I am now calling to order a regular meeting
of the city council Tuesday,
March 11th, 2025 at 7:00 PM Please stand
for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge alle all allegiance
To the, to the flag of the United States of America.
To, to the republic for which it stands.
One Nation under God,
Indivisible.
With liberty and Liberty. Justice.
Roll call. Mr. Secretary
Council. President
Rogan C. Here, vice President McGee. Here.
Council member Bokey. President. Council member Newan.
President. Council member Lafferty. Here. Dwyer is here.
Madam President. We have a quorum Council.
Pre Secretary Moore is absent.
Motion to excuse the absent member.
Support. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Member excused. Next item, Mr. Secretary.
Number four, adaption of the consent agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Uh, discussion. Anyone?
I, I want to move what was J
which is the resolution to sell vacant property
to the regular agenda.
Four J'S removed.
Where are you going to place It
Does that on the next section. That
Should Oh, thank you.
Thank you. Any other discussion?
I'll call to question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
Five. Adoption of the
agenda. So moved with discussion.
Support, Lafferty. Discussion. Mr. Secretary,
What was item four J on the consent agenda?
We'll move to 13. I
Thank You.
Any other discussion?
Seeing none, I call to question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item,
Calendar of pending matters calendar.
Motion to receive and file
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion Mr. Lafferty? Thank you.
Let's, I'd like
to remove item land bank authority appropriation
from February 11th, uh, as that has been received
and is on our present agenda.
And as a note, I will be asking at the next meeting
for an update of, uh, from the Warren Police Department
relative to the update updated situation at the Bush
Library Branch.
Uh, after it has reopened full-time,
Are you adding that item to the calendar?
I don't want to add it to the calendar.
Just as a, a notice for,
for the future for the next meeting.
Got it. Uh, just as notice so they have time to prepare.
Excellent. Any other discussion? I will call the question.
All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next, item
Seven. Approval of
the bills, the General Revenue funds So moved.
Support Lafferty. Discussion,
hearing, and seeing none.
I'll call the question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item,
Appro approval of the bills
of the water and sewer systems.
So moved. Support,
Uh, support Newan discussion, hearing, and seeing none.
I'll call the question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
Eight. Audience
participation agenda items only.
Good evening. Members of the audience who would like
to address the city council this evening may do so
by filling out the audience form located on
the right side of the stage.
Looks like there's some new faces here, so
I will just a reminder for folks that they have
to write their name or address on the form
or give it at the podium.
Uh, we have three minutes for audience items here
and then three minutes at the end of audience
for general topics you can speak at both.
First up is Lori Harris.
Hi Lori Harris. I'm sure it won't surprise anybody
that I wanna talk about marijuana, um, as a nurse
and following, uh, research
and reports that come, uh, more of a scientific matter,
um, marijuana is not harmless and I understand that.
Uh, 12 d uh, to amend the marijuana
ordinance, uh, the changes that were made, uh, instead
of limiting, uh, dispensaries, uh,
there's going to be unlimited.
And I also realized that the market is saturated
and it's, you know, not, uh, going as gangbusters anymore.
There's too much competition. I understand that.
But how about if you have won by your house for seven years,
right next door where they don't wanna change the filter
where you smell it all the time?
I mean, this is ridiculous.
I understand everything that's going on.
I still think marijuana is not a, a harmless subject,
uh, product.
Um, so I'm, I'm distressed by this decision.
I understand it probably has to be made, uh,
but I'm still very unhappy
and unhappy to know
that other cities can not have any or have limits.
And we're gonna let this happen in our city.
We already, like, if people in the city drive around
by gross spec 10
and Hoover particularly, the smell is so bad.
Like every day they could go and smell it
and, and write a ticket.
And it doesn't happen. The person next door
to me doesn't pay the taxes, still gets a rental license
and grows illegally in the house.
It just doesn't make sense.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is the, um, renewing
of the millage for the police and fire.
And I hardly support our police and fire department.
Um, but we are not using the money
that we've already paid in our taxes
to hire the appropriate number of police.
And this maybe the fire department is okay right now.
The police department is not.
So why are we going to renew a millage
when we're not using the money?
And this goes back to the HR department
and the terrible job
they do at recruitment.
Following through and hiring. Uh, and that's all. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Greg Donahoe.
Good evening. I'll build on Ms. Harris's comments.
The, uh, proposed change
to the marijuana ordinance is simply uncalled for.
There has been no public discussions, no public hearings,
no sense of where, uh, an unlimited amount may be located.
I can tell you they will be disproportionately located in
economically distressed
and, uh, diverse areas as opposed to more well-to-do areas
and the impact on the city, it simply does not make sense.
If the explanation comes out that this has something to do
with the lawsuit, all of you should push back hard on that.
It ERPs your role as legislators.
And, uh, our role as voters, this is whether
or not we're even going to have retail establishments,
is a question that should be put to the voters.
The state law enabling this allows
that we should be heard on if we even want them.
If we do, then by all means, craft legislation
that is appropriate for the city, sets an amount
of locations and, uh, gets it done the right way.
But let the voters be heard.
The mayor is willing to, uh, ask for, uh, a millage
to be put on simply by going through this body.
Do that service to us, let us be heard on it,
and can be on the same ballot as the millage for the police
and fire renewal will be.
It is wrong to do legislation this way.
Slide it into a lightly attended, uh, early spring agenda
with hardly notice and hardly any discussion ahead of time.
I implore you to remove the marijuana item
or table it to a different time
and then have a series of public hearings at a minimum.
If you won't put this on the ballot to hear
what the public wants, all sectors of the public.
I'm aware that, uh, my many of my fellow citizens, uh,
approve of this and want that.
Fine. But, uh, in further, if this is being motivated
by the tiny bit of money some cities got from the state pot
last week, that should not be a motivation at all.
I'd now like to move on to the, uh, request of the mayor
to place the police and fire millage on the ballot.
As we all recall, this was a temporary measure set
as the effects of the housing, uh,
crisis were felt on city revenues as a temporary measure
to avoid having to make a decision to cut those services.
Revenue, property tax revenues have recovered,
even adjusted for inflation.
And if they have not, certainly the millage does not be,
need to be renewed in its full amount.
There's no analysis
and e packet of why that needs to remain renewed.
At the same rate logic would dictate with the recovery
and property tax revenue.
If that millage was still needed,
then it should be at a reduced rate.
I asked this council to send this back to the mayor, uh,
or table it until there can be more discussion on, uh, why
that rate, uh, at that level is appropriate.
Uh, we just got our, uh, tax assessments.
Many of us know our taxables are going up fine,
good services cost money,
but that implores that this, uh,
item be examined in a greater detail.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Chris Aiello
Chair. Can we switch?
Um, and I'm Eric Geer. I should be the
Next one. Sure.
Aaron Geier.
Thank you Madam Chair. And thank you for the indulgence.
My name is Aaron Geier and I'm an attorney
and I've been licensed for almost 40 years.
Please speaking to Mike, please.
I thought I was. So, I'm here
to discuss item 12 D
and that is your first reading.
And I applaud the panel
because essentially you are falling in line, if so to speak,
with what's going on in center line,
what's going on in Roseville,
what's going on in Madison Heights,
what's going on in Royal Oak, what's going on in Detroit?
It's all of around us.
I understand that this body on numerous occasions, attempted
to, you know, have an ordinance
that was met with extraordinary
resistance from those that didn't win.
It's been up and down the Supreme Court twice.
It's been up and down the court of appeals twice.
And so, yes, this is the logical way to do this.
Now, if we look at chapter 19.5, which is your
marijuana ordinance, it's broken into 17
subcategories of which only three
are being requested for first reading.
It's 19.5 dash seven, which deals with definitions,
19.5 dash 12, which deals with prohibitions,
and 19.5 dash 16, which deals with municipal licenses.
If the panel is inclined to go to a second reading,
I would ask that we also look at 19.5 dash 15,
which deals with establishments
because if we look in, EE is
what regulates provisioning centers
and retail establishments.
And if we look at the hours of operation, the hours
of operation allowable
by a marijuana facility would be from eight 30 in the
morning until eight o'clock at night.
That makes no sense, and that is not in line with
what our neighbors are doing.
And so I would urge the panel to adopt a Thursday
through Sunday until midnight with a Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Sunday.
And we can even start at 10 o'clock instead of,
instead of starting at eight 30.
Within the provisions that are being
reviewed tonight is 19.5 16.
The first one, which is B two, simply says
that the application shall be
on a form to be provided.
I'd like a little better clarification of when
that form will actually be available.
Likewise, if it's denied, um,
we would like a timeframe for that. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Chris Aiello.
Uh, good evening, Chris.
Ill 3 2 4 1 1 Mound Road, Warren, Michigan.
I've been an attorney there for a long time.
And so Aaron Geier stole my thunder.
I've been an attorney in the cannabis industry since 2015,
and I help pre-qualified entities obtain
licensing throughout the state
of Michigan all the way from Traverse City to Luna Pere,
all the way from Niles to East Point.
Last week, uh, one
of my clients won a license in East Point.
It only took three years, but they got it finally.
And East Point allowed the stores to remain open
until midnight for a competitive purpose to help them
to work close and hand in hand with the, with the city.
And, uh, give them a little more
of a competitive edge on the cities that surround
that city since it is, as a young lady over here testified,
um, a rather competitive market at this point.
But, um, arguably, you know,
I don't think local municipalities have much desire
to intrude on any business's hours
of opportunities in any type of business,
whether it's 24 hour gas station
or a, a party store
or whatever it might be to some degree.
And so, uh, I think you're all familiar with the turmoil
that surrounds this ordinance
and that, um, where we've started and where we're ended.
And we've, and I've participated from day one in all
of these lawsuits on behalf of a number of entities
and where we're arrived at today.
And so, uh, we're we're asking
for some cooperation on that issue.
Um, the last issue that I had read
was exactly what Mr.
Geier pointed out. And, um, we have been involved,
unfortunately, with litigation from 19 and 20
and 21 were the ordinance was enacted,
but then the applications didn't come out.
A month later, two months later,
three months later, no applications.
So mandamus actions happened and that was ugly.
And that's not one community. It's happened everywhere.
So we respectfully request a reasonable period of time
after the enactment of the ordinance if it gets that far to,
uh, read what's required inside of your ordinance
as it has particularities about certain forms
that the city must tender over to the applicants.
And there's a whole bunch that need to be filled out.
Um, so not only, uh, that should that be a reasonable period
of time, but, um, um,
once an application has been submitted,
which we've been involved in litigation on
that, how long does it take?
How long should it be? What's a reasonable period of time
for a city to approve an application,
especially an application under your law,
which is a zoning based application.
And then it's, it's filled in with some criteria That's,
that arguably really is the domain in province.
And, uh, you know, sort of state law preempts a lot
of the requirements within the City
of Warrens proposed ordinance.
But, um, and then a reasonable period of time to deny or,
or, um, deny or approve the application. So, um,
You're at time, Trust me, on behalf of a lot
of entities, they wanna time.
Thank you for getting this far.
Thank you. Next is Mark Abraham.
Thank you. Um, my name is Mark Abraham.
Uh, address 2 4 6 4 9 Mound Road. Warren.
Um, I'm here just to very simple. I'm not an attorney, okay?
So your first non-attorney in a little bit here.
Um, I'm just here to say thank you, thank you to the board
for at least bringing this to this point.
I know, I know the whole story on this. Why do I know it?
Because if you ever wondered as the board members
of our great city who the first person
to ever get a cannabis license is you're looking at 'em.
I got the first license many, many years ago.
Been working so hard to get to this point tonight.
So I'm here to say thank you, thank you
for getting it to this point.
I don't know how you're gonna vote.
I certainly hope that we get this past the finish line.
It's way overdue.
Um, and the only other thing that I wanna make mention to,
and I'm not really making mention to the board members
'cause God knows you guys know this,
but to everybody, everyone in this audience,
if you take a line and you draw it all the way
around the city of Warren, if you sit here
and you think about it and go, boy,
we don't have a provisioning center inside of
that square or rectangle.
That's not true. We have 15 licenses in the belly
of our city, 15 of 'em,
and they're in a little place called Centerline
where they've been getting all sorts
of revenue for all this time.
Inside of the middle of our city,
there are 15 provisioning licenses that are already there.
So I don't want anybody, and I'm praying
and hoping that nobody on our board has any hesitation
to move forward with this rule.
Um, we have a much bigger city,
we have a much bigger opportunity.
Um, it's policed very well.
Our police department, as said so many times is terrific.
Um, thank you for getting to this point today,
and I really hope that you vote to move this forward.
It's time. Thank you.
Thank you. That is the end of audience, Mr.
Pre, Mr. Secretary. Next item
Number nine, announcements a resolution
recognizing the month of March as social work month.
Um, is there a representative here for that group?
Um, maybe Stephanie Thornton could step up to the podium.
Hello, good evening. My name is Stephanie Thornton.
I am the MSW Student Representative
for NASW Michigan chapter,
and I'm here to accept a new resolution on the
proclamation submitted.
Thank you. Okay. Thanks so much for being here,
and I'll go ahead with the, uh, resolution.
Whereas people enter the social work profession
because they care about helping to improve the welfare
of people, communities, and our nation.
And whereas this year's social work month theme,
social work, compassion
and action embodies the fact that social workers go
through years of education and training.
So they have the skills to transform their care for others
into positive action and results.
And whereas social workers follow a code of ethics,
which sets as the primary mission
of the social work profession, the enhancement
of human wellbeing,
and meeting the basic human needs of all people
with particular attention to the needs of those
who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.
Whereas social workers work in all parts of our society,
helping people, family and communities, secure services
and policies they need to thrive.
And now therefore, be it resolved that the city
of the city council of the city of Warren
recognizes the numerous contributions made
by America's social workers
and proclaim this much of this month, of March, 2025
as National Social Work Month.
Motion to approve.
Thank you so much. Have a good evening. Support Lafferty.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Hold on. Tell her to come back. You can come back up.
He's gonna give you the resolution.
Madam President. If it, if it's a resolution,
don't we need to do a roll call vote
even on an issue like this?
No, no. Oh, okay.
Um, just follow up.
Resolution declared adopted on this 11th day of March, 2025.
Thank congratulations to you.
Thank you. Any other announcements?
Mr. Lafferty has, I have one.
Somebody else I will, uh, go in advance.
Uh, I, along with, um, Mr.
Mazare who helped me create a,
a volunteer match program called Isabelle's Angels,
which is, um, named
after a resident in our community who really struggled
to have her lawn mowed.
She was in her nineties. And so my father-in-law,
bless his heart, mows her lawn
before he mows my lawn every week in the summer months.
Uh, and I realized throughout that, but also
and door knocking and talking to the community
that there are so many people who need help
with pulling weeds or raking, uh, their pulling weeds
or raking their leaves, uh, lawn mowing,
weed whipping things that they're just not able to do.
And so, uh, I have on, um, my Facebook,
but also, uh, via email
is a Google form
where folks can fill out information whether they wanna
volunteer or if they, uh, are in need
of some type of services.
