City Council - Regular Meeting

this on.

Good evening everyone. I am going to call this meeting to order. Okay, I'm going to put in a timeout. Got the microphones done. Thank you. I'm going to call tech support. I'm going to call tech support. You're all on hold.

Hello. Can you hear me now?

It's not just me speaking into the mic. if we have Oh, I can hear now. It seems to be working. All right. Awesome. Okay. So, going to call this meeting to order. The time is now 6:31. This is the regular and last city council meeting for the 35th council of Madison Heights. I'm going to ask the clerk to uh do a roll call, please. Mayor Prom Bliss. I'm here. Councilman Fleming, here. Councilman Mir here. Councelor Rurbach, here. Councilman Sulttus. Councilor Wright,

here. Mayor Greystein, I am here. Thank you. Uh the invitation and pledge this evening will be led by Councilman Fleming. I invite you to stand if you would like. Members of city council, honored residents, let us begin with a moment of silence and reflection. We gather today at the start of this new term acknowledging the solemn transfer of a leadership of the civic institution and the responsibilities it entails for guidance. We look to enduring principles of reason, integrity and public service. We strive to operate with integrity and wisdom. We operate with respect for uh for the intricate systems that govern existence aspiring to align our functions with the order established by the creator of the universe. May this new legislative body commit themselves to fostering an environment where unity can flourish despite differing viewpoints. made it anchor its work in seeking a common purpose with complex discussions ensuring that our government is steady and imper impartial. We will uphold unwavering transparency in our functions so that all actions remain visible and accountable to the populace we serve. We shall commit to the essential practices of kind, being kind and respectful in all of our interactions. And may decorum and mutual regard prevail in this chamber, allowing for civil discourse even amidst strong disagreement. For for we are motivated by a shared vision for our well-managed and just city. May our term of office be conducted with dignity, ethnical strength, and steadfast dedication to

the public trust. Amen. I pledge algiance 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.

All right. Thank you. Uh so we have the consent agenda tonight. So we are going to be voting on this. Uh we have three items. The city council special meeting minutes from October 27th. The city council regular meeting minutes from November 10th. And then the resignations from Toya Aaron and Lorie Geralds from the various boards and commissions. Can I please get a motion to approve that? Your honor, I move that we approve the consent agenda. Their support. Support.

Thank you. Motion has been made and seconded. Is there any discussion? And just a clarification, um, Toya and Lori need to resign from their boards so that in a few minutes they can then be put onto council. So, uh, with that, all in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Those against say no. Motion carries. Before we do the adjournment, I am going to invite closing remarks, goodbye remarks from, um, soon to one last time. Um, I'll make this real quick. Uh just a simple thank you mic. Hello. Hello.

Sorry. Uh a simple thank you to uh uh the couple years I was able to serve with uh uh Mayor Grafstein and Mayor Prom Bliss and and Councelor Sulttus. um wish you all the best of of luck in your further endeavors and uh I'm sure we'll see you around the city and uh I'll call on you for for advice I'm sure over the years. So, thank you. All right. Thank you. I'm going to skip to councelor Wright. Okay.

I thought I had more time. Um just a few brief words. Uh first just wanted to uh thank say thank you for your service both to Mayor Pro Tim Bliss and to Mayor Grafstein. Uh start first with uh Mayor Pro Tim Blintz who has been my partner to my left since I've been on council. Um thank you for the the banter at the table for the the words that we've shared the conversations. I wish you all the best. Um to our mayor uh departing, thank you uh last time you spoke um and you did invocation um one of the things you often talk was about be kind. Uh people will misunderstand you, forgive them. And I just want to thank you for that reminder and thank you for always preaching that me message consistently in your invocation. I wish you all the best.

Thank you, Mr. Sherman. Uh pretty much same thing, your honor. I wish you and Mayor Prom Bliss and Councilman Sult uh all the best. It was a pleasure working with all of you. Um and I know you'll be frequent visitors back here. Thank you, Marsh. No, it's been an honor to work with all three of you, even though Dave Sulttus isn't here quite yet tonight, but I hope that you all stay engaged in the city and there's volunteer positions on our boards and commissions. I just want to also uh say that it's been very nice working with all of you and I appreciate your support through these years. Thank you. Thank you, Council.

Um like everyone said, thank you so much for both of your service. your work in the city has been important and appreciated. Um you know your thoughtful consideration and input on um complex issues and uh uh and and all the important debate and uh conversation we've had over the years. um you know I've been able to serve here now this is I think year six with the both of you and so I appreciate um being able to uh work together and I wish you all the best. Thank you Councilman Fleming.

Yeah, I too uh thank you both uh Mayor Pro Templace and Mayor Graphstein for all the uh mentorship that you provided for us uh over the years and also all the dedicated hard work that you put into the city. Uh we don't get paid a lot but you know you you know, you've really uh gave us a uh a path forward and uh and a vision for the city uh for years to come and I really appreciate it. Thank you for your service. Thank you. Soon to be Mr. Bliss, Prom Bliss for the last time.

Yeah, I'm taking the name tag by the way, but [laughter] um thank you. Um this has been the profound honor of my life to serve on the city council. The opportunity to serve the city that helped make me who I am. So incredibly impactful. I got to give back to the place that shaped me. I couldn't be more honored. I couldn't be more thankful. And I'm so thankful to my family. Um my my wife Ally, my children, Kayn, Ariel, and Allaric. Sorry, I'm a little

I'm feeling this right now because I'm so thankful to my dad. My dad taught me the importance of prioritizing community. Being able to do that for the last 12 years has been such an honor. and I've gotten to do it with some phenomenal people. I want to specifically call out Margene Scott, uh, one of my earliest mentors from when I was a child growing up in the city, coming and asking questions at meet the candidates nights when I should have never even been asking those questions. um the late and great Bob Corbett who was my like dean of counsel. He was the guy that I would turn to every time I had a question. And to Brian Hartwell, [clears throat] who when I came in was my partner in crime, the guy that I would go to with every wild and crazy idea that I ever had and he would back me without even hearing the end of it. And so super thankful for all three of them and I will be eternally grateful. I also want to thank our incredible city staff, especially city manager Marsh, who in my opinion is the greatest city manager the city has ever had. [applause]

She had such an openness to what I have to admit in hindsight were a ton of really crazy ideas. and that echoed through the entire staff. Uh, and I also want to thank all of my council peers, past and present, for their collaboration. Uh, especially Councilman Dave Sulttus, who was here with me since day one. we were both elected together 12 years ago and Mayor Rosyn Grain who despite we had some pretty public disagreements. [laughter] Uh but she's truly become a trusted friend and adviser throughout what were some difficult times for me both personally as well as some challenging times that the city had to endure that really defined the work that we had to do. When I look back and I realize kind of how much of my work was based in these small incremental changes, when I first ran on improving technology here in the city, there wasn't any support. In fact, the first vote for ITAC failed. There was a substitute motion uh and another substitute motion. And so instead of fighting that losing budget battle, uh we created ITAC. And that small committee has been the engine that took us from recording these meetings on VHS tapes to live streaming them to putting the city on social media to putting modern tools like police body cams in our uh departments. All of those things were possible because we took a small incremental step to build that board. We did the same thing with the arts board. People wanted live music. They wanted murals. There was no budget for that. Every time that we would suggest it, it got turned down. But we established the arts board. And then today, those community events are transforming our public spaces. They're a signature part of city life in Madison Heights. And that new band shell, that beautiful new bandshell is a physical example of that

change. [applause] When direct park funding stalled out, city staff collaborated with me on the creation of a special projects fund. That fund has helped us to strategically put money aside for all sorts of new park features. And so we went a 10-year period without any new parks features. And the last 5 years, we've had new features every single year. And that $50,000 special projects fund that was supposed to be a just in case has been used every single year to match grants. So instead of doing the big things, I would encourage the incoming council to never stop looking for the small solutions. I just watched Field of Dreams last night, so forgive the metaphor here, but in my experience, the work of city council isn't about the big swings. We're not trying to hit a grand slam every time that we come up here, [snorts] but rather it's about finding any way that you can to get on base and then allow our phenomenal staff and the incredible network of volunteers that this city was built on to take that one idea and get it all the way across the home plate. Any one small strategic action is always capable of sparking huge positive changes. And if my time on council is anything, it is proof that any idea, no matter how wild, no matter how small, no matter how improbable with the budget that we have, is always possible if you put your trust in the people who live in the city of Madison Heights. And so to all of those folks who have volunteered side by side with me throughout the years and endured my craziness when it comes to helping work on some of those events and things, thank you so much for

your efforts. Uh this is just as much about you as it was me because without the volunteers in the city, I would have never been able to serve for 12 years. And so thank you to each and every one of you. Thank you to city staff and thank you to my peers on council for the kind words tonight. Uh it's truly incredible. It definitely choked me up a bit. Um, and yeah, I'm looking forward to uh taking it on the new title of volunteer. As city manager Marsh noted, I applied for a couple boards. Hope I get them. Um, but I want to continue that work because I think it's important. It's not about the position everyone. It's not about if you're on city council, if you're mayor prom, if you're the mayor, if you're on city staff, it's about making a difference. and volunteers in our city have done that more than any elected official has ever done and will continue to do. So, thank you to everybody who continues to volunteer. And if you are not currently serving on a border commission, we have openings. Love maybe join one that I'm on. We'll work together. All right. Thank you so much, EVERYONE. [applause]

