State gives Ingham Co. $39 million for ‘critical’ projects

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The state of Michigan’s 2025 fiscal year budget allocated $39 million to Ingham County to fund “critical County projects,” Ingham County Controller Gregg Todd announced Friday.

Four projects received funding from the state budget, including $1.5 million to pave the Kinneville Road/Kirby Road corridor.

“We are really excited about the funding Ingham County received, and incredibly thankful to our legislative delegation, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sarah Anthony, Senator Sam Singh, and Representatives Kara Hope, Julie Brixie, Penelope Tsernoglou, and Emily Dievendorf,” said Ingham County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Ryan Sebolt. “Without the State’s support, we would not be able to proceed with these important projects without putting additional burdens on our taxpayers.”

$12.5 million will help fund replacing the Ingham County Youth Center. The project required $32 million in funding, but the county will use the Juvenile Justice Millage to offset the remaining $19.5 million, allowing the project to proceed.

“The existing Youth Center was built in 1986, and the Raise the Age legislation, which was
passed by the State in 2021, has led to a population of older juveniles with more serious
charges,” Ingham County Law & Courts Committee Chair Commissioner Mark Polsdofer said.

Raise the Age requires the state to reimburse 100% of the cost of providing juvenile justice services when a juvenile is over 17 years old but under 18.

This older population has led to challenges in appropriately segregating juveniles, longer-term detention stays, and a greater need for programming and behavioral and mental health care, which was not a consideration 40 years ago,” said Polsdofer. “The proposed new state-of-the-art facility will address these issues.”

$10 million of the allocation will go to renovating the historic Feline Primate Building at the Potter Park Zoo. This includes:

• Building a new cat holding area
• Renovating the current outdoor cat exhibits
• Renovating indoor and outdoor primate exhibits
• Replacing the roof and HVAC system
• Renovating the public area to be more accessible and natural
• Replacing aging and insufficient infrastructure

“Ensuring the Zoo’s facilities address the welfare of the animals is essential to maintaining the accreditation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,” Ingham County Human Services Committee Chair Commissioner Irene Cahill said. “The Feline Primate Building currently houses an African lion, an Amur tiger, a snow leopard, ring-tailed lemurs, and spider monkeys, and this renovation is critical to ensuring the sustainability of these incredible animals at the Potter Park Zoo.”

$15 million will go to the Ingham County Housing Trust Fund. $5 million of that allocation will be specifically dedicated to projects in the City of Lansing. This will support previous projects that began with Ingham County allocating $9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to the Housing Trust Fund in 2022.

“The funding provided by the State for affordable housing initiatives is incredibly timely due to the fact that the original allocation of ARPA funds have been committed,” said County Services Committee Chair and Housing Trus Fund Committee Member Commissioner Robert Pena. “This generous allocation will ensure that we can continue to provide innovative and cost-effective housing solutions to address Ingham County’s affordable housing crisis.”

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