Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We'd like to call the City of Benton Harbor Commission meeting to order. The regular meeting, Monday, August 17, 2026, 7 p.m. We begin with an invocation by Commissioner Isom, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance from the City Manager, Mr. Alex Little. I'll rise.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Clark Griffin. Present. Commissioner Fields. Present. Commissioner Henderson. Present. Commissioner Henry. Present. Commissioner Isom. Present. Commissioner Kennard. Present. Commissioner Warren. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Turner. Present. Mayor Muhammad.

Present.

We have a quorum.

This brings us to the approval of minutes. Regular minutes, August 3, 2026. Closed session minutes, August 3, 2026. Is there a motion for the approval?

Make a motion.

Motion is made by Commissioner Henderson and supported by Commissioner Fields. Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Clerk Griffin? Yes. Commissioner Fields? Yes. Commissioner Henderson? Yes. Commissioner Henry? Yes. Commissioner Isom? Yes. Commissioner Kennard? Yes. Commissioner Warren? Yes. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Turner? Yes. Mayor Muhammad? Yes. Motion carried.

This brings us to approval of accounts payable listings. Is there a motion for the approval? So moved. Motion is made by Commissioner Henderson and supported by Mayor Pro Tem Turner. Is there discussion or comment? Carrying none, Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Fields? Yes. Commissioner Henderson? Yes. Commissioner Henry? No. Commissioner Isom? Yes. Commissioner Kennard?

Yes.

Commissioner Warren? Yes. Commissioner Clark-Griffin? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Turner? Yes. Mayor Muhammad? Yes. Motion carried.

This brings us to our monthly update from our County Commissioner, the Honorable Mamiel Yarbrough.

Representing the city of Benton Harbor at the county of Berrien and that is the fourth district Thank you so much for this opportunity I'm not good at keeping up with years. I wish I knew how long I had been doing this but my Berrien County Commissioner term was two years and I'm now in my 21st year and so I have been really enjoying it and There's so many things I've learned and so many people I've met and so many things I've seen done, how to do it and how not to do it. And so what I like to do is bring to you all some numbers and just so you can, I like to keep up with the money so you can just have some idea of what is happening in our county. When I give you these numbers, it's about Marion County. It's not just about the city of Benton Harbor. I want to tell you about the voting turnout. It was the early voting. There were 619 people that did the early voting. And what they did was, and I didn't know this before, but a city or township can come out of the regular voting and do all their own voting. collecting or whatever, and Benton Charter Township and Bainbridge Township chose to do that in the last two elections we've had. And so they had early voting at Benton Charter Township, and they had early voting, which was Marion County's early voting, at one place, and it was in Bridgman. And they did that because the first, when they started doing early voting, they were having it, you know, like in a lot of places. And some places no one came. Some places maybe one person came. So in the early voting, and you could only vote in Benton Charter Township for early voting if you lived in Benton Charter Township. Everyone else would have had to go to Bridgeman and vote there. And the voter turnout was 25.82%. And the total voters that voted in the last election that we had was 34,838 and it was so many people we didn't know or just so it seemed like unusual about everything that was going on. Our regular vote will be in November. for all those seats, the governor, and a lot of the things we were looking for, the names, and they were not on the ballot. And I was talking to people, and I said, well, turn it over. It wasn't there either. So we must pay good attention and get more people. So then I want to tell you about the tax sale. It too happens, you know, properties that are three years behind in taxes are in this group and they have an opportunity and our treasurer has been really good at being in places and study where they could come hopefully and understand better and make payment plans or understand what's happening to them. I don't have final dollars that we made because of the fall of 2008. When one time I came and I told you about the tax sale and all, I think it was 1,400 properties. And with her meeting in those cities on a certain day, and it got where they knew what day that was, and she stayed as long as needed, it brought it down to where there were 100 and, where did I just say it? I lost it. 128 properties. Some were vacant lands, some were businesses, some were houses. And 94 bids were made. And so they do not have the dollars earned yet. But there is something you can do. Up to September 25th, look at that site. Burien County Treasurer Shelly White tax sale, and that some people may not have paid for the property. So it's still in there. It's still out there. And what they do is they will go to the next person that had bid, the next highest, and make the offer to them, but it still may be floating, not bought, and you can see about it if you're interested. And then the next auction, the last that's left of these properties, and I don't know how many there are, will be October 30th. Well, I have $100 here. Oh, you have to put $100 down, whereas with the regular first one, it's $1,000. So that's how that goes. That's everything I know. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. And again, I thank you for my name on the building because we were at a family reunion, and people from Detroit and different places said, we know your name is on the building. And so I thank you. I'm so pleased by that, and I thank you all for your care for me. Thank you.

