I am now calling to order a special
meeting of the city Council.
Tuesday, July 25th, sorry, Thursday,
July 25th, 2024 at 7:00 PM Please
stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge alle allegiance to the flag of the United
of America and to the Republic.
For which stands? Which stands? One Nation Under
God, indivisible.
With liberty. Justice. With liberty. And justice.
Justice for all. Roll call Madam Secretary,
President Roy. Here.
Councilman Dwyer?
Here. Councilwoman McKee. Here. Councilman Bokey? Here.
Councilman Nunan? Here. Councilman Lafferty. Here.
Councilwoman Moore is present. We have a quorum.
Thank you. Next item.
Next item is for adoption of the consent agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion.
Hearing Nana call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C as a? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is five. Adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion,
Support, Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore.
Um, thank you Madam Chair.
Um, I would, um, just, um, for,
since we have such a short time this week,
we've lost two days.
Um, the reconsideration period will be tomorrow at four
o'clock and the list of bills,
so each motion we make will include the caveat
that the reconsideration period will still run at, at end,
at four o'clock tomorrow.
And that, um, the list
of Bill the bills will be sent out immediately tomorrow.
Thank you. Any additional discussion hearing Don?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C as? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is six a calendar pending matters.
Motion to receive and file with discussion support
Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion Ms. Moore. Thank
You. Um, we do
have a few items, um, on the, uh, list
of, uh, pending matters.
Uh, one item was actually your item, Ms.
Robi, um, a list of all
outside legal service contracts and agreement.
And that was due July. Um, or, uh, yeah, July 9th.
And we have a couple other, um, uh, items outstanding.
And, um, we will, um, be asking our city, our, uh,
council attorney to send correspondence
to the mayor's office, reiterating all those requests
and so that we can, um, get them.
There's actually a 10 day, um, requirement to meet, um,
anything counsel asks for.
And, um, I, I would mention that, um, Mr.
Bokey asked for a list of all vacant positions, both union
and non-Union that really goes along
with council oversight of the budget.
Um, at any time throughout the year,
we can have an update on any budget items
and, um, vacancies in positions is certainly a budget item
that we are entitled to.
Um, so we'll, we'll have, um, Mr. Schroeder, if that's okay
with everybody, we'll, Ms.
Michaels, and he'll send it to Ms. Michaels.
Thank you Mr. Lty. Yeah.
Thank you Madam President, that, uh,
Madam Secretary Moore covered my points.
Uh, I was going to refer on the items
that we brought up that Mr.
Dwyer and I both brought up, uh, following the end
of our previous meeting relative to all of the events
that have taken place at City Hall
and on city property for the last, uh, seven months or so,
and those that were upcoming to ensure
that we had transparency, uh, that has yet
to happen. So thank you.
Thank you. Any additional discussion? Hearing none.
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight.
A approval of the bill, I'm sorry, is approval
of the minutes of the regular meeting
of July 9th, 2024. So moved.
Support, uh, discussion.
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Uh, Rogan See is? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is approval of the General Revenue Funds.
Um, motion to approve with discussion. Please
Support Lafferty Discussion. Ms. Moore.
Thank you. I polled check number 6 6 9 6 7 6,
which is a bill, um, that is in the, um, parks
and Recreation, uh, fund.
It is to United Light and Sound,
and it is for Light Up City Hall.
And it was, uh, it's dated 6 29. 2024.
It was $400.
Um, I don't know if that was the actual date
that the city hall was, uh, lit up.
I assume so. That's the day of the Pride Festival,
but I don't know by, if that was just the date
of the invoice or if that was the actual,
and if it was only one day that City Hall was lit up,
I did not know that we paid a company to come
and light up City Hall.
I thought we actually had the lights to do that.
You know, I think it's a great thing to do.
I like the idea that we do light up city Hall
for different events and holidays and things like that.
And Mr.
Elli, I saw on our bid system
that we were bidding out some lighting.
Does that cover this so
that we maybe will be able to do our own thing?
Yay. Good idea. Okay. Thank you.
I thought maybe it was, I thought well, I better look
and see if there's any, 'cause I was looking
for some other things on the bid system. Yeah, you,
You can come to the podium, Mr.
Ley.
Good evening Council. Yeah,
this is a project I've been working on for a couple years.
Can you hear me? Um, we had a, a light study done.
Uh, the building has reflective properties
and actually that's what that wing is for,
is it reflects the light down
and is supposed to light up the plaza.
So I've been working as some, uh, lighting guys for a,
a while now to make sure that we get the right lights.
So it's been a, a project of mine.
'cause I think we should have our own lights instead
of paying somebody else to do it.
So, yeah. So now we've got it out to bed.
We should be, I think the project's actually starting
in the next couple weeks.
Great. I think that's a really nice feature that we, we do
that and people like it and,
and the building really lends itself well. Yeah,
It looks great. Up to that. It looks
Great. Yeah, it
really does. So I think
it's gonna look even better now.
The new project will have the clock tower included,
so it'll be able to control everything from an iPad.
The whole building will light up.
We'll be able to control the clock
tower will light up as well.
Well, can we get the right time on the clock tower?
Yes. Yes.
I was at an event, uh, Friday.
Friday, and several people came up to us. I think Mr.
Bokey and I were talking about that.
How do we get the time to be right on the clock tower?
So the, the gear actually is on order right now. Okay.
So as soon as we get that in, we'll fix it.
It's not the biggest problem in the city.
Yeah, but I just thought, wow.
We're talking about the clock tower. We'd mention
It. 16 bucks.
We're waiting for it to ship. So
Thank you very much for the information.
I appreciate it. And oh,
but do you know what date was this for the 29th?
Do you know? You don't know. Okay. Thank you.
Do you want to table the, that check?
No. No. Absolutely not. I just wanted to Nope, nope.
Just some additional information.
Just wanted the information.
Okay. Any other 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 as a? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight B, which is approval of the bills
of the water and sewer system.
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. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Next
Item is audience participation for agenda items only.
First for audience is Lori Harris.
Hi Lori Harris. And, um,
I just, uh, as
before I start, I just wanna remind everyone
that tomorrow is the 34th anniversary of the A DA
American with Disabilities Act.
And we have a lot of work we need to do in the city,
but in terms of the agenda, thanks. You wanna hold that?
Thank you. Um, we have a, uh, on the agenda.
I have a question, and I know I've heard this
before, why the library needs a,
a truck with a plow
and if they actually do their own plowing
for their sidewalks, um,
or you know, is some of their department doing that?
Why it's going out of the library?
Um, I have a question about, um,
uh, let's see.
I'd like to know.
Hi. Um,
the entertainment is free.
Um, I'd like to know a little bit more about,
um, on the agenda.
Sorry. Um,
alright.
The audience participation issues.
And I would like to understand
why anybody would come to the microphone
and demean, defame attack
a human being personally.
So I believe we do need to, if we can't expect respect
from people coming here to this microphone, then we're going
to need some kind of guidelines.
And, uh, so I appreciate the work
that you're putting into that.
And I had comments on other things
that were on the previous agenda for Tuesday,
but I don't see them here.
So, um, Tony
and Dorothy, I'm still supporting you
by Thank you.
Next is Michelle Nar.
Good Evening everybody. My name is Michelle Nar.
I'm the Macomb County Commissioner for District 12.
And I'm, I wanna kind of just, um, talk about item 13 C,
first Amendment protections, uh, for the public, uh,
comment, uh, and government meetings.
Uh, our first amendment right is one of the basic rights
that we have as Americans.
And to tamper with that in any way is unconstitutional.
Actually. Uh, I just wanna read something that I discovered
as I was, uh, mulling over this, this situation.
The government generally may not discriminate against speech
based on its content or viewpoint.
The Supreme Court articulated this clearly in Chicago versus
the Chicago Police Department versus Mosley in 1972.
Writing above all else.
The First Amendment means
that the government may not strict speech
because of its message, its ideas,
subject matter, or its content.
In First Amendment law, government officials
often cannot discriminate against speech based on content
or especially viewpoint.
And unfortunately, when we, um, sign up as public officials,
we go out and we knock on people's doors
and we make a lot of promises
and we tell them, we, we gonna do transparency,
we gonna do a lot of things.
So when we don't do that, and someone comes
and want to be upset by
what someone's not doing that, that they elected,
they have that right to do that.
Whether we like it or not.
And I know it's been said that, you know,
Michelle Naer comes to the council meetings,
but we don't go to her meetings.
Number one, I'm a citizen of Warren.
So I can come to this mic and speak about everything
because the decisions that all
of you make up here affects me and my family.
So I have every right to be at your meetings.
Number two, I will invite you to come to the Board
of Commissioner's meetings so you can see how Robert's rules
of order actually works.
'cause that's what we do. That's what we practice.
And I will always speak my mind.
I'll always speak for the people,
whether you all like it or not.
So just if you do your job, if you do what you're supposed
to do and don't revere your business,
then nobody will be able to come up and say anything to you.
Have a good evening.
Next is Jerry Bell.
Jerry Bell, last council meeting.
I repeated some statements that, uh,
you said yourself
during a December 19th Council meeting, Angela Rogan.
You remember that nothing that I said was out
of order even when you ruled me out of order last week.
You said that anything that you say can
and will be held against you, not only in a court of law,
but in a court of public opinion.
Who the heck are you, Mindy Moore to tell Mr.
That council member, Mr.
Newnan, that he can post anything he want
to do on his Facebook?
True indeed. But you have to answer to the people.
He would have to answer to the people if he posts something
that the people don't like.
'cause he's a public official.
We have what you call First Amendment rights.
And you guys are poking at that.
Not only with me, myself, what you consider
every council meeting trying to suffocate my voice
because I speak truth.
Because I go after you guys about your wrongdoing.
I inform the people and you all are afraid.
And Mr. Schroeder, what the heck is your job, Mr. Ball,
Please direct your comments to the elected officials.
Well, I'm going to direct it towards him through you.
What the heck is his job title?
If you are sitting up there ruling me outta order
for nothing that I said wrong,
which I've gotten several phone calls with folks saying,
I didn't say anything wrong.
You did, and I repeated it.
But what the heck is he sitting up there
for when he should be able to warn you when
you are outta order?
