[0:30] Good evening.
[0:32] I call the regular Auburn Hill City Council meeting to order
[0:35] of July, 2026 order at 7:00 PM I'd like
[0:39] to welcome everyone to the meeting tonight.
[0:40] Thank you for being here. But
[0:41] before we begin, will you please stand
[0:43] for our Pledge of Allegiance?
[0:48] Pledge of Allegiance to the flag
[0:50] of the United States of America
[0:53] and Republic stands Nation
[0:57] under God, indivisible, with routine and justice for all.
[1:10] Thank you. Clerk Pierce, will you please call the roll?
[1:12] Mayor Hawkins. Here. Mr. Ferguson. Here. Dr. Fletcher?
[1:17] Here. Mr. Knight?
[1:19] Here. Mr. Soff? Here. Mr. Moniz? Here. Ms.
[1:24] Verbeck is absent. We have a quorum.
[1:26] Thank you. Clerk Pierce. Counsel tonight Item
[1:29] four is approval of the minutes.
[1:31] We'll begin this evening with minutes
[1:32] to approve for one meeting.
[1:34] The minutes are for city council regular meeting minutes
[1:37] dated July 6th, 2026.
[1:41] Council, I'll be open for a motion for item four A.
[1:51] Mr. Knight? Yes,
[1:53] Mr.
[1:54] Mayor, I move the approved amendments of July 6th
[1:57] with any revisions.
[2:00] Thank you Mr. Knight. Second. Thank you Mr. Moniz.
[2:04] Any discussion on the motion? Now we are ready to vote.
[2:09] Mr. Knight? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes. Mr. Soff? Yes.
[2:14] Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mayor Hawkins?
[2:18] Yes. Motion carries.
[2:20] Thank you. Clerk Pierce. Council item five. Item five.
[2:25] Appointments and presentations.
[2:26] Council, we do have three reappointments this evening.
[2:30] We'll do them separately.
[2:32] The motion five A is the motion
[2:35] to confirm the reappointment of Mr.
[2:37] Sam Beum to the plan commission ending in July 31st, 2029.
[2:43] You all saw the information in my packet.
[2:44] I was recommended by Director Cohen
[2:48] and I certainly agree that Mr.
[2:50] Bedo has done a fantastic job on our planning commission.
[2:52] So I'll be open for a motion.
[3:00] Mr. Mayor, Mr. Ferguson move
[3:03] To confirm the reappointment of San Beon
[3:06] to the Planning Commission ending on July 31st, 2029.
[3:11] Thank you Mr. Ferguson. Second. Thank you. Mr. Moniz.
[3:16] Any discussion that we are ready to vote?
[3:20] Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes. Mr. Knight?
[3:27] Yes. Mr. Soff?
[3:29] Yes. Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mayor Hawkins? Yes.
[3:33] Motion carries. Thank
[3:34] You.
[3:35] Clerk Pierce. Council item five B is a motion
[3:37] to confirm the reappointment of Dominic Patrick
[3:39] to the planning commission ending July 31st, 2029.
[3:42] Also, you saw any packet after consultative with Mr. Cohen
[3:45] and I recommend that this outstanding individual also be
[3:48] reappointed to the Planning Commission.
[3:49] Is there any discussion or questions?
[3:53] If not, I'll be open for a motion. Mr.
[3:55] Mayor, Mr. Ferguson move
[3:57] To confirm the reappointment of Dominic Patras
[4:00] to the Planning Commission ending on July 31st, 2029.
[4:04] Thank you. Second. Second, Mr. Monice.
[4:09] Thank you very much. Any discussion? We're ready to vote.
[4:14] Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes. Dr. Fletcher? Yes.
[4:19] Mr. Knight? Yes. Mr. Soff? Yes. Mayor Hawkins?
[4:23] Yes. Motion carries.
[4:25] Thank you. Clerk Pierce. Council item five C is a motion
[4:28] to confirm the reappointment of San be Dune
[4:29] to the zoning board of appeals ending July 31st, 2029.
[4:34] Again, after consulting with Mr. Cohen,
[4:36] he's done a fantastic job on that board as well
[4:38] and I will be recommending he be reappointed to that board.
[4:43] Any any questions? Mr. Mayor for more?
[4:46] Oh, Mr. Knight,
[4:50] Mr.
[4:51] Make a made a comment. I meant to do it on the first motion.
[4:55] Sam has served us with Distinction Faithful.
[5:00] He's one of the longest serving members
[5:03] of the Planning Commission and on the Board of Appeal
[5:06] and I really appreciate his contribution.
[5:11] Thank you, Mr. Knight. Mr. Mayor, Mr.
