Call to order a regular meeting of the city council.
Tuesday, June 11th, 2024 at 7:00 PM Please
stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America, America.
And to the republic for which it stands.
One nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Roll call Madam Secretary, president rogenSi. Here, Dwyer.
Here. Ms. McGee? Here. Mr. Bokey. Present. Mr. Noonan? Here.
Mr. Lafferty? Here. Moore is present. We have a quorum.
Next item. Next item is adoption of the consent agenda.
So moved with discussion
Support with discussion.
Um, discussion. Madam Secretary. Thank you.
I would like to remove item four H from the consent agenda
to the regular and that will be 14.
F
uh, discussion. Council member Lafferty.
Thank you. I'd like to remove item four, L as in Larry.
That will be 14 G,
14 G, and F.
Any additional discussion? 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 adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion support,
Lafferty Support, uh, Lafferty Discussion.
Ms. Moore? Yes. What was, uh, four H is now 14 F.
What was four? L is now 14 G.
Um, the, uh, um, wording on
item 14 E is changed to request to approve an RFP panel
for recommendations to approve an agreement
for banking services and to, no, I read the wrong thing.
Sorry, I gave the wrong information again.
Too many papers. It is request
to approve the recommendation of the RFP panel
to award banking services to Comerica Bank.
And we are adding, um,
an item which is a proposed resolution authorizing the Marin
clerk to execute a memorandum of, um,
for the administration of grant funds under the office of
on Violence against Women, uh, fiscal year 2024, training
and services to end abuse in later life program.
And three requests for temporary suspension
of council rules, 18.1 or 11.1 to waive the reconsideration.
Period. So that will be item, what do we say, Mary?
12, US 12.
Okay.
Anything further to clarify? Madam Secretary.
The RFP.
You said you're changing the language
or the location on the agenda?
Just it, it stays on the same, um, agenda item,
but it's just the wording was different.
We put the previous one
that was setting up the RFP instead of approving.
Ah, thank you. Yeah. Okay. Uh, any other discussion?
Hearing none, I will call the question Ms. Moore.
Oh, you know what? I have one more. Mm-Hmm. Comment.
Uh, I, I can talk about later when we get to the item.
It'll be fine. Okay. Uh, let's see. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan CA? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Next item is six.
A calendar of pending matters.
Motion to receive and file support.
Support, Uh, McGee.
Any discussion?
Hearing none. I will, I guess, uh, uh, voice vote.
All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item. Next item is seven.
A approval of the minutes of the regular meeting
of May 28th, 2024.
So moved. Support Lafferty. Any discussion?
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 is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is eight.
A approval of the bills of the General Revenue funds.
So moved. Support Dwyer. Discussion.
Hearing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is eight B.
Uh, approval of the bills of the water and sewer system.
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. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Uh, next item is audience participation.
Thank you. Members of the audience would like
to address City Council this evening may do so
by filling out the audience form located at the
right side of the stage.
Uh, this is a reminder that you must write your name
and address on the audience form, or give your name
and address at the podium.
You have three minutes.
Uh, there are a number of new folks in the audience.
There is a three minute timer.
Uh, so be mindful of that
'cause you'll ask to wrap up your, uh,
comments when you hit the three minute mark.
There is additional time at the end of the meeting
for general items.
This audience is for items specific
to the agenda only.
First is David Petrin.
Hello, good evening. My name's David Petrin.
I've been a one resident for more than five years,
and, um, I'm here today to talk about my experiences
with Harvest Time Christian Fellowship.
Um, it's located on nine Mile
near Van D**e, as you all know.
Um, I've been a part of Harvest Time Fellowship
for almost five years,
and I've gotten to know Pastor Curtis Oosh, his wife Sue,
and their staff of volunteers.
Over these years, I have found the people in this
organization to be very caring
and loving to everyone who comes to the church
or to the pantry for help.
Pastor Oosh is caring, loving, and a kind person.
He has spent the last 16 years of his life voluntarily
pastoring and servicing the people who come to harvest time.
I have been with him. I have seen him help people out
of his own pocket when they're in need.
He has never been putting people down,
rejecting or hurt anyone.
Pastor Osh has been a prime example
of a loving and caring minister.
Harvest Time Christian Fellowship has helped tens
of thousands of people through their pantry
and have helped many homeless people
with food supplies and shelter.
I'm quite distressed
and appalled to hear that there are people
who are criticizing, threatening,
and spreading lies about Pastor Osh
and the Ministry of Harvest Time.
This is unprofessional, discriminatory, and unacceptable.
These lies, threats, and accusations need to end.
We all need to work together to help
and love the people of Warren and the world around us.
This is what the Christian life is supposed to be about.
Anyhow, thank you for your time and God bless.
Thank you. Next is Carmen Gino.
Excellent.
Thank you.
Good evening, folks.
If you could talk into the microphone just
so we could hear sometimes it's hard to hear up here.
Okay, Thank you.
You're welcome. I'm here on behalf of, uh,
Christian Fellowship as well.
Pastor, uh, Curtis Osh and Sue. I'm a volunteer there.
I I've been there two years
and what they do is they feed the hungry
and serve the poor.
Um, that's what I've seen.
I don't know if that's what you want to hear.
Uh, I would ask if any of you have been there, uh,
might, might help make a decision as to whether
or not you grant this motion that they have.
Um, but it's a good place.
It's a good place for people, good place for people trying
to recover, A good place for people who are hungry.
If you have any questions though, be glad, truthfully
to ask to answer them.
Thank you. You're welcome.
Next is Omar Orman.
Hello, good evening. My name is Omar.
I'm with the Nacho Grill Food Truck line,
and I'm here to discuss the, uh, food truck ordinance,
uh, in the city of Warren.
I have been in communication with the Mayor's office
for about the last four months
or so regarding this ordinance,
and, um, was informed, uh,
after, uh, some, some back
and forth that we would be allowed
to operate in the city of Warren.
Uh, as I was told by the mayor's office, about a month,
month and a half ago, I was, uh, instructed
to send a rental agreement of our place of location
that we intended to operate at to the legal department, um,
and still awaiting some, some further clarification
and instruction on what to do.
Uh, Judy from the mayor's office suggested
that I attend a meeting today to try
to receive some clarification from legal, uh, or, uh,
or the council here as far as, uh, where that ordinance is
and, and, uh, you know, how
and when we'd be able to operate.
So we'd love the opportunity to serve the people at Mo
and I'm just here to try
and get some clarification on that. Thank you.
It is on the agenda tonight. Thank you.
Next is Gary Watts.
Good evening counsel. A couple of things.
I've seen the, um, agenda items for gaming, license
for harvest time church.
Um, I drove down there over the weekend, kind of looked
around and, um, I think
that our blight department property maintenance probably
should take a peek down there.
When I was on council the last year,
I received complaints from Center Line High School
and from Lincoln High School
about a rat problem in the area.
And the kids were scared and they said it was coming from
there, but, you know, a wise man,
you don't go after a food pantry.
So I told them to call the city,
and I don't know if anything's been done about it,
but the conditions I seen in the front of the church with,
uh, pallets and, and crates, and it's a mess.
And, and there's a tent on the property.
There's barbed wire on the back fence line
that's been brought up while I was on council.
That's a violation, I guess.
So I would hope that, um, I see Mr. Ellis back there
and he's been good about taking care of business.
So hopefully you can take a look at that.
The second thing I wanna address is there's a large amount
of money on the agenda tonight for police radios.
And as you know, I support my police department.
Everybody's police department, 110%.
There's been a rumor going around that they want
to encrypt the dispatch channel.
Personally, I have a problem with that
and a lot of citizens in this town have a problem with that.
So I think we should take a look at that.
I talked to the good sergeant beforehand,
so we had some good conversation.
Um, but I just wanna say one thing.
Motorola is telling that we're at the end
of life on our radios.
Well, here we are buying 1,000,007 in radios.
We did that 11 years ago.
We did radios for DPW five years ago.
We did fire radios.
Fire's gonna be in for the same situation.
And Motorola has this game of saying, end of life
and it's panic and the world's, the sky's dropping in.
There's other options for radios other than Motorola
that doesn't do that kind of stuff.
And I think we should be careful.
This is since 1989 or 1990.
This is the seventh set of radios
that we bought in the city, and
it's in the millions every time.
So just be wise of that.
We need to make sure our, our guys have the best guys
and gals have the best equipment.
But let's take a look at the whole picture. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is pastor.
Do cast.
Pastor. Cast
Just reminded me of my elementary school teacher.
'cause every time they got to my name,
they would always hesitate.
Can you, can you pronounce it for me? Odo? Thank you.
Yes. Pastor Cass of, uh, lamb Christian Church.
Been a part of the city for over 50 years,
and I'm here to speak for a second on, uh,
Curtis Harvest time.
I've been knowing Curtis, pastor Curtis for about 15 years,
and Pastor Jean for their outreach ministry.
Our church recognized, uh, community service once a year.
And our church this year recognized Curtis, AKA,
the real Santa Claus.
He gives these Christmas parties
and don't have to put a beard on or anything.
He's a great guy. And I hope this council, along
with the mayor will resolve, along with our church
and this community to honor
what this man is doing in this city.
For those that are at risk.
I went to his church
and what I love about his ministry is he have more
food and water and clothes on the pews than parishioners
and thousands of people standing outside waiting
for food and clothes and help.
And, uh, I want to encourage him
and to encourage this council to recognize the good
that this man is doing in the south side of Warren.
Uh, and, and,
and let the community know along with the mayor
that you back and honor his volunteer work.
'cause most people, uh, in this world, including myself,
uh, uh, it's hard to have one foot in the problem
and one in the solution.
'cause usually when we resolve
and get in a nice neighborhood, other people that
at risk, we don't want to actually look at that.
But we're called to take care of those that cannot speak
for themselves and trying to exist,
and this man is just here
to make their life a little easier on their way out.
God bless you.
Thank you. Next is Jocelyn Howard.
Good evening counsel. Happy to see everyone.
Jocelyn Howard, constitution Boulevard, uh, citizen
of Warren for nearly, uh, 15 years now.
I also am here to stand in support of Curtis Osh
and his great wife, Sue.
Uh, as his counsel knows, I don't come before you at all.
And the only time that I come is
when I believe is important.
And Pastor Curtis is doing a tremendous job.
I've known him for nearly 10 to 12 years.
In fact, we have, uh, partnered together, uh,
during Covid bringing trailers of food to the south side,
and also working in conjunction
with the local high school there at Lincoln High School.
And during the height of covid when no one could get
anything concerning food insecurities,
this man was available.
Now, if you go to eliminate that
and illuminate eliminate who he is, what are you going
to put in replacement to that?
There is not another nonprofit on the south side
of Warren who's doing the work that he's doing.
And addition to some of the other comments
that have been stated, um, the staff treats everyone
with respect and dignity
that is indicative of the leadership.
Uh, when people are coming
and they're dealing with, uh, dire situations, it's easy
to brush them off
and to make them the offs, scouring of the community.
He does not do that. His staff does not do that.
And he treats them with respect and dignity.
And I'm hoping that this council will observe his, uh,
resolution and allow him to work
and to continue to do the work
that he's doing on the south side.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Sue Osh.
Thank you, counsel. I just wanna let you know
who we are at harvest time.
Some people know us. For our food pantry, we
provided food to last year to 72,990 people.
It's not just about the food, it's about the people.
When we ask people how they heard about us, they just say,
I was told to go to Harvest Time.
They help everyone.
It could be as simple as a bus ticket when they're stranded
on our side of town,
or it could be a project taking up to six months
to get a homeless person their id.
It could be someone who's homeless,
who just doesn't have an ID to cash the money, the checks
that they have to get a place.
When people endured great trauma without support,
they lose everything.
And those are the people we deal with.
We are more than food.
We are the place where people come when they are in crisis.
We are a team of a hundred percent volunteers
that make a difference in the South end.
We give out thousands of coats
and blankets every year when people are hungry and cold
or in the summer, they need a cold drink.
Cooling or warming centers we're there.
The Amvets have supplied us with backpacks for the homeless.
We have a homeless vet that does a street ministry.
He actually goes out on the street and helps people.
He spends five
to six days a week at our church helping people right
alongside with us.
It took us seven months almost to get his id.
And he's a homeless vet.
People think or lack of thinking.
All homeless people are drug addicts and alcoholics.
That is far from true.
Many have jobs and just need a little help.
There are programs available, people just don't know.
We work to connect people with the resources they need.
We have, I have personally won state
and national awards for community service that I have done.
I have spoke at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center
in Washington DCI have been part of Duke University
and Harvard University project projects.
I have championed a law in Lansing to reduce landfills
and redirect perfectly good food to, to pantries
and other outreach that feed nearly 20% of the people
that had been going to bed hungry every day.
Unless you've been through it, you may not understand it.
I am a foodie. My passion is helping people.
Yes, I used to live in one
of those paid off half a million dollar houses
in Macomb Township.
I went to a pretty church with pretty people.
I have owned over a hundred restaurants in
multiple states in this country.
I have personally owned five businesses in Wharton.
One day God said to me, do you wanna be one
of a thousand volunteers or do you wanna be a volunteer?
That makes a difference.
My husband and I chose to walk away from the
You're out of time, Ms.
Ush. I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Curtis Ush.
Good evening counsel. Curtis Osh, pastor
and a citizen here in Warren.
Just a couple things. I've been at Harvest time
as a volunteer.
We don't have a payroll for nearly 16 years. Serving people.
The the food insecure, homeless people, all kinds of people,
lots of spiritless.
Negative things have been said about me.
Um, much of it's not true.
They take a grain of truth
and mix in a whole bunch of lies and say things.
There was an issue about a house we have in Warren.
They said that I hadn't been to the house in many months
and I abandoned some dogs there that belonged to me.
That's simply not true. Um, I work 70, 80 hours a week.
I see the dogs or have somebody else check on my
dogs every single day.
Animal control was out there
and communicated with me twice in May.
They said, no problem with the arrangements, no problem
with the house, no problem with the dogs.
I was called by the police on Friday night.
They said that these dogs were malnourished.
They said that they were abandoned.
Nobody's been there for three months.
There was over 500 comments on Facebook.
Maligning me as an animal abuser, which is a bald lie.
I love my dogs. I care for my dogs.
People have said so many lies. The same house.
We have a member of our community
that says we bust people there
and they put up tents and live in the backyard.
Nobody's ever lived there.
We don't have a certificate of occupancy.
When we got the house, there were squatters in the house,
drug dealers in the house, selling and using drugs.
The house is a mess. We inherited a squatter's house.
The furnace was gone. The hot water tank was gone.
The plumbing was ripped out.
The electrical was ripped out because it was all scrapped.
We put thousands of dollars into the house.
So far, the city has, uh, received our permits.
We, uh, um, when we got this house, um,
it was unlivable.
Is it a mess? There's still a lot
of work to do on the house.
I agree. But the dogs were never abused.
I'm not an animal abuser.
Somebody told me on Facebook, I'm gonna go
to prison over these dogs.
I took the dogs out of the house
because the police said they were there on Friday night.
And I was in Oakland Township when they called me at
10 or 11 o'clock at night.
I said, I'll come as soon as possible.
They asked me to come in 10 minutes. I couldn't get there.
But there's no issue with the dogs.
People have made up lies. They said there was a third dog.
There's no third dog.
'cause they said the third dog died in the house.
I've only had two dogs. They were both rescues.
One a rescue directly from the Warren Police Department.
I'm sick and tired of all the lies, misinformation,
the vitriol that's directed at our ministry
at me personally.
I have my dogs. I took the dogs
to the police department on Friday night.
They inspected the dogs. They said they're healthy.
They're fine. There's no problem. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Next is Michael.
B-E-U-A-R-D.
Good evening Counsel. I'm Michael Boulevard.
I am a resident of the city.
I've been a resident for over 40 years.
I've lived here on and off over 50 years.
I am also here on the issue of Christian, the Harvest Town,
Christian Fellowship Church.
I'm a volunteer there as well.
I'm a retired Detroit police officer,
and I'm the head usher at that church.
I've been there for four years.
I can tell you how many people I've come across
and I talk to him 'cause I stand
outside and I watch these people.
I talk to these people, and so many of 'em have been touched
and blessed by that church.
So many of 'em have got food for their children.
So many of them go away there with a smile on their face.
I've never seen anybody go away angry except the
ones that come there for trouble.
It's a great, our pastor's a great pastor.
He is a great guy. His wife is great.
She'll stay until seven o'clock instead of closing the doors
to help people with food.
She's let people come in when it's not a pantry day
and help families with food.
The pastor's the same way.
He helps everybody he possibly can because he's a great man
and he's a great pastor for them to come after
and attack this pastor.
I can tell you one thing from what I read on them comments.
They don't know that man. They know nothing of that man.
They sit at home and they make up blatant lies just to try
to get some attention to themselves.
