Now calling to order a regular meeting
of City Council Tuesday,
December 17th, 2024 at 7:00 PM Please stand
for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Pledge Allegiance to the flag. The flag
Of United States of America, America.
And to the Republic for which it stands.
One Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Roll call Madam Secretary
Councilwoman Roy.
Here. Councilman Dwyer? Here. Councilwoman McGee. Here.
Councilman present. Councilman Lty? Here.
Councilman Nunan. Absent. Councilwoman Moore. Present.
Motion to excuse Councilman Newan.
Support. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Next set.
Next item is for adoption of the consent agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty.
Discussion. Hearing none. I'll call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is five. Adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion
Support Lafferty.
Discussion Ms. Moore.
Thank you Madam Chair.
Um, I would like to add as item 14 D, consideration
and adoption of a resolution to approve contract STAW 1350
purchase of Motorola radios utilizing the state
of Michigan contract number
1 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 4 4 in a total amount
not to exceed $1,249,631 51 cents.
How'd I do, Mary? Perfect.
And also, item 13, a request
to appoint council representative for Soso Health Inc.
License, appeal
Set under council Business.
Yes.
13 A. Any other discussion makers
of the motion comfortable with this
Without objection?
Yes. Thank you. We'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
Uh, Mr. Nunan is present? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is six. A calendar of pending matters.
Motion to receive and file with discussion.
Support Dwyer. Support Dwyer.
Discussion Secretary Moore. Thank
You Madam Chair. There
is an item on the calendar of pending matters where,
uh, council requested all documentation
regarding Habitat for Humanity.
Um, any, um, um, um, documentation
with the city and them?
Any, um, uh, special treatment they were given
or any sort of, uh, deals?
Um, the 10 days have passed,
maybe Mr. Schroeder can explain, um,
what happened in the last term
and how documents are to be given to council.
It's been weeks and weeks. Uh, Mr. Schroeder,
The, um, under the city charter,
the council being the legislative body, the city is entitled
to any documents
or records in possession of the administration.
Um, of course, the city council is a co-equal branch
of government with the executive branch of the city.
And as a body, if the council votes to request a document,
the administration has, um, 10 days
to produce those documents.
Unless it's of luminous request
or something that's gonna take time.
And it's not meant to burden the administration.
Um, they have 10 days, uh, they want more than 10 days.
All they have to do is pick up the phone
or send an email saying we need an extension
of time and give the reason.
And we're supposed to work together on a reasonable
timeframe to produce those documents.
So, um, that's the rule.
It's in a court order from the prior administration
and we can certainly provide a copy
to anyone who needs that.
I know that it's on file at City Hall.
Um, thank you. And we have received no such request, um,
through council office for additional time.
Um, so I would re reiterate that request.
Um, we, uh, understand that there are certain, um, um,
accommodations that were made to Habitat for Humanity,
and we'd like to know what the status of that that is
and all the documentation surrounding that.
Thank you.
Any other discussion? Hearing none.
I'll call the question. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Next item.
Next item is seven a approval of the minutes
of the regular meeting of December 10th, 2024.
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.
A approval of the bills of the General Revenue funds.
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 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. Uh, Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is General Revenue Fund report
for November, 2024.
Motion to receive and file
Support Lafferty Discussion.
Hearing None. I'll call the question.
All in favor, aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is eight D General Fund expenditure report
for November, 2024.
Motion to receive and file
Support Dwyer discussion.
Hearing none. I'll call the question. All in favor, aye.
Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is audience participation
for agenda items only.
Members of the audience who would like
to address City Council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form.
Uh, this is for agenda items only. You have three minutes.
First is Lori Harris.
You, you don't want it? Okay. Mr. Sutliff
floor is yours, Mr. Setliff.
Okay. Good evening, everyone.
Um, I spoke
earlier this year.
I, I'm sorry. I sh I'm speaking in support
of agenda item 14 C.
The, uh, uh, to approve an, uh, RFP panel
for Climate Action Plan.
Okay. Uh, I spoke earlier this year about the fact
that insurance companies would soon be unable to,
or unwilling to ensure the damages from climate change.
Uh, and so it is urgent that we take action, uh,
as quickly as possible to prevent
that damage rather than waiting till after the disaster.
Um, everyone is motivated to help people
after a disaster strikes rights, uh,
and insurance companies can provide some help in those
cases, uh,
to get people's lives back together if they
haven't actually perished.
Um, but when the risk is too great
or the loss is too much, insurance companies will not ensure
or cannot restore completely what has been lost.
Okay. Uh, and so waiting till
after the disaster may not be very effective.
Uh, so it is important to take action, uh,
preventive action instead.
