Good morning everyone.
Thank you for being here. What I was elected mayor nearly
two years ago.
I saw the opportunity to build upon the work
that I had done previously in the state legislature
to advance, uh, the, and improve accessibility
and lower barriers to inclusion.
My work in our community made me aware of some
of the criticisms of the city of Warren's accessibility
and, uh, compliance
and meeting standards for the federal
Americans With Disability Act meeting with city departments,
I had several realizations, including
that there was already a lot of work being done
to improve accessibility and lower barriers.
And while it would be easy to take credit for all
of the improvements, since I've taken office,
I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due.
And this brings me to another realization.
Well, civil servants are about showing up
and doing the work.
They're not about tooting their own horn.
And so the opportunity for improvement, as I recognized it,
was the need for communication about the work
that was already being done, the plans and progress,
and the opportunity to provide a reality check
on why sometimes improvements are not being done
at a light switch pace.
We are identifying millions of dollars of projects
between city buildings
and parks that must be budgeted for over years.
And while I have this opportunity,
I've had a community member reach out to me.
And, and this goes hand in hand with the work
that we have been doing, asking for,
uh, official proclamation.
And so I would like to, uh,
invite up Kareem from P-S-I-P-C-S-I,
who is doing work in providing individuals
with disabilities in our community
with access in the workplace.
And so, in recognition
that October is National Disability Employment Awareness
Month, I'd like to offer the following pre, uh, proclamation
that October, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary
of National Disability Employment Awareness Month,
a time dedicated to honoring the contributions of workers
with disabilities, educating the public about the value
of inclusive workforce,
and promoting equitable employment practice
across our nation.
The City of Warren encourages employers, policy makers
and community leaders to promote employment policies
and practices that support the recruitment, retention,
and advancement of workers with disabilities.
This year's National Disability Employment Awareness month
theme is access, equity and Opportunity Advancing Inclusion.
Together, the city of Warren reaffirms its commitment
to fostering an inclusive, accessible,
and supportive environment where all individuals,
including those with mental health conditions
and non-obvious disabilities, regardless of ability,
can achieve their full potential.
And so, I Mayor Lori M. Stone due,
hereby proclaim October 25th,
is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
for the City of Warren.
Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you.
And it just goes to show the work we are doing goes beyond,
um, recreation.
The work that we are doing is about access and inclusion,
but it is also about employment
and full participation in community.
Which brings me to why we are here today
after it is fair to say years of work by our task force
compiling research studies
and plans, we are at a point
where we have created our draft, a DA transition plan
to present to the community more than a plan.
This is a promise to the people of Warren to
continue the work needed to achieve inclusion
and equity as long as there is work to be done.
I'd like to recognize some of the co, um,
the transition plan contributors city, a DA coordinator,
and city attorney Caitlin Murphy, uh,
human resources director, Gar Jared Gios,
communications web specialist, Catherine Montalto,
purchasing agent Craig Repa, city engineer.
Tina ghi, public service Director, David Muselli,
public service admin supervisor, Steven Campbell,
assistant City Controller Mark Map,
community development supervisor, Angela Teko, parks
and Recreation Director Anthony Ante,
building maintenance Director Jeff Reeves
and the entire engineering department.
Working closely with Adriana Melcor from Hubble,
Hubble Roth Clark on transition plan, preparation,
and city building assessments, as well as John Ola
with NOAC Rouse Engineers on Parks
and Recreation Facility assessments.
In addition to monthly meetings of the task force,
Kaitlyn Murphy provided updates
and solicited feedback from members
of the Warren Commission on Disabilities.
That's chairperson, Rita Tron, John Couture, Taylor Johnson,
Karen Keffer, and Aaron Tron.
A lot of work has been d has gone into creating this draft
document being presented to you.
However, this civic engagement piece
will be important in finalizing this document.
We need your input once you are
provided the overview of this document.
This presentation will be available online for the rest
of the month, along
with the draft transition plan document, and a survey.
We value your feedback, ideas, suggestions,
questions and concerns.
Feedback will be incorporated into finalizing this document.
And so we thank you for being active stakeholders
and finalizing this document.
Thank you for being part of this process.
This is a living document that will grow with our city.
It will change as the city changes,
but our baseline moving forward starts here.
And with that, I'm going to hand it off to Adriana. Welcome.
Hello, I am Adriana Milker from Hubble Roth and Clark.
I am a licensed architect.
Um, I'm responsible for the building related a DA concerns,
um, and also a contributor, uh,
in preparation, the transition plan.
Uh, the prior slide showed the introduction.
That was the first section of the transition plan report.
Uh, now we're gonna move into the second section,
which is the report overview section.
Um, the starting point for this section was to
identify a DA requirements first.
Um, and so you can see on the screen there's five titles
that address various accessibility concerns.
Um, and my focus was mainly on title three,
but we did cover all areas in the consideration
for the preparation of the, the transition plan.
And then we move into transition plan requirements.
So the, can you speak up a little bit? Sure thing.
Alright, thank you. The US Department
of Justice's Title two regulations, uh,
have specific requirements
for what's included in an a DA transition plan.
And so it includes the four items that are listed.
Um, obviously there needs
to be a dedicated person who's in charge of the plan.
Uh, there's evaluation
and inventory, a timeframe for addressing issues.
Um, and there needs to be a plan in place for how
to address the issues.
And now I'd like to introduce Caitlyn Murphy,
who is our designated official.
So, Hello, my name is Caitlin Murphy.
I work in the legal department.
Um, but I'm here in a little bit different capacity this
morning, um, as a designated official
or the a DA coordinators someone.
So some people know it as, um, so I'm also one
of the a DA coordinators.
So we have a very large city.
So we have quite a few a DA
coordinators in different departments.
