I am now calling to meet, to order a meeting
of City Council Tuesday, September 9th, 2025.
Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge all allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands.
One nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty.
Liberty and justice. Roll call Madam Secretary
Councilman Roy?
Here. Councilman Dwyer? Here. Councilwoman McGee. Here.
Councilman Noonan. Present. Councilman Lafferty. Here.
Councilman Bokey is absent.
And Councilwoman Moore is present. Motion to excuse Mr.
Bokey. Support Lafferty. All in favor? Aye.
Any opposed? Okay. Next item.
Next item is adoption of the consent agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Any discussion,
hearing and seeing none?
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? 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 five. Adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion support Lafferty.
Uh, discussion Ms. Moore. Thank you.
Um, we have a couple of items
that were sent over late by the administration.
I'm gonna say this again,
this sending over items late is just not the right
way to do business.
I'm gonna ask that these put on
and if it's not enough time for council people
to make a decision, um, you know, whatever,
and they'll table them.
But I don't know why things can't be sent over in a,
in a timely fashion.
I get that emergencies happen
and we always deal with emergencies
or if somebody tells us ahead of time, Hey,
I've got this coming and we know about it.
But just to say, oh, here's a late item,
like it's no big deal.
It is a big deal 'cause we miss then putting it on notice
to the public and nobody has the time
that, uh, to look at things.
So that being said, um, add 13 B,
which is a resolution
to grant the historic District commission's request to hire
and appropriate funds for grant writer Ryan Cotton
and matching funds if in America two 50
Michigan History grant is awarded to the HDC
and AS 13 C request
for an increase in budgeted appropriations, uh,
from the engineering department.
And I would like to add under, uh, council business,
uh, 12 e discussion.
Read, job posting,
and update Reg.
No, I'll ask that in calendar pending. Thank you. Sorry.
That's it. Any other discussion?
Okay. Seeing and hearing none, I'll call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Laffy? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is calendar pending matters.
Motion to receive and file with discussion support.
Lafferty. Um, discussion. Thank you.
I actually didn't look to see what if
that actually got on the calendar, the letter we requested
that the clerk send to the senior housing commissioner.
And I was wondering if Ms.
Camp you could check with the clerk's office
and get a copy of that and see if that's been sent out yet.
And going forward, we maybe wanna make that part
of our resolution that we get copied on that letter,
any letters that are sent so that we know
what the status is.
Any other discussion, hearing and seeing none. All in favor?
Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is a seven.
A approval of the bills of the general revenue funds.
So moved. Support, labor,
discussion, hearing, and scene?
None. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newan? Yes. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is seven B.
Approval of the bills of the water and sewer system.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Discussion, hearing, and scene. None will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is audience participation for agenda items only.
Good evening. Uh, members of the audience who would like
to address City Council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form on the
right side of this stage.
You have three minutes. Uh, this audience is
for agenda items only.
There is additional, uh, there is time at the end
of the meeting for general audience.
First is Gary Watts.
Good evening everybody. I just wanted to say that, uh,
I would, uh, encourage a no vote on the council
of rules change for filling out the forms.
'cause I think it would put some people at a disadvantage if
there's a, there's a problem with a couple of people, then,
uh, maybe deal with the problem childs.
So the other thing I wanted to say is I see there's another
contract award under the consent agenda tonight for a,
a cement contractor road contractor.
And I guess my comment on that is the reward for doing
shoddy work is more contracts to 'em
almost about eight or $9 million this year.
And the Barnard project still isn't done.
So all that time, those engineering department, they go home
to wherever they live in northern suburbia
and leave us residents behind with the crappy work.
So, um, I really think we need to do something about that.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next is David Metzler.
Good evening everyone. Uh, I am here for 12 b.
I believe that it's a bad idea for the disabled
and those who work late to have to sign in at
that listed time.
Uh, why aren't we doing Zoom? What's wrong with Zoom?
I really think we should be considering that, uh,
we should be allowing more people to speak, not less.
So, uh, I'm gonna be back on 10 BA little bit later,
but, uh, for 13 B, all I gotta say is hallelujah.
We got a grant writer.
Thank you. Next is Richard Meki.
Good evening. Uh, I'm gonna be speaking on, uh, uh,
10 B about, uh, VIP, uh, home
and uh, development when, uh, that comes up.
And, uh, I don't, I think that's a bad idea
because it's, uh, 138 units
and, uh, there's gonna be 200 cars
and there's only one street there
and, uh, it's gonna be a mess.
And, uh, I thank you.
Thank you. Next is Lori Harris.
Hi, how are ya? Um, I wanted to talk about
the, uh, proposed amendment
to the council Rules of procedure.
And as I looked over the proposal, um, the only purpose,
like I can see is to stop the people
that come in at the very last minute
and hang out in the back
or hold their paper till the very end.
And then they have a little tussle
of who's gonna be the last one to put their paper in
and get up to the microphone.
So, um, I guess if that's the only way
that you think you can handle it, um,
but I also wanted to mention that ordinance needs to have,
uh, number three taken out.
So you are going to need to adjust that ordinance, um,
because the ordinance actually says you can only speak at
one audience time,
and that's not what we've been doing.
So I don't want, uh,
so I don't, I don't want, um, that to be,
uh, implemented.
Um, and I, I find it interesting
that we can get a grant writer for the historical stuff.
That's great. But can we get a grant writer for the city
and can we get someone to do marketing?
Appropriate marketing? Thanks.
Next is Mary Mariinski.
Good evening council. I just have a brief comment on 12 B
no, 12 a Council President Angela Roy.
Discussion regarding the
South Warren Community Garden Project.
I just wanna say I just commend that group for doing that.
They worked really hard.
Um, they produced, I don't know how many hundreds of pounds
of fruits and vegetables they
provided it to the people right there in the area.
Um, and I hope we can renew that for 2026.
Next is Joel Vander Lenin,
Joe Valen, longtime warden resident.
I'm here also to complaint about the changes to the, uh,
audience participation I think is wrong.
I think it goes against, uh, many of the good things
that we have going on here.
Seems like mi uh, Ms.
Rogan see is trying to silence the public
as attacking those of us who are, uh, disabled.
I think that, uh, maybe we should do changes another ways.
One of those changes is maybe I'm seating Ms.
Rogan seat from the presidency
and having a new member of council take over.
Maybe things can be handled, uh, professionally, correctly,
and, uh, more respectful to towards all the people.
Thank you. Oh, one more thing. The consent agenda.
Maybe we should put the consent agenda
after audience so we have the right to talk about, uh,
thes consent agenda before you vote on all
these things all at once.
I mean, this cement thing on the consent agenda should be on
the regular agenda, and we should all be able to yell
and scream about another gift going
to the Zuniga or to whoever.
If they're not serving the people properly,
they shouldn't be getting any more contracts. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is Lauren Sandoval Sand.
Am I saying that correctly? Lauren? Apologize.
Hey, good evening. My name is Lauren Shandel. Thank you.
Um, I am here talking about agenda item 12 A.
Um, myself as well as my friends Jeff Matthews
and Zach Kerick are, uh, some of the people
who helped get the South Warren Community Garden off the
ground, along with Urban Seed, which is the East Point.
That is the garden is the non-profit organization, sorry,
that runs the East Point Garden.
It's been a long day. Um,
and we were lucky enough
to get a lease back in June, uh, with the city.
It is non-renewable. And so we are here asking
for initial discussions about renewing that lease.
We've had a wonderful first season.
The response from the community has been incredible.
We were able to give away, uh, probably a hundred pounds
of food by now.
Um, we have 12 beds over there.
We really wanna stay in the community for a while.
Um, and so we're hoping to work something out
where we can renew the lease on that property
or, uh, possibly purchase it.
Um, thank you all for your support.
Um, and, uh, yeah, take care. Thank you.
Thank you. That is the end of audience. Next item.
Next item is announcements. Madam Chair Ms. Moore.
Um, we are having our grand opening ceremony for Station
one on Saturday, September 27th.
The ceremony, the dedication ceremony is from 11 to 12
and from 12 to four is the community open house.
Everyone is welcome to come.
And one more thing, it's not competing with Warren,
but, um, if anyone is interested in passport,
Sterling Heights, um, is having walk-in passport week, um,
from September 15th to the 20th.
No appointment is needed and it's, uh, different times
and dates, but it goes to seven o'clock for sev on, um,
the 15th as well as the 18th
and on, uh, Saturday.
So if anyone is interested in that, you just need
to bring two checks or money orders, um, with you.
That's it. Thank you. Pardon me.
I tell you how much. I don't know
how much they're, any other announcements.
Madam Chair, Mr. Dwyer?
Yeah, I've got a couple different things.
