Parks & Rec Advisory Commission Hears Updates on Local Projects
The City of East Lansing’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission gathered Wednesday (Oct. 18) to learn about lyme disease prevention research to potentially be implemented in city parks; hear an update on the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center 2023 season; and discuss plans for various city park updates.
MSU professors present plan to develop oral delivery system to get medicine to deer.
The meeting kicked off with a presentation from two Michigan State University (MSU) professors, Dr. Jean Tsao and Dr. Rique Campa, who shared with the commissioners the danger of the lyme disease spreading deer tick. “Lyme disease is a suburban and recreational problem,” Tsao told commissioners, and noted that lyme disease spreading ticks have been increasing in prevalence across the state in recent years.
Although East Lansing has not seen the same surge in deer tick population as the rest of the state, Tsao noted the nearby Fenner Nature Center is a hotspot. She emphasized her and Campa’s research is important preventative work.
Campa identified the local white-tailed deer population as a critical intervention point — deer are the primary carriers of deer ticks — and his research, which would be implemented in city public parks, aims to eventually vaccinate deer against ticks to limit lyme disease spread.
Dr. Tsao reached out to ELi to clarify the research project. Currently, the duo’s project is focused on developing a protocol for an oral drug delivery unit system that, while it does not contain anti-tick medication, it “does include a biomarker that allows us to know whether a deer has ingested the delivery unit.”
“Eventually, when a vaccine or an anti-tick medication is available, we will have a tested protocol for effectively delivering it to deer in landscapes such as East Lansing and Meridian Township,” Tsao said.
Tsao and Campa will present their project to City Council when the Parks & Recreation department presents its deer management plan in the next few weeks. The commissioners agreed to express support for the research project.
Family Aquatic Center’s performance this summer exceeded expectations.
In other news, the commissioners heard from department Operations and Project Manager Jim Jennings that the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center (ELFAC) was open for its first full summer since 2019, due to COVID-19 closures and equipment updates.
The park hosted 45,670 visitors in the 79 days it was open this summer, 4,000 patrons more than its 2019 season. After investments in the infrastructure of ELFAC and a price increase in access passes for the 2023 summer season, commissioners said they were happy to hear of both increased visitation and profit for the center. Jennings said the aquatic center’s performance this summer exceeded pre-season estimates.
Jim Jennings concluded the meeting with a presentation on updates to local parks.
Patriarche Park saw heavy use throughout the summer after the installation of 10 pickleball courts, six basketball courts and a tennis court. Going forward, the department is considering installation of noise dampening devices to minimize noise from the pickleball courts for nearby residents.
Emerson Park has also received recent updates, including permanent hammock posts, cornhole boards and a new pavilion in Phase 1 of the City’s plan for the park. Future changes in Phase 2 will focus on the installation of additional walkways, the planting of fruit trees and pollinator-focused landscaping.
The city’s final current park project will focus on Stoddard Park, and include new inclusive playground equipment, a dog agility park, an accessible walkway to develop neighborhood connection and a new water fountain. Bids for the project opened Thursday (Oct. 19), with an estimated cost of $400,000.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to properly explain the research project being undertaken by MSU professors Dr. Jean Tsao and Dr. Rique Campa. 11:03 a.m. Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.