I'm now calling to order a regular meeting
of City Council Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge all, all to the flag of the United States,
United States of America, and to the republic for which it,
it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
Roll call Madam Secretary Coun. Councilwoman Roy? Here.
Councilwoman McGee? Here. Councilman Dwyer? Here.
Councilman Newan? Here. Councilman Lafferty. Here.
Councilwoman Moore is present.
Um, Councilman Bokey is absent. Motion to excuse
Support to excuse the absent member.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Mr.
Bokey is, uh, under the weather today, so we thank him
for not sharing his ness with us.
Next item. Next item is adoption
of the consent agenda. So moved.
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Discussion Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. Uh, minor correction to item four O
the reappointment of Joe Alter.
She's being appointed reappointed to the Village Historic
District Commission as opposed to the Historical Commission.
Thank you. Mr.
Are you removing an item? Yes.
Oh, we're on consent on the agenda. Thank you.
Uh, any other discussion, hearing on scene? None.
I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes.
Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is adoption of the agenda.
So moved with discussion
Support Lty with discussion.
Discussion. Ms. Mark?
Uh, I was just 11 D is being removed.
Is that what you were gonna do, Mr.
Uh, 12 d My item concerning? Yeah.
Uh, the appointment of Jeffrey
Milk, right? Right. Yes. That's what I
was gonna take. Is that it? Uh,
Yes. Okay.
That's all I was going to do.
Should I state the reason okay.
I don't think so. Any other
discussion staring in scene?
No. No. Call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is six a calendar pending matters.
Motion to receive and file
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seen? None.
All call the question. All in favor, aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is approval of the bills
of the General revenue funds.
So moved with no discussion
Support, Lafferty with no discussion.
Any 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.
Grogan C is a yes. Motion carries the next item.
Next item is approval of the bills
of the water and sewer systems.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Any 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.
Um, Madam chair, I need to, uh, go back
and add an item to the agenda, if I might.
Okay. It is, um, tentative agreement with the, uh,
professional firefighters 1383.
Agree, uh, bargaining agreement.
And that will be added as 11 B.
So a new motion, Mary to,
to amend to add motion.
To amend. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Um, I'll
Support lap. Thank
you. Uh, we're adding 11 B.
Any discussion? Okay, we'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C as a? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is seven C.
Um, general fund revenue report for November, 2025.
Motion to receive and file
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seen? None.
All call the question. All in favor, aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is the general fund expenditure report
for November, 2025.
Motion to receive and file
Support, Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seen? None.
I'll call the question. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Next item. Next item is
E General Fund revenue report for December, 2025.
Motion to receive and file.
So moved, uh, support Lafferty
Discussion, hearing and seen none.
I'll call the question. All in favor, aye. Aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Next item seven F General fund expenditure
report for December, 2025.
Motion to receive and file
Support. Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seeing none?
I'll call the question. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is seven G General Fund revenue report
for January, 2026.
Motion to receive and file
Support Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seeing none?
I'll call the question. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item seven H General fund expenditure
report for January, 2026.
Motion to receive and file support Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing and seen? None? No.
Call the question. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next item. Next item is eight.
Audience participation for agenda items only.
Members of the audience who would like
to address City Council this evening, uh, relating
to agenda items only, uh, may do so under this portion
of the agenda by filling out an audience form on the right
side of the stage there.
Uh, as a reminder, there's, you have three minutes
and there is a, uh, timer here.
First up is Dennis noac, and then
after Mr.
Noac is Rob Roberts and then Ms. Harris.
Oh, try.
Oh. My name is Dennis Noac
and I was calling, I'm here today to discuss the rules
and regulations from the Division nine ordinance,
specifically section two dash 2 55 0.1
rules and regulations.
It says the Housing commission subject to approval
of the city council shall adopt
and problem gate reasonable rules, which establish
one eligibility requirements for admission to housing.
And right now that has been in there for many years
that that rule, unfortunately, at one time it used
to be part of the, the requirement for steel well Manner,
and it was even in their website for some reason
or another about five years ago or so.
I'm little rough on the time.
Sean Clark, who's a director, removed this requirement.
It's not fair to the residents of Warren
because now we have people coming in from Mississippi,
Arizona, Ohio,
and people in Warren, they have to take a back seat.
This should have never, ever, ever been removed
from the requirements for Stillwell.
And unfortunately, mayor Stone was aware of this
and she, because during her listening to her on June 24th
at still all manner June 24th, 2024, I pointed this out
and it was still ignored, which is not surprising.
The other issue real quickly, since the time was running
out, when it comes to overseeing comp type,
it was mentioned in the February 10th meeting
that the HR manager or
or Mr. Fox from the controller's office
could oversee the comp type with Sean Clark.
The only problem is he's not, they're not aware of the fact
that a Warren Housing Commission meeting
never takes four hours.
And besides that, since going
to Warren Housing Commission meeting
should be part of his duties.
I don't know why he's giving himself six hours of comp time.
It just doesn't seem right. I mean, he's making $109,000.
You can see the website or the city website.
So why should he be charging six hours of comp time
to attend one hour meeting?
It's not fair.
And, uh, the, the other issue that I have is,
well, there's several issues.
The, the, the main,
another issue is he has two full-time jobs.
One is the Sioux City Musketeer, uh, hockey team.
Minor league hockey team is general manager
and also a working at Stillwell.
I think there should be some kind of, uh, forensic audit
of his time, uh,
because there's no way he can deliver.
He can work with Stillwell manner at a hundred percent.
You're at time. Okay. Thank you.
Next is Rob Roberts.
Hi, Rob Roberts, 3 2 1 2 5 St.
Vincent On 12 19 20 25.
I was on my way to the Secretary of State
for a nine 40 appointment.
I accidentally said 1240 on the body cam video.
I think everyone saw the police officer and slowed down.
I didn't. And it was going the speed limit.
This may be why he thought I was speeding
or he doesn't like electric cars
because he made a comment about it causing me to speed.
They have speedometers
after I told him I wasn't speeding,
he said I was driving too fast for road conditions
and didn't use my turn signals twice on the ticket
contradicting himself on the body cam.
Admitting I did use
My turn signal. Sir, my apologies.
This, um,
this isn't related to an agenda item.
Oh no, it, uh, so, so is this for later? Did
Did I fill out the wrong form? Correct.
So I will call you. No, you
didn't fill out the wrong form.
I just didn't, um, there was some miscommunication here
and I didn't catch it, so, okay.
Uh, you can be called up, um,
at the end when it's general topics.
Okay. Sorry about that.
Uh, next is Lori Harris, and then
after Lori Harris is Pamela Watson.
Hi, Lori Harris. I'm, I'm here, uh, at this
time about two items.
One is 11 b the a DA, uh, plan.
Let's see, where is that? No, that's 13 a.
Um, and sorry about that.
Um, I went to the a DA presentation
and was eager to see the additional things that were going
to be added, especially a timeline.
And I noticed in the e packet that nothing is different from
what we saw at the presentation.
So I hope that that's part of the presentation tonight.
But I'm also wondering why one of the very first things
that we could do for the city is to make the city website,
the library website, um, a DA accessible, um,
my understanding, it is not that hard to put
that program on the website,
and that's the very least that we could do for people so
that it could read things on the website.
Um, people, people can access it if you see the little blue
guy, uh, on any website you go on.
I mean, if DTE can do it, the city of Warren can do it.
If, uh, big boys restaurant can do it,
the city of Warren can do it.
So we need to do that. That needs to happen.
And I brought it up at the budget meetings the last couple
years and why it's not getting done.
I don't understand. So that needs to happen for a DA
and also we need to figure out how to let people participate
who are home bound
or in some way unable to get here
to participate in city council meetings, planning Zoom.
Um, so that, that also needs to be, we need to get,
get on the ball for this.
The second thing I wanted to talk about is the,
um, reappointment of this is G 13 G reappointment
of Rita Suran
and Erin Suran to the Commission of Disabilities.
Um, I admire their determination to wanna do something good
for the city, but they've been, Rita's been there
for over 20 years maybe, but a very long time.
And these appointments are not supposed to last 20 years.
And when I've gone to these meetings, which I've done for
off and on for six years, nothing's really happening.
Having an autism display in the library in April is,
you know, the library's full of things about autism.
So we need, we need this group of people
to really advocate
and support even what Tony Baker's been doing.
Um, they need to advocate
for this accessible website for the city.
So I would ask you to not reappoint them,
and let's hope that we can get more people dedicated on
this, uh, commission.
Thank you.
Next is Pamela Watson.
Hello. I apologize for my handwriting.
My name is Patricia. Ah, sorry about that.
Um, but hi, my name's Patricia
and I'm on the agenda item as, uh,
to be appointed into the beautification
commission for Warren.
Um, I have 10 years, over 10 years
of agricultural experience on a professional level.
Um, and I just wanted to introduce to myself, to you guys.
I, I unfortunately won't be able to stay, uh,
after the meeting as my kids have a eight o'clock p
8:00 PM bedtime.
Um, but yes, I just wanted to introduce myself
because I interviewed with Lori Stone
for the Beautification Commission
and just tell you some of the things that, um,
I care a lot about.
And so some of the things I care about is waste mitigation,
um, allowing people who have their residences to garden
and be able to engage in self-sustainability.
I know that Warren is one of these ci one of the cities
that have issues with sometimes food security.
Um, oh, and speaking of, sorry, I moved into Warren in May.
I bought my first house in February,
and I immediately said that I wanted to get involved
with my city on an agricultural level,
on a food security level.
This is what I love to do.
And so I met with Lori Stone and that's how I got appointed.
That's how I got appointed.
Um, so yeah, I just really want the city to be able
to engage in waste mitigation
and like I said, food security.
Um, I want us to be able to be proud
of having beautiful homes, adding more flowers, not just
to our homes, but also to some of our streets and roads.
I live off of Dequir.
I think that things can be done
to make areas look much more beautiful than they do now.
Not that they don't, there are plenty
of beautiful places in Warren,
but I feel like when we go outside, we should be able
to look out and say, wow,
my city is beautiful on an aesthetic level.
Um, I am able to be self-sustainable at home,
or even for Warren to have a hub
that helps us gain further food security, whether
that be in the form of a farm or community gardens,
or working with other community institutions such as, um,
such as, uh, urban Seed, for example,
which operates in Warren.
Those are the things that I really care about.
So, um, I appreciate the mayor
for appointing me to the position.
I hope you guys are cool with me being on there.
Um, and so, yeah, I just wanted
to introduce myself if you want to reach out to me
concerning agricultural needs for the city beautification
my experience as a agriculturalist on a professional
level in farming.
Um, you can reach out to me at Patricia Ora,
that's P-A-T-R-I-C-I-A,
Orlena, O-R-L-E-A-N
a@gmail.com.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. And just to let you know,
you were on the consent, so we approved the consent
agenda, so you've been appointed.
We approved your appointment. Oh, yay. Thank you.
Welcome to beautification.
Uh, next is Amanda Micah.
Good evening. Just a point of correction, consent.
Agenda item four zero or four oh.
Um, Joe Alter,
she's actually serving on the Historic District Commission,
so it's no longer known as the Village.
Uh, this is due to an ordinance
change that occurred last year. Thank you. Thank
You. Didn't we make that correction?
We did. Okay.
That is the end of audience,
unless anyone's holding a form.
Okay. Next item. Next item is announcements. Madam Chair.
Yes. And Ms.
Micah, we did make that correction at
the adoption of the agenda.
Um, the, uh, FOP asked if I would, uh, remind folks
and invite those that don't know about this.
On March 14th, Saturday at 4:00 PM
uh, there was a euchre tournament at the FOP
Hall on 14 mile.
Um, the tournament starts at 6:00 PM There are cash payouts
for first, second, third, and last place.
Um, and there's raffles 50 50 Raffles, gift basket raffles.
I stopped by there last night or last year.
It's a really, really nice event.
Um, it's $35 and the partners are randomly picked.
And if you are interested, you may register online at
www.foptwentyfour.com,
and I will put the QR code on the uh, Facebook page.
Thank you. That's it for me, Ms. McGee.
Uh, I have one item on this coming Saturday.
Uh, the 28th of February will be the black, uh,
history Month celebration for the city of Warren.
Um, it will start at 12 o'clock from 12 to,
I believe it's till four, 12 to four.
There will be over 40 vendors that will be attending,
and it will be at the Warren Community Center.
And so we welcome all to attending. That's all I have.
Thank you. Uh, I wanted
to congratulate the Warren Woods Tower girls basketball team
who won their first district championship since 2008,
rallying past clawson and overtime.
Yay. Alright. Any other announcements?
Four. I have, uh, oh, yeah,
Go ahead, scout. Yes, you have
an item? Yep.
I have, uh, recognition of Eagle Scout achievements
for five young men.
And these, uh,
resolutions will be presented in about a week's time
on behalf of the City Council, uh, by, uh, Mr.
Bokey and I we're, uh, we're going
to be presenting at a dinner.
