[0:03] [music]

[0:11] You are welcome to the city council. I will lead the prayer of the pledge and

[0:16] then we'll go into our ceremony. For those who'd like to participate, please

[0:20] do so. Most gracious heavenly father, we come to you today asking you to

[0:24] strengthen our city. strengthen the leaders, strengthen [snorts] the

[0:27] workers, and strengthen the residents. Father, we ask that you give us clarity

[0:32] and understanding tonight in this meeting so that we walk away not

[0:36] confused, but understanding what our task is at hand. Father, we know that

[0:41] you're able. We say these in the mighty name of Jesus. And they all say, "Amen."

[0:45] » Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:52] republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:58] justice for all.

[1:10] » Roll call, madam clerk. >> Council member Young

[1:13] » here. Council member Seals, >> present.

[1:16] » Council member Balls, >> present.

[1:17] » Mayor Prom Garcia, >> yes.

[1:20] » Council member Oach, >> present.

[1:22] » Council member Bradock, >> present.

[1:24] » Council member Wigan, >> present.

[1:26] » Council member Hammond, >> present.

[1:27] » And Mayor Moore, >> present.

[1:29] » You have all members present. >> Thank you. I'd like to welcome everyone

[1:33] to our nice city council meeting. It is being it will be shown on our web page

[1:37] as well as on what is it?

[1:42] Now it'll be on it'll be on the TV as well as on our page

[1:47] » on social media. I ask that everyone especially my colleagues put your phones

[1:53] your phones on silent as well as your iPad.

[1:58] Audience if I can ask you to do the same thing. It is so disruptful when the

[2:02] phone rings. I know I've been guilty so you don't have to remind me.

[2:09] This is a public meeting. We ask that you don't boo clap any obnoxious

[2:13] behavior. This is a meeting that is being recorded. So, please govern

[2:18] yourself accordingly. Madam clerk, do we have any announcements?

[2:22] » Yes. Mayor, we have one. This is the last week for yard waste collection. If

[2:25] you have any left, please place them in a paper yard waste bag or a marked bin

[2:29] and place at the curb for collection. We have a proclamation on the agenda

[2:34] tonight. It's recognizing December 1st, 2025 as World AIDS Day. Do we have a

[2:40] representative? Do we have a representative? Please come

[2:44] to the podium while they read

[2:48] while they read the proclamation to you, sir. Amen.

[2:54] » Okay. Good evening. City of Sagen proclamation whereas world aid day takes

[2:59] place on the 1st of December each year. It's opportunity for people worldwide to

[3:03] unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with and

[3:08] affected by HIV, and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS. And

[3:13] whereas this year's World's AIDS Day theme, overcoming disruption,

[3:17] transforming the AIDS response, highlights the challenges such as

[3:21] funding cuts while celebrating the resilience of communities working to

[3:25] eradicate HIV AIDS by 2030. It also marks the 37th anniversary of this

[3:32] observance. And whereas over the past 37 years, there has been significant

[3:38] progress progress in in addressing HIV AIDS thanks to advancements in medical

[3:42] research, increased access to treatment and prevention and a broader

[3:47] understanding of the virus. And whereas we have seen countless examples how

[3:52] community activism and solidarity have once again been paramount in providing

[3:57] people affected by HIV with information, services, social protection, and hope.

[4:03] On World's AIDS Day, we remind that no challenge can defeat the underlying

[4:07] American spirit. Together, we will continue to make progress in our efforts

[4:12] to fight a cure for HIV AIDS and to ensure that all Americans live healthier

[4:16] and happier lives. And whereas we are grateful for organizations like Great

[4:22] Lakes Bay Health Centers that offer prevention, treatment, and counseling

[4:26] for HIV. This includes medical care and on-site laboratory, medication,

[4:32] insurance, testing, transportation assistance, and other supportive

[4:36] services. We thank them for all their commitment to support those living with

[4:40] and affected by HIV and AIDS. Now, therefore, be it resolved, I, Brenda F.

[4:45] Moore, mayor of the city of Sagena, do hereby proclaim December 1st, 2025 as

[4:51] World AIDS Day in the city of Sagena and urge all residents of our community to

[4:57] join me in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives

[5:01] to AIDS and to provide support and compassion for those living with HIV. In

[5:06] witness whereof, I have here unonto set my hand and cause the seal of the city

[5:12] of Sagena to be affixed this day of December. This first day of December in

[5:16] the year of our Lord 2025. Signed by Brenda F. Moore, Mayor of

[5:21] Sagena, Council Members Priscilla Garcia, Mayor Prom, Councilman Michael

[5:26] D. Balls, Councilman Eric D. Bradock, Senior, Councilwoman Carly Rose,

[5:30] Hammond, Councilman Bill Ostach, Councilwoman Ceenta Seals, Councilwoman

[5:35] Heidi G. Wiggins, and Councilman Tobias Young, and also by our city manager, Tim

[5:41] Morales. [applause]

[5:52] » Sh.

[5:55] » Thank you.

[5:59] My hands are >> Thank you, Precious.

[6:10] » Please have words. [laughter]

[6:19] » I'm Angela Williams. I'm senior vice president at Great Lakes. And as you

[6:23] were reading the proclamation, what came to my mind is I was responsible for

[6:28] starting this program in 2006 where stigma and sagena was

[6:33] not embracing. And bringing a program such as what we have here to this

[6:39] community has made a significant impact on people living with HIV and AIDS who

[6:45] before Great Lakes started this program would have had to travel to Detroit for

[6:49] services. And what is remarkable throughout these years is the number of

[6:54] our patients who are still living as of first patients in our clinic in 2006. So

[7:01] thank you to the city council, the county commissioners who have always

[7:06] supported our program and you support the efforts of Great Lakes Bay Health

[7:09] Center. So thank you. >> Thank you.

[7:13] » You want to talk? [applause]

[7:21] Madam clerk, >> it takes us to public input.

[7:25] » The clerk will call you to the podium. Please speak loudly and clear enough so

[7:29] that we can understand no booing, obnoxious behavior, please.

[7:35] Madame clerk, >> our first speaker is Stephanie Curtis.

[7:44] » Good evening, council members. Thank you for letting me come.

[7:47] » Louder than that. >> You talk louder than that.

[7:50] » I can talk louder than that. >> I know when you're with your kids.

[7:54] » Um I am the current director of operations with the Boys and Girls Club

[7:58] of the Great Lakes Bay region. Um I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity

[8:02] and provide uh the city council and the city with an update on what we've been

[8:06] up to um as far as the Boys and Girls Club. Each of you did get a packet

[8:11] tonight with the location of our clubs in our current school year and an

[8:15] Isabella Bank current um competition that we are in. But I wanted to

[8:20] highlight a few of our key initiatives currently. Um we are currently serving

[8:25] across all of our clubs in the region 400 youth daily and during the summer

[8:30] 500 with about 200 being here in the city of Sagena. Um we're excited about

[8:35] the opportunity before you this evening regarding the adopt a park application

[8:39] for Crayola Park. Our members and staff and volunteers are super excited um

[8:44] about taking an active role in maintaining the park and supporting the

[8:48] beautifification efforts and ensuring it remains a safe and welcoming um space

[8:52] for youth and families in our community. Second, um we want to uh continue to

[8:58] deepen our presence in engaging with community uh events across Sagena.

[9:02] Whether it's neighborhood gatherings or school partnerships uh and city

[9:06] sponsored celebrations, our goal is to show up consistently and strengthen our

[9:10] relationships and ensure families uh know that the Boys and Girls Club is

[9:14] here for a resource and to be a partner. Third, we recently met with Cassie uh

[9:20] and Jamie uh regarding a little library that's located near the splash pad. Um

[9:24] our team is ready already making plans to keep it stocked with their donated

[9:28] books and have it maintained for our club members and city uh members as

[9:32] well. So we are excited about the encouragement uh for literacy sharing

[9:38] the neighborhood connection and appreciate that opportunity within the

[9:42] community. And fourth, our biggest project, uh, one we're super and

[9:47] incredibly proud of, uh, is the development of our teen center here in

[9:50] Sagena. We are advancing our current capital campaign to couple with the ARPA

[9:55] funding award. Uh, and that momentum is super strong right now. So, the center

[10:00] will provide teens with a safe place uh, featuring leadership development,

[10:04] academic support, uh, career exploration, workforce readiness, and

[10:08] mental uh, wellness programming. So, it represents a major investment for the

[10:13] city of Sagena and the future of our children. And finally, um I want to

[10:17] extend a personal invitation to anyone um at the meeting. If you would like to

[10:22] tour our current club, um please feel free to reach out. Um we have a newly

[10:29] renovated STEM room on our Forney Street uh club and it offers a lot of hands-on

[10:35] robotics, coding, and some really a 300-galon fish tank. Uh so it's very

[10:40] amazing. Um but thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to

[10:46] the young people in Sageno. >> Thank you.