What you called me last week? What did she call me?
I don't think you even wanna say it again, do you?
I heard what you called me.
And then during that December 19th meeting, when you said
that also you, Ms. McGee, you said
that you would never vote on anything to do
with suffocating a person's voice, and you agreed to it.
Mr. Dwyer, look back at that meeting.
If you guys were to try to take a vote to try to
suffocate our First Amendment rights,
how you think that's going?
Look, do not
listen to Mindy Moore.
And first of all, Mindy Moore, are you the one that's
behind this 13th c Are you the one behind it?
Because you, the one made mention last week
that if this happens again, you're gonna go,
you're gonna call a recess and leave.
Well, when you call that recess
and leave, you leave and don't come back.
We can replace you. You don't give bad advice.
Thank you for all your time.
Thank you. That is the end of audience.
Next item right here. Oh, Joel. Sorry. Sorry. Mr.
Vander Lenin.
Joe Valen, longtime worn resident.
I too have a problem with the, uh, stifling of the voice
of the people, not Mr. Bell, the people.
It seems like more
and more you guys are trying to silence us
or saying our views, saying our concerns,
pointing out things that are wrong.
If you don't want to hear the people,
then resign from your position
because all you're trying to do is silence us.
And that's wrong. And that's against the Constitution.
We, the people put you in those chairs
and we, the people can pull you
out. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vander Linen.
Next item. End of audience.
Next item is announcements. Madam Chair, Ms. Moore. Yes.
I would just, um, like to announce that the next, um,
uh, Thomas H. Carey concert at the Square will take place on
Sunday, August 4th at 7:00 PM Uh, that is sponsored
by the Warren Cultural Commission,
and that is Mainstream drive.
I happen to know the lead singer in that group.
Um, it's my sister-in-law's nephew.
And he is very, very good singer.
And they're a, a fun group to watch.
And there is also the sound alternative.
Sunday, August 11th at 7:00 PM They also are top 40.
I'm not as familiar with them. Maybe somebody else is.
I'm sure they're great. Um, I went to, uh, Rapa, um, Mr.
Lafferty's brother's band,
and it was, I didn't stay very long.
We had the baby there and it was a little loud
and he didn't like his mic, his, uh, earphone.
So we had to leave.
But it, it was a fun time
and it looked like everybody was enjoying themselves.
That's it.
Any additional announcements?
Madam Chair, Mr. Lafferty,
Piggybacking off of Ms.
Moore's comments, if you missed it, you lost it.
If you lost it, you'll never get the chance to
hear that concert again.
Rap Reputa was awesome. What a terrific concert. And Mr.
Bokey was there. I know I saw him.
Uh, maybe others were there.
We didn't get a chance to see each other,
but what a terrific evening.
The weather was perfect. And so what a great, uh, start
to the concert series.
Uh, I did want to also acknowledge
that the Warren Civic Theater is producing
and, uh, hosting Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
And that will be performed here on this stage, August 2nd
through the fourth, and also the ninth through the 11th.
The Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:00 PM
and the Sunday shows begin at 2:00 PM And this is the, uh,
the hallmark of the Warren Civic Theater's season.
As always, their summer, uh, musical
is always their biggest production,
so you will see more people packed onto the stage than ever.
Uh, everyone is, uh, invited to attend and, and participate.
And so the audience is going to get a, a real treat.
That'll be a, uh, chocolate treat.
And tickets are available.
Sorry, dad joke, I'm, I apologize.
Tickets are available@warrencivic.org. Thank you.
Thank you. Any additional announcements? Honor
Chair, Ms. McGee.
Thank you. I had a chance
to participate in the Warren Parks
and Recs, um, in the park.
And if you can get a chance to make it
to the next one on August the 16th, um,
I thought it was quite a bit of fun.
It was wonderful to see the families out there watching the
movies together, um, eating together
and having a good time as a city.
And I wanted to thank Parks
and Rex for putting on this event.
And the next one will be on August the 16th,
so please come out.
It's from six to 9:00 PM on August the 16th.
Thank you very much, and I appreciate it.
Any additional announcements? Uh, I had one.
I wanted to thank the Warren Police Department
and Captain Beck specifically for coordinating a ride along
for, uh, council member Newnan
and Council member McGee and myself.
Uh, I also wanted to give a special thank you
to Sergeant Callow for letting me tag along with him, uh,
answering all of my questions
and being a general pleasure to spend time with, um,
coming into this role without any public safety in my
professional or personal background.
It was such an informative few hours
that I was able to spend.
I was able to understand our technology a bit better, uh,
stuff that we voted to support, uh,
also learned way more about the qualifications
of our various officers and the incredible job that they do.
I also wanted to thank the administration
for giving us access to this experience
as the previous administration forbid, council at
that time from participating in Ride-alongs.
And given that public safety is really our biggest, uh,
agenda item, I just really am, am grateful
for, uh, the opportunity.
So just wanted to say thank you
so much to the police department.
Thank you. Um, commissioner Rushton,
Madam President. Mr.
Nunan? Yes.
Uh, on my ride along, I saw how the, uh,
police officers are highly trained in deescalation
and, um, it's really quite a pleasure to see
how well trained our police force is.
Thank you. Anything further? Madam Chair.
Mr. Bokey, Since we're on congratulations.
Uh, our our council meeting was canceled on Tuesday due
to a severe storm.
Uh, the city suffered, uh, many trees
that went down flooding power outages.
And, uh, just want to thank Dave Elli and his crew.
Uh, they got a positive response from the residence,
how quickly they responded to complaints
and picking up the, the debris the next day.
Thank you.
Any additional announcements? Next item, Madam Secretary.
Next item is 11 A, which is the public hearing amendment
to Appendix A of the zoning ordinance.
Article 21, a Division one through five of the code
of ordinances of the City of Warren, Michigan.
Proposed ordinance to repeal
and replace Appendix A of the zoning ordinance.
Article 21, A Village Historic District Division one,
generally Section 21 a 0.01.
Background and purpose, C, D
and F Section 21, A 0.02, district boundaries,
A and B Section 21, a 0.03.
Definition Section 21 A 0.04, reserve Division
two, membership powers and Duties.
Section 21 a 0.07.
Established membership terms vacancies sub
B section 21 A 0.08.
Powers and duties, HIM
and QRS and the addition of T Division three.
Permit application review and appeal.
Section 21, a point 12, permit A to section 21,
A 14 filing fee.
Section 21 a point 16 commission action
and standards for review.
A one Roman I
Division one, I guess.
Um, division four methods to preserve resources.
Section 21 a point 25 plan for preservation
of resource Section 21 a 0.26, prevention
of demolition neglect.
Section 21, a 0.27, demolition addition
of Division six, historic district boundaries.
The amended ordinance of Article 21 A will bring its into
conformity with state law so that the City
of Warren may apply
for certified local government designation.
P-A-N-A-P 2 2 0 0 0 2. This is a first reading.
I think that's the longest agenda item we've had.
Uh, one of them. Can the city staff please
summarize the item?
Thank you. Uh, my name is Laura Sullivan
and I work for the City Attorney's office.
And first of all, I'd like to thank you
for putting this on the agenda.
It is not as complicated as it seems.
Um, the Historic preservation plan is part
of the master plan, which was approved
by council on January 12th, 2021
Point of Ms.
Solo. Yes. If you would put your microphone
toward you a little bit, it might help us.
Yes. I'm not that tall. Yep. Thank you. Thank you.
Um, the city can carry out a preservation plan
and gain access to exclusive funding, um,
with the assistance of the State Historic Preservation
Office in the National Park Service.
Um, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Certified Local Government Program, um, is one
of the, um, ways that the city can gain funds.
It's administered by the Shippo
and the National Park Service.
Um, to become a certified local government, ACL G, uh,
you have to follow a process of certification.
Uh, there's two ordinances that are related
to historical preservation.
The City Historical Commission Ordinance,
which was passed in 1967,
and the Village Historic District Ordinance,
which was passed in 2014.
The first of those, um, calls for a commission
of nine members to further public interest in all matters
related to the city's history
and environment in the name of the city.
This commission acquires
and maintains appropriate exhibits,
cooperates in educational and research programs
and issues, bulletins and other publications.
And that's found in the, um, city
of Warren Ordinance Section two dash 1 21 at sec.
The second one is the Village Historic District Ordinance,
um, which has said was, uh, passed in 19
or 2014.
This is another, um,
ordinance related historic preservation,
and it declares historic preservation via public purpose.
This ordinance, along with the local Historic District Act,
allows the city to regulate the construction addition,
alteration, repair, moving excavation,
and, excuse me, excavation
and demolition of resources within the
Village Historic District.
This is a zoning ordinance,
resources any publicly
or privately, um, owned historic building structure,
site object, feature,
or open space located within the Village Historic District.
According to the ordinance as written,
the city council may at any time modify the boundaries
of the Village Historic District
or eliminate the Village Historic District.
The amendments to the Village Historic District will not
alter the purposes
for which the ordinance was originally enacted.
They will simply broaden the language so
that the ordinance does not only apply
to the Village Historic District, it will enable the city
to, at any time, established by ordinance,
additional historic districts.
In addition, the amendments will not change that there is
to be a seven member commission to accomplish the goals
of this ordinance.
Um, in order to establish additional districts, in addition
to broadening the language of the statute
and adding a few more definitions, we set up a,
a process which set up a process which is found in
the Michigan statute.
And the process is pretty straightforward.
The council appoints an historic study committee
with individuals who are highly interested
or knowledgeable in historic preservation.
That's the first step. That Historic Preservation Committee
sends a preliminary report
after doing a photo inventory, doing some basic research
and evaluating, uh, a resources significance.
He sends it to the Planning Commission, the Shippo,
the Michigan Historical Commission,
the State Historic Preservation Review Board,
and then they publish it to the public.
Then a hearing is held before the city Council.
Um, the city council takes into account
the draft preliminary report.
Um, if the study committee recommends
to establish an additional district,
it will prepare a final report based on the planning
department and city council recommendations.
It will include a draft of the proposed ordinance
if they're going to establish a historic district.
After city council receives the final report, it may,
at its discretion, introduce and pass
or reject the ordinance.
