MIC Quarterly Meeting Minutes March 5 2026

Michigan Infrastructure Council (MIC) Q1 Meeting

March 5, 2026

Michigan Department of Treasury Operations Center

7285 Parsons Dr, Dimondale, MI 48821

Meeting Minutes

Call to Order
1. Chairperson, Palencia Mobley, P.E. called the meeting to order at 1:09 pm
2. The chair congratulated the 2026-2028 appointments to the council, Mandy Grewal, Joanna Johnson, and Amy O’Leary.
Roll Call
1. Let the record show that four (4) voting members and nine (9) non-voting members were present. A quorum was not established.
Public Comment
1. There was no public comment.
Approval of Agenda
1. Since a quorum was not established, the agenda was not voted on.
Approval of Proposed Minutes from Q4 Meeting, November 20, 2025 (attachment #1)
1. The chairperson notified the council that the approval of the Proposed Minutes from the MIC 2025 Q4 Meeting will be tabled until the next meeting when a quorum is established.
Guest Speakers
1. Cyndi Roper & Muhammed Patel, Natural Resources Defense Council
  1. Chairperson introduced Cyndi and Muhammed to the group and invited them to share a presentation on water affordability legislative advocacy efforts in Michigan.
  2. Members discussed the challenges with water affordability assistance and offered insights on challenges to dig once project coordination.
2. Jon Kangas, Marquette Charter Township
  1. Chairperson introduced Jon to the group and invited him to share a presentation on his community utilizing elective pay financial technical assistance from MICs partnership with the Michigan Infrastructure Office.
3. Sarah Plumer & Sally Duffy, Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG)
  1. Chairperson introduced Sarah and Sally to the group and invited them to share updates on SEMCOG’s participation in MIC’s Regional Infrastructure Coordination Hubs (RICH) Pilot.
4. Erik Nordman & Erin West, Michigan State University Institute of Public Utilities (MSU-IPU)
  1. Chairperson introduced Erik and Erin to the group and invited them to share updates on the development of the Introduction to Ratemaking Course in partnership with MSU-IPU
Old Business
1. No Quorum was established.
New Business
1. No Quorum was established.
Committee Updates
1. The chairperson directed members to see the meeting packet attachments #3 - #6 for written committee updates. The chairperson also noted an overview of the committees’ involvement could be found on the chart on attachment #2.
  1. Administration Committee (attachment #3) – Palencia Mobley, P.E., Committee Chair, updated the council on the new committee structure coming into effect after this meeting.
  2. Nominations Committee – provided no updates at this time.
  3. Communications Committee – provided no updates at this time.
  4. Asset Management Education (AM Ed) Committee (attachment #4) – Nathan Hamilton, Staff Liaison, updated the council on the progress of the new AM Essentials program for elected officials and key decision makers, set to launch in the coming months.
  5. Rates, Funding, & Finance (RF) Committee (attachment #5) – Ryan Laruwe, Executive Director, thanked MSU-IPU for their presentation on the new Introduction to Ratemaking Course and provided no further updates.
  6. Climate Adaptation & Resilience (CAR) Committee (attachment #6) – Doug Matthews, Committee Chair, expressed gratitude to MIC staff for setting up the opportunity to tour a data center and shared how the insights have been helpful.
  7. Asset Management Technology & Systems (AM Tech) Committee – provided no updates at this time.
2. The chairperson referred members to reach out to committee staff liaisons with any questions or concerns.
Staff Updates
1. The chair referred members to view attachment #7 of the meeting packet for the full report and asked Ryan Laruwe, Executive Director, to highlight any areas of importance.
  1. Ryan provided updates on staff and budget changes, the amended committee structure, and expanded partnership with Treasury’s Bureau of Local Government and School Services (BLGSS) to offer technical assistance for communities.
    1. Larry Steckelberg offered further information on the technical assistance BLGSS does to help communities.
Member Updates
1. The chairperson asked members if they had updates and would like to discuss anything.
  1. Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) – provided no updates at this time.
  2. Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Todd White announced that the long-range transportation plan and asset management plans are under development.
  3. Michigan Department of Treasury - provided no updates at this time.
  4. Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) - provided no updates at this time.
  5. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) – provided no updates at this time.
  6. Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) - provided no updates at this time.
  7. Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) - Jeff Sears, Alternate Designee, updated the council on the vendor acquisition for a new enterprise asset management system. He also noted that the DNR is estimating a 190 million dollar infrastructure funding gap and how they are requesting amendments to revenue streams to help close the gap. Lastly, he reported that they currently have several staff members in the AM Champs program and shared his agencies appreciation for MICs AM programs.
  8. Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC) – Ryan Buck noted that all the locals submitted their TAMPs timely this year.
  9. Water Asset Management Council (WAMC) – Cameron Van Wyngarden reported that the survey window has closed for this year and they are working on compiling the data for their annual report to MIC. He also stated they are working with DTMB to improve technical issues with the new survey format.
  10. Roger Blake updated the council that the BEAD program is starting to kick off. He anticipates some permitting challenges with the rollout and noted that there may be leftover funds not utilized for construction.
    1. Ryan Laruwe updated the council that MIC was invited to present a MiDIG Demo at a MI-HI Roundtable in April to BEAD applicants.
  11. Palencia Mobley, Chairperson, noted that she will be on leave during March and referred members to contact staff during this time.
  12. No further member updates were provided.
Roundtable Discussion
1. No discussion at this time.
Next Meeting Date
1. Thursday, June 4th, 2026 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Adjournment
1. Reminders:
  1. The chairperson asked members to notify staff if they are unable to attend the next meeting with advanced notice.
  2. Emilee Madison, MIC Staff, reminded the council members to share the Integrated Infrastructure Conference (IIC) Call for Presenters, due March 30. She also referred members to submit any ideas they have for sessions through this survey to help streamline the collection process.
2. Members were unable to motion to end the meeting due to a lack of quorum.
  1. The meeting ended at 2:32 PM

Attendance & Roll Call Votes:

Present

Chairperson, Palencia Mobley, P.E.
Roger Blake
Doug Matthews
Amy O’Leary
Jeff Sears, DNR Alternate Designee
Ulrika Zay, DTMB Alternate Designee
Aaron Keatley, EGLE
Jonathan Mallek, MDARD
Todd White, MDOT
Charyl Kirkland, MPSC
Larry Steckelberg, Treasury
Ryan Buck, TAMC
Cameron Van Wyngarden, WAMC<.li>

Absent

Vice Chair, Erin Kuhn
Mandy Grewal
Joanna Johnson
Charles Marshall
Marco Bruzzano

In-Person Guests

Ryan Laruwe, MIC Executive Director
Nathan Hamilton, MIC Staff
Emilee Madison, MIC Staff
Cyndi Roper, Guest Speaker
Derrell Slaughter

Virtual Guests

Sally Duffy, Guest Speaker
Jon Kangas, Guest Speaker
Erik Nordman, Guest Speaker
Muhammed Patel, Guest Speaker
Sarah Plumer, Guest Speaker
Erin West, Guest Speaker
Elizabeth Worden
Abby Clark

To request a copy of the meeting packet or other meeting materials please contact MIC staff at mic@Michigan.gov

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