All right. Thank you, Protown. Um so I want to take a moment to thank um to thank my peers up up here my my peers on council really everybody on the dis. Um Bill Mir I want to thank you for your deep commitment to our youth and to education. You came on after being on the Lanir school board and um you kept our students and our our youth in your uh you know as one of your priorities. So I want to thank you for that. Um, Gwyn Wright, I want to thank you for embracing my genderneutral title of counselor and for sharing your passion for grilling with the community and for always reminding us that we need to be kind. I there's maybe a handful of meetings where you did not finish your closing comments. Remember to be kind. So, I want to thank you for that. Um, to Mr. Sherman and all our attorneys, I want to thank you for being trusted resources to us, for always being prepared, always steady, always keeping us grounded in the law, and helping us to find practical solutions, keeping us on track. And to Melissa Marsh, um, who's the real captain of our ship, I want to thank you for keeping us on track, for keeping us organized, and making sure that everything that needs to get done gets done. We really could not function without you. Um, you know, as as Mark said, it doesn't really matter what your title is. Um, you know, if I had an idea, and I did, uh, I would talk to Melissa and she would say, "Well, we could do that, but and okay, but, you know, that's the voice of reason. We're we're not going to go ahead. That's, by the way, the reason that we don't have an ordinance for 12 hens, just in case you're wondering." So, just, you know, she really she brings in reality to these things. um to uh to our clerk to Cheryl. Thank you for keeping our elections running smoothly and for the calm professionalism that you bring, you know, to really is the most important responsibility that we have as a city, making sure our agendas are taken care of. Just, you know, the clerk's office, everything that you do there. Thank you so much for that. To Emily Warbach, I want to thank you for being the very first council member to

adopt my counselor uh title. I appreciate that. So, um no secret that I'm from Toronto and um I had a counselor growing up. My counselor was counselor Walker. Do you know if that was a man or a woman? And it was just something that really stuck in the back of my mind. And when I came on to council, I said, I don't want to be councilman or councilwoman. And if I have to pick one of them, it was going to be councilman because I also had an alderman growing up who was a woman. And I said, well, if you want to be counselor, you can. And so I want to thank Emily when she came on a couple of years later, she she took that on. So, thank you for doing that. Um, and I truly respect the council members who came on after that who made their choices as well. Um, but I want to thank you for that and for thanking you for your continued leadership with the ECC. you know, I um ran for council. I was initially interested because of our tree canopy and the lack of tree canopy that we had and just, you know, um all the different environmental issues that I saw and I rebooted that board and um when I became mayor, I moved off of that and so Emily took over and I want to thank you for that. You know, we've now expanded our tree canopy. We finally brought in some kind of food composting. I'm still hoping for the day that we have food compost pickup at the house, but you're working on it and I really appreciate that because those were two things that were really important to me. Um, and then Sean, I want to thank you for your attention to detail, your commitment to accessibility for our disabled uh community. I don't know if many people know that Sean has really championed a lot of issues with that. Um, and you know, I appreciate the work that you did with our state to help and support our disabled veterans. So, thank you for that and thank you for serving our country. And then um I'm going to stop for a moment and I'm going to let Councilman Sult do his last words and then I will finish.

Oh, no. I'm fine. Do you want Do you want to say a goodbye? You later. Okay. All right. Then [laughter] I will continue.

I will continue. Okay. So then, Councilman Soldas, you're up next. So I want to thank you for your unwavering support for our most vulnerable residents, your, you know, your uh your care and your compassion for our elders and for our youngest residents. Thank you for that, for always supporting public service. And then I believe I skipped over Mark Bliss. So um as as he alluded to, we have we did we butt heads you know in the past and um and even now but no matter what anytime we disagreed I always felt that I was saying this is my point and this is what's best for the city and he was saying this is my point and I think this is what's best. I I always felt that in his heart he thought he was doing what was best for the city the same way I did. And we may not agree on what it is, but we both agreed that this is the right thing for the city. And I want to thank him for bringing us the arts board. I don't know how many people have told me how how appreciative they are to me for the band shell. And I always say, well, thank you, but I can't take credit for that. You know, that that was Mark. Mark also brought us itch. And um you know, both of those boards came about because of him. they came about in his first term on council, you know, and uh he's also been instrumental in shaping our master plan. A lot of the suggestions that he made over the last few years, you're going to see changes in the city. The future administration is going to see those changes because of ideas that came from Mark. And one of his little pet projects as well that he doesn't talk about much is um the bathrooms in the parks. You know, it's it's everyday things like that that you may not think about, but he said that. He said, you know, parents are taking young kids to the park and they can't stay because there's no bathrooms. And he came up with a solution for that. So, I I want to thank you, Mark, for everything that uh that you have done. Um I also want to remind everyone, as he did, that it doesn't really matter what your title is, whether it's mayor, prom, council, or resident or volunteer. Um, we have a hen

ordinance because I worked on that and I wasn't on council when I worked on that, but I worked with a group of people who wanted to have this hen ordinance and we worked on that and we brought it to the city. So, if you have ideas, bring them up to council, reach out to staff members and see what you can do, you know, see what you can do to uh to make changes. I've always been fascinated with city council. when we were in our old uh chambers, I used to go I would sit with John Paloo Palooi and um you know we had Carol Corbett was our clerk, Ed Clerk, Ed Swanson was our mayor and I was just fascinated with everything that uh that we did. And of course Margene was on that council, Bob Corbett was there and when [clears throat] I came on um eight years ago, I wanted to do environmental things. That was sort of my focus. Not that anything else wasn't important, but I wanted I wanted to focus on environmental. And there were three properties in the city that the city didn't own that I wanted to see developed and uh and work well there's four properties actually. There are four properties that I wanted to see developed and um one of them we two of them we don't own but we're working on one of them. One of them was EPS, the whole environmental spill that we do own, and we're working on getting that um developed. And then the other was 11 and John R. And a couple of months ago, we finally took ownership of that. And that is in thanks to um a vote made by Bob Corbett, myself, Brian Hartwell, and Mark Bliss. because of something that we voted on years ago and the domino effect of that. We're now in possession of the 11 and John R, which I know a lot of people thinks that we don't really have a downtown even though we've had one since 1997, but by us owning that property and we can actually uh have real input in what we want to see there. That's something I don't know if it's going to happen with this new 36 council or if it's going to take longer because these things take time, but we are eventually going to see that. So, I'm really happy to see that we've got that. Um, when I came on to council eight years ago, Bob Corbett had me sign his baseball. I don't know what ever

happened to that, but it was just something that he said he did with all new council members. Um, I never came up with something. I think it would be great if some council member did come up with something to, you know, welcome new council members on by doing something like that. I just thought that was very cool. And perhaps Lori Gerald's, our newest member, will come up with that idea. Uh, steal something from her father's idea, maybe. Um, and I I want to uh, you know, thank Bob Corbett for everything that he did when he was on council. He really was our wise owl. He and when he passed, it was not going to continue because I'm going to cry, but he was just it was very um it was a real loss. It was a real blow to our council, especially coming on the heels of losing Bob Gettings. And Bob Gettings was Mr. Recreation. You know, he parks and and wreck were really in his blood. Um you know, we also worked with uh with Brian Hartwell, now Judge Hartwell, who is still around somewhat. um you know but he had a lot of input with that and then of course Margene Scott you know like just um when I came on she explained to me the value of education the value of going and meeting with other representatives local representatives not just in the area but across um across the the state and because of her I became very involved with a number of different groups um some COG and MML but their municipal groups and it just really helped me build a network of people that I could talk to so if I had an issue I could talk to somebody outside of the city who might have that as well. So, I want to thank Margene Scott for that as well. Um, that is all. I'm going to miss you guys. Uh, you know, I I moved here 21 years ago and um I was married in our old council chambers, which is now the lunchroom. I was married by uh Ed Swanson a couple of days later. And um you know, that was my introduction to the city. Um it was an introduction to council. it it was meeting Mayor Swanson and um yeah, it uh it meant a lot. So, I thank you all for coming out for this. I

thank everybody who has uh helped us serve here. The time is 6:55 and I'm officially closing this uh city council. 35th is now over. Good night. [applause] [applause] [applause]

Thank you. We'll see you around. Uh oh, definitely all your boards uh that we're going to sign you to. Yeah, I think I think you're on all of them, too. There's nobody to call it.

