I was not able to attend Common
Ground this year, but I heard it was wonderful. I saw the mayor in the
elevator the other morning, and he was very impressed with Earth, Wind and
Fire. I hope to attend some of the events next year, as this is certainly
a great event for Lansing.
I wanted to take a minute to report
on Monday’s discussion at the Committee of the Whole and the Council meeting.
Committee
of the Whole
The major discussion revolved
around the RACER Trust meeting held last week. First, RACER stands for
Revitalization Auto Community Environmental Response. The RACER Trust was
established in March 2011 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to clean up and position
for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General
Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. There is more information
regarding this Trust at www.racertrust.org, if you are
interested in learning more about them. Through the bankruptcy, $780
million was placed into the trust for cleanup of the old GM properties. Of
that, $16 million has been dedicated to the Lansing area. RACER is
working with the GM site on the west side of town, which is where plants 2, 3,
and 6 had been. The property by the Grand River plant was not placed into
the trust.
RACER is working with top
environmentalists to put together a remediation plan. Following those
efforts, redevelopment can then be brought to the table.
There have been three public
meetings regarding the land and RACER Trust. Much of the discussion has
been regarding the environmental issues. There are pockets of
contaminants underground that have created a plume. The plume is
contained within the property and has not spread to the neighborhoods. It
has taken 40 years for it to spread to where it is, and there is a system in place
to clean it, which takes eight years.
Other discussion has involved how
to parcel the land. It can be sold in chunks. The land will only be
used for industrial sites and not for residential. There could be
multiple industrial entities on the site. One discussion is regarding a
solar power installation. The BWL currently has an RFP out, and perhaps
RACER could bid on it.
There will be a full discussion at
the Council meeting on July 28. Representatives from the RACER Trust will be on
board to give a presentation that evening. This property has exciting
potential, and I hope if you are able that you will either attend that meeting
or watch it to get the full report.
Council
Meeting
Lansing’s largest park, Crego Park,
will have its grand re-opening on Thursday, July 31, 11:30 a.m. to 2:00
p.m. Join Mayor Bernero for canoes, kayaks, River Trail walks, and
more. The park is actually open now, but this will be the official
re-opening.
This Saturday we will have the
Taste of Downtown from 3-8 p.m. There will be a lot of food, music, and
fun. The tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. You can
find out more at tasteofdowntown.org.
Special
Ceremonies
We were fortunate to celebrate
Chris Swope obtaining the Certified Michigan Municipal Clerk designation.
There is no denying that our City Clerk, Chris Swope, is incredibly hardworking
and does an amazing job. We are fortunate to have him right here in
Lansing.
We recognized Willard Walker’s 80th birthday and all of his contributions to our city. It is
during times like this that you really understand that we are standing on the
shoulders of giants.
A check presentation was given to
the Greater Lansing Food Bank from the 2013 Mayors’ Ramadan Unity Dinner.
This annual event has grown from 75 people to almost 500 at the last
dinner. The administration was able to give the Food Bank a check in
excess of $9,000.
Resolutions
for Action
A resolution was presented for
action to accept a grant for Domestic Violence Swift and Sanctions Pilot
Program Grant Acceptance. This grant would be used to provide programs
and services for three-time offenders of domestic violence. The third
domestic violence is a felony. What this grant would do is allow the
courts to have the third offense dropped down to being a second offense, thus
making it a misdemeanor. The offender would then attend programs and
services such as anger management in an attempt to rehabilitate them. The
offender would be monitored by the courts for 12 months. If they don’t
offend again within the 12 months, they are considered a success.
I voted no on the acceptance of
this grant. I would have been more apt to support this grant if it
provided services at the first offence, not the third.
For this grant to have been
accepted, it needed six votes. Since there was an absence, and because Council
President A’Lynne Boles and I voted no, the resolution for did not pass.
