City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

This regular City Council meeting of the Oak Park City Council is called to order June 15th, 2026 at 7.02 p.m. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

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.

City Clerk Norris, would you call the roll?

Yes. Mayor McClellan?

Here.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar? Here. Council Member Radner? Here. Council Member Crawford?

Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carried, thank you. Before we go to the consent agenda tonight, we will deliberate about the appointment of a new council member. I will ask each council member to announce their preferred candidate and explain why they feel this is the best candidate. After that, we will open the floor to discussion. Please address your comments to the chair. Ask to be given the floor. No crosstalk. Let's start. Madam Mayor? Yes.

Could I just add one piece? Council members, as was instructed at the June 1st, 2026 meeting, I do have a printout that I would like to provide to each of you, which has your picks, top picks. I'd like each of you to have this, so this can aid in facilitating your discussion.

Okay. Let's see. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar.

My top choice for the appointment to the City Council is Larminder Davis.

And you were going to explain why you feel this is the best candidate.

I think that Larmada brings a range of experience to the table. She has served in an elective position on the Oak Park School Board. Knowing what we know about the Oak Park School Board, it's a little bit more insane than our council. And I think she probably navigated it well. She won an award. for being a good employee. I really liked her. She also applied the last time for the appointment. I think she interviewed very well, and I think she will hit the ground running. I think that's really essential that somebody knows how to get things done, and she seems to be unafraid to speak up. Okay.

Council Member Crawford.

My top choice was also Larminder Davis. I thought that she was very professional. She had a very solid background. I think that she would, it would be a very easy learning curve for her. And I think she gave an all around solid interview.

Thank you. Solomon Radner, Council Member Radner.

My first choice is Rebecca Berman because the things that kind of jumped out at me about her from the interview is she has a lot invested in this city, that's for sure. She has a family that she's still raising in this city, so she's probably gonna be here for a while. She does a lot, but I think she has time for this, which is something we're probably gonna talk about during this meeting. And the special needs aspect that she brings that she understands that, frankly, I never even would have thought of, I thought was particularly interesting. But more importantly than that, I've known her for a long, long, long time. And she is absolutely selfless. She is a really, really... And she's got a heart of gold, and she's selfless. She does for others, nonstop. And that's, of course, that's something that I just have known about her for a long time, but that's why she's my number one pick.

Excellent. I also picked Rebecca Berman. She said during the interview that she has young children. A lot of the people, the new people who are moving into the city of Oak Park are in that position of raising young families. They have just bought a house, some of them. I think that she represents that demographic in the city. She answered the questions well. She comes highly recommended. I would like to open the deliberation or questions to the council. Please ask to be recognized before you speak.

Well, I guess I'll start. I think it was a tough decision. I think that, first of all, I think all of the candidates did well. And they all brought something different. I think that I like the fact that, I did like Ms. Berman. I thought that she brought a platform that I even said at the end wow I'm glad that you said that I never really put a lot of thought into that and making sure that you know our special needs children are represented is very important I don't and then I thought that on the flip side I thought miss Davis brought a lot of experience So I think they were just, they just brought different things to the table.

Right. Mayor Pro Tem Julie Edgar.

I too have known Rebecca Berman for a long time, and she is an extremely nice person. She does for others. She is dealing with a special needs child, and she has two others, including a baby. I have to say that we have a lot of people who come to our meetings who serve on boards and commissions. We've got a couple right here. And Rebecca, during the interview, said, I looked at council meetings. I listened to them. I'd never done that before. And wow. And I thought, well... That troubles me a little bit, that she's not served on any board or commission. She had to look at council meetings before she could interview. I thought that was a little bit troubling, and it's kind of insulting to people who have been serving on various boards and commissions. In addition, While I think it is important to have accessible parks, I would ask Rebecca to please sit on the Parks and Rec Commission because they could use a perspective like that. And I am a little bit leery of people who have never served and want to jump into a city council seat. There's a lot of meetings. This person is going to have to mount a campaign next year. It's a lot of work for somebody who has a young family. And while, yes, I mean, she's invested in the city because she's got a young family, and I suppose that means she's invested in the city, I would argue that Larmander has been here for quite a while. She's a woman who runs a nonprofit. She's very educated. She's obviously very bright. And I feel that she, again, knows what's what and applied for the right reasons. So that's my perspective.

I thought that the fact that she listened to the council meetings online was a good sign. And when there were applications for our city attorney, I voted to hire our city attorney because he did the same thing. He listened to the council meetings to find out what the issues were. And I thought that was a positive, not a negative.

Yeah, so I thought Larmunder was great. I'll tell you my hesitation with Larmunder. And my, of course, my computer is still firing up. I have very detailed, copious notes that I took on every candidate. My concern about Larmunder is time. don't know if she has the time for this and of course there's no way of knowing if anybody had the time for this but that's the biggest concern that I have about this is is whether she's got the the time to really do this job there was another thing I wanted to add if you could just give me a second I kind of lost my train of thought Yeah, I forgot. I'm sure I'll remember at some point. And when I do, I'll let you know.

Sure. I had the same concern. I was so impressed with Larminder Davis. She has a full-time job at the university and is running another nonprofit full-time. And... This position requires two council meetings a month, usually two special council meetings a month. The council member is the liaison between the council and three of our boards and commissions, so it's another three meetings a month. And if you have trouble making meetings because of your other commitments, that is my only concern about an extremely competent person.

Madam Mayor.

Mayor Pro Tem Julie Edgar. So if she can't make those meetings, I'm not sure she would have applied. And again, this is the second time that Larmadure has put herself out there for an appointment. I suspect that she does have the time if she's applied. I would express the same reservations about Rebecca, how much time does she have? She's a young mother, and she's a busy, busy young mother. So I would wonder, is she available? Would she come to all of the meetings that we have? I didn't even count when you were taking them off, but we have at least six meetings a month. So in the evening.

So I would say that is I believe it a drawback when it comes to Rebecca's candidacy Councilmember Solomon Redner I don't know if I should say this because I don't know who told this it was somebody who's not on council and I'm not sure I I've heard from a lot of residents over the last week, by the way, a lot. And I tried... Jotting it down and remembering but there was somebody who mentioned to me and I wanted to pull the minutes But I figured I'd ask you maybe if one of you did She's on a commission Juneteenth she's on Juneteenth She's on I forgot which question it was and my understanding is that her attendance there has not been stellar and And I don't know if that's right or wrong. I'm throwing it out there because that's what I remember hearing from somebody at some point. think i remember who told me but i'm not 100 sure so i don't know if if if you've seen that or if we can look at in the old notes but that's that's a concern that i had and i don't know if anybody else shares that concern but that's definitely a concern that i have and one other thing that i just wanted to mention As far as lack of experience, I think a lot of us had little or no experience doing this job before we got it. I don't remember what Stephanie's experience was. I know that I'm the one who made the motion for her to, I think I was, for her to join us. I don't know if Sean had any experience at all in this. I met him at an event and actually started talking to him and asked him if he would apply.

Black Lives Matter.

It was a rally, that's right, on the corner of 9 and Coolidge. Also, no experience, and I thought he did a great job on council. I think we were all very surprised when he resigned. I don't think that experience necessarily means a whole lot with this job. I think that this job is based more on doing it for the right reasons, being willing to learn, obviously, and And just I'm really just being willing to learn and and doing it for the right reasons, I think are the most important things. And of course, being able to have time for it, which is, of course, you know, something that's necessary. So, I mean, that's you know, that's that's kind of where where my thought process is.

Any other input?

I mean, I do agree that time, if you look back in the candidate interviews when they always asked my opinion and I told them that this job, I didn't expect as much time to devote. Because it's not just city council meetings, it's events and it's special meetings and it's a lot more to it. She is on the Juneteenth committee, commission, and I don't know the exact number, but yeah. You heard that too. I'm on the commission, so. I'm the liaison. And I do know that, you know, it may be a busy time for her, but, you know, she wasn't the only person, but, yeah, she.

Madam Mayor? Mayor Pro Tem Julie Edgar. Thank you. Have we looked into this? I mean, have we looked into Larmander's attendance record when she was a school board member? Did you look into the particulars of these meetings? Okay, so we're really going on fumes here.

Well, I mean... don't know if it's fumes it's it's certainly a it's a concern no crosstalk please i i heard from one of the residents i spoke to mentioned it to me and obviously stephanie is aware of the same thing um i don't know if you know i don't know if do you know offhand the i don't keep it i really don't know um

I really don't know numbers like that. I don't know what she, you know, I can't give you the numbers of meetings that she has. And I probably know who expressed a concern because it was expressed to me as well. You know, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. She has, you know, she's Mr., but I will say that she's a great addition But I can't give you a number of how many.

Can I ask a question? This is going to be a little bit of crosstalk, but why not? What did you think of Rebecca?

I like, I feel like I'm in a hot seat here. I liked her. I thought that she was pleasant. I thought that she, I liked her platform. I like people who have something that they stand for, you know, and she was very adamant about her platform. So I did like her, and I thought she was pleasant, and I thought, I think either one would be a good fit.

I'll leave it there.