They're going to do it, right?

[laughter]

with that. I think we're going to start the swearing in of the uh 36th council. So, if Judge Hunt would please come up and we will start with Mayor Haynes. And I think we're we'll do it down there for the best. You can do it up here, too. Whichever you prefer. I was wondering where I was wondering. Yes, it's on top. It's like an avocado box.

Yeah. Yep. Yeah. It's on microwave breaker. We've got it. I'm ready. I don't have to do anything other than make more than that. Do you need more than that? You get to move, huh? You get to move. Yeah.

That's why you wanted to sit here. You, Cory Hay, swear or affirm

that you will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan, and the charter of the city of Madison Heights, that you will render and endeavor to secure and maintain an honest and efficient administration of the affairs of the city of Addison Heights, free from partisan control and that you will faithfully fulfill the duties of the office of mayor during the term of your office according to the best of your ability. So help you God. And well, CONGRATULATIONS. [applause] [cheering] [applause] This is good. Next, please raise your right hand. And do do you, William Mir, solemnly swear or affirm that you will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan and the Charter of the City of Madison Heights. that you will endeavor to secure and maintain an honest and an efficient administration of the affairs of the city of Madison Heights free from partisan control and that you will faithfully fulfill the duties of the office of mayor prom during the term of your office according to the best of your ability. So help you God.

I will. Congratulations. [applause] [cheering]

Hey Toya. Toya, will you raise your right hand? And do you Toya Eron solemnly swear or affirm that you will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan, and the charter of the City of Madison Heights. that you will endeavor to secure and maintain an honest and efficient administration of the affairs of the city of Madison Heights free from partisan control and that you will faithfully fulfill the duties of the office of council member during the term of your office according to the best of your ability. So help you God. I do.

CONGRATULATIONS. [cheering] [applause] Last but not least, Lori, if you'll raise your right hand, do you, Lori Geralds, swear or affirm that you will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan and the Charter of the City of Madison Heights, that you will endeavor to secure and maintain an honest and efficient administration of the affairs of the city of Madison Heights free from partisan control and that you will faithfully fulfill the duties of the office of council member during the term of your office according to the best of your ability. So help you God.

I will. Congratulations. Thank you. [applause] We're going to take about a 10-minute recess if you all want to take photos and do that sort of thing. So, [laughter] yeah.

M uh welcome to the 36 city council, everybody that's here tonight. [applause] All right. Can I please have the clerk call the role? Councilwoman Aaron here. Councilman Fleming here. Councelor Geralds here. Mayor Prom Mir here. Councelor Roarback here. Council Wright here. [snorts] Mayor Haynes here. All right. The first order of business tonight is the approval of the agenda. First, are there any additions or deletions? Okay. Hearing none. Can I please get a motion to approve the agenda as presented? Your honor. I'd like to approve the agenda as presented.

Okay. Do I have a second? your honor. I'll second. Thank you. We have a we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay. All in favor signify by saying yes. I Yes. I

oppose. Oppose say no. [laughter] We'll get used to it. All right. The motion carries. All right. Tonight we have the privilege of recognizing three outgoing leaders who have each played a vital role in moving Madison Heights forward. It's important that we pause to express our gratitude for their service. I'd like to begin by presenting a certificate of appreciation to our outgoing mayor Rosen Grafstein. [applause] Whereas Rosen Grafstein was elected to the Madison Heights City Council in 2017 and has since served with distinction as counselor, mayor prom, and beginning in 2020, mayor of the city of Madison Heights. And whereas is a chartered financial anal analyst with a degree in economics and a resident since 2004. Mayor Grafstein has combined professional experience with deep community commitment. And whereas she revived the environmental citizens committee, serving as its council representative until her appointment as mayor. And under her leadership, the city expanded environmental programs, advanced sustainability projects such as rain gardens and pollinator friendly gardens, and strengthened the community's tree canopy. And whereas as mayor, she guided the city through challenges and growth, helping modernize zoning, strengthening infrastructure, supporting local business, and promoting quality of life initiatives. And whereas she has also served as a le liaison to numerous city boards and commissions including friends of the Madison Heights youth, the crime commission, youth assistance, the community coalition, and the school city liaison committee while representing Madison Heights in regional leadership roles with SEMCOG and the Michigan Municipal League. Now therefore, I, Corey Haynes, mayor of the city of Madison Heights, do hereby express our

gratitude and deep appreciation for Rosen Grafstein's dedicated leadership, her tireless service, and lasting contributions to our community, especially reviving and leading the environmental citizens committee to foster sustainability and community engagement, strengthening Madison Heights's economic vitality, public safety, and quality of life. Introducing a hotel ordinance to combat human trafficking and improve public safety. Leading early pandemic response efforts by securing emergency vehicle decontamination services and organizing free vaccine clinics at no cost to the city or residents. Creating the annual city-wide garage sale, promoting sustainability and community spirit. Promoting inclusive and efficient governance by introducing a general neutral title in a consent agenda process. Be it further resolved that the city of Madison Heights honors Rosalyn Grafstein's legacy, extends best wishes for her future endeavors, and reaffirms its commitment to the values of environmental stewardship, inclusion, accountability, and service that she has championed. [applause] [applause] Thank you. [applause] Okay, the next will be for Mayor Prom Mark Bliss. Whereas Mark Bliss has served with distinction on the Madison Knight City Council since his election in November 2013, including serving a city record of more than eight years as

mayor prom, serving under three different mayors from 2015 to 2025, and standing as a key member of council throughout major crises, including the great flood of 2014, the severely impacted homes and city facilities, the global CO9 pandemic, and the complex remediation of the green ooze contamination. And whereas as a lifelong resident, third generation homeowner and Lampir High School graduate, Mark Bliss has shown unwavering dedication to the city's welfare, growth, and vitality. And whereas recognizing the importance of technology in government, he founded the information technology advisory committee, also known as ITAC, in 2014, helping to modernize city systems, enhance cyber security, expand digital engagement, live stream meetings, implement police body cameras, and guiding major tech investments. And whereas understanding the unifying power of the arts, he established the arts board in 2017, leading to public murals, art events, and securing grants for cultural projects such as the Civic Center Park Band Shell and facilitating highly regarded inside out exhibitions with the Detroit Institute of Arts. And whereas he co-chared the popular trail tune series for six years, an innovative community event created during the CO 19 pandemic to safely bring residents together through music and art, which was later recognized by the Michigan Municipal League for its community impact. And whereas he chaired the historical commission's naming subcommittee, crafting the formal policy now used to honor past officials by naming city rooms, parks, or amenities after them, ensuring that visible signage details their major community impacts to inspire future generations of civic leaders. And whereas through his service of 10 years as a city council representative on the planning commission, he helped lead the charge on enticing strategic redevelopment,

successfully navigating the city through its first comprehensive master plan update in decades and helping to craft new common sense zoning and ordinance language that has successfully attracted numerous new businesses. And whereas through his advocacy, the city has become more strategic in securing grants and improving parks, infrastructure, library facilities, lighting, and public amenities supported by the proactive special projects fund he developed in collaboration with city staff. And now, therefore, I, Corey Haynes, mayor of the city of Madison Heights, do express our profound appreciation to Mark Bliss for his outstanding leadership and contributions to our community. Be it further resolved that the city of Madison Heights honors Mark Bliss's enduring legacy and extends heartfelt be best wishes to him and his family as the city continues to build on the foundation he helped establish over the past 12 years. [applause] [applause] Yeah.

