The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce supports a $20 million discretionary fund for the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved the Master Plan that sets the future course for the nation's airport development. The plan for the Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport was last updated in 1999.

The current building is inadequate for today's flight standards. Electrical and emergency units are reaching capacity. The building itself is showing signs of fatigue. Congestion is a problem during peak times. Departures at the screening checkpoint have seen an increase in wait times, and inbound arrivals have seen similar backups due to extended waiting times for the baggage claim device.

The new terminal design would have additional devices to handle these needs, as well as changing the design of the passenger queues, ticketing areas, and security station to make the building more fully functional and operating to capacity.

The new terminal project will be a significant addition to both economic and business development in the region. Many companies view access to the national air system as a very important factor for selecting a community to do business in.

The airport is a pivotal part of our local economy, despite the shortcomings the airport may face without these proposed upgrades and funding. The current economic and community impacts for the airport include:

• Airport supports 484 direct and indirect jobs
• These jobs generate $19.2 million in personal income
• The airport generates $105.3 million in Gross Regional Product
• The airport generates $175.2 million in total sales output
• The airport accommodates more than 400,000 passengers per year

The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce supports the decontamination of Bryant Mill Pond, a former PCB storage site.

PCBs have notable features, such as heat resistance, insulation, and chemical stability. These useful characteristics of PCBs are not found in other substances, and therefore PCBs were widely used in industrial applications. PCBs, however, have been found to have dangerous effects on humans and animals. They had been disposed of in many environmentally unfriendly ways, such as dumping them into lakes that are, quite often, very close to our drinking water.

In late 2006 to early 2007 a coalition of community organizations, municipalities, and citizen stakeholders voiced their opposition to an agreement between Millennium Holdings LLC, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which called for dumping PCB laden soil once removed from the Kalamazoo River into the core city of Kalamazoo at the old Allied Paper Mill site (Bryant Mill Pond). Approximately 17,000 Kalamazoo Citizens reside within a one mile radius of this site,about 24 percent of the city's population.

Ultimately, the EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the responsible parties rescinded that decision and instead transferred the polluted soil into certified toxic landfill sites in other parts of the state.

There has been no law enacted to stop companies from dumping PCB materials into this site. The problem is that there isn't anything stopping companies from doing something like this again. The Chamber would like to see two things done with this issue:

1. Put a moratorium on importing any additional PCB materials into this already contaminated site
2. Resolve the property's current contamination issues so that it may be reutilized as a community asset

If these steps are taken, Kalamazoo's water resources will remain safe.

The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce supports obtaining the necessary funding to finish widening Interstate 94 from 4 to 6 lanes. The funding would come directly from the local, state, and federal sources to finish the widening from 12th Street to Sprinkle Road in Kalamazoo County. The funding is needed quickly due to the bottleneck that is impacting this portion of the highway.

I-94 has been recognized as a major route of trade and commerce throughout the state of Michigan. I-94 serves as the transportation corridor for 8 major metro areas in Michigan and it provides highway access to more than 3.1 million residents in these communities (31.3 percent of Michigan's population.) I-94 is a key link between Detroit and Chicago and is also a central link for the NAFTA corridor. Almost 10 percent of our nation's exports come from Detroit and the surrounding metropolitan areas, linked by I-94.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has predicted serious issues will arise in the next few years if a long-term solution is not implemented. There are several reasons for this problem:

• Capacity Ratios - The highway has exceeded its acceptable capacity ratio. On 2-lane segments, Monday through Friday the volume versus capacity ratio is 0.8 for 3 hours a day (more than 0.8 is considered congested and will cause traffic slow-downs and backups.) In contrast, with 3 lanes Monday through Friday, the volume capacity ratio at its very highest is 0.61.
• Level of Service - For 2 lanes on Monday through Friday, the level of service drops to a D for 3 hours a day (this level and below is considered congested and causes slow downs and back ups to occur.) In comparison, for 3 lanes, the level of service never drops below A in the entire 7-day analysis.
• Safety - Because stage 1 of the widening is already complete, some new problems have arisen in terms of safety. By not getting the funding and completing stages 2 and 3, there are areas where three lanes reduce to two lanes (choke points), and there is an anticipated 30 percent increase in rear-end and side-swipe crashes.

I-94 is important to business and trade. I-94 has been recognized as part of the NAFTA corridor and, as such, the Detroit/Windsor border crossings handle more than one-third of all trade volume between the U.S. and Canada, and the largest part of the Mexican-Canadian trade as well. Without relieving the current congestion on I-94, the vital flow of this trade could be jeopardized.

Securing the funding for the project is a challenge. Stage one of the widening cost $87.2 million from a variety of sources: the majority from the Federal Highway Administration, matching funds from MDOT, and the rest from local municipalities. The cost to finish the final two stages of the project is approximately $140 million.

