City Council - Regular Meeting

It is 7 0 8 p.m. The Monday, August 3rd, 2026, thanks for city council meeting is now called to order. Um, everyone, please stand for our prayer. Who wants to volunteer to do our prayer?

Cooper.

Cooper.

Oh, thank you.

Everybody bow their heads, please. Dear gracious fathers, I come before you with thanksgiving and praise. I just thank you for another day. Thank you for fellowship. Thank you for relationship, Father. And I just ask that the councilmen and the residents can continue to work with each other to make Inkster a better city. No more does the vision that we have on one side of Inkster to the next side of Inkster. We just all come together in love and peace and harmony. And I ask you and thank you in Jesus' name, I pray. Thank you.

Amen. Thank you. You understand it for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance. Councilwoman Rutledge, roll call.

Mayor Nolley.

Present.

Councilwoman Richardson. Here. Councilwoman Howard. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Chisholm.

Present.

Councilman Bishop.

Present.

Councilwoman Lindsay Scott. Present. Councilwoman Rutledge is here. We have a quorum here.

All right, great. Approval of the agenda. We're going to add two items to the agenda. Item G will be the Robichaud reunion request for a donation. And item H will be the NSP program. We voted on the last meeting, I believe. We're going to take another vote. We're not sure whether we met the voting requirements, so we're going to take another vote tonight. All right? Okay. Any other additions, deletions to the agenda? All right, do we have a motion to approve? Second. We'll probably move to second. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. It passes. Presentation. Public Participation Progress Report and Public Participation Plan. A.C. Williams. I never call her A.C.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, and residents. I'm AC Williams. I'm on the Planning Commission, and I'm taking the lead in helping Inkster become a redevelopment-ready community. If you haven't heard what that is, that is a technical assistance program offered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and we've been on the certified track, which means they have certain best practices, And once we're certified, we're eligible for funding and certain economic tools. And this is the very last item on the list. So very excited by this. It's not really a presentation. It's an update of sorts. We're required to complete or develop a public participation plan and that happened in 2024 and was approved and submitted to the RRC. And so this is the annual update portion of it and we just have to make sure that we're communicating it out to city council. Some of the highlights, and for everyone in the audience, if you wanna see this plan, including the one that was approved in 2024, you can look online, go to the Today's Agenda, and it's a part of the public packet, okay? So some of the activities I wanted to highlight include our Voices of Inkster campaign, which is a part of our marketing campaign. So one of the best practices we had to meet as a part of the RRC was we had to come up with a marketing strategy on how we were going to promote Inkster. And some of it included, of course, where we're located. One of the other things was our people is one of our most valuable assets. And as a part of that strategy, we decided to interview longtime members, business owners, advocates of the community, and asked them three questions. It was, how long have you lived in Inkster? What do you like about Inkster? And what are your hopes for its future? Some of those members included like Dorothy Bishop, Gabe Henderson, I know you're in the audience somewhere, and the Funkateers. And we'll be using some of that video as like clips that we'll post to market Inkster and why it's so great. so that's one of the campaigns or the initiatives that we've been involved in of course we have updated our zoning ordinance and adopted it and right now we're doing in district two the cleaning box initiative um which is our attempt to um strategically offer or approach code enforcement in a way that hopefully allows or helps certain people who may have code violations but are not able to actually address them. So maybe it's not just them being defiant and they don't want to want to do it, but if they're low income, or seniors, or disabled, maybe they need our help, and we can provide them resources, support, and referral, and then of course, the commercial properties, for example, or other properties in Inkstar that have repeat offenses, work with code enforcement and DPS to make sure that we're addressing those places, and cleaning up the city, and District Two is where we're piloting this first, And if it goes well and we work out how it should look, then hopefully other districts would adopt it and we can all work together. So those are our main updates I wanted to share. And that's it. Any questions?

Question. Have you had opportunities to interview Mr. James Hall?

Not yet.

He is a walking encyclopedia.

And actually, we know each other, so. He can, and we can.

Wealth of information.

I'll talk to him afterwards. Any questions? You guys should have it in your packets, too. Anything you want to add about clean blocks? Not to put you on the spot, but just in case.

Sounds good. I appreciate you.

Thank you. And we're done. I'm going to submit this, and we're done.

Okay.

Consent hearing. It's an agenda.

I'm sorry. We have a hearing. No second.

It's been probably moved and seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say aye. It passes. Boards and commissions.

We have been slacking on appointments. Oh, my God.

Hold on one second. Yes, sir? What's up?

Did you do consent agenda or?

Yeah, I did hearing and agenda.

Okay.

She's just talking about the minutes, who is a portion of what we're speaking about, item H. It can be corrected with item H. She said it can be connected with item H. Thank you. Okay. Okay.

