HomeMy WebLinkAboutSaginaw St. Corridor Improvement Authority Minutes 08.20.26
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Michigan Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority Board of Director’s Meeting Friday, Aug 21, 2026 – 8:30 AM Foster Community Center 200 N. Foster Ave., Room 211 Lansing, MI 48910 Members Present: Jon Lum, Katherine (Katie) Hubbard, L. Peter Clark, Tim Daman Mayoral Designee: Members Absent: Elaine Barr (excused), Jeffrey Hank (excused), Brandon
List (excused) Facilitator Present: Kahleea Washington (LEDC), Ethan Schmitt
Public Present: Ryan Shields, Lansing Planning Office Recorded by: Katherine (Katie) Hubbard Call to Order/Roll call President Lum welcomed everyone and called the MACIA Board of Directors meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. Approval of the MACIA Board Meeting Minutes (7.17.26) - Action MOTION: Peter Clark; Motion seconded by Tim Daman YEAS: Unanimous. Motion carried. Update on Corridor Projects a. Website The Michigan Ave. website is up and running at https://www.dotheavenue.com/. b. Corridor Banners
Kahleea reported that she’s been in contact with Bo at Capital Imaging and the banners are currently being fabricated and could be installed as early as next week. Approval of Board Insurance – Action MOTION: Tim Daman; Motion seconded by Peter Clark YEAS: Unanimous. Motion carried. Kahleea provided two quotes: one for General Liability and Terrorism coverage with an annual premium of $925.00 and one for Nonprofit Org Directors and Officers Liability coverage with an annual premium of $887.00.
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Approval of Bank Account Transfer – Action MOTION: Katie Hubbard; Motion seconded by Peter Clark YEAS: Unanimous. Motion carried. Kahleea shared that our account is currently with Comerica, which will transition to Fifth Third Bank in September, LEDC is recommending that we move our account to PNC. Review of Grant Materials – Action MOTION: Peter Clark; Motion seconded by Jon Lum YEAS: Unanimous. Motion carried.
Discussion of Grant Guidelines Kahleea provided a draft of grant guidelines that we could adopt. The guidelines are based off those that the City uses for their grant program and are similar to those that other CIA’s have
adopted. Chair Lum expressed support for the 25% match/buy-in from the applicant, as outlined in the proposed guidelines – he mentioned that he appreciates when businesses have some skin in the game. Peter Clark also expressed support for a 25% match. Others brought up that the
façade improvement project required a 50% match from participating businesses, so 25% seems like a reasonable amount to request, but some grant programs don’t require any sort of financial investment from the business owner. We discussed the possibility of dropping the requirement to help attract new businesses, but the Board decided in favor of keeping it consistent at 25% out of respect for current MI ave business owners. The Board also discussed the possibility of dropping the exclusion for cannabis operations, which Jeffrey Hank had expressed support for in an email to the Board prior to the meeting, or even the possibility of removing several exclusions, but it was decided that any deviation from the business grant guidelines that the City has implemented could open us up for further scrutiny if, for example, we removed the restriction, and then declined to approve a business grant request. The Board
decided to move forward with the restrictions in place for the time being and it was suggested that we might review and revise our guidelines (if desired) on an annual basis. Other Business Tim Daman mentioned business concerns and feedback regarding the poor upkeep of the underpass – such as weeds, trash, broken lighting, which affects safety and how our city looks to
businesses considering whether or not to put down roots in Lansing. The question was raised regarding who is responsible for maintenance. Jon noted that MDOT has jurisdiction on the underpass/Michigan ave bridge and Tim asked if maybe MACIA Board could assist with maintenance along the Corridor. Kahleea will investigate further. Kahleea reminded the Board that we have ARPA funds (~$30,000) that we need to spend by year end. She mentioned that the plan had been to use the funds to wrap up the Block 2000 Façade project, but she hasn’t heard back from Scott regarding the status as there had been delays with some of the contractors. We discussed that we could use $10,000 for the LEDC contract and could also use some to support the Fall Festival. Kahleea will connect with Scott re: Block 2000 project status and will propose an alternate plan if needed. Ethan Schmitt shared that the Michigan Ave. street closure from Magnolia to Clemens has been requested for the Fall Festival (Oct. 24) and that the mayor has requested to speak at the event.
The next meeting date is set as Friday, September 18. Adjournment Peter Clark motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 am. Tim Daman seconded.
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Chair Lum adjourned the Michigan Avenue Board of Directors at 9:29 am.
Jonathan Lum, Chair
Michigan Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority