Agenda: https://bit.ly/38eIBk9

(Note: To access relevant documents, click the paper clip icon next to each item.)

If you are not participating in the meeting, you can watch the meeting online via Channel 10: https://bit.ly/3JMHuW4

For those following along with me today, watch for a ‘🚨’ to signify the start of public comments.

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

President Mary Sheffield and Angela Whitfield-Calloway will be absent today. They were also absent for yesterday’s Budget Hearings. 👀 https://t.co/qePE15YNpa

Pastor Thomas Callaway of the Word Church of God in Christ provided the invocation today.

Council President Pro Tem is discussing technical issues that prevented a Motion for Reconsideration from being put on today’s agenda. The reconsideration is for a lawsuit involving Darrell Siggers(?).

It sounds like the issue was with eScribe. Pro Tem Tate said they have the “receipts”. He did not explain the reason for reconsideration. But the Notice is being sent to all council members.

Motion to walk the matter onto New Business is approved.

Items under Sections 5-8 are referred to the appropriate standing committees.

🚨Public Comment is starting now. They will hear from those in-person first.

1. Has concerns about where Mayor Mike Duggan lives. She said she thinks he is living in two places: Detroit and Livonia. Questioned how he pays for both. Also concerned about people being hit by cars while riding in bike lanes. https://t.co/9mMP5P3cFP

1. Cited several concerns including matters related to property tax foreclosure. I did not hear half of her comment. https://t.co/Buh4jtafz6

1. Feels like the city turned their back on residents related to a project. Has concerns about being charged $16 for parking to come downtown (possibly today?)

1. Ruby Riley was on the in-person list but wasn’t present at the time her name was called.

Now onto virtual public comments. 33 people raised their hand to participate! 😁

1. Mr. Cunningham - requested flyers for DDOT’s ARPA hearings. Said if they provide them, he’ll pass them out for them.

1. Asked City Council to pass the Right to Counsel ordinance and cited neighborhood stabilization and reducing blight as reasons for her support.

Pro Tem Tate let everyone know that Right to Counsel ordinance will be on next week’s agenda, not today.

1. Said this is the 21st day of their hunger strike. They want the city to stop all foreclosures and illegal taxes. They’re having a press conference tomorrow at noon at 200(?) Monroe St.

1. Nicole Small - discussed concerns related to Irma Henderson Auditorium. She wants to know why it can’t be opened for Council meetings. She’s been told it was due to challenges with the Media Department and Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority own it & won’t let them use it

1. Kaci M, Detroit Disability Power - supported Council member Johnson’s resolution requesting a Master Plan update. Said it looks to be about 30 years old.

1. Discussed the federal investigation involving council members and said the public deserves to know who was involved. Also supported previous callers about Irma Henderson Auditorium.

1. Mrs. Warwick - she sang the “Inclusive Planning Study” song again today! 🎶 mentioned her concerns about a North End Planning Study. Asked Tate why he voted to approve rental properties if he promotes home ownership.

1. Said people don’t know who is on city Boards/Commissions. Referenced Willie Donwell and said he can’t be an employee and sit on the Board of Review. Also said they can’t serve on the Board of Review for more than 2 years.

1. Member of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice - said she’s here to support Council’s resolution demanding an extension to the property tax foreclosure moratorium. Said the claim that no other city is doing it irrelevant.

13 (cont’d) emphasized the importance of a foreclosure moratorium, noting that the city has 2 days before thousands of Detroit residents will lose their homes.

1. Supports the Master Plan resolution. Discussed Right to Counsel and said she’s working w/ a returning citizen who has a disability and has paid rent on time for 6 years & was told a new landlord purchased her home and she had to leave.

14 (cont’d) Referenced a state strategy that includes a goal to stop evictions.

1. Discussed Right to Counsel and the legal entities/organizations that have supported the ordinance. Felt that Deputy Corporation Counsel Chuck Raimi’s comments last week were disrespectful.

More info about the Right to Counsel discussion last week: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/03/24/detroit-eviction-legal-representaton/7060721001/

1. Urged Council to move the marijuana ordinances forward and amend them as desired later, noting the amount of tax $ that is lost in the meantime.

