Introduction

This page contains extended discussion on regional issues of interest to SWWCOG member communities. A summary discussion is provided, along with links to documents or external web sites with further information.

Current Topics

This page currently contains seven topics, in the following order:

1.  PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE NEEDS

The defeat of the February 22, 2005 millage request for the Washtenaw County jail expansion, district court upgrades and various criminal justice and rehabilitation programs has led to extensive discussion of alternative methods to relieve the current jail overcrowding situation.

On May 11, 2005, the County conducted a public “town hall” meeting at the regularly scheduled SWWCOG meeting at Manchester Village Offices, to discuss alternatives being considered by the County Board of Commissioners and others. These extensive discussions and public input are summarized in the SWWCOG meeting notes for May 11, 2005.

There is also extensive information published on the various alternatives being discussed.

1. Washtenaw County Criminal Justice Collaborative Council (CJCC)

The purpose of the Washtenaw County Criminal Justice Collaborative Council (CJCC) is to maximize efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, and cooperative efforts of criminal justice agencies by developing plans, programs and positions on concerns which have multi-disciplinary Criminal Justice System application, have a positive impact on crime, are innovative or are intergovernmental in scope. The CJCC is comprised of 17 members appointed by the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners representing the following categories: Circuit Court Chief Judge, District Court Presiding Judge, County Prosecutor, Public Defender/Defense Attorney, Chair of the Community Corrections Board, County Sheriff, Trial Court Administrator, Department of Corrections Probation, City or Township Chief of Police, County Administrator, Chair of the Board of Commissioners, City Mayor or Township Supervisor, Clerk of the Court, Bar Association, Community Mental Health Representative, and two general public-at-large positions.

Position papers and activities of the CJCC are available at their web site.

In particular, the Sheriff’s presentation to Board of Commissioners on June 2, 2005, and a June 6, 2005 update on community conversations, and BOC and CJCC presentations, are available at this web site. An August 2, 2005 update with several links is also now available.

At their Ways & Means session on August 3, 2005, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to the police services resolution, contract and methodology, referred to as “Modified Option 3”. This amendment was adopted by the Board of Commissioners at their September 7, 2005 meeting. For more details, please see this link.

The plan would basically eliminate subsidies funding sheriff’s patrols to local municipalities contracting for services by 2008, to provide funds for a new county jail and court. The County released information on August 11 concerning the bonding program to be used to finance the new jail and court ($ 30 million to be repaid over 20 years).


2. County Administrator’s proposals, recommendations, FAQs, and meeting schedules

Several position and informational papers, and community conversation on public safety and justice needs, are available at this web site.


3. S.O.S. Committee 

In addition, a newly formed group made a concerted effort to collect 15,000 signatures, in order to bring this county plan to a public vote. The group is called the Citizens to Save Our Sheriff's Department or S.O.S. Committee, and successfully gathered more than the required number of signatures. The S.O.S. Committee comprises residents and township officials from across the county, and has the backing of some officials in the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. The county clerk’s office is presently validating the signatures and will announce the result shortly. Whether an election is called, or revised action is taken by the County Board of Commissioners, is not known as of the end of November 2005. Local resident Ken Rogge has volunteered to be the Manchester representative for S.O.S. Please contact him at 734-428-0284 for more information. Watch this web site for further updates.

Local township officials are also investigating options for forming a regional police force. Information on this activity will be posted as it becomes available.


2.  WIRELESS WASHTENAW

Wireless Washtenaw is a new initiative for the Washtenaw community.  The goal for this project is to provide a wireless network for the urban, suburban and rural settings in 2007. Objectives include providing citizens and visitors a pleasant, seamless wireless Internet experience; supporting economic development and improving the quality of life in Washtenaw County; serving as a model for other communities to observe, learn from and use the knowledge gained to promote similar services in their own communities; and providing a model of cooperation and collaboration between government, business and education. The project team, including local universities, the local IT Zone, the City of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw Development Council, local units of government, and the State of Michigan, is committed to presenting a business plan to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and having a series of pilots throughout the county by Spring 2006.

