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[4:10] » Good evening. I'd like to call this
meeting of your Westland City Council to
[4:13] order. We will begin tonight with the
pledge of allegiance led by Councilwoman
[4:16] Antonet Martin.
I aliance to the flag of the United
[4:23] States of America and to the republic
for which it stands. One nation under
[4:29] God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[4:36] » Thank you, Councilwoman Martin, for
leading us in the pledge. Madam clerk,
[4:40] roll call, please.
>> Councilwoman Bowman,
[4:42] » present.
>> Councilwoman Martin,
[4:45] » Councilwoman Rowski is absent, excused.
Councilwoman Sampy
[4:48] » here.
>> Councilman Sullivan
[4:50] » here.
>> Prom Maxwell
[4:52] » here.
>> President McDermott
[4:53] » here.
>> A quorum is present.
[4:55] » Okay. Uh before we begin tonight, um you
know, unfortunately we have to do
[5:00] something that I think is happened all
too often um lately here in our city. Um
[5:05] I do want to take a minute to have a
moment of silence to recognize our
[5:10] senior services director, Beth Welcome,
who passed away the other week. Um Beth
[5:16] has only been with the city of Westland
in her capacity as senior services
[5:20] director for a few years, but she's been
very active and very engaged member of
[5:25] the broader Westland community along
with her husband, the late incredibly
[5:30] great Craig Welcome back for a number of
years. Beth obviously championed the
[5:34] cause of uh seniors, senior citizens in
our Westland community with the work she
[5:39] did as senior services director and
championed a number of other causes
[5:44] throughout her long involvement in the
Westland community. And uh we lost
[5:49] Director Walenbach after a long battle
of cancer. and uh my thoughts and the
[5:54] thoughts of my colleagues on the council
certainly go out with her family uh her
[5:59] daughters and all of her friends many of
whom uh are here and work for the city
[6:05] of Westland and to those out there. So
if we could take a moment and please
[6:08] have a moment of silence for Beth
Walenbach.
[6:20] » Thank you very much Beth. you will uh be
greatly missed here in our city. Um,
[6:25] tonight we do have two special
announcements and presentations. Uh,
[6:29] first up, we are going to hear from
Councilwoman Emily Bowman as she
[6:33] presents to the St. John's Church.
Councilman.
[6:50] Thank you. I want to welcome El
Boenshoots up from um St. John's
[6:56] Lutheran Church. And um last meeting we
actually approved a resol um a
[7:01] resolution or proclamation because St.
John's just celebrated 150 years. Um I
[7:07] will part of that was in just over
Michigan Avenue in Wayne, but most of it
[7:12] now has since how many years? 65 years
has been in in Westland. And so 150
[7:18] years is a long time. Um so it was
established in 1876 and I thought about
[7:23] the fact that that our nation was only
100 years old when this church was
[7:26] established. Um so we did this
proclamation. We um and I wanted to
[7:31] present it to the church and actually
get a picture with our council.
[7:35] » Yeah. Do you want to make any comments
at all?
[7:38] » No, not me. [laughter]
[7:41] » I've been there for 150 years.
>> Oh, yeah. [laughter]
[7:45] [applause]
>> That was actually one thing that they
[7:46] said like no one here was here when this
first church was established. So, that's
[7:50] kind of interesting. So, um, just so the
proclamation, we're actually going to,
[7:54] um, we when we get our last signature,
we actually will, um, get it very nicely
[7:57] framed for the church as well. Um, and I
just I I do want to mention um, one of
[8:01] the things I thought that was
interesting, they found, and I can't
[8:03] remember if I mentioned this last time,
but they found a fresco, I believe, an
[8:07] art fresco that was in one of the
original um, churches, the old stone
[8:11] church as they called it, right? And
they found it and stored away. They had
[8:15] it restored and now it's in the altar at
the church, which is really a neat
[8:20] thing. The old church too was in the
altar. Used to be in the altar and we
[8:24] didn't have it in our altar because we
had a modern church and it was kind of
[8:27] put away and I brought it out and we got
it done.
[8:30] » Looks beautiful.
>> Thank you. All right. If the council
[8:34] would like to come down the clerk for a
quick Hold on.
[8:59] Stop. Yes.
[9:08] Thank you guys.
[9:20] » All right.
[9:32] Well, thank you very much, Councilwoman
Bowman. Our next uh special announcement
[9:36] and presentation is going to come from
Paul Ruthenberg at Priority Waste. Uh we
[9:40] wanted to bring Paul in today to talk to
you, the residents here in Westland
[9:45] about the uh service issues, the pad
service, poor service that you had
[9:49] experienced for a number of months from
priority waste um to have some
[9:53] accountability to get some answers from
priority. So, we certainly appreciate
[9:56] Paul being here. So, the way this is
going to work is that Paul will give us
[10:00] an update to the council. And then I'm
going to let each council member go down
[10:04] uh the line and ask a question to Paul.
We're not here, you know, to have a
[10:08] 45minut back and forth, but I do want to
make sure that council gets a chance to
[10:12] ask a question each and that we get to
hear from Paul and most importantly all
[10:16] of you out there in the audience and
those watching at home get to hear from
[10:19] Paul about the service issues, the
delays, the mispickups that priority
[10:23] waste had. So without further ado, I
will turn it over to Mr. Ruenberg and
[10:28] thank you for joining us, Paul.
>> Thank you, Council President, Council.
[10:31] Good evening, Mayor Prom Gaba, good
evening. And especially to the residents
[10:35] of Westland, good evening. Uh and I
appreciate uh Councilman that you
[10:40] invited me to come here tonight. Uh it
needs to be discussed as to where
[10:44] priority has been, where it is now, and
[clears throat] where it's going going
[10:48] forward. Uh, quickly I'd just like to
point out that one of my proudest
[10:53] features of being a Ruthenberg is that
as Westland celebrates its 60th
[10:57] anniversary,
there has been a Ruthenberg involved in
[11:00] the sanitation uh, business in Westland
since Westland left township. I myself
[11:08] have been uh, involved both owning and
representing Priority Waste uh, since
[11:14] 1992. Should repeat that. I do not own
Priority Waste. I own my own company up
[11:18] until 2021. So that [clears throat]
being said,
[11:23] the main purpose of a garbage company is
to provide service to its residents and
[11:29] make the product go away in a timely
manner. Where we have been is
[11:34] fundamentally priority waste. In
February 28th,
[11:38] uh the board of directors removed our
previous CEO.
[11:44] They then went between February and
March and did a study in which um a new
[11:52] company came in and bought priority
waste. The new company is TPG Equity.
[11:58] That is a $327 billion equity firm.
In addition, we also brought in a new
[12:06] CEO, Aaron Johnson. Aaron Johnson is I'm
going to use this. He's a garbage man
[12:13] like me. We both were raised and brought
up in the garbage business, throwing
[12:17] garbage, loading, doing mechanical work.
So, he's a lot younger than I am, but I
[12:23] can tell you we think very similarly as
far as what needs to happen. But going
[12:28] back very quickly to February 28th,
the time period between February and
[12:33] April is very very important in a
garbage business because that is the
[12:37] time period where the volume is light
enough to where you can get your hands
[12:40] on the equipment and ready it for a very
very hectic spring. As we all know,
[12:45] spring is a lot of volume out there.
People clean the garages, the lawn is
[12:48] green and heavy. Um, one thing that
happened at Priority Waste because of
[12:53] the timing is between February and March
it was found that they did not do what
[12:59] was necessary to especially the rear
load packers. There's three different
[13:02] types of vehicles you'll see out there.
There's curado trucks that have the can
[13:06] in the front. There's auto side loaders
that have that pick it up from the side
[13:09] and a rear load packer where generally
you'll see people on the back of the
[13:13] truck putting garbage away. The rear
load packers is what's used to pick up
[13:17] yard waste and bulk. They did not put
the necessary time and effort into the
[13:23] fleet.
Aaron Johnson became CEO on June the
[13:28] 1st. His first order was 91 additional
new trucks. And I did hear from some of
[13:33] the residents that they're actually
seeing them in Westland. Um we are
[13:38] sitting at about 70 of those trucks are
now in and running. It's an easy It's an
[13:42] easy job. I've done it my whole life. It
takes people and equipment.
[13:49] That's it. If you don't have one or the
other, you're in trouble in this
[13:52] business. The equipment was not ready
simply for operations in April.
[13:58] Um, I'm happy to report that between
April and about the second week in July,
[14:05] uh, Aaron was able to stabilize priority
waste.
[14:10] Um, it took a village, but we are
stable. We are collecting trash in a
[14:16] timely manner. trash, yard waste, bulk.
There are still things, that being said,
[14:21] that I am not happy with on a personal
level.
[14:25] Remember, I've been here my whole life.
Simply put, the way that I think is how
[14:30] many complaints are too many? One.
Okay. I'm never happy with my product.
[14:37] Um, matter of fact, I had a previous
mayor call me in 2008 said that I came
[14:41] back as the highest rated service in the
city of Westland. My comment was above
[14:45] what? sidewalk crack repair
and because I'm I'm never happy with the
[14:50] product, folks. So, where
[clears throat] we been? Where are we
[14:56] now? We're stable. We're collecting
trash, yard waste, recycling bulk in a
[15:01] timely manner. There are still things
within Westland that are annoying me,
[15:08] which is some uh the Joy Road border,
Newberg, things that we still seem to be
[15:15] inconsistent with that I'm working very
hard with operations to make sure that
[15:20] um that the residents can expect their
trash and other goods gone each day. So,
[15:28] where are we going?
Um my suggestion is is that Aaron
[15:33] Johnson spent 22 years of waste
management. He likes the footprint that
[15:37] waste management left. Waste management
is also known for providing very good
[15:41] service at an extremely expensive price.
That's their that's their thing. But I
[15:47] do believe that through Aerin's
leadership, we are going to get to a a
[15:52] much better product that we have that I
have ever seen in Priority since 2021
[15:58] when I joined Priority. So, one of the
features that I'm really kind of geeked
[16:04] about, if you will, is [clears throat]
we're actually developing a program. If
[16:09] you if you ever looked at the Westland
website for snow removal, you can see
[16:11] the snow plows and stuff like that. It's
really cool.
[16:14] We're going to be launching a program to
where any resident can pull up their
[16:19] home. There'll be a red dot once it's
collected. They can push on that red dot
[16:24] and it will actually show them a
10-second clip of their garbage actually
[16:27] being serviced.
So, what we're doing currently is we're
[16:33] taking the technology, but we're trying
to make it user enough friendly for the
[16:38] residents to simply be able to see
what's going on on a daily basis. They
[16:43] can know a lot of them had doorbells. We
know that. But this is really a neat,
[16:48] you know, they can wherever they could
be in Florida and still see the trash
[16:51] was picked up. So the technology part is
is coming for residential use and I'm
[17:00] excited about that.
Um we have taken the phone systems which
[17:05] were way behind. We now are experiencing
less than a 4-minute wait for on the
[17:10] phones. Um, simply put,
uh, you can have any phone system in the
[17:16] world, but if you have getting too many
phone calls because you're doing a lousy
[17:18] job, what good [clears throat] is it?
Okay, so
[17:24] I am very, very excited as to the
ownership now and where this company is
[17:30] going. That's me personally speaking to
you from spending my life in Westland. I
[17:36] have not been happy. Many of you have
talked to me. This gentleman over here
[17:40] has talked to me plenty. Um,
[clears throat]
[17:44] I've not been happy with the product
that we delivered through April, really
[17:48] through the middle of July. It was just
not an adequate product. Something that
[17:53] I was truly embarrassed for. So, for
what the residents of the city of
[17:57] Westland went through during that time
period, I am profoundly sorry. The
[18:02] company apologizes,
but especially myself, because I feel it
[18:07] in here every day.
Yeah, I'll rest because Jim Gabwa's
[18:12] looking at me and I talk too long.
[clears throat]
[18:15] » Okay. Well, thank you for the update,
Paul. I'm going to turn it over to the
[18:18] council for questions. Again, if we can,
you know, keep it to a question uh
[18:21] because we do have a meeting to get on
to, that would be greatly appreciated.
[18:24] But turn your light on and let me know
if you've got a question,
[18:30] Councilman Samp.
>> Okay. Thank you. Um I'll summarize this
[18:34] really quickly and then I'll ask my
question. So I I put out a survey from
[18:39] June 16th through July 8th and I think
that you know this but the issue that
[18:46] was found most often is that there was
repeat issues.
[18:51] » So you know it went four plus days as
unresolved and 50% of the time they were
[18:57] never resolved at all. So knowing that,
you know, and I'll I'm going to what I'm
[19:02] going to do is because obviously we
don't want to take up most of the
[19:04] meeting is I'll send you the survey.