Uh, Anari Ross, who's in the audience today, uh,
is the a DA coordinator for the 37th District Court.
We have, uh, Jared Gaos Gaos, uh,
who is our internal a DA coordinator.
Uh, so he does with all the employment, um,
reasonable accommodations.
Um, and then we also have Lieutenant Hanock
at the police department.
He is not here today,
but, um, he is, is the contact for the police department.
We all sort of work together.
Um, so a little background about myself. I am an attorney.
I've been an attorney for about 15 years now.
Uh, 12 years in the city of Warren, uh, legal department.
And I'm also the legal advisor
for the Commission on Disabilities, which I have been with
since the beginning for about 12 years now.
So, um, and that's, I think, the only commission
that I have stayed on for that long.
So, um, so about a year ago,
I think city council formally appointed me to be the
a DA coordinator for the city.
Um, so the first thing I did, which is any good daughter
of a research librarian would, would do is research.
So, looked at all the laws, looked at all the regulations,
watching webinars, um, actually talked to some other,
a DA coordinators, looked at
what other municipalities were doing.
Uh, and I basically just came down to like,
it's in the name, it's coordinate.
Um, so I looked, people I like working
with in the city, sort of brought 'em together,
realized we had a really good start, like the mayor said,
um, we had done some work,
it just hadn't been all coordinated
and put into a transition plan.
So, um,
so you'll see my name plastered all over the city now, um,
website out in the hall.
And any of the notices, you know, how to get ahold of me,
we have a specific email that actually gets forwarded
to my email phone number if you wanna send me a letter, uh,
send it to the legal department.
Don't get a lot of letters,
but if you want to talk to me that way, that's fine.
Um, and if you wanna go to the next slide.
So this is our sort of our mission statement.
Um, a DA act notice, it's also plastered all over.
Um, so I know it's small,
but if you guys wanna review it later, look at it out here,
look at it on the website.
Um, but it's just sort of a, a mission statement, a summary
of what, uh, we're committed to doing here in the city.
Um, and so when I was reading over, uh,
last night, sort of what, um, a DA is all about,
and I came up with two things, and that is inclusivity
and communication.
Um, and so this is the communication part, both through me
as well as through this transition plan.
Um, so we're really hoping, like the mayor said
that you guys will take the survey, go online,
look at the transition plan, um, and,
and participate so that we can make this plan
draft plan even better, um, than it already is.
So we gonna go to the next stage. Okay?
And so this is also part of the communications aspect of it.
The, the federal government wants us
to call it a grievance procedure.
I prefer complaint resolution procedure.
Um, it sounds a little political, I know,
but it just seems like it should be more of a conversation
coming up with solutions.
And that's what we're trying to do here in the city, um, is
to listen to what you guys are asking us to do
and coming up with solutions.
If you are unsatisfied with that answer that I give you, um,
there is ways to appeal, uh, to, there's an internal appeal
and there's also appeal to the Department of Justice.
Um, and so if you want to go there,
or you can always appeal internally.
And, but like I said, we do work towards trying to work
with the community to make a satisfactory, um,
resolution to any complaint
or accommodation you're requesting.
So with that said, I'll take it back to Adrian.
So this leads us into the third section,
which is the transition plan summary.
So we looked at, uh, methodology,
and the methodology was
for assessing physical buildings and sites.
Um, and the main standard we used, as you can see,
is the Department of Justice's 2010, a DA Standards
for accessible design.
Um, data collection was done during this phase, um,
and includes physical surveys, so, uh, visual assessments
as well as taking measurements of distances, slopes,
pull force on doors, that kind of thing.
Um, and then functionality reviews.
Uh, so more high level review of floor plans for
overall access, um, alternative compliance opportunities
and building limitations.
And the public engagement aspect of the plan is critical.
And that's sort of what we're doing today.
Um, it's critical to the success of this endeavor.
Um, and there a number of ways
that the public has an opportunity
to have their voices heard, uh, as part of this process.
So, public meetings, as I said, today,
we're having one of our public meetings.
There's also another one on October 20th.
Um, and we encourage you to participate either online
or be physically in person.
Um, there's also an online survey, as we mentioned, um,
at the city's website.
It's going live today. Um,
and the web address is
actually included in this presentation.
Uh, you can also just go to the city's website
and type in, uh, a DA survey, we'll take you right to it.
And then the transition plan, um,
webpage on the city's website, uh,
is also a great source of information.
There's lots of stuff there including, uh, the actual draft
of the plan for review.
Um, and this post,
this presentation will also be posted there.
And as far as, um, barrier removal procedures, uh, one
of the four requirements, as I, I listed
before of the plan is to identify how the city, uh,
is gonna remove barriers.
And so there's gonna be physical changes
to the spaces, obviously.
Um, but then there's also other ways there's,
so we can provide other ways of delivering services, um,
and the use of amenities that can be more accessible.
City contracts, there's now certain language,
specific language in contracts, uh,
that requires a DA compliance, uh, so that it is understood
that accessibility is a requirement
and not just a good idea in all new work.
And here are the action items that the city's established
to ensure that everyone is fully committed
to upholding their current current a DA compliance, uh,
practices, as well as making it a priority to
increase accessibility wherever possible.
And this brings us to the third section
of the transition plan, uh,
which is the self-evaluation section.
Uh, and it gets into the specifics of the findings
for the facility surveys, as well as the city's programs
and services that they offer.
Um, and as you can see on the list to the left, uh,
there were nine buildings surveyed, uh, and 30 parks.
There are, uh, a number of compliance priorities, uh,
as you'll see in the middle category, uh, it goes
through priority 1, 2, 3,
and four, priority one being the most important, uh,
because it's accessible approaches and entrances.
So we wanna make sure that we get people into
the building in the first place.