[applause]

And now, Councilman David Sulttus. Whereas David Sulttus has served with distinction on the Madison Heights city council since being first elected in November of 2013, including serving a term as mayor prom from 2020 to 2021. And whereas Councilman David Sulttus has served the residents of Madison Heights with dedication and compassion advocating for seniors, public safety, and the well-being of our community. And whereas David Sulttus initiated the annual senior bus trip to Lancing in 2014 for Older Michiganians Day, giving residents the opportunity to visit the state capital, meet legislators, and advocate for policies affecting their lives, a tradition he proudly reinstated after the pandemic. And whereas council member Sulttus has been a steadfast advocate for public safety, playing a pivotal role in the reinstatement of the police special investigations unit to enhance crime prevention efforts and has been a vocal proponent in the fight against child abuse, champion championing the implementation of nationally recognized no hit zones in public spaces. And whereas Councilman Sulttus has also championed programs that support seniors, including meals on wheels, home assistance, and the continued growth of the active adult center, ensuring older adults are respected, engaged, and supported in their independence. Now therefore, I, Corey Haynes, mayor of the city of Madison Heights, on behalf of the city council and all residents, do hereby recognize and extend our deepest gratitude to David Sulttus for his contributions to this community, for organizing the annual Lancing Senior Bus trip and promoting civic engagement for older residents, partnering with city staff and the late Councilman Corbett to develop a hotel ordinance focused on preventing human trafficking and strengthening public safety, and for unwavering support for public safy. safety in in his role in reinstating the special investigations unit for his advocacy to the prevention of child abuse, the protection of vulnerable

children, and the promotion of safe, supportive community environments. Be [snorts] it further resolved that the city honors Council Member David Sult for his compassionate service, his steadfast advocacy, and meaningful impact, and we wish him continued success in all future endeavors. [applause]

[applause] [clears throat] [applause]

I feel so short in this chair. I know I did too fast. Okay. Next on the agenda is the Government Finance Officer Association Distinguished Budget Award for the fiscal year 2026 budget. I am proud to announce that the city of Madison Heights has once again been awarded the GFOA's distinguished budget presentation award for fiscal year 2026. This recognition reflects the commitment of our governing body and our staff to the highest principles and best practices in municipal budgeting, especially our strong strategic planning process and our budget and brief that makes the budget more transparent and accessible to the public. Okay. Okay. Next, our last presentation for tonight is a fiscal year 2025 financial audit. City Manager Murf.

So tonight we're joined by Dan Merritt, a principal from Reman, who will be making a presentation regarding the annual financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2025, which really sets the stage for this new council in the upcoming budget year. So with that, I will turn it over to our finance director, Linda Kunath, and Dan Merritt. Maybe while the computer's connecting. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of city council. As previously mentioned, I'm Dan Merritt. I'm here from Raymond. We are the city's independent auditor. Uh, local governments in Michigan have been required to have annual financial statement audits ever since the budget and transparency act of 1983. And Raymond has been doing financial statement audits since that time. This is our second year partnering with the city. We do about 125 local government audits each year in the state of Michigan. Myself and my team uh designate all of our time to doing this. So, this is sort of what we do all the time. Um, as with previous years, we expect to give an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements. That means that we believe as a firm that your financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects. they can be used to make good financial uh decision-making. And perhaps most importantly, that they can be submitted to the state of Michigan on time and complete as is required by the Department of Treasury each year uh within six months of fiscal year end. So that's December 31st for all of you. And so after the final draft is approved here tonight, we then issue the financial statements and should be done in plenty of time uh to be considered an on-time filing with the state. So I'm going to run through a couple of brief slides of financial information just hitting the very high level. If anyone has any questions, feel free to stop me at any time. Uh, ask those questions. I'll also take questions at the end. So, uh, a slide or two briefly on revenue.

We tend to focus primarily on the general fund because that is the fund of the city which uh, council has the most operating control. You can see that property tax numbers uh for revenue continue to increase over the last several years. Not because a city is levying a bunch of new taxes, but because the property tax base has been strong and property tax valuations continue to go up. So that's good news. Your auditor always wants to see revenue go up and to the right. Um the other main source of revenue for the city is intergovernmental revenue that comes from another number of sources be they federal or state grants and also substantially from state revenue sharing. You see that number has fluctuated a little bit over the last few years and it's in slight decline primarily because during COVID there were a number of federal grants that the city was a recipient of and that money has since been spent within the required periods of performance. Um on our second general fund revenue slide here perhaps the most interesting uh point to make here is around investment income. You can see uh back a couple years ago during 21 and 22 investment income was very poor. uh that's mostly due to market conditions during those times. Uh the city has to invest primarily in very safe investments, things like federal agency notes, bonds, etc., things like that. You can't put your money into risky uh investments under under public act 20 in the state of Michigan. So, you have to be very careful. Investment return has been very good for the city the last two years. I cannot promise you that's going to continue to be the case. I'm a bit bearish on the market moment myself, but uh it has been good and and adds to the general fund budget to be able to continue to provide services for constituents when the market is good and performing well. Uh general fund expenditures, the city continues to invest in things like public safety on the behalf of constituents. Uh a piece of this is also additional contributions made to pension funding that we'll see in a moment. You can also see that uh investments in public works is the piece in the bottom right that is continuing to go up. A big

portion of that is the general fund's investment in streets. The city has made substantial investments in roads over the last several years. The general fund piece of street investment is quite small as compared to things coming out of the major and local streets fund. But a piece of that is also seen here. The graph that jumps out you on our final expenditure slide here is of course the capital outlay uh from 2023 where a lot of the civic center projects were completed in the city. Uh you can see that the city continues to invest in infrastructure buildings maintenance improvements etc just not quite at the level of the civic center project from a few years ago. Um to give slightly more context on the performance of the general fund. Uh you can see here the last three years of general fund performance each year the city has added to general fund balance. Again your accountant always wants to to see you adding profit and not have taking a loss unless that's a planned draw down of fund balance which is always okay if it's budgeted and planned. Um you can see that fund balances continued to increase. The city assigns substantially all of fund balance to specific projects. The city benefits from having a very experienced finance department and they make a careful plan and budget for use of the entire fund balance. Uh, and that's fully disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. Uh, in the water and sewer fund, I'd probably draw attention most to the orange bar here, which is talking about liquidity in the water and sewer fund. That's cash and investments. The city has made a careful rate study over the last several years to make sure that there's going to be liquidity available for investment in the water and sewer fund system. Here in southeast Michigan, we have a lot of aging water and sewer systems that are going to need replacement. So, the city is engaging in smart, prudent, future financial management by trying to build up the balance of cash and investments in the fund so that it can invest them back into the system as it ages and needs to be replaced. Uh last slide of financial information

here is about pension and OPED funding. The city has four different pension and other post-employment benefit plans for city employees. That's basically the promise to pay future benefits, whether those be pensions or retirey healthcare. That's what that fancy acronym OPE stands for. As of right now, uh, the city has been making good funding progress on all four of its defined benefit plans, including by budgeting for and making additional contributions. I believe it's 3.8 million to the police and fire plan, an additional $250,000 to the general employees plan. This is a a commitment that's been made over a number of years to try to improve the funded situation of all of these plans. All plans would be considered at this point by the state of Michigan funded because the state considers a plan that is 60% funded or more to be funded status. You can see on the OPE side that you're actually more than 100% funded. This is good. That's what we want to see because it means you're going to have less or no required contribution to those plans. So your budget can go to other places like serving constituents and not to continuing to fund pensions. Hopefully in a number of years we'll get the pensions to the to that place as well. and that's why the city has been making additional contributions over the years. So, I think that brings me to the end of my prepared remarks. I'm more than happy to take any questions if anyone might have at this time.

Anybody have any questions? Questions?

Okay. Thank you for the presentation. We'll receive and file the report. Thank you. All right. Next on the agenda is uh public hearings. There are no public hearings tonight. So, moving to the next agenda item um is items on agenda of interest to parties in the audience. Meeting is open to the public and we'll start with comments related specifically to items on tonight's agenda. Martha Covert Edward Avenue. Welcome, Mr. Mayor. Very happy to see you there. Um, normally I have a lot to say, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but since it's some of your first meetings, I'll just say welcome aboard.