That way you can kind of dive in and
[19:08] look a little bit deeper on what people
were saying. But a main issue which you
[19:13] and I have talked about obviously we
talk often because I respect you a lot
[19:18] is that the issues with certain things
regarding special pickup. I mean, I
[19:25] haven't heard as many um unresolved
issues with trash lately, but the
[19:31] special pickup is still a mess. Um, and
I see it. I see it in neighborhoods. So,
[19:35] is it something that city needs to do
better to educate those on the special
[19:41] pickup days? Is it something that you
guys need to do or have a plan in place
[19:45] of what you've done with other
municipalities? But from what I'm seeing
[19:49] and noticing, special pickup is not
necessarily going as smooth. And and uh
[19:54] Councilwoman, thank you. We do talk
often and I appreciate it. Um I'm I'm
[19:58] When you're talking about special
pickup, we're talking about bulk
[20:00] collection.
>> Bulk. Yes. Bulk collection.
[20:02] » Um you're correct. It wasn't up to par.
What bulk collection the way that we
[20:08] were doing bulk collection requires that
truck, the trucks that are out there
[20:15] » to go down each and every street, not
glance down the street and say, "Oh,
[20:18] gee, it looks like nothing's out there."
But we we're changing the way that we do
[20:21] that. The drivers are actually going to
have an active button on their tablet in
[20:27] their in their truck. Each each driver
has an iPad fundamentally.
[20:30] » Yeah.
>> That they can push to mark bulk. So
[20:35] remember when I said those red dots that
the residents can click on, that's what
[20:39] we're going to be using as well to route
bulk trucks.
[20:42] » Okay.
>> So that especially down backends,
[20:45] culdeacs and whatnot.
>> Sure. Um, the other educational aspect
[20:49] of it is we do still get calls where we
have the recycling, the bulk out on a
[20:54] week that isn't recycling. But, um, I
don't think that that's the main issue.
[20:58] I think we should get our act together
on bulk before we uh start talking to
[21:02] our residents.
>> Okay. Thank you. I I appreciate that. I
[21:06] appreciate you coming because I've been
an advocate for getting something out to
[21:11] our residents because ultimately we
waited way too long to [clears throat]
[21:14] get you in here to speak to the
residents and explain what you're, you
[21:18] know, what you internally were dealing
with, you know, and it comes down to
[21:22] communication to let people know. It's
not like Westland residents are going to
[21:25] say it's okay, but they needed to know
something. So, I appreciate you owning
[21:30] up and coming this evening to take the
heat or to at least share a story.
[21:36] » It's my job.
>> I just So, one other quick thing if you
[21:40] wouldn't mind.
>> Um, we have also changed under Erin's uh
[21:44] um new leadership. We had a LDC program
which was a logistic driver coordinator
[21:49] which they were all housed in Clinton
Township in a room that looked like
[21:53] Nassau, okay? And they would watch
trucks and what have you. We have
[21:57] changed that way. Um I'm old school.
I like foremen in pickup trucks.
[22:03] » Yeah.
>> So we now are staffing um logistic
[22:08] managers
which they're not in Clinton Township.
[22:11] They're in Wayne where Westland uh off
of Vanour. They're in Wayne where
[22:15] Westland rolls out of. His name is
Anthony Barl.
[22:19] » Okay.
>> He's a career garbage truck driver. He
[22:21] is a garbage man. So now you have the
combined
[22:26] logistic and electronic package with an
actual person that can drive out and see
[22:31] if people are doing the job properly. So
I'm excited about that as well.
[22:36] » Okay, great. Um, do you mind if I ask
one more? You want me to let the
[22:39] council?
>> Yeah, we got to Yeah, we got to let her
[22:41] go and then maybe we can get back to
you. But
[22:42] » yeah, I just have one more from a
resident that commented on my page. I
[22:45] can
>> We're gonna I'm gonna get to the rest of
[22:47] the council first.
>> That's fine. If Paul stays after, I can
[22:49] always talk to you then.
>> Maybe somewhere, but you can call. I
[22:52] I'll call you and ask you.
>> Yep.
[22:53] » Uh Council Martin, did you have a
question?
[22:55] » Hi, I'm sorry. Um did you tell us when
the technology was going to be rolled
[22:59] out?
>> Um they're going to be rolling that out.
[23:02] They're testing it, I believe, in a
couple cities within about six weeks as
[23:07] long as testing goes back a month after.
So, I'm going to say that we should
[23:10] expect to see that before Christmas.
How's that?
[23:14] And is this technology in phases where
it'll be first the trucks for pickup and
[23:20] then the second where where I can see
when my uh trash has been picked up and
[23:25] then um the trucks will be able to mark
the bulk at the same time.
[23:30] » Yes.
>> Okay. Thank you. That's all.
[23:32] » Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman.
>> Counciloman Bowman.
[23:34] » Thank you.
>> Yes. Thank you. Um, I know one of the um
[23:37] concerns and I and you may have
addressed it and I apologize if I missed
[23:39] this, but with this new technology
because one of the concerns has been how
[23:42] do I communicate when my stuff is not
picked up or people saying that they're
[23:46] not getting response even if they do
notify. So, does this technology allow
[23:50] them to also quickly say I didn't get
picked up also just like the drivers are
[23:55] saying there's bulk.
>> Yes, it allows them to very easily
[23:59] communicate. It goes right to our
logistic manager Anthony. Okay. And he
[24:06] can take care of that. It allows them to
directly and they can actually sign up
[24:09] for a text message once it's done.
>> Okay.
[24:14] » Is that okay? Uh, Councilman, any
>> Thank you, Council President and Paul.
[24:20] Thank you for for coming and uh facing
the music and answering our questions.
[24:25] » Um, so I've been hearing
as how things were going to get better
[24:29] was the 91 trucks as you mentioned. Um,
you said 70 of them at this point have
[24:35] been purchased.
>> Probably. Yeah, it might be 68, might be
[24:37] 71. I haven't checked over the weekend.
>> Okay. So, we've made a lot of progress
[24:41] with the trucks. Part two of that that I
didn't hear um you explain is we need
[24:46] people to drive those trucks and to load
the garbage. So, how many more people
[24:50] have been hired over the say the past
six months?
[24:53] » The the estimate is right around 100 new
employees since June.
[24:59] » Since June.
>> Yes. Now, what we should what I wanted
[25:02] to say is we've always been fully
staffed. That's not been the issue. The
[25:06] drivers are not the issue. The trucks
getting to the routes was the issue.
[25:09] Okay? So, out of those hundred that and
I I own my own business, so I can say
[25:14] that say this, but out of the hundred
that you hire, it's generally because 70
[25:18] of them don't need jobs. 70 of the
previous people that are working for
[25:22] you.
>> Okay. So, we the company's always had
[25:27] enough drivers.
Okay.
[25:30] It just doesn't mean you've always had
the right drivers.
[25:33] » All right. So, if you're getting 91 new
trucks, you're you're saying you don't
[25:37] think you need more employees for those
trucks?
[25:39] » No, no, no. Those are replacing old
trucks.
[25:42] » Okay. Okay. So, those aren't
>> I'm sorry for the confusion.
[25:44] » All right. That's where I was confused,
too, then.
[25:46] » No, it's not 91 additional trucks on top
of it. It It's to replace trucks that
[25:50] really should not be performing on a
full-time basis now.
[25:55] » Okay. So then is that what was causing
the service to fall behind was the
[26:01] trucks weren't working were needing to
be repaired?
[26:05] » I described them at one time as yo-yos.
They'd leave and go back to the yard. Go
[26:10] back to the yard and they they were
having great difficulty keeping the uh
[26:14] trucks on the road, especially the
yardways trucks.
[26:16] » Okay. And so we anticipate then well
with 91 new trucks and 100 new employees
[26:22] that we will be on top of the schedules
and not falling behind moving forward.
[26:27] » Yes.
>> Thank you. That's all I have.
[26:30] » Protend next.
>> It's good. Okay. Uh I think my colleague
[26:36] some of you answered. I just want to
just I think the basic question that
[26:39] everyone wants to know is when will
Westland will be at 100% before the
[26:42] changes with the CEO old CEO when when
can we expect 100% trash bulk everything
[26:47] back to
>> that's that's a really great question
[26:50] because it's two parts 100% we are
collecting everything 100% per day 100%
[26:56] in my mind I'll let you know
because I'm I'm a completely different
[27:01] animal when it comes to doing my job
when you councilwoman Sampi can put out
[27:08] a a survey and I come back great. Then
I'll consider that we're where we need
[27:14] to be. I'm very picky that way. And I've
been through a tough time and just
[27:18] feeling so horrible for the residents of
this community. So
[27:24] » whenever he can is where it needs to be,
where every garbage uh when any mess is
[27:28] picked up, okay? when we're timely every
day where people can get used to it and
[27:34] especially when we can earn the trust
back from this body and your residents.
[27:39] » You you mentioned like Joy Road, New
Bird, you know that there's still is
[27:42] that's that's why I was asking when do
you think that we'll we'll be at 100?
[27:46] Well, you know, there is no people
that's still not having their trash
[27:49] picked up and things those issues.
>> There is no good reason right now why
[27:53] people should not be having their trash
picked up on a on a daily basis. if if
[27:58] if they're missed, it's missed, but it's
not because of manpower or equipment.
[28:04] So, we are 100% fully staffed and we
have 100% of equipment. Um, understand
[28:09] that even new equipment breaks down. It
we put equipment through through a
[28:13] pretty tough day, but um we are able to
stay current and we I do see us staying
[28:21] current 100% going forward. There will
be some areas and as I indicated earlier
[28:25] a couple of them that are really
aggravating me because they they keep on
[28:29] repeating themselves. That's not
acceptable.
[28:32] » Thank you. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[28:35] » Thank you prom. Um so I've been on the
council since
[28:40] 2019 and we had this issue back in 20 uh
22 with priority and you know we brought
[28:47] you in had a similar uh situation. We
even brought some of the leadership in
[28:52] and we were promised some of the new
technology we're investing at the time.
[28:55] The route monitoring systems, the route
mapping, the tablets in every truck, the
[28:59] cameras that have the 360 view so you
can see that the trash was actually
[29:03] dumped into the truck and not all over
the street. And we were promised back
[29:06] then, we're going on four years now,
that things are going to get better.
[29:09] » And here we sit four years later and we
feel like we're back in the same
[29:14] situation as we were in 2022. And you've
talked about some of the upgrades that
[29:18] you're making here. I'm not asking you
to repeat all of that, but what
[29:22] assurances can we get that we're not
going to sit here in 2, three, four
[29:25] years and be in the same boat that we
were back in 2022?
[29:30] » And again, and thank you, Council
President. Um, and I remember 22 very
[29:34] well. Um, so does Councilwoman Sammy.
The difference is we are under new
[29:41] ownership and we have a new CEO that I
feel comfortable with.
[29:46] I don't want to go too far into
[29:51] anything else that happened in the past,
but you're absolutely correct. It's
[29:56] unacceptable to be here in 2022 and it's
unacceptable to be back here in 2026.
[30:02] So the asurances that I am portraying
are asurances that I've been given
[30:12] and discovered to be true. Now, to your
point, the technology is there, okay? We
[30:18] can track trucks. We can pull up video
off of trucks. We can do all that.
[30:23] But if you have
elite uh LDC doing that in Clinton
[30:27] Township, it's not the same as having a
street wise foreman. And that's really
[30:32] what we're counting on is that you
actually have a human being
[30:37] out there
studying, looking at streets, seeing the
[30:42] type of pro uh uh progress that we're
making,
[30:46] but I do realize it is not the first
time I've been here.
[30:51] I'm hoping it's the last over this type
of thing.
[30:54] » We all hope so, too. Uh last thing, go
ahead and ask your resident question
[30:57] real quick and then we're going to move
on.
[30:59] » Okay. So, I just have a logistic
question. Hopefully this is quick. So
[31:03] resident had put something on my page
asked why when you pick up you put the
[31:08] blue and the black containers in the
same truck. Should they be separate
[31:11] trucks?
>> They should never be in the same truck.
[31:14] » Okay. So they said they saw it happen
and they're taking a video of it
[31:16] tomorrow. It happens all the time. I'll
let them know. They can send it to me
[31:20] and I'll send
>> the employee will be discharged.
[31:22] » Okay, perfect. I will let them know.
Thank you so much.
[31:26] » Okay. Well, Paul, thank you for joining
us. Thank you for taking questions here.
[31:30] um from the council to the residents in
the audience. I know Paul stuck around
[31:35] and talked to some of you before uh the
meeting here and then we can always put
[31:39] you in touch with Paul if you do have a
question for him. He's got his card. So
[31:42] if you do have a question for him, I'm
sure he's willing to sounds like hand
[31:46] out your cards.
>> Sure.
[31:47] » Question directly.
>> We can't we can't
[31:51] » we Yep. Paul talked to you right here
about it, sir. But thank you for joining
[31:55] us, Paul. And we are now going to move
on to citizens comments on the agenda.
[32:03] [clears throat]
So we'll now move on to questions or
[32:06] input on the agenda from members of the
public. This section will allow members
[32:10] of the public at the beginning of the
meeting to address the council regarding
[32:13] items that are on tonight's business
agenda. Questions asked may be responded
[32:17] to during the agenda item following a
motion and support from your city
[32:21] council. Is there anyone on my right
comments on the agenda? Yes, sir.
[32:28] Evening. Couple questions.
Consent calendar item H. Approval for
[32:33] bid for South Marman sidewalk gap
program. Which part of Marman are we
[32:38] talking about here?
