During the March 30th Committee of the Whole meeting, the City Council heard a budget overview presentation from the city’s chief strategy officer. They heard departmental budget presentations from the Fire Department, Parks and Recreation Department, and the affiliated agencies the Lansing Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), and the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority (LEPFA). Also, members from the Economic Development and Planning Department presented their Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan - for federal monies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Our guest for this episode is Erin Buitendorp. Erin is the Community Development Manager in the City’s Economic Development and Planning Department, Erin leads six dedicated staff members in ensuring federal HUD dollars reach the people and partners who need them most. A Licensed Professional Counselor, creative artist + Lansing Lore preservationist, Erin came to public service by way of a decade in higher education and a term of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving the City.

Project Erin worked on - The City of Lansing City Council Proceedings Collection digitized from 1916 to 2024:

https://archive.org/details/lansing-council-proceedings?sort=date

Community development office within the Department of Economic Development and Planning:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/296/Community-Development-Office

Support this podcast financially:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

UPCOMING LIVE PODCAST SHOW EVENT!!!!

https://www.therobintheatre.com/events/what-lansing-council-podcast-live-panel-discussion

Fire Department Dashboard:

https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMmQ4MDdkODktNjY5My00NDAxLWJlOGUtZTBiOWNmY2MyYzJhIiwidCI6Ijg3NTA5ZGVlLTA5NWItNGZmOC1iYTVhLTAwMzVjZGZjNzE1ZCJ9

Tiny Bit of Wood woodworking and community art studio class schedule:

https://www.tinybitofwood.com/book-online

Capital City Film Festival: https://capitalcityfilmfest.com/schedule

An hour and a half before the April 6th Lansing City council meetings, word got out that the UK based data center company, Deep Green, was pulling their request for the purchase and rezoning of the city owned parking lot on East Kalamazoo and South Cedar St. Many community members shared their thoughts about the process surrounding this project. Council heard budget presentations from the information technology, assessing, city attorney, and police departments, as well as a proposed small development project along South Cedar St. Council passed the ordinance changing the placard system for rental property violators (from pink/red to white/yellow/red/black), and to allow for red tag fees to be waived if progress on fixing housing issues is demonstrated.

CORRECTION the liquor store ordinance update had its public hearing at this meeting - the vote for the approval of this item will be in subsequent meetings. 

Our guest this episode is Rebecca-Lynn Ferguson. Rebecca is a Lansing-based creative and community advocate who works with language learners in the Lansing Public Schools and serves on several boards, including RIF (Reading is Fundamental), Ingham Health Plan (IHP), and the REO Town Commercial Association (RTCA).

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

UPCOMING LIVE PODCAST SHOW EVENT!!!!

https://www.therobintheatre.com/events/what-lansing-council-podcast-live-panel-discussion

REO Town’s 25th Annual Meeting

Event Details

REO Town Commercial Association (the coolest domain name!)

https://reo.town/

Lansing Empowerment Network:

https://www.facebook.com/lansingempowermentnetwork

At the March 23rd Lansing city council meetings council heard requests from two developers interested in purchasing city property: the operator of the Lansing Shuffle and Deep Green, the UK based data center developer. Many residents spoke in opposition of these sales and some spoke in support. Council debated the optics of taking a pay raise for their part time positions, and they set a hearing for making changes to the metered parking rules.

Our guest this episode is Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina has served on the 30th Circuit Court for Ingham County since her election in November of 2008. She is an adjunct professor at both the Michigan State University School of Law and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and she has previously served on the oversight board for the Board of Water and Light and the City of Lansing's Elected Officers Compensation Commission. 

Judge Aquilina:

https://cc.ingham.org/courts_and_sheriff/circuit_court/aquilina.php

Read Judge Aquilina’s books:

https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=Rosemarie+Aquilina

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

Youth group with four participants who spoke at council: 

https://www.oneloveglobal.org/ppm 

Peace & Prosperity Youth Action Movement (PPM) is a group of teens and young adults focused on increasing social equity within our community. 

At the March 9th Lansing city council meetings the council moved forward with round two of the proposed Deep Green data center property sale and rezoning - setting public hearings for these items. Council approved a new code violation tagging system for white, yellow, red, and black tags. They approved a rezone for a church to operate a shelter facility on S MLK Jr Blvd. They introduced ordinances intended to tighten allowable liquor store locations and activities. They rescinded one make-safe-or-demolish order for the historic Pruess building in old town. Public comment focused on opposition to the data center and disappointment for the city’s actions kicking some folks out of the Causeway Bay hotel, folks who were recently relocated there by the city.  

Our guest this episode is Alyssa Cooling (Turcsak). Alyssa is the 4th Ward Member of the City of Lansing's Arts and Culture Commission. Her day job is in the nonprofit sector. Alyssa is proudly in recovery from a substance use disorder and runs the program Sober in Lansing (currently on a brief pause). She is a graduate of the Lansing Citizens Academy and the East Lansing’s Citizens Academy AND she’s a patron of this show!

Alyssa’s group Sober in Lansing on Instagram and Facebook:

https://www.instagram.com/soberinlansing/

https://www.facebook.com/soberinlansing

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s Patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

Alyssa’s shout outs:

Housing Ombudsman for Lansing:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/300/Housing-Ombudsman

517 Coffee company:

https://www.517coffeecompany.com/

The poetry room:

https://thepoetryroom.org/

**CORRECTION** In the episode we discussed how the city of Lansing offers services to help homeowners with lead testing and abatement, that program was part of the Economic, Development and Planning department, not Human Relations and Community Services and it ended in 2025: https://www.lansingmi.gov/346/Lead-Safe-Lansing

At the February 23rd Lansing city council meetings the council heard plans to revise the tagging process for properties with code compliance issues, they saw a tax break request presentation from a developer hoping to build apartments downtown for single folks making the median area income, there was one split vote for the appointment of a new Ward 1 representative to the police commissioner board, and a refreshingly eclectic mix of concerning issues were raised at public comment. 

