Council Approves “Flexible” Albert El Fresco Plan

Road closures allowing for another season of the Albert El Fresco downtown space were approved by City Council – but not without debate. 

There was a wide range of opinions shared by members of council about how large the space should be and if it should exist at all at the Tuesday, April 16 meeting. Council eventually settled for a plan that is significantly smaller than last year’s El Fresco area. 

At last week’s council meeting, an El Fresco proposal was tabled, with council asking staff to explore a way to expand the proposed area without harming nearby businesses. The proposal approved is similar to the previous proposal, and is much smaller than past years. 

Last year, the western barrier was just east of the parking garage near the Abbot Road and Albert Avenue intersection. This year, the western barrier will be just east of the Grove Street and Albert intersection. The eastern barrier is at M.A.C. Avenue.

The Grove Street intersection will be kept open to allow delivery trucks to reach 7-Eleven and adjacent businesses. Moving the barrier east also allows Newman Lofts residents, many of which are seniors, to keep their current pickup/dropoff location. 

The proposal passed by council expands the El Fresco area to include the Ann Street Plaza on Thursday evenings – a part of the plan added since last week’s meeting. When Ann Street Plaza is being utilized, El Fresco will nearly double in size, Community and Economic Development Administrator Heather Pope said. 

Thursday evenings are the busiest for the space, Pope said. Barricades and cable would be set up at 2:45 p.m. Thursdays to block off the area and removed by 5:45 a.m. Fridays, before delivery trucks arrive.

Councilmember Erik Altmann asked if Ann Street plaza could be blocked off Thursday through Sunday. Pope said she would need to talk to more businesses in the area to find out how that would impact them. 

There will also be seating added to Fountain Square and the elevated plaza by the Marriott hotel. Additionally, four parking spaces on the south end of the Bailey parking lot will be used for picnic tables and planters. 

Residents have mostly supported El Fresco in surveys and the space is supposed to help downtown businesses. However, balancing the size of the space and closing streets in a way that doesn’t have unintended, harmful consequences on businesses has been a challenge. The smaller proposal was supported unanimously by the Downtown Development Authority, which features several East Lansing business owners. 

During public comment, the owner of the 7-Eleven downtown, Ali Haider, spoke about how the road closures hurt his business. Haider said during the El Fresco season, he believes he loses about $1,000 daily because fewer people are driving to his store. He also said closing the intersection creates logistical challenges for the large semi-trucks that complete deliveries to his stores and other nearby businesses.

Haider said if the area must be a similar size to past years, he would prefer that it rotate locations, with different street closures throughout the season so businesses share the impact. 

Altmann motioned that the El Fresco “footprint” be the same as last year – the current proposal is about 30% the size of last year – with El Fresco expanded to include the new areas on Fountain Square, the elevated plaza and the Bailey parking lot. 

Pope said that would not be possible because the reduced space gave the city unused resources to expand to the other areas. Altmann said he would still like approval to use all these spaces. 

Altmann said it sounds like 7-Eleven receives much of its business from people driving and questioned if it fit in downtown East Lansing. 

“This is a downtown, downtowns should be for walking,” he said. “Malls in the suburbs are for driving to. So, maybe this is not the right fit for this business.”

Altmann’s motion was rejected in a 2-2 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Kerry Ebersole Singh joining Altmann in support. Mayor George Brookover and Meadows voted against. Councilmember Dana Watson was absent from the meeting. 

Just before voting on Altmann’s motion, Brookover laid out his thoughts, saying he wouldn’t vote in favor of either El Fresco proposal. 

Brookover gave a long list of reasons why he would not vote in favor of either proposal at the meeting. Among them, was moving the Newman Lofts pickup/dropoff location, additional strain on an already thin police department, and the lack of a study to say if the El Fresco area helps the city and businesses financially. He also called El Fresco “a child of the pandemic” and suggested it is no longer necessary. 

Ultimately, Meadows motioned in favor of the plan prepared by staff, emphasizing that the plan is “flexible” and may be changed during the season. Meadows’ motion passed 3-1, with Brookover voting against. 

Street closures for El Fresco will begin April 29 and stay in place until Aug. 12. 

Council approves spending nearly a quarter million dollars on wage study. 

Following a wave of staff departures last year and in 2022, members of the previous City Council indicated they would like to see a wage and benefit study done to see what compensation East Lansing jobs could offer compared to other workplaces.

That desire carried over to the current group, and in December, 2023 the city sent out a request for proposal to have a wage and benefit study done. The search yielded four applicants. Only two of the applicants were capable of doing a study at the size and scope the city is looking for, Human Resources Director Emily Kenney said. 

Staff recommended Segal Inc. do the study because the company has received positive reviews from public Michigan clients and was recommended due to their thorough approach to benefit analysis. 

 At the April 16 meeting, council voted unanimously to spend $245,000 to have Segal, Inc. conduct a wage and job classification study. 

The city has not done a study like this since 1994. The study from Segal will last five years, and includes annual market adjustments. When the study is completed, council members will receive the results confidentially and may weigh-in on findings before they are implemented. 

If the city has another study done after the five-year period, it will likely be much less expensive because there will not be such a large gap between analyses, Kenney said. 

Is there a solution to noisy cars coming?

After a speaker complained about loud cars during public comment, Altmann said he has heard a lot of complaints about the issue.

“Loud cars are a quality of life issue, but they are more than that,” Altmann said. “They are a public health issue. They wake people up, they rattle people, they amplify anxiety disorders, they are bad for your hearing if you are right beside them.

“We’re not talking about old cars with rusty mufflers, we’re talking about expensive cars that people have intentionally modified to make them louder,” he continued. 

Altmann said other municipalities in Michigan and nationwide have started to address loud cars and East Lansing should look to take action. He suggested getting sound meters for police or PACE and prosecuting offenders. 

Meadows agreed with Altmann, adding the city should really crack down on offenders after 10 p.m.

“We certainly should be writing tickets,” Meadows said. “Those generally are, get your muffler fixed, bring proof to the court and we’ll let you off the hook.”

City Attorney Anthony Chubb said cars being too loud violates state motor vehicle code and there is a local ordinance stating that excessively noisy cars can be a civil infraction during the day and a misdemeanor from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. 

“I will take a look at that and I will work with the prosecutor to ensure sure that it can be written by the officers as drafted, and if we need to make amendments, certainly we’ll look at that,” Chubb said.