Um, upcoming events, uh, first of which is on Saturday,
September 13th at the Warren Police Department.
It will be the police and fire open house.
And amongst the things that will be there as far
as activities for adults
and children will be a smoke house, a bounce house.
Uh, there'll be emergency vehicle displays, uh,
vehicle extraction demonstration, a canine demonstration.
There'll be a dunk tank.
I'm not sure who's going in that dunk tank
as of yet. I don't
I found any of you.
Whatever I need to do, sign, sign me up.
Um, and then there'll be different displays there as well.
There's gonna be a hazmat and tech rescue unit there.
There's gonna be tank and motorcycle display EMS display.
The SWAT team will be there.
So again, that's Saturday, September 13th from 12
to three at the Warren pd.
Another upcoming event that we have is going
to be on Saturday, September 20th from nine to two.
And that is gonna be put on by, um,
our Animal Welfare Commission.
That's gonna be a low cost vaccination clinic.
And that is going to take place at our DPW,
which is located at 1 2 8 0 1 Stevens,
and a lot of the vaccines and even the microchips $10 each.
That's it. And amongst some of the vaccines that are going
to be offered are going to be the rabies, either one
or three year distemper or ello.
Um, and then they'll have package deals as well.
So again, Saturday, September 20th from nine to two.
And, uh, as far as when you,
and everybody's welcome, all residences also open to people
outside the city as well.
But you gotta remember that all dogs must be securely
leashed or in a carrier, and all cats must be in a carrier.
And that's all I have. Thank you.
Any other announcements? Madam Chair?
Mr. Lafferty? Thank you.
September is suicide prevention month.
And so I'd like to, uh, remind everyone if you
or someone you know is struggling
or in crisis, help is available.
You can call or text nine eight eight
or visit the lifeline Chat on the State of Michigan website
to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
Uh, many people, uh, myself included, have been touched by,
uh, those who have committed suicide.
And so in honor of, uh, anyone touched by suicide
and the families that have been left behind, like
to offer a moment of silence.
Thank you.
Any other announcements? Okay,
hearing and seeing none.
Next item. Next I,
I'm sorry.
Next item is 10 A,
which is a public hearing subdivision lot split request
located on the south side of Collier Avenue, approximately
1402.97 feet east of Shaner Road.
One parcel lot 48 to be split into two parcels.
Section 36 14 0 36.
Collier Scott Skelton,
Skelton properties L-L-C-P-S-L-S
2 5 0 0 0 1.
Is there anyone from the administration that can,
uh, summarize the matter?
Are you the petitioner, sir? Yes. Yep.
Oh, you can have a seat. We'll call you up.
Uh, thank you. Uh, good evening.
Uh, Madam Chair and, uh, honorable counsel.
You want just a little synopsis here on, on what's going on?
It's a lot split on, uh, Collier.
Uh, the lot itself is about 120.
It's 125 feet in width.
A house sets on the, uh, I'm call it the western part of it.
Uh, they wanna split it so that the house sets then on
for the, the new part, uh, 60 foot wide lot
that meets the ordinance.
And the other part is 65 feet in width.
They, um, have got received, uh, the recommendation
from the planning department.
They had a shed in the back that, uh, once identified,
they quickly removed it.
It was not in the right location.
Um, fences along front setback lines
or along the front property line.
We really don't approve of those.
And when we asked to have it moved, they,
they did it immediately, immediately.
So as far as we're concerned, the site's ready, uh,
for a new build.
So that's, that's about it.
Thank you, Mr. Wirth. You're Welcome.
Um, you're the petitioner. You can come up if you have.
Good evening. My name is Scott Skelton.
I'm the petitioner.
Do you have anything to share?
I think you summarized it well.
It's, uh, a a lot that's wide enough
for split into two parcels to have two, uh,
nice single family homes.
The, the existing home we're in the process of, uh,
of refurbishing and getting it back up to standard.
It was not, um, taken care of.
Uh, there were many permits that weren't, um,
before I purchased it that weren't done.
And, um, so we're going through the process
of getting the proper permits and,
and making sure it's ready, uh, for someone to live in.
And then the, the, what would become the new vacant lot?
The goal would be to build a, a brand new home, uh, for,
for someone, uh, to live in there as well.
Okay. If you could have a seat
and just stay close, um, in the event
that anyone on council has questions.
Okay. I will, um, open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience
who would like to speak on the matter?
Okay. I will close the hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action.
Motion to approve
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you, uh, through the chair to Mr. Wirth.
Yes, sir. Thank you.
Good evening. The abutting properties.
Just curious, the approximate width
of the properties on adjacent to either side. 16.
16. Is there what, excuse
Me? The properties that
are adjacent either side of the,
of the lot in question that were asked to split.
What is the width?
Oh, the width. Oh, next to it. That's a good question.
I'm not sure. I think we stated, uh, that the lots were,
um, all
125 feet.
It's part of a, an odd plat.
They didn't, they had large lots.
But that's about all I can offer at this point.
I'd have to look that up.
It, it's in material.
I, I was just really curious as, you know, when we're,
we're building new, which I think is a great idea, uh,
in this, in this case, fixing up one, building another.
What about, you know, the, the lots on either side.
What did they look like? How does this fit
into, you know, the neighborhood?
Well, it, uh, I, I mean, short of
building a really large home, I, uh, I didn't see that, uh,
you'd have to talk to the, uh, petitioner about what,
what the home is gonna be.
But, uh, anytime that we can get a new,
uh, you know, single family dwelling, then we're,
we're working towards that.
So, uh, it, there's a, the proper setback, 25 foot setback.
Uh, we did check that of the, the existing home.
I did look at the, uh,
other homes there, uh, from inspection.
They all seem in line,
or if they are, they might be offset a foot.
Like a lot of times they are.
So it shouldn't affect, uh, negatively the, uh,
uh, the looks of a subdivision. So.
Alright. Fair enough. Thank you, sir. Alright,
Thank you.
No other questions. Thank you.
Uh, any other discussion?
Okay, hearing and seeing none, I'll call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Noonan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item,
Madam Secretary.
Next item
10 B public hearing request
to establish a commercial rehabilitation district pursuant
to public Act two 10 of 2005, petitioner's VIP, homes
and Development, 25 20 85.
25 Cole Drive, Warren, Michigan.
Someone from the administration able
to summarize this matter.
Ms. Michaels, Mr. Wirth,
I don't know who's
I May. Madam Chair?
Yes, Mary Michaels
for the City Attorney's office.
Tom Bato has been working on this project,
and the petitioner is actually present.
Mr. Castano's right behind me.
There is a while back,
the council approved a development at the old Heartsick
Middle Middle School, a housing project,
and that was approved for Cole Street Investments.
Cole Street is now in the process of selling the land to,
um, going mispronounce this, I mean, I believe it's
Just Call it vip VIP, home
and Development, VIP, home
and Development now wants to develop 138, um,
apartments similar to the last plan.
But he's seeking, he's going to ev avail himself of a new,
of an opportunity under the Commercial Rehabilitation Act
to seek a, he's going to file an application
to freeze the land, the building value
at the current value at the past value.
And that would be maintained for a period of up to 10 years.
But he'd pay taxes on the land, uh,
that would help incentive give him an incentive
to proceed with the development.
And he's going, he has more information for counsel.
But the gist of the request tonight is
to create the district.
We gave notice to the proper parties,
which are the property owners, the county, our assessor,
and just to create a district which would give us the
impetus to move forward for the certificate approval.
Thank you, Ms. Michaels. Thank you.
And I understand the petitioner's here.
Yes, you can, um, come up, introduce yourself.
Hello, My name is, uh, Vito Castellana.
Uh, I'm the petitioner of this project.
Um, the reason I'm here is, um,
about six years ago I was approved for, uh,
my current apartment project was, which is next door.
Uh, we built, uh, 74 brand new apartments.
Um, if you're familiar with the area,
it's right next to the Civic Center.
Um, if you go down Kennedy Circle
and turn right on Town Center Drive, it's the community
that's right adjacent to the new Planet Fitness
that they put behind Tech Plaza.
Um, and it's going really well.
Um, we're, we've maintained about a 97% occupancy
and, uh, we're real proud to say that, um, we're one
of Warren's only community over 25 units
that has been built in the past 40 years.
So we think that there's a dire need for workforce housing.
And, uh, that's exactly what this project is, is, uh,
pure Workforce housing.
Um, all of the units will maintain about an 80% a MI.
Um, a majority
of the units are one bedrooms about 700 square feet
and we'll rent for around 1300.
And, uh, the two bedrooms are around 900
to a thousand square feet.
And we'll rent for around 1700.
Um, we're familiar with the market
'cause we've been in for five years
and have been successful.
Um, and we're excited to invest more in Warren.