Uh, and we will do our best to match folks with, uh,
support from a community member
and figure out the best way of helping make sure that they,
um, don't get citations in the city,
and that they also are able to keep their, um,
home tidy and neat.
So if anyone is interested, please feel free to email me.
Angela at City of Warren dot, Oregon.
Thank you, Dave for your help in putting this
together. Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you, Madam President.
As always, I like to recognize the work
that the Warren Civic Theater is doing
and promote their upcoming shows.
This is one of the rare times
where I say they are putting on a program
and none of you can come.
All of their shows for Frozen Junior are completely sold out
next week in the auditorium.
Uh, it's, it's good and it's bad.
Uh, apparently with Disney Productions, there is a strict
enforced limitation on the number of people
that can attend those shows.
And so the audience is limited
and all of those shows are sold out.
So congratulations to our War
and Civic Theater, our young performers
and future Hollywood stars on what, uh,
should be an epic performance here on this
stage next weekend.
Uh, Madam Chair, I'd like to ask
to suspend the rules for this.
Uh, next item, we have a member in the audience.
His name is Mr. Charles Williams. He is a neighbor of mine.
And not only is he an outstanding neighbor, always willing
to help out, uh, he is an involved member of our community.
He's a staunch supporter of our police, a chaplain,
and an inventive entrepreneur
when he is not developing new machines.
In his workshop, he is an advocate for vocational education
and working with and mentoring our youth.
Uh, his inventions have also been seen rolling
through the neighborhood as he seeks
to provide police departments
with mobility options for policing.
Mr. Williams was most recently awarded at Autorama
for these inventions.
And I'd like, uh, him the op, give him the opportunity
to show off the award that he received.
Uh, and tell us a little bit about it.
Uh, motion to suspend the rules.
Support. Uh, all in favor, aye.
Aye. Rules are suspended for a moment.
Thank you counsel. It's a pleasure to be here.
My name is again, Charles Williams.
I am the COO of a small business in the city
of Warren Michigan's called Tai Yucca, which stands
for Teen Accomplishments.
We are here in the city of Warren.
Uh, we are building custom quads.
The quads were specifically designed
for the police department.
Uh, it was the police department, security guard,
general Motors, Ford, and Chrysler so
that they can have mobility on their premises
to keep the cars from being stolen.
We have, um, equipped them to the point
that they have sirens and everything else on them.
Alright, so we are here in our community
and we want to be a blessing to our young people.
The name of the business again is called Ty Yucca.
Teen Accomplishments.
We are doing everything we can
to get our young people involved in the engineering
and automotive technology with welding, electrical, wiring,
painting, everything such as that.
And it's been a challenge, but our young people have did
everything they could to make sure that this is going
to help them in the future.
So we had an opportunity last week to be
involved in the ra.
First time, first time in the ra.
We came in third place in the ra.
Out of 155 entries or more, we came in third place. Wow.
And we have both of our plaques
and with both of our, um,
Pro our, you know, our trophies here
and trust you, me, our young people
that had hands on were extremely excited all the way from
Oakland County Community College all the way down.
We interviewed about maybe 15,000 young people there,
and they all are on board.
Now, I want to say this openly, Warren Detroit wants them,
but they were born here in Warren.
They were birthed here in Warren.
And I would do everything I can to try to keep them
birthed right here.
So I'm going to need counsel to help us
and I appreciate everybody.
Thank you so very kindly for, uh, letting me stand here.
I'm nervous, but thank you so very kindly.
Congratulations, Mr.
And I will ask, uh, for a resolution on behalf
of counsel for next meeting.
Okay. Thank you. Mm-hmm.
Any other announcements?
Okay, hearing and seeing none. Next item. Mr. Secretary.
11. A request
of Magna Health Management LLC located at 2 1 4 4 5
Hoover for a 60 day extension of adult use license.
Motion to approve
Support. Lafferty.
Uh, any discussion, hearing, and scene? None.
I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
11 B. Request
of DN Warren,
LLC located at 1 2 5 2 5 East nine Mile Road
for a 60 day extension of M-R-T-M-A adult use license.
Motion to approve
Support Lafferty.
Discussion, hearing, and scene? None.
I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
11 C. Request
of Boxer Enterprises located at 2 3 6 4 0
Pinewood for a 60 day extension of adult use license.
Motion to approve
Support. Lafferty.
Discussion, hearing and seeing none.
I'll call the question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Mr. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item,
Uh, 12 Council business 12.
A cons, consideration
and adoption of a resolution approving proposed settlement
in the matter of Chastity Evans versus Progressive Michigan.
Insurance Company Jimmy Rodriguez, city
of Warren, Jimmy Brown.
Tristan Lee Haner and Terrace Trucking.
L-L-C-W-C-C-C.
Case number 2024 dash 0 0 3 9 4 5
Ni Honorable Susan LH Hubbard Motion
to approve settlement on this matter pursuant
to the terms discussed in closed session March 3rd, 2025.
Support Lafferty Uh, Dwyer.
Motion support Lafferty Call to question Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item
12 B, consideration
and adoption of a resolution approving proposed settlement
in the matter of Eric Brown.
V two Fail Ahmed, United States District Court,
Eastern District of Michigan.
Case number 2 2 3 dash cv dash
1 0 4 15 dash fkb dash kga.
Motion to approve settlement on this matter pursuant
to the terms discussed enclo session March 3rd, 2025.
Support Ty Call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan. C as? Yes. Motion carries. Next item
12 C, consideration
and adaption of a resolution approving proposed settlement
in the matter of Anisha Foster versus City of Warren.
Case number 24 dash CV dash 11 5 13.
Motion to approve settlement on this matter pursuant
to the terms discussed Enclo session March 3rd, 2025.
Support, support Lafferty.
Support Lafferty. Call to question Mr. Dwyer.
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Let's see.
Mr. Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Grogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item
12 D, an ordinance to amend Chapter 19.5
of the code of ordinances entitled Marijuana,
Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, operations
Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act
Establishments, personal recreational marijuana, adult use
and Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act Facilities.
This will be the first rating,
Motion to approve with Discussion.
Support. Support McGee. Discussion Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you Madam President.
I'd first like to turn the chair over to Mr. Schroeder
for a summarized explanation.
Thank you. Uh, Madam President
and council member Lafferty, um, this draft ordinance,
first of all, thank you to, uh, Ms.
Michaels from the City attorney's office
for putting this together, um,
and sending it over to the council office for consideration.
There are three things, um, being considered in this, uh,
first reunion of a proposed amendment
to our marijuana ordinances in the city.
Um, the first issue is the, um, the city council
would no longer vote on extensions
of marijuana renewal applications.
We just saw on tonight's agenda, the council had
to consider three facilities, um,
that were seeking an 60 day extension of their license.
That is under consideration.
Um, this was put in the ordinance originally in 2019,
where council members at the time wanted to
have their approval before an extension could be granted.
Um, this would eliminate that
and replace it by giving the building division
to grant a one time 60 day extension.
Provided that the failure to renew the license
by the expiration date are factors beyond the control
of the applicant We've seen in the past where, um,
it's something outta their control.
It might be, um, issues
that the building department may be scheduling an
inspection, whatever that happens to be.
But if the applicant is at fault
and they're just not filing their paperwork on time,
or they're behind, or they don't pay the fine
or the fee, the license fee
or whatever that is, they'll not
be eligible for an extension.
But it's gonna take that off the council agenda
and make it an administrative decision,
which is the case in almost every municipality.
Um, so that's the first thing.
The second thing is under appeals of licenses, um,
we had a matter that was headed toward council.
Um, in January.
It was gonna be a 90 minute hearing, maybe even longer.
The council appointed, council member Lafferty
to sit and meet with the applicant.
