Calling to order a regular meeting
of the city council Tuesday,
May 14th, 2024 at 7:00 PM Please
stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge Alle
Pledge allegiance to the flag.
To the flag of the United States of America,
and to the republic for which it stands.
Nation, one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Roll call Madam Secretary,
Ms. Roy? Here.
Mr. Dwyer. Here. Ms. McGee? Here. Mr. Bokey? Here. Mr.
Nunan? Here. Mr.
Lafferty here or is present? We have a quorum.
Next item. Next item is adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion,
Support, Lafferty. Consent
agenda. No. Discussion.
Discussion. Uh, discussion, Mr. Lafferty?
Uh, yes. I'd like to remove items four J
and four M as in Mary.
Any additional discussion?
Uh, we'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Uh, Rogan. See a yes? Motion carries.
Where will those items be, Ms. Moore?
It will, I'll do it on the, uh,
Agenda. Next item. Next
Item. Adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion. Support,
Lafferty. Discussion
Ms. Moore.
Thank you. What was item?
Um, um,
four J will now be 14.
K. And what was four? M will now be 14. K.
Um, I'd like to add is 13 C uh, confirmation
of the appointment of the city assessor
and as item H, um,
uh, discussion in Ray Rodney Wright versus City of Warren.
16th. District Court case number
2 0 2 3 0 3 5 1 1.
CZ before the honorable James Maseroni.
Madam Secretary. Four J is 14 K for Ms. 14
LI Think you
Said K. K is
J. L is M.
Got it. Okay. 13 C and 13 H. Anything further?
Uh, 12 H. 12 H.
Thank you. 13 C, 12 H.
Got it. Any additional discussion?
Uh, hearing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is six A calendar pending matters.
Motion to receive and file
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion? Hearing none.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is seven a approval of the minutes
of the regular meeting of April 23rd, 2024.
So moved. Support.
Motion by Moore. Support by Newan. Any discussion?
Hearing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight.
A approval of bills of the General Revenue Fund. So moved.
Support Dwyer.
Any discussion? Hearing none?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight B.
Approval of the bills of the water and sewer system.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Any discussion? Hearing none. I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Rogan sees a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is audience participation.
Member. The audience who would like
to address the city council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form located on the
right side of the stage.
This is a reminder, uh, that you must put your name
and address on the form or give it at the podium.
You have three minutes. Uh, this audience is
for agenda items only.
There's additional time at the end of the meeting
for general audience.
Uh, first up is Jeff, uh, Mathis.
I had to press it. Good evening, counsel.
My name is Jeff Matthews, longtime worn resident, and I come
before you tonight to speak on council agenda matter 13 G,
request of the police department to extend the award
for license plate reader technology
to flock safety for a two year period.
I implore counsel to take pause
and reconsider the further adoption of this system
as there is evidence that not only could this powerful
system be abused and weaponized,
but it's failure to correctly identify 10% of plates has led
to dangerous arrests of innocence.
Both the A CLU
and Electronic Frontiers Foundation have
spoken out against flock.
The risks associated with its use
and the dangers imposed
by the general government contract it enters into
with most departments.
Make no mistake, counsel, that the promises made
by flock are there to promote sales and not safety.
Evidence of this can be seen in flux zone data
that is released through individual departments
of voluntary transparency portals.
Notably, Warren does not participate in this.
To quote a media article by Ryan Ahorra, a security engineer
and researcher using the few search audit logs shared
by departments of the only 18 customers that publish, uh,
publish search audit logs,
forehead searches in the last 30 days,
including more than 60,000 cameras.
To further quote, if this is accurate,
then in some situations, some organizations can search
what seems like every single camera
flock safety has in the field.
I cannot validate which departments Warren PD decides
to share their data with.
But if flock's own data is to be believed,
then it seems very possible to supersede those limitations.
Sterling Heights has a transparency portal,
and with a smaller number of cameras has captured nearly
900,000 plates in the last 30 days.
They voluntarily share that data with 1000 agencies.
Ferndale also has a portal,
which shockingly reveals they don't delete all data
after 30 days, which is flock standard,
but chose instead to keep it indefinitely.
If these failures and flock zone network are true,
it only amplifies the risk
of out-of-state agencies searching our databases
to hunt women, exercising their right
to use Warren's Planned Parenthood Clinic,
and potentially using our best intentions to strip women
of their rights and bodily autonomy.
Flock has demonstrated even in their operational
installations, conduct, uh, conduct a failure
to follow rules and permitting requirements in
five different states.
Notably, South Carolina found 200 unpermitted cameras
forcing them to put a moratorium on new installations.
At the very least, I implore counsel
to require Warren PDs immediate adoption
of the transparency portal mechanic, uh, offered by flock
and to submit the maximum amount of data possible
for public oversight.
Furthermore, counsel should appropriate funds
and appoint an independent auditor
to review all searches conducted by the department
and any other agencies it shares our city's data.
With I beseech you counsel, please follow the example
of your peers in Menlo Park, California and
and our contracts with flock.
If you cannot do so, at least reign into use in its use.
And Warren, the A CLU has
published the best rules and correct
A Time. Mr. Matthews, I'm
sorry.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
That is it for audience. Next item.
Next item is 10, a
Mad chair. I was late, but
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for abiding it. Of course.
Mr. Donahue Donahue. I always say it incorrectly. Apologies.
Thank you for accommodating me. Sorry I was late.
Regarding item 10 a, I'm pleased
that counsel has again made a annual, uh, declaration
of a police week.
This is a key week, uh,
most honoring the National Law Enforcement Memorial in, uh,
Washington DC, which honors our fallen
law enforcement officers.
And in particular, I appreciated the post this week,
honoring two previously fallen warrant officers related
to item 13 A, the wrecker or the wrecker ordinance.
I want to thank counsel.
I know I've spoken at this very microphone
at a few sessions this year, uh,
imploring you to take a look at that.
And it appears, uh, my, uh, request, uh, was addressed.
So I do notice that the, the primary goal of
that ordinance is to remove the fee schedule from the, uh,
municipal ordinance code, which I presume
and hope will then be taken up by this body to set ordinance
to set, uh, fees related to, uh, the record contract.
And I hope as part of that, uh,
there will be a public hearing
or if not that some market research into
what reasonable rates are.
In particular, I implore this counsel to remove any instance
of a gate fee or let that be recovered elsewhere if,
uh, a resident already has a, uh, something funny.
No, that's fine. Sorry.
If I was being humorous, I just wanted to be aware.
In any case, it's, uh,
after someone has been in an accident, paid a fee
to have their car towed
and have to pick it up, they shouldn't have to pay again.
They've paid storage, uh, just to have their, uh,
car picked up
and, uh, if, uh, with a tow truck, if their choice,
if they have AAA or another, this is just gouging.
So I hope that rate schedule will be set.
I know that the, uh, that there was an earlier agenda item
for a prior meeting stating the, uh, what the,
uh, companies would be.
But there's a great opportunity to reform, uh,
that fee schedule to the better.
The administrative fee should also be lowered
and should be a single fee split between the city
and the record department.
It currently, each entity gets $50, so
that's a hundred dollars on top
of a fee on top of everything else.
There's no way there's a hundred dollars in variable
costs for a simple tow.
And then finally, in 14 b, the water rate increase.
I realized that, uh, this among other topics was, uh,
greatly discussed in the, uh, budget hearings.
Uh, I have no doubt it's been thoughtfully considered,
but this being a second reading, I asked counsel to pause
and, uh, not adopt this increase.
Now, the increase was only announced a few months ago.
I think this is an opportunity to baseline
what the mayors included in her budget, uh,
over the next year, meet, meet
and get what actually is needed from the, uh,
water department itself.
Do an independent analysis, understand that
what wholesale rates GLWA is done,
and then next year set a rate that ensures
that this is all taken into consideration.
Doing it now, I believe would be rushed
and, uh, would strain the budgets of a Warren
Residence. Thank you. Thank
you. Next item.
That is the end of audience.
Next item is announcements 10, a Police Week resolution.
Madam Chair. So moved.
Support Laffer Date, Ms. Moore. Thank you.
Resolution Police Week in the city of Warren 2024.
Whereas law enforcement officers play a crucial role in
safeguarding our community and upholding the rule of law.
And whereas Police Week established by a joint resolution
of Congress in 1962 pays tribute to the local, state
and federal law enforcement officers
who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service
to their communities.
And whereas Police Week is an opportunity
to honor the dedication
and sacrifice of law enforcement officers
and to express gratitude
for their unwavering commitment to public safety.
And whereas Police Week serves as a reminder
of the importance of supporting law enforcement agencies
and officers in their mission to protect
and serve our community.
Now therefore, let it be resolved
that the Warren City Council hereby recognizes Police Week,
which will be observed from May 12th to May 18th, 2024.
As a time to honor
and remember Warren Police Officer Edward Anthony Ria,
and Sergeant Christopher Michael ERs,
who had lost their lives in the line of duty.
And that the City Council expresses its appreciation
for the dedicated service of all law enforcement officers
and reaffirms its commitment to supporting them in efforts
to keep our community safe.
And that the City Council encourages all residents
to take this opportunity to thank law enforcement officers
for their service and to reflect on the importance
of public safety in our community,
and that a copy of this resolution be presented
to acting Warren Police Commissioner Charles Rushton
as a token of the city Council's appreciation
and support for the law enforcement community
Resolution declared, adopted this 14th day of May, 2024.
All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.
Madam Chair, Ms. Moore.
I would, uh, just note that, uh, Edward Ria,
officer Edward Ria, uh, end of watch was 3 360 9.
Sergeant Christopher Wooder. End of watch was 10 11 2000.
And, um, uh, I'd like to,
I'd like to also honor
and think about Mark Anthony Sawyers, whose end of watch was
Saturday, June 5th, 2004.
He was a Sterling Heights police officer
that was killed in the line of duty
and a little close to mine.
The, the, uh, shooter's car was found in our car wash.
Actually, that's, we became very involved in that.
