City Council - Regular Meeting

I'll call the City Council meeting to order the regular council meeting of June 8 2026. It is now 6 30 p.m Clerk can you please call the roll?

Councilman Aaron here Councilman Fleming here councillor Gerald's Mayor pro Tim Muir here councillor Rohrbach here councillor Wright And mayor Haynes

I am here. Can I get a motion from council to excuse Councillor Wright? He did call in ahead of the meeting. Yes.

Motion to excuse Councillor Wright.

Okay. We have a motion. Is there a second? Yes. All right. Motion in support. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed say no. Motion carries. Next, we'll have the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance by Councillor Rohrbach. If all those that are able to, please stand.

As we begin tonight's meeting, let us take a moment to reflect on the values that strengthen our community of freedom, respect, service, and care for one another. This month, as we celebrate Pride Month, we recognize the importance of ensuring that every person feels welcomed, valued, and free to live authentically. We also congratulate this year's graduating seniors whose hard work and determination marked the beginning of new opportunities and responsibilities. May we approach tonight's work with open minds, compassionate hearts, and a shared commitment to building a community where love, dignity, and opportunity are available to all. Let us work together in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect for the benefit of those we serve. I pledge allegiance.

Okay, next up, can I get a motion from council to appoint Annette Boucher as the acting city clerk for tonight's meeting?

Your Honor.

Yes.

So moved.

Okay, we have a motion. Do we have support? Your Honor.

Yes.

Support. Motion and support. Any discussion? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. Motion carries. Next up is approval of the agenda. Are there any additions or deletions this evening?

Your Honor. Yes. Okay. We want to add on the agenda... TO APPROVE THE REPORTS AS ITEM 6A, TENTATIVE AGREEMENT EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2029, WITH THE SUPERVISORS UNION. AND 6B, TENTATIVE AGREEMENT EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026, TO JUNE 30, 2029, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES UNION.

OKAY. THANK YOU. to add under reports 6A, Supervisors Union Agreement, and 6B, the Department of Public Services Agreement.

Do we have a second?

Your Honor.

Yes.

Support.

All right. We have motion and support. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. The motion carries. Moving on in the agenda, next up is the meeting open to the public. Before I open the meeting to the public, just a reminder, You have a limit of three minutes, and please approach the podium and direct all comments towards me. All right. Hearing of the public is now open. Go ahead.

No problem. President Sergio Vasmejan for 32371 Dequindre. If you want me to just plead my case about it, I can say that now if I have three minutes. You know, last time we were here in front of you, We lost by four to three, and many councilmen voiced their opinion that they wished that it had an auto sales component, and they also voiced their opinion that the city collectively had spent so much time with the master plan, they didn't want to deviate from that. Obviously, from that time, which was a couple months ago, we spoke with the city and also with the operator and made major material modifications to the site plan, adding the approved zoning plan Component of auto sales. Open up the front by two 25-foot windows where before the whole front was not changed. And fully remilling the parking lot where before when it was in front of you it was only going to be patch repair and landscape improvements. So all in all, this is a win-win in my opinion for the city, but obviously it's your decision. It's harmonious to the surrounding businesses. It's developing a 15-year-old vacant property that's just been sitting there. major parking lot improvements, major visual improvements, huge water retention that's obviously going to save the city. Right now everything's going into the sewer with the bioswales that's going to be avoided. And it's also following the master plan. Like I said, there's two similar businesses just south of that in that zone area. And again, any negative component of having auto repair is negated in this spot because it's fully surrounded by industrial and all the parking lot This property is all in the back, so you don't see anything that's going to go on with this. So from the side, all you'll see is a brand-new remilled property. And also, we're not even looking at the $500,000 to $800,000 in financial capital improvements that it's going to do, which will obviously benefit the city as well. So thank you for your time, guys.

Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Anyone else like to speak?

Martha Covert, Edward Avenue. City went through hell last week. We can't deny it. But I need to know, I'm old school. Do we still have decorum to where we don't yoo-hoo and adjourn meetings? What about somebody sitting and making hissing cat noises at Jeffrey Sherman as he spoke at the, what was that, a workshop? How is that acceptable? People, we have to We have to honor something. I know things change. I'm not trying to say things, but that kind of stuff, really? Can we be a little more respectful, especially of our city attorneys and our city counselors? Let's see. Oops, sorry. Should that kind of action cause someone to be possibly removed from a board committee commission if they're going to act like that? That's something I would like an answer to. Where does it say how you can disrespect people in an open meeting but still hold your position. I want an answer. I'm not taking a, we'll get back to you. No, 24 hours, please, and I'd like an answer. We've asked people to come in today to speak on things that they saw or heard that upset them. They said, no, we're afraid of the repercussions after what happened. People, I'm not afraid. Send me emails. You already do. Send me DMs. You already do. I don't care. But can't we just get along? Good Lord, I'm one of the hardest head people you're ever going to meet, and I can still get along with people. If I can do it, anybody can. It's not that hard. Excuse me. This whole thing could have been shut down if after that meeting on Monday night, Mark Bliss and Jen Nagel had come to Corey and Melissa and said, We already asked to use the JC building, but it was busy. You two came together and found a way to get it opened up for them to use. So if they had already asked and it They got told no. Why did they say something to you Monday after I made the mention about using a room? Why didn't we try to fix it then instead of putting our city through shit, excuse my language, for a week? That was crazy. We don't need to hate each other. We may not agree on politics. We may not agree on what color the street signs are. But for God's sakes, we all have to live in the city. And by the way, a female impersonator is not a drag queen. Can we stop trying to mix the two? Mrs. Doubtfire is not a drag queen. This is Doubtfire is a female impersonator. What is the guy? He's a cute little guy anyway. Oh, he goes by Del Rio, Bianca Del Rio. That is a drag queen. The gentleman that read to the children, that was a drag queen. And Mark keeps telling me I'm wrong. Well, I'm not. When I'm right about something, I'll go to the mat. Stop infusing that. It's not the same.