1. Thanked President Pro Tem Tate for ordering Deputy Corporation Counsel Chuck Raimi to leave last week’s meeting after his comments. Feels he owes City Council and Attorney Myers Phillips an apology

1. Minister Eric Blount - thanked Whitfield-Calloway for her questions about BOPC’s budget as it pertains to the Law Dept. Asked when/where the city will post responses to council members’ budget questions.

1. Supported the resolution demanding a tax foreclosure moratorium extension. Referenced the Governor’s Michigan Homeowners Assistance Fund that can be used to pay for back taxes.

1. Concerned about industrial expansion and the developers of those locations having a negative impact on public health, air quality in particular. Asked council to step in and provide relief to residents

1. Encouraged the passing of Right to Counsel without delay. Discussed various studies that have been done in it’s impact. Said they stand in solidarity with residents asking council to vote yes on the resolution demanding a extension for the foreclosure moratorium.

1. Discussed concerns about municipal bonds and said it raises property taxes. Said extending the foreclosure moratorium is the least the city can do.

1. Concerned about a contract to purchase 4,000 units of chemical spray for DPD.

1. Supported the foreclosure moratorium extension. Discussed a comment that Q-Line isn’t a city asset and had questions about bond money that they said was used for its development.

1. Supported the foreclosure moratorium extension. Represents Eastside Community Network and said they need more time for outreach initiatives they’ve been working on.

1. Asked council to open the chat feature on Zoom. Would like to see the responses to council members posted somewhere specifically.

1. Supported the foreclosure moratorium extension. Personally knocked on 500 doors in Brightmoor. Said that 8,000 families will be in jeopardy if they don’t extend the moratorium.

1. Asked when the William Walker Center will be open because youth are anxious w/o an outlet. Said the city should stop the COVID testing operation to re-open the center and would like to see renovations.

1. Mia Harnos, Chief Operating Officer at Wayne Metro Community Action Agency - said she comes “bearing really good news” that there is “ample dollars” to help residents through the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund and said it can cover back taxes.

More info on Wayne Metro’s resources: https://www.waynemetro.org/

1. Urged council to do something about the water shut off moratorium. Said there hasn’t been any effort to keep people’s water on and that assistance programs don’t work if Wayne Metro will say they have money but there’s a waiting list.

1. Said they’ve been requesting data related to adult use marijuana businesses in Districts 3 and 4. Also discussed conflict of interest disclosure statements but how that applies wasn’t clear to me

1. Asked council to consider opening the Irma Henderson Auditorium before the end of budget hearings. Supported the foreclosure moratorium extension.

1. Has had various problems with flooding (water heater, washer/dryer, furnace) and the checks that she’s received being insufficient to cover the losses she’s endured.

And that concludes public comment!

We are now on Section 14 of the agenda.

Council member Durhal clarified some misconceptions he’s heard about the ordinance under 14.1. He said this gives council an additional week to review the budget and allow for greater transparency w/ the public.

Durhal mentioned the fact that most council members are new to the body and providing them the time to understand what’s being proposed is important

The budget ordinance passed unanimously (item 14.1)

Regarding 15.1, Whitfield-Calloway said she wants the public to know that the services that will be provided by a company in Toronto, Ontario. She voted no on this contract.

All items under Section 15 and 16 have been approved.

Regarding 17.1, Santiago-Romero thanked MDOT for this grant opportunity. She encouraged DPW leadership to advocate for opportunities such as this one when they arise. (Will follow up on this with more details later) https://t.co/DvDzDYi91L

Regarding 17.3, Santiago-Romero referenced a public comment earlier about the contract for chemical sprays. She clarified that she voted no when it was moved out of Committee.

Gail Fulton from the Mayor’s Office clarified that this contract is for non-lethal uses. She pointed out that it’s for munitions not ammunition. It’s supposed to be used for non-lethal purposes, citing crowd control as a purpose.

The contract was passed 5-3. No votes were Santiago-Romero, Whitfield-Calloway and Waters.

All items under Section 17 were approved.

Now on New Business.

The Motion for Reconsideration walked onto New Business is related to legal representation/indemnification of Lieutenant Joseph Alex in the lawsuit Darryl Sigars v. City of Detroit

Pro Tem Tate said he voted in support of the matter but has since been made aware of information that he described as “more disturbing” to him than what was originally provided.

When they re-voted on the matter, all Council members (those are present at least) voted no. Legal representation/indemnification for Lt. Joseph Alex was not approved.

