City council candidates answer questions for an audience on Sept. 30, 2015 during a public forum at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, in East Lansing. The forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Lansing Area, consisted of candidates answering questions posed by audience members.
Here's five things you need to know about last night's East Lansing City Council Candidate Forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Wednesday night, six candidates for the East Lansing City Council were involved in a forum at the Hannah Community Center. Erik Altmann, Steve Ross, Jermaine Ruffin, Shanna Draheim, Mark Meadows and current mayor Nathan Triplett, competing for three open seats, were asked questions and delivered opening and closing remarks.
1. Student Housing
Most of the candidates laid out their priorities, with the notable exceptions of Triplett and Ruffin, many of which, if not at odds with student concerns were aimed towards the long-term residents of East Lansing.
Except Triplett, candidates argued against the subsidies and tax incentives given to development projects, singling out student housing and apartments. Candidates argued about the culture of downtown East Lansing, that if East Lansing wants to attract demographics beyond students they will need to attract businesses that cater to older groups.
Though Triplett had different view on the subsidies, he nevertheless sided with the other candidates on diversifying East Lansing, yet understand its roots as a college town.
"We're a university town, that will always be part of the mix," Triplett said.
2. East Lansing Businesses
Different ideas were spread about the future composition of businesses in East Lansing. Candidates, again noting the large student presence, aimed for diversifying East Lansing businesses.
One issue raised was how to deal with the northern area of East Lansing, which many felt were ignored in favor of downtown.
Meadows commented on liquor licenses, while Ross wanted to hold bars more responsible for over serving customers.
"We need to spread out liquor licenses across the city rather than concentrating them in the downtown area," Meadows said.
3. The future of run-down businesses
Development of downtown, especially the blighted City Center II, were major concerns of candidates.
"East Lansing has the dubious honor of having the biggest development train wreck in the tri-county area," Altmann said.
The candidates also discussed the ways in which businesses were subsidized and how that could affect the development of the area.
One issue raised by Ross was the difficulty in bringing clients into meetings when they might have to walk around puke in the alleys or deal with the large amounts of trash after game days.
4. Cracking sidewalks and sewage issues
Infrastructure was a major area of concern, with candidates noting the poor state of a century-old pipe system and cracked and uneven sidewalks.
Things like sewage backing up into houses and the financial ability of the city to fix those problems were strongly mentioned by many candidates.
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"Infrastructure has to be a top priority for us," Ross said.
5. Erik Altmann optimistic views
A lone voice at the forum was Erik Altmann who more times than not had disagreements with the larger pack of candidates. With many candidates echoing each other, only diverging in minor areas, Altmann frequently found himself at odds with the views of many of the candidates.
While others spoke about the declining state of city infrastructure, Altmann spoke on the ability to fund those improvements. He also began his opening statement saying how high property taxes are in East Lansing, later dismissing a claim from Triplett that public comment at City Council meetings wasn't the most efficient way to share ideas with council members.
"We need a city council that understands they don't always have the best answers," he said.
