Infrastructure Committee Raises Funds to Support Engineering Study on Flooding
MIDLAND, Mich. – Community organizations and businesses are making donations to the newly formed Midland Business Alliance (M.B.A.) Advisory Committee on Infrastructure in order to support an engineering study on flooding in the Midland area. This study is expected to be done in collaboration with Midland County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In early 2021, the M.B.A. Board of Directors gave the advisory committee a broad mandate to examine any infrastructure issue that impacts the quality of life and economic vitality of the Midland area. As its first task, the Advisory Committee on Infrastructure was charged with determining how best to work with local, state and federal partners to address longstanding flooding issues that impact area citizens, the business community and economic growth.
“To begin an endeavor of this scale, with the long-term goal of flood mitigation and strengthening the resiliency of our area, we need to be clear on where we are today,” said J.W. Fisher, Chair of the M.B.A. Advisory Committee on Infrastructure. “An engineering study of the current watershed will allow the experts to develop options for future improvements.”
The advisory committee is currently in the initial planning phase with Midland County officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The goal is to collaborate with the Corps of Engineers on a flood study and eventual flood mitigation efforts. The advisory committee is prepared to hire an engineering firm or firms to support the efforts of the Corps of Engineers and Midland County. The funds already raised would pay for the local 50 percent “in-kind” support typically required for this type of Corps of Engineers study.
“By working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and with an engineering company consultant, Midland County can look forward to potentially finding some relief from flooding in the future,” said Mark Bone, Midland County Commissioner and M.B.A. Board of Directors.
“I’m happy to see the support from the community and businesses around something that could be a large, far-reaching project,” said Maureen Donker, Midland Mayor.
“We are very fortunate in the Great Lakes Bay Region to have foundations and corporations that recognize the need for answers to long-term issues like the flooding that has harmed citizens, businesses, jobs and the overall economic development in our region,” said Lee Ann Keller, Co-chair of the MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure.
“No local tax dollars will be used on the study, thanks to the support of the nonprofit and business communities,” said Tony Stamas, MBA President and CEO. “We appreciate their shared commitment to reducing the frequency and severity of flooding in the Midland area.”
“The advisory committee functions under the Midland Business Alliance Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization,” said Mr. Fisher. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to be transparent and demonstrate the careful use of the funds entrusted to the initiative.” The committee’s expenditures follow normal budgetary protocols, with oversight from the M.B.A. Board of Directors and the M.B.A. President and C.E.O.
“The floods clearly have affected citizens again and again, with major flooding in 1986, 1996, 2013, 2017 and 2020. Added to this, there is the negative impact on jobs, economic growth, property values and tax revenues in Midland and surrounding areas,” said Mr. Stamas. “We don’t want to promise that we can eliminate flooding completely, but the goal of the M.B.A. Advisory Committee on Infrastructure and all of our collaborating partners is to find ways to help reduce the frequency and severity of flooding in Midland County and surrounding communities – and to make us more resilient.”
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