And it was a dispute over some building
and construction code requirements, the
applicant for renewal.
Um, the city found that they were in violation of, um, some
of the mechanical and fire code requirements
and didn't renew it.
The applicant claimed that they were grandfathered in,
it didn't apply to them, and it ultimately came down
to interpreting the state construction code
and the mechanical codes.
And, um, we discovered
that the city has a construction board of Appeals State law
allows for a construction board of repeals where it consists
of five professionals.
Um, somebody who's a mechanical expert, plumbing expert,
electrical expert, and so forth, even an architect.
So those experts are the appeal board for those issues.
So if there's a renewal issue,
if someone's license isn't renewed or granted
because they're not following the, um, construction code,
allegedly, then they will appeal
to the construction board of appeals.
The city council would not be hearing
construction related appeals.
Um, and really council shouldn't be deciding the finer
points of the mechanical code about what's safe
and what's not safe, those that should be to the expert.
So that's the second. And finally, the, the, probably the
amendment that's generating the most interest
to save the best for last is the, um,
adult use retail licenses.
Um, elimination
of the Marijuana Review Committee is the first thing.
There was a marijuana review committee created in the
2019 ordinances.
And the city attorney was on there,
the city then city council president was on the,
um, committee.
Um, and this committee had closed door meetings,
and they were interviewing applicants,
and they were deciding who was getting a license
and who wasn't getting a license
in these closed door meetings.
And we heard earlier this thing went
to the Supreme Court twice, the court of appeals twice,
it's at the circuit court for the third time.
This thing has bounced up and down our court system.
It has cost the city taxpayers over a half million dollars,
probably over a million dollars when you count the insurance
fees that, uh, insurance companies paying lawyer, uh,
law firm to defend the city on this.
And ultimately, the Supreme Court said these closed door
meetings violated the Open Meetings Act.
They weren't held in public,
and they were making these decisions and interviewing people
and deciding who gets a license and who didn't.
And at that time, now we hear the industry is suffering a
little bit, but at that time, these were considered
to be very valuable licenses.
And everybody who applied really wanted one
and they were trying hard to get one.
But, um, the closed door meeting was a no
go according to the Supreme Court.
And so it's worth mentioning
that nobody on this dais was part of that decision.
This is two councils ago.
This is how long this litigation's been
going two councils ago.
So, um, this council inherited that,
and obviously this council
has a duty to try to deal with it.
There are over 20 parties in this case
when you include the plaintiffs, the interveners,
and to try to get everybody on the same page
as the proverbial herding cats.
Too many cooks in the kitchen.
If we can't get everybody to agree,
then we're not gonna be able to dismiss the lawsuit.
There's still gonna be parties remaining
and we're gonna be fighting over those issues.
It's been very difficult.
So, um, the first thing is
elimination of this marijuana committee.
The second thing is, um, adult use retail was opted in
by the prior counsel,
but they set the number at zero while the
litigation was pending.
This would remove the zero, uh, number
and make it an unlimited amount, but it's not unlimited
because it's dependent on the, on the zoning ordinance.
Okay. So a zoning ordinance was passed in 2019
that severely restricts
where marijuana facilities can be located in the city.
First of all, they can only be in industrial zones
or C3, which is the most intense commercial zone.
They need to be a thousand feet from a school,
500 feet from any residential property,
500 feet from a park, um, a religious institution
and, um, daycare.
And I think there's another one, but it's, there's a map.
The council has the map.
Um, these facilities go all the way from 14 in Van D**e, uh,
I mean, excuse me, 14 in Dender.
There's some zones that are allowed there all the way
to the southeast, uh, section of the city
in industrial zones.
And so the council's aware of these
locations where they can be located.
This is no different than in 2019 when the prior council
and the prior planning commission had two public hearings
on the zoning ordinance about
where these facilities could be located.
So two public hearings were held,
and they published the map of where these can be located.
So when we say unlimited, there's actually
what we call a soft cap in these locations.
Um, the reason for this is after spending hours
and countless dollars trying to resolve these lawsuits,
it seemed like the only way to resolve it was
to move forward and, and do this.
If you look at other communities that have not been sued,
a lot of cities have been sued over marijuana
because they've set up a process where winners
and losers are picked, and then the losers
feel like something went wrong.
And all they have to do is file a lawsuit
and find one little thing.
And sometimes the big thing that didn't go right
and the whole thing gets thrown out.
And then these parties want their legal fees paid.
They want damages, they want all sorts of restitution.
So, um, in this particular case, going
to unlimited using zoning restrictions to eliminate, to,
to limit where they can be located.
No community has been successfully sued by doing it this way
because it takes out that political element
or that human element of, I am on the committee,
or I am the one who's gonna pick the winners and losers,
and you have to come to me
to get a license and you need my approval.
You take that element out of it, you take out
that discretionary aspect of it, then
it really eliminates the ability
to file a successful lawsuit.
So again, this would, um, this isn't promising anything
to anybody in the current litigation,
but they all have a location
that fit the zoning ordinance from 2019.
So, um, the ordinance, um,
is not gonna change any of the zoning provisions.
Um, and applicant still must pass a background check
by the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency.
They cannot have any default or taxes owed to the city.
They cannot have property maintenance violations.
And, uh, they must meet the fire code.
Um, and the market will decide
how many dispensaries will exist.
We know that, um, all of the, all of the,
almost all of the surrounding communities have a number
of them, including, I think Centerline has 10,
Roseville has a number.
East Point Detroit has 70 80, um,
Madison Heights has a number of them.
So, um, in reality, in talking to experts in the industry,
the original number of 15 probably won't be met.
I mean, again, that's not for sure who knows
what the future brings, but we're trying to get out
of this litigation, um, put an end to it,
and the seven figures in legal fees
that it has cost various parties.
This doesn't even count what it cost.
The 15 interveners and the 12 plus plaintiffs in the case.
This is just what it costs the city.
So, um, this was run through the city attorney's office.
I know Ms. Michaels, I think Ms. Michaels is here.
Um, hope she's not hiding, but I don't see her.
But, um, she's on board with this,
the city attorney's office.
And, um, Ms.
Pike, who has represented the city, Andrea Pike,
who's represented the city since I think 2020 on this case
and has been up and down our court system with this,
um, you know, in a vacuum.
Is this what we'd want to do? No.
Is this the most ideal thing?
No, but this council has inherited a very big mess
and looking for a way out of it.
This is one way to do it. And, um, so
certainly we can answer any questions.
Thank you,
Madam President. Mr.
Lty. Thank you.
So this is, and thank you Mr. Schroeder,
for your guidance throughout, uh, this entire process.
Uh, this is not a new process.
This is not a new conversation,
but I do want to provide some clarification
of a few comments tonight
that this item was sprung without notice.
Now, the act of placing the item on the
agenda is the notice.
And the first reading begins the process
of notifying the public that we are taking up an ordinance
with the intent to modify it.
And this is in addition to the public hearings
that have already been held as Mr. Schroeder indicated
and fully preserving those zoning maps
and locations as were discussed in those public hearings.
Uh, a perspective I wanted to offer is the difference in,
uh, the desire to
The difference in one present economic characteristic
compared to that of 2018.
A seven years ago, how many marijuana businesses existed
within the borders of our neighboring cities?
From zero to a few. Today, there are dozens.
Now, I contend that the desire to open
and warn may not be as hotly contested
and desired as it once was.
Now, with that said, this council needs
to depart from outdated arguments
and examine the facts as they are today.
They have changed. Now, if you said unlimited
6, 5, 6 years ago,
we would've had a hundred applicants breaking down the door
at city hall for a license today.
