LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS MANISTEE COUNTY
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Regular monthly meetings are at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month.
In January, March, May, July, September, November in Bear Lake at Bear Lake Manor, corner of Smith and Main St..
In February, April, August, October and December at the Tuscan Grill on River Street in Manistee as a dinner meeting with a Guest Speaker.

Click here to download a PDF Presentation by Otwell Mawby from the May Community Forum.

The LWV Dinner speaker on February 7 was Vern Best, Board Member Manistee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (MCBRA).The Manistee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was formed in 2002 under Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001.
A Board of 9 were appointed by Manistee County Commission:
Current Members are: Chair John Hoch, Vice Chair David Smeltzer, Vern Best, Dennis P. McCarthy, Sue Wagner (Manistee Co. Planner), Dana Schindler, Tom Kubanek, Tom Kaminski (Manistee Co. Administrator), Sara Vizon and John Rulison. There is currently one vacancy. County Commission Liaison is Allan O'Shea. All members serve without reimbursement. Meetings are held at 7pm, at the Manistee County Commission Chambers, on third Wednesday February, April, June, August, October, December 2007.

Currrent projects are: Environmental stabilization and development of the Joslyn Building (Bay Condominium Project). Lead project engineers are Otwell Mawby. Current estimated taxable value of the property is $312,216.00. Future estimated taxable value of the property is $6,700,000.00.

Capture period for reimbursement is 3 partial years and 3 full years. Best explained that, in order to encourage investment and redevelopment of polluted blighted sites, the developer is allowed to delay tax payments on the increase in property value until the capture period has expired. The savings are used to conduct environmental remediation.

The maximum per year that the MCBRA is allowed to be reimbursed is $30,000.00 in total, regardless of the number of projects on the books.

The purpose of MCBRA is not to review environmental data or oversee remediation or construction. All permitting and approvals fall within the jurisdication of State DEQ, local planning and zoning. Their role is to oversee and approve financial requests and act on behalf of Manistee County citizens.

A copy of MCBRA Bylaws and Minutes may be requested from Sue Wagner. All meetings are subject to Open Meetings Act.

Useful reference Web Sites:

http://www.brownfieldassociation.org
See PDF
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3311_4110_23243---,00.html
http://www.glc.org/bridges/brownfields.html - See MI pages
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/06arc/manistee.htm
http://medc.michigan.org/miinfo/places/ManisteeCounty
http://www.manisteecounty.net/Planning/index.html
http://www.otwellmawby.com/ludington.html

LWV Manistee County has set the following areas of emphasis for 2007:

1. To conduct a comprehensive effort to make the public and units of local government aware of what the League of Women Voters Manistee County is and does.

2. To engage in activities which emphasize our role in promoting"good government" .

3. To continue our emphasis on environmental issues particularly solid waste, recycling and water quality.
as a member of the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Inter-League, which is a collaborative of all Leagues in the states which surround Lake Michigan.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS MANISTEE COUNTY
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