Okay, thank you.

Hello, my name is Dot Madison. My spouse and I live at 27692 Dartmouth Street. And we've lived in the area for almost five years now. We are both trans, and we're both very proud of that fact. We're proud members of the LGBTQ community. I grew up in a very rural area in Western New York as a preacher's kid. I didn't know what a drag queen was until I was in high school. I found out what a drag queen was because I was in my costume and makeup for the musical, and someone told me I looked like a drag queen. I didn't know what he meant until I got home and Googled it. I was horrified, not because I was embarrassed that he called me that, but because in some ways the pieces were coming together in my head. I felt like a drag queen in that makeup and in the dress. Turns out it's because I was a guy wearing makeup and a dress. I didn't know that then. I just felt wrong. I felt like I didn't fit, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. That same year, I remember writing out a suicide note that I had planned for my family to find. Luckily, I didn't go further than writing out that note. I wouldn't come out until at least ten years later, but I'm so grateful that I didn't go through with that plan. My life together with my spouse is so precious to me and far more than I ever could have imagined. If I had seen a drag queen as a kid or had known it was okay for me to step outside the gender box that society puts us in at birth, I would have been so much less likely to consider suicide. And this is why something that seems as frivolous as drag queen story time is important. Because kids don't know what's possible until they see it in action. These days, there aren't very many gay or trans older adults that are visible for obvious reasons. We lost almost a whole generation of gay men and trans women during the AIDS epidemic. Also, it is often unsafe for us to be visible out in the world. Our very existence, as you all know now, is seen as lewd or sexual when we just want to be seen and maybe even spend time with our families. Kids included. I suppose these are the things that I would have been telling you on the night you voted to prohibit drag queen story time. But I didn't know that meeting was happening. Which brings me to my biggest point tonight. How did this happen? I am no stranger to working with volunteers. I have spent a decade running youth programming and summer camps and working with youth. You have about 30 seconds left. I hope you trust your volunteers because they know what they're doing. Mr. Mayor, you told me that you would move mountains to make a wrong right. And I hope that next time you move mountains to make your volunteers listened to, supported, and defended. I can't tell you how much this moment means to the LGBTQ community. Many organizations have said that we are facing a transgender genocide here, a transgender genocide. And I was going to read you the names of many trans people who have been killed. or have committed suicide to use up my time. And I obviously have used my time. I just want to say thank you to Councilor Rohrbach and Councilor Gerald and Councilor Wright for speaking up for the LGBTQ community and for their volunteers.

Thank you.

Good evening everyone. I am a Madison Heights resident of 40 years. By now you all know that I live here. I'm here not with a bag of inconsequential irrelevant props as witnessed at the first workshop by someone trying to make a point. But with heartfelt sentiments about fairness and equality for residents in this city. After the initial vote on the drag queens, why was the issue not ended there? Out of respect for our city leaders, it should have ended there. Why did the losing side run to the press with misinformation? It has caused nothing but division and strife in our community and is tearing it apart, not uniting it. After scrolling many comments, it was evident that many people are not on board with a drag queen reading to little kids in a public park, regardless if it's in a building or not. Furthermore, if it was so terribly important, why after so many years of the Arts and Prides Festival is it so absolutely important to have one this year? This year. I think many people are reading into the motives of this decision. There are way too many committees and subcommittees. Communication between them is more difficult when there are so many, and it enabled this to happen. Many would question if it was by design. I would like to suggest that the HREC allow the Arts Board to handle all of the event planning for events such as this. It will streamline the process and minimize details slipping through the cracks and escaping accountability. As I have said many times before, social issues should be left off of the agenda of a city. Social issues have way too many polarizing topics, and there are often intense disagreements between both sides, which only causes division in a city. We tout our city as being the city of progress, but who gets to decide what progress is, is my question. Progress should be accomplishments that everyone can agree on, such as fixing the city clock and fixing the roads. Many are still disappointed that more attention hasn't been given to the America 250 celebration. But wait, I did see the 250 flag up for a couple of days. If the city of progress is our motto, Perhaps the theme song for the special guest performance yesterday should be the end of the innocence. Thank you for your time.

Okay, thank you. Anybody else wish to be heard?