So I'd like to recognize for the record, uh,
Joshua Andrew Shang, and he demonstrated his leadership
and organizational skills by constructing benches in a table
for the prayer garden at St.
Malachy's Catholic Church, Brent Michael
Dey, who, uh, planted several trees at St.
Malachy's Catholic Church,
Jake Vincent Rudd,
and he constructed trumpet stands
for the Cono High School Music Departments
Steven Matthew Marsak,
who constructed a proscenium archway for the middle School
of Visual Performing Arts.
And I will find out what a proscenium is prior
to presentation on Saturday.
And Aaron David Hem Street for constructing benches
for the gazebo at the Humane Society of Macomb.
And additional benches for the Nature Trail
and an eye-catching sign.
Welcoming, welcoming visitors near the front entrance, along
with a monetary donation to assist with the care
of the animals at the shelter.
Congratulations to these five young men on the achievement
of Eagle Scout Rank.
We offer the congratulations on behalf of City Council.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Any other announcements?
Motion to approve Your motions. Yes.
Board D All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
Thank you. Hearing and seeing no additional announcements.
We can move on.
Next item is 10 A,
which is a public hearing subdivision lot split request
located on the east side of Panama Avenue,
approximately 400 feet north of Topher Road,
one parcel lot 31 to be split into two parcels.
Supervisors. Plat number five,
section 32 20 1,916 Panama Avenue.
Tom Bato, city of Warren is the petitioner.
PSLS 2 5 0 0 0 4.
So to clarify, the city is the petitioner there?
One in the same in this? Okay.
Is anyone, is is there a need
for explanation on this, Michelle?
No, it's just a traditional subdivision wa
but sure, you can come up.
Good question.
Good evening. My name's Michelle Catadi,
assistant Planning director.
And also I'm here with Timothy Beski from the
Community Development Black Grant program.
And so if you wanna start with
what the community development Black grant,
this is the split for, uh,
the lot is a hundred feet in width
and the result of this split will create two lots
that are 50 feet in width.
And so it's infield development on this street on Panama.
So the planning Commission on November 17th, they voted
to recommend approval for this split.
And on December 10th, the zoning board
of appeals granted the variance to, uh,
allow the construction of
two single family homes each on the 50 foot wide lot.
So that is the project.
If you have any questions, you can ask me
or Timothy, um, from Black Grant.
Okay. If you wanna just hang out nearby, um, we will go
through the public hearing process and then if
we have questions, we'll call you back up.
Okay. Okay. I will open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience that wants
to speak about this matter at the public hearing?
Okay. Hearing and seeing none, I will
close the public hearing
and turn it over to Counsel for action. Motion to approve
Support Lafferty with discussion.
Uh, discussion. Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you, uh, through the chair to Mr. Babinski.
Good evening. Good evening, sir. Welcome.
Who is going to be responsible for constructing the homes?
Uh, it would be bid out to, uh,
and, you know, a number of contractors
and basically the lowest eligible winning bid would
be the most likely candidate for award.
Alright. And who, what is the anticipated cost
of the construction of the two homes?
I believe our estimate was
around the two 60, uh, ballpark.
I don't, uh, I don't recall exactly offhand.
Okay. And the source of the funding to construct the Homes
Home Investment Partnerships program?
It's a federally funded, uh, grant that the city receives.
Alright. And so that covers 100% of the cost?
Correct. Okay.
So we're going to construct these homes and,
and counsel, I've, I've mentioned this
before, we construct homes through this program.
Yes, it is federal dollars,
but at this, at the end of the day, it is still tax dollars
that are being spent.
What is the anticipated loss
on the home when it is up for sale?
It's hard to tell until we have an official appraisal.
Uh, we build the homes and sell them at the appraised value.
Um, the last ones that we just sold on Boem, uh, near 10
and Shaner went for 200,000 a piece.
That's what they appraised for.
Okay. And so,
and similar construction square footage style shape?
Yep. Very comparable.
Okay. So we're looking at
and on average about a 20% loss on principal investment
in the, in the property.
Each one,
Like I said, it varies project by project.
Uh, we're always interested in obviously the most frugal
approach, um, you know, uh, possible.
Okay. And the, the last question I have is,
are you aware if there's a secondary lien
that will be issued to maintain the sale price
that will run with the land?
Uh, there will be a secondary lien,
but there are no deed restrictions involved with that.
It's a, it's a, you know, a secondary lien from the city
that provides down payment assistance.
Mm-hmm. Uh, the purpose for these homes, of course, is
to stabilize neighborhoods
and provide, um, affordable housing opportunities
for low income households.
Um, so what we do is we have a program
that based on their income
and their need, uh, provides down payment
and assistance amount
and an amount that brings that monthly, uh,
their monthly payment into an affordable level.
Understood. Let me, let me expound just a bit further.
The, the first time home buyer,
or the first buyer for that property,
the secondary lien would prevent them from flipping the home
six months to a year later at a higher price?
No, not necessarily, but they'd have to pay the,
obviously they'd have to pay the loan back.
And for what it's worth, I've never heard of them
that happening, uh, since I've been with the city.
Alright. That, that is a protection that, uh,
we discussed, uh,
this afternoon we had a similar discussion at, uh,
the Land Bank authority meeting
and secondary liens were discussed
and the, the issue at hand, and you,
and you said it yourself perfectly, very eloquently,
affordable housing and the whole idea is infill housing,
providing affordable housing, not to make a profit for the,
the first person that can get in mm-hmm.
Flip the home for a much higher price
and cash in on what's intended
to be an economic assistance program
With all the work we put into this,
that would be devastating.
Uh, definitely. Um, no, like I said, our, our long-term,
our goal is to provide that long-term
neighborhood stabilizing housing stock in areas of the city
that are traditionally where new builds are kind of rare.
Right. So while we can't really control what they do
after the fact, um, like I said, I've never seen it happen.
And if it were, they'd obviously have
to pay us back immediately.
I'm, I'm not so sure that, that
that statement is true, uh, is true.
Uh, through the chair to Mr. Schroeder, the,
the secondary lien as we discussed this afternoon, would,
would that not prevent, uh,
or act as a deed restriction on the home buyer, uh, from
maximizing the, the sale price on a subsequent, uh, uh,
subsequent resale of the property at a higher value
Without reviewing the document?
I can't tell you that definitively. Okay. We,
I think this is certainly something that we should,
Uh, pardon me. Um, we
should look at Mr. Sch, I can't hear your point of
Order. Point of order.
Mr.
Sch, he couldn't hear you, your microphone.
Oh, I'm sorry. I said, without looking at the document,
I can't definitively give him an answer,
But, but I think, uh, without holding this item up, uh,
I think this is something that certainly warrants, uh,
further review and to, uh, ensure
that affordable housing as being established
by these programs, are not being taken advantage of.
Ultimately. That's, that's what I want to make sure.
And, you know, if we have that authority, uh,
certainly do want to exercise that in a, a covenant, uh,
covenant deed of restriction, uh, in those, uh,
in that secondary lien.
Alright. And then, uh, thank you, sir. I appreciate it.
Of course. Thank you. The only other item
that I have is on the resolution.
The resolution that came over
to council office identifies the economic director is Tom
Bato once again, uh, I have brought this up before.
Mr. Bato is no longer the economic development director
or economic development coordinator.
He should not be identified
as such unofficial municipal documentation.
And before the mayor sends these items over, uh,
those items should be updated.
So as an amendment to the item to strike his name
as the Director of Economic Development. Thank you.
Thank you. Any other discussion? No.
Hearing and scene, then I'll call the question. Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 10 B,
which is a public hearing subdivision lot split in
combination request located on the west side
of Black MA Avenue, approximately 100 feet south
of 11 Mile Road, the South 30.02 feet
of parcel 13 22 2 6 0 0 2, lot 40
of Mound Dale subdivision, section 2020 6,871
and 26 7 59 Black Ma Avenue,
Michael Kempton, Wade, and Christine Kempton.
So we'll take MS. Cap's summary from the first item.
It's the same item, no separate item. Sorry. Okay.
I'm, I'm struggling tonight. We all are. Bear with me. Yeah.
Today. So, um, city will, city staff will, uh,
summarize first and then if the, uh,
you folks are the petitioners
Be Petitioners. Yes. Yeah. You can
speak after.
So the purpose of this lot split is
to split lot 39 of this subdivision.
Um, which will result in, well
that's on at 2 6, 8, 7, 1 black ma.
And the result would have this property measure
60.02 feet by 117 feet.
And, um, the new legal description would be lot 38
and the north 10 feet of lot 39,
including the half vacated alley,
which is 10 feet to the north of the property.
Um, and so the parcel B, which is 2 6, 7, 5 9,
black mar would receive 30 feet from that lot 39.
And as a result
of the split in combination would measure 70.02 feet
by 117 feet
and contain 8192.34 square feet.
And that new legal description would be lot 39 except the
north 10 feet and lot 40.
And on November 17th, the, the City
of Warren Planning Commission voted to recommend approval
for this, uh, lot split in combination
and there were no variances needed for the project.
And the Revis survey plans addressing all the comments were
already submitted to the planning department.
And the petitioners are here also.
If you have any further questions. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Um, petitioner, you're welcome to say anything.
You don't have to, but you're welcome
to say anything if you Okay.
Just sit, uh, nearby
in the event that we have any questions.
Thank you. Uh, alright. So I will open the public hearing.
Is there anyone from the audience who wants
to speak on this matter?
Okay. Hearing and seeing none,
I will close the public hearing
and turn it over to counsel for action. Motion to approve
Support Lty.
Okay. Any discussion? Okay.
Hearing and seeing, then I will call the question Ms. Moore?
Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a Yes. Motion carries.
So it's approved. So you're all set. Thank you. Thank you.
Next item. Next item is 11.
A request to approve the retirement
of Stuart Krueger from the Warren Police Department prior
to the age of 50.
Motion to deny
Support. To deny
no
Madam President.
Mr. Nunan. Um, Councilman Lafferty, might I ask,
um, I, I didn't know
that this would be something that you'd want
to deny. Why would you want to deny
It? I'm just curious.
Uh, Madam Chair.
So I'm supporting the, the motion
to deny there are extenuating circumstances that, uh,
may need to be discussed in, uh, a legal session.
Okay. So this may re require a closed session.
Okay. Thank you. Mm-hmm.
Any other discussion, hearing, and scene? None.
I'll call the question. This is a motion.
This, the motion on the table is denied. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr.
Laffy? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Uh, Mr. Newan?
No. Ms. McGee? No. Okay.
Motion to deny fails. You can vote.
Oh, sorry, again. Sorry. Struggling this evening.
Uh, I am voting to deny. So, uh, we have four votes. Yeah.
So item is denied. Next item. Next item.
Really appreciate everyone's patience. Here is 11 B.
Um, it is the Warren Professional Firefighter Union,
local 1383 agreement with the City of Warren, um,
of February 4th, 2026.
So moved with discussion Support Dwyer.
Discussion Ms. Moore. Thank you.
Um, Mr. Fox, did you wanna give the highlights? Please?
Yes. Richard Fox, city controller. Good
Evening counsel. I will say
quickly that I did talk to the union president
and he said it was overwhelmingly approved
by their membership, just so everybody knows that.
So what we tried to do this round of negotiations,
all the contracts were up this year,
which made it pretty difficult.
And Jared and I spent a lot of time, uh,
negotiating and all.
Um, so this is the last one that we have.
So what we did was, so we got the police union,
the two contracts, WPOA in command
will expire in three years.
The non place and fire contracts will expire in four years,
and then this particular contract expires in five years.
So we spread 'em out so we don't have
to do 'em all at one time.
Um, basically this contract is, um, similar to the,
uh, police department.
Uh, as far as wages go.
Um, we did try to, um,
or we did accomplish making some, uh, pension reform,
um, in this contract.
Um, and individuals will no longer be able to come
to council and retire prior to 50 asking council for
that request.
Um, and really other than that, it,
it pretty much mirrors the, the police contract.
Um, and, um, I'll, I'll answer any questions you may
Have. I, I
think the, uh, I think the parental leave is new.
Well, that, because that was new with police. Yes.
And I think that's a really great benefit.
I'm happy to see that one.
And, um, I think that, um, it's important to mention that,
especially because of the cadet program that we've done,
we have a lot of members of the fire department
that are very young when they were hired.
And to, uh, let those people retire
before age 50, um, will really put a,
a strain on the retirement system.
The pension system. So I think that's, um, you know,
pretty interesting.
Um, and I talked, I we've talked about this,
this can cancer and can
and, um, cardiac screening, which is so important.
And, um,
Yeah. So on an annual
basis of we're gonna retain a company
to come in and do that evaluation, um,
every year. Yeah.
'cause yeah, I mean, just so people know
that firefighters are higher risk of, uh, developing cancer
because of the, uh, toxins that they're exposed to, uh,
during fires and other events.
And, um, sometimes it's difficult, uh,
to have those certain cancers recognized.