Either one of those candidates would be a great fit. I wouldn't discount her because she doesn't have experience because I've never sat on council and I wouldn't want anyone to do that. And so, both candidates I liked.

I don't think any of us sat on council until we sat on council.

Right. And I did not serve on a commission beforehand. The previous mayor didn't appoint me to anything. And so I was an unknown quality, quantity. And it's a job that you learn on the job because every... week, there is a new issue or a new crisis to deal with. And you study up for that crisis before the meeting. You get all the information that you can gather. It is a learn on the job job.

I sincerely think the most important thing is being in it for the right reasons and having your heart in the right place. That's what I think this job is more about than anything else.

And time to serve.

Of course.

Does anyone want to make a motion?

Sure. Let's see what happens. This could take a while or maybe it won't. I am going to make a motion to appoint Rebecca Berman. And we'll see if we get a second.

Is there a second? Is there a second to that motion? Hello.

I am I'm thinking about it. This is my first time going through this.

You can make the motion. We have to vote on it. Well, you can second. Right. I'll second.

Right.

OK. OK. All right. We can vote. If we don't have three people, we make another motion and try for that.

Can I say one last thing before we vote? We can we can certainly spend a lot of time on this and we can we easily can. And there's a lot of very good candidates. We haven't even talked about all of them. There's we've talked about these two because these are the top two that kind of were our four top twos or our These two were our four top ones. And thankfully, there was some overlap. So that's what we've been talking about. We can really discuss this for a long time. I think that there's going to be pros and cons of anybody. I don't know. I think just one last thing I would say is, like I said, I've known Rebecca a long, long, long time. And I have no doubt that she'll be excellent at this job. I would ask you all to vote for this. And I don't know if we're there yet. Maybe it was a premature motion, but you asked if anybody had a motion.

Roll call, please. Council Member Crawford.

I don't know. I'm torn between the two. I don't know. Can we have more discussion?

No.

What would be if we are if it's obviously it's two and two, what would happen in that instance? If I could ask that question.

The motion election, right?

The motion would fail.

No, no. I think what she means is if if the rest of the correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not trying to speak for you. If we spend the rest of the night split two to two. that there's two people who want Rebecca and two people who want Larmander, and nobody ever gets three votes, then what happens then, I think, was the question.

Yes, that's the question I'm asking.

Then there would have to be a special election.

That would cost $40,000, so I think we'd like to make the decision tonight.

I think Eric just had a heart attack.

Yeah.

A little more discussion on this? Yeah. Yeah, I don't really think it should be a consideration. There's a question on Oh, there's a motion.

So you can make a comment after a motion is pending.

Yeah. And I, I think that, um, you know, it's, we do have a good, we had a crop of good candidates. My understanding is that if we tied, if the vote tied, we would move on to somebody else on the list. That's what we were told. No. Okay. So there'd have to be a special election, which. then means that there's no deadline by which we need to have another council person. In other words, if we're on a ballot in August, there's already going to be an election.

When would it be?

First opportunity would be November. You can't have the candidate.

This November.

This November.

Oh, brother. We're lost in the noise. Nobody will even know it's happening.

We're past the deadlines for candidacy.

For August?

For August.

Wow.

I already have the ballot for August.

But the person would have to run in 2027 after serving one year, correct? They would face an election in one year.

In 2028 for 29. No, 27. 27. Correct. That's correct.

Whoever we put on. tonight is a one year and a few months on the council and then they would have to run for the Remaining two years of the seat that would be like an open seat like an open seat So there would be an election in one year and a few months, and that person would have to run, and other people could run against them, and the people of the city then could decide who they would like. Which strikes me as being more fair anyway. Yeah.

You know, here's the thing. It's... this job is more than just having a good heart and i think that um you know we're making decisions that really do impact the community therefore i lean towards experience rather than um sweetness so i i'm just going to throw that out there i think that this is a big job and it does take it takes not just time you have to take it seriously and be prepared And so, yeah, I mean, I, you know, I feel like I'm in a real bind because I really think that you have got to bring some chops to the job.

I am gonna say this though, I don't feel like it would be very fiscally responsible to have an election. That would cost. I would not want to put that expense on the city. Like I said, I really liked both candidates, I just thought they were different. And I think we need to make a decision this evening. I don't know either one i just met larmender um the the last few months um but that you've known i've known her miss verman you've known her as well um and you also julie um is that enough to win your vote

And of course, your last name has to start with C, right?

Very reluctantly, I'm going to say. Very reluctantly, because I'm, you know, on one hand, I have, you know, you know her, you know her character. On the other hand, there's someone who I think brings a lot of experience. But I'm not good with a $40,000 election. Not when we're balancing a budget. We will have elections coming up again next year. I would hope that many of these candidates, I just want to say, like, to any of them looking, like, I love Jason Deneau. I thought he was fabulous. I don't know if I'm supposed to be saying this.

Yes, yes. You certainly.

But I did. I thought he was fabulous. I thought Karen Yaldo brought a lot. I thought all of them brought a lot. And I thought that they brought different things to the table. I don't think that her lack of experience on sitting on a council or a commission would be my determinant factor. To me, it's her character. And if it means sparing a $40,000 election for our city, knowing that you have one year and we can evaluate in one year and see what you can do, what you bring to the table in that one year. It sounds like we're hearing a yes. Are we? Quit pushing. Reluctantly, because I like them both. And I don't want Ms. Berman to feel like I did not like her, because I did. I thought she was great. And I don't want Lar Mender to feel like I'm not fighting for her because she was great. But like I said, I just basically met them both. If you can... vouch that way, you know, and it would save an election, and we got one year to show what you can do, I reluctantly would be willing to. Because I just, having an election right now when our city needs so much, I don't think it's the right, I don't think it's the right move.

We could make, we could do, that's the election in November. I mean, we don't have to have a special election. There's no mandate.

and then the seat will be unfilled for November.

Is that a wise use?

It's our job to fill it. That's one of our responsibilities.

Yeah, but I would say leave it to the people. I mean, we can't make a decision.

We should try to make a decision. That's what our job is. I do think that's part of our job. We've done it before.

I think this is one time where it's a hard decision.

Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, one speaker. Who would, I think, Stephanie? Stephanie Crawford has the floor.

I just feel like... I think it is our job to make a decision. I understand what Councilwoman Edgar is saying because I fully agree with her and I think that we were on the same page as far as the candidate, but I do think that we need to fill that seat. I don't think that seat needs to be open for eight months or how many months, seven or eight months. I don't think that that's responsible. I think that they're looking, you know, our city is looking for us to make a decision and to be able to be decisive. And I would hope that any of the candidates who were not chosen would join the ranks and go for an election, you know, put their name on the ballot. I would be willing to, for the greater good, I would be willing to vote for Ms. Berman. And Ms. Berman, if you do come, don't think you were second choice. We just had great candidates.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar.

Once again, I am in the minority here. I'm going to say no. I do know Rebecca. I think she's a lovely person. I just don't think that she's got the stuff. Now, I was also in the minority when we were voting on Shaun Whitehead. And here we are, and he up and left and put us in this position. I don't wanna say I told you so, but I'm gonna say it. So anyway, my vote is no. Thank you.

Mayor McClellan.

Yes.

Council Member Radner.

Yes.

Okay, motion carried three to one. We are now on the next- Madam Mayor, if I could.

With the appointment being made in favor of Rebecca Berman, the city clerk, just to kind of a couple of housekeeping things here. How did you know? If I could, council members.

Yeah, no joke. Sorry?

Couple of housekeeping things here. So the city clerk is going to need to swear this individual into office tomorrow, correct? We do not have another council meeting until July 6th. And then at that time, we plan on having, or at least asking her, I think, if she would like a more formal swearing in ceremony. Is there anything I'm missing, Mr. City Clerk or Madam City Attorney? Okay, thank you. Congratulations to Rebecca Berman.

Okay, we now have the consent agenda. The following items are presented for approval without discussion. Any member can ask to have one item dropped from the blanket motion. A, regular city council meeting minutes for June 1st. B, special council meeting minutes for June 1st. C, special council meeting minutes for June 8th. approval of invoice number five and six from giffles webster for master planning services in the amount of eleven thousand six hundred forty seven dollars and fifty cents e public safety activity summary report for may 2026 f request to approve payment application number two for the 2026 landscape maintenance contract to Brightview Landscape of Pontiac, Michigan in the amount of $7,113. sorry g request to approve payment application number two for the 26 lawn maintenance contract to parrot landscaping of clinton township in the amount of twelve thousand one hundred sixty five dollars h payment request from newman smith architecture for architectural services on the community center project for the total amount of thirty four thousand I, request to approve Payment Application No. 8 for the 2025 Block Pruning Project to Lim Walker's Tree and Snow LLC of Kennecke, Michigan, in the amount of $15,390. J, this is a long one. Approval of pay application number three for the Multiple Campus Buildings Demolition Project, M796, to Mirzwa Construction Company of Pontiac, Michigan, for $126,100. K, recycling commission meeting minutes for April 16th, 2026. L, payment of invoice from Desiree Kelly Art for the mural. included in the 11-mile road alleys and parking lot reconfiguration project for $25,000. M, amendment to five-year lease agreement with Xerox to add Event Hub printer. And new and renewal licenses for June 15th, 2026. Oh, approval of payment application number four to McCarthy Smith for construction services for Tyler Park for $58,521.80. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Thank you. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carried. Madam Mayor? Yes.