And, um, we have a, we did some homework
and I'd, I'd be happy to pass this out to you.
It's a, a bar graph that basically tells about all
of the apartment communities
that has been built here in the past a hundred years.
And there isn't almost any in the past 40.
Um, it furthermore, and I'm, I'll distribute this after
and I'm, I'll be happy to, to put it on the record too.
Our average age there is, uh, 38 years old with about 61%
of our residents being millennials.
Um, 29% are in the automotive force,
and actually 12 of our 74 units, uh, work at GM Tech.
So it's, uh, it's really nice.
Another statistic that we liked is, um, 40%
of our residents work within a five mile radius.
Um, and then 20% actually commute downtown to Detroit.
So, um, we believe that there is a demand here in Warren.
There's just a huge void on filling it
because Warren is an older community
and there's really only infill sites left.
Um, this particular community, um, it was an old school
that was abandoned for about 20 years.
And, uh, this project is already been approved.
We're just seeking, um, an incentive to help with the taxes.
The taxes in Warren is, is very difficult
to make a project pencil now
because the millage is very, very high and the,
and the market rents are a little bit lower coupled
with a higher interest rate, it makes it nearly impossible
to build a project without having something like this.
So tonight we're here to set up a district for that, um,
commercial rehabilitation tax and,
and also an existing brownfield that we're going
to be coming in on the 14th to see this project through.
Um, the existing ownership has been trying
to sell this project for about five years,
and, uh, we've gone back and forth
and now we solidified a purchase agreement.
And, uh, uh, I would, I would love to start construction
and, and start building next year if possible.
We would have to seek our engineering approvals, of course.
Um, but we, we could, uh, think that's possible.
Thank you very much. Um, with me, I have our,
our consultant that will kind
of get into the nitty gritty of the request.
Uh, her name is Elizabeth. Thank you.
I think if you can hang out, we'll, if we have questions,
counsel will call you up for additional, um,
inquiry if we have it.
Uh, okay. So I will open the public hearing
and is there anyone, uh, who would like
to speak on this matter?
Hello, David Metzler. I live again on, uh, park Place.
Uh, this area is very landlocked.
Uh, there's not really any outlet near the church,
which originally this property, when it was sold,
they were trying to get, uh, access to, uh, for building,
uh, there are 200 plus cars
that are gonna be on put on the road in that area
because of this project.
And that area's already congested
because of Planet Fitness people going in and out.
I've nearly gotten hit from people being careless.
Um, this is also right across from Lund Manor,
just for reference.
Um, so I have concerns regarding, you know, the possibility
of rats because this area has had trash in it
and has not been cleaned up nearby the flagpole.
Um, which it's also, again,
this conglomerate owns that property.
I would be in favor of a project that would be 40
to 50 condos in the area,
or, uh, single family townhouses, what have you.
But 138 units stacked on top of each other.
I just can't support.
Uh, I also have concerns about parking in the area
once this is developed.
And I understand that this is just for the district tonight,
but these are concerns that counsel has
to think of in advance.
So essentially there's like one way out directly on a 12
mile, which is London.
That's it. Uh, Cole Street itself.
Yeah, they can go to the Planet Fitness area,
but again, it's gridlock in that area.
Um, I'm worried about our property values being hurt.
I support low income housing,
but at the same time it has to be, uh, fitting
with the entire area.
And my property is about 500 feet northwest
of this proposal.
Uh, multiple stories also lead to less privacy
for our neighbors.
For, uh, my residence here, I'm, uh, VP
of city center square number six,
and I'm concerned about, uh, how that could affect them.
So I just wanna throw out some, uh, counterpoints.
Thank you. Thank you.
Is there anyone else who would like to speak on
during the public hearing?
Good evening. Again, my name is Richard Meki
and I'm the president of, uh, city Santa Square, number six.
And, uh, David is my vice president.
And what he said, uh, is basically
what I'm gonna be saying and everything else.
And, uh, it's an ongoing thing
with V-I-V-I-P, uh,
housing and building.
Uh, they have the property at, uh, town center is their,
uh, buildings and everything,
but they do not take care of their properties.
Uh, where, uh, we, where the flag fell is that it's,
uh, always a mess.
There's always, uh, something of, uh, uh,
paper and everything else.
And like David said, there will be a bunch of, uh,
uh, you have 138 units, there'll be, uh,
at least, uh, 200 cars in there
because of the, what the families are gonna bring in.
And that. And, uh, I thank you
for listening to what I have to say.
Thank you Mr. Meki. Anyone else wanna speak?
Ms. Harris, are you coming to speak? Okay,
My first question is, where's Tom Ba Marito?
Um, why isn't he here?
Why hasn't that information been, um, discussed?
Um, I, he's been, um,
AWOL for a long time
and I think that's an important question.
Um, I appreciate Ms. Michael's explanation.
I, um, remember Ms.
Mariinski and even last night at the planning meeting
when we talk about, um,
egress ingress and egress and when there's only one way in
and out of an area
and how hard that is for, uh, the residents and the safety.
And that's what it sounds like, you know, I, I don't know
for sure, but that's what it sounds like.
Um, but I, you know, I'm a little bit confused.
So they're here for a tax break.
They're here for a tax break,
Sir. Sorry. Ms. Harris,
sir,
you have your light on your phone, you're recording.
Yeah. Thank you. If you could turn that off.
Sorry, Ms. Harris, go ahead.
Okay. Um, I understand
financially, you know, what's going on in our world,
but I would like
to know if Mr. Fox can give us information on how many,
how much taxes are we unable to collect
because people are, um, tardy or not paying.
Um, because we have a lot of empty buildings,
and I'm gonna guess that a lot of those buildings,
the taxes aren't getting paid by the people that own them.
And how many tax, uh, breaks are we giving to?
Like, how much are we losing
and we giving away in our taxes, um, to
business to bring them here?
Because the person that's carrying the load then
is me and you
and the, the other seniors who can't
afford more taxes.
Um, so I, I think that's, um,
I think we have to be careful.
I'd like to know the other information of, uh,
how many tax breaks, I can't, what's the word?
Uh, how many abatements, abatements mm-hmm.
Are given in the city.
How many ta how how much in taxes are not collected?
In fact, how much in water bills is not collected? Okay.
This is how much are we missing into our budget
because of things like this, um, would be very interesting.
Um, that doesn't mean that we don't need more housing
and that I don't support people working,
but why are we giving away tax money when I'm the one
that's gotta pay the bill?
Thank you.
Thank you. Uh, let's see.
I will close anyone else? Okay.
Close the public hearing
and I will turn it over to counsel for action.
Motion to approve with discussion support Lafferty
with discussion discussion.
Ms. Moore. Thank you. Uh, number one,
this project has already been approved.
They can build it tomorrow and it's, it's already done.
Um, number two, the state has recognized
that there is an extreme lack of affordable housing
in this state.
Warren is included
and that's why they have offered these incentives.
We've been doing a lot of research lately, um,
in conjunction with the Land Bank
and some other developments
that are on the verge of happening.
And it, we are hearing from everyone, it is impossible
to build that market rate today without incentives.
It's not just here, it's,
we're hearing it all over the country.
Construction costs, um,
for a building went up $14,000 in a matter
of per like a single, an average single family home,
$14,000 in three months.
That's a big number. And so we have to fill that gap.
Um, you know, everybody is aware of the problem.
Um, this is, um, you know, we're,
we're aware of this tool
that the state has come up with this tool.
They've, uh, expanded the,
they've expanded Brownfield and some other things.
S expanded some things, and it's to address this shortage
and I commend you for trying to get help.
Um, that's what it's there for.
That's, that's why these tools are given to people so
that they can, um, do these developments
and fill in where we need the, um, uh, affordable housing.
And you're doing what, what's, uh, a 80% a MI? Okay.
Yes. That at current,
we'll be at 80% N-M-I-A-M-I for all of the units.
Now. Ha are you going, are you applying
for any gap rental gap?
Yes. Incentives. Uh,
On October 14th, we are amending the brownfield
that's already in place.
Okay. Okay. Um, one being,
because it expires two to apply for the gap.
Right. Right. So we'll be back on October 14th.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very
much. Any other discussion?
Madam Chair? Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you, uh, through the chair to Ms. Michaels.
I, The
real city attorney,
would the real city attorney please stand up?
Thank you, ma'am, for being here.
Question for you, the, the Brownfield development that,
or the Brownfield district
that we established several years ago from Mr.
Schafer, when, when he was part
and parcel of, of this project, is
that Brownfield still active and within his ownership?
Correct. Yes. And I'm sure I may, yes.
Yes, it is still active. The current owner
demolished the dilapidated school building
and he did not receive any reimbursement
of, of TIFF A funds.
