Snowboarding Hill, Point-of-Sale Fees, New Commissioner Maps and Districts

At the County Board meeting this week, we went through the same issues that I reported on last week. We had two resolutions pulled from the consent agenda and debated.

The first issue was the snowboarding hill. As a refresher, we considered a resolution returning money from the Parks Department to the county general fund. In that resolution, we allowed for $35,000 to be spent on a snowboarding hill. We are already building a sledding hill, and had a bunch of dirt donated. We were approached by a conglomerate that wanted Ingham County to create the second public snowboarding hill in the nation. We will have user fees that will generate significant revenue and expect to recoup the dollars in two years or so. We also will have much of the equipment donated. There will be a snow making machine so that there will always be snow, and security and parks staff to assist users. Because of the concern that we were putting money into this instead of police or health department or employees, we added language to the resolution that require the Controller to ensure that the county is repaid this money. That amendment, offered by Commissioner DeLeon, was passed unanimously as was the final resolution.

We also considered the point-of-sale portion of the fees resolution. We created a program a few years ago that requires septic fields to be inspected when a house on a septic field (mostly in the out-county) is sold. I voted for that at the time because the fee is way less than what we in Lansing pay for municipal sewer and water. The folks on private septic systems should also be paying to ensure that those fields are not leaking (which many were) and contaminating the county water supply. Because we keep most fees at 100% of the cost of that fee (to ensure that county taxpayers are not paying for these things), this fee was raised. The fee resolution passed on a 10-5 vote. Commissioner Dianne Holman spoke against it saying that it was still a relatively new fee and should not go up.

Finally, we learned what the new county commission districts would look like. The Ingham County Apportionment Committee considers maps submitted to them and votes on those maps. The Committee is made up of the County Prosecutor, County Clerk, County Treasurer, and Democratic and Republican Party Chairs. Prosecutor Dunnings submitted a map that follows election law. It was one of three maps submitted and received enough votes to pass. The map creates 14 County Commission districts (reduced from the current 16). If you want to see the new maps, click here.

Due to the the fact that there is a fifth week in May, we do not have any meetings next week. So, I will probably skip next week for the blog (unless I find a guest blogger).

I hope everyone has a happy and health Memorial Day weekend, and spends some time remembering all of those who sacrificed so that we can all live free lives in our Democracy!

Andy

Parks Money to GF, Snowboard Hill, CATA Stop, 457 Plans, Masonic Lodge

So sorry that this is so late! This is the blog from last week. Technical problems stopped this from going out last week...

Last week, we considered two resolutions returning money to the general fund. Imagine that...money being returned for not being used by one of our departments! The first resolution returned $62,500 that had been approved for the Heart of Michigan trail funding in the 2008 Capital Improvement Budget. Delhi Township opted to become the project leader on the Jolly Road to Hope Soccer Complex trail segment and an alternative route was plotted for this segment which did not include the use of Ingham County funds as a part of the alternate route project budget.

Also as part of this resolution, we approved an expenditure for a snowboarding hill (mentioned previously). In March a representative of Landscape Architects and Planners, a member of the community, and a representative of Modern Skate & Surf approached the Parks & Recreation Commission with a proposal to incorporate a snowboard hill that would meet the current trends associated with this winter sport in conjunction with the current snow tubing hill being constructed. It has been determined a beginner, intermediate, and advanced snow board run with a tow rope system could be incorporated into the snow tubing hill for approximately $35,000. It is anticipated donations for such “tricks” as such as grind rails, fun boxes, flat rails, round rails, and hips would be sought and not included in the cos0t of construction. This proposal was approved by the Parks & Recreation Commission. It is expected the costs of construction will be recouped as this would be a revenue generating activity. Both the snowboard hill and snow tubing hill could be open most of the winter season as snowmaking equipment will be used to manufacture snow.

In the County Services committee, this resolution passed 5-1. One Commissioner, Don Vickers, expressed that he wants the Parks Department to repay the county dollars that are expended in order to support this. He put up an amendment in committee to require repayment over 7 years, and it failed 2-4. I expect that his amendment will be offered again on the Board floor. During debate, I pointed out that 3 years is a very conservative estimate for total return of the dollars as this only takes into account user fees and doesn't count parking fees. I also argued that this is a quality of life resource that will be invaluable for Ingham County, and will be a revenue generator quickly. Our Parks Director, Willis Bennett, ensured us that there will be full time staff on site (and seasonal staff) at all times for safety and for maintenance of the equipment (tow ropes, snow machines, etc). Commissioner Grebner argued that the goal of having Hawk Island is to provide recreation for the center of population of the county by being in the heart of the county in Lansing. He also said that, despite objections from the Republicans, this has been highly successful. The intention is not to be a revenue generator, but to be a recreational facility and payback should not be a prime consideration.

