COGS deal with East Lansing mutually beneficial

Given the occasional spats between students and the city of East Lansing, it is nice to see a relationship between both parties that is mutually beneficial. On Tuesday, the East Lansing City Council approved a special parking permit program proposed by MSU’s Council of Graduate Students, or COGS.

It took nearly a year for the plan to come into fruition, but the end result has made it possible for the organization to purchase bulk amounts of parking permits at the Division Street garage for a decreased rate. At $150, it might not seem like a deal, but that is 50 percent less than the going rate. Also, COGS would have to order a minimum of 100 permits.

First, it’s good to see something happening for graduate students. There were nearly 11,000 graduate and professional students at MSU in fall 2009, according to MSU’s website. For the most part, undergraduates only really encounter them when they are teaching their classes. If nothing else, this a solid bit of recognition for the work many of them do behind the scenes.

This isn’t a signal that student organizations haven’t been working well with the city. Sororities and fraternities have several events that are open to the general public each semester. And given the level of participation, those seem to work out quite well. It also goes beyond the simpler aspects of business where students either work in or frequent local shops, eateries and bars. This deal feels like it is between groups on equal footing.

Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s planning and development director, said the program was “a good way to get some additional parkers in the system. (COGS) will be a much larger user than any other parking user in the downtown” — to the tune of, at minimum, $15,000. This shows that cash-strapped cities such as East Lansing can turn to their students — or their organizations — on occasion. If something is either under-utilized or not in use at all, students can come up with creative and profitable solutions.

Case in point: Dan O’Connor, East Lansing parking administrator, said back in January that the city could no longer ignore garage maintenance issues. He drove the point home by adding, “We’ve already cut to the point where we’re cutting maintenance over the years and it’s time to do it again. We’ve been putting it off and we can’t put it off any longer.”

Giving COGS the opportunity to help them raise some money was a good choice. The city, for its part, is able to help students at little risk to itself. COGS then fills spaces the city has not been able to fill.

As O’Connor pointed out: “At any given time we have more than 100 open spaces at peak times.” So, kudos to both organizations for finding the beneficial silver lining in both situations.