East Lansing signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement two years ago, East Lansing Environmental Specialist Dave Smith said.

Since then, East Lansing has been focusing on issues such as energy conservation and carbon dioxide emissions.

Smith said in the past, some changes have been related to students, including a recycling bin delivery program for students who live in rentals.

“It was particularly targeted to students who may not have transportation,” Smith said.

Mayor Vic Loomis said the city has been making environmental upgrades as well, including retrofitting light fixtures in public buildings that reduce energy use and save money for the city.

Smith said tonight’s work session will be an opportunity to develop more improvements for the program, possibly including expanding the number of recyclable items and finding ways to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“The plan really is to kind of define or redefine our broad goals toward changing sustainability in the community,” Councilmember Roger Peters said.

Peters said he would like the council to look into purchasing more energy from a renewable energy source.

“It’s the kind of thing where we might set an example for residents,” Peters said.

The council also is scheduled to continue long-standing discussions to revise the city’s snow removal ordinance. According to the proposed ordinance, community members would be required to remove snow from their sidewalks in a certain time frame — failure to remove snow would result in fines determined by a tiered price ladder based on the number of times the ordinance had been violated previously.

Loomis said the council likely would not make a decision until late September, after the fall semester starts, in order to gain students’ input on the issue.

“I really don’t want to see us make any final decisions on that ordinance until the students come back,” Loomis said.

The council also likely will discuss the possibility of constructing a new sidewalk on Beech Street, between Gunson Street and Hagadorn Road.

Director of Public Works and Environmental Services Todd Sneathen said construction likely will not move forward until funds are allocated to pay for the site.

Loomis said the stretch of road is a high traffic area that students often use to walk to campus.