
Lansing, Michigan – Members of the Midland Business Alliance (MBA) Advisory Committee on Infrastructure presented information on the Midland area’s flood reduction efforts on Tuesday, June 24. The presentation was made to the Michigan House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, which is chaired by Rep. Cameron Cavitt. Several other communities with environmental infrastructure project funding requests made presentations at the same meeting, including Alpena, Greenwood (Marquette County), Owosso, and the Lake Mitchell Sewer Authority (Cadillac).
“We provided a brief update to the committee and emphasized the importance of addressing legacy flooding for the safety, health and economic success of the Midland area,” said Tony Stamas, MBA president and CEO. “We did ask for additional funding this year and next year to continue moving the flood reduction and resiliency projects forward.”
“The MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure has been working in two lanes simultaneously since it was formed in 2021,” said Lee Ann Keller, co-chair of the Advisory Committee. “One lane involves short- and mid-term efforts, like smaller flood reduction, recovery and resiliency projects. The other lane holds larger, longer-term projects, which might include significant wetlands, floodwater detention areas or levies, for example. These larger, longer-term infrastructure projects are where the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers comes in.”
“We were asking the Michigan legislators for help with an infrastructure project that can be developed alongside of the current multi-year Corps of Engineers General Investigation (GI) study and those resulting projects,” said J.W. Fisher, co-chair of the Advisory Committee.
“We want to keep the momentum going while the Corps of Engineers is doing its GI feasibility study,” said Bill D. Schuette, Advisory Committee member and community volunteer. “Our group has helped keep things moving by getting funding for a number of local projects, including flood data collection tools; relocation of the hospital’s boiler plant and electrical infrastructure to higher ground; Midland Center for the Arts revitalization after flooding; a Midland pump station detention basin; Midland County floodplain reconnection; snag and debris removal and more. Our Lansing representatives can help us to keep moving forward.”
The recording of the June 24 committee hearing is available at https://house.mi.gov/VideoArchivePlayer?video=ENVI-062425.mp4 (MBA testimony begins at 42:09).
About the MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure
Formed in 2021 by the Midland Business Alliance Board of Directors, the advisory committee’s structure is made up of MBA board members, members of the community at large, an MBA staff representative, and ex officio (non-voting) representatives from the Four Lakes Task Force, the County of Midland and the City of Midland. The committee was charged with determining how best to work with local, state and federal partners to address longstanding issues that impact citizens, the business community and economic development. The first task was to address legacy flooding challenges and related sanitary sewer issues. In addition to communicating with stakeholders and collaborators, the committee also reports back regularly to the MBA Board of Directors. Visit www.MBAmi.org/FloodStudy for more information.
About the Midland Business Alliance
The Midland Business Alliance (MBA) represents more than 3,000 businesses as Midland's business hub. The goal of the MBA is to support the attraction, development and growth of businesses throughout Midland by providing an integrated portfolio of tools and resources. Additionally, the MBA manages the Midland Area Farmers Market and Midland Blooms. Visit www.MBAmi.org for more information.