[5:14] Marza, you ready for a motion?
[5:16] Well, I'd also like to admit to the council
[5:19] or to also to the audience.
[5:20] These are reappointments and
[5:21] they're not required to be here.
[5:22] Just for the record, Mr. Marza, I'll be open for a motion.
[5:25] Okay. I'll move to confirm the reappointment of Sam Bedoin
[5:28] to the zoning board of appeals ending on July 31st, 2029.
[5:32] Second. Thank you Mr. Moniz. Thank you Mr. Ferguson.
[5:36] Any discussion on motion that we are ready to vote?
[5:40] Mr. Soff? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes.
[5:45] Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mr. Knight?
[5:49] Yes. Mayor Hawkins? Yes. Motion carries.
[5:52] Thank you. Clerk Pierce. Council
[5:56] item five, I'm sorry.
[5:58] Item six is our public comment.
[5:59] This is a reminder that this time on the agenda is reserved
[6:02] for council to hear comments from items
[6:04] that are not on tonight's agenda.
[6:06] Those who do come forward, please remember
[6:07] that you have a time limit of three minutes.
[6:09] We have cards to fill out prior to the meeting to request
[6:12] to speak, and tonight I have one card and that is from Ms.
[6:16] Julianne Boser.
[6:22] Good evening ladies, gentlemen of the city Council.
[6:25] It is I here again, once again to talk about data centers.
[6:31] It, you know, I understand that the Dana Center,
[6:36] that is a foregone conclusion at Oakland University
[6:40] and all of us that are against it.
[6:43] We hope that it does not pass due diligence,
[6:46] but I once again come to you
[6:47] and ask that you consider enacting a moratorium so
[6:51] that no further data centers can be built
[6:53] within our city limits.
[6:55] As you know, we have a lot of property, a lot
[6:57] of industrial zoned property, which could make it attractive
[7:01] for these data centers and I,
[7:05] and this can't be about the bottom line.
[7:07] I know many of you personally
[7:09] and I know that you care about your city more than profits.
[7:12] This is about the political will to
[7:15] protect our community from the noise, the light, the cost
[7:20] of electricity, the cost to our environment, our climate,
[7:23] our water, and the data centers and of,
[7:28] and for that matter,
[7:29] the Amazon drones are not gonna attract more businesses
[7:34] nor builders for new homes or buyers for our community.
[7:38] It's about our parks, it's about our beautiful parks,
[7:40] about our walkable, wonderful downtown,
[7:44] our community, our people.
[7:46] So once again, I'm asking you to have the political will
[7:49] as in other recent cities
[7:51] that just passed moratoriums including the city of Houghton,
[7:55] the city of East Lansing, city of Lansing, city of Warren,
[7:58] and the city of Sterling Heights.
[7:59] Those are just a few in the last month.
[8:01] The list grows and grows.
[8:03] We're over 60 cities within the state of Michigan
[8:06] and once again, we can't wait for the state legislation to,
[8:10] there's many bills put forth to
[8:13] stop data centers from expanding in the state.
[8:16] We need individual cities to come through for its people
[8:19] and to enact a moratorium I would act, I would also like you
[8:23] to consider possibly updating your
[8:28] noise ordinances.
[8:29] I did a little research on this
[8:31] and there is a c weighted scale when evaluating noise
[8:34] pollution from data centers.
[8:36] And so I'm asking that you update your noise ordinances
[8:39] to use a c weighted scale.
[8:42] Again, I don't know anything about this, so
[8:45] I don't know the tech technicalities of this.
[8:47] I'm just putting this forth for you to look into
[8:49] and possibly consider
[8:51] that evaluates noise pollution from data centers.
[8:53] The scale better measures the impact
[8:56] of data center noise pollution than the a weighted scale
[8:59] typically used in city and county noise ordinances today.
[9:04] So again, just asking you to have the political will
[9:07] to enact a moratorium for our community
[9:11] and keep us safe from these data centers
[9:14] and enriching the billionaires.
[9:16] Thank you.
[9:18] Thank you Ms. B. Appreciate that. Wrote down some notes.
[9:23] Is there anyone else in the audience that wish
[9:24] to speak on an item that is not on tonight's agenda?
[9:28] If so, please come forward
[9:32] Seeing none here.
[9:33] None. Thank you very much.
[9:37] We'll move to item seven,
[9:39] which is our consent agenda again, council.
[9:42] All items listed are considered to be routine
[9:43] by city council and will be enacted by one motion.
[9:46] There will be no separate discussion on these items
[9:48] unless the council members shall request in which the item
[9:50] will be removed from the consent agenda
[9:53] and will be considered in its normal sequence.