Um,
we've, we've all heard the expression, ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Uh, but even with a pound of cure,
sometimes the patient still dies.
Now, one of the, one of the arguments
for taking action on climate change is that, well,
we're just a small, uh, you know, a, a small part
of the planet, right?
We can't do much that it will have much impact.
Uh, but everybody here remembers
during the pandemic when there were fewer cars on the road,
how clean the air was in war.
And it was, it reminded me of going up to the up
so we can make a difference, uh, uh, by doing something.
Okay. I think you guys started the clock a little early on.
Me. Did. You?
Did not. Did not.
Okay. I, alright, so I, um, I, I just wanted
to give a couple examples of insurance companies
that have already stopped covering, uh,
the damage of climate change.
As of 2023,
farmers Insurance no longer writes policies in Hurricane
Vulnerable Florida.
In California, at least seven insurers, including Allstate,
are limiting new homeowners policies.
And Church Mutual, the biggest, um, uh, insurance company
for churches in the country is no longer providing
property coverage in Louisiana.
You're at time. Alright. Thank you.
Thank you. That is the end of audience.
Next item. Next item announcements. Any announcements?
Madam President? Mr.
Lafferty? Thank you.
A reminder, just, uh, as I had mentioned last week,
a miracle on 34th Street, uh, your family classic
for the holidays is being performed again this weekend
by the Warren Civic Theater at Owen Jacks.
The Friday and Saturday night performances start at seven
o'clock and your, your Sunday matinee is at three o'clock,
the sold out again.
So one of the, uh, the nights. So ticket availability.
If you want to see this show, go to warren civic.org
for ticket availability.
Get them quickly. I know, uh,
last weekend's performance was, uh,
sold out at least two nights.
So, uh, your last chance for tickets is this weekend online.
And Merry Christmas to everyone. Happy holidays.
Uh, hope, uh, the season is mery and bright for everyone.
Thank you. Any additional announcements?
Oh, yes, Ms. McGee.
Uh, there will be a second annual
celebrity basketball game
and toy drive on this coming Saturday, December the 21st.
That will be, um, hosted by, uh,
state Representative Donna Donovan McKinney.
And it will be Saturday, December the 21st from 2:00 PM
to 8:00 PM They're asking all if you can to bring a toy
and to join us for fun, live entertainment, giveaways
and family fun at Lincoln High School.
2 2 9 0 0 Federal Avenue in Warren, Michigan.
Thank you. Any other announcements?
Okay. End of announcements. Next item.
Next item is, um, 12 a
proposed resolution authorizing quick claim deed to City
of Warren Tax increment finance authority
for real properties at
seventy six hundred and seventy six oh eight Continental
Warren, Michigan Consideration and adoption of a resolution.
Motion to approve with discussion
Support with discussion.
Discussion Secretary Moore.
Um, thank you. As I understand it, um, four
of the lots are listed as owned by tfa,
and two of the lots are listed as city owned.
And the request is to add the two lots
that are city owned to the TA.
Um, as I understand, TFA is funded by the DDA,
so I would think that the DDA should, um,
be paying funding that purchase into the TA
and then the money purchased, um, uh, by TA
that should go into the general fund for those parcels.
Is there anybody, is there anybody here from the
city to talk about that
Looks like There's a value to those two pieces
of property that they're asking just to be
absorbed by tfa?
It's like Mr. Mozza wants to talk about it.
Met met him, president, uh,
through the president to Mindy.
I I read the letter from, uh, Tom Bato
and it seemed to be suggesting that, uh,
Mary Michaels would be able
to speak on it, but she's not here.
So, um, perhaps another lawyer from the city.
Yeah, I got, yeah.
'cause I'm not sure how that,
that property transfer would work
because I understand those proper,
those properties would have some value.
And if they're just being given to the tfa, um, I mean,
we just giving all the property away,
I think we're selling it to someone.
But the DDA a funds tfa, usually the DDA gives money to tfa,
then what TFA does they pay for from there?
So I'm just seems to me that the DDA should be paying or TFA
and then reimbursing the general fund for those
Parcels, Madam Secretary through the chair.
Mm-hmm. Uh, the resolution, the way it's written
suggests conveyance.
Oh, I Know. Which would indicate to me that this is
title transfer
with quick claim deed from one party to the next.
No money. Right. No money involved. Right. So it,
I'm not sure. I I think that's
the right thing to do.
Understood. I mean, not even a dollar. Right.
We're not even transferring for $1. Right.
It's one, one entity to the next. Right.
Uh, I did speak to Ms. Michaels earlier.
I had a couple of questions.
She did indicate that she was not able to make it tonight.
