Board of Commissioners - Special Meeting

I'm going to go ahead and get this uh work in session going here and uh thank you for being with us. We can uh proceed with the role. Commissioner Beaman present. Commissioner Hajj. Commissioner Labar here. Commissioner Light. Commissioner Machi here. Commissioner Robbie. Commissioner Sanders. Commissioner Scott. I am here. Commissioner Somerville here. Great. Thank you. Here too. Yes. Thank you.

We'll note commissioners Hajj and Robbie are here. At this time we have public present. We have uh public comment at the working session. At the working session, you have one minute. Uh you'll have three minutes ahead of our uh full board meeting at 7:00. Is there anyone here in person who wishes to give public comment? Okay. Seeing no one in person, Ashley, I wonder if there's anybody online. There's no one online. Chair, great. Move then to uh item three, the report from the county administrator. No report. Great. And Ashley, back to you, any report, uh, from director of board operations.

Just very briefly, chair, I just wanted to share that this Friday, um, from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., the board will be having a priority retreat. The retreat will be held at the LRC, and I've gotten a lot of questions about this. The retreat will be livereamed um, and it will also be recorded for the public, and it is also an open meeting, and the public can attend as well. Uh, so I look forward to seeing you all all day on Friday. So where was the meeting initially going to be held? Yeah. So in the resolution that you all passed, we passed the board room as the location this this location. Um but after a couple of conversations, we decided to transition to the LRC and that will be posted in accordance with OMA. Okay. So Friday the board retreat at the learning resources center on avenue.

Yes, sir. Great.

Okay. Uh Ashley, thank you. We'll move then to uh our discussion item. And just very quickly, thank you again to colleagues for um your willingness to have our meeting, our working session last week uh when we did not have one uh scheduled. Thank you for that. I just want to quickly uh recognize uh Georgia Frost who's the field representative for Congresswoman Dingle uh is here with us and thank her for being here with us. We'll get more uh details in terms of the things Congresswoman Dingle is doing uh on this issue. We have as our topic of discussion tonight the pending uh HUD changes as it relates to homelessness funding. Um I would ask for the indulgence of the of the board and folks involved here tonight. Um, I've got a statement here that I would like to read uh just to get some information out of the way. I've timed myself a few times on it. It's it's more verbose than it ought to be, but I think still helpful. Um, I'll read it and we'll jump into the presentation. Tonight, we can begin developing a plan to supplant HUD funding to our local homelessness system to continue providing services that evidence and experience have demonstrated succeed. We'll hear about the issue from the county staff perspective, the housing availability impacts, the impact of the overall homelessness system and the human impacts direct and indirect. We have an immediate challenge in the next 60 to 120 days with the funds HUD committed to providers, but has delayed. That total is 432,000 and will start impacting providers April 1st. The longerterm 2026 problem is HUD is putting arbitrary limits on what continuums of care across the nation can spend on permanent supportive housing housing and rapid rehousing. We

currently spend 94% of our COC funds on these services. HUD threatened to limit these to 30% though there may be change in that just today in legislation to 60%. But that would still leave a $3 million hole in what is currently going to permanent supportive and rapid rehousing that would either need to be filled locally or removed from the system. That's roughly 2/3 of what we get from HUD. The money we get from HUD is collectively prioritized by the continuum of care of which the county is the lead agency. In the COC, the providers collect collectively agree on who will do what and how they will interact with each other. It is a federallymandated collaboration and I think we do it better in county than anywhere else because of the work of the staff and the providers. These cuts will cause massive gaps in our homelessness system and the impacts will reach sheltering, mental health, public safety, food security, and other indirect areas without action. These services are collectively prioritized by the COC but governed by direct contracts between HUD and each provider all on their own calendar. That means from April 1st through the fall, there will be a rolling impact where the HUD funds run out agency by agency, causing funding shortfalls and delays resulting in cuts. We have an opportunity to preserve these vital services for people in need and to ensure the long-term existence of our homelessness system. The county is the only entity that is positioned to lead this response and have the resources to help make it happen. But we can call for help from municipalities, philanthropic organizations, and our federal representatives, including Congresswoman Dingle, who is leading on this issue. But we can't do it without our work. As we all know, homelessness impacts many people with many drivers. But the majority of people at risk here are black women and children who are in this position because of the underlying realities of our economy and its

unaffordability for working people, not because of lack of effort. By providing direct funding to the agencies, we continue we can continue providing homelessness services we need, preserve the overall system and gain the time needed for changes in federal policy. It will not solve the homelessness issue we face in our community, but it will preserve our current position in that effort and keep us from falling farther back. Our response to this unique threat will have to be unique in itself. We may need a two-fold approach. The first action would be provision of the 432,000 needed to respond to the immediate cuts in the first 60 to 120 days. The second could be working with administration to have the BOC authorize a policy where the county would directly fund providers to continue providing services as HUD funding is reduced or removed. This would need to be on a rolling basis because of the different calendar calendars and contracts with the providers. These expenditures can be verified on our end using the existing HUD verification system, but we would directly report back to the county to ensure the money is going specifically where and how it is needed and for relevant purposes. The second action is very large because of the size of the overall $4.9 perhaps $3 million hole, but county funds could be combined or offset with federal, state, municipal, or philanthropic funding. The county doesn't have to do everything to save this system, but it will need to go first. It will need to coordinate the efforts because of its size, its relationship to the system components, and its designation as the COC lead. I appreciate the grace to get through that. Thank you for letting me frame it. We're going to hear now from Kristen Cunis who is the COC lead within OCED, Amanda Carlile who is the director of the Washington Housing Alliance, Jennifer Hall the executive director of the Anna Housing Commission and then

Shona Teruza director over at IHN/Alpha House and we know um after their presentation I look forward to questions, discussion and really candidly commissioners some iterative brainstorming in terms of how we respond to this. Kristen, I'll turn it over to you.

Thank you all. Awesome. Thanks, Ashley. So, in front of you right now, we have um county's continuum of care system. This is a visual representation of what the COC is, what our coordinated entry system is, and essentially our homelessness response system. This map shows you how folks move from at the point of access, which starts at housing access for county through housing stability. What's important to take away from this slide here is that there is no right way to move through the system. These arrows just serve to represent the unique trajectory of every single client. We serve clients based on their unique needs. And so one key takeaway from this slide is just to understand the level of collaboration and coordination that needs to happen behind the scenes and in real time in order for someone to move from crisis to housing stability. On the right hand side, you'll see the definitions of a key terms. Permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing are those terms we continue to use and highlight for you all. These again are the most critical interventions for those that are experiencing homelessness. Permanent supportive housing combines long-term housing with rental subsidy and supportive services for people experiencing the most complex needs to housing stability. Then rapid rehousing is that short to medium-term rental assistance and case management. These are these two interventions that are at risk and most im imminently threatened. What does our COC look like in real time? Right now, we have 573 people currently staying in emergency shelter. This is according to our homeless management information system, which is the secure database that tracks and manages the needs of those experiencing

homelessness. We have 326 people waiting for emergency shelter according to our by name list, which tracks and prioritize those awaiting for resources. Yeah, I'm seeing some faces. That is exactly the experience that we have as we're working with the system. And then 8556 people waiting for housing resources. What I want to leave you all with this slide is just a deep understanding of this is just our real time currently with the current funding. Delays or cuts to this funding only serve to exacerbate this these numbers right here. This captures the individual contract renewal and expiration dates broken down by agency and project type. Project type being rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, or those planning dollars that fund me and my team and the work that OCED does. What's important to take away from this is the level of interdependence that is needed with this funding. This shows you on a rolling basis from April through November when these contracts expire. Alignment and timing is key. If one of these is late, it throws the system off. So these really represent to serve as dominoes essentially. What do these contracts and projects mean? We're talking about five to 600 people in Washa County that are at risk of losing housing stability if these contracts are not renewed in time. That's talking about a school. We're talking about a congregation, a neighborhood.