Thank you. Thank you. [laughter] Let me hold it. We made it. [laughter]

All right. Is there anybody else that wants to speak on an an agenda item?

My name is Martha Kho. 1765 doing them. I want to thank the city that is helping seniors with these garbage pickup. I am just ecstatic that they did this for the seniors. It's very difficult to take them out to the curb with the walker. I haven't tried it and I don't intend to do it, but I do appreciate what the city has done for our seniors and that was wonderful because I didn't know how I was going to move a walker and get her out and they have been tremendous. So, I want to thank the city for doing this for us and um I don't think any other city has done this but I I really do want to everybody.

Thank you so much. Thank you. [applause]

Okay. All right. At this time, if there's no other comments on a agenda items, open the meeting for public comment. As a reminder, each speaker will have up to three minutes. Please begin by stating your name and address for the record. We appreciate your input and ask that comments be directed directly to me.

Okay. Um, beta palazolo. Um, Jenner, um, first of all, congratulations to each and every one of you. Um you guys ran very interesting good races and it's good to see um some new faces and some great returned faces that we've missed and um very very pleased to see you Mr. Mayor and wish you the best of luck with your new band of angels or however you want to put it. [laughter] So um I I just had one thing. Um, in fact, this this has kind of um uh I don't want to say perturbed me, but got my interest peaked up during the whole uh election race. And um um I guess I'd like to address this to Mr. Mayor about the charter. Whereas if you are running if you are a member of council and you are running for another seat, you get to keep your seat if you don't win your race. Um, personally, I don't think that's right. Um, my reasoning be is that you have a number of candidates behind you that are running and they put a lot of time and energy and finances into that and um, it's like why bother? because if this one person doesn't win the race he's going for, he's going to get that seat anyway. So, I'm not sure if I want to even play the game. And and I say game because I feel it's a game. Um I will equate that to if you're going for a job interview and you tell your boss, "Hey, if I don't get

the job, will you hold my seat for me?" You know, that's how I see it. Now, um, we all have our opinions, but, um, after being here 21 years, um, I know there's been a lot of changes, and I'm praying for some changes for the better, and that's one that I feel would be for the better. Thank you, your honor. Yes, Larry.

Maybe maybe I can explain why that is for your benefit, Vita, and all people here watching at home. In the 1960s when Bill Hoffman was appointed mayor, council could not fill his empty council seat because the vote at every meeting was 3 to three. So council at that time went out to the voters, changed the charter, which provided that if you were a seated member of council, you had to resign your seat in order to run for another city office, namely run for mayor. Recently, our charter and ordinance review committee recommended to the voters that we change that so that a seated member of council would not have to resign his or her seat in order to run for another city elective office. So that this is the first year that we had an election where that new rule set by our voters in our charter came into effect. So I I just wanted to make sure you knew the the history of it. Okay.

Mr. Sherman, may I ask a question? Sure. You said that it applied to um city positions only, but uh doesn't also apply that if they were running for positions like county level and that it also applied. it. The answer to that is it depends on what office you're running for because there's an incompatibility of offices test and if the offices are incompatible uh you can't keep your council seat in the event you get you get elected to another position but it depends on what office the person's running for. Thank you.

Okay. Anybody else? Seeing none, close public comment. Next up on the agenda is the consent agenda. Like to get a motion to approve the consent agenda. The only item that is on the consent agenda this evening is council representative and council alternate board and commission appointments. Can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? Your honor. Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented to council. Your honor. Second.

All right. The motion has been made and seconded. Um, any discussion. All right. Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose say no. Motion carries. Right. Next under communications uh and reports. Under reports, we have appointments to boards and commissions. City Manager Merch.

Um, city council has requested that appointments to boards and commissions of the residents be made as needed rather than semianually as we had been doing it in February and August. Currently, the crime commission requires appointments due to difficulty achieving a quorum. Since council is considering appointments to the crime commission, also included are the other applicants for boards and commissions with existing vacancies. Should council concur with the staff recommendations including in the agenda, a motion to adopt the board and commission appointments as presented would be in order. Okay. Can I get a motion to approve? Your honor. Motion to approve the boards and commission's vacancy. Okay. Second, your honor.

Yes. Okay. We have a motion with a second. Any discussion? I do actually. And I'm sorry I didn't notice this before. Um, are we allowed to make a request to change somebody who is a current alternate into a regular? Susie King is currently on the arts board and has been um the other Mark obviously has been also, but are we allowed to make a switch at this point? You would have to make a substitute motion to approve it with the change that you're noting and then get a second. Okay. you'd like me to verbalize all it.

And just one more thing, everybody needs to make sure that they're talking right in the microphone. It was something I didn't tell you before because it's hard to hear if you don't have it bent down and be, you know, like two inches away. Sure. Okay. Um, I would, uh, like to make a motion to, um, make one adjustment on the board and commission vacancies to make Susanna King on the arts board list a regular member instead of an alternate. And um, so do I have to I have to tell who to who to move? I don't know.

Um, oh, somebody Kimberly Opring had Oper had um apparently offered to be an alternate. So, can we put that there? Your honor, question. I'll let her finish. She's currently probably Okay.

Your honor. Sorry. Go ahead. I was just going to ask a question. Why you figuring that out? There's Excuse me. Tell us.

There's some um discrepancy on whether or not Susanna King is currently on that board or not. I have her as an applicant. So, I don't know. I think maybe the best would be to postpone that until I can research whether she was appointed at another meeting um to postpone that whole appointment for the arts board so that I can clarify who is currently on and who's not. Are we sure that it's Susanna King cuz she goes by Susie King because it's the same person. And I have another question as the council representative. Am I to make the appointments of who's on on boards or can anyone make the appointments because it is my understanding that the council representative makes the appointments here.

I mean technically anybody can make the appointment and that's just how it is but in the past probably two years we have allowed the person that was the liaison to make the recommendation because ideally you're the person on the board all the time but anybody really could do it. Okay. Um, but there could be a substitute motion then or a rep. If you agree, you can change your motion to approve the other boards. I guess the crime commission, the elected officials compensation commission, the environmental citizens committee, the historical commission, and the parks and recreation advisory board as presented and then we'll just take up the arts board at a later date.

Uh, I would like to withdraw my motion for that. Then, um, Susanna Susie is already actively engaged. I don't think whether she's a regular or an alternative would change her level of engagement. So, um I'll go ahead and withdraw it so we can complete this task. Okay. So, we're back to the original motion with the second. Any other discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose say no.

The motion carries. [snorts] Let's see. Next up, um, items for future public hearings. There's nothing tonight. Bid awards and purchases. Mayor bid awards and purchases the ballfield light renovation project. City manager Marsh.

The fiscical year 2026 budget includes accumulated funding for the replacement of the athletic fields lighting system at Huffman, Rosies, and Silverleaf Parks. A request for proposal was issued on September the 12th with five proposals received by the October 10th deadline. A detailed analysis of the proposals was conducted resulting in the lowest qualified proposal coming from Quality Sports Lighting of Hillsdale, Michigan. This project is funded in part by a $525,000 federal community project funding grant. Staff recommends that council award the ballfield light renovation project to quality sports lighting of Hillsdale, Michigan in the amount of $936,535 and to authorize the city manager to approve change order under the purchasing threshold of $15,000 in lie of a contingency for unforeseen conditions. And Sean Valentine is here tonight if you have any detailed questions. Bill,

why are you looking at me? This has been Bill's love project for the past two years. All right. Can I get a motion, your honor? Yes. I would like to make a motion to award the ball field light renovation project to Qual Light Sports Lighting of Hillsdale, Michigan in the amount of $936,535 and authorize city manager Marsh to approve change orders under the purchase threshold of $15,000 in lie of contingency for unseen conditions. Okay, we have a motion. Do we have a second? Your honor, I'll second that.

Thank you. We have a motion and we have a second. Is there any discussion? Yes, your honor. Yes. When can we have this done? [laughter] Is tomorrow? I'll call up Sean to talk about the timeline. Is tomorrow good, Sean? I mean, I can meet you out there or and maybe if you briefly could kind of talk about why this is needed.

