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Ferndale Councilperson Melanie Piana Selected Michigan Municipal League Board Vice President

(Michigan Municipal League, Sept. 14, 2017)

HOLLAND, Michigan – Ferndale City Councilmember Melanie Piana was selected as the 2017-18 vice president of the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees.

Piana was named board vice president by the 19-member board during the Michigan Municipal League’s 2017 Convention taking place this week in Holland. As vice president, Piana is in line to become League president in 2018-19. In related action, the board selected Lapeer City Commissioner Catherine Bostick-Tullius as the League’s 2017-18 president.

“It’s an honor to serve on the Michigan Municipal League board and to represent the City of Ferndale at the statewide level,” said Piana, who has served on the League board since October, 2015. “The Michigan Municipal League always has been very supportive of the Ferndale community and the organization is a major advocate for municipal finance reform – something I feel very strongly about. I look forward to working with League President Catherine Bostick-Tullius and the full board in assisting our communities to become financially healthier.”

Piana has lived in Ferndale for 14 years and served on the Ferndale City council since 2010. She has worked with more than 30 Metro Detroit municipalities in partnership with elected officials and city administrations. She is currently the Deputy Director at Jefferson East, Inc., a nonprofit that creates pathways to opportunity for Detroit residents and businesses on the east side. She is a leader in Ferndale, and implements strategies to connect the Ferndale and Detroit Communities.

Piana was recognized by Transit Riders United with the 2015 Forward Movement Award for most Effective Public Servant in 2015, an alumnus of the Urban Land Institute Larson Leadership Fellow program and recognized as the 2007 Volunteer of the Year with Ferndale’s Downtown Development Authority. Piana championed a new 12-weeks paid paternity leave policy for Ferndale city employees; the first city in Michigan to offer this groundbreaking policy. She is a certified Project Management Professional and member of the Project Management Institute, American Planning Association and local chapter, Michigan Association of Planning and the Urban Land Use Institute.

Bostick-Tullius has served on the League board since 2014, including the past year as League vice president. She’s been a Lapeer city commissioner since 2009, previously serving in a variety of Lapeer positions since 1997, including board member on the Zoning Board of Appeals and on the steering committee that established the Pix Arts Council for Greater Lapeer, Inc. Primary goals as League president include fixing the state’s broken system for funding municipalities and raising awareness at the local level.

“The Michigan municipal finance reform that the League has been working on is what really motivated me to want to become League vice president and president,” she said. “I share the League’s goal to not only help communities get new resources, but to give them different ways to access resources to help them not just survive, but to thrive. There also needs to be more of a connect between the League, the hard work the League staff is doing, and getting that to our local city councils to be able to implement some of those things and at least try them out.”

In addition to selecting its officers, the League board also welcomed six newly elected members during its annual meeting Wednesday, Sept.13. The six members are Marlon Brown, Mason Mayor Pro Tem; Shea Charles, Howell City Manager; Brenda Jones, Detroit Council President; Kimberley Sims, Muskegon Heights Mayor; Oliver Turner, Sault Sainte Marie City Manager; and William Wild, Westland Mayor.

The newly elected trustees join Executive Director & CEO Dan Gilmartin and the other volunteers who remain on the 2017-18 Board: Christine Burns, Spring Lake Village Manager; Wendell Dompier, Baraga Village President; Maureen Donker, Midland Mayor; Jason Eppler, Ionia City Manager; Rebecca Fleury, Battle Creek City Manager; Andy LeCureaux, Hazel Park City Councilmember; Richard Lewis, Traverse City Commissioner; Brenda Moore, Saginaw City Councilmember; Melanie Piana, Ferndale City Councilmember; Rusty Showalter, West Branch Mayor Pro Tem; and Mark Vanderpool, Sterling Heights City Manager.

The board also thanked for their years of service outgoing President Rosalynn Bliss, Grand Rapids Mayor; and board members Kim Corcoran, Ironwood Mayor Pro Tem; Ken Hibl, Clare City Manager; and Marcus Peccia, Cadillac City Manager.

Learn more about Michigan Municipal League at http://www.mml.org.