Hamtramck Star

Special meeting minutes: Gordon wanted to be sure that the developer's agreement to restrict occupancy of the apartments to those 62 years and older was reflected in the minutes. Majewski didn't want to add it if the resolution didn't reflect that change. Gebarowski agreed that the stiopulation was part of the resolution. Cooper said the original ordinance was in conflict with the city wide PILOT ordinance for people over 62. All voted to amend the minutes and approve them with changes.

Minutes of the Plan Commission: Gordon said that one of the requirements on the developers of Shoppers world was a requirement that they go through the process of having an 18" setback approved. No such approval was ever given. Final site plan approval in February was given with conditions that were not addressed by the planning or zoning commissions. Majewski said that the 10 items were not a ZBA matter. Gordon asked how the council knows that things have been done. Majewski said they were only to vote on accepting the minutes and not on what the commissions had done.

Follow up:

Gordon asked how she would find out about what has been done by commissions. Majewski said she should ask. Gordon said she was asking. Ahmed said she should ask later. Cooper said they have the right to ask questions of commissions, and they were accepting the minutes and given the time to suggest corrections of minutes. All voted for accepting the minutes.

ZBA minutes: Gordon had questions. Majewski asked if the questions were about accuracy. Gordon said they were not. All voted to accept the minutes.

Fund warrant list:Gordon said she asked for an accounting of the $15,000 loaned to the Economic Development Corporation. Nazarko said he had the amounts for legal bills. Gordon asked about an invoice for $2400 from Allen Brothers for general economic development. Allen defended the bill and said it didn't necessarily have anything to do with the EDC. Gordon asked him not to be defensive because she only wanted to know how expenditures for the various departments are accounted for. Nazarko said that he reviews the bills and takes those that he feels have been misclassified to the city manager.

Gordon asked what the $2400 was spent on because the only projects she knows of are Aldi and DHS. She wanted to know why the expense was billed to the general fund if it is related to an EDC project. Nazarko said that it is hard for him to tell the difference. Aldi is a project in Hamtramck related to general economic development. A list he prepared for the council was only lawyer's bills for going to EDC meetings and preparing documents. Nazarko said he didn't know that the Aldi project was an exclusive project of the EDC. Majewski said that it isn't. Gordon didn't say it was.

Gordon said she was just fact finding and trying to learn. Projects are billed from the general fund, and the only charges that EDC, BRA, and DDA are the set-up charges. Nazarko said that if the EDC is doing something without city input, there is an allocation process. Gordon asked why money for brownfield projects was always coming from the general fund. Nazarko said that if there is a way to get reimbursed, the city pursues it. 99% of his attention goes to the general fund. There are regulations as to what can be done with brownfield funds.

Gordon asked about a $150 charge by Allen Brothers for an ICMA ethics complaint. Allen said he was asked to provide an opinion about the process by which a complaint was issued against someone under the International City Managers Association charter. Gordon asked who asked him to provide the opinion. Allen said he would have to look into who asked. Gordon said that if it wasn't Cooper or Crawford, then the city shouldn't be billed because the attorney works for the city manager. Allen said the charter requires him to act as the attorney for the city government.

Nazarko said that the total amount billed to the EDC was $4275. The fund warrant list and payroll was approved unanimously.

Signatures: The letter was accepted unanimously.

Letter about Parade: Accepted.

Letter from George Kristy: Accepted

Letter from John Zurowski objecting to alley vacation: Gordon voted against it, but the letter was accepted.

City manager report

Cooper has been here 7 weeks, and the job is everything he hoped it would be. There hasn't been a dull moment, there is plenty to do, things are changing all the time, and there are lots of challenges. There are many projects being worked on that will be discussed at future city council meetings. The monthly report required by the city charter is being worked on, and a report for July would be ready at the end of the week.

A movie will be filming on Caniff on August 25 and 26. Parking issues and a street closing will occur on Monday, August 25, near Olga and Ania's hair salon. Signs will be posted. The movie company will deliver letters to businesses and residents and answer any questions. Monday afternoon and Tuesday, they will be filming at the high school. The movie being filmed is "Whip It", a roller derby movie starring Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Jimmy Fallon and a few other well known actors. Filming is also being done in Detroit and Ypsilanti. All expenses by the city will be reimbursed by the movie company within 3 to 5 days of the end of filming.

Public comment

Zubarul Chowdury said that he may disagree with you, but he would give his life for you to be able to speak. Something is missing between the citizens and community leaders. The community is really suffering from the controversial ballot resolution. One of the council people gave him his word that he would vote against the ordinance, but didn't attend the meeting. Chowdury has hard feelings about the kind of representation we are getting. Winston Churchill once said that when good people don't come to power, bad people grab those powers.

Akm Rahman thanked everyone for allowing him to speak a second time. He said that the housing discrimination ordinance gives special rights to homosexuals. They had a rally in front of city hall, and 3 people supporting the ordinance were present, including Catrina Stackpoole. Stackpoole called the gathering a "hate rally" and disrupted the presentations. They want her to apologize to the citizens of Hamtramck for her misconduct.

Also, there was physical insult to their speaker by Richard Sparks, another supporter of special rights. If this sort of inappropriate behavior is happening now in the beginning, they are wondering what will come next. The council vote was three to two at the last meeting, and the ordinance should have been repealed. The vote was unacceptable under the charter by Majewski's unjustified vote. The way the ordinance was adopted dishonored the charter. He does not know if there was a public hearing about the ordinance. Rahman asked the council to follow the city charter, the constitution of the city, and to make the city more beautiful and prosperous.

