City officials also have expressed interest in taking part in Michigan’s Transportation Enhancement Program, a federal matching grant opportunity for Michigan communities to enhance areas surrounding road construction projects.

At its Sept. 6 meeting, the East Lansing City Council voted 4-1 to approve an application for the grant to revamp Grand River Avenue with the plan. Should the grant be received, the city would be required to provide about $135,000 in funding toward the enhancement project’s overall cost of about $676,000, Community and Economic Development Administrator Lori Mullins said.

Currently, Mullins said the city’s Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, is slated to fund the project with the East Lansing general fund fronting the initial cost and the DDA reimbursing the amount throughout an undetermined time frame.

“We’re still analyzing a lot of factors that go into the projections (of the DDA’s budget in 2013), so there’s some uncertainty in the amount of operating funds from the DDA that would be available,” Mullins said.

This uncertainty raised concerns among council members at the council’s Oct. 18 meeting.

East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said he believed putting city costs of the project on the DDA would place a burden on its already full budgetary plate and was unsure if the grant costs were most appropriate for that venue.

“That’s an encumbrance on the DDA, and that’s what I’m concerned about,” Loomis said at the meeting.

Although Loomis said he supports the project, he thought it might be more financially prudent in times of economic uncertainty to find a different means of funding should the city win the grant monies.

DDA Chair Bill Mansfield said he and other members of the DDA were confident in the project but said many aspects of the final product, including specific funding details and a workable design of what the street would look like, are aspects that still need to be worked out. Mansfield said the issue would be addressed in future DDA meetings.

“There is a lot of merit to the project — I think a lot of people would like to see sidewalks improved throughout the downtown,” Mansfield said. “There’s still a lot to get sorted out.”

Mullins said although a final plan has not been worked out for the funding, East Lansing would benefit greatly from partaking in the Michigan Transportation Enhancement Program should the city win the project.

“I think that this is a great opportunity to leverage our local dollars with federal dollars to get a lot of impact,” Mullins said.

Possibilities of funding for the project will be discussed at the council’s 7 p.m. Tuesday work session at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.