[9:56] Counsel this evening we have three items on our consent
[9:58] agenda and they're listed under item seven A through seven C
[10:03] seven A are our planning, our boards and commission minutes,
[10:07] and we have planning commission minutes from July 8th, 2026.
[10:11] Seven B is a motion to adopt a resolution to apply
[10:14] for state disaster grant funds related
[10:16] to the GOWA water main break.
[10:19] And seven C is a motion to approve the purchase
[10:21] of replacement data storage equipment
[10:24] and budget amendment guardian Auburn Hills Police
[10:28] Department counsel.
[10:30] The consent agenda is before you for consideration
[10:32] unless there are any items that you'll like removed
[10:35] and we do have staff available
[10:36] to answer any questions that you may have.
[10:41] Mr. Mayor, You the right this time Dr. Fletcher
[10:48] Move to accept the consent agenda.
[10:51] Item seven A one seven B seven C
[10:57] Second.
[10:58] Thank you Dr. Feer. Thank you Mr. Ferguson.
[11:02] Councilor the motion. Is there any questions?
[11:04] If not, we are ready to vote.
[11:07] Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Knight? Yes.
[11:13] Mr. Moniz? Yes. Mr. Soff? Yes. Mayor Hawkins?
[11:18] Yes. Motion carries.
[11:19] Thank you. Clerk Pierce Council eight,
[11:22] unfinished business.
[11:23] We do not have any unfinished business items tonight.
[11:28] Number nine, on the agendas new business items.
[11:31] We do have two items listed under new business evening
[11:34] beginning nine A and nine B
[11:36] and we will begin with nine A council.
[11:39] Nine A is a motion to amend the text of zoning ordinance
[11:42] article eight B one limited business districts
[11:46] and Article nine B two general business districts.
[11:49] And for that I'll call our director
[11:50] of Community Development, Mr. Steve Cohen,
[11:53] Mayor, mayor Hawkins
[11:54] and members of the city council in to
[11:57] to provide background on this amendment.
[11:59] In November of 2022, the Auburn Hills voters
[12:03] approved an ordinance requiring the city
[12:04] to allow at least four adult use marijuana establishments
[12:08] as a result of that voter mandate.
[12:11] The city council completed a competitive selection process
[12:14] and awarded four licenses in November, 2024.
[12:18] Last month, the city council approved a transfer, one
[12:21] of those licenses held
[12:23] by Peace Stone Incorporated from 1801 North Up Deck Road
[12:27] to 4 1 4 1 Joslin Road.
[12:30] Because the zoning ordinance identifies approved marijuana
[12:33] established locations by specific parcel,
[12:36] the ordinance must now be amended
[12:38] to reflect the recently approved relocation.
[12:41] Specifically the proposed amendment adds the Peace Stone
[12:43] Joslin Road location to the list
[12:45] of approved locations in the B two district.
[12:48] And since the former Peace Stone Updyke Road location is now
[12:52] no longer moving forward,
[12:53] that will be removed from the V one district
[12:55] and that section will be removed in its entirety.
[12:59] These amendments ensure
[13:00] that the zoning ordinance matches the locations approved
[13:02] by the city council under the adult use Marijuana
[13:05] Establishments ordinance,
[13:07] and the Plan Commission recommended approval
[13:09] of this text amendment on July 8th.
[13:12] So I'm available to answer any questions you may have.
[13:15] Thank you. Director Cohen.
[13:16] Counsel, any questions for Director Cohen at this time?
[13:23] Now I'll be open for a motion.
[13:27] Mr. Mayor, Mr. Ferguson
[13:29] Move to accept the Planning commission's recommendation
[13:33] and approve the enclosed text amendment
[13:35] to Article eight B one limited business districts
[13:39] and Article nine B two general business districts
[13:42] of the zoning ordinance.
[13:44] It shall be referenced
[13:45] as ordinance number two six dash nine 50.
[13:50] Thank you Ms. Ferguson. Second. Second by Mr. Moniz.
[13:54] Any discussion? See none. We are ready to vote.
[14:00] Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes. Mr. Soff? Yes.
[14:06] Mr. Knight? Yes. Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mayor Hawkins? Yes.
[14:11] Yes. Motion carries.
[14:13] Thank you. Clerk Pierce.
[14:24] Council item nine B is a motion to award contracts
[14:28] to proline for the Giddings Taylor Road intersection
[14:31] improvements and OHMG two
[14:35] for construction services and material testing.
[14:38] And for that item we have our Public Works Director,
[14:40] Mr. Steve Vedante.
[14:42] Good evening mayor and members of city council.