Uh, but my, my questions were more so, uh,
forward in the process to the purchase agreements
and what that would look like in asking that to come back
to us just for FYI once that had finished up.
But, you know, as as this reads, there is no, you know,
financial transaction between the two authorities.
So, I Mean, I I don't disagree with you
that there should be some monetary value assigned to it
and that there should be some reimbursement either, um,
you know, we can, we don't have to act on this tonight.
We can move this table. It, I I your concerns are valid.
Uh, I have one other question for Mr.
Bato who is not here relative to the lot combination.
He emailed all of us this morning
and indicated there was going to be a lot combination.
Now I don't know if that, uh, if that means, and,
and perhaps, you know, Mr.
Uh, Wirth from the planning department could, could answer
that, but it's not germane right now.
Are these parcels going to be combined?
If so, that has to come back to us.
At what point does that come back to us?
You know, prior to, I would imagine
prior to site plan approval.
Uh, but lot combinations have to be recognized by council.
Uh, unless it's just a, we're going to build on all
of these parcels combined as part of the project in,
you know, substantial terms. Yeah.
It seems to me we need to have a procedure of
how properties are conveyed.
I would agree. Yeah. Better
Impression. Maybe we should table
it at this point. Mr. Newnan.
I, I'd like to make to this suggestion, since, uh,
it's come to us as it did that, um,
the Downtown Development Authority
or the TA, uh, pays full market price for it.
And then I would have no objection.
What, do you have questions too?
So maybe we should just table it. I, I
Suggested table it with the consideration
before we make did motion.
Is there No, is any,
can anyone from the
administration speak on this particularly?
'cause it's gonna be four weeks before we have another
meeting and
No, if he doesn't speak for it.
Good evening Counsel. My suggestion would be to table it
to, I heard about this briefly in passing.
I don't know the exact particulars,
but it was my understanding this was just an administrative
cleanup, that they were tiff a properties already
that had city names on 'em.
And this was just, that was what I,
my understanding was I could be totally wrong on that,
so I would suggest tabling it
until we can get the answers from Mary.
Thank you. Thank you. Table, table support the table.
Uh, let's see. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
To table. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. To table. Mr. Bokey? Yes.
To the table. Mr. Nunan? Sure. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 B.
Request from superior Ambulance to renew annual license
for operation of ambulance services
within the city of Warren. 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
14. A request of
the, Nope, sorry.
13 A, which is
a request to appoint counsel representative
for Soso Health Inc.
License appeal. Motion to approve maybe Mr.
Um, um,
Schroeder Schroeder can explain
what's going on with this
Motion. Is there
Support? Support Ative? Thank you.
Discussion Mr. Schroeder?
Yeah. Soso Health Inc.
Which is a marijuana facility
located at 3 2 7 5 5 Hoover Road, um,
had its license denied for renewal under the city ordinance.
Um, they can appeal the license denial to the city council.
Um, this is an issue of which I, I did speak to Mr.
Muselli about this at length.
Um, and the city has some very valid concerns
here, serious issues.
And, um, Soso really has 30 days to have their appeal heard.
We're not having a meeting until the 14th of January.
They filed this on, um,
it would've been 32 days when they filed it.
So we got the petitioner Soso Health to agree
to waive the 30 days.
So it's gonna be scheduled for January 14th.
It's a public hearing where their appeal is heard.
The problem I had in looking at this is
that the issues are quite complicated, uh, related
to the building codes and the use of pumping
and carbon dioxide.
And, you know, um, it's, it's a complicated issue.
And the petitioner's attorney told me
that it may be a 90 minute hearing
in front of the city council.
And I said, well, that's, that's a long hearing
and that's, there's some issues there.
So the suggestion is to appoint a council representative
to meet with Mr.
Mozza and to meet with the petitioner to,
so this council representative can understand this issue
and come back and report
to the full counsel, um, these issues.
So we can narrow this down and not have a 90 minute hearing.
And also recommend, um, some time limits
for a reasonable amount of time
for the whole council to understand this.
And the council representative might also have some feelings
about this one way or the other.
And, uh, this person can relay back to the council.
Um, instead of having a complicated 90 minute hearing, um,
right after the holiday, we can, uh,
have someone from council, uh, drill down
and help, um,
figure out what's going on here, report back to council.
Um, and hopefully maybe there's a way to resolve it.
But, um, the, the issue is, is that council has to find
that the city's acting arbitrarily.
So, uh, that's a hybrid burden in for a petitioner
to meet in an appeal.
But I think this is a rightful situation
to have a council member get involved
with the administration and the petitioner
before we have a 90 minute hearing. Thank
You. Um, and
I would suggest that, um, Mr.
Lafferty undertake this.
He's familiar with the situation, um,
going back a long time.
