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City Government and Community Relations

  • In the summer of 1999, a faculty member from MSU's Urban and Regional Planning Program, in cooperation with the East Lansing Landscape Architect and the East Lansing Police Department, developed several short-term recommendations for the "Cedar Village" area of the city. During the Fall of 1999 undergraduate and graduate students from MSU's Urban and Regional Planning Program conducted a "defensible space" analysis of the Cedar Village area. They came up with several recommendations and designs for this area to reduce the noise and party violation problems in this area. These design recommendations were presented to the East Lansing City Council in May of 2000.
  • The Community Relations Coalition is a non-profit organization based in East Lansing whose purpose is to enhance relationships between MSU students living in East Lansing and permanent residents of the city. The CRC began in 1999 following a recommendation made by the MSU Action Team with development start-up funds provided by MSU, following a concept developed by faculty in Communication Arts and Sciences. The CRC has a 35 member board made up of MSU faculty, staff and students and East Lansing city officials, business people, and other community stakeholders. The CRC's current budget is funded by MSU, the City of East Lansing, and some private funds. MSU's Student Affairs and Services Office and the Vice President for Governmental Affairs Office also provide administrative support. There are several major CRC initiatives:

    Welcome Bag Project

    The Welcome Bag project is a project where area businesses, the University, the City of East Lansing, and many other resource areas, provide coupons for discounts at businesses and information for living in East Lansing. Each organization that donates to the project is asked to provide 4,000 of each item. Volunteers from various community and student organizations stuff all of the information provided into bags to be distributed in the neighborhoods to students and permanent residents. These people not only stuff the bags but then also participate in passing out the bags two days later. In all 80 volunteers participated over the two-day event, stuffed over 80,000 items into 4,000 bags, and then passed them out to area neighbors.

    Welcome Home Signs

    In fall of 2002, Welcome Home Students signs were distributed to interested neighborhood permanent residents to have in their front yard as a way to create a home feel to the neighborhoods for students. Over 100 Welcome Home Students signs were delivered to neighbors by the 40 person Board of Directors as well as by Neighborhood Resource Coordinators.

    Housing Fair

    In 2002 the CRC sought help from students to put on a Housing Fair, which included 25 booths of information about area rentals, educational resources, and information about living off campus. This very successful event, which attracted over 2,000 students, was the result of CRC volunteer participation, and the student volunteers that gave their time to put the event together made for a very flourishing event.

    Adopt a Floor

    The Adopt a Floor program works to develop relationships between students living within the residence halls and families from the community that "adopt" them. Currently, there are seven families (30 people) and seven floors of students (over 350 students) participating in the program. The requirements of the program include: the family participating in one hall event per semester, the students participating in one off-campus event per semester, and the floor-family team working on one community service project together per semester.

    Forums

    Spring of 2002 the CRC hosted a forum event where people from all over the City came together to identify the true needs of the community. Over 100 volunteers came together to talk about the experiences in the community and set goals for improving the community.

    Neighborhood Resource Coordinators

    Neighborhood Resource Coordinators, currently there are seven, work to create neighborhood relations and host neighborhood activities. The goal of this relationship-building strategy is to help resolve neighborhood difficulties before they become crises, and to demonstrate that through dialogue and productive direct action, near-campus neighborhoods in which large numbers of young people live can become havens of peace and civic engagement, rather than islands of anger, isolations and mistrust.

    MSU students serving one-year internships through the College of Social Science, receiving a stipend from the CRC, live in designated East Lansing neighborhoods and are paired with a permanent resident from the same neighborhood (about 150 households). Together they organize block parties, newsletters, and identify neighborhood needs with the aim of improving relations. The NRC's are trained and supervised by faculty from the Urban Affairs Program and staff of he Student Affairs and Services Office.

    Mediation- Dispute Resolution Program

    The mediation program works to provide a confidential, voluntary process in which a neutral third party facilitates communication between people to resolve their disputes. This year 15 volunteer mediators completed 40 hours of classroom training plus 20 hours of supervised case handling before they became certified.

