Escanaba City Town Hall August 5th, 2021

This was a pretty action packed agenda with lots of fancy words like ordinance, grant, and bidding (All normal part of government-industry interaction). It looks like there is a need for more housing so hopefully the downtown area can fulfill some of that need. What would be nice is if some of the upstairs apartments can be used to attract people who want to buy and build a business in a live-develop arrangement (See Escanaba Downtown Idea). 

Notes: I just put together a few notes as I go forward. While I try and be accurate they are not always. So its better to go back and look at the agenda. I did cut and paste a few parts from the agenda for clarity. See August 5th, 2021 Agenda.  To really understand you have to pay a lot of attention to changes and activities and often that requires a level of proximity. 

-Ordinance 1251: Removing of canopy heights and other restrictions. You will have to go to the agenda for a more specific description. Not sure if its related but it would be nice to see more canopies in Esky for sidewalk sitting. 

-5 block section to increase different types of housing arrangements. It appears they are seeking to expand the use of some commercial blocks. 

-Removing off-street parking space requirements for commercial buildings in that commercial district area. 

-Someone made the comment about development of housing above the commercial real estate. If I'm understanding correctly that is a good idea. Especially if some of these become seasonal condos, Airbnb and apartments (That will depend on the bigger vision of the town.). 

-Beatification of the city. There will be some changes of trees on Ludington to allow more flowering varieties. Tourists love to see beautiful landscape, flowers, and nice places to sit. Putting this kind of effort into the city adds up over time in showing city pride.

-Nonmotorized parkway. I wonder if this means there will be bike path and/or walk path. This may be part of the 5 year recreation plan. See recreation plan Escanaba. There might be a newer one. 

"Approval – Resolution and Signing of a Contract – Recreation. Explanation: Administration is recommending passing a Resolution for authorized signatures on the North City Limits Non-Motorized Pathway. Administration is recommending signing of the Contract between Michigan Department of Transportation and the City of Escanaba for the North City Limits Non-Motorized Pathway"

"Approval – Award of a Bid to Payne & Dolan, Inc. – Recreation. Explanation: The State of Michigan let bids out for the North City Limits Non-Motorized Pathway. Two bids were received. Administration is seeking approval for the low bid from Payne & Dolan, Inc. in the amount of $867,092.05."

-Something going on with the triangle on Ogden. I lived as a kid in the area and would like to have a house back in the neighborhood someday. Looks like something historical might go in there. 

"Approval – Award of a Bid to Payne & Dolan, Inc. – Recreation. Explanation: The State of Michigan let bids out for the North City Limits Non-Motorized Pathway. Two bids were received. Administration is seeking approval for the low bid from Payne & Dolan, Inc. in the amount of $867,092.05."

-$3 Million in lead pipes money. Something about the Governor is coming to visit. The letter below was taken from the city website. "2 million in DWI grant funds and $3 million in loan for the WTP Project"  So if there is DWSRF Drinking Water State Revolving Fund with relates to drinking water and WTP Project 

-New ships coming into the area. Navy having issues with gear box so we are updating them. Its great to have such work being done in Escanaba. 

Climate change IPCC report "Code Red"

Climate change is a major thing and as we continue forward with a larger world population we will come to find that cutting emissions and creating biodegrable products all help. We just aren't accustomed to thinking out our natural systems as a "system" and we have extracted too much without putting back in. We should be creating technologies that create efficiencies in our production processes but also the repurposing/recycling of older items. Likewise, ensuring that money is going back into cleaning and improving systems (i.e. Great Lakes) is important. See IPCC Reports

4 Hikers Helped on Hog Back Mountain-New Needs for Public Service Training?

 Usually I talk about economic stuff but this time its a little more about saving hikers. While this isn't a difficult trail, if you are not from the area, and its raining one certainly can get lost. In this case the Marquette Search and Rescue Team found the missing hikers. The situation does highlight a need to consider additional training as tourism in the Upper Peninsula rises. 

As tourism rises there will likely be additional training needed. I write more about Delta County which is my home town. More hikers, bikers, etc... will ultimately mean more injuries in rural places. As eco-tourism rises so does the need to train officers, EMS, and volunteers how to handle injuries where little support is available. 

Its something to think about because if towns can capitalize on ecotourism it also creates possible new needs. 

Senate Moves Forward On Infrastructure Bill: Inching Forward

The Senate moves forward on infrastructure bill. Much of what is in the bill appears to be focused on basic upgrades that are likely to have net positives for our country; even if we don't yet have the metrics to measure them. There are areas where healthy debate should occur to further define funding and specifics but the overall need to update the infrastructure in some way is still a necessary part of staying globally competitive. Barring any real alternative solutions to do that, it would make sense to work on this bill and see how far it can go. 

