The St. Joseph County Planner

View current and past issues of St. Joseph County's bi-monthly Land Use Newsletter

  2009 Farmland Preservation Program Application Cycle

The St. Joseph County Farmland Preservation Program annually accepts applications for farmland development rights to be considered for purchase by the County. The 2009 application cycle ends April 6.

Interested farmland owners can pick up an application at MSUE or download a copy from the County Farmland Preservation Program website at: www.stjosephcountymi.org/farmland.

The St. Joseph County Agricultural Preservation Board (CAPB) meets the second Thursday of the month when there is business at hand, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the MSU Extension office, 612 E. Main St., Centreville.

The St. Joseph County MSUE Land Policy Education Program and the County Agricultural Preservation Board recently completed the mapping of all parcels currently enrolled in PA 116 (the MI Dept. of Agriculture's Farmland Preservation Program). PA 116 provides landowners with an income tax credit in exchange for restricting development of the property temporarily (anywhere from 7-90 years). To view the countywide map click St. Joseph County PA 116 Map. You can also request a copy of a township-scale map by contacting MSUE at 269-467-5522.

County Profiles and Data.  Profiles of all 83 Michigan counties are available.

Community Assessment Teams. This is an intense two to four day workshop to answer specific community questions.

Board Development and Training. Workshops and customized on-site training for non-profit governance.

Citizen Planner Certificate Program. This is an evening course for people who serve on, or interact with, local planning commissions.

Small Town Design Initiative. A process to stimulate creative thinking about a community's physical environment.  

Home Based Business
A notebook and other educational materials are available to conduct programs for home based business.
Contact: Mark Thomas, Van Buren MSU Extension - (269) 655-8308

Labor Shortage Analysis
A research project to find available labor to enter the labor market is being conducted.
Contact: Colletta Moser - MSU Dept of Ag Econ. - (517) 353-3298

Rural Retailer Program
Materials, including bulletins and a computer program, are available to help small retailers analyze their financials and an their business for more profit.
Contact: Van Varner, Novi Ext. Center - (248) 347-0269

Business Retention and Expansion Program
The MSU Business Retention and Expansion Program involves the community in a program designed to keep businesses in the community and help them grow. Volunteers are trained to visit local businesses and conduct a survey. Follow-up teams of trained volunteers and professionals follow-up to solve local and state problems identified by the businesses.
Contact: Mark Thomas, Van Buren MSU Extension - (269) 655-8308

CAT - Community Assessment Team
The MSU CAT is an exercise where outside experts visit a community, city, or county to give expert advice to answer the questions raised by a local committee. The visit is a 2-4 day event involving numerous citizens. It is often the catalyst to get the community working to solve local problems.
Contact: Local County Extension Director

Basic Economic Scans for Counties and Communities
Specific local data and other detailed demographics and economic data is available from MSU Extension.
Contact: Local County Extension Director

General Workforce Development
This program focuses on improving the understanding of and the utilization of the existing and potential workforce.
Contact: Mark Thomas - Van Buren County - (269) 655-8308

Human Resource Management for Small Business
A Course taught by MSU HR Specialists in your community to help small businesses develop and manage their Human Resources.
Contact: Bill Carpenter, Iosco County - (989) 984-1057
Contact: Colletta Moser, MSU Dept. of Ag Econ. - (517) 353-3298

Fast Trac
FastTrac is a 9- 11 week intensive entrepreneurial training course directed at those who would like to start a business or improve their present business. FastTrac I students develop a feasibility plan, while FastTrac II students develop a "Business Plan".
Contact: Van Varner, Novi Ext. Center - (248) 347-0269

Going Solo
Going Solo is a complete package for guiding aspiring entrepreneurs into the world of business ownership. The materials have been developed for both young and adult entrepreneurial training programs. The flexible and adaptable design can be customized for virtually any setting.
Contact: Dave Ivan, Clinton County- (989) 224-5240

Nx Level
A ten session, 30-hour course that addresses those questions every entreprenuer needs to answer before starting or expanding a business venture. Participants develop a business plan during the course to test the feasibility of thier business concept and to act as the blueprint for their venture.
Contact: Dianne Novak, Hannah Tech Center- (517) 432-8754

For the best local information check with your local MSU Extension office, listed by county in the directory.

MSU Extension Oakland County Water Quality Homepage

MSU Extension Water Quality Network

Forestry Area of Expertise Team Pages

For the best local information check with your local MSU Extension office, listed by county in the directory

Water Quality Area of Expertise Team - includes information on program, project, bulletins, links to databases on information on water quality work in Michigan.

Institute for Water Quality Research  - includes information on drinking water, wetlands, land use, etc

Michigan State University Land Use Planning and Zoning Services
October 20, 2009

Regional Land Use/Policy Educators Contacts

For the best local information check with your local MSU Extension office, listed by county in the directory.

Tourism Area of Expertise Team

Tourism Matters Newsletter

Tourism Projects,  services and programs

Tourism Profiles of Each County in Michigan
Key travel and tourism inventory data and trends for each county in Michigan. The data presented in the profiles are most current available. Most recent issue - June 2001.

Independently Owned Lodging Properties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and in Northern Lower Peninsula
A summary of the survey  (file readable in Adobe Acrobat Reader; file size - 117KB)

Tourism Assistance Program in west-central Michigan
The general goal of the TAP program is to build the capacity of communities to deliver sustainable tourism marketing programs. Our strategy is to concentrate our resources to provide in-depth educational programming, inventory of the tourism resources, visitor, local resident and business surveys over a two-three year period in a selected community. The TAP project is tailored to the needs of the communities requesting assistance.

Tourism Educational Materials
A comprehensive inventory of Extension resource materials related to tourism education. Currently the database contains over 250 Extension resource materials including bulletins, research reports, videos, and training programs. Nearly 100 documents are on-line in full text.