Posted By: Gretchen Driskell
Posted: 11/7/2011
Why do you choose to live here? Is it because of the cultural offerings in the area, the entrepreneurial environment, or the outstanding educational systems? Maybe ease of access to biking, walking and outdoor recreation, the diverse population of the region, or an environmental conscience are important to you. Quality of place is a driving force for talent location, from young millenials to senior executives, so what can we do to make it better here?
The Michigan Municipal League (MML), which exists to create better cities across our state, studied how to become excellent at place making in 2006. I was fortunate to participate in the four full-day sessions, with speakers from around the country who have affected or identified change opportunities in place making. Municipal leaders from across the state worked through what we heard in these sessions to formalize the toolkit of strategies we are using today. The League identified the eight assets that Michigan's communities need to grow and strengthen, for our state to sustain and prosper in coming years. Research shows that physical design and walkability, green initiatives, cultural economic development, entrepreneurship, multiculturalism, messaging and technology, transit, and education are essential to a community's livelihood. Saline has been implementing/strengthening these assets since then to become a more successful community.
This year the MML wrote the book, The Economics of Place: The Value of Building Communities Around People. This is a great compilation of essays by an array of experts in place making, which integrates these eight assets into their personal perspectives. It is written for you and I (the non-experts), in an effort to help all of us understand what it takes to make Michigan competitive with the rest of the world.
How do we create places around this state that will entice talent, create jobs, and build stronger communities? Our region has been built on strong assets, primarily our education systems, which in turn have positively impacted the other place-making strategies. However, we have a ways to go to truly be competitive with the rest of the world.
So, read the book…broaden your horizon a bit…. And think about how we can make our state great again.
Posted By: Gretchen Driskell
Posted: 11/4/2011
Our city has historically been recognized as a pro-business community. We have purchased over 383 acres of farmland over the past 19 years and installed roads and water/sewer infrastructure to provide certified industrial parks with development-ready parcels. When a company looks at our community to invest and grow, we bring all the required players to the table so there will be a timely, successful outcome for us all.
It is with particular dread that we are following a proposal in Lansing to eliminate the personal property tax. In our community it would have a significant negative impact. It would eliminate 20% of our city operating budget and since we would be required to continue the bond payments on the business park infrastructure (almost 2 mills annually, some through 2024), our citywide services, infrastructure, and quality of life would be decimated.
Over the past decade, we have laid off over 10% of our workforce, not replaced other open positions, and stopped capital projects. We have outsourced, collaborated, and consolidated. We have gone to a defined contribution pension program and adjusted our health insurance to be competitive with the private sector.
We have been doing this because of what I call the perfect storm. The combination of Proposal A, which capped our ability to raise our taxes when the market was strong, cuts to statutory revenue sharing, which was designed to alleviate the negative impact of Proposal A, and the significant decrease in real property values has decimated budgets across our great state for the past ten years.
In Saline, a majority of the businesses in our parks are growing. They are expanding and investing in new equipment and employees. They are not moving away to another state because there is a personal property tax here. As a matter of fact, 43 states have personal property tax. Indiana and Ohio do not. To be clear, there is some talk of replacement of this revenue. However, there is no reliable revenue source identified and the revenue replacement would be appropriated at the state level. Our experience has been that this method of revenue generation ultimately is allocated to state operations and disappears over time and we are left with a tax shift to local government (our citizens). Our revenues have shrunk 7% due to this situation.
Personal property tax elimination will cause a loss of almost $1 million in revenue to the Saline school bond fund, which would cause the bond payments to be extended another 3 to 4 years. School operating revenue (foundation funds from the state) would decrease over $2 million. Would the state replace this? There would be a 9% decrease in our library operating budget. Elimination of this revenue source will take away 5% of the county budget, and 3% of the community college budget. Additionally, it would negatively impact downtown development authorities, the AATA, and the WISD. Countywide, across all organizations that receive personal property tax revenue, the total loss is estimated to be $43 million.
The legislature cut business taxes (which I fully supported) by $1.6 billion this spring. Now they are talking about another $1.2 billion cut, and this burden again would then be carried by locals. Let me be clear, I am not opposed to this cut if there is a fully funded guaranteed replacement. We have always worked with business to provide the best environment for their success; we know that this is imperative for a healthy community.
