Live reporting by
Nathaniel Eichenhorn
Public commenters were told to contact the police with concerns about voter fraud. City's demolition director explained why emergency demo contracts come before the council after work has been completed. Liens are placed on private properties after 30 days of unpaid demo bills.
Nachum Eichenhorn
@NachumDetroit
Good Morning #Detroit !
I will be live tweeting the Detroit City Council meeting today at 10:00 for #DetroitDocumenters @DetDocumenters media partners: @BridgeDet313 @chalkbeatDET @freep @media_outlier @metrotimes @MichiganRadio @PlanetDetroit @wdet @wxyzdetroit
I will be live tweeting the Detroit City Council meeting today at 10:00 for #DetroitDocumenters @DetDocumenters media partners: @BridgeDet313 @chalkbeatDET @freep @media_outlier @metrotimes @MichiganRadio @PlanetDetroit @wdet @wxyzdetroit
08:45 AM Apr 30, 2024 CDT
The meeting was called to order at 10:07 am and went straight to the invocation
The Council is hearing a presentation on the revitalization of Michigan Central station
The opening celebrations on June 6th will include a free concert, among other attractions
There will be an open house from the 10th, and admission will be ticketed, but just for crowd control
The Council asks about the Bagley Mobility Hub. It will be free throughout the events.
Council member Santiago-Romero asked about encouraging foot traffic to move outside of downtown and into neighborhoods. Answer: we realized we could do better in that regard and we are weighing on it
Morning on to the budget, finance and audit standing committee
The reports were all approved for the Internal Operations Standing Committee, the Neighborhood and Community Services Standing Committee, the Planning my Economic Development Standing Committee, and the Public Health and Safety Standing Committee
The current commenter has concerns about the state of the city address. She has concerns about overpaid property taxes being repaid and considers that the mayor is stealing from who she calls "citizens" and giving money to "the Mexican community"
The Council points out that putting down others success to make oneself feel better is inappropriate
The next commenter would like to see precise records of all the monies taken in during the NFL draft by the city
This commenter is wearing an American flag cape, Evel-Knievel-style. Accused the council of corruption and called one member a "weasel".
Several of the commenters have mentioned their concerns regarding voter fraud
The present commenter said he had a message for the young people in attendance today and then turned away from the microphone so I couldn't hear anything he said.
This commenter is concerned about illegal foreclosures in the city
This commentator is praising the job mayor duggan is running the city and congratulates the city council on a successful NFL Draft
This commenter also praises the handling of the NFL draft and would like the council to make sure that minorities are represented amongst the new employees of Michigan Central Station
This commenter would like the city council to work together with the duggan Administration to support community organizations dedicated to preserving parks
The pastor of the Oak Grove AME Church is calling in to ask for the Detroit Medical Center to retain its current tax status, as it is an incredibly important institution for the citizenry
This caller thinks that the council should better support senior citizens. The collar is also concerned about continuing illegal foreclosures.
The current color is also bringing up the voter fraud issue.
The caller is concerned about "Dems" corrupting the voting process and feels the issue is being ignored
This caller is asking the Council to please tell President Biden to order Israel to cease operations in Gaza. She points out that Israel was founded the same year as the CIA, and that that is suspicious.
This caller feels the mayor is against the people, and accuses several council members of being "Dugganite plants"
The next caller is discussing Shawn Fain's plan for a general strike on May Day 2028. He is detailing the history of the day and the Haymarket affair of 1886.
This caller reports that his car is damaged and seems to think the Council is sabotaging his vehicle
This item is essentially renewing the city's property insurance.
The price of such insurance Rose sharply over covid and has not reset. They say it's difficulty in terms of cost to the city because insurance of this nature is a very hard market
Now we're moving on to resolutions from the office of contracting and procurement
Ordinance 18.1
Roll:
Benson yes
Durhal yes
Romero yes
Tate yes
Callaway yes
Young yes
Roll:
Benson yes
Durhal yes
Romero yes
Tate yes
Callaway yes
Young yes
Council member Waters is discussing how this program might be continued after ARPA funds run out
Council member Johnson ask s how we can expand the call center hours into the night
Answer: when the line originated it was only open from 9:00 to 5:00, hours have already expanded and they are looking at expanding them even further.
There also appear to be a low call volume after 6:00 p.m. Council member Johnson further asks if there is a way to call people back who do not get an answer when they call after 6:00 p.m.
Councilmember Young asks if funding cuts might be in the future given ARPA funds will run out soon. Answer: discussions across city, state, federal agencies are ramping up over the next few weeks and those answers might become clearee
Line item 18.4 to recognize May 2024 as National Historic Preservation Month was approved
Public health and safety standing committee :
roll call:
Durhal yes
Johnson yes
Romero yes
Tate yes
Young yes
Sheffield yes
Waters yes
Benson yes
roll call:
Durhal yes
Johnson yes
Romero yes
Tate yes
Young yes
Sheffield yes
Waters yes
Benson yes
Make sure to checkout kore detailed docs attached to the agenda linked above
Romero wants to remove 19.3 because the contracted company is Israeli
Callaway says many of these emergency demolitions have already occurred months ago. The council member also points out that these properties are privately owned and wonders. If we can put liens on potential other properties those owners possess
The director of the Detroit Construction and Demolition Department answers;
The delay in presenting the demolition contracts so long after the demolitions took place is due to the emergency nature of the operation. The demolitions must be done at once
The delay in presenting the demolition contracts so long after the demolitions took place is due to the emergency nature of the operation. The demolitions must be done at once
That will necessarily mean that it is presented to the council after. Furthermore, demolition jobs are not technically finished until the land is filled in etc. Etc. And that can take some time
Regarding reimbursement for private demolitions: upon completion, the city forwards an invoice to the private owner and allows them 30 days to pay. If they do not respond, they escalate to the Law Department. It can, indeed, result in a lien.
19.4-19.9 voting
Callaway objects to 19.4, 19.5, and 19.8
Resolutions are approved
Callaway objects to 19.4, 19.5, and 19.8
Resolutions are approved
has been requested to be postponed a week and that has been approved. The 6 others have been approved
Now various reports are being referred to different departments and committees
Council just passed a resolution to recognize Cinco de Mayo in Detroit and have a parade
The council is now talking about and praising the organization and execution of the NFL draft and associated events around the city
Young is proposing some sort of program to combat disinformation regarding voter fraud
Well folks, this closes my coverage of the Detroit City Council meeting for April 30th, 2024. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings at
documenters.org
If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line