The East Lansing City Hall fell quiet at Tuesday’s City Council meeting during a presentation in which state Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, warned of the economic turmoil tearing through Michigan, affecting the state budget and potentially hindering the city’s budget.
“I think you should prepare for the worst,” he said to the City Council.
Meadows said the state was projected to have a $1.9 billion budget deficit and state and local constitutional revenue sharing would be severely impacted.
Council members were concerned by the news, and discussed how the impact of Michigan’s economy could be seen in the city by the number of rental licenses approved at the meeting. Mayor Vic Loomis said Monday he believed the state’s economy could be causing more people to rent their properties and thus apply for rental licenses.
“I think we’ve seen here tonight exactly what Rep. Meadows is talking about,” Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris said, referring to the rental license requests on the council’s agenda.
When council approved the city’s $95 million 2009-2010 fiscal-year budget May 19, members of the council expressed concerns about possible state budget cuts.
“We have some ideas of where we would take cuts,” City Manager Ted Staton said in May. “It would be safe to say that nothing would be sacred.”
Aside from Meadows’ presentation, the council heard public comment about the creation of the Michigan Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority.
The authority would develop the Michigan Avenue Corridor, strengthening the link between the Capitol, East Lansing and MSU.
Bill Sharp, a member of the exploratory Michigan Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority committee, spoke at the meeting, stressing how important it is for the city officials to create the improvement authority. Sharp also is a former East Lansing City Council member.
“I urge council to approve,” he said. “I wonder how many things we can change and improve with this.”
The corridor improvement authority would support economic development along Michigan Avenue, said Diane Wing, chair of the exploratory committee. The authority would improve the sidewalks and make the street more uniform, which would potentially make the vacant properties along Michigan Avenue more attractive to businesses, she said.
“A lot of people see these properties as a part of East Lansing,” she said. “This is sort of a perfect storm in a positive sense, and all of that momentum is pointed towards Michigan Avenue.”
The public hearing calls for a 60-day period for further public input. The council plans to vote whether to create the authority at its Aug. 11 meeting.
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