Michael Moore speaks at MLGMA Summer Workshop. View more photos on flickr.

Watch the video on Vimeo.

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan - Municipal leaders from throughout Michigan attended the annual Michigan Local Government Management Association (MLGMA) summer workshop in Traverse City recently.

The four-day workshop included education sessions on the economics of placemaking by Michigan Municipal League CEO Dan Gilmartin, a discussion on the value of farm markets and agribusiness, a presentation by Academy Award winner Michael Moore and numerous other topics.

Moore talked about his work in Traverse City in revitalizing the historic State Theatre in downtown Traverse City and starting up the Traverse City Film Festival.

Moore’s talk was centered around the importance of having vibrant downtowns, which is a philosophy shared by the Michigan Municipal League (economicsofplace.com and mml.org/placemaking). The League believes that placemaking is crucial to the Michigan’s economic turnaround.

The annual MLGMA summer conference is an opportunity to city managers, county executives, village managers and other municipal leaders to gather, network, share ideas and learn about the latest legislation, policies and techniques related to Michigan communities.

The group also took a tour of Traverse City including stops at the restored Traverse City Opera House, State Theatre and the Grand Traverse Commons multi-use development. Other sessions included a presentation about the League’s natural gas purchasing program; revitalization and brownfields; and a legislative update from the League’s Lansing staff.

For more about the Michigan Municipal League and what we do go to mml.org. For more about MLGMA go to http://www.mlgma.org/. View more photos from the MLGMA workshop on flickr.

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

The Michigan Humanities Council has awarded 13 public humanities projects with nearly $155,000 in grant money. The funding is supporting programs and exhibitions at museums, heritage festivals, research and publishing projects, theater programs, and other types of arts and culture programming in cities across Michigan. Find out what the 13 arts, cultural, and educational institutions plan to accomplish with the money. Recipients are spread out across the state in Sault Ste. Marie, Hancock, Marquette, Traverse City, Holland, Kalamazoo, Whitehall, Saginaw, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Dearborn, MI. The money will go a long way towards ensuring that these culturally enriching projects succeed and fulfill their potential.

Also, the Arts & Humanities Touring Program is accepting grant applications for traveling exhibits and performances happening until September 30, 2010. The award supports “touring performers, artists, exhibitors, and humanities presenters listed in Michigan's 2009-2012 Arts & Humanities Touring Directory,” an online directory offered by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Eligible applicants include “any Michigan nonprofit organization, institution, school, library, museum, chamber, association, or local government agency” that is “the sponsoring organization,” according to the program’s website. Grant applications will be accepted through September 2, 2010.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

Russ Soyring talks about walkability in Traverse City.

MONTAGUE, Michigan - Russ Soyring lives near downtown Traverse City and he loves being able to walk from his home to just about everything he needs. He explains it’s what a walkable community is all about.

“Within a five-block walk from my house I have the ability to walk to the bank, grocery store, my pick of three barbers - I pick cheapest one of those three. I can go to the hardware store, my work, a furniture store, restaurants, three bakeries - we even have a dog bakery.”

Soyring, Traverse City planning director, explained the steps taken to make his community pedestrian-friendly during the Michigan Municipal League’s 2010 Region 3 Education Seminar May 26 in Montague, Michigan. Having well-designed, walkable communities is one of eight assets identified by the League in having viable cities, villages and towns in its Center for 21^st Century Communities program http://www.mml.org/resources/21c3/about.html.

Soyring said Traverse City has made the city more walkable in a number of ways, including changing ordinances and policies, narrowing street widths, narrowing cross-walks, adding park benches and trash cans, and encouraging more residential living in the downtown district.

“Nightlife picked up, pedestrian traffic picked up, since we’ve added 150 dwellings downtown,” Soyring said, adding the goal is to had 500 residential dwellings.

Also during the seminar were presentations by League Board President Jeff Jenks about the importance of being a League member, League CEO Dan Gilmartin; Henry Roesler, Mayor of Montague; Norma Rivas Ricci, of the U.S. Census Bureau; Arnold Weinfeld, director of state initiatives and federal affairs for the League; Summer Minnick, director of state affairs for the League; and Sean Mann, project manager of Let’s Save Michigan.

In addition, four West Michigan communities gave presentations in a spirited competition for the Region 3 honor for the League’s Community Excellence Award Program. The 40-plus people attending the Region meeting will vote on the four projects and the winner will go on to compete in the statewide CEA contest being awarded during the League’s annual Convention, Sept 21-24 in Dearborn. A post about the winner will be coming soon here.

Communities represented at the Region 3 meeting were Cedar Springs, Evart, Ferrysburg, Fremont, Grand Haven, Howard City, Kentwood, Ludington, Montague, New Era, North Muskegon, Norton Shores, Pentwater, Roosevelt Park, Rothbury, Shelby, Spring Lake, Whitehall and Zeeland. Region 3 represents the counties of Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, and Ottawa.

Go here for details about upcoming regional meetings in Quincy, June 9; and Rogers City, June 4. 

 21c3 Blog posts on previous Regional meetings:

- Lapeer shows how to be walkable community (Region 5)

- Region 4 Seminar Focuses on Entrepreneurship

- Michigan Municipal League Region 1 Education Seminar/Meeting Focuses on 21c3 Asset – Multiculturalism

- Ishpeming Hosts Successful Region 7 Seminar

Matt Bach is communications director of the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org or (734) 929-8123.