Pastor Curtis is a great man.
I've got to know him very well in four years.
He's putting me through the training to be a pastor.
If I can go from a Detroit police officer to a pastor,
I tell you what, he's a great pastor.
'cause he's taught me so many things.
He's taught me how to be kind and gentle.
I've never gotten one fight or treated anybody badly.
As the head usher there, I simply talk to people.
I let them know it's God's house.
Let's treat it like God's house.
For anybody to come after that church
and make up all them blatant lies,
it lets me see all the waste of time that some people do
waste their lives on.
Silly stuff, to tell you the truth,
it's wasting your time too.
When you have to sit there and, and read about lies
and listen to somebody tell lies,
I'm pretty sure you'd rather be doing your regular
business just like me.
I don't want to sit around and hear lies.
I've never heard any from people that come to that church.
Everybody talks great about his wife,
they talk great about our pastor.
It's a great place. We serve so many people in South Warren.
Some of the people get up
and volunteer to pray as they come there
because they know how much that church does for them
and how much it does for South Warren.
If anybody would want to turn down that
and shut that church down in South Warren, shame on you.
Shame on all of you,
because I tell you what, God blesses that church very highly
and he blesses the ones that run that church.
It's a great church and he is a great man.
So if you got people that they're gonna waste
time, waste your time.
The pastor time and my time, I'll take my time to say,
support him, support his church,
make sure he keeps this going for South Warren
and do your job the way you should
do it. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next is Donovan, K-U-C-H-A-S-Z.
Hello, my name is Donovan Uch. Chaz
Speaking to the microphone. Hello.
Mm-Hmm, there you
Go. My name is Donovan
Uch. Chaz, and I'm a Harvest Time member.
I've been attending there for two months
and I'm here to support item 12, a one
and two on the agenda.
But, um, I'm here to support, um, Sue
and Pastor Curtis
because I've been attending there two months
and all I've seen was good things through this church.
They help so many people and they don't, there's no payroll.
It's all volunteer work.
And a young man like myself,
many people don't like to volunteer.
I just came there. I'm in my volunteer clothes.
I didn't have time to change my clothes
for the meeting, but I didn't really care.
But they do so much.
They spend so much time there. There's no payroll.
Like I already said. They put their blood, sweat
and tears into that place
and I believe that these, uh,
proposals will help them do that. Thank you.
Thank you Lori Harris.
Hi, Lori Harris. I've been here for 40 years.
You guys all know me.
And while I, I applaud the food pantry and the,
and acknowledge that people need food, people need help.
Um, we need to remember this.
Item 12 A is requesting two gaming licenses
for two nonprofits that Harvest Time has.
And if people aren't aware,
harvest Time has seven nonprofits.
Seven. Why?
And why would they want a gaming license
for two different nonprofits?
Um, I'm not sure.
Um, the interesting facts, um, is that a, a
contrary to what they must have passed out at
their food pantry today.
No one's trying to shut down their church.
I have been asking them to be transparent
and consistently, there's no transparency.
There is no provision of financial documents from any
of their nonprofits.
According to the state of Michigan.
If you're a felon, you can't have a gaming license.
And both of them are felons
and, um, you know, they can say what they want
and it sounds great,
but the truth is, they've shown irresponsibility in our
city, number one by the, um, house that they got
for a dollar where he publicly claimed
that they spent $60,000 to fix it up.
But there are no permits.
If that was fixed up, then, uh,
that shouldn't have been left to hoard.
And if it's not a certificate of occupancy for humans,
it shouldn't be allowed to house dogs.
So I I I think there's a, a real lack of responsibility.
And until they're willing to financially disclose the,
uh, the financial, um, paperwork
for their nonprofits, they have no board of directors.
The only people on their nonprofits are them.
Curtis and Sue.
There might be one person on an older, uh, nonprofit.
Their reports are not, have not been done on time for, uh,
17, 18, and 19.
They were all done on the same day in 2020.
So there's a history of not being responsible,
and I don't want to, I have still 28 seconds.
I don't want to see them be given these,
we don't need a resolution.
They need to, uh, show more responsibility
and financial disclosure.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Jamie Morris.
Good afternoon. Firstly, I'd like to introduce myself.
I have been a caregiver for veterans for four years.
So when I see something, I say something.
I am voting no on a gaming license for Mr.
Osh for the following reasons.
Firstly, has been proven by public record
and very well known wor residents that the OSH have been,
uh, have a very long record
of being financially irresponsible
And taking church donations and turning them upside down.
For instance, there's a home owned by Harvest Time Church
that quite literally looks like a landfill.
I am a neighbor of Mr.
Osh, filled to the windows with trash and dogs
and poop and pee
and fill very abandoned, condemned home,
which is a prison for two beautiful dogs.
They were held captive for over a year in that home.
And the church claims if they care about people,
why don't they care about animals too?
So animals don't deserve a clean, loving feces free home
or human companionship.
There is also a, a van donated to oosh by the church
that is abandoned filled with trash to the roof.
And us neighbors have to look at it every single day.
It is causing an eyesore.
We are tired of seeing it
and we are tired of dealing with it, to be honest.
Not to mention the church itself is not far behind that
these donations from hardworking wor residents
and surrounding cities are not being treated fairly
and clearly not being put in the right hands.
These donation, housing
and car assistance is very much needed
by the people in our community.
And it's being mistreated
and mishandled in the hands of the TTOs.
They are making our city look like a dump, which
every donation that us I donate to church
and attend church myself, they're, uh,
I'm sorry, I just lost my spot.
Um, I believe funding towards the OSH must be put on hold
until they clean the mess they made.
And Moren first,
or possibly be put in the hands of someone
who is more financially stable, kindhearted people
who really do truly love their residents and animals.
I do not believe that felons with a track record
of financial distress deserve any more funding if they
cannot, uh, if they cannot do what is expected
of them by their residents.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is George Chap.
Good evening, members of council.
Oops, I'm sorry about that. I guess I have that effect.
Uh, 4 7 5 3 Stillwell Drive.
Uh, I'm here to talk about food truck ordinance.
So this is not normally something that I would necessarily,
the hill I would die on in terms
of crucial public policy matters.
Uh, but I have lived in communities
that have fully embraced food trucks
that are an accompaniment to various communities, school
and other social events.
So, uh, when I was looking at this first read for this, uh,
proposed ordinance, um, I just had a couple questions,
so please don't take this maliciously.
It's just more quote unquote food for thought.
So looking at the applications
and fees, um, what would a fee actually be set to?
Would it be competitive with surrounding communities
that have had food trucks that have been allowed
to operate within the municipal boundaries,
uh, for quite some time?
Uh, another question that I had was, um, just kind
of curious why the application process, which takes to up
to two weeks as proposed to process would run directly
through city council for approval as opposed to going
through the city clerk's office
or going through an online application, um, through,
you know, a business entity within the city.
Uh, the second thing is fire inspections.
Um, while we definitely wanna make sure
that food trucks are safe
and we wanna make sure obviously they have
to have fire suppression equipment, um,
how would this ordinance also ensure
that the fire department has the bandwidth
to actually administer those inspections?
Uh, and then also have they been co consulted
and been a part of the development
of this proposed ordinance?
Um, as far as site planning is concerned, um,
is it really necessary you to have site planning, uh,
as a part of the approval process,
particularly when you have other municipalities
within the area of Warren?
Uh, for instance, the city of Detroit as a part
of the permit and application process already has
pre-approved zones in which once they receive their permit,
are allowed to actually operate within so long
as they're following city code, um,
the duration of the permit.
Other municipalities charge a fee
and it can last up from several months to up to a year.
Ours is proposed in here would be seven days.
So is that seven calendar days? Is that seven business days?
Is that seven continuous days,
or would that be seven one-time event days?
I think again, that's something that needs to be considered,
uh, because most of these food trucks are operated
by single proprietorships.
They're small businesses.
Um, and then just really the timing of the operation.
Uh, my father worked over the old hydromatic, uh, factory
for GM on Mound Road,
and he worked the, the afternoon shift.
Sometimes the only thing
that was open was at 2, 2 30 in the morning was the food
trucks that operated outside the plant.
How would they be impacted by the time restrictions?
Uh, what about schools that oftentimes have food trucks,
a part of sports activities and other events?
Would they have to go through this approval process as well?
Um, again, really my comments are about just trying
to find a need to balance, uh, public safety
and food safety without stifling
Small business commerce.
So thank you. Thank you.
Next is Rz Habib,
Both of both of us.
Sure. Can you just give your name for the record? Yes.
My name is Rz Habib.
My name is Gaza Habib. I live in Warren on Port Road.
Okay,
you have three minutes,
Both of us. Good,
good evening. Uh, Just her,
I understand that teachers are to teach us
and, uh, in life and priests are to guide us
and support us spiritually
and financially in life in general as well,
when requested or when needed.
I can relate to the honored priest Curtis and his wife Sue.
I worked for 13 years for a school district, uh,
with refugees as a trilingual person.
And I worked at the WIC clinic as an educator
to help unfortunate families, uh, to help them understand
and appreciate life in so many different perspective.
Here I feel connected to the blessed, uh, donations
and our, what our priest
and his wife are providing to the, uh, unfortunate families.
I'm sure they are both making
everyday tremendous changes in many people's life.
Finally, I can describe this nonprofit organization
I meant dear and honored.
Priest Curtis and his wife Sue, are making their mission
to become true by showing truthful
and tremendous love to the diversity to the,
to the diverse community.
Uh, nowadays, care
and love are needed to overcome obstacles. Thank you.
Thank you. And Mr. Habib, I I see your audience. Yeah.
So you can go next.
Yeah. Uh, I live close to the, to the church
and, uh, our area between eight, uh, eight mile
to nine mile 30% of people there,
they are renting the houses.
That's mean they need the food
and they have different culture of people.
They living in the same area.
And Pastor Curtis
and his wife, they're doing very good
giving food to the people.
Even I was there the last time.
There is people, they don't know English.
They using the phone as a translator
and they help him a lot.
They spend a lot of time with the people there
and everything is inside very organized.
And everybody, he take a turn with the quiet way.
Every people there, they are very polite
and they taking their turn and they volunteer there.
They treat people very good.
And Sue and pastor, they spend a lot
of time with the people.
Five, six hour a day.
That's not easy volunteering to help people,
especially when somebody deal with the different kind
of culture people.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Elizabeth Alexander.
Good evening. I'm here
to support harvest time Christian Fellowship.
I've known Pastor Curtis for about 10 years.
The attacks on his character is nothing more than the devil.
Trying to use people to try
and stop pastor from doing good works for Jesus Christ.
He is the epitome of the first,
sorry, two commandments.
The pastor Curtis and his wife truly love God
and love people and animals.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Isabel Adams.
Good evening. My name is Isabel Adams
and I'm here to, uh, speak on behalf of Harvest Time.
Uh, let's see. I attend the church there.
They have become very important part of my life.
They are honorable people working endless hours a week,
feeding over 6,000 people a month.
They do need pallets outside.
They can't feed 6,000 people with having no pallets
or any of the mess that they do have.
This is necessary in order to feed them.
Anyways, that's another case.
But they are so dedicated to whatever they do,
it's just so honorable.
And then they have to put up with the assault
that they have experienced on Friday night
where neighbors call the police
and charge them with whatever they want to charge 'em
with Absolutely no proof.
How do you do that? How do you do that? I'm sorry.
That's wrong. Now, I specifically came here tonight
to attest to the love and care of those dogs.
Why? Because I have a large property and the pastor
and Sue come over with their two dogs
and play with my three dogs and have a play date,
and we have a blast.
So they're not neglected. They're beautiful, loved animals.
Now, the three dogs I've been around for a while.
I have never seen three dogs.
There was only only two dogs and they weren't abused used.
And then I won't go into the Oakland, uh, meeting
because pastor went through that.
But, um, who gives
pups from the Dairy Queen to dogs An abuser?
I don't think so. I don't think so.
Anyways, this is a direct assault on the character
of our pastor ensue and all of the Facebook haters.
Somebody has got to be accountable for that.
And neighbors have just slandered their reputations.
Even the police came back out
and told the neighbors across the
street to leave them alone.
Otherwise they would arrest the neighbors
and good for the police officers.
I respect that.
It is annoying that people can put whatever they want.
No consequences are proof to ruin the people's life
that they have been working so hard to achieve
and to do good in this community.
These neighbors need to know the definition of slander,
assault, and then respect.
Should I, I dunno.
I think that Warren should be very, very happy with
what they're doing there.
Yes, the place is not pretty,
but yes, the place feeds over 70,000 people.
You're out time here.
I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. You're
Welcome. Next is
AAD Hussein.
Good evening counsel. Um, my name is Iad Hussein.
I'm here, uh, mainly
for the food truck if I'm a little bit shaky.
I'm sorry. 'cause I I don't often speak publicly,
so I'll try my best.
Um, upon review on the food truck ordinance released
on June 7th, um, give me a second.
I'm sorry. There's two main points
that I just kind of wanna focus on.
I know you guys will hopefully be making changes
to the food truck ordinance.
Um, one, the first main point is, um,
Section 1444 B.
The duration, it says a food truck location permit may be
issued for up to seven days.
Um, other cities like Dearborn, Detroit, um,
have a yearly, um, renewal of like April 30th.
So like, they'll stay in an area for a year.
Um, say like in a gas station, there's very popular,
uh, food trucks and gas stations in Detroit and Dearborn.
Um, and they have like a, you know, they can be there
for a year, uh, location permit for up to a year,
and then renewal on April 30th or whatever it is.
Um, that's the first main point.
I kind of wanna hope you, I kind
of hope you guys would change and look into.
Um, uh, the second point, I'm so sorry.
Uh, the second point is
the hours of operation.
Um, I feel like, um, a lot of successful, uh, food trucks
and food trucks who are, uh, providing very good food
to the community and people just love
the food that they're providing.
Um, they're open till later times, till 12 one.
I mean, a location where I'm hoping to open is near a
Leo's a Leo's Coney Island
that Leo stays open till 12 sometimes.
Um, and then I'm reading here
where it says only till 10:00 PM for food trucks.
So I just really wanna,
I really hope you guys can look into those two main points
and hopefully you guys can change that.
That's the main reason I was here.
Um, I just finished school at Wayne County.
I'm 18 and I finished high school and college.
I finished high school May 29th.
I graduated from Wayne County June 8th
because of taking, uh, early college classes.
I have had a passion for opening a food truck for a year.
And after a year of just research
and, you know, just getting in contact
with other food truck owners, um,
I really hope you guys can take into consideration
possibly changing these two main points.
Uh, thank you so much for your time. God bless you.
Thank you. Next is, uh,
Carl Martin Henley.
And after Mr. Henley is David Miller.
Good evening counsel. Evening,
Madam President Madam Vice President, Madam Secretary,
the word is hero.
Admired, idealized, outstanding achievements,
courage, noble qualities.
A person who leaves a positive impact on others
for no other reason than it's the right thing to do.
A person who does things that nobody else would wanna do,
that nobody else is capable of doing, or just
because, eh, it's just too hard.
Also, these are people that do jobs above
and beyond the call of duty.
A hero does things to improve the lives of others.
Heroes do little things.
Heroes do big things, but heroes have one thing in common.
They never asked for anything in return.
My council hero helped out my handicap sister.
My sister was in need of a recycling bin.
She called for three weeks. She never got her bin.
None of her arrived. I called my hero
the next morning at eight 15 in the morning in my backyard
with a garbage bin.
Heroes do little things, but heroes do big things too.
Recently we lost a house on fer between Ryan and Bruce.
It's a very nice neighborhood.
The house had to be demolished raised.
There's another home in the middle of the block of fer
between Ryan and Bruce.
3, 7, 1 9. It's owned by the same owners.
It's got the same problems, disrepair, unpaid taxes.
Well, no water bills being paid, a general eyesore,
and it's in the middle of the block near
and years of neglect.
Again, I was forced to call my hero for a big issue.
I told her my concerns. She listened.
At 10:55 AM the next morning, I had a long
text, legal ramifications
and all the possible remedies that
that could happen with this house.
My hero delivered.
Ever since that call,
city workers have been knocking on doors, talking
with neighbors, mowing, edging weed, whacking the lawns,
pruning trees, cleaning roofs, fixing gutters,
dragging boat, boatloads of debris, uh, refuse
and other garbage to the clean
and definitely cleaned up the area for nearly 10 days.
There's been a steady stream
of workers from the city doing stuff that my hero
made sure we got done.
None of this would've been done without my hero.
Angela Rogan. See, you're my hero, my sister.
You're her hero. You do things that nobody else does
and does it with pleasure. That said,
You're out of time, although
I know lot of time, I appreciate it. God bless you. God
Bless you. Go with God
and have a great night. We got a great mayor.
We got a great council.
Next is David Miller. Let's rock. Thank you.
Thank you people.
Mr. Miller. Uh, yes, thank you.