So I think he's probably the best position to handle
that if you've got the time to I do deal with it.
And I, um, Mr. Schroeder
and I talked earlier today
that we're probably gonna look next year at streamlining
some of these appeal processes
and hearings that, um, change some things that,
because this is kind of a,
I, I told the council secretary, I,
I don't like the council being in the position of having
to decide a very complicated building code issue, um,
that it's life or death for the business, maybe,
but it's also could be life
or death for somebody if
the building code's not being followed.
So, um, I think we need to, uh, maybe take a look at that.
I'll talk to Ms. Michaels
and see if we can find another way, um, instead
of counsel having a long elongated public hearing
to decide a, a building code issue. So, and
Fire fires Involved too. Fire code. Yeah. Fire. Fire
Codes.
We'll, we'll take a look at that and
report back in the new year.
Okay. So Mr.
Uh, Ms. Moore nominated Mr.
Lafferty, who's accepted, uh, the nomination.
Any other discussion? Okay.
All in favor of Mr. Lafferty? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Congratulations Mr. Laffy.
Thanks. Next item
14, a request of the police department
for increase in budgeted appropriations in the amount
of $660,885
to consolidate all current Axon Enterprise expiration dates
and to add additional Axon Enterprise Services consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Dwyer,
Uh, discussion.
I see Deputy Commissioner Rushton. Do you, sorry.
Yes, please. Do you wanna, um, give us a very 32nd
overview of what we're doing here?
Yeah. So we have several contracts with Axon.
Uh, both our body cams, uh, storage,
the drone program that we've set up.
Um, again, unlimited storage for all the evidence
that we take in through, uh, videos
and, and stuff like that.
Uh, this, what we're requesting is we're gonna, uh,
take all those products and do it under one contract.
So the six, uh, 6, 6 0, uh,
8, 8 5 number.
What that is, is
because of some of the contracts we have outstanding,
but would go into the next fiscal year for the city, all of
that where, where we're requesting is when we put 'em all
together, we, we pay for that, which will only meet a lot
of our bills for next year until this,
until March 1st of next year.
Thank you, Mr. Noonan had
Discussion. Yes.
Thank you.
Um, assistant Commissioner Rushin, um, I'd like to know
what fuss is, why do we need it
and how it could be, uh, used or how it would be used.
Uh, fuss is a program, uh, there's several different, uh,
applications to it.
One is a, uh, the system allows you to have
what is basically a panic alarm on your phone.
Uh, one of the things we wanna reach out to every school,
uh, in Warren, one of the things is
that any teacher would be able to push this panic button.
It would immediately give us access
to the four closest cameras to the person that's request,
you know, that has pushed the panic button.
Uh, the main thing with this program is it would allow us,
obviously, a faster response to critical incidents,
whether it's a school or a business, uh, any business
that's in the program, it would allow us a faster response.
And as you know, unfortunately with, uh, as of yesterday
with another school shooting in the country, uh,
seconds count for us.
So even if we can knock out 15
or 20 seconds getting to the suspect,
that may save several lives or,
or some serious injuries to people.
Does fuss also allow, uh, the ability for police
to, um, access, um, private phone,
the information on private phones?
Is there like a workaround in that?
No. It, it, it does not.
Okay. I, I was trying to read up on it
and it seemed interesting.
It is, uh, again, it's a safety tool that we can use.
Uh, again, with General Motors, uh, the tech, you know,
the tech center, obviously for General Motors, the amount
of schools we have, uh, other large corporations, um,
we have been lucky as a city,
we hope to continue to be lucky.
But if we ever have a major event, um, again, the example,
it was a false alarm, but the events we had at Mott, uh,
high School, uh, early in the year,
it would've given us access when those 9 1 1 calls came in
to immediately look and see what was going on at that school
and let us prepare for what we may encounter in that school.
Uh, one thing with the program is,
is once we clear the school
or the business, we now have lost
our access to those cameras.
So it's not something we monitor all the time.
It, it would only be monitored while
a panic button is pushed.
Or a nine one one call comes in from a school or a business.
Okay. And otherwise, um, it's good to consolidate all
of the contracts.
It's much easier to follow, follow them
and to keep them up to date.
Right. By consolidation.
Yes. And over the five, the five year contract,
which is gonna be the next item on the agenda, uh, item
14 B, uh, that's gonna save the city in, in five years, uh,
over $700,000.
I like that. Oh, yeah. I like it. Okay. I did.
That's great. Thank you so much,
Madam Chair.
Uh, Madam Secretary,
Just a quick question.
I see, um, Mr. Roy there, s Roy, he,
he's you're lieutenant now, right?
Are you lieutenant? Sorry.