There's no point in, uh, you know,
making a phone accessible if there's no
accessible entrance to the building.
So we focus on priority one first, then move to
priority two, priority three, and then priority four.
All of these are certainly still important,
so it's not like we're gonna just
consider priority one items.
Um, but that was how we kind of ranked, uh,
items in terms of the assessment.
Um, and then there will be buildings
that will be done in the future, uh, as part
of, uh, future endeavors.
Um, and then as far as, um,
how the buildings were broken down, uh,
they were broken down into three packages.
So the first package would be the most high priority.
Um, that one roughly about $1.9 million.
Second priority, almost a million dollars.
Um, and third priority is about 600,000.
So, uh, overall about three
and a half million dollars
of a DA building related improvements, uh,
for those nine buildings
that were surveyed in the first part.
Um, and not the, the goal of,
of the $3.5 million was not to make every single facility,
every single piece of, uh, equipment
or, uh, item a hundred percent a DA accessible.
So what we looked at was, what's wrong with the building?
Where is it not accessible?
What are the opportunities here for making improvements?
Uh, so like, for example, if there were a set of bathrooms
that weren't accessible,
what is the most effective way of resolving that?
Do we do an entire bathroom renovation
where we gut and redo everything?
Or do we leave that alone
and maybe put in a single occupant accessible
toilet room next to it?
So we looked at all different kinds of opportunities
to save, you know, op, you know, save time, save money
for the city, um,
but also achieve that very important goal of accessibility
and meeting people's needs.
Um, and now I'd like to introduce John Delo solo, uh,
who did the parks work?
Thank you, Adriana. And good morning everyone.
My name is John Delisa. I'm with NOAC and Rouse.
I've been involved in the A DA, both for Title two,
which is the public space
and Title three across the country.
Um, seen quite a few different situations which the
city is able to leverage as a, as a part of our involvement
with the self-evaluation of the 30 parks.
But what is involved in that?
Well, we look at a number of things,
and it's all relative
to the a DA requirements that are in place.
Now, the a DA is, it's really a Civil rights Act,
an equal opportunity act,
but there's enough information in there where it kind
of acts as a code as well.
So each element within the parks, we can understand
what is required for each, for someone to have access to it.
And we've assembled a barrier survey,
which basically identifies, you know,
where are we doing things well
and where can we, um,
afford some improvement within our parks.
Now, um, one of our slides here, we just, um, show some
of the situations that we encountered in the parks.
Now it's a unique environment within, within parks, uh,
within the Title three space.
And there's many items that we review.
And first
and foremost, it, when you think of site arrival points
for the community as they enter a park,
they can enter via a pedestrian route from a public right
of way, sidewalk system.
You know, do we have proper connections to the park
to get them in to utilize the different, uh, features?
And then there's, you know, the vehicular access,
where you're gonna park, and is there sufficient spaces?
Are they in the right place?
Uh, are they most convenient to where people would need
to go within the park?
And we look at the, you know, the number of them,
the dimensions, the slopes.
We've got some of our tools
that we use up here in the front, um, which will give us,
you know, that immediate slope reading on pavements.
And I would note in, you know, to the mayor's point,
this is a work in progress.
It will change, it will be, uh, uh, updated in the future
in the northern climates in our country.
Obviously we've, it's very hard on pavements.
So pavements will move.
They will hea they will need to be looked at periodically.
And, uh, that's all part of this.
There's plenty of amenities within the parks.
And you can see we've, you know, looked at heights
of various, uh, elements.
We looked at the slopes of the pathways to them,
and there's quite a, quite a bit of, um,
a mileage within the pathways of each of these 30 parks.
But, um, some of these areas, picnic areas, for instance,
we've looked at, uh, tables and the access around them
and, you know, um, knee clearances below them, uh, benches,
uh, we've got, you know, drills
and other amenities for gatherings, uh,
within picnic shelters.
All of those were looked at for, um, you know, the width
of access for someone in a chair, for instance,
and can they utilize each of the items
that everyone else would, the athletic fields,
there's plenty of those.
And there's a lot of youth sports,
and there's a lot of, um, older folks that will attend and,
and people with disabilities that, uh, wanna have access to,
to watch the play out there.
And we've looked at that and,
and are developing plans to make some of those, uh,
accessible to all final, uh,
elements are just the restrooms,
and that might be straightforward,
but, you know, appropriate signage, a appropriate access.
And then internally, you know, having each the simple access
to, uh, a hand towel or a sink.
Those are all items that we look at in detail
and have summarized for everybody.
Now, with that, um, we, we've noted that, uh, it,
it is a work in progress.
We look forward to helping with some of the solutions to
make these areas compliant.
And with that, I will turn it over
to Tina, he city engineer.
Good morning everyone. My name is Tina Gaius.
I am the city engineer.
And, uh, with the slide, I'd like
to talk a little bit about the sidewalk programs
that the engineering division implements, uh,
repair programs for ramps and sidewalks.
Um, so the city Ofour has
about 860 miles of sidewalks.
So as you can imagine, this is a huge endeavor.
Um, so there are three sidewalk
and ramp repair programs
that the engineering division handles.
The first one is the Sidewalk Special Assessment
District Program.
This is citywide and complaint driven.
We receive complaints, uh, via calls
or emails regarding trip hazards or ramp non-compliances.
We then send inspectors out to evaluate and create,
and then we create a bid package.
This year, the contract was for $1.2 million
and repairs over 360 locations.
Next, we have a ramp repair program for which, uh,
$200,000 a year is budgeted.
This program is rotational,
so we do sections at a time of the city.
Once we get to about 70 to 80 locations,
we put this out for bids.
Lastly, we replace ramps
that are non-compliant within our road construction limits.
We're required to spend at least 1%
of the Michigan Transportation funds
that we receive each year.