All right. Do we make any changes?

We're going to do that.

I'm sorry, any appointments? Any appointments?

Nominations?

None? Okay, we're going to move down to new business. You want to read it?

Consider recommendation for approval of a special land use for a cigar lounge at 27553 Cherry Hill Road, Brother's Smokehouse.

So moved.

Second.

We're probably moving to second. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Passes.

Consider approval of the land services line replacement for 2027. So moved. Second.

Properly moved and seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Pass.

Item C is consider approval of the 7th annual Inktown Riders Car and Bike Show.

Move for approval. Second.

Properly moved and seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. It passes.

Item D is consider approval of a street closure black party on August 8th, 2026.

Move for approval. Second.

Probably move to second. Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Passes.

ITEM E IS CONSIDER ADOPTING A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF INGSTER COMMUNITY EVENT SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM.

MOVE FOR APPROVAL.

SUPPORT.

PROBABLY MOVED AND SUPPORTED. DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED, SAY NAY. IT PASSES.

ITEM F IS CONSIDER APPROVAL FOR THE COMMUNITY STREET FESTIVAL. I THINK THAT'S ON AUGUST 21ST. YES.

SO MOVE FOR APPROVAL. SECOND.

We'll probably move then, second. Discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Passes.

And item G is the Roosevelt Robichaud approval for the Community Sponsorship Fund.

I make a motion to approve the senior tent and the amount of $1,500 for the Robichaux Classroom. Approved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion? Any reason why you chose $1,500?

Just to sponsor the senior tent. So we sponsored the Inkster High senior tent. We're going to sponsor the Robichaux senior tent.

And our new policy.

And our new, sorry, thank you. And our new policy just passed. But mainly it was the one for one. Yeah, with that.

Okay, great. Any other comments?

And then item, oh, I'm sorry.

You got to make a. Oh, we can call for it. Not yet. Item H. Do we vote? On the bottom.

We need to vote. We need to vote on that. Oh, I'm sorry.

Okay, we got to vote maybe.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed, say nay.

Nay. I mean, no, I'm like, dang. I'm listening. I'm listening. I vote aye.

I vote aye.

So it's unanimous. Okay. Is that final?

That was it.

Okay.

What was that? Item H is to consider to authorize the city of Inkster to exercise the first right of refusal to purchase tax foreclosed properties from the Wayne County Treasurer and to enter into a contractual agreement with the list of vendors to participate in the inkster neighborhood stabilization programs for 2026 through 2027 and this is an amendment we will also need to make an amendment to the minutes at the last council meeting mr mayor so i'd like to bring that back to the floor from the july 20th 2026 inkster city council meeting item a a under new business for the neighborhood stabilization program vendor and parcel acceptance

That is proper because he voted yes on the prior approval, so he has the right to bring it back up at the next meeting. Do we have a second?

A second.

Okay. So, discussion. So, the issue was at the last meeting, I think we had one person missing? Yes. Councilwoman Scott was missing. And so we had six people as a quorum. So the issue is whether you need three or four votes. There was a prior legal opinion written that said since the mayor only votes when it's a tie, that three would carry the day with six people if one of them's the mayor. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not because I count towards the quorum. So if it's six of us here, parliamentary procedure would say that you need four votes to pass something, even if I don't vote. So we just want to make sure we cover ourselves, especially some including property because it's the acceptance of property and then we'll be selling them. We want to take another vote just to make sure we're okay. So that's the reason why we brought it back up. Any comments, questions from council? Okay. So now we're voting on the same thing we voted on last meeting. Okay. So all those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, say nay.

Abstain.

Abstain.

All right. So we had two people abstain, and everybody else was an aye, right? Okay. So it passes. Anybody, can you tell them why you're abstaining?

For financial reasons.

Likewise, I'll be abstaining for financial reasons because I'm part of the program. Okay. So that passes. So we have public participation. Dr. A.J. ?

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. To the council, to members of the audience. I have come because at the library, we are having a lot of different activities that are taking place. Also, I wanted to mention that we have the farmer's market. And a lot of people have been trying to say, oh, we don't know about the farmer's market.

