The East Lansing City Council worked out the kinks Tuesday night in a proposed land-share agreement with Meridian Township.
Problems with zoning, the distance of houses from the road and some property lying in two jurisdictions simultaneously were some of the quirks nailed down in the proposal, which passed 5-0.
“Right now I think we are about 85 percent there,” Mayor Pro Tem Sam Singh said.
The revised proposal is being submitted to Meridian Township. The two municipalities have until July 5 to hammer out a deal. If they don’t, an annexation proposal for the land likely will be on the Aug. 6 ballot.
After two hours of debate that included attorneys representing township property owners and developers, the council agreed on the new proposal.
The proposed deal, known as a 425 agreement, would share tax revenue on 101 acres of land between the township and the city.
The East Lansing Family Aquatic Center and nearby sports facilities, which are near the land in question, were annexed to the city nearly two years ago.
Township law called for placing homes 50 feet away from roads, but the council said 50 feet is too much, and decreased that number to 20 feet in the land-share plan.
There also was disagreement between the township and city as to whether an optional 50-year extension to the 50-year deal was actually optional.
Meridian Township officials believed after 50 years the two sides would meet again to talk about an extension, but East Lansing officials said the agreement was essentially for 100 years, unless both sides had major difficulties with the agreement.
“I hope we’re preserving the minutes, because in a 100 years, people are going to say, ‘Wow,’” Councilmember Bev Baten said.
The council also unanimously approved an increase in the ambulance response fee at its weekly meeting.
Ambulance response fees will rise from $400 and $4 per loaded mile to $500 and $6 per loaded mile.
“Costs are increasing, in a nutshell,” Fire Chief Randy Talifarro said, adding new training and state standards are increasing costs for the department.
The increase was first presented as a part of the 2002-2003 fiscal year budget.
Talifarro said another reason for the increase is that the department has agreements with some insurance companies to discount ambulance rates. Uninsured patients and insurance companies not part of the department’s agreement will pay more for services.
“You’re sick and distressed, obviously, that’s not very pleasant,” Talifarro said. “There’s an expectation you have to pay for services rendered. It’s the way the American health system is set up.”
Kristofer Karol can be reached at karolkri@msu.edu
