Municipalization

Loading
loading...

Municipalization

June 30, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
No Comments

 

Municipalization refers to a local governmental unit purchasing a merchant utility; a practice gathering pace in university towns in recent years.  It is a very large transaction.   Best practice discovery and promulgation begins with an accumulation of case studies before any concepts stabilize into a “standard”.   Today at the usual hour we examine a few representative case studies.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Case Histories: Campus Power System Monetization

Ann Arbor Public Power


This topic is a standing item on the agenda of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee

Relata:

System Aspects of Electrical Energy

Campus Child Day Care

June 29, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
, , , ,
No Comments
“The concentration of a small child at play
is analogous to the concentration of the artist at work.”

 

§
Page 522/523: 305.2 Group E, day care facilities for five or fewer children.
Page 624: Group E Security
Page 1440: Storm Shelters
§

Today at the usual hour we review a selection of global building codes and standards that guide best practice for safety, accessibility, and functionality for day care facilities; with special interest in the possibilities for co-locating square footage into the (typically) lavish unused space in higher education facilities. 

Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

International Building Code

    • Governs overall building construction, fire safety, occupancy classification, and egress requirements for daycare centers.

International Fire Code

    • Regulates fire prevention measures, emergency exits, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and evacuation protocols for daycare centers.

National Fire Protection Association

    • NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code: Addresses occupancy classification, means of egress, fire safety, and emergency planning.
    • NFPA 5000 – Building Construction and Safety Code: Provides fire protection and structural safety guidelines.

Americans with Disabilities Act

    • Requires daycare centers to be accessible for children and parents with disabilities, covering entrances, bathrooms, play areas, and signage.

European Norms – CEN Standards

    • EN 1176 – Playground Equipment and Safety Requirements: Covers safety standards for daycare playgrounds and outdoor spaces.
    • EN 16890 – Safety Requirements for Mattresses in Children’s Products.

British Standards (BS) for Early Years Facilities

    • BS 8300: Accessibility requirements for childcare facilities.
    • BS 9999: Fire safety guidance for daycare and educational buildings.

Australian Building Code & National Construction Code

    • Covers fire safety, structural integrity, ventilation, and child safety measures for daycare centers.

ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety Management

    • Establishes safety requirements for employees working in daycare facilities, ensuring a safe environment for both children and staff.

Canadian Building Code & Fire Code (NBC & NFC)

    • Provides structural, fire safety, and child safety guidelines for daycare centers in Canada.

“Kindergarten” 1885 Johann Sperl

Preschool Children in the Dome

Playgrounds

Kindergarten

The First Lecture: Why the University Day Begins When It Does

June 28, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
,
No Comments

This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.

Dunn Brothers

June 28, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

No Comments

Standards Minnesota

Dunn Brothers Coffee Taps University of St. Thomas as First College Partner - Coffee Geography Magazine

Coffee Geography

ST. PAUL WEATHER

Freshly Roasted: Dunn Brothers Coffee Coming to St. Thomas

Net Position: $1.479 billion | Impact of Philanthropy

Facilities Management

The Philanthropist’s Dilemma

June 28, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
No Comments

ABOUT

“Pythagoras — The school of Athens” Raphael’s Fresco (1511)

The Philanthropist’s Dilemma

American philanthropists who amassed fortunes through innovation, risk-taking, and market competition frequently channel hundreds of millions into university capital campaigns. They seek the immortality of a named building—a library, business school, or engineering center—yet confront an academy overwhelmingly skeptical of the capitalist system that enabled their success.

This creates a persistent tension: why continue subsidizing institutions whose faculty often view profit, markets, and even individual achievement as morally suspect?

Many donors reconcile the contradiction through pragmatic optimism. They believe education transcends transient ideology. A new engineering building trains skilled graduates who will later build companies, regardless of postmodern seminars occurring across campus. Others adopt a long-game strategy: by endowing centers for free enterprise, constitutional studies, or empirical social science, they hope to introduce intellectual diversity and counter ideological monocultures.