And I'm just going to speak um on behalf of the shelter providers. Um even in real time, like right now, we don't have the capacity to support all the people in need. We're noticing that um as the cost of living goes up and as there's all these chaotic changes with Medicaid and food stamps and all of that that people are falling on hard times like really fast and we're seeing them show up in the shelter system. We don't have the capacity to support any more people. Even with Alpha House East having opened and us trying to take get master lease houses where we're we're exploring every single option we can and it's still not going to be enough. And what is really disturbing to me is October. October is when a bunch of children who've been stably housed for a full year are going to be out in the cold and we won't be able to do anything about that. What we know is that HUD the sorry the White House the executive orders on ending crime and disorder on American streets has made homelessness a crime. They've said that they encampments and urban squatting are illegal, that people will be rounded up. They've already started working on the first homeless detention camp just outside Salt Lake City, a 1300 bed facility. Um, if you're trying to cram, 1300 people into a facility, that sounds to me like a concentration camp. And then there's mandated work requirements. To me, that sounds like slavery. And so basically, HUD is forcing people out of their homes and onto the streets to be rounded up and put into for-profit prisons. And so what we're asking you all is to help us to prevent that. At the shelter, my shelter, I see 92% black families when it's between 12 11 and 12% of the population of county. When it comes to winter, it's 94%. These

are people who are literally out in the cold. When we see all the different ways that the federal government is cutting grants and programs, it disproportionately affects black and brown people. And I'm a single black mother myself. I have a lot of privilege. Um, and I'll own that. But I spend my day with women who don't. And they are terrified. They ask me every week, when is my permanent housing resource going to come online? And I have to tell them there is nothing coming up. And so what I don't want to see is Alpha House East turn into an apartment complex because we can't move them on. It's a very delicate ecosystem. People come into the shelter, we figure out how to get them into permanent housing so that more people can come into the shelter. If we aren't able to move people on to Avalon or Housing Commission, then they're going to be stuck with us or I have to put them out on the street myself, which I don't want to do. So, we're in a real bind, which is why we're coming before you. It feels like the federal government has gone offline and is just sewing chaos left, right, and center, and is making moves that are bold and just to be honest, crazy. We need to be making the same kind of bold and audacious moves ourselves to protect our vulnerable population. I forget which famous person, I think it might be a combination of different famous people said that the measure of a health for society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. And so we need to decide tonight who we are as a community, who we are as county, what is our culture, what are our priorities, and what are our values in the face of all of this. And I'll stop my preaching for now and hand over to Amanda. It's hard to go after that, but thank you for having us tonight to speak about this. Um, historically, HUD continuum of care funding has been a reliable source

of funding for our community and the homeless response system. And this funding has supported ongoing rental assistance and supportive services to help house people experiencing homelessness and help them maintain stability. The current administration has challenged what we know to be reliable or secure sources of funding in so many ways and spaces, including not just the homeless sector. As you remember, county staff presented to you in November information on potential deep cuts to the homeless response system. And I am tasked with kind of giving you the historical nature of what has happened since then. So, in 2024, you'll see that first um sort of bullet on this slide, HUD utilized a two-year funding competition application process for the continuum of care program. And the intent then was to avoid a round of funding in 2025. They're typically working on funding competition in one year to support grants in a following year. And so, the funding competition was supposed to be avoided in 2025. and that um was referred to what we are calling the notice of funding opportunity A because there's three. Um and um in November, shortly after um county staff came to working session, HUD reversed course and released a new funding application process, what we refer to as NOFOB, which proposed these significant um alteration to the continuum of care program that Kristen and Shona just mentioned. The biggest change was capping permanent housing funds at 30% of a community's total funding, but it also made significant changes or proposed to make significant changes to the funding competition scoring and um uh and which organizations could receive funds.

The projected impact at that time was that county could lose about f $4.9 million in permanent housing funds because um what Commissioner Lebar had mentioned before 94% of our continuum of care funding goes to two models PSH and rapid rehousing. We want to be honest that everything is shifting in real time and so the rest of our presentation is trying to show you what has happened since then. but with the proposal of the sort of nof um again you see the graphic of what our system of care looks like now and then here is where the parts of our fund our system of care would be affected by these continuum of care changes. So, what's grayed out in terms of rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing on the right hand side of your graphic? Oh, sorry. much of the content and policy shift in the new funding opportunity released in November appeared to be illegal and there were two large uh multi-plaintiff federal lawsuits that um that were filed to stop HUD's actions and stop HUD from moving forward with the funding competition. Uh and here you'll just see the lawsuits um claimed that uh the reduction in funding for proven permanent housing solutions was illegal. The imposed new unlawful conditions including penalizing programs with DEI and gender inclusive practices and then additional um violations of the administrative procedure act and congressional intent. So what then occurred was a series of judicial hearings about the court cases.

Um at the same time, HUD also issued a new notice of funding which we'll call NOFOC C forformational purposes that they indicated they would revert to if they lost the court cases think recognizing that some of NOFO B was illegal. But that's my interpretation. HUD was also mandated by the courts to begin a process to renew project applications originally funded under the 2024 NOFO or NOFO A should HUD lose the court cases. We have we have been waiting final determination from HUD on the court or from the court on the cases. Um and that was expected by the end of February. However, um a little bit of good news, and it's not in the slide because it happened today and yesterday, um is that Congress took congressional action in their T HUD appropriations bill yesterday that passed. Um and we speculate that the court cases will no longer move forward, but again, that's speculation because of what Congress has taken action on, which we'll talk about again, very real time. Um but there continues to remain uncertainty um about what will happen. There was language in the THUD appropriations bill that said um that they were requiring HUD to uh put basically 60% of our funds into a renewal. Um and that was uh something that we'll kind of talk a little bit more about. Um but our grants are starting to expire in April for the community. And I'll be clear, Washington Housing Alliance doesn't get any of these funds. These are grants that are are partners that are listed on the lefth hand side of this slide. Um the COC grants being typically renewed in April. Uh typically HUD takes a little bit of time to renew those um those grants. And so we expected with the

court cases and further steps that HUD was taking to start processing renewals, it would just take time. Typically, it's 30 to 90 days after grant agreements that the funding becomes available. And so, we have identified a gap of approximately 432,000 between April and July for when there is uncertainty around funding. This is calculated simply based on a monthly average amount for each grant expiring between April and July. So, uh, this would include rental assistance and supportive services and administrative costs for those programs. So, with that, we anticipate about 196 people would uh, if this if these delays occur, we obviously are going to try everything we can to prevent anybody from losing their housing. But what is in jeopardy is about 196 households that are currently in housing between April and July. if those grants were not renewed or were not not renewed on time, if funding delays continue um or I should say policy-wise, this HUD um under this current federal administration is not a reliable funer for the evidence-based best practice model that we know works and has had a high rate of success in our community. and HU has HUD has been explicit about their desire to shift funding away from permanent housing. So even if we anticipate being able to uh renew contracts in 2026, this is an issue we will face in 2027. I will now turn it over to Jennifer Hall to talk about the historical trends and disinvestment in housing.

Good evening. There are many uh different programs within HUD. Um we've just heard about the continuum of care that's very specifically for homelessness. The other programs um are primarily on the housing side and on the voucher side. HUD is a important but I agree an unreliable partner. Um I've worked with HUD for over 20 years. It know what that is. It's like this. We our budget starts in January every year and we find out often in May what our funding is retroactively back to January and there's constant changes and we never know what's going on. So, it's not just this current administration that is throwing things out the window. It's been a long history of um disinvestment in particularly public housing which is housing owned by the government. So, the public housing act of 1937 initiated that. Um, public housing peaked in 1994 with 1.4 million apartments and since then it's decreased uh fairly rapidly to a little over 859,000 as of this month. Uh during that process, HUD actually recognized as a federal agency that this housing was being lost um at a political level because there wasn't support for public housing. there was a lot more support for privatizing affordable housing and for voucher programs. And so they instituted the rental assistance demonstration pro program uh which allowed public housing authorities to convert all of their public housing out of that part of the budget and into the voucher part of the HUD budget. And so the housing commissions of Ann Arbor and Ipsy have both done that. Uh it's much better funded. It's helped stabilize our programs.