So the earlier we can get detection, the better it is for,
um, the, uh, firefighters.
Um, yeah, that's it for me. Thank you. Mr.
Newan or Mr. Lafferty, did you have discussion? I did.
Okay. Mr. Newan?
Yes. Uh, Mr. Fox? I Good, good evening. Hi.
Um, I understand
that we're having a hard time hiring firemen.
Would that be an accurate assessment? Mm-hmm.
Um, no, I don't think so.
I mean, we, we just did a, a, a A
to hire firemen, and I believe we had, I know Jared,
maybe you can help a little bit, but I, we had five
or six, uh, applicants
and they're going through the, uh, process
for now, hiring them.
So we have, I think, four vacancies at the present time
that we're working on trying to fill
Ms. Mr. Gios.
I heard that, um, hello, that none of the
applicants, uh, actually are choosing our fire department.
Is that an accurate assessment
That's, that's untrue?
Um, what we have to do when someone applies is
that we have the interview process with the firefighters.
Um, depending on what we're hiring for currently,
we went out and hired for seasoned, uh, firefighters.
Um, from my own assessment, I know others disagree,
but I think that in order to avoid more risk liability
for the city, we needed more, uh, you know,
seasoned firefighters that could train with the cadets
that we brought in a couple years ago.
Um, so that's what I was hoping to look for.
When we went out. We had a list of about seven or eight.
Um, you know, we have to disqualify people
after their interviews when you do a background check.
Uh, the background checks that we get
are pretty substantial.
They're like a two inch thick book, um, that kind
of go into the details.
So we'll go through that. Um,
but currently we have two
that are currently finishing school.
Um, I think there was two that were denied.
And then the rest, you know, it all depends on
where we're at after we do our background checks
and, uh, kind of go from there.
So there's still a hefty list,
but we're planning, um,
in case we do have any vacancies left.
You know, I've spoken with the commissioner
and I've spoken with the union.
Uh, we're looking to go out for EMTs
after this, maybe E-M-T-B-I think is what we're looking for.
Um, that way we can get those who may not be as seasoned
but aren't brand new to the, to the profession to be able
to come in and work for the city.
So we're not having an issue.
It's just, uh, finding quality candidates nowadays in any,
any of our fields is difficult.
Um, you know, everyone wants the pretty penny,
but no one wants to have the years of profession in.
Um, so it just depends. Everything just
depends. But no, we're doing good
For both of you. I'm concerned
about, um, how attractive, um,
the terms of duty
and the, uh, rewards are for a fire department department
to make sure that we're competitive.
And, um, as I'm understanding the pay raises it,
it seemed like it was about the same rate as the rate
of inflation that the pay raises.
Uh, I hope I, I'm wrong,
but, um, I, is that, can you, can you explain
what the pay raises will be over the coming years?
Mm-hmm.
So it's a five year contract.
We're looking at this 25.
It's a two and a half percent in July, and a two
and a half percent in January and July of 26, it'll be three
and three quarter percent.
July of 27, it'll be 3%. July of 28, it'll be 2.5%.
And until I have 29, it'll be 2%.
Do either of you know about
what the present rate of inflation is?
About 3%. Okay.
So it just seems like we're kind of keeping up
with inflation a little bit. Right.
I think we're very, we're very competitive now.
The salaries of the firefighters are right in the ballpark.
Uh, we're up in the upper third of, you know,
top three probably in the, in the whole state
as far as wages.
So I think we're very competitive.
Okay. I'm glad to hear that.
I'm, I'm just, uh, checking out, uh, what I'd heard
and, um, mm-hmm.
You, you both of, you're probably much more expert I would
imagine, than I will ever likely be.
But thank you so much for, uh, fielding my questions.
I appreciate you. You're welcome. I'll,
Any other discussion?
Okay. Thank you Mr. Fox. You're welcome.
Hearing and scene on, I 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 12 A,
which is a legal update from Mr. Schroeder.
Can I get a motion in support? Motion? So motion.
Thank you Mr. Schroeder.
Sure. Um, first, um, 12 B
and C tonight are items
that were discussed at the last meeting.
12 B is an ordinance, um,
updating the housing commission ordinance,
which we have talked about at length.
This would be the second reading.
If this is approved and survives the veto process, um,
we will then have a new housing commission ordinance
that will be aligned with state law
for the first time in 30 years.
And item 12 C is on the table.
It was tabled last week pending the outcome
of the second reading, which is an employment
and operations agreement between the city
and the housing commission, which addresses a lot
of issues related
to the Housing Commission being an independent employer
and using the city agencies
to support the housing commission with some requirements
that the housing commission have personnel rules appropriate
for a public employer and subjecting those employees
and officials to the city's ordinances, including ethics
and nepotism provisions.
And there's other strong protections in that.
So that will have to be taken off the
table to be considered.
The housing commission has already approved this agreement.
So once, if the council approves this tonight,
then the mayor and clerk can execute that agreement.
We'll have a, uh,
but I can say for the first time in a long time, a
housing commission ordinance
and agreement that's compliant
with the current laws and rules.
So hopefully that's a step forward.
Um, couple other matters.
Um, we, you know, with the Land Bank, there's a lot of
activity starting to build up at the Land Bank,
and we may have some more activity
at council's a result of that.
Um, we have a new consultant, um, through the efforts of,
uh, the Land Bank chair who happens
to be Council Secretary Moore, um, was able to negotiate
for the Land Bank, a new, um, consultant
who the state is paying for, who is a, an expert
in not just land bank, but planning and zoning
and economic development.
And she came to our Land Bank meeting today,
and she's going to be, her name's Emily Doer.
She's gonna be supporting the Land Bank
and applying for grants.
And, uh, there's some great ideas that came out of that.
And we may be coming back to council
to transfer some more property to the Land Bank
and for the purpose of economic development.
So things are moving really well there.
Um, and, uh, beyond that, um, we are getting close
to bringing a civil service commission, uh,
reform ordinance, uh, that is also needed,
that's probably even more outta date than the housing
commission ordinance was.
Um, so we're putting the final touches on that.
And, um, so that's, that's the report for now,
unless you have questions or
Additions, Madam Chair. Mm-hmm.
Uh, just to add on, um, on, uh,
the, um, land Bank, um, the, uh, property, uh, called Marie
on the street, Marie was put into the Land Bank,
and we're gonna be demolishing that through the Land Bank.
Um, but we were asked today, uh, to, uh,
allow the fire department to do some training there.
So we're gonna do that, uh, before we have it demolished.
They'll go in and use it, um, for, uh,
they won't set it on fire, that's, that's the agreement,
but they will do some training.
They put, um, simulated smoke in the buildings
and, um, do some, uh, very useful training.
We sort of came up with that idea about a year
or two ago that
whenever we had a house, we were gonna demolish
that we would allow them to, uh, do some training there.
So, uh, just wanna assure Joe Sheer
and his training division that we will be, uh, allowing them
to do that, uh, training at Marine.
That's it. Any
other discussion?
So, uh, I will receive the file call.
The question, I guess for this was a motion, Mr.
Motion to receive the file? Yeah. Yeah.
And I will call the question All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?
Okay. Thank you. Next item.
Next item is 12 B proposed ordinance
to amend Chapter two administration, article five, boards
and Commissions Division nine of the Code of Ordinances
of the City of Warren, relating to the housing commission.
This is the second reading. So moved.
Support Lafferty. Any discussion?
Uh, yes, please. Um, let's see
on, uh, page six 16 of the PDF tonight.
Uh, section 2.2 dash 2 4 3 powers
and duties generally, um, the a
a point, uh,
let's see the fourth bottom line from the bottom of that.
Um, there's a commission shall,
and then it says, be the approving body
for purchases and so forth.
Should there be a word? Oh, no.
Uh, next line down, uh, proposals.
And a member shall, as the representative,
I think the word serve should be inserted there.
If you follow me.
Can you re restate, I can re restate that
Where you're at specifically?
Yeah. Um-huh. So, let's see.
It's, uh, page nine of the ordinance.
It's page six 16 in the PDF tonight.
Um, section two dash 2 43 Powers
and duties generally item a third line from the bottom of
that, um, item, it reads proposals.
And a member shall, as the representative,
I believe the word serve should be inserted there.
Yeah, good, good point. Right? I hope.
Um, and then there's a word
that I believe should be str stricken.
Uh, stricken. Stricken. Um, let's see.
Where is that subject
strike subject.
Oh, yeah. Um, let's see, uh, page 11 of the ordinance,
which is, um, page six 18
of the packet tonight in
section two dash 2 44, rules and regulations.
Uh, item B, the first line of that,
it says the housing commission, uh, subject
may adopt such other rules which are necessary to the just
and effective administration.
I think the word subject should be stricken. Okay.
That's, that's all I had. Thank you.
Do those items need to be entered into the motion
or are they just ministerial?
And
I think the second one for sure,
there's some question about the first suggestion, um,
where it says, housing commission shall be the
approving body for purchases, bid awards and proposals.
And a member shall as the representative on request
for proposal committees in places to the council
for references made
to the council in the purchasing ordinance.
It shouldn't, shall serve,
shall what?
Serve.
I have no objection to the word serve being.
Thank you. And then the second, uh, one is
striking, striking, Ms. Moore and Mr.
Lafferty are you, um, no objections,
no objections to those amendments.
Okay. Oh, no. Okay. Any other discussion? Thank you, Mr.
Nunan. 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 12 C, which was tabled on February 10th, 2026.
Consideration and adoption of a resolution approving
unemployment and operations agreement between the city
of Warren and the Warren Housing Commission.
Motion to remove from the table
Support Lafferty, Uh,
I will call the question
to remove this item from the table.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Item is off the table. Motion to approve
Support. Lafferty.
Any 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 a yes. Motion carries.
Next item 12 E, council member Jonathan Lafferty.
Discussion in Ray review of sanitation blue bin program,
purchase history metrics on replacements
and reported bin damages
and future program advancements. So moved.
Support Lafferty with discussion,
Uh, discussion Mr. Lafferty
Through the chair to Mr.
Elli.
Good evening. Good evening, sir. Thank you. Number one.
Thank you for the prompt
and expeditious response to providing the materials
that I requested, uh, at two weeks ago at the meeting.
That was all Mr. Kickoff.
I will give him all the credit he deserves.
Well, it was, it was everything
and, uh, more than I expected
and is a great example of the,
the response that is expected
of certain office in this city, which will remain nameless.
Uh, let's, uh, let's start with a, uh, a couple items.
Did you want to, uh, speak on behalf of the department
or Mr. Campbell?
Uh, if you want, we can invite the expert up.
He's, uh, he's here. He, he can talk to it.
I feel much more comfortable with his expertise.
Yes. Mr. KickUp, please.
But I did want to thank you again for the return
of information as quickly as it was, uh, members of council.
You should have, uh, the detail,
uh, forwarded to you as well.
I just have a couple of questions. Good evening.
Wanted to go through. Good evening. Mr. Kitta.
Thank you for, uh, joining us this evening.
Have all homes received, and,
and I preface this by saying
that the program's been in place for several years.
You've made a number of advancements.
Residents have seen the transformation from our old pickup
style, from two men on the back of the truck
to the automated, uh, collection.
And every so often, uh, you come to us
and you ask us for additional bins,
more lids, repair parts.
And so I, I wanted to review kind of,
and summarize some of the progress here,
and then answer a couple of standard questions
that I typically receive as a council member,
and I'm sure as some
of the other members might also receive.
Sure. Have all homes received at least one trash
recycling and compost bin?
Yes. Every home in the city of Warren, uh,
received a trash bin.
And then everybody who requested a compost
or recycling bin received one.
Okay. So compost and recycling were, were upon request.
Upon request. Okay.
And to the trucks, are they inspected for performance?
And this is relative to the, the mechanisms for the pickup
and the return of the cart to the street?
Yes. Our drivers do a pre-trip inspection every morning.
The arm is part of that inspection.
Okay. And more specifically,
what I've, what I've observed is the, the pickup seems
to be pretty straightforward.
If, if it's, there's a sensor
or, you know, it knows how far to go out
and grab the, the bin.
And then when it puts it back down, is the expectation,
is it reasonable to expect that the the card is put
into the same place that it originated?
Yes. That's, that's our requirement.
Um, if it's practical, sometimes, you know,
if there's a car blocking it, our guys will get out
and move it away from the car and then put it, put it back.
You know, if there's a safety issue,
we'll put it back in a practical way.
But for the most part, yeah,
you can expect it back right at the curb where it is.
Okay. But as far as the, the position
that it was in when it was being picked up mm-hmm.
Return to that exact position Precisely
or within, within reason?
Well, we try to, I mean, it's an inexact science,
but yes, it should be in, in about the same position.
Okay. And, and the reason I ask is I have observed
and I have received calls that, hey, my bin is, you know,
consistently put four feet away from the curb when I have
it, you know, right up against the curb.