Can we say that same thing now,
if I were a business owner looking to open a new shop,
I would be looking next door to see how many of my neighbors
I have and then weigh the market.
And the bottom line is the hype cycle
for this issue is long past.
And for those that might be thinking the worst case
scenario, because the ordinance revision uses the term
unlimited, that does not infer
that the city will be inundated
with the shop on every block.
Now, what it does mean is that these
businesses will be limited not only by the restrictions
that Mr. Schroeder referred to,
but I also believe
that business owners will be practicing self-limiting
as they consider whether
or not their enterprise is strong enough
to compete in an already well established business
environment with our neighboring communities.
For those that do choose to open time
and the economy will determine
who are the strongest to survive.
Now the additional changes,
especially transitioning the license management from a
legislative item to an administrative item,
is not only wise, it's the most effective measure to ensure
that politics no longer have a role in gaming the system.
Folks, that's why we're here today talking about this.
From where we sit, the council establishes policy
as is our role in all manners
regarding the operation of the city.
Now, I don't like marijuana.
I don't smoke it, and I can't stand the smell.
What I dislike even more is missing out on the taxable
revenue as I watch people who live here leave Warren
and spend their money in other cities.
Now, this is a quality first draft of the new ordinances,
the changes, the cooperative effort
of the city attorney, Ms.
Pike, Mr. Schroeder, uh, are very well done
and is noted, rooted in solid legal footing.
Thank you to your expertise.
Now we have the benefit of 2020 vision now
to avoid the mistakes of the past
and make a business decision.
That's what this is. It's a business decision
to turn this into a viable revenue stream.
Thank you.
Mad president, Mr. Newnan.
Yeah. So, um, I believe one of our, um,
grow facilities
that was manufacturing different products is,
has already shut down or is, is getting grad D two
because they weren't really financially viable without, um,
what the, without the revenue of, uh,
adult use and, uh, restrictions on how many places,
how many, uh, marijuana locations, I think were in the city.
It is self-limiting to a large degree.
Also, I want to point out that, um, I no longer,
I used to, but I no longer smoke marijuana.
I don't like the smell.
Um, actually, it, it, it could lead me to go off, you know,
off course even smelling it.
So I,
I would appreciate it if people wouldn't
smoke it while they're driving.
It is illegal and, um, I'm, I'd be in favor
of our police enforcing that.
So, just to give you another warning, um, police,
um, the, the state, there was a referendum.
The people put it on, on a ballot.
The state is, uh, um, making adult use legal.
And, um, we've, um,
inherited this situation, basically this mess.
And we're doing the best we can to sort it out.
Um, I support this move that we're making tonight.
I haven't heard any good arguments to not, um,
I am curious about, um, fine tuning it since
apparently we're gonna allow theoretically unlimited,
but you know, in actuality, quite limited.
Um, adult use establishments to be set up.
Um, if it's more competitive with,
with the surrounding, um, cities to stay,
have them stay open sometime until midnight or something.
It seems like there should be some way in our ordinance for
that to be worked out.
And that might change for some reason over time.
Um, without, actually, it'd be nice if we could do
that without actually having to change the whole ordinance
or like, you know, like bring this all up, uh,
for reconsideration all over again.
Uh, maybe a, um, uh, uh,
the, uh, the parts of the administration
that will be guiding the process of people getting licensed
could come to terms with, with, uh, hours of operation
or, um, I don't know.
I don't know where I'm going with that,
but I, I did hear that some people were interested in that.
Um, and it seemed like a possibly reasonable thing,
especially, uh,
neighbors might like it if they opened up at 10 instead
of eight 30 in the morning, just saying.
Anyway. Um, what else?
Yeah, that's about it. Thanks.
Thank you. Any other discussion?
Hearing and seeing none? I will call the question. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Grogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item. Correspondence from the mayor. 13.
A requested the police department
for an increase in budgeted revenues
and appropriations in the amount of $225,000 to account
for receipt of a grant from the state of Michigan's,
Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement standards,
consideration and adoption
of a resolution. Motion to approve
Support. Lafferty
Discussion? Anyone
hearing and seeing none?
I'll call to question Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr.
Bokey? Yes. Mr. Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is?
Yes. Motion carries. Next item
13 B, request of the city controller
to establish a bank account, fund
and budget for the land bank authority, consideration,
and adoption of a resolution.
Motion to approve
Support Lafferty.
Discussion, hearing, and scene? None.
I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
13 C, request
to approve land bank authority startup funding in the amount
of $25,000, which will be reimbursed to the general fund
consideration and adoption of a resolution.
Motion to approve
Support Lafferty
Discussion, hearing, and scene?
None. I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
13 D.
Proposed resolution to authorize ballot proposal
to renew Levy of 4.6083 mills for police
and fire safety protection millage
and proposed resolution
to hold a special election in conjunction
with the state primary election on August 5th, 2025.
Consideration and adoption
of a resolution. Motion to approve
Support Lafferty.
Uh, point of order. Madam chair, this relu this item
has two resolutions and will require two separate votes.
There's a resolution, the first resolution
is for the renewal language.
The second is to authorize the special election. Thank
You.
Okay, so the first one is for
the ballot proposal resolution.
Okay. Any
discussion, hearing and scene?
None. I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Uh, Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. 13. Uh, part two.
Mr. Dwyer.
Part two is the, uh, proposal re resolution
to authorize ballot proposal to renew Levy
of 4.6083 mills for police
and fire safety protection millage
Support. Uh, motion
to approve
Support. Thank
you. Discussion,
Madam Chair, uh, through the chair to Mr. Schroeder, uh,
in the resolution, it states that, uh,
there may be small changes pursuant to review
by the governor
and the prosecutor, the, uh, attorney General.
Uh, how does that, if you could comment,
how does that generally work?
This is essentially, it's a city charter amendment.
So it files and tracks the process of a charter amendment.
So the state statute requires
that any proposed charter amendment must
be approved by the governor.
And the governor relies on the Attorney general's office to
review the language and advise whether
or not it should go on the ballot.
Um, in reality, the attorney general's office from time
to time will find some, um, minor issues with this
and it can come back
and the council could amend that language.
I don't think there's, I don't anticipate any problem here.
The city attorney's office has been doing these millage
charter amendments for decades.
Uh, but it has to chart, track
that process of a charter amendment.
So, uh, ultimately the governor has to approve language
for a charter amendment, uh,
that, that comes from the council.
So to clarify, if there's a material change to the,
the amendment similar to others that we've done,
it would have to come back to us for approval.
Yeah. Material change, meaning, you know, I mean,
I can't imagine they would change the, the levy, the amount
of the levy or anything like that.
Um, I can't anticipate any material change.
There may be a slight change in wording
or something that they're requesting.
I'm sure that counsel will be notified.
But, um, at the end of the day,
anything material would come back to counsel.
The statute says if they object to it, that it comes back
to counsel for reconsideration.
If there's any objection from the governor
or the Attorney General, but I wouldn't anticipate that.
Okay. Thank you.
And Madam Chair, uh, through the chair to Mr. Fox, please.
Good evening. Mad madam. President Council members.
Good evening, sir. Good evening. Thank you.
I know you came all the way over here.
I, I had, uh, just a couple of questions, actually.
Pretty much. One, I was comparing the fiscal year,
previous fiscal year budget where we had a
4.6343 with a levy of 19 million
with hundred thousand and change.
And this is at 4.6083.
Uh, 0.026.
Difference in the negative yet we're raising, uh, expected
to, to levy 21.2 million.
So, and I've seen in the, in the 10 year
tax and levies that it has historically trended downward.
Correct. And this is due to Headley
and the adjustments due to, due
to the assessments every year, correct?
