The March Toward Spring

I am absolutely positive that spring is right around the corner!  The days are a little longer and the sun seems just a little brighter.  I am optimistic about our weather and I am optimistic about our ward!

Items of Interest from our New Neighborhood Resource Person

The City of Lansing has hired a neighborhood resource person--her name is Andi Crawford and she has hit the ground running. You may contact Andi at Andi.Crawford@lansingmi.gov. The following are a couple of pieces of information from Andi: 

"If you haven't reviewed the MiNeighborhood opportunity, see the link below. I am available to provide grant strategizing and writing support if your organizations or neighborhoods want to explore this opportunity:  http://www.michigan.gov/mshda/0,4641,7-141-45746_67426---,00.html"

"The Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Board is seeking new members. We have 5 slots to fill and this board will be responsible for the administration of the grant process and the new mini-grant program through Cities of Service. Please send me your ideas for new leaders. We're looking for some energy as we launch into this new era of mini-grants!"

"The Bea Christy Award nomination packets will be sent out electronically on Monday. We are working to move most ticket sales on line, although there will be a paper format available. In addition to the Bea Christy Award, we are also seeking nominations for the new Emerging Leaders Award, and the Mary Margaret Murphy Woll Award. Details and criteria will be in the packet."

Please contact Andi with any questions and/or ideas.

Council Meeting 02/23/15

At Monday night’s council meeting, the council unanimously passed the purchase and sell agreement and development agreement for the Red Cedar project.  This does not mean that there will be shovels in the ground in May, but it does set the stage for the beginning of the project.  On an up-note, I have been told that national developers were amazed at how well the process and vote went with the administration, council, and the public.  This clearly says that Lansing is ready for business!

Further, we swore in our new council member, Vincent Delgado.  I think he will be an asset to the council.  As with everyone, there will be a learning curve, but I am certain he will do his research and make informed decisions.  If you happen to run into him, please introduce yourself.  He is, after all, representing you as an at-large member.

Meetings & Events Coming Up This Week

Please remember to attend our 1^st Contact meeting this Saturday, March 7, 10:30 to noon at the Allen Market Place located at 1629 E. Kalamazoo.  Come in the back door.

Following the 1^st Contact is the ENO Souper!  This will be held March 7, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Have a great week!

--Jody

Update on Council Vacancy and Other Items

I had a wonderful time on my vacation, and my husband was able to get a much needed rest after his illnesses.  Although I treasured every moment in Mexico, I am happy to be back to this city that I love so much and return to work.  It seems as though so much happened in Lansing while I was gone. 

First, Derrick Quinney was appointed to the Register of Deeds for Ingham County position—that has left us needing to fill a vacancy for an at large position.  The Clerk’s Office took applications up until 4:00 p.m. this past Friday, February 13^th. Regarding the process to fill the vacancy, here’s what’s next:

1. A 10 minute interview of all candidates will begin at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 18. Candidates will have 5 minutes to present an introduction and respond to questions regarding their knowledge of experience of city government and city council.
   
2. The finalists will then have a 30 minute interview on Thursday, February 19.  City council will vote on the appointment immediately following the interviews.
   
3. City Council will vote on the appointment by resolution on Monday, February 23.  The appointee will be sworn in at that time.The term of this position ends January 1, 2016.  Any individual that would like to stay in this position will need to run for the position this year.

Second, Tina Houghton has been promoted to the position of President of City Council with the vacancy left from Mr. Quinney.  This will require council to elect a new vice president.  President Houghton pulled the item from Monday’s agenda.

Third, we finally had the public hearing on the development agreement and the selling of the Red Cedar Golf Course.  Most of the individuals that gave input were for the passage of the resolution—two were not.  If you have comments for me regarding this issue, please feel free to contact me.

Last, I am sure that you are all aware of the actions surrounding the Board of Water and Light.  The mayor wants council to allow ballot language allowing charter changes regarding the governance of the BWL.  We will discuss this matter at the next 1^st Contact being held on March 7th.

Stay tuned, as I will be updating this blog as I get information. 