If it passes the ordinance.
The city council files the ordinance
and legal description with the registered deeds,
and it slapped right on the,
the description gets slapped right on
the back of the ordinance.
Um, finally, the amendments create a new Division
six, which is called historical
or historic District Boundaries at 21 A 32.
And the first entry there is subsection,
a village Historic District.
So that future historic districts will be
BCDE as you continue
to amend the ordinance as you see fit. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. I will open the public hearing
and ask for any audience who would like
to speak on the matter, if you wanna hang out for a moment.
Yep. Thank you.
Hearing none, I will close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action.
Madam Chair, motion to approve the discussion, support,
Uh, discussion. Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you. Through the chair to
Ms. Sullivan. Good evening. Good
Evening.
Thank you for your, your synopsis.
Just a couple of of clarifying questions.
You had mentioned a nine member board
and then a seven member board.
And so just in context today, we have
a historical commission.
Yes. We also have the Warren Village
District Historical Commission.
Right. And so how do, how does this ordinance
affect the establishment of both
of those commissions independently?
Okay, so this ordinance doesn't really affect the, um, the
Histor City Historical Commission ordinance,
which was established in 1967.
They still do their thing.
Um, they, they further public interest in historical
events, et cetera.
But this ordinance would basically take, um,
the word village out
of the Village Historic District Ordinance
and make it a general historic district ordinance
that would look forward to the addition of amendments
that would add additional historic districts.
The Village Historic District is only one district.
And by the way, um, in September of 2021,
after the master plan was published, the city, um,
engaged services to conduct a one of these studies, um,
on the Village Historic District Plan.
And that's on the website, on the planning section.
Okay. So the, and,
and what I'm looking at is the protection of the charter
of the Village Historic District, obviously preserving
that district, this overall ordinance change
enables the city to establish multiple districts.
Correct. And so the Village Historic District
remains intact under this ordinance?
Yes. It would be under Division six, subsection A.
It's one district,
but currently the way the board commission is set up for
that, it's all Village Historic Commission members.
And so really the ordinance
and visions, uh, a group, a wider group
that has some interest in
or knowledge in historic preservation.
So the, this could essentially broaden their charter?
Yes. So if we had,
you mean the commission, and I'll give an example.
Let, let's say that we established the baseline, uh,
historic district at between eight
and nine mile, uh, van D**e to Hoover.
Correct. Let's say that we established that
the district that we have today,
the Village District would also have purview of
that district as well.
I'm sorry, I I didn't, I didn't make myself clear.
The Village Historic District is a district
and it has its own resources that have been identified.
If there's another district,
like the district you're proposing
that would undergo a study, it would go
through the presentation to planning, then to council,
have a draft report, have a final report,
and then the council votes on whether they want
to add the eighth, the baseline.
Now that is another, um, it's another thing for
that historic commission to be concerned about.
Now they've got another little
district to be concerned about.
If another one comes up, that's another one
that they have to be concerned about.
So this commission established under the ordinance we're
talking about today, is gonna have significant
responsibility in monitoring these areas.
So we're essentially going to have an,
an overall commission for historic preservation.
Yes. Under this ordinance, in addition to
the Village Historic District Commission?
No, we're, we would be eliminating the Village Historic
District Commission and calling it the
Historic District Commission.
The Historic District Commission would be overtaking,
you know, um, supervising the Village district,
maybe supervising the baseline district,
maybe establishing a Mound Road district, et cetera.
Okay. So that, that helps clarify.
So we are not preserving the Village Historic District
Commission in its present state. Correct.
We Are, in a sense, abolishing that commission
and creating an entirely new commission that oversees the,
the boundaries of Warren that could potentially have
the Village District in addition to multiple districts.
That is correct. Okay.
And I just, if a point of, um, yes,
I'm not sure exactly how that would be done.
I think that has to be discussed
because there are currently members on that commission.
There are, so there might have to be a phasing in of
the type that are seen
or expected under this amended ordinance.
I, I would expect to see that a number of them would,
would want to continue to serve in an expanded commission.
I'll leave that to them, of course.
To, to decide the, so that I've, I've gone
through my first couple of questions.
The next question I have, Madam Chair, is
through the chair to Mr.
Wirth, the planning department.
Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. Thank
You.
Good evening, Mr. Worth.
Good evening, Madam uh, president and Council.
Good evening, sir. Councilman,
What can I do for you?
The, the impacts to this ordinance
and its impact to planning
and zoning, uh, I would imagine is significant.
You and I have had, uh, considerable conversations around,
uh, the historic preservation
or the, the Village Historic District and the, the potential
and the opportunities within that.
Can you comment on the establishment of the CLG
and the, the opportunities
that we might have within the village?
Um, As it relates to, I, I can't planning
To some degree. I
mean, Laura certainly has done the most, uh,
uh, research on that.
But, uh, it opens up a myriad of, uh, chances, uh,
regarding funding and direction and assistance
and, um, all those things that,
that are rolled into historic preservation of
anything that is historic in this town.
And, um, I mean, a lot of attention is gonna continue
to be paid to the village, uh,
historic district, no doubt about that.
And, um, she referenced a, a plan
that, uh, was, uh, approved here, uh,
about a year ago, year and a half maybe.
Uh, went through it, uh, through the, uh, DDA
and, um, there were, uh, there's an implementation process
there that, uh, uh, we've been working on.
Part of that plan has to do with
this ordinance in particular.
And you really, we really needed this, uh, to, to again,
help with, uh, additional funding instead of, uh,
making an effort to just use our own money, uh, certainly,
uh, using other, uh, outside funds, uh, we'll have
access, first access to those funds
through the, uh, state of Michigan.
You're, you're going exactly where I, where I was hoping,
I've heard the word two or three times now, funding.
And the,
the Village district is within my district.
It, I have wonderful vivid memories
of the district for, for many years ago, uh,
as a small child going to the homecoming parades,
eventually marching in the homecoming parades when Mound
Road was still, uh, uh,
fewer lanes than it was, and much slower.
And basically, you know, closing off Flynn and BB
and having the, the vendors in and, and food and
and entertainment in that area.
It, it was a, a wonderful time.
The, the Village is in need of a lot of help in, in a couple
of ways, not only from a perspective of,
and we have beautiful gems that are, are
among the, um, among that neighborhood.
Beautiful homes. Uh, there's, there's a couple
of homes there that have a, a horse hitch
outside of their home.
And, but there are other homes that probably don't even know
that they are in a historic district.
And I know that the Village Historic District, uh,
commission has been struggling on how to
re-identify that area.
And I really truly believe that establishing A CLG
is the first step.
And Mr. Wirth said it a number of times,
obtaining funding from the state,
maybe from other, other, uh,
Assistance Organizations.
Yeah. Assistance sort to help us build that out.
And then, as Ms. Sullivan explained, what are,
what other opportunities do we have throughout the city
that we could identify and help preserve?
That's our heritage, that's our history.
We should take an active part. Uh, this is long overdue.
Uh, what I would ask, uh, Madam Chair, is that we
have a committee of the whole between now
and the second reading, inviting the historical commission,
the Village Historic District Commission, the city attorney,
and the planning department to participate in, uh,
discussion to more thoroughly understand this,
obtain the input from the sitting members of the commission
so they have a stake in ownership in the
development of this ordinance.
And to understand, uh, everything with our stakeholders, uh,
as we, uh, develop the second reading.
Thank you, Mr. Wir. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan. You're welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Um, um, Mr.
Director, worth, before you go, I was just wondering if you
could outline which of the documents,
I think it's in the master plan
and others that list the
historic properties that have been especially identified.
So for all the counselors, in case they're not familiar
with, uh, with what the planning department's already done.
Well, they, alright. Did you say master plan?
I, I don't know if you did or not,
but there's a one specific section in the master plan.
It, it addresses, uh, what,
what they saw here, uh, regarding historic preservation.
That was the impetus for that plan
after the master plan was approved.
And then, then came the historic preservation
plan for this city.
And, uh, I don't know if each of you were, should have been,
been given a, a copy of that plan, uh, for your records
and, and reference.
And I mean, if that's,
and then, then within that plan came various, uh,
implementing, uh, implementation, uh, ways
of, uh, improvement and knowledge and assistance and,
and how to go about, uh,
making those improvements through funding.
Uh, thank you so much. I I think that's great.
Also, a kind of, for the, um, baseline
area, the, um, Councilman Lafferty was we're speaking of,
uh, I think the Van D**e corridor plan is, um,
it's part of the, what's gonna make that exciting
as it gets, gets implemented.
So that's another thing that I hope will,
we will have another council will hold on
The, that, that corridor study.
Um, and I think that's still,
I don't know if there's gonna be a whole committee,
the hole on that, but, um, that, that talks about
historic, uh, issues or,
or things that they, that were, uh, discovered.
Same person, uh, Jessica Flores who did the historic plan
also was a, a, uh, consultant on that plan hired
by Beckett and Rader.
So, so there's, uh, she identified quite a few,
uh, different sites.
I think that's wonderful. I don't know whether the, um,
two, uh, educational, uh, committees of the whole would,
could be combined or whether they should be separate.
But I'll leave that to, um,
to the secretary. Thank you so much.
You're welcome. Thank you. Mr. Noonan.
Anything further on this item?
Hearing none, I will call the question. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 11 B, which is a public hearing amendment
to ordinance number 30 Appendix A, article two definitions
and Article four, general provisions relating
to basement section 2.02, basement definition
and size of residential dwelling.
Section 4.26.
The proposed ordinance amends the definition of basement
to be consistent with the International Code Book used
by many city departments.
Additionally, the proposed ordinance amendment removes the
requirement that multifamily developments have a basement.
This is a first reading.
That's Me. Uh, can anyone from the city staff
summarize this matter?
Good evening, Ms. Michaels. Good evening
Counsel. Thank you Mr.
Adam Chair,
So you could make sure to speak it
in the microphone. Thank you.
Will do. Yes. I know. ca, assistant sed attorney three.
Caitlyn Murphy worked on this with Ron W
and administrative staff.
He understand that there have been some problems with, um,
multiple family structures that
our ordinance requires a basement.
And a lot of times that has been found
to be unnecessary added expense,
and there's been a lot of vagueness regarding it.