And after that is Marsha Snyder.
Thank you, counsel. Um, I'm here to address, um,
item 12, a one and two.
Um, I'm here to represent Harvest Time Christian Church.
I am a pastor at Harvest Time Christian Church.
Um, I work with the youth.
I've been working with young men and women for 10 years now.
Uh, 11 years next month.
Some of those young men and women are right there.
Um, I give my life for them.
I give my life for young men
and young women to see them succeed
because I had teachers that gave their life for me,
gave their time for me.
They didn't give up. And that pastor right there, he did,
he doesn't give up on these young men and women.
We have about 20 young men
and women that come every Monday night to meet to together.
And we have a tutoring program that's going
to be getting started up to help them through school.
We not only want to see them succeed spiritually,
but we want to see them succeed in
every matter of their life.
And we're seeing it. We're seeing an
impact, and we need your help.
This isn't a matter of just voting.
This is a matter of life and death.
I see young people, a young man I just buried
a few months ago, went to his funeral,
and I think I was thinking to myself at that funeral,
what could I have done to change this?
What could I have done
to change this young man from being dead right now?
And the answer is clear. It's Jesus Christ.
It's Jesus Christ.
I heard a whole bunch of horrible comments about Pastor
Curtis, but we have a lot of representation,
young representation, to prove that those are lies.
He's not an animal abuser.
He, he's not someone that doesn't care or just neglect. No.
He cares about people.
And those people are right in front of your face.
So I would ask that this proposal be passed unanimously
and not because it's just any old proposal, but
because it's a matter of life and death.
10 years I've spent with young men and women.
And we need your help if we're going
to affect this community
and stop seeing the number of young men
and women commit suicide and,
and drug addictions and all that.
We need your help. You're here for a reason.
Thank you. Next is Marsha Snyder,
and then after that is Reba Easley.
And Marsha, if you could give your address
for the record when you come up.
8 2 5 9 timkin. Thank you.
You're welcome. Good afternoon.
Um, so I've been, since the first time I went
to the food pantry, I started volunteering that week.
If you're not a part, um, here about Pastor Curtis
and Sister Soup, if you're not a part of seeing
what is happening in the community, all the homelessness,
everyone needs food.
I have never seen anything like it in my entire life.
I'm 52. I just can't believe
that there's not more people that wanna help people
that need food and need shelter
and need everything that they need.
I've never seen anybody help someone like Pastor Curtis.
And who ever in my life, I was homeless before.
If I would've had people like that when I was homeless,
I just don't know what to say.
It would've made me feel so much better.
I've never seen people walk into a church ready
to give up on everything
and leave a church with so many resources
and to feel
so much better about themselves than I've seen at Harvest
time Christian Fellowship.
So please, whatever you can do, please do it.
Thank you, and God bless you.
Next, next is Reba Easley, and then Celestine Lim.
Good evening. Uh, my name's Reba Easley
and I'm here for Pastor Sue or Pastor Curtis and Sue.
Um, they are some welcoming and warming people.
They in invited us to be a part
of the ministry one year ago.
We're the prayer team. We sit in the back of the church
and pray for people as they come through getting food
and pass Bibles out.
Uh, they also married my husband and I in January of 27th,
and they did an awesome job.
Um, they're loving and caring for every individual
that walks through those doors.
They make their whole life about others.
And pa and the pastor always preaches all the time.
He preaches about his dogs and how much he loves them
and how much they mean to 'em.
They are not neglectful at all.
They help the community in every way that they can.
I've never seen them upset, let alone matter angry.
They are the sweetest couple ever.
They even work when they're not feeling up to par
and make sure that no one goes without.
So all the accusations are nonsense.
They even help all the children around the holidays
to make sure that the kids have gifts.
And candy. Pastor Curtis, even dresses like Santa just
for the kids and for the big, big people, sometimes, most
of all, they teach us about Jesus Christ
and how to live properly like a child of God.
Why would they ever do anything to jeopardize everything
that they worked so hard for or even harm their dogs?
I don't see it. I see love, compassion, and purpose.
I see what God calls us to do.
They're a prime example of what I would like to be.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next
is Celestine Lynn.
Sorry I didn't, uh, prepare it well. Um, my name is ine.
Um, I, I have been staying in Warren since my brother died.
Uh, I'm sorry, I'm crying.
Uh, as soon as I called Pastor Curtis to help me deal
with the sudden death of my brother,
he dropped everything and helped us.
He died of a heart attack.
Uh, at the age of 58, pastor Curtis is always available
to someone in need, you know, so all this harassment
and, um, I don't know.
Sorry, my English is not good.
Uh, so all this harassment and, um, badmouthing
and misinformation saying that, uh, he's an animal abuser.
I myself, dog rescue dogs and cat.
So I, he pastor rescued one of his dog, Clyde, from a, uh,
from a drug, uh, drug dealing thing, you know, uh,
they were about to kill one of the dog.
So all those, uh, bad information and,
and lies, uh, to, uh, to harass pastor
and put down the name of our church
and their name, uh, is, should be stuck.
You know, it's, uh, uh, I dunno how you say that.
Um, anyway, uh, both Pastor Curtis
and Sue, uh, have spent, uh, a, uh, uh,
a big part of their life, uh,
at least spending 80 hours a week to help out
to do the food pantry program.
Our church is very small,
but, uh, the, the, the, uh, extent of the food
and the people that they reach out to help is really way,
way above the size of their church.
So you should help our church to prosper
and not shut it down
because of this all, um, uh, aggressive innuendos.
Uh, uh, no truth behind it, you know?
Uh, and also, uh,
truly they're both hardworking people to benefit our church,
uh, and Warren community.
Uh, the first time I saw a pastor, uh,
it was like about eight years ago, one summer,
and I said, oh my god, Santa Claus in the summer is here.
You know? So he's a very happy, jolly person, willing
to do everything that he can.
Um, and he prepares his sermon on Wednesday and not sermon
or, um, teachings about Christ.
Um, uh, he spent a lot of hours.
So, so, um, whatever lies
that people are telling him is, uh, should,
should be stuck, you know?
Anyway, uh, besides that, he sings very good too, you know,
and, uh, uh, very, very good.
He's in, uh, if, if, uh, had he known that, uh,
he's gonna be harassed like this, I'm sure he would have
to be a singer, like a, a Pavarotti, you know?
He's very good. Anyway, uh, yeah.
Um, I, I am still searching God
to be a co You're, you're out of time.
I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. He's very good.
You reading me? Uh, that is the end the audience. We
Have, um, council comments at the very end,
but for those of you that came regarding Harvest Time, just
to clarify, no one is trying
to shut down harvest time today.
The agenda item is for a gaming license.
Just to clarify, that is what we're voting on today, what
you can't yell from the audience.
Um, we'll certainly clarify that
as the agenda item comes up.
Next item, next, next item is announcements.
10 A is Juneteenth resolution. And Mr.
Nunan is going to read that
Resolution, recognizing Juneteenth as the day
of commemoration and celebration.
Whereas on June 19th, 1865,
union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas
and announced the end of slavery, marking the emancipation
of the last enslaved African Americans in the United States.
And whereas the stay has since been celebrated
as Juneteenth, a combination of June
and 19th symbolizing the end of slavery in the United States
and the enduring spirit of freedom.
And whereas Juneteenth stands as a powerful reminder
of the struggle for freedom, the progress made,
and the ongoing pursuit of equality
and justice for Americans and all citizens.
And whereas recognizing Juneteenth acknowledges a
significant moment in our nation's history
and provides an opportunity
to celebrate African American culture, heritage,
and contributions to our society.
And whereas the Born City Council is committed
to fostering an inclusive community that honors diversity,
promotes understanding
and works toward the eradication of racial injustice.
And whereas it is important to educate
and raise awareness among all residents about the historical
significance of Juneteenth,
and to promote the values of freedom and equality.
Now therefore, be it resolved by the Warren City Council,
one that June 19th is officially recognized
as Juneteenth in Warren
and should be observed annually as a day of commemoration
and celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.
Two, that the city encourages residents, businesses,
and community organizations
to participate in Juneteenth activities
and events that honor African American history and culture.
Three, that the city council supports efforts
to educate the public about the significance of Juneteenth,
and to promote dialogue on issues of race, justice,
and equality that the City Council commits
to fostering an inclusive community
and working towards the elimination
of racial disparities in the city of Warren
Relu resolution declared, adopted this 11th day
of June, 2024.
Angela Ancy, council President Melanie McGee,
council Vice President Mindy Moore,
council Secretary David Dwyer, council Assistant Secretary
and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Bokey,
council member Jonathan Lafferty,
council member Henry Nunan, council member
Thank you.
Motion and support. Motion to approve
Support Lafferty. All
In favor, A aye.
Thank you. And, and Madam Chair. Next, Mr.
Lafferty was gonna offer a memorial to, um, Carmela sba.
Mr. Lafferty, you have the floor.
Thank you, Madam President.
Ladies and gentlemen, we received some sad news this week
that on June 8th at the age of 85,
we lost Carmela Augh and Ms.
Augh leaves behind five children, 13
grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren
whom she deeply cherished, was devoted to
and always supported.
She was probably best known for her elected role
as Macomb County Clerk.
She was also a former member of the Warren City Council
and also served as the Warren City Clerk.
During her honored tenure in these roles, Carmela
epitomized public service, she greeted all those
who visited her office cheerfully
and offered them to help in anything that they needed,
often being reached at home
after hours for, by a county residents
that were in urgent need of a form, a document
or some other important license, like a marriage license.
I'll tell about that later.
And she always made sure that voters
left their polling location with a map
or a sabaugh ruler, which was her measure
of good government.
The family will receive friends on Sunday,
June 23rd at Ji Calcaterra, 16 mile in Shaner,
a memorial mass celebrating her life
and legacy will be held on Monday,
June 24th at 11:00 AM at St.
Andrew's Catholic Church in Rochester.
She was a good friend to many of us.
I know many, uh, many here all have all have, uh,
special stories of her.
When I was on the Board of Commissioners in, uh, 2001,
I was also engaged to a beautiful young woman named Kelly.
And it was my job to get the marriage license, seeing as
how I was always at the county building.
Most, uh, most days of the week,
that would seem like a rather simple task.
Well, one evening, maybe the night of the rehearsal dinner,
I called Carmela saying,
can I get a marriage license tomorrow?
She was right on top of it.
And although the process took, you know, a couple of weeks,
she managed to shorten it to 24 hours,
got our marriage license on time,
and was, uh, was always there.
She attended my, uh, my inaugurals.
She was always uh, very involved, always with a smile.
She will be missed. May she rest in peace
and would like to offer a moment of silence.
Thank you, madam. Thank you. Mm-Hmm. Oh, go ahead.
I would like to make a comment if I could go ahead.
Um, I have a great story too.
So, when I was first elected along with, um,
Mary Camp in 2003, um, we made history.
We had nine members of that time,
and we had a five woman majority on council.
And I just, I lived down the street from, um,
Carmela at one point.
And, you know, I talked to her quite often.
I, I ran into her one day
and she was just so thrilled
that we had a majority on council.
She was a big supporter of women in government.
And, um, uh, she just thought
that was the greatest thing ever,
that we finally had a majority on council.
Now we haven't had one since, but it was great.
It was great while it lasted.
So she's, she was an awesome, awesome county clerk.
I have a lot of, um, uh, contact with clerk's offices
around the area, and,
and she just ran the best ship there was,
and a wonderful person.
She has a wonderful family.
Her son was a judge here, her ex-husband.
I served with him on the planning commission in Warren,
and then he later became public service director
under the F administration.
And, uh, just a wonderful, wonderful family.
And, uh, she was certainly a wonderful woman
and will miss her very much.
Thank you.
Mad president. Uh, council member Lafferty.
Thank you. Like to invite everyone
to the American Polish Century Club.
We are having our annual festival
that will be held June 21st through the 23rd.
The American P Century Club is located at 14 mile in Hoover.
There is parking at the Career Prep Center at 15 mile in
Maple Lane and Sterling Heights High School
right across the street.
They are offering free shuttles to and from the festival.
Everyone is welcome, come
and enjoy some wonderful cultural polish music
and delicious foods.
Uh, there's a, uh, rumor
that a certain council member will be making the potato
pancakes all day on Saturday, so stop on by.
And I would like to offer thanks
to two city employees.
We get calls every day
for something going on in the neighborhood.
Last week, there was a storm that blew through,
caused some damage, and I sent an email
after a frantic call from a neighbor, uh, in my particular,
uh, district on Erman.
And she called, she had trees down,
and I called the city, or I emailed Mr.
Za and Ms.
Damron for, uh, assistance. Mr.
Mare's crew came out.
They were able to clean up, get things handled,
and do an expert job the way they always do.
So, Mr. Zai, thank you. And Ms.
Damron and your team for, uh, starting the insurance claim.
Much, much appreciated.
So, residential service at its finest here. Thank you.
Thank you. Any additional announcements?
Okay, I have a couple.
One, I wanna thank the police department.
Uh, we, one of the biggest complaints we get is speeding.
And I live on Common Road, which folks fly up
and down on my road,
and they, uh, were, uh, pulling folks over for speeding.
And, uh, I just very much thank you for, uh,
addressing speeding.
I know that it's something that folks are working on across
the city, and so thank you very much for that.
Uh, I was out walking and, and saw every 15 minutes
or so, given how much speeding is on that street,
a car, um, being pulled over.
So thank you very much for enforcement on that.
Uh, I want to also let folks know that a set of bills, uh,
were, uh, moved out of the Senate Committee on Housing
and Health Services related to manufactured housing today.
Uh, for anyone following along, uh, this is, uh,
a passion project for me to ensure
that our manufactured housing
and those who reside in it, uh, are protected under the law.
And presently, uh, there are tremendous amounts of loopholes
that make it very difficult for us to serve those people
and hold the ownership groups accountable.
So this is one step, uh, forward.
Uh, but we do have to get it to the Senate floor for a vote
and also get the, the house to vote it out of committee.
But, uh, progress is progress.
So wanted to keep everyone updated there.
And then additionally, uh, in alignment with the reopening
of the Michigan Central Station, um, bill
and Lisa Ford established the Michigan Central Station
Children's Endowment Initiative in partnership
with the Children's Foundation.
Uh, so far, donors have contributed more than
$10 million to this initiative.
And funds raised will be directly invested in our region's
youth to help strengthen the future
of 10 youth serving organizations.
Uh, you are, uh, eligible up
to about $1.5 million in an endowment.
Uh, there's criteria for, uh, being selected.
I am the representative from Macomb County
on the selection board.
And so, uh, please contact me so that you can get it as far
and wide to as many organizations, uh, as possible.
Particularly, uh, they are taking applications for folks
that are 15 miles or so from the train station.
So if you know organizations anywhere, frankly, uh, Wayne
and Oakland, uh, that are youth serving.
Uh, but my job is to try to make sure
that Macomb County is well represented, uh, as far
as organizations that are a part of
and apply to the organization.
Uh, additionally, the last thing
that I have is, that, is actually it.
I take that back. Uh,
that is all that I have for announcements.
Next item. Next item is 11 a, which was a public hearing,
uh, held at our last meeting, which was tabled
to June 11th, 2024.
Um, motion to remove from the table just for discussion.
Support. Lafferty, Uh, all in favor
to remove from the table.
Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Item is removed from the table.
Motion to approve just
for discussion or receive and file support.
Lafferty, Uh, motion to receive
and file by Moore and Lafferty.
Yes. Discussion. Madam Secretary. Thank you.
We discussed at the last meeting, um, perhaps the need
to have a, um, committee meeting the whole
to discuss this item.
We just haven't had a time.
Everybody was busy and things are going on, um,
that we didn't just have time to schedule it.
So I can leave it up
to council's discretion if we would rather put this off
and do a committee meeting the whole, where we can talk
and hear better, um,
or go forward if everybody's ready to vote on it tonight.
So it's whatever everybody's preference is.
Madam President, Mr. Lafferty?
Uh, I'm in favor of a committee of the whole.
I would like a, uh, thoughtful discussion
with planning zoning and, uh, Beckett
and Rader to, uh, to facilitate
and, uh, give us, uh, you know, a breakdown.
The, the report is very detailed.
Uh, there's a lot of information in there to digest,
and the, the presentation would be nice,
but I'd like to have, you know, more of a comprehensive, uh,
discussion with, with all parties involved.
There a motion, motion to table. Mr.
Newnan had something to say. I, I'll, I'll, I'll keep
Back. My, I'm sorry.
Uh, mm-Hmm.
Were you asking me to do something? I, I missed it. No,
I, I'm just re removing my tabling if you wanna speak.
She's removing her tabling motion in the
event that you wanted to say something.
I thought you had comment. Oh. Oh, Mr. Bokey?
Uh, yes. Uh, today was supposed to be a presentation.