--Jody

Silver Bells in the City & First Ward Happenings

Silver Bells in the City

The City of Lansing had another wonderful Silver Bells in the City event.  If you have never attended this event, you should certainly do so next year.  The Board of Water and Light worked diligently putting up lights and all the things behind the scenes.  Downtown Lansing, Inc. did a great job coordinating the efforts.  It seems this event just gets better and better each year.  The tree is beautiful and classic with the white lights neatly placed on each branch.  For everyone that was involved in this event, you sure made Lansing proud for the 30th annual Silver Bells in the City!

Just a Note

There are so many things happening in the city at this time, that I will not have time to touch on all of them.  The issues that I do address, I will address in greater detail at the 1st Contact, Saturday, December 5, 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Allen Market Center.

What's Coming Up With Council

In the next few weeks, council will be wrapping up the business for this year.  This means that issues that have been completed will be passed to the new committee members after our January 5 organizational meeting.  As chair of the Public Safety Committee, I have been working on the following: 

• Review and revision of the Medical Marijuana ordinance  
• Review and collaboration on the prostitution issue 
• Overnight parking issues
• Code compliance issues
• Signage issues
• Much more  

This has been an extremely busy year for Public Safety.  All other committee chairs will be wrapping up their issues and handing them over to the new committees as well.

Much to my surprise, there has not been much discussion regarding leadership for the 2015 council.  Time will tell who the new president and vice president will be.

1st Ward Goings On

Neogen has purchased the old Estes building at 1700 Shiawassee.  They will be spending $1.6 million in renovations for this building.  They intend to use it as mixed use—laboratories, production, and offices.  This will create 25 new jobs.  They will be seeking a 50% tax abatement over 12 years.  We will discuss further at our 1st Contact meeting.

The Lansing Brewing Company applied for a new micro-brewery, small wine maker and small distiller license.  This will be located at 517 E. Shiawassee Street.  Again, we will discuss this further at our 1st Contact meeting.

The Red Cedar project is finally moving forward!!!  The agreement has been signed and we are ready to roll.  You won’t see shovels in the ground until next year, but progress will be made nonetheless.  What am I going to say?  We will discuss further at 1st Contact!! 

Sparrow Hospital is going to build their Cancer Center on the property of the Old Bingham Elementary School. 

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!!

How They Voted - City Council Meeting 9/15/14

As always, there are many things occurring in our city. I'd like to begin with the news that we have many new businesses opening up on Michigan Avenue. If you haven't checked them out, please do so. We have an upscale meat shop, new flower shop, expansion of the Soup Spoon Cafe, new eating establishments, and a new craft beer/eating establishment opening up in the Stadium District.

Even though our city is facing some challenges, I refuse to take my eyes off the prize. I will continue to fight for this city that I love until I see it be the amazing place to live that we all envision.

A few things on the City Council forefront are as follows: 

Sale of the Michigan Avenue and Waverly Park – The Development & Planning Committee will be moving the resolution to sell the property out of committee this week.  This would then go before the entire council for a vote. The city has been offered nearly $5.8 million for the park land by Livonia-based Schostak Brothers & Company, a real estate development firm.  The firm stated that they would most likely do a mixed-used project, which is what they have done on most of their other properties.  The mayor wants to use some of the money to invest in other parks and place some of the money in the “rainy day” fund.  When this was first discussed, many of the council members--especially Tina Houghton--were opposed to selling the Michigan Avenue Park portion due to the high usage by residents for sledding.

Municipal Partnership Agreement between East Lansing and Lansing to Form an Authority for the Regulation of Taxicab Companies and Drivers- The joint agreement was set to be voted on at the last council meeting, but most of the council members wanted to have a public hearing regarding the agreement.  I was the lone no vote.  The agreement is being considered due to the fact that many taxicabs cross the city lines on a regular basis, and it is believed that it makes sense to have the joint agreement.  There are many requirements that must be fulfilled for a taxicab company or ride-share companies to be licensed within the two cities.  Holding off on the vote is not a major issue, but it would make sense to have this in place as soon as possible.