We get about 18 million a year, so we need
to spend about $180,000 on no non-motorized items
besides the three repair programs.
We also have a pavement marking contract, which this year
was $60,000 in crosswalk markings.
Uh, the planning department has three plans
that address accessibility issues and requirements.
The master plan, which was adopted by the city in 2021,
addresses accessibility in the integration
and implementation chapter.
The goal is to design streets that are safe
and convenient for all users, including pedestrians,
bicyclists, motorists,
and public transit users of all ages and all abilities.
The second plan is the Van D**e corridor plan,
which is in the final stages of approvals.
This plan involves Van D**e from eight Mile to Stevens,
and includes a curved landscape median separating the
existing bike path lane from the vehicle
lane for safety reasons.
This plan also includes widen sidewalks
and mid-block crossings.
So Van D**e is owned by mdot,
and MDOT has planned, has, um, planned to have funding
for the reconstruction of this segment.
Within five to seven years, all sidewalks
and crossings will be designed to a DA standards.
And the final plan is the active mobility plan,
which will be presented
to the Planning commission next week.
This plan identifies barriers, highlights, opportunities,
and recommends solutions to make biking, walking
and rolling safe and enjoyable for all.
This plan puts safety
and accessibility in the forefront by closing sidewalk gaps,
upgrading intersections and crosswalks,
and redesigning major road corridors for all types of users.
Next slide. So
these items listed on this slide are some examples
of public way accommodations that are addressed in the plans
that I discussed on the slide, previous slide.
All of these items are currently being addressed
or will be on future projects.
For example, signaled intersections for major city roads.
Each year we apply
for a grant from the Highway Safety Improvement Program
to update our traffic signals
and include signaled pedestrian traffic signals.
This year, we are updating Ryan and Chicago and Ryan
and Steven intersections,
and next year we will, we will be updating Hoover
and Common intersection.
So the engineering division will play an important role in
incorporating these items into future projects
as funds become available.
And at this point in the report, uh,
it covers the program's, policies,
and procedures section, so all
of the listed items are covered.
Um, and it just de defines how the city handles all
of these very important topics in relation to accessibility.
So, communications, public meeting accommodations,
community program participation, emergency considerations,
accommodations for voting
and service, animal guidance policies.
And now I'd like to introduce Garri Gios.
Hello, everyone. Um, as mentioned, I'm Jared Gios.
I'm the Director of Human Resources.
I'll be touching upon some of the existing programs
that we have, policies
or things we hope to have in the future for some of our
specific, uh, departments here.
Starting off with the 37th District Court,
as Kaitlyn mentioned, Annette Ari Ross,
who's in the audience with us today.
Uh, she's our a DA coordinator.
So she follows Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Order,
2015 dash five, uh, which asks
that we adopt a local administrative order, an LAO, uh,
procedure for accommodation.
So this will help with, um, legal proceedings, people
who are visiting the court
and so forth, who might need some accommodation.
Um, they can reach out via a link that we can make sure
that we post after this, um,
or they can just reach out to the court to figure out
how we can help them in whatever way they need.
Um, Annette and the court have been working
with our building maintenance to ensure accessibility
for those entering the court, um,
working within the court and so forth.
Um, so, so far so good for the 37th District Court
for the building department.
Um, a lot of this has been touched upon,
but I will just continue it.
Um, our building department works
with other departments such as zoning, planning, uh,
assessing, um, to make sure that when non-compliance,
whether in buildings or housing, is pointed out to us, uh,
we actively work to see how we can correct it.
Uh, further, whenever we are building new commercial
buildings, housing, uh, whatever it may be, we are working
with those contractors to ensure
that we are continuing the a DA practices, uh,
we have in place
and are continuing to develop for the city clerk.
Um, they offer a number
of a DA compliant policies and equipment.
Um, you know, our biggest thing with the city clerk is
to make sure everyone has the right to vote.
Um, so you've seen this a lot developing over the years,
whether it's through pulling up
and voting, uh, such through curbside
or doing absentee voting.
Um, there is also a VAT machine,
which is a voting assistant terminal.
Um, each, uh, precinct should have one of these.
It assists with all, um, impairments such as, uh, you know,
hearing impairments, mobility impairments,
and visual impairments.
Um, if you need any assistance while you're voting,
please feel free to reach out to a precinct leader
and they can assist with that through CDBG
or community development.
Um, they have regular training with their staff, um,
to make sure they're in compliance with fair Housing.
Uh, there's a Fair Housing Act that the city must follow.
The Fair Housing Act touches upon discrimination
and housing, um, and all sorts of lever levels.
Um, so the C-D-B-G-A works to ensure that anyone
that's in an occupied assistant unit, um,
is being reasonably accommodated
and working with those property owners
to make sure if they are not, um, how can we correct that
and moving forward, what can we be doing differently
to ensure compliance?
Um, within my own department, human Resources,
we recently purchased, uh, equipment
and software to ensure
that we are allowing applications online.
Uh, beforehand it was only paper copies,
but as we know, some people may not be able to have access
to being able to travel
to City Hall every time they wanna drop off something.
So this is allowing for easier access.
Um, we're making sure we're reaching out to further sites
that aren't just local social media.
Um, we wanna make sure compliance on, on a state level,
community level, local level, national level,
whatever it may be, that all members of the public,
no matter where they are, are able to apply
for a job within the city of Warren and the police.
They are currently in continuing to audit, um,
public spaces, um, that they may have access to
and the public may have access to, to look at accessibility
and physical barriers, um, within their own facility.
This currently means parking structures, ramps,
and things of that nature.
They also work with the court
and the legal department
to continue translation global interpretations
that will be accessible to any of those
who reach out and ask.
Next slide, please. With library.