Well, what I have brought in front of me now

is something that i put in front of my booth to try to let everyone know that the friends of the leanna hicks library provide free books just come up you may find a book adults or children who would be able to get a book with only a book or more books whatever you would like someone told me today that they had been able to get some books for their grandchild and they were doing well going through the book so the main thing the books are free I'm just going to turn this around so that the audience can see This is what I have in front of my table at the farmer's market. Now, people have heard about the farmer's market before, being on Michigan Avenue, being in different places, but we have not had the response of the farmer's market as we have had in previous years. And so I wanted to bring it to your attention, to the city's attention, that the farmers market is over at the Dozier building on Wednesdays until September 2nd. Now I have a table, two tables I put together and I have books on them and I try to have flyers so that you can come bring your children and they can get books, book or books there. Also I try to have information about different activities at the library. Now there is something that I have not mentioned before We're having a local author fair October 11th, and that will be from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock October. Now, we are also working with August the 15th. There will be a day of play, and this will be summer reading finale. Choose out summer reading with an afternoon of Lon Horne. games don't forget to bring your reading logs for those people who had been able to sign up for that so we have various activities so my main point is to let people know they should come and try to check out the availability of things at the library i was very surprised one of the flyers i brought the individual is here and she is scheduled to talk a little later So it's the library and also Farmer's Market. At the Farmer's Market, we do have produce that comes from Eastern Market, which is fresh produce. So if you could just put that on your calendar. It is over at the Dozier Center. Go on, park, come on up towards the door, and then it is 4 o'clock until 7 o'clock. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Russell Peterson.

Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, Council. I actually had two things that I needed to bring up. One, Chief Jenkins already handled. I want to thank you wholeheartedly for handling that. The second issue, there is a house on Ash Street. It has been boarded up several times before by the police. It is a known drug house. There are now hypodermic needles all over the ground in front of this house. They're all through the yard, all through the street over there. There is also a bunch of crack pipes laying all over the floor. I've been told that this home is owned by a Wayne County Sheriff's deputy. And if that's the case, something needs to be done.

You know the address?

3111 Ash. It's the solid brick house. There's constant drug activity over there in and out 50, 60 cars a day in and out of that house every day. Wow. Okay. We would jump on it.

It's fine. We have boarded that house up several times.

So I'm surprised to hear that they go with the second you guys boarded up, they'll take the boards right down off the house. Okay.

We'll take care of it. Okay.

Um, the second thing too, is I have, um, last meeting I was here, I brought up, um, a gentleman by the name of William Asper. Just to make council aware, he is still continuing. I've already talked to Chief Jenkins about this. I have filed several police reports against him. He has now purchased five properties in the city of Inkster and is continuing on with his sexual harassment of female tenants as well as male tenants. So everybody, please be aware if you are trying to get a house from this guy, do not rent from him. William Asper. He is a predator. He needs to be stopped immediately. Third thing is I have officially gotten my lawn business back open. I do charity mows for people that need their lawns mowed, that can't afford it. If anybody needs to reach out to me, I do have flyers. I don't know if I have any on me right now. I know I've got some in my car, but I can... be reached anywhere on Facebook. I put flyers all the time on Facebook. I'll send one of my guys out to get all the stuff taken care of. Okay, we appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you.

Shirley Walker.

Hi. Hi, Byron. Hi, how are you? And council.

And the rest of y'all.

All right, Dee, I'll be nice. Sometime I have to call Dee. And Dee called Jerome. Could you tell your garbage people they're being watched now? Because they come in the neighborhood, supposed to pick up trash, and my trash ain't been picked up in over a week. And they sitting there on their phone. Somebody think they in there, they saw something white going up to their mouth. So they not sure if they smoking weed or smoking a cigarette. But they are now being watched in our neighborhood. And they are gonna be reported to D, to me, to D. So let your people know, a lot of the people in the neighborhood are watching these people. Because they're tired of this. And on Colonial, when is y'all going to pick up all these bunks that's out in the street on Colonial from the Park? That trash has been sitting there in front of their house for weeks. And folks are not being picked up. And people are complaining about it. So I don't know what they're not doing. But right through the neighborhood and you see in front of the houses piles of trash are being set. okay thank you drum now the clock ain't on so we're gonna talk real quick oh you're so wrong you're so wrong uh right now we are talking about the instant goodfellas are being set back a little bit because the rec center is not ready to be used so we might have to change the address And to let y'all know that the Instant Goodfellas are now, we are working on it, to do a Facebook page. So it will be the Instant Goodfellas Facebook page. And you're going to see a lot of events that's going to be coming with us.

I can't say we have a Facebook.

No, y'all got that page. Huh? We can have it? Oh, you didn't tell me. Didn't know. So we're going to stop. We didn't know. They didn't make the payment. Yeah, they didn't make the payment. I mean, she didn't make the payment. But there's going to be a lot of events on there, and we hope for everybody to start looking from the Eastern Goodfellas. And I'm going to get back with you with her. And that we are trying to do a lot of things for the kids here in Eastern, and we're going to need a lot of help. because we are, and we hope, we still selling tickets, Gabe, Barbara, Gene, me, Dee, Sweet Booger, and he loves to be called that, so I have to do that, and Corinthia. So, and there's a lot of other members that are not here that's willing to sell ticket, and they still be $40. But we will let y'all know in the second meeting here, where it's going to be at as soon as we get a stable place. Okay? Barbara?