Wireless Washtenaw plans to blanket the county with high-speed, wireless Internet service by the end of 2007, to serve both fixed and mobile residential, commercial and industrial applications. This initiative is particularly relevant to the rural areas of the county where Internet access is currently only available as a dial-up, modem service operating at 28K or 56K bps. The initiative is also targeted at greatly improving the response capability of public service and emergency operations in the field.

SWWCOG and its members support the Wireless Washtenaw initiative, and are seeking selection of SWWCOG as a host for a rural pilot installation. Ray Berg, Freedom Township, is currently representing SWWCOG’s interests in initial meetings of the Wireless Washtenaw teams as the program moves forward. Please contact him at rayberg@att.net with any question.

The Business, Technical, Governance and Communications committees of Wireless Washtenaw completed their initial planning and developed a “Request for Proposal”, which was sent to 23 interested vendors on November 29. Bids are due January 17, 2006. At that time, the committees will evaluate the bids and select a preferred vendor for pilot testing. The Wireless Washtenaw governance structure is also under development, and will incorporate the provisions of the new state Telecommunications Act which becomes effective in January 2006. The Master Participation Agreement, which will govern the relationship among the county, the provider and the local units of government, has been issued for review by the local units of government. It is expected that a final MPA will be ready by January 1.

The Wireless Washtenaw user survey was completed in September 2005. Approximately 1000 responses were received by mail, on-line, and at community events. The responses show strong support for this system, particularly in the SWWCOG area. To view the full survey results, click here (EXCEL file in pdf format).

The system design will probably involve a mix of Wi-Fi and pre-WiMAX technologies. Scheduling of the pilot programs has moved to Spring 2006, after foliage returns, to give a true measure of signal strength and penetration for the pilot tests. The full contract for the Wireless Washtenaw program is expected to be awarded July 31, 2006.

The SWWCOG submitted a proposal September 5 for hosting a Wireless Washtenaw pilot program in Spring 2006, including evidence of strong community interest in and need for broadband Internet service, with support letters from each government. A Community Working Group is proposed in the bid, consisting of local residents representing various Internet uses and expertise, Manchester Community Schools, local governments and industry. The full proposal is available for viewing by clicking here (pdf format, 700k file).

A summary of the Wireless Washtenaw initiative is available by clicking here.

A summary of information presented at the June 8, 2005 SWWCOG meeting is available by clicking here. A summary of information presented at the August 10, 2005 meeting is available by clicking here. A summary of information presented at the September 14, 2005 meeting is available by clicking here.

For a complete overview of the program, please visit the Wireless Washtenaw web site.

3.  TRAFFIC COMMITTEE - RIGHT OF WAY MASTER PLAN AND MAP UPDATE

Washtenaw County is seeking to update the county’s Right of Way Master Plan and map, which are used to indicate existing/desired road right-of-way widths, classifications of roads, and future road needs. The current approved map is dated 1973. The County has been working with several of the county’s municipal entities, including SWWCOG and its members, to solicit input from the Planning Commissions and Boards. The intent in our area is to maintain rural character while achieving an efficient transportation system.

Draft conceptual ROW maps have been issued for the four townships and the village. Public meetings for further comments and input are planned by the County prior to final publication. These maps may be viewed by clicking on the appropriate link below. All maps are in jpeg format, and are each about 400k in size.

Bridgewater Township ROW Map

Freedom Township ROW Map

Manchester Township ROW Map

Manchester Village ROW Map

Sharon Township ROW Map

This effort is being led by Brian Shorkey, Transportation Planner, Washtenaw County Road Commission. Comments and questions may be directed to him at 734-827-9531 or shorkeyb@wcroads.org. Jeff Wallace (jwallace@vil-manchester.org) and Ken Rogge have been representing SWWCOG during the planning and input stages.

4.  2003 SWWCOG REGIONAL PLAN

The communities of southwestern Washtenaw County have been working cooperatively for over 50 years. Though consisting of five separate municipalities and a school district, southwest Washtenaw has for many years been characterized as a shared community. They have worked cooperatively on such projects as the annual Manchester Chicken Broil, which raises funds for community improvements. A co-op multi-jurisdictional refuse transfer system operated for a number of years. Several of the jurisdictions participated in the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority.