And then
[32:43] the other item, item I, approval of bid
for Cherry Hill sidewalk gap program.
[32:48] Which part of Cherry Hill?
>> Thank you.
[32:51] » I'll comment on that for you here in
just a second. So, not a problem.
[32:56] » What?
>> Yeah.
[33:01] » Paul. Paul, could you maybe go in the
hallway? Sorry.
[33:05] » All right. Is there anyone on my left?
[33:11] Anyone on my right? Yes, sir.
>> Just speak, right?
[33:15] » Yep. And this is on the agenda. This is
the speak spot to speak on agenda items.
[33:20] » I'm sorry. There is a public comment
time at the end where you can get three
[33:22] minutes to talk anything you want. Not a
problem, sir. Yes, Ray.
[33:31] » I saw something on here.
Of course, I uh support the police
[33:36] department and I know the social works
$10,000 a month or something like that,
[33:42] but I know they do a lot of good work
out there in mental health. So, I just
[33:47] had a question about that because I know
it looks like it's being renewed and
[33:51] stuff here. So, here it is. It says
police department an agreement
[33:57] committing to uh October 1st, 20 2026
ending September 30th, 2028. Amount
[34:06] 10,000 per month. I don't know how that
but um I do see them. I mean uh I do
[34:13] support mental health.
they need it. So hopefully continue with
[34:18] that. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Ray.
[34:21] Comments on the agenda. Anyone on my
left? Mr. Warren.
[34:32] Uh this is under vouchers under [snorts]
sanitation.
[34:36] Um [clears throat] presented a bill for
$352,000.
[34:41] $388.
[34:44] » [clears throat]
>> And here we're still talking about new
[34:47] technology on a garbage truck.
The old technology where the garbage for
[34:54] the sanitation people came down the
street in the back of the truck, they
[34:57] dropped something, they would sweep it
up. Old technology, new technology, we
[35:01] got cameras watching them.
[35:06] And we still had the same results and
the city pays the bill.
[35:11] And uh like I say for the last 10 or 15
years since
[35:16] the city stopped doing it um there's
been problems but there going to be more
[35:21] problems because as I said before the
[clears throat]
[35:26] multinational mega corporations and
individuals are buying up all of these
[35:31] smaller companies and you're going have
to deal with them just like you deal
[35:35] with DTE. you're not going to get the
results you're looking for because
[35:39] they're pretty much in position where
they're gonna be untouchable and they're
[35:43] going to pick up the trash like they
want to pick it up and and Paul will be
[35:48] back here again trying to explain away
the problems. Thank you.
[35:51] » Thank you, Mr. Warren. Is there anyone
else in the audience? Anyone on my right
[35:56] comments on the agenda? Anyone on my
left?
[36:01] Okay, seeing and hearing none, we will
move on to the consent calendar. Is
[36:05] there a motion?
>> Motion by Councilwoman Martin, supported
[36:10] by Councilwoman Sampi. Are there any
changes to the consent calendar?
[36:13] » Yes, Counciloman Bonn.
>> Yes. I would like to move item L to new
[36:18] business.
>> There's a motion on the floor to move
[36:21] item L to new business. Is there
support?
[36:25] » Supported by Councilwoman Sampi.
[36:30] » Madame Clerk. Roll call, please.
That's just
[36:34] Councilwoman Bowman.
>> Yes.
[36:39] » Sorry. Councilwoman Martin,
>> yes.
[36:41] » Councilwoman Rakowski is absent,
excused. Councilwoman Sampi,
[36:45] » yes.
>> Counciloman Sullivan,
[36:47] » yes.
>> Prom Maxwell,
[36:49] » yes.
>> President McDermott,
[36:51] » yes.
>> Motion passes.
[36:53] » Now, back to the consent calendar as
amended. Are there any other changes to
[36:57] the consent calendar?
>> Yes. Counciloman Sampi. I would like to
[37:00] move item F um on the consent calendar
to new business for discussion.
[37:09] » There's a motion on the floor to move
item F to new business. Is there
[37:12] support?
>> Supported by Councilwoman Bowman.
[37:16] Madam Clerk, roll call, please.
>> Councilwoman Bowman,
[37:20] » yes.
>> Councilwoman Martin,
[37:21] » yes.
>> Councilwoman Rowski is absent, excused.
[37:25] Councilwoman Sampy,
>> yes.
[37:27] » Councilwoman Sullivan,
>> yes. Prom Maxwell,
[37:30] » yes.
>> President McDermott,
[37:32] » yes.
>> Motion passes.
[37:35] » Back to the consent calendar as amended.
Any other changes to the consent
[37:38] calendar?
>> Do you have another change, Councilman?
[37:41] » Yes. Um, my understanding is I can ask
you a question about a consent calendar
[37:44] item. Yes. We don't have to move it.
>> Yes. Correct.
[37:47] » So, through the chair, I would like to
have um just some clarification on item
[37:52] J. um one of the and I I did ask these
questions before and I did let um uh the
[37:58] director know and chief that I just
wanted to have things publicly answered
[38:02] um and me not be a messenger but I did
ask questions because one of the roads
[38:07] that will have the mobile way station
part of the project which I think I I
[38:12] support that project by the way um is a
road that um it's a Henry Ruff a road
[38:18] that actually we just approved signage
to say that commercial vehicles were not
[38:22] allowed so I just wanted to speak to
that because I think I want the
[38:25] residents to hear why that would be um
you know why that is and what and what
[38:29] this what this project is going to do
for our city as well.
[38:32] » So uh director comfort you want to take
that
[38:35] » um through the chair. So Henry Ruff that
mobile way station is only going to be
[38:40] used or only have commercial trucks on
it when they are under investigation
[38:44] from our way master. Um they'll be
escorted there and only be there for an
[38:49] hour or two while he's performing his
investigation.
[38:53] Okay. Do you have a follow?
>> Thank you.
[38:57] » That's it. Okay. Any other discussion?
Any descent? Any descent? Consent
[39:05] calendar passes as amended.
>> Council has approved the following
[39:09] consent calendar items. Minutes of
regular meeting held August 17th, 2026.
[39:14] request from the local impact alliance
to host their 17th annual veteran summit
[39:18] on Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 from
11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Westland
[39:23] City Hall. The nonprofit fee of $325 is
the requested fee to be waved. requests
[39:28] from develop a dance project in
partnership with the Westland Parks and
[39:31] Recreation Advisory Council to wave the
administrative city hall rental fee to
[39:34] host an enchanted pumpkin family ball on
fe on Friday, October 2nd, 2026 from 6
[39:40] p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Nonprofit fee of 375
is the request fee to be waved. Request
[39:46] from the Alliance of Rouge Communities
to wave the administrative fees to
[39:49] utilize the city hall grand ballrooms
for a public event to be held Wednesday,
[39:53] October 14th, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. until
8:00 p.m. Total cost of this fee waiver
[39:58] shall not exceed $65. Request from the
Develop a Dance Project to wave the
[40:03] administrative city hall rental fee to
host a daddyaughter dance on Friday,
[40:07] February 5th, 2027 and Saturday,
February 6, 2027 from 6:00 p.m. until
[40:13] 8:00 p.m. at the Westland City Hall.
nonprofit fee of $750 is the requested
[40:18] fee to be waved.
Request for additional funding regarding
[40:21] the purchase of three 2026 Ford F-250s,
including vehicle outfitting outfitting,
[40:27] excuse me, for the Department of Public
Service. Total amount of $14,13610
[40:33] for increased supplier costs.
bid for South Marramman sidewalk gap
[40:38] program administration recommends low
bidder varientos contracting total not
[40:43] to exceed $51,191
[40:48] bid for the Cherry Hill sidewalk gap
program administration recommends low
[40:52] bidder berentos contracting total amount
not to exceed $134
[40:57] $134,000
[41:00] excuse me $134,698
[41:04] request for the mobile weigh stations
project project involves installation of
[41:08] three mobile way stations.
Administration recommends awarding
[41:11] property awarding project to Hartwell
Cement Company.
[41:16] And the last item on the consent
calendar tonight is a request of
[41:19] replacement animal care and rescue
vehicle including outfitting for the
[41:23] police department. Total amount not to
exceed $110,000.
[41:27] Now moving to payment of voucher.
>> Is there a motion? So motion by
[41:32] Councilman Martin. Is there support?
Supported
[41:38] by Councilman Sullivan. Is there any
discussion from the maker?
[41:41] » No. Thank you.
>> Any discussion from supporter?
[41:44] » No.
>> Okay. Councilman, do you have
[41:46] discussion?
>> No.
[41:47] » Oh, treasure light on. Okay. Any
discussion from the council? Any
[41:51] dissent? Any dissent? Hearing and seeing
none. Motion passes.
[41:57] New business item number one,
confirmation of reappointment of David
[42:01] Rapaort to the Westland Planning
Commission for a three-year term
[42:03] effective upon council confirmation and
expire in August 5th, 2029.
[42:08] » So,
>> there's a motion by Councilwoman Martin,
[42:11] supported by Councilwoman Zampi. Uh,
Director Aub, did you have anything you
[42:14] wanted to add to any of these uh
nominees?
[42:16] » I do. I wrote a few short sentences
about each commissioner so the public
[42:21] and yourselves uh are more familiar with
our planning commissioners that are
[42:25] being re reappointed tonight. [snorts]
Um I'm going to share both of them at
[42:29] the same time if that's okay with you.
>> Please do. Yep.
[42:31] » Thank you. Uh so David has served our
planning commission since 2013.
[42:37] Following the retirement and passing of
our remarkable longtime chairman Ken
[42:42] Sharp, David was elected by his fellow
commissioners to serve as chair. Uh he
[42:47] has done an excellent job leading the
commission as an attorney. David also
[42:51] brings a legal perspective and serves as
our unofficial ad hoc attorney during
[42:56] discussions. Uh David, we're very
fortunate to have you and he truly makes
[43:01] my job easier. uh Daryl who could not be
with us tonight uh he joined the
[43:06] planning commission in 2024 so this is
his first reappoint in a relatively
[43:11] short time uh he has already become a
valuable member of the planning
[43:14] commission uh Daryl brings an impressive
professional and educational background
[43:19] he has a bachelor of science and
engineering from MSU a [snorts] master
[43:24] of science and construction management
from EMU
[43:27] and a doctor of business administration
from U ofM Flint uh I really you
[43:32] sincerely appreciate David and Daryl's
willingness to continue serving uh the
[43:37] city on the planning commission and also
uh appreciate your support for both of
[43:41] their reappoints. Thank you.
>> Wonderful. Is there any discussion from
[43:45] the maker?
>> Hi. Um I'd like to thank David for Mr.
[43:50] Raport for serving again with all his
experience as an attorney. He does
[43:55] handle planning commission um pretty
good [laughter]
[43:59] anyway. But thank you again for bringing
all all your services to us.
[44:05] » All set council
>> and then anything from our supporter
[44:08] council.
>> I would just I encourage the council to
[44:10] also support both um David and Daryl. Uh
although we can't attend every meeting,
[44:16] I watch all the planning commission
meetings and you do a great job uh with
[44:21] running the meeting and I think that
it's the city's huge win to get you to
[44:26] come back and we appreciate your service
for uh running the planning commission
[44:31] meeting so smoothly. So I obviously
support both of you. Thank you again.
[44:37] » Any other discussion from the council?
Any other discussion from the council? I
[44:43] will just say and echo the sentiments of
director Aub and my colleagues. Mr.
[44:46] Rapour, David, we've had the chance to
meet and sit down and talk and go over a
[44:50] number of city issues over the years.
Your leadership, your institutional
[44:54] knowledge, I think most important, and
your insight as an attorney are all
[44:57] greatly valued in different ways on the
planning commission. You really do bring
[45:01] a lot beyond just your general
experience of having served on there.
[45:05] bring a unique skill set to the planning
commission that we're really lucky and
[45:08] fortunate to have on that planning
commission that I think a lot of cities
[45:12] are missing on their planning
commissions when you're dealing with
[45:15] some of the most complex issues in the
city, zoning laws, ordinances, and
[45:19] requirements. And as you know, a lot of
legal wrangling and legalities and that
[45:23] you have to look out for when you're
making a decision on the planning
[45:26] commission. And your institutional
knowledge is not only passed along to
[45:30] your fellow planning commissioners, who
I know I've spoken with in the past,
[45:33] speak very highly of you, but it's
passed along to all of us here on
[45:36] council when we're making decisions as
well. So, thank you for all that you do
[45:41] on our planning commission, all that you
do in our community more broadly. We're
[45:44] very fortunate, very lucky to have you,
your institutional knowledge, your
[45:48] unique skill set. very appreciative of
it. Uh and is there any disscent?
[45:55] Any descent? Seeing and hearing none,
motion passes. Please stand and be
[45:59] recognized.
[applause]
[46:08] New business 1A. This is formally
consent calendar item L, introduction of
[46:14] ordinance 262, an ordinance to amend the
Westland City Code of Ordinances. Um,
[46:19] chapter 27, article 4, sections 27 to 23
to change public hours for marijuana
[46:25] businesses. Amendment would allow
marijuana businesses to be open to the
[46:29] public at 8 a.m.