Eliminating Traffic Board and Transferring its Functions to the Public Service Board- This ordinance will place the Traffic Board responsibilities under the Public Service Board.  The public hearing regarding this will be held at the council meeting on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

City Council Retreat – The City Council had a retreat of sorts a few weeks ago regarding strategic planning and vision.  Faculty from MSU facilitated the meeting, and we were joined by members of the Financial Health Team, the mayor, our finance director, and Randy Hannan.  It was encouraging to see all members of council, along with the administration, have a fruitful discussion and planning period.  We have come up with a mission statement and are constructing plans on how to carry out the mission/vision within each of our committees.

Park Board Representative for 1^st Ward  - I am pleased to announce that Rita O’Brien has been appointed the 1^st Ward representative for the Park Board.  Rita will be joining us at our next 1^st Contact meeting.

For now, this is all I have to share.  I will be back on this blog in the very near future!

--Jody

June 1st Contact Wrap-Up

First, I want to thank everyone who took the time from their beautiful Saturday mornings to attend our 1^st Contact Meeting.  I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate folks at these meetings, sharing what's on their minds. 

Outfield Stadium Project

We had quite a lively discussion regarding the Outfield Stadium project.  It seems there is quite a bit of excitement surrounding the project.  This is a new and innovative project that is getting national attention.  We were able to have some discussion regarding the market need for more apartments in downtown Lansing.  What I was able to share is that the Stadium District is 97-100% full at all times.  The Prudden Place Project is 97-100% full at all times, as is The Avenue Loft project.  The Market Place project is not finished, and 19 of the 88 units are already leased.  Further, roughly 18 of the 60 units of the Mid Town Project area also already leased.  The last two projects are not even finished.  I think this clearly shows that we have the market for this type of housing in downtown Lansing.

Parks

I had the opportunity to discuss the lack of mowing in our parks.  Apparently, we are having issues with some of the contract people, and we are behind schedule.  The attendees asked if there would be a problem with residents taking it upon themselves to tend to some of the parks in their area.  I assured them that I saw no problem with it.  I know the people around Cavanaugh Park took it upon themselves to beautify that park.  I always think it is a good idea when people of the city pitch in and just take care of some things that they notice.

Allen Neighborhood Center

There will be a presentation on home ownership at the Allen Neighborhood Center's Active Neighboring Cafe on June 14 from 10 a.m-noon.  There are more than 80 homes for sale on the east side.  This will be a presentation and resource fair on buying a home on the east side.  This is going to be a very cool presentation, and I would strongly encourage folks to contact Denise at 367-2468 or at denisep@allenneighborhoodcenter.org.

Chores for me

This is one of the best things that come out of the meetings.  I have the opportunity to listen to constituents and find out what is happening in their neighborhoods.  This month, the constituents have given me several items for which they would like to see action.

Rest assured, I am on it!

June 1st Contact Meeting

1st Contact Meeting

I will be holding the 1st Contact meeting this Saturday, June 7, 10:30 a.m. to noon, at The Avenue.  We will be discussing the Stadium Project, the Abigail Project, and other topics.  This is your opportunity to be updated on issues that are affecting our city and to give me your input in a more informal setting. 

I know summer is an extremely busy time of year with weddings, graduations, vacations, and more.  I hope, however, that you are able to attend as we will not be meeting in July.

Thanks so much for reading this blog, and I look forward to writing more soon.

Jody

March 1st Contact & ENO Souper

Although I had a wonderful time in Mexico, it sure is good to be home. I missed my home, my family, and all of you. I have been home only a few days, but much has happened in this short time.

First, I want to remind everyone that we will not be having our 1^st Contact meeting this Saturday (March 1). The reason being is that I wanted folks to have plenty of time to prepare for the Eastside Neighborhood Organization annual “Souper.” If you have not before attended, I would encourage you to attend this year. Here are the details:

What: ENO Souper

Where: Pattengill Academy (corner of Saginaw & Marshall)

When: Saturday, March 1st, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children under 14, $18.00 for families of 4 or more. There will be silent auctions, raffles, and much more fun. If you have never attended, I would encourage you to participate. There will be local “celebrity servers”. I’m told Tim Barron, Andy Schor, and many others will be serving the soup.

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I want to say thank you to all of the 1^st Ward constituents who care, are engaged, and work so diligently to keep our side of the city on track.

Also, I still believe that spring is just around the corner!!!!

Jody