Skip to main content
March 10 2022 MIC Quarterly Meeting Minutes

March 10 2022 MIC Quarterly Meeting Minutes

Michigan Infrastructure Council

Meeting Minutes

Q1 Meeting March 10, 2022

Meeting held at

430 W. Allegan St. Lansing, MI (Richard H. Austin Building) and Virtually using Zoom

 

  1. Welcome/Introductions
    1. John Weiss, Chairperson, welcomed everyone present.
    2. Introductions completed of participants around the room.
    3. Zach Kolodin, Director of the Governors Infrastructure Office, discussed improving quality of life for Michiganders by providing infrastructure which supports a 21st century economy. He stated his role is to help maximize the impact of federal investments through infrastructure development.
    4. Heather Frick discussed collaboration opportunities the MIC has with the Governors Infrastructure Office.
  2. Attendance

    Members Present – 15 

    • John Wiess, Chair (Voting)
    • Kathleen Lomako, Vice-Chair (Voting)
    • Marco Bruzzano (Voting)
    • Daniel Fredendall (Voting)
    • Erin Kuhn (Voting)
    • Palencia Mobley (Voting)
    • Erik Eklund (Non-Voting)
    • Eric Swanson, DTMB (Non-Voting)
    • Jodi Gruner, MDARD (Non-Voting)
    • Beverly Watts (Voting)
    • Aaron Keatley (Non-Voting)
    • Heather Frick, Deputy Treasurer State and Local Finance, Treasury (Non- Voting)
    • Jill Rusnak, MPSC (Non- Voting)
    • Joanna Johnson, TAMC (Non- Voting)
    • Sue McCormick, WAMC (Non- Voting)

    Members Absent - 3

    • John Daly, III (Voting)
    • Jon Kangas (Voting)
    • Laura Mester, MDOT (Non- Voting)

    Let the record show that the eligible MIC Voting members were present, a quorum was present.

     

  3. Approval of Agenda
    1. Council approved agenda
    2. A roll call vote was held, and the motion was carried without dissent.
  4. Approval of the December 9, 2021, minutes
    1. Council approved December 9, 2021, minutes with no changes
    2. A roll call vote was held, and the motion was carried without dissent.
  5. Public Comment
    1. There were no public comments.
  6. MIC Staffing Update
    1. John introduced Ryan Laruwe as the new Executive Director of the Michigan infrastructure Council. Nathan Hamilton was introduced as the new MIC analyst. Ryan Laruwe-Clarity not yet received as to when the third MIC staff member will be hired.
  7. Open Meetings Act Update
    1. Office of Attorney General recent communications show a potential conflict between the open meetings act and MIC bylaws- Section 5A (regarding remote voting) of the bylaws to be reviewed by the bylaws committee
    2. Ryan proposed amending bylaws to better align with the open meetings act
    3. Kathleen Lomako added the bylaws should be reviewed for consistency.
  8. Update on 30-Year Plan
    1. Gareth McKay-WSP Michigan, Inc.
    2. Kathleen discussed the scope of the 30-year plan and introduced Gareth as the consultant selected to share expertise
    3. Gareth discussed defining a strategy for the MIC Council. He detailed the subcommittee 30-year plan actions and processing of long-term plans
    4. Palencia Mobley, MIC Council Voting member, discussed a funding and collaboration strategy
    5. John discussed the importance of collaboration with locals for efficiency
  9. AM Champions Program Update
    1. Erin Kuhn, MIC voting member
    2. Erin discussed the AM in the AM event which took place on 02/02/2022 from 10AM-12PM. She discussed the AMRS tool benefits and discussed better promotional efforts for the next AM in the AM.
    3. On 03/22 and 03/23, the AM Champion Meetup (mini conference) will be conducted for those individuals who graduated from the program
    4. On April 6th, the AM Champion program will start and there are approximately 80 applications received as of 03/08/2022
    5. Erin discussed targeting a specific group of individuals such as elected officials as AM Champions for future rounds
    6. John discussed there was room for 100 hundred individuals to take part in the program
  10. Portal Access Committee
    1. Jon Kangas-not in attendance
    2. Ryan Laruwe discussed the need to improve access and utilization of the MIC Portal as he has grown to understand its barriers.
  11. MIC Portal Project Update
    1. Ryan Laruwe, MIC Executive Director
    2. Ryan discussed creating a tool for all asset classes. During QA testing, bugs were found which once alleviated will increase platform user experience. The MIC portal will launch new features with better usability which will be communicated through a MIC Portal strategy. MIC project Portal relaunch planned for release within the next few weeks. DTMB will be providing a project portal demonstration on Friday, March 11th from 1PM-2PM. Kathleen Lomako discussed value of metrics to show to legislators. John Weiss detailed how the MIC Project Portal has a purpose to promote collaboration on upcoming projects.
  12. AM Readiness Assessment Scale Update
    1. John Weiss discussed benefits of utilizing the AMRS tool. Erin Kuhn detailed the transferrable benefit of the AMRS.
  13. Utility Service Area Project Update
    1. Ryan Laruwe discussed how the MIC Portal is not geographically diverse and that there is opportunity for growth. The Portal currently has 1300 projects. Most projects are coordinated to Southeast Michigan. Ryan supports a functionality demonstration during the June Q2 meeting
  14. Standing Reports
    1. Executive Director- Ryan Laruwe discussed leave behind documents to promote values and goals as a communication strategy. A pile of documents will be prepared for when individuals leave the MIC Council Q2 meeting.
    2. Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC)- Joanna Johnson, Chairperson of the Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC), discussed data preview of last TAMC meeting, TAMC collected the most federal aid data in its history. The annual report will be released May 2nd, 2022. Roger Bellkap, TAMC coordinator, has resigned from position.
    3. Water Asset Management Council (WAMC)- Sue McCormick, Chairperson of the Water Asset Management Council (WAMC), discussed wastewater and drinking water data for asset management. Sue discussed asset survey results for WAMC.
  15. Closing Remarks
    1. John Weiss thanked Larry for his efforts as the previous Interim Executive Director. John discussed working on a budget with Kathleen and Ryan to present at the MIC Council Q2 meeting. Jon Kangas will not seek reelection. John discussed MIC Portal security threats. John Weiss appointed a subgroup to work on outreach and communications.Marco Bruzzano was appointed chair with members to include Beverly Watts, Kathleen Lomako, Erin Kuhn, and John Weiss as an ex-officio member.Erin, Ryan, and John will be keynote speaking at the Asset Leadership Network Conference.
  16. Adjournment
    1. The meeting was adjourned at 2:52 p.m.