Now calling to order a regular meeting
of City Council Tuesday,
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:00 PM Please
stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge all flag allegiance
To the flag of the
United States of America, flag and flag.
And to the republic for which it stands.
One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty,
justice for all.
Roll call Madam Secretary. Councilman Roy?
Here. Councilman Dwyer? Here. Councilwoman McGee? Here.
Councilman Bokey? Here. Councilman Nunan? Here.
Councilman Lafferty. Here. Councilwoman Moore is present.
We have a quorum. Thank you. Next item. Next item. Ajo.
Adoption of the agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Any discussion?
Oh, point of order. It's the consent agenda. Yes.
Item four.
Oh, You had said agenda. Oh.
Motion by Moore. Support by Lafferty. Any discussion?
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is five. Adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion
Support, Ty.
Discussion Ms. Moore? Uh, thank you Madam Chair.
Um, I would like to add is item 14
B, proposed resolution approving application with County
of McComb for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant
program for fiscal year 2024, local solicitation
and authorizing mayor
and clerk to execute a memorandum of understanding.
This item came in, uh, earlier today. It's time sensitive.
It needs to be approved today, so
that is why it's being added at this time.
Madam Secretary, where is it being added as? 14 B. Okay.
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. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C as a? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is six a calendar pending matters.
Motion to receive and file
Support.
All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is seven.
Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting
of October 8th, 2024. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion.
Hearing none. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is approval of the bills,
a General revenue funds.
So moved with discussion support Lafferty. Discussion.
Madam Secretary? Yes, there is an item on our list of bills
to the law firm of Garrin Luol Miller.
Um, for the services that Mr.
John Gully and I believe Ebony, Ebony Duff, uh,
provided to the Civil Service Commission, um,
they did the work and I'm not going to, um, uh,
make a motion not to pay them,
but, um, they, there's a question about how they were hired,
who hired them, who had the authority to hire them.
The, uh, civil Service Commission never met, um,
and, uh, decided to hire an attorney.
So there's, uh, certainly an, uh, um, violation
of the Open Meetings Act there.
And, um, uh, only city council can hire, um,
outside legal counsel and that never came before.
Uh, counsel. So, in the future, I would just caution, um,
any of the commission, um, to be very careful about, uh,
legal representation and, uh, um,
hiring them without authority.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
Madam President? Mr. Newnan?
When I was looking through the bills,
I believe the civil service, uh,
commission members, is it a commission?
Whatever, um, were paid.
If they did, if they hit, do they actually meet
and do they deserve to get paid or, okay.
Good. Thank you. Just checking.
Any additional discussion?
Shame on mute. Nope. I, I yield.
Thank you. Hearing note, I'll call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Sorry, McGee?
Yes. Motion passes. Next item.
Next item is eight B.
Approval of the bills of the water and sewer systems.
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 a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is eight C General fund revenue report
of July, 2024.
Motion to receive and file. So moved.
Uh, discussion. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight e Approval of, sorry,
it is the general fund revenue report for August, 2024.
No, it's the general fund expenditure report of July, 2024.
Motion to receive the file support Lafferty discussion.
Hearing none, I will call the question or sorry.
All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Next item eight E General fund revenue report
for August, 2024.
Motion to receive and file support Lafferty discussion.
Hearing None. I call the question. All in favor, aye.
Aye. Any opposed? Next item.
Next item is general fund expenditure report. August, 2024.
Motion to receive and file support Lafferty discussion.
Hearing none. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item. Next item is nine.
Audience partici participation for agenda items only.
Thank you. Members of the audience who would like
to address City Council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form located
on the right side of the stage.
This is a reminder that per our council rules
and procedures, you must write your name
and address on the audience form.
You have three minutes. Uh, we have a clock up front
that will give you your time and
how much remaining time you have.
This audience is for agenda items only.
There's additional time at the end of the meeting
for general audience.
First up is Joel Rutherford.
Oh, turn your microphone on Mr. Rutherford
Light. Mm.
Okay, hold on. We can't hear you.
Patrick, can you check the microphone?
It's okay. You're checking.
Oh, thank you. Human error here. Thank you. Next.
Giving you three minutes.
That's okay. Now I don't feel so bad.
Um, since you've already voted on the consented agenda,
what I wanted to discuss
or speak about was the appointment
of Eric Hawkins is a position
of the Warren Police Commissioner.
Um, it's something to me that I wanna make sure
that this is a discussion
and that everybody understands that perhaps they didn't care
for the procedure so much, but the outcome is outstanding.
And that's really what I look at
and I think other residents look at as well, it's time
for a changing culture.
Peter Drucker, the old guy from uh, management guru, said,
you know, culture will eat policy for breakfast.
And I think what's happened is it's not,
I've got nothing against the police officers here.
I'm sure there's a lot of great police officers,
but we seem to have a culture from the accident
that just happened recently.
Something is wrong and something needs to change.
And I think Eric Hawkins will bring that change
that's needed in the culture.
And I think he will do what's best
for every citizen in the city of Warren.
That's what we need, and I really look forward
to him taking that position. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Mayor Stone.
Thank you for
This opportunity to join you here this evening.
Um, I just really want to express my appreciation in, um,
having the support
and consent of, uh, counsel in welcoming Eric Hawkins
to warn as our next police commissioner.
Um, I also wanna say express my appreciation
of convening a committee of the whole.
I thought that that was a fantastic opportunity
to make introductions open the floor
and give the counsel the opportunity to meet
and, uh, ask Eric questions about what that looks like
for leadership next in the police department.
Um, I know it's a long awaited announcement, um,
that it was, um, very thoroughly, uh, explored
as a third largest city in the state.
For me, it's about creating, um, a process
that it is befitting the, the position of one
of the most important positions, um,
that the community expects local government to deliver,
which is public safety
and the, the largest department with, um,
the largest budget for the community.
And so, following the process of listen, learn, lead,
we gathered input from community members on
what was important to them.
Chief among them was community policing
and connections with, uh, our police officers, um,
sitting down with both, uh, police officer union members
as well as command staff.
And truly listening to theirs, which is having leadership
that empowers them as proactive police,
which we know is, um, the corner of urban
and suburban policing here in Morne.
It is crucial that we empower our police officers to provide
for the public safety.
And with that, you know, we invited to the table, um,
chiefs from across the state who were identified
as being well respected in their positions to weigh in
and provide an oral board in the tradition of police office,
pro pro promotions.
And, um, really pleased with the feedback.
They provided some insights on how they felt, uh,
people presented and what they brought to the table
and what they have to offer the city and citizens of Warren.
Um, and following, being able to sit down
and have conversations, one-on-one with finalists
candidates, um, Eric Hawkins brings along
and distinguished resume with a host
of experiences from community policing from large, um,
leading large cities and diverse, uh, communities.
