She’s running for a partial two-year term on the East Lansing City Council this election season.

Boyle was sworn into the city council Sept. 18, 2012 after former Councilmember Don Power resigned his seat in August 2012.

Before joining the council, Boyle served on the East Lansing Housing Commission, Red Cedar Neighborhood Association and Community Relations Coalition.

She recently sat down with The State News to discuss her candidacy.

KB: “I don’t know how long it will take to complete, but I certainly hope it’s well underway by the time I finish this term. … One of the things that impressed me and the people on the committee about DTN is that they are a local entity with a proven track record. It gives us confidence that even though this is a big project, if they undertake it they will be able to go for it and complete it.”

KB: “Certainly there are plenty of places that sell alcohol, but if we want new restaurants, and I think we do, and we want more diversity of restaurants … then they are going to sell alcohol. The question would be: If we put a limitation on these restaurants, would that discourage a quality restaurant that we want from opening up downtown? … Perhaps the real issue on additional establishments is how big they are and the type of establishment they are.”

KB: “The challenges for East Lansing are the economy and the budget. … In order to provide the services we want to provide for everyone, we have to have enough money to keep the infrastructure moving and keep people safe. Everything costs money. Revenues are low because property values are depressed, so we aren’t getting as much tax income. The state of Michigan used to provide much more revenue sharing to local governments than they do now.”

KB: “In any university community, you have the interplay of (the) students who come here and the town portion. There had been things over the years that had stressed that relationship. I think both sides have relaxed a little bit on that. … I think the (Community Relations Coalition) has been a great method for improving those relations. I think the students who live here have done a lot too.”