Wrapped it up for the pancake twist.

Yeah. And we're still going to have all-you-can-eat pancake where? We don't know yet either. Get your money together and get your stomach together. Now go for all of y'all up there. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'll turn it over to Sister D. Oh, to Sister D. Lisa B.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, residents. Get ready for National Night Out. That is this Wednesday, August 5th. This is a free event to everyone who wants to attend, anyone who wants to attend. And this is going to be this Wednesday again, right here at the Inkster Police Department from 5 to 9 p.m. We will have the Tune Up Man and our headlining act is the Good Band and DJ Chris Kelly will be there. Again, this is a free event. We'll have food, lots of activities, vendors, resources. We'd like to just do a shout out to F&R Automotive, Bishop Auto Reckon. Wrecking Garden Fair Supermarket, Jeff Benson's Car Company, and Westbourne Collision as part of our sponsors to help us be able to have this event. So we encourage you guys to all come out and it is for adults and children. This month is National Traffic Awareness Month. August is National Traffic Awareness. Remind everyone that the roadway is safety. and shared responsibility. So make sure you guys are not texting and driving. You guys are buckling up, paying attention to the speed limits, slowing down, and staying alert, especially with school starting back again. And lastly, August is National Wellness Month, so make sure that you are having healthy minds, strong bodies, and a stronger community. Thank you.

Thank you. MR. Shannon Rashaun.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Good evening. My name is Shannon Roshon. I am a Wayne-Westland School Board member. I'm just here to show up and let Inkster know that I stand with Inkster. A lot of times at the tape I find myself and a few others by ourselves representing Inkster. But I want to put this plea out here for Inkster residents to come to our school board meetings. I'm constantly fighting for Inkster and making sure Inkster have a voice at the table, me and others, but I wanna let you know that I'm here to fight for you guys. Today, I brought a Dr. Dana, Lewis, she's running for Wayne-Westland School Board, and I'm so passionate about making sure our voice is represented at the table. So I just wanted to introduce her and let Inkster residents know that she's, her family's from Inkster, and she's here standing with Inkster as well, so you guys get to know who she is after this meeting. Actually, if you come up real quick, I'm putting her on the spot. She's a brilliant, brilliant mother of the district. I'll let her talk briefly.

Okay.

So, yes, I was actually, when many of you were at the school board meeting, speaking about things going on at Inkster, I was very moved by that because my family has been at Inkster for a long time. I want to make sure that the interest of Inkster is represented and supported. It's something dear to my heart, and I will keep it top priority for me.

Thank you. Let's remember that name, Dr. Dana Lewis.

She's on the ballot in November. I'm not on the ballot, but she's on the ballot in November, and I just want us to recognize those members that support Inkster. Don't put people in office that don't support Inkster. And I'm not even a resident of Inkster, but I'm here standing with Inkster to let you know to get involved. The election is tomorrow, but the school board ballot election, the ballot for school board will be in November. I want people to get involved, vote tomorrow, but also vote in November and represent and vote people that's going to support your issues. Thank you.

dr lewis dr lewis can you just shoot um i guess i'll ask for it personally can you shoot me an email so then we can correspond with like future um candidate events that we might have in the city um leading into november because we definitely want to absolutely support our own thank you all right dr phyllis long