Um, this is not, this doesn't have anything to do
with the drone storage or does it? No,
It does. It is all one.
It is all one program?
Yes. Okay. Okay.
This is what we talked about earlier this year.
That's correct. And this will encompass that?
That's correct. Okay. That's, that was my question.
Thank you.
Any other discussion? Madam Chair?
Mr. Bokey? Uh, first of all, I'd like
to say it's a great program.
Uh, this, this amount of money is the, for the rest
of this fiscal year.
Is that what you're saying?
Yes. Um, I,
I didn't hear a drop off date, you know, the end date.
So next budget, uh, there will be, uh, sitting down with,
in June or whatever,
we'll be getting a new amount. Is that correct?
Yeah. So every year, uh, the, the cost
of the entire service, um, I would've to look is,
is approximately $940,000.
Okay. The problem with combining it is we have contracts
that expire throughout the year.
So the upfront cost is part
of the cost we would've paid in the next several months,
which would've went into the next fiscal year.
Instead with this is, we're just gonna pay the one-time fee.
Starting, it would start, the program would start March 1st.
Um, and then again, that's what we owe for the rest
of this year contract.
And then, uh, the nine 40 would be the following years.
Okay. Thank you. Any other discussion?
Madam? Madam President
Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. I also, when I spoke to Ms.
Michaels earlier today, we also reviewed this.
Uh, it's very advantageous to us to combine these contracts.
Uh, typically I, I would balk at a a five year commitment,
but given the scope of the program and,
and the likelihood that we're, uh, not going to change
providers in this space, uh, I see no,
no reason to object to it.
Uh, the, the cost measures in, in place here,
the, the advantage that we get from locking in those rates
from the previous contracts
and carrying those forward are probably
by far the most advantageous for us.
So, well done. Thank you.
I have a quick question.
When we, when you all, uh, talked
to us about this individually, there was a,
a thought about adding this
or folks could add it to their personal phones.
Are we, is it just going to be for school, like initially
for school systems and other folks?
Or will it be open to
It? It, it's gonna
be open.
Um, again, part of the, the cost too is gonna cover,
um, all of the buildings.
It'll also be used by the city.
So it'll cover panic alarms through city hall, uh, parks
and Recs here at this building, all of our library systems.
Um, so again, we're saving costs also on not having
to equip those buildings
with a security system that this will cover.
And again, yes, uh,
private citizens can opt into this program.
Um, and then obviously we'll have more information to,
to pass out to the citizens once we get this approved
or if we get this approved.
Excellent. Thank you. Any other 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,
14 B. Requests of the
police department to award Axon in-car
and body-worn cameras and associated equipment
to Axon Enterprise for a five year period with options
to extend up to five additional years in any annual amount
not to exceed $940,884 17 cents.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution so moved.
Support Lafferty,
Support Vokey, uh, discussion.
Hearing none? I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next
Item. Next item is
13 C.
Request to approve an RFP panel for Climate Action Plan
and request to appoint one member of counsel
to serve on the RFP panel
Support with, uh, discussion. Discussion? Yeah.
Did you make a motion, Ms. Moore?
No, I did Not. So, Mr.
Um, Newan, you are
the motion. Oh, okay. Someone
I will support Mr. Newnan's motion.
Thank you Mr. Lafferty discussion. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Uh, I'd like to propose
or nominate myself for the RFP panel.
Any additional discussion?
Support, think about that.
Hey, if you really want it, John.
So there is a nomination for Mr. Newan.
All in favor of nominating Mr.
Newan for the Climate Action Plan.
Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay.
Congratulations. Mr. New,
Excuse me. Do we have
to request to
approve the RFP panel first?
Uh, it's both. It's both To, so we have to have a roll.
Okay. Thank you. I, I, I, I, I changed. I, uh, make my
Nope, you don't have to do anything.
You're, we've have to vote different.
Yep. We just have to vote different. Uh, Mr. Newan? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Bokey?
Yes. Uh, Ms. Moore?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Now congratulations, Mr. Newan. Next item.
Thank you all. You're
Right. And merry
Christmas 14 d consideration
and adoption of a resolution to approve contract STAW 1350
purchase of Motorola Radios utilizing the State
of Michigan contract 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 4 4 in
the total amount not
to exceed $1,249,631 51 cents.
So moved with discussion
Support Dwyer.
Discussion Ms. Moore.
Um, thank you. I,
I don't have any problem with this purchase.
Um, I see that the bids came in
and the request came in on the 13th
and it wasn't sent over to council office until the 16th.
Um, I, you know, I really don't like this big
of a purchase coming in at the last minute when the
information was available last week.
Um, especially when we're meeting on a week that, um,
not many people are, are watching.
