City Council - Regular Meeting

Councilwoman Aaron. Here. Councilman Fleming. Here. Council Gerald. Here. Mayor Putnam. Here.

Here.

Councilor Rohrbach. Here. Councilor Wright. Here. Mayor Haynes.

I am here. All those that are here would please remove any head coverings and please stand for the invocation and pledge of allegiance which will be led by Councilwoman Aaron this evening. Thank you.

Thank you. We come before you today with grateful hearts, thankful for the opportunity to serve our community, and for the responsibilities entrusted to us. As we begin this meeting, we ask for your wisdom, your discernment, your guidance, and help us to listen with open minds, speak with respect, and make decisions with integrity and fairness. Remind us that the work we do here is not simply about policies, budgets, or football, or our ordinance. It is about people. Help us to keep the needs of our residents at the center of every conversation and every decision. Give us the courage to do what is right, even when it is difficult. Give us patience when we disagree, humility when we are challenged, and compassion for those whose voices may not always be heard. Bless our residents, our city employees, our first responders, our local businesses, our families, our seniors, and our young people. May our community continue to grow with unity, opportunity, safety, and prosperity. Guide this council so that our actions today will serve not only the needs of the present but also build a stronger and better community for generations to come. We ask for your wisdom, your peace, and your guidance throughout this meeting. 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.

Okay, next up is approval of the agenda. What is the wish of council? Are there any additions or deletions tonight? No additions or deletions. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? Your Honor.

Yes. Motion to approve the agenda.

All right. We have a motion. Is there a second? Your Honor. Yes. Support. All right. We have a motion to support. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed say no. Motion carries. We have no presentations or public hearings this evening, so we will move right into meeting open to the public. So the meeting is now open to the public. If you wish to make a public statement, you can come up to the podium, use the microphone, and please direct your comments towards the chair and keep your comments limited to three minutes.

Good evening. I wanted to take a moment to discuss my concerns with having all of the flock safety cameras in our communities. According to flock literature, I just want to make it clear, these are not just license plate readers. They track everything that is identifiable, including people's faces. And they're not particularly good at tracking license plates either, according to recent third-party investigations. Having 24-7 cameras at all, especially paired with actions like pointing them directly into the parking lots of private businesses really concerns me. I think it harms our community, both in terms of our confidence to know that we can live our lives without being bothered or constantly tracked by cameras, and throwing away tax dollars for the illusion of safety. I have a few questions that I wanted to ask. What metrics does the city have over what duration to decide whether this is a good idea to continue spending money on?

Who owns the information by the cameras?

If Madison Heights decided tomorrow that they wanted to stop, could they have all of the information be deleted from the system? How do we know Flock is even telling us the truth? They've been inconsistent talking to other municipalities about what powers they have and about what they can do. What patrons of local businesses should we surveil next? I'm thinking local shooting galleries, the bars, outdoor sports stores. Who pays the price when our law enforcement officers stop to bother people just because they say, our computers say that there was a crime? Would you be comfortable with everybody knowing exactly where you are at all times? Would you be comfortable with people following you around? And for those of us who say, I have nothing to hide, why am I worried? Would you allow me to start looking through your phone right now? If you have nothing to hide, why shouldn't a random person from the public be able to take a look? I thank you for your time, and I hope that you all reconsider the addition in the next budget.

Thank you.

Could you give your name before you? Oh, of course. Yes, my name is Aaron Beauchene.

Aaron Beauchene. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Anybody else wish to address council this evening? Do you have any comments? Okay. Then we will close the public hearing, or public meeting, sorry. Move on to the consent agenda. We have four items on the consent agenda this evening. First one is from the Director of Public Services, scheduled replacement of vehicle number 126. The second one is Director of Public Services, 2026 pavement marking. The next one is from the Fire Chief, purchase of a new advanced life support training mannequin. And the final one is City Council regular meeting minutes of July 13, 2026. What is the wish of City Council?

Your Honor. Yes. Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.

Okay, we have a motion. Is there support? Your Honor? Yes. Support. All right, we have a motion to support. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify... Oh, go ahead. Go ahead.

I do have a question on the pavement marking. So I get they're the only player out there, but on their quote, they quoted like one... blowing letter or something for $1.50, I mean, that's a per unit cost that we're going to obviously buy more than that, I'm assuming. I mean, it says that we had $120,000 or $92,000 budgeted for it, and the quote came in at $45,000, but that can't be for all the work they're going to do, is it?

I thought that that was for all the work they're going to do, but I would have to get back to you about that. But I thought that was the total bid price for the 2026 items that we've turned in.

Do you understand my, I guess, does it make sense, my question?