So what was done at the Planning Commission's recommendation
and through Ms. Murphy and Mr.
Wir is to just remove that requirement.
Our building department reviewed, obviously this change
and finds no, no need to have a basement
for multiple family structures.
And they're not required in single family homes either.
So it's a very simple change, just no basements.
Thank you. I'm gonna open the public hearing.
If you hang out for a moment, I'll open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience that wants
to comment on this matter?
Seeing none, I will close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action.
Motion to approve with discussion,
Support, Uh, discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Through the chair to Mr. Wirth or to Ms.
Michaels? Actually, Ms.
Michaels can probably answer this fairly quickly.
Good evening Ms. Michaels. Good evening.
Council At present, if a developer comes
to the planning commission
and asks to develop a multifamily structure
and says, I don't want to build a basement,
do they require a variance
and then they have to go in front of the ZBA
to obtain that variance?
That is correct.
That is what I wanted to know. Thank you. Thank you.
We are eliminating and streamlining the process.
This is, this is good legislation. Thank you. Thank you.
Any additional discussion?
Hearing none, I will call the question. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. GaN C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 11 C, which is a public hearing request
to vacate utility easement.
Vacate the existing north south 20 feet wide utility
easement located at on lots 20
and 21 of Denton Industrial subdivision located on the north
side of Miller Drive, section four jv,
capital LLC Adam Steyer, PEV 24 0 0 0 2.
Can someone from the administration summarize the matter?
Mr. Wirth?
Uh, thank you Madam.
Uh, president, um, it's a utility easement.
It's, uh, it's, it's a necessity, uh, to have this,
uh, particular easement, uh, vacated and then relocated.
Uh, it's a particular site
where on Miller Drive, there's an existing building, uh,
I'll just say to the west of it, there's another building.
And, uh, the owners want to tear down the one building
to the west and so they can expand and double the size
and, uh, create, uh, quite a facility at this point in time.
And we do have, uh, uh, couple people out here who,
who could describe that whole process.
But because of doing that, uh,
they can't build over the easement.
And the easement was placed right between, uh, the,
the two buildings to begin with approximately.
So in this case, they vacate the easement.
There's a sanitary sewer in there.
There has to continue to be a, a service of
for sanitary sewer.
And it gets relocated out
and then west of the new building
out north back and reconnected.
And, uh, they have to provide us with a document that,
that, uh, creates all that.
Uh, so that's basically a summary of what,
uh, what that's all about.
Thank you. I hope that's Okay.
Alright. If you could stand by.
I will, uh, for additional questions,
I will open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience who would like
to speak on this matter?
Seeing none, I will close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action. Motion
To approve support Lafferty Support Lafferty.
Motion 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 12.
A proposed resolution to opt in
to participate in national opioid litigation settlement
with Kroger Company and authorizing the mayor
and clerk to execute the Michigan State Subdivision
Agreement for allocation of Kroger settlement consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved with discussion support Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore. Thank
You. Um,
I am not going to, I'm certainly in favor
of this settlement, but I will say that the presentation
of this settlement is contrary to established practice.
Settlement recommendations are to be presented
by the attorneys to City Council in closed session,
after which City Council votes in open session, whether
to settle a matter or not,
we make our decisions based on the information the attorney
of record shares with us.
A letter dated June 28th was sent to Mary Michaels.
I assume in the absence
of a city attorney from the Huth Law Firm, Ms.
Michaels had an obligation
to report this proposed settlement to counsel office
to schedule a closed meeting.
I would remind everyone
that one settlement in an opioid matter was made entirely
without counsel involvement, which was a blatant violation
of the charter, which had to be remedied.
At a later point, we have asked the prior
and current administrations to engage experts in the field
to provide recommendations to counsel on how
and where these funds should be allocated.
Ultimately, this body will make that decision.
I am not gonna propose tabling this matter,
but I will state that in the future,
proper procedure should be followed.
Included in the documentation that was sent over,
it indicates that the mayor, that Mayor Stone,
will consult with Mr.
Ho to develop the strategy
for the most effective use of the funds.
This will assure counsel
that it will receive funding proposals that are consistent
with the allocation agreements
and will support evidence-based programs
to effectively prevent
and eradicate substance abuse in the community.
While Mr. Ho may provide guidance on the legal use
of the funds, I am not aware of Mr.
Ho having an educational
and experiential background in opioid addiction matters.
Counsel has made it clear that we want
to base our decisions on advice of experts,
and that we feel obligated to assure the monies allocated go
to the direct benefit of Warren Residence.
We have, um, and I will, uh, remind everyone
that the Michigan Rules
and Professional Conduct rule number 1.4
is a lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about
the status of a matter
and comply promptly
with reasonable requests for information.
A lawyer shall notify the client promptly of all settlement,
offers case evaluations and proposed plea bargain.
A lawyer shall explain a matter
to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client
to make informed decisions regarding the representation.
I would suggest that since counsel was the only one
that could start this litigation, uh, we were
for a while getting updates directly from, uh,
the attorney in New York.
Um, we had a, a big catch up session
because we had not been given documentation
and some things were done very inappropriately.
I would've thought that
that process would've been re remedied at
this sit at this time.
Um, and when the council voted, um, when we went back
and remedied the um, uh, approval process, we had to go
and approve the settlement as part of our vote.
It included immediately disclosure by city attorney
and mayor of all litigation updates
provided by firms representing the city.
And we at that time directed the city controller to, uh,
create a separate, um, account for the settlement funds.
And that was not done until just very recently.
This was two years ago.
And, uh, interestingly enough,
when we had committee meetings as a whole on the opioid,
and we were going by the recommendations of,
I don't know if it's Mayo or, uh, Sloan Kettering
and one of the one Johns Hopkins, one of the major, um,
hospital systems in this country.
You know, the first thing they said you do was
to create a separate fund.
Um, we also, um, at that time, you know, we asked for review
of all the retention agreements.
I don't think we've seen that, but I think that, um, we,
as part of the principles for use of funds, um,
it's clear we need to be following the guidelines from the
experts and, um, follow, um,
those experts opinions on how to go about,
uh, actually spending the money.
We've said from the very beginning, we want the money to go,
don't just give it to some co company
or organization that covers three counties.
We want the money to stay in Warren
to affect people affected by the opioid, uh, crisis.
And so I am, uh, certainly in favor, um, of
settling this, but I am hoping, um, I assume that Mr.
Hoof is still the attorney of record
and he should have been, um, uh, communicating
with counsel on this.
And we have not gotten updates.
Um, we were getting updates from some
of the law firms for a while.
Certainly Secrets Wardle has been very good about giving
updates on lawsuits,
but we have not been getting regular updates from anybody
else except the stewardship report,
which comes out once a year.
So anyway, those are my comments.
Um, going forward, um, this council is very, uh, willing,
um, and excited to participate in, uh, discussions.
Um, everybody recommends panels of experts
that cities should put together to come up with ways of, um,
uh, using the funds and allocate them.
Certainly Mr. Ho would know the legal way, how,
how the monies, what categories
of items the money can be used for, whether it's prevention
or education or whatever.
Um, but I think that we need somebody
with a little more expertise in opioid addiction or than Mr.
Ho. So those are my comments. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Michaels,
If I may. Sure.
Can you speak to the microphone?
It's still hard up here. Honor, I'm so sorry. Clarification.
This is not a city settlement.
It's just an opportunity, opportunity
to participate in a settlement, which we're able to do
because of the pain center litigation authorized by counsel
through Edelson and Mr.
Hoots law firm. So there's no settlement per se
that we're entering into just
to participate in the proceeds.
And this is the same manner in which the prior one was
presented September of 2023.
So obviously, I mean, Ms. Moore,
we will provide whatever updates you require,
but I don't want anybody to think that we entered into
or were proposing a settlement without a closed session.
Thank you, Ms. Michael. Thank
You.
Any additional discussion?
Yes, sure. Madam Chair. Mr. Lafferty,
I'm, I'm confused.
This either is or is not a settlement.
So at this point I'm, I'm unsure of
what we are voting on.
Sure. Ms. Michaels, if you can clarify,
Um, there is a national opioid lawsuit Mm-Hmm.
And the city filed a local lawsuit, which entitled it to be,
um, eligible for the proceeds of settlements
that come out of the national lawsuit.
To this, we've received funds
Already. Attorney General, correct.
To this, to the Attorney General.
There's an agreement and the Attorney General, uh,
actually authorizes the settlements for Michigan.
Mm-Hmm. Then we as a participating agency are able
to participate in the proceeds
of the settlement according to an allocation.
So it's not something we actually have control over either
to participate or not participate.
So Madam Chair, thank you Ms. Michael. Standby. Mr.
Lafferty, Through, through the chair to Mr. Schroeder,
uh, are you able to shed some light
or guidance on,
'cause the, the resolution is calling us, calling upon us
to, uh, saying that Kirk, who,
and Mente notified the city of an opportunity
to recover funds from a settlement agreement with Kroger co,
a pharmaceutical retailer.
The opt-in deadline is August 12th.
So, and there's a recommendation from the mayor to opt in
to participate in the settlement.
So if this was the settlement that we were already part of,
we shouldn't have to opt into it
because we would already have opted in
as we have already received funds.
Ms. Michaels, may
I add to the chair?
Um, this is a settlement with a different
pharmaceutical entity
To which we are Kroger a part of.
Well, in the, in the opiate litigation, it's against many,
many pharmaceutical entities.
So each a settlement is being made with each individual one.
And Mr. Who, maybe you could speak more eloquently on this
matter, but my understanding is this is the settlement
with one entity, which is the Kroger.
The Kroger one. We brought you a different
one prior, previously.
So at present, the city of Warren is not a member
of this, this litigation,
Correct? Not,
no. Correct. That is correct.
That we don't have to pay the, the, we don't have
to pay the contingency fee of the whose firm. Then,
Mr. Lafferty, you still have
the floor.
I, Of, of course, I want to
opt in and, and recover any funding
that might be available to us.
I'm not going to stand in the way of that.
I'm, I just find this worded in a way that is
confusing because we're not part of this particular
litigation yet.