[46:33] Is there a motion?
>> Approve.
[46:38] » Motion by Councilman Svin. Is there
support?
[46:41] » Yes. Supported by Councilwoman Martin.
Is there any discussion from the maker?
[46:46] » No. Any discussion from the support?
>> Yes. Um I believe what I've read about
[46:51] this um change is necessary for the
people um not not necessarily those
[46:56] people that need it for recreation
because they can figure that out the
[46:59] night before but people who use it for
pain management because originally in
[47:03] the state of Michigan that's how it
started if you needed uh another option
[47:08] for pain management. That's how the
marijuana ordinances um came to our
[47:12] state and I I'm for it. Thank you. All
set, Councilwoman? Yes.
[47:17] » Okay. Thank you. And Councilwoman
Bowman.
[47:20] » Um I I did move this off because one of
the things with consent calendar is that
[47:23] if uh if you want to say no to
something, I am going to be a no vote on
[47:26] this. Um one of the things I talk about
is that, you know, I I hear a lot of
[47:30] people say that well in 2018, the
majority of Westland voted to approve
[47:34] recreational marijuana. I understand the
medical part of it, but the medical part
[47:38] was there before that. So the hours of
business, we already had that ordinance.
[47:41] It wasn't being it wasn't necessarily
changed at that time. But the fact is
[47:44] that 36% of the voters of Westland
actually voted no to approve to to have
[47:49] recreational marijuana. So we always
talk about the minority needs a voice.
[47:53] Um so that's one of the one of the
things um I you know I I personally you
[47:57] know I am a little concerned because we
already have a no left turn on you know
[48:01] we we've got you know traffic issues so
on Ford. So I don't know if I have no
[48:05] idea if this will increase traffic at
all but I will be a no vote on this. So
[48:09] thanks.
>> Thank you Councilwoman Bowman. Is there
[48:12] any other discussion?
>> Yes, Council Zavi.
[48:15] » Um, thank you for I guess bringing this
forward. Um, Mo, I know that in issues
[48:22] like this, you open up a can of worms
where now others are going to come to
[48:26] us. Just to give a little background,
this actually came to us from a business
[48:32] asking us to adjust the hours. So now if
we're adjusting the hours for one um
[48:40] it's going to allow for others to be
open as well. It's not just the one
[48:43] that's currently open. So I guess
through the chair to Mo looking at the
[48:48] change of public hours, is it possible
that we can have a study session to kind
[48:53] of go through um the difference of the
change uh before we approve this or
[49:00] um can you maybe weigh in on on the
reason why it came forward to us or
[49:05] » Yes. Um this item is from the attorney's
office and the and the planning office.
[49:11] We also have Liv in the room who drove
about an hour to get here. So perhaps
[49:15] you may have a question or two for them,
but from the administration's point of
[49:18] view, the marijuana business ordinance
allows marijuana retailers to be open to
[49:24] the public between the hours of 10:00
a.m. and 900 p.m. Uh, Live Cannabis, who
[49:30] was the only retailer operating within
city limits for almost 2 years without
[49:35] any um violations or uh any issues or
concerns from any of the the internal
[49:41] departments.
uh recently requested via email to you
[49:46] uh to reconsider the uh uh hours of
operation, specifically the open opening
[49:51] hours to extend that timeline 2 hours
and allow them to open at 8:00 p.m.
[49:56] They've indicated that this is for
customers primarily who are older
[50:01] adults, uh have early working hours or
on their way home from uh night shifts
[50:07] to allow them to uh stop at the store to
pick up their product on their way home
[50:11] or to wherever they're they're going. So
that's what the intent of bringing this
[50:16] forward is. We have one other retailer
uh in town, Thanos, on Inkster Road, who
[50:23] you may recall. So, those are the only
two retailers operating within city
[50:28] limits. As you know, the council has
great authority on uh approving um or or
[50:36] allowing any new licenses to be issued.
So, that's your control mechanism there.
[50:40] If you don't feel comfortable issuing it
to live, I think you can avoid any
[50:45] further issues in that regard. But, um
[50:51] that's what we have tonight. Thank you.
Thank you. I guess no problem with Liv.
[50:57] I mean, I understand they've been
operating, but Thanos is right by a
[51:02] school, which is very close, so it's
open at early morning hours. What is the
[51:06] control that they're not going to have
kids trying to sneak in or or whatnot.
[51:12] I'm just I I guess I'm just concerned. I
understand Liv has a very busy Ford Road
[51:18] entrance, but again, if you open to one,
you open to all and then that allows for
[51:23] the other um marijuana facility to be
open even earlier. I'm not against it.
[51:28] I'm just trying to really kind of
understand
[51:31] » we can't How do we control that? How do
we manage that?
[51:34] » So, I I can speak on the school issue
and
[51:38] and I'm I'm not trying to put live on
the spot. The only reason I'm asking
[51:41] them to do this is because I know they
are well equipped to answer these
[51:44] questions. But I would like to, if the
chair is okay with this, invite them up
[51:48] to the podium and and talk about
>> additionally anything that I've missed,
[51:52] but also measures of control and
policing
[51:58] these questions.
Mike knows I'm not putting him on the
[52:02] spot, I hope.
>> First,
[52:04] » welcome, gentlemen. Floor is yours.
>> Thank you. Um, I'm Mike Beck. I'm the um
[52:10] director of uh community and government
affairs for Live Cannabis Common
[52:14] Citizen. And um you know, this came we
we appreciate you even considering this,
[52:20] but this came from through our staff.
Sean Green is here. He's a he's the
[52:24] manager of the retail store here. Um
they were looking at cameras, right?
[52:30] Because there's cameras everywhere. That
is one control that we have that, you
[52:34] know, it's like a casino inside and
outside. the the state mandates lots of
[52:38] cameras in these facilities. So, and and
public is under 21 is not supposed to be
[52:43] in the facility or on the facility um
parking lot. So, that is one part of it.
[52:48] And they started looking at the cameras
in the morning, what went on through the
[52:51] nights before and the days. And they
started seeing cars coming in at about 8
[52:56] 8:30 9:00 turning around, trying the
door, turning around, going back. And so
[53:01] they did a little bit of a um just a
kind of a very informal survey of how
[53:06] many there were over the course of time.
And I they sent that out and it was um
[53:12] um
roughly six to eight guests a day come
[53:17] in between the hours of 8 and 10. And
that number factors out to 210 guests
[53:22] missed a month. Now again, that's just a
number by the cameras whether they came
[53:27] back later, whether be came back at a
busier time or all those things. I can't
[53:31] speak to that, but that's the number of
cars that would normally on average come
[53:35] through from 8 to 10 in the morning. And
they [clears throat] would get um two to
[53:40] three unanswered calls a day in that
time period because there's nobody
[53:43] answering the phone. So all in, all
done. If those folks that came through
[53:47] at that time didn't come back at another
time or didn't go to one of the other
[53:51] facilities in the area right outside of
Wesland, um they' say roughly 300 guests
[53:57] missed a month. Now again, that's just a
number that says here's the number based
[54:00] on the the vehicles and the phone calls.
They could go to Garden City, they could
[54:05] go to Ingster, they could go to Wayne.
Um, and then if I looked at, if I'm
[54:09] correct on the other allowances, I
believe, um, Wayne allows 8:00 a.m.
[54:15] opening. Um, Garden City is 9:00 a.m. U,
and of course, um, Inkingster is, I
[54:21] believe, 9:00 a.m. as well. So,
[clears throat] they just did that
[54:24] process and then they started trying to
interpolate and we can get better depth
[54:29] in the data if you'd like where those
folks might come from. and we just kind
[54:33] of anticipated that it is that morning
consumer on their way to work or on
[54:38] their way home from work. Um, and again,
I can't say you for a fact that they
[54:42] would don't go anywhere else and get
their product or they don't come back
[54:46] later in the day. But it was just doing
that analysis, thinking about it as a
[54:51] business. Um, and if it if it was to
open in those hours, you know, business
[54:56] decisions need to be made as well. So
maybe it doesn't work and we don't open
[54:59] those hours. But the protections from
our side, and I can only speak to our
[55:03] stores, is we have cameras um inside and
out. The parking lots covered all the
[55:08] time, and um young young folks aren't
allowed. So,
[55:16] I don't know if that gets any of the
questions or answers some of the
[55:18] questions or helps at all. I'm just
trying to bring from the impetus of
[55:21] where this came from. And we've um we
we've appreciated our partnership with
[55:25] the with the municipality for the years
now. on. Um it we again we greatly
[55:31] appreciate just even your ability to
entertain this for us.
[55:35] » Thank you. Anything else?
>> Uh no, I thank you for that explanation.
[55:40] Um and I again I don't have an issue
with the live opening because I think
[55:44] you're more in a business district. My
concern is that the other place around
[55:49] town is near school. You know, I kind of
struggle with the placement anyways,
[55:53] which that was on the record. So, you
know, my concern more or less is will
[55:58] they have the same protect and they're
probably not here. The same liberties as
[56:03] you to have protection um cameras. It's
just you Yeah, I'm just
[56:10] » by state law they have to have those
same things. Every square inch of the
[56:14] parking lot and every square inch of the
inside is supposed to be covered with
[56:18] highde cameras. So, um,
again, I can't speak for it. I can just
[56:24] say that's what the cannabis regulatory
agency says they're supposed to
[56:27] » and they would be jeopardizing their
license. Correct. If they were caught,
[56:31] » like, we know there are tobacco shops
that are caught selling to underage kids
[56:34] in these stings. They would be outright
jeopardizing their license and their
[56:37] ability to even operate as a business.
Unlike a tobacco store that probably
[56:40] gets hit with a fine by a city or county
that does a sting operation in your case
[56:44] with marijuana. If a child was caught
purchasing there, that company would be
[56:49] jeopardized losing their license.
>> You'd be summarily suspended. I mean,
[56:51] there wasn't the CRA doesn't really
tolerate a lot of that stuff. And they
[56:55] do they do random inspections. So like
they'll come at least every 3 to six
[57:00] months on their as a random inspection.
You have yearly inspections and you have
[57:04] to renew your licenses and submit all
this information and show the cameras
[57:08] and everything. But when they come in on
their random inspections, they'll just
[57:11] come back and they'll just they'll
basically say, "Oh, by the way, I want
[57:14] to see um the camera on that piece in
the parking lot on this day two weeks
[57:19] ago at this time." And if you can't go
clickity click and pull it up for them,
[57:24] um you're in trouble. So, the
protections are there, you know,
[57:28] regulatory and they're supposed to be
internally,
[57:31] » but again, I can only speak to us.
>> Anything further, Councilwoman? Okay.
[57:36] Any other questions from the council?
Council Bowman,
[57:38] » I I just want to make um just clarify
because as I understand this um
[57:43] currently the business is open 11 hours
a day, right? 10 to 10 to 9 is 11 hours,
[57:48] right?
>> Yes, that'd be correct.
[57:49] » Um every day, seven days a week. Okay,
>> that's correct.
[57:52] » And um just so people I I know um so the
public knows, I know there's there's
[57:56] always the Okay, the benefit to the city
by having marijuana stores in our
[58:00] community is um from the state is
somewhere roughly in between 56,000 or
[58:06] something like that. that doesn't change
regardless of how long the business is
[58:09] open. So, this is it is interesting that
this is a single business requesting an
[58:13] ordinance change to our um that that
we're making an ordinance change to our
[58:17] entire thing. So, then I know this is
just the introduction, but I and so I'm
[58:20] not trying to, you know, belabor this
because if we have more conversation, um
[58:24] I think I do want to kind of back up on
to uh Councilman Stampy's um uh question
[58:30] at the So, after the introduction and
just so public knows through the chair,
[58:34] what is the next step? We introduce this
today. What is the next step in this
[58:38] process?
>> The next step would be at the next
[58:40] meeting, we would have the formal
adoption. So, should the council choose
[58:44] to vote in the affirmative on this
today?
[58:47] So, at the next at the next council
meeting in September, this would likely
[58:50] be presented as the adoption. Today's
the introduction of the ordinance and
[58:53] the next meeting, similar to what we do
with all ordinances, we have the
[58:55] introduction and the adoption.
>> Is there a study session or any other
[58:58] opportunities?
>> Director, do you want to comment on
[59:01] that?
>> I I'm not sure what the point of of a
[59:03] study session would be. I I'm happy to
if the if the administration wants one
[59:08] we study session.
>> I agree with that.
[59:12] » That's fine. I I just want to make sure
I'm asking the questions for people to
[59:14] know how because you know we don't
ordinance of changes aren't every day
[59:18] either.
>> Right. Yep. Nope. Thank you for asking.
[59:20] All set.
>> Yep.
[59:21] » Okay. I just want to say thank you for
your continued business and support uh
[59:25] here in the city. We appreciate it. You
know, you guys have run an outstanding
[59:28] business. I've had relatives from
outside of West End who come in and
[59:32] shopped at your store and are like,
"This is like the Apple store of, you
[59:36] know, marijuana shops. It's so nice in
here. It's like
[59:39] » I mean, back in the beginning, early
days, it's like some one of our first
[59:43] stores that was open um somebody came in
and said, "This is like an Apple store
[59:47] and a weed store had a baby."