Good evening, Council. Good evening to the Inkster residents. I am Dr. Phyllis Long. and A Journey with Lupus presents Chat, Chew, and Crochet. So our next meeting that we will be having August 8th, 2026, Saturday at the Leanna Hicks Library located at 2500 Hamlin Drive from 12 to three will be Crochet 101. So any levels would be able to come If you're a beginner, if you have been crocheting for years, you could be stuck on a project, or maybe you want to start making projects. You are all welcome. So we will be having... snacks and drinks and different things like that, and just crocheting together. So of course this event is open to the public, to our Inkster residents. Just to recap on the event, our outdoor gathering, the weather was beautiful, the park was beautiful, and the The people who were checking the garbage, they just kept coming to make sure that those cans were cleaned and the bathrooms were beautiful. And so those who did attend, they were so impressed with the park because it was just beautiful. Everybody who was out there, it was just a lovely time. The vibe was just good. And the balloon release was beautiful. So I just want to say thank you to Inkster City Council, to the Inkster residents, and for just helping to make that occasion beautiful. So with our chat, chew and crochet, hopefully if you can't attend, pray for us. or maybe you'll stop by, but this is just an event for all of our Inkster residents and surrounding cities, whoever would like to come. Of course, we are always welcoming any donations. We welcome your prayers. You can always make a donation at ajourneywithlupus.com. You can make it through PayPal, Cash App, Zelle, many different ways. Maybe you would even like to volunteer some of your time. So we thank you and we hope to see you there.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR NOLAN. OOPS, I'M SORRY. MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL AND EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE, MY NAME IS TIERRA JONES, AND I AM THE FOUNDER OF BLACK BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT, A BUSINESS PROUDLY ROOTED HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. BLACK BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT WAS BORN FROM A VISION THAT MY LATE HUSBAND AND I SHARED. AFTER HIS PASSING, I MADE THE DECISION TO CONTINUE BUILDING THAT VISION, NOT JUST AS AN APPAREL BRAND, BUT AS A MOVEMENT CENTERED ON IDENTITY, RESILIENCE, AND LEGACY. While we create inspirational apparel, our mission reaches far beyond clothing. Every shirt, hat and product is designed to start conversations, encourage confidence and remind people that regardless of what they have experienced, they still have value, purpose and brilliance. As my business continues to grow, my vision is to expand our impact through community partnerships, educational initiatives, and programs that serve people facing adversity. One area I'm especially passionate about is supporting returning citizens. I'm currently conducting a listening project to better understand the barriers that they face so that any future programs are built on real needs of the community. I also believe Inkster has a unique legacy. Malcolm's ex-connection to the city reminds us that transformation is possible when people are given opportunity, support, and help. That history inspires me to think about how Black Beautiful and Brilliant can become a positive partner and continue in that legacy here in the city of Inkster. I'm here today because I want Black, Beautiful, and Brilliant to be more than a business that operates in Inkster. I want it to become a long-term community partner that collaborates with the city, local organizations, and residents to create meaningful opportunities and a lasting impact. So thank you for allowing me to introduce my business, and I look forward to building relationships, serving our community, and help making Inkster a stronger place to live, work, and grow.

Thank you.

Jairus Fowler.

All right. So, oh, I'm sorry.

Good evening, Councilman, Mayor, and everybody else in here.

So I talked about Flock at the last meeting. So I gathered a little more information, wrote it down. So first things first, Flock is privately owned. It's an AI-powered surveillance company funded by one of the richest men alive, Peter Thiel. I don't know if anybody knows who Peter Thiel is. Long story short, he just got a contract to consolidate information through the government. So Donald Trump awarded him that contract to merge IRS and a few other government entities. Palantir is also the company that surveils immigrants. and is used to target people in Palestine for, basically they mark them for death.

What company is that, I'm sorry?

I'm sorry? What company is that? That's Palantir, it's owned by Peter Thiel. Peter Thiel funded Flock. So Palantir and Flock Safety are used across the U.S. to track, monitor all U.S. citizens turning the country into a massive surveillance state. The data they collect is stored and sold to the highest bidder with no oversight or regulation. Flock cameras rely on AI to automate policing and make mistakes. There have been numerous cases where Flock AI has misread license plates, causing innocent people to be fined, incarcerated, in one case mauled by police dogs. Flock is marketed as a tool to stop crime, but in reality makes our communities more dangerous. Flock cameras are easily hacked and misused. I've seen like several people on Instagram, TikTok, they show where they actually hack into the cameras. In multiple cases, criminals and police officers have been used to stalk and harass women. So I think y'all need to take a second look. at these cameras, because it's a lot more. I mean, it's so much more data. I mean, I only got three minutes. But that's kind of scary. I mean, you're talking about a city of predominantly black people. That's a scary thing.

Thank you. Feliciara Flair, I think.

Good evening, Mayor, Chief, and Council, and the residents of Inkster. I'm here to talk about Inkster Housing Commission and Ms. Wells. She has been phenomenal. She does a wonderful job. And when I say that I have been in different positions throughout my life, This lady deserves her flowers. She needs a standing ovation with all that she does. Our council, the board, it's time to take a look into making some changes. Everything changes. At some point in time in life, things change. And it's time to look into making some changes. This lady, nobody should be able to take the initiative to decide who works. It should go by your skills, your professionalism, and the person that you are. If you have a degree, it should go by that. Nobody should pick who works for Inkster Housing Commission from the board. That's not fair. This lady should have the position. If you put her in the position and she's been handling her business, there's no reason to remove her or to get somebody off the street to take over. She's going to have to train them. So why would you remove her from a position that she's done an excellent job at doing? That's not fair. So that's what I have to say. So maybe we should really look into making some changes when it comes to the board and the decisions that they make.

Yeah, I can tell by your comment that you understand how it works that we appoint the board. But really, we have no authority over them other than removing and appointing.

Well, it might be time to make some removals. Because at some point in time, some people feel like, okay, so I come up here. You might not like my hair color.