Am I correct? A film, uh, video presentation
PowerPoint? Likely,
but yes. PowerPoint?
Yes. Would we be able to do it for the residents
that showed up today and still have the PowerPoint?
Sure. I mean, we can,
or we can do it when we're gonna vote on it the next time.
Well, just thinking, the residents
that showed up for it today. 'cause we tabled a, uh,
We did, we did hold the public hearing
last time, didn't we?
I can't hear you. She said, uh,
we did hold a public hearing.
Ms. Morris, uh, uh, is, would like to have a committee.
The whole, Mr. Bokey would like the presentation.
Does anyone else on council have a
strong opinion one way or another?
Yes, I do. Mr. Nunan, what was your
Preference? Thank you.
I'd, uh, very much like to have a committee
of the whole on this.
I'm very interested in knowing, um, the wins, wheres wise,
hows, whos, and I think that
that's important if we're gonna actually have the masterman,
uh, master plan implemented anytime soon.
Okay.
Anyone else have a strong opinion one way or another? Mr.
Batos has set you back at all in any way.
If we wait to approve the plan.
I can't hear You. Yeah,
maybe come up to the microphone.
Counsel, whatever your pleasure. I just, Mr.
Barrick did drive second time down from Ann Arbor
to make this presentation.
Um, so we were hoping he'd be able to do that.
But, um, more importantly is to make sure
that you all understand this
and we move forward in a positive way.
'cause I think, uh, uh, the grant applications
and some of the MO things are more important.
So, um, if it's your pleasure to do as committee
of the whole, we'll be sure to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Barto.
And thank you for, uh, driving from Ann Arbor.
I appreciate that. Yeah, we can, I,
I think here is the problem.
It's, it's harder to hear up here.
So I think we can have the presentation for the public
and then we'll likely have you come back for a committee
of the whole, if that works.
Dunno if anybody's here for that.
Is anyone here to speak on
or to, um, for the Van D**e Corridor plan?
Thank you.
Yes. I'm, uh, yeah, Brian Barrick, uh,
partner at Becca and Rader.
And, uh, yes, happy to give the presentation tonight.
Uh, if, uh, that is the council's
Pleasure, if you could speak as much into the microphone
as possible, that would be helpful.
Yeah. Thank you.
Sorry, tall guy. Short mic. Mm-Hmm.
Uh, so the, the goal of this study that the, uh,
that the city engaged, uh, Beckett Rader for is, was
to study the Van D**e corridor, uh, really
between eight Mile and Stevens,
and determine, uh, opportunities to
improve the corridor to better serve the, uh, the people
of the city of Warren.
Uh, flip to the next slide, please.
So, as I mentioned, it is, the study area is
between eight mile and, uh, and Stevens.
It is, uh, van D**e through that corridor consists
of a five lane roadway with approximately, uh,
23,000 daily trips, uh,
as measured in 2019 pre pandemic.
Uh, there are existing bike lanes on the streets, sidewalks,
uh, young street trees, uh,
and there is a, a mix of commercial development with, uh,
with a good amount
of dispersed vacancies through the corridor.
As we, uh, next slide, please. As, uh, and keep going.
As we, uh, began this study, we had a robust,
uh, community engagement, uh, period.
We had a series of stakeholder sessions with, uh,
business owners, city staff, uh, tiff, a board members,
beautification committee members, as well
as representatives from, uh, from the school district.
In addition to those in-person meetings, uh,
and the, uh, the public DDA meetings,
we created a community survey, uh,
to garner the community's, uh,
opinions on the existing state of the corridor, as well
as visions for the corridor's future.
Uh, next slide, please.
This, uh, online survey, uh, was, uh,
was solicited via stuffers
and, uh, water tax mailers, uh, social media, local,
local newspapers and media.
And, uh, the city's websites, uh, paper copies
of the survey were available at the,
at the public libraries.
Uh, through this period, we received a total
of 199 online responses, uh,
with Michigan zip codes.
Uh, and that has a little bit of an asterisk next to it.
Uh, we received a, uh, a bunch of out
of state, uh, surveys.
We believe professors were using, uh, uh,
the survey for their students.
So, so we did exclude those from, uh, from the results.
Uh, next slide, please.
And, uh, through the course of the engagement,
both in person and online, the,
the results were, uh, were very well, uh, aligned
between all of the methodologies.
And in, uh, uh, just to be, just to be quick, uh,
there are a series of, uh,
of slides here showing a bunch of graphs.
But really the outcome is that, uh, the surveyed,
uh, population really felt that, uh,
the corridor is an unpleasant place to walk, to bike
to be, and, uh, and also has safety concerns.
Uh, related to that, the, uh,
there's also a limited mix of goods
and services, uh, uh, limited
business mix along the corridor that could be improved
to better serve, uh, the community's needs.
And if you wouldn't mind just flipping
through these next few slides, um, that really just,
uh, just really show, uh, some graphics to
what I just described, uh, as an uncomfortable place, uh,
to walk to bike.
You know, one more please. Uh, one more.
Great. Thank you.
Uh, so as the, as the survey transitioned to visions
for the future of the corridor, it really focused on ways
to improve non-motorized safety, pedestrians, bicyclists,
and also transit-oriented development for transit users, uh,
again, giving access, better safe access for,
uh, people within adjacent neighborhoods
to the critical goods
and services along the Van D**e corridor.
Uh, next slide, please.
So, as, uh, as we received that input,
the study
and recommendation fell into four primary Canada categories
being land use, uh, mobility, uh, design, meaning sort
of the physical environment of how it feels
to be within the corridor,
and branding, uh, to give you, uh, a small taste of
what is in the, uh, the overall report.
We have a few slides here that illustrates, uh,
illustrate these recommendations.
Yeah. Next one, please. So, first is land use strategies.
Uh, and this is, uh, really in progress with some
of the ordinance revisions that are currently underway.
Uh, revising ordinances to, uh, support mixed use
and housing along the corridor, uh, providing a,
uh, a better mix of, uh, of potential
businesses and uses to provide more activity
and, uh, and excitement within the corridor.
Uh, there are a number of historic properties
through the corridor, uh, utilizing those as tools
to spur redevelopments and, uh,
and also funding sources, uh,
leveraging the Iron Bell Trail as a, as a bike hub.
And then creating some focus districts based upon, uh,
based upon needs that were identified through the surveys
and through, uh, market analysis, uh, being entertainment,
uh, district and,
and youth focused, uh, youth, youth, excuse me,
youth focused activities.
Next slide. Um, next, moving into mobility strategies.
Uh, currently, the, uh,
the Van D**e corridor is very heavily focused on vehicular,
uh, transit.
We are looking to Reba, again, rebalance
the uses within the corridor to improve safety of
pedestrian users, bicyclists, and, uh,
and those transit oriented users.
Uh, tools that we're using to do that is to enhance
existing crosswalks, uh, of Van Tike,
and also add additional designated crosswalks, uh,
along the corridor so that we improve the permeability
from one side of the street to the other, uh,
along the distance, uh, creating pedestrian refuge refuges,
um, mid-block and signalize crossings.
There are currently bike lanes, uh, out there today
that are just striped looking at, uh, creating protected,
uh, barriers for those bike lanes so that it is, uh,
it is more comfortable environment
and safe environment to use as a bicyclist, uh, as well
as adding, uh, transit user.
Many of these next slide, uh,
these are some photos, uh, examples of those again, uh,
midblock crossings with signaled, uh, uh,
pedestrian activated signals, uh, protected bike lanes,
uh, sep physically separating, uh,
bicycle users from moving vehicles.
And then adding, uh, transit user amenities, uh,
bus shelters, uh, benches, um, live tracking
of, uh, of buses, et cetera.
Next slide. And then, uh,
using some design interventions to, uh,
address environmental aspects of the corridor, uh,
green storm water infrastructure, as well as beautify
and make it a more, uh, pleasant
and inviting place, uh, for, uh, for users
as well as, uh, as a business environment.
Next slide. Uh, as I mentioned, uh, previously,
there are a number of vacant properties, uh, vacant
parcels along the corridor, looking at ways to
activate those temporarily, uh, in order to, uh, again, just
increase activity within the corridor
until future redevelopment occurs.
Uh, working with landowners to, uh, to develop, uh,
temporary items like, uh, like community gardens, markets,
uh, murals, et cetera, to, uh, to create that activity
and create a, a space that's, uh, that feels loved, uh,
by those, uh, uh, by the using it.
Next slide. And as part
of the report is an implementation strategy, uh,
there are a series of, uh, improvements
that have been suggested.
They have been organized in tiers, uh, tier one, two,
and three, increasing in, uh,
substantially increasing in, uh, in impact
that is made to the corridor, as well
as cost associated with it.
And these are organized such that they can be, uh,
implemented incrementally, uh, based upon funding available
and grant sources available that, uh, small, you know,
small steps can be made to add up to, uh, to the large hole
with the, with the greatest impact of change.
So that is, uh, a very brief summary of a
almost 200 page document.
So, um, I welcome you all to, uh, to take a close look at
that, and we look forward to the opportunity, uh,
of discussing it in more detail with you.
Thank you. Thank you.
I have a couple just requests
to include in a future committee of the whole, uh, one,
it looks like one of the top rated upgrades as far
as improving mobility
and experience was live bus schedule updates,
covered bus stops, and public wifi.
And I'm wondering if we can have a representative from SMART
as a part of the committee of the whole, to figure out
how we might partner with them more robustly to see
how those things could be, how those could be possible.
And then additionally, if someone from
the police community policing
or traffic, given the, the challenges to the bike lanes
and a variety of other traffic concerns, some
of the things they mentioned were signal upgrades,
it would be helpful to have Tina, maybe,
and someone from, uh, traffic as a part of the committee,
the whole, or available for questions.
And then the last, uh, thing that would be helpful is,
I know that Beckon and Rader has done
work on the zoning ordinance to realign
with the master plan,
and that that is a very robust document
that I don't think we have received.
But I think it would be helpful for council to have that
document in advance of a committee, the whole
with some suggestions
or outlines of where the new zoning ordinances addressing
some of the items outlined in this plan.
Is that possible?
Okay. Thank you,
Madam President.
Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Um, I understand
that there might be like three different levels of funding
or three different levels that this project could go in.
Um, is that, is that an idea that you've got in mind
There? The way
we have it structured, the, uh, the goal is to
implement, eventually implement tier three, what the goal is
to eventually implement tier three,
however, we have organized in such a way
that incremental steps can be made towards that.
So, for example, tier one improvements could be made.
And then at a, at a future time, should the city desire to
implement additional tier two improvements,
one builds upon the other.
So that, uh, we eventually get to tier three,
which is the most impactful change to the corridor.
Could you give us some idea as to, uh,
what dollar amounts might be
entailed with each one of those?
Is this is tier three only achievable through bonding?
Uh, it would like, I'll leave Tom to describe
that in more detail, but the goal is, uh,
to engage grant sources for these
I can't hear, So thank you.
Um, yes, there's several layers of,
of ways we hope to fund this.
Van D**e is a state road, so we've had several conversations
with MDOT,
and, uh, Scott Singer is their operations director,
was at our public meeting.
And when, um, when
they have Van D**e scheduled for, uh, repaving within the
about five years.
So our goal would be to move that up.
But when they, uh, pay Van D**e, they will implement all
of the, uh, the curbings and things we would like.
They, they're in favor of all that.
So those costs will be an MO cost, I believe.
Sometimes we have a share in some of those, uh, those roads,
but it'll be primarily a heavy lift for MO.
Um, some of the things we'd be looking
for is non-motorized transportation grants, greening grants,
because we know Green McComb will help us with the trees
and the plantings.
Um, so there's several layers of, of, uh,
potential funding.
Madam Chair, Mr. Newan, are you, aye.
Thank you, Mr. Bokey.
If Councilman Leese was a motion to, um, move it to, uh,
a meeting as a whole, I'll support that to
A motion to receive and file the report.
And then Ms. Moore will schedule a committee.
Can I just make a comment? I think at this point we are
being asked to buy into the plan, basically just
to approve the plan, not the phases or the implementation
or how we're going to get there.
Mm-Hmm. So I think we're getting a little ahead
of bringing in this person, that person at this point,
it's just to go through what the plan is, how we got there
to the plan, right?
That's correct. And most of the applications
in the process want a resolution from the governing body.
So with the resolution that we like this plan,
then we can begin the application process for the, uh,
that's the, that's the biggest piece of,
and we can also begin this priority, like Brian said,
there's, there's all those phases.
Some of the stuff we're gonna need engineering done
first and then bidding.
And so it's an ongoing process.
So with the approvals, we can then begin those processes.
And it's possible. I, I would assume
that there might be a grant opportunity that comes up
that might address one area and maybe we go there first.
Oh, absolutely. We're gonna, We're do things
Definitely apply for those. Yes.
Right, right. So, okay. Okay. Understood.
Through the chair. Um, Mr. Bo. Okay. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
I, I just have one quick question here.
When we're talking about the survey.
Um, how many people roughly were surveyed?
Well, we, we received a little over 200 actual
surveys that were from the state
or from the, the zip codes in question.
Some of them came from out of state, they were off the wall.
So it was a little over 200 that actually surveyed.
We did have several in person meetings, um,
but the actual surveys that was turned in.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bato. Thank you.
Motion to take. So it's a motions table.
So there's a current motion to receive a file.
The general item says this proposals
for a resolution to adopt. And
Again, yeah. There's
no resolution. Yeah. Point of order.
Mm-Hmm. Mr. Lafferty, I,
Mr. Schroeder is looking for the resolution, and,
and I was, we were doing the very same thing.
I'm looking back at the, the agenda from the 28th of May
where this item was tabled from.
And there is a, a resolution in that packet,
but it was not brought forward.
All we had was the presentation.
And so we, we did hold the public hearing,
the planning commission held its public hearing, and the,
Uh, We are resolving
that the report of the planning department attached here
to be submitted to city council
and said, resolution recommended for adoption.
Um, that is, that is essentially it.
So there, there is no more to it.
So we're, We're gonna table that.
Yeah. I, I would, I would move it.
We, we table this to a committee of the whole,
pending our discussion.
And then, uh, from that, uh, we, we come up
with a resolution to move this forward
Support.
So Moore is supporting,
Let's see.
And Mr. Lafferty, you made the motion.
Okay. Uh, Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. To table. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. To table. Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
To the table, Rogan C is a yes. Item is tabled. Next item.
Next item is 11 B, which is a public hearing consideration
and adoption of a resolution approving SAR number 5 32
for the demolition of a commercial building located at
21 0 0 5 Van D**e through the nuisance abatement program.
Point of order. Madam Chair,
we already held a public hearing for this item.
This is, this is just the SAR to,
uh, to fund it.
Do we need assessment? Do we need a,
a public hearing through the chair?
You might want to it's section.
Just have one again there. Okay.
Okay. Dave is shaking his head down.
Uh, can you summarize the matter, Mr. Zare? Briefly?
We owe the money they owe. Yeah.
Good evening. Uh, if I'm not mistaken,
this is the old feed store on Van D**e.
This is just putting the, the,
the tax adjustment back on it.
We already had the public hearings. Yeah.
Thank you. Is anyone, uh, from
representing the building here to speak?
No. Okay.
I will open the public hearing Motion
to approve First audience.
Is there anyone from the
audience that wants to speak on this? You closed
The public hearing.
I open the public hearing. Open the public
hearing, ask for, okay.
Audience,
No one's here to speak.
Close the public hearing. Motion to approve. Thank you.
Support Lafferty. 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. See as a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Thank you, Mr. Elli.
Next item is 12 a one proposed resolution,
recognizing Harvest Time Hope
as a nonprofit organization operating
within the city of Warren.
And two, proposed resolution,
recognizing Harvest Time Community Development Corporation
as a nonprofit organization operating
within the city of Warren,
Madam President.
Mr. Lafferty, For the purposes of discussion,
I will make a motion to approve.
Thank you. Support anyone? Discussion support.
Ms. McGee is support. Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you.
I was reviewing the documentation
and I kept drawing a parallel back to a couple
of meetings ago where we were asked to approve licensing
for, uh, liquor licenses.
And from our agenda on the 14th of May,
we had an item where the Warren Police Departments
provided documentation stating
that they had done their due diligence.
Now, that due diligence included
a background investigation on the applicant slash owner,
Uh, identified what they were seeking.
And if they had met all of the requirements of
that background, uh, that background check, the, they then,
uh, identified that the criminal history checked, uh, showed
criminal history or lack thereof, and then they reviewed
and confirmed all documents needed for the city application.
Now, in this case, the application through, uh,
that was, that was provided is from the state of Michigan.
Uh, another, uh, another body within the state of Michigan.
And the city of Warren also
provided, uh, certificates of occupancy and,
and ensured that all fees were paid.
Now, this is a bit different here in
that we don't have,
other than the initial application itself, we don't have
any additional supporting back, uh,
background on the applicants.
And that is my, my first concern.
