provided recommendations to each pilot city on the standards that need attention.  Hamilton Anderson Associates is our lead planning consulting firm providing technical assistance along with other resource partners, MEDC, MSHDA, and the EPA.

Congratulations to the three groups selected for the Metro Detroit Regional Investment Initiative grants.  Earlier this year, seven planning grants were awarded to community-based groups to create projects benefiting Detroit border communities and their inner-ring suburban neighbors.  Of those seven, Detroit LISC has awarded the following three groups funding through 2007:

• Fort/Visger Revitalization Initiative (SW Detroit/ Ecorse/ River Rouge/ Lincoln Park) $200,000,
• Detroit-Grosse Pointe Park Collaborative, $155,000, and
• Van Dyke-8 Mile Gateway (Detroit/ Warren) $130,000. 

In the next phase, the Suburbs Alliance will be aiding the recipient groups in community awareness, and project �kick-offs.�

 

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In the News

The campaign to save Community Development Block Grants got a boost this month, when a House Appropriations subcommittee allocated $4.2 billion to the program for the 2006 fiscal year and decided to keep it in HUD.  Although the allocation is $500 million short of last fiscal year's funding, this outcome is still worthy of some unabashed celebration.  Click here to get the full update. 

While municipal leaders from around the country have made major progress for CDBGs, the fight is not over, and speakers at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors June 10-14 stressed the importance of continued efforts.  Read "Mayors' Focus: Save CDBGs" in Governing Magazine to see what HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson had to say to the city leaders.

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Municipal wireless has come under fire in the last several weeks, with legislation being introduced at both the federal and state level that would prohibit local governments from providing wireless access.  Near the end of May, Representative Pete Sessions (R-Texas) introduced the Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act of 2005 (HR 2726), and two bills with identical clauses prohibiting municipal broadband are currently in the Michigan House and Senate.

These efforts haven't stopped Oakland and Washtenaw Counties, however; near the beginning of June, Washtenaw County issued an RFI (Request for Information) for deployment of a county-wide wireless broadband system, and Oakland County is pushing full speed ahead with its plans for free municipal wireless.  Read Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's argument for implementing county-wide wireless in "State shouldn't interfere with Oakland project, a public-private effort to create high-tech jobs."

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A Little Help From Our Friends

Thanks to Bren Buckley from Burton-Katzman Development who picked up the lunch tab at a meeting she prompted with Ken Detloff, Executive Director of Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated.  DKI is a private nonprofit established to manage economic development in Kalamazoo�s central city on behalf of their Downtown Development Authority.  Many economic development directors have recommended private management as a best practices for downtown revitalization, and the Suburbs Alliance is working with Kalamazoo, Hamtramck and the Detroit to identify the pro�s and con�s of the model.

 

Tracey Gubert, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and VP of Communications at the Project Management Institute Great Lakes Chapter (PMIGLC) (www.pmiglc.org) extended her time to train the new Suburbs Alliance staff on the principles and sound practices of Project Management.  The Project Management Institute (PMI) (www.pmi.org) is an internationally recognized leader for setting industry standards, conducting researching, and education provider designed to strengthen the project management profession.  The Suburbs Alliance looks forward to future partnerships with the PMI GLC.

 

We�re sitting pretty in the office, thanks to the wisdom and assistance of Tim Ott with Royal Oak based McMillan Brothers.  Before we bought a very comfy set of chairs from him, Tim helped us define our furniture needs and layout the office set up.  We�re definitely in professional digs now!

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Upcoming Events

The RRC Committee is off its regular schedule in July.  Anyone is welcome to stop by and join us for our lively discussions on program development.  Hot caffeine beverage and bagels abound.

Friday, July 22.  8:00-10:00 a.m.
Council Chamber at Ferndale City Hall

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The Michigan Universities and Resource Sharing Steering Committee meetings are quickly approaching, so clear your calendar and make sure to be there.  If you are interested in being part of either Steering Committee, or know of anyone who may wish to attend the meetings, contact Brittany as soon as possible.  Remember to confirm your attendance by July 5th! 
 

Michigan Universities Steering Committee Meeting 

Thursday, July 7.  8:00 a.m.

Council Chamber at Ferndale City Hall

 

Resource Sharing Steering Committee Meeting

Wednesday, July 13.  8:00 a.m.

Council Chamber at Ferndale City Hall

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For more information about the Michigan Suburbs Alliance and our activities, visit http://www.michigansuburbsalliance.org/.
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