There's an estimated need for $169 billion for all the housing that's uh public housing today in the HUD budget that was just adopted. There's $3.2 billion for preservations, renovations. So, you can see there's a huge gap uh between the need. So, we're going to continue to lose that public housing. So, how do you develop affordable housing? Um, federally the move has been from publicly owned to privately owned, privately invested. Um, it most of the funding for development comes through an IRS program. I've talked to you about this before, low-income housing tax credits. Uh, basically, uh, you can write off taxes if you invest in affordable housing, but it only has a minimum of 15-year affordability period. Now, we have developed with low-income housing tax credits, but because we are a government agency, we put a permanent deed restriction on our housing, no matter how it's developed. And so, we're continuing to make sure that it is permanently affordable to the community, which is not the case. Um, in the private sector, you can have the greatest ideas in the world on what you want to do, but if you don't have land, if you can't get zoning approved, if you can't get a site plan approved, and you can't put your funding together, you do not have a project. So, those are all the things you need to do to get there. Just as an example, what used to be HUD as the sole source of funding for public housing, this is our uh recently developed project called Dumbar Tower. We had 12 funding sources uh including HUD, which was only $2.1 million that we received through Washington County as the administrator out of a $33 million budget. All the other funds we had to secure from multiple other locations. Um, and we also received brownfield uh redevelopment authority funds from

Washington County as well. Um, so it's way more difficult and this never guarantees even with a development like this, it doesn't guarantee that people will pay 30% of their income on rent. That only happens if you have a rent subsidy through a voucher. So the continue of care program, they have rent subsidies. The voucher, what people know of as section 8 rent subsidies. So, I'm showing a map of where our vouchers are distributed throughout Washington County. It mirrors the population. So, in urban areas, there's more vouchers. In rural areas, we have vouchers, too. Probably everybody's jurisdiction as somebody with vouchers. And this is just the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. You could double those dots uh with all the other like MISTA and Plymouth and uh other sources of vouchers that are used in county. who lives in our housing. Um, I'm not going to go through each one of these charts, but uh, you can look at them later, but as Shona said, disproportionately, whether funding goes up or whether it goes down, we have disproportionately have black families in our households. And so, if we lose funding, they're more likely to be harmed. Um that second chart I highlighted it's the head of household because you'll notice there's nothing about children. So I put a note on the bottom um that 39% of our participants that live in our housing or have a voucher are 18 years old or less. So children are impacted as well as people who are disabled. We have um almost 55% of our households has a family member with a disability. So, what is going on with the rest of the HUD budget? Thankfully, it got approved at much higher than was originally proposed by uh the current

administration. Um the there's actually a uh 8.7% increase in funding. Some of that was related to the units that went from public housing to the voucher program. They move funding with it over into the voucher program. So, it's not a straight increase that we can serve more households. It's actually covering the same households we were before. Um, the thing that I am concerned about is there have been many news articles, not actually notices from HUD, like I've not heard directly from HUD, which has not been unusual this this administration, that there's going to be a new work requirement imposed. And so, um, that work requirement would only enable you to have a voucher for two years, uh, regardless of what your income is, regardless of what your job is, um, unless you are elderly or disabled. And it's specific types of disabilities, not every disability. And the problem is wages. Even if you have full-time jobs, you cannot afford to live here. So if somebody loses that rental subsidy, they are going to lose their housing. And it's unclear right now if this is going to be a mandatory requirement or if it's going to be a uh choice by various housing commissions. Um, and there was a national study. So that chart to the right, that's the estimate of the number of people nationally who would lose their housing just if this work requirement goes into place. Crystal be right back up. Action has been needed at every single level at the federal government. We have touched on the action that Congress made and president signed into law um the fiscal year 26 TUD appropriations for homeless assistance grants. What this

did is secure to the best of our knowledge the renewable funding for fiscal year 25. This does not address the delays that 432,000 that we do expect to still be a gap. At the state level, Senator Irwin and the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness have been leading a state advocacy requesting 12.5 million um to support the statewide gap um in bridge funding. I'll talk a little bit more after that at the next slide. And then at the local level, um COC partners and providers have been meeting um with philanthropic community partners. Um Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation convened a meeting and we will have another one in February. C there was a COC roundt with Congresswoman Debbie Dingle. We've been really grateful for her action and advocacy in this area today meeting with you all and informing you of what's to come and then also reaching out to local municipalities. This hopefully serves to identify um and just really capture um both the um complexity of this issue as well as the severity. noting that action has been truly needed at each and every one of those steps. Talking a little bit more about the state contingency request, again, Micah is requesting 12.5 million in contingency appropriations from the state legislature. This would serve to stabilize housing for approximately 2500 households. This is a statewide number um covering um projects from January 2026 to July 2026. Again, just the gap funding because we do expect delays. What this serves is to reflect the coordinated and aligned strategy that's been needed at every level, local, state, and federal. What's really important to note, while we really encourage the continued adv advocacy at this level, and it's critically important, we do expect that there would

be similar contract delays um that we we are seeing with HUD funding. So, while promising and we do encourage continued efforts here, um we don't believe that this is going to solve the delay. Again, speaking specifically for Washington County, that 432,000. I want to pause here and provide acknowledgements to Senator Jeff Garwin and Commissioner Somerville for the work and the leadership you've done um to advocate for this step. And I'll pass it over to Shona to close us out. So, I really just want to start off by thanking you all. Um, for the three years I've been in my role, consistently every winter, you've all reached out and tried to figure out what we need and you provided funding which has enabled us to shelter people. Um, this Alpha House moved from being able to shelter six families at a time to now being able to shelter 50 thanks to your support. Um, you all know Yeah. And you all know that this winter has been rough. Imagine if we didn't have those spaces and that those those resources available. You also have all been out hustling as well um trying to make sure that people are sheltered through that last cold spell we had a few weeks ago. We're heading into a permanent winter it feels like with the way things are going and yeah win winter's coming. Winter's staying if we don't do something. And so what we want to do is just make sure people stay in their homes. You know, there are so many dangers, you know, right now. We need to keep black and brown people in their homes as much as possible. And so, what we're asking for as a first step is the 432 in bridge funding. 432,000 100,000 in bridge funding support to ensure permanent housing programs can operate through July 2026 while we try to figure out all this chaos. In the meantime, we're going to be continuing to hustle and try bring other people on board. We really need though for you to be the leaders as you've been consistently as far as as long as I've

been in my role. Um because when the counties steps up, other people pay attention and it gives us a uh some credibility. This is all about the people. It's not about agencies. It's not about politics. It's about the people, the vulnerable people. And so we're going to continue to work. Step two says we'll um work with the continuum of care to find the replacement funding for up to three million for the permanent housing programs. We'll continue to advocate and from tomorrow we're going to start reaching out to other municipalities and trying to bring other people on board, but we're starting off with you all. That's it. Thank you for listening. I guess it's question time.

Yes. And thank you uh Shona to you to to Jen, to Amanda, and to Kristen for your presentation. and we'll open it up. And I see Commissioner Mashi with his hand up.

Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the presentation uh this evening. Um I want to start by um just going back to Commissioner Labar's comments at the beginning um and and noting noting a lot of what he said is I I experienced that as well in in my work. Um we are seeing with the current budget process, if you can call it that, um a lot of delays, uh a lot of even when funding gets approved, um taking months for that funding to begin to flow. Um it is uh seemingly the new normal to operate this way, but it is incredibly disruptive as you've described um here tonight. Um and then you have offcycle budget which I wasn't aware of that you had a year that starts in January where the federal budget starts in October.