That was a very long consent agenda. We got all the way to letter O.

It was a long one. Seven is recognition of visiting elected officials, but I don't see any. That moves us to public hearing. This is... opening the public hearing for establishing special assessment district 730 11 mile parking lot reconstruction um is there anyone here to speak to that no talkative crowd anyone here to speak to the uh 11 mile parking lot hearing none uh close the public hearing um is there a motion for that

So moved.

The resolution?

For the resolution, yeah.

That's my motion. Great. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Any discussion? Who can speak to this particular?

Madam Mayor, members of Council, I'm going to ask Director Kim Maroney to come up and speak to this. And we also have our finance director if you want to speak to the billing aspects of this. Hi, Kim.

Good evening, City Manager Tongate, Council, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem. So the 11 mile parking lot special assessment district was set up to cover a portion of the cost that we had toward the 11 mile project. We capped that amount at $281,000. This sets up the district in order for finance department to enter into financing terms with any of the owners of the parcels on 11 Mile that are being assessed. And council had agreed last year for a 10-year payment period with a 2% interest rate. Some of the applicants, not applicants, some of the people who have been special assessed have already paid in full. Although they're listed on here, they do not owe any monies.

Okay. Any questions on this one?

Ready to vote. Probably going to be easier this time.

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem.

So are all the businesses along in the social district being assessed?

not the entire social district just the ones with the parking lots that have been redone so the social district goes all the way to the oak parker so obviously we're not assessing them oh right okay and they're charged by linear frontage okay i didn't know that the oak parker was part of the social so they have not applied to be part of the social district but the boundaries of the social district can expand that far is it expanded that far so It is. So let's say you went to one of the breweries and they're both part of the social district and have their licenses. You could get one of the to-go cups there and walk all the way down to the Oak Parker because you're within the social district boundaries. But the Oak Parker cannot sell to you the to-go cups to carry down the other direction until they become licensed for it.

Will they fill our Solo cups, do you think?

Nope. They have to be in specially marked glasses that we order through the CIA.

Got it. Thank you.

Have they been asked to apply? Yes. Are they interested?

Not at this time.

OK. OK. I missed what you said about red Solo cups. What was that?

No red Solo cups. So they are clear 16-ounce cups that the Corridor Improvement Authority purchases, and it has our Water Tower Social District logo on it. and then the establishment that is approved to sell those. They also are provided a sticker with their logo on it that they need to adhere to the cup before they go outside of their establishment to the social district.

Who came up with that? Was that you?

MLCC.

Very nice.

Okay. Are we ready to vote? I think so. Roll call, please.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes mayor McClellan. Yes councilmember Radner. Yes councilmember Crawford.

Yes Motion carried. Thank you Item 9 request for special event license and waiver of fee submitted by East Oak Park neighborhood Association for their annual picnic in Best Park July 18th from noon to 3 o'clock so moved Second. Thank you. This is standard. Any discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carried unanimously. Our nonprofits get a waiver of the fee, and if it's a for-profit organization, they pay a $100 fee for that license. B request for special event license submitted by Kerry days, 21, 6, 0, 1, Sussex for a family reunion event to be held July 17th from 6 to 10, a motion to approve.

So moved second.

Okay. Um, uh, because it was not a nonprofit, uh, the days family paid the fee.

Do we get to crash the party, though?

Absolutely. Any discussion? Roll call? Nope. All of those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carried. Thank you. Accounting reports. Item 10. Approval for payment of invoices submitted by Garen Luko Miller for legal services in the amount of $15,782.91. Motion to approve. So moved. Second. Second. Discussion? Roll call, please.

Mayor McClellan? Yes. Councilmember Radner? Yes. Councilmember Crawford? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar?

Yes.

Motion carried. Item 10B, approval for payment of an invoice submitted by Schiffman Fournier for legal services retainer for July 1st to September 30th in the amount of $20,000. Motion to approve.

So moved. Second.

Second discussion. Say it again.

All these lawyers.

I know. Got to pay your lawyers. Roll call, please.

Councilmember Radner. Yes. Councilmember Crawford. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan.

Yes. Motion carried. Item C, 10C, approval of payment of invoices submitted by Disick Kaplan for legal services in the amount of $6,500. Motion to approve? So moved. Second. Thank you. Discussion? Roll call, please.

Council Member Crawford? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar? Yes. Mayor McClellan? Yes. Council Member Radner? Yes.

Motion carried. City Attorney, is there anything under Freedom of Information Act appeals?

Madam Mayor, we do not have any appeals for this evening.

Item 12, City Manager Eric Tungate.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of council. 12A1 is to discuss the absentee ballots for the August 4th primary election. I'm going to turn it over to our city clerk to discuss in more detail.

Thank you very much. The August 4th primary is coming up. And I wanted just to mention that the absentee ballots are going to be available on June 25th. So anybody that wants to come into the office and get a vote absentee can do that. That's also the day that we will be mailing absentee ballots to our permanent ballot list. And so they should be receiving that days, just days after the 25th. So just wanted to let everybody know that.

Fantastic. Thank you so much. 12A2, Madam Mayor, members of council, I'm actually going to take this one. There is a graphic I would like our communications staff to put up on the screen. I do want to, you will see this on all of our agendas going forward, council members, but these are the two ballot initiatives. Ballot proposal number 26-01, proposal to renew the millage levy to fund the public safety retirement system, otherwise known as PA 345. This is the first one. I do want to stress that this proposal, if approved, will allow the City of Oak Park to renew, do a straight renewal of the current millage levy at the rate of seven mills. This is not an increase. This is a straight renewal of the seven mills that's currently on the ballot. The reason, as all of you know on council, it's coming up is because it's a seven-year, seven-mill ballot initiative, and we're reaching another point of expiration, the last one being in 2018. The second millage, the second ballot initiative, excuse me, is ballot proposal number 26-02, renewal of partial headly override millage for public safety purposes. And this is another straight renewal, not an increase, but straight renewal. IF APPROVED WILL AUTHORIZE THE LEVY OF A STRAIGHT RENEWAL OF .985 MILLS OF THE CITY OF OAK PARK CHARTER AUTHORIZED MILLAGE AT THE ROLLBACK RATE OF .8277 MILLS AND AGAIN YOU KNOW I WANT TO POINT TO THIS GRAPHIC I DO THINK WE REALLY FUNDAMENTALLY RELY ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES AND BEING THAT THESE ARE STRAIGHT RENEWALS OF COURSE THE CITY IS UTILIZING THESE FUNDS TO CONTINUE PROVIDING WORLD CLASS SERVICES as depicted in some of these amazing photos on the screen here. Council members, are there any questions about these two ballot initiatives? This is not the last time, as I mentioned, you'll be hearing from me about them. Okay, that being said, 12B1 is an approval of the resolution and memorandum of understanding regarding the Greenfield Road and 8-mile intersection improvements. I would like to ask Director Kimberly Maroney to join me at the podium, please.

Thank you, City Manager Tungate. So we have gone to council before to get resolutions and payments approved for doing the lighting of the Greenfield and eight mile bridge underneath. We're partnering with the city of Southfield and Detroit, as well as eight mile Boulevard Association. The final step is approving this memorandum of understanding and a resolution in support of it. so we can submit it to MDOT so they can give us the final permitting to do the project. Just got notice today, the lights that we ordered six months ago should be in next week, so we are hoping to get this project completed this summer.

Any questions, comments? Mayor Pro Tem.

I was wondering about the population of people who live under that bridge. So what happens to them? I mean, you know, it looks like there's an encampment and

Yeah, that changes on a daily basis. We don't have any numbers of how many people are there. I know public safety goes out there on occasion and I think tries to provide them with some supportive assistance. There's nothing with the lighting project that would affect whether or not they can continue to be there. There's no barriers that are being put in place. It's just lights being attached to the pillars and underneath of the bridge deck. Thank you.

Yes, that's a very good question. I was at an event and I brought that up to Ken Seaver, the mayor in Southfield, and he did say that that is something that they are looking into, that it's a lot less than it used to be, because I remember it used to be lots. They are mindful of it, from what he told me. I just had a question, is this in regards to the program we had, like Light the, okay.

Yeah, the Let There Be Light campaign? Exactly, yes. Yes, that was the Patronicity campaign that we did to fundraise for the project.

Right, yeah, I think it was at that kickoff that I asked them about that. Exactly. that was a concern of mine as well. So I'm glad that that's finally coming along. I think it's gonna be beautiful.

Madam Mayor, I just have a, Mayor Pro Tem.

So the memorandum of understanding, what, just briefly, what does that do and is there any cost to Oak Park for this?

Yes, so we pledged $10,000 towards the lighting of the bridge deck, and the additional cost would be in what this memorandum of understanding outlines is that the three communities will participate in the maintenance of any lights that may get damaged. I can say the project came in well under budget. So we've set aside the overages of the fundraising that we did into a separate account with the 8 Mile Boulevard Association in order to cover those costs. But to actually get the permit, MDOT requires us to have this MOU in place to move forward. Got it.