Yeah. Good evening, mayor and council. Um the timeline on this I believe we had specified uh 90 to 180 days that is based on availability materials. So uh as soon as we get the go ahead uh assuming uh positive vote at this meeting the purchase order goes out tomorrow and they begin working with us. Um I am happy to report that the company is based out of Hillsdale, Michigan. They make the lights in Hillsdale, Michigan. So it's actually Michigan products being installed on Michigan fields. Um, that's one of the reason that this proposal stood out as opposed to the very lowest one. Um, just for a little bit of how the hot dogs are made as far as proposal versus bid. When we ask for a request for proposals, we're saying I want a coffee maker. It needs to be 12 cups and give me your best shot. You might bid a cure egg, a Mr. Coffee, whatever the case is. And it's then up to it's up to the company to tell us why this is the best fit for the city. It's up to city staff to determine why it's the best fit for the city versus a bid. Bids are generally easier because it's I want a 12 cup Mr. Coffee uh legacy series. Give me the lowest price on that. We'll go with that. So that's why proposals aren't just based on the very lowest price. They're also based on a number of factors. One of the things with this bid is we had to be buy America build America compliant. Um, this is because of the federal funding and this company was the one because they're made in Michigan. Um, over 68% of the parts are domestically made here. It made them uh compliant. So, as far as these lights go, uh, Silverleaf Park has no lights right now. The one pole fell down. We had the poles tested. All three other poles were rotted. We had to remove them.

Huffman Park had eight poles. One fell down. Two were removed. The other ones are barely hanging on. And uh Rosy's Park, same deal. I believe we had a total of 10 poles at that park and we're down to about six. As an interim thing to fix this, to keep the things going because obviously these lights are very expensive. Um we've moved lights from the poles that fell onto the existing poles, which made more weight on the poles, aimed them, tried to scream them out far in the fields. The lighting systems are simply completely at their end of life, if they even still exist. So, this is a project we've been working on for quite a while. We're very happy to bring this to council because this is going to completely relight all our fields with a 25-year warranty, um, LED lighting, energy efficient, and, um, a better, uh, much better quality of light for our fields. Your honor,

yeah, the 25 year warranty kind of jumped out at me as well. Uh several of the other companies I saw added an additional cost if you wanted to get more than a 10-year warranty with both of them. Um as uh a person who frequently watches softball games at Rosies, somebody's going to get hurt out there because it's it's dark in the outfield, right?

When you when you have a 10:30 game and my son plays outfield. So, um, also being, uh, on little league, uh, please get these done like ASAP because the last several of years, thankfully, when the poll fell at Silverleaf, nobody none of the kids were playing that day. So, thankful for that. Um, but they have been looking forward. It's it's the highlight of of the little seven and eight year olds and nine and 10 year olds and even the older kids to have that one night game under the lights uh, in the summer. We've missed that for the last couple years. So, very good.

I think that's why city manager Marsh was staring at me because I've been bugging her for for the two years that I've been on council to please get this taken care of. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Any other discussion, your honor? Yes.

I'd just like to say thank you to Sean. I know um few years ago now when the first the poll fell and um our meeting in um at the parks and rec wreck advisory board um we had a conversation about it and when I first heard about it my stomach dropped because I thought my god my kids play in these parks you know um and um one of my children's friends at the time had a um young sister who had died several years prior um when a pole in a park fell on her um in Ferndale. Um and I thought that is not what we want here. Um and so I know and but when we said we looked at it and we said we saw that it was you know nearly $100,000 per light, it was it was going to be a a stretch to make this happen. Um, I really appreciate number one, um, you know, the city staff and making sure that this continues to move forward. And number two, I want to say thank you to, um, Representative Haley Stevens for her advocacy for the funding from the federal government to make that come to us. Um, you know, having her, uh, listen and ask us, you know, what do you need? And then making that, um, happen for us as an earmark was really helpful. Um, and I want I just wanted to publicly say thank you to both Congresswoman Stevens and Sean Valentine and your whole staff. Thank you.

Good job. Any other discussion? Right. Hearing none. Uh, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose say no. Motion carries. Your honor, sorry to interrupt. I just want to apologize to the council. I did make a mistake on that. um listing and Susanna King is already a regular member on that board. So, we'll just

Good. All right. For our next item, it's a council representative appointment to planning commission with a term expiring November 8th, 2027. I'm asking council this evening to confirm the mayor's appointment of councilman Sean Fleming as the council member to serve as the council representative on the planning commission. This position plays an important role in ensuring strong communication between the commission and the city council. If council con concurs, staff recommends a motion to confirm the appointment for a two-year term expiring November 8th, 2027. Can I get a motion? Your honor, I'd like to make a motion to appoint Sean Flemings to the planning commission. Okay, I have a second. I'll

second. Okay, we have a motion. It's been seconded. uh discussion your honor. Yes, councelor. Wright just wanted to make one comment with regard to this.

So, knowing the makeup of our current uh planning commission and the important part that it plays in the role of working on the master plan and working on what we bring forth to city council. Um, I have no objection to uh moving forward with your recommendation, but at the same time, I ask that um we make sure that we're being inclusive of all of our residents in terms of giving them a voice, giving them a seat at the table to be a part of that conversation. And so, that's something that I think is important. And if we can work with boards like the HRC to make sure that that opportunity is used to leverage that board to be a part of that process and those members can be a part of that process as well.

Okay. Your honor, I like that recommendation from councelor Wright. I think that's a great idea. um that we can you know work with other commissions and committees that we have and also you know I think it's really important that the uh residents uh as they have in the past come to the planning meeting and voice their concerns uh about any project that's going on in the city. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. Your honor. Yes.

Um I'm going to echo that concern. You know when I look at the current makeup of the planning commission um beyond Melissa Marsh as our city manager. she's an issue voting member. Um there is uh not a single woman uh or person of color on this board and being um you know a board that really focuses on the needs and the the um important the important um viewpoints and experiential viewpoints of people from all walks of life in our city. Um you know there is going to be there is a vacant position right now. Um and perhaps um it can be a cons make a concerted effort to you know see if we can find somebody that is um that can bring some sort of a diverse opinion or um perspective to that board because um because this is such an important board. Um, I really would, uh, really encourage, you know, you as mayor, um, to, you know, I hear that you have selected Shauna Fleming, and that's fine. Um, I know that there were several other people on council that were interested in that, so I respect your your choice at this time. Um but uh I'm really I am this is something I'm concerned about when when you talk about a um a group of people that are homogeneous the you know there have been studies that have shown that um you know the brightest and best homogeneous group of people will very often make poorer decisions than a diversified group of people that are of average intelligence or I can't remember what the study how it But having adverse diverse uh viewpoints on a board will be is a really important

part of a decision-m process and a uh movement forward for um good decision- making in the future. So I just want to make sure that that is put there as an important um aspect and and uh you know challenge to the planning commission to if if you don't have the um if you don't have the the people on the board that have diverse um viewpoints or um experiences um than to seek them out actively throughout the decision-making process. Thank you, your honor. Yes,

I I appreciate and I and I thank you for your appointment of Councilman Fleming and Councelor Robbuk, I I hear you and I you make a very valid point. However, I must say that having worked with Councilman Fleming on the ZBA, I feel and believe without a doubt that he will make the right decisions when it comes to the board of planning and commission. He is a very understanding and equally balanced person. I so I do believe that as he go forth having the knowledge that he has been with the last two years on the ZBA moving into this realm on the planning commission I believe that Mr. Fleming will take that same level of respect and make certain that as he's sitting at the table he will make decisions that is best for every resident. At the same token, when the planning commission meets on those Mondays, every resident is always welcome to have their voice at the table. I encourage people to come out and to speak because one thing that we will not do with this council is have someone say that a decision was made and they were not aware. We want to be a transparent council. We want to be one that will speak and have those that have concerns to have their voices heard. And that's all I got to say.

Thank you, honor. Yes. Just looking at the uh at the current members, I believe there's a vacant position on that board, right? That's correct. Yeah. So, I I I I hear councelor uh Wright and and Rob and uh would encourage you to to take that those comments into consideration and let's fill that position with the right person.