Um, the current director works very hard with her staff
to ensure that all her facilities are accessible,
whether this is through a regular audit with her staff, um,
to ensure any barrier removals are needed
and following, uh, construction standards set out
by her building department planning,
zoning, whatever it may be.
Um, they continue to offer programs, services
and tech using mobility, um, assistance, um,
accessibility software, um, such as WCAG
compliant Digital Resources, which stands
for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Um, and they currently continue to offer, uh,
continued education, not just to their staff,
but to the public, um, where we might be missing some things
that a DA compliance and what we could be doing differently,
uh, for Parks and Recreation.
As mentioned before by John, um, you know, we are continuing
to evaluate what, uh, park structures we may have, whether
that's our aquatics area, our benches, our, uh,
picnic tables, or our structures
that the community can utilize
and have their families attend to.
Um, you know, you see this with Lich Park, JC Park,
or Rents Park.
Um, as we all know, community, uh,
recreational equipment is pretty expensive,
but it goes to a point where we want to make sure
everyone is able to use it.
So the funds are necessary.
Um, if any community member has an area
where they feel the recreation has not met, uh,
please feel free to reach out to us, and we will see
and address that as we go along.
Senior housing. Um, with senior housing,
we utilize smart transportation,
which helps our senior residents, uh, be able
to get to where they need to go.
Um, currently our senior housing
director is evaluating the pathways,
the hallways, things of that nature.
Is there anything in the walkway that may be, um,
preventing, um, our senior citizens from, from being able
to utilize the services that they offer?
Is there accessible lighting? Is there ramps?
Is there handlebars?
How are they able to access the bathrooms
that we offer within senior housing?
Um, it's a continuous audit.
Um, senior housing continues to reach out for, uh,
continued compliance training,
and now I will train, turn it over
for estimate 80 DA spending.
So the question is always, how come this isn't done yet?
And a big piece of this is dependent on funding.
Um, how much are we currently sp spending?
How much have we previously spent,
and how much does it cost to get us
where we're going when it comes to, uh,
the downtown development buildings?
These are any of the buildings within
the d downtown development area footprint.
We have designated $4 million for a DA upgrades.
That includes the planning, self-assessment
and building improvements.
Some of those have already been done in-house
by our building maintenance team on top
of their daily, um, routine.
And that's to the, um,
and now we're at the process of bidding out larger projects.
And we have bid out projects nearly $2 million in value.
We still have a little bit more than 2 million in
unallocated a DA funding, uh, for more projects
that are to come.
But what you'll notice is that many
of our city buildings don't fall within
that DDA, uh, footprint.
And so we have to make sure that we are planning
and budgeting for funding accordingly.
It, the question was then to go back
and look at our budgets.
We adopt budgets annually.
How much of our budgets are invested in,
um, annual spending?
Well, we have identified upgrades,
and, pardon me, back up, um, at our water division building,
uh, we have committed
to over half a million dollars in a
DA building improvements.
And we have an anticipated completion in 2026,
including parking lots approaches
and access to the building.
Um, our library invests annually roughly $10,000 in
a DA equipment and purchases to expand
what we currently offer to the public.
Engineering has identified more than one
and a half million dollars annually committed
to these improvements, including those sidewalk ramps,
crosswalks, um, that help make our city more accessible.
In addition, parks
and recreation has committed
to moving towards universal design, pla place, scapes, um,
pathways, and we have anticipated, uh, uh,
$3 million in investment going into the new year.
I believe that includes jcs Park Rents, park
Lech is completed.
Um, but we have 30 parks to move amongst.
And so this will be a continuous drive for improvement, um,
as well as a DA restroom, accessibilities, and parks
and recreation facilities that for the next fiscal year,
is anticipated to be close to $2 million.
Thank you for being very patient audience, um, and,
and listening for the high overview of
what you can expect in this document.
This document includes more detailed information on
what departments are already doing
and currently offer to the community that you might see,
but look past, like at the, um, our pool
through the Warren Community Center that has, um,
accessible lifts into the pools, as well as ramps
and access for, for individuals, um, as well
as daily offerings, including programs
and inclusive programming.
And this is your opportunity to weigh in
so you have the opportunity.
We've created space for public comments today.
And if you are interested in weighing in on public comments,
we ask you to step up to this podium.
To my left. Uh, there is a microphone so you could be heard
and we can keep track of your questions, concerns,
and suggestions that will be incorporated, um,
into our final product.
Um, we do have some asks.
We're, uh, including this in, uh, a similar fashion
to public comments for city council public bodies,
which we ask you to keep your comments
to about three minutes.
Um, and, uh, we will do our best
to address any questions that you have,
that we have the knowledge of in the room.
We will do our best to follow up on anything
that we do not have with us,
but we can provide answers to you.
Um, and then I also encourage you to follow up
by going online and reviewing the document, uh,
and then sharing this information being here,
you have the opportunity to be ambassadors, share
what you've learned, uh, and invite more people in.
So we will do this presentation again October 20th,
and we,
but this will be available on the city website
as a presentation, the document and the survey.
So if anyone would like to join us, please step up.
Welcome. Will you introduce yourself? Yes.
Hi, my name is Christine Cornus,
and, um, I'm a volunteer copy raiser for K nine.
This is Vita the sixth.
She's attended many meetings at the city,
and, um, she's here to, um, kind of represent the,
the can canine service dog community.
She is a future service dog.
She is, um, nine months old today,
and we are working with her.
We have, uh, as a volunteer puppy raiser, we do, um,
the puppies from like eight weeks old to 16 months,
and then they go off to train.
Does anyone have any questions other than
how do you, how do you do it?
Can I ask, what is Bew trained for?
Well, that's almost like saying there's a, uh,
86 months old,
and what are they gonna do the rest of their life?
So if a big process, if you're not familiar with p would,
um, highly suggested with the P org.