Thank you. This brings us to our citizens comments. There's a three minute maximum first speaker. Please sign in with the clerk and she will call you as written. Madam clerk.

Michael Hoy.

OKAY. GOOD EVENING.

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION LATELY. IT'S KIND OF COOLED DOWN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GENE CLOCK PARK. I'M FORTUNATE TO HAVE A SLAY OF INFORMATION ON GENE CLOCK PARK. MY INTENTION IS TO GET WITH NICK WHEN HE GETS BACK FROM VACATION AND GET THIS ALL DIGITALIZED AND PUT ONLINE SO PEOPLE CAN REALLY SEE. THIS IS JUST THE GENE CLOCK PARK CONVERSION AND MITIGATION PROPOSAL. Okay, that's just the proposal. That's just the beginnings of it. You can see how much I've thumbed through it. And then over here you have the park improvements and maintenance agreement. Well, not only that, but there's also addendums to that that kept layering on top of layers on top of layers. Fortunately, we have also, from 2006, the correspondence between Cornerstone and their faxes between all the different changes that were being made. BACK TO APRIL 13, 2006. OH, WAIT, THERE'S A REALLY GREAT PART HERE ABOUT THE PARK. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE EVEN KNOW THIS, BUT PERMITTED USE MEANS THE PUBLIC GOLF COURSE IS RELATED TO THE USE OF NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE THE PUBLIC FACILITIES. WE ACTUALLY HAVE RIGHTS TO THE WHOLE PARK ALL YEAR LONG. TO USE IT FOR ANYTHING THAT WE WANT, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE ALSO A TON This is when it went to the state Supreme Court, and this is the dissertation that was given at the state Supreme Court. And these are all the personnel finance committee and what was actually sold and what was litigated, what was given, what was exchanged, what wasn't exchanged, what was given back, and things of that nature. There's a lot of different layers to it. So with this, it's too much history for just one person to have. That's why I'm going to put it out there. SO PEOPLE CAN HAVE A NARRATIVE AS TO WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, AND OTHER PEOPLE CAN FILL IN THE DOTS OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAS TAKEN PLACE AND WHAT WAS GIVEN UP, WHAT WAS AN EXCHANGE, AND WHAT TOOK PLACE TO ACTUALLY HELP PROGRESS THE CITY TO MOVE FORWARD AS IT COMES TO GENE CLOCK PARK. BECAUSE, AGAIN, THIS IS TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR JUST ONE PERSON TO HAVE, AND I WANT TO GET IT OUT INTO THE PUBLIC, AND THAT'S MY INTENTIONS TO DO SO. AND THIS IS ONLY PART OF IT, SO BEAR WITH ME. It's going to take place, okay? Thank you. It also talks about golf carts and dogs on the park.

No more comments.

Thank you. This brings us to our consent calendar. Is there a motion for the approval of the consent calendar, or are there any items that should be separated? Okay. The motion is made by Commissioner Warren. It is supported by Commissioner Henderson. Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Henderson? Yes. Commissioner Henry? Yes. Commissioner Isom? Yes. Commissioner Kennard? Yes. Commissioner Warren? Yes. Commissioner Clark-Griffin? Yes. Commissioner Fields? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Turner? Yes. Mayor Mohamed? Yes.

Yes. This brings us to our staff communication. I want to recognize our deputy, no, our, I'm so used to the deputy, but our chief of police and public safety director, Director Dan McGinnis.

Thank you, sir. Good evening. We've been watching and monitoring. Of course, I do, me and my crew do the processing now.

