Detroit City Council Formal Session, 10 a.m.

Here’s the agenda: http://bit.ly/3jWfiZH

City council’s website also has information about joining the meeting virtually: http://bit.ly/3L0qygl

Watch the meeting live on Channel 10: http://bit.ly/3RVIdch

If you’re following along with me today, watch for ‘🚨’ to signify the start of public comments

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The meeting is called to order at 10:04am!

Without a moment to spare, Council President @MsMarySheffield said she is sending her prayers to Michigan State University.

Invocation is by Daniel Millward from Redeemer Presbyterian Church (top right) https://t.co/ZYxYzxs5Tm

Pastor Millward led a moment of silence for the victims of the MSU shooting and their families.

Pro Tem James Tate is reading a testimonial resolution in memoriam of the family of Dr. Charles Norman Inniss. https://t.co/CJwEzWIkzU

Dr. Inniss operated a private pediatrician’s office for 25 years before closing the doors in the 1990’s. He spent the next 20 years providing medical care at Wayne County’s juvenile detention facility.

It appears the family of Dr. Inniss was present to recieve the award. Not sure if audio was off at the podium, I couldn’t hear what was said after Tate read the resolution into the record. https://t.co/JlqVodqiuG

Santiago-Romero is now presenting a Spirit of Detroit award to Elizabeth (“Mama Liz”) Valdez. https://t.co/YyOoWVuRtA

Santiago-Romero said Ms. Valdez taught her how to love and give back without expecting anything in return. Among the work she’s done in the community to support young and future leaders, Valdez and her organization, Detroit Southwest Pride, led “Stop the Violence” marches. https://t.co/IiMDaVg1Ke

Ms. Valdez was present to accept the award. Unfortunately, it looks like there isn’t a camera facing the podium so you can see faces.

Councilmember Benson presented a Spirit of Detroit award for the “Motor City Kwanzaa Kinara.” https://t.co/IumNhvik9t

Benson said the Downtown Detroit Partnership and @TheWrightMuseum partnered together to bring the Kwanzaa Kinara to life at Campus Martius in December 2022.

Benson named expressed gratitude for several individuals who were involved in the effort.

Here’s more on the Kwanzaa celebration in Detroit: https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/worlds-largest-kinara-on-display-at-campus-martius-during-kwanzaa/

And here’s more details: https://alkebulanvillage.com/event/mckk/

Looks like there’s several people present to recieve the award. As was the case earlier, I can’t hear audio when someone’s speaking at this podium. https://t.co/BPzjzqddTh

There are a couple of items on the agenda that are being reconsidered. These are under section 3. https://t.co/7V17mZZ2hc

Johnson said issues were raised last week about their actions as an employer. Specifically, the treatment of employees. The issues have been resolved and the developer has a commitment to not utilize the same subcontractor for the project.

The other reconsideration was removed. Sheffield said her office was concerned about UCHC’s ability to execute the contract immediately if they didn’t have a waiver of reconsideration.

She confirmed they can move forward this week without it and therefore, it was removed https://t.co/t12WvSjaVt

Items under sections 6-10 were referred to the appropriate standing committee(s).

🚨Public comment is starting now!

1. Thinks the administration was incorrect when they stated that bonds don’t require public notices https://t.co/qVbnzFOAie

1. Said he keeps hearing that they’re working on issues related to FCA/Stellantis, but he doesn’t see action. https://t.co/oZVpP9x047

Sheffield and Johnson both responded and affirmed that Johnson is passionate about the issues raised and is actively working to resolve them with key stakeholders.

1. Urged council to vote on the land transfer with the International Bridge Company until there’s a community benefits agreement. https://t.co/64kbhA9gqB

1. Ms. Darha walked up to the podium but wasn’t in line. Said she signed in on Zoom and submitted card through someone else who was present. Sheffield asked her to step away from the podium. 2 deputies approached and she continued, eventually walking away when 2 more walked up. https://t.co/EePhr6Ukyy

1. Supports the contract for leadership courses for Detroit police officers and shared information about it. She said she’s gone through the program. They’ve had 5 cohorts to date.

1. Described issues she’s had with the land bank related to a vacant house in her neighborhood. Said she’s not pleased that she didn’t have first rights to the house before the land bank sold it. https://t.co/HkMG35Cvw1

Councilmember Waters said she’s going to respond to Ms. Riley in writing to outline the processes she’s concerned about.

1. Expressed frustration about some of the things that were said during a previous meeting about notices before issuing a bond.

Durhal responded and said he’s going council members a statement accounting for the research his office and others have done on the issue.