Uh, on occasion that'll happen if somebody, you know,
your neighbor parks their car in front of your house
and you put your bin there,
then your neighbor takes off at six 30 in the morning
and the bin's put back in a safe manner.
But now that now it looks like it's in the street,
but we have our supervisors take care of those problems.
Okay. We answer all complaints within 24 hours. Okay.
Also, weather plays a factor to Yeah.
I'm sorry. Also weather plays a factor
to window cut those hands
and blow away from the curb. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah. I've seen, I've seen them on the move. Oh yeah.
When they're empty. That, that, that's rather entertaining.
Alright. And does the department retain metrics on
damages, bins, lids?
Uh oh, yes. Can you comment on that?
We have, we, we keep exhaustive records.
We, there's serial numbers on every, can we, we,
we record every lid, replaced every wheel replaced,
every bin replaced. We record everything.
Okay. Because I was, I was looking at the,
the report from a, a cost effective analysis.
Uh, it seems that, you know, we're based on
what the labor rates were previous, that even with the cost
of the replacement parts and,
and the labor that we are, please, oh,
It's saving money. Mm-hmm.
I'd have to hire 15 more, 15 more drivers
and employees to do the same amount of work.
Yeah. With the, with the two man truck, it's,
it's definitely saving money in the long run.
It's, it's year by year. It's safe month.
Very good. And who is responsible for the repair
or replacement to a bin if it's damaged during pickup?
We are, we, we replace all the bins that we damage.
Uh, we replace 'em at no cost to the homeowner, not, um,
and well, it does happen winter time.
You get a lot of damage.
Understood. Is there a warranty on the bins?
Yes. We're using, um, a Michigan based company now.
We switched over July 1st of last year.
Um, so the, the order time is quicker.
There's a 10 year warranty on these bins.
That's why the serial numbers are on there.
We haven't had one damaged yet, knock on
Wood. Are are
there any differences between the, the old style bin
and the bin that you receive now? Yes.
Um, the, the ones we got now, they're still 95 gallons,
same capacity, but they're taller and thinner.
So the pinch points don't squeeze as much,
so there's less cracking.
Okay. And you still should not move them when they're open
as a residence, you know, moving the, the bin?
No, Uh, not that I'm speaking from personal experience.
And, uh, what number
or department should residents call if they require a,
a replacement bin or, or a lid?
Yeah. 5 8 6 7 7 5 1400.
That number's on the can correct?
It is on the can. Alright. Yes,
Every truck and every truck And every truck.
It's, it's all over the place.
Very good. How soon can a resident expect a bin
to be delivered to their home?
After the call,
We try to replace it on your next trash line.
So we ask residents,
I think I sent you all our car replacement policies,
but we ask residents to leave it out till four o'clock
so we have access to it.
'cause we don't like going onto your property
to repair 'em or replace it.
Understood. The, the information that you provided mm-hmm.
Is this, uh, going to be posted to the city website?
It will be, yes. Alright.
This is, this is really good information. Thank you.
It answers every question.
And I did want to close by, uh, number one. Thank you.
And your team for, uh,
the stellar job they do each and every week.
I did want to say that I had a call from a resident, uh,
just about two weeks ago asking
for some clarifications regarding the program.
Okay. Uh, so I have to thank him for, uh,
helping bring this issue to light.
And he was very complimentary of the gentleman you sent out
to his house representing sanitation.
He mentioned that he was courteous, professional,
and very polite,
and that he fixed the, uh, the bin with the repair parts
for his truck in about, uh,
less than 20 minutes. He was very pleased.
Good. Thank You. So thank you.
Thank you Madam Chair. I have no other
Questions. Madam Chair. Mm-hmm.
Mr. Kicker.
So I had a discussion with someone today that asked me a lot
of questions about our, uh, sanitation
and I don't know that I'm up to date on everything.
So can you tell me, when we pick up trash, not recycle
or compost,
but trash, where does it go from the time
it goes into the truck?
We take it to a transfer station. Uh, SMDA and
Then Oh, we do do Okay. We,
And from there it goes on to a landfill. Pine Tree Acres.
Okay. Where's SMDA?
Uh, it's on Gross Spec, just north, uh, just north of
between 11 and 12 on City of Warren's.
Yeah. Part owner of it.
Right. Right. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Mm-hmm.
Any other discussion? Oh, Adam's chair. Mm-hmm.
I was just sent a question from a, from the, uh,
viewing audience, uh,
what happens in the event a bin is stolen,
getting your steps in today?
Yeah. Someone called me
and they saw one of our bins in Harrison Township.
Jonathan and I were gonna go on a field
trip and go and grab it.
Go get it. Yeah.
That doesn't happen very often,
but usually we try to work with residents.
If, you know, if they say it's stolen,
we'll probably give 'em one for free.
Tell 'em to go to Harrison Township and pick one of 'em.
Thank you. All
Right.
Any other discussion? All right.
So we had motion and support from Ms. Moore and Mr.
Lafferty make that receive and file. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay.
Uh, I will call the question. Ms. Moore. Yes. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Nunan?
Yes. But watch where out. We you file it.
Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes. Motion carries.
Next item. Next item is 13 A,
which was tabled 1 27 20 26.
Review and consideration of the American with of Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Transition plan. Motion to remove from the table.
Support Lafferty. I will call the question
to remove it from the table.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Nunan? Sure. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Item is off the table. Mo.
Motion to approve support. Lafferty, any discussion?
Nope. I had two questions.
What would we They have a presentation. Oh, got it. Okay.
When is that? Is that happening now? Yeah. Oh, okay.
The slides, the presentation. Oh, perfect.
Computers and I
was just gonna call the question in.
Good evening. Good evening. Evening.
So I'm Kailin Murphy.
I think you guys probably all know me. A DA coordinator.
Also work for the city attorney's
Office. Can you please speak
into the microphone?
Kailyn Murphy from the city attorney's office.
Also a DA coordinator.
Um, I do have our two consultants
that worked on the a DA transition plan today here, um,
to do a little presentation
and then we can, uh, answer any questions that you may have.
So,
Hello, um, my name is Adriana Mel here.
I'm from Hubble, Roth and Clark.
Um, I actually started on this project back in 2021.
Um, I'm on the a DA transition team here with the rest
of the city team members.
Um, and in 2021 we were asked
to perform a DA assessments on nine city facilities.
So the Community Center, city Hall Police,
Owen Jacks Water Division, public work,
sanitation 37th District Court and Civic Center South.
Um, the assessments handle,
we've handled those in early 2022.
Um, we compiled reports of non-compliant items
and then came up with cost estimates.
And that eventually led to task planning.
So prioritization of like,
which tasks we're gonna handle first, uh, in 2023.
Um, and for that we looked at all the buildings,
what the most critical needs were in terms
of increasing accessibility.
And then, uh, we came up with a phasing plan on
how to tackle the improvements.
Um, and the city also had John Lisa over here, um, from NOAC
and FRA doing a DA assessments at all the city parks, um,
as part of the overall plan at that time.
Um, so at that point we had collected all of the data,
the physical data, um,
and the committee was ready
to start creating the transition plan document.
So 2024, we started
to pull together the framework of the plan.
We gathered additional information, identifying
how we were gonna approach public engagement, um,
and involving the various city
departments, um, in the process.
So our first official draft was pulled together in August
of 24, and then over the next 14 months, uh,
it was continually refined
and fleshed out until we issued the final draft
October of last year.
Um, and then we also had two public engagement meetings
in October of last year.
Um, and actually both of those were televised, uh,
broadcast, uh, and then the, they were videotaped
and they're on the city's, uh, transition plan webpage.
Uh, so anybody can go back and look at those
and kind of see what the comments were.
Um, and there were actually good comments.
Um, and we, we took those into consideration.
And, and as applicable, um,
we were looking at maybe adding some additional content
to the report, uh, if needed.
Um, the, I believe all of you have copies
of the transition plan.
Um, and I'm just gonna kind of go through the,
the basic organization.
Um, there's five sections and then appendices at the end.
So the first section is the introduction.
Then we've got the report overview,
which is basically the why of, you know,
why we were doing the transition plan in the first place.
Uh, the third section is transition plan summary.
So what was done, uh,
procedures we used fourth section was self-evaluation,
which is basically the data on accessibility,
all the facilities and the city services.
'cause it's not just buildings, it's also services that are,
uh, that we have to worry about.
And as far as accessibility,
the fifth section was cost estimates and schedules.
So as far as like how we phase it, which goes where,
how much it's gonna cost and when it's gonna get tackled.
Um, and then there were the appendices, uh,
which are the actual inventories and the survey data.
And there's just over 200 pages
of data in the transition plan.
Um, we've got some committee members here,
um, if you have any questions.
And then John, I don't know if you wanna
say anything additional or,
No, I think you define John DEA with Noack and Rouse.
Uh, we were tasked, as she mentioned, with uh,
doing a survey of the parks.
Um, I know her work as well as ours was, you know,
rather tedious, uh, in collecting all the data, 200 pages
as, uh, quite a bit of data to go through.
But I think we've packaged it in a way that, um,
the general public can, can digest it and,
and kind of add their feedback,
which they did at the first two
meetings that we offered. So,
Mad Madam Chair, Ms. Moore.
It's been a while since I read this.
It was, you know, a couple months ago,
I think, 'cause we've tabled a couple times.
Um, so I assume, um,
that this plan meets federal a DA requirements
and ensures the city is providing equal access to
residents with disabilities.
My question is, if accessibility standards change in the
future, how will the city update this
plan to stay compliant?
So in the plan, it mentions that there's a, basically the,
the requirement that the city has acknowledged
that they're going to periodically update
the plan as needed.
So obviously if the guidelines change
that would get revised, uh, as appropriate,
Who is in charge of that?
So I'll take this on. So we, as an a DA committee,
it's an internal committee meet monthly.
We've been doing it for two years.
We're planning on continuing meeting, um,
and continuing the progress that we've al already made.
But then I believe we have, and I'd have to go back and see,
but, um, a specific timeline when we're gonna review this,
um, whether it's probably will be yearly, um, to make sure
that we're in compliance, still to update anything.
Um, I know there are some additional buildings,
some additional things that we need to work on.
Um, so it's certainly, it's a transition plan.
It's not complete, it's a working document.
So, but we are continuing to meet, um,
with all the important department heads
and all the stakeholders, uh, on a very regular basis.
So, so, so who, is there one person that is going
to be charged with ensuring that this plan is carried out
through all departments in the city?
Or how is that going to be accomplished to make sure
that building is following it?
Sanitation is follow it, parks and rec is following it.
So ultimately that would come to me, I believe
as the a DA coordinator.
Um, but you know, I,
I will obviously count on those departments
and department heads, um, to comply with.
And, and so far I've not had a problem at all.
I actually have had very good response from everyone.
Um, they're really making this a priority
and answering all of my emails in a timely fashion.
So I don't see it being a problem.
Um, but ultimately it would be, it would be on me.
Is is there a plan, um, of keeping residents
and council apprised of what progress is being made
and what projects are completed
and what the, where we are on a timeline?
Oh yeah, certainly. So we, I believe,
and this was some maybe a year
and a half ago, you guys did appoint,
and I believe it's, uh, Councilman Newnan
is our representative, ex officio, sort of to our,
um, to our committee.
And I think I have been communicating with him.
Um, you know, of course we would always,
if you want regular updates, if you wanna see our agendas,
we'd be happy to provide
that if you guys want more information.
Well, I think residents are very
interested in this subject.
So I think probably a public updates
periodically would be important.
I, I also, at the Commission on Disabilities,
I do do an update every month.
So I attend that meeting every month.
And do a, is is there a formal role
for the Commission on Disabilities
to monitor this implementation?
'cause that's certainly part of, one of their duties
that they are supposed to be doing is monitoring the,
this sort of thing in the city.
So they've been very involved.
They came to the public hearings, um, that they,
they have been working with me on training, um, employees,
various other things.
Um, you know, they are advisory, so they do
Well, they're, they're more than, they're way more than
advisory according to the ordinance,
but, we'll, we're gonna go over that later today.
Okay. Okay. Um, so, um,
you may not know this yet,
but how frequently does the city receive a DA complaints
or accommodation requests?
So, I have a spreadsheet that's available,
like on our city network so that everyone can share it.
Um, not that often, um,
but I could give you exact statistics, um, from
that Excel spreadsheet.
But I keep a very detailed log, um,
of everyone when they make the complaint,
when the complaint is, when the response is due.
Um, we have a, we actually have an email set up, uh,
that forwards to my email as well
as the legal department's email, um, in case I'm off.
So that we receive any complaints, uh, we're supposed
to answer within 30 days.
It's honestly usually faster than that.
Um, we try to be very prompt with our responses. Yeah. So
How does the city,
or is the city going
to prioritize accessibility issues to address first?
So, at, at least from my perspective,
when I started meeting with the department heads
and the stakeholders, my goal was
to get our house in order first.
Um, so to create this transition plan, which has been
a two year process, prob probably actually
more, it's pretty extensive.