[10:49] » Our next speaker is Miguel Torres.

[11:03] How you doing? My name is Miguel Torres and uh I have a nonprofit organization

[11:08] called Fiesta Kona and uh we do annual events in the in the community. Um we do

[11:14] two big events. One for Hispanic Heritage Month, which is the third week

[11:19] in September. It's a three-day event. Then also we just started another one uh

[11:23] four years ago at the SVRC for Cinco de Mayo on May 5th of every year. And uh

[11:30] the purpose of our organization is to promote music, culture, and arts and the

[11:35] and promote upandcoming artists in the Latino community and pe anybody that

[11:39] wants to get their name out there in music. And so we provide the platform at

[11:43] these two events every year. And uh we're looking for, you know, and also I

[11:48] do a publication called Kaya, which I left some copies uh with the city clerk.

[11:54] So, um, that comes out every month in the community and, uh, it's a free

[11:58] publication that promotes the community, businesses, and also events and other

[12:04] things going on in the community. So, uh, you can look for that every month.

[12:08] But basically the reason why I'm coming here is because we do these two events

[12:12] in the city and uh we're looking to partner with the city council or anybody

[12:17] any businesses that you know want to participate in these two events that we

[12:21] do for Hispanic Heritage Month and Cinco de Mayo. So um if there's any funding

[12:26] out there uh we're always you know if you could let us know and we you know

[12:32] like to know how we can apply for that for funding for because these events are

[12:36] free for the community. So, I mean, we just want to make sure we just want to

[12:40] keep these events in the city and keep our community with some, you know, keep

[12:45] positive things in our community. We want to keep it here in the city. So,

[12:50] um, so that's pretty much it right there for me. Anybody?

[12:56] » Thank you, sir. >> Okay. All right. Thank you.

[13:00] » I'm sorry. We don't answer back. We just listen. Our next speaker is Melanie

[13:06] Velasco.

[13:09] » Hi, my name is Melanie Velasco. Um, Miss Moy said that these pictures might be

[13:15] incriminating to say it all. I'm so sorry, [laughter]

[13:18] but uh I took many pictures of some crazy things. I've seen cars and

[13:24] vehicles parked on grass where it's just a pick and choose who gets a ticket. On

[13:29] the one of the meetings I came on the way here, um, one of those lovely road

[13:35] construction bull crap was right there on the bridge, right on the ground,

[13:39] right in the road. So, you got like 13 of that lovely. They was able when the

[13:44] wind is blowing and there's an accident. All that stuff needs to get cleaned up.

[13:47] There's a pictures of here of a good place where you could uh get the

[13:52] homeless from freezing to death out there and the crackheads and the meth

[13:55] addicts from wandering around. Here's a sidewalk all binded all up. Dripping

[13:59] swall possibly. Okay. You got And then if people are going to cut their grass,

[14:04] can they put their rubbish uh like in bags so that it don't clog the drain and

[14:10] flood the waters? Here's those AT&T things. I Oh, excuse me. Plug

[14:15] in. Well, anyway, you got 13 copies of this silly nonsense stuff that, you

[14:20] know, I've lived in Montrose and I've lived in St. Charles and they live in

[14:25] chain. Senine I came back family's here.

[14:31] They're dying. Not because of Sageno's corrupt. But who do I give this to? I'm

[14:37] going to probably leave as soon as I get all the education I can leave. I'm going

[14:41] to leave Sageno because if I can't make it better and these pictures and and

[14:46] Sageno don't start looking good, people are coming here now and they want they

[14:50] want to see it cleaned up and it's looking like who do I give these to?

[14:55] » CLA. >> Who?

[14:57] » Right here. >> Oh, okay. Hold on. Thank you. All right.

[15:00] So, if you don't get cleaned up, I'm not here and y'all might miss you might. I

[15:05] don't know if you will. But anyway, um yeah, that's what I feel. Yeah. I But I

[15:11] love y'all. >> Thank you.

[15:14] » She's the most gorgeous. She should be a lawyer. All the rest of you guys, you

[15:18] could be her backup helpers. [laughter] Have a good night.

[15:22] » Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause]

[15:24] » Our next speaker is Mike Thompson.

[15:31] » Hello all. I'm Mike Thompson and my family lives

[15:37] on North Fat Street and my topic tonight is citizen involvement with a proposal

[15:44] that hopefully might improve how you communicate with the public. So, I'm not

[15:50] giving my opinion on the tax caps or anything else ARPA or anything else.

[15:55] Just from my experience, I think it would help if you did this.

[16:00] The proposal is on a trial basis that you start at five o'clock and you

[16:07] have a committee of the whole until 6 and then take a break and then have your

[16:11] business meeting at 6:30. The committee of the whole of course

[16:15] would be an hour-long discussion on a specific topic where you don't take any

[16:21] action at the committee of the whole and you do not have to have a quorum. It's

[16:26] your chance to plan and dialogue and I'm seeing an absence of that happening

[16:31] which is why I'm suggesting that you try this. Um, for example,

[16:38] one committee the whole might be the property tax caps. Of course, one week

[16:42] you might have the county land bank. You might really need to talk to the land

[16:47] bank from what I've been hearing. And another one would be the consortium of

[16:53] emergency assistance providers or your own DDA or your own scenic.

[17:00] Give each group some time, not just five minute presentation, and

[17:06] then have a good discussion. You might say that's what you do at your

[17:10] annual January planning sessions, which this year will be January 23rd, I

[17:15] believe, but it's different if you do it every two weeks. and be consistent with

[17:20] it instead of just doing it once a year. Then you have ongoing planning.

[17:26] Um it would not just be for idle talk. An example

[17:31] of a committee of the whole in 1984 that I observed was about how to bring bridge

[17:37] the east west gap. You know 1984 that was kind of bigger and from that

[17:44] committee the whole you ended up converting this old

[17:49] locker room into the Anderson Center. You wouldn't be here right now if you

[17:54] didn't have that kind of discussion going on. So that is why I am

[18:00] encouraging you maybe start on December 15th with the property tax caps instead

[18:04] of waiting until your planning session late in January. Maybe come in two weeks

[18:08] and have a committee the whole on that and get started before the new year

[18:12] ends. [clears throat] It's just a proposal for how to do business. Again,

[18:16] I'm not giving my opinion except I think you should put both the property tax

[18:21] gifts and the income tax on the ballot next spring because I'd like to see what

[18:24] you would do with a general fund that's about 10% higher than you have now.

[18:30] » Thank you for listening. >> Thank you.

[18:32] » Thank you.

[18:35] » Our next speaker is Serenity Seac.

[18:48] Hello. Hello, Councilman. I am here to um announce to you that I am running for

[18:54] Senate District 35. There are six of us, so um I might not have been the first

[18:59] one here, but I'm hope I'm the most memorable and for all the right reasons.

[19:03] Um so, I'm running on making life more affordable for working families. Um, we

[19:10] need to lower health care costs. We need to support our working parents. Um, we

[19:17] need to push forward legislation that gets us closer to a singlepayer health

[19:22] care system. We need to expand our existing child care programs with the

[19:27] goal of universal child care. And we need to protect the principles of

[19:32] democracy, dignity, and self-determination. If you'd like to

[19:36] have um a word with me, if you have a question, I will be here till um the end

[19:40] of uh the meeting and also for a few minutes after. Um I have uh some

[19:45] literature for the council members. Thank you.

[19:48] » Thank you. >> Our final speaker is Jeff Plus.

[19:53] » Thank you.

[20:01] » Good evening, council. Good evening. Uh, I really agree with this this one lady

[20:06] here that was speaking previously because I'm having the same problem. Uh,

[20:10] this morning uh, snow plows came down my street.

[20:15] Instead of plowing snow, they were plowing leaves. I ended up with a whole

[20:19] bunch of pile of leaves in front of my house. Over the weekend, I picked up

[20:23] every leaf from my yard. I picked up I went out to the street and picked leaves

[20:27] up by by hand in the street, cleaning the street up. And now I got all these

[20:31] leaves piled up in front of my house. And I took pictures if you guys would

[20:35] like to see how bad this looks. And I'm really upset. I c I contacted uh a lot

[20:42] of the city departments this morning about cleaning the mess up and uh the

[20:46] only response I could get was to come here and talk to you people about it

[20:49] getting cleaned up. I went out there to do it myself and uh I'm 75 years old or

[20:56] 76 years old. I'm losing track. 76 and I I thought I was having a heart attack

[21:00] and I couldn't continue with it much longer so I had to quit. But it's a real

[21:05] it's a real mess. And uh almost the entire one driving lane in front of my

[21:09] house is just covered with leaves and branches. Little branches though, but

[21:14] most of the cars have to drive around it. They can't they don't even have a

[21:18] way to get through really unless they drive through those leaves.