In Finance, the resolution passed unanimously. Commissioner Tsernoglou pointed out that she hopes that MSU (snowboarding clubs) will collaborate with us on this. Deb Nolan also said that she hopes it will draw MSU students to Lansing and maybe to the zoo.

Oh, and during the discussion it was pointed out that CATA will be adding a bus stop within Hawk Island this year. That will ensure the snow tubing and snow board hills will be very accessible to the residents of Lansing and Ingham County. It also will be welcome to the young campers of EC3, who take the bus to Hawk Island and use to have to walk to the park and back to the bus stop (my son would be exhausted on Fridays!).


We also had a good discusision in Finance about the county 457 plan (deferred compensation plan) offered for employees. Although we approved three plan, only two are actually providing plans. There was discussion about the possibility of Jackson National providing insurance. We also said we would review any RFP's that precluded Jackson National or anyone else.

Finally, we considered a resolution to update the county fees. I went through this last week in detail. Commissioner Dougan opposed the point of sale fees in Finance. Other than that, this was fairly non-controversial.


In other news, I have a constituent who is very involved with trying to save the Lansing Masonic Temple. I am not a Mason myself, but I wanted to help him spread the word. Anyone interested in supporting this effort can send donations anywhere from $100 - $1000 (which is the max for the donation to remain tax deductible). Checks would need to be made out to Lansing Masonic Temple Association, and sent to 1125 Weber Dr, Lansing Michigan 48912.

Sorry again for the delay. You will hear from me again later this week after our Board meeting!

Free Zoo Days Compromise, Snowboard Hill, Awesome County Credit Rating, Land Bank Update

This week was relatively calm, We had our Board meeting this week, and the only contentious item was the one I mentioned last week regarding the Zoo.. There was disagreement about who should be allowed to waive fees for the zoo for special days. Some wanted the Parks Commission and Zoo Board to be able to do it. Others (including me) thought that only the Board of Commissioners should have the power to reduce revenues and waive fees. Last year, the county offered free zoo entrance for moms on Mothers Day, dads on Fathers Day, and grandparents on Grandparents day. The Parks department want to continue that. The resolution in committee, though, was amended to allow the Zoo Board and Parks Commission to have general powers to waive the fee whenever they want for special days. I was ready to offer an amendment that would have changed the resolution back to only allowing for these three specific days to be free for the people celebrated (i.e. moms on Mothers Day).

Fortunately, Commissioner Debbie DeLeon came up with an excellent compromise. She crafted an amendment saying that any days designated as special free days would have to receive sign-off by the Board Chair, County Services Chair, and County Administrator. This amendment passed 11-5, then the resolution passed 15-1. I commend Commissioner for coming up with this compromise language that will ensure flexibility for the Parks Commission and Zoo Board, while at the same time ensure that elected officials and the County Administrator can monitor the purse strings effectively.

Also, in public testimony, we heard from folks who are looking to have the first urban snowboarding hill in the United States created in Ingham County at Hawk Island. We are building a sledding hill, and the snowboard hill can be built into it for low-cost. This item is expected to come up next week for discussion in committee and the week after on the Board floor. It is very exciting and will bring people and revenues to Ingham County through tourism and having this unique attraction. I expect that it will cost $35,000, but those dollars will be recaptured almost immediately as their will be used fees for the hill and rental fees for the equipment. It will be a revenue generator, attract people from all over the state, and will be something fun for the whole family for Inhgam County residents.

In other news, we received good news from Eric Schertzing, the County Treasurer, that Ingham County has mainteined the highest possible credit rating from Standard and Poor’s. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Ingham County's general obligation limited tax notes series 2011. They said the rating reflects the county's:
• History of strong property tax collections;
• Very strong general creditworthiness;
• Limited-tax GO pledge; and
• Strong liquidity, including unreserved assets held in its delinquent tax revolving fund and budget stabilization fund.

They said that Despite the pressure of a contracting tax base on Ingham County's primary revenue source--property taxes--its finances remain strong and stable due to sound management practices.

We also received a Land Bank Update from Treasurer Schertzing. He reports the following exciting news about redevelopment in Ingham County through the Land Bank:

1 - Fab Acres south of REO Town. Participating in clean-up with LNC and a large group of students on May 25th-27th. The Land Bank is hosting a dumpster and cost up to $750 from our Community Development dollars with HUD homes.
2 - Eden Glen Condos. All 8 Phase I condos closed. 3 Phase II condos have purchase agreements.
3 - NSP1 - 65 houses demolished. 1 more to go and NSP1 demo is done.
4 - Sold one renovated house on Laurie Lane and bought one mortgage foreclosed house on Center Street in Old Town last week.
5 - Meetings last week about Shopping Guide Building in Mason, Lone Pine Parcel at 496 and Washington, and two commercial adjacent lots in Lansing Township.