I urge you to be informed about how this proposal would affect your community. In Saline, we are having a town hall meeting on this subject on November 14th at 7pm at Liberty School. If this revenue is not replaced, communities across our state will be unable to provide the quality of life, infrastructure, and education system that talent and smart business wants and needs to locate and invest here.
Posted By: Gretchen Driskell
Posted: 11/2/2011
Someday you will see this sign in my downtown.
Our community is continually recreating our downtown. Since I moved here years 23 years ago the energy has changed. The catalyst was Bill Kinley's development, Murphy's Crossing, which houses shops, Mac's restaurant, and multiple offices completed in the 90s. Since then our compact downtown has added multiple events, businesses and one failed (to-date) development.
This winter, our community will be applying to receive top level strategic support for place making through the Michigan Main Street (MSHDA) program. MSHDA, recognizing the importance of quality of life in retaining talent, contracted with the National Main Street program in 2003 to provide training and support to a few select communities in Michigan. Michigan's program (in 16 cities) has already gained national recognition even while joining over 2,000 towns in 43 states throughout the nation. To receive the Select level award, a rigorous review is made of our long term community commitment to revitalization.
Why do we want to make this commitment? Our downtown is the heart and soul of our community. The heritage of our community, as evidenced by the architecture, is here. A vibrant downtown is a good incubator of local owned businesses and reduces sprawl. We come together to celebrate and play here. Most importantly, downtown is a symbol of our community economic health. Follow our progress through our Route (20)12 to Main Street blog.
So…
Why would you want to loiter here today? To be at one of the best bakeries in the county, where the pastries melt in your mouth and the Saturday pretzel line is out the door. Because the parking is free. To walk to 212 Arts Center and take a pottery class. For the new restaurants in town, family-owned Mangiamo and the Downtown Diner. To watch the European style florist work her craft. For our shops, brimming with seasonal delights, or the twinkle of the holiday lights that brings a new glow to the evening. How about wine tasting or making at our local winery, Spotted Dog? Or best of all, watching the world go by while seated on the street furniture/sculpture, "Seats of our Heritage".
Our continued commitment to the future of downtown will be evidenced in multiple areas. Further development of our pocket parks, a sculpture walk, a market pavilion and an improved streetscape that enhances the pedestrian experience are at the top of the list for design improvements. Main Street program tools for entrepreneur support and recruitment will help us in the development of the failed downtown project, possibly bringing a boutique hotel and additional entertainment opportunities. We are in the final stages of implementing a form-based code in our downtown, bringing flexibility and better design guidelines to our planning process.
The success of our downtown lies in the people who have found it a place to loiter on occasion. Daily, weekly, or monthly there is always a friendly face and a new discovery awaiting you.
Posted By: Gretchen Driskell
Posted: 11/2/2011
Growing up on the end of the commuter line into Manhattan meant that I could walk into the city. Can you imagine what that could mean to a youngster?
When an individual has mobility beyond the automobile, the world is a different place. I must admit I took this for granted until I moved to Michigan. My career in Washington, D.C. was accessed by the Metro, as were most social events. So it was no surprise that when I became an elected official, a primary area of interest was our transportation system.
Transportation is an economic development issue. It is also a talent recruitment and retention issue. There are multiple aspects to an effective transportation system. The undervalued aspects in Michigan (and, to be fair, in most of the U.S.) include everything except the roadway, which is why I am delighted that the AATA has developed a 30-year, countywide transit master plan. There is still a lot of work to do. A governance board is just beginning and a finance group is identifying funding options. The good news is we finally have an integrated plan that coordinates transportation between jurisdictions and modes, so whether you're a rider of choice (a.k.a. commuter), a senior who wants the ability to age in place and get to the doctor and grocery store, or a teenager that wants to get to where it's happening, we can be providing these options in the future. And most importantly, this plan will be implemented in a coordinated, regional manner.
