Detroit City Council Formal Session
Detroit City Council
Politics
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. EDT
Remote
Join City Council Zoom Meeting: https://cityofdetroit.zoom.us/j/85846903626
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Shiva Shahmir
Councilmembers request a moratorium on state regulators issuing liquor licenses in Detroit, and approved a 15-year extension on Renaissance Zone tax exemptions for the Detroit Medical Center.
Live reporting by
Nathaniel Eichenhorn
Councilmembers request a moratorium on state regulators issuing liquor licenses in Detroit, and approved a 15-year extension on Renaissance Zone tax exemptions for the Detroit Medical Center.
Nachum Eichenhorn
@NachumDetroit
Good Morning #Detroit !
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I will be live tweeting the Detroit City Council meeting today in just a minute for #DetroitDocumenters @DetDocumenters media partners: @BridgeDet313 @chalkbeatDET @freep @media_outlier @metrotimes @MichiganRadio @PlanetDetroit @wdet @wxyzdetroit
09:02 AM May 14, 2024 CDT
The meeting was called to order at 10:06 a.m. All were present except Callaway and Tate
As we move through the invocation, you can find the whole meeting agenda here:
pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I…
First up, we have a presentation from a representative of Belle Isle
There are a couple of vacancies on the Belle Isle Park advisory committee
The presenter is giving a general update of the makeup of the park staff
There are plans for ADA access improvements at aquarium and gardens.
They also got $23 million from the state legislature as part of the American Rescue Plan Act
Now the conservation police are talking about the previous year
A new study right? The top 10 most beautiful aquariums Nationwide based on visitor reviews in Belle Isle aquarium is number one!
In response to a question by council member Young: The great majority of street lights on the island have failed
These failures are due to the fact that the island chose to be an early adopter to more environmentally friendly solar power. These solar-powered lamps have since exceeded their service life. The park has so far replaced about 60 of them and is working on doing more
They're replacing some padding and making some improvements so people don't hit the side rails
That area will be turned into a more passive recreation area. Reintroduce plants, etc
Councilmember Callaway laments the loss of the Belle Isle zoo, which she says was a joy to children for many years
The council brings up the issues of dangerous bacteria at the beach, and asked whether it will be improved
Answer we are monitoring sewage outflow, attempting to control the goose population, and investing in beach cleanup
Belle is the most visited State Park in Michigan, and the second most visited State Park in America, second only to Niagara falls
A member of the Nigerian Senate is a guest of the council. He is here to study the council.
He says he devotes his time to helping persons with disabilities
Part of his purpose here is to study the establishment of healthy Capital markets, and he has been integral, according to the council, in the development of the automotive industry in his country
The console is now presenting the senator with an award, and taking the opportunity for a photo
Now we're moving on to the Budget Finance and Audit Standing Committee
At the moment, they are simply referring reports to their appropriate committees
We're moving swiftly through the agenda items. We are already on item 14. Public Comment
This public commenter is telling the council about a special Juneteenth celebration
Now a comment from a rep of the Eastside Climate Action Coalition at the Eastside Community Network. He is concerned about continuing air pollution in the city, and suggests that the city invest in air quality monitoring equipment
Another commenter is commenting on the issue of fugitive dust. The citizen is looking for protections. It is concerned about the city's ability to enforce regulations
She reports that even with the recent dust ordinance, the dust in her neighborhood is worse than ever. There are further issues with diesel fumes and other issues that come with truck routes
This commenter says the mayor and the council are guilty of dividing the people. She laments The grants given to people like Dan Gilbert while common property taxes are still unacceptably high
She also urges the council to promote Spanish language education in Detroit tools
She accuses duggan in the city council of being part of a satanic scheme and accuses duggan of being full of lies
Remember Callaway points out that there is a very robust foreign language education system in Detroit public schools
The time given for public comment has been shortened from 1 minutes to one, fact commented on by by several of the callers so far.
One commenter even prepared remarks so that they would last 2 minutes and was surprised to find that she only had half the time she expected
The council is now hearing proposals prepared by students of University High School.
It's clear that the students expect it to be given 2 minutes to speak. Several of them have been cut off and had to offer to send their remaining remarks to the council
This commenter is an employee at the Detroit medical Center and says that they haven't had a raise in a significant amount of time. She says she has worked there 15 years and still doesn't make $20 an hour
Cost of living is increasing and the pay for these employees is not, according to this commenter
Another commenter is speaking now also from the Detroit Medical Center. He also says that the non-physician employ ees are being drastically underpaid
This commenter is quoting at length from the declaration of Independence
He seems to be advocating the overthrow of the government, as happened during the Revolution
A representative of the Teamsters is now saying that the company that runs DMC is not negotiating in good faith
The current commenter is currently accusing mayor Duggan of the "largest theft of black wealth in The 21st century"
This commenter says that Michigan First Credit Union of unjustly foreclosing on her home.
Now another commenter is convenient support for the Fugitive Dust Ordinance
This commenter says that there are already several ordinances relating to fugitive dust and that the main problem is that the city does not enforce those
This commenter is saying that his FOIA request regarding voter fraud have not been answered
The present commenter says that the city mowers do not remove garbage but rather just mow over it, flinging it everywhere.
