Council to Consider Bailey Community Center Proposal

At its work session last night, East Lansing’s City Council invited the Capital Area Housing Partnership (CAHP) to present its proposal for reuse of the Bailey Community Center building at the June 2 Council meeting, when residents will be able to watch the meeting live on television or streaming on the City’s website. At that meeting, the Council also will discuss how to proceed with the decision-making process about the Center and how to communicate this to the public.

During the public comment period last night, Bailey residents Sally Silver and Konrad Hittner discussed the suggestions made by community members during two public meetings facilitated by Doak Bloss, and urged Council to seriously consider the CAHP proposal that was presented at a public meeting at the Center on May 13.

Silver pointed out that the CAHP proposal incorporated several ideas that residents had expressed as priorities, including a childcare program, intergenerational uses, and retaining City ownership of the building. Silver also pointed out that the CAHP proposal could put the building back into use relatively quickly (compared to a private development) because CAHP proposes to enter into a long-term lease with the City rather than buy the building, removing the need for a public vote on selling the building.

Hittner seconded Silver’s observation that the CAHP proposal had been well-received by Bailey residents on May 13 and that no substantial opposition was expressed at the meeting. He also pointed out that Bailey residents he has spoken with want the building to be closed for as short a time as possible. Therefore, he suggested that Council move ahead to consider this proposal rather than continuing with further extensive public input. Hittner, who is president of the Bailey Community Association (BCA), said the BCA has not yet met to discuss the proposal and that neighbors need to have the opportunity to review the full proposal.

A summary of the initial version of the CAHP proposal presented on May 13, which includes 26 apartments for people age 55 and older who make less than 60% of the median income in Ingham County with childcare, CAHP office space, and public uses on the first floor, appears on the CAHP website (see it here). Eli’s article on the May 13 meeting is here; you can also view the reports by Doak Bloss of the two City-organized meetings here and here, and read ELi’s report of the City-organized meetings here.

Tim Dempsey, head of the City planning department, also commented last night that the preliminary CAHP proposal he has seen “dovetails” with many ideas expressed at the public sessions, such as continuing to house a childcare center at this site. The proposal would leave the green space in the Bailey Park untouched, which clearly is important to residents. Councilmember Susan Woods said CAHP was “almost like an angel [that] flew in,” listened to what the community wanted “and what I personally want.”

Councilmember Kathy Boyle asked if there are time constraints facing the Capital Area Housing Partnership proposal, and Dempsey explained that there is an October deadline for a funding application, so there would need to be sufficient commitment from the City by then. This funding program has another deadline in the spring of 2016.

All Councilmembers present (Woods, Boyle, Mayor Nathan Triplett, and Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris) expressed a desire to hear a proposal from CAHP as soon as possible, and CAHP Executive Director Mikki Droste came to the podium to say that CAHP would be happy to present its proposal to the next Council meeting on June 2.

Dempsey said a number of issues would need to be worked out in addition to the site plan, including zoning, parking needs, lot coverage, financial issues, and ownership of the property. He said the City Attorney has indicated preliminarily that a long-term lease could be worked out for this building.

Council members also discussed the future process for considering what to do with the Bailey Center. The Council earlier adopted a resolution committing to conduct a “strategic doing” process about this facility, in which the public participates in determining how to achieve an agreed-upon outcome. Goddeeris and Triplett said it is important to communicate clearly to residents any change Council decides to make in how to move forward.

Droste pointed out that CAHP could use a strategic doing process regarding part of their proposal, namely public uses of the first floor of the redesigned Bailey Center, in addition to child care and CAHP office space. This would include use of the space of the current gym, for example. Council decided to consider on June 2 options for how to proceed with making decisions about the future of the Bailey Center.

Note: See also this week's Council Capsule for how this issue is intertwined with the question of moving a ceramics studio and an associated grant.