Any other questions or comments? Are you ready to vote? Roll call vote, please. I'm sorry.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan. Yes. Council Member Radner. Yes. Council Member Crawford.

Yes.

Motion carried. Thank you.

okay 12b2 before i turn it over to director maroney this is a facade improvement grant program update and approval of ernie's market grant application council members as kim is probably about to tell you i want to point out that first it's ernie's market so you know right um and it's delicious and amazing and a staple of our community but I do want to point out in the summary there's a this was a we determined this is a policy driven program of course the facade improvement program and because of that that I had the authority to authorize an update to allow landscaping improvements in the use of the full remaining balance for a single project. Kim, could you describe the project in a little bit more detail? But before you do, I should say too that this is, I think, just an awesome project for Ernie's and I'm so happy that we could support it if council approves it tonight.

Yeah, Ernie and his daughter Lori have been working on making improvements to their location, and this project will allow them to do major landscaping upgrades, upgrades to the exterior of the building, do more outdoor dining space for their patrons, but it will be a vast improvement to what they have currently. we have had these funds in a separate account and a facade escrow account that we did fundraising for back in 2015 we have had these funds sitting there remaining for over five years have asked multiple businesses to apply and have received no applications so we would like to spend the rest of this money and just get rid of it so that is why we're asking to put it towards this great project that Ernie's market has brought forward In regards to the other Facade Improvement Program, which is run by the Corridor Improvement Authority, that is still intact. We still have many businesses applying for that.

Kim, if I could, do we have the, I know in the packet you provided some of these conceptual design vision renderings. Do we have those to put up on the screen by any chance?

I was planning to do it, but with my day, I was not able to do so. Was it a busy day? What happened? Tell us. Yeah, I can't.

Council members, I do have these renderings in the packet, and I will pass these down to you. Yeah, they should have been in the packet for everybody.

They're just absolutely gorgeous. We do we do not we need a motion We need a motion to approve the facade improvement grant program updates and in Ernie Ernie's market grant so moved Everybody wants to make the motion for that.

Yeah, that's a good one.

It's gorgeous. That's gonna be gorgeous I do want to

make a couple of comments about this so the corridor improvement authority has the facade improvement grant program we will match 5 000 up to 5 000 and a lot of businesses have taken advantage seems like the more that people the more the businesses do it the more other businesses recognize the value of it This, to me, feels like a handout, and the fact that it's more than 5,000, which is what we give, and I think it's quite generous, to just give over that amount, well over that amount, because we like Ernie, doesn't sit well with me, because we have a lot of businesses in the city. Why not just leave it in escrow and wait until we get, I mean, if Ernie West will apply, that's fine, And I have no problem with using a grant like that for other improvements beyond the facade, but to give over $6,000 because you want to get rid of the escrow fund doesn't feel right to me. We have so many other businesses that could use this money. And I think Ernie should apply through the CIA, Corridor Improvement Authority. Any other questions?

Yes.

I would prefer we're going to reserve our opinions on that. That's not our opinion to share.

There's a recommended action though. I'm not trying to hold anybody's feet to the coals here, but look, I love it too. I think Julie just made a very fair point though. Why is this the recommended action? I'm not saying I'm against it. I'm just wondering what the response is. Because, yeah, there will be more.

You're forcing me to reply. Is that what you want? You want me to say something? Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Let's play this. Okay. So, Madam Mayor, if I could. Kim, when did Ernie's open up?

Oh, he's a second generation, so in the early 1900s. Okay. I would say the reason I am recommending it.

Hold on, Kim, hold on. So early 20th century, you said? Mm-hmm.

Like what year are we talking? I want to say like 1930. 1930.

How many businesses in our city have been here for that long that you know of?

Probably a handful.

A handful, if that? Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

That's fair. Thank you. Okay. I didn't realize how long they've been here. They've been here longer than we have.

I thought we weren't supposed to consider age in the decisions that we made.

Age of businesses we're allowed to consider. That's cute.

That's cute. That was kind of right on time, Julie. Any other comments? I'm ready to vote roll call please mayor McClellan.

Yes councilmember Radnor Yes, councilmember Crawford. Yes mayor pro tem Edgar.

No Motion carried three to one. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you Kim. We are on now to our finance director Sandra Crawford to take us through the exciting resolution authorizing budget amendment 2026 dash for director Crawford

Good evening, Madam Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Edgar, council members and holler into the mic, please. Yes. So before you is the resolution authorizing budget amendment twenty six four, which is our fourth quarter amendment for the current budget that we're in, which is the twenty five twenty six budget year. The proposed recommended actions. Are to. THEY HAVE NO NET IMPACT ON THE FUND BALANCE, BUT THE ITEMS THAT ARE NOTABLE ARE INCREASES IN BUILDING PERMIT REVENUE TO ACCOUNT FOR THE ACTUAL ACTIVITY YEAR TO DATE, TO DECREASE THE MISCELLANEOUS REIMBURSEMENTS DUE TO LESS HEALTHCARE STOP LOSS REIMBURSEMENTS RECEIVED, ADJUSTMENTS TO PERSONNEL COSTS FOR SALARIES AND HEALTHCARE COSTS DUE TO VACANCIES, SAVINGS FROM OPEN POSITIONS IN THE CITY MANAGER AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT, TO INCREASE THE TRANSFER INTO THE PUBLIC SAFETY PENSION FUND FOR HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED RETIREE HEALTHCARE COST. TO TRANSFER OUT FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE NEWLY CREATED OPIOID FUND, WHICH IS A LEGALLY RESTRICTED SETTLEMENT FUND THAT WE GOT PROCEEDS FOR THAT MUST BE TRACKED SEPARATELY AND ARE NOW MOVING INTO THEIR OWN FUND. And then the revenue and and expenditure increases for the proposed grants that we received during the year that were not part of the original budget. FOR THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TO INCREASE THE TRANSFER BETWEEN THE MAJOR STREET AND LOCAL STREET FUNDS AND THE TRANSFER THAT WAS ORIGINALLY BUDGETED AT 186,000, THE THIRD QUARTER BUDGET AMENDMENT REDUCED THE TRANSFER DOWN BY 30,000 AND THEN ADDITIONAL STREET MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY IN THE LOCAL STREET FUND REQUIRED THAT THE TRANSFERS BE INCREASED BY 90,000 TO FUND THE HIGHER EXPECTED EXPENDITURES. WE ALSO HAVE AN INCREASE IN THE MICHIGAN INDIGENT DEFENSE GRANT FUND REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES, AND THEY'RE REFLECTED THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ACTUAL ACTIVITY FOR YEAR-TO-DATE. AND THE DISTRICT COURT PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS TO COVER INCREASING HEALTHCARE INSURANCE COSTS THE COURT EXPERIENCED THIS YEAR, AND IT'S GOING TO BE OFFSET BY THE GROSS COLLECTION IN REVENUES. THE GRANT PROCEEDS AND RELATED EXPENDITURES ARE BEING ADJUSTED IN SEVERAL OTHER FUNDS BASED ON THE ACTIVITY TO DATE AND PROJECTIONS THROUGH YEAR END. AND SO AS PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE, IF WE KNOW BY THE FOURTH QUARTER THAT WE HAVE TO AMEND THE BUDGET FOR 2526, WE NEED TO DO IT BY THE LAST CITY COUNCIL MEETING SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY AUDIT FINDINGS THAT WE WERE OVER OUR AMENDED BUDGETS. So this again this proposed budget amendment it has no impact on the fund balance of the general fund and it continues to allow us to maintain 17 and a half percent of annual expenditures and the amendments to all the other funds keeps the fund balance at the regular league at targeted ranges and complies with the state of Michigan requirements and guidelines and

And so the recommended action is for you to motion to approve this resolution authorizing the budget amendment.

Yes.

Is there a second? Second. Thank you. Discussion. Questions? Madam Mayor, I do. Yep. Mayor Pro Tem.

So, in order to maintain the fund balance, we're going to have to not fill, if I understand this, we're not going to fill certain vacancies. And will there be money reduced from the road fund?

No. So, the general fund with the vacancies are separate from the road fund. The road fund, it has its own monies that we have it's just that we had reduced in the 3rd quarter amendment but needed to due to increased expenditures had to put that money back to not have this to not be over in the expenditures and so what we do is we balance out if we anticipate more revenues or see that we got more revenues than anticipated then we have to adjust accordingly because basically what we're trying to do is When we deliberate in April, we come up with our best guess of what we think we need. But then there could be grants that we get that came throughout the year that we would have to amend the budget to recognize those things. So we have increased revenues and then we would have increased expenditures. So basically, we're adjusting four times a year to target or have the budget to be what our actual expenditures are at that given point. And so basically for this fourth quarter, we're forecasting that we're going to have some more expenditures that's done by June 30th. And so in knowing that, then we have to amend the budget to account for that.

Right. So what are we sacrificing, I guess, in order to get there?

