MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, MI - A new year means new opportunities, and Meridian Township is no exception. The Township management team and Township Board announced their 2022 township goals at the Dec. 14 board meeting.

Each year, Meridian Township aims to create a list of new projects and goals that differ from normal day-to-today operations. Both the Township management team and Township Board meet at the end of each year to discuss upcoming projects and goals they deem important for township enhancement.

Community members should expect to see lots of infrastructure improvement in the upcoming months. Projects such as the Okemos Road Bridge replacement, local road improvement, and Okemos/Grand River Ave. enhancements will begin to see progress early this year.

Deborah Guthrie, Meridian Township Clerk, highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion as high on the townships goals list this year. Specifically, Guthrie emphasized the importance of actively seeking diverse voices in the boardroom. The township has already made strides in this project including working with Michigan State University to provide DEI training each month.

“I think it’s important to hear those voices, and for us to work collectively to reach out to our community members to encourage more diverse voices,” Guthrie said.

According to Guthrie, the Township Communications team has its work cut out for them the entirety of the year. The department will continue to explore efficient ways to keep community engagement up all of 2022. This includes not only enhanced socials and marketing, but working with residents to decide the best way of involving the community with township decisions and policy. A community engagement survey has already been made available to residents on the Meridian Township website.

Guthrie says the township learned a lot about economic development in 2021, specifically regarding the area's downtown business districts. According to Guthrie, the board is now conscious of the attention needed to create a successful business environment and looking for new developments to fit the desires, and visions, of residents. The township is also looking into becoming redevelopment-ready certified once again, and this process was discussed during the Board’s first meeting of the year. The certification would serve as an insurance policy that the community has integrated transparency, predictability and efficiency into daily development practices.

“We learned in 2021 where that vision needed to be,” Guthrie said. “Now it’s about how we can carry that out.”

More information and a complete list of the Township’s 2022 goals can be found on the Meridian Township website below.