Um which creates its own set of um circumstances as well. Um, but I think Commissioner Labar did a fantastic job of highlighting the situation that we are dealing with in dealing with a federal government that is seemingly ignoring the best practices that have been established by the work that you have been doing for years. um creating a new system and a set of rules that make it incredibly difficult um to operate in. For something that combating homelessness and people that are um at risk of of homelessness, preventative measures are the key. Um it is the most cost-effective way to deal with things as well. Um and seemingly the policies that are being put out there today are just not um in line with those thoughts. Um Commissioner Lebar uh noted as well uh in his comments about partnership and this in order to be successful is going to require extensive partnership and collaboration. Um so I wanted to lend a little bit of credence to what he was saying in my own personal experience what I see. Um and um I think we've established this as a priority right for our board historically um to deal with these issues. It's important to keep people in their homes. It's important to have a place for people in need to go. Ultimately, they're going to be better served. They're going to have better outcomes that way. Um it is difficult when there is not appropriate housing to maintain health to maintain nutrition. Um and it just it seems to me that the more that we can do and hopefully we can partner and and get it the situation

that we're dealing with right now so that we can be on the front end of this. um these these housing initiatives are are really difficult to deal with. You you had an entire slide about the capital stack that it takes and the various funding sources just to get one housing initiative across the line that can take years to put together and they can all fall apart like that. Um these projects are not easy to do. Um, so I hope that we continue this discussion uh as we move forward and we can come up with some ways to partner and address these issues in a collaborative way. So I I thank you for your presentation uh and the the table setting by Commissioner Lear tonight.

Thank you. Go to uh Commissioner Somerville then Hodgej.

Thank you. Thanks everyone. Um Shaa, the it's going to be a permanent winter part really shook me. Um but thank you. I think it's really important for us to level set um the ways that we can work to prevent that from happening are really important. Um, I think these are not, this is not really a question, just more of like, um, hopefully people that you work with, not just like staff and board members, but also community members that support um, all the agencies you work with. Um, we have a few different things that we've done to like different funding pots in the county. One is we carved out a requirement that we use some of our public safety dollars for housing support because housing access is a public safety issue. So, I just want to encourage everybody in person and online to pay attention to the public safety mill advisory committee. Um, Sheriff Clayton worked really hard to increase the amount of money that we spent from the public safety mill on permanent supportive housing and I think that was really important work that I hope we can help uplift um because it's not something that's continued in the last two year or the last year and I have concerns with that. Um, so I want everybody to like focus like we put something in an ordinance that I believe was important and necessary and I hope we can make sure that that is followed through on. Um, but I also want to highlight too what we did with the older person's millage and making sure that we're preventing um and minimizing people who are above the age of 60 from both becoming homeless and getting them out of homelessness. So to the extent that we can take advantage of those two millages, I think it's really important. The mental health portion of the millillage already invests significant amount in this space. But um I think it's really important to push other areas where we can to make sure that everybody is chipping in.

Yeah. Um in government. So thank you. Go to Commissioner Hodge and Robbie.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the opening statement. I thought that was a great way to to frame the conversation. It's it's rare that uh we have an opening statement before working session. So, it was was good. Uh thank you for the presentation. I thought it was really helpful and the the dollar amounts. Um I appreciate that you you know had the specifics there and that you're going to engage the the local governments about it too. I have a different kind of question. So, I appreciate this. This is really helpful to understand how the system works. Uh my question is, is this the best way for us to do it? So, as we're thinking about how to cover this immediate funding situation, I'd also like to think structurally, what could or should we be doing differently?

Well, we've been talking a bit about that. We know that we need to keep people in their homes right now, but we also need to think about what are what our long-term plan is. We can't depend on HUD. We we can't be going through this year after year and and who even knows when this is even going to end. Um, so I don't actually have an answer. I'm hoping that one of these two do, but we need to think about a long-term plan. I appreciate that question. It's a really important one. Um because we recognize the ask uh of what the ask is. Um uh we know as we've identified that the federal government is not a reliable partner. Again, the advocacy efforts at the state level are helpful, but we are going to experience the same delay contractually. It's just going to happen. We can't avoid it. Um we've been working with philanthropic partner partners, but the amount of money we're we're seeking is larger than anyone can offer. Um and so we really do believe that this this is um squarely um the the mechanism in which we would be able to solve this problem. Um and that just highlights we've we've truly have exhausted the options that outside of this

I wasn't sure if you were referring to the complications of the chart. Yeah. like all the arrows and the the various agencies involved. Is this the is this the best way that we could be doing this or is there a better way?

I don't necessarily have an answer for that in other than um we do have a lot of specialized nonprofits. Sha does family housing. We have the single adult housing. We have Ozone as our youth housing. And so there are agencies that are specialized in what they do. And I think that partnership is helpful because they're all also fundraising private dollars in as well as partnering with local government. So I think that's a very powerful model than like a single entity doing everything for example like there's it there's a lot of good synergies going on. And the one thing I meant to say is long-term affordable housing is the solution. Not today because it takes so long to do it. So, we have to have two processes going on. We have to deal probably three. Uh, prevention so people don't lose their housing, long-term affordable housing, but also making sure we have even shelters right now. Like, I'm not um I don't I'm not a big believer in having lots and lots of shelters because I think people should be in housing, but in a crisis, that's what you have to do before we have the housing available. and uh Dumbar Tower. We're gonna start moving people in next week, but it's been five years of a project, so it takes a long time.

Um, so the map looks nuts and we acknowledge that and it's it is because of the funding that is coming into the system of care how people have to flow through. So if you are in a certain part of the system of care, you might not be eligible for another part of the system of care based on the funding. So we have HUD dollars coming in. Um the on the right hand side the rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing. We have a mixture of funds that are there and it depends on the population that's being served. On the shelter side we have DOJ funds for safe house. We have you know VAWA dollars. We have um HUD ESG dollars. There are just so many different funding sources. In a perfect world, if we had perfect system, that is not what it would look like. And that's because it is driven by yeah, we would end homelessness. We wouldn't have it. And it was it is driven by the funding that we have, all of this eligibility and you know how people throw flow through the system of care. But what we know, I just want to reiterate what we know is that we have models that work. Supportive housing has a 94% success rate in our county, 85% success rate in the nation. It's a model that works. It reduces emergency services costs. People aren't going to jail. They aren't going to the hospital for care. Um, and we know that that is a best practice model. And we also know that 85% of our families that enter rapid rehousing are successfully housed at the end of the program. and we have a very low return rate for folks families that are in rapid rehousing. So the models have been proven and they work. It's the funding that is limiting and it's where you get all of this web of where people can go

and how they go prevention. Like if we had more of it, we could reduce some of the shelter needs, right? like if we had more on one part of our system of care or if we had more on the housing side, we could reduce and it could change over time. Uh, one last thing real quick. I don't anticipate that you're all going to stay for the the board meeting and certainly probably not till we get to the items for current or future discussion. Um, so I just want to take a moment now to thank Kristen and everyone else um for your work related to the pit count. Uh, it was it was amazing to be able to see how that came together and how successful it was. So, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you because I will say more in the at the appropriate time during the board meeting, but you're here now. So, I'm going to say it now while you're here. Thank you, Sure. Sure. We will get to uh just briefly, Commissioner Robbie, then then Scott, others, please raise your hand. Just one quick note on the pick count. Thank you as well. And please keep in mind when we get the data later this year in the spring, it will look a little bit different because of the impacts of that old streak. and where folks were essentially um uh hoteling in a way that they normally wouldn't be because of the the the temperature. So, just a a preface. Uh we'll go to Commissioner Robbie and then Scott.