I also have concerns relative to
the number of nonprofits that are registered to the owners
or to the, the applicants here, uh, in both of their names,
because there are IRS reporting thresholds
established at each nonprofit.
Monies could be transferred to
and from certain non, uh, from nonprofits.
No one says you cannot have multiple nonprofits,
but we don't have any documentation stating what are all
of the nonprofits that they currently have, how many are in,
uh, a good reporting status with the state.
I have additional questions.
Do they have, do the applicants have a solicitation license
with the State of Michigan license
through the Attorney General for any of the nonprofits?
I would also like to know if gaming license have been
applied for previously with the State of Michigan
or any other states
and what the determinations were by those, uh,
regulating agencies.
And then there, there's also a question
of the resolution.
And, uh, through the chair to Mr. Schroeder
was looking at the, the MCLs cited,
and can you speak to that?
Because it seems that there's,
there's an error there with the definition.
And, you know, even finding it in the MCL,
Certainly, uh, through the chair.
Um, I did see the, uh, packet, uh,
provided to the city council.
And it says local governing body resolution.
It's on a form through the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
It says required by MCL,
and it cites the statutory section
4 3 2 1 3 sub K,
sub 2 4 3 2 1 0 3 K two.
And you go to that section of the, uh, statute.
And, um, it refers to something completely different.
It appears that this citation is to, uh, a section
that's been amended or changed.
Uh, so it's incorrect.
And I don't know that that's the applicant's fault.
I think that the Gaming Control Board might have, uh,
an incorrect citation on their form, uh, which would lead us
to the section to show what the governing bodies duties are.
Okay. So would it, would it be appropriate to amend
the resolution to point to the correct statute?
Would that be required in this case? Well,
I, I don't know that we can amend their form here.
It says required by MCL in the section.
I'd like to know what section should be the correct section.
It's not apparent to me what the correct section should be
Uhhuh, But, um, we would have
to get confirmation from the Gaming Control board as
to why they put out a form with a antiquated section number.
But that section should tell the local governing body
what their, um, the responsibilities are in reviewing
and, uh, deciding.
It says approval or disapproval, what your criteria are.
Alright, Well, that, that's a matter
to be taken up with the state.
Uh, the, the second item that I have is,
and it's, it's very specific that the Attorney General, uh,
mu specifies that they must have, uh, proper registration
or exemption and registration is required
for most 5 0 1 C3 organizations.
There is an exemption for some organizations, uh,
and in this case, there should be as part of our packet,
either a registration or an exemption.
And not, neither one was provided for either application.
And I don't know if the city attorney's office has that
through the chair to Ms. Michaels?
Yes, Ms. Michaels.
Good evening, Ms. Michaels. Good
Evening. How are you?
Very well, thank you. Thank,
Just for point of clarification,
that state form does contain the wrong statute.
It should be 4 3 2 1 0 3 I double two.
And that is the resolution that the council would adopt.
Just recognizing this organization is
operating in the community.
That's actually the purpose for the proceeding today.
Just to get a resolution to recognize these organizations
as being nonprofits operating in Warren.
The actual license would be issued
by the state, not this body.
I just want to clarify that.
And we do have the IRS, um, exemptions.
I could show them to you right now.
They're in the file and I'm sorry, I thought I
provided that in the packet. No,
We of order, could, could Ms. Michaels
Repeat that site Please?
4 32 1 0 3 I two
I I double double I Roman, I have it right
Here. I, I double I
Roman Roman.
And then while, while, Mr. I'm sorry. Forgive me.
It's 4 32 1 0 3 A 1 0 3 A i
two two if you'd like to see it.
Mr. Schroeder
A I double two double I?
Yes. Okay.
I double, I correct. He's nodding his head. This is,
We're gonna, I I'll get to that.
Alright, Ms. Ms.
Michaels, while, while you're, you're here, the bylaws
and articles to demonstrate that there is a provision,
there is a provision for all assets, real property,
personal property, and the reversion of those items
to the benefit of the local government.
Uh, should these organizations be dissolved?
Have I, no, actually not to the local government.
It could be to the local government or a nonprofit,
Or another nonprofit, another
Non nonprofit. In
this case, I read both bylaws
and the board of director directors are to
have the proceeds divert reverted to another
Organiz organ nonprofit in the county of McComb.
If there's nonprofit, if there's no board of directors,
then it goes to the other organization,
the other Harvest Time organization.
And that's in both the bylaws for each organization.
But the state will be reviewing the bylaws.
They're going to make sure that the prop,
proper dissolution language is there.
Are, are you in possession
or is the city attorney's office in possession of the bylaws
and articles in of incorporation? I
Am. Yes, I am.
I Didn't get that. Okay.
Those were not provided to counsel office, were they? No.
No. Alright.
We, if we're going be to approve, we should be
provided copies of all relevant documentation.
I understood. I'll provide it next time.
But that's, the bylaws would be reviewed by the state.
But if you want, counsel would like
It. Understood.
But
before it goes to the state, it has to go through us first.
So if, and,
and it's these three items that are, are primary to me,
to making sure that we've done our due diligence.
And so making sure that we have the correct statutes cited,
making certain that we have the registration
or the exemptions per the Attorney
General's, uh, requirements.
And then all bylaws, articles of incorporation, uh, a list
of the board of directors for both of these organizations,
uh, would also be beneficial to us.
I'd, I'd like to know who is,
who is running these organizations.
We did provide the Lara Printouts for each organization,
and we did provide the IRS statement.
I've got, I've got Lara Yes, I have the IRS statement.
It indicates the, the owner of the organization,
but it it lacks any documentation of a board of directors
That is the board of Directors.
Yeah. Unless, and Lara. Yeah.
Unless there is, you know,
unless there is no board of directors, then, you know,
that would, that would also indicate, um,
Okay. Well
being fair with any, any time.
And I go back to the meeting. Thank you Ms. Michaels.
Uh, I go back to the meeting of the 14th of May
where we were approving these licensees, these licenses,
and the building division had
to provide their due diligence.
They had to do their work.
Now I have the documentation
from BSNA
and Harvest Time Christian Fellowship is
on, on record, correct.
Uh, Mr. Schroeder as one of the applicants.
Um, I'd like you to validate that before I go into
The applicants are Harvest Time, hope
and Harvest Develop Corporation
with the directors name, Mr.
Mr. Ash, the Director Harvest Time Harvest
Madam President. So Harvest Time.
Hope this
Discussion I'm not hearing, and I would really like
to hear it and I think maybe other
people in the audience would too.
Sorry, my, my microphone was off. I apologize.
Um, the applicants are Harvest Time Hope
and Harvest Time, community Development, harvest Time, hope.
The executive director is Sue Osh Harvest
Time Community Development Corporation.
The name is Curtis Osh.
Okay. And I would like to understand
before I go any further, is
Harvest Time Christian Fellowship,
who owns the property at 1 1 0 5 5.
Jut 4 8 0 8 9.
Are those the same owners? Are those the same,
Uh, Applicants for these two?
Uh, these two applications is
I I would not say they're owners, um,
nonprofit organizations, are they just
that they're nonprofit corporation.
The assets of the corporation belong to the people of State
of Michigan, and they're sort
of the trustees of these assets.
Um, as the executive directors, I would say with respect to,
um, the entity you just mentioned, Councilman Lafferty.
Mm-Hmm. Um, Mr.
Osh is, um, an agent of that corporation,
and he's also an agent of one of the applicants,
which is Harvest Time Community Development Corporation.
He is the, he would be considered an applicant under the
Mission Gaming Control Rules here.
He would be considered an applicant
for our purposes, uh, here.
Um, but the Harvest Time Community Fellowship, um,
is not an applicant here, but Mr.
Osh is the connection between those two.
Okay. And that's pertinent
because going back to the sale
2019 sale for
of 1 1 0 5 5 ewt was
for $1 to harvest time.
Christian Fellowship. The assessed value at the time was
$43,300.
And per the record harvest time indicated
that the home would be completely renovated
and would use it for shelter of one
of their neediest clients while they help them
get on their feet.
This home setting will allow harvest time to help them get
through school or find a job
and get integrated into the community.
And the property was to be renovated two
code within six months.
Now, now I've looked through BSNA as I do
for all the properties that come up to us,
whether we're doing a, a demo
or, you know, someone's asking for, uh, an extension.
And Mr. Oosh, uh, came up to the microphone at the beginning
of the meeting indicating that
they have invested significant amount
of money into this property.
Yet I'm looking at building permits
and not one building permit has been issued at this property
since September of 2020, and that one was canceled.
I'm also looking at the tax information.
And according to BSNA records, now,
they may have been paid at the county,
but taxes have not been paid on this residence since 2020.
They are in arrears, winter
and summer all the way back, including winter 2023 taxes.
So we are, we are behind on taxes.
We have no building permits on that for, uh,
for the applicant.
That is related to, uh, the two licenses in front of us.
And we have many unanswered questions relative to the
licensing agreement that I think should be answered
before this, this body votes on this
matter, I'll yield at this time.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty.
Uh, I wanted to answer the gentleman's question that I,
uh, asked in the back.
A gaming license is for, uh, through the state of Michigan
to run charity poker games to run 50 50 raffles.
There's a variety of things that you, uh,
need a gaming license for, for a charity to raise money.
And I don't proclaim to be an expert on
that particular license, so you'd have to look it up.
But that's the, in essence, what, what they're referencing.
Um, the two, uh, organizations, Mr.
Lafferty, harvest Time Hope
and Harvest Time Community Development, um,
don't have Attorney General license to solicits,
which are fairly easy to do,
but, um, in the state of Michigan, you do have to have a,
I'm a consultant for nonprofits.
You do have to, at my other job, you do have
to have a license to solicit in the state of Michigan, uh,
to go out and solicit funds.
And you don't presently have that, uh, on record,
which you can submit an application, uh,
through the Attorney General's office.
But neither of those exist for either of those entities.
Chair, uh, miss, uh, Madam Secretary.
Well, my question would be to Mr.
Schroer, if, if the
requirements aren't met that were placed on the sale
of the dollar home
and permits weren't pulled, you know, none
of the provisions were lived up to.
Does that put, does that entity
or whoever was granted that dollar home,
are they in now default to the city?
Because if they're in default to the city,
we can't give them anything.
We can't approve anything for anybody
that's in default to the city.
Well, I think that there would have to be some action
by the city to declare a default, um, on
that meaning a breach of the purchase agreement.
Um, I did review it.
It was provided by the City attorney's
office a number of months ago.
Um, it was a home that was sold for $1.
The market value of the home at the time, according
to the city assessor, was $43,000.
Now, as we know, the city can't just give property away,
even to a charity, even to the best charity.
We can't give property away.
There has to be a public purpose.
When you're giving away property
that's worth $43,000, that's an asset.
That's value. It's like giving away money.
And, um, the public purpose in this particular case
was stated by Councilman Lafferty.
And as part of the consideration for
that agreement, and I know Ms.
Michaels drafted the purchase agreement, part
of the consideration of the entire deal was
that the home would be brought up to code.
So it's a, it's a deal. It's an agreement.
The city, we're gonna give you
this property, it's worth money.
It's not up to code, it's dilapidated.
It needs to be fixed up.
You the purchaser have an obligation
to then pull the permits, bring the house up to code,
get all the inspections,
and, you know, maybe at the end it's worth a lot more money,
but you put money into that home.
You're not just taking a $1 home that's worth $43,000
and not keeping up your end of the bargain.
And also part of that agreement that Ms.
Michaels wrote very well, I think in this particular case,
it states that they represented,
they had the financial ability
to take this home and get it up to code.
Um, so I mean,
my initial analysis there potentially
is a breach of that agreement.
But we would have to go through a process, you know,
I think the city attorney would have to bring it
to the Counselor Council, would have
to ask the city attorney to, to begin some sort
of process here to say it's been, you know, more than,
um, um, six months.
Uh, Ms. Michael's cover letter at the time stated
that six months, the property would be brought up to code.
Were now maybe six years later, five years later.
So, um, that's obviously an issue.
Um, so there they could be in default to the city,
but it would be the other entity.
In this particular case, the council's being asked
to recognize this civic organization as a nonprofit
that operates in the community.
But if, if you read the section that Ms.
Michaels just, just cited,
which was incorrectly cited in the, the backup
that we've had for five days, um, it states that we have
to look at their charter articles
or bylaws to see that there's a provision, uh,
discussing about the disposition of assets in the event
of a dissolution or something of that nature.
So the council's not just, I, I disagree
that the council's being asked
to just rubber stamp something
and send it along to the Gaming control board.
I mean, the council is a guardian of the city of Warren
and the tax dollars here
and things that are happening in the city.
And as a result of council's action, there could be gaming,
gambling, you know,
occurring in the city in a certain location.
So I think it's appropriate for the council to review all
of the bylaws and all the documents,
and also see that the Attorney General
has approved this charity.
And if those things all check out, I think that
at this point it would be the council's, uh, obligation
to review it and send it along to the Attorney General.
And they can conduct a criminal background check there
and decide whether they ultimately get gaming license.
But there's a few boxes that might need to be checked here.
I mean, there's gotta be a reason
that the state requires us
to weigh in on this rather than just take Ms uh,
Michael's cover letter as gospel.
Right? I mean, there's, there we are standing in the way of,
or facilitating something.
They are looking to us as people on the ground
to see the big picture.
So I think what tabling
At at least, yes.
I don't know how much, I don't know
how much time the City Attorney's office would need
to provide the information we've requested.
I don't wanna stop anybody else from speaking with a,
a premature tabling motion.
If somebody else wants to,
I'll certainly hold back. Mr. Bokey,
Um, Madam Chair, uh, question to the chair
for Mr. Schroeder or Ms.
Michaels. Uh, does the state
of Michigan conduct their own background investigation
or they rely on the council's approval?
Councilman the state of Michigan,
there's a chief investigator, his name's Tom Buckley,
works at the Gaming Control Board.
They will send his department, um, everything from the city
and they will conduct their own, uh,
background check at the state.
And they will then send that to the executive director
of the Gaming Control Board who has the ultimate discretion
to grant or deny a license.
Among the things that are considered under the
administrative rules are whether
there's a felony conviction.
It mentioned forgery
and embezzlement are two things
that they really take seriously there, that you know,
but it's ultimately up to the Gaming Control board, um,
director to make the the decision.
Now, they're not necessarily licensing these entities,
they're approving the entities,
and then each event gets a separate license.
So they're not gonna be license,
they're not gonna have a gaming license.
They're gonna have an approval from the Gaming Control
board, and then if they want to have an event,
each event would get its own license.
Okay. Thank you. Also, uh, there's knowledge
of two convictions, federal convictions, uh,
for, for both of them.
Um, I heard some talk that they were expunged.
Um, I don't see any records here.
And last I checked federal statute.
Does it provide for expungements? Am I correct? Unless, uh,
Councilman Voki? You
have a little more experience in the federal room than I
do, and I think you're, you're correct.
Um, that,
that we have an expungement statute here in Michigan,
which is pretty liberal, um, for felonies and whatnot.
Um, federal, I don't see that.
I think that maybe, um, you could get a presidential pardon
or commutation or something along those lines.
So we might want to check with the White House,
but short of that, I think the docket would show that.
And, um, these are open public records.
Okay. Well that's, those are my concerns.
And I think the council, if we're doing a back, uh, semi
investigation here, we should have that information
that those documents along with Councilman Lafferty's, uh,
recommendations Beck
Present. Thank you Mr.
Bokey. Ms. McGee.
So, because we do not have the documents
and we are supposed to get these documents,
how long does it take to get the documents?
'cause if we table them, are we taping them
to the next meeting, council meeting,
or taping it for 30 days?
Question? I definitely think we should table it.
But how long?
So I think at least from an attorney general perspective,
I it will, does it takes a week
or two to get process your license to solicit, uh,
assuming you all do that tomorrow or
or such, um, attorney.
Uh,
So if they have a license within the next
meeting, they can bring it.
And even though we'll give them 30
days. Is that what you're saying?
No. We'll just, we'll just, we'll table this for,
we'll table this for 30 days,
and that should be ample time for us
to get all the information, um, that we want
that counsel wants.
Okay. Anything further?
Adam? Chair, one more question for Mr. Schroer.
Uh, the gaming license, um, that could be loaned out
to other non-profit groups to use?
I, I don't believe so. No, not transfer.
I, I've been to functions. You know where, uh,
Oh, you're talking about.
Okay. So you're talking about they can team up
with another entity that could come in and use the license.
Okay. I have heard of that. I'm
not familiar with the specifics. So
Technically that that license could be loaned out
to somebody else to use.
I don't if loan out is the right word,
but yet in concept, yes.
Okay. Thank you. Yes. Madam Chair?
Yes. Motion to table
Date certain.
July, Tuesday, July 9th, 2024.
Support, uh, motion
to table, uh, Ms. Moore?