>> That's right. They're looking for the
[59:50] genius.
>> That's what we like. We want to keep it
[59:52] professional like that. But that's us
across the state. So, we appreciate the
[59:56] partnership.
>> Yeah. and you guys run a great business
[59:58] here. So, thank you very much and
appreciate your continued support. Any
[1:00:01] other uh discussion from the council
and any disscent?
[1:00:06] Yeah. Yeah. Roll call, please.
>> Thank you.
[1:00:10] » Councilwoman Bowman,
>> no.
[1:00:12] » Councilwoman Martin,
>> yes.
[1:00:14] » Councilwoman Rowski is absent, excused.
Councilman or excuse me, Councilwoman
[1:00:19] Sampy,
>> yes.
[1:00:20] » Councilman Sullivan,
>> yes.
[1:00:22] » Prom Maxwell,
>> yes.
[1:00:24] » President McDermott,
>> yes. Motion passes.
[1:00:29] Now we move on to new business 1B. This
is formally consent calendar item F,
[1:00:36] approval of professional services
agreement renewal with Hagera Health
[1:00:40] Service to perform social work services
for the Westland Police Department. Term
[1:00:44] of agreement commencing on October 1,
2026 and ending on September 30th, 2028
[1:00:49] in the amount of 10,000 per month year
1.
[1:00:53] » Is there a motion? So
>> motion by Councilwoman Martin. Is there
[1:00:56] support?
>> Supported by Councilwoman Sampi. Is
[1:01:00] there discussion from the mayor?
>> Um Higer has been around for a while in
[1:01:05] the city. Um they're asking for an
increase. The increase is pretty much in
[1:01:10] line with the rate of inflation and I
think I've been told they do a great job
[1:01:15] and the person at the police department,
Jess, is uh goes above and beyond. So
[1:01:21] I'm voting for this. Thank you. Thank
you, Councilwoman Martin. Counciloman
[1:01:25] Sampy,
>> thank you. Um, I think this is needed
[1:01:28] now more than ever. Uh, we just had a
domestic violence situation that had
[1:01:32] happened here in Westland that left uh a
young woman um killed, which is is
[1:01:39] pretty devastating. So, Hyera has has
given us on page 22 of that large packet
[1:01:44] their salaries and fringe benefits. It
says that we have one FTE mobile crisis
[1:01:50] co-respondent
uh clinician and then one program
[1:01:53] manager. Are we matching um does the
city and Higura match those salaries?
[1:01:59] Because $86,000 for two people seem to
be quite low.
[1:02:04] » Uh no, it's just for one person,
behavioral health clinician Jennifer
[1:02:07] Gersola.
>> Oh, so she's doing two jobs.
[1:02:11] » I'll have to get look into the manager
piece of it because she's okay. She's
[1:02:14] the contract person we have from
Heggera. I can follow up with you on
[1:02:18] that.
>> So, yeah, I was I was kind of confused
[1:02:19] because it says we have two FTEEs.
So, we have one that is a mobile crisis
[1:02:25] and one that's a program manager.
>> I'll have to look into the wording on
[1:02:29] that and meet with Hyera. But,
>> okay.
[1:02:32] » We've had Jennifer for a few years now.
She does great. It's one employee. Uh
[1:02:36] she there is a 3% raise for her in this
negotiated contract as well. which is
[1:02:40] which is obviously well needed, but I
was just confused because I thought
[1:02:45] we're getting an additional person. Just
the way that it's written, it's on page
[1:02:49] 22, chief. It says we have one FTE
mobile crisis, one FTE program manager.
[1:02:55] » I could I'll follow up with the city
attorney as well. The contract stuff is
[1:03:00] more
>> sure
[1:03:00] » his speed. So, I'll go with that and
then we'll follow up with Hya and get
[1:03:03] you a solid answer.
>> Okay. Awesome. Yeah, it kind of threw me
[1:03:06] off when I saw that. I'm like, that
seems quite low for two people. Um, so I
[1:03:10] guess if we can have some followup.
>> Yeah, that's a good note on that.
[1:03:14] » Thank you. I appreciate that. Just so we
are I mean it it probably is meant to
[1:03:18] say one FTE, mobile crisis co-respondent
and program manager, but the way that
[1:03:24] it's written in the description says
there's two FTEEs.
[1:03:29] So, um, and Jennifer does Jennifer does
a great job. She's she's been there for
[1:03:33] a while. So, um, you know, I appreciate
the partnership with Hyera, and Carol is
[1:03:38] phenomenal. She supports the city, the
CEO. So, um, you know, I'm in support of
[1:03:43] this this evening. I just wanted
clarification. So, thank you.
[1:03:47] » Thank you, Councilwoman. Any other
discussion from the council? Councilman
[1:03:50] Sullivan.
>> Um, Chief, I don't I don't know if you
[1:03:53] can answer this or not, but I believe
this position has been grant funded in
[1:03:57] the past, but the current grant period
has not opened yet. Is that correct?
[1:04:01] » Correct.
>> All right. So is the if for some reason
[1:04:04] we were not able to get the grant this
year is the department able to cover the
[1:04:08] cost?
>> Yes. So in the budget presentation that
[1:04:10] was a concern I had. So it was built in
the professional standards. Um it was a
[1:04:14] reimbursement grant previously. Uh so
we're we have uh that grant hasn't
[1:04:18] opened up yet. We checked that daily and
I in contact with director towns also.
[1:04:22] Uh we have another application for a
separate grant for that'll cover this
[1:04:25] program and that's in the process.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[1:04:31] Thank you, Councilman Sullivan. Any
other discussion from the council? Um, I
[1:04:35] just want to say this is a program that,
you know, I've been an advocate for for
[1:04:38] a long time. I want to thank the
Westland Police Department and Chief
[1:04:41] Dolly for his leadership. Uh, when this
program first started, I think back in
[1:04:44] 2021,
um, when he was a deputy chief at the
[1:04:48] time, he was someone who had championed
this program. And we were one of the
[1:04:51] first communities in Metro Detroit to
add a social worker and a substance
[1:04:56] abuse professional. Not only does um
Jennifer Grismala do you know social
[1:05:00] work with folks in the community who are
experiencing uh homelessness or
[1:05:04] transient population experiencing brain
health issues, mental health crisises.
[1:05:08] She also works with individuals who are
experiencing a substance use disorder so
[1:05:11] that we can keep those individuals out
of the prison pipeline and get them the
[1:05:17] help and the treatment they need because
just simply sending someone uh to jail
[1:05:20] does not uh work and does not make them
better. So I want to thank West Police
[1:05:25] Department. I want to thank Chief Dolly
for his leadership continuing u this
[1:05:28] program and I'll be in full support of
this and is there any other discussion?
[1:05:34] Any dissent? Any descent? Hearing and
seeing none motion passes.
[1:05:39] » New business item number two
confirmation of reappointment of Daryl
[1:05:43] Rounds to the Westland Planning
Commission for a three-year term
[1:05:46] effective upon council confirmation and
expired on August 20th, 2029.
[1:05:50] » Is there a motion?
>> Motion by Councilwoman Bowman. Is there
[1:05:53] support? supported by Councilman
Sullivan. Any discussion from the maker?
[1:05:58] » No, I think we agree about Geraldine and
we're excited that he's also continuing
[1:06:02] on with us.
>> Anything from supporter?
[1:06:06] » Same thing.
>> Okay. Any other discussion from the
[1:06:08] council?
Any other discussion? I will just say I
[1:06:11] know he's not in the audience today, but
Mr. Rounds, thank you for continuing to
[1:06:15] serve here on the planning commission. I
know this is your first reappoint, so uh
[1:06:20] welcome back to the planning commission.
you I have the chance to watch the
[1:06:23] planning commission meetings as well. I
can't attend them in person because I am
[1:06:26] at work during the day when they're
going on, but do appreciate uh all the
[1:06:31] work that uh you do and your input and
insight on the planning commission. So,
[1:06:35] thank you for stepping back up to
continue to serve on the planning
[1:06:38] commission. And is there any descent?
Any descent? Hearing seeing none, motion
[1:06:43] passes. Mr. Rounds, if you're going to
watch us at home, congratulations.
[1:06:49] » [applause]
[1:06:52] » New bis new business item number three
nominations of delegate to the annual
[1:06:56] Michigan Municipal League convention to
be held October 7th through October 9th,
[1:07:00] 2026 at the Grand Traverse Resort in
Traverse City.
[1:07:04] » We will now open the floor to
nominations.
[1:07:07] » Um I nominate Councilwoman Emily Bowman.
>> There is a nomination for Councilwoman
[1:07:13] Bowman by Councilwoman Martin. Are there
any other nominations?
[1:07:17] » Nomination. Motion to close nominations
by Councilman Sullivan. Is there
[1:07:20] support?
>> Support.
[1:07:22] » All right. Any dissent? Any descent?
Hearing and seeing none. Nominations are
[1:07:27] closed.
>> New business. Item number four,
[1:07:30] designation of Emily Bowman as a
delegate to the annual Michigan
[1:07:33] Municipal League Convention to be held
October 7th through October 9th, 2026.
[1:07:38] » Is there a motion?
>> So moved.
[1:07:40] » Motion by Councilwoman Martin. And is
there support?
[1:07:42] » Support.
>> Supported by Councilwoman Sampy. Any
[1:07:46] discussion?
Nope.
[1:07:48] » Any discussion? Counciloman, do you have
anything you wanted to add on your
[1:07:52] behalf?
>> Yeah, since you've been nominated.
[1:07:55] » Um, just um I I appreciate the support
of my uh council to go to do this as a
[1:07:59] delegate. It is a delegate to the annual
meeting that is held once a year at the
[1:08:02] convention and um and it's it is a
representation of the city. So, if
[1:08:06] there's any any votes there, I you know,
I would be the one to take them. So, um
[1:08:10] and I' I've actually really enjoyed
being part of um getting really active
[1:08:13] with Michigan Municipal League on behalf
of the city. um so I can be a better
[1:08:17] council woman. So that's good job.
>> Okay. Um I'll just add real quick before
[1:08:22] we see if there's any descent, which I
highly doubt there will be, but um
[1:08:26] Councilwoman Balman has gone to MML
since she's been on council. She's been
[1:08:29] to as many events as she can. So she's
really stepped up and taken a role, you
[1:08:33] know, leading on behalf of the city,
going to uh these events each and every
[1:08:37] year. So, um, you know, she's moving her
way up their MML leadership academy
[1:08:41] course and she's bringing a lot back to
the city, a lot of, uh, information and
[1:08:45] knowledge for our residents. So, I
appreciate her stepping up and her
[1:08:48] willingness to serve. Is there any
descent? Any descent? Hearing seeing
[1:08:52] none, motion passes. Congratulations.
New business item number five,
[1:08:58] nomination of alternate in case the of
the inability of the delegate to attend
[1:09:02] to the annual Michigan Municipal League
convention to be held October 7th
[1:09:05] through October 9th, 2026.
>> Is there a nomination?
[1:09:13] » Yes,
>> I would like to nominate Melissa Sampi.
[1:09:15] » Okay, there's a nomination for
Councilwoman Sampy. Are there any other
[1:09:18] nominations?
[1:09:22] » Close nominations. There motion to close
nominations by Councilman Svin. Is there
[1:09:25] support?
>> Support.
[1:09:26] » There is support from Councilman Martin.
Is there any dissent?
[1:09:30] Any dissent? Hearing and seeing none.
Nominations are closed.
[1:09:34] » New business item number six,
designation of Melissa Sampi of the
[1:09:38] alternate in the case of the inability
of the delegate to attend to the annual
[1:09:43] Michigan Municipal League Convention to
be held October 7th through October 9th,
[1:09:47] 2026.
>> Is there a motion?
[1:09:50] » So moved.
>> Motion by Counciloman Martin. Is there
[1:09:52] support?
>> Supported by Councilwoman Bowman. Any
[1:09:55] discussion from the maker?
>> No.
[1:09:58] » Any discussion from the supporter?
>> Okay. Uh, Councilwoman, did anything?
[1:10:02] » Yeah. No. Thank you so much, colleagues,
for supporting. Um, this this is
[1:10:06] something I went to the past few years
and I told Councilwoman uh Bowman, she's
[1:10:10] been so active with MML. She's very
close to a a a very prestigious um
[1:10:17] certification. So, I am going to plan to
attend um as an alternate, but I really
[1:10:23] think that she deserves to be our
delegate this year because she's doing a
[1:10:26] great job with um rising up the ladders
and I'm excited to attend the conference
[1:10:31] uh as well, but I think it's it's welld
deserved to be the delegate and I I had
[1:10:36] a great opportunity going for the past
few years as a delegate. So, um so I'm
[1:10:41] really excited. So, thank you
colleagues.