Among the most successful collaborations to date has been the shared Mineral Extraction Ordinances. Originally created by Bridgewater Township in the early 1990s, the other townships worked to perfect the Ordinance and all have since adopted it. The Ordinance continues to hold up to challenges in Court in part because of its regional significance and support.

Members recognized the region was beginning to change more rapidly. Thus, the communities of Manchester Village, Bridgewater, Freedom, Manchester and Sharon Townships, and the Manchester School District formed the Southwest Washtenaw Council of Governments (SWWCOG).

In 1999, SWWCOG invited Washtenaw County to talk about regional planning efforts and what opportunities there may be in southwest Washtenaw. The County had worked with the nearby Chelsea Area Planning Team (CAPT), comprised of the Village of Chelsea and surrounding townships, to create a regional plan for that area, which was also experiencing tremendous growth pressure.

Since then, SWWCOG and the County worked cooperatively to create a regional plan that addresses such major issues as land use planning, agriculture and rural character, housing and transportation. This plan is dated May 2003.

To view a Text Summary of the plan, click here.

The Regional Plan Map may be viewed by clicking here. (Note: map file in jpg format, about 1.3 MB in size).

The full plan is quite lengthy (7.5 MB) due to the extensive graphics and maps in the plan, but may be downloaded by clicking here. Be very patient if on dial-up modem!


5.  WASHTENAW AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY

The Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS) is a multi-jurisdictional agency responsible for transportation planning in Washtenaw County. The agency is mandated by Federal law to provide a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process, which guides the expenditure of state and federal transportation funds in Washtenaw County. WATS annually establishes project priorities for consideration by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) when programming transportation funds. In addition, WATS continually monitors the current condition of the county's transportation system, including roads, bicycle and pedestrian paths, bridges, and public transit.

The activities and plans under WATS direction can be viewed at their web site.

A key product of the WATS is the 2030 Draft Transportation Plan, which can be viewed by clicking here.

A WATS brochure is also available by clicking here.

Bridgewater, Freedom and Manchester Townships, and the Village of Manchester, currently participate in the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study. Jeff Wallace serves as the delegate from SWWCOG with Ron Mann as alternate.

6.  REGIONAL RECYCLING

Washtenaw County's Regional Recycling Program is complete for 2005. Although a similar program is contemplated for 2006, details have not yet been announced. Watch this web site for further information. Information below reflects the completed 2005 program.

Washtenaw County Solid Waste Program sponsored a series of regional environmental clean-up days in 2005, which provided a free recycling drop off service for all county residents. This is an opportunity for the residents of Washtenaw County to dispose of many unwanted household wastes in a safe and sustainable manner. Numerous household materials can be brought to the environmental clean-up day to be recycled. There will be bins for traditional materials, such as, containers (plastics, glass, tin), cardboard, paper, scrap metal, and Freon appliances (air conditioners and refrigerators). There will also be an opportunity for residents to dispose of household hazardous wastes (cleaning supplies, motor oil, mercury, oil based paints, etc), furniture, old tires, and electronic equipment, like computers, televisions, toasters, etc.

Residents can bring up to 4 tires for free, but will be asked to pay $5 for each additional tire. Residents can bring 1 of the following items for free: television, washer, dryer, Freon containing appliance or computer. Residents will be asked to pay $10 for each additional item.

This is a service for Washtenaw County residents only, funded and coordinated by the Washtenaw County Solid Waste Program on behalf of local units of government. All residents are welcome and encouraged to attend. Businesses and non-county residents are restricted from attending.

NO HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE WILL BE ACCEPTED.

For more information contact Jeff Krcmarik of the Washtenaw County Solid Waste Program at (734) 222-6865.

7.  1WASHTENAW PROGRAM

1Washtenaw is a county-wide initiative to assist communication and collaboration among the 29 local units of government, including Washtenaw County government. With fast-changing technologies and the growing importance of economic efficiencies, cooperation among local municipalities is now at a premium.

Full information is available at their web site.

This site will connect you with information on Geographic Information Systems, participating websites, web hosting and content management, professional development, the Zope training calendar, e-mail services, and periodic meetings.


Historic churches are located throughout the SWWCOG region.



This is printed from: http://swwcog.org/regional_issues/index_html
on Aug. 20, 2008 1:49 pm