I like it, though.

That's fine. But I'm just saying, if you don't like it, you judge me by my hair color. You don't like me because my hair is this color. So because you might not like a person, that's a reason for them not to have a position.

That's not fair. That's not professional.

At all. So maybe you should look into changing some things when it comes to your board.

Has any decision been made yet? As far as you know.

As far as I know? No, sir, I do not. But I just feel like at some point in time, things are dinosaurs. They become extinct.

Mm-hmm.

It's time to make some changes. How do you go about electing? I don't mind. I'm just saying. You never know. It's time to make some changes. When you feel entitled, when you've been in a position for such a long time, you don't feel like nobody has the authority over you. And where's the right in that? It's not. So like I said, this lady right here, I met the other young lady who was on before. She was horrible. That's my opinion. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion. That's my opinion. This lady right here, I feel like she's gone up and beyond the call of duty. She will walk these places. She makes sure things is right. She can't do nothing if she don't know nothing. She can't do anything about anything if there's a problem that's going on. She going to correct it. She going to make sure it's right. I've seen her in action.

Have you addressed the board?

No, sir, I haven't.

I think you're very persuasive. I think you should address the board. Because when you appoint, they have terms. So many years they're on the board. We have in the past removed people for particular conduct. Right now, a decision has been made. So it would be almost preemptive. If somebody made a motion to remove the board and they haven't decided anything yet, So we can only react in some respects. But I think if you get up in front of them and say what you just said here tonight, you might move somebody off of whatever position they're already on. Because I happen to agree with you. But you should address them. Because that's where all this stuff is taking place. And you know, we can all call. We are a city council. We know them. We can call them and talk to them and do all that stuff. But Until they do something we deem as inappropriate, it'd be hard for us to remove them.

So what do you call inappropriate?

That's ambiguous. Last time we removed the board, the only time I can remember in the history since I've been around is because we asked them to come talk to us and give us an update on what was going on in housing, and they felt they didn't need to because we don't supervise them. And so we said, yes, we don't supervise you, but we do appoint and remove you, and we removed them because they refused to come talk to us. Any public official who doesn't want to talk to the elected officials, something's wrong with that picture. I love all those folks who are on the board. I still talk to them to this day, but we had to do what we had to do because they didn't want to answer to us, essentially.

So do you think it's right for them to make the decision on who gets that position?

That's their job.

That's their job. So even if they're looking at it in a non-professional way?

I mean, yeah, but that's somewhat subjective.

So my thing is, you would prefer somebody to come off the street. Oh, I would get that job. When somebody already in place who's doing that job, where's the fairism in that she would have to be the one that trained them? But it just seems like everybody's for what's wrong instead of for what's right.

I'm not for what's wrong. I'm not seeing you. I agree with you. You and I have the same position. It's just how we go about it as a city council. Look, everybody up here can pick up the phone and has influence. And they can talk to whatever commissioner they have a relationship with. Since the decision has been made, maybe something can be done. But, you know, and I'm not saying, look, if somebody makes the motion, they make the motion. But you're putting us in a, not you, we're in a funny situation to say, I move we remove the board. Well, why? Because what they about to do.

It also doesn't guarantee that that would be the next outcome either. So if we remove them and then we reappoint them, that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be a better board and or you all will get the outcome that you're looking for as well. If that makes sense.

It does, but. My thing is, like I said, at some point in time, it's time for people to move on. Everybody, okay, how long does the mirror run?

Four years.

Okay. How much longer you got?

Two.

I'm just being comical. But what I'm seeing is it should be a limit of how long they stay on the board. It is. It should be a limit of how long they stay on the board.

It is. They have terms.

So how long are the terms? And can they run consecutively?

They're not all up at the same time.

Okay.

It's five?

It's staggered.

It's staggered. Is it four or five? It's five. Okay. So five-year terms staggered so that the board doesn't change all at once.

Okay.

Mayor, I was going to say too, ma'am, the thing about it with those, as far as all boards and commissions in the city of Inkster, people have to express interest that they do want to be on those boards. A lot of times people don't. As we went down the agenda tonight and talked about boards and commissions, nobody up here said anything because any of the 27 that we have in the city, no one has expressed interest lately in being on anything that has a vacancy. And so sometimes it is like pulling teeth with different boards and commissions where we're trying to fill the board so we can take some type of action and we might have to jump into someone else's district. And then sometimes, unfortunately, they may look at a particular board and say, nope, it is too chaotic and nobody shows interest. And then we're left with what we're left with because then sometimes those we put on there and the mayor told me that I could pretty much you know go to the cross on that on my own with having the training sessions that they should the crash course one-on-ones and stuff like that the different ones they should probably travel to and get more training so they know how to do their jobs efficiently but then people get on the boards and they want the ceremonial stuff but they don't want to do the actual work and do their jobs so that's that's a lot of different things to take into consideration as well when these candidates are coming before us to be appointed as board members i understand

So, my question as well. So, if it's not considered fair to that individual, is there a way that you guys can step in?

