| Author
|
Post |
 
|
|
Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
|
There was an article in yesterday's Journal about the city applying for a $35 million grant for "Green Cities", with an application deadline of Monday.
Anyone care to speculate on the odds of the application being done in time, and done correctly? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:54 am |
|
|
twotap
F L I N T O I D
|
| WTF is a green city, one thats envious of those that arent crime ridden?? Anyone want to speculate on the 35 mil being squandered as usual?? |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:55 am |
|
|
back again
F L I N T O I D
|
| no, but i am very happy city hall is at least applying for the funds. i can only hope if the funds are received, the money is used in a way that puts citizens to work. |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:34 pm |
|
|
twotap
F L I N T O I D
|
quote:
the money is used in a way that puts citizens to work.
OK splain please since the stimulius money sure didnt.
The Obama Administration is touting that their stimulus program has saved or created 640,329 jobs since it was enacted back in February through the end of October. This number is updated and posted on the Administration’s recovery.gov web site. That amounts to
$246,436
per job based on the $157.8bn that has been awarded so far! Total compensation earned by the average payroll employee during October, on an annualized basis, was
$59,867.
If the government had simply used the funds awarded so far to pay for a year’s worth of labor, that would have paid for 2.6mn jobs! |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:00 pm |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
When did the city learn about this competitive grant? This is once again a Department of Energy grant and the Ypsilanti company originally selected was going to work on energy projects for a year. Kate Fields used that entire years grant in one summit.
Does anyone have a copy of the original RFP (request for proposal)? That would tell the whole story. You will note the City of Flint is not writing the grant, although we have some very successful grant writers.
Mike Brown is leading the process. The United Way is also involved as well as the Mott Foundation and the Community Foundation.
WHO HAS HIJACKED OUR CITY?
City of Flint competing for up to $35M in federal energy grant funds
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
December 11, 2009, 6:00AM
FLINT, Michigan — The city is under the gun on an ambitious goal — competing for up to $35 million in federal funds that would transform the way it uses energy.
Landing the competitive grant would be a windfall for the city in its attempts to go green, not to mention a number of residents who would benefit from lower energy costs.
There’s just one potential hiccup — the extensive application is due Monday.
Grant writers are working practically double-time to hammer out the details before it’s presented to the Flint City Council for approval at its Monday meeting.
“The deadline was tight from the beginning, but we decided we’re going to go all for it,” said Michael Brown, former interim Flint mayor and director of the new Flint Area Reinvestment Office. “It is very competitive but we’re hopeful we’re putting together a great product.”
The city is asking for anywhere from $15 million to $35 million to fund major energy efficiency upgrades for a range of consumers, from the average Flint resident to the largest energy users in the city.
“There’s no doubt that something like this is big for the city of Flint if we receive it,” said Steve Montle, Flint’s green cities coordinator. “There are economic multipliers all over the place with something like this.”
The bulk of the funds would focus on what the city is calling an “institutional corridor,” stretching between McLaren Regional Medical Center on the west and the Mass Transportation Authority headquarters on the east.
The goal is to transform Flint into a model community with a diversified energy portfolio that focuses on energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“The city of Flint as an institution has to get smarter about how we do business and how we bring in federal dollars,” Montle said. “This offers a opportunity to our institutions and our residents to really change the way we function.”
The target corridor includes Flint institutions like the hospitals, colleges and universities and large corporations.
But small businesses and residents would benefit, too.
Flint residents — even renters — would be able to apply for loans for to retrofit their homes with energy upgrades that could drastically reduce their monthly utility bills.
Montle compares it to replacing an old clunker.
“People generally don’t drive old cars that get poor gas mileage because they want to — it’s because it’s what they can afford,” he said. “Many would upgrade if they could.”
The money also would give the city the chance to implement more large-scale innovative projects, like green roofs, solar panels and micro turbines. The plan also has an educational component to spread awareness about sustainability and efficiency.
Officials declined to specify the major projects listed in the application since the details are still being worked out.
However, they said the grant would allow the city to take better advantage of the Swedish Biogas International facility at the wastewater treatment plant.
The initial phases of that project call for the plant to run on the energy it produces, but these funds could open the door to expanded energy production.
The city is the lead applicant for the grant, but the application is being facilitated by consultants hired by the Flint Area Reinvestment Office, which is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ruth Mott Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and the United Way of Genesee County.