So anyway, um, um, we are thinking of all
of our police officers today
and hoping that we don't have to read another name ever.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Moore. Any additional announcements?
Mad president, Mr. Lafferty.
Not quite sure how you follow that.
The War and Civic Theater will be hosting their production.
This is week two of Cabaret and everyone is invited.
Uh, adults are invited to enjoy this, uh,
this production at the Owen Jackson Theater.
And that's at, uh, nine Mile
and Van D**e this Friday, 7:00 PM Saturday at 7:00 PM
and Sunday matinee at three.
The general admission is $18,
and the show does contain mature adult themes,
not recommended for children.
Thank you.
Any additional announcements?
Vice President McGee? Thank you.
Just wanna remind everyone, uh, good evening.
I wanted to remind everyone that the second
to annual skill trays fair will be on this coming Thursday.
I'd like to thank, um, the mayor
and our staff for really making sure this happened.
Um, you will have several skill traits
that we'll be attending.
Um, someone will bring their information as well as show you
what exactly they do with their particular skill.
Um, just wanna let you know, these are six figure jobs.
Um, that's for our future.
These are the jobs that's building our streets.
These are the jobs that's building, that have careers,
that's building the large corporations that are out there,
iron workers, pipe pipefitters, plumbers, um,
all types of skill traits.
There are 27, um, plus skill traits out there.
Um, and we appreciate it if you just share with everyone.
I put the flyer, um, out there to make sure
that everyone get a copy of it.
And if you can share with your family and friends,
and especially our senior high schoolers.
Thank you. That's this Thursday from four
to 7:00 PM Thank you. Where
Is it at? It's,
uh, it will be located at the Civic Center,
um, on Van D**e.
Thank you. Thank you.
Um, Mr. Nunan chair? Aye?
Yep. Uh, okay. So, uh, I have it
that the crime commission is holding a senior health seminar
in the atrium tomorrow from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Thank you.
Any additional announcements? Hearing none.
Uh, Madam Secretary. Next item.
Next item is 11 A,
which is an administrative hearing request
of Fred's unique furniture to appeal a denial
of a secondhand dealer business license.
Uh, can someone from,
I'm gonna have the administration come up first.
Are you the petitioner? Yes. Yes. Okay.
I'm gonna have someone from the Good, good
Evening and Oh, Someone else's.
Yeah, I will call you up.
Is there someone from the administration
that can speak on this item?
Dave,
It's the police Actually.
Sorry. Can you, I can't hear you. Somebody was supposed to
Be here.
Somebody from zoning was supposed to show up.
I don't see 'em here though.
Um, from what I understand, there's, uh,
several zoning violations.
Um, I don't know offhand exactly what they are, though.
I was relying on our zoning inspector to
bring that information.
Is any, do you want us to put it farther on the agenda?
Is someone going to come?
If you can, I can even run back
and check the BSNA real fast.
Can we move it back?
Well, I mean, that's fine.
Instead of tabling it
and making the petitioner come back. I'd, I'd rather do that.
If gimme 20 minutes, I'll run back to City Hall.
Say it again. Gimme 20 or half an hour.
I'll run back to City Hall.
It's, it's fine. Uh, are you willing to wait
20, 30 minutes?
Whatever it takes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Maselli.
It's a point of order to
Move the agenda item.
Um,
We, Um, motion to table this item, um,
till further in the agenda. Support
To table.
All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Next item is 10 B,
which is an administrative hearing request of JAMA Jafar
for a new SDM license to be located at 28 8 53 Bunard,
Warren, Michigan, 4 8 0 8 8 DBA Omega general store
consideration and adoption of a resolution.
Motion to support anyone to approve it's administrative.
Oh, this's. Administrative hearing. First, uh,
anyone from the administration here to speak on this item?
Are you the petitioner? I
Am the Officer. You're
the officer. Great. Thank you.
Good evening. What was your name? Officer?
Jason Bruce Liquor Licensing
Officer Moore Police Department.
Um, I conducted a full investigation,
background investigation on this business owner.
And, um, and it's been approved from my, my standpoint.
Thank you. Appreciate it. Sure.
Anyone motion support.
Motion to approve with discussion. Thank
You. Board,
Uh, discussion. Mr. Lafferty. Support
Nunan. Thank you.
Uh, through the chair to Mr. Schroeder.
In, I don't believe in the, even my first term
that we've ever approved a liquor license.
Uh, so is this, we are approving the
applicant to have a license.
We are approving, uh, their opportunity to sell,
uh, alcoholic beverages.
Mr. Lafa, can you, can you clarify?
I can provide some additional information that MS.
Camp provided, uh,
and then Jeff can, uh, the, apparently there is a state,
the state had said, uh,
that they needed a resolution from the body in order
for them to grant it.
And so MS.
Camp put it on the agenda
because there we needed, in order to provide a resolution,
we need to vote on it.
That's the context I have. Mr.
Shorter, I don't know if you have anything
Additional. That
is correct. And the resolution is on the LCC form,
which is in the backup.
Yeah. Alright.
And we actually have, we actually have two tonight.
So we have not, we've not had any
that require any businesses that required a license
in the last, uh, four and a half years.
Or they bypassed us,
Or they bypassed us somehow.
Yeah, that's, that's a a good point.
I'm, I'm just, I've, I remember back,
I think even when you were on counsel the first time
and back when counsel was at the courthouse,
these were all the time.
Wow. But I know the state law has changed since then. This
Is packaged liquor. This
is like a liquor license in a bar. Understood.
I Think they're different. Is
worth the form
provided by the LCC here is an April, 2024 form.
So something has changed where they're bringing these back.
I, I know that local legislative bodies weren't considering
a lot of these for a period of time, so I don't know
that this is what we think it might be,
but it might actually be LCC needing the resolution.
Thank you. Anything And,
and my de is to, you know, law enforcement saying
that this is, this is okay.
The, uh, person meets all the merits necessary.
So I have no ob no objection,
but I wanted to just to have that clarification. Thank you.
Any other discussion? Okay.
Hearing none, I will call the question. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
11 C, which is an administrative hearing request
of Assad Ibrahim sobe for a new tavern beer
and wine license to be located at 32 2 70.
Van D**e, Warren, Michigan 4 8 0 9 3.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution.
You can come up again if Officer Jason.
Hello again. I've, uh, same as the previous one.
I did a full investigation background check, clear,
no criminal history, anything like that.
Thank you. So, and to speak to the resolution form,
that was from the MLCC prior to going
through the state investigation.
So once it passes here, they have to apply with the state
and then they agree upon that.
So we would like to do the city first,
and then that way they're kind
of resolution form is for that.
Thank you. Yep. I'll turn it
over to counsel for action. So
Moved. Support
Lafferty. Any discussion?
I I I'd like to ask, do we have any limitations on
how many total liquor licenses we
allow in the city of Warren wor,
I dunno The number, but there is a limit.
There is a limit, But that's
Monitored by the officer.
Jason, you know the answer.
He wanted to get his steps in. Mm-Hmm.
Exactly. Uh, so yes. MLCC, um, they have a quota.
It is online. You can see that on the quota.
If you go to mlcc.com, it'll show you the quota
and how many we're at and how many were allotted.
Uh, and then it, it kind of goes off of that
per county and then per city.
Thank you. No problem.
I don't know what that number is off hand.
I know that we were allotted,
I believe eight more are available for this type of license.
Thank you. Yes. Mr. Nunan, anything further?
Uh, that sounds good. Madam Chair.
Ms. Moore, just For the residence.
This is at the new table 53 Pizzeria,
which is on the east side of Van D**e,
just north of 13 mile.
So yeah. Stop in
Any additional discussion.
Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan. See is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item
12. A
water division operation report. First quarter, 2024.
Motion to receive and file
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion? I just wanted
to make a comment in reading the report.
Uh, the city has a lead
and copper service line replacement program for the public.
Uh, it looked like we inspected 7,980.
Uh, I'm assuming pipes that may be residents.
Uh, lead was confirmed at 530
and lead services replaced were 335.
So, uh, this is a program, I believe that's ongoing
and important work, particularly in older homes.
So just wanted to note that.
Uh, hearing no other discussion, I will call the question.
This is a motion to receive. Receive a file. Yeah.
Uh, all in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next, item 12
B, request of a review panel to review proposals
for a health and dental insurance agent
and to approve one member of council to serve on the panel.
Madam President, I nominate Vice President Melody McGee.
Any support? I support. Thank you Mr. Nunan.
Uh, Ms. McGee, do you accept the nomination? I accept. Okay.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? No.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item, request approval of a review panel
to review proposals for cybersecurity assessment
and to approve one member of counsel to serve on,
to serve on the panel.
Motion to appoint Jonathan Lafferty
Support.
I saw that Coming. Support Bokey. Uh, Mr.
Lafferty, you accept the nomination? I do. Okay.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Congratulations Ms.
Wiggy and Mr. Lafferty. Next item 12
D. Request of
the police
and fire retirement Commission to approve the retirement
of Steven Campbell from the police department
prior to age 50.
So moved. Support,
Support, um, motion made by Moore.
Support by Newnan. Any discussion?
Adam Chair, Ms. Moore,
I think we've discussed this before,
but congratulations on your retirement,
uh, officer Campbell.
And we wish you great happiness
and great health and your retirement.
Thank you so much for your service to this great community.
We appreciate the sacrifices you and your family have made.
Any additional discussion? Uh, hearing none?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan a? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 e.
Request to ratify the proposed city of Warren
and UAW 4 12 59 extension
agreement. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion.
Discussion Ms. Moore?
Yes. Um, an issue has come up in discussion of, um,
the contract, um, for the last,
you know, few months, I guess.
Um, uh, uh, chief Assistant, um,
city Attorney Mary Michaels has been, uh, acting
as the acting city attorney.
Uh, that is actually, um, limited by the UAW contract
to like four weeks.
So something's going to have to be, uh, done about
that situation because she can no longer be an acting,
um, city attorney.
I don't know what the plan is for that,
but that she's far exceeded that time.
