East Lansing City Council Candidates Share Ideas to Improve Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship

This year, six candidates are competing for two seats on the East Lansing City Council. To get to know candidates better, ELi asked candidates to respond to three different questions in 200 words or less.

The third and final question we asked candidates was about their ideas to improve environmental sustainability. The question reads as follows:

Do you have any ideas for actions the city can take to improve sustainability and environmental stewardship?

This is how candidates responded:

Liam Richichi

“Through my work for the state, we have recently passed record investments in public transportation for our communities. The CATA system is a crucial component of our city, used by thousands of residents, students, and visitors every week. We need to continue to support CATA in any way that we can, working with our local partners and municipalities to figure out ways to best support public transportation efforts in our communities. We also should continue to look at ways to successfully develop our downtown core with housing and diverse retail options, so that we can decrease reliance on vehicular traffic and emphasize the successful model of walkable communities used by so many cities and countries.”

Joshua Ramirez-Roberts

“I see huge potential in improving environmental stewardship across the city especially when it comes to habitat restoration and invasive species removal. When not campaigning I work directly with removing invasive species at our parks and know firsthand that this is a problem that will take a monumental degree of work but is not one that is impossible. What we need to do is work with our commissions and the Department of Public Works to create a concrete plan to tackle invasive species in each one of our parks. Beyond invasive species management it is critical that we protect and preserve our greenspace and look to promote green building practices in new developments. Solar and green roofing are two such building practices that we can look to promote through code and to potential developments throughout the city. In East Lansing we have a phenomenal recycling program but most apartment residents are being left out. I would like to see us ensure that all residents of condo and apartment developments are having the city’s recycling program made available to them so we can prevent needless waste and pollution and create a greener community.”

Adam DeLay

“I think there are several steps the city can take to improve sustainability and environmental stewardship. For example, the city’s recently adopted mass timber incentive makes us the first in the state with such an ordinance aimed at spurring green construction. I would also like the city to look into increasing our solar array. There are several city owned parking lots, such as the Hannah Community Center, city hall, and the roofs of parking structures, that could have solar carports, like what we see on campus and at our elementary schools. We can also look at adding electric vehicles to the city’s fleet to replace older gas-powered vehicles. 

“As a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission I have also advocated for installing rain gardens in some of our city parks, such as Shaw Park, to help with the flooding we have seen the past few years. While rain gardens alone won’t solve that problem, they can certainly be an environmentally friendly part of the solution.”

Chuck Grigsby

“I will focus first on essentials that lower costs or protect public safety. Address flooding by targeting pipe upgrades on the blocks that experience the most flooding. Reduce energy bills in city buildings by implementing insulation, efficient lighting, and smart controls, utilizing available rebates and grants first. Utilize energy-saving contracts to offset the cost of upgrades through lower utility expenses. Grow the tree canopy on streets and in parks to cool neighborhoods and slow down runoff, starting with areas that are particularly hot and prone to flooding. Keep sidewalks and bike connections safe near schools, downtown, and the campus so people have real options to get around. When private projects come in, set clear expectations on efficiency, construction impacts, and traffic, and favor adaptive reuse when the numbers work. I want to hear more from residents, and I will rely on our commissions, including the Environment, Transportation, Parks & Recreation Advisory, and Planning Commissions, to help shape and track this work.”

Steve Whelan

“There needs to be continued priorities of protecting our natural resources while having managed growth. We need to continue to encourage and enhance the social and natural environment for citizens.

“Our parks provide a critical system of trails and undisturbed natural ecosystems on the north end of the city. These parks need to be protected. The Department of Public Works has strived to protect the treescapes in neighborhoods and downtown. The new sustainable trees planted are a variety of species that will prevent losing large amounts of trees due to insects’ infestation or disease. I applaud and encourage DPW’s efforts in these areas.

“There could also be growth in more use of battery-operated city owned lawn maintenance equipment. This eliminates noise and carbon emissions. A tree is in our logo, we need to keep environmental sustainability a priority in our practices also.”

Kath Edsall

“The Planning Commission did extensive work to create their recently adopted comprehensive plan. I support all of the suggested projects, programs and policies especially community gardens, resiliency centers, green stormwater management & infrastructure, green buildings & building elements, permeable parking surfaces, increased transit & bicycle infrastructure, commercial recycling & organics management, more shade, trees & green space, reduced mowing and increase planting of native, especially pollinator, species as well as small-scale renewable energy projects. During the rebuilding of East Lansing’s elementary schools, we added geothermal heating and solar panels as examples of reduced energy usage and increase renewable energy contributions.”