Thank you, Chair. Uh thank you for the presentation. Uh that was um really I think you know a lot of it is stuff that we knew was in existence already, but uh I think it really reaffirmed the crisis that we're in. Um, and you know, if if we around this table, if we believe that housing is a human right, uh, and there are 856 people, I think that was the number, waiting for housing, that means we're violating the human rights of 856 people in our community by not acting. And um I appreciate Sha your illustration of what the federal government is doing uh you know or proposing to do to put those that are experiencing homelessness first of all to drive up the number of people and then to to propose to you know to put them in concentration I mean it is a it is a concentration camp. Um I I think of the words that they wrote on the concentration camps and connecting that to what you just said about the work requirements. um feel like there's a theme there. Um and I appreciate you for being so explicit about you know making that connection because I I fear that that is you know a direction that they're trying to push us towards. Um so what you're what you're putting forward here obviously the system that we have is complicated. Um and you know in times like these where there's you know this major crisis of funding and crisis of you know of values and direction um maybe it is time to like you know have sort of a war room conversation with the funders and you know the providers um to figure out what is the most efficient way to move forward um and you know create a system that makes sure that we're honoring the human rights of those 856 6 people that are waiting for housing. Um my question is about the 465

$435,000. Um could you give us a quick rundown of what you're hoping that money goes towards? Um because I know that was you said through July I think is you needed it to help.

Yeah. Yeah. So um it could be done in a number of different ways. We've talked about it as a a COC. Um it could be a a no interest loan to agencies to bridge the funding. It could be a grant. It could be whatever it is, but essentially it's basically taking each of the grants that would renew. It's dividing their grant into 12 for 12 months and then it's calculating how much money they would need to sustain the the program through July should the you know funding come in by then. So, it's mostly rental assistance for people experiencing homelessness or you know who have previously experienced homelessness. So, it's paying landlords. It's also paying um for the operations if the uh program is within an organization that's doing the work and then it's paying for the services that are being provided to keep the folks housed and help them um thrive in their community. So, that's the how we broke it down. that yeah that's uh really helpful to understand. So you were saying just so I understand it. So in July are we what are what is the likelihood that things will work out and because you mentioned the loan thing like maybe that's an option right we give the money to bridge

is it like a 50% chance 75% chance a question mark true question mark true question mark changing by the moment okay so we it you know I mean I think I think the loan idea zero interest loan idea is like an absolute like let's rubber stamp that tonight kind of thing Uh but if it's not sure that the money will end up coming in, then I also don't want to put us in a situation where we're expecting but maybe it's like a a a loan zero interest loan and then money doesn't come in we

convert it or we don't care. We just say yeah keep the money. But um so I I'm I'm very um and so the money would flow. How would the money flow in your mind?

I think that's to be determined. I don't want to overstep anybody else, but um I think it's to be determined, but essentially what these dollars are going to now is HUD contracts directly with the provider. And so this would be a situation where the county, you know, essentially would contract with the provider to do the services. And the county has um through being the lead agency, you know, Kristen and her team and and um under the direction of OCED in general has the applications that agencies already applied to HUD for in 2024 and what the services provide and the number of people that are being served. So you have all of that information. Um, so I think it would be relatively easy to be able to convert that to okay, we would like to see this program continue with these funds as we are awaiting additional work from HUD.

In terms of the agencies, is that the ones that are listed under permanent supportive housing or the rapid rehousing ones or or both? Uh, the rapid rehousing grant doesn't renew until October. And that's so the the other ones would be uh supportive housing and then I believe that the OCED planning grant renews July July and that would be inclusive of that too. So the M so the county would work with tell me if I'm wrong but Avalon the housing commission both housing commission no which which organization so the ones that are listed listed there Avalon Michigan Ability partners ozone so basically all minus the housing

commissions SOS's grant doesn't renew until October yeah but they said no housing commissions just so just so it would be Avalon on Michigan Ability Partners, Ozone House, and SOS and OCD as the planning dollars or go to OCD. SOS's grant renews in October. Oh, I wouldn't be included in the 43. And part of why we didn't Sorry to interrupt, but part of why we didn't have anybody from any of those agencies here presenting tonight

was so that we didn't have somebody who is presenting on this issue looking for funding at at the same time. We're trying to have essentially uh folks who are not direct recipients. The only uh asterisk on that is OCED, but that's because of our our role as the lead agency and just some of the funding we get from HUD just to have that work mechanically covered.

To not sound like a broken record, but also to add something to the conversation, I I would be ready to vote for this like tonight or at the next meeting to allow staff to prepare something. Uh, but I do want to make sure that like it's clear that the county is stepping up in the gap of the federal government. Um, I think that's an important thing for the folks, the organizations and the folks that we're supporting to understand. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, we'll go Commissioner Scott then Commissioner Light.

Thanks. Um, look, I've done something new with my microphone, so tell me if you can't hear me. Thanks. Um, thanks for the presentation. There's a lot of questions and interesting things here. I have a question about how money flows into the temporary emergency shelter system. Can you talk about that a little bit for me?

I'm going to I'm going to not be coy, but I'm asking because I think I've had this conversation before. The county spends money in the temporary emergency shelter system. If there is a more secure line of funding from the federal government for temporary emergency shelter funding, would it be pertinent for us to kind of change up funding the way we do things? So to take some of the money we've taken for temporary emergency shelter,

count on you federal government money in that sense and then shift money into the rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing. is that like that's like because my analogy is I've said before like they've they've we're not playing checkers anymore. Like they've changed the game entirely. So should we think about how we're changing funding entirely? Like what types of ways can we think about funding like that? So I'm not I'm not trying to be koi. That's my thinking.

Well, I'll just say that we um our shelter Alpha House doesn't accept any HUD funding. We walked away from a HUD grant um because it asks us to treat people in a way that um isn't in alignment with our mission and our values. We will not discriminate against people. We will not scrub our websites. We're going to be who we are and so we'll probably be disqualified. Alpha House um it may be that others want to get into the sheltering business, but we I couldn't.

Okay. just also say the COC pro the continuum of care program funding doesn't allow us to use that funding for emergency shelter. It could allow us to use it for transitional housing. And I could make a case that um our emergency shelter is becoming transitional housing because it's taking us so long to house folks. So there is a possibility there. But the other thing that it does allow is coordinated entry and I you know to be able to be funded. So there's a few limiting factors for the continuum of care, but that is something that our body, the continuum of care, has been talking about is like I mean this is a public meeting, but how do you play HUD's game to get the funding in and for us to be able to swap dollars where it makes sense to keep things whole. Um and so we're willing to do that and think about that. Um and that was sort of when NOF B was released, that was what we were starting to talk about is like what could we give up? what could we fund elsewhere? What could we now fund in its place that would align with HUD's mission? Um, so open to it. I think for sure all of the providers are open to having that discussion. Uh, whether or not the federal statute allows us to use it will would be a another story, you know.

Yeah. You've heard me say, you know, like we all of you like we we figured out how to put a round peg into a square hole and like we're not even playing with pegs and holes anymore. So, if I could add to that. Yes, please. We were planning for um 70% essentially cut and now we're planning for essentially I don't know 30 30 to 40% cut. So, we have to also regroup. Mhm. Like this just happened. Like literally just happened. Uh but I do know that several of our agencies, so for example, SOS, who does rapid rehousing, that's up to 18 months if I'm Yeah. 24,

which transitional housing is up to 24 months as well. So they're like, we're already doing pretty much what they want us to do, but with a different name. So like and I know uh Nicole is also thinking about that with uh the shelter association like how can we change to fit the new model without completely losing our souls basically. Yeah. And serving the people we want to serve. Make sure people are housed.