And I don't want people to think we're trying
to pull a fast one by not having it on the agenda.
Um, um, um, I don't know why it took so long
to get to us.
Um, but I don't think it was a, certainly wasn't a delay on,
um, um, commissioner, um, McAdam's part
because I see things are dated earlier in, um, December,
where it should have come over.
I don't know what the holdup is.
I don't have a problem with it,
but it really, these kind
of things shouldn't come last minute if it can be helped,
uh, especially when we're having a, a meeting
that's not irregularly scheduled.
So, thank you.
Any other discussion Per, perhaps, um,
Mr. Noonan?
Yeah. Um, Madam President, perhaps, uh, commissioner, uh,
skip McAdams could, uh, come up and,
and give a brief explanation as to what the,
um, item's about
Sure. What
is, I'm sorry, What the item is about
The, oh, buying the radios.
Radios. Smaller local radios.
I, I, I, I, I read the, I read the trans, I just wanted
for the public record, really?
Oh, okay.
Good evening, commissioner. Good evening Counsel.
Um, yes. What's before you?
Tonight is a request to purchase, um,
132 A PX eight
70 radios.
And then, um, 10, uh, dual band,
A PX radios, and then five base station radios.
They are the phase two compliant radios.
What's happening is that, um, like police, our radios are
no longer supported by, um, Motorola.
And then additionally,
and most importantly,
the county is running out of bandwidth.
And in order to allow more users to get on the bandwidth,
all of the departments had to upgrade to
the phase two compliant,
which doubles the bandwidth available to the county
to distribute to local entities within, within the county.
So it's twofold.
One was to replace, um, radios that are, uh, functionally
obsolete and will not work on the, um,
upgraded network.
And two, in order to, um,
I'm sorry, to comply, to work on the new network
and radios that are no longer supported by Motorola.
So it's twofold.
And then, um, these radios are also,
we did, we have purchased some radios in the last few years
that are phase two compliant that we aren't, we do not have
to replace, they just have to be upgraded
and re it to the, um, new network.
So, uh, the purpose of this plan is
to replace functionally opposite obsolete radios
that will no longer be supported.
And two, to move to a radio that allows the county
to move to a network that doubles its capacity.
And, um, commissioner McAdams,
these are also forward compatible, uh,
as I remember reading Yes.
So that we should expect to not have to do this again
for a long time to calm, and they were thoroughly obsolete
because they really, um, become obsolete in 2023.
Yes. If I, if I understood that. Well,
Actually, on our side, on the fire side, um,
we found out about a year
after we purchased the, our radios,
that the radios we bought
or had to buy the radio, the, the radio that we had to buy,
um, was going to be discontinued almost immediately.
Um, and Motorola never informed us of
that, um, eventuality.
But then again, it also took them almost 10 years
to build, create a new radio.
So I don't understand the workings of Motorola.
Um, unfortunately, as the largest,
um, provider of radios the most durable
and the most state of the art, uh,
and what the county has
adopted, we don't have a choice
Commissioner, is it?
Um, is the county waiting for Warren to get these, uh,
in order to be able to move the whole county forward? Yeah.
Warren is the largest agency between police
and fire, um, using these radios.
So yes. Um, they, they did request
that we move forward first in order to push
all the other, um, entities in the, in the county, um,
to, to move over to be ready to move over
to this new network.
Um, also there are municipalities who
can't add additional radios as I understand it.
So, um, there's a big push countywide
to, to get this moving.
I don't know what the, the, the county's, um,
timetable is, um, much like us.
Um, the radio division, uh, reports to a,
I think they're a board
or commissioner county commissioners,
and they approve funding.
And this is a major countywide project
that they have to fund.
So I don't have a timetable from, um,
Macomb County Radio as to the timeline.
I just know that, uh, we as the largest, were encouraged
to move forward now or yesterday. Actually,
I, I think this will be my final question.
And that is, um, this is just
for the fire department and EMS, correct?
Yes. Is there gonna be, uh,
is the police department gonna,
Police already did theirs.
Oh, they already did theirs. Okay.
They were about two and a half million earlier.
I don't know exactly when,
but I think it was, um, right around the
end of the fiscal year.
I mean, beginning of the fiscal year.
Oh, okay. If memory served.
I lost, I lost track of that then.
Thank you so much for letting me, filling me in on all that.
I'm done. Thank you. Thank
You. Any additional discussion,
Madam President? Mr.
Lafferty? Yeah. Through the chair to Mr. Newan.
The, uh, one thing you'll find being on council,
you're always going to be purchasing radios.
It is, it is a perpetual purchase.
And, and listening to, to Mr.