Any additional discussion? Hearing none.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Mr. Noonan? Yes. Ancy is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 f consideration
and adoption of a resolution authorizing quick claim deed
to City of Warren tax increment finance authority
for real property at 2,205 Van D**e Avenue,
parcel number 13 13 33.
2 72 6 Authorizing the mayor
and the city clerk to execute a contract consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Madam Chair,
Uh, support Nonan, uh, discussion Ms. Uh, Moore?
Yeah. I believe this is to, uh, facilitate the sale
with Habitat for Humanity.
Is that one? Okay. Thank you.
Any additional discussion? Hearing none?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 G.
Request of Bloom,
LLC located at 68 77 Miller Warren, Michigan,
4 8 0 8 9 for a 60 day extension
of their adult use Class C license. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion,
hearing non call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lty? Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan CA? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 H.
Discussion in Ray, uh, matter
of Rodney Wright versus City of Warren.
16th. District Court case number 2 2 3 0 0 3 5 1 1.
cz Honorable James Maseroni.
I would make a motion to settle this matter, uh, pursuant
to the terms discussed in closed session
Support. Lafferty,
Uh, I will call a question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 a proposed ordinance amendment
to chapter 37 of the Warren Code of Ordinances relating
to record licenses.
This is a first reading motion to approve
Support Lafferty Uh, discussion
Support.
And do you have discussion? Any discussion?
Uh, Madam President through the chair of Ms. Moore Army
Through The chair to you?
Oh. Uh, this, I would assume is in response
to our discussion at the sub, the towing subcommittee with,
uh, the feedback we received.
Well, partly, but this is so that, um, we can make changes
to the fees without, uh, publishing a new ordinance.
This is just the ordinance.
And then we'll have, um, we'll have a resolution if we need
to change the fees going forward.
Makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Thank you. Mm-Hmm.
Any additional discussion? Um, Ms. Moore, quick question.
Yeah. Uh, it's so it's not red lined at all.
This is the existing ordinance for the first reading.
No, there, it's, there's, it's not red lined.
There's the old one and then the new one.
The, the, the changes are in,
are incorporated in the bottom.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you. If You just scroll right?
Yes. Mm-Hmm. Any additional discussion? We
Just took out the fees.
Hearing none. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Grogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 B. Council member Jonathan Lafferty.
Discussion in Ray reduction of blight in neighborhoods
and update from property maintenance.
So moved with discussion, Support,
Discussion. Council member
Lafferty.
Thank you. I'm certain that
the council members have received a couple of, uh,
complaints about tall grass in the neighborhoods here
and there, and asking when is grass cutting going to start?
This is typical. Every year we, we get, uh,
these types of calls.
And so I wanted to give an opportunity.
I know people have already started cutting their grass
and they're are already sprucing up their properties.
Uh, my wife has been in, in our garden for about two
and a half months already with, uh, with the nice weather.
So, uh,
and there are those that are competing
for the beautification award this year.
And I think our beautification commission
is going to have their hands full.
But for those of, uh, those people that may not
take such great care of their, their property.
Uh, I was going to ask, uh, through Mr.
Elli, uh, if you could provide an update on
property maintenance, the, the best practices,
and also, uh, speak to the maintenance of the median
that, you know, might start looking a
little overgrown at the moment.
And how have you progressed moving
through the city to do that?
First cut.
Good evening, counsel. I'm Doug Campbell.
I'm the Chief Co Enforcement Officer. Can
You move a little closer to the microphone?
Thank you.
Good evening. I'm Doug Campbell.
I'm the Chief co Enforcement Officer in charge
of light and property maintenance.
Um, as far as what to do at six inches is the limit.
And then you get a warning notice we've got inspectors
sweeping the city, the entire city, north and south end.
And six inches
or lower, you're gonna get your notice next time it's a
ticket garbage can stored properly.
Uh, vehicles plated
and insured in driveways, um, insured,
they'll look up afterward.
But the plated in, in, in working order.
No flat tires, things of things like that.
Garbage cans stored properly with the lids closed.
Excuse me, Doug, could you, could you please speak, uh,
more into the mic because I really want the citizens
who watch to hear this so that they make sure
to follow the directions. You're, you're giving
Garbage cans stored properly with the lids closed,
firewood stored properly since we're allowed fires these
days, uh, 18 inches off the ground,
just keeping the grass neat
and trimmed so the rodents don't come around.
That's the biggest issue.
And with the light winter, we had the ticks
and the rats, they didn't die off like they used to, so
we're just trying to keep the grass cut and the debris
and trash not laying around the house,
places for them to borrow.
Spare tires in the yard, water,
and then we get the mosquitoes
and just keep your yards free of junk
and debris and the grass.
Six inches or lower. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Campbell.
The, the other complaints are the, the, uh, issues
that we hear are the larger medians in some neighborhoods.
I know I have one by me, 13 in ano.
I will get a call about that every year.
The grass is getting high.
When is the city coming out to cut?
Part of the medians are cut by us
and the other part are contracted out.
If you ever have an issue, please contact me
and we can address it right away.
Alright. Has your department already started, uh,
cutting grass on, on those meetings?
Um, yes. We started, uh, the second week of April
actually, we beat the contractors out
and we did everything one good time
before the season started, cleaned up the sticks, the trash
and things like that before we had a, the season opener.
Alright. Well, we certainly do appreciate the,
the good job you do.
And I wanted to thank you.
I know a lot of the, uh, the complaints I get are,
especially right now are the, are the tall grass.
And so, you know, if going over and,
and asking if, you know, they need a helping hand
before calling, you know, calling is always a nice gesture.
Uh, everyone has an opportunity to be a good neighbor.
I know we've helped, uh, you know,
neighbors across the street from time to time and,
and, uh, it's, it's nice
to see the neighbors coming together to help one another.
So it is, would, would certainly advocate for, you know,
being a good neighbor to one another
and only when those efforts fail, having to avail of, uh,
you know, calling out for a citation.
Okay. Thank
You sir. Madam
Chair.
Uh, Mr. Lafferty, anything further? Nothing further.
Thank you Ms. McGee. And then Mr. Bokey,
Um, I heard you say that stored properly, like trash cans.
Yes. How can, um, a individual find out, a homeowner,
find out what's the proper way to store behind the house?
France can, is there a website they can go to, um,
on Warren website?
Maybe they can go somewhere or find out more.
A telephone number can call. I
Can find that out and email you
that information tomorrow morning if
You'd like. Okay. Okay.
Thank you.
Anything further, Ms. McGee? Hey Mr. Bokey.
How you doing Mr. Campbell?
I'm great. How are you? Good.
Yeah. Last week I received a week
and a half, eight complaints from residents ranging from
auto parts in the backyard, high grass, uh, abandoned cars
with all plates on the street.
Um, I emailed and called your office
and received a very prompt response,
and I want to thank you for that.
Uh, some, most of the complaints were handled the same day.
Uh, you know, morning letters, uh, warning tickets,
and the, you know, the people complied
and cut the grass removed cars and the zoning
and the police department are handling the other
part, uh, problems. So, thank you.
You're welcome. Anything further, Mr. Bokey? No,
That is it. Thank you.
Any additional discussion?
Okay, we will motion to receive and file.
Let's see. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is to approve the appointment of f Scott Miller
as the city assessor.
So moved with discussion.
Support Lafferty. Discussion Ms. Moore?
Yes. Thank you. I think everybody on this, um, um,
council had an opportunity to either meet in person
or via Zoom with Mr. Scott.
Um, many people had checked on some references
and got good references for him.
Um, I think he'll be a good addition.
Um, the level four, which we used to call,
I think it's an MMAO technically now.
Um, but they're very, they're very hard to find
and, uh, the people that are, are very skilled,
um, in most instances.
So I, uh, welcome him
and, um, uh, hope he'll be very successful here.
Any additional discussion?
Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Mr. Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14, a consideration
and adoption of a resolution approving the fiscal year
20 24, 20 25.
Budget. So moved with discussion
Support Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, discussion. Ms. Moore?
Thank you very much.
Um, um, first off, I want to thank all of my colleagues
and the administration, uh, for those that were very, uh,
responsive to us and very helpful in answer our questions.
Everybody on this council was involved
in the budget process.
Everybody offered suggestions and ideas,
and we had great discussions.
And so I, I really, really appreciate that.
Um, there are a couple things overall that came up
during the budget time that are going to be addressed,
not individually, but overall.
Um, I think we all, um, are, um, in agreement
that there needs to be a, a, um,
an an overall vehicle management system.
We're buying vehicles from different departments
and we think that there probably should be a little more,
um, fleet Fleet management.
Yeah, fleet management. Um, that, um, also, um,
we would like to see, um, any of the employees
or contractors that are, uh, public facing, um, going
to people's homes that they are dressed in, um, clothing
that identifies them.
And we've had this discussion.
I think that's everybody's goal. Uh, Mr.
Mazare has been very supportive of that.
In fact, his, his folks showed up at the budget hearing
dressed very appropriately.
Um, and, um, you were to be commended. Um, Mr.
Melli, all of your people were very helpful.
And I was, they're new, um, to those positions.
I was very impressed with them
and thank them for their candor
and their, um, they're very professional.
Appreciate that. Um, so I think those sort
of things are taken care of.
Um, the resolution, um, is, um,
um, resolved
that the 2024 budget shall remain a line item budget, be it
therefore resolved that the city council adopts the mayor's
proposed budget for 20 24, 20 25
with the following amendments.
Um, while, um, there are no changes for city council, um,
we have put money into a, uh, the budget that is going
to fund some, uh, renovations here at the community center.
Um, so that we can have conference A, it needs new furniture
and chairs and we're hoping to have a smart TV
or whatever technology it takes so
that we can have Zoom capability in that room, um, so
that we can, um, uh, allow access to anybody
with a disability.
And also Zoom has the capability of recording so
that all those meetings can be recorded on Zoom.
And we are also hoping that DDA tfa some of the other,
um, commissions that we would like to be recorded
because they spend large amounts of money
and make big decisions
that they would incorporate a similar technology in their
conference rooms that they can record on Zoom
and then just hit the record button
and have a link on the city website.