Sorry, Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
To table Ms. Moore? Yes. To table Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
To table. Mr. Bokey? Yes. To table. Mr. Newnan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Uh, item is tabled. Next item. Next item is 12 B.
Request to ratify the proposed city of Warren
and International Association
of Firefighters Extension Agreement.
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.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is 12 C.
Request to ratify the proposed city of Warren
and UAW 4 12 35 extension agreement.
So moved. Support, uh, motion by Moore.
Support by Newnan. Any discussion?
Hearing none. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Newnan? Yes. Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan. See is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Next item. MS.
12 D, request to ratify the proposed city of Warren
and Warren Police Command Officers
Association extension agreement.
So moved. Support Dwyer. Uh, discussion.
Hearing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Boye? Yes. Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ancy is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 E Amendment to Appendix X, article two
and four, proposed ordinance amending appendix,
a article two sections 2.81 and 2.82.
And title definitions and appendix.
A Article four, section 4.59
through 4.68 relating to personal wireless service
facilities and section 4.02 relating to approval
of special land use permits.
The proposed ordinance will update the setback requirements
for cell towers consistent with other communities
and applicable legal standards.
The proposed ordinance also addresses minor amendments
and administrative approval for co-location of antennas
that satisfy the thresholds of Section 1 25 0.35 14
of the Michigan Zoning enabling Act.
The proposed ordinance also eliminates antennas
and antenna towers from special use permits.
This is a first reading motion to approve with discussion
Support Lafferty with discussion
Support Newnan, uh, Ms. Moore discussion than Mr.
Laffy? Uh, uh, thank you.
Um, just to sort of set this up, um, in the last term, uh,
the council had passed and published, um, seven
or eight ordinances.
And, um, we had requested
that they be placed into the muni code system.
Um, and there had been, um, some holdup of that, um, up
until very recently.
Um, Ms. Michaels, uh, notified, uh, council office last week
that all of the, um, ordinances were going
to be sent to Unicode.
And as of today, uh, they are,
I believe we checked just a little while ago,
they all have been sent to mco.
So Ms. Michaels, thank you for that.
Um, we are aware
that there are certain amendments we're going to make
to those ordinances because there were oftentimes when we
were not granted information re requested.
Um, and we will, uh, work on those if any of them need
to be updated or make slight amendments to them.
Um, at the next meeting, there have been several ordinances
that the administration has proposed planning, uh,
department, and we will be placing those on the
ordinance, on the agenda.
Um, they had not been dealt with previously
because we wanted to have, um, this loop closed with all
of these ordinances that had been passed and published.
And before we moved on to anything new, um, Ms.
Michaels, um, did indicate some urgency
for this matter to be dealt with.
And so we put this one on first,
but all of the rest of them, um, the ordinances
that have been requested will be put on
for consideration in the next meeting or two.
Um, so that's what I have to say on that.
And I'm in favor of the amendment.
Thank you. Mm-Hmm. Uh, discussion Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Newton was first.
I just supported, oh, sorry. I just supported the motion.
Mm-Hmm. I had nothing to say about it.
Oh, yes. Very well then. Thank you, sir.
Uh, Madam Chair, uh, through the chair to Ms.
Michaels, please.
Could you evening again on page 11?
It's section 4, 6 6, antenna and antenna tower removal.
Section one and two.
Uh, both refer to the owner of the property.
And in, in reading that in context of the agreement,
I'm curious if perhaps we've conflated the owner
of the property with the owner of the tower
or the antennas in particular.
I know that if I was leasing the property to a telecom, that
I wouldn't be climbing the tower to remove the antennas.
No. Um, that provision wasn't touched. That's a carry.
That was
I, That was retained from the prior ordinance.
So that that will be updated.
I'll, I'll make the correction so that the tower owner
would be responsible,
but ultimately we'd like the property owner to,
to have an insurance policy, so to speak.
Mm-Hmm. So we have the property owner be responsible to us.
Ultimately,
We could always, we should Have a lease that
that requires the removal.
Absolutely. And perhaps that could be a provision, uh,
an additional amendment within, uh,
in time for the second reading.
We could, yes. Okay. We might have missed it four years ago.
I'm, I, I might have missed it
Decades ago.
Oh, well I wasn't here then. Okay.
And then the only other, uh, item that I had
was the special land use approval, uh, section C under 1402.
That entire paragraph is being struck.
That's correct. Um, Okay.
When there's a co-location, as long, as, long as the
new antenna don't exceed the, the height of 10 feet,
or I'm sorry, 10% of the current height or 20 feet above
or increase the circumference,
then it would be just a minor.
None. We can't, under Michigan law have a special
land use approval.
We could, the city could have special land use
for a new tower, but under state law,
there's a shot clock, so to speak.
Federal and state law states actually,
actually could be more restrictive.
And if we don't approve within 60 days
or 90 days, it's considered approved.
We know the process that it takes to go
through planning just to get site plan approval.
Mm-Hmm. And then special land use approval.
So the thought is, and council please
feel free to reject us.
The thought is have the diligence done
before the planning commission.
There's a public hearing.
Let there be serious careful review
before it goes to planning.
Make sure all the i's are dotted.
We add, we added a lot of tiers of regulation.
Make sure all the report reporting is done.
The i's are dotted, t's are crossed,
and then it would be presented to planning commission.
And if it's tabled from there mm-hmm.
You know, more due diligence. Diligence would be done.
But we don't wanna be put in a position
where we don't have final approval within the
60 days or 90 days.
And it's approved as is.
And, and that's why I'm being particular
because having served as ex-officio to planning, I've, I've
recognized that process can quickly exceed that.
So with a recommendation coming to us,
if we have these provisions updated,
and as you say the i's are dotted
and the T's are crossed, the due diligence has been done
by the time it comes to us, it's merely, you know,
evaluating and ensuring that everything has been done
that is required.
And it's in conformance with not only local ordinance,
but state now state law.
That is correct. But if it's,
if there's no special land use approval,
it would be approved at the planning commission level.
Very well. So
If I may counsel, I just for the second reading,
there's one other item that has to be addressed.
The, wanted to make sure that the minor amendments,
this swapping out of antenna
or the co-locations
that don't exceed the state threshold can be
reviewed administratively.
And that means Ron would have Mr,
the planning director would have the authority
to approve them without a formal proceeding,
but yet he'd have that discretion.
If he thought a formal proceeding was necess necessary,
he would take it to the planning commission.
The definition of minor facility in the document
before you does not include co-location includes the
replacement of antenna,
and it's intended to address co-locations.
So when you see the second reading version,
that change will be included.
And that was discussed with the planning commission,
that that was the intention.
Would, would that require the appointment of, of Mr.
Wirth at, or the, the planning director
as an administrative hearing officer for that purpose?
No, no. Minor amendment is very common in many communities
for just administrative approval.
Okay. And when antenna
or tenant are, are swapped normally
that is the process We've been following state law
and following that process, Mr.
Wirth does want a final plan showing all the antenna
that are located there. So we have a record.
So he would, he would provide a,
a written recommendation to planning.
They would vote on it and it would be finaled.
Well, if it's an administrative review, they wouldn't vote
unless he thought it's necessary,
but he would bring it to their attention.
It's administrative review
and minor amendment would be a separate proceedings.
Right. I'm, I'm queuing, I'm keying off of the,
the minor amendment process, which goes to planning. Oh,
Okay.
So you're saying that, but as an administrative
responsibility, it would be his signature pen
to paper through your office
Co according, according
to the standards and the ordinance.
And Mr. Wirth would have the discretion to bring a matter
before the planning commission.
Okay. I, I just don't want any,
I don't want an end runaround counsel
for these can be at issue from time to time.
I just wanna make sure that we're,
we've got the proper protections
and the process in place that
where antennas need to come to us.
Mm-Hmm. They do. Okay. For, for a minor Yes. Co-location.
It's, it is administrative.
It, it, the tower's already, already there. Correct. Okay.
Thank you. Thank
You.
Anything further, Mr. Lafferty?
Uh, just, uh, sending it forward with, with my amendments,
Uh, Madam President, Mr. Nunan,
I'm, um, I'm somewhat concerned in the eventuality
that Mr.
Wirth isn't, um, isn't,
isn't is no longer available for some reason.
He is no longer, uh,
in the employment at some point of the city.
We're all gonna go away.
Some point I'm not, I'm not recommending it.
But, um, if, if he wasn't around, is the person,
is he, is he specified
or is it the officer position of the planning, uh,
planning office listed there?
Because it's more flexible to have it be
The, uh, Madam Chair, Mr. Lafferty.
That's, if I understood Ms.
Michaels correctly, that would be the section that's going
to be added for co-location.
Okay. And it would be the position,
The Position that the right it,
it will not name anybody specifically.
Great. It will be the position.
It, it would be like the next, uh, the highest officer
of the planning, uh, planning office.
Probably. No, it would be the director.
The director. Yeah. That's, that's what I meant.
So that, that sounds good. Thanks.
Thank you. Mr. Newan. Anything further on this item?
Uh, Mr. Newan, do you so, uh, accept Mr.
Lafferty's amendments?
I certainly do. Okay. Uh, thank you.
Hearing no other discussion.
I will call the question, uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Yes. Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 F,
which is the proposed resolution authorizing the mayor
and clerk to execute a memorandum for the administration
of grant funds under the office on Violence Against Women,
uh, fiscal year 2024, training
and services to end abuse in Later Life program
and request for temporary suspension of council rules 18.1
and 11.1 to waive the consideration.
Period. So moved.
Support Lafferty Motion by More support by Lafferty.
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.
Next item is 13 A, which is discussion
and referral to counsel, legal affairs, subcommittee
for possible litigation regarding PFAS and insulin.
Um, motion to approve with discussion
Support Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore? Yes. Ms.
Rogan c sent some information to me. I think Mr.
Um, Schroeder and I indicated that I would add this
to the agenda for the legal Affairs to, um,
investigate whether there are, um, causes of action
that the city could be, um, uh, involved in
to recoup on some of these class actions, sort of lawsuits.
So this would just be to refer that
for some further investigation.
Thank you. Any additional discussion? Hearing none.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Uh, Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries six to one.
Next item 13 B, an ordinance to amend chapter two
of the City of Warren Code of ordinances relating
to food trucks, which is a first reading.
So moved with discussion support, Lafferty discussion, uh,
Ms. Moore discussion than Mr.
Lafferty. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, you know, I, I had been approached by, um, food truck,
um, agents
and food truck business owners, um, to come up
with an ordinance, um, with the, uh, with the full,
full intention that we were going to make a lot of, um,
amendments and changes to it.
There are, um, some of the issues that need to be sent
to the building department,
and we have to come up with some final, you know,
Mr. Schroeder can help me here,
but how, what fees we want,
what time limits we want for certain things.
Um, you know, we see food trucks at events
or at gas stations or adjacent to restaurants.
Um, uh,
and, you know, some, some would like to have
to be able to go to a neighborhood.
Um, you know, I, I heard there's a neighborhood in Rochester
that, you know, the food truck comes by every Thursday,
like taco truck or whatever.
So, I mean, I think that'd be great to have
that sort of thing around the city.
And the intent of having this ordinance is to promote
and encourage, uh, more food trucks.
I think everybody likes them. You know, it's a added thing.
People bring them. I do. You don't like 'em, Mr. Mozza.
I know. Yeah.
So we just wanna make sure we have something in place that,
you know, we have it spelled out.
And I guess you're supposed to have an ordinance.
People just can't willy nilly bring a food truck.
They don't. Right? Mr. Schroeder can handle,
I think one of the issues here in Warren is we have a lot
of public streets in the city.
So when the city was developed, um,
they're all public streets except for, you know,
maybe Heritage Village.
I see a few residents from Heritage Village here,
but those are like private roads.
But you go to other, more recently developed communities,
these subdivisions can contact the food truck to come.
They don't have to go through the municipality.
So I think here in Warren, given the amount
of public streets, if we want them in the neighborhoods,
we want them in the community, we're gonna have
to enable that through a permit process.
Because if a food truck just showed up on
Common Road next to Ms.
Rogan's house, someone could call the police
and say, what are they doing here?
Where's your, what do you, you
know, this is public property.
You can't just park on public property.
So there needs to be a process.
And I think the idea here is that this,
this first reading is a Kickstarter to a conversation.
So you can hear from the fire department,
the building department, food truck operators start,
I got a call late in the afternoon from the district court
administrator saying they've been having food trucks
come to the district court.
And she was worried we were gonna, we were taking 'em away.
We were gonna maybe fort that.
And she sent me some of the menus from the food trucks.
And, um, I said,
there's no way we're gonna get in the way of this Ms.
Ari Ross. So, um, anyway, so everyone needs to come
to the table and have our conversation
so we can work on this ordinance.
So we prevent what happened in the last term
where we're trying to craft a policy and a vacuum
and not having everybody at the table and getting it done.
Right.
Yeah. So, you know, once we pass this,
if we pass the first reading, then we will, um, see
who we need to involve in discussions.
And then we'll have a committee meeting the whole with that.
Everybody can weigh in on it,
and then we'll go from there, if that works for everybody.
Thank you, Madam President. Mr.
Lty is next then. Mr. N. Sure.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
I, and I wanna clarify that we're, we're not attempting
to over legislate or overprotect.
There's, this is a, a very careful balance
between protecting municipal interests,
but also protecting the proprietors
that are operating within the city.
Everybody has to play by the same rules.
But what's, uh, what came to mind when, when I was listening
to a couple of the audience members talking about the taco
trucks or, or their, their,
you got me thinking about taco trucks coming down the
neighborhood now, but, uh,
I don't even think I was 10 years old.
I remember listening to a speech by then,
president Ronald Reagan,
and he said that government's view
of the economy can best be summed up in three phrases.
If it moves, tax it, if it keeps moving, regulate it,
and if it stops moving, subsidize it.
So we're, we're trying to operate within that regulation,
but not to be overburdensome
and, you know, ensure everybody's interest are protected.
So I think, I think this is great.
Let's have the conversation.
Let's have a committee of the whole,
let's bring those proprietors in.
Let's talk to them, understand their needs, and,
and I know that we want to talk to, you know, fire
and building the inspections and all of those things.
Let's see what, what that looks like.
And, and craft a really good quality ordinance
that works for everyone.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Newnan?
Yeah. Uh, looking at the ordinance, it seems like, uh,
the permits would be at such a short period of time.
And I, I think that there should be the possibility of, um,
food trucks having a standard location
where they've agreed the, the owner has agreed on it.
I, I assume Ms. Moore is, you know, is nodding that. Yep.
We can deal with this later, probably,
but I just, it was one of the things that was obvious to me
that they should be able to have work out an arrangement
where they have a permanent location
where they're always welcome.
And that's probably mutual beneficial.
Mutually beneficial to the business owner that, you know,
if they're in a gas station.
Okay. Yeah. Appointment.
Thank you, Ms. McGee.
Um, I think one of the things that I've heard from those
that were calling me about it is that it's,
it's become very costly the way we're doing it now.
And I don't know if we should take one item at a time when
it comes to the cost.
They need something changed about that immediately.
So I don't know how long this will take
to have a discussion, a meeting of the whole,
but they're saying moving forward, they need it done
as quickly as possible.
'cause they could be costly to them
to have a seven day permit, having to do that all the time.
Can I ask a question of Ms. McGee? Mm-Hmm.
I, uh, the, well,
we don't have any ordinance right now. Right? So
What, what is the requirements for?
We don't have any requirements for anything.
'cause I thought it said seven days.
No, no, no. This, we're not,
this is just a starting ground.
We put in the seven days only as to fill it in until we talk
to other departments in the city how they wanna do it,
because the clerk's office will probably be
issuing the permits.
So we wanna talk to them, other people in the city,
what will work, because there's going to be temporary there,
there's gonna be people that stay a longer time, but,
and we can change those.
But this not, this is not set in stone.
This is just for somewhere for us to start talking.
And I've, and I fully intend
to hear from the food truck people.
I've been talking with them and they, yeah.
Looked at the ordinance
and we'll be, you know, they,
they'll weigh in too, what works for them.
Other communities are way, way, way ahead
of us on food truck ordinances.
So, you know, we, we wanna make it as, as easy as possible
for them to, to be here in Warren.
That's our intent. So, you know,
I think the seven days might be okay for one event
or, you know, certain things,
but I think we're gonna have to break it
down into certain things.
So yeah, you're absolutely right. Okay.
Thank You. Mr. Mazare. How are they handled presently?
Is there any process? I know
that you have strong opinions about this, so look forward
to the committee, the whole on it.
Currently we hand have the, uh, the county regulates the,
the food truck ordinances.
Can you talk to me closer? Sorry. Oh,
Currently the county, uh, is the,
the regulatory authority that we go through.
We don't regulate where they go to.
Uh, it's up to the property owner
to decide where they go to.
Um, and yeah, I look forward to the meeting with the whole,
where we discuss this in greater length.