That will be a great addition
to the Warren Police Department.
So I, uh, I want to commend just another opportunity
that we are working together to serve our community.
So thank you very much.
Thank you. Next is Fred Ner.
Hello there. Fred Ner.
I live on the South end
and I just wanted to talk about the
consent agenda item you had.
Thank you for supporting our new, uh, police commissioner.
Um, I knew him previously, uh, during his, uh,
public involvement as the Chief of police in Southfield,
and I liked him then,
and I'm looking forward to having him, uh, uh,
be the police chief here in Warren.
Um, I'm glad to see an outsider coming in.
I think that, uh, even the most recent example of the, uh,
tragic deaths, um,
and what that's gonna do to our, uh,
the money in our reserve accounts.
We're self-insured here in the city of Warren.
We already saw a hundred million dollar lawsuit filed.
We do need some, out, some outside perspective
to make a little bit of cultural change.
I'd like to balance that by saying
I love our Warren police officers,
and I hope that Mr. Hawkins, chief Hawkins will make sure
that prioritizing their wellbeing and the care for them
and making this the place that anybody who's a police
officer in the state of Michigan wants to apply to come
and work is priority number one.
So we can attract the best
and brightest from the entire region to choose
to come here and stay here.
Because if we do that, we'll have the best police officers
and the best community, uh, on the south end.
We have exceptional problems with, uh, crime.
I had a armed, uh, home invasion last year in April.
Uh, Warren police responded
and he was caught at gunpoint in, uh, the front yard.
And, uh, every house on my street in the past 20 years has
been broken into except for two,
or attempted to be broken into.
Uh, Warren Police has caught every single person except
for one in that 20 year period.
So they're got a pretty good batting average
and we appreciate our police officers.
Um, the, the, the,
the system problem is not our police officers.
It's the, it's the justice system, quite honestly.
Perfect example is the gentleman
who was caught armed drugs committed 15 home
invasions was caught at my house.
He was only charged with one home invasion.
He was not charged with the other 14.
He pled, um, he was let walked out on a $3,000 bond.
I was able to fight that and get that overturned.
I cannot understand how an armed home invader walks out
on $3,000 bond.
Uh, I don't understand how he walks outta jail
after pleading guilty to a home invasion.
I don't understand how he gets away with 14 home invasions,
gun charges, drug charges,
being in a stolen car without any charges.
But I don't blame our police officers for that.
That's something we need to do to resolve with the judges
that are running and the prosecutors
that are running our district in circuit court,
because that seems to be what that problem lies.
I'm welcome to have the police chief.
I hope from his end he'll keep our, our officers, uh, first
and foremost in his thoughts,
and he'll be listening to the community for feedback.
And I appreciate your support as someone on the south end.
I cannot stress. The most important thing in this city
is our police department.
I'm gonna say it again. The most important thing for those
of us on the south end of this city
is the police department.
Prioritize it in the budget. Get more officers.
We do not have enough officers.
We have less officers per 100
residents in the city of Detroit.
That's a problem. Prioritize that in the budget.
Take care of our officers. Let's have the best
officers here in the city of Warren. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Jackie. Kelly Smith.
Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
I would like to speak on four M in regards
to our new police commissioner.
I want to thank the mayor for reaching out
to diversify our police department.
I also like to thank, uh, the city council for those
of you all who are also in, uh, agreement with her choice
As a resident of Warren, I have lived here over 20 years
and it is not always the best place
to be when you don't know certain people,
because I find that in the city of Warren,
it's a lot about who you know.
We have a new police commissioner that can bring
outside blood into our police department.
I think the citizens here deserve that.
We need to have people that are going to be able to work
with everyone to protect everyone,
to not have preconceived ideas about people,
and let's not have no more complexion rejection.
I want to see this council support the mayor, as I've asked
before, I would like for you all to work together.
No one is always right,
but sometime we can always find
consensus to work for the people.
There is a sign on your your building
that says there's no greater service than to be
of service to the community.
We are the community. Let's put personal likes
and dislike aside, and let's get on board
with doing what's best for the citizen.
And Warren. And I do believe I knew police
commissioner will do just that.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
Thank you. Next is Kevin McAlpine.
Ms. Harris, are you for this audience? Yeah. Okay.
Hi, Kevin McAlpine. Uh, I live in the south end of Warren.
And, uh, I just wanted to say
that I have the highest respect
for the Warren Police officers and the police department.
Um, almost 40 years.
I have worked as a paramedic
and I have had the opportunity to work in the City
of Southfield while Eric Calkins was also
with the police department.
Um, on the heels of, uh,
the Warren Police Department's recent re-accreditation, uh,
with the Michigan Accreditation Commission, um,
this horrific accident happened.
And, uh, I really hope that, uh, Eric Calkins can come in
and maintain our integrity
and maintain the high standards
that our warned police officers have been known for.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Harris.
Hi, Lori Harris. I am, uh, glad to be here.
Um, I see the, I don't know, maybe the mayor left.
I appreciate, uh,
that we have a police commissioner finally named.
Um, however, I am concerned that the McComb daily
wasn't provided information
and why would they have
to FOIA information about this process?
And, um, I'm also concerned about the fact that
outside, uh, police officers or commissioners
or whatever were, were the group that interviewed.
I'm wondering why some of the city, the city council
or citizens who are involved, citizens who aren't involved,
that we could have had, um, more input
into this process since there were listening, uh, meetings.
It seems like the final decision could have been, uh,
included more of the citizens.
Um, and I also understand that, uh, his resume,
being able to look and see his qualifications was only
provided to a couple people and not to, uh, anybody
that would've liked to have seen it.
So those are my comments. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Tamid Chaudry.
Hello everyone. My name is Tamid.
I live in Warren City for the last five years,
and I just want to make an statement that I want to support
the Mayor Lori Stone's appointment for Chief Hawkins
as our Warren PD Polish Commissioner.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is
Jacqueline Biello.
I am gonna need help with your last name. I apologize.
Also, can't read your writing. Read.
Hi, sorry. It's Jacqueline Bilock. Thank you. Yep.
Thanks for, um, letting me speak. I'm just here on behalf.
Well, on my behalf.
I recently applied to be part
of the beautification committee of Warren, so I just wanted
to quickly introduce myself.
I live, um, in the Fitzgerald neighborhood
and my grandparents, I live in my grandparents' house,
so they've been in that house since the sixties.
So I'd like to think of myself as a lifelong worn resident.
Um, but I am invested in the beautification
of the city and outreach to protecting our environment.
So I just wanted to introduce myself again.
Thank you. Hi, thanks. Uh,
next is Joel Vander Lemon.
Joel Lan, longtime worn resident.
I don't ever want to hear about my time being up when you
didn't even run the clock for the mayor
and she spoke over three minutes.