I was informed that five
or six camera people were showing up
to record a DDA meeting, like it was a 60 minutes.
And I don't think that's the intent of having,
of the meeting recorded, it's just for transparency
so the people can see the action taken not
to watch a documentary.
So I think that is, and we'll get
to it later about the communications department.
That is one way to save a tremendous amount of money,
and that's what we need to do with that department.
So I would hope that those commissions would avail
themselves of that technology is very inexpensive
and I think it would go a long way with, um, uh,
being transparent with the public.
Um, the, uh, first change is
to the Human Resources department
to reduce the Human Resources director to 118,615.
And I would note that, um, many
of the changes we made were based on, um, our feeling
that there was not justification for the expenditure.
That doesn't mean that later on, if a need
or there's a justification that can be
provided to counsel, you can bring it back to us
and we will certainly consider any reasonable, uh, request.
I think everybody is open to that.
Um, so, you know, I want everybody
to keep that in mind as well.
Um, uh,
and in reducing the Human Resources Director
to 1 1 1 18 6 15, um, community
and economic, uh,
development reduced community outreach programs to zero
under the administrative unallocated expense.
Uh, there is an expense in the opioid
settlement that's confusing.
So we're just going to reduce that expense to zero.
And, um, you know, we've made it very clear
that this council wants to hear from some experts about
how we spend that money.
And, um, uh, going forward, we hope that happens.
Uh, under administrative allocated, uh, we'd like
to add a city project manager a contractual position
for 50,000 at this point.
There are a lot of projects going on in the city.
The skate park, um, uh, the Village Historic was like to do,
um, um, some things around the skate park.
We have a splash pad going.
We have fire departments, you know, going,
we have lots of stuff.
And it seems to me we could probably use a contract, uh,
project manager to oversee some of these projects.
Um, cultural Commission, um, we're adding $5,000
to contractual services.
It was, uh, mentioned to us that there was a Juneteenth, um,
celebration last year
and they thought $5,000 would help to bring that about.
Um, I think there were probably plans made this year.
That festival, that celebration is really not celebration.
The Cultural Commission is really not the
appropriate commission for that.
The cultural commission is fine Arts and Music.
Um, perhaps the, um, uh,
Juneteenth would be more appropriate under the Diversity
Equity Inclusion Commission.
That's something they could do,
but we can think about that forward.
But I, we didn't want to interrupt any plans for this year,
but that's something we can think about in the future.
Um, also there were, you know, through the budget,
there were outreach in some departments
and, um, it was, and promotion labeled.
And we actually printed out the definitions.
We go, went by those definitions during our, um, talks.
And, um, where there were changes made
to the word outreach didn't really fit.
So we think it would be appropriate to
change the community outreach
to community promotion slash outreach programs
that would cover all the, uh, that sort of thing.
Um, so we wouldn't have that, um, um, problem that,
that's in the Crime Commission Historical Commission.
Uh, same thing with, uh, village Historical Commission.
And in Village Historic.
We're adding 25,000 in contractual
services for the skate park.
And maybe Mr. Lafferty can speak
to this in greater detail when I'm done,
'cause he has more of the details about that.
Um, fire department eliminating the MIS specialist
and adding a Chief Technology officer for $123,854.
Um, and, um, I'm not sure if everyone is aware,
but our, uh, insurance rates are based on an ISO rating in,
um, many respects.
And that is, uh, the insurance agencies come in
and they rate our city based on, um, fire
and other, other things.
And we have gotten reports of
how we can improve our ISO rating.
We are a three now, if we could, if we could become a two,
that would mean about between 140
and a $200 per insurance policy in the city reduction,
that would be a huge amount of reduction for our residents.
Plus we would have, um, what is in the eyes
of the insurance agencies
and others, a, a, a safer, uh, first response.
And we have been getting re um, recommendations for years
and we have not always been following them.
And so we are adding a, um,
an engine in the proposed bond issue of a million dollars.
Um, we have to have so many aerials, so many pumpers,
and there's a, an algorithm for all of that.
I have, uh, you know, uh, more information about
that if anybody wants to hear that later.
But that, that's the one of the things we're adding now.
And that should help us with the iso.
They, they rate us every 10 years.
We're coming up for rating in, um, 2025,
and it sure would be great if we could get that, get
to a two, um, police department.
We're adding one captain position.
Um, that's 133,577. And that will bring us to four.
We were given very good justification for adding that, uh,
captain position by the police department.
And, um, uh, let's see.
Uh, DPW Fleet Fleet Maintenance.
We're adding capital outlay equipment
and machinery, John Deere Gator for $20,000.
That has happened
because that was originally in the DDA expenditures,
but it was earmarked for how much.
And the DDA can't pay for a piece of equipment that is going
to be dedicated to homage.
So we put that in the DPW, Mr. Fox that if you find, if
that's not the right place, we can discuss that.
But for now, um, we knew we had
to get it out of the other spot.
Uh, planning, we are reducing the meeting allowance
to 19,275.
They are at $75 per meeting now, which is
what every commission is across the board in the city.
But for one, I think is a hundred dollars
that meets once a year.
Um, they have requested one 30
and we are, uh, keeping it at 75, uh, in the library.
We're adding marketing promotions, uh, program advertisement
for $50,000.
Um, and, um, when we get to communications,
you'll understand we had, uh, in the years ago,
we had a news beat, which was basically the advertisement
for programs in recreation and library.
We're proposing that those marketing materials go
through the, uh, library
and recreation that they'd be sent out as a course.
Like the college's Continue Edge Send out.
It's not a big glossy expensive, it's a more, um,
modest mailing,
and it would serve the same purpose and save some money.
Um, recreation, we're adding 50,000 in marketing promotions,
uh, program advertisement that would bring their marketing
and promotions budget to 90,000
we're increasing Other federal grants,
ARPA $2.75 million for capital improvements.
We're increasing their capital improvements
to 2.78 million communications.
Deleting the City newsletter.
We're reducing the part-Time employees back to two
to 300,000
and reducing community outreach programs
to zero a couple of years.
Um, we sort of, uh, you know, rang the warning bell.
We knew that the communication department is in trouble.
Uh, they have been, um, living off, uh, their, their,
um, savings account.
That savings account has about another, if we were going for
what they asked for this year, about another year
and a half to operate, and we made cuts.
So that would at least give them, uh,
another half a year to operate.
Um, and you know, it's a little concerning
because we knew they're in trouble
and they've not been tightening their belts.
They've been, they, they increased their budget this year
by $330,000,
and we've gotta figure out a way to save some money.
A couple of things I mentioned were, uh, using the Zoom, uh,
recording and not sending five or six cameras out.
And we have to be very judicious on
how we're using those resources in that department
because we wanna save that department
because we have, we wanna have our city council meetings,
our ZBA, our planning meetings, um, uh, televised.
And we need to make sure that there's at least enough money
to do those essential services going forward.
Um, the next, uh,
changes are in the downtown Development Authority
Operations Fund.
Reduce community outreach programs to zero,
reduce the transfer to TFA to $150,000,
delete $1.5 million capital outlay fire escape.
Um, there we have not received any justification for that.
No reports, uh, police
and fire last year had, uh, when we discussed this,
did not recommend this.
And we have not gotten any justification for that, again,
nor for the a hundred thousand dollars capital
outlay historic preservation.
So we're deleting a hundred thousand there.
Adding capital outlay
for the Warren Community Center conference room,
a improvements of a hundred thousand
and removing the capital outlay,
Warren Community Center improvements.
John Deere Gator at how much for, uh, $20,000,
uh, tax increment finance authority,
reducing community promotions to 50,000
and deleting the 650,000
for capital outlays for Louis's Bar.
Um, these expenses are getting more
and more at that Louis's bar.
I think we need to stop, examine it, um, get some more input
and find out what the, the future's gonna hold for that
before we spend any money.
Um, if we have some justification for that, come back
and we'll, you know, reconsider it again.
But now I think we should not be spending, um, you know,
any more money until we get some good answers there.
Um, the American Rescue Plan, we are allotting $5 million
to upgrade substandard homes,
non-real based on economic criteria
and other requirements to be determined.
And account and light item will need to be established.
And 2.75, as we mentioned to, uh, the Parks and Rec.
Um, we, when we sat down
and talked about this, um, you know, we've done a lot
of things with the ARPA money
and we thought, how can we do something
to really impact this city, help the people
that are in need, improve the housing stock of this city,
uh, help the, it it will, will raise tax, um, revenue,
and it might be the best thing we've ever done for this city
to, um, do repairs on homes, roofs, uh, furnaces,
porches, um, pardon me, sidewalk side.
Well, sidewalks are city property.
That's not, that's not home property.
That's a different thing. But that's another
thing we need to deal with.
So those are, um, the, uh, amendments that we have made.
And, um, um, once again, thank you to everybody
that's been involved in this process.
We thank we, thank you, um, for everybody that responded
and gave us information on the record, not on the record.
We, we sincerely appreciate it. Thank you.
Any additional discussion? Madam Chair,
Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, I'd like to thank, uh,
secretary Moore, Mindy, for all
of your work in chairing the budget.
Uh, this is your fifth year in a row.
And so seeing, uh, seeing you plow through this, uh, year
after year, and, uh, I have
to say this has probably been the most comprehensive review
of the budget that I've seen in five years.
The, the questions,
and especially from the new members, were outstanding.
You all really did a terrific job.
And so a lot of credit goes to you for asking the questions.
No matter, uh, what they were, they were good questions
because one question stirred something else
and someone said, Hey, I've got a follow up to that.
And we had outstanding representation from
the, the administration.
Mr. Fox was there throughout,
and even in the late evenings
or on the weekends when, you know, we had questions.
He was only a phone call away and very gracious
and, uh, sharing your expertise.
So thank you to Mr. Fox and,
and all the department heads, the mayor for attending
and with her staff.
Uh, this was truly a, uh, uh, a concentrated effort
and one that was, uh, in partnership with the administration
to ensure a good outcome.
These, uh, these changes, uh, minor in comparison to,
uh, what has happened in in previous years.
But, uh, the collective, uh, really,
really came out very well.