[1:10:43] » Absolutely. Any other discussion? Um, I
will just add thank you Councilwoman
[1:10:47] Santley for stepping up to be the
alternate. I know you've gone uh to this
[1:10:50] before and thank you for passing the
baton on. Uh, you've gained a lot of
[1:10:53] good information and insight going to
these MML events and I know this isn't
[1:10:58] the only time you've participated. We've
gone to MML events together for some of
[1:11:01] the uh leadership training courses that
they do. So, thank you for uh continuing
[1:11:05] to serve with MML and stepping up for
this. Very much appreciated. Is there
[1:11:09] any descent? Any descent? Hearing and
seeing none. Motion passes.
[1:11:19] Okay. So, we are now going to move on to
public comment. Everyone speaking before
[1:11:24] the council should do so in a civil
manner. Speakers should refrain from
[1:11:28] abusive or profane remarks, vulgar
language, disruptive outbursts, threats,
[1:11:33] racial slurs, or other conduct that
interferes with the orderly conduct of
[1:11:36] the business meeting. Personal attacks
on council members, the administration,
[1:11:41] city staff, other speakers, or members
of the public. Do not promote civil
[1:11:45] discourse. Excuse me. Comments shall be
directed to the chair and not to people
[1:11:51] in the audience. The chair shall call to
order any person who is being disorderly
[1:11:55] by speaking when not having been
recognized by the chair or is being
[1:11:59] disrupted to the proceedings. If any
person after being called to order
[1:12:03] continues to be disorderly, creating a
public 13 disturbance, the chair may
[1:12:08] order that person be removed
immediately. And I know we had someone
[1:12:12] up front here, sir. I'm going to get
right to you first.
[1:12:17] » All right. I'm here to talk about uh
trash just like Paul. Only my dump is
[1:12:23] next door.
I work 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a
[1:12:28] week, and I come home to a mess.
I've lived there seven years. Every
[1:12:34] year, I've called the ordinance officer
at least two to three times a year. I
[1:12:39] cannot get a sat down meeting with the
with the mayor. I cannot get a sat down
[1:12:44] meeting with the ordinance officer. When
I went to the office to speak to the
[1:12:49] ordinance officer prior to the one
that's there now, he said it's a me
[1:12:53] problem because I'm the only one in
blocks that is making this this uh
[1:12:59] making an effort because everybody
nobody wants to get involved. Nobody
[1:13:03] wants to make a phone call. Nobody wants
to do anything other than dial the
[1:13:06] number and leave a message anonymously.
Anonymous.
[1:13:11] I last Thanksgiving on Monday before
Thanksgiving
[1:13:16] uh come home to uh there was a trailer
full of trash piled up in front of the
[1:13:24] road. There was a trailer full of trash
and there was a pickup full of trash all
[1:13:29] for the bulk pickup that was hauled in
there by these people. The fence around
[1:13:35] the place was just falling down. They've
had numerous complaints to get it fixed.
[1:13:41] Ordinance officer out there. They have a
camping trailer beside the house plugged
[1:13:46] in. People living in it currently. The
ordinance officer told them we're 9 to5.
[1:13:52] Don't be in there till after 5.
That's what I'm dealing with. The dogs
[1:13:57] run loose. We're allowed what? Two pets.
But you can have two pets. And your
[1:14:03] friend that's visiting can have two
pets. and their friend that's visiting
[1:14:06] can have two pets and I've got six to
eight dogs running unleashed
[1:14:12] crapping in my yard chasing other dogs
down the street. Six to eight cars. It's
[1:14:18] a three bedroomedroom house.
Three bedroomedroom house 1365 square
[1:14:25] ft. When I left to come to this meeting,
there's seven vehicles parked over there
[1:14:31] plus the camper beside the house.
There's a truck that's in the backyard
[1:14:36] that's been there for six months. I
don't know if it has license plates or
[1:14:40] insurance or not. There's people living
in the garage. There's people living in
[1:14:45] the crawl space in the attic. And I
can't get nobody to do anything about
[1:14:49] it. I cannot get a meeting. This is my
third time in four years coming before
[1:14:55] your council.
When I call the ordinance officer, when
[1:15:00] I call the mayor's office, they'll send
somebody out. the [clears throat] grass
[1:15:05] that is over the five foot high privacy
fence. Just this week when I called on
[1:15:11] Tuesday last week, the ordinance officer
showed up I think Friday and within
[1:15:17] three hours there was five people
running lawnmowers.
[1:15:20] » Sir, your time is up, but hang tight.
I'm going to come and talk to you
[1:15:23] afterwards because I want to get more
information on this. I'm very sorry it's
[1:15:26] happening.
>> Yep. And what's your name, sir?
[1:15:29] » Wayne Lewis.
>> Mr. Lewis. All right. Thank you, Mr.
[1:15:31] » I'll give you my address and the other
one if you No, hang tight. I'll come
[1:15:34] talk to you afterwards. Thank you.
[1:15:41] And is there anyone on my left? Yes,
Miss Warren. That
[1:15:48] » don't want to sit by your husband.
[1:16:00] » Good evening.
So, as many of you know, I've been
[1:16:05] requesting information about veterans
that have passed that stayed in
[1:16:10] Westland.
At this time, after speaking with Mr.
[1:16:16] Adams, we decided we want to make sure
we're getting the information right and
[1:16:21] we want to do justice to all the
veterans. So, we are moving the date
[1:16:27] back to Memorial Day of 2027,
but I am still asking the public or
[1:16:34] anybody that has information about a
veteran that passed during wartime that
[1:16:40] stayed in Westland to please let me know
and they can contact me through Mr.
[1:16:46] Allen's office or the mayor's office.
Thank you.
[1:16:50] » Thank you, Miss Warren. Is there anyone
on my right? Yes, sir.
[1:16:57] Oh yeah, Andrew Rassic, Ridgewood
Department's Westland. I know Mayor
[1:17:01] Coleman's not here tonight, but I just
wanted to thank him for um that state of
[1:17:05] the city address last Wednesday.
Couldn't be at the first part of it
[1:17:09] because I had to work, but I did come
for the last 90 minutes. Had to watch it
[1:17:13] from out in the hall because um ballroom
was full. But he did mention something
[1:17:18] about Wayne and Hunter. And I just
wanted to ask him, does anybody know
[1:17:22] what is when work's going to continue
there? Cuz before I came to Westland,
[1:17:29] there had been work going on and now
nothing. So have to find out when work's
[1:17:36] going to continue there.
And then dangerous intersections. As I
[1:17:41] stated a couple meetings back,
I'm glad we're getting all the PE
[1:17:46] signals replaced, the outdated ones with
the countdown timers. However, um
[1:17:52] there's a few intersections that need
left turn signals. I already know Wayne
[1:17:56] and Hunter's getting one, but Middle
Belt and Joy Road and Joy Road and
[1:18:01] Ingster Road, they both need left turn
signals.
[1:18:07] Right now, they're without a left turn
signal.
[1:18:11] Also, Cherry Hill and Vanoi
needs one especially.
[1:18:16] There's been too many accidents. There
was one accident that involved a
[1:18:20] pedestrian. That pedestrian's still
recovering after a year. So, hopefully
[1:18:24] we can get a left turn signal at some of
those dangerous intersections.
[1:18:30] And um that's all I have. Thank you guys
for your time.
[1:18:34] » Thank you. And we're also going to
answer your question from earlier during
[1:18:37] our council comments.
>> Okay. Thanks. You're very welcome.
[1:18:41] Anyone on mouth? Yes, sir.
[1:18:46] » Hi, everybody. My name is Kandaras
Coward. Uh I am a licensed roofer. Uh
[1:18:50] I've been doing it for about four and a
half years. Um I just came up here
[1:18:54] because I'm interested in taking on
projects in Wayne County. Uh I'm
[1:18:59] normally all over Michigan, but uh I
have my own business. It's called KC
[1:19:03] Roofing. I'm a asshalt shingler. Uh, I
have some business cards, so I can leave
[1:19:08] some business cards out on the table.
>> Okay. We don't normally like business
[1:19:12] promotion like this up here, so just
just to let you know.
[1:19:14] » Gotcha. Thank you.
>> Not a problem. Thank you for coming out.
[1:19:18] » Uh, anyone on my right? Yes, M.
[1:19:23] » I wasn't going to do this tonight, but I
was going to call out the mayor. He
[1:19:28] didn't show up to this meeting, and I
let him know three weeks ago. I found
[1:19:33] out some information going doortodoor.
I found out information from other
[1:19:39] people in different cities that know Mr.
Coleman, God bout Martin, Emily Balman,
[1:19:47] Lisa,
and Mike.
[1:19:51] And some of you were highly recognized
and valued as the council meeting panel,
[1:20:00] but some of the other ones I was told
and was shown that uh four council
[1:20:07] people on the panel had their campaigns
paid for by Mayor Coleman
[1:20:16] and in return for votes. And I also
>> ma'am that's getting towards a personal
[1:20:23] attack on individual.
>> It's not personal. It's why I'm going
[1:20:26] public.
>> Well, you're calling out accusing them
[1:20:30] of
>> the mayor that went to a school to read
[1:20:34] a book and ended up talking politics to
kindergartens.
[1:20:40] » Do you want to see it?
>> Well, he's the mayor. I'm not here to
[1:20:42] get in back and forth, but he is the
mayor and he's allowed to talk about his
[1:20:45] position. Somebody had bashed Melissa
Sampy for buying food and taking food to
[1:20:51] a school to feed kids snacks, lunches,
and the mayor's bashing on her for that,
[1:20:58] but he's not telling people what he's
done using kids to get votes, and that's
[1:21:04] not right. So, I'm calling the mayor
out. He's not responding. And I seen him
[1:21:10] in the parking lot today, and he put God
bowed in his place. I've even talked to
[1:21:15] God belt which has also ignored me. So
something needs to be done. I want it
[1:21:20] face to face with the mayor. I don't
care who else is present. I want it
[1:21:25] public and I would like to see a public
apology to Miss Sampy for the behavior
[1:21:32] of the mayor. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Thomas.
[1:21:38] Anyone on my left? Yes, Miss Thomas.
[1:21:46] Good evening everyone.
I thank you guys for allowing me to come
[1:21:52] up here and talk. And I since we were
talking about garbage, it is a situation
[1:21:57] with I'm being told that some of the
uh landlords are not doing their jobs
[1:22:04] and we already know that. But now
because of the rodent rodent problem
[1:22:09] that we're having,
uh it it's it's making it a lot worse.
[1:22:14] I'm finding out that uh in people's
backyards because you can't see from the
[1:22:20] front, but mostly in the backyards. Now,
how do we go about making sure that
[1:22:26] someone or the landlord is is getting
rid of uh all of the debris, trash, uh
[1:22:35] dogs, animal poop. You'd be surprised
the the stuff uh that goes on inside of
[1:22:41] those uh duplexes or town houses. And
it's a and it makes it difficult for the
[1:22:47] rest of the neighborhood to try to keep
up. I mean, like this gentleman was
[1:22:51] saying, it's like one situation after
the other, and it's like everybody is is
[1:22:58] getting the brunt of what a few people
are doing or not doing. And in this
[1:23:04] situation, uh like I said, I'm being
told that there's uh some some the
[1:23:09] landlords at some of these places are
just not doing their jobs. I've taken
[1:23:15] pictures of some p some of the places
How do you I I'm not going to go in
[1:23:21] their backyard, but I just have to take
the words of the people that are coming
[1:23:26] to me because I respect them and I
believe them because I'm right there in
[1:23:30] the middle of it as well. So I I don't I
I don't want to be when the moment I see
[1:23:35] a a rodent in my house, that's when I'm
picking up and I'm moving because who
[1:23:40] wants to live in an area where there's
constant debris and constant, you know,
[1:23:47] people it it seems like the the the
people that are being rented to,
[1:23:53] they don't care because it's not their
property. So when people don't own
[1:23:58] property, then that's they don't care
because they don't have to pay for it.
[1:24:02] They don't have to keep it up if they
don't want to. So for the most of the
[1:24:07] people that are doing what we're what we
need to do in order to keep our homes
[1:24:11] good and our duplexes, our living areas
clean, I mean, it's becoming a problem.
[1:24:19] And you guys know that. I'm sure you've
heard about the rodents in in Westland
[1:24:23] period. Not only in Norway, but in
Westland period. So, this is what's
[1:24:28] where it's coming from. Trash, debris,
dogs, their poop not being picked up,
[1:24:34] and all this kind of stuff that makes it
bad. Uh, this one lady, okay, I don't
[1:24:40] have time to do this, but trash is a
major problem.
[1:24:44] » Yep.
>> Thank you.
[1:24:45] » Thank you, Miss Thomas. If you have a
specific address, we'll come get it from
[1:24:48] you, too. I do not, but I can get it for
you.
[1:24:51] » Okay, I'll talk to you offline. Okay.
>> Because I know we have each other's
[1:24:54] phone number.
>> Anyone on my right? Yes, Ray.
