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City Council 10/28/08: R-31 and recycling
Majewski proclaimed November crime prevention month.
There were no comments from the public.
Gordon asked to pull the fund warrant list and check registry from the consent agenda. The remainder of the consent agenda passed unanimously.
Majewski congratulated those who worked on the Safe Routes to Schools grant application.
New business
R31 PILOT: Gordon asked if the new PILOT was for 35 homes in the Grand Haven Dyar area that would no longer be rent-to-own.
Kalogerakos explained that up to 70 homes could be involved. Two 35-unit rent-to-own PILOTs were passed previously. MSHDA has changed the rules as to how projects are awarded, and those two projects will not be going forward as originally planned. This ordinance replaces the rent-to-own ordinance passed in May for 35 houses. The PILOT rate will be the same as it was, 4% of rents, and will they will remain rentals indefinately. The ordinance for the remaining 35 houses will not likely take effect because MSHDA has not approved the project.
Majewski asked how the city would fulfill the terms of the R-31 consent decree. Cooper said he proposed rehabilitation of existing homes to the plaintiffs attorney. There is a new federal program that we may be able to apply for. The rehabbed houses would be for sale or rent-to-own. The first reading passed unanimously. A public hearing was set for the next regular meeting of the council.
Pole: The resolution called for removing the Peace Pole from the former Friendship House on Caniff, and installation and rededication at City Hall. Gordon asked about the cost. Cooper said it would be minimal. The amount of concrete used to secure it is being investigated, and they are prepared to cut the pole if necessary.
Stackpoole said HUSS serves people in Hamtramck in many ways, and the proposal was put forward to promote peace and unity "in a time of divisiveness". The children of the Friendship House day care center saved money from bottles they collected in the late '90s. HUSS will purchase a plaque for the new location, and Caniff Electric, the owner of the property, has agreed to the work. All voted in favor.
Follow up:
Construction debris: Cooper said that a contractor discovered foundations full of debris that were not in the plan. They did not anticipate full basements with collapsed houses in the basements. This would incur a total cost of $15,000. The plaintiffs agreed to pay $8000 from the fund, the city will pay $5000, and the contractor agreed to waive $2000. Another part of the agreement calls for the city to inspect sites any time there is a problem.
Shulgon reminded the council that this was another change order. All voted for the resolution.
Repeater: The resolution approved the purchase of a 50 watt repeater to improve radio communications at the fire department. Three bids were received, and the repeater will cost $6625. The resolution passed unanimously.
Commendation letters: The letters will be sent to and placed in the employment files of Officer Tardiff, Sgt Tripp, Officer George, Detective Szymanski, Detective Bielecki, Detective Betleja, Officer Cornwell, Investigator Kay, Officer Kay, and Officer Collins applauding their effort towards the arrest of a shotgun robber.
Recycling Commission: Klein said the city is moving towards recycling, and Cooper is looking at recycling as a component of bids next year. There is already a quasi-city monthly collecting in the Caniff lot. Some people want that program to be twice per month. There is currently no recycling program at City Hall. Background work and research has to be done on options for curb-side recycling. An educational effort will be needed. It won't be a permanent commission, and will only last for a couple of years.
Ahmed asked if the DPW was working on it. Cooper said the only recycling program is once per month and is tied to the International bazaar. Recycling is a possibility for the new trash contract. What the best approach is will have to be decided. A drop-off center or curb-side recycling could work. The commission would handle community education about how the program works.
Gordon said some suburbs have drop-off points. She doesn't know a lot about recycling, but when she was a little girl in this city, you couldn't put your plastic, glass, or tin with garbage. She asked if the city sells the materials for income as some cities do. Cooper said most cities don't count on money from materials because the market is erratic. Instead of trying to make the hauler prove how much they took to recycling, it is easier to negotiate a contract where the contractor gets the proceeds. Two different companies Cooper talked to say their proceeds from the materials is very low. They save materials sometimes and sell when the markets improve. The income is not counted on as revenue because it is inconsistent. All voted in favor.
Committee members: Klein moved the resolution appointing Angel Proffitt, Sean Kowalski, and Richard Sparks with the addition of Tom Jankowski. He said all of the appointees had been contacted and had accepted appointments. Proffitt currently coordinates the recycling, Kowalski and Sparks have expressed an interest in recycling, and Jankowksi can provide technical expertise.
Klein said city attorney was consulted, and Allen told him that there would not be a conflict of interest because the commission wouldn't award the garbage contract. Jankowski would have to announce that he is employed by Capitol and not vote on some issues. Stackpoole has already been holding informal meetings with some of these people and has her intern working on it.
Gordon thought it was a good idea, but she didn't think Jankowski should be on the commission. She is concerned that it gives the wrong perception, and may even be a violation of the ethics ordinance. Stackpoole said Jankowski consulted with the city attorney, and it is okay as long as he states that he is an employee and the committee doesn't award contracts. Ahmed said that TJs experience would be an asset. All voted in favor of the appointments. Klein said the commission needs one more member, and interested persons should contact the city manager.
34 comments
When I was in 7th grade, there was a program about recycling at school, and I was completely surprised to see my father's car dealership on the short list of places in our county that recycled motor oil. I found out later that he added it to the heating oil and burned it in the furnace.