[14:45] Earlier in 2026, the city approved
[14:48] and entered into contract number 26 dash 5 2 3 9
[14:52] with the De Michigan Department of Transportation
[14:55] for the rehabilitation and improvements to the Giddings
[14:58] and Taylor Road intersection.
[15:00] The contract between MDOT
[15:01] and the city shall be met in part
[15:03] by contributions from TEDF category A funds
[15:06] for eligible items of the project
[15:09] with Lear Corporation bearing the remaining costs
[15:12] of the intersection, improvements relating to engineering,
[15:15] design, construction oversight,
[15:17] and any additional costs related to the project.
[15:20] The Giddings and Taylor Round, Gil Giddings
[15:24] and Taylor Road intersection improvements include the
[15:26] creation of a single lane roundabout
[15:28] with appropriate truck aprons
[15:30] and curb heights to accommodate trucks
[15:32] traversing the intersection.
[15:34] The new pavement is anticipated to be eight to nine inches
[15:37] of asphalt on top of eight inches of aggregate base
[15:41] with concrete curb
[15:42] and gutter installed throughout the roundabout
[15:44] and Splitter Islands within the approaches.
[15:47] On July 8th, 2026,
[15:49] the city held a competitive bid at City Hall
[15:52] for the intersection improvements
[15:53] and received 12 bids for the project.
[15:56] Proline Asphalt Paving Corporation out of Washington,
[15:59] Michigan was the low bidder with a total bid amount
[16:02] of $1,235,390.
[16:07] Proline Asphalt has a successful history
[16:10] of managing projects within the city,
[16:12] but the city additionally held interviews
[16:13] with the low bidders to better understand their approach
[16:16] to the project and ensure the substantial completion
[16:19] timeline in November would be achieved.
[16:22] Proline Asphalt.
[16:24] After discussions with Proline asphalt,
[16:26] the city feels comfortable awarding the contract
[16:28] to Proline staff.
[16:30] Recommend awarding Proline asphalt the contract
[16:32] for the Giddings and Taylor Road intersection improvements
[16:35] and the total amount of
[16:36] $1,192,390
[16:41] OHM advisors.
[16:42] The contract for construction engineering
[16:44] and administration totaling $64,500
[16:48] and G two consulting the contract for
[16:51] for materials test testing totaling 25,000.
[16:55] The combined total amount
[16:56] for the intersection improvements at Giddings
[16:58] and Taylor Road is $1,281,890.
[17:04] As mentioned previously,
[17:05] there will be no contribution from the city
[17:07] for this project, and contract awards are contingent upon
[17:11] approval from MDOT of their BID tab review.
[17:14] Lastly, the motion needs to be corrected showing the
[17:18] contract award to Proline Asphalt totaling
[17:21] $1,192,390
[17:26] as there was a digit missing in the original motion.
[17:29] And with that, I'm available for any questions.
[17:33] Thank you, director. Ba ante.
[17:34] I did catch that, so thank you very much.
[17:36] I saw that in the report pretty cheap.
[17:41] Counsel, any questions
[17:42] for a director about ante at this time?
[17:45] Mr. Mayor? Mr. Monice? I'm sorry. Mr. Soff? Yes.
[17:50] Okay, thank you. Mr. Ante.
[17:51] I didn't see anywhere in the packet,
[17:52] but can you say when this project would start and finish?
[17:58] The start date is supposed to be pretty quick.
[18:00] So once contract books are signed,
[18:02] if awarded sometime in early August
[18:04] and completion will be done mid-November
[18:08] Of this year?
[18:10] That's correct. Wow.
[18:14] That was part of our interview process to make sure,
[18:16] make sure the contractor had bandwidth to finish the project
[18:20] and we feel very comfortable that they do.
[18:23] That's impressive. Okay. Thank you.
[18:26] That's very impressive. I see hand in the audience from OHM.
[18:30] You put a little pressure on them
[18:31] to get that thing approved.
[18:32] Thank you. Director Ante. I did see Mayor.
[18:35] That's that's outstanding. Mr. Mr. Monice.
[18:38] Thank you Mr. Mayor. Mr. Ante.
[18:41] I'm glad you corrected that.
[18:43] I was like, that's pretty cheap. Let's do it.
[18:47] A couple of questions. I believe Ms.
[18:51] Vikki had asked us earlier when we approved this project,
[18:55] the walkway coming down Taylor Road.
[18:58] Where is that? Is this all gonna be built together?
[19:01] That walkway? There's a lot of people that walk down.
[19:04] Taylor, you know from all those shops down there, crossover
[19:09] Giddings, head towards Jos Road,
[19:13] where's the walk gonna go?