Regarding 18.8, which increases funding for an existing contract for E McNichols Center improvements, Santiago-Romero asked if this was a city facility. This item will be brought back at the end of the agenda.

Regarding 18.9 and 18.10 (contracts related to North End planning studies and design services), Santiago-Romero asked why they’re awarding this contract when they’re also trying to pass a resolution to invest in a Master Plan update.

Julie Schneider, Housing and Revitalization Department, and Lindsay Wallace, Director of Economic Development, answered Santiago-Romero’s questions about 18.8-10.

Wallace confirmed E McNichols Center isn’t owned by the city, it’s owned by Matrix (18.8)

Also regarding 18.8, Wallace said this is under the Public Facility Rehab Program which is intended to use CDBG funding to assist nonprofits as it relates to public facility activities.

Schneider said they are requesting additional funds due to rising construction costs and so Matrix can complete the scope of work and make the facility fully ADA accessible.

Schneider said funding provided to another award recipient was not used, so these dollars are now available to award to another organization. They requested reprogramming of some CDBG funds in November.

Regarding 18.9 and 18.10, Kevin Schronce, Planning & Development - Central Region, said their studies look at future land use and analyze existing zoning. They work closely w/ the Planning Commission and some recommendations move forward in policy changes.

Schronce said the North End Landing planning studies will allow them to take a deeper look and then work with the Planning Commision to see if amendments need to be made to the Planning Commission.

Edwina King, Planning and Development Department, said the North End Landing (NEL) studies and the Master Plan Update would not compete. The funds allocated for NEL are the current FY budget. Future studies would be in upcoming fiscal years.

Regarding 18.12, Marcell Todd, Jr., Director of the City Planning Commission, said this allows the consideration of the creation of the MKT Zoning Classification.

More details on this zoning amendment: https://bit.ly/3uv8GTm

Regarding line items 18.3-8.15, Santiago-Romero asked what housing strategy will be supported by one of the 3 items.

Julie Schneider said they published an Affordable Housing Strategy for 2018-2023. The two main goals were to develop 2,000 new affordable housing units and preserve 10,000 existing units that were at risk of expiring regulatory contracts

All items under Section 18 were approved.

Regarding the one item under Section 20, a resolution to provide a donation of 154 bulletproof vests from DPD. The resolution was requested by DPD. This will be retired/expired equipment and will be shipped via a nationwide effort among various organizations.

The donation resolution was approved.

Here is a copy of that resolution: https://bit.ly/3JQ4Tqh

The resolution demanding the Wayne County Treasurer extend the moratorium on property tax foreclosures was unanimously approved.

Councilmember Young had two walk on items today. One was regarding 3D printing to improve housing development and the other was questions for DESC as it relates to their budget hearing. Both matters will be referred to the appropriate standing committees

Items under Sections 23-27 are referred to the appropriate Standing Committees.

Members Reports!

Waters: her office assisted Districts 1 & 3 to assist residents with property tax foreclosure assistance. There was a woman who cried her outs because she was grateful that help was available.

Pro Tem Tate thanked Waters for coming to District 1. He said they’ve had capacity issues, but this is how at-large districts can work together.

Santiago-Romero: the next District 6 Community Meeting is April 6th at 6:00pm.

March 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility.
April is Arab American Heritage Month, which starts this Friday along with Ramadan.

Johnson: thanked District 4 community organization that helped disseminate info about property tax foreclosures and assisted residents with applications. She said they received an update from the Treasurer’s Office that their numbers reduced but still weren’t down to 0.

Johnson (cont’d): Said she “looks forward to hearing the news from the Wayne County Treasurer about the moratorium being extended.” (No pressure, though! Lol)

There will be a zoom meeting March 31st regarding a field house/athletic dome so residents can provide input

Durhal: reiterated the Michigan Homeowners Assistance Fund (MIHAF) that @GovWhitmer recently launched. You can find more info about qualifications/requirements here: https://bit.ly/3IODH9Y

Durhal (cont’d) wished Community Liaison Jerry a happy birthday!

His office is looking for interns.

April 8th, 1:00PM - Energy Caucus Meeting via Zoom
April 18th - first stakeholders meeting for the Disability Task Force. (More info coming soon)

Various testimonial resolutions under Section 32 were read and/or received and filed to be included in the public record.

With nothing further on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 12:45pm.

This concludes the Detroit City Council Formal Session meeting on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022.

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