Never again, you harass
all the audience about the three minute time limit,
but the mayor spoke over it, not a word was said.
My thing for here is, uh, about Eric Hawkins.
I don't know the man.
I'm upset that more people were not interviewed.
It was not those people.
That list was not given to the, uh, to the council
and to the residents of all the people that were
involved in it who applied, who was interviewed and such.
Plus what I want to give a warning to Eric.
Eric, you're gonna move here from Albany.
You should think about a few things.
First, you're coming to a city
and you're only gonna work here about a year
because this mayor's gonna be recalled
and you're only going to have a year in here.
All those expenses. And moving your family, the kids
to a different school is a hardship on you
and kind of unfair.
But the mayor will be gone this time next year.
I'm sure the recall will be up for vote
and she'll be dismissed.
Thank you. Have a blessed day. Recall, mayor Stone.
That is the end of audience. To clarify, Mr.
Vander Lenin, the clock was running for the mayor.
It was not an exception. It, she did not go over.
Everyone up here can see the clock. She didn't go over.
I watched it. She did not go over. Thank you. Next item.
Next item announcements. Anyone have announcements?
Madam President, Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. The city of Warren lost one of its own
last week, and that is our faithful photographer.
That was Patrick Bushell of Patrick Studios.
Patrick was a Lake Shore high school graduate,
a army veteran,
and was posted to Germany and Korea.
And during his service while in Germany,
he picked up his first camera.
And in 1974, he
and his wife Pam, opened Patrick's Studios.
And it was just a few weeks ago that we honored Patrick
and his wife and his family for 50 years of service
to the city of Warren.
I don't think there is a member at this table,
a student in any of the school districts that
do not know Patrick.
His warm smile and the flash of his camera.
He has captured the history of Warren and was, uh,
and is and will forever be a pillar in the community.
Uh, his funeral was celebrated at St.
Anne on Mound Road on Saturday morning.
It was a beautiful funeral service.
Uh, the church was, uh, almost nearly full.
And it was a beautiful tribute to the man,
his life, and his legacy.
Uh, there was a beautiful photo of him with his camera
right here and just a testament to the love
that he shared for everyone on the other side of that lens.
So with that, uh, we'd like to extend on behalf
of the city council, our condolences, thoughts
and prayers to his wife, Pamela, his, uh, children,
Patrick Junior, Shannon, Courtney,
and his many grandchildren.
Uh, ask for a moment of silence.
Thank you. I have one, one more announcement.
The Warren Civic Theater will be performing the Adams Family
here at the Warren Community Center on Friday, November 1st,
Saturday the second, and November 3rd.
Please go to, uh, Warren Civic Theater, uh,
warren civic.org for tickets.
There are, uh, the evening shows are at seven o'clock,
and the, uh, matinee is at three o'clock on Saturday,
going to be a packed house,
so please get your tickets early online.
Again, warren civic.org. Uh, it's gonna be a terrific show.
Halloween theme. They just had a, uh, costume party
for the cast and crew over at the Owen Jacks Center.
There's lots of excitement
that they're gonna bring to this stage.
So great show. Bring the family out
for a nice event. Thank you.
Thank you. Any additional announcements,
Madam President Ms. McGee?
I just wanted to remind everyone in the city of Warren
that early voting will begin on October the 26th.
Please make sure that you get out
and vote your vote do matter
and return all your absentee ballots.
We appreciate it. Thank you,
Madam Chair.
Ms. Mark? Yes, I would just like
to announce the next performance of the Warrants Symphony is
on November 24th.
It is, um, Beethoven Symphony number three,
also featuring Brom's Tragic Overture and Straus Death
and Transfiguration.
That's at 3:00 PM at the Warren Woods Middle
School auditorium.
Any additional announcements, Mr. Lafferty?
Sorry. I just had, uh, one more item. Come in.
And this is the veteran.
There will be a Veteran's Day celebration,
and this will be held on Friday,
November 15th at 10:30 AM This will be at City Hall
and the first floor conference room and food
and beverages will be, uh, will be served.
And so this is, uh, titled, honoring Heroes with Harmony,
A Brass and Breakfast.
And once again, Friday, November 15th,
10:30 AM at City Hall.
Thank you. I have a few announcements.
One is The Women of Warren is hosting a personal safety
and self-defense workshop at the Warren Police Department
tomorrow from six to eight.
If you're a member, I think it's free.
If you are not a member, it's a fairly minimal cost.
Five or $10. I think that's a great, uh, a great opportunity
to learn some self-defense and some tips
and tricks from the police department.
Wanted to thank, uh, captain Beck
and Deputy Commissioner Rushin for
the community policing event that they put on last week.
Uh, a number of council had previously participated,
but a number of us participated this past week
where we went door to door with the fire department
and, uh, some police officers
and handed out literature, talked
to folks about concerns in their neighborhood
and how we can be helpful.
Uh, and it was a really great time
and an opportunity to spend time with, uh,
our public safety officers.
And then I just wanna remind folks
that it is breast cancer awareness.
Um, month one in eight women will be diagnosed
with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Uh, make sure that you get a mammogram.
Uh, it is, uh, the numbers are only increasing
for the number of folks being diagnosed.
Uh, and that is all that I have Ready.
End of audience. Next item, next item, uh, 11 A,
which is a public hearing request to vacate public ease.
Utility easement vacate the existing north south 10 foot
wide public utility easement, abutting lots 97
through 1 0 1 and lots.
2 0 2 through 2 0 5
of Frank C Nalls Sunset Hills subdivision, located between
Prospect Avenue and Beck Avenue.
21 3 11 gross back, section 35 Braze Investments.
LLC Calvin Hermes Victor Ami,
AMI Land holding L-L-C-P-E-V 2 4 0 0 0 4.
Ms. Bird, are you here with the petitioner? I am. Okay.
We're gonna have city staff summarize first.
You can just hang out there. Uh,
is someone from the administration able to give us an, uh,
brief overview of this item?
Uh, good evening. Uh, honorable counsel.
President rogenSi, I'm here to answer questions, uh,
unless you want, uh, a description of this.
Uh, is that the idea?
If you could give us a brief description of,
Okay. Alright. This particular
one is a 10
foot, well, let me start over.
You're gonna get, you're gonna see three of these, um, uh,
utility easement
and of vacation of, uh, alleys in a row here,
all stemming from a site plan, uh, in the, uh,
area of, uh, fer and gross spec.
It's an auto recycling, uh, area.
Uh, these came about as a result of, uh, a site plan,
approval request.
And, and they, they became part of the requirement
for, for the approval.
So that's what you see here.
And so in this first one, it's, uh,
it's a 10 foot wide public, uh, utility easement only.
And let me see here.
It's, uh, I have to read this,
but it's, it's lengthy as far as,
uh, the length of it.