Yeah, that's a good question. So if I could, too, I just want to clarify. So Sandra is talking about current fiscal year. So differentiating, you know, current fiscal year with the new budget year, which doesn't start until July 1st, where that, you know, the position in the city manager's office, for example, is budgeted to be filled in the new budget, and that budget is balanced, including also with these public safety officer positions that are budgeted to be filled and are currently not filled in the new budget. So I just wanted to make that clarification. Sandra, also, you're going to hate me for bringing this part of it up, but this opioid fund, I want to make sure council is aware. We don't know what to do with this. This is another one of these state of Michigan. We'll give you all this money, and then you can't even... Get direction in terms of what you can use it for and then when you do you have to create programs Right staff them and all these things.

So You know the little bit that I know of it is that We applied for settlement funds back in

But this, so this was, I just want to clarify something. This was all part of, Oak Park was a participant in all of these class action suits that went out against all of these drug companies.

In about 2021.

Right. All these pharmacies, drug companies, et cetera. And so we weren't alone in that. We were getting the settlement checks thinking, okay, great. We're being reimbursed.

Right. But then right. And then they then the state said, no, this should be in a legally restricted settlement fund for remediation of an opioid crisis.

Yeah. And as I see it, council members, it would have, based on, and I think these requirements are a little bit of a moving target because I can't imagine a lot of these other communities are going to be able to do the same thing they're asking us to do. But they're literally asking us to create a health monitoring function, if you will, to go out here in the community and remediate opioid addiction throughout the community. Now, we can communicate information out to our public as we do, but to go out and create an entire department with these funds, again, we're sitting on these funds and we're sitting on an escrow, correct?

Right. We're putting them well, actually, we're putting them in their in their own fund. So it's a special revenue fund. And so that's where the money is being housed. I can tell you that we did have to account for what we did. The AG office requested us to fill out, you know, how much we got, what was our expenditures. So we're waiting to hear back from them. because we didn't have any expenditures. And again, I am not the opioid coordinator, but I do know that if anything would be to be set up, that would fall under the purview of the Public Safety Department.

Yeah, and it could. It could. And I think the other thing is, I will just tell you that when we initially got the funds, I, at least I can say this safely, I don't think any of us were aware that all of these requirements were going to then later be disseminated and pushed on us. So again, I think the important thing to note is that we're holding these funds right now, hoping that cooler heads will prevail and some common sense will be brought to this because we do not have the capacity, like many communities, to go create this health department function and do this whole program in order to spend these funds. So I wanted to bring that to your attention because you will continue to see that until something changes there.

How much is in the fund?

About $130,000. How much? $130,050, I believe. Yes. That's on my budget amendment. Yes, $130,050.

Further questions, are we ready for a vote?

Councilmember Radner? Yes. Councilmember Crawford? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar? Yes. Mayor McClellan?

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sandra. For 12D1 and 2, we have our esteemed colleague, Director of Public Safety, Steve Cooper.

Thank you, boss. Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council Member Ratner and Council Member Crawford. I am coming before you this evening requesting the purchase of a new fire truck The Department of Public Safety is requesting approval to purchase a new fire engine to replace engine 544, which is a 1997 fire engine that's currently 29 years old. Due to its age and condition, the fire truck has significantly exceeded its useful service life and now requires extensive repairs to remain operational as a reserve apparatus. Engine 544 recently had to be towed to a repair facility because of major mechanical failures involving the transmission and transfer case, both of which require rebuilding. In addition, the exhaust brake is inoperable and is believed to be the result of an internal engine defect. The vehicle's fire pump system also requires substantial repairs. You're looking at hundreds of feet of metal piping used to distribute water throughout the apparatus has deteriorated and reached a critical stage of failure. Internal corrosion of fittings is causing significant leaks resulting in the loss of approximately 1,000 gallons of water per week while the truck remains idle in the fire station garage. Repairing and replacing the plumbing system would require an extensive disassembly of the apparatus. The estimated cost of these partial repairs exceeds $70,000 with no guarantee of long-term reliability. As the oldest fire truck in the city's fire apparatus fleet, Engine 544 should be replaced immediately. This apparatus is classified as an engine rather than a ladder truck because it does not contain an aerial ladder or an elevated water stream device. The engine carries a thousand gallon water tank and is equipped with firefighting equipment used for interior structural firefighting operation. It also carries hearse tools, commonly known as the jaws of life, due to this maneuverability An engine is often the primary apparatus dispatched to motor vehicle accidents, vehicle fires, gas leaks, and other emergency incidents requiring specialized equipment. The National Fire Protection Association, also known as NFPA, recommends that the fire apparatus be removed from frontline service after 15 years and placed into a reserve status And then after 25 years of service, that apparatus should be retired from emergency response operations. So at 29 years of age, Engine 544 exceeds both recommended service life benchmarks. and extensive research of available manufacturers, specifications, pricing, and delivery schedules. The Department of Public Safety has determined that a fire engine manufactured by Sutphin best meets the operational needs of the department and the community. The estimated delivery time for the apparatus is 17 to 19 months. The total purchase price for the new fire engine, which includes financing and interest costs, It's $925,916.50. There are specifications for the fire truck and purchase agreement are attached to the agenda item and these documents have been vetted by legal. The City of Oak Park is an authorized member of SourceWell, a national governmental cooperative purchasing organization that conducts competitive solicitations on behalf of public agencies nationwide. SourceWell has already completed a legally compliant competitive procurement process for fire apparatus manufacturers, including Sudfin Corporation. The city may purchase a fire truck directly through the awarded source will contract without issuing its own RFP. This allows the city to utilize competitively established cooperative pricing while saving significant time and administrative expenses. So I'm asking council to approve the purchase of a new fire truck from the manufacturer Sutphin in the amount of $925,900, $916.50. This fire truck will be funded over the course of the upcoming five years. Funding has been budgeted slash financed in the 26-27 fiscal year in the amount of $204,262.58, and the remaining balance is being funded throughout the subsequent four years.

Okay. Is there a motion to approve this request? So moved.

Second.

Discussion or questions?

I just have one question about this. I'm just reading through what was submitted here, and I know that often, my recollection is it takes a long time for these to be ready. It says over here we can have it in as little as 19 months.

70 to 19 months.

That would be really quick, based on my recollection of how this works.

Yeah, usually around two, two and a half years for most apparatus to be built and ready for operations. It's still a long time for us because we're looking at, we're going to have to obviously do some partial repairs to the current one, limp that one along until we can get the new one in service. But yeah, 17 to 19 months does, and that time may speed up. It just depends on a lot of things. Okay. as far as the manufacturers go. So we're hoping that we can maybe cut down a little bit of time on that build and get it here sooner.

And let me just add to that too. So in our discussions, we've budgeted for the payments to occur over five years, which we're limited to. But there is, that I know of, there is not a penalty if we pay off early. In fact, we could save on interest by paying down the principal early. So that will be our intention. I certainly can't guarantee that right now, but we'll be targeting that as the payments come due. That would be awesome.

Mayor approach him.

We got the ladder truck just a couple years ago right correct that was about a million dollars to correct will over a million. And so how many so this is not a ladder truck.

No this is that this is an engine.

So how many do we have I mean does the city have no.

Correct. Currently, we have two trucks that are operable. We have one that we had to drag to a repair facility that's, like I said, 29 years old, the new ladder truck, and then the backup truck that we have is actually 19 years old, and that truck should not even be used as, according to the NFPA standards, should not be used as a repair. as a frontline truck. After 15 years, they recommend that you move that into a reserve status. We still have that as one of our frontline trucks. The manufacturer of that truck is also out of business. So one of the, I guess, challenges or dangers that we face is if that backup truck or the other front line, the second front line truck goes down with some major mechanical problems, there may be a very good possibility that we may not be able to find parts to keep that operable. Or if the truck's involved in a significant accident where it cannot be just some basic cosmetic repairs, then that truck's out of service. So, like I said, when we purchased the ladder truck two years ago, we needed two trucks at that point in time. Obviously, with that ticket price of over a million dollars and budgets being what they are, we had to do the best we could with what we had and limp that one along until we're at this point now. And it's the result of, like I said, the age of the apparatus. And we've basically squozed every bit of juice that we could get out of that truck. And like I said, we had to drag it to the repair shop now, and it's 29 years old. Truck should be out of service. So we're keeping our fingers crossed, and we're doing the best we can until we can get this other truck here and in service.

I think that's age discrimination. Oh. I'm going to erase this. What happens to the jaws of life?

You said, I'm sorry, what do you say?

I didn't understand what happened to the jaws of life.

We still have the jaws of life. That would be outfitted on the new engine truck. They call them hearse tools, but most people refer to them, they're known as the jaws of life.

The old, old engine truck that needs $70,000 of work, are we going to put the $70,000 into that?