So I'm Mary Harp. I'm a resident of Madison Heights. First, I want to thank the council for making sure that the drag queen story hour was actually in a building and not out in a public space. Moving forward, our position is clear. We ask that these events, if you want to hold them, should be held in private businesses, the businesses that want to sponsor the events, rather than any public-owned building. To understand why many families feel this way, we have to look at history. And the origin of gay pride is rooted in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. These are a human rights movement focused on adult citizens demanding rights to live privately and free from government harassment. Over the decades, however, it's evolved to a highly sexualized public spectacle, and we've all seen this, even the community has to admit. And that's not happening here, but we've seen this happen, and it's really not appropriate for children. It's not. This isn't just an opinion of concerned parents. It's echoed by the performers themselves. Well-known drag queens, such as Kitty DeMere, they spoke on publicly that drag queen story hour. It's not, it's historically an adult art form. It is not meant to be in front of toddlers or children. Furthermore, we've all seen the widely circulated videos, evidence of some of these drag performances just being inappropriate, going into inappropriate costumes, inappropriate dance routines. To put this in perspective, Gallup data shows that roughly 9% of the whole US adult population identifies as LGBTQ+. And of that, the LGB subsets, only 8.3%. A city the size of Madison Heights is roughly 28,000 people. That's a very small demographic. And while everyone here deserves equal rights, cultural programming in shared public spaces is unacceptable. Then proponents, they always point out to, what about the movie Mrs. Doubtfire? But that's a false equivalence. Mrs. Doubtfire is a family comedy about a desperate man who is a father using a disguise to spend time with his children. It was not an extension of adult nightclub culture and it contained no sexualized choreography. I fully support parental sovereignty. If a parent wants to take their children to see a drag queen, I support that right. But it needs to be in a place where they choose to go and not in a space where innocent children are exposed. Finally, the behavior surrounding this debate must change. Calling residents names because you lack a valid argument, bullying council members, threatening lawsuits, Just to get your rate is completely unacceptable. And giving in to that rewards their bad behavior. But true inclusivity means respecting everyone. So I want to let you know that to ensure equal protection for those who celebrate being heterosexual, there is a coalition, and we're working to present a resolution designating a straight Pride Month. And we really expect this whole council is going to unanimously approve that. So thank you.

Thank you. Hi, good evening. Yes, Michael Kinnunen, 27727 Barrington Street. As I was telling Councilor Geralds, this month will be 10 years as a Madison Heights resident. For this stint, I was also a resident for five years, 2001 to 2006. So I'm standing before you this evening just to, you know, say that, yeah, last week, I think you said it best, last week put this city through hell. You know, even though everything did work out in the end, you know, and you guys, the council and mayor's office ultimately did the right thing, there's still a couple of issues that I have regarding the 6-1 meeting. It seems that the special vote was an impulsive reaction from council and the mayor's office based on general misinformation and personal opinions from a select few, and that's a little bit of an overreach for our city government. This was if Things were an issue before the 6-1 meeting. Why wasn't it addressed at the last council meeting or sooner than that? It seems as if this event was being planned for a while and that things seem to be pretty transparent. So to me, these coming up at the last minute, they seem like it's kind of in bad actions. Further, it seems that there were some procedural errors when it comes to parliamentary procedure for when the meeting began with the opening statement by Assistant City Attorney Sherman based on the transcript. When interjecting a personal story to possibly sway votes before debate is called, that's a direct violation of Roberts' rules of parliamentary procedure. And that should not be allowed. He should have been able to do his anecdote in the debate section. I see nowhere in the transcript that any procedural rules were suspended during that meeting. And if they were suspended, that's one thing. But if they weren't and he was allowed to speak like that, that's a definite red flag. Further, it seems that the speakers that were selected were almost specifically hand-picked to railroad a not-so-public opinion of a select few. And again, sway votes of the council through misinformation and opinions. The optics of this is frankly not good and could be defined as a gross display of overreach in addition to a display of mismanagement of authority because of, again, misinformation and personal feelings by a select few. The actions of the meeting would have, if things hadn't worked out by the end of the week, It would have excluded many Madison Heights citizens, especially those in the LGBTQ plus community. I want to be in a city that is inclusive to all. And these actions could have driven a wedge of division into the very fabric of our city if it hasn't already.

Sir, you only have a few more seconds.

Pardon me?

You only have a few more seconds.

Okay. Well, you know, I'm glad that you guys did the right thing. And, you know, hopefully... please watch your parliamentary procedure. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else wish to be heard?

All right. Hey, I'm Jeff Hilliard. Sherry Park. McGilvery Park. I haven't brought my glasses so I could... My other name's Bobo Bliss, but that's good. I would just like to say I'm not I don't think that the decision kind of went back and forth. I thought it wasn't the right decision for me. Council made a decision. How you got to that decision, I'm definitely interested in. I'm interested in if there were harassment, if there was perceived harassment, if there were threats. I don't see the rainbow of love in any of the communications that went back and forth on the social side of the community. I'd love to see, I'm not sure if FOIA will gather those. And then the last thing I would say is from a legal perspective, it appears that when we have a challenging issue in the city and the council over the last 10, 15 years, I've been around 30, maybe 40 years. I know I don't look that old. But, thanks. I would just like to say when a hard issue comes, it appears that we get from our city council recommendations. And the first challenge that comes to that recommendation, the city attorney, maybe I'm saying the wrong name, the city attorney then, there seems to be some pressure to change, hey, we've got to do something different than what we recommended. You can look at the marijuana debate, the number of locations, who recommended it, who wrote the ordinance. Then it came back to the same attorney, only to say we don't think it will withstand scrutiny to deny this, that, or the other. I just think that when we look at that, I was hoping, I don't know what the vote count was. I heard it was 6-1. I heard it was 6-0. I heard one person didn't show up, but they weren't changing their vote. I heard their vote counted. Their vote didn't count. I'd love to see that. Maybe it's in the minutes. But I would have hoped, whether the vote was 4-3 to hold the event, Or was 4-3 to not sponsor the event? I don't think the word ban was anywhere in the language that I saw. But with that said, I would have hoped that people would have stood on their principle. If they solidly believed and it was legal, that they could vote against it or vote for it. I'm just very interested in the details. If FOIA works, I'll try that. If not, I'd love to speak to the city attorney to identify, you know, what it was that we experienced. And I would hope that the council, if you were bullied or harassed, your family was harassed over a decision, that you would put it out to the community in front of your peers so that they understand that, hey, this can't happen every time, all the time. And I'll leave it at that. Thanks. Thank you.