After something's done.

Okay.

I mean, but look, can we talk offline after the meeting? Yes, right. We're going to be done in five minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, we have one more public comment sent in from Mr. Charles Blackwell. He said, hello, I want the following public comment read at the August 3rd Inkster City Council meeting. Good evening. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib will defeat Mayor Byron Nolan by more than 40% for the 12th Congressional District. I'm accepting any and all friendly wagers on this issue. Additionally, Councilman Freddie Bishop should explain to the public as where he got $50,000 from in order to be able to participate in the City of Inkster Neighborhood Stabilization Program this year. That's the end of the comment. Yes, if your last name is Bishop, you can't have $50,000.

Give one more public comment. Mayor, give one more public comment.

One more comment. And I'm personally offended about his...

I'm not going to say nothing.

The wager. I'm betting $10. $10. Is betting legal? In Washington, so it might be.

No, you better not. All right. Mr. Kenneth Scott. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Good evening.

My name is Kenneth Scott. I'm a maintenance tech three for Inkster Housing. And I'm also the steward of Ask Me Local 290. Okay. I want to start off by saying it would be a sad day in Inkster Housing if Ms. Wells does not get a chance to interview for this job. This woman does this job with passion. I know that because I'm a union student, I have to work with her. She's not going to be hoodwinked. We need to really think about getting her interviewed. She has brought a different culture to Inkster housing. How should I say this? We have meetings like every other Friday. And, you know, most heads, you know, they get on the soapbox, they do all the talking. Well, she brought inclusion into this. Now everybody has a chance to get on the soapbox and run the meeting. So that, you know, it brings a type of, you know, good feeling about, you know, coming to work. At one time, you know, I didn't really even want to, like, coming to work. But now, you know, it's been enjoyable coming to work. And I don't know. With her getting, you know, starting at the ground level with all this, with the renovations and stuff, it doesn't seem like it makes any sense to bring somebody in that we got to retool, retrain, restart, reintroduce to get things going. you know, to keep things going. The movement is already on. If everybody's seen over in Parkside and that kind of place, they started already. So there's, you know, and we don't need to be jumping off and trying to start over again. We need to keep pushing to make sure this all works. Since I've been here at Inkster House for six years, there's been four EDs. And I'm tired of all these mommies and daddies. We got a mommy, we won't. And I'll tell you the truth, she gets it, okay? She gets it. Thank you. Thank you. And look, this is important. In her reign, since she's been E.D., we had a HUD inspection through Inspire, and we scored the highest score in Inkster housing history.

all right madam clerk is not here he's doing election okay all right madam clerk had to step out to take care of some election matters mr treasurer uh good evening council mayor uh as everybody knows tomorrow is election day that's why uh madam purchase had to step out just want to make sure everybody uh exercises their right to vote um i know a lot of people probably voted early and voted absentee but if you didn't um be sure to do that hopefully somebody has some of the information I know we do have some driver assistance if anyone needs to get to the polls I don't know if any of you guys will provide that during during your comments we just wanted to to remind everyone and encourage everyone about that

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, AND VIEWERS AND AUDIENCE HERE. I'VE HAD SEVERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT CHERRY HEEL ROLE FROM INKS TO THE GULLY, AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE. probably a week or two. Look on our website. Dearborn Heights will be hosting a town meeting. The City of Eastern is invited. I will be there to have the layout for a series from Eastern Road to Gully. I know the bid opening is in September. I don't know if we're going to start construction in the fall or will it be spring next year but i invite all the residents for city to please come out because it's important meeting and you will hear about the layout and the plans for cherry hill uh once they give me the date it will be posted on our website it's either going to be the 11th of this month or the 25th of this month they just have to decide once we know all right thank you mr mayor all right all right

You know, Mr. Hall has a question. Can you get with him after the meeting? Mr. Hall has a question. James Hall. All right. Mayor and Council of Communication, Councilwoman Scott.