Coincidentally, transportation infrastructure funding has been a hot topic this past week. Our governor spoke to the need for additional investment in our system, in all modes. Our state is unable to match the federal dollars that you and I pay at the pump, which means we don't get that money coming back to our system. This shortfall has been predicted for years and needs to be addressed by our state legislators now. The longer we take to find money to fix the system the more decrepit it becomes, and the cost to fix it is much higher (comparable to not fixing a roof leak in your home).
This week, Governor Snyder spoke specifically to the need for increased investment in rail, both passenger and freight. A long term vision of improved rail will make us more competitive, with an increased ability to move goods and people. Our border with Canada is the most heavily trafficked in the nation for freight movement, and providing additional capacity is imperative to develop future economic opportunities and position Michigan for future success.
President Obama and the USDOT have a vision to build a high speed rail system comparable to European and Asian rail. The Jobs Act introduced by the president calls for additional investment in high speed rail, and Michigan's line between Detroit and Chicago has been designated one of 11 corridors across the U.S. So far, the state has been able to access $350 million to purchase and stabilize the Norfolk Southern line (enabling increased speeds for the AMTRAK line). These federal dollars assist our local efforts to initiate the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter line.
Implementing a transit vision for southeast Michigan is complex but vital to our future. Barriers include funding, a regional authority, and a perceived lack of need. If we are to become a state that is a leader in this country once again, we must have infrastructure that belongs in the 21st century.
Everyone deserves to have access to education and jobs, to know they can age in place, and to have transportation choices. Personally, I can't wait for the day my daughter and I can take the train to the DIA!
Posted By: Sean Reed
Posted: 10/12/2011
There can be no doubt that here in Michigan, things are changing, especially when it comes to how we power our economy and our daily lives. The Clean Energy Coalition is a not-for-profit organization that has not only embraced the need for change but has been actively working to deploy the tools and technologies that can make it happen faster. Change doesn't happen through good intentions and sheer willpower alone. The creation and growth of the Clean Energy Coalition is a case in point. After working for the city of Ann Arbor on clean energy projects, I conceived the idea of creating an independent organization that could work on the same challenges and solutions, but have a statewide impact. That was the genesis of the Clean Energy Coalition, which was established in 2005.
In our first five years, we have worked through many of the same issues that every entrepreneur faces. Moving from a one-person shop to hiring our first staff person, and then growing the organization with 14 full-time and five part-time employees. If you haven't had that entrepreneurial moment of sitting alone in a bare office with a folding chair, card table, laptop and cell phone as your sole office mates, I highly encourage you to have this experience at least once in your life. It's highly transformative.
As an organization, we've worked hard to establish credibility with potential partners and stakeholders. We’ve worked with everyone from the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, to Fortune 500 companies, to municipalities from across the state, to mom and pop shops, to the homeowner down the block. We've fostered a culture of creativity and innovation with our staff. We've created a strong brand that connects with consumers and potential partners, and is uniquely differentiated from other companies and organizations working in the clean energy arena. And we have identified unmet needs in the market, and then systematically assembled funding and partners who can help drive change.
So, in our work to transform markets in the clean energy sector, what needs have we seen from our partners? In general, the biggest issue is not a lack of desire to change. It's not knowing where to start. There have never been more options available to help people, businesses, and municipalities save money on their energy bills, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and cut pollution. However, with so many choices, limited budgets, and competing priorities, it can be challenging for even the most well-intentioned and committed individuals and organizations to move forward confidently and with purpose. Many people we speak with often overlook the simple things they can do without a big cash outlay. For example, they might be interested in installing a wind generator on their home, but haven't done anything to reduce their electrical load, such as installing compact fluorescent light bulbs.
In general, we have found that a "go it alone" strategy is not always the best way to tackle problems, uncover opportunities, or create value. We have found that as an organization, our ability to open the door to new technologies, new partners, and new sources of funding is our greatest asset. Since we launched in 2005, we have been building bridges between the public and private sectors. We have assembled over $55 million in funded clean energy projects developed right here in Michigan. Whether the goal is to build a green vehicle fleet, reduce the energy footprint of buildings, or help build clean energy infrastructure, our track record makes us a valued partner.