I'm very proud of this, this effort.
So, uh, well done to everyone.
And we did have the, the contractual services
for the Village Historic Commission that, uh,
contractual services for that particular line item
is the historical elements needed to augment the skate park.
And so the District commission asked for a stipend
to allow them the, uh, the ability
to construct a historical elements to maintain the theme
of the park because it is within the
Village Historic District.
And, uh, so thank you for, uh, supporting
that amendment. Uh, I yield
Thank you any Thank you Mr. Newnan.
Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.
So, um, I guess one of the biggest questions is
what will be done with the parks?
And I, I've gotten feedback from residents that they'd like
to see, um, the parks brought up to a minimum standard.
And then after that, um, there's a lot, there's a lot
of decision making, but one thing might be to have the wifi,
uh, locks, the wifi for the locks, for the bathrooms
and, um, affordable bathrooms such as, uh,
Laurie Harris has been speaking of, um,
could be put in instead of the old, uh,
1950s stainless steel.
Like, rather than refurbish something,
it's probably better just to totally replace,
replace those just, uh, shutter shutter,
those old bath bathrooms.
Um, on another topic, something that, um,
I don't believe the city is really, uh,
considering as much as it should.
And, um, I know
that the planning commission has done some great work in its
master plan, but I believe that we need
to have a climate action, uh, plan.
And that, um, with the changes in, in, um,
climate we're the international bodies, were hoping to stop
the rise in heat to two and a half, uh, degrees Celsius.
And, um, this last year has shown a tremendous increase in,
uh, in the, uh, temperature of the planet on average, um,
up almost double that.
So, catastrophic, um, outcomes are,
are very likely to happen here.
And the one thing that we know is
that it's happening quicker than scientists want to admit,
because they don't wanna sound alarmist.
Well, I don't wanna sound alarmist either,
but I don't want to put my head in the ground.
And, um, so there's gonna be more dages,
these a hundred year storms, thousand year storms.
We, we, the city, the city needs to have this, um,
maybe put the, um, electrical wires under the,
under the roads while you're replacing the, um,
the, uh, sewer lines.
It, it's, there's so much that could be done.
There's so, so much that needs to be done.
And there's actually quite a lot of money from the federal
government and the state government.
Um, uh, former mayor Bloomberg of New York
has been funding a, an organization called Elevate.
And, uh, they will actually work with cities
to get them grants for especially, um, people, uh,
uh, minorities and co
and poverty to increase the energy
efficiency of their homes.
And in Chicago, they were able to increase
that energy efficiency by 50%
and what a difference that would make to,
uh, people in poverty.
Right? And, uh, we have quite a few, uh, veterans among them
in the city of, of Warren.
And, um, so I'd like to see a renaissance
in our more downtrodden areas.
And I believe that that's something
that's also reflected in the rest of the city council
and, um, and the administration too.
So I'm looking forward to seeing
what can be done. Thank you.
Thank you. Any further discussion about the budget?
Okay, hearing none, I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 B, request
for an ordinance amending chapter 41 R critical four
of the code of ordinance of the city of Warren relating
to water sewer rates and charges.
So moved with discussion
Support. Anyone.
Support. Support Dwyer.
Support Noonan. Ms. Moore discussion. Thank you,
Madam Chair.
Um, this is a 7.5, um,
water rate increase, 7.5 mm-Hmm.
Um, and I know that nobody wants increased water rates.
Um, none of us do either, but our, uh, system requires it.
We have a lot of repairs to be made.
Um, if we go back, uh, several years,
the first year we were here, I think we passed, uh,
maybe a three and three, two and a half, three.
Well, what did we do in 20? I think it was Mr. Fox, please.
I know the last two years, only a 0% increase was requested.
So that really put us behind
My, my recollection, uh, Richard Fox, city Controller.
My recollection is that, uh, in 20,
I believe we actually raised it like 7.98%, something.
I think it was pro 11, 11% was proposed. Yep.
And we did 7.5, then the next year,
I think it was three or something,
and we cut it, we cut that in half
because it was during the pandemic.
And we wanted to give, well, maybe not much.
We tried to give the residents a little relief.
People were having trouble paying their water rates
at all at that time.
So, you know, we kind of did that.
And that put us probably behind that year.
And then the last two years, we've had no increase at all.
Correct. So we,
and I'm, I think everybody here is aware of
how much work needs to be done in the water system. Right.
And I think Madam Chair,
and I think that, you know, going forward, as long
as we can have reasonable rate increase each year, I mean,
we can, we can continue to get a lot done.
I mean, everyone's aware that, unfortunately a lot
of the stuff's underground, but it's 50, 60, 70 years old.
Our water, uh, um, our water and our sewer lines.
And so we've just gotta, every year, uh,
when we're doing a road project, we gotta,
we gotta fix the water mains and, and the sewer main.
So um, on an annual basis, uh, you know,
we just gotta make those improvements so that we continue
to provide quality services to the residents.
Yeah. I, I, and I remember, you know, years ago,
everything we did underground, we had one plan, and then,
and there were, there, there weren't a lot of plans, um,
for things years ago, and things had changed so much.
And then once you got into doing something,
it was way worse than you thought.
And I think cameras now probably helped that situation,
but everything ended up costing
more and being more involved.
So when you're dealing with anything underground, I think
that's probably gonna be the case.
Yep. Yeah, unfortunately. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
Any additional discussion, Madam President?
Mr. Lafferty? Uh,
I think one of the most important items that I had
to consider here in, in this,
and again, I agree no one wants to do this,
but I look at the number of road improvement projects
that we wouldn't be able to do,
or we would risk the integrity of the road project
only a year, maybe two
before the water main that's 70 years old
underneath it broke,
and we'd be tearing up brand new concrete.
And the, I think that the good data point
that you should take away from this is that, uh,
2.98% of
the water rate will be used to fund the infrastructure
below the roads.
So that's a significant chunk of, of this effort.
And, you know, we looked at, I asked, uh, Mr. Fox
for the priorities, right?
We asked for yes, he did.
Can we break this down year over year?
Can we chunk this into, you know, more,
more palatable rate hikes
and the largest dollar items, the most crucial pieces
of equipment and infrastructure were priority one.
And they, they still came up to, you know, better than 90%
of what was being requested.
So, uh, absolutely necessary.
And the tough decisions have to be made.
So thank you for your help.
No, you're welcome. Anything further?
I just wanted to commend a number
of the folks from the administration
who presented a really good case around why this was needed.
I think all of us, uh, took a deep breath, uh,
when it was presented, uh, around the increase.
And I think folks provided really good justification around,
uh, opened, invited us
to tour the wastewater treatment facility to look at all
of the equipment that needed to be, to be done.
Uh, Ms. Capis walked us through the various parts
of the roads and underground infrastructure.
And so thank you for helping us understand
and then convey that more broadly to the public.
So, thank you. Uh, hearing no additional discussion,
I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item,
Motion to remove Fred's
unique furniture appeal from the table
Support to remove from the table.
Uh, all in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Okay. Item is removed from the table.
1111. A administrative hearing.
Need a motion in support. Um, he's,
Oh, thank you. Sorry,
Mr. Elli. Go ahead.
Again, I apologize for the confusion.
There was a miscommunication with our zoning inspector.
Um, we reached an agreement with the, the building owner.
Um, we've set up course of action.
We're giving him one year
to complete everything he has one year.
He's, it's a fine deadline from, he's gonna meet
with our chief zoning inspector on Thursday.
They have a plan set up.
Um, he has to get several inspections
completed over that next year.
And at that end of that next year, if he doesn't have all
of his inspections completed,
and at that point, we will rescind his business license.
Okay. So motion to table indefinitely.
Uh, I have a couple of questions.
If you could hold off on the tabling
About the settlement. Go
Ahead. Yes, go
ahead. Well,
So first I need a motion and support.
There is a motion on the floor for a tabling
Well, you can't, there's nothing to approve or deny.
So we don't have discussion. You
Could move to accept the settlement
Motion to approve, to se accept a settlement
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Through the chair to Mr. Mozza. Yes, sir.
Good evening. I had done the,
the pre-research on these.
I, I found two addresses and I just wanted to clarify.
That's part of the problem. Okay.
There's, because there's one, one address.
This one is for, we're asking
for an administrative hearing on
1 4 0 1 9,
And the original business was 1 4 0 9 1.
Okay. And, 'cause I'm seeing exactly what you're seeing.
I'm seeing all of the, the disapprovals.
So with that, they're going to, they're
Moving, they're moving over to the second building,
and they thought they were able
to transfer the business license over to that,
or use the same business license At the same,
they've realized that this point, they have
to either get a new license
or transfer the license from one building to the next.
Um, like I said, we were working with 'em.
They've installed the sprinkler system.
They, they need to get the inspection.
They pass the plumbing inspection.
Um, they just, they need to continue moving forward.
A lot of the problem too is the outdoor storage.
They've closed on Sundays and Mondays now,
and people tend to drop stuff off
behind his store without him aware of it.
He is aware of it now that he's gonna close off that alley.
So that doesn't become a problem for us anymore.
So the neighborhood doesn't have that burden
of abandoned furniture behind his store.
Um, he seems to be very willing to work with the city.
He's to promise us to work with Everett and,
and accomplishing everything.
And he is aware of the dire circumstances.
If he doesn't meet these goals within a year, the fact
that he's been a paying business
and Warren for the last 40 years,
I think we can cut him a little slack,
Uh, with, with your watchful eye
and with, uh, Mr. Murphy, uh, keeping, keeping tabs on this.
And believe me, I will be watching
This is, this is serious
and this, this wouldn't be the first time that we've,
we've given a little grace.
Correct. But understand that comes with, you know, uh,
a promise that you're going to fulfill
what you are being asked to do.
And if not, I expect to see this right back here.
Absolutely. To revoke certificate
of occupancy and a business license.
Absolutely. Alright. So one year from today.
Yep. Uh, from Thursday, if you don't mind.
Yep. Madam Chair. Understood.
Mr. Lafferty, thank you. Any further? Uh, Ms. Moore.