Of course there are other ways to finance items but they become outside our governance norm. For example, I think about a calibrated tax plan where companies that do business here but don't have a HQ have one tax rate and those who have a U.S. based HQ receive another rate (Hopefully, leading to companies that move here instead of just doing business.). The system would repurpose some of that tax base (%) back into improving and updating the infrastructure in a sustainable way (Hopefully, leading to improvement of our environment from generation to generation.). As people use more of the infrastructure the money moves into building out and improving functionality (Its just a basic idea I'm working on for economics in the Digital Age. Could be something helpful someday or might be sort of a dead end but either way its a challenge to come up with something.). The "profits" and/or excess capital produced from the economic activity associated with infrastructure is the generated value beyond its maintenance and that becomes excess capital for government (....business also earns their own profit. Companies go where there is things like strong infrastructure, skilled labor, reasonable tax rate, innovation, access to resources, etc...) to spend on other programs. 

Two Chicago Officers Shot-Its not the Answer!

Two officers shot in Chicago. Its not the answer. We as a society seem to relish in violence and that is almost never the proper path forward. Picking up a gun is not the answers and leads to other compounding problems. While this may or may not be related to general anger the methodology used is completely out of place and inappropriate. The vast majority of police are doing the right thing and while there are a few bad apples that doesn't mean it applies to everyone.

An investigation will likely reveal more information about the perpetrators and their motives. I have a few ideas on the topic of why we should be concerned about such behaviors and how to minimize them.

Life is a precious thing and its not up to people to be the judge and jury. When people are angry and upset they should take a moment and think about what they are doing before they act. These attacks on police seem to be increasing and that is disturbing. Keeping institutional trust high can be helpful here..

Shooting at the police doesn't do any good to anyone. While justice reform might be a contentious issue using violence to solve problems worsens the situation for everyone; that should not be the goal. With our tough talking politicians and foot dragging legal system we have to do more to ensure people and police see the future of our society the same way and are willing to step toward that vision. 

I think at the end of the day most of us want a great and safe environment to raise our kids and live our lives. Police are part of the answer...and as long as we all want what is good then we will naturally avoid what is bad. Picking up a gun is not the answer to any problem; it heightens problems.  There must be some path forward between the different stakeholders that want to move society forward. 

I hope speedy recovery for these two officers and that we begin to heal as a nation to find a way through the fog.

Explicit/Implicit and Tacit Learning: Online Education and the Process of Learning

 Knowledge comes in many forms and we can learn by many different paths and methods. Sometimes it comes through e-books (Explicit) while other times it is more of an internal understanding that with effort we can draw out that knowledge for examination (Implicit). Still other types of knowledge are passed on from generation to generation without our conscious awareness of it (Tacit) that helps bind us as people. 

Humans have become skilled to learn in multiple ways to ensure we are overcoming challenges in our environment. We can learn from formal education, we can learn from the experience of life, and we can learn from our world through subtle ways in which we are not even aware. Each of these knowledge types has a purpose in drawing society together and creating some boundaries of knowledge based in our cultural heritage and socialization. 

A Few Descriptions

Explicit knowledge is that which we can state we know (learned solid knowledge) while implicit knowledge is that which we can't state precisely but we already know (facial recognition, cultural context, etc...). There is a pretty solid explanation by Martin Davies in "Knowledge – Explicit, implicit and tacit: Philosophical aspects". 

Tacit knowledge is like intuitive knowledge and is passed in very subtle ways but creates long term organizational benefits through deeper learning. Its rooted in context, experience, and values. Its not something you can sort of state with any clarity. 

I came across a solid article on Explicit, Implicit and Tacit Knowledge that is worth your read 

'Explicit, Implicit and Tacit Knowledge'

The Process of Learning

Learning is a life long affair and with changes in online education and portable technologies education can be delivered to people in a convenience place. While our socialization creates the base of our knowledge the explicit knowledge can be shared easily in an online classroom.

Beyond the books some learn by doing things in life and society through "hands on" type learning that would best be suited for the workplace (hands on training and apprentice). Active learners seek knowledge while passive learners accept learning opportunities as they come. 

Online learning is an extension of our learning styles....

