The Snyder Administration recently initiated a public input process to gather feedback about the State's energy policy. Specific areas of focus include the renewable energy standard, energy efficiency incentives and electric choice. We encourage League members to submit their comments before April 25 at http://www.michigan.gov/energy. In addition to the website, there will seven in-person listening sessions in various locations starting February 14 and ending April 22. See http://www.michigan.gov/energy/0,4580,7-230-54408---,00.html for the complete schedule of events. 

Luke Forrest is Project Coordinator with the Center for 21st Century Communities. Contact him by email or on Twitter.

The 2012 CEA finalists after being selected at the 2012 Capital Conference.

The Village of Lexington in Michigan’s Thumb region as well as Albion, South Haven and St. Joseph in the southern portion of the state are among the first communities to enter the Michigan Municipal League’s 2013 Community Excellence Award (CEA) competition.

The CEA is a spirited competition that recognizes innovative solutions taking place in MML-member communities. The contest officially gets under way during the League’s Capital Conference (April 9-10 in Lansing) but communities interested in participating can submit entry forms now at this link.

The small Village of Lexington, population 1,178, was the first to announce its entry into the CEA, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup” and St. Joseph, the 2007 winner of the Cup, and South Haven, and Albion entered this week. The League is seeking nominations from communities of all sizes from throughout the state. The 2012 winner was Grandville and you can view other past winners here. You can view past CEA presentations here.

Communities will compete in the first round of the competition during regional meetings at the League’s Capital Conference. Attendees of the Regional Roundtables will vote on the projects, and the regional winner will go on to compete at League's Annual Convention taking place in Detroit in September.

Remember, giving a five minute, “elevator pitch” style presentation at your Regional Roundtable at our Capital Conference is the ONLY way to enter!

Here's how to get involved in this year's CEA competition:

1.) Register: Click here for the online Community Excellence Award entry form.

2.) Prepare Entry: Prepare a five (5) minute verbal “elevator pitch” style presentation. Optional:  Bring a 2 x 3 ft display board of your project/initiative; we will display it on an easel during the meeting.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

Dan Gilmartin and Natalie Burg talk about aging in place on the Prosperity Agenda radio show.

From now until 2030, AARP predicts all 50 states will see a “rapid acceleration in growth” in their elderly populations as baby boomers turn 65.

During this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR the Michigan Municipal League's Dan Gilmartin and guests talk about retiring baby boomers and the unprecedented opportunity they bring to cities and downtowns ready to accommodate them.

Several Michigan communities, such as Marquette, Holland and Howell, are already recognized for meeting this challenge and becoming thriving environments for retirees. The show airs 7 p.m. Wednesday on News/Talk 760 WJR, but you can listen to the show anytime here on our website or by podcast here. You can register now for the Age-Friendly Communities Conference coming Feb 28 to UM-Ann Arbor.

The host of the show is League CEO Dan Gilmartin and his co-host for this first show of 2013 is Natalie Burg, a writer and owner of Vial Half Full Communications. Natalie is a former Downtown Development Director in Owosso and now writes about cities, placemaking and downtowns for numerous outlets including Metromode and Ann Arbor’s Concentrate. Our other guests are Marquette City Manager Bill Vajda, Barbara Spreitzer-Berent, an urban planner and gerontologist who serves as volunteer state coordinator for health and supportive services for AARP Michigan; and Joe Borgstrom, director of downtown and community services division for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 or mbach@mml.org.

Does this pony in a cow costume make you smile? View more photos.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan – Building great communities is more about putting smiles on people’s faces than it is fixing potholes. Yes, pothole repair is important, but seeing a child laugh at a pony dressed up as a cow in a downtown parade or eating a formal dinner on a bridge with friends can be ever-lasting memories.

This was the message by placemaking expert Peter Kageyama in an education session on citizen engagement Friday, Jan. 18, 2012, at the Michigan Municipal League headquarters in Ann Arbor. Kageyama spoke to about 20 southeast Michigan community leaders as part of a series of training weeks being offered by the League. He explained that the key to creating vibrant communities is finding what people love about their city and town and then building upon that.

He gave examples of a farming community that has a parade of cows and a river-community that turns a pedestrian foot-bridge into an elegant dinner to raise funds for the local chamber of commerce. The training week concept is a new service the League is providing to bring our vast array of education offerings to various parts of the state. League members and non-members can register for a whole week of trainings or pick and choose the topics that interest them. The first training week was this week and the next training week is Feb. 14-15 in Frankenmuth. Go here for details.

All the education sessions are excellent, but hearing Kageyama, of Florida, is a special treat in such a small setting. He often speaks around the world to large groups. If you missed him Friday he’s speaking again during training weeks in Kalamazoo, March 13-15; Lansing, April 24-26; and Mackinaw City, May 15-17; and Muskegon, June 5-7. Other topics planned at the training week sessions include the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) parliamentary procedure, municipal finance, service consolidation and shared services, and engaging your citizen change makers. You can register for the sesions here.

View additional photos from the training week in Ann Arbor here and here.

Matt Bach is the League's director of media relations. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

Peter Kageyama talks about citizen engagement at a Michigan Municipal League training session Friday, January 18, 2013. View more photos.