McAdams speak about the, uh, how Motorola changed, um,
it's very similar to, you have to buy a,
a new cell phone, right?
Every three or four years.
If you're extremely frugal, maybe you know, you,
it lasts four years if you don't
drop it a half a dozen times.
But it seems like only a short 25 years ago when I was on
the Board of Commissioners, that we approved the issuance
of the 800 megahertz radios.
Yes. And that was going
to be the most technologically advanced network.
Oh my goodness. You know? Yes.
And now you look at, you know, what, what we can do today.
And it's really those,
I remember when we got those, they were supposed to be
the radio to beat all radios.
And it wasn't five years into
that program when we started hearing about what was coming.
And you're correct, supposedly with these radios,
they will support over the air
upgrades from Motorola.
Mm-hmm. I'll believe that when I see it.
Uh, I don't know that I want to be around long enough
to see the next upgrade.
Um, but maybe I will be, who knows?
And and to the final point, the,
the backwards compatibility is what you're referring to.
Yes. And that's, that's really important.
That's, that's a, a money saver or a time saver.
We should never really rely on that
because by the time the way these radios are used, you know,
their end of life before even Motorola is, is saying
that they're their end of life.
So given their, their field,
We replace radios every fiscal year
that are damaged from dropping.
Oh. From, even though they're water resistant, um,
they can't swim
and they're anchors when they fall into deep water.
So, uh, there are issues with them.
Thank you. I don't have any other questions.
Nothing is waterproof. Okay.
Any other discussion? Hearing
none, I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Thank you, counsel. You're
Welcome.
Uh, 15. Audience participation on general topics.
Members of the audience would like
to address City Council this evening.
May do so using a form on the right side of the stage.
Uh, you have three minutes. This is for general topics.
First up is Lori Harris.
Thank you.
Uh, Merry Christmas. Um, Merry Christmas.
I wanted to talk about several things.
I went to the planning meeting last night.
I was unable to stay.
Um, I want to publicly say I'm very disappointed in the
planning commission and the fact that they have sat
and listened to residents who have come
to meetings saying in terms
of trucking companies backing up to their properties.
And that commission should have known the questions to ask.
And instead, they just approved another place where, uh,
semi trucks will now be stored right at the
back of their backyards.
Um, I find that, um, really awful.
And I think, um, the climate action plan,
I think if we can stop cementing, uh,
every place in our city
and allowing people to do whatever they want, uh, just
because they come to planning, um, instead
of looking at the master plan
and making those decisions, I think that would also help.
Um, I don't think we have to have a committee to do that.
I think we need to have an effective
planning commission to do that.
I also wanna talk about the, um, meetings tomorrow
for the town center.
I find the timing incredibly, um, inappropriate
and, um, unacceptable the week
before Christmas to have meetings that you want lots
of input for something important like the town center.
But I wanna tell you that today I drove between 14 mile
and 11 mile on Van D**e,
and I counted 32 empty storefronts,
32 empty buildings.
Now that doesn't, that doesn't count all the,
uh, offices that could be empty in some
of the taller, bigger buildings.
Some of the buildings, I don't know
how many actual offices are inside of them,
but 32 buildings, that's a lot.
And we think that we're going to have build a downtown town
that would draw people
to walk when we have 32 empty buildings in that area.
I think it's ridiculous to have this meeting tomorrow.
I also find it unacceptable that the mayor
or whoever on her behalf private messaged 89 people,
um, with an update, uh, with the actual, uh,
graphic from communications.
I find that unacceptable.
I find that as unacceptable as
Ulu Jabari sending emails to 200
and some people about the commissioner meetings, uh,
and didn't blind copy.
This is, this is not how we run a $350 million business.
And as a reminder, again, a DA is a civil rights law,
and every meeting should have an opportunity
for people to participate.
And that's not happening. Thank you.
Next, Next is Joel Vander Linden.
Happy holidays. Joel Valen, longtime wor, uh, resident.
I'd first like to start off on the back of, uh, Ms. Harris,
about 80 a laws not being followed
by the city, by different departments.
Today, I went to file a FOIA
called the Mayor's Office,
and I told 'em I wanted to do it verbally.
They demanded I'd do it by computer with some of us being
visually impaired, have a problem with that.
So they sent me to the legal department,
and they had a problem with it.
Well, by the Aada, a law, anyone
that is visually depa impaired can do it
verbally and should be written down,
taken down, and applied.
Now, we don't always have someone there to,
to file our complaints for us.
So what was the answer to the legal department?
They put me on hold for a half hour.
Instead, they'll call me tomorrow.
I think that's poor service.
Now, what I filed my complaint on
is I want the job description of the
community director.
The assistant community director.