Okay. Any other discussion? All right. Before we take the vote, um I want to speak to how I made my decision um on who I was going to appoint. And it's it's fairly quick. Um, Councilman Fleming has served on the ZBA for the last two years. Um, there's no doubt in my mind that he has the most significant knowledge moving forward with the master plan as ZBA works closely handinand with planning commission. That's number one. Um, number two, we lost a lot of knowledge when we lost Roslin who had been on there for a few years and Councilman Bliss or Mayor Prom Bliss who had been on there for 10 years. We lost all that institutional knowledge as to what's been going on and what's been happening over the years. And now we have me as the mayor um brand new to this, you know, sort of thing. I need somebody that I can count on that knows and has been directly involved with the ZBA and with the planning commission. The same can be said for um Councilwoman Toya because or Councilwoman Erin because you know she has been on the ZBA before when she was on council before and she's currently on the Z or was until this evening was on the ZBA um as well. So, um, in the consent agenda, we appointed, um, Councilwoman Aaron to the ZBA, and it just seems like the natural progression for the person that's been on the ZBA for the last two years to move forward to the planning commission, as well as going back into um, Councilman Fleming's past uh, when he was in the military and he spent a lot of time doing planning um, and instituting policies. So, that's the reason for my decision. So, um, [snorts] all those I guess we'll take the vote. All those in favor signify by saying I.

I. Oppose say no. The motion carries. All right. That concludes the business on tonight's agenda. Before we adjourn, I'd like to open the floor for any closing comments from city council. Starting with Councilwoman Erin. Now, Mayor Haynes, you said you [laughter] were not STARTING THIS WAY. WE were going to mix things up. I [laughter] thought we we will be mixing them up as we go.

All righty. Well, first I want to say now that we've concluded our first meeting as the 36th council for Madison Heights. I applaud us. I thank us. I appreciate each and every last one of you. And I am looking so forward to the next four years working with all of you. Um, I want to also thank everybody that came out to support us as we got sworn in. Thank um my mom, my son, my aunt, my boyfriend's daughter, [laughter] I got flowers, but I want to thank everybody that came out tonight. It was really a privilege. Um, and honestly, it's a privilege to return back to this seat. The seat was kept warm by Mir Pro Tim Mir who promised me two years ago that I can have my seat back. So I thank you for being a man of your word.

I knew I was coming back. Um and to all of those that shared tonight and comments, you know, I Vita Martha um Mar Martha and Margene [laughter] I um we hear you, we understand you. And what I want to say that public engagements are essential for the governance of our city is um your perspectives. It's your perspectives that help us to work together. Is your perspectives that help us to guide to lead this city and to make recommendations and knowledge to what the city needs. I've heard the voices. I read the Facebook pages. I hear you. And I want you to know that as we move forward, I want to emphasize that the work ahead of us requires a lot of collaboration. It require requires a lot of patience. And I respectfully ask the community, as I mentioned before, to give this new council 100 days. Give us 100 days to be able to assess, to organize, and to implement the foundational steps needed to ensure long-term progress. We need to be able to work together. There shall not be division in this council. We've heard in the past what has happened. We are one team. One team, one body, one sound, one Madison Heights. That is what I am looking forward for with this new council. I am optimistic and understanding that the opportunities before us. I am confident in the collective leadership of this council and together I believe that we have the capacity to strengthen our city and to serve our residents with integrity and with purpose. I thank you all for coming out tonight and I am so happy that these four years is about to be the best four years Madison Heights has seen in a while. PROMISE YOU [applause]

may prom. Okay. You can't let her go first anymore. [laughter]

But the seat back, uh, I was only keeping it warm. I'm glad I didn't fall off the edge [laughter] that I sat in that seat. Um, it's it's uh, a lot of what council councilwoman Toya Aaron said. Uh, ditto, thank you all for coming out this evening. Um, welcome 36th council. Uh, welcome back, Councilwoman Erin. Welcome, Councelor Gerald. Um, it's a privilege and honor to work with this group and, uh, I'll take this, uh, new title of mayor prom and and, uh, make it the best two years Madison Heights has ever seen and then continue on as a just a plain old councilman uh, for another two fantastic years. So, I'm certainly looking forward to the next four years uh serving with this group and uh again, thanks everyone for coming out tonight, especially my family that uh because they're always behind schedule, I had to stand out in the hallway, but my [laughter] lovely and charming uh better half sitting there with uh Councilwoman's uh Scott. So, um happy Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful holiday everybody. stay safe and uh thank you very much. [applause]

Fantastic. Just hopefully the applause keep going down the line. Um first I'd like to welcome our newest member to council. Uh newest members, I should say. Uh councelor Gerald. Uh I I welcome you, Mayor Haynes. I welcome you as well. So, um, and welcome back, Councilwoman Toya Aaron. It's good to see you again. You cannot have my mints this time. Um, [laughter] so the thing that I love most about uh this time in in the election cycles, it's a chance for us to have a new beginning and a new start. And that's what this is. Um, make no mistake, we're not going to agree on everything. I mean, I think you kind of already say we we don't, and that's okay. But the point is to move the city together forward together and that's what we're going to continue to do. Um I will always advocate for being inclusive of everyone. I don't think it hurts to say it and it's not a slight to to anyone to make sure that everyone is included. It never is. It just means we're looking out for for the entirety of our residents and that's not a bad thing. So um I do want to uh also just kind of address how we got to to that uh voting thing where you can stay on council. It was a referendum vote. it went out to the residents and it passed by about 73% of the residents. So, if we were to make another change, it would go back out to the residents. So, it's not it's not something that we arbitrarily can change. It's something that has to go before board and then go out to the residents. Um, with that, I just want to uh thank Mayor, former mayor Grafstein, I should say now, uh, for reminding me. Um, you know, at the end of the day, it's not about this agreeing, it's about uh making sure that we connected with each other. So with that, just remember to be kind. [applause]

Oh, thank you. I didn't expect that. I didn't say anything cool. [laughter] I think attorney I think you did say that. I guess I did. Arthur was impressed.

First of all, first of all, Councilwoman Aaron, welcome back. It's great to have you back. Wish you the best. Look forward to working with you. Councilwoman Gerald, I'm not sure if that's your official title yet, but I can tell you that it's wonderful to for you to be carrying on your family legacy in politics in the city of Madison Heights going way back to your late dad Monty, your brothers, your nephew, and now you. And I really look forward to working with you uh in the coming years. Mayor Haynes, it's a funny title because I have called him chief for many, many years. In fact, I remember the first day that he came on the job as our one and only first K-9 officer back in 1992.

I started in '92 K9 in 99. Okay. Well, I was

You're close. No cigar, but I I know it was a long time ago, but u [snorts] you know, we wish you the best in in your new role. you wearing a lot of hats and I and I and I know you can handle the job and wish you all the best and I and I look forward to to the the new council and working together. Council can agree to disagree and they can do it in an agreeable manner. You know, people have opinions, people look at issues different way and that's what it's all about. You know, dealing with issues and voting your conscience in a spirit of respect and council can do it. And I'm hoping that the new council will pull together toward that goal. Thank you.

Not necessary, but [laughter] city manager Marsh,

I just want to say a couple things. First of all, start by congratulations to all of you. I look forward to working with you all and it's an honor to have Toya back at least and Corey because he used to be my deputy here. So, um I feel like he's been up here before, but he hasn't. [laughter] Um anyway, uh with that, I'll move on to actual other business. Next Monday is our tree lighting. So, I invite you and remind you to come out to that at 4:30. The active adult center is having a like craft show sale type um program. And at 6:00 starts our tree lighting and the lights will come on around 6:30. So, this will be the first um real event for this city council. And so I invite you to come out to that and greet Santa. Following that and on the heels of the very good financial presentation that you saw tonight, um the city is doing good financially and we are going to start the planning, the strategic budget planning with this new council and what their visions are on December 1st. So that meeting is open to the public. You're welcome to attend. [cough] Um it's more of a workshop. It's not a formal meeting like this. So that is at six o'clock at the fire station if anybody's interested.

[laughter] Okay, you do you do not have to clap for me because [laughter] I'm just going to say I look forward to working with everybody. I apologize for the mistake made earlier in the packet and um it's good to see some familiar faces again and um it's good to be a good good year couple years. [applause] Councelor, thank you. Um, welcome council or what are you call?