Openness to ideas helps us learn while closure to ideas limits our knowledge exposure and in turn slows learning. Those who have the personality traits to learn are ones that question their environment, listen to the multiple ways to learn, and are actively seeking new ways to gain and share knowledge. As learners go forward we hope that they pay attention to the different ways in which they are learning and where their knowledge comes from (checking root assumptions). 

On the Value of Integrity in Society-When Lies are No Longer "White"

For some reason we have removed from public presence the need for basic values such as kindness, charity, humility, and integrity. Stricken from our daily lives only to resurface over and over as a preferable way of handling problems. In life, I have learned that these words hold a lot of value to few, and a little value to many. While we intuitively know that integrity can help others make better choices the lack of integrity can mislead others into all type of wrong choices. 

Integrity can be a big problem when people don't challenge root assumptions and run down the wrong path in blind support of their chums. While most might shrug their shoulders and not worry about it there are times when telling the truth is more important than making our friends happy. With truth we can actually solve problems by addressing challenges directly.

Let us say that someone misleads their friends in an effort to gain advantage over another person. They are not just lying they are also involving law enforcement officers part of their social group, encouraging aggression among members, coordinating with their close friends to incite anger, and involving children in their process. With impunity they state they are doing this because the targets are "Muslim" and it appears from their behavior its not the first time this group has done something similar.

What options does a person really have? If they draw the line for the protection of their family their reputation is assassinated. If they hold close to the truth, friends of the perpetrator in law enforcement (maybe more than one) lets you know you are not welcome (Let us throw the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and basic moral conscious out!). You either stand your ground in values or you compromise them (Sometimes its best to compromise but in this case the behavior was clearly disturbing.)

Here is what I believe. The people who began these rumors should fess up to their inappropriate behaviors and the intentional miscuing of information and facts. While I think at present they are not willing to be honest, in the future they may wish they had. If they would have been civilized in the beginning the problem would have been dealt with in an in-house manner. However, as with all large egos they went the other route...down that path of destruction! (smirking all the way!)

They are not the only ones who share some of the blame because their behavior was within group context (Not illegal but certainly a sign of poor values and complacency in such behaviors.). The problem is that they also encourage ethnic hate and aggressive behaviors from others in their sports group. Its interesting that the bad behaviors of some can cause so much problems other places. 

We have a problem in this country. We can't deal with extremism because just like in this case there is close association between law enforcement and the group there is also a lack of accountability. Some feel entitled to act in certain ways and once they are on the wrong track you can't get them off (Good advice is discounted and they rely on their connects to create protection and/or intimidation). Going back to what they actually know that wasn't offered as part of the conversation, "Him and his kids are actually nice.". 

However being nice doesn't mean I don't have a responsibility to call out poor behavior that now constitutes a level of risk. If such behaviors are without consequence we send a pretty clear picture what our value systems are as a country. For me, I advocate for mandatory mental health for those who started the problem and more oversight of the officers involved based on their close social connections (Some did the right thing and some made normal mistakes so it doesn't represent the vast majority. There is a difference between mistake in the spur of the moment and coordinated behaviors over a longer period of time.).

Integrity means having a value system to state what one believes without being circumstantial in one's opinion and assessment (I hope I don't seem circumstantial here because I'm hoping for consistency. Because the root information hasn't change the basic assumptions and solutions haven't changed). Walk the talk kind of thing! One can slice it 100's of ways but at the end you can only say what you experienced (via senses) and how you interpret that information.  

When your in a dysfunctional group people don't reflect back appropriate information to their leaders they embolden them to engage in similar dysfunctional behaviors (I would rather have friends tell me the truth then create an Emperor with no clothes kind of issue.) Distorted image and lack of critical thinking are just some of the signs that what could incite a group (that actually doesn't know you) once could happen again. If the information is based on intentionally false and misleading information it indicates the dysfunction of the group and those who lead it. That presents an open risk for anyone else they target (If we know and someone else becomes a target will it then be enough to actor or is it neglect?). 

We are at a cross roads. I pick the most reasonable choices because I think they bring the best options. Mental health is the root problem, group dysfunction is a secondary problem, and unofficial officer involvement in supporting their close friends is a major problem (Those directly associated with the group.) As the dust settles we will just see how this unfolds and what type of decisions will be made. Wiser minds will create as many win-win situations as possible and provide training where honest mistakes occurred (There may be at least one officers that should be removed because of intentionally bad behavior. Another officers seems to be turning an intentional blind eye.). Based on what I know, my suggestions seem appropriate (could be changed if more information comes to light.). As with anything where there are imperfect information, imperfect value systems, and imperfect people involved so we just sort of cross our fingers and hope people make more appropriate choices in the future.