I'm the chief of staff.
I wanna know the job descriptions.
I wanna know who holds those offices.
And then it brings up the question,
how were they paid last year?
It was not in the budget. Those positions were not there.
You can't transfer or change those positions
unless they come to Cons
And Consul didn't approve these change of titles
or anything else, or any explanation was given for
how they were paid, Where they paid out
of the police officers fund.
I know we're short, dirty police officers.
Is that how the mayor staff is being paid?
I wanna understand why all these meetings are not being
videotaped and put on the Warren, uh, city channel
for all of us to watch.
Is tomorrow's meeting going to be on there?
Are we gonna be able to watch it live?
Or is it gonna be taped and tattered
and put the way the ma the mayor, wants it
without the public input?
I think as a warned resident, we deserve better.
We deserve to be treated better,
and we still have an answer
to call about the 30 police officers.
We still don't know all the, uh, minor details with, uh,
You're at time. Mr. Vander Lenn.
Thank You. Thank you.
Have a blessed day and recall my airstone
Next is Wesley Arnold.
I am running as fast as I Can.
Sorry, I have to read this, but I'm old
and I stutter a lot.
I am Professor Wesley Arnold,
longtime worn resident.
82 years loss of experience. Veteran.
I'm no hero, but I serve with some.
I speak for many citizens.
We have been watching you.
We have noticed that many of you have put in a lot
of extra time
and extra work, trying to do a good job.
We wanna thank you on behalf
of our warned citizens and our veterans.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your extra work. Thank you for caring.
As an old time historian,
I filed a lot of councils
and I think you're the best one ever.
Thank you on behalf of all of our Warren residents,
and also a thanks to our wonderful city workers.
We are proud of you. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Gloria Sanker.
The Season of wonder is here.
It's like no other in war soldiers
who kill each other stop for a brief moment to shake hands
and to give a greeting of Christmas.
The impossible becomes a reality
because of the specialness of this season.
What is this mysterious phenomenon?
It's called Christmas,
the most celebrated day in the whole year.
People gather, sing, eat, and forgive one another's faults
and say, Merry Christmas with a handshake or a hug.
Bad feelings are forgotten and new friendships are forged.
Christmas seems to be in the hearts of all people
and is shown through extreme acts of kindness and love.
There's a special spirit that is felt.
It's one that brings out the best in us, so that we want
to help the less fortunate, uh, we wanna contribute
to the homeless so that all can experience the blessings
of the special season.
Christmas is not just a holiday. It's a holy day.
It's a night divine.
Let's not make Christmas a special
or a secular holy day
to just enjoy all the special treats.
It's much more than that.
We are country founded on Christmas beliefs.
That is a spirit that promotes belief and hope
because Christ the Savior is born.
Christmas is celebrate, celebrated to commemorate the birth
of Christ, and the manger is a symbol of our belief.
America has a religious history,
which gives the government leeway to sponsor
religious displays as many other cities do.
Obviously, our administration doesn't share the belief
of the Christian population in our city, which is
80% and more.
Sadly, the mayor chose not to display any religious objects,
not even a star on top of the Christmas trees.
Oh, humbug rather.
Merry Christmas to all and with our Christian population.
Happy birthday, Lord Jesus. And Merry Christmas all to you.
Thank you. That is the end of audience.
Next item, next item. Council response to audience.
Madam President Through the chair,
Mr. Dwyer?
Yeah, I just wanted to, um, give a special thanks
to our beautification committee.
They hosted an event last Friday for the, uh,
Southeast Michigan,
or beautification Council of Southeast Michigan.
It was held at St. Joseph at.
And, um, we had a really good turnout, really good food.
We had a special guest singer.
We were graced by our very own Jonathan Lafferty
and the sensational singing.
He took us through many, uh, Christmas carols.
Everybody had a great time with that.
We had awesome participation.
But the, uh, we also had a couple of, uh,
really good presentations.
Mr. Sutcliffe, uh,
did a presentation about native plants in our park over on
bb, as well as a presentation by an individual from the DNR
who gave us an update on all the projects
that are going on at Bell Isle.
It's really something special going on over there.
Um, the other thing about our beautification is, uh,
committee is they just do a great job.
They handle the placement
and maintenance of our welcome signs.
They put on a special award ceremony for both our commercial
and residential areas as far as
who has the most impressive landscaping.
Um, they also assist
with the Christmas decorations
throughout the city that you see.
So our beautification committee is really something special,
and they really do keep our city looking good.
Thank you.
Thank you. Any other response?
Okay, next item. Motion to adjourn. Support.
Support, support McGee. All in favor, aye. Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? We are adjourned. Merry Christmas everyone.
Merry Christmas.