Anybody else wish to be heard? Yes, Kevin.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My name is Kevin Wright. I live at 735 Canterbury Drive, and I'm on the Board of Directors of Mass. Citizens United. As you might guess, I came to talk about a different topic tonight than our neighbors have spoke about, because this body's not going to meet before the event that I'm going to talk about. So I wanted to invite you, Mr. Mayor, and the City Council and the community to the 2026 Madison Heights Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 20th at Civic Center Park. We've got a heck of an event planned. The event starts at noon with the opening ceremony, which will be emceed by our friend and community leader and former U.S. Army Officer Tony Austin. Live music starts at the band shell at 1215, and we have seven great acts scheduled to perform this year, headlined by the award-winning Smoke Jones Heart and Soul Band. We'll have food trucks, more than 40 vendors in our vendor marketplace, dance performances, a 25-foot climbing tower courtesy of the Oakland County Parks, bounce houses, a petting zoo, pony rides, games, crafts, and more. Plus, we'll have our highly acclaimed 9th Station Juneteenth Educational Exhibit. As you all know, the celebration is put on by our nonprofit, Mass Night Citizens United. And we're able to offer freedom to the community through the generosity of our sponsors. So again, Mr. Mayor, I'd like to invite you, our city council, and the community to come and join us in celebrating freedom on Saturday, June 20th at Civic Center Park. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Anyone else wish to be heard?

Good evening, Mayor Haynes and City Council. I'm Doug McLean, 27-432 Park Court, Madison Heights. I'd just like to ask the public to not to forget the road millage tax that is going to be coming up on the next election. And it's not an increase on your taxes. It's just a renewal. It's very, very important that this wouldn't stay in place to take care of our roads. You can see right now on your way to our meeting tonight that a lot of the roads are being fixed. John R. is now starting to come together on the center lanes, getting those taken care of. There's a lot of city streets that are being taken care of now because of this tax, and it's very, very important. Number two, I'd like to also say to you, I don't see any reason why that this city cannot have a parade and the service out and back on the same day. I've had a lot of people come up to me and say that they have been very disappointed in not having a parade this year. I was on that committee, and I'm sorry to say I'm not there anymore because I wasn't brought back. But please, please consider that because it's very, very important. Thank you.

Thank you.

GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL. I AM SANDY YOUNG. I LIVE AT 2944 SPOON AVENUE AND BY NOW WE ARE ALL GOOD FRIENDS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING DIRECT TIME STORY TIME. I ENJOYED IT GREATLY. THE CHILDREN WHO WERE THERE SEEMED TO ENJOY IT. AND IT WAS ALSO VERY GREAT TO SEE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO I SAW AT THE EVENT PERIOD IN seeing the story time, seeing what it's about, and seeing that was okay, and it didn't harm children, and it wasn't a sexualized event. If you weren't there, you can't talk about it.

Excuse me. I know, but you can't make comments from the...

There is, as we are a city of progress, everything else has a chance to progress. So even though drag queen culture may have started as a nighttime club culture thing, Obviously, we're progressing and bringing it forward and into the spotlight. And for those who think that We should shame this and put it in a library or put it in a building or hide it because, oh, God forbid. Why do we have to shame? When you talk about being inclusive but, inclusive but, but I'm for the rights for everybody, but when it doesn't, when I don't like it. You can't say that you're inclusive and give asterisks and say, but not when I like it. It's all or nothing. And if you're not all in, THEN YOU'RE NOT IN. AND AS FAR AS STRAY MONTH, PLEASE, WE HAVE 11 OF THOSE. PRIDE ONLY GETS ONE. LET THEM HAVE THEIR MEETING OR THEIR MONTH. AND FOR THOSE WHO WEREN'T HERE AT THE OTHER TWO MEETINGS, THE HREC BOARD WAS THE BOARD WHO OBTAINED THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DRY QUEEN. AND THAT WAS BACK IN FEBRUARY. In April, at the Arts Board, it was said that we have a dry cleaning performance. So there's at least three people on this council who are part of their boards who, if there was a problem, should have raised it back in February and back in April. But instead, it was one of those last minute things. And if you don't like it, and if you don't like what we're doing, join a board. We need volunteers. By the way, I'm on the Arts Board. And if it comes to getting the HRC out of Arts and Pride and put it on there, I will vote again and again and donate my own money to bring back the drag queen. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else wish to speak?

Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Robert Young, also on Spoon. Been here 15 years. First of all, I want to say how awesome it was to see Everybody that was able to come on Sunday, it was a great event. I think everybody had fun in our board, in our community. It was a great example of all of us being able to say, may not be my thing, but this is part of my city, makes me proud of my city. Some frightening things today, some good things. I was a little concerned by the meeting on Monday. It was off-site, it wasn't recorded, there were no minutes. There was no paperwork produced by it. Perception is reality. It seemed hidden. If this room is for council, we paid as a city to have a room in streaming. We should always be meeting here. It should always be public record. There should always be meetings. There should always be a recording. We are an open city with open government. We don't hide. We may not like the results, but we don't hide the process. Separate from that, short term, If things are broadcast, or excuse me, if things are being scheduled short term, can we not put a banner headline on city council's webpage? Can we not use the Nixle or whatever the right phrase is? We need to communicate. We need to have everybody who wants to partake, partake. Be on the board, be on commission, volunteer, whatever. Open process. Everybody get involved and we'll take turns. I thought it was interesting, the cultural programming commentaries. I don't think this is cultural programming. This is one group of people celebrating their portion of their life in the same Juneteenth, in the same St. Patrick's Day, in the same Cinco de Mayo. We celebrate all the things that make us unique, special, diverse. That's what makes us special. We don't say you can't be left-handed. We don't say you can't wear a hat. We don't say you can't whatever. The final thing that really strikes me is So many of us have been focused on what a hard week we had last week. We didn't deal with anything. You had a rough week. You got some hate mail. You got comments on the internet. This community deals with this 24 seven, three 65. This is their life to say that this was difficult for us is horrifying. When you look at that, no one said, This week, you can't do what you want to do again. You can't have rainbow hair. You can't be proud. You can't whatever. We're an inclusive, tolerant community. We need to treat each other like adults. We need to understand that I walk by and I see things and I see people and I see worship protesters and I say, gee, that's not my thing. I don't say he can't stand on the corner and do this as long as he's not being dangerous to himself or others. In that same way, I don't say you can't have Juneteenth. Anybody wants to get together and use our public property for a public event, public occasion. That's what it's for. If you want to walk, talk, use our parks, be part of our community. That's what we're here for. But again, a hard week is nothing compared to what other people are putting up with. And we need to remember why we're here. We're here to recognize and build up each other as part of our community. And if you can't do that, that's certainly your prerogative. but you really don't need to crap on each other. Thank you. Thank you.

Anybody else wish to be heard?

Carlos Harp, live in Beverly, Mass Heights. I appreciate all the attention. that recent events have been given. And I would like to see such attention and energy for the veterans as well. I would love to see more consistency for Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Hazel Park, they have a parade. I'm not saying we have to have a parade. They have a parade every year. Even the bad years, they do something. Why can't we do that? I would love to see the council more involved in that and put more time and energy into that as well, as well with all the other social things going on. Thank you. Thank you.

Anybody else wish to be heard? All right. Seeing none, I know we do have a letter that the city clerk is going to summarize.

I'd like to read into record an email from Mr. Kevin Trabucci regarding Republicans garbage truck, which will be made part of the official meeting record. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'll close the meeting in the public at this time. Moving forward onto the consent agenda, we have two items. The first, Fire Chief Fire Thermal Imaging Cameras, and the second item is City Council regular meeting minutes of the meeting on May 26, 2026.

What is the wish of City Council? Your Honor. Yes.

Your Honor.

Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.

Okay, we have a motion to approve. Is there a second?

Your Honor.

Yes.

Motion.

All right, we have a motion in support. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. Next up on the agenda is the reports. The first report, City Planner, Special Land Use Request, PSP 26-02-2. 27392 Park Court Major Home Occupation Pet Grooming.

Consideration is being requested from a homeowner at 27392 Park Court for special land use approval to operate a pet grooming business as a major home occupation from her residence. The proposed business would provide appointment-only grooming services for small and medium-sized dogs and would be operated solely by the homeowner. The Planning Commission held the required public hearing on May the 18th No public comments were received, and the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval with conditions. Those conditions include limiting appointments to one client at a time for the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., prohibited overnight pit boarding, required off-street parking for clients, and required continued compliance with all major home occupation standards contained in the zoning ordinance. Staff find that the request meets the applicable special land use criteria and is compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood. Therefore, we recommend that City Council approve the special land use request subject to the conditions recommended by the Planning Commission and the applicant is here today if you have any questions for her or Matt.

Okay. What is the wish of City Council? Your Honor. Yes.

A motion to approve special land request. PSP 26-02, subject to the conditions recommended by the Planning Commission.

Okay, we have a motion. Is there support?

Your Honor, I'll support.

All right, we have a motion in support. Any discussion? All right, hearing none. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. The motion carries. Moving on to the next item, city planner, special land use request, PSP 26-03, 32525 Stevenson Highway, minor auto service, electronic equipment sales and installation.

Consideration is being requested for special land use approval to allow minor auto service business at 32525 Stevenson Highway. The applicant proposes to use a portion of the existing building for the sale and installation of vehicle audio, GPS, remote start, security, and related electronic systems, along with a small office and sales area. There will be no engine repair, collision work, or any other major vehicle repairs proposed or permitted at this request. The Planning Commission held the required public hearing on May the 18th. No public comments were received, and the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval. Staff finds the proposed use to be compatible with the surrounding industrial area, consistent with the City's Master Plan, Compliant with the special land use review standards subject to several conditions limiting the scope of operations and ensuring compliance with zoning requirements In addition if City Council wishes to approve the special land use staff recommends that it do so with conditions These conditions would include one special land use approval is limited to auto related electronic system cells and installation Including but not limited to the audio GPS remote start and security equipment with no motor vehicle repair such as related engines, brakes, wheels, collision related work, etc. That all trash and discarded equipment shall be disposed of either within the building or in the dumpsters fully contained within the freestanding enclosure. A shared dumpster easement agreement shall be recorded for the use of the dumpster on the adjacent parcel. If this cannot be attained, a new dumpster enclosure will be proposed on the site which would satisfy the zoning ordinance standards. A final certificate of occupancy shall satisfy the use-specific standards of auto repair and service facilities contained in Section 7.3.2 and the staff report. The use-specific operating conditions shall be listed in the final certificate of occupancy. And last, the expansion of auto service use within the existing building shall require a new special land use under any new application.

Okay, thank you, Manager Marsh. What is the wish of City Council? Yes.

Motion to recommend that council approve the special land use request for minor auto services at 32525 Stevenson Highway, subject to conditions recommended by the Planning Commission and staff.

