Midland open house to center $40 million flood resiliency projects

Virtual attendance option available for Aug. 19 meeting

MIDLAND — Midland city staff, engineers, the Midland County drain commissioner, the Midland Business Alliance (MBA) Advisory Committee on Infrastructure and Spicer Group engineers will meet with the community Aug. 19 to answer questions and hear feedback on potential flood reduction projects.

The meeting is to be held from 4-7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19 at the Council Chambers on the first floor of Midland City Hall, 333 W. Ellsworth St. The flexible open house format is designed for citizens to drop in when they are able.

Through the efforts of the MBA Advisory Committee on Infrastructure and state legislators, the City of Midland is the beneficiary of the $40 million to be put towards flood resiliency for the city.

There are two funding provisions in the budget that support Midland’s work to reduce the severity of flooding and enhance flood resources including $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, administered by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and a $15 million enhancement from the state administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Each of these grants has specific requirements around reporting, timelines, and how funds can be used. Due to funding-related deadlines, decisions on future projects need to take place by late October.

To help expedite the process, the MBA Advisory Committee’s engineering firm the Spicer Group is assisting city engineers and staff in the process of evaluating, scoring and modeling potential project

On Aug. 26, the Spicer Group will return to the Midland City Council to provide a progress report. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

A community virtual town hall including a discussion of the funding that was held on July 29 was recorded and can be viewed here .

The Aug. 19 meeting will also be available live-streamed on MCTV or viewed on-demand later at www.cityofmidlandmi.gov/video .

Residents also can find out more at the City of Midland’s flood resiliency page or at the MBA’s flood study page . The City’s page also accepts comments on the $40 million infrastructure projects.