Michigan Municipal League

Michigan Municipal League (MML) Executive Director and CEO, Dan Gilmartin, kicked off MML’s 110th Annual Convention on October 1, 2008 with an emphasis on creating communities for the next 50 years, not the past 50 years.

It’s up to us, Gilmartin stated emphatically. With Michigan’s economic challenges and a term limited Legislature, it is paramount that we identify new and creative ways to keep our young, educated population from choosing to live in other states. And with folks today choosing a place to live first, it is imperative that that we are creating vibrant, creative communities in which they wish to live. It is important that each of our communities create their own “sense of place” that will motivate people to live, raise families and retire in Michigan.

What will it take to develop these types of communities? Gilmartin stated that across the country and the world, these places are characterized by downtowns and neighborhoods that are vibrant places where people live and work in closer proximity, where the development preference is mixed-use commercial/residential, live-work places and buildings that generally go up instead of out.

Rogers City is certainly working to position itself to become an attractive place for creative and energetic people to work, learn, and enjoy themselves. Our City has made some progress in all the areas Gilmartin mentioned; however, we have a long way to go!

Additional speakers included Daniel Pink, Daniel Granholm Mulhern, and officials from many communities throughout Michigan. There were so many great ideas presented that it was almost overwhelming; however, my confidence is high that the people of Rogers City are up to the challenge for becoming a vibrant small city.

Along with myself, City Council members Deb Greene, Gary Nowak, and Darrin Darge and participated in the conference.