    Evaluation

    Faculty from Communication Arts and Sciences and staff from Student Affairs and Services and Olin Health Center will provide on-going assessment of the CRC initiatives.

  • The MSU Greek Community contributes to developing community relations with the city of East Lansing and the fraternities and sororities residing in the city in a variety of ways.

    "Building Bridges" is a community relations event twice a year to open up dialog between MSU students and the East Lansing Community. About 40-50 fraternity and sorority members met with City of East Lansing officials and people in the community to dicuss about 4-5 topics in small groups.

    Fraternity and sorority members serve on a variety of East Lansing commissions such as the University Student Commission, Community Relations Coalition, Housing Commission, AMCAM, and the Responsible Hospitality Council.

    Individual chapters participate in a variety of community and neighborhood activities such as assisting or organizing neighborhood barbecues, volunteering in the Annual Clean Up Day, serving as emergency contacts for elderly or ailing neighbors in need, and hosting a breakfast for the East Lansing Police Department.

    Each year the Greek system sends a community relations manual to each of their houses. This manual contains ideas and suggestions on how to be a good neighbor and member of the community.

  • Many MSU Fraternity's and Sororities participate in the Annual Clean Up Day in the City of East Lansing. Some of the projects include picking up litter and raking out the planting beds in local area parks. On a bi-annual basis, MSU and East Lansing High School students, as part of the East Lansing Student PRIDE team and Phi Kappa Psi fraternity do an area clean-up and water seal all of the playground equipment at Patriarche Park on Alton Road. The East Lansing Rotary Club provides the material for this project.
  • The MSU Police Department works closely with the East Lansing Police Department to address issues that directly impact both communities. This cooperative effort improves service to our communities and lends consistency in police service delivery, helping to minimize confusion and conflict or police related issues. In addition, both agencies have adopted the Community Policing philosophy which places a special emphasis on community involvement.

    Combined Dispatch - Currently East Lansing and MSU work together under combined 9-1-1 dispatch services. Representatives from the City, MSU and Meridian Township were involved in the development of this joint service. The East Lansing Police Department handles emergency dispatch, receiving 168,000 calls in 2001.

    Combined Records System -The East Lansing Police and MSU Police have a combined Computer records system. The separate servers are linked, and each receives call data from the 911 Center. Meridian Township is also part of this system. This allows for sharing of administrative costs and duties, as well as opportunities to analyze crime on a regional basis.

    Jail Services - The East Lansing City Jail is staffed and run by City police employees. East Lansing allows MSU officers to lodge prisoners in this facility. In 2002, 358 prisoners were lodged for MSU. The agreement allows MSU officers to return to general patrol faster than if they had to transport their prisoners to the Ingham County Jail in Mason.

    MSU Football and Major Campus Events - Typically, MSU hosts six home football games a year. The East Lansing Police Department provides extra officers to assist with traffic control pre and post game. 18-20 officers are usually used for this assignment. Spartan Stadium has the capacity for 76,000 spectators. Traffic volume in the city by far exceeds the capacity that the roadways were designed to handle. Officers direct traffic, turning off traffic control devices. A traffic plan has been developed in conjunction with MSU police to best manage all traffic flows on and off campus. On home MSU football games, the East Lansing Police and MSU officers work together to direct the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. During the game, supervisors from both agencies use direct radio contact to manage traffic. Also, MSU has asked in the past that the City provide extra personnel to assist with other large events. Concerts at the Breslin Center have required a combined effort from both agencies.

    Detective Bureau Meetings - This is a weekly meeting involving Lansing area police departments, including the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety, where officers share information on suspects and on current investigations. Similar Fraud Investigation meetings are held biweekly.

    Training and Instructors - Training sessions incorporate personnel, instructors, and ideas from both the City and the University. Training is concentrated to three areas: mobile field force, firearms, and K-9. The two staffs train together to prepare for major events and also jointly participate in a firearm training session. MSU has a longstanding policy of allowing East Lansing officers to use the on-campus shooting range. Additionally, the City and MSU currently fund a Police Academy Coordinator to work with both entities in training and supervising recruits.