I've, uh, the last time you guys brought this up,
and just in passing, the next day,
I got no less than 20 phone calls from food truck vendors
going, why are they doing this?
What are, we don't make it so restrictive.
Um, so I,
I imagine the next week I'll be getting a ton, ton more phone calls.
So we, surprisingly, we have quite a few food truck owners
that live in the city of the city of Warren.
We do a Manam chair. Yes.
I mean that, that, and this, this is the food truck vendors
that have, that contacted us
to do the ordinance to open things up.
Yeah. I mean, it was wide open, so I don't know
how we can make it any open or
Anything. Well, I don't think they're allowed
to go into neighborhoods
and that's what they're looking to do.
And you just can't show up on, at a gas station that's,
Well, you can show up on a property owner's property if
the gas station, the, the,
the Cinnabon places the one at at 13
and Chainer every morning for a week.
Um, I would just attended a graduation party last fall,
and they brought a food truck right into the neighborhood
and head it right at the end of the block.
Right.
Yeah. So, I mean,
Yeah, that's why we're gonna have a committee meeting in
the hall so we can get all the parameters squared
Away. Look forward to it.
Yeah. Thank you. Uh, couple things I just wanted to note.
One is I agree with much of what Mr.
Chap, um, said during audience.
Additionally, a couple of things that I would love
to have changed is the timeframe.
That's very unclear. And then, uh,
from a city property perspective, that, uh, council is the,
uh, body and determining where, um, food trucks go.
And I don't know that that's appropriate.
So those are my initial commentary on it.
Any additional discussion?
Okay. Hearing none. Uh, this is a first reading.
Uh, Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Uh, 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.
A request to the communications department for transfer
of funds between line items
and the amount of $2,300 to cover overtime,
contractual obligations, consideration,
and adoption of a resolution.
Five votes are needed. So moved.
Support. Anyone support. Thank you Mr. Bokey.
Uh, any discussion? Hearing none.
I will call the question. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Uh, Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Next item is 14 B.
Request for an increase in budget appropriations
for the Michigan Transportation major
and local roads funds in the amount
of $181,872
and $90,300.
The additional funds are needed
to provide sufficient funding in several accounts
and are due to increase traffic, signal, upkeep,
and contractual obligations, consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion. Hearing none.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 C.
Request of the acting Parks
and Recreation director to transfer funds
between line items in the amount of $131,150,
and the need for an additional appropriation
of funds in the amount of $16,000 to cover increased costs
of postage in, uh, utilities and vehicle maintenance
and to cover contractual obligations, consideration,
and adoption of a resolution. So moved.
Support Dwyer. Uh, motion and support discussion?
Anyone? Hearing none? I will call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Yes. Next item is 14 D.
Request of the sanitation superintendent for a transfer
of funds between line items in the amount of $40,000
to provide sufficient funding in the rubbish collection
overtime, account line item consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Uh, discussion.
Hearing none. I will call the question, uh, Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr.
Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Ms. Moore? Yes. GaN is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 A or E, pardon me.
Request to approve the recommendation of the RFP panel,
RFPW 1 0 4 1, to award banking services to Cka Bank
for a five year period with the option to renew
for a three year period, followed by an option to renew
for an additional two year period in an annual amount not
to exceed $87,000 consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Motion to excuse
Madam President. Point of order.
Mr. Lafferty, uh,
In accordance with our rules, I disclose
that I am an employee of Comerica Bank,
therefore, I ask my colleagues
to please excuse me from this item.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
All in favor of excusing Mr. Lafferty? Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Uh, Mr. Lafferty, you are excused.
Did we get a second on the motion? We did not.
Ms. Moore support Dwyer. Thank you. Uh, motion by Moore.
Support by Dwyer. Any discussion? No.
Okay. Uh, I will call the question. Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is audience participation note. No. Four.
Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
I have two NG two agendas going here.
So 14 half was four
N right?
Yeah, no, I, we'll go back and forth. I've got it down here.
Uh, yes. Uh, request of the police department
to authorize the purchase
of 250 Motorola handheld portable AP PXN 70
radios, accessories and activation fees in the total amount,
not to exceed $1,784,472.
Consideration and adoption of resolution.
So moved with discussion
Support to where? Discussion,
Discussion, Ms. Moore, and then Lafferty.
Um, thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, I'm in favor of this,
but I would like to see the encryption, um, taken out
of the, um, uh, item.
Um, I think for transparency and dispatch that,
and for news outlets, that
that encryption should not take place.
It's another half million dollars, which is a lot of money
that I don't think we need to be spending at this point.
Um, we did purchase self telephones for
all police officers recently,
and, um, they can have private conversations
about things offline.
So that would be my suggestion is that we, um, do that.
And I had a whole stack of questions,
and I've misplaced them,
so maybe somebody else can. Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you. And so
I have a couple of concerns.
I share the concern about the encryption.
Uh, I will, I will ask to amend our resolution on that,
to exclude, uh, any encryption algorithms that are going
to be used on these radios
and understand that they may come back to us with a revised,
uh, price difference, uh, if that service is not offered.
Uh, but, gosh, we've been talking about radios.
Back when I was on the board of commissioners 2001,
the county switched over to the 800 megahertz system.
I'm taking us back a few years,
but 800 megahertz was, was supposed
to tie every municipality together, county, state,
local, local governments.
And that was the idea. Everybody could talk to one another.
And then, so in, in the letters here, we have
how many other municipal, uh, what's missing is
how many other municipalities have changed over
to these new radios.
And I want to tell you, they're all going to be looking at
what we do tonight.
Because if we, we say no encryption, we're the, the largest
or or municipality in Macomb County,
everyone else will follow our lead
and they will lead with trans.
We lead with transparency. Everyone else will follow.
Uh, there are, uh, a number of other ways if, uh,
you know, they need an encrypted channel that exists today,
that those don't have to be on dispatch.
The, uh, the other concern that I have,
and this is more for Mr. Fox,
is not here, or Mr.
Trea, but the, I wanted
to do a search on Motorola through our previous purchases
and previous agendas.
Every single agenda comes up for the last four
and a half years because we're always paying
Motorola for services.
So it, it, my, my search was unsuccessful,
but when we purchased our last batch of radios,
and what's not included here is the write off when we're
going to be replacing these radios, which I'm reading
through this, and I'm reading
between the lines ahead of time.
So that's not factored in to the total cost of this,
this change that we're likely going to be writing off cost
of the existing radios.
And that's, that hasn't been disclosed here.
Uh, and it's, it's good to know,
because if you're purchasing a product, you want to know
how long it lasts.
And Mr. Watts spoke during audience,
and he talked about end of life.
Now products go end of life all the time.
I just bought a, a new, uh, mobile device,
and it goes end of life in a year and a half.
That means that, you know, the manufacturer is not going
to be making parts for it.
It's not going to turn off in a year and a half.
It's just no longer supported
for replacement parts or service.
That's, that probably wasn't taken into account in
our last purchase.
So we really need to get better at
looking at our long-term plan.
Technologically, I think that these, uh, you know, giving
our officers every single tool they need, uh,
is well worth the, the price that's in front of us.
And, uh, although I do, uh, want to amend the,
the resolution, and I'll, I'll look at that after.
Uh, Ms. Moore has her questions,
but, uh, I do want to make that note that we should
ask the controller to return with, uh, what is the write off
that we're, we're seeing with the, the total replacement,
what was the present value and,
and what was going to be depreciated prior to this, uh,
this letter coming to us.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Any additional discussion?
Captain Wolf, do you want to speak on this item at all?
Good evening, counsel. Captain James Wolf.
I'd like to, uh, respectfully disclose, um,
1.7 million $472 was included in my fiscal year 25
budget for this.
These items, the only change is the, uh,
activation fee for 200 for the 256 radios
by the Michigan State Police, which is $250 each,
which is a total of $64,000.
And then the additional cost would be from Macomb
County Radio Repair.
For the labor costs, it is just under $20,000.
And there is a, uh, additional $10,000 contingency fee
for any type of, uh, additional services.
That's the only change.
So that is through the tune of about $94,000 in the change
of, uh, prices.
And, um, I just wanted to disclose that.
And also, just for your knowledge, it hasn't been guaranteed
yet, but, uh, through administration
of the Warren Police Department, I have requested
through Gary Peters office of our Congressional grant
to the, uh, the amount of $1.9 million,
which is possible to cover this fee.
Um, they're in the second phase. It's not done yet.
It's gonna take some more time, but we may be seeing monies
back to, uh, recoup these monies for these radios.
I just wanted to inform the council of that.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
Hearing none, I will, well,
makers of the motion, which is Ms.
Bore, and Mr. Dwyer, do you accept the amendment to remove
encryption from the resolution? Yes.
Yeah, I, I actually have the, I I do accept, I do want to,
uh, add the language to it
because we're, we're not taking away,
but we're, we're actually adding language
to take away the encryption.
Understood. Uh, so in the, the resolve statement,
therefore, it is resolved that the purchase of 256
A PX NX 70 portable radios, 64 radio heads
and related accessories, along with activation fees
as shown in the table below, with the exception
of any encryption package,
are hereby accepted by City Council.
Counsel, if, if you'll allow me,
may I comment on this as well?
Yes. Use your name. Uh, say your, your name, name.
Sergeant Brandon of the Warren Police Department.
I the Technical Services Division Sergeant.
Uh, I'd also like to point out in support of this project,
I have Brandon Lewis, the Director of Emergency Management
for Macomb County, and Sean McCarthy,
who is the Technical Services Manager for Macomb County.
I want to clarify, uh, the encryption line item.
The encryption line item does not mean that we are going
to encrypt the main dispatch channel.
It is for interoperability.
So we can communicate with other agencies
that are on encryption.
The entirety of Oakland County is on a ES encryption.
The majority of Macomb County will be going
to an a ES encryption of some, some part we will not be able
to communicate with other outside agencies.
In the absence of that encryption.
We will not be interoperable.
Well done. Uh,
Through the, through the chair. Mr.
Lafferty, Uh, who did you say you had again
from the county?
I have, uh, Brandon Lewis
and Sean McCarthy, the Director
of Emergency Management Communications.
And Sean McCarthy, technical Services Manager.
They're both here tonight? Yes.
They're My motion stands.
I mean, I dunno why we're adding discussion
To, to Motion.
I don't how this came about, but Go ahead, Mr. Ry.
We were, discussion was done.
Just, uh, we voted. I,
I would like some clarification then from, we didn't,
we didn't vote from the, the gentleman,
especially from emergency management.
Sure. I,
Good evening. I'm Brandon Lewis.
I'm the Director
of Emergency Management Communications for Macomb County.
This is John McCarthy, the manager
of our technical services division.
We are the two officials that oversee the radio
system for Macomb County.
Good evening. Uh, so the, can, can you speak then again
to a little bit more to the encryption?
I guess I'm, I'm either not understanding it entirely
or it sounds as if we remove that package
that other municipalities that have these same radios
or operate on the same frequencies,
we will not have any communication possible.
So what you actually have are two separate issues that,
that you need to consider when it comes to encryption.
Number one is the policy decisions that the city would make
as far as encrypting individual talk groups against being
heard over a scanner or radios or things like that.
The second issue is an issue of capability.
Uh, certain talk groups are encrypted, as the sergeant said,
Oakland County's moving to this a ES encryption standard,
and they are going to be encrypting the vast majority
of their radios and their law enforcement channels
that they're, that they're going to be speaking over.
So I would put it like this.
If your radios don't have at least the capability
of a ES encryption, you won't be able
to speak interoperably on the same channel as any department
that's speaking on an encrypted channel.
Your radio simply won't be capable of doing it.
So there's two issues.
There's the policy issue
of whether you encrypt your channels
and there's the capability of those radios
to speak over channels that are encrypted.
And those channels may be encrypted by policy decisions
that your city and your police department didn't make.
John, anything you wanna add to that?
Well, I just would like to say that, uh,
there are channels that you currently encrypt have been
encrypting for years, that this would just be a continuation
of that you don't encrypt the channels
that are in question your main dispatch channel.
But, uh, you have some specialty ones that for running lean,
sensitive information, uh, uh, special operations units,
those do run encrypted.
And they have been for as long as I can recall.
So this would be just continuing that.
So you are are stating
that we already have encryption today? A hundred percent
Yes. On, on
our current system.
But you don't encrypt, I'm sorry, I can't hear you.
But you don't encrypt all your channels.
You know, the, the primary channels are open.
That's what the public would want to listen to.
And then the ones that you do sensitive information, uh,
special operations, those have always been encrypted
Through.
I I, can I ask a question? I,
I'm, I'm gonna yield for the moment
because I've, I think what,
what we're talking about now is a matter of policy.
Yeah. Because that's, that's what it sounds like.
We, we don't necessarily want to
remove the encryption package, the capabilities,
but it sounds like a policy question
Now. So, so every everybody's
encrypted except dispatch,
Dispatch would re would be required.
Well, that's what we don't want. We wanna take dispatch
encryption out of the approval.
That's what we're looking to
Do. The dispatch is just
like another radio.
They would the channels, right?
That they would need encrypted. They would need
Encrypted. So Oakland
County switched last year to what we have,
or a year and a half ago, right?
That is correct. So you have what we have.
So why, why do we wanna switch to
what Oakland County has when we already have that?
Shouldn't we be we set, say what we're gonna do?
And then why don't, I think I,
I think I misunderstood your question.
I I think you're, I think everybody's misunderstanding
what we're talking about.
I think, I think part of the issue is that
what this resolution does not cover is it does not cover
how you communicate or how you use the radios.
The resolution covers what capabilities you purchase along
with the radios.
And the resolution as it's currently written,
includes the capability of operating on talk groups
that are a ES encrypted, whether or not you choose whether
or not you choose to utilize those or not, or whether
or not you choose to encrypt your radio traffic,
the radio will be capable of operating on those channels.
So if I'm understanding correctly, the,
there's current, I'm just gonna summarize.
Currently, our radios have encrypted channels, I'm assuming
for special, as you said, special operative detective work,
that it should not be public information
for the safety of many people.
What we're currently,
the resolution includes further encryption on the
radios that we're purchasing.
The encryption then allows or,
or purchasing the capabilities
of the radio to have encryption.
And then to your point about a policy decision is
internally, what channels then would be allowed
to be encrypted is a separate issue than the purchase
of the radios with the capability to do so in the future.
Is that accurate? Yes. Okay.
So I I'm in favor of purchasing the capability
with an understanding that there is, uh, some
internal dialogue policy around ensuring transparency
of public, public things.
Madam Chair, we have to do it right here.
'cause once we make this decision,
if we don't say it right here with that caveat,
we will have no say over it.
Sure. And I want, you know, I want the news media
to know when there's a dispatch that goes out
and there's a shooting down at Eight Mile and Hoover,
because I think the media has a right to know.
I think the public has a right to know.
And I think scanner that comes on Facebook, they're,
they're performing a vital service
because people know when there's
danger in their neighborhood.
Because guess what, we don't tell people,
we don't tell people we don't use our
emergency alert system.
The text messaging like we did,
we did it almost 20 years ago.
I was the one that introduced it.
And we would warn people, you know, stay in your house,
don't come out, there's an active shooter.
We don't do that. So what we're relying on now are people
that monitor the scanner and they, they put it on Facebook,
or they go live on the scene, um,
to let people know what's going on.
And I, I want the public to know what we're doing
and we, you know, we have a perception problem.
Mm-Hmm. And people want to know what our police department,
I fully support the police department.
You guys know where my heart is,
and I have supported you all the way,
but I also have an obligation to be as transparent
as possible with the public.
And, and what I wanna happen is for, to go in a store
and, you know, see stuff for kids and see a police car
and not 82 fire trucks,
because nobody wants to be associated with police anymore.
I want that to go away.
And a part of that I think is transparency.
And I think that is a little, just a little part of it.
So, okay. Okay. Madam madam, Mr. Schroer has an idea.
Yes, yes. By all Means. Certainly.
I think, um, just sitting here with my knowledge
of the city charter and how the city works,
I think we can resolve this today.
The charter does say that it's the duty,
I'll cite section 7.19 of our city charter,
what's been in place since 1957, that it's the duty
of the police to see that all ordinances
and regulations of the council are properly enforced.
So I would say that you could adopt this
and then add language, um, saying that, you know,
as a condition of this, we are adopting a regulation that,
you know, your main dispatch channels shall not be
encrypted, you know, without further, you know,
consent of the city council.
Mm-Hmm. So I think that that's, it's a charter function
of the council to pass ordinances and regulations.
So I think we can maybe get there.
I'm just offering that as a suggestion.
I mean, I think we all understand.
I don't wanna hear, you know, sar, Sergeant Ali saying, Hey,
uh, we think this guy is going down, you know,
Potomac Street, and I'm gonna be at the end waiting for him.
I, I totally, I totally get that. I totally get that.