Thank you. Um, if anyone has not been to Fred's, you need
to take a trip down there.
Give yourself the day.
Um, and you know, those, uh, uh,
rainy days when you have nothing
to do, go down there and walk through.
It's absolutely fascinating to, I've known Fred for 20 years
and well, probably more than that, way more than that.
But it's a really great thing.
He actually performs a great service in the community.
Many of the properties, uh, um, homeowners in that area are
of limited means, and they're able to furnish their homes,
um, with very affordable furnishings.
And, um, um, you know, when you go down there,
people in the neighborhoods are coming in and talking
and, um, it's sort of a neighborhood gathering place.
Uh, so I hope everything gets worked out
because, um, you're, I think,
important to our neighborhood there.
Thank you.
Anything further? Madam
Chair? Uh,
Mr. Boche, Uh, do we have to, uh,
get the owners on record that they go, go along with
This's? A question for Mr. Schroeder.
Uh, Councilman Boche is correct.
Um, council technically has jurisdiction
of this 'cause it's an appeal.
And so if they're gonna dismiss their appeal pursuant
to the settlement, it would be nice
to have 'em at least confirm that on our record.
And I think that's a great suggestion.
Thank you. If you could come to the podium.
Yes. Good evening. Thank you for your time.
My name is Fred Baghdadi.
I'm the owner of Fred Unique Furniture,
and I will follow up on all the ordinance
that city this site.
It's difficult to hear you. If you could say it one more
time, a little bit louder.
I will follow up on every city
ordinance that the city needs.
So you're accepting the settlement?
Yes, I am. Thank you. Thank
You. And
thank you for your time. Excuse
Me. You're withdrawing your
appeal at this
Time. Thank you.
Yes, Thank you. Thank you. Okay.
Uh, so we have a motion in support to accept the settlement.
Uh, any other discussion? Okay. Uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Grogan is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Thank you, Mr.
Bokey. Next item is 14 C, um,
which is a request for the creation
of a special revenue fund for the accounting
of the opioid settlement funds.
One authorizing the transfer of a total
of $951,124 from the general fund
to the new opioid settlement fund to
authorizing the expenditure of those funds
for community outreach
and, uh, prevention programs in the full amount
of $951,124.
Consideration, adoption of a resolution, um, motion
to approve with discussion
Support Lafferty, Uh, discussion Ms. Moore?
Yes. Um, my motion would be to accept the creation
of the special fund
and transferring the funds
of 9 51 1 24 from the general fund
to the opioid settlement Fund to, um,
and denying at this point the expenditure of those funds
for community outreach and prevention programs.
Until, um, those plans come
before council, um, we've asked for, um, a panel of,
of experts or, uh, to be formed so that they can, um,
advise us on how, on where we should, um,
where those funds should be spent.
Um, we want to have evidence-based programs
and what is going to be best
for this city for our residents.
And, um, so at this time, um, I think we should, you know,
we asked for this to be done a long time ago.
This a fund, but at this time, just the fund,
the money's there, and we will decide on the
expenditures at a later time.
Any additional discussion? Madam Chair,
Mr. Lafferty?
Just through the chair to, to Ms. Moore.
So we are removing the expenditures line item
from the resolution Yes.
Of 951,124. Correct. Thank you.
Any additional discussion? Uh, okay.
So we're makers
of the motion are comfortable with the amendment?
Yes. Without objection. Thank you.
Uh, hearing no additional
discussion, I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newan? Yes. As amended.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Ancy is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 D.
Request of the insurance department
for an increase in budget appropriations for a transfer
of funds between line items in the amount of $500,000
and additional appropriation
of funds from the administrative UNA allocated in the amount
of $110,000
to provide sufficient funding in several accounts
of the general fund to cover increased insurance costs
and contractual obligations, consideration
and adoption of a resolution. Um, so moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion.
Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 e.
Request of the Fire Commissioner
for an additional appropriation of funds in the amount
of $751,245
and a transfer of funds between line items in the amount
of $700,000 in order to cover increased co operating
and building maintenance costs, increased cost
for the heavy rescue, VE vehicle,
and SCBA equipment purchase
and contractual obligations, consideration
and adoption of a resolution. So moved.
Support Dwyer. Discussion.
Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 F.
Request for a transfer of funds
between line items in the amount of $76,600
for the assessing department controller
and police department in order to provide sufficient funding
for the balance of the 2024 fiscal year consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved with discussion
Support Dwyer.
Uh, discussion. Madam Secretary.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I had called
to ask a question, um,
because there was an increased, um, amount for the, uh,
assessor position, and I was informed that had to do
with buyout from the previous, um, assessor.
You know, certain funds, you know, when somebody, um,
uh, separates from the city.
Thank you. Any additional discussion? Hearing none.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 G.
Request of the police department to extend the award
for license plate reader technology
to flock safety in the total amount of 121,000
for a two year period consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved with discussion Support Dwyer.
Support Dwyer discussion more.
Thank you very much. Um, I think this would be a great,
um, subject to have the, uh,
police department weigh in on this.
Um, you know, my opinion, this pays for itself over
and over again, just from what I've observed
or listened to on the scanner since we've got it.
So maybe you wanna explain a little bit.
Yes. This is a, uh, license plate reader system
that's used, uh, throughout our city.
Uh, we were the first city, uh, in the area to, uh,
start this program with the flock safety system.
Since it's been implemented, uh, almost any,
every major city around us has, uh, joined in
and went to the camera system.
Uh, also since we've implemented it, uh,
we've solved multiple homicides using the camera system, uh,
armed robberies, uh, large larcenies, uh,
most recently of a, uh, jewelry store.
Uh, we average about two stolen cars a week
that we recover because of the system.
It's an invaluable tool for the police department.
I know it was discussed earlier, uh, by some citizens.
Uh, these cameras are not used, uh,
for any other purpose other than law
enforcement in the city of Warren.
And as I said, it's an invaluable tool that if you do listen
to the scanner, uh, we use it all the time.
Uh, it also has been used, uh, for other things
besides law enforcement.
Uh, one of the things, uh, most recently we used
for is a missing person, uh, that, uh, was elderly,
either Alzheimer's or dementia.
We could use that system to track where
that vehicle had went.
Putting the license plate into the system, we were able
to locate that individual using that system.
So it's also been used for, I don't know if search
and rescue is the best words to use,
that's the fire department's language,
but, uh, we do use it for other purposes
and it has, uh, saved lives.
Thank you. Anything further, Ms. Moore?
Yes, please. Uh, Mr. Newton discussion?
Yes. Um, I'd, I'd appreciate it if the, uh,
police department would consider the
what, um, Jeffrey Math, math Matthews was saying, um,
about the A-C-O-A-C-L-U, um, best practices.
And, um, I actually didn't follow everything that he said.
He was speaking pretty quickly in order to try to cover the,
the, uh, topic.
I, um, I wouldn't mind, uh, following up with him on that.
But, um, there's a balance between,
um, the public good
and, um, uh,
clearly the police department is getting
great advantage out of that.
And for instance, if my car was hijacked and I was in it,
and you were able to, to, uh, rescue me, I'd appreciate it.
Okay. So, um,
but I, I think that the rights of, of, um,
the citizenry also need
to be weighed in, in the, in the measure.
Um, would you be willing to investigate that?
Do you, do you know what he was talking about already?
Have you talked to the Sterling Heights Police
Department about what they're doing? Yeah,
And we can investigate that again.
Um, as I said, uh,
and I, I can't obvious for obvious reasons, uh,
disclose the locations of these, this camera system.
They are only used on major thorough affairs in our city.
Um, they are not located or,
or watching any business type locations throughout our city.
Um, and again, the system is
for law enforcement purposes only.
We don't use it for anything else.
And all the information gained off of that camera system,
uh, we do have Supreme Court rulings that
that is public domain and we're allowed to do that.
Uh, it, it's your license plate on your vehicle,
unfortunately, is once it's in public,
we don't need a reason to, to videotape it
or to capture the, the image of it.
Uh, commissioner Rushton, I,
I'm only really hearing about this, um,
within the last 24 hours.
And, um, so I'm no expert.
I'm not, I'm not, um, criticizing the program necessarily.
Um, but I would appreciate very much if you get back
to us on, um, what other,
what the best practices other cities are doing
compared if you, if we were the first to go in,
then the best practices may not
have been developed at that time.
And so the ins
and outs of it, uh, I think are worth, are worth knowing.
And we do, we have a sergeant in charge of the program.
He's on vacation until, uh, next week.
I'll discuss it with him next week
and we can start working on that.
So I'd, I'd like to withhold my vote until you get back.
I, I'd like to table this until you get back to us.
If, if that's a possibility, the council may override me,
but I, I want it to be known that that's my position.
And I, I, I have tremendous respect for you
and the police department.
Thank You, sir. So don't get me wrong. Okay. Thank you.
So you made a motion to table.
I make a motion to table
Support.
Okay. McGee Support. Motion to table. Uh, let's see.
So motion to table, uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Ms. Moore. Sorry,
I can't on this One.
No. Mr. Lafferty? No. Mr. Dwyer?
No. Mr. Bokey? No.
Rogan C is a no.
So, motion to table fails.
Any additional discussion?
I sure. Just one Question. Mr. Bokey.
Commissioner, we're using this system right now, correct?
Yes. We've been using it for two years.
It's, it is an enhancement of this system, correct?
Yes. Thank You. That's all I need.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
I have a question. Uh,
where is the data from the feed stored?
It's a cloud-based system, so it's stored in the cloud.
We only share our information.
Uh, again, it's a law enforcement only.
Um, so we, it's stored in the cloud
and then it can be shared throughout, uh, you know,
the Sterling Heights Police Department, Madison Heights, uh,
Roseville, Clinton Township, everybody that has this system.
So, uh, so anyone that has the system can share data.
Does it go beyond the state of Michigan or for,
For what we use?
No, it would have to be an you, you can,
it's an advanced search, uh, for general usage.
Uh, it's only in Michigan. Uh, it would report a stolen car.