[21:22] So, and I don't I don't know if you guys can discuss anything that can be done

[21:28] about it. I'd like to know. That's what I'm here for. I'd like to find out

[21:31] whether something can be done if one of you people could tell me. Could could

[21:35] possibly the city come and clean up the mess and then send that my neighbor the

[21:40] bill for the leaves that he didn't want to rake up. Is that possible? Can I get

[21:46] an answer? No, >> we really don't answer. But I heard you

[21:50] say that earlier. But we actually had a department head here

[21:54] » who was probably going to tap you on the shoulder as soon as you sit down to talk

[21:57] to you. >> Okay. Cuz I talked to environment

[22:00] environmental. >> Okay.

[22:01] » And uh they did not they said you're just stuck with the mess. That's what

[22:05] she said. So now I do everything to keep my yard

[22:10] looking nice. And it's I can't believe the mess that it made. And it's all all

[22:15] the leaves are in my a lot. I shoved a lot of out of my easement, but there's

[22:20] still a lot in the street. And it doesn't look very Christmy

[22:25] if I can say that. It looks pretty bad. >> We will make sure you get a response,

[22:30] sir. >> Uh, somebody will talk to me. I'm sure

[22:33] you're in here. >> I'm sure.

[22:34] » Okay. Thanks. >> I'm sure.

[22:36] » Thank you.

[22:40] » That takes us to remarks of councel.

[22:47] first today. >> Thank you so much. Council person, you

[22:52] now have three minutes as well. >> Three minutes. Get everything you want

[22:56] to say in your three minutes. And tonight we will begin

[23:00] with Councilman Ostach.

[23:04] » Thanks, Mayor. Um Mr. Plus, I feel your frustration. I've had the same thing

[23:09] happen to me before and then [clears throat] it froze and I couldn't

[23:12] take care of it. So, our city staff will will talk to you and he probably tagged

[23:17] you on the show. So, >> um stuff does happen and that's why

[23:21] we're glad that you come and bring it to our attention. Anything like that in the

[23:24] future, contact streets. >> I did contact them.

[23:27] » Okay. Then they had me talk to environmental and then

[23:30] » Okay. >> And they're the ones that city council

[23:33] meeting. >> All right. Okay. They'll they'll they'll

[23:35] contact you. >> Okay. Thanks.

[23:37] » Yep. Um, we did have a proclamation tonight and I

[23:41] want to talk about that a little bit more. Um, I want to thank Great Lakes

[23:44] Bay Health Centers and everything that you do do in the community. Um, they are

[23:48] just down the street from me on Ho Avenue. Uh, that's where a lot of these

[23:51] services are provided at the hearth home which is now Great Lakes Bay Health. Um,

[23:56] [clears throat] HIV prevention. I'd like to talk about

[23:59] that a little bit tonight. It is called PREP or preexposure prophylaxis. I'm not

[24:05] a doctor, but if they can help you with this as well. And also if if this pill

[24:10] is taken or there's actually a shot now, if it's taken, it's 99.7%

[24:15] effective against HIV if taken daily. So that that is very important. Um

[24:21] also too, they can also help you with some other things. It's called doxy

[24:25] prep. And these are things that we probably don't talk about a lot in the

[24:28] community, but these are things that are available. What is doxy prep? Doxy prep

[24:32] is something that you if you think that you've been exposed to an STI or an STD,

[24:37] this is an antibiotic that can be taken the next day to prevent that. So those

[24:41] uh those diseases are also things that they can help you deal with, give you

[24:45] information on. So I suggest you give them a call at 989-753911

[24:51] if you're interested.

[24:54] Um let me see here. Just a few other things that went on over the last couple

[25:00] weeks. I had the opportunity with our mayor and mayor prom. Uh we went to the

[25:05] east side soup kitchen for their Thanksgiving Day meal. Uh it was a

[25:09] wonderful event. Uh there's a lot of donations that you can take there too.

[25:12] So they're always looking for clothing or toiletries or undergarments. Um but I

[25:16] want to thank Diane Keenan and the entire staff at the East Side Soup

[25:20] Kitchen for everything that you do every day for the community, not just on the

[25:23] holidays. Also, we did have some fun. So we had the Christmas parade. Uh it was a

[25:29] nice day. the sun was shining so it wasn't too cold. Uh but uh thanks to

[25:34] city staff like Rachel Hazesca who sets that up for us. And also a special

[25:38] thanks to Bill Georgees, the owner of Mike's Record for always providing the

[25:42] flatbed and this year again had it wonderfully decorated uh with Christmas

[25:46] trees and such like that. Uh anybody who's interested, there's something else

[25:50] that's coming up. The county parks is going to be having a Santa's holiday

[25:54] hike. That'll be Friday, this coming Friday on the 5th from 5 to 6:30. Looks

[26:00] like here Santa's going to be there along with lots of food, snacks, and hot

[26:04] cocoa. And I am done. Thanks. >> Thank you. Next, we have Councilman

[26:10] Bredo. >> Uh, thank you, Madame Mayor.

[26:12] [clears throat] Um, just real quick, I don't have much to say. I'll just say

[26:15] far as the Hispanic um, Mr. Torres, as far as Hispanic heritage, [snorts]

[26:18] you know, I live downtown, so I really enjoyed those the Hispanic heritage u

[26:22] festivals that they have there. I'll be looking forward to the food trucks. I

[26:26] think I hit all of them so far. So, you know, I'll be looking forward to it. And

[26:30] the music be I mean, they be all the way to about like 9:30, 10:00 they be out

[26:34] there jamming. So, um I really would like to see that stay in our city as

[26:38] well. But, um far as that though, I just like to, you know, say that, you know, I

[26:43] appreciate all the people that's putting in the good work in our city and let's

[26:46] continue to highlight and and and get behind those people. Other than that,

[26:50] that's all I have. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Thank you.

[26:53] Next we have Councilwoman Wiggins. >> Thank you, Mayor Moore. Uh thank you to

[26:57] all the public speakers today. Appreciate your input. Um we love

[27:01] hearing from our community and thank you for giving back to the community,

[27:04] letting us know what you need cuz that's why we're here. Um

[27:09] just a couple of announcements. There is another

[27:13] uh citywide collective uh food distribution that's going to happen on

[27:18] the 6th. No, um the 4th. Yes. Thursday, Thursday the 4th at Mount Olive, which

[27:24] is located on um 6th Avenue, North 6th Avenue in Sagena, and that's going to be

[27:29] from 11 to 1:00 p.m. If you know anybody that has uh food insecurity, lives in

[27:34] the city of Sagena, um they can go come there. It's going to be like a

[27:38] drive-through setup. And I'm sure like our last one we had, there were also

[27:42] walkups cuz not everyone has a vehicle. So, um that's from 11 to 1:00 and that's

[27:48] uh on the 4th. uh the NAB um a place that's that's does a lot for the

[27:54] community on Russell Street here in Sagena. They're going to have pancakes

[27:58] and story time with Santa and the elves and that's going to be on uh Saturday uh

[28:04] 126 from 11 to 1:00 p.m. I was able to go last year and it was a good time. It

[28:09] was just a fun time with the community. Got to see a bunch of cute kids and have

[28:13] pancakes and it was really jazzy Santa. He was a really cool dude. So, it was uh

[28:18] really nice to to do that. Um they also have a a pantry pickup. I believe it's

[28:24] the third Thursday of this month. [clears throat] So, again, if you have

[28:29] food insecurity, um that's going to be on the third Thursday of this month. And

[28:33] you can get information uh by contacting the NAB. Um in general, like I I did get

[28:40] to volunteer at the soup kitchen. It was uh a couple a week or so before

[28:46] Thanksgiving. It was a group of uh a lot of good businesses. Uh volunteers were

[28:51] there. Got to take my daughter and um I appreciate everyone that volunteers

[28:56] there on a daily basis. Um I do encourage like there are a lot of

[29:01] volunteers around the holidays. If you can contact and if you're interested in

[29:05] volunteering, ask them what their light volunteer days are. Um because there's

[29:09] always a need. So um there's millions of ways to get involved. a lot of people

[29:14] doing great things in this community. Just reach out, try to find something to

[29:18] give back. So, thank you for the everyone that does. That's all I have.