Um, and now we're moving into the phase
of obviously implementation, which we've been doing along
with the creation of the transition plan,
but also now looking at some things, um, going forward
as far as, uh, the city's accessibility ordinance.
That's actually something that's sort of in discussion,
be able to close the transition door,
transition plan door
and move on to some of these implementations,
including the city ordinance.
Um, will a DA improvements be coordinated
with other city construction projects
to minimize disruption?
Um, I guess I don't understand that
Question. Well,
for instance, um,
we might have a construction project going on somewhere,
and those sort of activities like this room for instance,
is going to be, um, modified
and changed, um, to meet a DA requirements.
So will that be coordinated
with other projects within this building?
For instance, will we be doing
like everything here and having Oh,
Oh yes. I'll, I'll let, because
They dealt with the Priorities.
So, yeah. So there is, um, there was actually
two projects right now that are going on that, uh,
we did the design for
that are about to go under construction.
So there was a large package of kind
of the priority one improvements at multiple city buildings.
So we put that out as a big package
to get some economies of scale.
Um, and then there's the project here in this room
that's also gonna be constructed.
That was a separate package.
Um, but we obviously looked at them in tandem to kind of see
what is going on and kind
of plan out holistically the improvements.
Um, there weren't really any other improvements going on in
the building except for, I know that there's some updates
to pool door hardware, um, so they're handling
that separately.
But it's something that we've kind of been keeping tabs on.
I, I assume there's some places there are safety re
problems, some areas there might be legal liability
and things that yes.
Need to be taken into consideration.
Yes. The, in terms of, uh, prioritization
of which projects to tackle first, yes,
there was obviously if there's, if there's areas
where there've been multiple complaints
or if it's just egregiously non-compliant,
those were bumped up to the top of the list.
Anything that, you know, prevented people from getting into
the building in the first place, that was high on the list.
Um, bathroom renovations were also kind of important.
So those made the list for the priority ones.
Um, we're actually gonna be starting to move into, uh,
design, uh, soon on the priority two improvement.
So, so it's kind of a phased approach.
And, um, the overall, the, the plan was to kind
of tackle the ones that are most in, in, in need
of being done sooner, and then kind of handle the, the less,
the less critical ones.
Um, I know the Parks
and rec, um, department for several years now have made some
big inroads in the play structures
and other, um, amenities at the parks for, um, accessibility
and inclusivity.
Is there any plan to improve the, um, routes
between parking areas and sidewalks and park amenities?
'cause that, I mean, from somebody that's able
to walk without a problem, I can see
where it's like at Veterans Park, it's tough.
I mean, we go there for a lot of, um, events on the corner
and it's hard to go from there, um, certain places.
So, I mean, I know that for, you know, is
that being looked at in, you know, tandem with other
sidewalk projects and things like that.
Dave's shaking his head Yes.
Yes, it certainly is.
And, and this plan gives them a nice, um, source, uh,
when they're doing work at any park, they can see
what the condition of those parking, uh, spaces are,
what the pathways are to the area of improvement,
and certainly would include that in the scope of work.
And I assume there will be coordination
with contractors, right?
Um, to make sure that people are doing construction work
and whatever vendors there are
that they're following this plan.
Sure. Yeah. Okay.
Um, another question one of the residents had was,
how will residents be able to see
what improvements have been completed
and what is planned next?
Well, I guess again, the, the function,
the outreach is probably
through the Commission on disabilities more than anything.
Um, so 'cause we do have these regular internal meetings,
but I am reporting back
to the Commission on Disabilities on a regular basis, um,
sort of where we're at in the process.
Um, we also do have a website
that we're updating on a regular basis.
So you can see the transition plan,
you can see the public meetings.
Um, there's also various resources, uh,
in including the grievance procedure
and, um, various other, uh,
helpful information for the public.
So that's, and,
and the, uh, as well as the public meetings we had.
So that was our public outreach.
Okay. The other, it's been a long time since I looked at
it, but I don't remember seeing timelines in the plan.
That was my question. Are there
For the, for the building related items,
there's a spreadsheet in the back of the document
where the costs are, those are broken down by priority
and also timeframe.
So if you look real close, there's dates,
there's years on when those, uh,
projects are kind of earmarked for.
Okay. And obviously that's based on available budget
and, you know, avail of available, um, design time
and all of, a lot of factors.
But that's kind of the rough plan.
There's, there are dates in there.
Okay. I think that is
it for me.
Thank you very much,
Ms. McGee. And then Mr. Lockley,
I had a couple questions I did, um, just
to let Lori know, we did put in information
to the IT department to add
to the website once the website is filled through the city,
was that included in the plan, um, to put a,
a DA code or a DA symbol in the
website for the city of Warren?
What, uh, specifically what are you referring
To? There's a logo
that you use if, for a DA compliance
to put on the, um, Warren website.
Are you talking about assessee for little mm-hmm. Okay.
So we actually have a consultant that, um, doesn't use
acee, has some legal issues.
Um, so that's why we decided not to go with 'em.
Um, but we do have consultants that we work
with on a very regular basis that do various tests, um,
on our accessibility.
They're currently working for the new, um,
WCAG standards, um, which are going to be required
sometime this year, I want to say April.
Um, so, but that particular program that esae,
we do not use, but we do have other, what I would say,
better ways of making sure that we are in compliance
with those standards.
Um, and all laws and regulations.
The, I believe
that we do have a section on like website accessibility in
the transition plan.
Okay. Um, but certainly Catherine, Aldo is our,
um, in communication.
She's great. That's what she does all the time, is, is, uh,
work with those consultants.
So
The other thing you said that what do we do for outreach?
We, um, I know with me being the ex official
for the commission, that you're also putting on an event,
uh, a disability event to make people aware, um,
of the things that you are doing
and provide resource information.
That is correct. I think the Commission on Disabilities is
planning on, uh, doing a disabilities fair.
Mm-hmm. I know that they had done a couple in the past, um,
they were a little low on members for a few years, so, um,
as well as administrative support.
Mm-hmm. So they're going to try to get that going again.
Yes. Um, it was very popular is my understanding
when they had it, so.
Okay. Thank you, Mr.
Lafferty. Thank you. Uh, good evening, Ms. Murphy.
Uh, good evening. My question, uh, Ms.
Adriana, I'm sorry I didn't catch your last name.
It's Malki. Melchior. Mm-hmm. Ms. Melchior.
Uh, thank you. The question I had,
you had mentioned just a few moments ago
that there was a spreadsheet outlining tasks and timelines.
Yeah, it's, it's actually the cost estimate.
Um, if you look on the, on the right hand side
of it, it gives dates.
I'm, I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you.
That's not part of what we received.
So there was an updated version
that might not have made it to your packets.
It's on the website. Um,
but yeah, so there's, if,
if you don't have 200 pages in your document,
it's not the full one.
No. So there's some additional information maybe you're
missing, um, that is part
of the actual full transition plan.
Um, and, and that would be my fault,
if you did not receive the entire, and I apologize.
No worries. But it is available on the website.
It is quite extensive.
So as far as all the projects and,
and the self-assessment, so,
Okay. So without seeing
it, my, my question was more
so towards a roadmap, being able to see where all
of the projects, the, the deficiencies
and where all of these tasks fell within.
I don't if it, it does say in here on, in section five
that there's a five year timeframe by 2030
to remove barriers.
Yes. Uh, but I would assume that only refers
to a portion of that plan.
Correct. It refers to specifically the eight buildings
that we surveyed.
Um, and then also the park facilities that were surveyed.
There's additional buildings
that have not been yet surveyed.
So those have to get brought in to the plan
and will come out online as, you know, as the,
the funds became available for that later on.
Okay. Because, and then Section five also makes reference
to that many of these tasks are funding dependent mm-hmm.
Dependent upon economic conditions. Right.
Uh, budgeting, and I know Mr. Fox is picking up, uh,
when we say that word.
Mm-hmm. So we have to, along with all of the,
the deficiencies, a remediation plan with, uh,
the cost associated with each one of those line items.
Mm-hmm. And so, uh, on the website, yes,
I, uh, Ms. Murphy, if you could please, uh, follow up
and provide a, uh, a link to that report.
I will, yes. To council office. And my apologies.
No worries. No apologies needed.
We are actually looking, part of the thing
that we talk about in all these a DA meetings is funding,
um, including looking at grants
and various other funding to get to, you know,
to look towards the future, knowing that
our money from the DDA will eventually run out.
That, you know, we, we do have,
we'll have funding needs in the future.
So that is something that we are definitely looking
at, at every meeting.
Okay. And the, my last item would be back to the website.
It was mentioned, we had renewed the inside out contract
for a period of one year.
And so I'm concerned with, uh,
asking the communications departments
to explore going back out for RFP, how
that might impact the April implementation timeline. I'm
Not, I, my understanding,
and I haven't emailed with Catherine in a little bit,
but that they were pretty much in compliance.
They were like, ahead of schedule.
I mean, I can confirm that
and see sort of more specifically
where they, where they were at.
Um, but the last communication I, I had with Catherine,
that was the, uh, that was the impression that,
that she gave me, that they were gonna get it all done, uh,
well before the deadline.
So. Okay. And, and I might be wrong about April. I don't.
Okay. And, and I know that, uh, I know Ms. Moore has,
has brought up, and, and a couple other members
of council have noted, uh, mistakes on the website,
despite the fact that they, uh, are supposed
to review this on an ongoing basis, yet the mistakes remain
and there are deficiencies on the site.
So, uh, we might want to put an asterisk on the delivery on
that one if we decide to change providers.
And, you know, we may have
to revisit a DA all over again if,
if we retool the site altogether.
Certainly. Yeah. And you can always email me, um,
if you notice any issues or you have any concerns.
I am not an expert,
but I can certainly consult with Catherine
and the people that deal with this every day.
Um, she's very good at getting back to me and,
and the consultants are as well. So.
Wonderful. Thank you. I have no other questions.
Anyone else? Have Anyone else have any discussion?
I have one question that's maybe a larger thing.
Um, but we mentioned sidewalks in the plan.
When are we doing a comprehensive sidewalk plan?
I know we've talked about this, I know some of it's funding,
but I just sent you up here some photos from the walk
that I was on where the concrete was
so unbelievably lifted on the sidewalk.
Hello. Good evening. Yes.
Currently, um, we are,
sidewalks are still on complaint based,
complaint based driven, so if whatever you send me,
I will put it on a future list.
I'll just email it to you. Okay.
To get repaired the ramps.
However, we do have, uh,
the city set aside $200,000 each year in the budget.
And, uh, we're going section by section
and getting a bunch of ramps on a program,
and we just bid it out and on.
I think on the next council agenda,
you'll see the award for bid.
So what would it take to work section by section
to replace the sidewalks?
So it depends. It varies section by section.
Like for instance, this package
that I just bid out is four sections
For ramps. For
Ramps. Yeah.
It would be great come budget time if you could have just
even some rough estimates of like, what it would take
to conquer one section of the city, like comprehensively
to go through the sidewalks
because it's, you know, we notice it more particularly
during campaign years, like when we're walking across,
you know, half the city talking to folks.
But even just in my neighborhood, um, there's just so much
that I think if we did it more comprehensively
would just make so much more sense.
And I think there's so many folks that I've talked
to over the years that have complained about, you know,
they're, they're blind
or they have, you know, they're, they're elderly,
they just don't see,
and they're, they fall,
that costs us money when they sue us,
but also it just makes their experience in,
in their immediate neighborhood less pleasant
because they're, they're having
to watch for so many hazards.
So it would be great if you could look at like,
I don't know, break the city into four
and tell us what it would cost for to do one section.
Yes. But the ramps are the city's responsibility,
and the rest of the sidewalks
are property owner's responsibility.
So it would be assessed to the property owner.
Well, isn't it split? Mm-hmm.
Is it, I mean, on, on, there's certain,
like if you have a corner lot,
there's certain things that the city cover.
If it's trees due to a tree, we, the maximum we, um,
have, the resident pay is four slabs.
And if anything goes over that through the tree
that's on the city, but there are certain
rules and they're in the ordinance.
Yeah. But, um, yeah, for the majority
of the cost is on the property owner.
The ramps the city pays for, I budget 200,000 each year
to take care of, uh, roughly.
I think we had 40 ramps, I think,
on this project, somewhere around there.
Okay. So like, so if we were gonna do a plan, for example,
what I'm asking, the homeowners obviously have
to opt in if they're responsible, they have to, they have
to pay for it if it's replaced.
Got it. Okay. And that's by ordinance?
Well, let me explain the program. Yeah, go for it.
So we did this one time, um,
we started in about early two thousands,
about 2002,
and they started at the, um,
northeast part of the city.
Mm-hmm. And they went,
and it would, took about two years,
Mr. Fox, about two years.
Today's dollars probably you're getting talking close
to 10 million, probably at least $10 million
to do the program like we did then.
But it went through the whole city.
Every, every single property was flagged,
and every sidewalk flag, no pun intended, was replaced.