Beatrice Woods asked if there are guidelines for contractors. Government grants require publication in mainstream papers and not just the city paper. She wanted to put that in the charter when she was on the charter commission. The other charter was in existence for 80 years, and it was a good charter, but it was never enforced. She has lived in Hamtramck all her life, and she has never seen it in the condition that it is in today. The streets are dirty, and her street wasn't salted. When people worked on the sewer, the dirt was left in front of the houses on her street. The grass was not fixed either. She called city hall and the woman told her it wasn't dirty. Woods said there is an odor in front of her house, and she has been in the hospital and had open heart surgery. Things have got to change, and people who run the city should listen to people. The council acts like they don't care about the city or the people who live here.

Woods was watching the trial of the mayor of Detroit one morning, and she heard a noise outside her house. She went to the door, and the neighbor was pointing towards Buffalo. A van was going backwards on Buffalo with the tires squealing. He had cut the converter of the neighbor's vehicle. Woods called the police, and they took the information. The police do a good job, though maybe a lot of people don't think so. They have always come when she calls, and the police don't get the praise they should get.

Street sweeping has not been done in her area, and they pay taxes. The council allowed Schimmel to sell all the DPW equipment when they could have stopped things, and that was wrong.

Her granddaughter came with her to the meeting. Her granddaughter was going to college in Florida, but got a good job in the area and has moved in with Woods. Woods has been by herself for 9 years, and now she has some company. She hopes they think about the people that have been in Hamtramck all their lives and the new people. This is a United Nations city where people come from everywhere. Her mother took in people from Poland and her father helped them get jobs. people always got along, and there was no discrimination because there was only one school. Children played together, and Hamtramck was a powerhouse of athletes in the state at that time.

Majewski asked Cooper what the procedure is for city contracts. Cooper said the bids are advertised and then the bids are opened publicly and reviewed to be sure that they meet all specifications. If grant funding is involved, the city is required to meet guidelines set by the granting agency. Each agency has rules, but the city always tries to find minority contractors.

Shulgon asked about street sweeping. Woods said there haven't been any signs. Shulgon said the sweepers go down Holbrook every other week. Cooper said he would check the schedule.

Susan Dunn had some information for residents of the new houses built by the city who have complaints. If anyone needs the number of the leasing management company, it is 313-680-9440, ask for Kim Heygood. John Justewicz will also accept letters addressed to the Joseph Campau Holbrook Corporation.

There are three ladies on council, and she doesn't know how long two have been married, but Gordon has been married to the same man for over 30 years. She knows that Gordon would not tolerate physical abuse or the abuse of her daughter by a boyfriend or husband. In light of Ahmed admitting to the abuse of his wife, Dunn contacted Gordon about establishing a safe house for abused women in Hamtramck who do not feel safe at home. Dunn asked Ahmed to help her establish the shelter to show that the cause matters to him. Counseling, legal advice, and a safe haven could be provided.

Dunn happens to be friends of a roller derby member in the movie being filmed. She and her teammates are willing to sponsor a boxing match at the festival this year. Dunn invited Ahmed, since he likes to put his hands on women, to box her publicly at the festival. It will be fair and supervised, and the proceeds will go to the safe haven. Dunn though it was ironic that Ahmed held his daughter in a photo with the governor when his daughter is being raised in a home where her mother is mistreated by a man.

Majewski directed Dunn to address the entire council. Dunn encouraged the mayor to encourage Ahmed to fight her, to redeem himself and get some of the anxiety out of his system. She asked the mayor if she condones domestic violence. Majewski refused to answer.

Juanita Sephers saw on the front page that the governor was sponsoring jobs for the youth, but the youth pictured weren't from Hamtramck. Majewski said that some were. Sephers asked how they were picked. Majewski said it was an M-DOT program.

Sephers said they have been tearing the bridges down, and they are working all day and night on the weekends. She asked if they needed approval in the city, and if they do it that way in the suburbs. Shulgon said they do. Gordon asked if Cooper could help her register her complaint. Cooper said he would help her contact M-DOT.

Richard Sparks said there are a lot of things happening, bridges being built, and garden being designated. The city should start advertising. The website has been a blank page for the last year and isn't really running. Maybe the new city manager could advocate for it. Other cities have expansive websites. Right now, there is only the Hamtramck Star, which is great, but the official city website needs to be up and running.

He also asked council to think about a city-to-city outreach program. Other cities are ahead in business competition, and incorporating some of their principals may be helpful.

Vera Burk said the bushes need to be cut on Alpena from Caniff to Edwin. There are a lot things the city needs to get back to. The alleys are very bad. DPS is giving out warnings, but the letter that goes out is difficult to understand. There needs to be another way of communicating ordinances to new people. The letters should include the ordinance violated in more languages. People who don't know can't be faulted, and face-to-face contact needs to be restored. Enforcers need to get out of their cars and walk so that people respect them. When she worked at the city, they walked in the alleys. Businesses won't stay if the city isn't clean.

A representative from Congressman Conyers office commended the city attorney, mayor and council on the ethics ordinance. It adds clarity to the spending of municipal funds. It is important for the integrity of the city, and it is timely and important, given what is happening in Detroit. She is a special assistant to Conyers, and federal funds have clear guidelines. It is clearly a step in the right direction. They don't want gray areas when it comes to spending of city dollars.

Marie Kendzierski, the election clerk, was there to represent the Cleavage Crew. Five women will do the 3-day breast cancer walk in September. She invited everyone to a fund-raiser at the PNA. The businesses in Hamtramck have been awesome to them.