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

Committee Assignments & Peter Lark Review

We had another lively night at City Council in the City of Lansing.  The meeting was short, as we only had a few items on the agenda.  The committee assignments have been made, and they are as follows:

Committee of the Whole                     
Derrick Quinney-- Chairperson     
Tina Houghton --Vice Chairperson

Committee on Public Service
Kathie Dunbar--Chairperson
Jody Washington --Vice Chairperson
Derrick Quinney

Committee on Personnel
Tina Houghton -- Chairperson
Derrick Quinney -- Vice Chairperson
Kathie Dunbar
Jessica Yorko

Committee on General Service
Jessica Yorko -- Chairperson
Carol Wood -- Vice Chairperson
Jody Washington

Committee on Planning & Development
Tina Houghton -- Chairperson
Judi Brown-Clarke -- Vice Chairperson
Derrick Quinney

Committee on Intergovernmental Relations
A'Lynne Boles -- Chairperson
Jessica Yorko -- Vice Chairperson
Jody Washington

Committee on Ways & Means
Judi Brown-Clarke -- Chairperson
Carol Wood -- Vice Chairperson
Derrick Quinney

**Board assignments have not yet been announced**

Board of Water and Light

As most of you are aware, Peter Lark’s employment is up for review. Some of the board members and Mayor Bernero believe it is time to “turn the page” regarding BWL management.

I will be attending meetings that are open to the public and will be willing to share anything I am able to glean
from these meetings.

--Jody

Special Council Meeting

Last night, the Lansing City Council had a special council meeting to vote on whether or not the following four items should be placed on the ballot for November:

1. The sale of Grand Woods Park -  Grand Woods Park is dedicated park land that sits in Delta Township.  Delta Township has been leasing the park for the past 30 years.  The lease is coming to an end.  Delta Township will be having an assessment done, at their expense, of the park.  The goal is to have Delta Township purchase the park and keep it a park.  Any proceeds from the sale of this park to any entity will be used for improvements in the City of Lansing Park and Recreation system.

2. The sale of the Miller Road Community Center-  This center is located at 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing, Michigan.  The park that constitute the property is a dedicated City of Lansing park.  The administration believes that it is in the best interest of the city--because the city will no longer incur the expenses associated with maintaining the property--to sell this property.  Any proceeds made from the sale will be used for improvements in the City of Lansing Parks and Recreation system.  The community center quit being used for such in 2011.  Currently, the Peppermint Creek Theater Company rents the building for their productions.  The theater company has been renting and maintaining the building, but at this time, are not in a position to buy the building.  The City, however, is hopeful that sometime during the next two years Peppermint Creek may possibly be able to make the purchase.  Until that time, the City will continue to lease to the theater company and will not displace them.  The lease runs from February to February.  Therefore, they will have a lease until at least February 2016.

3. City Charter Amendment and Ballot Proposal – Lansing Board of Water and Light Regional Representation – If passed by the voters in November, this will open three advisory, non-voting, representatives of customers and citizens outside the City of Lansing.  These seats would be as follows:

a.       One appointed by East Lansing

b.       One appointed by Delta Township

c.       One at-large seat representing the remaining communities in the BWL service territory, the appointment of which will be rotated between the following municipalities annually:

1.       Meridian Township

2.       Delhi Township

3.       DeWitt Township

4.       Lansing Township

5.       City of East Lansing

4. City Charter Amendment and Proposal – Mayor Emergency Powers – If passed by the voters in November, this will give the mayor executive powers over the Board of Water & Light in the event of and during emergencies and disasters.  This would give the mayor executive power to use personnel, supplies, equipment, etc., in whatever manner he/she deems necessary for the duration of the emergency or disaster.  The mayor can declare an emergency for up to seven days without going before city council.  After seven days, council must weigh in.

 All four ballot initiatives were approved unanimously by council. 

Meetings and Events 3/10/14 - 3/16/14

We have many things coming up this week. I hope everyone enjoys the slightly warmer weather and the longer daylight hours!

Red Cedar Golf Course to Be Re-Envisioned

A public envisioning community engagement will take place on March 13th at 6:00 p.m. at the Foster Community Center (200 North Foster Avenue, Lansing).

A second community engagement will take place on April 15th at 5:00 p.m. at the Plymouth Congregational Church, Community Room (2001 East Grand River Avenue, Lansing).

Everyone is encouraged to attend. 

Ferguson Continental Lansing, LLC will be present at the community engagement events to work with the community. 