Our far-reaching initiatives include championing innovative vehicle technologies to create green fleets that reduce emissions and boost fuel economy. A local example of this is the support we provided to help put Ann Arbor's new hydraulic hybrid recycling trucks on the road. Others include spearheading infrastructure investments including local biodiesel, ethanol, compressed natural gas, and upcoming electric charging infrastructure; auditing and creating energy conservation plans for residential and commercial buildings; and helping to organize Ann Arbor's annual Earth Day and Green Fair events, as well as other local workshops and stakeholder events. We've also provided technical consulting services to 40 municipalities, including conducting greenhouse gas inventories and establishing revolving energy funds. And assisting with the launch of the state's first commercial PACE (property assessed clean energy) program in Ann Arbor is certainly something we are particularly proud of.
Just like a "go it alone" strategy doesn't work, neither does a cookie-cutter approach. Our organization recognizes that every individual and entity it works with is starting at a different place and has different resources and goals when it comes to adopting clean energy solutions. Our deep understanding of the issues and technology, committed partners, and access to capital allows us to develop custom-tailored solutions for our clients and partners. We would welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with you to bridge the individual needs you might have and advance the many positive opportunities and changes currently underway. I think you'll find we can exceed your expectations – both for bottom line results and in delivering measurable improvements to our quality of life.
Posted By: Sean Reed
Posted: 10/12/2011
I thought it might be helpful to spend a little time explaining what's a driver for me personally and how that impacts and directs my work in the energy sector and with Clean Energy Coalition. It’s impossible to launch an organization like this and not have my personal and professional lives overlap! And lately, I’ve been struck by the debate in social and professional arenas around issues that are so important to me, so I thought I’d take the opportunity over the next couple posts to share some of my thoughts.
So, first off, what drives me? How do I look at the world around me? I had a highly transformative experience shortly before moving to Michigan in 1999. I spent a year living and working with the Maasai tribespeople in rural Tanzania. While there, I worked installing renewable energy systems for an indigenous, tribal community development organization called the Olkonerei Integrated Pastoralist Survival Program.
The Maasai tribespeople are not only some of the most beautiful, friendly people you will ever meet, but also one of the most traditional tribes on the African continent. They live as their ancestors have for thousands of years. Their culture is based upon their cattle, which they herd on common land, in semi-arid zones in Tanzania and Kenya. While I was living with the Maasai, a tremendous calamity befell them. The short rains failed to come during their typical season. This had the effect of creating a famine in which numerous Maasai died of starvation. The Maasai have survived for so long as a culture due to the sustainable methods of their lifestyle. Yet while I was in Tanzania, famine was striking Maasai, often with tragic results, with increasing frequency.
Like people the world over, the Maasai tribespeople live in a constant dynamic with various forces – both good and bad – which heavily impact their existence. The Tanzanian government was employing various methods to try to make the Maasai more sedentary, so that they could utilize the Maasai land for other purposes. This had the effect of denying the Maasai one of their critical survival mechanisms: their ability to move about the plains in search of water to feed their cattle. Instead, they were encouraged by their government to farm, and when the rains didn't come, they faced starvation.
In our society and many others, the tendency is to look at a situation like the plight of the Maasai from a purely localized and reactive level and offer up social services, such as handing out food donations. While I firmly believe that these types of services need to be available and applied to get people through crises, how does this help the predicament of people like the Maasai from a long-term perspective? While it may help some Maasai to make it through another year, who is to say that this same event will not happen next year? By understanding the larger forces that impact localized suffering, we gain the ability to make structural changes that can impact and possibly proactively rectify seemingly hopeless situations. I feel that if you want to be an effective agent for change, it's imperative to contextualize the issue and tie it to the greater political economy, class, and culture.
The starvation that I witnessed in Africa was a catalyst for the development of a proactive, macro, solutions-based approach that I try to take both with my work and in my personal life. I think this is why I have been thinking so much about the public debate around social support issues happening here in Michigan and across the US lately. In tandem with the collective societal memory loss of the challenge of living through the Great Depression, we have witnessed the steady erosion of the social support structure that arose to address the needs of a society in which more and more people both have fallen and continue to fall through the cracks. The slower rates of economic growth, government deficits, excessive unemployment, inflation, and high interest rates of the 1970s further questioned social support, and regardless of the political party in the White House since then, these programs have not been significantly revitalized.