Um, they're the real bureau.
They're the first, the oldest service organization.
They're not as prevalent in Michigan, um,
but they're in every state of the nation.
And, um, they, they have worked with, um, the NFL,
they work with Betty White.
Um, Jean Schultz is on their board for, um, their,
uh, Charles Schultz organization.
Um, I research and waited, I year,
10 months just volunteer for her.
So I'm all in. I also, um, am the handler
for the therapy dog,
and that would be somebody who could,
who would welcome visit the staff
to the police officers fire chief, um, to the staff
to be a part of your, um, transition.
Hello? Hi, Tony.
My turn to speak. It's your turn to speak.
Okay, I got a question. Yes.
I was told that John's James' money went
for a play scape. Is that so?
It's true. It's in progress.
It is being, it has been bid out
and I believe this is the homage park accessibility.
Play scape, yes.
Okay, because I'm gonna,
I'm gonna point out something here, just bringing this
to your attention, because I don't know if it's a concern,
but I've got a little note here that John James
sent to get the money for
a DA back in March of 2023.
He states, I am requesting funding
for the city of Warren, a DA compliance
for physical year 2024.
This project will provide infrastructure improvements
to the city of Warren.
The, the project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds
because it will be used for improvements to bring,
this is the key word, public buildings to a DA compliance.
So, you know, I don't know if
that's gonna be a concern if John James money went
for the playscape when he requested it for buildings,
but I just wanted to bring it to your attention
because I don't know, I, I, it, i, it,
it's just fine with me.
It went for a place gate,
but I don't know, you know,
if there's a legal issue here down
the road, maybe, I don't know.
But anyways, next
I am sure you probably picked priorities.
What needs to be fixed first in this transition plan?
I don't know what was on the screen,
because right at the beginning of that pull down screen,
right at the beginning of the meeting, it was washed out
and I could only hear half of what everybody was saying.
So I don't know what even went on in this meeting.
But whenever, uh, you know,
everybody here knows there was mistakes made when the
parking garage was striped.
But this is my point.
When money spent on a DA, contractors,
contractors make mistakes,
it's been proven over and over and over.
The city needs to oversee the work and inspect the job.
And if it's wrong, the contractor needs
to be held accountable right then and there on the spot,
because that didn't happen with Civic Center South
and now taxpayers on the hook for $30,000
to fix issues with that building.
So I'm done. I'm all finished.
I said what I wanted to say.
Thank you, Tony. Thanks, Tony.
Um, I can speak briefly to the, um,
congressionally directed funding
that representative James was able to bring back
to the district, um,
that was requested back in March of 2023.
So that was before I was elected.
Um, mayor, um, when it comes
to congressionally directed funding, our, uh, federal
partners in Congress can, can direct
or request funding be directed back to district,
bring tax dollars back home, um, for specific purposes
that have been, um, identified by the community.
And so that funding for a DA, um, funding that will help,
uh, improve accessibility in the community.
Um, well, the language
for the request may have been specific or,
or, you know, identified.
Um, this was, um, granted through the,
uh, HUD department.
And so we had to make sure that as a city, that, um,
any projects that we allocated
and directed those funding towards were in compliance
with housing and urban development, uh,
standards and guidelines.
And so I can assure you that the project is in compliance
with those guidelines
and that, um, it takes a while once the budget is adopted,
hopefully in June of that given year,
sometimes it takes longer.
And then once that budget allocation is made, um,
those are reimbursable dollars.
So we spend and we commit,
and then they commit that they will reimburse the city for
that project once it's completed.
Um, I, I sorry, that, um, the,
the broadcast may have had some hiccups up front.
Uh, it's been recorded
and we can make sure that you, can, you get a link back to
the, um, presentation so you can review it
and along with the, uh, the actual document.
So I appreciate that
and I appreciate you always being an advocate
and speaking up when you see, um, issues
that we can improve upon.
Did anyone else wanna speak to any of the,
sorry, microphone.
I'm sorry. Actually, will this work?
I didn't even think about that. Sorry.
Is it on? Do you have anything?
Yeah, It's on,
I think we've covered it.
If we need to, I can go back and repeat it after.
I can speak to The website if too.
So we have, uh, developed a website with, uh,
Catherine from Communications
and, um, I believe it's live now.
And it will have a link to both the transition plan.
It's got a lot of info, good information,
including grievance procedures, um, as well
as there will be a recording, um,
of this entire presentation.
A lot of, uh, helpful information.
So we encourage you to go and look at that webpage,
and I'll send it to you.
Tony,
I was really struck by the beginning introduction,
mayor Stone, um,
building on your experience in the legislature, I'd like
to know, what did you bring back to the city for a DA?
Um, what did you do?
Were you even aware of the fights that we were fighting
to try to bring this attention to the,
the issues in the city?
So, um, you, you know, this,
this Tony Baker didn't just come up,
you know, two years ago.
This has been years, and we had, uh, uh,
not protests, but informational, like, we need
to make our city state, we need to make it accessible.
And I don't recall,
but that was part of your, um, platform.
And I don't recall that you have brought anything back
to us about a PA from time before being leader.
So I, I appreciate, you know,
that the administration is working this now,
but I don't think that you should suggest that this is part
of what you've been doing all along
because it, it clearly hasn't been.
And I was the one that went when Tony looked at the, drove
through the parking garage and noticed,
and I went, took pictures
and measured, oh, sorry.
Um, and measured. And, uh,
I think it surprised the building department
and the building director
because I heard that he was out re measuring.
Well, this is the kind of stuff that needs
to happen when it's getting done.
And so I am,
and I, I am also
really concerned about the safety in the court,
and I think that we are, um, we need
to really make sure the court building is part of this, uh,
uh, accessibility and protecting the people in the court.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lori. Um,
it's a little different when you're serving in the state
legislature, the work you're doing is statewide
for statewide improvements.