“We’ll be working to the very end to get this worked out,” Montle said. “We will be ready on Monday.”
|
|
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:18 pm |
|
|
Elias12
F L I N T O I D
|
| I support any effort to make this city use energy more intelligently so I hope they do get the proposal writing done over this weekend. I have been saying we should build a nuclear plant here in Flint on the old Buick site. But this idea they are working on seems like a great star. If we get some sort of cheaper energy source we have a much better chance of attracting firms to build here in Flint. And I would certainly like to see lower energy costs available to the residents of Flint. We will spend billions of getting things to the people of Afghanistan, I think we can spend millions for the people in our own country. Let us hope the people working on this don't drop the ball. |
_________________
You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. |
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:10 pm |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
http://cec-mi.org/ - 24k - Cached - Similar pages
web site for Clean energy the original awardee of the contract. They are impressive , work with Swedish Engineering and are in biofuel technology.
Kristin claims their partner company is writing the grant (but that was not in the original story). |
|
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:48 pm |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
DWCBOB,
The consultant on this grant is Resource Recycling Systems, which is based in Ann Arbor.
http://www.recycle.com/
Thanks for reading,
Kristin Longley
The Flint Journal
.
Reply to this comment | Post a new comment
Posted by untanglingwebs
December 12, 2009, 8:01AM
Old Flint Guy you should listen to DWCBOB as he is accurate. Isn't this part of your investigation with the U S Attorney? On August 5, 2009 the council had a resolution for this company linked to the company replaced by Kate and Advanced Solutions. Ananich replaced the Ypsilanti company with Kate's.
Posted by oldflintguy
December 12, 2009, 10:20AM
Webs, and Bob - I must admit to allowing my hopes to run rampant there for a minute. I do have printed versions of the Committee Meetings where the resolution was, after the fact, abandoned in favor of the matter introduced by a Councilman who should have recused himself because of past relationships.
In the instant situation, however, the firm has been allowed to prepare the grant. Is it possible that lessons were learned based on the conversations surrounding Kate's being given the federally funded work in clear violation of the ARRA governing requirements?
This old man has seen, first hand, that political considerations seem to overrule the public good and he is not pleased to be forced to consider the results for the people. Rest assured that I will make contact with the appropriate officials to place into their considerations the possibility that "we" are at it again in Flint. As well, I encourage all of you to review the grant request to see what is and is not included.
Posted by oldflintguy
December 12, 2009, 8:36PM
I was trying to see the glass as half full, I suppose. There is obviously a pre-disposition as to the projects to be included, given the particular expertise of the consulting firm. They are not really energy efficiency consultants as much as they are waste management infrastructure people. No wonder that they are going to include more funding for the biogas project that has created one net new job in the area for the $4MM in State funding and $1MM in Federal funding that have come in so far. But, at least it has a little more of the look of being above board than what we have seen of late. It may be only a bit better, but progress is progress. Let's stay on them and see if we can get real change next time. |
|
|
|
Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:58 pm |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
|
|
Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:13 am |
|
|
Gooch
F L I N T O I D
|
This sin't my idea, I got it from a neighbor down the road. His idea was about when cleaning up these lot cutting down some of this timber to make lumber. Use the lumber to build new houses and such. He was talking about how you could put people to work doing it all. Thats "Green jobs" right?
On a side note too. We need a taskforce of people cutting down all the weeds and bushes. Bagging all the yard waste from these lots. I would like to see the area across from the gas station on N Grand Travers and University on both sides of the street cleaned up. That would maybe clear out all the panhandlers. It would also be more crap for the Mayors compost heap. You could easily put 20-40 people to work full time just cleaning lots and such. You could put the same group to work clearing snow and debris off the sidewalks of all these abandoned lots so people actualy walk on the sidewalks insted of in the streets. |
|
|
|
Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:40 pm |
|
|
Adam
F L I N T O I D
|
If these vacant houses have any of those very valuable
black walnut
trees they should already be cut down and hauled away by our "enterprising individuals" but that isn't a bad idea.
Flint does seem to have an excess of trees. I have some massive trees that are gorgeous in my neighborhood but if they fall death could result. |
|
|
|
Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:56 pm |
|
|
back again
F L I N T O I D
|
great idea gooch!! if that ain't green, i don't know what is!!  |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
|
|
Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:35 am |
|
|
twotap
F L I N T O I D
|
Panhandlers forced to work?? OH THE HORROR  |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
|
|
Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:19 am |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Profile
FlintTalk.com Forum Index
> Political Talk