You're asking us to opt in
without having any, what is
Through the chair, Our legal stance
and qualification to enter into this
Through the chair, if I may, Ms.
Michaels,
We filed a local lawsuit.
Through that local lawsuit, we became eligible
to participate in the settlement proceeds
of the national lawsuit, which Mr.
Ho can try and tie this together a little bit more clearly.
But because of what we did locally through Edelson and Mr.
Ho, we become eligible to become, to receive
settlement proceeds from an over, from another lawsuit.
And that's against various pharmaceutical entities.
And there are settlements made one by one
with the pharmaceutical entities.
So because we entered into a lawsuit against
one particular firm Yes.
We're now entitled to become a party to
another, uh, lawsuit.
Correct. I believe through the efforts
of the Attorney General,
the Michigan cases were somehow brought under the
umbrella of the first one.
Mr. Lafferty, can I, um, make a suggestion,
Please.
Uh, we, as we stated,
we don't wanna get in the way of funding.
Can we certainly get a commitment from Ms.
Michaels if there are any further ones brought forward
that we are brought into closed session
to better understand with Mr.
Ho, what exactly, uh, so that we're all clear on the nuance
of this complex litigation.
Is that amenable?
That would certainly be helpful. Um,
Mr. Schroer, do you have
anything else to add?
Just add that, um,
I believe there's probably a release being, I mean,
we're not gonna receive money from a pharmaceutical company,
uh, without agreeing to release any claims we may have.
I'm assuming that's part of it. Um, so I, I agree
with the procedure here to accept this and move on,
and maybe the next one will
find out about it a little bit sooner.
Excellent. Thank you. Thank
You Adam. Chair.
Uh, Mr. Newan then, Mr. Bokey?
Sure. So, uh, as I'm understanding it, Rite Aid
and CVS have already settled
and the city has already secured some funds
regarding opioids.
That is correct, yes.
So, um, I, I think what I would like
to see would be a overall plan for all the possible money
that we could ever get and
to figure out something sustainable to do
because it's an ongoing crisis.
That is correct. I know Mayor Stone
wants to present a plan.
Obviously council will be involved,
there'll be a partnership.
Okay. No funds will be expended or given to any agency
or expended without counsel's involvement
and approval. Okay.
Well, just for the, uh, public's awareness,
what I'm seeing here is, um,
the settlement from Kroger would be $275,000.
Yeah. Yes. And I imagine that 2 47 K was less involved in
that than CVS and, and, uh, Rite Aid.
So I imagine those settlements were larger.
My memory doesn't serve that well.
I've only been, was involved in the September one. Okay.
And it was about the same amount,
but there have been, we're,
we're at a good point right now, 1.8.
1.8. So, so that's a pretty sizable amount of money.
Right. But it's also would be very easy to burn through that
and not necessarily very productive way.
So I, I would like to see the council have, um,
access to experts who could advise us as to, as
to the best programs that we could come up with.
Absolutely. And maybe make them sustainable.
Absolutely. So, um, hopefully we haven't missed a beat here.
No, we haven't missed a beat.
And there's a formula on
how the money is supposed to be allocated.
Okay. So, yes, Mr. Huth will be involved. Okay.
So at any rate, I'm willing to proceed with the vote,
with the thank you voting. Thanks. We
Requested Mr. Nunan
for your, uh, in the event that you were not a part
of this, 'cause I think it was the past council,
we had requested that a panel of experts,
someone from the police department,
someone from the fire department, so school social worker,
assemble to share a little bit about locally,
what we could be doing to best use that money.
To Mrs. Moore's point, it's important for us to make sure
that we're spending the money in Warren
and that we're hearing from the people most
impacted by the crisis. So,
Oh, excellent. Great. Thank
you. That's a good update. Thank you
Madam. Mr. Mr.
Boian.
Oh yeah. I just wanna tell you, I have some documentation
that we've already had a committee meeting the whole,
in the last council term,
and I do, do have some documentation,
some information I'll put together and send everybody to,
and refresh all of us too that,
'cause it's been a while since we looked at it.
Just so everybody has what I have anyway, through
The president. I'll look forward to
getting a copy of that.
Thank you. Council member Bokey,
Uh, mad chair, uh, through the chair for Ms.
Michaels.
Ms. Michaels is getting her steps in today.
Uh, like Councilman Laffy. I'm a little confused. Mm-Hmm.
Okay. We, we had a national lawsuit
that actually went to trial.
I know that. Okay.
Regarding the opiate, this particular case,
was a lawsuit filed against Kroger
or was it the parties, uh,
the attorneys from the other cases, sending them a letter
with intent to sue, unless we settled.
Do you know if, if it's an actual lawsuit against Kroger's
or was it obtained with, you know, through negotiations
That I'll have to find out.
We'll have to call Delson and find out.
See, you know, that's information that's, that's helpful.
Maybe next time having our, uh, outside, uh,
firm here to answer those.
Uh, because, uh, Mr. Schroeder probably could answer
that better to me as far as the attempt to sue
and come into a settlement.
But we don't, we don't know if it was a lawsuit
or, you know, if it was, uh, a letter, Hey,
we're gonna sue you, but you better settle.
And then all of a sudden they're asking cities
to join in a case.
From what I've seen, I believe Kroger is a party,
but I'll, I'll verify that.
Okay. Okay. In, in the future, again, it, you know,
that information is helpful for us
to understand it a little better. Yes. Yes.
And I appreciate it. At Tuesday meeting, I did ask Mr.
Huth if he could attend. He had a commitment. Pardon? Okay.
Should have reached out for tonight, but,
Alright. Thank you. Thanks.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
Madam Chair? Mr. Lafferty?
Just a, a question, and,
and this is really to the administration of many
of the commissions that have not yet been appointed.
Um, Ms. Moore made mention of the committee of the whole,
where we discussed all of the different members
of the o opioid settlement, uh, committee.
And it's, I just find it, uh,
as, as, uh, this is, this letter
that we received was very single threaded
that it would ignore the fact
that council took action in the previous term.
And that seems to be continuing, that the mayor
and an attorney would develop a strategy
for how these funds are to be allocated.
Yet, council took decisive action
and established a committee of experts
and single-handedly, this is going
to be done from the administration.
That's not how this works.
And so, I, I want to make, make certain that as part of
our opting in, that the, the administration is reminded
that we have a committee that is yet to be appointed
and sent to council that has experts.
It's not politicians, it's not, uh, you know,
someone's favorite charity.
It's experts that can tell us exactly
where these monies are needed the most
and how most effective they can be, you know,
leveraged through the community. Thank you.
Thank you. Can that be a part of the formal motion, Mr.
Schroder? Or is that just a reminder to the administration?
Um, if I may, Madam Chair, that was part
of a motion made in the prior counsel.
Actually, I believe those,
It was, Yes.
So it's separate. It's already, uh, okay.
It's, it's already done. So
we're just going on the settlement
There. There's a master
461 page settlement agreement on this from
March of 2024, where the city of Warren is identified with
hundreds of other communities in here.
And there is an overall release here.
So the result of this would be opting in and participating.
There's a release I strongly recommend entering into it,
but just to get over the argument of, you know,
we have something, if it looks like a
duck, it quacks like a duck.
It's a duck. So we, we essentially
have a settlement agreement here. So
Thank you. Thank
you. Okay. I will call the question, uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes, ma'am. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C as a? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item. Next
Item. MS 13,
a discussion in rate designation
of three council representatives
to the Senior Housing Authority working group.
A motion to approve with discussion. Madam Chair,
Support Lafferty Discussion.
Ms. Moore. Thank you. Um, uh,
I think it was last week we had a committee meeting the
whole on two items, the Senior housing authority
and, um, the animal control, which I thought were,
was an excellent, excellent, um, uh, collaborative meeting.
Um, we did, we, um, uh, learned, um,
that the ordinance
for the Senior Housing Authority was written in 1967
and had not been updated.
And, um, there are seem to be a lot of, um, things
that we need to work on.
We don't have to have three members,
but we can only have three to be in a working group.
And, you know, if just one person would like to be on it,
but, you know, the opportunity is there
for up to three people.
Um, and it's just, at this time, I'd like
to make the comment that, um,
many people are on commissions and boards,
and if things come up that any of us see, um,
I think it's a good idea to get the bylaws
from each of the committees.
And look, I went back
and looked at, uh, ordinances for things
that I thought I had in my head and I looked back.
And certain commissions are restricted
in how the ordinance works.
And I think we have to go back
to the beginning on some of these things.
Look at the ordinance, then look at the bylaws.
You know, we found a lot of problems with the DDA that,
you know, I couldn't even list them all.
There's five or six things that are being,
had been violated, beginning
with the CEO is supposed to be Mr.
Bato, not the mayor.
Um, and the chairperson is not supposed to be the mayor.
They're supposed to be elected by the,
so there's all kinds of things.
I think that's the next one
of the next committee meetings we'll have, like that is DDA
and talk about some of those things
and work on updating that ordinance,
because I think state laws change a little bit.
But I would ask that if any council people are
with a border commission, maybe we'll get,
you know, bylaws in that.
And if you see something you think needs to be updated,
the ordinance bring it back.
And we can put together a working group
with somebody from the administration, the commissions, so
that we can tighten things up, make sure we're up to date.
You know, state law a lot of times changes.
And so that though, that we're following law,
we can mirror our ordinances
to the current state of the law.
I think that it will take a while,
but I think it's, it's a good practice for us
to do if something comes up.
'cause that's what we do. If we see that's our reason
for being with the boards and commissions.
We might see they're having a problem with something
that legislatively we can maybe help alleviate the problem
and then we can bring it back
and, you know, speak with the attorneys on that.
So that's just a suggestion.
And I don't know if anybody, Madam Chair can take over. The
Who, Who Wants to Anyone
volunteer?
Anyone want to volunteer to serve on the senior housing?
I'm already on it. I'm already
On it. So, Ms. Ms. McKee,
I'm,
I'm also happy to serve
Mad president. What did you say?
Is anyone interested in serving
on the senior housing? Oh, I
Thought you were saying that you were, you were willing.
Sorry. I, I I heard you wrong.
I thought you were saying you, you were willing
I am willing to serve as one
of the folks on the working group. Oh,
Okay.