Yeah, counselor Gerald. I am really excited to have a new seatmate. So, I'm really happy that you're here. Um, Corey, I'm really happy that you're here. Toya, I'm glad you're back. This is great. I'm really excited. Um, you know, it's always good to have uh new perspectives, fresh perspectives, and fresh start. You know, it's like the beginning of the school year every year. I know my brother always struggled because he struggled in school and every year in August he'd be like, "This is the year. This is the year I'm going to be great." And, you know, he'd usually fall apart by September 3rd, but [laughter] this is the year. But but I'm really excited. We're we It's great to have a fresh start and a new um new beginning and I'm really looking forward to working with everyone. And um uh yeah, that's that's the big thing here. Um, you know, this uh Monday um was my 48th birthday. Thank you. I'm not telling you that cuz I needed a happy birthday recognition, but um you know, it's it's one of those things where you start to see that like that horizon, the second that that decade birthday coming up. And I [laughter] I'm starting to really think about that and what that means. Um but you know for me it really means that you know you know my my 40s have been here for the most part right and that has been um a beautiful and um important part of my life. Um I watch I first ran for council in 2017. I lost but I ran again in 2019 and I won. Um, but in uh when I ran for council the first time in 2017, my twin boys were uh in preschool and I did my entire campaign in the two hours on Tuesday and Thursday when they're at half day preschool. I think that's why I lost. [laughter] But um but you know these are the um for me these are these are the the core years of um you know my

life, my family's life, my children's lives. This is our this is our golden years in many ways of like the most precious time. And it is for me such a gift to be part of this council because we get to do things like fix the ball field lights when the kids, my kids are going to still get to use the ball field lights. we get to the last six years, we put in a new play structure at pretty much every single park in the city and we're going to do, you know, Ambassador Park, Red Oaks Park, whatever we're calling it, is coming up next. Like, these things are happening and it's been a it is continues to be a pleasure and an honor to do that and I'm excited for to work with all of you to continue to do that. Um, it will, I guarantee, be spirited at times and that's great. I love a spirited debate, [laughter] so get ready. But it's good. It's good thing to do. Um, and uh, when I was also thinking as you guys are all clapping for everybody [laughter] was when my children were young, we were really little, we used to play a game called presenting. And the entire game was they'd stand outside of the room and we we'd say, "Now for the first time from Madison Heights, Michigan." and we'd announce their name and every they'd walk in the room and we'd cheer as loud as they could and they'd stand there and just take in the the approval and the love from their family and then they'd do it again. [laughter] It was, you know, set of three. So, they'd come in one right after another and just keep doing it over and over again. Um, and it is it is helpful to have the support of the community and it is uplifting to have the support of the community. So, we appreciate that and we appreciate your presence here tonight. And um but you know, that's not why we do it, right? We do it because we love the work that we're doing here. So, um last thing I'm going to say is come to the tree

lighting. Happy Thanksgiving. And um you know, it's going to start getting cold, so be careful in the snow when it comes. Thank you, [applause] Gerald. Um, so, um, you talked about how old you are and I realized I could be your mother's younger sister, but [laughter] that'll be that'll be next month for me. So, active adult center in two years.

Oh, yeah. Um, so you mentioned the tree lighting and when I wrote a letter for the um, bandshell, one of the things I talked about how was how I feel like the civic center park is like our hallmark town square and how important that is to me and the things that we do here. And um, so to the treelighting by the way with parks and wreck and the DPS has just kicked up notches. the last three or four years. So, thank you for that and for your team. Um, so those types of things, the visibility in the arts boards, all these things are improving the quality of life in the um city and I really appreciate all that and what it does for our residents. Um, so I also want to really thank our community right now. They are super generously stepping up for the food pantry in light of everything that's going on. Um we are being blessed and challenged right now because we've gotten so many amazing donations. One of them was um a an emergency food drive that Mike McFall did two Sundays ago. And then this past Sunday, we had two former residents, Jennifer and Darren Llewellyn, who literally dropped off a ton of food that she they had filled their garage with two tons of food. Half of it came here and half of it is going to a food pantry in um Chesterfield. And then we have um business partners like Meyer and Costco and a couple others that are just amazing. So, thank you for that support. don't give up on continuing to support us because after we get through the holidays, we're still going to have some more challenging months. So, thank you for that. And um I am really honored to be here. Thank you so much. Looking

forward to working with you all, [applause]

Councilman Fleming. Well, I want to say congratulations uh to uh Councilwoman Toya Erin for coming back and I'm glad you're back here with us and to uh see u coun um mayor promp William here. Good to see you back again for another four years and to congratulations to our new mayor, Mayor Haynes and um and to councelor Lorie Gerald. Congratulations. And by the way, I want to tell you that your seat here was I I was sitting there, but I've given it to you because now you get to carry on the legacy of uh Margie Scott. You had your [laughter] seat there for over 20 years.

You know, um I I want to say that um I'm sitting here where Dave Sult used to sit. Um and he was the person who [snorts] um really kind of got me involved in going, you know, in city council. you know, I talked to him. He uh he came to our BFW post to talk to us uh that was on 11 mile where the wood pile is now. And uh it's kind of um sad to see him go. I mean it's sad to see every all you know mayor I mean mayor promp bliss to go and and our uh Rosen grassine they've all done a wonderful job uh for the time they've been on the council and as mayor and uh it's really appreciative that they gave their hard work and due diligence uh to make the city what it is right now. Um, I got a couple things. Um, tomorrow at the Hazel Park Recreation Center from 3 to 5, uh, 3:30 to 5:00 pm, uh, Amazon has a new service called Amazon Air. They're going to be using drones, uh, to deliver your pro products that you order for the small amount of, I guess, $5. Uh, it will be there within an hour. And uh but the meeting really is about uh giving input uh that I for the drone the drone uh coming to your house and dropping it off and if you want all this drone traffic flying around and uh you know the liabilities of uh what happens if you know you're you know it falls from the sky or whatever. And so I think it's important uh if if this is an issue that you think it's important to you that you go to the meeting tomorrow and you talk to Amazon. And I would say that we're I think I'm going to try to get the city manager to get a contact for Amazon and if you uh have some concerns and you can't make the meeting that you uh let us know uh about any questions you can have so we can get them answered uh whatsoever. I also wanted to say that uh

I heard the remark um about the garbage cans uh from Arthur Kho and I think that's uh really important that we did that. I know we have a lot of seniors and other people with just disabilities overall that cannot lift or push uh the large 96gallon cans and uh maybe in the future we can get the smaller maybe something that's 48 um 48 gallons uh for that's smaller but uh and hopefully that everybody's helping each other out to get those cans out to the curb and I'm hope I'm glad that we're people are able to use the ser the free service where they're able to move the cans uh for you down to to the driveway uh for trash day. And um so I'm glad that's working out. I really really wanted that to happen and that was really important uh piece of um what we did um for everyone. So um that's that's basically it for today. Thank you. [applause]

All right. Well, I guess it's up to me now. So before we adjourn, um I want to congratulate everybody up here. Um Councilwoman Aaron, Mayor Prom, Mir, Councelor Wright, Councelor Roarbach, Councelor Geralds, and of course, Councilman Sean Fleming. Um, I want to thank all of you for everything. And I know that I've never been in an election before, never tried to run for any public office. And man, did I get indoctrinated quick, [laughter] but honestly, none of us could be here without the support of this community. And the tremendous outpouring of support that we saw this evening just filling the council chambers, filling the hallway was just overwhelming. and I cannot cannot thank you enough for coming out and showing your support for all of us here tonight. Um, I'm going to remind everybody again about the tree lighting because we can't forget the tree lighting because that will be my first chance to actually converse with Santa Claus. So, [laughter] so we got to have some fun, right? But it'll be the first time actually giving a speech as as your new mayor. Um, I also want to mention and give congratulations to the Madison district schools and the Lanford districts schools for the robotics teams for their great work this past weekend during their competitions. Um, many of you may not know, but Paige Middle School actually hosted a robotics competition last Saturday, hosting hosting schools from all over. Um, and as luck would have it and the skill that these kids have is amazing. um Pa every single robotics team from Paige Middle School made it to the tournament tournament finals that day. Um [snorts] unfortunately they did end up winning, but they had a great day. They did a fantastic job and clearly had the best competition of their entire season. So um just great things are coming through

our schools. Um and the these kids are fantastic. So again, in closing, I want to thank everyone for your participation tonight. And with that, the time is now 8:24. This meeting is adjourned. [applause]