[29:22] » Thank you. Next, we have Councilwoman Henry.

[29:25] » Thank you. Um to Mr. Plus, um I apologize you. So, if if you want to

[29:30] reach out in the future um to council and you have pictures or something to to

[29:35] send, um the best way to do that is we have a form on the website. You can't

[29:39] attach a picture, but when you fill out the form, send it to all council

[29:43] members. we can respond and you get our individual emails. The one thing I will

[29:47] say is that our spam filter autoblocks like large files. So if you try to send

[29:53] too many it won't work. So um in the future we you know we'll [snorts] have a

[29:58] back and forth if if that's something that you need to transfer a digital

[30:02] file. Um so uh the other thing I wanted to mention uh is to um Mr. Thompson on

[30:10] the citizen engagement proposal. I think that's a fantastic idea. Um, I also

[30:15] agree that we don't get enough opportunity to kind of go topic by topic

[30:19] and engage our community stakeholders in an open environment where people can

[30:22] come and speak, where we can inform each other as council members and kind of

[30:26] take that time to delve into the issues most at hand. Um, kind of like single

[30:33] subject meetings, but committee the whole meeting. So, I'll I'll I'll follow

[30:37] up with my fellow council members because I I think maybe not that part

[30:41] particular format at that particular time or that partic that often, but I

[30:47] agree that there needs to be some other opportunity for for for essentially deep

[30:51] diving and open discussion on topics um rather than, you know, needing a motion

[30:56] and maybe it's brought up under miscellaneous business and then it's

[30:58] rushed because it's at the end of the meeting. I I agree. I think there should

[31:01] be more opportunity for engagement. Um, the last thing I wanted to mention is,

[31:05] um, for those in the community who have been following the federal budget fight,

[31:11] um, obviously a lot of that affects nonprofits, organizations, our own

[31:16] community here in Sagena, and it's far from over. Um, there are large

[31:22] programmatic changes particularly to HUD, uh, the Department of Housing and

[31:26] Urban Development that I've been following that are very, very scary.

[31:29] They have a lot of implications for housing and lack of housing um

[31:34] potentially uh aggravating our issue of homelessness here in the city. So stay

[31:41] alert, pay attention, uh contact your representatives if you feel so inclined.

[31:46] Um because there are potentially major changes that could impact our community.

[31:51] Um, and some change is that with those programs

[31:56] and with that funding, if if you cut a program by 60 or 70%, you have to cut

[32:01] staff, you don't get that back. That's toothpaste you can't really put back in

[32:05] the tube. Um, so I'd urge people to, you know, inform yourself on those programs,

[32:10] on those topics, and where in your community those uh organizations are

[32:14] having these conversations and where we're going to need folks to come

[32:17] together in the future. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Councilman

[32:22] Young. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, I'd like to first

[32:27] start with uh last week I did a ride along with the police department and

[32:32] that was uh very informative to see how their technical systems tie in with the

[32:39] laptops, the radios, the camera systems, then also to hear a call come in to see

[32:44] how it's dispatched out, how they respond, and how they uh report it. So

[32:49] that was uh very informative. Um I'd also like to mention that not this

[32:55] Saturday but next Saturday there will be a local developers meeting at uh 2040

[33:01] James and uh this is where the the uh neighborhood in neighborhood services

[33:07] and inspection department. So that's the zoning, the inspections, everyone will

[33:10] be there. And um calling out to a lot of the landlords, local developers, and

[33:16] anybody who's in the interested in acquiring properties. You know, uh

[33:21] sometime it could be intimidating to get a vacant property or a vacant piece of

[33:26] land. There's a lot of people in the community who want to do that, but it's

[33:30] a intimidating process. So to make it less intimidating, you know, this has

[33:34] been an initiative of mine that I'd like to thank the staff for uh getting

[33:39] behind. And this also ties into a lot of the ordinance changes to make it more

[33:44] development friendly for the uh local uh developers to just acquire properties

[33:51] and develop them and not be so intimidating. So, if you have any

[33:56] questions or um they'll also pull out information for existing landlords who

[34:02] maybe want to upgrade their housing cuz there are state and federal funds to

[34:07] upgrade the HVAC units, uh the roofs, windows, things like that. So, you'll

[34:13] have all this information in one place. So, if you're interested in getting

[34:17] properties and develop them, a lot of um businesses come from housing, you know,

[34:23] dayc carees, AFC homes, and they have different uh requirements and

[34:28] inspections that the city may require. So, you have your opportunity to get all

[34:32] that information in in one place. And um my hope is that it will like uh spur

[34:37] some local development, you know, so that residents will start grabbing these

[34:42] empty lots and getting the vacant properties and and it's a partnership

[34:46] with the city. They're here to help you get your businesses open. So that's my

[34:51] hopes of that. So that'll be uh next Saturday uh December 13th from 11:00

[34:56] a.m. to 12:30 and that'll be at 2040 James. So, I'll be putting that

[35:01] information out again, but it'll happen before we have another council meeting.

[35:05] So, I feel like it was important to put that out right now. So, that's all I

[35:09] have. >> Thank you. Next, we have councilwoman

[35:13] Seal. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um,

[35:16] [clears throat] I attended an event with the mayor. Um,

[35:23] it was a couple of weeks ago. We were here at the Anderson Center.

[35:27] Uh it was with the gingerbread houses and um it was a great event

[35:35] and it was a [sighs] lot of kids and a lot of families. Uh

[35:39] it's the weekend uh right before Thanksgiving

[35:43] and um I don't know who the winner was that actually won the actual event that

[35:48] had the best gingerbread houses, but I know a lot of parents had to pop a lot

[35:52] of kids hands because the kids wanted to eat all the candy. The ginger bear

[35:56] houses were beautiful. Um it was so many people out that weekend uh before

[36:01] Thanksgiving. Just to see the city of Sagenar residents out and about um here

[36:06] at the Anderson um over in Oldtown Sagenol. Uh Sagenol was bustling. It was

[36:12] a beautiful night. It wasn't It was pretty chilly, but just to see people

[36:16] out and about in Sagenol was a beautiful thing. Um I don't know if we had any

[36:21] incidents but I didn't hear about anything and I live over here in the

[36:24] neighborhood and it was a beautiful evening just to see Sagena for two

[36:28] nights. Uh have a great time for this just in the spirit of the holidays.

[36:33] Um I enjoyed myself and um and it was just a we had a great time. Um we gave

[36:40] out a lot of it wasn't really candy. I think we just gave out swag.

[36:44] » Yeah. Okay. She called it swag [clears throat] but it was

[36:46] » swag sag. Yeah, it was sagenov swag. So, uh people were excited to get it, but I

[36:52] think they were more interested in the in the gingerbread houses, but uh it was

[36:57] a great thing to see. Um [clears throat] the uh also the um

[37:04] the parade was pretty cool to be a part of that with the council members um

[37:09] Mayor Pro Tim and Bill and Heidi. Um, we also had a great time on and during that

[37:15] parade and we gave out a lot of candy. It was a lot of people out there um at

[37:22] the parade. I think um from last year that was my first parade. So, this is my

[37:26] second parade this year and I think that the parade this year was much bigger

[37:30] than the one last year. So, we had a lot of people out this year. So, it was

[37:34] great to see uh people coming out to the parade. So, I think this year it was

[37:38] just more people coming out and sagen all just participating in the events.

[37:42] So, I was happy to see Sagena coming out to participate, seeing the kids out. Um,

[37:48] I think we're we're on the up and up, guys. We're on the up and up and seeing

[37:53] Sagena out and about and it wasn't anything negative. It was all positivity

[37:58] and in the spirit of the holidays. So, that made me happy. Um, I want to

[38:03] encourage people, too. A lot of people still saying there's nothing to do, but

[38:07] people were out and doing things. There are a lot of um this is an artifact

[38:12] right here and I'm not for sure where exactly we would get these or are we

[38:17] getting these from the city >> these are at city hall.

[38:24] » So they picked these up from the Anderson. So pick these up. These have a

[38:27] lot of information in them. So make sure you get this and you can find out where

[38:31] we're having all the events in Sagenov.

[38:35] » Next we have Councilman Balls. >> Thank you madame mayor.

[38:40] I don't have a lot to say today, but I would like to uh thank the lady from the

[38:44] Boys and Girls Club for coming speaking. U you know, Frigid Douglas once said,

[38:51] "There's easier to build strong children than repair broken men."