[19:15] And is there gonna be sufficient lighting in that area?
[19:20] I know that there is lighting in the area.
[19:21] It's part of the contract.
[19:24] As for the walkway, maybe I'll defer to Hannah on that.
[19:33] Hi Hannah. Good evening Mayor
[19:35] and members of city council.
[19:37] So the walkway will cross the north leg
[19:40] of the roundabout on Taylor Road.
[19:42] So it'll connect the west to the east side of Taylor Road.
[19:46] And then there is a bit of sidewalk that goes up north
[19:49] on Giddings, but I believe it'll end at the new
[19:52] or the existing approach that was up there
[19:56] that would connect to Lear.
[19:58] But there're moving that driveway
[20:00] so it won't cross the bridge going,
[20:03] it won't continue on the east side of that bridge.
[20:06] Okay. It'll Stop short
[20:07] There.
[20:08] It'll stop short of the bridge. Yep. Okay.
[20:10] And I don't believe you can cross over,
[20:12] there's no walkway at the bridge,
[20:15] Correct?
[20:16] There's no pathway up there? Nope.
[20:19] Okay. Very good. I think Mr.
[20:22] Ante, I got one other question.
[20:23] Well, you answered the question about the lighting.
[20:25] You said there is gonna be lighting there,
[20:28] Correct?
[20:30] Yeah. Part of the contract calls for lighting to make sure
[20:32] that people could see through the roundabout for sure.
[20:36] Okay, very good and substantial completion.
[20:39] November 13th, as I think we all
[20:41] voiced, that's pretty quick.
[20:43] What if it doesn't get done by November 13th?
[20:45] Is there anything in the contract
[20:47] that says if it's not done, we hold back monies or,
[20:52] because lately we've seen some contractors come in here
[20:55] and do some work supposed to be done in a year.
[20:59] We're working on 18 months
[21:00] and I won't mention what contract that is,
[21:03] but is there anything in the contract about that
[21:08] With all these contracts?
[21:09] We do have liquidated damages for each day
[21:12] that they fall short of the target,
[21:14] but I can assure you
[21:15] that this will be a high priority project
[21:17] that we will be pushing to completion.
[21:19] I don't see any reason why we won't hit the date.
[21:22] Very good. Thank you Mr. Ante.
[21:25] That's all I had. Mr. Mayor. Thank you.
[21:27] Thank you Mr. Moniz.
[21:28] Counsel, any additional questions
[21:29] for Director Ante at this time?
[21:32] Mr. Mayor? Dr. Fletcher?
[21:38] Mr. Ferguson? I
[21:39] Just was, just wanted Steve, when
[21:42] I can't remember the gentleman's name from Cunningham Lamp.
[21:44] It's gonna be like doing the building in this thing.
[21:47] Or Park? Park?
[21:48] Hmm? Sam Ashley. Sam Ashley?
[21:50] Yes. When, when Sam was
[21:52] before us, I asked about is it possible just due the amount
[21:55] of truck traffic that
[21:56] that's could have is if it was possible
[21:58] that construction might be
[22:01] reinforced a little bit more than the, more than the normal.
[22:04] He said it kind of made sense. He didn't know.
[22:07] I just wondered if that was ended up being
[22:09] incorporated in the plan or not.
[22:12] I believe, and Hannah can correct me if I'm wrong,
[22:14] but I think the eight inches of ag base with eight
[22:17] to nine inches of asphalt on top should be sufficient.
[22:20] Okay. Thank you Mr. Ferguson.
[22:25] Council, any additional questions? Not we are ready to vote.
[22:31] Mr. Mayor, Dr. Fletcher,
[22:33] Move to a award contracts
[22:35] to Proline Asphalt Paving Corporation for the Giddings
[22:38] and Taylor Road intersection improvements totaling
[22:42] $1,192,390
[22:46] OHM advisors for construction services
[22:49] and contract administration totaling 64,500
[22:54] and G two Consulting Group for material
[22:57] testing estimated at 25,000 contingent upon approval from
[23:02] the Michigan Department of Transportation bid tab review.
[23:06] There will be no contribution from the
[23:08] city for this project.
[23:10] That's great. Thank you Dr. Fletcher.
[23:13] Second. Thank you Mr. Ferguson.
[23:17] Council, any discussion on a motion?
[23:20] Not we are ready to vote.
[23:22] Dr. Fletcher? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mr. Knight? Yes.
[23:28] Mr. Soff? Yes. Mr. Moniz? Yes. Mayor Hawkins?
[23:32] Yes. Motion carries.
[23:33] Thank you. Clerk Pierce.
