Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council Honors Agencies at Conference

June 18, 2019 Midland Area Transportation Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2019

CONTACTS: Joanna I. Johnson, TAMC Chair

269-381-3170 ext. 220 jjohnson@kalamazoocountyroads.com

Roger Belknap, TAMC Coordinator

Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council Honors Six Local Government Agencies at 2019 TAMC Spring Conference; TAMC Honored with Michigan APWA Chapter’s Project of the Year

Gaylord, Michigan -- The Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC) has honored six of Michigan’s local government agencies with a 2019 TAMC Organization Award. Awards were presented to Jason Latham of the Berrien County Road Department, Bradley Lamberg of the Barry County Road Commission, Karen Mondora and Gary Mekjian of the City of Farmington Hills for their work on implementing improvement plans for their respective road and bridge networks, using asset management tools and principles. In addition, Ross Township and Wakeshma Township were also honored for their efforts in partnering with the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County to develop local road asset management and improvement programs. Township Supervisor Jason Gatlin of Wakeshma Township and Ross Township Clerk Norman Kellogg accepted the awards along with Project Manager Mark Worden, Road Commission of Kalamazoo County. The awards were presented by TAMC Chair Joanna Johnson and other members of the council at the 2019 Transportation Asset Management Spring Conference held Tuesday, May 22, in Gaylord, Michigan. The conference was held in conjunction with the Michigan Chapter of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) Great Lakes Expo.

While presenting the awards TAMC member Jon Start shared, “A large part of TAMC’s work program is education and the implementation of tools for transportation systems as well as the acknowledgement of ‘Best Practices’ in asset management.” The conference offered attendees the opportunity to learn directly from several of the TAMC Organization Award winners during the educational program. Latham and Bridge Consulting Engineer David Juntunen (The Kercher Group) provided a case study of Berrien County’s efforts in gathering data and developing an Asset Management Plan for the county’s 103 bridges. Mekjian and Mondora provided testimony during the APWA Great Lakes Expo educational program on the importance of good data and the integration of asset management strategies, leading to the passage of a road improvement millage in Farmington Hills. The TAMC educational program closed with Lamberg taking the audience through Barry County Road Commission’s implementation of a “Best First” road management strategy, which has resulted in the county’s high percentage of roads being maintained in good condition, year after year.

The Michigan Chapter of the APWA chose the 2018 TAMC Local Agency Culvert Inventory Pilot Project for a Project of the Year Award in the Special Projects Category for Governmental Cooperation. This project was a statewide effort that included 49 local agencies, 16 regional and metropolitan planning organizations, staff from Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget’s Center for Shared Solutions; the project’s management and training was provided by Michigan Technological University’s Center for Technology and Training. Outcomes of the project included mapping of over 49,000 culverts, training and data collection methodologies and documentation of data collection costs and timeframes for future budgetary planning.

Jason Latham (Berrien County Roads Dept.); Jason Gatlin (Wakeshma Township) and Mark Worden (Road Commission of Kalamazoo County); Bradley Lamberg (Barry County Road Commission); Gary Mekjian and Karen Mondora (City of Farmington Hills); Mark Worden (Road Commission of Kalamazoo County) and Norman Kellogg (Ross Township) receive 2019 TAMC Organization Awards. The 2018 TAMC Local Agency Culvert Inventory Pilot Project received the APWA Michigan Chapter’s Project of the Year Award; John Thompson (Michigan APWA Chapter President-Elect) Scott Bershing and Christopher Gilbertson (Michigan Tech University) Charles Hart (Michigan APWA President) and Joanna Johnson (TAMC Chair).

Photos by James D. LeMay, MDOT

The purpose of the TAMC Organization Award is to recognize leadership and setting forth a path of improvement for public agencies in response to the needs of their transportation network and infrastructure. TAMC established the Organization Award in 2009 to acknowledge those agencies that have incorporated the principles of asset management and adopted an asset management plan to help guide their investment decisions. Transportation asset management is a process of managing public assets, such as roads and bridges, based on the long-range condition of the entire transportation system.

TAMC, created in 2002 by the Michigan Legislature, promotes the concept that the transportation system is unified, rather than separated by jurisdictional ownership. Its mission is to recommend an asset management strategy to the Michigan Infrastructure Council, the State Transportation Commission and the Michigan Legislature for all of Michigan's roads and bridges. To learn more about TAMC and the history of the TAMC Awards Program, visit www.Michigan.gov/TAMC and select the “Conference” heading.

Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council

Chair: Joanna Johnson, CRA; Vice-Chair: Bill McEntee, CRA; Bob Slattery, MML; Gary Mekjian, MML;

Jon Start, MTPA; Todd White, MDOT; Brad Wieferich, MDOT; Christopher Bolt, MAC;

Derek Bradshaw, MAR; Jennifer Tubbs, MTA; Rob Surber, MCSS

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View road and bridge conditions, interactive dashboards and learn more about Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council: www.michigan.gov/tamc

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