I, I'm, uh, I'm willing.
But I wanted to let anyone else have a chance
to jump in there if they felt like it.
I mean, I wouldn't mind being on, it's up to you, Hal.
It's up. Dave Hall.
Oh, Dave. Dave's rolling. So you've got three already?
Yeah. Are you comfortable with that? Oh, definitely. Okay.
Yeah. So the folks, I guess we can motion to receive
and file on this, uh, Ms. McGee, Ms.
Rogan c and Mr. Dwyer. Right? Uh,
And Madam Chair, we can, people can be substituted.
I don't think this is, we're not gonna be voting on crazy
things, but, you know, if anybody wants to pop in
and take somebody's place, I think we could do that.
Excellent. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item, um, was something that came up, uh,
during our meeting with, um,
the senior about the senior housing, uh, from, um, Mr.
Uh, Sean Clark.
Um, he is interested in, um, let me see if I can find this.
Anyway, he sent me, um, um, that, um, he is asking
for assistance from the City Council's lobbyist.
There is a Department of Energy grant
that is still in the planning stages.
This grant will eventually come through Eagle
and will be eligible for energy optimization upgrades.
We are seeking to include public housing within the list
of eligible, um, entities.
Uh, Mr. Uh, Clark has developed some leads
and found an engineering firm, uh, that is building the,
uh, NOFA.
So I have that information to pass along
to aid in the lobbying process.
So this motion is just to refer, um, Mr. Clark, um,
to capital relations to have, uh,
them assist him in whatever grant he feels that he wants
to apply for in this situation.
So I would make a motion to approve
Support, support Newan,
any additional discussion?
Okay. I call the question Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr. Newan? Yes.
Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Uh, next item is C Council Secretary Mindy Moore.
Discussion and Ray Amendment to Council rules of procedure.
Motion to approve with discussion.
Support Lafferty. Discussion
Ms. Moore? Thank you.
This was really a collaboration
of Legal Affairs subcommittee.
Ms. rogenSi was involved.
Um, and, uh, Mr. Schroeder, um, you know, uh,
we encourage participation, uh, from the audience, um,
but we also have an obligation to make this a safe
and comfortable environment for people
to come into the microphone.
Um, many people are coming for the first time
and it's intimidating.
Um, coming to the microphone, you know,
this isn't the best situation for people to address.
Council. We're sort of lording up here on a stage,
which I think creates an un sort
of an uncomfortable situation,
and I've never been quite comfortable with it myself.
Um, but we have some people feel intimidated.
Um, you know, for too long, the public podium
at our city council meetings has been a platform
for harassment and personal attacks on council
members in recent years.
This vicious rhetoric has extended to the general public.
In some cases, we encourage people
to participate in our meetings.
And to reiterate, we must provide a safe, comfortable
environment for all audience members to be heard.
People should not be afraid to approach the podium to speak
to their elected officials due to jeering
and harassment from some audience members.
We are aware of what this sort
of disruptive behavior can lead to,
and we hope this amendment, um, will put an end to that.
We will no longer tolerate any abuse
or harassment of meeting attendees
or personal attacks on council members, or our staff.
Conversations should address issues, not people.
Um, the Legal Affairs subcommittee is introducing the
following amendment to our council.
Rules of procedure.
Members of the public must refrain from profane language,
obscene conduct disruptive comments
or gestures, jeering personal attacks speaking longer than
the allotted time or behavior that is disorderly
or likely to provoke disorderly conduct.
Personal attacks are defined as attacks against the conduct
or character of a person that is unrelated
to the manner in which he or she performs his or her duties.
The council president may call to order Any person
who violates this rule
or any other applicable rules, failure to come
to order may result in the microphone being shut off the
forfeiture of any remaining speaking time,
or at the request
of the council president expulsion from the meeting.
If a speaker or member
of the audience does not follow these rules
or engages in an actual breach of the peace
or endangers the safety of the council
or public at a council meeting, such person may be subject
to further restrictions as necessary, including,
but not limited to forfeiture of their right
to speak at future meetings.
Such, such actions shall be determined by council as a body
and consistent with the Michigan Open Meetings Act.
Um, I had done, I receive, you know,
we all receive publications from the
Michigan Municipal League,
and they are very, they very clearly state
that this is our business meeting.
It's not a town hall,
and that we can make the rules to, um,
make our meetings flow freely and safely,
and that we can put certain rules to, uh,
curtail disruptive behavior.
I think Mr. Schroeder can probably speak to the authority
of, um, being able to, um,
add these amendments to our rules.
Thank you, Mr. Schroer.
Certainly, um, for many years,
the city Council has had a rule.
I think it was addressed even the last term
where council members are prohibited from personal attacks.
Um, you can have a rule that's equally applicable to the
audience and to the council members.
Um, we did some research,
not just case law, federal case law.
We don't want to violate any First Amendment rights.
Um, we reviewed what our neighbors are doing
in other communities.
Um, and this, by no means is the strictest rule.
Um, you could just go, uh, to the north.
We talk about Sterling Heights. They're right here.
We compare ourselves from time to time.
And, you know, Sterling Heights says you can't
debate the council members.
Um, you have to be germane
to city business on everything you're talking about.
You can't use any vulgarities,
no personal attacks on persons or institutions.
You can't disrupt the meeting.
I mean, it's a little broader than what we're doing here.
Essentially, it's saying that this speech
that is a personal attack, um, that is not related
to city business or not related
to public business, is not allowed.
So you come up here
and you say something completely derogatory, profane,
obscene, that's disruptive.
That is something that the chair can call you to order for.
This is a business meeting.
This isn't the same
as standing on the street corner on a milk carton with your,
you know, megaphone or bullhorn
and just saying whatever you want.
We've seen that happen, and that's fine too.
This is a business meeting.
So the courts have upheld all over the country reasonable
restrictions on this type of profane, disruptive
personal attacks that have nothing to do with city business.
So, and again, keep in mind that you are called to order.
So, um, the person is given a warning.
So it's not like somebody may get heated at the microphone.
They may be passionate about the issue they're talking
about, and they may cross a line in the heat of the moment,
but they are given a warning
and they're given that opportunity to stop and reflect
and correct their behavior.
And, um, stop that because nobody,
and I mean, nobody, uh, is involved in, in public discourse.
So they can be called all kinds
of vulgar and insulting names.
So that, that's really what this addresses.
Um, it doesn't stop you from criticizing the council.
It doesn't stop you. You could
criticize me too, believe it or not.
And as long as it's related to city business,
you can criticize anybody.
The criticism doesn't stop.
It's when you cross the line into profane, obscene,
disruptive comments, it disrupts the meeting,
disrupts the flow of the meeting,
and it's not really appropriate.
Um, again, you're given a warning.
So I would, you know, I, this is constitutional,
it's supported, and I don't think
the council's gonna be very quick to just eject people.
You can't stop someone from speaking just
because you disagree with them.
We all know that that's the rule,
even if it's very harsh criticism.
But if you cross a line
and you're, I've heard it, I've said, I've heard
vulgar language, I've heard profanity.
If all these things you can be called to order for.
So we're just doing what we're allowed
to under the constitution to allow the meeting, uh,
to proceed and not stomp on your rights to be able
to criticize or say what you think about city business
and municipal government.
Thank you, Mr. Shorter. Any additional discussion?
Madam President? Mr. Lafferty?
It as I hear the comments and,
and earlier in the participation, there was the, the,
I hear the, the trend of curtailing of rights
or we're infringing.
But there is a significant difference
between infringing upon a citizen's right to speak
and the ability for a citizen to act
and speak in an appropriate manner when conducting
themselves within the halls of government.
While I will always stand up for the rights
of every single individual to speak freely upon any subject
without fear
or repercussion, I also firmly will believe
that there is zero reason for an individual
to offend their audience with profanity,
irrespective of their cause.
The use of profanity in public discourse is not only
uncalled for, it is undignified.
Now I stand by our council rules.
The majority of audience members recognize that the members
of this council are quite capable of treating each other
with respect throughout our discourse and debate.
We might disagree, but we respect each other's opinions
and our concerns.
Simply put, if everyone, council members
and audience members alike, act, speak
and carry themselves respectfully,
these words on paper shall never be necessary.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty.
Uh, before the call, before I call the question,
I just wanted to thank, uh, my colleagues, uh,
the last meeting and a number of neighbors that reached out
to me and being incredibly supportive.
I very rarely lose my composure and, uh, I apologize.
And also thank you so much for the grace.
Uh, I appreciate Council Secretary Moore
and Council member Lafferty and Mr.
Schroder for pulling together these additional rules
so we can continue, continue to evolve as a city
where respect to quorum
and decency is seen at the council table and the podium.
Thank you. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14.
A request for budget amendment
for the Downtown Development Authority
and the amount of $430,000 to account
for page avenue paving, extension,
and pavement repairs around city hall consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
Five votes are needed. Motion to approve with discussion
Support. Lafferty
Uh, discussion Ms. Moore As a note, Ms.
Gapes is not here. Mr. Ma can answer any questions?
Yes. I just want to explain
that originally there was a 14 A and B on this item.
Um, B was sent. Um, it was supposed to be back for item A.
It wasn't something we needed to vote on.
It already been voted for.
That's why it's not on, um, the agenda for tonight.
Any additional discussion? Hearing none?
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 B.
Request to confirm the reappointments of Warren g Smith
and Claudette Robinson to the planning Commission, both
with terms to expire June 30th, 2027. So moved.
Point of order. Madam Chair, I would like
to bifurcate these appointments for the two items.
Okay.
Motion to approve the reappointment of Warren g Smith
Support.
Oh, uh, a, a vote is necessary
to bifurcate this, this motion. Okay.
Thank you. Thank you. So a motion
and support to bifurcate, uh, Ms. Moore and Mr.
Lafferty? Uh, Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Grogan C is Yes. Two separate motions.
Motion to confirm the reappointment
of Warren g Smith. So moved.
Support, uh, motion by Moore.
Support by Newnan discussion.
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Congratulations Mr. Warren. Next
Is reappointment, uh, plea, uh, request
to confirm the reappointment
of Claudette Robinson to the Planning Commission.
Motion to Deny Support.