And the resident was charged for that.
And it goes on the tax role role, or they could pay it then,
or however they wanted to.
The beauty of that was, at the same time,
the contractors were out there
and residents realized the, the,
their driveway approach was better.
Their driveway needed repairs, so they got inex,
less expensive concrete work
because the contractor was already
there and people loved it.
They got driveways. And just the matter of,
there's the contractor that's doing really great work.
We started out with one that wasn't fabulous, but we,
after we'd started the program,
we got a contractor in Oli Cement.
I've never seen a contractor do so much work in a city
with so few complaints.
It was amazing. Just amazing.
And lots of our, uh, legal complaints went down for trip
and falls and all that.
And, uh, people, and,
but more importantly, people weren't hurt as much
as they had been in the past.
We took out trees. If we do it again,
we should not just do sidewalks.
We should replace trees while we're out there. Yes.
So we would improve this tree canopy
through the city and do the site.
But it's a big undertaking. It's a lot of money.
And, um, I think in
that Qatari Ross from the attorney's office put together
that whole program, it was pretty comprehensive,
but very, very successful.
But it's very, very expensive. No doubt.
And it's a, it's a lot of,
it's not like ripping up your street.
It's not as, um, um,
Intensive. Yeah.
Yeah. But there's still sidewalks
and driveways of, you know, people choose to get that.
But, um, you know, we, I think Jonathan wanted trees,
and I wanted sidewalks when we first,
and that was one of the first things we asked for, was
to do a sidewalk program in 19.
And it's been that for main roads,
Ryan? Yeah.
Anywhere there's, anywhere there was a, a sidewalk,
a home, a home sidewalk.
Whether they did it for,
I don't remember if they did it commercial.
I don't think so. I don't think commercial.
I think it was just residential, um, streets.
Because I can remember trying to plan my walking day.
I go somewhere and go, oh, geez,
they're doing these sidewalks.
I had to go to a different precinct to walk
because it was interrupting the route.
But I, I think it's something that, you know,
in the next couple years, we really should look at doing.
Yeah, I agree. Um, well, road construction projects,
we always take care of the ramps and sidewalk issues.
And, and again, like I said, complaints.
And also when our contract, our inspectors are out and about
and they see something, they'll report it.
Mm-hmm. So we,
we put a lot on our sidewalk program every year.
There's a lot of sidewalk that's fixed.
Thank you. Yeah. It's just an accessibility thing,
and I would love to see it, um, addressed.
Yeah. Thank you. Sure. Any, any other discussion?
Okay, Mr. Nun. Sorry,
Madam President. Madam
President. I see on, um, let's see,
page 6, 3 34 of our agenda.
We're still on aada a
Uh, yeah.
Okay. It's, I think about the last page of, of
what we have there, second to last page maybe.
Anyway, its, uh, it says the, uh,
a DA committee respectfully request this item be scheduled
for committee of the whole meeting.
Um, is, are we bypassing that tonight?
Head chair. Mm-hmm.
We decided in the council office
to have this meeting in public
because so many residents were interested in it.
Okay. And they don't have the same
access to a committee meeting.
This would, this will do it. This is it.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
I'm done. Okay.
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.
Thank you everyone for being here. Yeah. Thank you.
Next item is 13 B,
which was tabled 2 10, 20 26.
Notice of reappointment of Natalie Nik
to the library commission with the term expiration
of June 30th, 2029.
Motion to remove from the table. Support.
Okay. Support from Mr. Newnan.
I will call the question
to remove her from the table. Mr. Lafferty?
Yes. To remove from the table.
Mr. Nunan? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Uh, Ms. McGee? Yes.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Rogan C is a yes. Item is off the table.
Motion to approve
Support, Uh, discussion.
Motion by McGee. Support by Mr. Nunan.
Discussion, Mr. Lafferty?
Thank you. So, a couple of weeks ago, uh,
before we got into the residency discussion, I had, uh,
questioned why this item was being brought to our agenda.
And, you know, so far ahead
of time when other commission appointments, uh, one
with the exact same term, was not being presented to us.
Why this one specifically?
And why are we, why is the mayor ignoring the appointments
of so many other commissions, especially those
that have absolutely no members?
I'll reiterate. The Veterans Memorial Commission has
zero members.
The elected Officials Compensation Commission has
zero members.
And here we are appointing somebody several months
before their appointment expires.
And June
of 2026 is when this expires.
I, I still don't understand.
Uh, I was, I I do want to bring this up.
I was perplexed.
There was an article that was just published today
in the Warren Weekly, uh, you may not have received it yet,
but the, the mayor, uh, claims
that she had no process To follow
when she was, when she took office.
Now, the last time I checked, the city charter is very clear
as to what the qualifications
for boards and commissions are.
And so I guess nobody told her to look at the city charter,
to look at what the process is for appointing members
to boards and commissions.
Now, she did tell the other day
that she made 100 appointments.
Wow. Two years.
And how many months into the, into the term.
And you only got a hundred appointments in
I know several mayors, past mayors that did that
in the first 90 days.
That is the expectation that we have.
We shouldn't be having this discussion.
I think I've said this before,
we should not be having this discussion.
Um, am I'm
disappointed in the process.
I'm disappointed in the consistency
of her excuses instead of pointing the question back at us
and calling it a moving target.
We expect results. We expect her to do her job.
And I'm, I, I have no other words
to explain my frustration with the, the mayor
and why this, why this, uh, uh,
reappointment is in, is in front of her.
If the mayor believes that this person
should sit on the library commission is qualified, is, uh,
and meets the, uh, the expectations, then the mayor,
that person serves at the mayor's pleasure,
and the mayor will reap the results of her decision.
Okay. To answer one question based on a, on an item
that did not get discussed tonight, uh, I would like to ask
that we send, uh,
or we establish a policy, uh, from counsel office
that going forward, all appointments
should include a US residency validation
and a voter ID check by the city Clerk's office.
I think that is, uh, uh, in concert with the city charter
and eligibility for serving on a commission, that you have
to be registered to vote within the city of Warren.
You can only be registered to vote in the City
of Warren if you are a resident.
And I think that can solve many of our issues if we require
that as part of the application process.
So with that, uh, I will yield.
I just, um, wanted to note, uh, I spoke to Ms.
Pnet 'cause there was some concern about her, um, address.
I spoke to her, I think on Friday,
and she sent me, um, her voter ID card,
which has the warrant address, her driver's license,
her homer's, homeowner's insurance policy, all of that.
Um, she did note, which I think maybe is a part of, um,
your motion, Mr.
Lafferty, I think, I don't know if it was Mr. Watts brought
up her water bill or property tax.
She No. Yeah, he did. Yeah.
So she lives in an HOA and so her property tax
and water bill are not in her name.
And so they're paid as a part of her HOA fees.
So if anyone was trying to look up her water bill
or look up her property tax payment,
they wouldn't really be able to
because they're being paid from the HOA.
Right. So, I don't know if there's something on the
application that we wanna, someone should change,
maybe in the administration's office to note that.
Um, because you wouldn't be able
to find those things being passed due.
Right. Um, because they're not in her name. Right.
So I, I think that's a, a, a very valid point
to make as part of the application process as
Well. Just, it
eliminates confusion when people are trying to,
you know, look for outstanding balances
that they just, they're not gonna exist.
They're not gonna find it in that way. Yeah. Okay.
Madam President, Uh, Mr. Nunan, and then Ms. What,
Uh, I think those might be Val, very valid, um,
possibilities that Councilman Lafferty is recommending.
Um, but I don't wish to make that part of, uh,
tonight's vote on, on Ms. Nik.
Yeah. It would be a separate,
Separate motion. Yeah. That would be good to
consider.
Sure. Madam Chair. Mm-hmm.
So when, you know someone's appointed
that doesn't have a track record, um, all of us, it's sort
of a leap of faith who was being, um, appointed.
And I, um, mentioned, um, the other night I had,
I had some serious concerns about, um,
the Library Commission.
They deal with a lot of, um, money, a lot of facilities.
They have a lot of responsibility.
I, once again, thanks to Ms. Harris who, um, records live.
I've watched most of the live, many of them.
Um, thanks to Ms. Harris,
I was concerned again at the last meeting.
Um, there seems to be a lack of following, uh, any sort of
Roberts rules or any of, um, the,
the meetings seem a little sculpted to me.
Um, and I, I know
that the people on there really don't have much experience.
And, you know, it's, it's been a, a year, I think.
And, uh, I think since Ms.
Nik was there, maybe she'll learn more and,
and the things will improve.
And it's, you know, if, if,
if the mayor's not concerned about, um, those things,
then I guess she'll just have to deal
with the fallout of that.
Whatever happens. Um, we have a new library director
and, uh, and, you know, a fairly new commission.
And I don't think everybody is going to, um, uh,
ask to be reappointed.
So there's probably gonna be a, a problem with quorum.
Uh, that's, I would've made a motion to deny today,
but I'm worried about a quorum.
And that's why I'm, I'm not, um,
so I'm not gonna oppose this,
but I think there's gotta be some, you know, watch
watching over some of the commissions
to make sure they're following their mandate,
following Robert's rules, um, going forward.
Thank you. Uh, Ms. V?
Uh, yes. I wanted to say this, that
'cause concerning, um, when we talk about the lack
of experience, experience come with training
and development, if we're gonna appoint someone
to a commission, they should at least
have training and development.
But we never talk about that.
I brought this up on
before, if you want them to be experts on Robert Rules,
then provide Robert Rules training.
We should not expect someone to be on commission
who may be qualified due to having the education,
maybe having a little experience, maybe
because they've been on other boards
and they met all the other requirements,
but we did not provide 'em with training and development.
And they should be provided with that.
We have programs out there for that.
And if we want the best of the best,
and we want qualified people on our commission,
then train them, develop them to be the best of the best.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, Ms. Moore and then Mr. Laffy.
I, I don't disagree with you.
Um, Ms. McGee, in fact, um, in, uh, other un,
other un under other administrations,
they did provide Robert's rules of order.
I remember George Constance used to hold classes,
and so everybody knew what they were,
but it's very, Robert's rules are very simple.
It's a little book, especially in the library commission.
I'm sure there's one sitting right in the library
where they meet and they could just walk out
and pick up the, it's, you know, it's like a,
they have Robert's rules for dummies that,
that I could probably use.
Um, but, um, you know, Robert's rules are not complicated.
They're very simple. And, um, you know,
you could just give someone, um, you know, a copy
or just have copies around for people to read it.
It would, that would accomplish the same thing.
But, um, I'm, I bet there is one in the library. Mm-hmm.
I'm sure. But I, I don't disagree with you that there needs
to be some, um, training.
And many of the commissions actually say
that there should be a wide variety of talent mm-hmm.
Of certain, um, commissions, um,
that provide different areas of expertise
and come to the commission with expertise.
And I don't know that, um, we're following that.
'cause you have to look at the ordinance.
Um, and, and I'm, I'm gonna talk about that later.
I've got some things to bring up some inconsistencies,
but I don't disagree with you on training.
Um, I think there's a lot that needs
to be done when people don't even know
what a fund balance is,
and they're dealing with millions of dollars.
That was scary and concerning to me.
So, um, I, I believe there,
I totally agree with you on that one.
Mr. Ty
And Ms. McGee.
I, I too agree with you.
I think it's unreasonable for us to expect that
any commissioner is an expert in Robert's rules of order.
And certainly with a little bit
of training they can achieve that.
But the, many of our boards and commission have,
and it's not necessarily their role,
but they have a representative from the city attorney's
office that could interject
and provide guidance to ensure that, um,
those, those items are followed, uh, at least
to some degree of order.
Mm-hmm. Alright.
I, I would expect that from, from an attorney.
And so the, the example
that I saw at this, at this latest library commission
meeting, an item was discussed.
Many items were discussed, no vote was taken.
They simply went on to the next item,
discussed another item, no vote taken, then they went
to audience participation and then came back to the items.
There may have been discussion at some certain
points, and then they voted.
So there was two periods of discussion on each item that,
that doesn't fly with Robert's rules.
If, if your bylaws state that's what you're following,
you should be following those.
And so there should be some semblance.
Uh, I don't expect expertise by any stretch,
but I do expect that there's, uh, guidance provided
and that they are following it, uh,
per their, per their bylaws.
Thank you.
Okay. So I will call the question on Ms.
Pina's appointment. Um, Ms. McGee?
Yes. Mr. Newnan? Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes.
Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Ms. Moore? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next.
Um, do you want, do you wanna add an item,
bifurcate an agenda, add that
to the future agenda? The item I'll,
I'll bring up, uh, I'll work with Ms. Moore.
Next item to develop, develop, uh,
policy changes or appointments.
Okay. Awesome. Uh, next item 13 C, request
of the Human Resources director
for an additional appropriation of funds in the amount
of $10,000 to cover contractual obligations for overtime due
to the implementation of new onboarding
and skills testing, software consideration,
and adoption of a resolution.