Whatever it takes to keep our streets clean, because if you fix the streets, it's an upkeep still, else we're going to end up with the same problems. And I did hear about, here at Gene Clark Park, about the different things that are happening is supposed to be in writing, that is supposed to be in our best interest to pay attention to. Now there's the rose pink that was becoming extinct. They could find it no place else but here at our dunes. I'd like to check in to see if that rose pink is still there. Because it's in violation if that particular plant is not yet there and flourishing on those dunes. Because once there was... a lease, it was leased out, they were supposed to be protecting that. And if that plant is no longer there, it is extinct, and then we're going to have a serious problem because there's a violation there. So I want you to pay close attention to the things that are sometimes on book, just like the finance director. we're supposed to have them in place. And if we don't have them in place, then we've got a problem here. Who do we look to to make sure things are operating as it should? So we're just looking for our people that are in place to step up and make sure these things happen. I wish all of you a blessed week. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Commissioner Henry of the Third Ward.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. I JUST WANT TO THANK THE CITIZENS FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND SEEING US ON YOUTUBE. IT'S A NEW DAY IN BENTON HARBOR. WE JUST NEED MORE INPUT FROM YOU, RESIDENTS, PLEASE. AND THERE'S SOME STILL SEATS THAT ARE MISSING ON OUR COMMITTEES. WE NEED YOU, THAT'S FOUR HOURS A MONTH. That's all it is. So we really need your input on a lot of stuff that's going on. If you haven't gotten involved with the Riverview Riverfront project, you really need to because that's probably the last pioneering territory that Benton Harbor has. So you need to know where you fit in as residents.

Thank you.

Chair recognizes Second Ward Commissioner Warren.

Thank you, Honorable Mayor. The Second Ward had the community sale last weekend. It went very good. Great time to get rid of clutter in the shop, so we enjoyed that. Just a reminder, I'm working on our town hall. I'm hoping we can have it at the library again. But I really need people to actually attend. Normally, when we had a town hall, we may get 10 or 11. And out of those people, half of them do not even live in the second ward. So I will have the date published. I'll put some flyers out. And like I said, we definitely need some participation for a second ward town hall. The third thing I want to talk about is I had mentioned a few meetings ago about my youth program in the summer with the Boys and Girls Club. And those youth who created businesses is going to be doing a Benton Harbor Tiger Edition. So if anyone wants to order bracelets or things like that, the youth will be selling those things throughout the school year. So they're pretty excited about that. And Commissioner Henry talked about it, but definitely if you guys can come out to the Riverview meetings tomorrow, there's one, I believe it starts at 530. That's correct, 530. So let your voice be heard. It's definitely very important for people who live in a community to speak up about what you want to see in your community. Thank you.

The chair recognizes Commissioner, the first ward, Commissioner Henderson.

Honorable Mayor, and I'd just like to thank everyone for coming out tonight and everyone who's listening. Just wanted to continue to remind people of the progress that has happened in the city, the corner of Wall Street project that is happening, that people will be moving in soon, Project T, where we have our first home buyer, I think, which was our police chief, a fire chief that owns one of those properties. Project T or Project Terrarium. So he was one of the first people to move in there. The Charette that is happening, there was a presentation tonight. There'll be one tomorrow night and then also Thursday. So please come out. Hood News, I'd love to see you show up and put that on the internet so that people can participate that way because there are some positive things happening in the community and this is a great opportunity to give your input, to say what you'd like to see along the Riverview because it will be developed and we want people to show up for those kinds of things because if you were looking at the videos there were not very many people of color in that room to give input about Riverview But we'll hear how it's not for us. But people are not showing up for those meetings. So we need you to show up for that. I participated in the Legacy Walk and Run this weekend. The class of 74 had a whole thing the weekend. And it was just great. There were a lot of people who participated in that. And it was just a wonderful event. And I'll just say this. One plants, one waters, but God gives the increase. And that is what you see happening in Benton Harbor. There were many projects that started under different administrations, and we just planted those. Some of those people just planted those. Specifically, Ruthie Harrelson was here when we started Project T. She didn't get to see us. She wasn't here. To celebrate it in that way, but she was one of the people who helped to start that project And so again one plants one waters But God gives the increase and that's what the story of Benton Harbor has been and that's what it is We may not be here sitting on this council But we and many have been a part of the growth and the success of the city so thank you for coming out and again show up tomorrow and Wednesday and then on Thursday to give your input for the Riverview that will be developed. And have a great evening.

Thank you. Chair recognizes Commissioner at large, Deidre Fields.