[1:25:02] » Wow. Wow. Wow. Anyway, try to save the
best, you know, try to [snorts] save the
[1:25:08] um I want to say to council, thank you
for with this support with the social
[1:25:13] worker and I think the police department
is a great leadership and I support
[1:25:18] mental health all the way. So, u matter
of fact, let's talk about mental health
[1:25:23] for a second. 988 day is called making
an awareness of it. Suicide prevention
[1:25:29] month. You might have a friend. You
might have a loved one. Some people
[1:25:33] sometimes don't, you know, make they
don't they deny it that they might need
[1:25:39] help. But there is help out there
supports. So that's why I am big big
[1:25:45] about 988. We have a brand new sign out
in that new park over here. I'm proud of
[1:25:50] it. 988. And I'm going to spread it to
Dearborn Heights and to some other
[1:25:57] places yet. Bray is always making want
to make changes and make the moves. And
[1:26:03] anyway, let's talk about the DQ for a
second. I want to thank my friends for
[1:26:07] going and thanks Melissa and the group
of the VIP friends and the police
[1:26:12] department and the fire. Um, it was
great. It's good to be rec, you know,
[1:26:18] recognized in your own you into the
community and all the great things I'm
[1:26:22] doing and stuff like that. So, I felt
really good because it wasn't like that
[1:26:27] in my time in the 70s like it is now.
Pray is making a difference out there
[1:26:31] and we're all making a difference out
there and we need to be kind to one
[1:26:34] another too. So, and to the all the
times and so I do have new goals. 14
[1:26:40] years for CLS.
This my anniversary going to another
[1:26:44] year making it 15. I am ready for it.
Training the new officers to the police
[1:26:50] department. the fire department already
did this year. So, I'm gonna continue
[1:26:55] doing what I am doing and that's my
calling. I want to say thank you.
[1:27:01] » Thank you, Ray. And happy birthday to
you.
[1:27:04] » Thank you.
>> Yes, sir.
[1:27:08] » Right.
[1:27:15] » Good evening, council.
>> Good evening, council president. Um I
[1:27:19] have three items. Um the first one is uh
in regards to the opening time of the
[1:27:27] dispensaries. Um I heard the um the uh
uh director talk about elderly people
[1:27:37] needing to be there early, people
getting home from work at late hours in
[1:27:41] the morning. Um and this is rush hour
time. This is 8:00 in the morning. This
[1:27:48] is when traffic on Ford Road is quite
busy. And to get people, especially
[1:27:54] elderly people or people that are groggy
from working all night out on the road
[1:27:59] at 8:00 in the morning during rush hour
traffic could be a bit of a safety
[1:28:04] issue. Just that was my opinion on that.
Um, second thing is I did see two brand
[1:28:12] new garbage trucks in my culdeac today.
So I am very grateful for that. Um and
[1:28:18] the third one is um at the uh Westland
historical village on the 17th of
[1:28:26] September at 6:30 I will be doing a um
lecture on the history of Westland
[1:28:32] churches where uh where it started where
it came from the influence and the
[1:28:38] impact on the city of Westland. So if
you are available that night, please
[1:28:44] come out and join us. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
[1:28:53] » And is there anyone on my right?
Anyone on my left?
[1:29:00] Mr. Warren
already know.
[1:29:09] » Good evening again.
[clears throat and cough]
[1:29:11] In regards to the state of the city
address, the uh police chief and um
[1:29:17] through the chair to the police chief,
you had mentioned um community
[1:29:21] engagement on some level. Um, so I'm
particular particularly interested in
[1:29:28] that and see how that will form out
because over the past 10 or 15 years um
[1:29:36] [clears throat] was recommendations that
came from the citizens advisory
[1:29:40] committee to forward $110,000
over for community engagements and
[1:29:45] community police officers. So you had
mentioned about a lieutenant and maybe a
[1:29:50] sergeant kind of taking that over. So
what happens to the other officers who I
[1:29:56] have been dealing with uh in regards to
some community issues. So I'd like to u
[1:30:01] see what that structure is and how
you're going to lay that out and what
[1:30:05] the relationship with those officers be
with uh particularly the Norway and the
[1:30:10] Carver subdivision communities. So, I'd
like to see the plan
[1:30:15] and uh how these folks are going to be
compensated because I'm pretty sure
[1:30:19] they're being compensated now in their
current positions. And so, that's
[1:30:24] [clears throat] one thing I would uh uh
really like to look at and it's
[1:30:30] hopefully that it will work for our two
communities. Thank you.
[1:30:36] » Thank you, Mr. Warren. Is there anyone
else in the audience?
[1:30:40] Okay, seeing hearing none, we will close
public comment and move on to comments
[1:30:44] from the administration and Deputy Mayor
God.
[1:30:48] » Thanks. And uh thank you council
president for uh taking a moment of
[1:30:53] silence for Beth at the start of the
meeting. Um, you know, even though Beth
[1:30:59] was only here with the city officially
for uh a few years, uh, she's been very
[1:31:05] active throughout the community for
decades and, uh, her loss is is missed
[1:31:12] by the people at the Friendship Center
and throughout all of Westland. So,
[1:31:17] please keep her family and friends uh,
in your thoughts and prayers during this
[1:31:23] uh, difficult time.
Uh, I want to thank everyone who
[1:31:28] attended the annual Women of Westland
event on August 27th. Uh, unfortunately
[1:31:34] I was unable to attend, but I've heard
nothing but great feedback from the
[1:31:38] attendees.
[1:31:41] Um, and also I I'd like to thank all the
residents that came out and the people
[1:31:47] that were involved with the Nankin
Square and Amphitheater. Uh we wrapped
[1:31:53] up our live uh Friday night concert
series uh this last week and uh this was
[1:32:00] a great inaugural year for the park. Uh
and you know we're looking forward we're
[1:32:06] already starting plans for next year's
concert series as well as other events
[1:32:11] that are going to take place at Nankin
Square. I know they're working on a uh
[1:32:16] scarecrow walk uh going to happen in the
in the fall here as well as the uh
[1:32:24] Christmas tree decoration event again at
Nankin Square. So, we plan to utilize
[1:32:30] that facility year round. So uh but the
this first season is was uh uh we were
[1:32:39] pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming
success that it had and it's spread
[1:32:43] throughout the region. I go to events
from uh Conference of Western Wayne and
[1:32:49] other uh SAMCOG and other groups and
there's a lot of buzz about what
[1:32:55] Westland is doing and what we've done
with Nan Square and Amphitheater. So,
[1:33:00] uh, just thanks for everyone that's been
involved in that process.
[1:33:05] Uh, as well as, uh, you know, everyone
that came to the, uh, annual state of
[1:33:10] the city address, uh, you know, the
mayor was able to highlight some of the
[1:33:15] great things we've been working on this
past year. And I'd like to also thank
[1:33:19] the Leavonia Westland Chamber of
Commerce and, uh, Dan West for helping
[1:33:25] organize the event and host the business
awards.
[1:33:30] This weekend, Friday, September 11th
through Sunday, September 13th, is our
[1:33:36] communitywide garage sale. You can
register your sale on the city website
[1:33:42] to drive shoppers to your location. If
you're shopping, you can visit our
[1:33:47] website for an interactive sale locator
of registered sites. Uh there will also
[1:33:53] be a helpful guide of items being sold
so you can plan your shopping
[1:33:57] efficiently as possible and you can just
contact city hall here if you still need
[1:34:03] to register I believe through the
clerk's office is handling those uh
[1:34:07] registrations.
[1:34:11] Our uh parks and recck department is
hosting a grandparents and me day this
[1:34:15] Saturday, September 12th from 11:00 a.m.
to 1:00 p.m. here at city hall in the
[1:34:21] ballroom. Uh join us for lunch, crafts,
games, and more. To register, please
[1:34:27] contact our parks parks department at
7347227620.
[1:34:36] That same day, uh, we're hosting the
annual craft beer and wine festival at
[1:34:41] Central City Park. Uh, that's Saturday,
September 12th, starting at 5:00 p.m.
[1:34:47] There'll be drinks, food, games, and
live music. To purchase tickets, visit
[1:34:53] uh westlandbeer.com.
And then our uh Westland Farmers and
[1:34:59] Artisans Market will be having their
annual fall fest on Thursday, September
[1:35:04] 18th from 3 to 7 p.m. So stop by and
check out all the fall themed items from
[1:35:11] the vendors with crafts and much more.
And then I I did want to address the uh
[1:35:18] issue on uh Wayne and Hunter that you
brought up. Um, so that's a
[1:35:24] modernization of all the the uh traffic
lights there. What happened was they
[1:35:30] they got three of the four pylons or
base structures in place and on the
[1:35:38] fourth one there was a utility uh uh
problems where they couldn't put the a
[1:35:46] pylon in order to support the mast arm.
So, we've been working with uh DTE and
[1:35:55] uh the company to come up with a an
alternate to that which has taken some
[1:36:01] re-engineering which is why that
intersection is still under
[1:36:05] construction. Uh they've they've come up
with a solution now and are scheduled to
[1:36:10] be moving that forward here this in the
next several weeks. So, just an update
[1:36:15] on that one for you. And that's all I
have this evening. Thank you. Thank you,
[1:36:19] Deputy Mayor Godbbout. Anything from the
city attorney's office?
[1:36:23] » Always good to be with you, council. Uh,
nothing from me tonight. Thank you.
[1:36:26] » Thank you, Attorney Grisco. We will now
begin council comments this evening and
[1:36:29] hear from Councilman John Sullivan.
>> Well, as you know, Council President,
[1:36:33] I'm a fan of brevity. Nothing from me
today.
[1:36:38] » That's nice and easy. All right, we will
now hear from Councilwoman Emily Bman.
[1:36:45] » Thank you. Um, thank you again for
everyone coming tonight. Um it's always
[1:36:48] good to have lots of um lots of our
residents here are paying attention not
[1:36:52] just um obviously on the video but also
in in person. So if you can come it's
[1:36:57] great. Um I do want to again thank my
council for electing me as delegate to
[1:37:02] the um Mission Municipal League
convention and annual meeting this year.
[1:37:06] Um I will hope I again I will represent
well. Um and again another
[1:37:11] congratulations to St. John's Church. I
know Mr. Rick I think he's still here.
[1:37:15] I'm hoping that I'm guessing that that
will be one of the churches we have to
[1:37:18] look at when we talk about the churches
in Westland and history and things like
[1:37:21] that. And they they actually just pulled
out a bunch of history so we can um for
[1:37:25] their celebration. So, we'll we can
definitely get you some of that. Um
[1:37:29] also, um I actually think the only other
thing I want to say is um I hope
[1:37:34] everyone had a great Labor Day. Um I do.
It's for me it's actually always a fun
[1:37:38] little um memory down uh walk down
memory lane because um I've had two um
[1:37:45] real Labor Days. Um so I'm going to say
happy birthday to my 18-year-old son uh
[1:37:50] Augustus and my daughter who um
yesterday was my son's. Today is my
[1:37:54] daughter's birthday. And so um Blaine is
uh you know she's also so I I now have
[1:38:00] two adult children and it's kind of
tough to think about that. [laughter]
[1:38:05] Um but yes, happy birthday to both of
them. And I also um just want to remind
[1:38:09] everybody to, you know, hopefully people
have um some quiet time set aside for
[1:38:14] Friday since that is the um 25th
anniversary of 911
[1:38:21] um this Friday. And I know I usually try
to grab some time I and you know kind of
[1:38:26] even take a listen to the the names
being called off from um ground zero in
[1:38:32] New York City. I know they always do
that. they called them off one by one.
[1:38:35] So, um I just hope everyone takes a
pause to remember that 25 years ago, um
[1:38:38] my daughter was celebrating her first
birthday when that happened and so it
[1:38:42] kind of changed everything. So, anyway,
that is all for me tonight. Thank you.
[1:38:46] » Thank you, Councilwoman. And happy
birthday to both of your kids. We will
[1:38:51] now hear from Councilwoman Martin.
>> Thank you. Um I also would like to um
[1:38:58] put out my condolences to the Wilinbach
family. They've had a lot of sadness in
[1:39:03] the last couple years and both be Beth
and Craig are wonderful people. I'd like
[1:39:08] to thank Casey, the roofer, who showed
up and spoke under his First Amendment
[1:39:11] rights. We always welcome new businesses
into Westland, even if they don't have a
[1:39:16] storefront yet. Um, Mr. Lewis, thanks
for coming. You know, we're new to uh
[1:39:22] I'm new to council. That's the first
I've heard of it, but I'm hoping the
[1:39:26] ordinance officer can do better by you
than it what's been done in the past.
[1:39:31] Um, I'd like to thank Emily Bowman and
all the women that participated in uh
[1:39:36] the sheer rocks dinner. I had an
emergency last at the last minute and
[1:39:40] Emily filled in for my my spot. Thank
you, my friend. Um, schoolboard election
[1:39:45] is this year for those people who aren't
aware. So, you might want to do your due
[1:39:49] diligence um and make sure you vote um
with some good information. And then
[1:39:55] lastly, um oh, congratulations to all
the people who won awards um during the
[1:40:02] uh state of the city. And I want to um
hold out Miriam Katy who won citizen of
[1:40:07] the year and it was welld deserved. And
that's all for me. Thank you.
[1:40:11] » Thank you, Councilwoman Martin. We will
now hear from Councilwoman Sampi.
[1:40:15] » Thank you so much. We're talking about
birthdays and thanks and celebrations.