As the gap between the haves and have-nots has grown wider, we have witnessed a crisis in the United States, with the development of three class-based, benefit systems: fiscal benefits that aid the corporate sector; occupational benefits that mostly aid people with good, full-time jobs; and general benefits that are aimed primarily at unemployed and underemployed workers. Although benefits for general society have had to constantly strive to prove their worth to larger society, increasingly all three benefit systems have come under attack. It is my firm opinion that all three segments of society are important and worthy of our societal support. All three segments need help to get through tough times and be encouraged to do the right thing. I refuse to believe that the "rising tide" does truly lift all boats. I equally refuse to sit in it and watch it steadily sink.
Posted By: Sean Reed
Posted: 10/12/2011
In my last post, I discussed some of my concerns with the way societal support structures are being dismissed these days. I mentioned how this resonated in both personal and professional ways for me. Today, I’ll talk about a specific example of this that is a serious issue facing citizens all across Michigan, that’s not being talked about enough yet, but that I think everyone needs to know about. But first one more bit of background on why this matters so much to me.
A number of years ago, I found myself in the midst of a self-induced crisis trying to figure out what I could do to make a difference. Strangely enough, it was when I was climbing a sacred mountain in rural China that I read the following Buddhist saying: "You cannot speak to a frog in a well about the ocean." While this passage could be interpreted in a variety of ways, I saw it as speaking volumes about my role in this life. Like the frog, the construct of the "well" defines the parameters of existence for most of us. Maybe this offers many of us a secure existence, but it also collectively shuts us off from understanding different cognitive constructs and alternative ways of being. I vowed that I would be a part of an effort to redefine what the "well" really means by bridging the gap between well and ocean.
The work undertaken by the Clean Energy Coalition tries to bridge this gap by working closely with individuals and organizations to move further along the path of energy independence. As an example of this, Clean Energy Coalition staff have been working on a project with Michigan's "Cities of Promise" for the past year and a half. These cities include Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, and Saginaw. To give you a better sense of the plight of these cities, a number of them don't even have a functioning heating system in city hall. Our work has involved helping to guide strategic energy investments in these cities, then capturing and reinvesting the money saved through a financial tool called a "revolving energy fund". Over time, these investments would have saved the cities millions.
Why do I say "would have"? In August, Clean Energy Coalition's contract with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to work with Michigan's Cities of Promise was cancelled. However, Clean Energy Coalition was not alone in this. Over $90 million worth of contracts through the MPSC's Low Income & Energy Efficiency Fund (LIEEF) were terminated. The reason? The State Court of Appeals ruled that the MPSC does not have the authority to manage LIEEF due to its lack of specific mention in a 2008 act passed by the state legislature. This ruling comes despite the fact that the MPSC has successfully managed the LIEEF for more than 10 years and that LIEEF was initially created by an act of the state legislature. If this doesn't make any sense to you, join the club.
Thousands of Michigan citizens will be impacted by this Court of Appeals ruling that seems to be based on a technicality. And the sad but true impending reality is that some of them will die. Why? Because LIEEF has historically been a significant provider of financial assistance to qualified individuals to prevent the shut off of utilities during the winter. The other main provider of heating assistance, the federal LIHEAP program, is targeted for a 50% reduction in funding initially proposed by President Obama. There is a misconception that the utilities cannot shut off your electric and gas during the winter. They can. And this is certainly not something that people should have to learn when it's too late. This is a tragedy that we will needlessly have to watch unfold over the course of this winter because the state legislature has yet to take this up as a serious issue for Michigan's citizens. I have attended recent meetings of the State House and Senate Energy and Technology Committees and while LIEEF has not been mentioned, a bill to allow for the manufacture of incandescent light bulbs, despite a federal ban, was not only discussed, but, successfully passed out of the House Committee!
As someone who has come face to face with starvation, as someone who believes in structural change, what do I think we need to do? I think that we need to get serious here about caring for our fellow Michiganders. About caring for the world around us. About caring the world that our children's children will inherit. Is it worth $10 a year (the cost of the LIEEF surcharge on your utility bill) for you to know that you have provided a warm house for children living in poverty in our state? We all should recognize the tremendous tightrope we walk in modern life with little to buffer us from despair; we can’t know for sure that the plight of Michigan’s economy will never deeply affect us.