We're not going to put $70,000 into it. We are going to have to do some repairs to the transmission just to get that truck operable. The bulk of the... repairs would be to replace the plumbing inside the truck the guts of the truck is rotted is basically you got hundreds of feet of metal piping that carries the water throughout the truck that brings it out to the you know through the fire hose we're not going to replace that we're not going to deal with the inoperable exhaust break because of financial reasons. We can limp that truck along, hopefully for another, like I said, 17 months by doing those minor repairs and then that, well not minor repairs, but the repairs to the transmission, and that way we can hook right into a fire hydrant as opposed to taking all of the metal piping out. When you start dealing with that, though, obviously, like I said, you run the risk. When you have to enter a fire scene, you're talking about, let's say, 500 gallons of water without hooking up to a hydrant. You can go through that in a couple minutes. And I mean literally a couple minutes. So when you're running in there, you're trying to do a rescue operation to, you know, put out a fire or save life and limb. Water counts and every second counts. So, I mean, you're somewhat rolling the dice in some of those situations. You have to protect your firefighters as well when they're going into a... of extremely hot and on ideal atmosphere. So there's there's a lot of safety concerns that that you have to take into consideration.

For their questions are we ready to vote. One quam councilmember Stephanie crocker. I was looking at the invoice did we get to a plan on this.

I wish we could get the A planning in. Actually, the pricing is very fair. I hate to use the word deal, but I think we got a fair market value for that, especially going through Sourcewell, where they vet the actual... RFP processed in the bid, so it's gonna be a very reliable truck. We have had a Sutphin in our fleet throughout the course of my tenure here, and it had been a very reliable apparatus, and they're a very well-known fire truck company, and I don't think we're gonna have any problems, and I'm sure council and the residents will be very appreciative once we get that here and operational.

And will we just retire the old one?

Yeah, you'll pretty much scrap it. You'll sell it. And I can tell you this, you're probably looking at 10 grand tops for that fire truck once we get the new one in so the depreciation value obviously goes down tremendously and then I'm probably not doing us any justice when I'm sitting here telling you everything's what's wrong with it by the time we get it out there they'd be like we'll give you three thousand for it so I mean it's it's you got every bit of juice you're gonna get out of that truck and then some and then we like I said we still got to limp it along for another at least another year okay

Ready to vote. Roll call, please.

Council Member Crawford. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan. Yes. Council Member Radner.

Yes.

Motion carried. Thank you.

Okay, Director Cooper, 12D2, please.

Thank you, sir. This is the Clemus interlocal agreement, and attached is a copy of an interlocal agreement for Clemus IT Services. The acronym Clemus stands for Court and Law Enforcement Information System. Clemus is a multifaceted regional public safety information management system. operated and maintained by the Clemmons Authority. The Clemmons Authority has taken over the role from Oakland County. The cost has become too expensive for Oakland County to support. Although the service will remain the same, the only thing that we will notice changing is the authority of the entity and the leadership. Still a governmental entity, Clemmons is comprised of many software applications. The purpose of Clemis is to provide innovative technology and related services to criminal justice and public safety agencies to enable them to share data and improve the delivery of criminal justice and public safety services. The Oak Park Public Safety Department currently uses Clemis for our prisoner processing, which includes our fingerprinting system, our booking system, and also our mugshot system. It also includes our report writing for police and fire incidents. It also is responsible for our in-car computers, our online crash reports, our e-citations, our daily logs, our evidence and property system. The system is also used to access incidents throughout the various agencies in multiple counties, including Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, and Genesee, just to name a few. There are currently 280 agencies using the system. The Oak Park Department of Public Safety has used Clements for over 25 years. This tool is invaluable and absolutely a must for the Public Safety Department. The only cost associated with the interlocal agreement is the normal user fees for various application softwares. So I'm coming before council requesting city council to approve a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the interlocal agreement between Oakland County and the City of Oak Park. The agreement has been vetted by legal and you have an attachment of the agreement with the council agenda.

Is there a motion to approve? Second. Second. Discussion or questions? Roll call, please.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan. Yes. Council Member Radner. Yes. Council Member Crawford.

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you.

Director Cooper, if you could stay there. Assistant City Manager Dacosta, if you could join us at the podium, please. And this is gonna be for 12E1, request authorization to purchase two vehicles to be assigned to the Public Safety Department.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, City Manager Tungate. As the City Manager described, tonight we're requesting authorization to purchase two Chevrolet Tahos to add to the public safety fleet. These vehicles will be purchased through the My Deal Cooperative Program at a price of $55,673 each. For the first vehicle, funding is available in the general fund balance for fiscal year 25-26. The purchase of the second vehicle will require a budget amendment to move the motor pool funding forward from the next budget year. It is recommended that City Council authorize the use of general fund fund balance for this current fiscal year and allow that budget amendment to move the motor pro funding forward. It is for the recommend City Council authorized public works for me to participate in the my deal program for the person is 2 vehicles totaling $111,346 and we're happy to answer any questions you may have so if I could director Cooper and ask you these questions better.

Council members, you may be wondering, we don't normally ask for fund balance to be used for the purchase, and we don't normally ask for monies to be moved up. So if you could first talk about why this is so urgent.

Yeah, well, one of the main reasons is back, obviously, when we had to slash the ranks from the department from 57 to 42, we were not driving, obviously, as many miles. We didn't need as many cars. There was only 42 officers. Fortunately, with the increase of officers that we've actually been able to add to the ranks and the amount of miles that we're putting on these cars, there's a need for the increase. I'll just give you an example. I mean, number one, the cars have to be repaired. Some, unfortunately, have been involved in an accident. If they have other mechanical issues, they come out of service, which, you know, puts you know, puts a strain on your fleet. We have had situations where we've had to double up officers and patrol vehicles because we haven't had enough patrol vehicles to adequately cover the square footage of the city that we would like. So when you do that, you shrink your footprint. We write one man officers or one person officers in our patrol vehicles. And when you have several vehicles down due to mechanical issues, accidents, it may not even be issues from accidents. You have various pieces of equipment in that car. You have lights, you have sirens, you have radios, you have, you know, like I said, just a litany of technical pieces of equipment that you have to have operable to send the men and women out here to do the job and to not put them out in a car that is, I guess, inadequately equipped is doing a disservice to the city residents as well as the officers that are actually operating. So we've gotten to a point, like I said, we've been limping along pretty much. The city manager has been gracious enough to squeeze us a patrol car a year, but that time has passed. We've got to catch up with the number of officers that we're adding to the department as well as getting these cars out here on the road. So

So, Director Cooper, I want you to talk, part B of my question is going to be, I want you to talk a little bit about, there may be, hopefully, some light at the end of the tunnel here, because we submitted a grant application. If you could talk about that a little bit, please.

Correct. Actually, and I won't take the credit for that, the gentleman you see standing at the back of council chambers, John Dean, found an opportunity for a grant which we could potentially, we actually submitted for two vehicles to assist us in our crime fighting efforts. We'll also, we'll actually, they'll be equipped with LPR license plate readers. And it's to help us with our stolen vehicle challenges that we face this year. The stolen autos have increased significantly and we feel that with the additional two vehicles that we're asking for in the grant with the additional equipment with the LPR readers that this will help us make a significant impact. And if we're fortunate enough to receive that grant, obviously, come the 27, 28 fiscal year, then we would not, in my opinion, we definitely wouldn't need two, potentially one, and maybe, depending on where our fleet stands at that particular point, we may even be able to bypass the MARC units for that year. We're hopeful. Nothing is guaranteed. But like I said, Officer Dean put a lot of work into getting that grant ready. I know Tim Jaworski, Adam Zorczak assisted with getting that prepared in short order. So we're keeping our fingers crossed, and hopefully we'll hear something before the end of this calendar year as far as if we're awarded those vehicles.

Thank you.

So we need a motion to request authorization to purchase two vehicles. So moved.

Second.

Second. Questions or discussion? Roll call, please.

Mayor McClellan. Yes. Council Member Radner. Yes. Council Member Crawford. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar.

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you.

Okay, Assistant City Manager DeCoster, 12E2, please.

Good evening again. Before you tonight is the approval of pay application number 12 and change order number 10 for the Event Hub project in the amounts of $602,777.72 and $0 respectively. As you know now, this is our 12th monthly payment, so we've been going for about a year. The architect, construction manager, and city administration have vetted this pay estimate and are approving it uh frank rewald will disperse the funds on behalf of the city to all their different contractors this payment is for a period ending may 31st um obviously i put in the agenda item as if you don't know we have our big grand opening the june 3rd via so we're wrapping up here uh we'll probably have two more payments But it's recommended that the City Council approve pay application number 12 and change order number 10 for the Event Hub project in the amounts of $602,777.72 and $0. Funding is available on the Event Hub fund, and I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

First, is there a motion to approve the pay application? So moved. Second. Thank you. Questions or discussion? Mayor Pro Temp? No.

OK.

Roll call, please.

Councilmember Radner. Yes. Councilmember Crawford. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan.

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you.

Dave 12 e 3, please.

Yes, so Lim Walker's Tree and Snow has been performing our block printing project now for two years. Their current contract consists of two one-year mutually agreed upon extensions. This would be the second of those two extensions. Included is exhibit A, which includes the unchanged pricing from not only 2025, but the 2024 project. So tonight we're recommending, we're asking council to approve the offer from the contractor to extend the 2025 project for the 2026 project for the total amount of $90,000. There is funding available in the major and local streets funds.

Okay. Motion to approve this request for an extension. Second. Discussion or questions? Roll call, please.

Councilmember Crawford. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan. Yes. Councilmember Radner.

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. And 12E4, Dave, please.