And nobody wants any of you to be in harm's way.
So I think we can work this out.
Thank you. Yeah. Madam Chair,
Mr. Bo,
Uh, one question. Mm-Hmm.
For the sergeant, uh, this encrypted channel,
um, the other police departments,
let's say they're chasing a armed robber into our city
and they're using an encryption, we wouldn't be able
to hear 'em if we don't have encryption.
Correct. Or what do they use for inter department,
uh, communication? It
Would kind of depend on who's going to what channel.
Um, but for example, if the City of Warren were entering,
say, the cities of Hazel Park
or Madison Heights for any reason,
and we were to go to their main dispatch channel,
if we do not purchase the ES encryption for our radios,
we would not be able to communicate
with them on their channel.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
So, Mr. Lafferty, thank You.
I'm going to amend my amendment so
that it shall read with the exception
that the dis the dispatch channel shall not be encrypted
pursuant to city charter section 7.19.
I would, I would add a caveat that channels
that don't pose safety
beyond dispatch, I did, I guess there we should be
as transparent as possible.
So how that is worded, and perhaps Mr.
Shorter can, but you know, the necessity
of transparency are there in instances beyond dispatch where
information is shared that could be shared
and the public would have more information?
Sure. Uh, the way that it's structured now,
the main dispatch channel is unencrypted.
Uh, and then our, our channels where we do transmit that,
that protected information, uh, lean information
and CIC information, um, our special operations,
our SWAT team, those are encrypted.
Uh, those are our primary channels.
Okay. Thank you. Mad chair. Mm-Hmm. I listened.
I have a scanner. So Valentine's Day present for my husband.
Um, so I do listen
and I know that somebody calls in call letters
and I don't hear what the information is coming back.
I don't get any private information about anybody.
And, and I know you. I hear you.
Hey, call me on the, call me, you know, so I know
how you're, thank you, Mr.
Lafferty. Say one time. Sure.
Yeah. I just wanted to make, uh, one point actually, um,
I agree with Ms. Moore, breaking down any barriers, uh,
perceived or imaginary with police and the public.
I just wanted to make, uh, for the record that uh,
I'm sure you're all aware that organized crime rings do
counter surveil, uh, police departments
and thwart our efforts to apprehend them.
I just wanna make that point. Alright. Thank
You. Thank you.
So then, Madam Chair? Yes. Mr. La
I will amend my amended amendment.
Gotta be, gotta be clear. Running outta paper. I'm sorry.
With the exception that the dispatch channel
or channels that do not necessitate the protection
of information and ensure the safety
and welfare of first responders shall not be encrypted
pursuant to city charter Section 7.19.
Beautiful. Thank you. Any additional discussion?
And are the makers of the motion, Ms. Moore and, um, Mr.
Dwyer comfortable with that amendment?
I have no Questions. Yes. Okay.
So without additional discussion, I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14
GG.
And that is what was four L.
Proposed resolution, providing public notice of intent
to sell vacant tax reverted property at 12 4 67 Sherman
Warren, Michigan Parcel ID number 13 35 303 6 2 1
for $1,500, subject to combination
with 12,475 Sherman Approving Sale,
following 30 day notice period
and accepting grant of easement rights.
So moved. Court
Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, support by Ms. Moore discussion,
or sorry, motion by Moore Discu, uh, support
by Lafferty Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. I've opened up a couple of,
Uh, There it is.
A couple of agendas. We tabled this,
or actually we denied this back in March, March 26th,
and they had taxes on the property that were in arrears.
And those taxes have since been brought current.
Right? So we have, uh, a valid offer
now with, uh, with the, the next door neighbor.
And so I just wanted to make that clear that, that all of
that has been taken care of.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Any additional discussion?
Fantastic. That this, uh, was remedied, uh, hearing none.
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Noonan? Yes.
Mr. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is audience member.
Members of the audience who would like
to address the city council this evening.
May do so by filling out the audience form located at
the right side of the stage.
Uh, this is for, uh, general items.
And first up is Mr. Michael Hollow.
Good evening counsel. Long
little bit of a long meeting tonight.
Okay. I just have a few comments about a few things I
observed while watching the last council meeting.
First is that why is this the city council meeting?
Only the one being live streamed when the planning
and the ZBA meetings are held, you know,
in this same auditorium.
Why can't our communication department also live stream
those at the, since they're able to live stream this?
Second, I want to compliment our, finally,
our Parks and Recreation Department.
Looks like they're finally upgrading.
A majority of our parks, I know, have a lot of work to do,
but it's a long time what we're doing.
It looks like this solely could bring them up to par.
Um, third, I want to compliment our mayor
for when it's necessary,
having our de department heads attend the meetings
and made available to answer the council questions.
Also, I wanna thank the mayor for live streaming,
the public forum recently that our Tina Capcha held
regarding, and also Angela,
our council President Angela Rogan, regarding the, the roads
and who's has what jurisdiction
and what, you know, what goes into how, how,
how long it takes to get the roads worked on.
Okay. Another thing recently, uh, this is a little bit
of personal thing for, uh, basically the general public.
As you can see, I'm, I'm wearing a Ukrainian style
hat commemoration.
My, my parents' home country based, our president
and other dignitaries,
comm commemorated the invasion at Normandy this past
weekend, which held helped in, uh,
defeating Hitler during World War ii.
It just showed how much US has been almost like the police
force of the world.
I want to continue people to realize
that what's happening in Ukraine is basically a
very similar situation.
In my eyes, Putin is another Hitler.
So please, people realize that, that it's not a civil war,
as some people say, it is a war,
keep China have one country from being in invade
by another one, not, not nothing else.
And last, I want to just little thought, why Don,
our pass council members that ran for reelection or
or another, uh, attend our meetings?
It seems that Mr. Watts is the only one
that basically still cares about the city.
Just a little thought about that. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Next is Lori Harris.
Okay.
Uh, this is for Tony
and Dorothy Baker, uh, who are unable
to participate in council meetings
because we don't have a way for people to do that.
We don't, We're not accessible to people
who are unable to be here physically.
And I would like us to continue to work on that.
Um, I also would like to, uh, comment on the,
uh, uh, 12 A, uh, thank you
for postponing that.
Um, I certainly do not feel
that they deserve a gaming license when they are not
transparent and, uh,
providing information about their financial status.
But I'm also disappointed that the legal department
didn't provide the proper information.
And, uh, that's really not acceptable.
Um, um, so, uh, thank you for looking into that more.
I would also like to ask
that the city departments get their act together.
I particularly mean the building department.
The planning department, um, uh,
maybe animal control, the police department,
why someone would be allowed
to put dogs back in an empty house.
That it is, was described by Mr.
Osh as a mess
because there were alleged, um, can't think of the word.
I'm tired. Um, squatters.
Um, I don't think they left those squatters left in 19 2019,
according to his previous comments.
So, um, why
that house is not certified for occupancy,
but allowed by the police department to put the dogs in,
does not make any sense.
Doesn't make any sense at all.
Um, if the building department's not following up, uh,
uh, property maintenance in terms of the, uh, mess
at harvest time and the mess at that house on Ewt,
uh, I would like the fire department, the fire marshal
to visit harvest time and look at whether it's safe at all.
The, the collection of items
that keep getting put in front of the door.
Maybe the door is open,
but there's really, from what I've heard on the inside,
it's very crowded and very hard to move through.
And we just can't keep letting this happen. It's wonderful.
They go do good things,
but you can't cover up bad by doing something good.
And, um, what else?
We had a really nice, uh, gathering at City Hall yesterday,
uh, promoting, uh, a DA compliance.
And even though the DDA has, uh, decided
to spend over $200,000 to, uh,
investigate and plan how to do this, they don't,
they don't have a, a plan to finish until
2026.
And that's only the top few things that need to be done.
So we need to do a better job of getting on the ball.
You're at time Miss Flo Harris. Oh, it says 33. I know.
They, they didn't restart it. 32. Yeah.
Oh, you didn't start, sorry. Well, that's okay.
Have a good night, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.
Next is Jamie Morris.
You did everything, but see the start. What?
So, despite the allegations made tonight over us wanting
to shut down harvest Pine Church,
that is completely not true.
I'm a caregiver myself, have been for four years.
I care a lot, maybe too much.
And apparently I care too much according to animal control
and the police station, because they did
get tired of me calling.
I called for a year straight. I called almost every weekend.
I am a neighbor with cameras actually at the home.
I never see Curtis ever.
He sneaks to the home, maybe at one
or two o'clock in the morning, throws a handful of food
inside that house and leaves.
He, you cannot even walk through that front door.
When the police officers showed up that night, they had
to look at the dogs through the window
because they could not even
open the front door and walk inside.
So the fact that Mr.
Osh think that there's nothing wrong, no abuse, no,
I mean, to me, that's abuse.
Leaving dogs in an abandoned, condemned home.
I would never do that to my own dogs.
I have a dog myself and children.
So his way of thinking, we are just not,
we're not comfortable with it, though.
We're not comfortable with looking
at the house all the time.
I live four houses down.
People think that I live in a terrible neighborhood
because here's one house after another hoarded.
And you can see through inside the van, the home,
the dogs, you can smell it.
There's rats. It's disgusting.
And obviously, he has proven not
to be compliant with the city.
Not honest. He said he was gonna fix that house up.
And instead of fixing that house up, he's been using it
as a dumpster in literal sense.
He's been using it as a dumpster
for four years, five years now.
Who knows how long. Um,
and as a neighbor, as someone who cares about animals,
people, our city, our pockets, I feel like
no more funding be offered to harvest time
until they clean up the mess that they already did.
And nobody ever said to shut down harvest time.
We want harvest time to clean up their act
and clean up their ways of thinking that they do not.
What they're doing in that house is not wrong.
It's not abusive, and there's nothing wrong with the
mistreatment of animals.
And I do hear the commentary in the background, um,
and, um, it's just, it's wrong.
And I was told by the police department that I was harassing
because I reached out to Facebook because animal control
or the police department did not help me for over a year.
So, as she mentioned, Facebook is a great way
to get attention.
It's a great way to reach the people who do care.
Thank you guys so much for your time tonight.
Thank you. Next is Elizabeth Alexander.
Is Elizabeth here. Next is
Theresa Wood,
also not here.
Donovan. K-U-C-H-A-S-Z.
Thank you. Michael Var.
Okay. Mr. Osh has departed. Jesse Quack.
Okay. Sue has also departed.
Uh, Terry Wizowski. I see you here.
Hello, council. Terry Wisnewski, lifelong resident of one.
I'm here tonight to introduce you to a very ambitious
and knowledgeable person.
This person has a passion
for helping people become financially stable
through home ownership, breaking the mindset
of I can only be a renter.
She does this through seminars
and work groups, uh, that she,
she has done over at Lincoln High School,
and she gives them the tools to, uh, become a homeowner.
She is also involved in an affordable housing project
in the South end of Warren, in the eight
and a half in Van D**e area.
And before I screw up anything else and,
and, uh, not get the details right, I'd like
to introduce Faye Baker to you.
Thank you. Good evening.
My name is Faye Baker. As Terry stated, I am the owner
of Baker and Associates Realty Group.
I've been in, uh, I've had this business in Warren
for about 10 years now.
I wanted to come here and share, um, a, a, a, uh,
development that I'm, that I'm, um, currently working on,
and also seek your support.
The, uh, development is Empower Home Development.
It's a proposed residential development in South Warren.
The, uh, project aligns with the city of Warren's 2022
and 2023 Housing
and Community Development proposed action plan
to increase home ownership among the low to moderate income.
A MI. The project also aligns with
MTAs State Housing Plan.
Our goal is to empower low to low, moderate low to low
to moderate income individuals
and families, providing them with the tools
and resources needed to achieve sustainable home ownership
and financial stability.
The project has received, um, support from key stakeholders,
including the city mayor, the state senator,
and local organizations such as, uh, local, uh,
UAW local offices.
We've also partnered with the City of Warren
through our nonprofit organization as, as Terry stated,
to provide impactful seminars focused on financial literacy,
home ownership, and most recently rent versus
buying education.
Our goal today is to ask to come before you, um,
and ask for the city council's support, uh,
for our overall project approval.
Thank you.
Thank you. And for the record, I had, uh, phase,
uh, audience participation form, so you're all set.
Thank you. Uh, let's see.
Next is Ian Catering.
Okay. Uh, Scott Allen Jaworski.
Michael Howard,
My father gave it to me.
Good evening, counsel. Uh, thank you again for,
uh, recognizing Juneteenth.
Um, just the shortest backstory on how we even, uh,
began the celebration here in the city of Warren.
One day I was in a, in a meeting with, uh,
actually at our now Mayor's house
or at a, at our treasurer's house celebrating,
um, something with our mayor.
Uh, I bumped into Monica Papa
and we were talking about different things in the community
and, uh, some of the things I was doing in Oakland County.
And she's like, man, I really wish we could do
that here in the city of Warren year.
So later, that's where we started working
to bring forth the Juneteenth celebration.
Uh, the federal government has 12 holidays.
Um, and this one was just one that we,
because we got together,
we decided we're gonna organize and start it.
And so I think that the city is coming along
to be a partner in that, and I'm thankful for that.
And we just encourage anyone that wants to see any
of the other 11, uh,
federal holidays acknowledged and recognized.
Like I challenge you to step up and organize them.
Um, 'cause that's exactly what we did.
You know, uh, some of the question is like, it's
because Juneteenth is talking about the liberation of slave.
Many folks are like, oh, it's just a black holiday.
But the general Granger who, uh, delivered the resolution
to Texas was a white man.
I mean, there was over millions of, uh, residents,
or sorry, well, citizens, uh, soldiers
that gave their lives for freedom.
And that's what Juneteenth is about, is celebrating freedom.
I believe if we're gonna, if we're gonna talk about progress
and moving forward, we first have to acknowledge our past
and we can learn from our past.
And so Juneteenth is the opportunity for us
to look at our past, look at how far we've come,
so then we can look forward
and look, uh, keep our eyes to the hills on
how much further we can go as a people.
Um, this is a, you know, as I said earlier,
this is not just a black holiday.
This is an American holiday
that I'm looking forward to celebrating.
Uh, June 22nd, we have, uh, Grammy nominee,
uh, singers coming.
We have two amazing bands
that just found out we're having a DJ come.
We are having food trucks, um,
but also several nonprofits that are gonna, uh, come
and talk about how they can help improve the community
and provide resources.
Um, and we're still adding a few other nonprofits to that.
So I just wanna encourage everyone, uh, to come out.
And lastly, I'll say, happy birthday Shirley.
And, uh, another resident
that watches our city council meetings wanted me to say hi
and give her a okay sign.
So I'm following my instructions.
Thank you. Next is Omar
Rains not here.
Last is Gloria Sanker.
Good evening Counsel. Uh, I hope you will pass the request
of Harvest Time Hope as a nonprofit.
You know, they are located on the south end of Warren,
helping the people on the south end of Warren.
And this is exactly what's needed on
the south end of Warren.
So let's not prohibit a good thing.
Uh, regarding the Van D**e corridor.
Uh, discussions have been going on
for some time, but no right.
Decisions have been made to upgrade this area.
I have some ideas on the Van D**e corridor,
especially Nine Mile and Van D**e.
I was born there. I went to school there.
The original city hall was there,
big boys restaurant was there and served the community.
Our Church of worship was there
and Lincoln High School was there, man.
I went to the Motor City, um, show
on Sundays that was located there.
I roller skated there and met lots of guys
and we fed our chickens from the feed store that was there.
I enjoyed balancing the packages I bought from the variety
store, none of which is there now.
Why can't this area be refurbished into a bustling desirable
site to walk and shop like
so many other communities have already done?
And actually, why hasn't it been done?
It used to be a hub of warn,
but politicians have neglected it,
focusing on 12 Mile and Vandyke.
If it isn't taken care of soon, it's going to become
so neglected that it will become a loss to our city
and become a drain on its finances.
You should have a concept contest.
Let the residents draw their, some ideas of
what they think might be worthwhile there
and work there to make it inviting for residents
and non-residents to wanna come and shop, dine
and have some fun.
And that could be done with a concept contest.
It might be fun. It doesn't have
to become a drain on our city.
It just needs some spark.
Fixing up a sense of welcoming
to draw people back to that part.
That once was an integral part of what was known
as baseline.
Michigan, we became a city.
This area should not become a slum.
And lastly, I would say, um, I guess it was last meeting
that council drew up a proclamation that the month
of June should be pride month.
Well, in the Christian world, it is a month
of the sacred heart of Jesus
with billboards posted along the expressway
and major highways.
You're out of time. Ms. Sanker, it's
A great Month. Thank you.
To celebrate Faith.
Thank you. Thank you. Next item,
council response.
Council response to audience. Anyone have anything?
Okay. Hearing none. Motion. Next item. Motion to adjourn.
Support lafferty. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. We are adjourned. Thank you everyone.