    Tactical Officers Unit (TOU) - A SWAT team commanded by the City and made up of East Lansing, MSU and Meridian Township officers was created in 1992 with the purpose of providing specially trained officers for high stress and difficult situations. Examples of situations calling for TOU are a barricaded gunman, a hostage situation, or a drug raid.

    Daily Officer Contacts - It is common for officers from either department to call the other for assistance at any given time as many of these calls require more personnel than one agency has on duty at that time. Often, MSU and East Lansing Police request officers from the neighboring jurisdiction for assistance, as frequently as every day.

    Liquor Enforcement Efforts - Under the premise that most local crime is alcohol related, officers give drug and alcohol education presentations both on and off campus. These presentations educate bar employees in areas such as handling an intoxicated person and recognizing a fake ID. The City and the University each funds the full salary and benefits needed to support these two positions.

  • East Lansing City Hall provides MSU students with many opportunities for paid internships. Approximately 15-20 interns work at City Hall annually. Here are a few of the projects that these interns have worked on:

    MSU School of Journalism students have completed internships with the Communications Division of the City of East Lansing. In this capacity they perform the research for various projects and write news releases. MSU interns were used to research cable TV franchise service agreements with other localities. This information assisted the City of East Lansing in its negotiations with cable companies to get a reasonable rate for providing the cityís cable service. Such research is necessary because there is no competition between cable companies in given areas.

    Paid interns from the MSU Urban and Regional Planning Program took digital photographs of all improved East Lansing property and performed data entry of building and land sketch information for valuation purposes for the East Lansing Assessing Department.

    Paid interns, ASMSU and MSU Greek Community leaders, and the MSU Detroit College of Law Rental Housing Clinic work with the East Lansing Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation Department regarding various housing related issues.

  • Interns from the School of Criminal Justice work with the East Lansing Police Department within their three bureaus. They often shadow the activities of the officers, gaining valuable experience. Interns in the Community Activities Bureau assist officers with a variety of projects including coordinating resident picnics, working with the Police Athletic League, and setting-up and coordinating a Bicycle Rodeo. This past year 400 children attended the Bicycle Rodeo which included bike inspections, demonstrations, obstacle courses, and races. In addition, there are many areas of cooperation between the East Lansing Police Department and MSU Police & Public Safety. These cooperative ventures take advantage of the unique attributes of each organization and often result in cost savings for both.

    A faculty member from the School of Criminal Justice, Regional Community Policing Institute, worked with the East Lansing Police Department to assist them with their community policing efforts. This effort led to a consortium with other area police agencies who are also committed to the principles of community policing.

  • The Sustainable Community Dialogue Project is a partnership of students, faculty, staff and community members to provide open dialogue about sustainability issues in the region and local community such as protecting parks and expanding recreational opportunities, sustainable businesses within communities, using asset-based approaches in working with organizations, fostering parental and citizen involvement, establishing community gardens, and many other topics.
  • The East Lansing PRIDE team was assisted by students in MSU's Landscape Architecture Program in developing the Welcome to East Lansing sign areas. The design was part of a class project in which students submitted competitive designs from which one was chosen. The next welcome area will be on the corner of Hagadorn and Grand River on land that was donated to the city. The Landscape Architecture Program also used a design class to propose different design ideas for the Cedar Village area and presented the results to city officials.
  • The Responsible Hospitality Council is a community coalition of East Lansing restaurant and bar owners, East Lansing city officials, and MSU students. They work to promote responsible drinking and safe management practices, to improve quality of life and discourage excessive drinking. During 2001 the designated driver promotion and SAFERIDE taxi promotion, posters were developed and disseminated by RHC with the assistance of the MSU Greek Community. In addition, the RHC has helped support a very successful 21st birthday card brogram with BRAD: Be Responsible About Drinking which warns students on their 21st birthday of the dangers of binge drinking. The RHC is assisted by staff from Olin Health Center.
  • MSU's American Campus and Alcohol Team is a coalition of MSU and East Lansing administrators, community members, public health officials, Greek leaders, and MSU student reps. The purpose is to create an open dialogue in which a shared commitment to an environment that expects civil behavior and compliance with the law regarding alcohol use.
  • The East Lansing Fire Department provides fire safety coverage for the MSU campus. The university in turn assists the department on a variety of projects including:

