What Lansing Council

At the June 8th Lansing city council meeting the council heard from a dozen folks unhappy with code compliance fees and procedures: snow and ice removal, weed cutting, make safe or demolish orders, and red-tag fees. Council honored Lansing’s Juneteenth celebration committee, and they debated a new ordinance introduced with the intention of making it more enticing for developers to build lower and moderate income housing.

This episode is a quick meeting recap with no guest commentary, regularly scheduled guests will return in July!

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Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WhatLansingCouncil

Check out the Lansing Juneteenth events this year: https://www.lansingjuneteenthcelebration.org/

A live show recording of a discussion of civic engagement with three Lansing super-citizens: Paul Anderson, Julie Powers, and William Lawrence! Fun interludes include the panelist's limerick challenge, friendly feud, and a fill-in-the-blank letter to Lansing City Council.
Paul Anderson serves as the Executive Director of the Southwest Action Group - an organization dedicated to uplifting and empowering the community of Southwest Lansing by fostering unity and improving the overall well-being of individuals and families.
Julie Powers works as the Executive Director of Immigration Law and Justice Michigan. She has worked in the non-profit sector for 30 years in and out of Lansing.  
William Lawrence is running for United States Congress to represent Mid-Michigan's 7th Congressional District. A lifelong organizer, he founded the youth-led Sunrise Movement, and more recently founded the Michigan Rent is Too Damn High Coalition. 
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A beautiful short film directed and produced by Paul Anderson, "Southside: A Legacy In Motion": https://vimeo.com/1094702111
The city of Lansing’s Citizen’s Academy sign up: https://mi-lansing.form.transform.civicplus.com/42999
Choose Lansing’s Certified Tourism Ambassador program: https://www.lansing.org/membership/cta-information/
William Lawrence’s 2026 campaign site: https://wewill2026.com/
Lansing Bicycle treasure hunt open for the month of June: https://bikeandseek.org/
Robin Theatre: https://www.therobintheatre.com/

At the May 18th Lansing City council meetings council approved the city’s budget for the 2026/2027 fiscal year, which spans from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. They gave a tribute recognizing May 19th as Malcolm X Day in the City of Lansing; May 19th was Malcolm X’s birthday. They unanimously approved a letter calling for an immediate end to unauthorized federal military escalation and an unlawful war with Iran. In public comment we heard from residents of the Fabulous Acres neighborhood plead for help with some extremely inconsiderate neighbors. Commenters brought stories of struggles with homelessness and the destabilization resulting from camp sweeps performed by city police officers with no safe option for relocation.
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Support this podcast financially: 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/WhatLansingCouncil

UPCOMING LIVE PODCAST SHOW EVENT!!!! JUNE 2ND!!!
⁠⁠https://www.therobintheatre.com/events/what-lansing-council-podcast-live-panel-discussion⁠

At the May 11th city council meetings council heard from the community about the death of a citizen, who was for a time, a member of the fallen angels encampment. The Spec-Tran CATA (Capital Area Transportation Authority) service specifically for folks with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) status received additional criticism for poor service. Council passed four changes to the parking code: 1) parking enforcement hours are reduced to 9am - 5pm instead of 8am - 6pm, 2) the timing for paying the least amount for parking tickets was amended from “within two hours” to “before midnight on the day of issuance”, 3) all ticket fine tiers increased by $10, and 4) the cost to park for longer than two hours in metered street parking spaces (where that is allowed) was increased. 
Today our special guest is Christopher Greene-Szmadzinski. Christopher serves as the co-chair of the Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Council and also sits on the Lansing Park Board. He posts about pazcki sightings and other important and random Lansing geography at Lansingography.com
See Christopher’s amazing maps and infographics - including a visualization of the city’s 2026-27 proposed budget:
https://www.lansingography.com/
Support this podcast financially: 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/WhatLansingCouncil
UPCOMING LIVE PODCAST SHOW EVENT!!!! JUNE 2ND!!!
⁠⁠https://www.therobintheatre.com/events/what-lansing-council-podcast-live-panel-discussion⁠
Dolly Parton 9-5 music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4
Lansing Facts tourism video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smFvDuGiS0Q
Lansing’s 2023 Parking study:
https://www.lansingmi.gov/1248/Parking-Study

Council had a light agenda, with some heavy issues at the May the Fourth meetings. Six city departments gave budget presentations: the 54A District court, the Mayor’s office, Downtown Lansing Inc., Human Resources, Finance, and Treasury. Public comment focused on begging council to stop sending police to sweep unhoused people out of places where they congregate in the city. 
Our guest this episode is Dana Watson. Dana served as an East Lansing city council member from 2020 - 2025, she continues to work as a Health Equity Social Justice Coordinator for Ingham County, and as a board member for the Justice League of Greater Lansing.
Support this podcast financially:
⁠https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil⁠
UPCOMING LIVE PODCAST SHOW EVENT!!!! JUNE 2ND!!!
⁠https://www.therobintheatre.com/events/what-lansing-council-podcast-live-panel-discussion⁠
The 45 B (East Lansing) expungement clinic mentioned in the episode, unfortunately happened on May 1st this year, but it is an annual event. More information about the expungement process in Michigan can be found here: https://michiganlegalhelp.org/resources/crime-and-traffic/overview-of-michigans-expungement-laws
Working Families Party: https://workingfamilies.org/state/michigan/
Greater Lansing Justice League 5K - May 12, 2026, 8:30 AM, Benjamin Davis Park:
https://www.justiceleagueglm.org/event-details-registration/lansing-juneteenth-5k