1. Said undercover police cars don’t work because “thugs” know which ones are undercover and there’s no documentation re: what police bikes will help the department accomplish. Also said the first thing Ilitch is going to do is put the $$ in his pocket https://t.co/FjslTLSrpq

1. Said bus service in Detroit is in a “crisis”. They’re at a 1/3 of the service they provided before the pandemic and there’s no routes running in 15-minute intervals. Connected these issues to lack of drivers and called on the city to increase driver wages. https://t.co/AdiOXzX5JA

1. Said the buses aren’t coming on time. He runs a taxi service and hears all the complaints about poor service.

1. Said DDOT bus drivers don’t get paid what other cities do which results in inadequate service. Expressed concern about people’s ability to meet their needs without adequate bus service. https://t.co/GVGw4wtzZE

1. Echoed concerns stated earlier about inadequate bus service, also noting that riders depend on the service. “I know you guys are committed but it’s time to get something done. We need a resolution.” https://t.co/V6LA5xL371

Sheffield responded to transit advocates and said that she hears the concerns and is in receipt of request being made by transit riders. She’s going to take it under consideration during the upcoming budget deliberations.

1. Said her block was part of a secret planning study.

Santiago-Romero said she’s also going to line item the requests made by transit advocates for public health & safety committee. We can expect a discussion about the matter in the future. https://twitter.com/kayleighrenel/status/1625532036445356035

1. Also advocated for increased wages for DDOT drivers.

Note: transit advocates held a special DDOT driver-appreciation event this morning. https://t.co/y8c0yh4TVs

1. Echoed the same transit concerns addressed by previous comments. Said they’re at a crisis and “we have been the most underpaid transit system”

1. I didn’t catch what her comment was about specifically, but Sheffield said they’re working on resolving her complaints/addressing her concerns

Sheffield allowed Ms. Darha to provide comment in-person.

She mentioned the length of meetings and importance of public input. Asked if the mic was on, Sheffield said it was broke. https://twitter.com/kayleighrenel/status/1625526383421136899

Now moving to virtual public comments.

1. Said their once-thriving community no longer has homes. Feels it’s a sad reality that the neighborhood was taken over. Wants council to let the community continue talks with the bridge company so everybody learns a lesson to not hand land over to them again.

1. Said the mayor’s policies enabled the 20,000 evictions that occurred last year. “Why force people to use tax breaks and credit cards?”

1. Asked that certain people be removed from Charles H. Wright Museum

1. Echoed concerns heard earlier regarding the International Bridge Company and the residents’ request for a community benefits agreement

1. Said it would be nice if if city council asked the mayor for a waiver to restore retiree’s pension payments

1. Urged residents with a delinquent water bill to contact Hydrate Detroit for assistance. “Please don’t listen to Mike Duggan the Mayor. You need to stop playing games permanently.”

1. Echoed some of the transit advocate’s concerns heard earlier. Also said the system DDOT is using for dispatch doesn’t seem to be working well

1. Said the administration violates the Appropriations Act every time he doesn’t appropriate put $6-12 million into a fund every year (?).

1. Demanded a resolution from city council in support of the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act and a task force to correct existing issues with the police union contract

1. Asked about funding for Right to Counsel and requested a DTE kiosk for residents to make their payments.

Sheffield responded and said she’ll touch base with member Benson

1. Asked about the status of construction for the Amazon warehouse at the old state fairgrounds site. Said they heard it was delayed until next fall. Also expressed concerns related to sustainably energy and initiatives not being implemented.

1. Said council is making decisions without knowing what it involves. Gave various examples including demolishing homes without removing basements(?)

1. Referenced an @axios article about DOJ’s investigation into paratransit services in Detroit. Said the mayor is consistently requesting funds be appropriated for things that the federal government has found unreliable or ineffective

Here’s the Axios article they referenced @annalise_frank

https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2023/02/01/doj-information-gathering-detroit-paratransit

Annnnddddd idk my thread went for the remaining comments and section 16. I’ll circle back after the meeting to try and figure out what happened. 🙃

17.3 and 17.4 are postponed for one week. https://t.co/qUDN2k2Krf

17.6 (and 17.7) would add Indigenous People’s to the list of city-observed holidays. The resolution is only to introduce the ordinance and set the public hearing. If they said the date/time I did not hear it, but stay tuned! https://t.co/URfBxg9if9

17.5 through 17.15 were approved.

Now discussing 17.16 which is the process of appointing a new Auditor General. It sounds like they’re going to interview the four applications next week https://t.co/UzUFIya0BU

The Law Department named the four applicants. Laura Goodspeed is the current Deputy Auditor General and would assume the role as Interim AG if an appointment is not made by the time the current AG’s term expires on February 21st. https://t.co/OH4UIbgDZ1

Next, council is now voting on appointments to the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority’s Community Advisory Council. Below are the names they’ll choose from. https://t.co/6T1G2b8nsa

The top four names were Clay, Ethridge, Evans and Franklin. All four were appointed to the CAC with terms expiring June 30, 2023

Tate is asking his colleagues to join him in denying 18.4. He explained that the land sale is for a gas station to expand. They have 8 pumps and a slap of concrete they can use to expand.