That's all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Andy

Parks Incentive Programs, Medical Director, Fees, Fundraiser Thank-you

I hope everyone had a great week. I apologize for this blog being so late. The week just got ahead of me!

Usually the Board of Commissioners committee process has liaison committees working on resolutions then the Finance committee changing them. In this case, it worked almost in reverse. The County Services committee this week considered a resolution dealing with approvals for discount incentive programs at the zoo. Last year, the county offered free zoo entrance for moms on Mothers Day, dads on Fathers Day, and grandparents on Grandparents day. The Parks department brought us a resolution that would extend that to every year. The resolution, though, did not specify that it was only for these days and that it was only for Ingham County residents. I raised concerns in committee that the resolution would allow the appointed Parks Commission to waive entrance fees at the zoo whenever they wanted, and that would be an inappropriate power. Only the elected Commissioners should have that power in my opinion. The Parks Director testified that the intention was only for the resolution affect those three days, so we unanimously amended it to reflect that.

In Finance, though, the resolution was amended back to the original language. First, Commissioner Bahar-Cook argued that the resolution shouldn't just be for Ingham County residents. She argued that if moms came on Mothers Day and got in free, even from other counties, the moms would also come with children and other adults who would still pay the entrance fee. It would attract more money to the zoo, while also bringing more people to the zoo on these three days. Her amendment passed unanimously. Commissioner Nolan then said that the zoo board and Parks Commission should have the power to waive fees whenever they want and that she believed that the resolution should be expansive. I argued that I thought it was too much power in non-elected hands and that the elected Commissioners should be the ones to approve waivers of fees. I lost. The amendment passed 4-2. The final resolution also passed committee 4-2. I opposed the resolution because I remember previous years when the Parks Commission waived fees for parks that we didn't agree with, and we had to go back and amend their authority so that the Commission had the final say. I am afraid this will be the same situation. We will see what happens on Tuesday.

We also considered another resolution that would hire a medical director needed for our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC's). The Health Director requested that the new medical director be hired in at Step 5 (the highest pay step) and several Commissioners took issue with the continual practice of hiring people in at the highest pay level. The Health Director, Dr. Sienko, explained that this position was needed as a result of an audit of the FQHC program. The federal government highly recommended that we have a medical director with clinical and administrative experience. The individual that the Health Director has recommended has over 20 years experience in pediatrics and was the best candidate in terms of administrative and clinical experience. The position will be ½ time in administrative and ½ time in patient care at St Lawrence or Sparrow (helping citizens and generating county revenues). We now only have an internist in that position, but that doctor does clinical rather than administrative work. While I understand the concern about hiring in at the top level, it seems that the real issue is that it is very difficult to get quality doctors in at our pay levels. The doctor we are hiring is taking a pay cut, and we need to be competitive...especially to ensure that we receive the millions of federal dollars associate with our FQHC's. The few thousand dollars that we are going to spend to bring someone in at Step 5 instead of a lower step will be leveraged by about $900,000 that we are getting from the federal government which could be at risk. After a lot of discussion, the resolution passed.

Finally, we began our discussion of fees. Both the County Services and Finance Committees focused on the Parks Department fees. The shelters at the parks are each going up about 50%. They haven't gone up in 10 or 15 years, so this is catching it up with where it should be. I pointed out that there is always significant demand for these shelters and, while people won't love the increase, this is probably warranted. I argued strongly, though, against increasing the entrance fees for the parks. These fees just went up last year, and I have heard from my constituents the unhappiness about the fees at Hawk Island going up two years in a row. While the Budget Department requested an entrance fee increase, the Controller did not recommend it and I argued against an entrance fee at Hawk Island and Lake Lansing and Burchfield. So far, those fees are not being raised. The Human Services committee had several questions about the Pollution Prevention resolution fees, and other fees were discussed in other committees. We did not vote on this resolution, and will discuss it again at the next round of committee meetings.

On a personal note, thank you so much for everyone who contributed to my first fundraiser for State Representative. Thanks also for those who attended. We had over 60 people there, and raised more than $10,000. Checks are still coming in, we are finalizing the next fundraiser in a month or so. I am excited and humbled by the tremendous support I am receiving and look forward to the campaign next year.

Have a great Mothers Day to all the moms out there...

Andy