Public Safety Meeting

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014, 12:00 p.m. /10th Floor City Hall

RESOLUTION -- Setting a Show Cause Hearing; 721 Leslie Street
RESOLUTION -- Setting a Show Cause Hearing; 500 S. Fairview

Ordinance Updates
A.) Medical Marihuana Ordinance -- Chapter 1300
B.) Michigan Avenue Dispensary -- Update

Discussion on Lead-Free Certification at Point of Sale

Ways & Means Committee

Monday, March 10, 2014, 5:15 p.m., 10th Floor City Hall

Resolution/Wet Weather Control Program -- Sanitary Sewer Projects.

Committee of the Whole

Monday, March 10, 2014, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 10th Floor, City Hall

Presentation:

Capital Region Airport Authority

Discussion/Action:

A.) Ordinance to Amend Chapter 288 of the Lansing Codified Ordinances by adding         Section 288.19 to establish the minimum qualifications for employment as the Director of the Information Technology Department. 

B.) Board, Authority and Commission Term Expirations and Commission Vacancies

C.) Board of Water & Light (BWL) December 2013 Ice Storm Outage Report

Jody

How They Voted - 1/30/14

Council Meeting / 01/30/2014

The City Council meeting held on 01/30/2014 was held prior to Mayor Bernero’s State of the City Address.

How They Voted:

Resolution requesting that the Community Review Team of the Board of Water and Light abide by the Open Meetings Act.

Yes -    Boles, Wood, Yorko

No -     Brown-Clarke, Dunbar, Houghton, Quinney, Washington

Jody

February 1st Contact Wrap-Up

Thank you to everyone who braved the elements this past Saturday for our 1st Contact meeting. 

The Avenue 

We had lively conversation and were joined by Dennis Louney--First Ward Commissioner for the Board of Water and Light--and Gilbert White.

Dennis Louney briefed our group on the progress that the BWL is making toward reviewing the outage event and what went wrong.  

Dennis Louney speaks to First Warders

Mr. Louney has offered for anyone to contact him at any time, should you have any questions.  His number is: 721-1148. 

BWL Community Review Team Forums:

• February 5, 2014 7:00 p.m.  -  Hannah Community Center (819 Abbot Road)
• February 6, 2014 7:00 p.m.  -  Pattengill Middle School (626 Marshall Street)
• February 7, 2014 7:00 p.m.  -  Delta Township (Delta Township Hall, 7710 W Saginaw Highway, Meeting Room

Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper

Gilbert White gave a presentation on his placemaking project that turns public spaces into small, cool areas.  

Gilbert White discusses "Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper"

Some of the ideas include “play me” piano on the Avenue, seating and tables, solar lighting in trees, and other light and cheap projects.  These are short-term experimental intervention in public spaces.  They are low risk and low cost.  Local residents can assist with different parts of the project.  Mr. White has received grants and has MSU students working with him.  He is currently meeting with business owners on the Avenue. 

Capitol Corridor Regional Vision – Summary Presentation

The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission is holding a community presentation summarizing the results of the two-week charrette on the Michigan Avenue/Grand River Avenue Corridor. The presentation will be held:

Wednesday, February 26^th

Hannah Community Center

819 Abbot Rd, East Lansing

5:30 pm:  Registration & Appetizers

5:45 pm:  Presentation begins

7:00 pm:  Tri-County Commission Meeting

(begins with public comments and questions)

For more information: www.migrand-charrette.com

"Grizzly Bear" at The Avenue

Jody

Citizen Alerts

1. The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) has received reports of a scam where impostors threaten customers with loss of service if they do not make a utility payment over the phone within an hour. 

The scam calls show up on caller I.D. from "866-258-6606", and the scammers sometimes identify themselves as representing the BWL, DTE Energy or other utility companies.

Consumers Energy issued an alert last week warning customers of a scam demanding customers quickly pay for utility payments over the telephone using a Green Dot prepaid credit card.

Customers should never give money or personal information over the phone to anyone they don't know. BWL customers are never asked by BWL customer service representatives for credit card information over the phone or in person or to make payments through a wire service like Western Union or Money Gram.

BWL customers have the option of "customer-initiated" credit card payments through a secure Intranet site or secure automated voice payment system.

This scam has been reported to the Lansing Police Department. Customers are urged to report suspicious activity to BWL customer service at 517-702-6006 or to their local police.

2. The following alert has been submitted by residents in the Gier Neighborhood:

"There are door-to-door person(s) saying they are from an energy company and demanding a copy of the resident's energy bill. Someone showed up at my door and my neighbor's. Both my daughter and neighbor refused to give this individual any document, but he was persistent. I called Consumers Energy and was told that there is a gas choice company that might be doing the door-to-door soliciting. I was transferred to them, but they were closed for the weekend. Also, my neighbor found online that they're 'Just Energy'. Apparently they scam people into signing a 5-year contract."

Jody