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Thanks for checking out the City of East Lansing's latest Dialog E-Newsletter. Help spread the word! Friends and neighbors can get bi-weekly City news and event information in their inbox by subscribing at www.cityofeastlansing.com/eNews

Summer Solstice Jazz Festival Kicks Off Today in Downtown East Lansing
The 2019 Summer Solstice Jazz Festival (SSJF) will bring local, regional and national jazz acts to the heart of downtown East Lansing this weekend for a two-day, FREE festival that is not to be missed! The festival will be taking place from 4-11 p.m. today, June 21 (Friday) and 2:30-11 p.m. tomorrow, June 22 (Saturday).

The festival site layout will be the same as last year, with the Founders’ Stage (main stage) located in the Bailey Parking Lot, 139 Bailey St., and the Education Stage located adjacent to the Albert-Division Street intersection. A map of the festival site layout can be viewed here: https://www.eljazzfest.com/DocumentCenter/View/642/Jazz-Fest-Map-PDF.

The festival will feature live music, children's activities, eat-on-site food, a live art demonstration and more. This year's performer lineup & schedule can be viewed here and the performer bios can be viewed here

Festival goers who plan to drive to the festival will find ample parking available at the Division Street Garage, 181 Division Street. This parking location is adjacent to the festival site and can be accessed by turning onto Division Street from Grand River Avenue. Accessible parking for those with disabilities will also be available on the east side of the Bailey Parking Lot (139 Bailey Street; entrance on Bailey Street). For other parking locations, visit https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/335/Parking-Locations.

Please note that the Bailey Parking Lot, 139 Bailey Street, and Albert Avenue, from Division Street to Charles Street and Division Street to Bailey Street, will be closed for the festival (with the exception of accessible parking in the Bailey Parking Lot). All intersections will remain open to through traffic. 

Visit www.eljazzfest.com for additional information.
West Road Property Sale to be Placed on November Ballot for Voter Authorization 
At this past Tuesday’s East Lansing City Council meeting, a resolution was unanimously approved by Council to place a question on the November 5, 2019 General Election ballot seeking voter approval of the sale of a 26.83-acre, City-owned piece of property located at the southwest corner of the intersection of West and Coleman roads.

In November 2018, the City of East Lansing purchased this land to protect a special assessment that was owed to the City. The previous owner of the land was in tax foreclosure for several years due to unpaid property taxes, including up to $1,225,000 owed to the City for special assessments, property taxes and related interest. As is standard in these types of cases, Clinton County began making the annual payments that were owed to the City when each year’s property tax bill on this land went delinquent. Once the foreclosure was finalized, the County put the land up for sale. If the land were to have been sold to a third party for less than what the County had paid in special assessment costs and taxes to the City over the years, the City would have been required to pay the County back the difference and would not have the opportunity to recoup its costs through a potential future sale of the land. With that in mind, East Lansing City Council authorized City officials to bid on the property.

The City won the land auction and purchased the property in November 2018 for $444,777.98. The City was subsequently notified that no additional amounts would be required to the make the County whole. However, the City is permitted with voter approval to sell the property for more than the $444,778 amount and, if that is the case, any additional revenue will be allocated to the City’s general fund.

The ballot language for the November 5, 2019 General Election will read as follows:

In an effort to recoup the purchase price for property that was purchased as the result of tax foreclosure proceedings, is the City Council authorized to sell all or a portion of the 26.83 acres of mostly vacant, unimproved property (unimproved except for two billboards) located at the southwest corner of the West Road and Coleman Road intersection in the northwest tier of the City? Yes or No
REMINDER: East Lansing has a Deer Feeding Ban
Community members are reminded that it is illegal to feed deer in the City of East Lansing.

An ordinance prohibiting the feeding of deer was approved by the East Lansing City Council in 2014 as a part of the City’s comprehensive approach to managing the community’s deer population. The ordinance states that it is prohibited to place any fruit, berries, grain, vegetables, nuts, salt, bait or other edible material that may reasonably be expected to attract or feed deer, unless such materials are covered or protected in a way to prevent deer from feeding on them. The ordinance does not apply to naturally growing vegetation or bird feeders.

It’s important to understand that feeding deer does more harm than good. It often disrupts their natural behavior and causes them to linger too long outside of their natural habitat, leading to an increase in the possibility of disease transmission and the overbrowsing of neighborhood landscapes. It can also lead to enterotoxemia.

Violations of East Lansing’s deer feeding ban could result in a civil infraction, with fines of no less than $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $250 for a third or subsequent offense.

Community members can report violations of this ordinance by calling the East Lansing Police Department’s non-emergency phone number: (517) 351-4220, Option 2.

Community members can visit the City’s Deer Management webpage for additional information, including helpful tips on how to protect landscapes from browsing deer.

Free, Half-Hour Parking in Downtown East Lansing this July

In a continued effort to support downtown East Lansing businesses during the ongoing construction projects, the City of East Lansing will be offering free, half-hour parking to downtown visitors in all gated garages and gated surface lots in the downtown throughout the month of July.

This summer parking incentive will provide downtown visitors parked for 30 minutes or less with free parking and downtown visitors parked for more than 30 minutes with discounted parking. The incentive will be offered at the following locations:

  • Grove Street Garage, 330 Grove St.
  • M.A.C. Garage, 310 M.A.C. Ave.
  • Charles Street Garage, 121 Charles St.
  • Division Street Garage, 181 Division St.
  • Bailey Lot, 139 Bailey St.

“Our hope is that this incentive will bring more people downtown to support their favorite businesses,” said East Lansing Parking Administrator Caleb Sharrow. “With the ongoing construction and the summer population decline that comes with being a college town, this is a time of year when downtown businesses can really use some extra support and patronage.”

Visit www.downtownEL.com for a directory of downtown businesses.

On-Street Parking Regulation Changes

On-street parking regulation changes initially scheduled to be implemented this month in areas of East Lansing will be delayed until mid-July to allow for additional time for public input and consideration of potential changes to the current Traffic Control Orders. Learn more.

Westbound Michigan Avenue Closure this Weekend

Community members are advised that westbound Michigan Avenue will be closed to traffic at Harrison Road this weekend to accommodate work associated with the ongoing Infrastructure Restructure project. Learn more.

Free Summer Events in East Lansing

Happy first day of summer! There will be plenty of free, fun things to do in East Lansing this summer. Check out the Play in the Park, Moonlight Film Festival and Summer Concert Series webpages for summer event lineups! 

Submit Questions for OBOC Author Event

Matthew Desmond, author of "Evicted," will be answering community members' pre-submitted questions at the One Book, One Community author event on Sunday, Aug. 25. Community members can submit their questions here

Copyright © 2019 City of East Lansing, All rights reserved.


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