Note: Op-ed by J.W. Fisher and Lee Ann Keller, Co-chairs of the MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure
Published Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Midland, Michigan - There were two earmarks for the City of Midland in the final budget that Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed on July 31. The first is $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds administered by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). The second is a $15 million enhancement from the State for Midland’s projects. Each of these grants will have specific requirements around timelines, reporting and use of funds. We are currently working to get all of the details from Lansing, while also meeting with the City’s team to start planning.
But the bottom line is this: we will be receiving $40 million of funding to put to good work in reducing flooding and building resiliency in Midland. We should all celebrate this progress and support from Lansing.
The Midland Business Alliance (MBA) Advisory Committee on Infrastructure wants to thank our local representatives and their staff for their continued support of our efforts to reduce the frequency and severity of mid-Michigan’s flooding. We especially wish to thank Senator Kristen McDonald Rivet, Representative Bill G. Schuette, and Senator Roger Hauck who fought to get our needed funding included in the budget. We also thank all of the lawmakers who passed the budget.
We are excited about this level of support. It will allow us to make significant, tangible progress in the shorter term and to start addressing elements of a longer-term plan. Working alongside the City of Midland, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the County of Midland, we believe we will find actionable solutions to improve the safety of citizens, promote growth and economic vitality in mid-Michigan, and improve water quality in the watershed and the Saginaw Bay.
We believe it is imperative to the health and well-being of our community – our residents, businesses, the local economy and the environment – to concentrate efforts on reducing the impacts and negative effects of future flooding. Our thanks go out to our lawmakers for their continued work on the infrastructure legislation and appropriations that will contribute greatly to these efforts and improve Michigan’s future. We also thank the organizations, stakeholders and the local citizens who have supported our work.
Lee Ann Keller is owner and CEO of Omni Tech, a global technical and business consulting company in Midland that specializes in strategic planning, biobased product commercialization, and DEI strategies/training. She and her company have been actively involved in the Midland community for more than 30 years. Lee and her family reside on Sanford Lake.
J.W. Fisher is the president of Fisher Contracting Company, a heavy/highway civil contractor with locations in Michigan and Kentucky and part of Fisher Companies. Since 1925, four generations of the Fisher family have provided civil construction services to federal, state, municipal and private clients throughout the Midwest and Southeast. He and his family reside in Midland.
More information about the MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure can be found at www.MBAmi.org/floodstudy.