Tate also noted that the city is just now starting a framework study in the Brightmoor neighborhood, which is where the land sale is.

Tate: “It’s imperative that before we start selling off land to whomever whether it’s a current business or another entity, if it’s the land we own we should be, in my opinion, very judicious about who receives it… and what the land purpose is for.”

City council unanimously denied the sale of three parcels to Rafik Petroleum, LLC https://t.co/cDz0VDfXpK

Next up ➡️ the purchase of land from DPSCD https://t.co/zMSHB6joKB

Following questions about what seemed like a higher-than-usual appraisal for the property, Kate Humphrey (HRD) explained the appraisal process they’ve gone through to date.

The first appraisal was in September 2020 which was later updated in August 2021, which kept the appraisal at $460K. The land the city is purchasing is an entire block, 2.9 acres. It came out to $3.60 per square foot.

18.5 has been approved ⬆️

➡️ ordinance for scrap tire storage https://t.co/b8aUzXCueX

Durhal said this is in response to many concerns raised by the public. The ordinance amendment modifies the penalties for tire storage/stacking, clarifies that scrap tires must be indoors/within a wall, and more.

18.5 is approved.

You could hear commotion before it was approved. Sheffield said “Ms. Darha, please” in response. After it was approved, you could hear someone “boo” loudly.

18.6 is approved.

don’t mean to be lazy, buuuut this ordinance addresses a WHOLE LOT. Here’s the transcript. https://t.co/BrKKqU2u52

Correction: I misspoke on the line item numbers for the above ordinances. The ordinance amendments approved today are items 19.1 through 19.4. All four amendments were approved today.

19.5, 19.7 through 19.16 were approved. 19.6 was postponed for one week.

The remaining items under section 19 were approved.

All items under section 21 were approved.

Items under Sections 24 through 27 were referred to the appropriate standing committees.

24.2 was improperly referred to Internal Operations. It will be referred to the Neighborhood & Community Services Committee.

⚡️👀 City council has been asked to walk-on transformational brownfield plan for the District Detroit project. The brownfield plan will be referred to the Planning & Economic Development Committee.

⚡️ Council member Tate confirmed that a discussion about Planning & Economic Development will have a discussion about the brownfield plan at their regular committee meeting on Tuesday. No public hearing will take place before the CBO is submitted.

There was a delay on submitting it to the clerk for today’s agenda due to the document’s size - it’s 800 pages.

➡️ Member’s Reports

1. Durhal - D7 Policy Session on 2/20 at 6:00pm at Roy Allen Senior Building. They’ll go over various policy issues and hear what community members want to see.

1. Johnson - Monday 2/20 is D4’s monthly community meeting at Eastside Community Network.

January 25th 10am-2pm - Expungement Fair

1. Santiago-Romero: Community Office Hours 2/20 at 4-6pm

District Detroit CBO Meeting tonight at 6:00pm at Cass Tech

Whitfield-Calloway: congratulated 10 of her Spelman sisters who rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Virtual community call - 2/20 at 5:30pm.

Foreclosure Prevention workshop with member Waters on 2/17 11:00am-2:00pm at Hellmann Rec Center

Waters:
Skilled Trade Task Force will meet tomorrow at 4-6pm at Local 1191

Sheffield:

Virtual event with DWSD to encourage people to sign up for the Lifeline Plan - this Thursday 5-7pm

Evening community meeting - next Tuesday 5-7pm

Sheffield: 8th Annual State of the Youth event will be this Friday at Osborn High School. It will include a panel discussion which aims to elevate the voices of youth and the issue they face. They’ll tour every high school in the city.

Every city council member sent their condolences to the family of the victims of the shooting at MSU last night.

Mary Waters said her friend was calling her late last night because her daughter lives on campus. She is safe, she immediately got into her car and drove home.

Tate said he’s working with a number of partners to destigmitize mental illness. He spoke about the need to address mental health before it becomes a problem.

Sheffield spoke about common sense gun legislation and the power the state legislature and congress has right now.

Young is walking on a memo request for a historical report on the millage recieved by DPL over the last ten years, with specific emphasis on information related to the incremental value increases as construction occurs and the impact the increases have on DPL

Young’s memo request was received and filed under testimonial resolutions.

With nothing further on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 1:51pm 🎉

This concludes the Detroit City Council Formal Session on Tuesday, February 14th, 2023.

For more documenters coverage, check out http://documenters.org 🙃