If we happen to have a car, stolen car out of Ohio,
the system would feed that to us.
But, uh, in general, we don't share that information.
Got it. So if, if there was some, I don't know,
someone coming to Michigan
or there was someone being trafficked here
or something, you'd be able to pull up the information
to look for the license plate?
Yes. Got it. Understood. Thank you.
Any additional discussion? Okay.
Uh, hearing none, I will call the question.
Is this 14 G? Yes. Okay. Uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes. Ms. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee?
No. Mr. Noonan? No.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 H.
Request of the city engineer for an additional appropriation
of funds in the amount of $1,913,036
to cover the increased cost
for city project P 22 7 58.
2022. Large concrete pavement repairs.
And for city project WP 23 7 90 Tofa road
pavement reconstruction, Mullin two, MacArthur,
consideration and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support.
Any, uh, discussion? Hearing none?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. That was reversed.
My apologies. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 i.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution
to approve contract modification number two
to city Project P 22,758.
2022. Large concrete pavement repairs
ITBW 0 5 7 7 increasing the current contract amount
by 1,500,000, resulting in an amended contract amount
of $4,760,888
to Great Lakes Contracting Solutions.
So moved with discussion, Support,
Discussion Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Through the chair to Ms. CapTri.
I think I saw her on Channel seven earlier in the week.
Yes, You did well on Channel seven. Thank you.
You did very well. Thank you. So did, thank you. Did Mr.
I Alright. I just, uh, could you walk us through, uh,
what, what's happening with this particular item?
Sure. Um, so, uh, this is contract mod two.
The first contract mod was for Republic
and for nine mile patches that are currently being done
between Hoover Man D**e.
And then, um, this contractor, I asked him if,
if he can keep his prices and he agreed.
And we have, um, about one
and a half million of large pavement repairs.
We just finished the small PA patch repair program
with another contractor.
Now we're gonna start the large patch repair program.
That's what I was going, that's you went exactly
where I was hoping you would.
They kept their prices from last year's. From
Last year. Yeah.
Last year's prices. Mm-Hmm. Excellent. Alright.
So, and we had the, the money in the budget That's correct.
To account for this. So I'm very happy to see that.
Thank you. You're
Welcome.
Any additional hearing? None.
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item,
14 K, request of the mayor's office
and the treasurer's office for an increase in budget
appropriations in the amount of $14,570
to cover increased costs in supplies
and contractual obligations, consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. So moved. Support,
Uh, motion by Lafferty.
Support by Moore. Any discussion?
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item.
Um, 14 K, which was four J.
Request of the Parks
and Recreation Department
to award bid ITBW 1 1 4 2 For furnishing
how much park concession building improvements
to Quadra construction LLC in the total amount not
to exceed $349,959 87 cents.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution. So moved.
Support Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, motion by more support by Lafferty.
Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, I don't know if, uh, is here. Yes he is.
Mr. Casa, please.
And counsel, I, I pulled this off of the agenda
because there's been a lot of discussion, uh, lately
regarding the, uh, conditions
of the restrooms at Helmut Park.
There's been a lot of public attention to it,
and I didn't want this to simply go unnoticed
that we were taking action,
but this is not something that we are taking action.
Only recently, the prior council actually,
uh, amended the, the ARPA funding from,
let's see here, back in the 2024 adopted budget,
we allocated a million dollars of ARPA funding directly
for the restrooms at Helme Park.
So this funding
for this line item is actually coming from that allocation.
So this has been in the works.
We knew that these, these
restrooms needed a lot of attention.
Uh, but this particular item, uh, Mr.
Cassandra, could you explain where this is at Helmich
and the totality of the, uh,
improvements that you're going to be making?
Sure. Well, good evening Council.
My name is Etay ca and the acting Parks
and Recreation Director.
I know some of you. Um, so if I don't, uh, that's who I am.
Um, this particular
facility is located at the Ball diamonds.
It's, um, right in the middle of the ball diamonds.
It ports restrooms there. There's a coaching room.
We also have concessions there.
We also have a utility room there.
Um, we pick this restroom
because we know that when we do any renovations at, um,
we're not gonna move the ball diamond.
So this was the, the logical place to start on restrooms.
Um, you know, the hope is that we refurbish
and redo home at some point in time, um,
which is a big ticket, ticket item as far as the cost of
that park to, to do some renovation work.
So we knew, we know
that the bathrooms are horrible there
at the south and north.
And Mr. Lafferty was at our last meeting
and we dust discussed, uh, what we can do it immediately
to help with the issue.
And that's right now is Porta John's at the North bathrooms.
However, uh, the south ones need to be done as well.
Um, so, but we're starting with the, with the ball diamonds,
because that was the most logical point to start as far
as renovating, because we know
that we're not gonna move the baseball diamonds.
So, Thank you.
So the, you mentioned the coaches' room
and the concession stand,
I think there's a storage room in there. There's a storage
Room. So you're going utilities,
lights, fleet gutting
and refurb.
Yes, sir. So the existing structure will remain, the
Existing structure will remain.
Um, you know, the bathrooms will be done.
They'll be, um, updated as if you go in the men's room.
It's like the old Tiger Stadium trough in there.
We're gonna get rid of that
and put in more, uh, new restroom facilities, bathrooms,
and all furnishings.
Clean the roof tile.
That is terrific. And I'm certain you heard the even
better news tonight that your budget increased.
I did $0.7 million. I did.
Thank you for that. Yes. Or improvements. I did.
We look forward to hearing your proposed plan for, uh,
what you're going to do with that. We're
Looking forward to two.
Thank you. I have no other questions.
Any additional discussion? Okay.
Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Mr. Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Thank you. Next item
14 L, which was four M.
Request of the city treasurer
and public service director to waive the bidding process
and authorize one year of online service and support to BS
and A software in the annual amount
of $48,921.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution. So moved
Support Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, motion by more support
by Lafferty discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, I don't know, uh,
through the chair to either Mr.
Melli or to, uh, I dunno if purchasing is here
to discuss the term
through the con to the controller.
Perhaps someone has
to manage the money around here.
Might as well be you.
Richard Fox City Controller.
Thank you, sir. Good evening. Good evening.
My only question on this is BSNA is not going
anywhere anytime soon.
So I was just curious, I understand waiving the bidding
process because it's the most logical source to,
for the service and support for this program.
I'm just curious as to the term, why only one year
and if there was an opportunity to, you know,
have a a three year contract with our standard renewals
with two, three year renewals followed
by the final one year in our 10 year contract span.
Do you have any insight?
Yeah, I I, what I think is happening is, I mean,
we have BAS and A software, we have
to really go with their maintenance.
I mean, there's no other avenue.
So I think it's, they just said extend it for a year
and then next year it'll come over again.
And it's just an extension of a a,
a maintenance agreement that we have to have.
We couldn't go anywhere else.
No, I, I, so I, I get what you're saying.
So I, I will talk to Shaman
and we, we should probably just say, extend it
for five years or extend it for three
or, um, instead of just doing it every year at one.
But it's really, there's nowhere else we can go.
'cause we have to have their maintenance.
And, and that's, like I said, that is without question.
Right. We, we are subscribed to BSNA, they're going
to support their own software.
It's proprietary. Nobody else is going,
we can't go anywhere else to get it. Exactly.
Uh, but I get your point that why do it every year?
One year renewals are, are kind
of silly at this point, right?
So what I'd, what I'd like to do is, uh, table this, uh,
for two weeks and, and bring it back if, uh,
or to the, you know, enough time, uh, that you need to, uh,
you know, look at if there's a three
or five year agreement available and bring that back.
We will get, uh, a better pricing deal.
And my concern here is that BSA being proprietary
can come with proprietary prices.
So they kind of have us at a disadvantage.
The only way to level the playing field is alright.
We're going to guarantee that we're going to be with you
for the next three to five years.
Of course, of course. We're going to have our out clauses,
of course, you know, our, uh, termination fees, uh,
termination clause rather.
But I think with a three
or five year option,
we'll get a much better pricing schedule
from, from the supplier.
Very good. We'll bring it back.
Thank you. Motion to table
Support. Dwyer,
uh, there's a motion
to table, uh, Mr. Lafferty
Yes. To table.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. To table Mr. Bokey? Yes.
To table Mr. Noonan? Yes. To table Ms. McGee? Yes.
To table Ms. Moore. Yes. To Table Rogan C is a yes.
Item is table two.
The first meeting in June or May 28th.
May 28th. May 28th.
Unless the administration comes back and says
They need more time. Thank
you. Next is, uh, audience general topics.
Members of the audience who would like
to address City Council this evening, uh, may do
so under this audience portion by filling out a form
at the end of audience is council's response to audience.
First is Carl Martin Henley.
Madam President, Madam Vice President, Madam Secretary,
esteemed council members,
what a wonderful country in which we live
that we're afforded and guaranteed freedom of speech.
What a wonderful opportunity we're
afforded to twice a month.
Talk with our city leaders to air grievances,
address concerns, make suggestions, ask questions,
or just play vent.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak as a youngster.
My parents would take me out to Granny Henley's house
so they could have quality time on the weekends.
Granny Henley would always say, Carl,
you're always kicking about something.
You know, with that in mind,
I'm gonna take Granny Henley's wise advice.
Now, don't get me wrong, there's plenty things to kick about
after 30 years of negligence
and neglect, taxes, roads, infrastructure, parks,
blight, the tale of two cities, one north, one south,
absentee voters, deterioration
of neighborhoods on the south end, a DA compliance
and myriad other issues.
But instead of that, I'm gonna talk about four
of my council persons that have personal experience with.
I'd like to start off with Mr. Lafferty and Secretary Moore.
You two are continuously doing the painstaking
tasks of the budget.
Economic issues, fiscal policy.
It's a mundane, meticulous, thankless task.
But both of you for two councils now have continuously
worked and crunched those numbers with gusto
and made them work.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate the
work that you two have done.
Hal Noonan. What a breath of fresh air.
What a ray of sunshine.
What a difference between you and your predecessor, sir.
Your life story, your bottoms, your triumphs,
and the man you have become is awe-inspiring
and President Rogan Sea.