[38:58] » And our community centers here in the city of Sagenov is uh charged with

[39:03] trying to help build strong children. Um, we had the opportunity to uh put

[39:09] some of the ARPA money into the community centers. Uh, all the community

[39:13] centers actually closed when the ARPA money got here. Uh, it was my buck and

[39:17] me and some other council people and we chose to put money in the community

[39:21] centers because we know it's easier to build stronger children it is to repair

[39:27] those broken men. Um, and that's my passion too by being in

[39:32] the Big Brothers and Sisters program. You know, I see a lot of kids don't have

[39:35] any parents at fathers at home and you can see what way they're going to end up

[39:41] if somebody don't mentor these kids. So, I want to commend the Boys and Girls

[39:45] Club Big Brothers and Sisters program for doing what you do. Thank you so

[39:49] much. You know, it would be nice to have a statistics of uh all the kids that

[39:54] come to the community centers to find out where they at 10, 15, 20 years

[39:59] later. you know, we don't sometime people think they pour in the kids and

[40:03] it don't work or something like that. This way we can know the what happened.

[40:07] Um, I guess I'm one of the first world community kids so y'all can see what

[40:12] happened to me. But you but you don't know what happened in between that time.

[40:16] But [laughter] uh eventually uh I got to the point where I I started caring about

[40:20] my community the same way those people cared about me when I was at the First

[40:23] World Community Center and Civotan as a kid. Um

[40:28] uh I had a guy uh um

[40:34] uh I was in a car accident as a kid, nine years old. Um four people in the

[40:39] car, my grandfather and two of his friends. I'm only survivor of that

[40:43] accident. Um

[40:46] the guy that stayed around the corner, Arthur Redeemer, had the opportunity. He

[40:51] wanted to tell me he was he been trying want to tell me this for years but he

[40:54] finally had opportunity to tell me that he pulled me out of that car and uh you

[40:59] can imagine the emot emotions that I felt when he told me that you know asked

[41:03] him you know did you see the the other people in the car he said man they was

[41:06] gone you know I said that's my grandfather and uh you know I'm really

[41:10] uh it really tore me up a little bit knowing that this guy wanted a child

[41:14] used to be his brother and I went to school together I never knew this and

[41:18] he's like four years older than me so he told me that and it brought about all

[41:20] kind emotions and it made me think about uh some of the things that I do in the

[41:24] community by working with kids and and maybe that's one of the reasons why

[41:27] somebody pulled me out. So, I'm trying to pull some other kids out too. So, I

[41:31] thank God for the opportunity that I have, you know, to to do that today and

[41:35] to serve on this city council and to be able to put money in uh community

[41:38] centers so we can help build a better city for this.

[41:42] Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have Mayor

[41:46] Proam Garcia. >> Good evening, concerned citizens of the

[41:50] community. Thank you for coming this cold evening. Um the 1st of December

[41:54] already, end of the year. Um thanks to the Boys and Girls Club for updating us.

[41:58] It's always good to hear how the ARPA dollars turned out. Um we've had some of

[42:02] our other past recipients come to and so it just helped us know that we're doing

[42:06] good and we did great things with that money. Like it was a blessing and a

[42:09] curse um to it. And I came in at one of the hardest times, but I'm glad I did

[42:13] because I've learned a lot um with these past three years. Um sidewalks,

[42:18] pictures. Thanks Melanie for keeping um updates for us because sometimes we

[42:23] don't know. Sometimes um citizens call us and you know make us aware we can't

[42:27] be everywhere at all times. So it does help when we have our citizens contact

[42:31] us. Um I know you guys know the beautiful Sagenov sign out there, but it

[42:35] does have a purpose on our um community website. So if you ever want to go on

[42:40] there, it doesn't just look cool out there. It actually has a purpose. and um

[42:44] you can pay your bill, you can look up property, you can report a us concern on

[42:48] there, um the road closure. So, there's a lot of great things on there. Also,

[42:52] there's some surveys on there you could do um that we appreciate the feedback

[42:56] and they take about 5 minutes. There's a couple of them that I see on there that

[43:00] we need um for our streets and um there was another one on there. So, if you

[43:05] want to go on there and help us with that because that reports any concerns

[43:08] or things so that way when we get the funding and stuff that we can make, you

[43:12] know, those decisions with Higher Up and let them know that this is what's going

[43:16] on in our city. Um, and it really does help for the feedback. I always do all

[43:20] my um extra coupon ones when I do my stuff cuz it does help and people don't

[43:24] realize it. Um, also it was a busy holiday. Um, some of um the council

[43:29] members, we were giving out turkeys on North Michigan at McDonald's. It was

[43:32] cold, but we were out there giving back to our community. We did the East Side

[43:36] Soup Kitchen and then the braid, the parade, of course. It wasn't as cold as

[43:39] the past years, but um it was really nice. It turned out really great. And um

[43:44] I'm happy to see all the people that came out and supported us. And Friday

[43:48] night was really busy. I didn't watch the fireworks cuz I was already too

[43:51] cold, but I mean it was amazing to see both sides of the city down here really

[43:55] booming people in line. I rode one of the little buses cuz I got made it one

[43:59] way and I'm like, "Forget it. I'm taking the bus, but it was really warm. It was

[44:03] a great time. I'm glad I went. And um really quick, uh Santa's elves second

[44:08] annual Christmas giveaway, 701 Hes Avenue, Saga, Michigan, this Saturday

[44:13] from 11 to 2. Um it's really nice at the church. They give each child a toy

[44:17] according to their age, they get to select one. So if you know anybody still

[44:21] that's in need um this Saturday to make sure you go out. And then Friday also um

[44:26] Heart of the City um is Saturday as well, I'm sorry. um from noon to 2.

[44:31] That's 7:30 South 14th Street. Uh newborn to 16 years old. You get a box

[44:36] of groceries to each family. They're going to have hot dogs and chips. And

[44:39] they're having uh raffles, too. Uh gift giveaways such as TVs, gift cards, food,

[44:44] and meat boxes. At 12:20, the raffle stops. So, if you know anybody, send

[44:48] them that way. Thank you. >> Okay. So, by the time it gets to me,

[44:54] everybody's been uh my public speakers, you know, it it it it's always good to

[45:01] hear and I do believe people think that we everywhere. I wish I could be. As for

[45:08] the gentleman, Mr. Jeff, I sympathize

[45:13] cuz when I shove up my snow, it never fails. However,

[45:21] I've learned how to adjust, but I'm not telling you to adjust. You know, I

[45:25] learned how to adjust. Um, it has been a busy last two weeks. Um, a multitude of

[45:32] things have happened, but the one good thing happened is that on two on two

[45:38] Fridays ago, it had two Fridays ago, this city was lit up like a Christmas

[45:43] tree. This city,

[45:47] » if nothing else, >> we represented

[45:50] » the city of Sagenaron. >> Me and Councilwoman Seals, we had the

[45:56] opportunity to sit in the lobby, which wasn't in the cold, but we sat in the

[46:01] lobby uh and we gave our swag. I believe in showing people that we love our own

[46:08] city. So in order to show somebody we got to talk better about our city

[46:15] » and talking better about our city, everybody that came through that door

[46:18] that came to our table got us got a little bitty mini candy cane which meant

[46:24] a lot to them that said welcome seasons greeting from the city of Sageno.

[46:30] » They were they were totally amazed. Some people think we don't have class

[46:35] but we got a lot of class in Sag. Okay. We got a lot of class. Mr. Thompson,

[46:42] you're you're on the same page that we're on. The committee that's working

[46:46] on the stuff that you were talking about does plan to do those types of things

[46:50] real soon. Okay? So, I want everybody to understand we hear you. We do hear you.

[46:58] But sometimes we can't move as fast as you want us to. And if you just give us

[47:04] a little bit of time, it's going to get better. The one thing

[47:09] I've learned is is that the mouth will say anything, but behavior don't lie.

[47:15] And for anybody that knows me, if I say it, I'm going to do it. If I can't do

[47:21] it, I'll let you know I can't do it. The one the the thing for me, Sagnar, is my

[47:27] home. It is where I work, live, and play. And in order to make it better,

[47:34] I'm going to continue to do the things that I do to help make it better. This

[47:38] is not a threat to anybody, but anybody who don't want to see us move forward,

[47:43] you're crazy. Sagnar's on the upswing.

[47:47] Thank you so much, Madame Clerk. >> That takes us to reports from the

[47:51] manager. >> Mr. Manager, you now have the floor.

