Beginning of the end

(SCENE) Metrospace agreement seems to be near completion

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MONDAY, MAY 4 — An agreement between the City of East Lansing and MSU’s Art, Art History and Design department to turn curatorial control of (SCENE) Metrospace over to the university seems to be nearing completion, with a vote on the agreement expected later this month.

Previously, there was a plan to vote on the lease agreement at tomorrow’s East Lansing City Council meeting. (The Council normally meets on Tuesday evenings, but rescheduled this week’s meeting to avoid conflict with Tuesday’s ballot vote.) That plan was pushed back, however, after members of the Council and of the East Lansing Arts Commission raised concerns about the agreement at an April 14 Council work session.

According to Tim McCaffrey, East Lansing’s director of parks and recreation, an amended version of the lease agreement will be presented at the City Council’s May 12 work session, with a formal vote on the agreement tentatively slated for May 19’s Council meeting.

The biggest change in the proposed lease agreement since the April 14 work session, said McCaffrey, is a change in language to allow either side to break the lease without cause with 30 days notice.

The East Lansing Arts Commission, which presented several concerns at the April 14 work session, plans to present its set of recommendations at the May 12 work session. While the language of its recommendations has not been finalized, according to commission member Mike Teager, it comprises four points: that (SCENE) Metrospace operate year-round, that it establish a community board to provide input, that a review would be triggered if (SCENE) Metrospace were closed for more than three consecutive weeks and that a regular review would be conducted to make sure that MSU is adhering to the agreement.

Among all of the potential changes, at least one thing will remain the same. The lease agreement stipulates that the gallery will continue to operate under the name (SCENE) Metrospace unless the university receives written permission from the city to change it.


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