That is correct. So each year, um,
the city assessor addresses the Headley amendment
and whatever that levee is,
this levee started at 4.9 mills.
And so every year since the millage got approved,
it's been reduced because of Headley.
And today we're at 4.6083.
And the reason why the additional amount is
because of the, uh, the,
the actual taxable value has increased.
Alright. If the math makes sense, then thank you, sir.
You're welcome. I have no other questions.
Thank you. Any other discussion?
Can I ask my colleagues
to move their phones away from the microphone?
We're getting some disruption.
Uh, okay. No other discussion.
I will call the question. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr.
Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item
13 e.
Recommendation of the RFP dash w dash 212 78
to award broker services for a two year period
to Sunflower Realty LLC at a commission rate of 3%
consideration and adoption of a resolution.
Motion to approve
Support Lty
Discussion, hearing, and scene?
None. I'll call the question. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item
13 F. Request
to approve an advisory committee for the use of DDA
city buildings to appoint one member of the council
to serve on the committee.
Motion to approve. And we need to nominate a council member
Support Lafferty.
Madam Chair. Mr. Bokey,
I would like to nominate Councilman Lafferty to this
to serve on this committee.
Do you accept that? I will accept
Support.
Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Congratulations Mr. Lafferty.
Oh, thank you. Next item
13 G.
Request to approve a bond council review panel
and to appoint one member of the council
to serve on the panel.
Motion to approve. And we need to nominate a council member
Support Lafferty.
Madam Sheriff, Mr. Bokey,
Uh, make a resolution to nominate Councilwoman Bindi Moore
to serve on this panel
Support. Anyone
support. Okay. Any other nominations?
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay.
Congrats Ms. Moore. Next item
13 H proposed ordinance amendment
to the nuisance ordinance, article two,
noxious weeds and rubbish.
Chapter 38. This is the second reading motion to approve
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion? Uh, yes please,
Mr. Newnan?
Um, I was wondering if, um,
David would be willing to come forward, um,
and help us to distinguish between this
and the tree ordinance that we passed recently
and where one would fit in
and where the other one would take off.
Thank you. Mr. Israeli.
One's about trees and one's about cutting grass,
one's about trees, and the other one's about cutting grass.
Oh, okay. So this is about cutting grass,
which is our biggest blight problem that we have in the city
and consumes most of my inspector's times when they're out.
Um, we've modeled this
after several of our surrounding cities
and what they do, um, I think it's a best path forward.
Um, it limits the time or it, the inspector will come out
and tag the property, whether the grass is over six inches
tall, they have the following day to get ahead,
cut their grass, then it'll be reinspected.
If it's not cut at that time, we will cut it for them.
So, um, the tree and vegetation
or ordinance, um, also mentioned, uh, NATO plant gardens.
Those will, the ones that the people will register? Yes.
Okay. Um, I believe that we don't have to register.
Oh, that's right. That we we did change that. I'm sorry.
You're correct. And so I'm hoping that, uh, the crews
that go out will be able to distinguish.
Yes, absolutely. These guys are well-trained.
Okay. Um, I'm looking forward to that.
And also, if I'm out of order, then I look Not at all.
I look forward to getting a note. Nope, not
At all. Okay.
No, I mean, like if my, if my yard is out of order.
Oh, yeah, yeah. I'll make sure your grass is, are,
Are, uh, are black guy.
Susan's really not native ever.
Technically, your lawn isn't a native plant.
You, our grass is not native to Michigan.
Native grass is in Michigan. Oh yeah.
Grass is so, I mean, the grasses aren't native. It's,
It's, you know, it is what it is.
I mean, we, that's why we wrote it the
specific, specific way we did.
So, I mean, we're not gonna cut down
anybody's butterfly garden.
We're going to come make sure that your,
your grasses are cut
and that you're not don't have a whole
lawn full of dandelions.
My native echinacea are convinced they're native. Yeah.
And they're saying I came
after them, so they have more
of a right to be here than I do.
Anyway. Hey, thank you so much for helping to clarify that.
Yes, sir. I, I
Yield. Thank you. Any
other discussion, hearing
and seeing none?
I will call the question Mr. Dwyer. Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Bokey? Yes. Mr. Nunan. Of course. Ms. McGee. Yes.
Rogan C is Yes. Motion carries. Next item
13. Aye, which was
formally four J
proposed resolution providing public notice of intent
to sell vacant tax reverted properties at 1 1 2 0 3
and 1 1 2 1 1 Var Warren,
Michigan parcel ID number is 13 dash 34 dash 4 54
dash 0 1 2
and 13 dash 34 dash 4 54
dash zero three for $1,000,
which is $500 each approving sale following 30 day notice
period and accepting grant of easement rights,
consideration, and adoption of a resolution motion
to approve support lty.
So I've wanted this item pulled off the consent,
if you review some of the backup, uh,
both pieces are being sold to a private entity
for $500 each, and they're both assessed at $6,139.
So over $12,000.
And there's no public good or use for the property.
So I'm not comfortable selling them for a thousand dollars.
I'd be happy to sell them for what they're assessed for.
But, um, that is my why.
I'm pulling these off of the consent.
Madam Chair. Mm-hmm. Mr. Lafferty,
Are you asking to have a motion made to,
if you wanna pass the gavel
and make a motion, uh, you can make a motion to, uh,
substitute my approval motion
and we can take a vote on that.
I'll make a motion to table the item, uh,
in directing the economic development department
to re
Renegotiate. Thank you.
Yes, I was gonna say rebid,
but it's not rebidding renegotiate the price
Support.
Um, Madam President, could I discuss also?
No. A motion to table stop zone.
Okay. So I made a motion to table.
I will suspend it for a moment so that Mr.
Nunan can speak, but you are, you're in charge.
Oh, sorry. No
Discussion on the table.
Oh, no discussion. But she
Got it. So no, no
discussion. No discussion. All the question. Okay.
Thank you Mary.
Thank you. All the question, all
The question
I'm lost.
I can't make as president, I can't make a motion
with right when I have the gavel, so I have
to pass the gavel to the vice president.
Oh, the motion is the table which stops discussion. Okay.
So Mel has to call the question. Oh, yeah. I
Call the question mm-hmm.
Okay. To take notes For votes, uh,
Turn your mic on.
I'm sorry. My mic was off.
Statute Ms. Rogan Sea and then Mr. Dwyer
Rogan Sea. Yes.
To table. Yes to table. Newman Newan. Dw
No. Dwyer. First Dwyer,
Yes. To table.
Uh, Lafferty. Yes. The table.
Uh, McGee? Yes. Yes. Moore is not here.
Says absent and Bokey. Yes. It take to the table.
And, and Dave? No.
Mr. Nunez. Mr. Nunan?
No problem. Uh, yeah. No, no.
Are you tabling? Oh, Yes,
Yes, yes. The table. Okay.
And McGee the table. Okay. Motion items Tabled.
All items tabled.
Yeah. Did McGee vote? She, yeah. I Confus.
Next item 14.
Audience participation General topics.
Members of the audience who would like
to address counsel this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form located
on the right side of the stage.
Uh, if you are new, uh, make sure
that you have written your name.
It looks like everyone has, uh, name
and address on the form.
You have three minutes. There's a clock up front Um,
and this is for general topics.
First is Ray DeLoach.
Good evening counsel. Um,
I sent you guys some pamphlets to give a update, um,
to give you a little insight on what's going on over at the
shelter on East nine Mile is 7 0 1 2.
Um, we came up with a, a pamphlet
to show the population
and the percentage of who, what, when,
and where that comes into our city.
That and, and what's in our city, far
as other agencies and other programs.