Discussion, Uh, discussion Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, while I respect, uh, Ms.
Robinson's term of service on the planning Commission, uh,
I have observed her, uh, discourse on planning.
And I have questioned, uh, many of the decisions that,
uh, have been made watching the, uh, the interaction
between planning commissioners, uh, the interaction
between audience members.
And I have, uh, given some,
some thought about this, that, uh, I think it would be, be,
would be better for, uh, Ms. Robinson to,
uh, serve perhaps on other commissions that, uh,
may be more suited to her talents.
But I am, uh, not in favor
of her returning to the Planning Commission.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
Uh, you know, I, I, um, Mr. Newton, I, I, I am not aware
of any particular problems myself.
I, I typically like to support motions
that you, um, bring forward.
Um, and I imagine this probably is very well grounded.
Unfortunately, I don't, I don't know what the, um,
the background is on that.
So I would probably tend to go along
with reappointing her.
Uh, can you give me any more feedback about
what, what the problem is,
Madam Chair, Mr. Lafferty?
So, in the, in the years that I was ex-officio
to planning, uh, there were items that came in front
of the planning commission where it, it was very obvious
that, uh, Ms. Robinson had,
uh, reservations.
And she, you know, she, she stumbled
over those, over those reservations,
but tended just to go along with the rest of the commission,
even if she felt that, uh,
or appeared to, you know, feel that, uh,
that just wasn't the case.
And so, I am, you know, in looking at this, you know, I've,
I tend to believe that if you are chartered into a,
a position, that you are there to make a decision
that you should have the courage
and conviction to state those objections.
Stand by your word
and, uh, you know, vote against the grain.
And I have not witnessed that.
And so that, that is the, the basis of my, my position.
Thank you, Mr. L. Mr. Nunan? I yield.
Thank you. Mr. Wirth. You came to the podium.
Do you have something to share?
Uh, yes. I, I spoke with, uh, Ms. Robinson,
uh, earlier tonight.
She was unable to attend.
And, uh, she asked me
to listen.
And if there were any issues, uh,
that weren't supporting her, she was hoping that, uh,
the decision would be postponed until she could come
before this board and or this council
and, you know, answer any questions.
Thank you, Mr. Worth. You're Welcome. Madam Chair.
Ms. Moore, I, um, don't have firsthand knowledge.
I've not, I wasn't ex-officio to planning,
although I was on it for many years.
Um, but I did receive some complaints over the last few
years about, um, Ms.
Robinson's service on the planning commission, um, from some
of the, uh, attorneys and people that came
before the planning Commission.
I don't have specific items, but I did hear some feedback.
Uh, maybe it would be appropriate to speak with, um,
um, Ms. Robinson.
Um, I don't know if she has gotten the appropriate training,
um, that maybe that's possible
that she could take more training
to better prepare herself for the role.
Um, I, you know, I don't know.
I mean, it's, planning's a tough job.
It's a very, very important commission.
It's probably the most important Mm-Hmm.
Um, outside of city council.
And, you know, if there's any question
about someone's abilities to continue, I think we need
to seriously look at that.
Um, but I, I don't have a problem with tab tabling,
um, until another time.
Um, I mean,
we could actually even have a committee meeting the whole,
if we wanted to and speak with her.
I, I don't tend to like to put people on the
residents on the spot, and I don't really like
to have these discussions publicly, um, publicly.
And, um, but, and actually on a, um,
when we have to confirm, we don't have
to give a reason at all.
But I think in fairness, certainly, um, to any
of the new members, you don't know her, uh, right.
You don't have four years experience,
or five years, almost experience
with her that, you know, Mr.
Mr. Uh, Lafferty, I think went
to every planning meeting in four years, along with,
um, a former councilman.
So I, I would make a motion to table,
I'll support the table.
So, motion to table by more support by Lafferty.
Uh, do we have a predetermined date?
We'd like to table this to
Next Week. When do,
when do we think we can, depending
On, we don't have a time. We
don't have a time limit on the, on the appointment.
Mm-Hmm. She continues to serve and she continues to serve.
So we're not disrupting the planning commission.
Um, we just have to decide.
Do you, would you like to have a committee meeting the
whole, or do you, would you like
to have that discussion in public?
I, I think if council members have reservations
or concerns or would like
to have more, I think that should be done.
One-on-one or in a small group privately.
I don't think it's appropriate to have her come
So's hearing what you're saying.
Um, I, I said stated, I don't think it's appropriate to
have Ms. Robinson come
before the committee of the whole, I think
that's a very uncomfortable position for, for someone.
Uh, so if folks want to, in twos
or threes meet with her to ask about their reservations,
training, whatever additional items they would have, have
to inquire with her to do that.
Uh, not in a, not publicly. In a committee of the whole
Want a table. Table
for a month.
A month? Would that
Work? Yes.
And what date is that? MS. Can August 27th. August 27th.
August 27th.
Okay. Excellent. So, motion to table by Moore.
Lafferty, uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. To table. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
To table. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Uh, Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes to table. Thank you, Mr.
Wirth and everyone else. Next item.
Next item is 14 C.
Proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 22 offenses.
Article four, offenses against Property Division two,
trespass, section 72,
unauthorized entrance upon private parking area.
First reading. So moved with discussion
Support, lap discussion Ms. Moore? Yeah,
I just wanna clarify, um, an issue that came up about
an item being brought before counsel
and dying for lack of support.
Um, and we've had some, you know,
di little disagreement on Robert's rules of order.
Um, we've have for the last 25 years, uh,
followed the procedure that if it dies, it doesn't come back
for a year unless there is a substantial
change to the ordinance.
We followed that when I was on the school board as well.
Um, and it's not in our council rules.
We're probably gonna, we'll, we'll update those to have that
because, um, it be, it has become at times a weapon,
uh, for people using, you know, over and over.
Well, certainly wasn't in this situation.
I don't mean to infer that,
but we just had a way of, that was our rule.
And, um, you know, I looked it up and I came out
and I found the answer I had, but it,
but we couldn't find it in our Robert's rules copy.
So anyway, we'll deal with that going forward, um, to make
that, uh, to clarify that, that's my only point.
I don't have any problems with the ordinance at all.
Thank you. Any additional discussion? Yes,
Madam Chair. Mr.
Bokey, uh,
Mr. Elli,
I, Um, did a lot of work on this.
Uh, appreciate it. Yes, sir.
I know there's a lot of complaints.
Uh, one of my main concerns, and I brought it up
before, was a description of private property,
and it says, an individual that owns property.
And my concern was opening it up to, uh, residence
with a double lot and putting a motor home on there.
Mm-Hmm. Um, I spoke to Mr. Schroeder.
Um, I'll let him address it,
but we'd like to add something in there.
Yeah. We have no problem cleaning up that my, clarify that.
Yeah. And I'll refer it to Mr. Schroeder.
Mr. Masley, can you speak
into the microphone when you're speaking?
Sorry. I know. And Mr. Schroeder, is that
Tall enough for You? Hey,
sure. Yeah, we can, um, this is the first reading,
so we can, I can talk with Ms.
Michaels and Mr. Melli and get that brought back on
The second reading, if that's okay.
Yep. Yeah. Yeah.
Oh, turn the microphone on.
Actually, Ms. Pierce helped me, uh,
write this, but yeah, Ms. Michaels be able to,
Okay. And
Madam Chair was the second item, uh, that, uh,
Ms. Moore brought up, um, during the conversation.
This is for parking vehicles.
Uh, there's a notation that in, in the, uh,
under section 2272 A,
that either in a vehicle
or on foot without the express,
if we could strike the on foot.
Yeah, I think that was just a typo,
but we'll, we'll take care of that.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
Mr. Bokey, for bringing up
my concern.
We have a private conversation.
Any additional discussion? Thank you, Mr.
Mazare and Mr. Nunan and Mr.
Bokey for working on this, along
with whomever else in the administration helps. Thank you.
The residents raising. Thank you.
Uh, I will call the question. Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 D proposed ordinance to amend.
Chapter two, article five, division 4.5 of the code
of ordinances entitled Veterans Advisory
and Memorial Commission First Reading.
So moved with discussion
Support. Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore.
Thank you. I'm probably gonna have a couple changes
that I would propose.
Um, you know, I'm, yeah.
I'm not gonna get into the whole, you know, there's a lot
of things to be done in the city.
We've got ordinances that are 50 years old.
We don't have commissions filled.
We have all kinds of places.
But a priority of the administration was to try to undo, um,
ordinances that the past council did.
And I, I was a little offended with that, that
that was the priority when there's
so many problems going on.
But be that as it may, one glaring, uh, correction
or amendment that is proposed is
to remove the economic director as a member
of the advisory board and add somebody from Parks and Rec.
The reason the advisory person from economic, um,
from the economic director was so that there be a person
that could direct housing opportunities for veterans.
And because that comes up as we know, there's a huge problem
with homeless veterans.
And that was the reason to have the economic
director be part of that advisory board, to be able
to give the commission, oh,
we have this housing opportunity, we have this,
and we're going to have, hopefully the Land Bank.
We've got other pro uh, processes going on to help, um,
people home own homes.
So, you know, especially now it's even,
there's more opportunities.
So that was the reason for that.
Parks and Rec, I don't see a reason
other than it's in the park.
They'll, parks and Rec will probably clean up the memorial
and, you know, put the bricks in
and things, I don't know that they need to be on,
be advising any veterans on any issues.
Um, but, you know, they would just work at the, uh,
direction of the administration.
We can talk about this in the next
couple weeks before it comes back.
Any other discussion?
Okay. Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C as a? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 E requested the fire department
to waive the bid process
and award paramedic education training for 14 cadets
to McComb Community College in the total amount of $70,000.
And to also award the purchase
of corresponding textbooks needed
to layer book in the amount of $14,972 32 cents,
consideration and adoption of a resolution.
So moved with discussion support Dwyer,
Uh, discussion Ms. Moore?
Yes. Um, this was actually put on late, uh, yesterday.
Um, it's kind of an
emergency situation we have to deal with.
There was some confusion over some textbooks.
Uh, I think the company
that was providing textbooks actually went outta business
and, and we had nowhere to go.
Uh, so we had to scramble around.
So this is why this is sort of a late edition.