[47:55] [clears throat] >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. So, we do have

[47:57] our citywide meeting coming up. Our next city of Sagena citywide meeting will be

[48:02] held on Wednesday, December 10th at 5:30 at the Sagena water treatment facility,

[48:08] 522 Ezra Rust Drive, right next door. Please join [clears throat] us to hear

[48:13] an update on the water tower project and to learn about the past, present, and

[48:17] future of the water treatment plant. The meeting will conclude with a brief tour

[48:21] of the facility's filter g filter gallery. We'll also share additional

[48:26] updates on upcoming community programs and events. The main discussion topic

[48:30] for the evening will be the water treatment facility and the major

[48:33] projects currently underway including the water tower project. And attendees

[48:38] will have that opportunity to tour the filter gallery firsthand. The Sagena

[48:43] water treatment division provides highquality drinking water to thousands

[48:46] of city residents as well as 20 surrounding communities throughout

[48:49] Sagena County and portions of Bay and Tuscola counties as well. We want our

[48:54] residents to stay informed about our current initiatives and to learn more

[48:57] about the history and operations of the important facility. So hopefully

[49:01] everybody can get a chance to attend. City council voted to forward to move

[49:08] forward in cooperation with the city county school liaison committee to

[49:11] develop a city of Sagena youth council on October at our October 20th meeting.

[49:17] The schools have selected and appointed student representatives and held an

[49:21] organizing meeting. The kickoff meeting will be on December 15th and will

[49:26] include introductions, meet your mentor, mentee. If you recall,

[49:32] uh the goal is to have each student assigned to a council member. So, you

[49:37] will be have an opportunity to meet that if you're able to attend meet that

[49:41] individual and also a discussion of session topics and expectations.

[49:46] The plan speakers for the first meeting are Karen Lawrence Webster from the

[49:50] Sagena County League of Women Voters and City Councilwoman Heidi Wiggins. So, um,

[49:57] and you can see, uh, Councilwoman Wiggins or any member of the school,

[50:02] City County Schools on Committee, uh, to learn more about the organization.

[50:07] Premeating work for the students will include, do you know your city? a form

[50:11] prepared by the League of Women Voters and they'll have that ready at the first

[50:17] meeting. Um they have their schedule so you should have an opportunity to get

[50:22] that. We have um committed to have our department heads available for specific

[50:28] meetings. So I think they have that schedule all worked out. We've got that

[50:31] to our department heads. So, um, looks like a great opportunity and it sounds

[50:35] like they've got some good, uh, students, uh, appointed. And finally, we

[50:41] do have a guest, uh, this evening. The region 7 area aging area agency and

[50:48] aging provides various services to the community, including programs to help

[50:52] older adults remain independent, care management, Medicare planning, and

[50:57] various other services. Mayor Moore sits on the board and we have Dina Alum who

[51:04] is our chief executive director here today to speak with council so that you

[51:08] can learn more about the organization.

[51:18] » Good evening, council members. Thank you for having me. Uh you all received a

[51:24] blue packet. I'll go quickly through that at the end. Um because there is an

[51:28] ask. Uh before that though, I I did want to come and introduce myself. You might

[51:33] wonder why do we specifically need to know the CEO of region 7 area agency on

[51:39] aging. We do some wonderful work together with your county which of

[51:44] course affects your beautiful city. And so making sure that uh we build

[51:49] relationships and that all of [snorts] you are aware of the um the breadth of

[51:56] services that we offer at region 7 uh is very important because they are

[52:01] available to your uh city residents. And so let me start with this. Partnerships

[52:08] like ours bridge the gap many gaps anyway um that are created by the social

[52:14] determinants of health which we are all very aware of how they affect our our uh

[52:20] residents the clients we're taking care of the people we know who need services

[52:25] etc. Region 7 uh helps fund the following

[52:30] services for the city of Sagena and Sagena County. uh congregate nutrition,

[52:36] home delivered meals, case coordination and support,

[52:42] caregiver case management, senior center operations and senior

[52:47] center staffing, adult daycare and caregiver training.

[52:54] There are also several more services, more than I could name in the time here

[52:59] today, that are available to older adults and

[53:03] persons with disabilities who live in your city and are in need. And so I want

[53:08] to make sure that you know it's as simple as dialing [snorts]

[53:12] 1 8008581637

[53:16] and ask the question, whatever that question is, what help you need, what

[53:21] help they need. if you just have them call. So, what happens often is someone

[53:26] will look at the brochure, they'll look at the website like my my need doesn't

[53:31] fit what they do. I encourage you to have them call

[53:35] because it is very likely that we have things that can, you know, we have

[53:41] resources that can help them. Uh, for instance, it's not listed everywhere in

[53:45] our brochure, but we have a loan closet where we can loan uh durable medical

[53:50] equipment. And if we don't have what someone needs in there, we're going to

[53:55] work very hard to try to find that for them at no cost to them. And there's so

[54:00] much more. So again, if there is a need, you have an older adult, a person with

[54:06] disabilities, an adult with disabilities, uh, who has needs that

[54:10] you're, you know, they're struggling to get met, please have them call us.

[54:15] Another important part of our partnership is advocacy. Uh, Mayor Moore

[54:19] of course brings the city's needs to our attention at our board meetings and and

[54:26] keeps us a breast of those needs, how we can help your older adults and persons

[54:29] with disabilities. Um, we then take that and the information that comes from our

[54:35] other board members from our other nine counties that we serve um, in addition

[54:41] to Sagena County. And we advocate we advocate to keep the funding coming for

[54:46] those programs that I listed off. And there are some others that are

[54:49] available, you know, on different years depending on what grants are available

[54:53] that we can offer as well. We also have some emergency funding that we can

[54:58] offer. So, some of the places that we advocate

[55:03] for services for older adults include, but are surely not limited to, uh, the

[55:09] Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging,

[55:12] Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,

[55:16] the ACLS, their uh, Michigan Bureau of Aging, Community Living and Supports.

[55:22] Um, we also belong to a couple of very important uh statewide organizations

[55:28] that help advocate and that is the PACE association of Michigan and the Area

[55:34] Agency on Agings Association of Michigan, also known as the 4 a.m.

[55:39] You'll see some advertising coming out soon for the 4 a.m. The purpose of that

[55:43] is basically what I'm doing here but on a broader scale to make sure people know

[55:48] because the greatest the worst thing that I could hear as a leader is that my

[55:53] services are the greatest of the best kept secret right and we get that a lot

[55:58] that is I am very hopeful to change that it should not be a secret we don't want

[56:05] it to be um and there are more advocacy that we we do as well contingency plan.

[56:13] We uh through the recent government shutdown, there was a lot of fear. There

[56:17] still is uh to some degree for certain programs, for certain uh funding sources

[56:23] and and there's a lot of unknowns. I want you to know that the services that

[56:27] we fund through region 7, which is which helps what you fund with your

[56:33] millillage, right? The services that we fund went without interruption because

[56:38] our contingency plan is solid and we were able to keep those funds flowing.

[56:42] Even though they were not flowing to us from all of uh from the federal

[56:45] government, we were able to keep them flowing and keep services going without

[56:50] interruption.

[56:53] » With that, I thank you for your partnership with

[56:58] our agency. Our ongoing collaboration ensures that

[57:03] older adults and persons with disabilities in your city and in your

[57:07] county will continue to have access to muchneeded services. I look forward to

[57:12] working with all of you. As I end, I'd like to say that in the

[57:17] packet you have, I have an ask and I hope this is appropriate because the

[57:22] purpose is simply to help people in need. There are five cards. They look

[57:27] like this. They just say make a call. Just call us. Ask us for what you need.

[57:32] Let us tell them how we can help them. If you could hand that out to five

[57:37] people, I would be grateful. And I I know that

[57:42] the person that's going to get the help will be as well.

[57:46] There's one of these. It's a flyer, but it has little tear

[57:52] offs. If you could post this in one place that you go that has a billboard,

[57:57] you know, a bulletin board that you can stick it up on. We have people who do

[58:01] this, but the influence and the reach that we all have, adding that to our

[58:07] outreach specialist and others who do that can only amplify what we're doing.

[58:15] And with that, if you have any questions, my card is in your folder as

[58:20] well. And I I greatly look forward to working with each one of you and

[58:25] learning more how I and region 7 can serve the residents of your city.

[58:32] » Thank you. >> Good.

[58:35] » Do do anyone have any question cuz I want Dana get away thinking she got away

[58:41] easy. >> Does anybody have any questions?

[58:44] » I just have a comment. Um I work at region 7 for three years. because I was

[58:48] an information and assistance specialist. And I actually just

[58:51] collaborated with um >> Jessica, our director here at the

[58:56] Commission on Aging and I had a client um because I still do home visits as a

[59:00] social worker for Medicare and she needed a shower bench and um you guys

[59:04] were able to get it from the loan closet, get it to Jessica and Jessica

[59:07] bought it back to Sagenol for my client. So you guys are doing great work and I

[59:12] always recommend you guys. So, if you had any more of these, if I can get some

[59:16] to carry with me. Um, absolutely. >> Because I service a lot of areas in

[59:20] Sagenol, Midland, and Bay City, too. So, I'm always passing the information cuz

[59:24] like I said, I worked there firsthand for three years and you guys do great

[59:28] work. And so, nice to see a new director.