Okay. We have a motion. Is there support? Your Honor? Yes. Support. All right. We have a motion and support. Any discussion from council? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. On to the next item, city planner, special land use request PSP 26-04-32371 Dequindre Road, minor auto repair and auto sales.

Consideration is being requested by the property owner of 32371 Dequindre Road. Despite the Planning Commission vote that this application does not meet the standard to qualify as materially changed to be considered for new application, the legal counsel has reviewed the application and the requirements and determined that it does meet that standard. The revised proposal reduces the number of service bays from six to four and adds auto cell showroom component with the proposed site enhancements of approximately $600,000 in building improvements. Therefore, the special land use has been sent to City Council for consideration. Should City Council choose to approve the special land use, staff suggests that it does so with the following conditions. The major site plan, when submitted, shall be substantially consistent with the concept plan approved with the special land use submittal and shall incorporate auto cell use and an auto showroom. However, the site plan shall be modified as needed to denote the following. Provide a demolition site plan, including locations of asphalt removal and replacement. Given the state of disrepair, complete milling and repavement and new stormwater quality structures may be required. Replace the concrete bumper blocks along the northern property line with a permanent concrete curb. The other one is to provide a landscaping plan, but you've been provided that today and also emailed earlier with the minimum planting standards, which I think this exceeds minimum planting standards. Provide a photometric plan in accordance with the lighting standards. Add the requirement for the concrete dumpster pad. Provide details including cross-sectional plant seed listing, so that's all included in the landscaping plan. Given the adjacent industrial land uses and minimal buffer widths, the minimum perimeter parking lot landscaping requirements of Section 11.63 may be reduced along the northern, western, and southern property lines of the major site plan review. The final site plan in use shall satisfy the use-specific standards for auto repair and service facilities contained in 7.3.2 and the attached report. The use-specific operating conditions shall be listed in the final certificate of occupancy. Also, should City Council choose to deny the special land use, the motion shall include concise findings based upon your opinions of the special land use section 15.3.4 per section 15.05. And I've written so much on my paper. It also needs to include, denote the parking areas to be used for vehicles for sale. Although not the staff recommendation, City Council may also postpone the special land use or remand it back to the Planning Commission to allow for verification, submission of additional or supplemental information, or to address other concerns or issues. And the building owner is here, the proposed business operators are here, and Matt is here to answer any of your questions.

Okay, thank you, Manager Marge. What is the wish of City Council?

Your Honor.

Yes.

I move that council approves the special land use request number PSP 26-04 for minor auto repair and service and auto sales facility at 32371 Dequindre Road based on the findings presented by the Planning Commission and presented this afternoon by the City Manager.

Okay. Is that... Closer to me to read through that whole thing. It's very lengthy.

I would just put based upon the planner's report instead of the planning commission.

Okay, based upon the planner's report.

Planner's report. Okay. Do we have support? Your Honor, I'll support. Okay, we have motion and support. Discussion?

Your Honor.

Yes.

I just want to make sure that... The proposal that we've got here is that we're going to approve the special land use, but it has to follow all of the conditions that were incorporated here. And I want to make sure that I remember from last time that there's only going to be one bay door entering the service area. There's only gonna be one door you're gonna have four bays in there But I recall the plan said there's only one door going in for cars In the back if you if you could sir, could you step up to the to the podium?

To but there's only one entrance from from the back where they both from there they go to the showroom, too so nothing's been changed from before and Months ago, obviously Planning Commission had already approved that so in the back north corner There's two bay doors there and they'll be used just in the middle corridor to go to the four bays in the back and then They still also go connect to the showroom. So there's not another entrance It's just all in the back and everything's done to the back and then they if they change a card They would go back through the bays and go back to the back parking lot.

Okay. Thank you. Does that answer your question? Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you any other discussion Yes

Yeah, I also want to make sure, I want to know what the hours are for the auto sales, if they're going to be the same as the auto repair.

I'm not the operator, but I think they asked that last time, and I think they said the auto sales is, I think there's code on that anyway. I think they're only until 7 or 9 p.m. on maybe one night. 9 to 6. 9 to 6?

That's all I wanted to make sure.

Okay.

So the auto repair is going to be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., so the auto sales is going to be different? I guess. So both are going to be open from 7 in the morning until 9 p.m.?

No, no, no, 9 in the morning to 6 p.m.

Okay, in the report, I think.

I think they're allowed one late night if they obviously, I don't want them to be committed to, and I don't want to hurt them because I don't want to speak for them, but I'm pretty sure if one day out of the week, just like every other car sales wants to go until 8 p.m., I'm pretty sure it's not going to have an issue. I don't think they're ever going to stay there past 8 o'clock. Okay.

Does that answer your question, sir? Any other discussion?

Yes, John. As I recall from last time, you made a comment that we weren't going to have a bunch of cars needing repair parked in the parking lot. That if they're there for repair, they were going to be in the building. We're not going to turn that back parking lot into a pile of cars waiting to be repaired.

Okay. City Attorney, is there any other information? I mean, nothing has changed since the last description of this, correct?

No, it's essentially the same proposal as before the Planning Commission.

Okay. Did you get all your questions answered, Mayor Pro Tem? Mayor Pro Tem, did you get your questions answered? Yes, sir. Okay. All right, the only thing I wanted to add was that I think there was some confusion the first time this came up in Planning Commission and here based on the master plan and based on some other issues. And after review and after seeing the plans that were submitted the second time around and seeing everything that's going on, I'm absolutely in favor of this, so. Hearing no other discussion, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. The motion carries. Right, the next item on the agenda, bid awards and purchases. I'm sorry, we've got to go back. We've got to go back to 6A that we added earlier, Supervisors Union. Anybody want to make a motion? Your Honor? Yes.

