Michigan Municipal League and MAP Joint Convention in Grand Rapids - Day 1 Photos

More than 1,000 mayors, managers, community planners, locally elected officials and guests from throughout Michigan will descend on Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sept. 20-22 for the joint 2018 Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) convention. This is the first time ever the League and MAP have joined forces to combine their two annual fall conferences (the League’s Convention and MAP’s Planning Michigan Conference) into a single massive gathering. And it’s all happening during the 2018 ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. Most convention education sessions and trainings will take place in Amway Grand Hotel and DeVos Place, but there also is an extensive series of mobile workshops throughout the area that will put a spotlight on the positive things happening in the community.

The Convention is the League's premiere annual event and a chance to inform and highlight community accomplishments. The League is especially excited to be in Grand Rapids this year with MAP because the west-Michigan community has a lot of the placemaking assets the League has identified as making up vibrant communities, including walkability and physical design, arts and culture, economic development, entrepreneurship, strong education base and much more.

Both the League and MAP serve the education and advocacy needs of elected and appointed leaders and the staff that support them: managers and administrators, professional planners, and other city, village and township leaders that make up the teams that work in tandem to create vibrant, successful, and healthy communities. Because the League and MAP are collaborating on this event, we’ll have double the power to bring more of what our members want. Attendees have more breakout sessions, more topics, and more mobile tours to choose from than ever before.

The event View the Convention program here: blogs.mml.org/wp/events/files/2014/06/2018-Convention-Pro....

Other Convention highlights include:

- The official launch of the next phase of the SaveMICity municipal finance reform effort.

- The selection of the 2018 Community Excellence Award (CEA) winner. The CEA is the League’s most prestigious community award. The 12th annual CEA competition started earlier this year and is down to four final projects. The finalists will give presentations Thursday and Convention attendees will vote, with the winner announced Saturday (Sept. 22) morning. Go here to read a press release about the four finalists: www.mml.org/newsroom/press_releases/2018-8-6-Community-Ex... and checkout the CEA website here: cea.mml.org/.

- Michigan Municipal Executive (MME) Colloquium: Empowering Communities to Set Their Own Destinies with keynote general session speaker Patrice Frey, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center – 9-10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20.

- Great Place to Live Townhall general session featuring Phil Power and the Center for Michigan’s Truth Tour – 11 am -12:15 p.m. Thursday.

- The New Localism: Utilizing Public, Private, and Civic Partnerships to Become a Change Engine general session featuring Bruce.Katz,.Co-Author, The New Localism, noon-1:45 Friday, Sept. 21

- Closing General Session about Civic Engagement Strategy: Inclusivity for the Win moderated by Carla Gribbs, Regional Manager, DTE Energy; and featuring Karen Freeman-Wilson, Mayor, Gary, Indiana; 1st Vice President, National League of Cities, 10:30-noon Saturday, Sept. 22

- Michigan Green Communities (MGC) Awards Lunch and Workshop, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Thursday

- Selection of the 2018-19 new League board members and board president and vice president, Friday, Sept. 21.

- Michigan Municipal League Foundation fund-raising event, Friday evening

- Michigan Association of Mayors breakfast and annual meeting, Friday morning.

- Michigan Women in Municipal Government meeting and breakfast, Friday morning.

- Michigan Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials meeting and breakfast, Friday morning.

- Amazon: Michigan’s Wake Up Call or the Beginning of the End featuring the League’s Anthony Minghine and Khalil Rahal, assistant county executive, Wayne County, 2-3:15 p.m.Thursday.

- HR Up in Smoke: The Intersection between Marihuana legislation and empowerment law featuring Charles Mitchell, Senior Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office, Denver CO; Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, State and Federal Affairs, Michigan Municipal League, 1:45-3:15 Thursday.

- Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act: Back to the Basics featuring Anne Seurynck, Attorney, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC, 2-3:15 p.m. Thursday

- Hit Them with Your Best Shot: Attracting Businesses and Developers featuring Katharine Czarnecki, Senior Vice President, Community Development, MEDC; Nicole Whitehead, Director, Sales & Service Operations, MEDC, 2-3:15 p.m. Thursday

- Mobile workshops: Envision Ada: Transforming a Suburban Strip Commercial Center into an Integral Part of an Historic Village; All Around Downtown, Uptown, Eastown; New Urbanism in Practice; Viva la Avenida: Planning for a Cultural Corridor, all 2-5 p.m. Thursday

- Unleash the Power of Small-Scale Manufacturing with Ilana Preuss, Recast City LLC, 2-5 p.m. Thursday

- Creating Sustainable Retail Districts featuring Bobby Boone, AICP, LEED AP, Small Business Retail Manager, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation; Martha Potere, AICP, Strategy and Special Projects Manager, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, 3:30-4:45 p.m. Thursday

- Host City reception by Urban Metro Mayors and Managers at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, Thursday

- Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and the Blue Economy with speakers Tyler Kilfman, Planner, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG); Kevin Vettraino, AICP, Plan Implementation Manager, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), 9-10:15 a.m. Friday