When Ron Papandrea was my councilman, I begged him
for three weeks to gimme a recycling bin he never answered.
Angela, I called eight 15 the next morning.
I had a garbage bin. This year we've
lost a house on Topfer.
We're losing another one, both owned by the same people.
It's a bad situation.
I called Angela, told her what my problem was,
and 10 50 to five the next morning, she had a long
text about the legal ramifications
and possible remedies of the house.
Since that conversation, city workers have been to the home,
visited neighbors, dragged refuge to the curb,
went on the roof, cleared off tree branches.
And this is something
that had not been attended to for years.
Angela did it with one phone call.
Angela, thank you for being the great leader that you are.
In closing to all the city council members, all of you,
I wish you good health via home deals.
And please, please have a great night.
My name is Carl Martin Henley.
Thank you. Next is Michael Hollow.
Good evening Council. I just would like
to make a few comments I observed while watching the last
council meeting as I wasn't able to attend personally.
One, I wanna commend the most of the people that speak
during the audience participation.
Most have been keeping within the three minute time limit,
although there were a couple that did, didn't do that.
I wish they would treat the council with respect
that they would like
to be treated themselves even though they may not agree
with their viewpoints.
Next, i, I support the council's fight against
landmark estates and
that the way they were treating our citizens
that live in the mobile homes also.
Now, I was very happy to see that in relation to our,
the department heads that are now attending
the council meetings.
That that was not done in the past.
Especially I noticed that quite a few were here tonight
to answer your questions.
And I also commend the mayor for being here.
That's something I noticed that our previous mayor never,
ever came to our council meetings.
Also, one thing I didn't, just a little nitpicky
to make sure you had, your microphones are off when you're
talking privately.
I noticed sometimes you were talking
and that was coming through on the television
and sometimes, I don't know if you wanna have our
citizens hear your private comments.
One last thing is, I wish our the people would stop going
against Mr. Schroeder.
He's already been approved a city council
as their uh, attorney.
He has fought against our previous mayor
and won all those cases.
Is a good idea to have our council rep representation
as their watchdog on their side.
I do not feel that's a waste of our taxpayer's money.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Uh, Mr. Gary Watts.
Good evening everybody. You know, Mr.
Lafferty brought up the Blight busters
and property maintenance tonight.
So I wanted to reflect on an incident, uh, in my area
that I've been dealing with for quite a few years on common.
And Hayes, the city used to take care of that
and they did a beautiful job.
They contracted it out in the last administration.
And it's horrible. Just like a lot of city properties
that the contractor handles recently,
the Blight Busters has taken
that back over and taken care of it.
Guess what? It's beautiful.
Imagine what our city would look like if we brought all our
that work back in house from our contractor.
So kudos to those guys for a great job.
Um, secondly, we had storm roll through the area, a lot
of damage throughout the city.
Um, I lost a good section of my tree
that was on city property.
Unfortunately it did about $10,000 worth of damage
to my neighbor's cars.
So I'm hoping that the city will do the right thing
and, um, help out a good taxpayer.
Um, lastly in the budget tonight,
and I noticed, um, this somewhere else,
but $5,000 to Juneteenth.
I've been complaining about this for a long time.
We used to have a beautiful Thanksgiving day parade.
We used to have Memorial Day parades.
We used to have July 4th parades.
I think it's time we bring some of that stuff back
and invest some more money into our community.
It's time. And lastly to Mr.
Newan, because it kind of bothers me about the climate
control arguments.
You know, a hundred years ago we had these
kind of storms and stuff.
I I don't think climate climate change was around then.
So I don't think it has anything to do with it today.
So thank you.
Next is Kenya Kak.
Good evening everyone. Good evening everybody here too.
I hope everybody's doing well.
Um, I spoke two meetings ago and didn't feel heard,
but that's okay because that's my personal emotion.
This is not your fault.
You haven't been dealing with this situation.
I've been dealing with it since 2010.
So reiterating we still don't have any way
or any remediation to do anything regarding a pagan or a non
or an alternative belief festival here in Warren.
And I understand I was referred
to the city attorney and to the mayor's office.
I get that. Here's the thing with all courtesy
that I can extend, I'm just letting you know
that there are thousands upon thousands of pagans
and alternative religious believers in Warren Michigan.
And that being said, some, okay,
the person's not here tonight,
but one of our press agents is supposed to be here.
Anyway, the thing is, I'm doing my level best to try
to figure out how to navigate this, um, how to work this.
Because for about eight years
I was the Metro Detroit local coordinator
for the Pagan Pride Project International.
And I couldn't have a festival in my own city.
I had to go to Hazel Park.
I drew thousands to Hazel Park every year
for years t aside.
I didn't wanna do it anymore because it was ridiculous
that I was doing it in another city
and not here 'cause I live here.
So in kindness and in grace
and in compassion, I wanna say
that we're gonna try it one more time.
For 2025, we're going to try to navigate the bureaucracy,
um, which is not always a bad thing of how we can go about
actually having our permit reviewed
for our festivals, any of them.
Because at this point the only thing that we can think
of doing is possibly contacting the Lady Liberty League.
Um, those of you who are involved in legal situations,
you might recognize that name.
They're kind of like the Pagan ACL U.
So I'm gonna try it again.
We're gonna try to have a nice Go around
with the application process again and see what we can do.
I am rooting for you. I'm hoping this will work.
I have full faith in you.
I don't wanna say y'all have been doing a really good job,
especially in, um, that park over in Frasso.
Love the, uh, what is that? It was that called Disc golf.
Disc golf. I thought that was really awesome.
Uh, as my daughter says, there's no bathroom,
but you know, it, it is what it is.
Um, but I have nine seconds left.
So thank you so much for your time.
Let's try to get this happening
'cause we're kind of falling down here
as a city on that Bacon Bride.
Thank you. You can certainly see the acting Director
of Parks and Rec who can inform you on the process
for festivals and such.
Uh, Mr. Vander Lenn.
Today I was informed that the state
that our senator, John James came to the city of Warren
to give to the mayor for a DA compliance,
a check to work on city buildings
and make everything better for the American
Disabled Ability Act.
Our mayor refused to come out of her office.
She refused to take a picture,
she refused anything to do with it.
And finally was told Mr.
John that her secretaries
or her team told Mr. James, just leave the check
and we'll, we'll see what we can do for you.
I think it's about time
that we make the mayor reach down,
cut that hemorrhoid that grew root to our chair
and start doing the work for the city.
A million dollars for a DAA million dollars
for the American Disability Act, for disabled
American veterans, for everybody.
Just so we can get into a building just so things
that can be equal for us.
And she turned her back on it
and did not represent us.
Now the question comes to be why?
Well, she's supporting the person running against Mr. James.
So in a nonpartisan, uh, position that she's in,
she turned down a million dollars To support her candidate
To Turned down a million dollars to the civilians
and taxpayers of Warren.
It's time to make this mayor do her job
or she has to go recall Lori Stone.
Thank you.
Next is Gloria Sanker.
Good evening counsel. The country's facing
so many problems.
We voters have to take action to assess what is going on
and who to elect to best solve the mounting problems
that affect the welfare of our citizens.
I mentioned that it is the political party
and not the person elected who determines platform.
That is how things are going to run.
Items such as border inflation, national debt,
and now world conflicts.
We know how things are being run
by the present administration because we live it every day.
One person told me he isn't a radical democrat
and doesn't agree with how things are being run.
So does that mean he will continue
to vote this party even though policies
are being run by radicals in order for what is best
for the country, you may have to change course this time.
You and I have seen the best of America,
but one of our children is the
$34 trillion debt
and increasing every day
what you want your children to inherit.
We hope that moderate Democrats will once
again lead the party.
But that isn't the here and now.
The party talks about a new world order
that's quite frightening.
Who will determine it?
The 15.5 million illegal immigrants
that have been pouring into our country without any
restrictions and have been given choices, benefits
that even our veterans don't receive.
Your vote this time will decide America's future.
The election being about six months away.
Remember, it's not what the candidate thinks,
but what the party demands.
We the people have been given a grave responsibility that is
to save our country.
Are you up to it? I saw written on the
smart bus the other day.
Keep your future moving forward. That's good advice for us.
Do you think we are moving forward
with the present politicians in Washington and the state?
If not be brave enough to make a change.
We owe that to the next generation. Thank you.
Thank you. Last is Michael Howard.
I just wanna say thank you to the city council
as well as our mayor.
I attended, uh, as many budget sessions as I could.
And I think there's a saying that goes along something like,
uh, you're, you, you know, you um, your budget shows
what your priorities are.
And so I know this process was hard.
I had many conversations. Mr. Lafferty.
One was at 10 o'clock at night.
'cause I'm like, I had this, like what is going on
with this, uh, like water rate and all this stuff?
And he was explaining it to me.
So I appreciate the hard work that you guys did
behind doors, even when you disagreed.
Um, you still came to the table
with what's best for the residents.
And so I just wanted to thank you you
and acknowledge that you guys are spending our, are fighting
to spend our tax dollars in the best way possible.
Uh, even though, you know, no one wants to see a,
a increase in water rate,
but it is the best thing that can happen for the city.
And so I appreciate you guys fighting for, uh, what is right
and, and providing the experiences or the perspectives.
Uh, uh, when residents call you
or we reach out for something, you guys are very responsive
and you bring that to the table.
Um, and I think that is unique.
Uh, my daughter, who is six years old talking about the next
generation, she knows you guys' name.
She knows what you guys talk about.
She looks up to the city council as well as our mayor.
She 6-year-old who knows who our city council is.
I think that's very rare.
Um, that's 'cause I have a special daughter,
but we also have a special city council and a special mayor.
So I just hope that this is a, a, um, an example
of the future of the city of Warren
and how the next four years is gonna go with cooperation
and continue hard work and diligence.
So I just thank you for the hard work that you guys put in
and um, and that's really it.
So
Thank you.
Uh, council's response
to audience.
Motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn.
Sorry. I'm in the support. Motion to adjourn, I suppose.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.
We are adjourned.