Mm-hmm. But yet he is, it's still active.
What we have to do is ask for an assignment of
that Brownfield to VIP Home and homes and Development.
And that's part of the reason I asked Ms. Moore
to reschedule the public hearing on the certificate
and the Brownfield so that we could get everything together
and get our, the i's dotted, the T's crossed
because we have to go through the profit process
of assigning the brownfield.
Alright. Now, under the,
the current Brownfield did, was Mr.
Schafer awarded any, uh, return
on his investment in tearing down the
structure from either this No.
From the state, nothing from the authority
Councilman, I'll check with the state,
but not from the city.
I understand he didn't receive anything from the city.
I was, I was more curious about where, where it was left
and if there is any liability on our part to make him whole
as, as part of our agreement.
If there is, I'll make sure when the agreement is signed
with VIP homes, that that portion will be addressed.
Okay. I'm trying to,
I'm hoping it's in the city's favor, but I
can't of course answer that.
But that, that's why I'm asking. I wanted to, yes,
I wanted to make sure it will addressed because
This is, uh, this continues.
I've never seen this before where at least in, in my tenure,
I've not seen us reassign a brownfield
and existing conditions to, you know, a new developer.
So as, as long as we've got that taken care of, um,
and then the, the Brownfield will stay in place,
provided everything goes well,
the Brownfield will stay in place
and we're going to establish a commercial district on top of
that same parcel.
Correct. That's what we're being asked to do tonight? That
Is correct. Alright. And
then on October 14th,
we'll be talking about the exempt exemption certificate
and the terms and conditions at that time.
Yes. Okay. Thank you. Okay.
Thank You. No further questions. Thank you,
Mr. Present. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. Um, Mr.
Uh, let's see if I can pronounce her name right.
Castana? Yeah.
Uh, Vito, congratulations on, um, on being, um,
nominated to the board of directors
for the Home Builders Association of Michigan.
Thank you. And, um, I, I, I like the, um,
the other property that you've already
created, the town center.
Uh, I think those are pretty amazing. Thank you.
I know that there's some seniors in there too. Yes.
And, um, it seems to be something
that's really quite accessible.
How many, um, garages do you have
for each apartment in the town center?
Um, all of the units have garages and town center.
So there's 74 units. Oh no, excuse me.
About 95% of them have garages.
Okay. Yes. There's a, so each, each
Apartment a small, a few one bedrooms
that do not have garages.
Okay. Mm-hmm. Pretty much they have one,
one spot per apartment,
Correct?
Uh, two spots per apartment,
Two spots, one garage?
Correct. Oh, so are the garages holding two cars?
No, one car garage.
So, uh, assigned spaces you could park in your garage
and then park in the spot up front as well
as there's some auxiliary parking
as well as visitor parking.
Because when I, I've,
I've been in there several times mm-hmm.
And I've never noticed any parking problem. No.
I've always been able to get in pretty close
to wherever I wanted to go.
No. Is the parking going to be at least as, um,
uh, have as at least as much quantity per apartment?
Yes. It's still the same ratio. Okay.
And, um, the new community, um, is there are no garages,
so it's all site surface parked,
and we do meet the requirement with access
and handicapped units.
Okay. So there'll be still two spots per,
Per, per door. Yeah. That's
how they calculate it. Okay.
Am I, am I correct in saying that, Mr.
Wirth, it's two spots per unit? Yes.
And when it comes to, uh, the issues that we, we've heard
about, um, traffic jams
and, uh, like I, I figure if there's only one way out, any,
if anybody gets stuck there, then
that's gonna be a roadblock for everybody else.
Can you, can you tell us please? Why?
I mean, I mean, to me, 12 mile
heading westbound towards Van D**e is a dangerous area
with all the retail shops there.
And, um, it, it just seems,
I don't know the way the stop signs
and the turnarounds are, it just seems,
it seems like there's a lot of, uh, a lot
of traffic accidents.
I don't know if a study has been done about that.
I'm not sure. I'd have to contact the seller.
We weren't involved with, uh, getting the project approved.
Okay. It's, uh, we were kind
of just taking over at this point.
Um, so I wasn't involved with, uh, it, it took years of,
between the approval in Brownfield with the current seller,
uh, to get it to where it is now and for me to take over.
But I wasn't involved with that, uh, myself.
I haven't had a traffic study.
I could ask the seller if he's conducted one.
Um, but I'm not sure.
I guess it's the,
the project is ba basically already been approved, correct?
Um, I am curious about that.
I I don't want more trouble along 12 Mile
heading into Van D**e.
And I'd like to know that the people
in your complex are going to, um, have good,
um, roots in and out
Access. Sure.
I don't know whether it is probably too late
to change anything about it,
but it seems like a, it seems like a valid concern
I'd have to look into with, uh, the seller on what,
where they've left off with it.
Um, I haven't had much complaints with our community now.
Um, access hasn't been an issue
and we haven't had any parking issues either, so.
Okay. Um, it, they seem like valid points and I, I yield.
Understood. Thank you. Any other discussion?
Okay. Hearing and seeing none, I'll call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is 11.
A proposed ordinance amendments
to chapter 22 criminal offenses relating to domestic assault
and protective order violations.
First reading. So Support Dwyer
discussion, hearing, and seeing none.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 11 B.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution to opt in
to participate in national opioid litigation settlement
with Purdue Pharmaceuticals and Sackler family
and eight opioid manufacturers
and authorizing the Maron clerk
to execute the Michigan State Subdivision Agreement
for allocation of opioid settlement agreements.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Discussion, hearing, and scene None. Call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 a Council president Angela Rogan.
C Discussion in Ray,
south Warren Community Garden Project. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Thank you.
Uh, so in the packet is a, a letter
that was sent from the Community Garden project, uh,
lists a number of impact areas.
I don't necessarily need to read the, the full record,
it's available or the whole letter.
It's available to the public. But I did want to, um, inquire
with Mr. Schroeder on what would be an appropriate next step
for them to meet with the administration.
I know we kind of scrambled to get, um, another lease in
or an original lease in place
and would love to know what would be the appropriate
next steps for them. And counsel.
Certainly there was a working group.
I know that the city and, um, we got involved
and had to sort of push it to a conclusion.
And so if there's going to be sort of a, a renewal
of this lease, obviously the
council would have to approve that.
Um, but the thought process was,
is there should be a procedure or a process for this.
'cause this is sort of a, was a pilot
project is my understanding.
So my recommendation would be to work with Mr.
Melli, who I know was involved in this. Mr what
Did you say? Uh,
Mr. Mozza to work with Mr.
Melli to get it going on the administration end.
And the council perhaps could appoint a liaison to work
with, uh, the administration
and bring back either a renewal of the lease
or an actual program for this with a program guidelines
and how you do a community garden.
And if we're gonna do more than one, does
that make sense? Might, might
Wanna involve the Land Bank too.
And actually the Land Bank would be, that's a great idea.
The Land Bank could be involved in that as well
because it would, you know, we're,
my understanding is this was, uh,
basically a vacant parcel mm-hmm.
That was used for this project.
Um, there was some convenient public
utilities located nearby.
So those are the things that need to be looked at as well.
Madam Chair, Mr. Lafferty,
The only suggestion I have be being
that this was a pilot program is based on the success.
And we talked about the metrics
and they've obviously set the bar
to a, a very high standard.
There will be others. So this agreement,
this lease agreement should be a template.
One that other groups, you know, that want
to establish community gardens through, you know,
in other areas, we have a template,
we can provide that to them.
You have to meet these qualifications,
these criteria, find your property.
And then maybe with the Land Bank, Ms. Moore, uh, we,
we locate or we designate, uh, certain properties
that would be ideal for these conditions.
That was just discussed at this last conference I went to.
They're, they're putting in some community gardens along
with some of their other programs.
Okay. Yeah. Excellent. Good idea.
Thank you Madam President. Mr. Newnan.
So, um, I, I suppose, uh,
it would be, uh, probably possible if it was going
to be a lease to have it, uh,
extend in five year increments perhaps,
or if it was going to, I don't know
what the land bank involvement would be.
Would that be that the Land Bank would, um,
sell the property to them?
The land bank could lease the property as you stated.
Right now it's a one year, there's a one year lease.
You know, a five year lease might be a long period of time.
Um, I would, you know, if the city owns the property, um,
I, I think from the outset, you might want to discuss
with the groups that are interested.
Um, uh, we might wanna structure it
where if there's some other option
for the property in the future that the city
could, could do that.
But at the same time, if you have a community group
that's putting as a nonprofit,
they're putting their assets toward this,
they might want more than a year
because they're putting in effort and time
and they're, uh, they have assets, equipment
and everything else they're putting towards this.
