Hamtramck Star

Fund warrant list: Gordon asked about a bill from the city attorney. She wanted to make sure that funds were deducted from the correct accounts. Allen said Nazarko reviews his bills. Anything done under the EDC is billed under #84, and "general economic development" is #83. The general billing category was created to prevent a new category from being formed for every development. Work has been done recently for Polish Market, Woody Plaza, Shopper's World, downtown parking and environmental issues associated. None of it was commissioned by the EDC.

Gordon asked about a check on the check registry to Sterling Heights Dodge. Cooper said he thought the drug forfeiture funds were audited by the State and Federal authorities and did not require approval of the council. Gordon said someone at the State told her that drug forfeiture is city money, and is to be earmarked for drug enforcement related expenses.

Gordon referred to the purchasing ordinance passed in 2006. Cooper said he was familiar with it. Gordon said there were numerous violations, including lack of bids and lack of pre-approval by the city council for an expenditure more than $10,000. Nothing in the ordinance exempts drug forfeiture funds. The city charter also requires bids. The ethics ordinance may also have been violated considering who the vehicle belonged to.

Cooper said a detective owned the vehicle, and Cooper was told at the time that the detective was trading it in. The detective asked Cooper and the Doyle if the city wanted to buy his van because it was in good condition and he would rather sell it to the city than to the dealer. Cooper told Doyle he could purchase the van if he had a need for it. Cooper asked the chief where he would get the money from, and the chief said he would get it from drug forfeiture. It was his understanding that the price was worked out by the dealer and the city paid that price.

Follow up:

Gordon asked who would use a cherry red souped-up mini-van for a drug related sting when 90% of town knows who that van belonged to. No needs assessment was done. Other officers are driving cars with 160,000 and 94,000 miles on them. Cooper said the chief discussed the purchase with the detectives, and they like to be able to change vehicles all the time.

Gordon was not comfortable approving it and wanted proof that drug forfeiture funds can be used without council approval. Cooper said he discussed it with the attorney and the finance director. Gordon repeated that there was nothing in the charter or the city ordinance or in Michigan law that says drug forfeiture can be expended without council approval. Cooper said he would look into it.

After some discussion about how it would be accomplished, Gordon moved to amend her resolution to exclude payment of the check. All voted to remove the check from the registry.

Klein wondered if the city would buy anyone's truck. Cooper said anyone could approach the city, but the city doesn't have to buy it. Gordon said that shouldn't be the policy considering the ethics ordinance. The remainder of the fund warrant list passed unanimously.

There was no report from the city manager.

Non-agenda items

Algazali asked about an incident during Labor Day weekend. Cooper said he had a preliminary meeting with an attorney and a witness to the incident. There is an internal investigation at the police department presently. Cooper hopes to have it resolved in the next two weeks.

Klein said that a staging area with dumpsters on Denton doesn't look good. He suggested a privacy fence because the city needs a staging area. Cooper said he is looking for a new location.

Algazali said people want to buy city lots, especially neighbors, and asked if a price was set. Cooper said the lots are still under the control of the court. A preliminary appraisal had a wide range of values, and the appraiser was asked to "zero it in better". The initial appraisal was $3000 to $8000. He hopes to come back to the council with more information after the lots are released by the judge. He expects the city will solicit bids for the lots, and selling to the neighbors will be presented at that time.

Algazali complained about potential price differences between lots and about the real estate market. Cooper said he feels $8000 is too high, and agreed that the city won't be able to sell the lots for top dollar in this economy. A few details still need to be worked out on the remaining 70 required homes, and the city has a meeting with the judge next month.

Public comment

Ramsey Hussain said he has been there before, and some could probably guess why he was there again. He would very much like to go to the council meeting for a different reason, but there is nuisance behavior in the alley next to his house that has been going on since he moved to Hamtramck. He would like to enjoy Hamtramck more, especially in the middle of the night. He does not want the delivery drivers from Jet's Pizza to use the alley because they are irresponsible. One of their commercial neighbors has problems with them blocking and moving his dumpster and interfering with his trash pick-up. The noise the drivers cursing and blaring their radios at 2 a.m. is not civilized. Council has said that something should be done, and he suggested telling Jet's that the alley is not their parking lot, at least not at night. The police talk to them, but don't do anything.

Tom Carter of General Industries and a demolition company said that the bids the city got for Shoppers World were too high. He was at a walk through, and for other reasons he didn't bid. When he saw the bids he was astonished because they were extremely high, even the lowest bid. He would do it for $275,000 if the city is interested in working something out for demolishing the whole block.

Algazali asked Cooper if there was something that could be done to take Carter's bid. Cooper said the city can always reject all bids, and have bidding on the project again. Algazali asked if that would save money. Cooper said he would have a lot of questions about a bid for half of what the lowest bid was.

Cooper explained that the other bids would have to be rejected by the council, and other issues needed to be resolved. It may not be worth the time because the project might not be done at all.

Akikul Haque Shamim submitted a list of people who should be included in celebration planning for Bangladesh Avenue, but no one responded to him. He invited the council and mayor to celebrate with the community at the Knights of Columbus Hall on November 8 at 4 p.m..

Majewski said that one person on his list had been invited. She was surprised to hear that a second party was being organized at the same time as the city celebration because she didn't see how their representative would be able to attend both.

Abu Sayed Mahfuz thanked them for the plan to celebrate, but he is disappointed with the situation. As a teacher, he was taught that a misbehaving student needs to be understood. He respects Councilman Ahmed, but people should know there is something wrong. Ahmed is losing the support of his friends and relatives. The city council has failed in building a relationship with the community and talk with community leaders. He asked what council had done to resolve the issue.

Majewski said that the council was presented with three lists of suggested representatives, and someone from each list is on the committee. She specifically told Ahmed to include at least one person from each group and one woman, and the committee Ahmed formed has met.

Badrul Chowdhury(?) said not to involve the people on the lists because they will cause trouble. The community has an elected official, and if he needs help, he can ask the community.

Bert Johnson stopped to say hello and listen. He is sponsoring mass transit bills that he will introduce when the legislature is back in session. It will bring about serious race relations conversations and economic development. He wished the city well on their Angel's Night program.

Several people in Highland Park recently lost their lives in a house fire. It is important for elected officials to talk with people about what is going on. People don't have the money to heat their homes. He invited the council to go on a walk with him and find out what people are keeping secret, whether it is about foreclosure, heat or lights.

Richard Sparks is privileged to be on the new recycling committee, and said it is about a movement, progressive thinking, and pride in the community as well as recycling. All Gordon needs to know about recycling is the numbers and triangles so she put the right things in her bin. He is willing to work on education about the specifics. It is an opportunity to communicate with the younger generation so that they think about recycling first in 10 years. As a member of the commission, he will look into programs like one in Massachusetts that provide financial incentives to people who recycle.