Yeah. Um okay let me ask um another clarifying question. Did I hear supportive housing has a 94% success rate? What are your metrics you're using on that? You got it. Everybody wants the answer. Y um so the two main sources um of supportive housing that we did a a look back on is Avalon Housing and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. So we did our own study of our own housing. And so we looked at people who stayed housed for over a year. Like that's the minimum that we were looking at because

people are constantly coming in and out and you know the program. So we had to like set a definition. I'm pretty sure HUD does six months or is it a year? A year. So that was like the minimum threshold um was a year but people stay in much longer. like we have folks who live with us 10 plus years easily. And then we also looked at um the type of services that were utilized by our family households versus our individual households. I'm happy to share that study. Uh you can look at your leisure.

I mean I think it's really interesting and I guess like it's a point of like I I just want to call attention to that because a pretty I mean I like that you all wanted to answer. It's like the it's hopeful like this is really good. This is an indication of how well these systems work for people. And that's where I think that some of the tension that ends up coming up at this table when we hear about funding with different things. We heard about how like we talked about that it was presented to us that the jail population is the most vulnerable people in the county. And I have no doubt that like endemic racism has led to some people being in the jail. But but our source of tension sometimes at this table is like that is there are vulnerable people in that position. But we are also trying to stop upstream from that happening. And so if I've got a million dollars, what do I want to do with that million dollars? I want to try to stop things upstream.

Um but there's the tension of the, you know, the very real tension of people in the jail. But that that's why I think I hopefully people are listening to this conversation to understand like these are the things that we are faced with at this table and everybody sitting here wants to do what we can do to try to keep people housed or get people housed and that's where some of the tensions of the other conversations come from. So um I am really um happy that you're all here presenting to us. I just want to note also you are four strong women up here doing the work and I don't want that to go unnoticed. Thank you.

Move to Commissioner Light and uh Commissioner Robbie. Thank you all for coming with the presentation. It's always a lot of information. Not always the most pleasant but it's real. Uh, I wanted to know when, um, there are homes being built and they receive the tax credit and it's the like the 15-year, is it a way for there to be, um, like an extension or once you reach the 15 year, is that that's it and it's done?

Oh, sorry. uh about five or so years ago, I can't remember exactly when, um MISTA instead of requiring 15-year minimum, they increased it to 30 because there were so many uh properties that were turning into market rate after 15 years. So now, uh when we apply, we have to agree to a minimum of 30, but like I said, we do permanent, but anybody else. And you get extra points if you agree to 45 years. Still not permanent, but a little bit extra. Um, I I'm not going to get this exactly right, but at the end of your period, whatever that period is, there's an evaluation done on the value of that property, and then it's offered up for somebody else to acquire it. It is always so high that you can't maintain it as affordable housing without new and deep subsidies again. And so we've never been able to acquire and it happens pretty quick. You know, somebody else who's uh turning their property over from a tax credit property. I can monitor it and get frustrated and have not been able to do anything about it.

So it's really, as we said, we're now playing a game and and we have to to play catch-up and build new plans. And so, you know, I would re recommend is that we have to, I guess, learn how to be creative

um in the way that we um implement our programming and manage it different, I should say. Um and that could just be by the name of the program and how we enter it into a system. Um and that's just more that we can all talk about, you know, in a different setting. Um but also um when it when that term ends, I guess just having our partners to just go ahead and purchase and you know, we just have to be ready. Um so no one else comes along and and takes those properties. Um so but that was just I was just wondering if that was it's great now that they have a longer term, I guess, but 45 years goes by fast. Um I just celebrated a family member's 85th birthday. So you know um that goes by fast. Another thing that I wanted to bring up is that the we have the east side property and this is just options and ideas that we can all think about and once we gather again that we can speak about. And I want to say that I heard our administrator mention that it would be nice to have housing on that property where our east side um brick is and we own that land and so we can call the shots and we can make things happen. Uh, and since we have you wonderful folks here to help us to figure out how to manage, I think that's something that we should all lean in on. Um, because that is one of the desires of our administrator and myself and the rest of the board members. That's that's housing that we can do and we can make it happen. Um, and there is a lot more there are so many ideas at this table. um myself included on how we can make it happen in in 107 days guaranteed and that's a promise.

So first people have to give a which it sounds like you all do. Yes. Then you can find solutions and owning uh public land. a huge huge huge solution because there's holding co there's a lot of pressure on developers because if they buy a property or they have a option to buy they have costs that they're acrewing a lot of that goes away with publicly owned land. It allows a lot more community engagement time, a lot more thoughtfulness, uh a lot more time to put your funds together. So yes, that'd be awesome.

Yeah. So long as y'all are on board, we're just gonna, you know, get on our administrator to to to tell us to let's make it happen and you guys push us and we we all work together. I think we can make it happen fast before the end of the year. So, I'm just that's a challenge for all of us. Let's get it done.

Great. So, uh I'll go to Commissioner Sanders and then follow up Robbie Scott Somerville. Uh, I just want to throw our administrator um a life jacket because uh he he wasn't out there on his own in in the uh discussion and hopefulness of being able to add additional housing on the property. I know that I um have been um in his ear for probably five years about you know, I don't I just just didn't understand why it's so difficult if we buy the land and then we don't have to necessarily um cajol a municipality in terms of their zoning because we supersede.

So when we purchased the Cheney property, I I know he knew that I was kind of looking at him like, "Okay, we got some land here." So, it he wasn't getting out in front of us and he was responding to discussions that we had. Um, and I would like to see us be able to do something with that. And then Jennifer, I just want to say I it's time for me to go home because you just said what I'm not able to say without people wanting to pick it in front of my house. I probably shouldn't say. People need to give a They do. And that's part of the reason why we are still kicking this can down the road.

Um I would love to see um a proposal that not only tries to it's a band-aid. It's a band-aid.

But I would like to see a a two-prong proposal. the band-aid proposal, but then the long-term proposal about when do we start meaningfully and actively trying to add more housing and what is that cost? I feel like we um tiptoe around it. I don't know that we are I don't know that I'm clear and I'm I'm certain that the residents are not really clear about what that price tag looks like. Where else can we get the money within the system that we're already operating in? So, I'm gonna dive out even further. So, I might need a um protective vest or something and say that I think that we should start looking at, you know, areas that we spend a lot of money but we could do better at. We could be more efficient and move that money. So, whether or not that is um whether or not that is looking at moving money that is after the fact and not preventative to the front and so you know so I'm not naming departments people will figure it out but if we're if we see that we have a large sort of um strain on our county budget, then maybe we should start looking at, well, maybe we should do something different. Maybe we should redirect that money so that we are actually helping people before they get to the point where we have to house them. They don't want us to be housing them

and there's some judicial involvement in housing them. Maybe that's what we need to start looking at. How do we redirect some of that budget um constraint and say, "Okay, so what other ways could we help eliminate uh the issues that we're having for housing and homeless? How much would it cost us to do a better job of providing child care for families so that people can actually work and be able to support themselves? You know, there's a whole plethora of ways that we can help people on the front end so that they're not coming through your doors, right? And if they are, it's a very temporary period of time,

right? Utility support, whatever it is. So, I I'm proposing that we have some serious consideration and talks about how we can start to do that, shaving off money and moving it. Um, and then I say this every time, but I'm going to say it again, and I don't maybe I haven't been as specific, but every year, uh, we have at least two breakfastes, and they're likely fundraisers for housing and homelessness. And I'm just wondering out loud if there's a possible way for us to look at um converting that from just being a you come and eat and you hear a panel talk and you get slides to I think people really need to have some sort of simulation experience because otherwise you don't get it.

You just don't get it. And I think that if you um were brave enough to try that, you might actually get a little bit more money because it would actually touch people to understand, oh my god, this is what a person has to go through when they're facing um being evicted, when they are evicted, when they they don't come into our system because they're afraid that their children will be taken from them. We don't get it. We hear you talk about it, but until someone has actually had to go through some modules and actually feel that, they don't get it. So, that's my pitch. I'm done. Thank you.