Um, if you look at the front page of the pamphlet
that I gave you, just a printout for this month passed, um,
the increase of homelessness in our city went up
to about 30%.
Um, since I've been open, um, since people have found out
where we are and where we're located,
people have been being transferred from Flint,
Pontiac Garden City, Livonia, uh,
behavior Center in Michigan,
Detroit Receiving Crisis Center, uh,
a couple from the McComb County Jail.
We have housed them. Um, the day program population.
As you can see, most of the people we assist
and take care of during the daytime of
that population is Mat and Trinity.
That's located in our city temporarily far as the warming,
se warming season.
Um, for the last few weeks, it has increased.
Um, with the help of McDonald's Burger King
and the library on Van D**e, I have staff going around
to each one of those facilities, making sure that anyone
that is registered at my building returned to the building
for the daytime and for the nighttime.
Um, right now, uh, far as sleeping, um,
as you look at the bottom of that sheet, that it has went up
to 60%, um, 30 beds.
Um, right now I have empty.
Um, the rest are governed by those who have come in.
There is no, there is no timeframe for intake.
Um, you come knock on the door. We do not turn you away.
I want to thank Warren Police Department
for dropping off those who are need to sleep at night
and those who are needed in recovery.
I do have a relationship with MCC Crest to where women
and children, um, come to our facility for 72 hours.
They're there and then we transfer them
to a bed at Mccress in Mount Clements.
Um, recently I want to thank Officer Moon
of the Warren Police Department, the family of five
that was homeless, he brought to our shelter,
and we put that family into a hotel for the remainder of
that weekend so they can move into their new home
on the 1st of March.
Um, we had a lady that was dropped off to Trinity
that they had not a bed for her
that came all the way from Port Huron.
She was trying to get back to Tennessee with her children
and her family and seek recovery.
We found out her story was true.
Our organization put her on a Greyhound bus
to a 24 hour women's shelter in Nashville, Tennessee.
Um, right now, far as the usage of the city,
six calls to medical emergencies for diabetics
and heart conditions, and one to Warren PD for
You're at time, Mr. Delora. I'm
Sorry. I apologize.
I was listening intently. Thank you for the, the update.
Okay. Next is Michael Polsky.
Thank you. This is basically just a
thank you to Ms. McGee.
Literally, after years of fighting
with the last administration in the city,
councilman the past, she has helped
to clean up our, our neighborhood.
There's a mechanic's place on the back.
They literally park in our driveways
when we come home from work.
We couldn't get into our own driveways
to help clean things up to the point
where, say just a thank you.
If somebody's actually done something for us
after years, literally years, I would like to ask.
And what she can do, we pull up
and, uh, all of the businesses from the school there,
between down to a nine mile
and up they park on the sidewalk or below the sidewalk.
When we pull out to pull onto Ryan, we can't see traffic.
Say we've complained
and say, I don't know if there's anything anybody can do.
The police have to be there at the time when they're there.
I don't know how that works. If there's something anybody
can do, we'd appreciate it.
Other than that, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Ms. McGee.
Uh, next is Lori Harris.
You can skip. Okay,
Thank you.
After that is Boyd Morrison.
Okay. Good evening.
Good evening. Council president and council.
I'm Boyd Morrison, and I just wanted to, uh, let you know
that I'm a neighbor of Warren
and I come to speak specifically to
lending my perspective on the cannabis topics,
not just in one, but all over.
As a council member spoke about his, uh,
excuse me, dislike for the smell.
Other council members say he
used to, but he don't know more.
But it's still the smell. I just wanna make sure in the
decision from the federal to the state, to the local level
that we always consider the apartments
and these rental units that people are living in.
Some of these places have seniors
by most seasoned people in our community
and have our little babies
that's growing up in our community.
And yet, the smell that you both spoke about,
council members respectfully, is something
that you smell when you walk into these particular
buildings, which I think is a
disrespect to those who don't smoke.
I think council should make sure
and ensure that in your language, whatever you propose in,
of you implementing your ordinances,
that they have some type of offset
or outside of the building for these people who want
to engage in, in marijuana, smokey cannabis.
Smoke it to be designated
before a rental license is issued in these particular places
because it impacts other people's lives.
And the smell. You can be standing in the grocery line
and people walk in and the smell is just so bad
that you just make you feel bad.
Just imagine those people that walk into those apartments
and those things that live in those facilities, that
what they smell it on a regular basis is those
who I guess engage in.
They right to smoke. So I just want counsel to make sure
that you put that as your high priority
to consider those people who don't smoke
and when they involved in issuing rental,
when you're involved in issuing rental license to those
who live in those facilities.
I just wanted to list my voice up to that
and say thank you for this opportunity.
Thank you. Next is Joel Vander Lemon.
Joel Lin, long time worn resident.
I'm here to talk about the police officers and the staffing,
but I wanna talk about it in a different point
of view in a different way.
One that I don't think none of you
have really thought about.
They're working 12 hour shifts.
Being an ex cop as I am at the end
of eight hours, I was tired.
The PE gets a little heavy.
My, i my decision making starts to slow.
And from eight hours to 12 hours, that's
where you start making mistakes
and mistakes cost lives.
But let's look at it a different point of view.
Let's look at it as the officer
himself being young.
20, 21, 25, 12 hours.
Probably not a big deal, but what does
that officer look like after 25 years in the service?
He looks like me. He's worn down.
He's stressed out. He has health problems.
He, some on his console would save him mental problems.
But you got to think about this.
Officer's retiring after 25 years
and he spent worse yet all
that 25 years working 12 hours.
'cause he, his family,
he probably missed his son's first ball game.
His son's first hit his daughter's dance recital,
first communion.
But there's a variety of things
that he'll never have the chance to recoup
because the job had to come first.
And what about his wife? The wife just has a baby.
The husband comes home from work 12 hours.
He spent, he needs time to decompress
and needs time to relax.
He's not eating right, working 12 hours.
She needs a break from the baby,
and he's not there to give it to her.
He's not. He comes home, he takes a shower,
he irons his clothes, he goes to bed, he wakes up
for dinner, and at seven o'clock, eight o'clock,
he's back on the job.
There's no release of emotion.
There's no time with the children.
There's no hugs from the wife.
The wife hears something outside. Her husband's not there.
The children are scared. Her
Husband's not. You're at time. Mr.
Vander Linin. Two. Have a good evening.
Let's just, let me finish. You're at time.
The husband's Next item
15. Council
response to audience
Willing, do that to me.
Mr. Vander. Lenin, you're, you need tos.
You need to sit down.
You've used your three minutes of time. Have a good evening.
Have a good evening. Council. Mr.
Vander Lenin. I'm not. I do not. I, Mr.
Vander Lenin, I'm done. Please move on. Go ahead, Mr. Dwyer,
Through the chair. May I
respond?
Uh, council response to
Audience under comes a response to audience.
I understand what Mr. Vander Linden is saying.
I mean, I've been in law enforcement for almost 40 years,
and 12 hour shifts are certainly not for everybody.
I mean, in the years that I worked twelves,
I really didn't mind it
because what it did was it gave me,
it gives us in law enforcement an additional
71 days off a year.
But as far as missing a lot of things with family
and sporting events
and things that the kids have done, um,
it's really the nature of the beast.
I mean, when we signed up for this, we're a 24 7 operation
and going in, I knew,
and I think a lot of us know in law enforcement that, uh,
there's sacrifices that are gonna have to be made.
And I mean, there were lots of sacrifices that I made,
but I knew that was part of the package.
So I have addressed lengthy hours
for officers in the past here
with us being now 24 officers short,
that if officers are working extended amounts of hours,
certainly it can learn, lead to burnout
and, you know, possibly maybe down the road
jeopardize officer safety.