So these are conversations that will have to take place.
This was a one-off, um,
and it was done really lightning quick, um,
because we were, nothing was getting done
and it was getting toward late spring.
And, uh, so it was done pretty quickly.
So, uh, I think we're gonna have plenty of time, uh,
coming up over the winter months to sit down
and figure this out before the snow melts next year.
Right. It was def it was definitely an issue this year
that, um, they weren't allowed to get started
until there was very little left of the growing season.
Yet they've managed to do great
and they've, uh, put in quite a lot of effort
and material into establishing the place.
I think that should be rewarded.
Um, so I'm, I'm hoping that
that can be turned around quickly.
Um, is it, is it reasonable to make a, um,
you know, aim for about December that we,
we complete, uh, extending their, their lease
by at least December?
I, I don't, I don't know. It seems like probably we should
have been extending it already so they'll know what
that they're growing season because farmers or
or gardeners plan ahead, they have
to get seeds and so forth.
Certainly, councilman, if the,
that's the council's direction to make the decision
by December, then I'd suggest a motion and,
and, um, get this on the calendar of pending matters
and get someone assigned to it
and work, work toward that goal.
Make, I'd make a motion that we get the working group
together and I would make a comment that
I think they can be pretty much assured
that whether it's a lease or purchase
or whatever, we'll do something.
So I think you can probably safely start planning.
I think there's pretty good support here
from everything I've seen
Through the, through the present. No,
No, no. Madam
Ms. Moore has made a motion. Do you want support?
Would, would, would you be willing to make that, uh,
include, um, a December target?
I mean, if it's reasonable.
I, I mean, I don't know that it, is it, what,
what's the magic of December?
I don't know. Oh, is it six months that
It's like better than January?
Oh, I just don't, I don't know.
I don't know what the timeline is to do it.
December, I don't have a problem setting up, but, you know,
but everybody has to be available to meet
and that's not always easy. But
Government does tend to move, so mm-hmm.
Is there a support? Support Lty. Thank you.
And then Ms. Moore. I did meet with, um,
a small working group of folks,
I don't know, maybe six weeks ago.
And it was gonna be sent to Ms.
Michaels, which was adjusting some of the ordinance.
So there is some work that's been done.
It's just, um, you know, slow moving. Yeah. So, yeah. Okay.
Uh, motion in support.
Any other discussion, hearing and scene?
I don't call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 B Council President Angela Rogan.
C Discussion in Ray proposed amendment
to council rules of procedure.
So move Support
that, that, that wasn't all set up for discussion?
For discussion. No, I just asked.
I can't make my own motion. If you hand the gavel you can.
Yeah. Uh, if it's your motion you should, but go ahead.
Thank you. Um, this was, uh,
created a kerfuffle in no way was it trying to be,
uh, limiting for folks.
It, the, I'm open to many solutions.
My request is figuring out a way of making sure
that folks turn in their audience form at a reasonable time.
And those get to miss camp
and myself within a reasonable time.
Um, not to limit folks from being able to speak,
but often there are folks that turn them in later,
miss Camp might miss them.
I forget about them. And it creates a bit of a, um,
just one more thing to manage up here.
So that's the intent. I'm really open to how that looks.
Um, I drafted some language
or took some language from the city of Troy, which is, um,
where this came from.
And this is how they manage some of those challenges.
Madam Chair, Ms. Warren.
I mean, I, I don't see what the problem is.
I don't think we've missed too many people speaking over the
last certainly 10 years
that I've been on council that I don't think is,
I know people play a little game at the end who's gonna
speak the last, and you know, Ms.
Sanker comes in at the last minute and gets her,
and I get that, you know, that's happened historically.
That's just the way things are.
But someone might also come in late to a meeting.
They're tied up or they could be watching on tv like Mayor
Bonkowski, I think he came down, got in his, with his robe
and slippers and showed up in the council meeting
'cause he saw something on TV he wanted to comment about.
So I think that we have to be open to allow people
that opportunity, you know, at the beginning
of the meeting we're usually done within 10 minutes.
So I don't think that would've affect it that much.
And I don't think that's where the problem is at all anyway.
I think it's at the end, that's where you see the problem.
But I don't think we should limit somebody
by the time they're here.
I think as long as they get their paper in, you know,
you can call last call, right?
Yeah. This is, you know, everybody right now get your,
you know, I don't see a problem with you doing that calling,
you know, last call, get your pap, your, uh,
form in MS camp is gonna pick it up and then it's,
unless somebody comes in at the last minute, you know,
which is, is possible.
Sure. But I, I think that might help if you just call last,
is that something that needs to go in the rules?
Um, yeah, we can word it Mr. Mr. Schroeder can word it.
Okay. That'll make sense.
We can come up with something like that.
Yeah, Yeah, yeah. And I think that would,
that's for me that work.
I think the beginning is not, I mean,
we we're done in five minutes usually.
Yeah. So I don't think that's,
plus it's agenda items, it's different. I think. Yeah.
Madam Chair, Mr. Lafferty,
If Ms. Moore is done. Yeah.
And my, my only thought was, of course,
I don't expect anybody to be motivated to come in their,
their rob and slippers, uh, as, uh,
as our former mayor did at, at, at one point.
But I do know in the last couple
of decades there have been some issues
that have been brought to council that generated a lot
of audience participation.
And it, when I say a lot, I'm, I'm talking more than an hour
and a half, maybe two hours.
And it was a steady stream.
People were lined up out the door waiting to speak.
And in fact, I remember the,
my predecessor, Mr.
Sadowski, uh, had said something and, and I liked it.
And then somebody else had said
something and I didn't like it.
And I was sitting at home right next to my, my wife
and I said, I want to express my opinion too.
And got up and I left and went to the meeting
and waited my turn, waited an hour, and, and I spoke.
I, I just wouldn't want to put a, a rule in that would,
that we'd have to suspend the rules just to,
for that type of occasion.
So I'm more than willing to accommodate, I think,
I think the intention is good.
So let's work, uh, work with Mr. Schroeder and,
and put something together, you know, the, the gamification
that that happens today.
Small potatoes compared to years and years ago.
What, what councils used to deal with back then. Thank you.
Okay. Uh, we make the motion, sorry.
The motion will be to have Mr. Schroeder draft language
to reflect our discussion.
Support Dwyer. Support Dwyer, uh, Dwyer. Yeah.
Okay. Uh, I will call the question. Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr.
Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Sure. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Rogan. C as a Yes. Thank you everyone.
Next item 12 C, request to ratify the union contract
between Warren Police Command Officers
Association and the city of Warren.
So moved. Support Dwyer. Uh, discussion.
Madam Chair. Ms. Moore. Uh, great job. Uh, Mr. Fox. Mr.
Guas? Um, I think, have we got 'em all settled now?
Oh, okay.
Yeah, sure.
Oh, fire. Oh,
Good evening. Richard Fox,
city controller. Yeah, we we're wrapping up.
Uh, we just got attorneys
and then, um, which should be wrapped up pretty quick.
And then the last one is fire and we're in the process.
We've got some actuary reports that we're waiting on and,
but we got a good, uh, rapport with the union,
uh, negotiating team.
And we're just waiting for the, some
of the information to come back.
And then Great. We'll be back at the table.
So that'll be nice to have behind us. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Glad to hear that. Great.
Thank You. Thank you. Anything you need
to, that jumps out?
You wanna tell us about you think is something new
or something important or?
No, I don't think there's, I mean, we, I think the,
you know, the main issues were the pay raise.
I think they were reasonable. And, um,
all the groups have been, um, I think very reasonable.
And, um, we've been able to sit at the table and,
and work out issues.
And so, um, I think it's a good contract for both
of 'em on the agenda title, good contract for the city,
and a good contract for the union employees.
Great. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Any other discussion? Okay. Hearing and scene? None.
I will call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
Uh, Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 12 D.
Request to ratify the union contract between UAW four 12,
unit 59 and the city of Warren.
So moved. Support Lafferty
discussion, hearing, and scene.
None. A call to question Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C?
Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is, um, pardon me.
Oh, I just had a, I have one item and then I'll add you.
Okay. Uh, 12 E, which is my item to discuss job postings.
And I just lost my, let me find it again. Um, so moved.
Thank you. There's a support D wire.
Thank you. One second.
So I was reading job postings
and one of the questions I had Mr.
Gaos here, and I don't know that you do the job
descriptions, but there's some language
that was very confusing to me.
Um, and I'll find it
because I was, I was some, I had some
questions and residents sent.
Yeah. But one of the, the next to the pay rate
for library director,
it makes the comment does not include contractual increase
of 7 1 25.
So that what that says to me that that figure is going
to be increased with the contractual and
or is it saying the opposite?
No, it, it should be what is set in the budget.