I'm gonna call you later. So, we had uh Commissioner Beaman raise her hand and then I'll circle back to those for a second.

Okay. Um, I want to thank you for everything that you do and especially coming forward tonight. Um, with all this information, I sort of want to go back to the presentation for a second because the slide with the months was what was really frightening to me, especially as we looked to October and that 229 number, over half of those, at least my estimate from looking at this slide being being children. I mean, right now it says 500 to 600 uh funded by HUD COC. I mean, is this and I know we don't have crystal balls, so I'm not really asking you to make a sound prediction, but to me, this almost seems too small given what we're seeing right now. Am I being too alarming to say it could even double?

Just thoughts from I agree. Anyone agree? Okay. Okay. Because of all of the other cuts that are happening now that are impacting people's finances. Yes. I mean everything from everything

food to child care to absolutely everything. I think when we see these slides and it's it's women, families, multiple, it's just it's all of these compounding factors and we don't have the housing that they can move into. Okay, so that was just my doom and gloom question was um is this realistic or is this for one of a better word kind of the bare minimum that we're expecting to see happen in October? Yeah.

Yeah, I really appreciate that question. Um, the numbers really are a moving target, which is why we added the real time numbers. Every single winter, we see our numbers increase. Um, at this point in time, we are at a 31% increase in emergency shelter just from 2025. So, yes, that number is very conservative. I before we get to the follow-up questions, I guess I'd also just jump in to say one of the things um the complexity of that diagram that we see tonight that was asked about is this the best way to do it. The complexity also adds to the strength because we have specialization. Um but that specialization uh is most impacted by the ramifications of these cuts in terms of how it ripples through the rest of the system. And we haven't talked a lot of public safety outcomes. We've talked about preventative measures. There's a big one there. The food security issue that's come up with the capacity of the sheltering. Um but also magnifying the issues these kids have in school and in in the rest of their lives when they're not trying to get navigate the system. The other thing I would say is we've talked a lot tonight directly and indirectly about I think the term was playing HUD's game. The truth is we have spent hundreds of manh hours or human hours in the last several months trying to read the mind of a federal agency rather than trying to hone and perfect the service system that we're using to to you know to try and meet these needs. And that has that has an effect too even if at the last minute HUD is majestically stopped from doing the the the wrong thing by the courts. Um we've lost months of proactive planning and and had to be in response mode. Um, and just real quick, Kristen, thank you as well because Kristen is our staff

member. She's the county's rep on this. And just as a personal aside, uh, has kind of encyclopedic knowledge of the intricacies of the COC system that uh, I just want to appreciate because candidly um, if the people who weren't in these roles weren't the people they are, we'd be in a hell of a spot worse. So, just thank you on that. All of you, but you know, Kristen, you're our employee, so thank you. Um, we'll go to uh uh Commissioner Robbie, then Scott, then Summerville. Uh, I just had some follow-up questions and then a couple comments for my colleagues, but on the uh $435,000 uh

Isn't that what you guys said? 432,000. Yeah, I thought you said 100

435. Yeah. So, but it's 432 is the number. Okay. I was close. Uh so, um that is the aggregate for four months, April, May, June, July. And is that money like it do you need it all at once or is it like could we allocate it because it looks like there's different needs every month in terms of like so would it I mean maybe it makes more sense to do it all at once but just thinking like logistically if that's if because also there's some so are you we're for sure that that money is not coming in or is that like a question mark?

So like is it could we create like a you know, something where basically we have the money set aside. If the money doesn't come through, it triggers, all right, you're going to get the money, and if it does come through, then great. We can save it for the next month to see if that other round comes in. I think administratively, the most efficient way to do this is to execute a contract with each of those entities for the full amount of those four months, but they don't draw it down until they need it. And that way when federal funds come in, those funds can still sit in the county's bank account because it's really hard to get through a contractual process. So I'd like to put a plug in from OCD if they end up being straight contracts as well.

And then have you have you all presented to like City of Ann Arbor, other communities? Is this is this money just the stuff you're requesting from just the amount that this is the total that you need? Right. So you're asking the county obviously I think there's some will to like help but maybe if there's other communities then it lessens what each community puts in and there's more resources then moving into July if there's other crises.

I I think really the important part with coming to the county is that you all represent your communities and can help us with that messaging because you are uh we're looking to you for that leadership. I've had a lot of conversations with administratively and internally at the city which will continue and we'll see where that conversation goes. The city of Ann Arbor that is. Um but I think we need that warm handshake with the rest of you to go to other communities. I mean, I I think it would help bolster the argument if other I mean, I'm like I said, I'm ready to go now or the next meeting whenever it's administratively feasible, but I think it would be more meaningful to have other communities sort of participating in that too. So, it doesn't feel like we're just going it alone and it's saving resources for July because this is not a short-term crisis that we're in. Um,

so maybe maybe we could even put it forward of like matching funds that could raise from other communities too. So anyways, just thinking out loud. But yeah, and I just want to add to that, Commissioner Robbie, that um we did present to a group of private funders, so United Way Area Community Foundation, number of other uh foundations um last week as an education piece and then we'll be going back to them as Kristen had said in that one of those last slides. Um and so also you know thinking about uh private partners in that work.

Okay. Uh and then just a comment for my colleagues just based on some of the uh things that were said by commissioners uh light and Sanders. Uh I just want to emphasize you know how much public land the county does have that is that we can leverage that we should be leveraging for um housing. Like again we're in this crisis. we have these folks that are unhoused and we should be, you know, I I think back as I'm thinking about policy solutions to what happened after the Great Depression and how this country came together and made investments um for, you know, working-class people. And this, I think, seems like a similar moment. It's not a moment that's generated by uh the same forces, but it's a moment that's generated nonetheless. And so we have land which we again don't, as Commissioner Sanders said, we don't have to do zoning, you know, changes for. We're exempt. We don't have to pay taxes for because it's public land. Um, and when we're talking about revenue, I'm I'm a broken record in saying this, but the county has a major amount of bonding capacity that is just not being used. And we when I was on the board in 2013, we looked at $345 million of bonding to do our unfunded and acred liabilities for our pension and retirey healthcare. $345 million uh can go a long way to building housing in our community. Uh and I do feel like, you know, we don't have to work too hard to identify funding sources or to make cuts in other departments or anything like that. We can, you know, generate that that is bonding capacity that the county has at its disposal right now. And if we do feel like this is an emergency that we need to solve a housing crisis before us, let's spend that bonding capacity. What's the point of having bonding capacity? I mean, I fought hard as chair of the board in 2013, 2014 to get us to AAA bond rating so that it would be cheaper to borrow money. And the whole reason that we have the bond rating is to borrow money. So,

let's borrow money, build housing, and let's make sure that everybody has a place to stay in our community. We have the land, we don't pay the we don't pay taxes, we don't have to zone, and we have the money to do it. So I feel like let's let's and that's why too I wanted to look at housing commission model not to steal resources from Ann Arbor Housing Commission but to have an entity that could manage those resources um that we do have in our bonding capacity to build those those homes. Um so we have all the pieces I think that we need to put it together. Uh and it's just going to take you know I'm all all about this you know short-term solution but it's going to take long-term action as well. We have all the pieces of the puzzle at our disposal.

Yeah. And Commissioner Robbie, I'm glad you said that second part because again, the 432 is sort of a 60-day window, but the remaining now probably $3 million gap is a longer term one, and one that I think we have a little more time and wiggle room to get federal partners, state, maybe other municipalities, and and philanthropic dollars to to come aboard with us. Uh, Commissioner Scott,

really only something really quick I wanted to add. Thank you, Chair. Um, that I want to thank you also for having this discussion tonight. It's this is like the super timely discussion I wanted to have in preparation for going to the board retreat this Friday because that's where we're going to be able to talk as a group about our um considerations and priorities as a board in a way we've never done before. So I I am very happy that we have this material at our hands going forward because I think it will definitely influence decisions that we make at that table. So thank you. Thank you again. Thanks. Go to uh Commissioner Somerville.