- Fostering an Inclusive Community Environment Hosted by the Michigan Black Caucus with speakers : Lois Allen-Richardson, Councilmember, Ypsilanti; President, MBC-LEO; Oronde Miller, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Stacy Stout, Assistant to the City Manager, Grand Rapids; Howard Walters, Program and Evaluation Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 9-noon Friday

- Mobility: The Community Conversation with speakers Sarah Latta Rainero, Regional Director, Community Assistance Team, Community Development, Michigan Economic Development Corporation; Tyler Bevier, Transportation Planner, Bay Area Transportation Authority; Adela Spulber, Transportation Systems Analyst, Center for Automotive Research, 9-10:30 am Friday

- CNU Rules for Great Places: The Project for Code Reform featuring Mary Madden, AICP, Principal, Ferrell Madden; Richard Murphy, Program Coordinator, Civic Innovations, Michigan Municipal League; Heather Seyfarth, AICP, Community Engagement Specialist, Ann Arbor; Vice President, Michigan Association of Planning, 9-10:30 am Friday

- More mobile workshops: Explore: ArtPrize10; From Grand Rapids’ Downtown to Your Town: Idea Tour for Building Reuse; Vital Streets in Action Bike Tour; The Modern Orchard at Robinette’s Apple Haus and Winery, all are 9-noon Friday

- Master Planning: The Critical Role of Elected Leaders and the Planning Commission with speakers Adam Young, AICP, Senior Project Manager, Wade Trim; Chris McLeod, AICP, City Planner, Sterling Heights; Mark Vanderpool, City Manager, Sterling Heights, 10:45-noon Friday

- Social Media Pitfalls and Upsides for Communities with speakers Amy Snow-Buckner, Acting Managing Director of Communications, Grand Rapids; Matt Bach, Director, Communications, Michigan Municipal League; Jim Thorburn, Detective/Social Media Director, Allen Park Police Department, 10:45-noon Friday

- We Need More Parking! (But Do We Really?) with Tom Brown, Principle, Nelson\Nygaard; Bradley Strader, AICP, PTP, Transportation Planner, MKSK; Nicole VanNess, Manager, Traverse City DDA, 10:45-noon Friday

- Even more mobile workshops: Frederik Meijer Gardens; Terra Square and the Seeds of a New Downtown in Hudsonville; Under, Over, and All Around, all are 2-5 p.m. Friday

- Improving the Tone and Quality of our Civic Discourse with speakers John Bebow, President & CEO, The Center for Michigan/Bridge Magazine; Melanie Piana, Councilmember, Ferndale, Vice President, Michigan Municipal League Board, 2:15-3 p.m. Friday

- The Keys to Putting Ethics into Action with Christopher Johnson, General Counsel, Michigan Municipal League; Marlon Brown, Mayor Pro Tem, Mason; Michael McGee, Chief Executive Officer, Miller Canfield; Eleanor Siewert, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Assignment: Effective Procedures, 2:15-3 p.m. Friday, 2:15-3 p.m. Friday

- Smart, Accessible, Connected - this high-level panel discussion covers the future of cities in the context of advanced mobility technologies, including connected and automated vehicles, ridesharing, carsharing, ridehailing, mobility-as-a-service, and microtransit with speakers Adela Spulber, Transportation Systems Analyst, Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Speakers: Kelly Bartlett, Senior Policy & Legislative Advisor, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT); Zahra Bahrani Fard, Transportation Systems Analyst, Center for Automotive Research; Dr. Jonathan Levine, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan, 2:15-3 p.m. Friday

The Power of the Wind: A Michigan Story with a focus on renewable energy featuring speakers Sarah Mills, Senior Project Manager, University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy; Emily Palacios, Principal, Miller Canfield, 2:15-3:45 p.m. Friday

- The Sky’s the Limit: Big Data, Drones, and the Internet of Things with Daniel Brooks, Co-Founder, Quantifly; Adrianna Jordan, AICP, Co-Founder, Quantifly; Zachary Halberd, Co-Founder, Quantifly, 3:45-5 p.m. Friday

It’s Budget Time. Do you Know Where Your Revenue Is? With John Hoppough, Mayor, Greenville; Jacob Kain, City Planner, Mount Pleasant; Richard Murphy, Program Coordinator, Civic Innovations, Michigan Municipal League, Eilis Seide, Assistant to the City Manager, East Lansing, 9-10:15 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22

Short Term Rentals: Trends, Impacts & Options with speakers Robert Monetza, Councilmember, Grand Haven; Ulrik Binzer, CEO, Host Compliance; Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, 9-10:15 a.m. Saturday

And yes even more mobile tours: Farmers Markets and Food Halls as Catalysts for Business and Real Estate Development; Restoring the Rapids: A Tour of Grand River Restoration Efforts, both 9-noon Friday

Photos of the 2018 Convention will be uploaded to flickr throughout the Convention can be downloaded from the League’s flickr page: flickr.com/photos/michigancommunities for free. We just ask that the following photo credit be given like this: Michigan Municipal League/mml.org. Thanks!

Michigan Municipal League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services.

 

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