Thank you. Before you tonight is a request for a one-year professional service agreement with Jay Nissan Services, LLC. This contract includes services to assist the city with public works and community projects assigned by city management under the direction of the city manager. The agreement is effective July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. And as with all of our professional services contract, there is an exception to the seal bidding process in our ordinance. So funding for this work is budgeted in the major streets, local streets, water, sewer, and solid waste funds. It is recommended that city council approve the professional service contract with Jay Nissan Services, LLC, subject to final review by the city attorney. It is further recommended to allow the city manager to sign the contract on behalf of the city.

So moved. Motion to approve.

So moved.

Second? Second. Thank you. Discussion or questions? Roll call, please.

Mayor Pro Tem Edgar. Yes. Mayor McClellan. Yes. Council Member Radner. Yes. Council Member Crawford. Yes. Motion carried.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dave. 12F1, we have our Assistant City Manager, Adam Hozarzyk.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, City Manager Dungate. An administration is seeking City Council approval to enter into a one-year contract with DK Security of Grand Rapids, Michigan for unarmed security services running July 1st, 2026 through June 30, 2027, with the option to renew for two additional one-year terms. DK security will be deployed on an as needed basis for any Event Hub rental with attendance exceeding 100 people. Responsibilities will include crowd management, access control, perimeter monitoring, and incident documentation. These rates will be passed on to the renter. The hourly rate is $26.82 per officer. Should counsel elect to extend the contract, rates for following years will be as follows. Year two will be at $27.76 and year three will be $28.73. Pricing was sourced through the state of Michigan MyDeal purchasing program, which allows the city to forego independent bid process as rates are competitively established by the state of Michigan. With me, I have a representative, Nick Goolsbee. We're here to answer any questions that you may have.

Let's get us a motion.

I'll make the motion.

The second? Second. Thank you. Give us your name again and name of the company.

Yes, Mayor. Good evening to council members, Mayor Pro Tem, Mayor. My name is Nicholas Goolsbee. I'm the Director of Sales and Business Development at DK Security.

Okay. Can you explain to us what you will be doing?

Yeah, so we'll be partnering with the City of Oak Park to be providing event security services for the new event hub that will be opening up. As Adam had mentioned, on the as-needed basis for occupants of 100 or more, that will include screening services for people that are coming in to ensure a safe environment. But as it relates to the scope of work, if we were to proceed forward with the city, we would develop a security plan that would be approved by both DK Security and the City of Oak Park.

Okay, how many people would you put there? What would it look like?

Yeah, so it would certainly vary by the amount of staff that would be requested by the City of Oak Park, but we would have a dedicated team that would be specific to the city that would work the events. They would be trained on that security plan, and then we would welcome the City of Oak Park to be a part of that recruiting process so they can have a selection in who would be working with the City of Oak Park.

Are there questions? Yes. Council Member Crawford.

I had a question. Do you also have the contract for the school system?

Oh, we do not. So we were part of that proposal process, but we were not the awarded vendor.

Okay. I thought I saw you in a meeting.

Yes. We did do a presentation for there, but yes, we were not the awarded vendor. Okay.

Thank you.

This is something new that we are doing, correct?

Correct. With the opening of the Event Hub starting in July, speaking with recreation staff as well as public safety, we felt that 100-person threshold will ensure we're not straining public safety resources. smaller type events, security will be able to, you know, assist and keep a secure environment. And then obviously, if things were to escalate, they were to reach out to public safety. But again, just we're hoping that presence through these larger events, you know, be able to keep things, you know, nice and calm and, you know, enjoyable for everyone involved.

So, and this came after the difficulties that we had when we had the Ferris wheel and all of that.

So I think you know We know and I think besides the the June 30th State of the city event ribbon-cutting event which we are going to handle in-house with our public safety team We know that I think how many events are we thinking?

We're predicting per year.

That'll exceed a hundred. Do we happen to Are you saying city events or no over the event hub itself? I?

Again, this is an estimate, but we would say at minimum 30 to 50, potentially more. But I would say at minimum 30 to 50.

And a pretty regular cadence. So I think, council members, this is to supplement going forward. This is to supplement our public safety staff, of course, as we don't have the resources to provide security for events like that that exceed 100. I hope it's more than 50, by the way.

That was a conservative estimate, yes.

Council Member Crawford.

So, for example, our summer concert series, will we utilize this particular firm? Because I know that's over 100.

Potentially. Those are actually city events, and so those events could trigger that 100 threshold. I assume we've taken that into consideration. By the way, I also wanted to mention, on a cost recovery basis for the applicants, not necessarily summer concert series, but applicants who Exceed that hundred person threshold for the event hub this will be baked into the cost for security correct if i'm wrong will be correct into their application cost of we do not see that cost it is transparent to us. But if it is nonetheless required correct. On city events, we will make that determination on an as-needed basis. And again, my first hope would be we utilize our own public safety services, but that may not be feasible as we do city events, summer concert series, whatever else. But for all the private events, and again, maybe some city, we are going to exceed 100 people. And if we do, of course, that'll be baked in and transparent to the city.

Mayor Pro Tem, thank you.

Just a couple questions about your employees. Are they employees?

Correct. So everyone would be inherent DK security employees. We don't do any subcontracting or 1099 work. And we have 1,700 employees in the state of Michigan.

Okay. And so you were referring to their hourly pay? So was that what you were?

So I think the rates that were mentioned before, the $26.92, that would be the rate that would be billed to the person that would be renting the event hub. For the security officers themselves, that would be a pay rate of $19.40 per hour.

And I'm assuming that they're thoroughly vetted these security personnel?

Yeah, so we're governed under PA-330 of 1968. But in addition to that, we do go through an extensive recruiting process that does include both a Michigan iChat and a federal background check. So if there is anything out of state, we're able to handle that with a specific jurisdiction. But we do have strict standards for our security officers just to uphold strong services for both DK Security and the partners that we work with.

Thank you. Can you speak about training? Because the high school had some people contracted who were not well trained and now has a group that is very well trained. Can you speak to your training of your?

Yeah, so we have three tiers of our training. The first step of that would be the new hire orientation that they complete. That would go over the basics of report writing, conflict resolution, security officer safety, active shooter awareness, professionalism, customer service, and verbal de-escalation. From there, we would get into the site-specific portion. A large part of that would be part of that security plan that we would develop with the City of Oak Park. going through the city client organizational structure that we would establish with the city, emergency response that we would work with the public safety department here at the City of Oak Park, and then CPR AED first aid training that we require of all of our staff to go through. And then from there, we have sustainment training that we do after their time of hire and on-the-job training, typically on a quarterly basis, but that can vary from contract to contract. A main thing that you'll see with that is refreshers on CPR, AED, first aid, reviews of the security plan, internal procedures, active shooter responses, suspicious activity awareness, verbal deescalation, and more recently, First Amendment audit their awareness.

So verbal de-escalation, is that what you said?

Correct, verbal de-escalation.

It makes a difference how you train your people. So I will be keeping an eye out.

Absolutely.

A beady eye.

And can I make one more comment if I'm not out of bounds for doing so? Just kind of speaking to some of the experience that we have. So as Adam mentioned, that this came together through my deal. We've been the state of Michigan's primary security partner for 17 years across the state of Michigan for both unarmed and armed security services. But we also have... long-standing agreements with the City of Lansing. We've been there for 18 years. Calhoun County, we've been there for 17 years. Kent County, 11 years. Osceola County, six years. Kalamazoo, two years. And the City of Grand Rapids, we started a partnership with them this year. So we do have great partnerships in the city space. And I know that Adam had mentioned that it's a Grand Rapids-based firm, but the City of Oak Park would be supportive of our Troy regional office. We're at 14 Miles Stevenson.

And how do we report difficulties that we find?

Yeah, so DK Security would appoint a dedicated operations manager. So they'd be the main point of contact with the client structure that we would establish with the city of Oak Park. They would have the direct communication. So should there be any issues that happen with security staff, we would be able to engage in that communication. And if the city of Oak Park says that this person is not a good fit, they're immediately removed and they would go through our internal disciplinary process.

Council members, you can report those directly to me, though, and we'll handle it from there.

I will say we do take a good stock in our recruiting process. I mean, in the people business, we do hire a knucklehead every now or two. But just through our dedicated communication with all of our partners, if there is an employee that's not maintaining the standards, either for us internally or for our partners, we would remove them swiftly.

Thank you.

Yeah. Across the street, I've seen the best and the worst. So look forward to working with you. We need a vote, do we?

Mayor McClellan?

Yes.

Council Member Radner? Yes. Council Member Crawford? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Edgar?

Yes. Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, council members, we are to the exciting part of the agenda 12g, which is the elevate Oak Park update. And we're going to start our update with our assistant city manager to cost are talking about I think this might be your last one, isn't it? I believe so. Wow. I never thought I'd say those words. This might be your last event hub update. So Dave, walk us through the event hub update.