Some simply prioritize legacy and prestige. Yet the reconciliation remains imperfect. Surveys show humanities and social science faculties lean heavily left. Donors thus risk becoming unwitting patrons of ideas that undermine the very system that created their wealth.

Relata:

Ædificare & Utilization

 

“Pythagoreans Celebrate the Sunrise” | Fyodor Bronnikov (1869)

Trees

June 28, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
, , , , ,
No Comments

“Landscape with a clump of trees” 1844 Théodore Rousseau

 

 

“Keep a green tree in your heart

and perhaps a singing bird will come”. 

— Chinese proverb

 

The condition of campus gardens, trees and landscaping is a central element of ambiance, brand identity, environmental instruction and even revenue to education communities when tied to charitable donations.   The Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) is trade association of 2300 private tree care firms that is also an ANSI-accredited standards developer.  It has several titles relevant to education communities and posts drafts of best practice titles at the link below:

Current Projects & Public Review Periods

Last year we tracked a revision of TCIA A300 that asserted leading practice for lightning protection has been released for public consultation.   The consultation period closed and, like many standards setting organizations, leading practice discovery has been impeded by the circumstances of the pandemic.

We encourage our colleagues in business units responsible for lawns, trees, gardens and pathways to participate in the TCIA standards development process (Learn more HERE).  Stakeholders in any interest category may communicate directly with Amy Tetreault at the Tree Care Industry Association, (603) 314-5380, atetreault@tcia.org, 136 Harvey Rd # 101, Londonderry, NH 03053.

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory" - Dr. Seuss"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow" - Anita Desai“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

We maintain the TCIA standards catalog on our periodic Bucolia and Pathway colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [Various]

Category: Bucolia, Pathways

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben


LEARN MORE:

A Brief History of Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree

Nursery Stock

From Human Egress to Animal Egress

June 26, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
No Comments

This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.

Igor Sikorsky

June 26, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

No Comments

This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.

Colloquy (June)

June 26, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
No Comments

Open agenda; Not Too Organized. Whatever anyone wants to talk about.  We do this once at irregular points every month.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

“A Day in June” 1913 George Bellows

Summer Hours at our Eisenhower Parkway Office: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Join us for lunch 11:45 AM – 1:15 PM every 3rd Wednesday

University of Michigan Golf Course Lounge

 

Retrodiction

Education & Healthcare Facility Electrotechnology Committee

 

Standards June

June 26, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

No Comments

Bucolia (OED adj. pl.) “pastoral, relating to country life or the affairs and occupations of a shepherd,” 1610s, earlier bucolical (1520s), from Latin bucolicus, from Greek boukolikos “pastoral, rustic,” from boukolos “cowherd, herdsman,” from bous “cow” (from PIE root *gwou- “ox, bull, cow”) + -kolos “tending,” related to Latin colere “to till (the ground), cultivate, dwell, inhabit” (from PIE root *kwel- (1) “revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”).

Father Marquette Catholic Academy | Marquette County Michigan

Bucolia 100

Anglo-americká vysoká škola, z.ú. Czech Republic

Family Walking Tour

University of Michigan Nichols Arboretum

Lawn & Garden Tools

Universiteit Twente | Overijssel Nederland

Arboreta

IMI International Management Institute Switzerland

Beneath our feet

bucolia stg

Louisiana State University

Monticello

Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation School District Yorkshire Dales

Oxford’s Living Libraries: Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum

Washington University in St. Louis Missouri

World Soil Museum

University of Kansas | Douglas County

Nursery Stock

Notre Dame Kylemore Abbey

Landscape Guidelines

University College Cork

Landscape & Horticulture Services

Northern Michigan University | Marquette County

Trees

Lake Superior State University | Chippewa County Michigan

Layout mode
Predefined Skins
Custom Colors
Choose your skin color
Patterns Background
Images Background
Standards Michigan
error: Content is protected !!
Skip to content