    Joint Hazardous Materials Response Project - This effort is a continuation of the regional enterprise for the Hazardous Materials Response Team and combines the services of MSU's Office of Radiation Chemical and Biological Safety (ORCBS), the East Lansing Fire Department, and the Lansing Fire Department. Since the potential for a serious hazardous materials accident either on or off campus is extremely high, all groups adhere to standard operating procedures. During training initiatives East Lansing firefighters, ORCBS and LFD share instructors. Also, sharing expenses for equipment purchases and required physicals for technician level responders has been very cost effective. A total of 27 personnel are trained on the technical level at an initial cost of $385 each and 30 are trained on the operations level at a cost of $110 each.

    Labor and Industrial Relations - East Lansing Fire personnel work with Scott Tobey of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations at MSU on a regular basis including eight training sessions in 1996 for 29 personnel at 32 hours each. Mr. Tobey has provided the East Lansing Fire Department with training in hazardous materials response and confined space rescue, and in return the City has provided him with Fire Department resources and personnel.

    Emergency Medical Service (EMS) - The City has for many years contracted with MSU to provide EMS at University-sponsored events that draw large crowds such as concerts, graduations and games. CPR and medical emergency classes are provided free of charge too many departments on campus.

    Fire Protection - The City provides fire protection to MSU under the authority of Public Act 289. MSU has contracted with East Lansing for fire suppression and rescue since 1947. The total state contribution to the Fire Department for protection of state owned buildings and MSU fire and rescue service is $1,247,450 to the City's annual approximate budget of $5,000,000 for covering firefighter and EMS staffing, equipment and apparatus costs. Fire station #2 is located on the MSU campus and is staffed with a minimum of six personnel per day. It has a 95' aerial ladder, one engine, and two paramedic ambulances fully staffed daily. This partnership between the University and the City is unique among "Big 10" universities.

    Emergency Planning - The East Lansing Fire Department provides pre-fire and emergency planning of all structures on campus. The department is working closely with MSU in developing and coordinating comprehensive emergency operation plans.

  • The MSU Center for Remote Sensing and GIS interviewed city department heads and prepared a report to the East Lansing City Manager which advised on the benefits to the city and citizens of a GIS-based information system. The GIS Needs Assessment Study provided GIS recommendations and strategies that could increase the efficiency of city employee tasks, especially in relation to emergency response and notification and FOIA requests.

    The Center for Remote Sensing is currently assisting in the construction of the GIS system which once completed will allow city employees to better analyze data, answer questions from the public, and maintain databases.

  • Faculty from the MSU College of Human Ecology have worked with the city of East Lansing and East Lansing Public Schools on issues of asset development. They conducted a college survey of the MSU-EL relationship and made presentations to the Planning Commission. The survey findings will be used to examine city efforts to integrate MSU students into the East Lansing community. Asset development work with East Lansing Public Schools have contributed to the efforts to provide comprehensive opportunities to the youth of East Lansing.
  • Phi Delta Theta and the East Lansing Fire Department hosted the Annual Fire Safety Day during Fall 2000 to promote home fire safety/prevention.
  • The MSU Office of Academic Orientation Programs and the Communication Department work closely together to help incoming students and their parents to be aware and have an understanding of the East Lansing community. Personal welcomes are delivered at each of the nineteen Parent Orientation Sessions in the summer and several in the fall. AOP holds a large resource fair each day for incoming students during summer orientation.
  • The City and the University have worked together to improve the links between their web sites so that all community members on and off campus have easy access to important information in an easy-to-find format. They also share the ELmanac, a web site for off-campus students and on making the City's web site relevant to off-campus students.
  • Second and third year law students work in the MSU/Detroit College of Law Rental Housing Clinic for law school credit. They work to solve rental problems. A part of that involves working with the East Lansing Code Office to get landlords to take care of code violations. This helps to improve the rental situation and combat neighborhood deterioration. The clinic also gives seminars and has made a video to help young people understand their rights and responsibilities as renters.
  • MSU/Detroit College of Law and James Madison College interns provide assistance the the 54B District Court by performing administrative duties within the court room, sending out arraignment notices, overseeing/hosting juries, and conducting judicial research.