This commenter is upset. And says Belle Isle is being mismanaged. He says that it doesn't make sense that it is the second most popular state park in the country and can't manage to fix street lights
This caller is concerned that the city has consistently lost population since Duggan took office. And is concerned about the proposed solar fields
Council member Callaway notes that she is also against putting up solar panels anywhere in the city, even on highways
That includes public comment. Moving on to the Budget, Finance and audit Standing Committee
Now moving on to two resolutions from the Office of the City Clerk/ City Planning Commission
They're both Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Certificate applications.
is for constructing 10 single family condo houses and 16.4 is for rehabilitation of a vacant apartment building in midtown
through 17.3 are appointments or re-appointments of various officials.
is for $210,000 for ASL services for the deaf and hard of hearing. 17.5 is for $110,000 for AV equipment and Media services. And 17.6 is for $408,000 for employee benefit consulting services from a company called the Segal company
Councilmember Johnson says that there are more than double the amount of liquor licenses issued in Detroit then should be under regulations
Councilmember Callaway asks if the city can revoke all of the liquor licenses that were above the limit
Now moving on to the Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee.
Item 18.2 is to provide program administration of a neighborhood opportunities funds program for $2 and a quarter million
Now on to 18.3 which is the resolution and extension agreement relating to DMC Renaissance zone extension
Right now we'll rep at the DMC is commenting on the collective bargaining process
The representative says that despite the complaints of the teamsters, they were able to come to an agreement
is to amend the Detroit city code to make residents eligible for secondary street signs in certain circumstances.
The proposed ordinance makes it easier for the council to rename streets after prominent citizens
The council is going to schedule a public hearing to further discuss
Now on to the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Items 18.8 and 18.9
is approval of the Brownfield plan for Woodward and Charlotte Redevelopment project and 18.9 is for abolishment of the Research Lofts Brownfield plan
18.10 revokes the endless West industrial Development district and 18.11 approves a Commercial Rehabilitation District
Council Mobile Callaway is wondering why 18.10 is being proposed?
Item 18.10 will be brought back towards the end of the agenda
18.12 is a resolution supporting the Michigan Fair Chance Access to Housing Act
My item 18.12 will be in the name of the Council, and is approved
Now the Planning and Development Department, 18.13 and 18.14
One is a property sale and the other is a property transfer. Hearing no objections, the two resolutions are approved
There are 42 resolutions under heading 19. The first 41 are being read into the record by their numbers only in the interest of time
19.43 through 19.45 are also read and it was discovered that 19.16 was a duplicate. As a result, item 19.16 has been removed from the agenda
Council member Callaway has a question about item number 19.14
The council is having trouble getting a hold of director Counts, whose expertise is relevant to the issue at hand.
Council member calloway wants to know who owns the properties mentioned in some of the items. She says some of The owners of the properties over demolition should be pursued to pay for the costs
through 19.25 were approved with the exception of the three that were held towards the end of the agenda.
Line item 19.49 was inadvertently added to the agenda. It's proper place is a later meeting
Item 20.1 is to amend the Detroit City Code, specifically the building Construction and Property Maintenance Code. This is the item to make various amendments to The fugitive dust plan
Council member Santiago Romero says that this ordinance is only a first step to remediating the effects of air pollution on the citizenry. She notes that she believes that they have come to a good balance of considering both industry and population
Council member Durhal is praising council member Santiago Romero for her hard work but requests that the item be postponed for a week for further discussion
Santiago Romero agrees to postpone the item for a week. The motion to postpone is approved
Items 20.2 through 20.5 are various City events that have already received approval. There are no objections, and the four resolutions are passed
Now resolutions from the Office of Contracting and Procurement
is a contract to increase funds for Williams Recreation Center.
Third questions from the council about the Recreation Center and whether it will be turned into a warming center for the homeless.
Council member Callaway has questions about 20.10 for hybrid SUVs for the Mental Health Co-Response Program
This item is to revoke the endless West industrial Development district, because it is redundant
Now there is further discussion of the delinquent owners of these properties being demolished
Now the counsel is referring various reports to their appropriate committees
The council is asking some procedural questions on one of the previous resolutions
One of the line items was improperly brought before the board after a period that it could be voted on. The council is trying to figure out how this occurred
There's still a long discussion going on about whether one of the items was properly voted on and what to do. There's some confusion about tax approval
The confusion continues. It is not clear whether an item was properly or improperly bought before the council.
Well folks, this closes my coverage of the Detroit City Council meeting for May 14th. 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
Attachments
Agency Information
Detroit City Council
The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Council is responsible for the creation of local laws—called ordinances. Additionally they pass resolutions, motions, and the proposed city budget. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location besides city hall. The council may convene for special meetings at the call of the mayor or at least four members of council. Areas of responsibility for the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee include, Budget, Finance and the Auditor General.
City Council members are elected on the same cycle as the Mayor and will be elected in 2021. Seven members represent the seven council districts, while two members are elected at-large.
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