I mean, I'm looking at the proposal and... Yeah, I see where it says like six-inch crosswalk and it says one, and then it has like $1.75. Right. Yeah, I would have to circle back about that. I don't know the answer to that off the top of my head. Okay. Thank you. Okay.

Any other discussion? All right. Hearing none, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. Next up is a report. City Manager, Amendment to Employees 401A Retirement Plan to Permit Loans.

As part of the union negotiation process and subsequent approved collective bargaining agreements, the ability to obtain a loan from the employee's Mission Square 401 retirement plan has been authorized for eligible plan participants. The City Council is being asked to approve the documents necessary to process this change. Staff recommends the approval of the resolution amending Mission Square 401 retirement plan number 100495 to permit loans, approve the loan amendment to the 401 plan adoption agreement and authorize the city manager to sign on behalf of the city.

Thank you, city manager. What is the wish of city council?

Your honor?

Yes.

Motion to concur with the recommendation of staff and approve the resolution amending Mission Square 401A retirement plan number 100495 to permit loans, approve the loan amendment to 401A plan adoption agreement, and authorize the city manager to sign on behalf of the city.

Okay. We have a motion. Is there support? Yes.

Support.

All right. We have a motion support. Any discussion?

Your honor.

Yes.

I just wonder if, if people want to know, like people are not, we're not giving the opportunity for people to take loans from the city, right? This is a whole different thing. And I just feel like somebody might have questions.

This is just employee contributions at that. So it's the contributions that employees have paid into their 401k. and they can take loans for emergency situations or like to make a down payment on a first-time home and those kinds of things. There are certain parameters, but it's not tax dollars at all. It's employee earnings that they have chosen to invest in their 401A themselves.

Thank you.

Your Honor.

Yes. So in a sense, they're borrowing their own money.

They're borrowing their retirement, yes.

That's what they want to do. All right. Any other discussion?

Your Honor, I just want to add a comment. I think this is a great benefit for our city staff because it gives an opportunity to potentially buy a home in Madison Heights. Because a lot of folks, this is how I bought my first home. At the time, my employer allowed us to take from our 401k to put a down payment on our home. So this is an excellent benefit, particularly in this time where it's even harder to buy a home. So this is a good add.

Okay, anything else? All right, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. The motion carries. All right, on to the next item under bid awards and purchases. Director of Public Services, three police patrol vehicles.

The approved fiscal year 2027 budget includes funding for the scheduled replacement of three police vehicles. Two of these are funded from the general fund, and one is funded from drug forfeiture. MotorPool has been working with the police department and determined that the best options for replacement are the Dodge Durango Pursuit vehicles. Therefore, staff recommends that Council approve the purchase of three 2026 Durango Pursuit all-wheel drive patrol vehicles as quoted from LaFontaine Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram of Lansing through the My Deal Cooperative Vehicle Purchasing Program for a total of $162,000. Okay, thank you.

What is the wish of City Council?

Your Honor.

Yes.

Motion that council approve the purchase of three 2026 Durango Pursuit AWD patrol vehicles as quoted from LaFontaine Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Lansing through the MyDeal Cooperative Vehicle Purchasing Program in the total amount of $162,000. Okay.

We have a motion. Is there support? Aye. Yes. Support. All right. We have a motion to support. Any discussion by council? All right. Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed say no. The motion carries. All right, we are at the end of the agenda for this evening, so we will entertain council comments for the end of the meeting. We'll start with Councilman Fleming. I have no comments. Very good. Moving on. Councilor Gerald.

I just want to put out a reminder that the Arts Board has two events this week. Tomorrow night we're doing the open mic and karaoke night that was put off because of the heat a few weeks ago. So if you want to tell jokes or play guitar or drum, sing, dance, anything, please feel free to come up from 6.30 to 8. And then Wednesday night is our game night, also from 6.30 to 8 at the band show, both events.

Great.

I just want to raise up the Human Relations Equity Commission is doing the Adaptive Game Night for folks with sensory issues or anything like that. There's a sensory-friendly event with no music, quieter games, lower lights. It's at the Breckenridge Room on Wednesday the 13th. And everyone who wants to participate is welcome to attend. It's free. Okay. Thank you. City Clerk?

I would just like to thank all the citizen volunteers that helped run the election last week. We do have some kinks to work out with our new voting areas, but we will work on those for November. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Manager Marsh.

I'm going to come in. I've gotten three calls today asking what the concrete pad is at Rosie's Park, as I think a couple from council as well. And it is the first of several shade structures that we're putting in. So we're planning on building one big pavilion. It far exceeded our budget, so we scaled that back, and we're just going to be putting in a few smaller shade-type pavilions around the park to provide some places for people to get out of the sun. That's it.