That could just been a overlap.
This is the library director's job description is approved
by the library board commission
and then human resources just
Post. Right. So
I don't think
that language does not include contractual increase.
I think it's confusing. Yeah. I would not have that.
Um, and I'm not gonna get into some of, I think maybe some
of the duties are, I mean, having the library director
as a job duty collaborate, I don't think the library
as a separate authority has to collaborate with anyone.
Um, but you know, if, if they're okay with
that, so be it.
Um, and Okay.
The police city attorney, so it was originally posted
that the duties were, um,
that the, the administrative head of the department
of law shall be the city attorney
who shall be directly responsible to the council.
That is the charter. Charter Why?
It says the city of Warren
and originally it said is responsible to the council,
the mayor, and the department heads.
In fact, the city attorney is directly responsible
to the council, but provides legal advice in writing
to the mayor and department heads.
So this is just not correct.
I can check in on those. Okay.
It's, it is just contrary to what the, uh, charter says.
Yeah. Um, so we,
we probably should have our job description match
what is legally binding on them.
So that would be, and I think that, I think that language,
again, is on this job, does not include the contractual
that, that, that says something different.
I haven't applied for a job since 1976
and, uh, I just hit 49 years at my job.
Um,
Congratulations. Thank
You.
So I was six.
Um, I guess real fast, uh, I was brought to the attention
of the director of libraries having some issues
with the job description.
Um, a lot of the job descriptions are
provided to us by the departments
or the commissions of the committees, then HR will post,
but I usually will never have to review.
Um, but I recently changed that due to the Director
of Library's job description, having some errors.
Um, they were brought to us after the fact.
So now I have it in my, my duties
to be the final review of everything.
Yeah. 'cause some of the things were in present tense,
some were they the tenses
and didn't match? I mean,
Some of them are grammatical and I,
and then we have human errors.
But, you know, I, I think it's just where, for example,
city Attorney, it's been, uh, posted and reposted
and reposted, and I think that the tenses get mixed in
and then there's no final review.
Um, so I've been working really close
with the communications department to really get
that all shipped and shaped.
Um, we've been posting a little bit more on social media
with our jobs and stuff, so, um,
I'll, I'll look into those for you.
Okay. Thank you. I mean, it's not, it's not life
and death, but it's okay.
I got you. We should try to get things right.
I mean, we make mistakes too. Sometimes.
We have typos and things in the agendas.
I, you know, I know that,
But I see my emails and
I'm like, oh, I shouldn't have said that. You
Know? Well, I see
'em and I shouldn't have said
something too, but it's not my
grammar. Thank you very
Thank you. Of course. Yep.
Um, I, I, and the next item is, um, legal update.
And we should, is your motion on that? No. Okay.
No, he's gonna, I just wanted to bring that up.
Um, I'm not sure how it should, we should have it
as an item on, um, a, you know,
it doesn't have a number on here,
so I don't know how we need to do that.
So that, 'cause he has an update.
I, I was under the impression that if he had one,
he would discuss it at the, of the agenda.
No, no, no. It's, it's to have a, we want a line item,
but, so anyway, legal update would be now.
Okay. Do I what I, what item is?
Well, it's, it's under Counsel Business and Legal update.
So it will be 12 F.
Okay. We're just that. Do we need a motion for that?
I don't think so. Mary's shaking her head. Maybe not.
I, I can make a motion to receive
and file afterwards if necessary.
Okay. Mr. Schroer,
Thank you. We have a
lot of exciting changes coming based on
the direction of the council.
Um, the housing commission ordinance
is pretty much ready to come back to council.
I spoke with Ms. Michaels about that.
Just today, we're gonna have an ordinance, um, to update
how the housing commission is governed.
This ordinance is out of date by 29 years,
and there was a change that the legislature made in 1996.
There was a Michigan Supreme Court case interpreting that,
that made major changes.
And our ordinance was never updated.
It has created chaos and confusion.
We're gonna bring, um, stability to that.
So our ordinance matches the state law
and the status of the employees is in
conformance with state law.
So this ordinance that's out
of date's, gonna be brought up to date.
In addition, um, we have some
marijuana ordinance amendments coming,
not controversial ones,
but some cleanup language where, um, Councilman Bokey
and I met with, um, uh, miss Michaels and Mr.
Elli and Mr. Murphy from the zoning department,
and went over a number of cleanup items.
They want to streamline
and clean up provisions of the marijuana ordinance.
In addition, council member Bokey, um, wants the city
to consider an ordinance about these home marijuana grows,
these caregivers and personal grow, where the marijuana,
um, can be a nuisance.
Mm-hmm. Because it's in the neighborhood
and we have some samples from some other communities.
So that's being, uh, looked at
and, uh, we're progressing on that.
I, again, I spoke to Ms. Michaels about that as well.
Um, the Civil Service Ordinance reform, um,
I've had numerous meetings about that in the past few weeks.
This ordinance is out of date by 58 years, um,
which really I checked around all the suburban communities
and even the city of Detroit.
Um, and we are the most out
of date ordinance when civil service, I think, anywhere.
And, um, the good news is we're
going to bring it up to date.
Um, the current ordinance was based on sort of the
1960s personnel management model, um,
which really focused on record keeping.
And it was more of a reactive approach.
Um, where personnel management,
they were the rule enforcers, the record keepers,
the labor contract administrators.
We now have the human resources model.
We have a human resources department in the budget.
It was just never put in the ordinance.
The cart was put before the horse, but
nonetheless, we're moving in the right direction.
The modern HR model creates an HR department
that will focus on workforce strategies,
building a better workplace culture, employee assistance,
talent acquisition and retention.
Labor relations will be under the HR umbrella.
Uh, some of the highlights will include acknowledgement
of the human resources department and all of these duties
and responsibilities, um, consistent with modern practices,
as well as a changing role for the Civil Service Commission
to match these new standards.
So, um, that will be an exciting change.
In addition, um, we did receive late today.
In fact, I found out after I got here a favorable ruling
on a, a waste transfer dispute.
We have in Macomb County.
Um, council, city Council authorized a construction law
firm, uh, and we had a favorable ruling.
Today. We will, um, it's ongoing litigation.
It didn't resolve all the litigation.
So we'll provide a special update on that as well.
So I can answer any other questions. Thank you. Thank
You.
Thank you, Mr. Shorter.
Motion to receive and file. Thank
You.
Support. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Next item. Next item is 13 B resolution
to grant the historic, am I in the right number?
No, you, I missed one.
Item 13, A request to approve an RFP for display case, uh,
for new fire stations one and five.
And to appoint one member of counsel to serve on the request
for proposals.
I'm happy to do that. Thank you. Ms. Moore.
Someone make a motion to nominate Ms. Moore.
Oh, I would like to make the motion
to nominate Ms. Moore. Thank
You. Support
Lafferty.
Thank you Mr. Lafferty. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Any opposed, Ms. Moore? Thank you. Next item.
Next item is 13 B Resolution
to grant the historic District Commission's request to hire
and appropriate funds for grant writer Ryan Cotton
and matching funds if
and America 2,250 Michigan
History Grant is awarded to the HDC
Motion to approve with discussion,
Support.
Discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Through the chair to Mary Michaels
The real city.
Good evening. Good evening. Thank you.
Uh, the question I had was, the
Ryan Cotton is the grant writer, uh,
who has been leveraged by the city before for his services.
And it's, it's not his fee that, that I'm concerned with.
It's the, that matching funds.
So based on, on the category that we're applying for,
it does seem lopsided the amount of money that we have
to invest for a potential grant.
So is the 15,000 in addition
to the grant writer fees, is that sunk cost
or is that funds that we have to have allocated in the event
that we are awarded the grant?
I believe under a former contract,
it was if we were rewarded.
But Mr. Cotton has been flexible in the past.
I, under, I understand his fee, the $3,000 for him,
but the, the $15,000 for the matching funds,
those are not lost if we do not,
uh, receive the grant.
Correct. Typically
with an application, we have to allocate the funds
and show that we have that money dedicated to that purpose.
So what I'm trying
to ascertain here is we really only have a
$3,000 liability here.
Not an $18,000 liability.
Councilman, I'm not in a position
to give you an accurate answer
because I don't have the backup.
Okay. But that's something I'd be happy to look into
unless Mr. Fox is aware of the specifics.
Okay.
Richard Fox, city controller. I'd have to review it too.
But, uh, Colonel Lafferty, I can give you a call tomorrow
and, and look, have it looked up and let you know.
I normally, the grants aren't like that.
It's usually you apply mm-hmm.
And if you don't get the grant, you don't have to have the,
you don't lose the 15,000.
Yeah. That, that's
My answer. I'm, that's way it would work.