[23:35] Counsel, that moves us through to item 10 comments
[23:39] and motion from counsel.
[23:41] We'll begin on my far right with Mr. Henry Knight.
[23:48] I have a couple tonight
[23:49] and their information, everything,
[23:54] I congratulate the DPWL,
[23:57] they handled the electrical problem at the pump station
[24:01] and did all this stuff out.
[24:04] That pumping station has been a problem in the past
[24:09] and I recognizes that this is a problem
[24:12] of getting enough electricity to during the pumps.
[24:16] But if I remember correctly, in the old days,
[24:19] there were four pumps there
[24:22] and they all had to kind of be running
[24:24] to maintain the pressure during the day on Bald Mountain.
[24:30] And when one went out, you, we had to retire,
[24:34] rely on the tower and so on.
[24:37] It seems to me that's a weak spot and system
[24:40] and that even though it's Great Lakes Water,
[24:45] you know, for us, I would like to,
[24:49] I would wonder if we shouldn't be urging them
[24:54] to provide extra capacity on that.
[24:57] Now, I may be completely wrong
[25:00] 'cause I know this was a shortage of electricity,
[25:02] it caused it, but that's always been kind
[25:05] of a marginal thing.
[25:08] And so I just wanted to make a comment on that.
[25:18] They're continually working on the front,
[25:21] they're working on the bathroom.
[25:24] Good thing I'll,
[25:28] I'll be happy to answer that.
[25:30] Mr. Tji. Mr. Cohen and I had a meeting with Mr.
[25:33] Al, who's the developer within the last couple of weeks.
[25:37] They are estimating February for Move in Time.
[25:43] They have had a lot of challenges.
[25:44] They changed general contractors at one point,
[25:47] but right now you'll see a lot of activity.
[25:48] In fact, in general,
[25:50] they have about 18 bricklayers there daily.
[25:53] So they're working like crazy
[25:55] because also they need to re, they need to remove all
[25:59] of their equipment for, you know, our public parking lot.
[26:03] There was their staging area just as it has been
[26:06] for a couple of other buildings.
[26:07] But we've told them that they need to be out there
[26:09] by Labor Day so that we can begin the paving project for
[26:13] that public parking lot.
[26:15] So at the very least, they want to get their brick work done
[26:18] because that's where all the brick is staged at this point.
[26:22] After that, they'll be able to, to park a number of vehicles
[26:25] and put a lot of materials inside in their, in their garage.
[26:30] There's some spaces under the building
[26:33] and contractors won't be able to park there anymore
[26:36] until the construction, well,
[26:38] when the construction is complete,
[26:39] they won't be parking there either.
[26:41] Then it'll return to use by hopefully patrons
[26:48] I missed.
[26:49] Thank you. When, when the parking lot would be available
[26:53] again for us to work on,
[26:59] they're going to vacate the parking lot. They'll
[27:02] Be, they'll be vacating it by Labor Day.
[27:08] It'll be by Labor Day.
[27:10] Thank you.
[27:15] That's
[27:15] It.
[27:16] Thank you. Thank you Mr. Knight. Okay, Mr. Moniz.
[27:19] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I,
[27:22] I attended the concert last Friday down at Riverside Park.
[27:27] I have never seen so many people down there.
[27:30] A place was packed. I purposely went down there
[27:33] around 6:00 PM a little early.
[27:36] I parked over at the Farm Boy parking lot.
[27:39] It was just a few cars there at that time.
[27:42] I walked all the parking lots around there
[27:45] and I was like, oh, it's not that bad.
[27:50] And the number of people that were there, I think
[27:54] Jackie estimated it could be around a thousand people.
[27:59] They were sitting all over the place.
[28:01] But anyways, I left a little early.
[28:03] I was sitting next to Mr. Knight for most of the night,
[28:06] watched them dance with every young lady that was there,
[28:10] as he usually does.
[28:12] I left a little early and I once again
[28:14] walked all the parking lots.
[28:16] They were all full and including the one
[28:18] behind the Pepsi building, which is normally not
[28:22] that full when we have an event.
[28:25] But Found Boy was full
[28:29] across the street from Riverside where the Alto is going.
[28:32] That parking lot was full behind Pepsi.
[28:35] All the spots were taken on Auburn Road.
[28:38] So it appeared that we had enough parking
[28:42] for at least a thousand people, possibly 1200.
[28:47] And we know that we're gonna have some more parking
[28:49] coming up shortly.
[28:50] So is there a parking shortage? I don't believe there is.
[28:53] I, but I think we're gonna have some control over it here
[28:57] pretty soon, as far as what's on Auburn Road.