Motion to approve the additional item 6A, the... contract tentative agreement between the supervisor's union and the city.

Okay, we have a motion. Is there support?

No, no support.

Okay, we have a motion and support. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed say no. The motion carries. On to the next item, which is item 6B for Department of Public Services. What is the wish of City Council?

Honor. Motion to approve the tentative agreement between the DPS and the city.

Okay.

Is there support? Your Honor, I'll support.

All right. We have motion to support. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. All right. We are finished with the business on the agenda, so we'll go to... Your Honor.

Yes. Oh, gosh, I skipped over it twice.

Sorry. I keep moving my screen. All right, bid awards and purchases, IT contractor, Microsoft 365 licenses.

Our Microsoft 365 licenses have expired, and staff is requesting a renewal of those annual licenses by city staff. Once our new IT contractor is completely on board, which will start July 1st, we will revisit these licenses to discuss a possible upgrade to enhance security. Funds have been budgeted for this expense in account number 101-228 and 590-590. Therefore, staff recommends approval of the renewal of Microsoft P1, G1, and 31365 license in the amount of $60,753. Funds are budgeted and available.

Okay, thank you, City Manager. What is the wish of City Council?

Your Honor.

Yes. I'll make a motion that we... Approved the renewal of the Microsoft P1, G1, and G3 license in the amount of $60,753. Funds are budgeted and available. Okay. Is there support? Your Honor.

All support.

All right. We have a motion in support. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. Now we can go to closing comments. We'll start with Counselor Fleming.

Councilman Fleming, sorry. The only thing I have for tonight is that this weekend is the on the 13th. Oh, no, I'm sorry. July 13th? Saturday? Saturday. It's happening at the Civic Center Park in the Police Department parking lot.

Okay.

That's it.

All right. Counselor Geralds.

We will be starting our Arts Board activities actually this Wednesday. I can't believe we're to June 10th already. So we'll be starting with a concert this week and yoga next week. And I was very happy and pleased with how things went yesterday. I know that there was a lot of emotions in the city. So I was appreciative of the fact that Everything went well yesterday, so congratulations to the people. Fortunately, we were blessed with a beautiful day, and that was also nice. And looking forward to Juneteenth. Kevin worries himself about this and works his butt off for this. Oh, sorry. Excuse me. He works very hard for this. So thank you for doing that, Kevin.

Okay. Councilor Rohrbach. Okay.

I just want to say thank you to the members of the Arts Board, the members of HREC, especially Alec Yu and Jen Nagel for their leadership and their work putting together the Arts and Pride Festival. It was a larger festival than we've ever had. More turnout, more people there. It was an absolutely beautiful day. And it's unfortunate that the controversy It's unfortunate that it caused pain to people, but I feel like it's fortunate that we were able to reverse that decision. And in the end, we had a wonderful turnout. And so many people came out and enjoyed their day. And they worked hard. So many people worked really hard, so many volunteers. And it was really great to see just about everybody at this table come out and join us. So thank you so much for all of that. Adjacent to that, reminder for anybody who is interested in participating in the city as a volunteer, as a member of a board or commission, we typically, not always, but we typically appoint in August and February every year to those boards and commissions. So I anticipate us doing so later this summer. So please go to the City of Madison Heights website, click on Apply for Boards and Commissions, Commission and fill out the application online. It's super easy. And even if you're not appointed to a Board of Commission, you can always attend those meetings and participate that way. And finally, Juneteenth, super excited about that, so please come out to that. And then Festival in the Park at the end of this month. There's always something, but Bike Rodeo and then Juneteenth and Festival in the Park. So please come out and join us and participate in this city that we all love. Thank you.

I'm sorry, I did have one more comment and that is to say that I think all of Council acknowledges that the way everything happened last week was Nowhere close to the way it should have We appreciate the comments that we're getting from people about what they would have liked to have seen and what we need to keep in mind and It is definitely something that we're going to be talking about going forward and Yeah, it was It was ugly on our side from a procedural standpoint, and we apologize for that. I apologize for that. Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

City Clerk. The next election is on Tuesday, August 4th for the gubernatorial primary. Voters may request for an absentee voter application by contacting the clerk's office. You can call us at 248-583-0826 or via email to clerks at madisonheightsmi.gov. Thank you. Okay, thank you.

City Manager. Just to piggyback on what the clerk just said, the next election is August the 4th, and there will be an R4 millage on there. So we've gotten a lot of good questions. We also are committed to having, I think, six or eight upcoming information meetings and booths. So we're going to try to get out to festivals and things like that. We're going to be at the Bike Rodeo, which is at Civic Center Park from 10 to 1. And we'll have information there. I'll be there with our DPS director to answer questions. If you want more detailed engineering type questions, come to an actual formal meeting. So we have at least four of those planned. If you can't make any of those meetings, you can always feel free to call me. I've been trying to respond to some of the relevant questions on Facebook. I don't respond to everything I see out there, but the stuff that I think everyone could benefit from. There's a very nice web page about this also that talks about the roads and which roads are going to be fixed. So I invite you to look at that. Communication team has done a great job at that as well as we tried to mail out an information flyer. I understand there was a typo in there. We have a very small staff and the typo is quite obvious what it is. So if anyone needs any explanation or you want to know exactly what it means to you, feel free to come into City Hall or call me or come to a meeting.

Okay.

Thank you. City Attorney.