And, um, as many of the people I'm working with,
they're still discovering
and rediscovering some of the issues
that I have been working on.
Um, everything from ghost gun legislation, uh,
to, um, access to, uh,
equitable facilities and work sites.
Um, but for anyone
who participated in my community conversations
during my five years in the state legislature, um, one
of the topics I speak, uh,
I frequently spoke on was Liam's Law.
So I worked with families, uh, um, specifically, uh,
Liam's mom brought me an ask around accessibility
for universal height,
adjustable fully automated changing tables.
And one of the, one of the ways that increases access is
for people with di disabilities or aging
and are, um, dependent on access
to facilities for diapering.
That once you age out of an infant changing table, that
you, um, it becomes a safety risk as well as, um,
if you are, uh, larger than someone who can be lifted,
that to lift someone to a particular height
for a changing table.
And for many in the community who are, uh, dependent
for this assistance, they're dependent on, um, uh, sinks
or shelves that may not have been designed
to accommodate or support.
Uh, they are often relegated to being changed on
bathroom floors, which, um, strips people of dignity as well
as hygienic, um, bathrooming conditions, as well as,
um, being able to have privacy.
So we have stalls for a reason, so you have privacy.
Um, and sometimes parents, uh,
are dependent on changing their children
and wide open, um, minivans
and parking lots for lack of facilities.
And so during my time in the legislature, first
is about education and learning
and taking the time to speak
with the individuals who are impacted.
And then second is working on how do we impact this?
And so what you learn is it evolves.
So starting with a, um, request for building code changes,
um, essentially the carrot
or the stick method, which was, um,
changing building code is very challenging and sick
and dependent on international, uh, codes being changed.
Um, at the state level, one of the
fastest ways we found to change was offer grant dollars
and incentives for, um, public spaces
to incentivize, um, adding this equipment.
So we were able to incentivize adding, um, 10
to $30,000 reimbursable grants to facilities.
And I'm very proud to say, although it was
after I left the, um, legislature that it was installed,
the state capitol was one of the first buildings,
publicly accessible buildings
to incorporate universal height adjustable changing tables
that were fully automated.
Because I can't think of any better place to start
with accessibility than the people's house.
So thank you for the question.
Thank you. I'm a global leader, um,
and have been for 11 years on narcissistic abuse, um,
and long-term effects on trauma survivors.
Um, I've been doctor supported for nine years, um,
as an expert in this area.
Um, but US survivors don't have energy.
So just to try to explain a little bit,
we were under stress that if you were to take the stress
of the one child and you spread that stress over 20 adults,
not children, it's still too much stress
for those 20 adults.
So later in life, you double that number
and take the inverse.
So you got one 40th. That's the energy we have per day.
So while I'm not in a wheelchair yet, the,
the issues that we have,
and I run an international group on Wednesday nights,
so this is a global problem.
Um, I hear a lot about accessibility
and I'm assuming it means people with physical disabilities
to get in with a wheelchair or something like that.
Comprehensive. Okay.
Um, I have made calls, I mean, not just within the city,
just anywhere, and you don't get callbacks.
I, I've gone to, well, the crime commission meeting, um,
they call back, I, I'll say
that, but it's a different subject.
Um, I've gone to, what do you call them?
Coffee meetups with, I don't know, the government labels.
Um, I know the science labels, um, and you call
and you don't get callbacks.
It's to the point now, eight years into this,
my MD makes calls for me.
'cause there's no community support, there's no callbacks,
there's no, um, and
because of the smartphones that came out, what 18 years ago,
people's adrenaline in their brain is speeding up
because of the dooms crawling and things like that.
And we're going faster, faster, faster, faster, faster.
And what happens is when you have a conversation on the
phone, I mean, I do it too, we interrupt,
that's like plywood hitting my head.
I mean, it is like an arm comes out, bam,
and hits my whole body.
So the basics of common courtesy
and respect that eight year olds can do 10 year olds,
we've lost with this smartphone thing.
So to us it's dehumanizing
to the average person, it's no big deal.
You just go on with your life, no big deal.
But to someone who didn't have their own
choices, their own, I'm sorry,
am I done Just right off?
Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay.
The biggest thing is we don't have people
that hear us when we say can't.
People here won't.
And when we say need people here, want,
that's the biggest thing.
Good morning. Hi.
Uh, first I wanna say thank you for doing this presentation.
I learned a lot. My name is Jaja Booker,
I'm a Warren resident, and I also, uh,
sit on the Warren on Crime Commission.
And, and so I, uh, and maybe I missed it,
but how did you come up with the priority one through four?
Uh, because what I was looking at specifically,
and this may be a little trivial, um,
but it said that, uh, in priority four, that there were, um,
water fountains and telephones, public telephones.
And I, again, I was very curious about that.
I didn't even know public telephones still exists.
So could you talk a little bit more about that? Thank you.
Take that one. So yes, the, the priority levels, uh,
the four levels that were on that slide, um, are established
by the a DA guidelines
and the Department of Justice standards.
So the most important, obviously,
number one priority is getting people into the building.
And then lower priorities still important,
still very important.
Um, but it's to be able to get people access to goods
and services and then restrooms.
And then the, the, the bottom category priority for
drinking fountains and, uh,
public telephones, other things like that.
Um, there is actually a public telephone in the building,
um, in this building.
Um, so we did, we did survey all of that, uh, as part
of our, our review of all the buildings.
Um, and in terms of, um, kind of categorizing those things,
we tried to keep, uh, with that, those four priorities.
But then we also looked at, um, kind
of the big picture holistically.
So, you know, if a phone was integral to a department's,
um, you know, meeting the public's needs,
it got a higher priority rating.