So, move. Support, support.
D Our, uh, Ms. Moore
and Newnan support any
discussion, hearing, and scene?
None. I'll call the question. Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Newnan?
Yes. Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Ms. McGee? Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item. Next item. MS.
13 D. Request of the Parks
and Recreation Department for an additional appropriation
of funds in the amount of $78,351 to cover the cost
of upgrading, of updating the parks
and recreation master plan, consideration,
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Lafferty.
Any discussion, hearing, and scene? No.
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. Mr.
Spiller, do you need this to be time?
Do you need this by tomorrow?
Or It can wait till the, um,
reconsideration period in on Friday.
Uh, for this motion? Yeah.
Uh, as long as we the contract signed and,
and, uh, um, get the deck on, on, on contract.
Okay. Do you need it before Friday? No. Okay.
I know you, you did mention to me
that there was some, it is a time thing. You just
Want to give the company enough time
to successfully do this,
Uh, process. Okay.
Okay.
Um, that I think so. Uh,
C We did, We did, yeah.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. So,
Yeah. D
it's, um, more and lty on D.
Okay. I thought I
Called the question on D. No,
you did. Oh, you did D Okay. We just, we just go. Okay.
Thank you. Okay, then. 13 E is request to approve RFPW 1 73.
Three recommendation to award a contract to furnish
and updated five year, five year,
five year recreation master plan for the city of Warren
to Spalding de Decker associates in, in an amount not
to exceed $78,351 consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support L. Any discussion?
Uh, yes, please. Uh, Mr. Nunan?
Thank you. I'll be voting no
because we should have a climate action plan
before we do these plans.
Um, the climate is changing in extreme ways.
A, um, bomb cyclone, for instance, this is hitting
New York, just hit New York City could hit the, uh,
what used to be adequate standards,
may not be adequate standards going forward.
We should be adapting and changing
and being forward thinking. Thank you,
Madam Chair. Ms. Moore,
I believe that we have
to have this master plan in place to be eligible
for funding, uh, for grant funding and things like that.
If I remember in the past, correct?
I have by February 1st, 2027.
If we're not submitted to the state
and approved, we would not be eligible
for grant funding for five years.
Thank you. Any other discussion?
Okay. Hearing and seeing none, I will call the question.
Ms. Moore? Yes. Mr. Lafferty? Yes. Mr. Dwyer?
Yes. Mr. Nunan?
No. Ms. McGee? Yes. Rogan C is? Yes.
Motion carries. Next item 13 F, request
of the public services administration supervisor
for a line item transfer
between general fund ledger account numbers in the amount
of $20,000 to cover additional costs associated
with the rehabilitation
of city owned property at 14,217 East nine Mile
for operating equipment
and, um, repairs, contingency consideration
and adoption of a resolution.
So moved. Support Dwyer.
Any 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. Yes.
Rogan C is a yes. Motion carries. Next item.
Next item is 13 G Notice of Reappointment of Rita Tran
and Aaron Tran to the Commission on Disabilities
with a term expiration of February 28th, 2029.
Motion to a approve
Support.
Okay. Discussion. Discussion, Ms. Moore? Thank you.
Um, I did a little, uh, background on,
um, this commission.
Um, and I noticed that the
ordinance says that there are to be seven members
and they shall serve for staggered three year terms.
The city website on the commission on disability says there
should be six members, and they serve one year terms.
Um, and one of the things
that I've noticed is that they have a problem, um,
holding meetings once a month.
And they're, so the
ordinance says the commission on disability shall hold
meetings regularly at least once a month.
I think we should change that ordinance
and make it to be at least quarterly.
Mm-hmm. They could have one every month. I agree.
But that wouldn't be a mandate for them,
that if they met quarterly,
that would satisfy the ordinance.
Mm-hmm. Um,
and the general duties, um, the, it's review
and recommend to the Mayor and Council, the development
of programs and practices that will improve inclusion
to city services and facilities
for persons with disabilities.
That was one, I don't remember anything coming over from the
Disability Commission on Disabilities since 2003,
um, where they recommended and sent over to council
and we mandated, we did t the tdt,
TDY TT Y at the time, TT y.
And they, um, um, came over to this building
and recommended to us that we changed the, the pressure
to the doors were too heavy to be open.
Um, the second one duty is advise the city on compliance
with federal and state regulations
and legal developments affecting city accessibility
to disabled persons, provide city departments, boards,
and commissions with information on state
and federal laws and regulations.
I don't think they've done any of that.
And I'm not sure there's anybody on the commission
that's qualified to do that.
Ms. Murphy can do that,
but that's not, she's not a member of the board.
Also, the other one provide information
and recommendations to the mayor
and council on improvements to city services facilities
and practices to more effectively attain the goals
of compliance with the Americans with Disability Act
and enhanced inclusion.
I've not seen any of that.
There is, there are two other duties.
One is address issues as the mayor from time to time
requests pertaining to the city's accessibility to services
and compliance with federal and state regulations.
I can't answer that. I don't know if that, that, uh,
commission has advised the mayor.
And then the fifth, encourage
and promote better communication
and a greater understanding of persons with disabilities
among the community and city employees,
officers, boards and commissions.
I believe they do that they do with the
community occasionally, you know, once a year or something.
I'm not sure if they do it with city employees, officers,
boards, or commissions.
So I think we either have to rethink the entire board
and have experts be appointed to that.
Board experts in a DA, um, one
of the most knowledgeable people in the city on a DA
that's a layperson is Tony Baker.
He applied and he was that put on there,
which was a mistake in my opinion.
So I think we need to look and redo
and rewrite this ordinance because it's not being followed.
Three out of the five mandates
for this commission are not being followed at all.
So I think that we should look at redoing that commission
and make it just an advisory group that does events if
that's we, 'cause if they're not doing the other things, um,
and we should have the, the website should have,
um, oh, it was formed.
It was formed in 2001. Okay.
But, um, the city website should be changed to follow
the ordinance.
Um, and I have some, there's some things
with the dis beautification, all the commissions I kind
of started looking at, and I'm seeing some mistakes.
But I think that, um, you know, I was,
you know, I was first going to be critical
of this appointment because these things have not been
satisfied in over 20 years.
And we've had the same chairperson of the commission.
And, but I don't think that you can expect a lay person
to be performing these sort of duties to be up
to date on all the laws.
Some of the people in the city
that do this every day aren't up to date on not,
I don't mean you, Ms. Murphy.
Is that Ms. Murphy? You're so far away. Yeah. Okay.
Um, but, um, you know, with everybody together,
I think they're figuring it out.
But this is certainly not the responsibility of this group.
And, and let's make it what it is
and change the ordinance to reflect
what they are supposed to be doing.
Um, 'cause we're expecting way too much out of people,
and especially people that have disabilities
and don't have some, might not be able to do certain things
that other folks could do.
So I just think we need to redo that.
Um, and then I would have no problem with, um,
these reappointments
because, um, I don't want to be critical of people
that do not have the ability to perform under this sort
of re these requirements.
So that's where I'm at on Madam
President, please put me on the
List. Yep. I'm really
Ms. McGee and then Mr.
Nan, um, Ms. Moore would, are you suggesting
that maybe these items, those two be tabled
until this is updated?
No. No, you're not. No, I don't,
don't think it matters if the mayor wants, that's the, if,
if this is what the mayor wants out of the commission,
but let's, let's make them not be,
not following the ordinance.
Right. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Ms. McGee and the Mr. Nen.
Um, Ms.
Rita SCH turned in some information of all the,
all the things that they had done
and inputted, um, while on the commission,
and which she had done quite a bit.
And, and I'm, I'm in agreement with you if it's their,
their list of requirements that they have to know, we need
to make sure that, um, we submit that to them so
that they can get those things done
and they may be experienced with it
or maybe know how to do it or they may not.
And if the attorney can help us with that, we can make sure
that we can get that done.
Um, I lost my train of thought.
Ah, I think you have to, um, I was gonna ask you about,
um, as far as people, oh, I know what I wanted to say.
I don't think we have enough people lining up
to be on this commission because they're not showing up.
I asked the question of how many, um, how many
of our residents had applied
to be on the disability committee,
and you're not getting those to apply.
Maybe because, because they don't know enough.
And that's one of my biggest concerns about, you know,
if we decided to deny, um,
for this commitment for them to get back on reappointed,
that we wouldn't have enough people to have the commission.
So I wanted to express my concern. Thank you, Mr. Union.
Yes. Uh, Ms. Murphy, would you mind,
uh, the reason why I'm asking you to come forward is
because I think you might have some ideas on the items that
Ms. Moore suggested.
I, I think that she's being, uh, really insightful
and, uh, creative about this, uh, about the situation,
but to demand the people do things that they cannot
or, or will not do.
I don't know. Uh, how, how would we have a meaningful
Disabilities Commission would, I guess, would be
what I'm after, after
I a hundred percent agree
that the ordinance should be amended.
Um, I I, I looked it over this afternoon
as well, and when I saw the,
and I hadn't looked it over in a while.
Um, and when I saw the section saying,
advise the city officials about a DA, um,
federal and state regulations, usually
that's the prerogative of the attorney's office.
And it would be a little concerning to me if a member
of the Disabilities Commission that was a lay person
is advising city employees how they should be,
uh, handling a DA issues.
Um, I think that is certainly a function
of the city attorney's office.
So I'd definitely be in support of taking something like
that out May now maybe consulting
with the attorney's office about a DA, uh,
regulations and developments.
Um, certainly. But I, I agree.
I think that now we have seven members.
Um, and so I know for a while we were struggling.
Our forum is three, um,
and we were very much struggling to get those three, um,
for a variety of regions.
But 'cause we only have three members on the
commission, we now have seven.
Um, so I'm hoping
that meetings can take place at a more regular basis.
Um, so I mean, I, I agree
that the ordinance definitely needs to be amended.
Um, it is a more informal, uh, committee, uh,
or commission we have done with them.
They've done several things, um,
that I don't know necessarily have been conveyed
to you guys, but they are working
with the 37th District court on designing the new, um,
a DA compliance for the new building.
Um, so that they had many meetings with the architect
as well as, uh, Ari Ross about that.
She brought that in, um, brought them into that.
Um, as well as, I think the library director came
to our last meeting talking about some coordination
with the library for the blind, um, as well
as some other a DA related issues.
Um, it, it seemed, and sh
and the new library director also had
some personal connections.
That's what I find a lot with employees is they come in, um,
and they start talking about, you know, my brother,
my sister, my mother have issues.
So, um,
but I, I know
that the a the Commission on Disabilities has gotten sort
of a bad rap, and it has had some issues, certainly.
Um, but I think we're hopefully turning over a new leaf, um,
and getting some administrative support as well.
I think they might come to you for some, potentially
for some purchases, for some materials.
And, um, so getting things going,
Uh, I'm thinking that if there were an expert
that could be hired who could work
as an administer administrator to do those things
that were the tasks that, that the city has felt
the commission should do, but have
that they haven't been done, that haven't been doing, um,
it might be worth trying to hire someone.
Um, because it seems like to expect, uh, one
of the city lawyers to do all that on, on top of
whatever a city lawyer is asked to do in the way
of prosecutions, rewriting, ordinances,
and so forth, doesn't seem like a good use of lawyers' time.
Um, would it have to be a lawyer that that was hired,
if that was to be done?
Um, I have a lot of questions around that,
but I would like, um, the
a DA transition plan
and other, uh, disabilities, um,
questions be well resolved in our city so that people
with disabilities, especially everyone's gonna get dis
disabled eventually as, uh, as seniors.
Um, I would really like to see that move forward smoothly.
And so I'm, I'm looking forward to maybe, uh,
maybe not tonight, but pretty soon, uh, you're helping us
to come up with that, uh, how we should be going
because it, it doesn't seem real clear
to me we have something that's not working now.
Other cities might have something that's working great.
Um, I don't know.
Probably this is something that the city,
that the city council would need to direct the, uh,
legal office to work on.
Or maybe we could turn it over to Mr. Schroeder to come up
with, uh, something great.
But, um, anyways, so I think, I think
that's it for me. I, I'll yield.
Thank you. Thank you. Are you trying to fire me?
No, no. Okay.
Just, just curious.
I am, at this point, I'm the a DA coordinator.
Right, right. Well, I also, I was wondering,
actually come, he said I yielded,
but, uh, I take my hand back on the pawn.
Um, that's a chess thing, made a mistake.
But, um, it says that, you know, you're,
you are the person to go to,
but it seems like it should be you
or somewhat, you know, does other designee, uh, appointed
by the, uh, you know,
from the law office in case you're like on vacation.
I don't think you ever take vacations.
So maybe we don't need to worry about that.
Absolutely not there every day,
But, uh, maybe it should have been worded, uh,
differently instead of just you.
Well, well there is, or if I'm on designee,
if I'm on vacation, like our a DA email goes
to the legal department for someone else to handle.
I know that the HR director also gets most
of the emails as well.