Our guest this episode is Ryan Kost. Ryan has been Lansing's first ward city councilor since 2023. While in office he has focused on addressing housing needs, holding landlords accountable, and advocating for workers' rights. He works for the State of Michigan, and has three adorable dogs.

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Support this podcast, and find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

At the February 9th Lansing city council meeting attendance exceeded the chamber capacity and over sixty community members voiced their comments, mostly for-or-against construction of a new data center on the edge of downtown. The chief executive and chief technology officers from Deep Green, a Manchester, England based company, and the board of water and light general manager presented plans for the 24 mega-watt energy consuming (and 16 mega-watt energy producing) facility. The city council members had a lot of questions about the project. The superintendent of the Ingham County Intermediate School district gave an educational presentation about plans to renovate a historically significant facility through a bond proposal on the ballot this May. Three city construction projects are on track. The city council approved a closed door settlement in the case of a man killed by Lansing police officers in 2020. 

Our guest this episode is Talon Richard Wooster - Lansing resident, member of and advocate for the Lansing Homeless Union and the Rent is Too Damn High.

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

At the January 26th, 2026 Lansing City council meeting many residents and folks from the surrounding area voiced concerns about the proposed downtown data center, trade union workers spoke in support. The city’s planning department and the Board of Water and Light (BWL)  presented and answered questions about the project. Public commenters and the council had concerns about the city's policy for addressing homelessness and the cold temperatures, as well as the treatment of homeless folks by the city police as captured in a video circulating online. The Union Missionary Baptist Church applied for a rezoning of their property on S MLK Jr Blvd to continue to operate as a temporary warming center for families. Council drafted a letter asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to remove their masks when in Lansing, and asked the mayor to make a plan to protect all people here.

Be advised, violence is discussed in this episode.

Our guest this episode, Selina Máté, has worked in refugee resettlement for the last six years, she is also a creative content strategist, the co-owner of Peculiar coffee co., and was appointed to Lansing's Historic District Commission last year.

Check out Selina’s coffee company here:

https://www.peculiarcoffeeco.com/

Deep Green more info for Lansing website:

https://deepgreen.energy/lansing-public-info

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

At the January 12th Lansing city council meeting citizens encouraged the mayor and council to give unhoused folks recently re-located to a hotel on the southside more time at the hotel, and to work on a holistic plan for addressing housing needs in the city.  Council set their schedule for the sale and rezoning of the site for the Deep Green proposed data center. Residents spoke up for and against a rezoning request for the planned development of a 29-unit apartment complex on W Mt Hope Ave.

Be advised, violence is discussed in this episode.

Our special guest is Julie Powers. Julie currently works as the Executive Director of Immigration Law and Justice Michigan. She has worked in the non-profit sector for 30 years in and out of Lansing.  Immigration Law and Justice Michigan is dedicated to fighting for justice and advocating for the rights of immigrants in Michigan, to create a more inclusive and compassionate society, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

To report ICE activity reach out to Michigan Immigrants Rights Center:

https://michiganimmigrant.org/

Immigration Law and Justice Michigan where Julie Powers works:

www.iljmi.org

Deep Green more info for Lansing website:

https://deepgreen.energy/lansing-public-info

Mayor’s budget input request form:

https://mi-lansing.form.transform.civicplus.com/60941

Merica 20 to life conversation with Loretta Stanaway:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GVPcz7WeV/

Recycle Rama April 25th:

https://www.facebook.com/MidMichiganRecycling/

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s Patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

At the January 5th Lansing City Council meetings the council chose their new president and vice president: fourth ward representative Peter Spadafore and at-large councilmember Trini Pehlivanoglu. A failure of the accessible commenting option, disagreement about the procedure for signing up for public comment, and a racially charged comment had this council off to a rocky start.

Our guest  William Lawrence is running for United States Congress to represent Mid-Michigan's 7th Congressional District in Washington D.C. A lifelong organizer, he founded a youth-led national climate action organization, Sunrise Movement, and has been working on housing issues at the local and state level as the founder of the Michigan Rent is Too Damn High Coalition. He was raised in East Lansing and now lives near downtown Lansing.

You can learn more about William’s campaign here:

https://wewill2026.com/

Here is where you can get involved with The Rent Is Too Damn High:

https://mirentistoodamnhigh.com/lansing/

Support this independent podcast and find meeting issue maps and bingo results on the patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

Check out the Lansing City Council here:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

At the December 15th Lansing city council meeting the council heard from 18 passionate residents about the transitional (mod pod) housing project. People were pissed at the 13 state house republicans who created massive state funding cuts. Six Old Town shopkeepers supported expanding the business district boundary. A four to four vote stalled a noise ordinance change. Three board appointments and two redevelopment tax abatements were approved, and there was one comment about the disgraced fire chief. 

Our special guest this episode is Khadja Erickson. Khadja is a dedicated housing advocate, organizer, and Executive Director of the Tenant Resource Center Mid Michigan. With years of experience in harm reduction, eviction defense, and grassroots organizing, she has worked tirelessly to ensure Lansing tenants have the tools, knowledge, and support they need to stay housed and assert their rights. She’s also a mom to five fabulous kids, which shapes how she thinks about stability, safety, and the kind of city we’re building for the next generation.

*CORRECTION* In the episode I said Dietrich Park was outside the new Old Town principal shopping district boundary - it looks like it actually inside the boundary.

Learn more about the Tennent Resource Center of Mid-Michigan here:

https://trcmm.org/

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil

Check out the Lansing City Council here:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council