[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.

City Council Meeting

Agenda

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