[59:31] » Thank you. And thank you very much for sharing that.

[59:34] » Yes, Councilman. >> Only question I have um what what is

[59:38] what age is considered elderly for requirements for services? That's a

[59:42] great question and I wish I had one answer.

[59:45] » Okay, [snorts and laughter] >> the it depends on the program. So, what

[59:47] I'll say >> it does depend on the program. Some of

[59:52] them start at 55, which I'm dangerously close to. So, you know, but 55 and some

[59:59] 60 and some 65. So, it just depends on what service that they're looking for.

[1:00:04] But again, I say if they're 55 or older and not disabled, have them call us. If

[1:00:09] they're any age 18 and older and disabled and need help, have them call

[1:00:14] us. >> Okay. All right.

[1:00:15] » Thank you. >> Absolutely. Any other question?

[1:00:17] » Any other questions? >> He answered my question. Thank you.

[1:00:21] [laughter] >> Why y'all shaking y'all heads? Y'all 18?

[1:00:25] » No, I'm afraid I qualify. [laughter]

[1:00:29] » I thought you knew. >> I thought you knew that card

[1:00:37] coming. [laughter] Thank you so much.

[1:00:40] » Thank you. Thank you, >> Swift.

[1:00:44] » Thank you for that report. And um Madame Mayor, that concludes the management

[1:00:48] update. >> Do we have any questions for our city

[1:00:50] manager? >> Yes, council woman.

[1:00:53] » Mr. Manager, whatever happened to the Ojiway Island Committee that was tasked

[1:00:57] with the reopening of Ojiway Island? We are actually getting the we have a

[1:01:04] list of potential projects uh that staff has and we're probably finalizing those

[1:01:10] estimates right now once we wanted to wait until most of the fall work was

[1:01:15] done or summer work was done for engineering. So, we're getting that

[1:01:18] right now. Some of the projects we already added anyway, but um we'll be

[1:01:23] able to get that back to the group so they can make uh you know talk about it

[1:01:27] at the rest of council. uh to continue with that question. So

[1:01:32] the next step is to take a list of projects towards aimed at at opening

[1:01:38] Ojiway and that will come before council as a list of

[1:01:41] » possibilities. Yeah. Yep. It'll be a list of possibilities. I don't think

[1:01:45] there's a chance to necessarily fund all of these projects because it's a pretty

[1:01:50] extensive list and some of the work um probably would uh take several years to

[1:01:56] complete, but we can bring that list back to council and whatever um it's

[1:02:02] chosen to fund. We do have some funds left that were allocated previously

[1:02:06] because some of the bids came back less than anticipated. So, um there's some

[1:02:10] funds available still from that previous shore stabilization project. that could

[1:02:15] be allocated. Um, but I think with the amount of projects that we talked about,

[1:02:19] we won't be able to fund everything. So, it'll have to be a point where um,

[1:02:23] council makes a decision on which ones to fund. And then I think as staff, as

[1:02:29] part of that, part of those projects from staff, we have some suggestions

[1:02:32] about ways to reopen.

[1:02:38] » Yeah. One more. Anybody else got any questions

[1:02:42] on this end?

[1:02:46] Okay. >> I guess I I guess I'm out of the loop

[1:02:49] when you say uh project suggestions. Um so I I mean

[1:02:55] there was a a committee that was formed to

[1:02:59] address the motion that was passed I think in March of this year about

[1:03:03] reopening and revitalizing Ojiway. So, are they all projects gearing towards

[1:03:07] those outlined goals? And when can we expect uh communication on that?

[1:03:14] » Uh yeah, they they would go towards that goal. A lot of it's access improvement,

[1:03:19] pavement improvements, additional parking, things like that. And um I know

[1:03:25] we uh got with engineering. I would expect it within the next few meetings.

[1:03:31] Phil's nodding. So, >> okay.

[1:03:34] » Thank you. Councilman Ash. >> Thanks, Mayor. Um, I do have a question

[1:03:39] for the manager, but I do want to tag on to what we're what the ask of OJ Island

[1:03:44] because Councilman Bradock and myself are a part of that committee. And one of

[1:03:48] the things you did miss too is that we are trying to safely reopen the island.

[1:03:52] Um, so it's safe for everybody. And so that was kind of the list and some of

[1:03:56] the things that we had and was actually a focus and also what I hear from the

[1:04:01] public. So it's open safely. And I know we don't have it now, but you did

[1:04:06] provide 911 call logs once before, but I know they're kind of hard to generate.

[1:04:10] I've asked for them, but uh that if anybody wants to talk to me about that,

[1:04:13] we can talk about it after. But I do want to ask um a comment and a question

[1:04:19] for the manager. The comment is city hall and the water treatment plant

[1:04:22] looked fantastic. Mayor talked about the lighting ceremony. What I noticed is the

[1:04:28] trees and stuff that were taken out of front and we just cleaned it up. you

[1:04:30] could actually it it created depth and everybody was talking about that too. So

[1:04:35] so thank you to all that were involved to make all of this happen. Um in the

[1:04:40] question the question I have is is a couple council meetings ago we created a

[1:04:46] program to wave fees for water um and penalties while [clears throat] SNAP was

[1:04:52] not active and so SNAP is now active again. So did we keep any numbers on

[1:04:58] that? How successful was our program? >> It's still ongoing. So, it'll be

[1:05:03] » through December. That's right. It's got to go through another cycle. Okay. Thank

[1:05:06] you. Thank you. So, I'm a little premature on the ask. Thanks.

[1:05:11] » That's it. >> Any other questions?

[1:05:13] » No, I just wanted to uh let counsel know that I'm on that committee too and

[1:05:18] anticipating member of that. [laughter] >> But Michael, don't get

[1:05:22] » forgot you last. >> Don't get rained on. I'm on the

[1:05:25] committee. I >> so all four of us are on the committee.

[1:05:30] » Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Participating members.

[1:05:34] » I want to be on this. >> Wow.

[1:05:37] » Well, let let me say this to Councilwoman Hammond. We are actually

[1:05:43] last year. There's a lot of work being done. So, that's one reason why it

[1:05:47] didn't really open up. And we've talked about it. Councilman Bradock, we've

[1:05:53] suggested days that we would bring back that we could open it up. We just got to

[1:05:58] get the manpower to help. And we've got citizens who stepped up who said that

[1:06:04] they'll come out and they'll help so that we can we don't we don't want a

[1:06:08] lot. We don't want any danger and so we want to make it safe so when families go

[1:06:13] out on Sunday and that was something that

[1:06:16] » Councilman Boss cuz that's how he met his wife and

[1:06:20] » back up. about me. [laughter]

[1:06:24] » That's how he met his wife. And so, and same thing with Ky Brown. He said he

[1:06:30] love going out there with [clears throat] with his grandchildren

[1:06:32] playing. And so, we really were trying to get it open. But because of all of

[1:06:37] the work that was being done, uh he can attest that we're not sitting on it.

[1:06:42] We're just waiting >> to see to see what stuff is going to get

[1:06:46] done. We know that a lot of stuff got done cuz we we're in a we to me we were

[1:06:53] rushed but it still look good when we open up for the 4th of July but we

[1:06:57] wanted to make sure it was open for that. So

[1:07:01] I mean we are moving maybe not as fast as everybody would like us to but we are

[1:07:07] trying to do something to get it open back up. Am I right or wrong team

[1:07:10] members? >> You're right.

[1:07:16] » Mr. manager. Any other questions for Mr. Manager?

[1:07:21] » On to the consent agenda. >> The consent agenda has been available on

[1:07:26] the city web page and our city web page. I need a motion to

[1:07:32] approve the consent agenda, leaving room for exceptions.

[1:07:36] » Moved. >> It's been moved and supported. Do we

[1:07:39] have any exceptions?

[1:07:44] Okay. All those in favor signify by saying I.

[1:07:47] » I. >> All those opposed? Nay. Madame clerk.

[1:07:50] » On to board commission and committee reports.

[1:07:52] » Do we have any reports from anyone who attend any meeting that concern the city

[1:07:57] and the community?

[1:08:01] » Madam clerk, >> how about appointment of board

[1:08:04] commission and committee members? >> I need a motion to approve one and four

[1:08:09] leaving room for exceptions. >> I have it in session.

[1:08:13] number one. >> Okay. Any other exceptions?