  • MSU's expertise (staff and faculty) are involved in the Red Cedar Greenway Project. This is a master plan to extend the Lansing Riverwalk through campus and connect with the East Lansing/Meridian township trail. Landscape architecture staff expertise has also been given to the community for assistance with the design of the fountain square plaza next to the Marriott Hotel.
  • The Lansing Regional SmartZone is a cooperative effort to encourage technology-based businesses to locate in East Lansing and Lansing. Michigan State University is one of the cooperative partners and staff from MSU participate and assist in this effort.
  • "You Vote" is a joint program between the City of East Lansing, University Staff, ASMSU, Greeks, RHA and CORES/COPS groups to educate students about voter registration and the election process. Aims of the program include encouraging students to work at the polls on election day, register students to vote, and provide information about candidates and issues through the You Vote webpage.
  • Planning is underway to develop an "all purpose" magnet that contains key contact information important to off-campus students. The City and the University will fund it jointly and ask that landlords place the magnets on refrigerators at rental move-in time in the late summer
  • MSU's Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is working with the MSU Sustainable Campus Committee to promote a campus-wide energy saving program to begin in the fall of 2001. This will benefit the East Lansing community, as campus energy consumption impacts the cost of energy in the East Lansing area. PRSSA is also assisting with the promotion of donating a tree from the State of Michigan for the annual tree-lighting in Washington DC. The holiday tree campaign promotes Michigan agriculture and MSU's connection to communities around the state.
  • During Fall of 2000, a class in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, with the assistance of several other conservation organizations both on and off campus, began a Red Cedar River clean-up project. They participated in and/or co-sponsored two major river clean-up projects, established weekly litter pick-ups, developed an informational website, assembled and distributed directories for where to obtain information about the river and to express concerns, and developed education project kits for use in elementary schools. Many of the class intiatives and projects were funded by a grant from the Michigan Campus Compact.
  • An MSU faculty member acts a consultant to "Public Response", which is the city of East Lansing's electronic community bulletin board.
  • Since 1991 all MSU delinquent parking notices are filed with the 54-B District Court as parking citations. There is currently a contract between the City and MSU for the disbursement of MSU parking monies collected by the Court--MSU gets half the original fine on all uncontested citations. The Court collects up to $450,000 from MSU parking tickets with up to one-quarter of this revenue returned to the University.
  • The 54-B District Court owns the software that was developed with MSU for the parking system. This software runs on MSU's mainframe computer. MSU does all the computer processing, printing, and mailing for the Court's parking division. The cost to the Court for these services, along with the connection to MSU, is about $75,000.
  • People's Church is building a web-based system that would link people in need to service providers. A MSU faculty member is assisting them with this project.
  • MSU Administrators work with the City Administration on a variety of projects including but not limited to:

    City Council Meetings Held on Campus - The East Lansing City Council has a tradition of holding a formal City Council meeting on the MSU campus each year. The most recent meeting on campus was held in the MSU Union building. Annual meetings of City Council will be held on campus in the coming year.

    Voting Precincts - Registered MSU students vote in the City. Precincts located on campus include Case Hall, Brody Hall, MSU Union, Wilson Hall, Akers Hall, Owen Hall, which primarily service the 14,013 students registered to vote in East Lansing and living in the residence halls. The Peoples Church, Red Cedar School, East Lansing Hannah Community Center, Bailey Community Center, and Edgewood United Church are all polling places that serve precincts with large student populations bordering the campus as well. The City has 16 precincts total.