[29:02] Other than that, that's all I have. Mr. Mayor. Thank you.
[29:06] Thank you Mr. Moniz. Dr. Fletcher.
[29:10] Thank you Mr. Bear.
[29:12] I'd just like to personally thank the mayor
[29:15] and the mayor pro tem for attending the ribbon cutting
[29:19] for PHA of Michigan, the opening
[29:21] of the new tech center there.
[29:23] Although they are currently not a member of the Chamber,
[29:27] I still appreciate the fact that you guys showed up.
[29:30] The president that was from Korea was very happy
[29:35] to have you guys there, as well as the local president
[29:39] of the company as
[29:40] Well.
[29:41] So thank you very much. Thank you
[29:43] Dr. Fletcher, for the invite.
[29:44] It was very nice. Had a great time. Mr. Ferguson,
[29:51] Just to kind of piggyback on
[29:54] council member Muni's comments.
[29:57] I was there Friday night and
[30:04] what a sweet time it was.
[30:07] Just standing there looking over the crowd of people.
[30:11] So many different faces, so many
[30:13] different, so much diversity.
[30:15] It was just, it was just a joy to be there.
[30:16] And thanks to staff's, good work for it on it.
[30:21] It's just beautiful. Not to sound silly,
[30:26] but I almost could have wept.
[30:27] It was just, just the sweetest thing
[30:29] to see our c the community like that out,
[30:32] enjoying enjoying the park and enjoying one another.
[30:34] So thanks very much.
[30:37] Thank you Mr. Ferguson.
[30:39] I'm sorry I told you the wrong band.
[30:41] I think I, I mentioned Ted Newton Band
[30:43] and it was Bob Seeger's band or something. So sorry
[30:45] About that.
[30:46] Just fine, mayor. It was just fine. Thank
[30:49] You, Mr. Ferguson.
[30:51] Mr. Soff. Thank you Mayor. Dr. Fletcher.
[30:54] We, I really enjoyed the PHA event.
[30:57] Really nice people there.
[30:59] And of course we wish them all the best, so
[31:01] that was really nice to be there.
[31:03] I have a comment tonight. It's more of a housekeeping item.
[31:07] Our DPW staff
[31:08] and our contractors do a, a fabulous job on our roadways
[31:12] and the medians and keeping things looking nice and cut.
[31:16] But I noticed there's a spot on Lapeer Road that it,
[31:19] it looks like it's being missed.
[31:20] I'm not even sure it's been cut all year.
[31:22] So this would be like from the propane shop on
[31:26] Lapeer at that little point.
[31:27] All, all the way underneath I 75 bridge all the way
[31:30] to the next I 75 bridge would be
[31:34] where the GM building is, the former site of the palace.
[31:37] So that stretch of lapeer,
[31:39] I'm not sure anybody's cut it this year.
[31:41] So there's businesses there and,
[31:43] and I'm sure they would appreciate it.
[31:44] So it's just an area that needs to be spruced up.
[31:46] So I noticed that. And that's all I have this evening.
[31:49] Thank you Mr. Marlow. Thank you very much.
[31:51] I have just a couple things to, to indicate.
[31:54] First thank you Dr. F for the invite.
[31:57] We really had a good time with your company
[31:58] and Broad Road on PHA.
[32:00] We really had a nice time. It was very
[32:02] nice for you to invite us.
[32:04] Also, I want to take a second just
[32:06] to commend our city administration
[32:08] and our city staff on the communication efforts.
[32:12] We talked about that a few weeks ago,
[32:15] and within the last couple weeks we had two major incidents
[32:19] and we, the DOWA water incident
[32:23] and also the incident, all that Great Lakes crossing,
[32:26] once it hits the news wires,
[32:27] I get calls from all over the state, Lansing,
[32:32] Omo, Kalamazoo.
[32:34] I get calls because people know where I, where I sit.
[32:36] So I get calls all the time.
[32:38] So people are wondering how you doing,
[32:39] how you hanging in there, how you holding up?
[32:41] But our team is just fantastic.
[32:44] Tom, I want you to know that our city manager, Tom Tangy,
[32:47] chief gang and your team,
[32:49] deputy Chief Scott McGraw for the communication.
[32:52] Lisa Lac, getting information out on social media.
[32:55] I just want to take a second just
[32:57] to commend our communication efforts.
[32:58] We talk about that all the time
[32:59] and we talk about it amongst ourselves,
[33:01] about the communication that we get from staff
[33:03] and also the communication out
[33:05] to the residents when incidents happen.
[33:07] We make sure it's out there
[33:08] and we make sure time is not only out there,
[33:10] but we make sure that it's accurate.