But you also look at morale.
I mean, we don't have forced overtime here,
but we want to have upbeat morale.
And right now, being 24 officers down
and things dragging along, I mean,
I know there's four in process, uh,
that are going through the background right now.
But we are just moving way, way too slow on all
of this here in Warren.
And we gotta look out for the residence
and we gotta look out for our officers when they're
responding to runs with Officer Safety.
Thank you,
Ms. McGee. Madam Chair. Thank
you Ms. McGee. Then Mr. Bokey. Thank you.
I wanted to thank, um, Mr. Ray for Friends of the Father,
um, on earlier this week, I came by to do a tour
because I plan on doing a tour at, at all the
homeless facilities.
And it was a great tour. I appreciate what you're doing.
I looked at your stats.
Um, um, one thing that is near
and dear to my hardest workforce development,
and you're doing training and development,
and you really have helped them to get jobs,
and I think that's highly important.
You don't want them to stay in that situation
and you try to help them out of the situation into a home.
And I remember while I was there,
a gentleman walked in very excited
because he had found him apartment and found him a place
and, uh, appreciated your assistance.
So I wanted to say thank you.
Um, I send out some, I passed around some posters
to make sure all the facilities receive,
including nonprofit organizations.
So if you're in the house, I do have those from, um,
United Way where people can call 2 1 1 if they need some
assistance and they don't know where to go.
And we're in the middle of making sure that Warren, the city
of Warren is on their list for assistance when needed.
Um, we are all part of the human services that we need
in Macomb County.
So I thank you and I appreciate you
Inpatient Mr.
Bokey, then Mr. Nunan.
Madam Chair. Thank you. Uh, getting back to the, uh,
12 hour shifts, I think, uh, what Mr.
Vander was trying to suggest, it does take a lot of strain,
but why are we in that position to work 12 hours?
It's because we're 24 people short.
Probably another six to eight
that are on family medical leave or leave.
Were over 30 people short.
I proposed a resolution back in November.
It was passed by everybody on this council only
to have the mayor say, you,
you guys don't know what you're talking about.
Well, I, I was a president of a union
for many years in the police department.
I handled arbitrations, um, labor law.
I do that now. And the job I'm in,
I think I know enough.
The resolution wasn't binding.
Uh, she veed it, the mayor's office veed it,
re overrode it again, everybody in the council voted for it.
I guess the only next step is to prepare an audience,
which I'm looking into,
and take it out of the, uh, human resources hand.
Um, it's, this has gone on too long already.
All we hear is promises. Oh, we're hiring them.
We're hiring them. I see more
and more police officers retiring than we're hiring.
And I think, you know, uh, my heart goes out
to the guys where, you know, working those 12 hour shifts.
I didn't have to wear a bulletproof vest like them.
We didn't have 'em back then.
I, I like to see how their back is
after 25 years, you know, all the equipment
and they, they need time to relax
and they're not getting it.
And that's all I gotta say today.
Thank you, Mr. Newan.
Yeah. Um, I just wanted to mention that I am going to the
Michigan Municipal League, um, cap Con, um, next week.
And I thank the, um, the council's office
for helping me to arrange the registration for that.
And, um, I'm looking forward to learning good things
and also to networking for our city.
I think it's an important thing to do.
And, um, when I was on the Centerline School Board,
I had a chance to go
to the National School Board Association once, uh,
twice over 13 years.
And, um, Also to go to the Michigan, um,
association of School Board's annual meetings most years.
I think there was one year that I missed,
but there's, there was a lot of training
and we took a lot of pride in how well trained our,
um, our trustees were.
And, um, also because of that,
because the leadership of the school board promoted our,
uh, at least getting through the first level of training,
which was 10 classes, uh, we were consistently platinum.
A platinum school board where every member had been
through the basic training on that.
Anyway, I think it's good to go out, find out how, uh,
take classes there
and how to work better for our constituents
and work better with each other, um,
work better with the administration.
And if we have any particular problems
that are on our minds, we get a chance to find out from, um,
other people who are dispassionate
and non-biased, what they would recommend.
I've, I've often found that that's been very helpful.
Anyway, so I'm looking forward to doing that next week.
And I'll, I'll even give a, a bit
of rapport if I get a chance,
but I'll try not to keep this long. Thank you. Thank
You. Anyone else?
Madam President? Mr. Lafferty?
I realize I was remiss in, uh, recognizing, uh,
the Warren Fire Department.
We held the, they held the, uh,
wild game dinner this past weekend.
Yep. And Councilman Wyer Noonan,
Councilwoman McGee, and Councilman Bokey and I were there.
Uh, there was a rumor that I was wearing jeans.
I don't know where that came from. That never happens.
But they raised $30,000
in a single evening.
It was, uh, outstanding food and, uh, prizes and,
and good, uh, visiting by everybody.
And all of the proceeds, as I understand it, are being, uh,
donated to our wounded officer, Nick Kott, uh,
who was also in attendance, was in great spirits.
And, uh, you know, loved visiting with people.
I got to share just a, a few moments with him
and, uh, wished him my best.
So, uh, great to see him.
Uh, hope he, his condition improves,
but well done by the, uh, war
and fire department, our first responders,
everybody coming together, uh, for such an awesome event.
Uh, one other item.
There was, uh, a couple of comments regarding smell of
the, of, of the marijuana.
And there, there are two, two types of the smell.
One is from the Grow Operations
and Grow Operations are, uh,
corporate grow operations are licensed within the city,
and they are governed by our zoning department.
They can be, they should be inspected on a regular basis.
They are inspected on a regular basis.
And if there is a smell coming from a grow operation, uh,
that is something that is reportable,
and they, they have to take action
to mitigate any smell coming from a Grow.
Now, a provisioning center
and much of what the, the ordinance that, uh, we,
we did the first reading on tonight
is much like a, a, a liquor store.
You don't walk into a liquor store and smell alcohol.
You don't smell marijuana in a provisioning center either.
So the, the smells from, uh, grow Operations, absolutely,
uh, we have, we have rules about that.
And those, those are enforced certainly want to keep on top
of, of complaints and, and have those addressed.
Mr. Morrison made a very good point about
apartments, uh, multifamily units.
Landlords have the ability to set their own rules,
and I think that our building department
and our rental division should be working with them
to encourage them to promote a healthy living environment
for those residents that live there.
Uh, a ban on smoking on those premises,
especially those that is, are as awful as marijuana smells,
uh, can be banned on those premises.
You have to have, you maybe have designated smoking
areas for those.
My office building, I have,
there's a designated smoker's area well away from the
entrance so that you don't have to walk through that, uh,
to get into, uh, your building.
So, uh, food for thought.
But, uh, those are, are certainly some of the other points
that, you know, we either have ordinances on the books
or ways to improve and strengthen them.
Thank you,
Madam President through the chair.
Mm-hmm. Mr. Dwyer, to, to Mr. Schroeder, um,
is there any state law right now that regulates the odor
of marijuana in rentals
and apartments? Is there anything out there?
Yeah, certainly. The state, the, our legislature, amen.
The law, it allows the landlord to ban
marijuana on the premises
so they can put it in the rental contract
and say no consumption of marijuana on the premises.
So they're able to do that. That was in order.
Some people have medical marijuana cards
and they wanted to prevent people from getting medical
marijuana cards and saying, I'm taking my medicine
and I have a right to do this.
And, and the answer is no.
You'll have to take your medicine somewhere else if it's in,
but it has to be in the contract.
So that's up to the landlords to do that.
Okay. Thank you. That's it that
Anything further? Next Item
16 adjournment.
So moved.
Support McGee. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
We're adjourned. Okay.