Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Earlier this week I participated as a panelist with the Michigan Municipal League (MML) during a training for Newly Elected Officials. It's a course also offered as a refresher, as many of the participants in my breakout session had more years on their board than I do!

Also, I found out this week I was selected as a new member on the MML's Elected Officials Academy (EOA) Advisory Board. The EOA is a free, structured training opportunity for elected officials. MML has been in the game a long time, and has great sessions. If you know of someone who is newly elected, or you're a veteran and want a refresher, check out their calendar.

It has now been another year that I have been on Eastpointe City Council. What a year this sixth year has been. Hopefully your family and friends have been healthy and continue to be. 

We hired a new City Manager, Elke Doom. Fortunately, she has been able to continue many projects approved by City Council, even with an active pandemic, including those that are more convenient while there is less traffic on the roads. We of course did not plan ahead for this, but many projects have been completed on City infrastructure this year. We paved streets, the County paved streets, and the State paved streets. And I-94 is planned to be reconstructed in the near future.

In addition to streets, we also replaced the water main on Donald Street, every lead service line between Toepfer and Stephens, and many storm sewers and catch basins. The City is taking seriously its responsibility to rid the water system of lead pipes. It will take some time, but as long as we continue to treat our water, there is no harm to the public.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left a positive impact on the world that anyone would aspire to. She worked hard for gender equality, and was successful in many ways. Before RBG's legal career, there were laws that distinguished on gender with jobs, rights, and even jury duty. 

The awards for the First Responder Hazard Pay Premiums Program (FRHPPP) have been announced. The City received $63,259. Feel free to browse the list and check out what other communities have received. The State and Federal Governments have been doing a decent job supporting local communities, and their first responders.