[1:08:22] » You don't have a motion yet. Mayor, >> huh?

[1:08:25] » You don't have a motion and a second to approve the other three.

[1:08:28] » Oh, that's right. >> So move.

[1:08:30] » Second. >> It has been moved in support. Now, do we

[1:08:33] have any exceptions? >> One.

[1:08:35] » Any other exceptions?

[1:08:39] » All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. All those opposed? Nay. Madame clerk.

[1:08:45] Number one. >> Number one is the city manager

[1:08:48] reappointment of John Mil to the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority with

[1:08:52] a term to expire December 31st, [snorts] 2028. That was council member Balls.

[1:08:57] » Yes. You know, I uh this particular person came to the city council meeting

[1:09:02] uh after we was having some issues with the skate park and the comments he made

[1:09:10] was not appropriate for a member to be on any type of committee. I think

[1:09:15] representing this city for him to come here and and to speak to where he spoke

[1:09:19] to those people who had permission from the city

[1:09:24] had money to uh paint their skate park and for the skate park to be uh taped

[1:09:30] off where no one so they can do their work and somebody one of those persons

[1:09:34] hit a elderly person in the head with a skateboard and for him to come here and

[1:09:38] make those statements that he's made like they was doing something wrong is

[1:09:42] really appalling to to me and I just don't think that anybody that acts that

[1:09:47] way towards this city and the members that's doing good work should be

[1:09:50] appointed to another committee. That's just how I feel because that could have

[1:09:54] turned into a really volatile situation uh with the people that was out there uh

[1:10:00] because it got to be a little racist and I don't want stuff like that happen in

[1:10:05] in in our city and I don't want anybody that's want to uh put fuel to the fire

[1:10:11] by the comments that he made when he came here and said that because it could

[1:10:14] turn into something that I think that would have been right for our community.

[1:10:18] So, I'm I um going to make a motion to uh not appoint Mr. John Mims to this

[1:10:24] brownfield authority.

[1:10:28] » Mr. Motion on the floor. Do I have a second?

[1:10:30] » Mayor, the motion would be to approve. You always word a motion in the positive

[1:10:34] and then if you want to decline the reappoint, you vote it down.

[1:10:38] » Okay. >> Okay.

[1:10:41] » So, my motion would be to decline. >> Your motion would be to approve. There

[1:10:44] needs to be a second before anybody else can discuss. But then if you want to

[1:10:48] decline the reappoint, you do it via the vote. So not via the motion. You would

[1:10:52] vote nay on the motion then. >> Okay. All right.

[1:10:57] » So is there a motion to approve that? You can continue your discussion.

[1:11:00] » So we have a motion to approve. >> Right.

[1:11:04] » We have a motion to approve what we got on the table.

[1:11:07] » Is there a motion to approve? You have >> a motion to approve.

[1:11:11] » So are you saying we need to take these one at a time then?

[1:11:14] » You approved the other three already. So, it's just this one right now.

[1:11:17] » Okay. I'd like to make a motion that we approve the first three. I mean the

[1:11:21] second three, two, three, and four. >> You already did that. We're only dealing

[1:11:24] with number one. >> All right. Thank you.

[1:11:28] » So, is there a motion? So, you can continue discussion on the approval of

[1:11:32] number one. >> Do we have a motion to to

[1:11:35] » I can make a motion to approve. No, I don't want to discuss more cuz you

[1:11:41] » can discuss it. >> We got all of that discussing.

[1:11:45] » We did all of that. >> Correct us if we're wrong.

[1:11:50] » So, you approved two through three already. We took a vote on that. Number

[1:11:54] one was the exception >> and so that's the one we're voting on.

[1:11:57] » Correct. Well, you need a motion before you can do anything.

[1:12:00] » Motion to approve. Thank you. Second. >> It's been moved and second discussion.

[1:12:06] I said all everything I wanted to discuss.

[1:12:09] » Yes, councilman. >> Yeah. I um I also I think that was one

[1:12:12] of the first things um when I became a council uh member I spoke about because

[1:12:18] um that particular individual has said that if that organization had went

[1:12:25] through an existing organization that probably wouldn't happen. And that

[1:12:29] bothered me because it's like almost like a gatekeeper. You know, you're not

[1:12:33] free to express how you feel artistically in the community unless you

[1:12:39] go through another organization. And I didn't I didn't appreciate

[1:12:42] [clears throat] that comment that was made by that individual as well.

[1:12:49] [cough and clears throat] >> Hold on one minute. Any other any other

[1:12:52] comments on this side?

[1:12:57] » Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry, my interpretation was slightly different

[1:13:02] and I I hear what they're saying and I do appreciate their uh insight. I guess

[1:13:08] I heard it a little differently. I I guess my interpretation was him saying

[1:13:13] that uh that normally cities uh use a uh a different type of entity.

[1:13:22] Um they use a entity that uh more formalized

[1:13:28] uh not a a freelancing type entity like uh I guess we use more of a freelancing

[1:13:35] type entity or organization and um we should have used a more

[1:13:41] formalized entity. I guess that's my interpretation of what he was saying.

[1:13:46] And so um I didn't take it as anything really negative. But I I guess I didn't

[1:13:51] see it as anything negative that he's saying. And I'm trying to go back to

[1:13:56] process now. What exactly did he say? And I I didn't I didn't hear

[1:14:05] I'm not for sure if I heard anything negative from what he said. I I don't

[1:14:10] I'm sorry. I didn't I didn't I didn't hear I didn't take that as a negative

[1:14:14] thing. Sorry.

[1:14:18] » Anyone else? Hold on. >> Yes.

[1:14:22] » Um, just I guess I do remember the the the the

[1:14:28] comments that were made and I actually did make a comment about his comments.

[1:14:32] Um, and it did seem a little one-sided, like

[1:14:38] the the permits were were were given, the permissions were given, the okay was

[1:14:42] given, and then it was still stated, well, if they just gone through this

[1:14:47] this this organization, it would have been better. But we have people in this

[1:14:52] community want to do great things, and it's not just one alley, and that's the

[1:14:57] beauty of this community. We have a lot of branches and a lot of ways to do

[1:15:01] great things. Um, so I think the limited thought

[1:15:05] process uh behind some of those comments, it

[1:15:08] gives me pause to appoint him.

[1:15:14] » Anyone else? >> Yes,

[1:15:15] » I just want to uh Well, thank you for adding that extra information because

[1:15:20] they are not freelance. So, I just want to address that statement to be attached

[1:15:24] to artists that are accredited and were sanctioned by the city. That's not

[1:15:28] freelance. So, I just want to correct that.

[1:15:34] Any other discussion?

[1:15:40] » Call for the vote. All those in favor signify by saying I.

[1:15:47] » I. >> I.

[1:15:48] » All those opposed. >> Roll call vote.

[1:15:52] » Council member Young. >> Nay.

[1:15:54] » Council member Seals. >> I.

[1:15:56] » Council member Balls. >> Nay.

[1:15:58] » Mayor Prom Garcia. I >> council member Ostach.

[1:16:03] » Hi. >> Council member Bradock.

[1:16:05] » Nay. >> Council member Wigan.

[1:16:08] » Nay. >> Council member Hammond.

[1:16:10] » Nay. >> And Mayor Moore.

[1:16:12] » I. >> I'm sorry. I

[1:16:15] » Yes. >> You have four yes and five no. That

[1:16:18] motion is denied. >> Madam clerk.

[1:16:22] » On to resolutions. Our first on the agenda is the appointment of Travis

[1:16:26] Harris trustee and Ronald Wrangle as alternate trustee to the Sagena Area

[1:16:31] Storm Water Authority Board of Trustees. >> I need a motion to adopt.

[1:16:36] » So move second. >> Any discussion? All those in favor

[1:16:40] signify by saying I. >> All those opposed? Nay.

[1:16:44] » Madam clerk. Our second resolution is approving the city of Sagena's annual

[1:16:48] aortionment of $8,981 for the Sagena area storm water

[1:16:53] authority budget for fiscal year 2026. >> I need a motion to adopt.

[1:16:57] » So moved. >> It's been moved and support. Any

[1:17:01] discussion? [clears throat]

[1:17:03] » All those in favor signify by saying I. I.

[1:17:06] » All those opposed, nay. [clears throat] Madam clerk,

[1:17:09] » takes you to miscellaneous business. >> Do we have any miscellaneous business

[1:17:12] that we need to handle tonight? Hearing none, I need a motion to adjurnn.

[1:17:20] All those in favor by [music] saying. All those opposed.

[1:17:27] » [music]

Saginaw, MI City Council December 1, 2025.

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