Um, and I, I do have to say that once again,
I'm very pleased that we are going
through Macomb Community College.
They're our neighbor. They're our partner here.
Uh, they're a Warren company
or a Warren, uh, educational institution.
So I'm really happy about that
and, um, certainly in favor of this.
Thank you.
Any additional 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.
Next item is 15.
Audience participation for general topics.
Members of the audience who would like
to address the city council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form located
to the right side of the stage.
This is a reminder that per our council rules
and procedures, you must write your name
and address on the audience form,
or give your full name and address at the podium.
Uh, you have three minutes. First is Michelle Nar.
Good Evening, everybody. Again,
my name is Michelle Bernard.
I am your Macomb County Commissioner for District one.
Um, I just want caution, um, that we do have a neighbor
that, um, did shut some, uh, a resident down from talking
and got sued $83,000 because as they were talking
and voicing their opinion about her, this mayor got upset
and fire shut her down.
So I wanna just caution us
that we've had enough lawsuits and we don't need anymore.
So we're making rules.
But the, the amendment says, the first Amendment says
that you can't judge the content.
You have two sessions.
You have a session about whatever's on the agenda.
I understand you're gonna stick to the agenda.
The second one is general topics.
You can speak about anything of your choosing as long
as you're not threatening anyone.
So I just wanna caution you of that.
Number two, as I'm sitting here, uh,
enjoying this meeting today, I get a email, well, actually,
I get a bing on my phone.
I'm thinking it's my grandkids
because they're always worried about my safety
as I'm out campaigning.
But what it was was a photo of Michael Howard
and his family on one side,
and me with a picture of Pete Lacto
and Donald Trump on the other side.
And they're explaining that, you know,
Michael Howard's a family man and this and that
and that I support Donald Trump.
I'm a Republican. First of all, I've been a Democrat
for 45 years since I first voted when I was 18, number one.
Number two, I have experience.
I have a proven track record that I've done for the city.
So for somebody to try to defame me
and discredit me in that manner,
obviously you must be worried.
And I'm gonna caution you to be very careful
about making statements about this grandmother.
That's not true, because I don't have a problem
doing what I need to do.
I know the law. I have a very large family full of judges
and lawyers and military people and police.
So I know the law and I know my rights.
But just remember on August 6th, vote for experience,
not somebody that's bought
and paid for by the Democratic Party,
because I refuse to speak for them.
I speak for the people that I serve,
whether they're Republican
or Democrat, whether they live on the north part of the city
or the south part of the city.
Whether they're poor, homeless, or rich. It doesn't matter.
I speak for the people.
Can you say the same while you're looking at my
campaign finance?
You'll notice that I don't have all those support
because I didn't ask for it, because I cannot be bought.
My soul is not for sale. Jesus already purchased it.
Have a good night.
There You go. Thank you. Next is Mr. Vander Lenin.
And to note the rules will go into effect next meeting,
because this is special meeting.
We cannot have them this evening.
The rules that you guys agree to today,
to silence the audience will be the same things written on
your recall statements.
As a soldier, I serve my country proud, swearing an oath
to protect my country, my God, and our way of life.
And the Constitution of the United States.
Well, some of you guys obviously think it's a punchline.
I take these very seriously.
And taking away the freedom of speech
of people is just wrong.
And all the soldiers that have died
before me defending this country are probably rolling over
in their grades because of your actions.
You should take that seriously.
Now, we have to worry about socialism.
We have two democratic parties.
We have the old candy Democrats, which believed in us.
Now what the country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country.
And we have the, uh, the new Democrats,
the socialist who are too busy trying
to shut up the public, and they want us to respect them.
But while we sit here
and speak at the microphone,
you're feeding your faces looking the other way
and not paying attention.
Basically, you're telling us you don't give a damn.
You'll say one Mr. Van on the telephone.
You can't use curse words, Profanity.
That's at the next meeting. And damn is not a curse word.
It is a curse word. It's in the Bible.
It's, you know what the Bible is. No, I'm sorry.
You must be one of those socialists atheists,
Mr. Vander Lenin.
You said this starts at the next meeting. Does it not?
Cursing still is a rule.
Mr. Vander Lenin
Have. Oh, well, we
can say it. Well, we can't. That's socialism.
Now, if you don't like what we have to say, now we have
to worry about you sending us to jail.
Come on, let's be serious.
People are not afraid
to come into this microphone and speak.
They're gonna be afraid to come to this microphone
and p**s off the wrong socialist and be sent to jail.
I'd be scared to come here, except for on me.
But since you wanna do things in the socialist way, Ms.
Rogan, see, and you wanna go by people's,
how they identify themselves and everything.
'cause that's the socialist way.
Uh, I now identify myself as King Joel.
And you can refer to me as your majesty. Thank you.
Have a blessed night.
Next is Jerry Bell.
I've been sitting there patiently waiting for this.
I was really surprised, really surprised at about two
or three of you council members who voted for this ruckus
instead of just calling for a hearing.
Seems like we're rubber stamping, by the way,
who's running this council?
Is it you? Is it you, Ms. Rogan? C?
Is it you, Mindy Moore?
Because you seem to run your mouth too much, y'all.
Who is it? You're telling people what to do.
Then you come up with this rule,
and I guess you wanna make me out the scary big black guy
from last, from two weeks ago when I only repeated
what Angela Rogan said at the December 19th meeting.
I repeated it. That's it.
I said, no more than what she, than what she said.
But then now you guys want to come with this rule saying
that people are offended when they come up here.
They're afraid. Look, the people don't know this,
but there's four or five police officers at every council
meeting, and they're right there.
Actually, as a matter of fact,
there's one sitting right there.
Nobody's scared. That was just a way for you to try
to control what we say.
Whenever you do something wrong against the people,
you don't want to be criticized for it.
You don't want that. It seems like you're going
for a weak former mayor.
You want to be the mayor, don't you, Mindy?
That's why you keep attacking Lori Stump.
You want to become the mayor?
You are running the council, aren't you?
Just like you run your mouth.
You sit there, you look all off into space.
You don't pay attention to us,
but you going to pay attention to me like you are right now.
Last week you ruled me outta order. What the heck did I say?
She ruled me outta order.
Angela rosy, this is why you're not fit
to even chair a meeting, all that boohooing.
And that fake crying that was fake crying is what that was.
You wasn't hurt. Because if you was hurt,
you wouldn't have never let it come out your mouth.
December 19th. Shame on you all.
Shame on you all for what you did.
But it's not the end of it. It's not the end.
And especially you Ms. McGee, shame on you two.
Being a sister, I'm really surprised.
Shame on you all.
So you can say whatever you gotta say about Jerry Bell.
Jerry Bell gonna keep coming up here,
and he gonna keep getting all
of you together anytime you do some wrong to the people.
I'm gonna be right here to put you in check.
It is what it is. See you soon.
Next is Michael Howard.
Good evening, counsel. 2 3 7 2 5 Burman
Avenue Warren in Michigan.
Um, I just, uh, a friend of mine once said that when you,
he works a lot of legislation, he said,
the reason why you have to pass rules
and pass legislation is because people know what to do.
And when they don't do those things, you have
to implement rules and you have to implement legislation.
I love what Mr. Lafferty said, like all these rules
and these procedures that we have in here, I hope
that we never have to use them.
Uh, I am glad that we have the freedom in this nation
to come up here and to criticize the actions in regards
to the, uh, the relevancy of your duty as council.
And I've been no stranger of that.
I think I've criticized most folks up there, um,
and even my current council member.
But I think also what happens is when you have public
discourse, you actually propagate democracy.
And I think in any more, like any day more than now, we need
to protect and preserve democracy,
and we need to return back to having public discourse.
Uh, unfortunately, me, along with others,
feel like we can't even bring our children
to the Warren City Council meeting because the conduct of,
and be frank, the previous council, some
of us felt like we couldn't bring our children
because of the conduct
of previous council members that are no longer here.
Well, now a resident had to leave with their children
and feel like they couldn't bring their kids
to this meeting, um, myself included,
because of the conduct that happens at this meeting.
And it's just not appropriate. And I think
as we look about building up the next generation,
we wanna make sure that every place is protected
and that they can learn in appropriate environments.
So I appreciate you guys fostering that here,
uh, in the city of Warren.
Um, I, uh, just flashback.
The last thing is, um, I was at the committee the whole,
where we talked about the opioid settlement.
And I'm glad that that's starting to roll.
Uh, it's very important in our community.
Um, when I first moved back here, um, someone
that became a friend of mine, um, uh, we met Shirley on,
she passed away due to, uh, uh, withdrawal symptoms from,
uh, from being, uh, involved in drugs.
And her family has tried to get involved
and do what they can to create more awareness
and, uh, to, uh, frankly prevent
that from happening in other areas.
And so I, I think the city council as well
as administration, the previous city council, uh,
for taking steps and involved in that.
And the layout that John Hopkins has done
is very instrumental, very detailed.
And so I thank Ms. Moore for finding that
and bringing that up, but also like taking
steps practically and do that.
'cause I think it's gonna potentially improve
and change our community in a very positive way.
Uh, if there's ways that other residents can get involved,
whether that's, uh,
some places have Narcan vending machines in their
libraries and stuff like that.
I think that's, those are things
that we really could implement in the city of Warren.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you. That is the end of audience. Next
Item. Next item is
16. Council response to audience. Madam Chair,
Ms. Moore, Um, I hope you'll indulge me.
I forgot to do this at announcements,
but, uh, Melvindale police officer
of Mohammad Saed was murdered in the line of duty.
Uh, he was 26 years old.
He had been with the department
for just a little over a year, I believe,
and he was laid to rest.
Um, I think people from the Warren,
officers from the Warren Police Department were there today.
I, yeah. Is that correct? Laid to rest
Tomorrow. Pardon
me? Tomorrow. Tomorrow was, today was the memorial.
Yes. So I, I would, uh,
Do a moment of silence.
Thank you. Thank you.
Any of my colleagues have anything to share this evening
in response to audience?
Okay. Next item.
Motion to app. Adjourn. Approve
UR Support. Support to adjourn.
All in favor? Aye.
Any opposed? Motion carries. We are adjourned. Thank you.