Thank you. I would like to thank those present, especially when you see faces that are just people trying to be connected for various reasons, as well as those that watch online. Even though I feel like we should push it more, I feel that people actually watch the replay, if you will. And so events that I would like to highlight myself is reiterating what colleagues have said in regards to our riverfront or downtown area listening sessions and brainstorming sessions. I came from there here on tonight, and then the next two for the week is actually Tuesday and Thursday at 5.30. You get to see the drafts. You get to have the conversation with various individuals that are there. It was nice to see those that work with college shoes as well as elementary students. And so we're being creative and deciding and trying to figure out other meetings to occur because it's not only They're open to come into other spaces and places. Andrew was actually at the farmer's market this week, Wednesday, connecting him with Ricky Hill to go on to the radio station. So we just need to have our input. And, again, it's also the QR code, worst case, if you can't be present. And then on Thursday, September 3rd, there will be a cleanup at the Benton Harbor Children, Youth, Young Adult Center. community garden on Broadway, 566. And on September 12th, it will be a garden party, which will be at Flourish. And this is a collaboration with 4-H. Noah has, I don't know if you guys don't all know Noah, but he is not even originally from Bent Harbor. He has background in agriculture. I'm intended to connect him with Commissioner Kennard, but He's excited about all things gardening and all things youth. So we really do need to utilize him. I actually met him myself last year at the farmer's market. So again, on September 3rd is the garden or the garden cleanup. The 12th is actually the garden party. August 28th, I'm sorry, Friday, August 28th will be the 2026 Benton Harbor Bike Party. This year starting at Hall Park and it's eight miles and it's the startup time will be 6 p.m. So you get to come. and engage prior to maybe we can do a walk of the park in regards to what has been done so far. And then on September 27th, which is a Saturday, I'll have my all things wellness in Hall Park as well. 12 o'clock is the start time. And that'll be it for me. Again, thank you all for being here and for just tuning in.

Would you like to yield the last minute to your special advisor? Not tonight?

No. Sorry.

All right. Thank you. We just wanted to give her opportunity. The chair recognizes Commissioner at Large and our chairman of the Personal and Finance Committee, Commissioner Issa.

Madam Premier, I'd just like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. And I have no comments.

So I just want to thank everybody for coming out and I just want to thank the City Commission for your leadership. Although we have our disagreements and we have our dialogue, but when I look at, you know, things happening around the country, natural disasters, You know, a lot of different things have happened in Michigan, but Benton Harbor has been protected and we have continued to work together to move Benton Harbor forward. From Governor Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist, a special tribute to the city of Benton Harbor 160th anniversary. And it reads, let it be known that it is with genuine pleasure and deep gratitude that we recognize the city of Benton Harbor on the occasion of their 160th anniversary celebration. This milestone is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and community spirit of all who call this city home. In 1860, the settlement was originally laid out as Brunson Harbor, by founders Stern Brunson, Henry C. Morton, and Charles Hall. A ship canal was constructed through the local wetlands to connect with the river. They successfully transformed the area into a thriving port and a center for manufacturing and agricultural trade. In 1866, the community was formally organized and renamed Benton Harbor to honor U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who championed Michigan's admission to statehood. Over the past 160 years, Benton Harbor has navigated economic shifts with strength and a commitment to progress. From its roots as a fruit shipping center, to its modern-day dedication to revitalization, infrastructure upgrades, and local progress. Benton Harbor reflects the very best of our state spirit. In special tribute, therefore, this document is signed and dedicated to the City of Benton Harbor. In celebration of its 160th anniversary, we join with the entire City of Benton Harbor to reflect on this rich history and look forward to the future. We wish the entire city continued success for the next 160 years. Garland Gilchrist II, Lieutenant Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, Governor, the 103rd legislator at Lansing. We'd just like to ask residents to reflect as Michael Hoy oft times comes like a voice in the wilderness reminding us of the great legacy and history as he preserves what the historical society of Benton Harbor keeping it alive. And as I went to Philadelphia and just learned about their role in the 250th anniversary of the United States, it was absolutely mind boggling at how the founding fathers constructed a document that we know as the Constitution to govern this nation. And one of the things that they pointed out to us, which brings me back to Benton Harbor, the character and how cities have shaped the democracy. We think about states, we think about the country as a whole, the union, but it has been certain cities that has constructed the character of this country. And Benton Harbor has played a major role in the construction of the character of the state of Michigan. Some of the great, great thinkers and great people have come from Benton Harbor as well as lawmakers, entertainers, et cetera. But Benton Harbor has a very special place. So I do want to dedicate the last 20 seconds to one of our employees that passed away. So if we can just give a moment of silence for Ms. Deborah Chubb. Thank you. Is there a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Motion is made by Mayor Pro Tem Turner and supported by Commissioner Fields. Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Clark-Griffin? Absolutely, yes. Commissioner Fields? Yes. Commissioner Henderson? Yes. Commissioner Henry? Yes. Commissioner Isom? Yes. Commissioner Kennard? Yes. Commissioner Warren? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Turner? Yes. Mayor Muhammad? Yes. Motion carried.