But it's a matter of, uh, the use, uh,
of getting it vacated is necessary, uh, so that the, uh,
petitioner can, uh, utilize the rest of the property
for his, uh, recycling, uh, facility.
So I'm kind of summarizing
if you have any questions regarding that.
I think you have the packet in front of you. Oh, thank you.
There's a, there's a, a decent looking graphic
of it, and you can see it's sort of on an angle here
to some degree, but it,
and it runs, uh, right down to a gross spec, uh,
highway from prospect.
So thank you. Yeah.
I will open the public hearing. Anyone want to speak?
Petitioner? You can. Certain Ms. Birdie, you can speak.
Good evening. Karen Birdie on behalf
of iDrive, uh, auto Parts.
It is a recycling yard, and I'm very proud to represent them
because as far as it goes for, um, our environment,
this is the way that business should be done.
As Debi debilitated cars come in, the fluids are drained out
of the vehicles, harvested our parts off of the vehicles
that are still good, or parts off of the vehicles.
When everything is harvested that can be harvested.
There's a crusher truck that comes crushes
and recycles the metal.
And the process goes over and over.
Prior to my client, Calvin Hermit, who's here this evening
wave, um, buying the property.
This was a junk yard, not a salvage yard.
And he came in and he cleaned up that entire property I have
before and after photos.
And now he runs this salvage yard.
The area that he owns
is part of the Frank c Nows Sunset
Hills subdivision.
It's hard for us to imagine that eight mile
and gross spec was supposed to be houses and a subdivision.
This subdivision was filed prior to Gross Spec going in.
That's how long ago this was filed.
And what in fact has happened is
that's an industrial area of our city.
And so people who have businesses there,
industrial businesses, end up with these large accumulation
of property that have streets running through them,
alleys running through them,
public utility easements running through them,
and it prohibits them from combining lots
or from using all of their property, um, to build things,
et cetera, because of all these alleys, et cetera.
So, what's before you today?
This item is this orange easement.
Prior to the city becoming a city, the, uh,
Macomb County government, um, already
vacated this alley.
The problem is they kept a public utility easement.
I have to vacate that public utility easement for my client
to be able to develop this part of his property.
So the process is, of course, I have to go
through the city, and if the city agrees with the vacation,
then I go to the Circuit Court
because it's a pla subdivision,
I notify everybody within 300 feet
and all the utilities, Lara,
the Public Works Commissioner Macomb County.
That's just a sampling of the idea of everyone
who gets served and given notice of this.
And then we go through the process of
putting together the vacation by making sure that those
who have a right to use this public utility easement have an
opportunity to be heard and for us to reroute utilities, um,
and address any concerns that there may be.
So this is the middle of the process.
My next step is I have to go to, uh, circuit Court.
Thank you. Madam Chair. Is there, can we finish audience?
Oh, I thought we were done. No, anyone,
if you wanna sit tight, Ms.
Birdie, I'm sure we'll have questions.
Is there any It's okay. Anyone else from the audience wanna
speak during the public hearing?
Hearing none, I will close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Motion to approve with discussion
Support Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, discussion. Ms. Moore.
Ms. Birdie,
Um, So with the Comcast
and DTE, do you have to go through a special,
um, vacation with them?
No. It's all one lawsuit of which they're named.
All those utilities that you saw
who wrote are named in, in it.
And what happens is we all come together at court
and somebody says,
I have utilities in there, we gotta move 'em.
We make a new plan,
and then the utilities are moved usually at the cost,
unfortunately, of my client.
Okay. So you'll, you, you eventually will work that out.
That all gets, we Don't have
to worry about that at this point.
That's something you'll work out later in the
Circuit court. That all gets
worked out at,
at the circuit court and they are included.
Okay. Okay.
Thank you. Discussion Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Good evening, Ms. Birdie. Good
Evening. Just,
uh, one question.
It applies to all three
of the revisions that we're doing tonight.
The, it's noted here
that there are already some vacations already approved.
Do these three vacations make this contiguous
throughout the entire property?
Yes. That's a very good question there.
Many of the easements,
Edam has already been vacated.
This portion has already been vacated.
And so, um, what has happened is that they were vacated
so long ago that they were completely vacated under the laws
or those that weren't are gonna be included in my lawsuit.
But I already have the resolution
from the city for those items.
Okay? So with, with the votes tonight, with the,
the easement vacations, uh, approved.
Mm-Hmm. You won't have to come back for further, uh,
vacations for this particular subdivision.
I shouldn't have to, and at that point,
all the ones I know about, I shouldn't have to.
Um, and after the vacations, we can make it one,
we can do lock combinations.
All my lock combinations right now are blocked
by many of these alleys.
So if I have an alley that's running down through here,
I can't combine these lots with these.
So once I get rid of these three, I believe
that I can combine everything together into
one tax ID number.
Now see, you're, you're so good at what you're doing
that you're anticipating my next question, Ms.
Birdie. So thank you.
That's, that's where I was look going, coming from, was the,
the, the continuous nature of the, the easements
and then if we were going to make a uniform approach
for the remainder of the, of the plat.
So, yes. Makes sense. Thank you. I have no other questions.
Any additional discussion?
Okay. Hearing none, I will call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries.
Next item 11 B, which is a public hearing request
to vacate public alley
and utility easement vacate the existing north South seven
feet, seven foot wide public alley
and utility easement, abutting lots 55 through 67
of Frank C Nall Sunset Hills subdivision.
Located on the north side of Prospect Avenue, west
of Beck Highway 21 3 11 Beck, section 35.
Braze Investments, LLC and Eden Properties LLC.
Calvin Hermes, Sellman Transportation, Inc.
Gerald s Sellman, RNS Grant Investment Company,
LLC Robert Grant.
Thank you. I'll open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience that wants
to speak during this time?
The only thing I wanted to show was,
but that would be this right here, so
that you could have an, have an idea.
And my client's property goes across here
and these are the other owners who have joined in,
um, to this petition.
So everyone on this side and this side,
and then my client have all agreed.
I thought it would be a waste if I went to Circuit court
and just did from here to here when we could
help our neighbors and get rid of that one too.
Thank you, Mr. Wirth.
Is there anything additional that we should know?
Uh, no. I think that, uh, Ms.
Birdie has, uh, described it perfectly as, as the first one
and what needs to be done, you know, in, uh, circuit court.
And, uh, the combination will come up later.
We'll do that, uh, uh,
in right in our office once all these, uh,
are put together. So
That's, thank you.
Anyone else from the audience that wants to speak?
Okay. Close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action. Motion to
Support Lafferty Discussion.
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item 11 C, public hearing request
to vacate public alley
and utility easement vacate the existing north South 14 foot
wide public alley
and utility easement a budding lot, 72 through 96 and lots.
2 0 6 through 2 32
of Frank C Nall Sunset Hills subdivision located between
Prospect Avenue in Tofa Road 21 3 11 gross spec,
section 35 Braze Investments, LLC and Eden Properties LLC.