Thank you. City Attorney Larry Sherman?

Nothing, Your Honor.

Thank you. Okay, thank you.

Councilor Wright. Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you. Just one thing to talk about today. Revenant Nights is September 19th. We are now accepting registrations. You can come by City Hall if you don't want to go online and register. Right now, we're still looking for sponsors. So if you know of anyone interested in sponsoring or any company interested in sponsoring, have them reach out to us and we can get them set up. There's going to be a couple of awards. There's going to be the Mayor's Choice Award, City Council Award, Police Chief's Award, Fire Chief's Award. It's going to be a good time for families. The details are still coming together, but cars can start to show up around 9 o'clock. We're going to have the award ceremony around 2.30, around 2.30, for those who need to make note of what time to be there. So come on out. Invite people to come out September 19th. The HRC will be incredibly happy to have you all. And finally, I just want to say thank you to we just got through another election cycle. And I know a lot of folks got out and voted. But something that has been an alarming trend I've seen over the past few elections is that there's a lot more who did not vote. and did not express any opinion and did not give any thought into the direction that we go. And that becomes perplexing to us on council when we go online, there's a ton of feedback. Granted, it's like the same five people, but there's a ton of feedback. And so I just want to encourage everyone to remember that we all have a duty and a role to play in elections. Even if you're not running, even if you're not passionate, you need to vote to make an impact. When you don't vote, you maximize other people's voice. And we need people not only to vote to share their opinion, but also to buy into the process and know that it matters. Because our vote is our power, and we can't take it away from ourselves and then feel like other people are taking it from us. So there's another vote in November. I don't want to tell you how to vote. I don't want to tell you who to vote for. If you know me, you know who I am. But at the same time, Make sure your voice is being heard at the polls voting. Thank you to the poll workers. Everybody remember to be kind.

Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem, Mayor.

Thank you, Your Honor. Summer's winding down. I think last meeting we talked about our Little League Championship win. We did get that in, and Mayor Haynes' team was able to be victorious over Conkler Wright's team. Is that the way around? I was able to regain the championship this year. So the last two or three years, they've been in the championship game and won a couple of times. Thank you all for your support for that. We are done with that. There's still a lot of fun things going on for summer with the parks and recs and all of the arts board and the library board. So keep an eye out for those things. School will be starting soon. So kind of start preparing for that routine and keeping an eye out for our little ones out on the streets. I wear light blue today for Prostate Awareness Month, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. I am not yet a survivor of prostate cancer and unfortunately lost my brother to prostate cancer. I do have prostate cancer and my doctor and I are are working on our game plan for that. So someday soon, I hope to say that I am a survivor of prostate cancer. But as Councilor Wright says, please be kind and watch out for each other. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Councilwoman Aaron.

Thank you. Just a couple of things. As we already said, summer is winding down. Councilor Gerald's already mentioned about the... the events that we're having in the park. But next Wednesday, August 19th, is the last summer concert before Trail Tunes. If you have not been to a summer concert out in the park, they are really wonderful. The bands we've had there, last week's band was phenomenal. I love them. The bands are really good. This is Sonic Freeway, which is a top 40. I don't know if that means it's music from 1940 or not, probably. Can't go wrong, I guess. But yeah, Sonic Freeway will be there. The concert starts at 7 and there are food trucks out so you don't have to run home and eat. And then we'll have Trail Tunes on August 29th from 2 to 7. And we have six phenomenal bands that are scheduled, a lot of activities, a lot of vendors, of course, food trucks and things like that. So if you're not doing anything, please come out and support. We're doing things here in Madison Heights so that all of us can enjoy together. And when I was at work today at the hospital, I went down to the coffee shop and there's a sign. And as soon as I saw the sign, I thought of Counselor Wright because the sign says, be kind. It is really ironic how people come to buy coffee in the hospital and are badgering the baristas and getting upset because It's a Starbucks storefront, but it's not really Starbucks, so we probably don't have the pink drink. But the sign really made me realize that kindness does go a long way. And no matter where you're at, we really do. People are waking up every day going to jobs that they probably don't like, but they're there to serve you and just offer a little bit more patience and kindness when we're talking with others. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. All right. Lastly, I wanted to thank the election workers. Obviously, we had an election. It was busy, and everybody was working very diligently. But I have to give an extra thanks to our city clerk, Cheryl. She's doing like 18 different positions right now, I think. But she was willing to take my calls on election day and deal with some things that we had to deal with. So great job, Cheryl. Thank you for everything you did in Melissa's absence while she was enjoying herself on a vacation, a much-needed vacation. Other than that, that's all I have this evening. We will adjourn the meeting at 6.50pm.