(Photo: karmablue via Flickr.com)

While Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office continues to create its “inventory” of projects that it deems ready for federal stimulus funds, Michigan’s special interests and local governments are not waiting.

The Michigan Municipal League, a group that lobbies on behalf of local governments in Michigan, has released a list of 1,200 projects from 120 townships, villages and cities totaling $3.33 billion. The proposals include projects to improve utilities, roads, police and fire departments, and schools.

Also on the list are the city of Lansing’s proposals — spanning education, infrastructure, utility and economic development programs — for a combined $600 million. Lansing has sent its wish list to Michigan’s congressional delegation, as well as to its lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM) is working with all 83 counties to create ready-to-go lists for the Michigan Department of Transportation. CRAM, an association of road commissions, lobbies state government for funds for road work. The group has been pushing commissions in all of Michigan’s counties since Oct. 30, 2008, to submit proposals to MDOT, and it sent reminders to its members Dec. 23 and Jan. 15.

The group has received lists from 41 road commissions as of Friday afternoon, said Monica Ware, public relations specialist for the group.

The CRAM memo reads as follows:

SUBMIT PROJECTS TO MDOT IMMEDIATELY

In a previous Urgent Legislative Action Alert (dated October 30, 2008), CRAM informed your road commission of another federal economic stimulus bill and asked that you review your short and long range improvement plans to identify road and bridge projects that could be advanced in short order and to submit those projects to your Congressional Delegation. Here’s an update!

CRAM and the Michigan Department of Transportation are now asking that your road commission submit those road and bridge projects and any another structural project (office building, salt shed, etc.) that could be ready for letting within 180 days. If your road commission has not submitted any possible project list to your Delegation, it’s not to late to submit through this call-for-projects. Submit your project list as soon as possible (include structure name, type of improvement, and cost) to both the CRAM Office and to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Bill Conklin, managing director of the Ingham County Road Commission, said he has submitted an $18 million project to MDOT representing 26 projects, but he said he was unable to release his until after the commission met on Tuesday and voted on it.

Granholm’s spokesperson Liz Boyd said Friday that the governor’s office was aware of many of these initiatives but had no immediate plans to address them.

“The types of information that you are talking about (the Municipal League list and the CRAM list) is the types of information we will be looking at,” Boyd said.

“Our review is ongoing. We are preparing for the economic recovery plan. We are working on a plan. We are working on an inventory that would be related to that plan.”

Asked when such a plan would be made available to the public, Boyd said, “We cannot give you a time line. We fully expect to be ready to go when the economic recovery plan is ready.”