    MSU Homecoming Parade - The City and University work together to plan and promote the MSU Homecoming Parade, which is billed as a celebration for the entire community. East Lansing police officers are involved to maintain the safety of the participants and spectators. The University reimbursed the City for their expense. East Lansing Public Works was also involved in closing streets and traffic control.

    University Student Commission - The City created the Commission in 1993 to improve student/city relationships and to establish a formal link between the MSU student population and the local government. The intent of the Commission is to represent the views of the student population in the City government structure. It reviews any issue that potentially affects the lifestyle and livelihood of students. The eleven-member board consists of representatives from the following registered student organizations at MSU: Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Olin Health Center, Inter-Cooperative Council, Council of Graduate Students, Residence Hall Association, ASMSU Student Assembly (two seats), and three students appointed at-large by the East Lansing City Council.

    University Printing - The City currently contracts printing services to MSU Printing, which has printed the most recent East Lansing budget among other things. The City can send documents electronically to MSU for printing.

    This past fall, MSU's Center for Advanced Study of International Development placed two local government officials from Ghana and Malawi in the East Lansing City Mangers Office for a three-week professional affiliation. They were representatives of a 16 member delegation of local government officials participating in the "Strengthening Local Governance: A Partnership among Ghana, Malawi, and the United States.

  • The University has worked with East Lansing Public Works and Wastewater Management department on a variety of projects including:

    Growing Pride - The Pride Team - Professors and students from Landscape Architecture have provided invaluable technical, design, and hands-on support to this group of community volunteers and Public Works staff who plant the byways of East Lansing each spring and who have designed, funded and placed welcome signs and landscaping at Trowbridge Road, Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue entrances to the City.

    Wastewater Treatment - MSU and East Lansing have had a series of contracts since 1926 for capital operations, and recently Meridian Township has been included in these contracts. These contracts cover sewer flow and operations fees. Relations between the City and MSU in this area have developed informally, over time, and as needed. The City maintains daily contact with MSU's T.B. Simon Power Plant, which often discharges acidic or alkaline waste and upon so doing must warn the treatment facility. Costs for expansion and improvements are borne by MSU, East Lansing and Meridian Township.

    Grand River Avenue Redesign - The redesign of Grand River is one of the most significant cooperative efforts between the City and the University. A 1993 study committee of representatives from the University, City, Downtown Merchants, State and Federal officials and community representatives came together to try to find common ground for the much contested design of the road. MSU Professor Tony Bauer proposed a "design charrette" to resolve the many competing goals and design priorities for the new road bed. The Charrette resulted in an intense four-day design process that included every segment of the community as well as on-site visits to determine the exact needs of the 15,000 daily pedestrians, 40,000 daily vehicles, merchants, and other stakeholders in the final design. The Charrette yielded an excellent design that has significantly improved the appearance and functionality of the sidewalks, road signal system, pedestrian crossing facilities, landscaping and trees, signage, curbs and roadway surface, bus shelters, new traffic lights and turning lanes and the modern style bike racks.

    MSU donated land along the south side of Grand River Avenue to maximize the width of the median. The project was constructed with federal, state, local and MSU funds. The landscaping improvement portion of the project was budgeted at $1,200,000. A Transportation Enhancement Activity grant for $960,000 was received from the Federal Highway Department. The $240,000 balance of the landscaping cost was shared equally between MSU, MDOT and the City of East Lansing. The road improvement part of the project cost approximately $2 million. Federal funds paid 80% of this cost and MDOT paid 17 percent. The remaining three percent was paid by the City of East Lansing.

    MSU Stores and Purchasing - The City has established a working relationship to purchase supplies through MSU's Stores Department. Such an agreement allows the City to buy at a lower rate than if it purchased on its own due to the large volume of supplies MSU demands.

    MSU Salvage Yard - The City has an agreement allowing it to use MSU's salvage yard to dispose of old equipment, relieving the City of the burden of conducting auctions or finding other means of disposal.