Just to add to some of the commentary about the bike rodeo in addition to the Civic Center Park activities, there's also an open house of the Police Department. It's a Nice opportunity to meet some of the people who serve our community.

Okay. Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem Muir.

Got nothing tonight, Your Honor.

Thank you, sir. Counselor, or actually Councilwoman Toye-Aaron.

Thank you, Your Honor. I just want to remind everyone, as Counselor Gerald's already stated, our summer concert series will begin this coming Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a favorite as returned. Dr. Smith and his band will be there. from 7 to 8.30, so all that can make it, please come out starting this coming Wednesday. And every other Wednesday, we will have live music in the park. We're looking forward to a great turnout. We'll have food trucks on site, so you don't have to run home, try to cook dinner. You can actually grab you some tacos or some hot dogs or whatever else we have. GOING ON. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY COOL. NEXT MONTH IS JULY NATIONAL DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH. THE LIBRARY BOARD IS PUTTING TOGETHER AN EVENT WHERE WE CONTINUE OUR SPEAKER SERIES AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WE'RE LOOKING AT SPEAKERS THAT WILL COME IN AND TALK ABOUT AUTISM AND OTHER DISABILITIES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. THOSE DATES ARE JULY 15TH AND JULY 29TH. I also want to, as you all know, I have a high school graduate. I am so very proud of my son. But one of the things that really made me even more proud was when he graduated fifth grade, my grandmother at the time was in her late 80s. And she told my son, oh, well, I guess I won't ever see you graduate high school because I'm getting old. My son looked at my grandmother and he said, Gigi, you will be there. because God will see to it. And my grandmother stood tall at 91 years old, taking a picture with my son, her very first great grandson, to graduate high school, going to college. So that made me smile. Sad part, it was really as someone said, and I wasn't going to comment on it, but someone said it wasn't difficult for me last week. Someone said, you know, we want to represent in love. I didn't receive the love. I didn't receive, my son didn't receive the love. When you say it was love and it was inclusivity and we care and we monitor, it was not love. There were posts out there that it was asked to harass us. Sending out our government emails, our government phone numbers, which the phone lines here in the city was just exploding. Someone asked, can we see the transcripts for her? I would never, ever put out the text messages and the DMs and the emails that I received. But what I will do is applaud my son and the mayor's daughter. Because my son and the mayor's daughter, they took it like champs. They lost friends. They were talked about. They were humiliated. They heard their moms and dads were being called names. Someone said, oh, it was just a name. But for a 16- and 17-year-old, it was more than just a name. You were talking about their parents, the people that they look up to. But those children walked through that Pride event on yesterday with their heads held high. They sat in story time with their heads held high. When their friends sent them emails talking about their parents, They said, talk to our parents, and they held their heads high. So I thank the volunteers for putting on this service, but I want to applaud Jordan Aaron and Hannah Haynes because they took the brunt of the harassment that their parents endured on last week. One last thing, and Dot, to you, your story, I hear that almost every time I counsel someone coming in for gender reassignment. So I know what you're going through. I hear it quite often. You know, I can't say because I never felt that I was born in the wrong sex, but I hear that. And that's why I advocate for those people. And I don't want to say those people because that sounds icky. That's why I advocate for transgender surgery. Thank you.

Okay. I also have a statement that I prepared for tonight for the closing. Because obviously I want to address the issue that generated very strong feelings throughout our entire community. When this matter did come first before us, there was urgency. And it was because the event was approaching very quickly. And I was one that voted no. Based on the information I had and the concerns that were presented, I believe that was the right decision at the time. However, leadership requires more than that. Leadership requires more than just holding that position. It requires listening, it requires learning, and it requires gathering additional facts and reconsidering when new information does become available. As more information was provided and discussions continued, we did take another look at the issue very quickly. It was a very quick turnaround from meeting to meeting. After careful consideration and review, I concluded that my original vote was not the right one. A second meeting was called, and council members ultimately voted yes. This issue is drawing criticism from multiple directions. Some who oppose the event have criticized the decision, while others have criticized the timing. But throughout this process, members of council have faced hostility, personal attacks, name-calling, and accusations. While disagreement is a natural part of democracy, personal attacks and hostility They don't strengthen our community at all. It's important that we remain respectful and cordial, especially when we disagree. It's most important when we disagree. And the easy thing in public office was for us to dig in and refuse to reconsider anything. That's the easy part, right? But this council didn't do that. This council did the harder thing and revisited a decision, evaluated the new information, and changed course when it was right to do so. That is what our council did. I'm proud that this council took the time to listen, took the time to review the facts, and that we were guided by our responsibility to serve the entire community, not just pressure from one side. In the future, my hope is that we can disagree without demonizing one another, engage with respect, And remember that, first, we're all neighbors. We all live here. The decision that was made did not satisfy everyone at the end, but it reflects a council willing to do the difficult work of reconsideration and responsible government. I also want to be clear it was never my intention, nor do I believe it was any member of council's intention, to deny opportunities for members of our LGBTQ plus community to gather, celebrate, or participate in community events, nor was it our intention to micromanage these events. This discussion has affected many people personally, and all residents deserve respect, inclusion, and the opportunity to participate in community life. I'm grateful for the work of the Arts Board and the Human Relations and Equity Commission. As we move forward from today, I hope for continued collaboration and communication between those groups and the City Council to strengthen how we work together. Tolerance does not require agreement, but it does require respect. I want to thank everyone for the trust you place in me to serve as your mayor. I am honored to continue working alongside you to build a community rooted in inclusion, respect, and the opportunity for all. Together, we are stronger. Thank you, and with that, this meeting is adjourned.