Calvin Hermes S Transportation Inc.
Gerald Salman, PAV 24 0 0 0 2.
We'll open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience who would like
to speak? Ms. Birdie?
Yes. Karen Birdie Again on this one.
It's the green line running all the way down.
My client's property stops here,
but we spoke to the neighbors
and figured why go for part
of it if we could help our neighbors out at the
same time that we're doing this.
So, um,
it's this entire alley.
Thank you Mr.
Wirth. Anything additional to add?
You can gimme a thumbs up if it's No thank you.
I will turn it over to counsel for action. Motion. Sorry.
Close the public hearing. Turn it over
to counsel. Motion to approve
Support Lafferty.
Any discussion? Hearing none. I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item 12.
A proposed resolution approving assignment
and assumption of conditional rezoning agreement from
Symmetry Property Management and Realty Inc.
And 12 mile and 12 Mound Development, LLC to symmetry
and CWP West LLC consideration
and adoption of a resolution. So moved
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you, uh, through the chair to Ms. Michaels, please.
Good evening, counsel. Good evening, Matt. Ms.
Michaels, I was, uh, in reading the, uh,
conditional rezoning agreement
or the, the assignment rather, uh, on page two, uh, section
two, it indicates 12 mound for itself.
Its members', officers, and so on and so forth.
Irrevocably assigns two CWP, all of its rights titles,
interest and obligations under the agreement.
But in the following paragraph, under section three,
it also states 12 mound will remain obligated to the city
for obligations not performed by CWP.
Could you please explain that? It's
Complimentary.
If CWP does not perform, obviously what it states is
that the original developer or owner will step in.
However, until that happens, CWP will be the party
to the agreement and will be
responsible for the obligations.
Okay. And all, So supplement,
think of it as supplementary.
Sure. I was surprised that the original owner agreed to it,
but I shouldn't say I was surprised.
I was pleased that they agreed to at least
secured the performance.
Alright. So either way we're covered. We're
Covered. Yes.
With, with however it reads.
Correct. Plus symmetry is still a party to the,
the original developer is still a party to the agreement.
Mm-Hmm. With, with the asi.
And the only reason I'm asking with the assignments that,
that I have done, it's, it, it's a cutoff.
You're, you're going from typically
an acquisition or a merger.
They're going from one name to another.
And this is a, this is a partner.
Most assignors are correct.
It is a partnership, but most of Assigners Duke,
they want to be cut off.
Mm-Hmm. They don't want to have
to secure performance once in a while.
We have a developer who's willing to, willing to do
that in this, this case.
They were willing to do that. To do it.
Alright. Now,
and this will also obligate them
to any forthcoming conditions.
Correct?
The assignee, the new company will agree to any
future conditions.
Okay. I don't think that the original landowner will take
on a new obligation.
No, no. And I think, you know what I'm referring to, uh,
as, as this is the, the, uh,
uh, the car wash.
The car wash, correct. Do you mean the
hours of operation? Mm-Hmm.
Yes. The hours of operation. Yes. Alright. So
They're committing to everything.
Alright. The new, the newest, the signee is committing
to all obligations.
It's spelled out I think pretty fairly clearly. Okay.
They're assuming the obligations.
Alright. And then I just had one other Thank you Ms.
Michaels, uh, through the chair to, well, uh,
Madam Chair to Ms. Moore.
There was a misspelling in the,
uh, in the resolution.
It was the final
paragraph on the first page.
Uh, CWP West LLC is a subsidiary
of the nation's largest car wash operator.
So it says car was operator.
So just for clarification. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Any additional discussion
If I may? Madam
Chair? Mm-Hmm. Just to make a record,
the assignment is going to be put in recordable form
and it will be recorded
and it will incorporate the actual date where,
when counsel approve the resolution of the lawsuit.
So that correction will be made in the assignment. Okay.
Thank you.
Any additional discussion? Hearing and ing? None.
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Grogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries the next item, 12 B, consideration
and adoption of a resolution approving the continuation
of Medicare Advantage prescription only policy
for retirees 65.
In addition, moving the BS BCN post 65 retirees
to BCN Medicare Advantage.
Motion to approve with discussion Support Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore. Thank you.
I I think this is just a change of vendor,
not a change of coverage.
The coverage stays the same.
Mm-Hmm.
Release. I hope that's,
I got several calls today from people very concerned about
this and their retirement.
Hi, I am Marilyn Warren, but it's administrator.
I've had several calls as well.
No, this is, um, it's a cost savings to the city.
It's the same vendor.
BCN is still being handled by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
It's the same deductibles, the same prescription,
uh, copays.
Everything's the same. It's just a cost savings measure
to combine Medicare in a, in the Blue Cross
or the Blue Care Network together.
Okay. But it, it has no effect on
the coverage for the retirees.
Correct. Okay. I'm good.
You wanna say something Mr. Mueller? No, we're
We're just changing the delivery system where,
where Medicare part A and B were primary
and then Blue Cross BCN stepped in second.
Now, BCN will assume
through the Medicare advantage the entire cost and, and,
and be subsidized by Medicare Part A and B. Oh, okay. Okay.
All right. Thank you. 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 the next item 12 C.
Proposed resolution authorizing
and easement use agreement
between the Red Run inter-county drain district
and the City of Warren consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Dwyer Discussion?
Anyone Hearing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 a Council Secretary Mindy Moore.
Discussion and Ray request for administration to form an RFP
to invite proposals to forward to the newly formed city
of Warren Land Bank, land Bank authority
for technical administrative
and consulting services relating
to land bank activities Council office will provide
to purchasing division a sample RPU use
by Land Bank Authority in another jurisdiction
for specific duties and qualifications for consultant.
So move with discussion Support.
Support Lafferty, support McGee.
I should beat you to it this time. Jonathan.
Uh, Ms. Moore discussion? Yeah. Thank you. Okay.
So as, as everyone knows, we, uh, uh,
we have a assigned agreement.
Uh, we have formed a land bank
and we will need a consultant, um,
to handle land bank activities, um, that will be paid
for once we, um, start applying for grants with the state.
Uh, we are, we have, uh, signed the, do we have,
uh, approved the document?
We are just waiting on the administration
and the clerk to sign it.
There's no approval needed.
Um, so hopefully we can nudge them along
to sign the document so we can get our request for, uh,
grant money so that we have it in the next year.
Um, the time is, uh, shortening on us
where we have those opportunities.
We have discuss, had discussions with, um,
our state legislature, legislators about that, who are going
to help us in that regard.
And the sooner we get this rolling, the better for us.
So I'm going to implore
that the mayor just aff fix her signature
and pass it on to the clerk so
that we can move on with this.
Um, thank you. Any additional discussion?