Over the course of the 10 years LIEEF has been operating, it has been a tremendous tool not only for addressing the pressing needs of heating assistance, but also with proactively attempting to render obsolete the myriad structural issues that cause individuals, companies, schools, and municipalities to struggle with their utility bills year after year. Remember my story about the Maasai? Promoting energy efficiency across society is that long-term solution that addresses structural change. Work in this arena includes everything from Clean Energy Coalition's strategic energy investments in Michigan's Cities of Promise, to the thousands of low income households that have had targeted energy retrofit work performed.
If you agree with me, that you think this proactive, caring approach makes sense, I highly encourage you to contact your state representative, state senator, or the members of the House and Senate Energy & Technology Committees and let them know that you care about LIEEF, about energy efficiency, and about doing what’s right for Michigan families.
Posted By: Matthew Naud & Jamie Kidwell
Posted: 9/30/2011
So what's not sustainable?
The city of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan spend $250 million and $110 million per year, respectively, on natural gas and electricity. Those dollars don't spin in the community very long because the sources of energy aren't made here – and most are also not renewable, so prices tend to go up. So we give money away to other states and countries instead of investing in the infrastructure that could create jobs, make it cheaper to live and work here, and reduce our energy insecurity.
Residents and businesses in Ann Arbor spend close to $140 million (of the $250 million) and we can probably save 10% of that with caulk. Caulk that is bought at local stores and used by local contractors, who have money in local banks, and the energy savings can be saved or spent at local restaurants and book stores. Investing in really easy basic energy efficiency improvements could leave $14 million in the local economy each year for the life of the improvements. This is one of those situations where the market is not working.
Energy efficiency investments are not recognized in the appraisal of houses when they sell, so banks won't let you build these costs into mortgages (a source of relatively cheap money). Half of our 40,000 housing units are rental and there are a variety of inefficiencies in the market. When tenants don't pay utilities, they can use as much as they want. When tenants do pay utilities, there is less incentive for the landlord to make efficiency investments when all the savings return to the tenant. As a homeowner, I can get a far cheaper interest rate for buying a new car than I can for insulating my home even though the efficiency investments could immediately put $50-100/month in my pocket to repay the note.
Until recently, it hasn't been clear that there is (or should be) a role for cities to play in this failing market. Public Act 270 of 2010 changed that. Thank you Berkeley, Boulder, and Babylon (NY) among others for getting the first programs started. PACE legislation allows local units of governments to adopt resolutions "that the financing of energy projects is a valid public purpose." Local governments now have the opportunity (if they want to) to work with local businesses (only if they want to also) to raise funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and be repaid through voluntary property assessments. This finding allows local governments to recognize the broader public benefits that stem from private energy efficiency investments – cleaner air, local economic development, better building stock, lower costs of living for residents and businesses, reduced pressure on the electric grid. Oh, and it also is probably one of the most significant strategies we can take to both mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. Yep, I am a believer in man-made actions changing the climate…and that the earth is round. But even if you don't, we should be doing as much as we can for the other reasons listed above.
While I have your attention – a few other thoughts on Un-sustainability
It ought to be expensive to bury trash in Michigan land. We need to get out of the cheap landfill space business in Michigan (and silly efforts to let grass be put in landfills) and instead raise tipping fees to develop robust recycling programs that create more and better jobs and don't waste the resources we have – and actively build some of our economy around using these resources.
It ought to be extremely expensive to do anything that risks Michigan groundwater and the Great Lakes in general. Fracking – just stop it. Every time we think we can put some batch of nastiness underground and contain it – it never (ever) works out the way we hope. Pull up the enviromapper site at Michigan.gov and check out the 9,100 leaking underground storage tanks. There are huge legacy costs associated with non-renewable energy that Michigan residents will pay for in a variety of ways. I would like to see the jobs and potential energy created from this risky fracking business and then compare it to the jobs and energy saved from efficiency efforts in the state. We calculate that basic energy savings in our commercial sector alone would save the equivalent of 39 Barton Dams' worth of electricity.
Don't get me started on carp and the Chicago canal…And thanks for listening.