But I'll verify that.
Alright. I'm, I'm more than willing to, uh, carry through
with a, a motion to approve pending the call from Mr. Fox.
And, you know, I,
I don't have any, any further issue with this.
I was at the, uh, meeting, uh, previous month
where this was talked about
and with the, the certified local government, uh, ordinance
that we recently passed.
Uh, this is one of the many grants
that the historic district is now eligible to apply for.
So I think this would be a, a, a very good,
uh, good opportunity.
And there are other grants within this program that,
you know, if Mr. Cotton is successful in this one,
perhaps he can get us even greater grants,
uh, for, for that area.
Our district village is in sore need
of a lot of attention, so thank you.
Thank you. Mr. R. Madam Chair.
Mr. Nen had his hand up. Oh,
Okay. Real quick.
Yes. Uh, I'm curious as how the grant writer was selected.
Was that a, a bidding process?
Uh, have they long been established in, in, uh,
grant writing for us on that?
Uh, does anybody know?
Uh, Richard Fox City controller?
They, uh, Mr. Ryan was hired under an RFP in the past.
His firm that he worked
for decided they did no longer wanted
to be in the grant writing.
So he retired from the firm.
And then, um, in this particular case, he was retained
to do this particular grant.
He's, he doesn't want to be in a full-time position.
He's looking just to help with some grants.
We currently have an RFP out to get a grant writer.
And that process is, is going on right now.
But he is particularly well qualified based on the work
that he is already been doing.
Absolutely. We would probably have a hard time
finding someone else. He,
He did a very good job for
This at, at this price with this ability.
Okay. I, I can accept that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
You welcome. Uh, Ms. Moore. Thank you.
So there was no violation of our purchasing ordinance? No.
Okay. And I would suggest if there's some problem
that comes up tomorrow that you hear,
you can al we can always reconsider Absolutely.
If we, if there's some glaring problem. Okay.
We have that option if there's a problem.
Madam Chair. Mm-hmm.
Once I speak with Mr. Fox,
I'll e send an email to all counsel. Thank
You. Indicating that.
Okay. Very good. Thank you. Mr. Fox.
I will call the question Ms. No. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newan? Certainly.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 C.
Request for an increase in budget appropriations
for engineering.
So moved.
Support lap Discussion.
Madam Chair, Ms. Moore,
I think this just got all confused how this happened.
And this is early in the year
to have budget amendments already.
Richard Fox City controller. Um, I agree.
Um, as you're aware, there's, uh, in engineering,
they have a lot of projects.
Um, as during the budget process process, uh,
a physician got eliminated out of that department.
Um, the director came to me and, and my budget director
and said if we could reclassify an individual in her
department for additional duties, she could,
she could get by and make it work.
And so that's what we presented here this evening. Okay.
Thank you. Any other discussion?
Hearing and seeing none? I'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is audience participation
regarding general topics.
Members of the audience who would like
to address city council this evening may do so
by filling out an audience form at
the right side of the stage.
You have three minutes. This is for general items.
Mr. Watts is up first. And then Ms. Harris,
It's like, I know it's freezing.
I gotta go to rest.
Ah, good evening. First of all, I want
to say I'm disappointed to see
that we're advertising for a city attorney.
I thought we had a pretty good city attorney all this time
and it's kind of sad that things like this take place.
So thanks to Mary Michaels for all you do.
Um, disappointed again, you know, we appointed
this Tom Bato
and I haven't seen him do anything in the six years
that I've been attending TFA and DDA meetings.
And then last meeting he stomped
out 'cause he didn't get his way.
And tonight he doesn't show up for an important project
is absolutely disappointing.
Um, you know, the place that we went through on council,
uh, at nine and Hoover is gonna be
abandoned going out of business.
I think we did an abatement on that.
Might wanna look into that.
'cause I know we did AB there was abatements on our vans
when they went out and nobody ever did anything about it.
The other administration pre promised they were gonna look
into that and they didn't do anything.
So that's a concern.
And last thing, very disturbing over the weekend to see,
uh, a member of our planning commission attacking
our police and fire millage.
I really, really think that's conduct unbecoming.
I can't believe that anybody would do that.
Attack money that's gonna fund our police
and fire department, something we need so badly.
But he doesn't, that person doesn't say anything about
the triple amount they're paying
for school taxes is strictly going after police and fire
and that's very disturbing.
I hope the administration actually takes a look at whether
they keep that appointment there.
And again, I also also, uh, uh,
remind everybody when I looked at BSNA,
he hasn't paid his taxes in two years either.
So thank you.
Thank you. Next is Ms. Harris.
After, um, Ms. Harris is Keith Sadowski
and there is someone that filled out a form that says,
good citizen, you have to use your name on the form.
Sorry, Lori Harris. Alright.
Uh, for anyone that's watching
that didn't watch the planning meeting last night, uh,
there was an item on the planning meeting
about a mosque on Shaner Road that wants to put Ettes up.
And the residents appeared
and had a lot of really important information to impart
to the planning commission
and about the traffic, the parking,
the hazards, um,
and the disrespect for the people coming to Friday, prayers
to, to this mosque.
And unfortunately, the people on the planning commission did
not think clearly
and table this matter when they heard all the complaints
from the neighbors and concerns.
And as an outsider listening, the person in charge
of the mosque, I felt, really talked down to the neighbors
and tried to make them feel like they were the problem
because they weren't.
They just didn't accept, they weren't willing
to give 35 minutes, uh, to let people have their worship.
Um, and I found that really upsetting.
And if people rewatch that meeting,
I think you'll hear more of that.
A lot of turning it back on the neighbors.
And that's not right.
And because we have a culturally diverse city
and a culturally diverse planning commission, um,
we have an issue with, um,
despite the information that that was
provided, it was voted on, um,
to approve it, um,
by the people on the commission that are Muslim
and by some that are not Muslim.
But I think that we're going to have a hard time
when these kinds of things come up if people aren't willing
to listen to all the facts and to pay attention
and to understand that, that you can table something
doesn't have to be voted on.
We could table things here that come to you guys
if there are concerns.
Like, very interesting that you get a last minute thing for,
uh, you didn't read what the engineering department wanted.
You didn't read it all out.
And we don't have that in a backup.
Um, but it turns, it sounds like it was, uh,
changing a position, a classification
of a position in the city.
And other departments are having trouble with that.
So how did engineering get to do it, like right away?
So, uh, those are my comments. Thank you.
Thank you Keith Sadowski. And then after, uh, Mr.
Sadowski is, uh, Joel Vander Lemon.
Hi Keith. Good evening Counsel.
Uh, first I wanna wish, uh, Mindy Moore a happy birthday.
Uh, her birthday was what, on Saturday or was it a Friday?
She, she, she doesn't wanna comment Saturday.
Okay, thank you. Um, I wanted to speak about the, uh,
hazardous waste day that we had over the weekend.
Um, it's one of those, uh, services that the city offers
that I think is wonderful.
Um, one of the problems though that we had this weekend,
and I don't know if it was just so much participation
that we had, but for whatever reason, it took two
and a half hours to, uh, go from, uh, start to finish on it.
So, uh, a lot of waiting.
And the concern that I have is, um, not so much the weight
or anything like that, but if we're going
to have long lines like that
and it's going to take a while, I'm just afraid
that people are just not gonna participate in the future.
And I'm not sure if it's something that we,
we may wanna look at as maybe doing twice a year, uh,
and see how, see how things go.
I mean, maybe next year it won't be as crowded
'cause we had so much stuff going on.
Um, like I said, I think it's a wonderful
service that we do.
Uh, it keeps a lot of, uh,
terrible stuff out of the landfills.
So, um, and maybe it's something that, uh, Macomb, um,
uh, 'cause I think it's the, uh, county that, uh, helps
to put that on and, and, and supervises that.
But, um, again, my, uh, my recommendation is
that we look at it and then maybe for that day, maybe
what we do is we set up even two locations
so one doesn't get, uh, over flooded.
So you could do one, maybe even here at the community center
and also on frasso.
So, thank you counsel. Good seeing everybody.
Thank you. Thank you. Next is Joel Vander. Lenin.
After Mr. Vander Lenin is Wesley Arnold.
Joel, vain, long time worn resident.
I gonna complain about the same thing.
I've complained the last few meetings
I have filed FOIAs I have gotten letters saying, uh,
we received your foia.
Uh, I haven't heard anything since I've gotten a few, uh,
uh, denials,
which I have put in, uh, the proper paperwork for them
to be reviewed by this council in a hearing.
Uh, I haven't heard nothing on that.
Has this city stopped doing freedom of information
XI
Mean, why, why are we not getting this information?
And we should be getting it.
And if we're not getting it from the mayor,
this cons should be on behalf of the citizens
of Warren taking her to court.
