As city officials take their first steps toward re-evaluating East Lansing’s strategic priorities, residents, students and members of the city council are stressing the need for increased community involvement and a positive relationship with the university.
Members of the city council held their first discussion regarding a re-evaluation of the strategic priorities, a list of long-term goals that are examined every two years, at the council’s Wednesday night work session.
City officials will use the initial discussion as a starting point and work to develop new goals for the next plan, Mayor Diane Goddeeris said.
City Manager George Lahanas said he will bring a draft document of the newest strategic priorities to the council in about a month.
The city council last revised a list of strategic goals in 2010, focusing on five different areas, each with multiple guidelines: strong neighborhoods, a vibrant economy, enhanced public assets, environmental quality and high-performing government.
Within each area, several different criteria are included to guide the city, including goals related to strong relationships with the university and collaboration with community members.
Officials said they do not expect any of those five areas will change, but guidelines and goals might be adjusted because of budget constraints, among other factors.
ASMSU Community Liaison and international relations senior Paddy La Torre said the group’s interaction with city officials has been positive in recent years, due in part to East Lansing’s outreach efforts.
ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.
La Torre said the city’s snow removal and party litter ordinances were issues of particular interest to student residents.
“We’ve been looking into making it easier for students to get involved with city issues,” she said, adding that ASMSU is looking into ways to involve students with East Lansing officials through online comment forms. “For now, we’re just trying to really engage the average student.”
After examining the last round of strategic priorities, East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett said he feels the city was relatively successful in meeting goals under each of the benchmarks, pointing to initiatives such as improvements to the city’s parks through grants.
Lahanas said as officials examine how to determine the newest set of strategic priorities, the city’s budget deficit will come in to play.
“I think that we have to put … priorities that are mindful of the budget we’re working under,” he said. “Certainly, you want them to be realistic.”
Still, some residents would like to see more improvements in communication with city officials.
East Lansing resident and Red Cedar Neighborhood Association Treasurer Brendan Boyle said the city needs to do a better job soliciting community input for matters that go before city commissions. He also said the struggling economy should be addressed.
“It goes back to taxes, I think,” he said. “Real estate taxes were very high in East Lansing, so that’s a barrier to people moving in.”
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