So it wasn't just necessarily, okay, it's a straightforward,
so we looked at things kind of big picture, um, in terms
of kind of everything and tried to make sure that the things
that we tackled first gave the public the
most bang for their buck.
So it got the most improvements, it made the widest, um, uh,
it made the most difference.
Um, and so we're still considering all
of those things on the list.
We're, you know, all of the phones, you know,
are still gonna be fixed, um, eventually.
So it's just a question of what do we do first?
Obviously there's limited budgets, um,
and then limited staff to kinda oversee these things.
So we gotta kind of, uh,
break it down into manageable pieces.
And so we're trying to get the, the things
that are most impactful done first, and then move along.
Um, and I think that the plan is still
to get things done within the next five years.
So I think it's a pretty aggressive plan.
Um, and, you know, it's gonna make a lot
of improvements for a lot of people.
Thanks.
Wasn't there something about
employment in the beginning of this?
Okay, so, um, real quick, I
didn't know what to do with all this neuropsychology
that I've learned without choice.
So I trained, um, the people at Extra Credit Union.
'cause I asked her, I said, I can't do music and menus.
What is your PTSD phone number?
And they said, we don't know what that is.
I said, do you wanna learn? So I went in there two hours
later and I spoke for two
and a half hours five years later during COVID,
cold gloomy skies.
Everybody's angry. I said,
why is everybody happy at the bank?
I said, I'm not complaining, I'm just curious.
And she said, well, you taught me how to talk to people.
And I said, she says, I'm still following your rules.
I said, five years ago, you know, I assumed it went in
and out and it was done.
And for five years she followed it.
And it's a place for trauma survivors to work.
And we have a 70% traumatized society at this point.
So that's the only place in the USA that I would recommend
for any trauma survivor to work right now.
And it's in the city. So I'm just really amazed
that she followed it for that long.
I just thought it was gonna go, you know,
just right through and onto the next.
So I'm impressed with them. That's awesome.
I'm Clarissa Kayton,
and I am the communications director for the City of Warren.
And as I've worked here, I've seen
the diligence, the love, the dedication
that the city has done, trying
to bring a DA to Warren.
I have a son that's on the spectrum.
I have a older sister who is legally blind.
They're with me quite often,
but there are still things that I don't know,
but I have a heart.
I love them dearly,
and I want them to have everything they need,
but yet I make mistakes.
I forget sometimes that my older sister is legally blind
because she can navigate.
And she has learned over the years how
to navigate certain areas.
But when we went away for a girl's trip outta state,
I noticed some things that were not there,
like they are here in Warren.
And she almost missed the curb when it came time to step,
because those little bumpy things that you see
right in those areas where the curb goes down,
she was feeling for that.
And because we hadn't been hanging out for a long period
of time, and I'm just gonna be real with you,
she got her foot and she was feeling
and couldn't find anything.
And I said, what's wrong? She said, I don't know where I am.
I said, oh my goodness. And I looked down, I said, oh,
they have that taken care of in Warren.
But the problem that I see, you can't be human
and make a mistake here in Warren.
Let's be real. I mean, I love her,
but there are things that I just don't know.
But when she brings it to my attention that I say, oh, okay,
let me see what I can do to correct.
That's the purpose of this.
The purpose of this meeting is to correct
what has not been corrected
and make sure that everybody gets what they're needing.
Okay? The screen, yes,
it was washed out a little bit from one of the cameras,
but I bet you when we get ready to rebroadcast,
you're gonna see everything.
Clearly. We're still working through this,
and it takes money to make this thing happen.
Okay? You don't want your tax dollars to go up.
You don't want your tax dollars to go up,
but yet you want all these services.
Where's the money coming from?
So all I'm doing is encouraging you all to work with us
to make sure that inclusiveness takes, that happens.
We love everyone, we really do.
So please, the next meeting, get out, bring people
so you can put your input in.
So this document can be what it needs to be,
and then work with us to get the money to make sure
that you're taken care of.
I hope I didn't misspeak, but it was just in my heart.
Thank you. Thank you for
Speaking.
Um, you know what, you bring up something.
Number one, um,
Clarissa leads our communications department,
and they do, um, they offer, um, closed cap,
closed captionings, virtual accommodations to provide for,
um, inclusiveness for our community members.
Um, but I do wanna, you, you bring up something
that I often find with, um, government
is sometimes government can be othering.
It, it, it's, um, it loses its humanity in
that it's a title, not a face.
But when 15% of our general public lives
with a disability
and as much as, um, 5%, uh,
that have a mobility, um, disability,
it's, I, I appreciate when people look around
and recognize that it, I'd be hard pressed
to find someone who works in this city whose lives
and loved ones aren't impacted
and are living with a disability, um, whether it's visible
or invisible, whether it's mental or physical.
And so I hope when you look at the commu, the,
the department leadership city employees,
they are partners and problem solving,
and they're working with you when you bring to our attention
situations you encounter that
may not meet your expectations, um, which you expect
to see improved.
Um, and to approach us as partners and in partnership,
because we are here, because we care,
and we have a plan and a promise to improve.
Um, and often our advocacy
and our work is, um, informed by, uh, people
and loved ones or our own personal experiences that, um,
guide our passion and our ability.
Um, there are still obstacles, there are still barriers.
Um, and it, it doesn't always operate on the timeframe
that the general public would like to see,
which is we would've liked to see this solved yesterday,
if not 30 years ago.
Um, and we're very aware of what the expectations are,
and we are very committed
to improving CONDIT conditions in our community.
And with that, we ask for you
to work in partnership with us.
The survey is available through the end of the month.
There are more opportunities to engage on this topic.
Please weigh in as community stakeholders
so we can grow the document, the, the language, the
so much love has gone into.
Um, and thank you for your participation today.