Now, uh, there's a theme earlier today, uh,
about the announcement about the, uh, fire department, uh,
the last opening of the fire department.
I was looking over all the photos and stuff
and I couldn't understand why
Michael Howard is in those photos.
Did he vote or do anything for that fire station?
No. Does he have anything to do with the city of Warren? No.
Has he done anything at all for anyone besides himself?
No. So with the opening of his next fire station,
will you please take all these wa bees
and push them to the side
and had the proud people that did work
for the Citizens Award stand up front
and get their pictures taken?
Thank you. Have a blessed day.
Thank you. Next is Wesley Arnold, and
after Wesley is Gloria Sanker.
I am Professor Wesley Arnold.
Warren historian, long time resident.
Thank you Warren City Council for your service
and for your infinite patience.
Uh, just a short note.
I used to teach at McComb College Information
Technology for 30 years.
Uh, anybody in fact, public, if anybody, those of you
who have Gmail, change your passwords as soon as you can.
It has been compromised
and they're out there for the bad users
to take advantage of it.
So if you have Gmail, change your password right away.
Okay? Uh, I have placed, uh,
two over 2000 resources
on a website.
Warren michigan.fyi.
These resources are very useful to warn residents.
I think I got 2,700 lines of, uh, resources.
I used to be a social worker, so I no,
just a little bit about resources.
So these are very useful for Warren residents.
It's Warren Michigan. Fyi.
Okay, now, council members, you should have, uh,
I hope she passed these out to you.
Uh, a little pink sheet of paper.
Uh, there is a, a item here.
Uh, please look at this item.
Uh, I'm not gonna give it public
because of the seriousness of this.
It has to do with, uh,
rail cars, tanker cars passing through.
Warren, a few years ago,
another veteran did some research on it
and that was put out in the public.
And, uh, I did a little bit of research
and then they come by.
Uh, he, he went and told the mayor about it.
And then the FBI could come by and search his house
and confiscated all of his research.
So I'm not a go out about to go out there
and do that kinda research
'cause they'll be at my house wanting to lock me up.
But anyway, read this item.
And, uh, I also gave you, uh,
my little card with my phone number.
Uh, if you can give me a call,
I can tell you just a little bit more.
I'll be short and quick,
but there's a little bit more you should know.
And it really needs counsel to
pass a little bit of legislation.
Is that the right word? Um, preventing this
certain kind of liquid from passing through our city.
I think you can do that. I'm not sure.
Legal will have to, you know, let us know. Okay?
So that's very important.
Please, please contact me or you can do email too.
Um, last of all, you're
At time Mr. Arnold.
Okay. Over 2000 resources on that website.
Warren, Michigan. Fyi, thank
You're at time. Thank you
Ms. Sanker. And then after Ms. Sanker is Barbara.
I think it's Wyatt. Okay.
Good morning Counsel. Good afternoon, good evening.
As a lifelong resident of Warren, I have lived the longest
at nine Mile and Van D**e area.
All those years I felt we could do something to revive
that part of the city.
Fix Nine Mile Road and Van D**e to invite
and welcome residents and others to stop and shop.
Now it's just a drive through with no destination.
Those who thought of reviving put in a couple of fast food
restaurants that did nothing to revive the area.
To have someone make a conscious stop
to bring any revenue there, we need
to copy other successful cities
to turn my nine mile in Van D**e into an area of interest
that might include colorful awnings for storefronts,
classy lamp posts with hanging floral baskets,
coming up with a theme for that area.
We'll get some driver's attention.
It could be a feature of Christmas land at Christmas time
with numerous decorated trees.
This is a sure example of passing the buck
by politicians through the years.
We are losing too much ground by ignoring problems
that aren't going away.
They need to be fixed.
Will any of you take on this project to make the city
of Warren at nine Mile in Van D**e?
Uh, a second destination.
Again, nine Mile is an important part of our city.
It's where the city originally started.
City Hall was located there as well
as several city departments.
It was all about nine mile in Van D**e back in the day.
Now through the years, nine Mile has been forgotten
and little to no attention has been brought there to revive,
revitalize, or beautify that once very important area.
It's always about money, I suppose.
But now we have a solution, don't we?
We just approved any
and all marijuana pot houses through the city.
We are getting millions of dollars as revenue.
Isn't it time? We take a second look at Nine Mile in Van
D**e and give it a facelift, give it some valuable ideas
and upgrades to bring people back to
that once most important part of our city.
Let's renew the South end
by renewing nine Mile and Van D**e. Thank you.
Thank you Ms. Wyatt.
Nine Mile Van D**e was called Garland.
Garland.
Good evening. Good evening. I'm Barbara Wyatt.
I just moved. Well, I've been here nine years now.
I was in the eight mile area over on
what would be gra and eight Mile.
Now we have moved to 12 Mile from Frank, moved back
because of my husband's illnesses for the hospital's sake.
All of a sudden we have this moss on Shaner that wants
to put up the pillows and all this.
And they only have room for 32 cars.
I'm in the loop around. It goes in a circle.
Like for them to come in and come out.
They block us every Friday. No consideration.
Very rude. I've had to call the Warren Police
because I was blocked in over on De Deanna
or Deanna Road and couldn't get through
because they wouldn't back up.
They wouldn't go forward and they
wouldn't speak my language.
So guess what? We got into it
and I just said, Hey, I shut my vehicle off.
I'll call the WARN police and let them do it.
They had them to back up.
I was in the right, not the guy,
but my concern is the guy said he wanted to
redo the front of the building and everything.
That's gonna bring more people in.
So were we going to issue the parking?
There's only one way in that place.
No way out Car catches fire. Everybody's in there.
They can't get out the cars. People's in there.
They say it's for 150,
but someone counted last Friday, 249 people going in
Fire Department won't tell us
how many people can go into that building.
I'm just concerned. Have some respect for us.
You know, that's all I am asking. You can't talk to them.
They're gonna say I'm sorry, I, you know,
can't do nothing about the people parking on the road
or how they act or if they flip you off
or they threaten you.
I I grant you,
the guy from the mosque can't, I don't wanna go there.
I don't wanna talk to the gentleman,
but I want the Warren C counselor or whoever's gonna do it
because I'm new to Warren.
Again, I'd like to know how you work it,
but to me it's not working out too good.
They wanna give them a grant for those PS
What are we gonna have the speakers?
The next thing? We're gonna have
to listen to them on a Friday.
I don't care to do that. I'm 78.
My husband will be 82 tomorrow.
His birthday is in September two.
But you know, I love Warren. That's why we moved back.
But I'm getting to hate it every day.
The cars are whipping up and down my street. You're at time.
That's fine. Thank you very kindly.
Have a good evening. That is the end of audience.
Next item is council response to audience.
Madam Chair, Ms. Moore.
Um, some comments were made about Mr.
Bato not being here, and that's disappointing again. Um, Mr.
Lafferty and I reached out probably six weeks ago now,
and, um, had some proposals
and some ideas about town center.
And we've been waiting for Mr. Baum to get back to us.
We went with him and said we really wanted to work together.
Um, if we're going to get the court
and the um, town center going, we have to work together
to get that accomplished.
At the end of the day, council makes that final decision.
So we need to be cooperating.
Now, we've not heard back from Mr.
Bato and there is a steering committee meeting
on, um, Friday.
I'm not sure what that's about
because we've never gotten, he's not gotten back to us yet.
So, um, to address Mr. Watts, I believe
that nine mile per uh, um, uh, business,
it's only personal property.
I don't think there were any abatements given
on the actual property.
And, um, what else here? I don't see anything.
Um, but it was nice to see you. Uh, Keith. Mr.
Sadowski sat next to me for four years
and harassed me, but thanks for coming.
Appreciate your service
for all the many years you were here.
Thank you. That's it
for me, Mr. Newan.
Sorry. Yeah. So, um, I'd like to, uh, reply
to what Ms.
Sanker was saying. I thought that she had good points about
the, uh, nine round Van D**e area.
And, um, there is a Van D**e corridor plan
document, which, uh, I hope that the council will approve.
Um, and, uh, a lot of good thought has gone into
what we can do to make, um, the oldest part basically
of our city, um, refresh.
And currently also, I've been getting complaints about,
uh, the sidewalks and the roads.
Uh, and, and well, the roads around Vandyke in the south,
um, have a lot of deep potholes
and I don't know whether our city is waiting to repair those
until after we get going on the bin van D**e corridor plan
or, or, uh, what the problem is.
But it's, it's definitely a problem. So that's it.
Thank you. Any
other responses?
Okay, next item. Motion to adjourn
Support court.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? We are adjourned.
Goodnight everybody. Good? I, we're gonna be happy.