Thank you, City Manager Tungate. As the City Manager stated before you, in the packet is the final event hub update from Frank Riewald, our construction manager. Details what work was completed in June and some of the work that's scheduled, or I'm sorry, what was completed in May and some of the work that was scheduled for June. So you'll see in the packet, you'll see as you drive by the site, we've completed the siding, we've completed the concrete. A lot of the interior finishes have now been completed. we're working on final inspections we've received our final health department inspection we've received final electrical mechanical plumbing working on a temporary cfo we're working on our punch list items finish up the landscape so a lot of the visual things are finishing up site's looking great there's a lot of things that need to be wrapped up yet a lot of small jobs but we are on schedule for our big reveal on june 30th at the city of city address so Happy to answer any questions you have in the event hub.

Okay. Any questions? I went one day, and it was all dirt. And the next day, it was all grass and flowers. It looked like my fairy godmother had waved her magic wand and zapped the project. It was amazing. There's your fairy godmother right there, Dave.

Then you made a video that went viral that was kind of men in black.

Oh, my golly. Our videographer did a video with Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member Crawford and I. I don't know if you saw it, but when I'm done with the mayor gig, I'm going to be a social media influencer. Thank you.

Dave, I just want to add a couple of things, council members, to this. So, yes, I mean, obviously, we are very, very excited to unveil this to the public on June 30th, beginning at 5 o'clock, where we'll be having our ribbon cutting for the DIA mural, which I believe starts next week. Next Monday. Which I still can't believe, but apparently they're going to do the mural in just a few days. But we will at 5 o'clock on the 30th, we will be having a ribbon cutting for that, followed by our open house for the event hub. Of course, then the State of the City address, followed by the ribbon cutting to take place on the amphitheater. followed by a community concert to be formed by Kimmy Horn for the first time on the band Shell Amphitheater there. So we're very, very excited about that. Very, very excited to welcome our residents and look at their expressions when they walk in for the first time. It's been a long journey. And I just want to take this opportunity to point out again, what a wonderful job Dave DeCoster has done. Very humble person here. But Dave, as you noticed in the request for payment earlier, there's only ever been one change order on this entire project. And don't think I'm not watching, because I am. And that's nine in a row now of zero change orders. And it's just an amazing, you know, having been part of projects, obviously, that's one of the most amazing feats I've been through the Event Hub. It looks absolutely gorgeous. And Dave, no stone has been left unturned under your tutelage. So thank you so much for the hard work and dedication you put into that project. Under a couple other things council members under the elevate Oak Park update I also want to point out and I'm have to pinch myself that we're even talking about this too, but on June 22nd, which I believe is next Monday At 3 o'clock. We will be having our ribbon-cutting event celebration at Shepherd Park to celebrate the grand opening of Oak Park woods the staff and I were out there last week and it's I cannot wait to see our kids in this community get an opportunity to go down the slide and participate in council members you're gonna be just amazed at how beautiful that is But at 3 o'clock next Monday, and then guess what? Oak Park kids, it's all yours from that point forward. You get to have it. In addition to that, on July 9th, I think it's July 9th, right? We have our ribbon cutting for the 11-mile parking lot project. And I don't know if we have a graphic for that, but we will as time goes on here as we get closer. That's been a huge project up in the 11-mile Water Tower Social District, including what is, I think, one of the biggest murals, at least in the suburbs. It's got to be. It's 800 feet long, which has now been completed. So we'll be unveiling that project to the public as well. Is that also 3 o'clock? That, I don't know. Kim, what time is that one? It's 3 p.m. 3 p.m. Okay. Well, Mayor, good memory. The last thing I wanted to mention is that going back to the June 30 State of the City ribbon-cutting event, we will, on that date, be unveiling many things. And I neglected to mention these a moment ago. Of the many things, the new branding for the city will be unveiled. The new website for the city will be unveiled. The renderings for the new community center to be built over here on the ice arena. Obviously, you've noticed all these demolitions going on. We hope to have all of that cleaned up by the 30th, correct? Correct. Yeah, we're close. We're close. I've been paying attention. We're close. So a whole bunch of stuff coming up in Oak Park's future that we are extraordinarily excited about. All the fruits of our labor are finally coming to fruition. So we're very happy about that. And council members, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about all of the various projects we've got going on.

The green wall, the planting wall.

Yes, so we actually removed the wall itself from the project. We were required to build America by America for provisions of the project. So the wall behind it is not installed yet, but the plantings are installed. So the plantings were BAPA compliant, but the wall itself wasn't. So that will get finished post-completion here.

Will those plants grow up the wall by themselves, though, because they are over there?

Yeah, they are out there now. Once they start growing, we'll have the trestle behind it to have them grow.

Thank you, Dave.

I'd just like to say thanks to City Manager Tungate for staying with us to bring these projects to fruition. He had other offers and likes working for less.

We got to get them a fly swatter to swat away those other offers from the other cities.

That's right. Thank you. Thank you for your report. Now it's time for a call to the audience. Just a couple of rules.

You have a three-minute time limit. Please don't use profanity and no campaigning. Okay. Anybody?

No campaigning.

No? There's only two of you, come on now. Somebody.

If they start campaigning.

Where'd you guys come from?

A deal, a deal. Call to the council. You have to come to the microphone. Oh, yes.

Leslie.

Leslie, no swearing, please, okay?

We're all friends. No obscenity.

I just want to say I'm like all excited about this. But Eric, you have to go down the slide first.

I second that. I second that. In a suit. So I'm glad you brought this up because I do want to mention something. I think, do we have a video of this we can put up or is it? No.

You already went on it.

I I don't think I'm qualified to climb up to the top. So the slide and I I'm waiting for the kids because the kids are going to love this. But what I didn't realize before last week when we went out to the slide, you have all seen how tall that slide is. There's not. There aren't just steps going up to that slide. You have to literally. crawl up through all these various features to get to the top of the slide. So Adam is our young buck over here. And so he did that. And Adam, do you want to come to the microphone and tell us how was your experience going down the slide?

For better yet, play the video.

And maybe we have a video. Do we have it? Can we show the video? No.

No, we don't have it. Oh, no.

I will say the kids of Oak Park will love it. It's a very quick slide. So it's going to be very fast and very fun.

Well, how tall is it, Adam?

How what?

How tall?

35 feet. 35 feet.

Wow. Like I said, you could see it from the run signs.

It's crazy. I think that is going to be a community attraction for forever more. It's going to be like the Belle Isle slide. Yeah, that's exactly.

No, no. Safer, though. No, no. Yeah. Nobody's flying.

But I do want to say, I know people were concerned because the slide is made out of metal. They were concerned it was going to be hot on the inside. So Adam reported back after he almost fell out of it that it's not hot on the inside, correct? It's fairly cool. And that was a very hot day that you were at. OK. So we don't think that'll be an issue. Now, people flying out of there. What's the surface called? Do you happen to know?

Is this the stainless steel slide?

No, the surface area that they come out of. Where you land. Yeah.

Directly to Carmel. The structure.

But what's that surface? Pour in place. Pour in place. So there's a huge, and you remember the pour in place that was out there before. It's 10 times the size of that throughout that entire playground. So at least there's that.

I'm just curious, is there a little like slow down at the bottom so you don't shoot out?

Do parents get to sue you Should their children get injured Call to the council we have kept you long enough.

Thank you for coming and sticking it out to the end counts mayor pro tem Julie Edgar I

I also want to recognize and thank Director DeCoster for managing this project. It's amazing to me just to see, first the engineering, then to see this thing coming up. It's so much more beautiful than the rendering. and as the city manager pointed out really there was one change order i think it's just been so easy very few glitches and i'm just so excited i think it's a wonderful addition to the city um i also want to mention desiree kelly who's our muralist in the water tower social district is going to told me that barring a couple of bad rainstorms she will finish the 850 foot mural this week It's really beautiful. So, yeah, I stopped by today and chit-chatted with her. So please go by and look at it, 11 mile between Tulare and Gardner, roughly. So it goes way, way, way down, and it's really nice. Also, I want to welcome Rebecca to the City Council. It will be good to work with her. Thank you. Thank you.

Good night. Kind of you. Council Member Radner.

Good night, everybody. It's been a long one.

Council Member Crawford. I'll just make it a little longer.

I just wanna invite everyone out to our Juneteenth event. I'm so excited. Our commission has worked so hard. Once again in the morning, we're gonna have the walk over at Oak Park High School, 8 a.m. Come walk, do some line dancing, hustling. And then our program is at the high school in the auditorium from four to six. We have great things planned. In that program, there'll be some music, some dancing, recognition, great dynamic program. And then, new this year, we're gonna have the Community Block Party. We're partnering with the Department of Public Safety and there is going to be so much for the children to do. We have tables for crafts, we have music, we're gonna have adult contests, we're gonna have everything you can think of. We want everyone just to come out and have a great time. I also want to recognize Adam. He has worked so hard, I think, on that committee, and he has gone above and beyond. I cannot say enough the hard work he's done. And then even when I text him at 10 o'clock at night and say, did we do this? He's always there. So I want to make sure the whole community comes out, celebrates with us. I also want to welcome Rebecca to the council. As you can see, sometimes we make hard decisions and this was one. It was a good decision because we had so many great candidates. So I want to welcome her here, and I look forward to her on council. And everyone, good night, be safe, and as always, be kind to one another.

Right. There being no further business to come before this council, this meeting is adjourned.