[1:40:20] So that's that sounds like what we're
doing today. Um yeah, so my mom
[1:40:24] celebrated her birthday. I told her I
would give her a shout out on the 31st
[1:40:27] of August. Uh wanted to wish her happy
belated birthday because we cannot
[1:40:32] forget our parents. Um so happy birthday
to your kids too. Um I also wanted to
[1:40:38] share my condolences to Beth. Welcome
back. I know that uh ladies and and
[1:40:43] gentlemen of the senior center are going
to be meeting I think at 1:00. Her
[1:40:47] funeral is actually on Thursday. So
they're going to be meeting at the
[1:40:50] senior center at 1 to go over to the
funeral home. So as stated, she's had
[1:40:55] that family has had a lot of loss. Um so
I'm sending them condolences and and
[1:40:59] prayers and I know she'll be deeply
missed. She's done a lot of good things
[1:41:04] over there in such a very short period
of time and she's adapted to try new
[1:41:08] things over there um new activities. So,
it's it's definitely going to be rough
[1:41:12] and, you know, sending everyone uh big
hugs. Um, thanks Ray for bringing up
[1:41:17] about the 988 signs. Uh, as Ray
mentioned, he he wears his his uh
[1:41:23] button, which is the 988 crisis line.
So, the lifeline. So, that's really
[1:41:29] important for those that are suffering.
Um, you know, I always say operate that
[1:41:34] everyone is suffering in silence. You
just don't know what they're dealing
[1:41:37] with. Um, you know, a few years back I
had a friend who was my age, very young,
[1:41:43] committed suicide and we shared videos,
positive videos all the time and it's
[1:41:47] just devastating. Um, you know, people
present with a happy face and you just
[1:41:52] don't know what they're dealing with.
So, you know, I always say just operate
[1:41:55] with kindness and operate with uh just
trying to be kind and trying to smile.
[1:42:01] And again, I mean, life is hard as it
is. We don't need to be grumpy all the
[1:42:04] time, right? Just smile. Um, I I wanted
to also mention really quickly I stepped
[1:42:10] into the um the role of GoodFellows um
as a co-president a few years back and
[1:42:15] we're starting to ramp up our season for
the Westland Goodfellows, the No
[1:42:19] Children Without a Christmas.
Applications this year will be actually
[1:42:23] digitized. Um, we're working to have
those available online the first week of
[1:42:28] October. And we will have a very limited
supply of them at Jefferson Barnes, but
[1:42:34] my gosh, Jefferson Barnes and and their
team are absolutely amazing. They were
[1:42:38] getting last minute drop drop offs and
people running in and trying to get
[1:42:43] paperwork and it just it got to be very
overwhelming. So, our goal is to have
[1:42:47] this a little bit more easier for those
that have access to online um
[1:42:52] applications and you can just, you know,
basically put your documents there and
[1:42:57] submit it and we'll have it. So, I'm
going to have more information at the
[1:43:00] next meeting, but just keep in mind if
you have a business or you want to get
[1:43:03] involved with Goodfellows, whether you
want to be a volunteer, we have hundreds
[1:43:06] of applications that we go through. Um
we have a packing program that we do. Uh
[1:43:12] we're always open to new volunteers. I'm
over there doing inventory to figure out
[1:43:16] what we got to buy. Um the season cost
us about $65,000.
[1:43:21] So that's a lot of money, but we help
out a lot of children. Um we provide
[1:43:26] every family with a food voucher in
addition to um children being adopted
[1:43:31] out or we give them a gift card and then
we give them a small bag of toys. So we
[1:43:36] really want to continue this. I have a
feeling this year is going to be the
[1:43:40] need's going to be there. So, if you're
interested, feel free to reach out to
[1:43:43] me. Um, I wanted to give a big shout out
to the Westland Police officers. I know
[1:43:48] it's been really hard on you guys
lately, um, following the news and these
[1:43:53] these domestic violence and suicides and
shootings and so, um, I'm going to be
[1:43:59] doing a ride along actually on Sunday,
uh, 12-hour shift. I'm really, really,
[1:44:03] really looking forward to kind of
understand what you guys go through. Um,
[1:44:06] our community officers are kind of
everywhere, but um, you know, our
[1:44:10] officers in general just work so hard
and I think about you guys often about
[1:44:15] mentally too because I don't I don't
know how you do it. I mean, every time I
[1:44:20] see something, I kind of break down and
and tear up and I think about the
[1:44:23] families. So, um, you know, I I think in
this month just try to be kind. You
[1:44:30] know, September's a hard month and back
to school. So, we'll have our next
[1:44:34] meeting on Monday, September 21st at 7.
Um, I want to thank everyone that came
[1:44:39] out today and spoke. I took a bunch of
notes. Um, I've had a long, long day,
[1:44:44] but um,
uh, I'll stay after. And one more thing,
[1:44:49] too, is if you could keep our colleague,
Councilwoman Rowski, in your prayers.
[1:44:52] She's she's dealing with a very hard
situation with her family right now. Um,
[1:44:57] emergency situation. So, please pray for
her. Um, and if you see her, just you
[1:45:02] don't have to tell her anything, but
just let her know that you're thinking
[1:45:04] of her. So, um, wanted to mention that
as well. But until then, be safe and
[1:45:09] kind with one another, and we'll see you
soon.
[1:45:12] » Thank you, Councilwoman Sampy. We'll now
hear from Prom Maxwell.
[1:45:15] » Okay. Uh, thank you, residents, for
coming out. We always appreciate your
[1:45:19] feedback. I will be staying with my
colleague, uh, President McDermick, to
[1:45:24] talk to you, Mr. Lewis, about the
situation. And um I want to say
[1:45:28] congratulations again to both Darl and
David on your reappoint being
[1:45:31] reappointed on the commission and uh we
will see you on September 21st. That's
[1:45:37] it.
>> Okay. Thank you Prom.
[1:45:41] Um few things from me tonight. Uh number
one, speaking of birthdays and
[1:45:45] celebrations, we just had a gentleman
right down there on the end celebrate a
[1:45:48] birthday. Uh that would be you,
Councilman Sullivan. So happy belated
[1:45:52] birthday to Councilman John Sullivan.
Um, happy birthday to you. Um,
[1:46:00] it was brought up regarding the
sidewalks that are getting done. So, the
[1:46:03] one that's going to be on Cherry Hill is
between Wayne Road up to Wildwood Road.
[1:46:08] It's going to be on the opposite side of
the street of the old Kmart. Um, so it's
[1:46:12] going to be done there as kids like walk
to school to Wildwood Elementary to
[1:46:15] close the sidewalk gaps there. And the
other one on Marman Road is going to be
[1:46:18] in front of the Mac Mayfield Municipal
Golf Course. So, if you know where the
[1:46:22] golf course is at on Marman Road,
there's a sidewalk gap there up to the
[1:46:26] old TCF Bank, which is um now the
healthc care center. We're going to be
[1:46:30] filling in that sidewalk gap there as
well. So, the one on Cherry Hills
[1:46:33] between Wayne and Wildwood and the other
ones right in front of the golf course
[1:46:37] on Marman. I know Hugh uh asked that
question.
[1:46:42] Um Ray, thank you for bringing up
suicide awareness month in 988. Um,
[1:46:48] suicide prevention is something that's
very personal to me. Um, I actually
[1:46:52] dealt with a a matter about a year and a
half ago here with a close friend and
[1:46:56] the Westland Police Department was a
huge help in that matter uh when I had
[1:46:59] to to go through that when more
importantly my friend had to go through
[1:47:03] with that. So, I want to thank Westland
PD for uh helping out in that situation.
[1:47:08] And uh you know, I'm glad things turned
out the way they ultimately did. And
[1:47:12] that 988 number that Ray talks about and
he's brought it up a number of times. We
[1:47:16] have it posted at parks here in Westland
and it's something that you can save in
[1:47:20] your phone and it's something that you
can share with a family member, a friend
[1:47:25] who's going through a tough situation or
something that you can use if you too
[1:47:28] are going through a tough situation and
if you have suicidal ideiations on your
[1:47:33] mind. So 988 uh it's different than a
regular emergency number. It goes
[1:47:38] directly to the suiciderevention hotline
and you can get help or you can call
[1:47:42] that number to get help for someone who
you know, who you love, who you care
[1:47:46] about so that we can prevent and end
suicide in our society. There is so much
[1:47:51] more that we need to do as a society, as
a government to take action on mental
[1:47:56] health, especially here in the state of
Michigan where for a number of years
[1:48:01] under multiple administrations under,
you know, Governor England in the 90s in
[1:48:04] particular and but under multiple
administrations, we really gutted and
[1:48:08] cut mental health here in the state of
Michigan. We closed a lot of our state
[1:48:11] facilities and a lot of those facilities
weren't that good uh to begin with. They
[1:48:16] institutionalized and warehoused people
and they stripped a lot of people of
[1:48:19] their dignity and their integrity. And
so we need to reform mental health. We
[1:48:23] need to put more funding into mental
health. But in the meantime, until we
[1:48:26] really do more on that debate, 988 is a
number that is available. Please spread
[1:48:32] it and share it with people that you
know or if you're experiencing suicidal
[1:48:36] ideations, please call it yourself.
As many of you are aware, we went
[1:48:41] through a round of severe storms and
there was a lot of damage throughout
[1:48:45] Westland. So, I hope that most of you
escaped with minimal to no damage. I
[1:48:49] know that some of you unfortunately did
not with down trees and limbs. And we
[1:48:53] know, of course, that some of you didn't
escape without losing your power. Now,
[1:48:57] you know, DTE has nothing to do with the
storm itself. We can't blame them for
[1:49:03] that, but we can blame them for the
response times and for people being out
[1:49:08] of power for four, five, six, seven days
at a time. And I'll give credit where
[1:49:12] credit is due. DT has gone through the
last two years here in West End and made
[1:49:15] a number of infrastructure improvements
in our community, trimming more trees,
[1:49:20] um trying to upgrade some of the
transformer boxes, but the turnaround
[1:49:24] time here in Westland and across Metro
Detroit when people are out of power,
[1:49:28] when businesses are out of power is
still woefully inadequate. and you know
[1:49:32] very unacceptable and that's why I've
been a continued advocate for a public
[1:49:38] power initiative similar to what they're
doing and looking into in Ann Arbor with
[1:49:42] Ann Arbor for public power and similar
[snorts] to what other communities like
[1:49:45] we do down river lancing with the
Lancing board of light and power in
[1:49:49] Traverse City already have a public
power initiative where we the people
[1:49:53] collectively own our power and take it
out of the hands of for-profit uh
[1:49:58] shareholder driven companies like DTE
who are just as accountable to Wall
[1:50:02] Street shareholders and uh turning a
profit and paying out uh dividends as
[1:50:08] they are to us as their paying [snorts]
customers. So, um it's very unfortunate
[1:50:14] that people sit for days on end uh
without power and have to throw out
[1:50:18] hundreds of dollars worth of groceries
or medication in their refrigerator or
[1:50:21] have to go to a relative's house or pay
money to stay at a hotel.
[1:50:26] Um, sounds like it was a great event as
Deputy Mayor Godbaugh mentioned for the
[1:50:30] She Rocks uh women of Westland event. I
too was unable to um be there because I
[1:50:36] was uh on a vacation at that time, but
I'm glad to see that uh many of my
[1:50:40] colleagues uh on the city council were
able to uh participate in the event and
[1:50:46] I hope to be able to go here in future
years.
[1:50:50] Um, as I already mentioned earlier,
thank you to the Westland Police
[1:50:53] Department and Chief Dolly for bringing
forward the extension on the Hyera
[1:50:57] contract with uh Jennifer Guzala. She
does a outstanding job as a social
[1:51:01] worker here in Westland and we're
certainly very appreciative of
[1:51:04] Jennifer's work and to the PD for
bringing that forward and to Chief
[1:51:08] Dolly's leadership. So, thank you very
much uh for that and for our Westland
[1:51:13] Police Department and our unions for,
you know, working with us on that very
[1:51:19] important issue.
And then, uh, one thing I wanted to
[1:51:23] mention too, coming up on Saturday,
September 19th from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00
[1:51:29] p.m. is the Norway Community Citizens
Council Rosie the Riveter Tea
[1:51:34] Fundraiser. If you are interested in
supporting the Norway Community Citizens
[1:51:38] Council and supporting them financially,
you can come to the Rosie T fundraiser.
[1:51:44] It's going to be over at the Jefferson
Barnes Community Vitality Center. You
[1:51:48] can go to the Norway Community Citizens
Council Facebook page, find the flyer,
[1:51:52] and find out how you can purchase a
ticket to join us at the Rosie the
[1:51:56] Riveter T fundraiser on Saturday,
September 19th from 11:30 a.m. to 2 pm.
[1:52:01] And all the proceeds do go back to the
Norway Community Citizens Council and
[1:52:06] the work that we do not only in Norway
community but in supporting people,
[1:52:11] kids, families
all over the city of Westland and
[1:52:17] beyond. And with that, if you need
anything from me, feel free to reach out
[1:52:21] to me at 73489-2146
[1:52:25] on my cell phone right here. Find me on
Facebook at Councilman Mike McDermott or
[1:52:30] shoot me an email. And with that is our
motion to adjourn.
[1:52:44] » [music]