If there is a chance that Judge Keith and the plaintiffs might accept housing rehabilitation for some of the houses, that would be really awesome. It would also be a huge change in policy after years of negotiation.
It seems to me that about three years ago, Mr. Hood talked about the collapsed houses at a city council meeting, and also about the day the city filled the holes in. People in the neighborhood knew about the basements, and the city knew. More attention should be paid to history and to residents who speak at public meetings.
Is Caniff Electric planning to tear down the former Friendship House soon?
Good to hear that the communications at the fire department are finally getting some attention. The ambulance regularly looses contact with the station on the way to hospitals, and that really is unacceptable.
As Gordon mentioned, recycling in Hamtramck is not a new idea. From what I understand, there used to be a drop-off at the DPW building on Buffalo Street. The last time the city went bankrupt, when Schimmel came to town, he sold the DPW building and all of the city's equipment, and that was the end of the city recycling program. (The school still provides paper recycling at the High School Community Center, and the student council benefits from the proceeds.)
Many, many people in the city want to have a recycling service, and I have received numerous e-mails from people willing to work on it. Last summer for a class she was taking, Angel managed to do what everyone else failed to do, and organized a drop-off at the Caniff lot. The city agreed to pay for the dumpster, and the service was provided by Recycle Here. (Recycle Here is the non-profit that provides dumpsters to community organizations in Detroit.)
After the initial drop-off in 2007, Angel worked with the city to continue having a dumpster monthly last summer. There was a collection or two, and then I received an e-mail that there would not be a collection in July because the new city manager freaked out about the city budget and wouldn't pay for it. Then Tom Jankowski, a sales representative for Capital Waste, stepped forward and provided the dumpster.
This is where I must be missing a few vital bits of info, and people are always welcome to fill me in, or disagree.
Two or three meetings ago, Cooper said that there was a misunderstanding, and a previous bill for the dumpster wasn't paid because it was never submitted.
Two meetings ago, a directive was given to the city manager to provide the council with information about recycling and trash services. The council reslution includes replacement of the current 2.55 millage with a monthly service charge because the millage does not cover the cost of current garbage service.
Now, before any report or proposal has been given by the city manager, the city council has formed a commission to look at the same problem. The new city charter was drafted to take the politics out of the business of the city. It seems that politicians and salespeople have found a way to insert themselves into the process. What is the point of hiring professionals if business decisions are being delegated to someone else? No city in Michigan uses this bizarre arrangement to choose trash services, and we shouldn't either.
That said, I absolutely see the value in establishing a commission to advertise the service and supervise bi-monthly collections. There are many people who would be willing to work on it, and seats on the commission should have been advertised widely before the usual suspects were asked to fill seats.
(I happen to like the usual suspects a lot, and my criticism is of the politicians and not of the volunteers.)
In our case, I recycle all metal, glass, cardboard, and plastic, but that isn't very much because canning jars are re-usable and most food waste and office papers are fed to the worms. We put 0-2 kitchen-size bags of trash out each week. Ideally, I would love to buy twist ties for the bags I put out and only pay for the things I throw away. But then the trash people would have to check all the bags, and what would they do if someone used the wrong ties?
In reality, there are a few companies in our area that take trash, and they all have different programs that are working in other cities. Some programs are very expensive, and some are very cheap. Some companies send the trash to a processor who sorts through the trash, and everyone is recycling, knowingly or not. I'm looking forward to hearing about what the proposals are and what the costs would be.
I remember Shulgon complaining at a meeting not long ago that Rizzo had arbitrarily added a few hundred trash cans to our bill three or four years ago. It may have had something to do with Col. Hamtramck Homes.
I haven't seen it, but according to Cathie, the interview was cut poorly. She says she told the reporter that her husband has been laid off from auto industry jobs three times, and she made a joke that they lose their house in Sterling Heights, they might have to live at the bar.
Anyone find the interview online?
Claiming she doesn't live here and that "everyone knows" is an appeal to the bandwagon fallacy, or argumentum ad populum.
Why attack Gordon now? Is it an attempt to poison the well?
"Everyone knows she lives in Sterling Heights. Ask anyone who knows her. Selective activism and cronyism via the Hamtramck Star, perhaps?"
Now you're attacking us by trying to discredit us.
This is called "poisoning the well" and a fallacious argument.
A resident you say? Of what city?
While informing an audience is commendable, the Hamtramck Star CLEARLY has an agenda (lawsuits anyone?), and when Cathie was immediately vouched for...it looked suspicious. We can't help but wonder if other City officials would have been given the same benefit of the doubt. That's all. Be objective or don't. Just be upfront about it. That's all.
I believe claiming that an elected official is not actually a resident of the city is something like smear tactic #1 in the playbook.
Anonymous smears using multiple names are about worthless. Predictable, but worthless the same.
I stuck up for Shahab when someone said the same thing about him. Is Shahab one of my "cronies" too?
I'm not sure if you have any cronies. You simply "report" as if you do. Furthermore, this goes way further than City Council. To Hamtramck residents it does, anyway.
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