Hearing none. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is Council Secretary Mindy Moore.
Discussion in rate November 5th, 2024, general election.
So moved. Discuss support, Ty. Discussion Ms. Moore.
Thank you. Um, in this next general election,
um, we now have early voting, absentee voting,
and the, uh, uh, new rules allow counting to be done up
to eight days before the election.
Um, we, Warren has already missed that. Mark.
Um, the clerk did not tell the state, um,
that she would be willing to count those votes.
I found out about this. There was a voice
of a democracy panel a couple weeks ago, um, where, uh,
the county clerk and, um, other clerks around the area
and some other folks were involved
talking about the election.
And, and they talked about they were urging everybody
to count every city
to count their votes early when they're allowed to.
And, um, the clerk expressed some frustration that one
of the largest cities in the state was not going
to be participating in early counting.
And some of the audience says, who is that?
And they said, Warren. And, um, so I wanna make it clear
that, uh, the city council had nothing to do with
that decision, and that during the budget process,
we were not asked to, um, appropriate any funds
for equipment
or personnel to aid in that activity
of counting the votes early.
As you know, um, in years past, McComb County, um,
has been a very interesting, uh, voting block for the rest
of the world to look at.
And we certainly don't want our, our, um, votes
to be the last one coming in at two o'clock in the morning.
Um, Warren has been very slow with election results.
Um, we understand that the clerk has refused
to do early voting, um,
and the time has passed for her
to tell the state she would be doing that.
Certainly the county clerk
and the uh, uh, state elections, um,
department will help her, um,
if she would at least start counting the day before.
As many of you know, we have many more early voting
and absentee voters than ever.
And to count them the day
before certainly makes sense so
that you have two days to do that.
Um, it's important for us to have the results.
There are some big elections this year
that people are interested that could change the,
certainly the, um, the
how things look in Washington going forward.
And, um, there are candidates running for office
that have put their heart and soul into these campaigns,
their families, their money,
and they sit with their supporters the night of the, um,
election waiting for the results.
And oftentimes they have to leave the party
because there's no results and go home
and wait for them to come out at two in the morning.
Um, there are other things the county has, um, um, offered
to do to speed up this process.
I would certainly urge the clerk to, um,
take them up on any help they can give
to make the voting go faster.
If there may, might not be anything we can do now,
but in the future, if there's anything we need to do,
appropriate funds for faster equipment, more help around,
um, election time, we will certainly consider that.
Um, we, I, the, uh, uh,
clerk said that she would rather be efficient than fast,
which didn't make sense to me
because on one hand she would have eight days to count.
And on the way she's chosen, it's one day
that makes no sense.
Um, the argument for that one, um,
but I don't know what she's thinking.
Uh, perhaps they don't have, they don't have the ability,
um, they don't have the training or the know-how,
and certainly maybe in the next year they could have,
you know, avail themselves that training so
that they can do early counting.
Um, I'm sure maybe my colleagues have something
to say about this, but we've always supported
and done everything as a council.
The last term, um, Ms. Rogan, see Mr.
Lafferty, remember that we offered
to help in any way we could.
Um, we, uh, actually put into the budget things
that were not even mandated yet by the state,
but of course, the clerk didn't do those
until it was mandated.
Um, but, um, we find ourselves in a, a pattern that seems
to keep, um, repeating itself from the clerk's office.
So I think there's an obligation to do things
as efficiently as you can.
And I'm disappointed that, um,
the votes are not gonna be counted early.
I hope they're at least counted the day before.
So that gives you a little, uh, headstart on the county.
Thank you. Any additional discussion?
Madam President? Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, I too am concerned.
The, And I can understand that, you know, the clerk believes
that this is going to be a, a fast and efficient process,
but I also look at this from, uh, a technological standpoint
and the fact that the unplanned will happen.
This is the largest election of a four year cycle,
and many, uh,
things happen throughout the election day.
There are, there are, there's, the clerk must prepare
for every single contingency
and to arbitrarily decrease her
window for opportunity.
Is, is not good planning. I disagree with this approach.
Uh, of course, I can't tell the clerk what to do.
We can't tell the clerk what to do.
The only thing we can do from,
from this dais is offer assistance.
And we've done that. The county clerk has, has offered,
the Secretary of State has offered,
and our clerk has refused.
I am, I'm concerned that the, the short amount of time,
if something you know goes wrong, there's a power outage.
If there's other, you know, we, we experienced
that back in August and there was confusion, uh,
on election day as to where to go vote.
These types of issues are not something that you can plan.
And if you give yourself, uh, an extra window
of opportunity, if you're granted that extra window
of opportunity, why not take advantage of it?
There is absolutely no harm in availing of yourself, of
legal and, uh, process that would allow you
to count these votes
and get them done ahead of time, securely, safely
with integrity just as it's been, uh, afforded to
by the state and the county.
And then election day comes
and you don't have as much to worry about on that final day.
So, I'm, I stand by.
Uh, Ms. Moore, the council, we stand ready to assist.
I just wish she would take our hand. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Any additional discussion?
Madam President? Through the chair,
Mr. Dwyer?
Yeah, the only thing I would like
to say is certainly the integrity of the election process is
of utmost importance.
Whatever process assures the most accuracy,
I believe is the way to go.
Thank you.
Thank you. Any additional discussion? Chair, Ms. Mark?
I would just add one thing that, um, um, I would like
to refer to the Election Commission.
Um, a request for them to hold a special meeting
and perhaps discuss, um,
whether the counting should at least start the day before.
Um, the election Commission can make that decision,
and I would certainly hope that they would do that.
Um, you know, we need transparency
and, um, I'm con I'm concerned
that this decision was made wholly by the clerk
and not the Election commission. Thank you
Madam President.
Mr. Newnan? Yes.
Uh, through the president to Ms. Moore, um, is it true that
the clerk could be counting even 10 days
before the election?
Eight? I believe it's eight. Eight.
It's eight. Okay.
So, um, if she wanted to,
she could start three days before also, right? No,
No, not now. The,
the window has expired.
You have to notify the state 30 days
before the election that you intend to count the votes
in that eight day period.
Leading up to, in the alternative,
if you've not notified the state, you still may count,
start counting the day before, which that could help.
Certainly even one day, I would think.
And I think it's, you know, of course it's going
to be more efficient if you have two days
to do something than if you have one. Yeah, that's
Certainly even that hugely advisable.
Yeah. Also, uh,
it seems like it would be easier on the staff
and maybe, uh, less, possibly more cost effective
because, uh, maybe less overtime. I'm not sure. I'm not
Sure. And also, the county
has offered to come
and pick up the sticks from the machines Right.
And take them, um, right. To the county.
And I understand that, um,
the clerk has refused that as well. Um,
So thank you for bringing this up. Yep. I, I yield
And Detroit is going to count theirs,
and they want to have a hundred percent of their results
by midnight.
