East Lansing City Council is holding a special meeting this weekend to fill a vacant seat and appoint a fifth member to the group.
Council members have picked five finalists to interview Saturday for the vacancy. The finalists are Nichole Biber, Daniel Bollman, Noel Garcia, Jr., Mikey Manuel and Abigail Tykocki.
The city said community members are welcome to attend the meeting at the Hannah Community Center. A press release noted there will be time after the interviews for attendees to share public comments on the finalists and what they’re looking for in the next council member.
East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon said the process of applying to serve on the council can be daunting, and he admires the finalists for going through with it. He and Councilmember Dana Watson applied to join the council and were appointed in 2020.
Bacon added he wants to avoid forming a specific vision of what he wants from the council members. He intends to be impartial and give each of the applicants a fair shot of being selected.
“I’m just really going to let them talk and kind of bring their selves and their visions for East Lansing, and we'll kind of go from there,” he said.
The vacancy comes after former Councilmember Lisa Babcock stepped down to serve as a 54B District Court judge. Her departure left the council with four members.
At the council's first meeting of the year, council members deadlocked 2-2 and voted down a resolution to reduce the cap for East Lansing's deer cull. Whoever the group appoints could cast deciding votes if all members are present at a meeting.
Bacon said Babcock was an important advocate for the community. He’s looking forward to hearing the different perspectives the finalists could bring to the group.
“That's the most important thing on council, that all viewpoints are kind of brought to the forefront," Bacon said. "We have a good mix of that right now, and I just want to continue to keep that mix strong on council.”