Okay. Oh, that's true. The email is generic. Yeah. Yes.
Okay. Hey, thanks a lot.
Alright, thank you. Okay.
I will call the question manager chair. Yeah, sorry.
Go ahead, Mr.
Thank you. And I had, I wanted to mention
attendance is always a, a big issue for me.
I've said it before, I'll say it again.
When you were appointed to a board of commission,
you were expected to, to be there and perform your duties.
I happen to agree with changing the ordinance for
how many meetings per year are required.
Parks and Rec, uh, asked us to change the ordinance
mid last year to quarterly.
They can meet more often if they need to,
but at least quarterly on our agenda.
Uh, cultural commission four L
is same request to change to quarterly.
So I think that is, uh, that is a very reasonable request.
But just for, you know, purposes
of, of awareness.
July, August, November
and December of 2024, all four
of those meetings were canceled due to not having a quorum.
And this year, uh, this past year, February, July
and December 25 were all canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Um, So I don't want to
undercut the commission due to
it not having enough members to be sufficient
and to meet quorum.
But at the same time, you know, we,
we are very critical of others.
We should be equally critical of all
and be consistent in, in applying that, uh, that warning
to all commissioners.
If you are going to take this, this role,
if you are seeking reappointment,
you are making a commitment that you are going
to show up and do the job.
And if, uh, if this commission, if they can, uh,
if they agree that, uh, quarterly works for them
and they can commit to four meetings a year,
and we see the changes based on policies
and the, uh, the mission statements of this organization
as Ms. Moore, uh, earlier edified, then
I think we may have a, a work in progress
and I'm willing to support this, uh, with those conditions.
Thank you
Madam Chair, Ms. Moore.
And then I'm calling question, one of the things that are,
is concerning to some people,
and we get a lot, I don't know
how many Mary gets in the office,
but I get called all the time or emails from people who,
and I got a copy of a letter
that comes from the administration telling them they are
to come to the council meeting and talk at audience.
And a lot of people are very, very uncomfortable with that.
And I think that is really unfair to make anyone,
if we have questions, it's up to us to make a phone call
if we have questions or, you know, we table it
and then follow up later.
'cause look, we all get busy.
We can't look at every inch of every agenda item.
But I think it's really, really unfair
to expect people to come.
It's very intimidating for people that aren't used to it,
to stand down there
and talk to us up on high here,
which I don't like the position,
like we're lording over everybody
and with everybody behind them,
I don't like people standing behind me either.
I wouldn't never have this set up.
I'd have it off to the side.
'cause I think it's just uncomfortable.
So I, I think that people should know you do not have
to come and speak at audience to be approved
for a commission.
We welcome and we want everybody to feel welcome, um,
applying and not feel that they need to do that.
But that's just my 2 cents. Agree.
Thank you. Okay. I will call the question. Ms. McGee?
Yes. Mr. Newan? Yes. Uh, Mr. Dwyer? Yes. Mr.
Lafferty? Yes. Ms. Moore? Yes. Rogan C is a yes.
Motion carries. Next item.
Yes, item audience for a, for, uh, general topics.
Members of the audience who would like
to address city council this evening may do so under this,
uh, audience portion by filling out a form to the right.
Uh, this is for general audience.
Uh, first is Rob Roberts. You still here? General? Uh, sir.
Excellent. Okay. After that is Lori Harris.
Thanks. A reminder, I'm not uncomfortable. It's
Yeah, no worries. In front of everybody.
It Is. You have three minutes. Start
Over. Hello.
Just let me know when you're ready.
I'm ready. Okay.
I'm 1219. Oh, you have speaking to the microphone.
It's just, or move the microphone toward you. There you go.
Okay. Rob Roberts.
Uh, 3 2 1 2 5 St. Vincent.
Uh, on 12 19 20 25, I was on my way to the Secretary
of State for nine 40 appointment.
I accidentally said 1240 on the body cam video.
I think everyone saw the police officer and slowed way down.
I didn't and was going the speed limit.
This may be why he thought I was speeding
or he doesn't like electric vehicles
because he made a comment about it causing me to speed.
They have speedometers.
After I told him I wasn't speeding,
he said I was driving too fast for road conditions
and didn't use my turn signals twice on the ticket,
contradicting himself on body cam.
Admitting I did use my turn signal. The roads were good.
I ordered the body cam inclusive video for $56
because of, uh, several lies in court.
While we were under oath,
the officer perjure himself telling even more lies,
saying I was highly argumentative.
I am now. And I didn't stop at the red light
because of the lie on the ticket.
I had the video queued to one minute 35 seconds,
which also showed I stopped the magistrate, uh,
refused the video to prove it
or whether I was argumentative.
The officer told me we, um, look at the video in court.
Another lie. I paid the two tickets
to appeal at the courthouse.
Leah, Caitlin and others working, uh,
the office are very kind.
One court security officer.
Wasn't he yelled and lunged at me
because of me standing on the wrong side
of the red line instead of walking up to me
and telling me, since there were no signs mentioning the red
line, after asking
and figuring out if he was talking to me,
I told him he needed to learn how to talk to people.
And he had an attitude problem.
His intent was to intimidate and humiliate.
He said I was the one with the attitude problem.
And that's why I was there. Is this
how people are treated regularly?
Mayor Stone said I shouldn't let this taint my almost 20
years of being a resident, but it's pretty tainted.
For the first time I've had
to deal with something like this.
I don't know if it's a coincidence,
but most people paying tickets were disproportionately black
for our population.
Uh, we may need to look at that.
Uh, mayor Stone said that I should wait for investigation
before I blast names, which I was prepared to do.
A mutual friend of the mayors
and mine who works for Warren Schools happens
to commute in the area
and took a picture 1219 saying the roads were good all day.
I also had pictures which were ignored.
When I talked to the mayor, I said,
Her, you have 10 seconds
Is in a unique position to investigate my honesty.
Since we've worked together in the same school district in,
in my filed complaint, I'm seeking for the removal
of the officer because we can't trust an officer who can,
who doesn't tell the truth, especially when you're at time.
The firm who perjure
Thank you himself under thank
you, Ms. Harris.
And then Carl Martin Henley and then Wesley Arnold.
Hi there. Um, I went through all
of the agendas from the time that Lori Stone was elected
every agenda.
And I wrote down the names of all the people
that were appointed to commissions
and the dates that they were, um, their,
their expiration dates, uh, so to speak.
So, uh, the one thing I wanna uh, point out is
that there were not a hundred people,
um, appointed.
There were 54 reappointments
and 67 new appointments.
Now also with these numbers, um, for example,
in the planning on the planning commission,
which is a very important commission, uh,
there are three commissioners whose, uh, times of service
expired in 22, and two of them in 23.
So they have not been reappointed. I'm not sure why.
Um, on the website there, the only commissions,
and I know that the, uh, council has asked this,
that all the dates be listed on the, on the website
of expiration of these, uh, terms, uh,
is planning and zoning.
Those are the only ones on the website.
Um, I also noticed that, uh,
pe some people were, uh, uh, appointed,
um, and then reappointed a year later.
Um, that doesn't make sense if your appointment, um,
so one was something that's already been taken care of.
Um, Uh,
Tracy Allen was appointed to the crime commission
on 9 24 24 with an expiration of 6 27.
She was reappointed on 3 25 25 to the crime commission.
Ex expiration 6 28.
Um, let's see, uh, Ron Gerst, um,
he was reappointed till 6 25,
but he's still on Tif A, um, Mike Tyro was appointed,
and I can't remember which commission on six 20, his, uh,
expired on 6 25
and then he got reappointed only until 6 26.
So the mayor claims she had no idea the process.
Uh, can it really take eight months?
Their very first appointment was eight months
after she got elected was on 7 9 24.
Um, I think that there are people
that are getting paid $80,000 a year as, uh,
outreach coordinators that could have made a list
and, uh, kept a good track of it
and known what was going on.
Like, I could do this. Look what I did.
I mean, I already did. So this doesn't make sense
that this is so hard.
You're at time. Thank you. Oh my gosh. I'm already at time.
Have a good one. Well, I'm gonna put this on the City
of Warren political page.
Thank you. Thank you. Next is Carl Martin Henley
and then Wesley Arnold.
Okay.
Good evening. Counsel. Warren Parks
and Recreation has had wonderful workers, thousands
of them since the early 1970s.
The person I'm speaking about tonight is the single most
important employee in Warren Parks and recreation history.
I could be talking about none other than Paula Defor.
Paula is a pioneer and a trailblazer for women's sports
and girls recreation.
She's a legendary icon.
She did more for getting kids to participate in athletics,
especially young girls
than any five persons I ever knew at Parks and Recreation.
Paula the 40 could initiate, innovate, delegate, motivate.
She served three directors, five mayors and nine presidents.
40 years plus Parks of Recreation.
Commitment to excellence
before Title IX ladies, there was Paula De 40.
She handled everything with grace in class professionalism
with what she provided every day.
When Don Haw was sick, she covered for him.
When John Grassy
and Jack Bellamo turned all our parks into softball city,
Paula handled those guys too with pride and distinction.
She was always looking forward to Warren Parks
and recreation department's.
Future, not the past. She would not like his speech.
Paula was a treasure. Paula was great with people.
She was a real mentor. She did great things
for residents and kids.
She was simply unsurpassed
after school gyms, eight week summer program.
Cedar workers, the romantics at Helme Park buses
to warned tournaments every week.
Hershey's, track and field the Pepsi Hotshot.
I had seven kids from Steiner Park,
shot at the Silver Dome because of Paul.
At a 40 mark the Bird Fis,
we packed 130 kids on about three buses.
Paula a 40 made it all happen.
I retired in 86 from Morton Parks and Recreation. In 97.
I was coaching Braylon Edwards and the great UD Jesuit cubs.
I asked Paula to 40 for one last favor.
I yell 11 years later, please. Paula, gimme some parachutes.
She never let a kid down.
If Paula a 40 would've been a man,
she would've been Parks and rec director.
I'm imploring the war city council to celebrate her career.
She's still very much alive.
A day of reckoning, an honorarium, a plaque, something
to let her know how much the city of Warren
and the Warren City Council appreciate her.
She wasn't just the marching krass lady.
She was the straw that stirred the drink
and the ever present voice of reason, compassion,
and love for the city
of Warren in their parks and recreation department.
Everybody, let's pull on the same rope one time
in the same direction.
Let's make this happen. Let's get Paul at the 40
some kind of recognition.
Remember ladies without Paul at a 40.
Some of you may not even have been up there.
Thank you. Good night counsel.
Thank you Wesley Arnold,
I'm Running assessment.
Okay, uh, I am Wesley Arnold, uh, also known
as the Warren Historian 'cause I've been around 83 years,
uh, writing down Warren History.
Uh, my website's got about, uh, four to 8,000 pictures.
I've lost count. Uh,
but 30,000 pictures total, uh, on
that Warren history.fyi website, if anybody wants
to look at Warren history, it's there.
Uh, I think, uh, from observation, uh,
this council is very diligent.
Uh, you know, you can see that tonight, for example.
Uh, I think this is the best city council that,
that we've ever had.
And I've been around a long time.
I remember when Steel nevermind.
Uh, yeah, I could talk all night.
Uh, thank you very much for your time and dedication.
Uh, I hope they do not put me in prison.
I'm not kidding for revealing some of the secrets
that I put in that valuable secret book.
Some of that stuff was highly classified.
I did a lot of due diligence
and I think I, I'm, I'm clear on everything.
Uh, uh, I'm, I'm talking about my, uh,
my little book on Valuable Secrets, which is also free, uh,
on the Warren history.fyi website.
Uh, City council, please read that, uh,
free book because it's got some really important stuff
that you need to know about.
Okay. Um, last topic.
Drones, some new developments.
Uh, I ordered something yesterday
and I was told I could have an hour and 15 minutes, uh,
because I'm close to Hazel Park, uh, by drone.
And it's, these drones are gonna be a big deal, uh,
because, uh, they are now offering very fast service.
Some of it even free for delivery,
even where you want it, even in your backyard
or where you want it.
And this is on right now, city Council.
Take a look at Amazon Air Prime for the details.
That's on the Amazon website.
And, uh, uh, I have, uh, uh,
a ordered a high power a TL 36 X
arriving shortly, uh, which I hope to, uh,
actually used to shoot the President of the United States.
I'm not kidding. Uh, this is a Mr. Mr.
Mr. Arnold A very high, powerful item.
And it's great for a headshot at a distance.
And I don't, I didn't want it to be delivered by drone,
uh, because I wouldn't want something like that
to be in the wrong hands.
That's it. Thank you.
Thank you. Yeah. Mr.
Mr. Captain Hodis, can you Yeah.
Thank you. You just threaten
The, yeah, that's a federal offense.
Thank you. Yeah.
End of audience reaction
to audience by council members.
I don't have any words.
Yeah. Okay.
Motion to adjourn. Support. All in favor? Aye.
Any opposed? We are adjourned.