That's a, that's a big job.
Well, when it comes to, yeah, it'd be nice if we were
handling it as competitively.
You know, I don't want to,
I don't want Warren to be beat out. We're a good city.
This, this should be done by,
it should be done by 10 o'clock.
If you had the early voting count, county count,
if you did the early voting, you should have that done.
And, um, there's no reason the results couldn't
be released by 10 o'clock.
Okay. Any additional discussion? No.
Uh, motion to receive and file. Uh, all in favor, refer.
Refer this the Election commission. Thank you.
So refer to the election commission for a discussion.
So Ms. Moore and Mr.
Lafferty, I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
And Doably Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 C Council member Jonathan Lafferty.
Discussion in Ray request for crosswalk marking
and signage at all City parks.
Motion to approve a discussion,
Support, uh, discussion. Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you, uh, through the chair to Mr. Elli.
And as he approaches, wanted to, uh, introduce this,
many of our parks have a de, uh, dedicated
egress or an approach sidewalk that is not located, uh,
within our standard, uh, crosswalks at a corner.
And we've had some concerns that have been brought,
uh, to my attention.
And, uh, butcher Park,
and I'll show a graphic here in a moment.
Uh, butcher Park happens to have one of these,
and I was thinking maybe, uh,
we could use this as an example.
And what I'm asking for is a designated sidewalk,
uh, or walkway striping across the main road
that would indicate to, uh, approaching drivers.
Thank you, Mr. Patrick. Uh, that would indicate to drivers
that they're approaching what might be a hidden approach
where children and families might be crossing.
And that striping would include a
restricted parking zone ahead of that crosswalk.
So directly in front of the, the oncoming traffic.
Uh, in this example on the right hand side, park goers.
And, and, and others will park parallel on the side
of the road and many times block that approach.
They don't even know it's there,
or they're choosing to park in front of it.
And I've seen it myself.
Children are are hiding, you know,
behind those cars ready to dart out.
And unfortunately, people are not traveling 20
or 25 miles now.
They're, they're traveling much, much faster.
So the the idea here is to, you know, pro produce some,
some easy signage, put some, some crosswalk, uh,
markings on that road just to indicate that there is a,
you know, another access road to, uh,
or access sidewalk to the parks
and give, uh, give everyone safe crossing and visibility.
Mr. Maselli. So
After I saw your or good evening console, so
after I saw this, um, I made contact with you
and, uh, we sent engineering out
to take a look at the trouble areas that you'd mentioned.
Um, unfortunately the sidewalk
and the easement that are currently there don't line up.
So what we're gonna have, uh,
engineering has already made plans
to move the sidewalk cut over and make it line up.
We already have, we're gonna mark it off as a crosswalk
with our regular crosswalk markings
and then put yield
to pedestrian crosswalk signs on either side.
So we should have that started probably right late next
or next, probably within the next two weeks.
That, that is terrific. Uh,
And also at that point too, we're gonna make, uh,
over the winter or this fall and early spring, we'll go
and evaluate the rest of the parks
that haven't been evaluated already.
But part of our plan, our a DA study, we went
and had all the parks, um, evaluated
and they pointed out a couple other crosswalks
that needed to be addressed.
So we are aware of a couple of 'em.
They're on the, the ticket being added
and we'll move forward with it as soon as we can.
That'll be wonderful. The, the last time we had, uh,
crossing markings, uh, on that new subdivision
where you now have Eaton.
Yeah. And, and,
and that whole subdivision used
to be South Elementary School. Right.
And there was Plenty of markings way back then.
And that original cut that's into the park there,
that used to be the actual entrance
for the garbage truck to go into the park.
Now it's more used as a pedestrian access.
So we're gonna fix that up.
We, like I said, we should have it in the next couple weeks.
This sounds like a great model for the, the remainder
of our parks have fallen in the same, uh, same scenario.
Yep. Thank you very much. Thanks.
Appreciate honor. Thanks our attention, Madam
Chair. Appreciate it.
Mr. Lafferty? I yield. Thank you
Ms. Moore. And then Mr. Newnan.
Okay. Melli for president.
I'm just saying t-shirts. Great idea Mr.
Lafferty and your cooperation again
is greatly appreciated.
Uh, our engineering staff is great.
Thank you Mr. Newton.
Yes. Um, director Elli, is it possible
that there could be the, um,
handicap bumps put in there too?
Uh, when, when the, uh, sidewalks are aligning,
it looks like a spot where it'd be a good idea
to have those so that
The directional bumps for Yeah, for the, yeah.
Those, that's, it'll,
It'll have those, it's part the plan already.
Yeah. It's, it's cool when we replace the new cuts,
they always get those, so.
Okay. Yep. We'll make sure they're in there.
Excellent. Thank you so much.
Any additional discussion?
This is a motion to receive and file, correct?
I, is that the, I guess that's appropriate. Sure.
Okay. Have a great night. Thank
You Mr. Rosselli.
All in favor? Aye.
Aye. Any post? Thank you. Next item.
Next item is 12 D Council President Rogan C.
And Council member Bokey discussion
regarding updates to dog ordinance. So moved.
Support Dwyer. Thank you. Um, Mr.
Bokey and I had both received calls from constituents.
While this is an ongoing issue within the city, uh,
dog bites, uh, for folks who are walking their dogs
and a dog attacks a smaller dog and
or dogs breaking out of their backyard, posing threats.
Um, Mr. Lafferty had a really horrible
situation in his district, and Mr.
Bokey and I were talking about this last time
that we last meeting,
or two meetings ago, that we had not received an update.
Put this on the agenda, uh, thanks
to the city attorney's office.
Jennifer Pierce reached out to me, uh, shortly
after the agenda was published and
provided the most updated version of the ordinance
and asked that, uh, she have another 30 days to bring it
to the Animal Welfare Commission.
Uh, one more time, uh,
before they send it over to counsel for revisions.
Um, Mr. Dwyer is on that, uh, commission as ex-officio,
I'm sure can provide some additional details.
Uh, but that is, uh, the update that I have,
and I'm confident that she'll send it over for us
to review in the near future.
Yep. Madam President, through the chair,
Mr. Dwyer?
Yeah. Just follow up. Um, yes.
We have been looking at this obviously for quite some time,
and it does appear that we should be able to wrap this up,
uh, at our next meeting.
Excellent. Thank you.
Any other discussion? Okay.
Motion to receive end file here. Uh, all in favor? Aye.
Any opposed? Thank you everyone. Next item. Next item is 14.
A proposed ordinance amendment to the Parks
and Recreation Commission enabling ordinance Chapter 23,
section 23 dash 35.
First reading. Motion to approve with discussion support.
Mr. Newan. Motion. More discussion? More? Yes.