[33:12] And I want to just take a second to commend you.
[33:14] We're not trying to be the first to the race,
[33:16] but we're gonna be the right one to the race.
[33:18] We're going to get it right. So I take,
[33:20] I wanna take my hat off and just to thank you for
[33:23] communicating with us Assistant manager, Brandon Kopac,
[33:26] call me over the weekend when the incident happened.
[33:30] And I just wanna make sure
[33:32] that you guys know that we appreciate you.
[33:35] Chief, please relay my comments. So thank you very much.
[33:39] And also, that's all I had.
[33:40] I just wanted to make sure that we took the time
[33:42] to commend you guys on commun communication efforts.
[33:45] Please keep those up. We're doing a great job in that area.
[33:49] So next is item 11, our city attorney report. Mr.
[33:54] Leman. Zach Leman.
[33:56] Thank you Mr. Mayor. Nothing to report this evening.
[33:58] I wanna say this is my first time at the city council
[34:00] meeting tonight,
[34:01] and I would like to thank you all
[34:03] for the opportunity to serve the community.
[34:04] Thank you.
[34:06] Thank you. Attorney Leman. See,
[34:07] we didn't beat you up that bad, did we?
[34:10] Not not yet. Here's
[34:14] initiation period, so don't worry about it.
[34:16] I city the manage report. Mr. Tom Tji.
[34:19] Well, luckily we pay Mr.
[34:20] Lehrman by the word, so he didn't say anything.
[34:22] That's, that's, maybe we'll get a refund.
[34:26] Just a couple things I wanna mention.
[34:28] Effective last Wednesday, we became the proud owners of
[34:31] 13.2 acres of beautiful woodlands on Churchill.
[34:35] It's land we'll use for preservation, continue
[34:39] to keep the character of that neighborhood intact.
[34:42] And on Thursday, we, just to shout out to Superior
[34:47] Electric, electric Great Lakes Company.
[34:50] A number of us got to attend their
[34:51] ribbon cutting last Thursday.
[34:53] They have two pretty significant buildings here
[34:55] that they've invested in side by side in the city.
[34:58] They're newer, they're newer to the city in the last year,
[35:03] all I can say is wow.
[35:04] Right? For those of you who are there, it was,
[35:08] it's a very impressive place.
[35:10] They're still looking to grow and maybe they'll grow here.
[35:14] But congratulations to Dale Massey, the C President
[35:18] and CEO and the entire staff.
[35:20] It's a, it's an amazing place
[35:22] and we're proud to have them here.
[35:24] Thank you, Mr. Tandy.
[35:25] Yeah, that is a phenomenal facility there.
[35:27] Thank you very much. We all had a good time at that event.
[35:31] Item 13 is our city Clerk's report.
[35:34] Clerk Pierce. Thank you. Mayor
[35:37] Hawkins.
[35:38] Election day is Tuesday, August 4th.
[35:40] So I just wanted to make sure our residents have all the
[35:42] information they need to vote.
[35:44] There are several voting options.
[35:47] The first is absentee voting.
[35:48] Voters can pick up an absentee ballot from the clerk's
[35:51] office or request to have one mailed
[35:53] during regular business hours completed.
[35:56] Ballots may be returned to the clerk's office.
[35:58] You can use any of the drop boxes.
[36:01] You could return to the early voting site
[36:03] or your polling location on election day.
[36:06] Early in-person voting is another option.
[36:09] The early voting site will be open July 25th
[36:13] through August 2nd from 8:30 AM till 4:30 PM
[36:18] except for that Thursday, we're offering evening hours.
[36:22] So Thursday will be open from noon until 8:00 PM
[36:26] The early voting site will be held in the community room
[36:28] at the public safety building.
[36:31] And then election day voting.
[36:33] The polls will be open Tuesday, August 4th from 7:00 AM
[36:36] to 8:00 PM
[36:38] for in-person voting at your assigned polling location.
[36:42] For more information, to view a sample ballot
[36:45] to see election results,
[36:46] to see which precinct you you vote at,
[36:49] please visit auburn hills.org/vote.
[36:53] Thank you.
[36:55] Thank you. Clerk Pierce, we make note of those.
[36:58] Those comments regarding voting
[37:00] Council white 14 is our adjournment.
[37:03] Council would need a motion to adjourn, Mr. Mayor?
[37:07] Mr. Ferguson. I move that we adjourn. Move by Mr. Ferguson.
[37:11] Second. Second by Mr. Moniz. Any discussion on motion?
[37:15] All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Those opposed?
[37:19] Motion carried. Meeting adjourned.