Agency invites city to join and enjoy benefits
By Barb Pert Templeton
A pair of representatives from SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, attended a recent council meeting in Algonac to let officials know what’s happening with the group and encourage the city to join them.
Amy Malmer, membership manager with SEMCOG, shared information about the organization at the council’s regular bi-monthly meeting on May 5.
She said all seven counties in SE Michigan are members of SEMCOG and in addition they have cities, villages, townships and intermediate school districts and community colleges who are eligible for membership.
St. Clair Township is the groups latest member and all the communities around the coast are members so they’d certainly welcome Algonac deciding to join, Malmer said.
Malmer said SEMCOG was recently awarded $4.2 million dollars as part of the Great Lakes Community Grant program to advance environmental quality in the region.
“We are passing that funding through to our members to support the implementation of green infrastructure projects,” Malmer said, noting they would reduce rainwater runoff and build water quality, among other things.
The grant applications will be available later in May and projects would be implemented from spring of 2027 through June of 2030.
Amy Malmer, membership manager with SEMCOG, shared information about the organization with members of the Algonac City Council.
“We are hoping to award in the neighborhood of 12 to 15 projects,” Malmer said. “So that’s something to keep your eye out for.”
SEMCOG has two areas of work they focus on including being a regional planning agency for the federal government in the areas of transportation, air quality, water quality and economic
development planning. In addition, they are a membership organization and work with all of their local members to provide data, technical assistance and grant funding, Malmer said.
She said they hold three general assembly meetings for the membership and meet in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. The meetings include guest speakers, workshops and training sessions.
The next general assembly meeting is set for Thursday, June 25 at the Emerald Theater in Mt. Clemens.
Malmer said they also have workshops under what they call SEMCOG University, some are in person and some are virtual. All are free to members via a scholarship program and topics include transportation, environment and economic development.
Next, David Struck, lead economic development coordinator for SEMCOG, stepped to the podium to explain what SEMCOG does for local communities. He said their plan is focused on strategies that open up economic resources for the region.
“Basically, we want to be able to support your projects through our economic strategy,” Stuck said.
SEMCOG’s plan is centered on three main pillars. The first one is great places and in Algonac’s case they have the water front and the local parks. The second pillar is focused on regional prosperity which is creating a competitive business environment and promoting small businesses. The third pillar is focused on economic resilience and figuring out how they can diversify the economy and make sure they are investing in and safe guarding the critical infrastructure.
After his portion of the presentation Struck answered questions from council members.
Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Davey said she didn’t realize SEMCOG was so involved in economic development and asked if that was something new.
“Not new from a work standpoint but new from the federal designation, that came in 2023 but we’ve been doing regional economic strategy for years,” Struck said.
“I did not realize that, when I think SEMCOG I was looking at a whole different thing and I did not know that this is what you guys do, this is awesome,” Davey said.
Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum asked if all the information on SEMCOG’s website is limited to members and Struck replied know anyone can look at the site.
“Basically, we want to be able to support your projects through our economic strategy.”
David Struck, lead economic development coordinator for SEMCOG.
Meldrum also asked if a membership is required for the other tools SEMCOG offers and how much it would cost the city. Malmer replied yes, the cost of an annual membership is based on population and in Algonac’s case that cost would be $987 for a year.
Councilman Jake Skarbek asked if anyone can take the courses offered through the university side of things and Malmer said yes anyone that’s a member can attend.
To find out more visit semcog.org.