Um, just, uh, to summarize, um, all this is,
is it's changing the meeting times, um, from once a month
to quarterly in the ordinance,
which is the practice they're following now.
That's all. Any other discussion?
Uh, hearing none? I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes.
Mr. Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 14 B
proposed resolution approving application with County McComb
for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program,
um, fiscal year 2024, local solicitation
and authorizing the mayor
and clerk to execute memorandum of understanding. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion.
Hearing none. I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is audience participation
for general topics.
First is Mr. Wesley Arnold, don't take a seat yet, sir.
I'm running as fast as I can.
Okay. Time
for something positive for a change.
Thank you, city Council for your time.
Thank you for your efforts. Thank you for all you do.
I'm fed up with all this negative stuff that's
always up here.
Um, and thank you for your diligence.
I, I've seen With this council in particular,
in a few of the past councils that some of the members seem
to do a lot of extra work and that, and that,
and a lot of the citizens are not aware of the extra time
that you put in on this stuff.
Now, I'm, I'm the old historian.
I've been doing this stuff for like 50 years
or something, maybe 60, I dunno.
Uh, and I remember the old city councils
and the, the old, uh, city building.
Wow. Some of those sessions got pretty fiery.
I remember when somebody insulted the city once
and Harold Stillwell got up and he let 'em have it.
Wow. It was flame. Wow. Something else.
But anyway, uh, as the old historian, I have to say
that it looks to me that this is
the best city council ever.
So I wanna thank you very much again for your good work
and just thanks on behalf of, of a lot of our citizens.
Most of our citizens. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Something positive,
Ms. Harris.
We're gonna get out of here early tonight. Woo.
That's great. Um, I wanted to say hi to Tony
and Dorothy Baker and Tony, I wanna thank you for fighting
for a DA compliance
and for the city to be more aware of accessibility.
Um, and you know why, um,
we've gotta get the word out.
We've got to start paying attention, um, to this issue.
Uh, um, if you, if you're sitting here, you notice
that Mr. Arnold had a hard time coming down the aisle
of the auditorium, and that's
because the angle is too steep for a DA guidelines.
Um, so it, it, it, every day we get to face
these issues and I'm grateful that I can walk
and not have that problem.
But one day I may have a problem too. And so may you.
Uh, the second thing I wanna talk about is the fact
that the clerk is not sharing why she's refusing
to do what the county or the state has asked her to do.
Um, it would be certainly be a lot easier
to understand if there was a valid reason, if
why she of all the different places has
better knowledge of what to do than any other big city.
Um, so her decision to do it her way would imply
that nobody else knows
what they're doing and they're gonna do it wrong.
And I don't think that's right either.
So I think, I think we need to have, um,
people really need to be concerned about this, uh, issue,
um, because it gives a bad name to our city.
And other than that, I want everyone
to have a great two weeks when we, uh,
I'm assuming the meeting will be changed for November.
No. Oh, the next the next meeting will be
after the election, so everybody go out and vote.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Joel Vander Lemon.
Joel Valan, longtime born resident.
We were talking earlier about transparency with the lack
of transparency with the mayor.
We had some of the mayor's people coming up here
blaming the council for things not being done and given
and not working with the mayor.
I was disappointed and nobody on the council spoke up
and said the truth that the mayor is not working with you.
We need someone to stand up
and say all the things that are going on,
which is questionable at City Hall.
Not worry about what the other members are gonna
say or speak up.
We need to worry about this next election.
We need to worry about the Clerk's office.
There was so many concerns about the past election
votes not being counted, votes disappearing.
I think maybe you guys should be there at the, uh,
where they're counting everything, overlooking
what the clerk's office is doing,
questioning why votes are being, uh, blocked
or, uh, destroyed
or I can't think of the proper term
If they are, she's not calling these people up
so they can come fix their, uh, their vote.
That's what she's supposed to do.
She says, you can call this, uh, city Hall
And you can double check and see if your vote was done.
The election's already called you. Now.
People are already announced as winners, what's going on?
I'm worried about the transparency of the clerk's office.
I'm worried about the transparency of the mayor's office.
I mean, she cried about it in her whole election
and she has done none.
I'm worried about the transparency of this council.
I'm worried about the transparency of our state reps.
I got two flyers this week talking about a state rep
who's part of a Ponzi scheme that was tied up with our mayor
and members of this console where
that illegal money may
or probably went the last time I checked.
The mayor's still in default, owes the state,
the state $500
and still hasn't turned in her, uh, her, uh,
accountant that was due in June.
Her ING finance account.
I'm sorry because in my eyes, she's hiding where all
that money went and she's hiding where everything,
where her involvement with all this money has gone.
You're at time, Mr. Vander Linn.
Um, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Have
A good evening.
Gloria Sanker.
An election is coming up. What are we voting for?
I think it's security for our country.
Is that a concern for America? Yeah, I think so.
It's called Open borders.
Remember that long strong wall that Trump built?
First thing Biden inherited did was to knock it down
and welcome every illegal inn from every foreign land.
Remember what our Statue of Liberty says?
Give me your tired. You're poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Nowhere did it say, bring me your terrorists,
your drug dealers, your murderers, et cetera.
But this is what Harris is committed to.
When asked, what would she do different from what Biden did,
she said nothing.
And then we recall when another great man said,
he says, I have a dream.
Not I have a nightmare.
But that's what it's been for people living on the border,
illegal stealing, break-ins, destruction
of property, et cetera.
Illegals have raped and killed several young women.
They have battered police while trashing and looting stores.
They have brought in fentanyl, a killer drug.
Hundreds of children have been missing, taken at the border
by human trafficking,
and yet illegals are still here for us
to house feed and close.
Carmela's policies have given illegals lavish living
conditions while our veterans beg on the streets.
A vote for Carmela will continue to keep the border open
with the possibility of illegals taking over our country
from within by the millions that are here, let in
under her control.
Illegals are given special rights to be flown here
and go wherever they want in the middle of the night.
We the taxpayers pay for it.
This injustice to the American people is done on purpose.
She doesn't want police enforcement
to vet illegals as they come in.
It's all about changing America
and giving illegals the right to vote so
that there will only be a one party system.
She is the most radical person to ever run for president.
She's obsessed with abortion
and wants it for all nine months of pregnancy
and against giving medical help to the born alive
after a failed abortion.
My father bought, fought in World War I.
My brother fought in World War II
and another fought in in the Korean War.
They did not fight for open borders
or illegals to be given benefits
or the abortion of babies through nine months of pregnancy.
This is humane, inhumane,
and not acceptable to You're at
time American people. You're at
Careful time. Thank you. Careful.
Next item, it's the end of audience.
Next item is, uh, council response
to audience, early responses.
Anyone?
Okay. Next item. Motion to adjourn
For, Uh, all in favor, aye.
Aye. Aye. Any opposed? We are adjourned.