About 30 elected officials and county staff listened to HUD official Antonio Riley laud the area for its forward thinking on regional cooperation. It inspired him to say: “Not only is this region in good hands, but the entire country is in good hands.” From the Washtenaw County board of commissioners, Leah Gunn spoke in lieu of board chair Conan Smith, and councilmember Tony Derezinski spoke in lieu of mayor Hieftje.
An oversized check for $3 million was presented to county administrator Verna McDaniel. The payment was a grant that is to support ReImagine Washtenaw, though no mention of an actual corridor authority was made. Riley mentioned that Lansing is getting an identical amount.