• Part-Time Legislature
  The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce supports establishing a part-time legislature. Michigan is one of only four states in the United States that still has a full-time legislature. There are several propositions the Chamber is putting forward to ensure a higher level of quality from Michigan and its legislative branch of government:
  • A maximum session limit of 100 days. Limiting the amount of days our legislators can have session in Lansing ensures the quality of the time spent there. Our Representatives and Senators will have to focus strictly on the issues and simply will not have time for trivial bills. This also makes the budget the first priority, which is a primary concern for all of Michigan after the budget crisis of last year, resulting in the short shutdown of government.
  • Complete work by May 31. This gives our legislators plenty of time to get back into their own communities and have conversations with the people that they represent on a daily basis after spending months in Lansing. This would allow for timely feedback from voters and a better feel of what is happening with average citizens. We prefer to have them mingling and talking with constituents rather than year long exposure to special interests and lobbyists. This deadline would also serve as notice to public schools in Michigan that rely heavily on state funding. Our schools cannot fully create their own budget until the state's budget is finalized and released. Having the budget done earlier ensures a more quality educational budget.
  • Cut legislators' pay. Currently, Michigan legislators make approximately $80,000 a year, which is the second highest in the entire country. Many states are much more frugal than Michigan. Texas, for instance, which has a much larger population and land area, legislators meet part-time (140 days every other year) and are paid $7,200 annually. Our plan calls for the salary to be reduced from $80,000 to 80% of the Michigan median household income, which is currently at $37,651. The reduced salary for our legislators would still be in the top 12 of all 50 states.
  • No pay for absent days. Our legislators should be paid for the days they're present, and not paid for the days they miss. If they have a good excuse, a roll call vote can be taken and the absence can be excused with a majority vote.
  • Elimination of lifetime benefits. Legislators receive lifelong health insurance for themselves and their spouse after serving six years as a Michigan legislator. This adds up to be an extremely costly burden for the citizens of Michigan.
  • Elimination of term limits. We believe that term-limits have been a failed experiment. The legislators aren't in office long enough to be held accountable for their legislation, or likewise take their positive enacted legislation forward to make it better. There simply isn't enough time for legislators to build trust with each other, especially with legislators of opposing political party identification.
  • Allowance for emergency sessions. Our plan calls for the potential of up to twenty emergency session days, in the event of an unexpected tragedy, budget crisis, or another unforeseeable event.
• Rail Development
  

  The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce fully supports continued federal funding for the development and expansion of high speed Amtrak rail service.

  The most promising market for passenger rail service in the United States is high speed rail service between large cities that are located 100-500 miles apart. At this distance, high speed rail service saves time in comparison with automobile travel and is time-competitive with flying. In Kalamazoo, this transportation alternative can provide relief to congestion on our highways.

  Amtrak officials said the system's fiscal 2008 ridership increased to 28.7 million passengers, marking the sixth straight year of gains and setting a record for the most passengers using Amtrak trains since it started operations in 1971. The riders brought in $1.7 billion in ticket revenue for Amtrak, a 14.2 percent increase over last year's $1.5 billion.

  The portion of rail track from Kalamazoo County to the Indiana State line is rated class 6 and, according to officials at the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, this section is in the best physical conditions of almost any track in the United States. While passenger and freight trains are already capable of travelling at speeds of 70-110 miles per hour on this stretch of track, private crossings in rural areas that lack required safety crossing equipment prohibit trains from operating at speeds above 80 miles per hour. Funding for the elimination and updating of private crossings will allow the region to move closer toward high speed rail as a fully viable mode of transportation.

  In terms of Southwest Michigan:

  • The southwest and central Michigan regions would benefit from an additional transportation alternative providing cost savings as well as time savings to our regional residents.
  • Track improvements would also allow faster travel for freight trains, potentially increasing the capacity of the existing rail network and the freight transportation alternative for regional businesses.
  • It would provide decreased transportation congestion on our highways and the large metropolitan airports serving our region.
  • It would generate increased tourism and other economic benefits for the three regional cities: Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Lansing, as well as the large metro Detroit and Chicago areas.
• Two-Tiered Funding
  

  The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of seven other Chambers throughout Michigan strongly oppose a proposal to restructure the higher educational appropriations process. In past legislative years, Michigan's House has passed bills by slim margins that would give preferential funding status to three universities in Michigan (University of Michigan, Wayne State, and Michigan State University.)

  For the current budget, the top three schools receive an average funding allocation of 16.9 percent (about 5.63 percent each), while the remaining 12 public universities in Michigan receive 3 percent each. If these bills were to pass, the difference would go from about two times as much funding for the top three universities in comparison to the other 12, to about five times as much funding for the top three as the other 12.

  The Kalamazoo Regional Chamber opposes these bills and the entire content of tiered funding for several reasons. This legislation would have a tremendously negative effect on Western Michigan University. Western Michigan University is a vitally important asset for Southwest Michigan, with an estimated annual economic impact of more than $6 million to the area's economy and provides 5,168 direct and indirect jobs.

  Western Michigan University - the area's largest higher education institution - has done some research on its economic impact. Their research shows that students spend $260 million annually, folks visiting them or the university spend $30.9 million, and the itself university spends $323.8 million. That adds up to a $614.5 million annual economic impact.

  These bills don't just affect Western Michigan University, they affect all the public universities in the state. Nine of the 12 universities impacted have registered their opposition to House Bills 4350 and 4351. Here is some data regarding those schools:

  • Collectively these nine universities generate 17,548 good-paying jobs
  • They also serve an enrolled population of 145,155 students
  • On average they rely on the state to provide 38 percent of their general fund revenue

  While approval of this funding framework has been unsuccessful, there are those that continue pushing for its adoption in the future. One of the biggest reasons for the ultimate defeat of House Bills 4350 and 4351 is because of the vocal disapproval from Michigan's citizens. If similar bills are proposed again, the Chamber (and all college-attending students in the state of Michigan) urge you to call your local representative and voice your discontent.