Mr. Givens, over the 1040 Salon, he's having a back-to-school giveaway Sunday, August 16th from 12 to 4. So it'll be a backpack drive as well as young ladies and gentlemen can come and get their hair done prior to school. starting. They're still taking donations, so if anyone wants to donate monetary or in-kind donations, please reach out to Mr. Givens at 734-620-7433. And then the nonprofit or the community registry. So as we talk about community groups, I want to encourage everyone to go on the website and register your business, nonprofit within this registry. So that way we can make a comprehensive list of all the resources available in the city. And then did you want to mention the city? Okay. All right, Councilman Rutledge and I, and I think she mentioned the last meeting. We are looking to do a citywide initiative called Paint the City Pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We all know someone that has been impacted by breast cancer. So we have a month-long initiative in partnership with other city departments. So you'll see city businesses hopefully participating. We're going to kick off with a 5K event. at the golf course. So I just wanted to kind of get that out there and get it on the record. And hopefully we'll have the final like layout of events by the last meeting in August. So just wanted to put that on everyone's radar.

Councilwoman Scott, are you guys in communication with the last organization that had came into Inkster and presented? Who was something smaller than that?

No.

We did some pink bowls on the mailboxes and stuff. Yeah, we're going to have one standing. Pink out.

It was a pink out. I reached out to her, I think, last year, the year before that, and I had no response.

Okay. If you have the contact, please forward it to us. We are having kind of committee meetings, so anyone interested, also being interested in signing up for a team to participate in the 5K, just to kind of present your friend or family or loved one that's been impacted as well. Okay.

Thank you. Can you give the location and time of the backpack giveaway again?

Oh, yeah. Sorry. It's at 1040 Middlebelt, Inkster, right? 1040 Middlebelt, 12 to 4. That's Sunday, August 16th. Great. Thank you.

Councilman Bishop? Nothing at this time, man. Councilwoman Rutledge?

No, taking minutes. Taking minutes.

Oh, ain't got no time for a comment.

Councilwoman Howard? Nothing, nothing at this time.

Councilwoman Richardson?

Absolutely.

We were on a roll.

Were you upset the last time I didn't have any comments? Yes. Anyway, I just want to do a reminder that the Inkster City Councilwomen And the police chief will be hosting a unity prayer breakfast. We had to move it from July. It will be, I think it's still going to be held on August the 15th at the complex from 10 to 12. This is something that we wanted to do, giving back. It is free. Free. Free food. How about that? Thought you would kind of like that. But we will be having a beautiful menu, which includes shrimp and grits, thanks to Councilwoman Rutledge. And we will have Simply Chanel, a comedian, because I wanted to make it kind of lighthearted. It's where we will have a lot of prayers. We will have a couple of prayers and a little music, and we will have live music by Mr. Melody, Johnny Jordan. He's awesome. So we want you to please come. We'll also have some giveaways. I'd like free gifts, so we hope that you participate in that. And just my last thing is thank you, Mr. James Hall. He had permission from my husband to come and flirt with me today, so I take that. We better watch out. Thank you for the flirt. I appreciate it. It made me feel good, and that's all I have.

How am I supposed to follow that? I don't even know what I'm doing. I'm going to go ahead and adjourn.

He had permission.

He had permission.

Oh, man. It's all you, man.

Mr. Carrington was alluding to the lift to the polls. That is in collaboration with International Footer Women Network. It's a service offered to the City of Inkster. It is not paid for by the City of Inkster. During the early voting period, Saturday, July 25th through Sunday, August 2nd until 3.30 p.m., and on primary election day, Tuesday, August 4th until 6 p.m., Get to the polls with ease. Convenient round-trip transportation is available between your home and the Inkster City Clerk's Office during early voting and between your home and your polling location on Election Day. Free rides. Ride must begin and end at your home address. You must have a cell phone. You do not need a Lyft account. Schedule your free ride by calling or texting your name and address to 313-787- 3-1-2-5. Again, that is 3-1-3-7-8-7-3-1-2-5. And I would just advise, because a lot of us procrastinate, do not wait to the last minute. And then jump up and down if you can't get a ride or you get to City Hall after 8 o'clock or your poll location after 8 o'clock and you say it's closed. And, of course, then I was going to, I don't know, I don't know if it's Mr. Bibbins or who, something's wrong with the cell phone tower in the area. And so I was, because when I, in my area, until I get to Michigan Avenue or Cherry Hill, and we can escalate this up the ladder whichever way we need to do so, it goes to SOS mode every time I step outside. So I, AT&T. So, that's unfortunate we need to send a notification up the chain of command and the reason I say follow that up with this because if someone in my area were to utilize and they have AT&T and they say it never went through or I sent it whatever the case may be and they don't know so I just brought that up but anyway yeah that's something I'm going to reach out to y'all and that's all I have all I have is to encourage everybody you know who's human to vote

Don't give them no gas money or free meal until they go vote. Everybody need to vote. And do we have a motion to adjourn?

So moved. Second.

We'll probably move to second. Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. We need to adjourn.

Corinthians Shirley, can I see you real quick, please? She said no as she walks through here.

Me?

So I had Barbara Cooper at it as a partner.