Thank you. I'm going to try to be really quick so we can uh end. Well, we're not on time now because it's seven, but um I someone was saying this in their response like just like the three like shelter and then housing like short-term, long-term, but there's also like a third option that I've talked about before many times, which is like we really need to take a deeper look at how to prevent people from becoming homeless. We let people access barrier busters like once a year and we know that there's gaps people are falling through after that. And I think that is probably one of the most critical things we could be doing right now. We should not allow anybody become homeless due to their inability to pay. That's like something we can prevent. And I feel very strongly that we should have a way to intercept once they get into eviction status regardless of if they've used barrier busters previously. I know that we have to like we have limitations on those funds, but this problem is only going to get worse if more people get evicted this year and next year. Um, and so I just wanted to like make sure to mention that because that's something we could do tomorrow if we really wanted to. Um, the other thing I just wanted to plug in just in terms of like county owned property, uh, I'm a big like advocate that we need more permanent supportive housing because we know that that obviously works, but I also think that we should invest and I would support the county bonding for both of these types of housing um, solutions, which is also like co-op style socialized housing, not just for people who are experiencing homelessness, but also people who are struggling and like not paying for their medication or choosing not to pay like for groceries because they're like stretched so thin already with their market rate rent. And so even for county employees, we could be investing in socialized housing that they could buy like town houses kind of like Dorsy estates and we would be

creating like a long-term cost of living solution for people who work for our county who are um middle to like low income. So I just wanted to throw that out there. Um I do have one question. And I don't know if I've asked this before, but one thing that I keep worrying about is we have people who were able to purchase homes at Dorsy estates who have vouchers. And I'm just curious like what impact on those people were because I feel like the county needs to step in and protect those folks who are now in the process of like becoming a homeowner that have been paired with the voucher. what it like what happens if that voucher gets taken away from them related to uh vouchers that go to homeowners. I'm pretty sure unless HUD makes a change, which could happen, those would be a high priority protection, project based vouchers and then tenant based vouchers is generally how I think it will go if we have cuts in our voucher system. Uh because they have a mortgage, they have a house, like that's a high priority. um related to eviction prevention, just forformational for your discussion on Friday, um the city of Ann Arbor uh recently allocated this fiscal year $395,000 for eviction prevention. Uh we have that open right now for applicants. Um we expect it to be spent in less than two months, just to give you an idea. And we have a $3,000 per household cap. Our average has been on the past four years $1,800 per household who are they don't have to be um you know about ready to be evicted by the sheriff tomorrow. They can be in the somewhere in that eviction process somewhere where they're um behind in rent where they could become evicted. It doesn't have to wait till the last minute to you know help somebody out.

Thank you. So, I I think I'm sensing a general will of the body to try and take action, but details and timing to be determined and worked out. Great. Are are there any other last uh questions at this time? Okay. Um I would just thank the four of you again for presenting and for all the backroom work that you've done to get ready for this for the work you do in your day jobs which aren't just you know presenting to us um and really for your your leadership in this sector. So thank you so much.

Thank you. Um we will um that was both uh a hesitant but joyous little round of applause. So thank thank you for that. Um we'll move then to uh items for current or future discussion. The only one I have is chair. What time would you like to reconvene? I would like us to come back here at 718, but in the that's 15 minutes. They're looking at me funny. 7:18. 15 minutes. And in the meantime, we will go into the back room and light the candles on the birthday cake for Ashley Hall's birthday tomorrow.

Thank you. 7:18. I'm Judge. No. Um, forgive me. Okay. Can I get a motion to adjurnn? All those in favor? We are journ

Um, good evening everybody. Uh, welcome to the Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting. It's Wednesday, February 4th. I'm calling the meeting to order. At this point, we stand and rise for the pledge. 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. Thank you very much. Um, Brendan, could you please uh do roll call for us? Commissioner Bean, present. Commissioner Hod, here. Commissioner Labar here.

Commissioner Light. Commissioner Light. Commissioner. Commissioner Light. I'm here. Commissioner Meski here. Commissioner Robbie here. Commissioner Sanders present. Commissioner Scott here. Commissioner Somerville here.

Thank you, Brendan. Um, at this time I'll open the meeting up for public participation. When you come to do public participation, we ask you to introduce yourself with your name, um the county that you live in and the city or township that you live in, please. Um we're going to open up with um actually public participation that has tried to be here for three meetings in a row, but hasn't been able to. So Tabitha Reynolds, our director of constituent services, is going to help this um member of the public give comment by phone. Also, when you give comment, you have three minutes to give comment. There are lights on the dis that indicate your time. Green means go. You're good. Yellow means wrap it up. Red means I'm going to interrupt you and tell you your time is up. Thank you, Tabitha. Go ahead.

All right, Mary, are you ready? Yes. All right, everyone can hear you.

Hi. Uh, my name is Mary Sharp. I'm a Northfield Township resident. My address is 8578 Nala Road. I would like to address the board regarding SWAT reform. Um, I also experienced a situation at my home on June 3rd of 2025. Um, I was not here. My son and his girlfriend were residents at the time. Um, and I believe that this situation was unwarranted. It was a 12-hour standoff. Multiple agencies were here lining down the road. I live on a well my home I live here now is on a 5 acre parcel with one no one neighbor to the north and one neighbor on the opposite side. Um my son and his girlfriend uh was witnessed to have an altercation at a gas station. Um, my son uh does not have a history, a long-term history of any kind of criminal record whatsoever, and he's 37 years old. Um, police came to my home, immediately got who the victim was out of harm's way. My son was was here by himself and his dog. He did not threaten nobody. Um,

and SWAT was called to a 12-hour standoff. My son just simply refused to come outside of the house standing on constit constitutional grounds because of a previous arrest false arrest in which all charges were dropped. go because they consider him barricaded in here. No weapons, no threat of weapons ensued SWAT team to do a 12-hour standoff. There was no house phone. I was in communication with them. He was no threat to anybody. That was a waste of resources. Uh, they destroyed my house with their robot, which I can't afford to pay for. Um, and the only charge that they could pin him to because the prose

Mary, I'm sorry, that's time. Mary, I'm sorry that's time. Mary, I'm so sorry. That's that's your three minutes. Thank you, Mary. Thank you. Does All right. Um, anyone else in the room for public comment? Thank you.

Hello, colleagues. Um, it's great to see you all. My name is Jason Morgan. I live in County uh in the city of Ann Arbor. Um, I'm joined by a few colleagues from the state legislature. Um, Senator Shen, Sue Shen, I live in Northfield Township, Washington County, and I represent the 14th Senate District. Uh, Senator Dana Phingi of Leavonia, Wayne County. Senator Rosemary Bayer. I live in Oakland County. I'm representing the people in Northville, North Township.

State Representative Matt Kazahar. I live in Plymouth Township in Wayne County and I represent um Plymouth, Northville, and a portion of Leavonia. Uh so we shared a letter with you uh just a little bit ago today. Uh and it brings me no joy to be here asking for anything as a separate unit of government and somebody who served on this board uh for many years. Uh I know the the challenges and the things that you have to weigh as you're making decisions, but uh wanted to come to weigh in early in the process. I will be clear. I know it's early in the process uh regarding the proposed uh or requested expansion for the Salem Mills uh landfill in Salem Township. Um expressing concern that we've heard from a number of residents in the area. Uh certainly a lot of folks from the Northville and Plymouth Township side of the uh area that are particularly impacted by the landfill. Uh so I'll let others kind of uh take some time, but I really just wanted to say thank you for listening to us. As you can see, there's a lot of passion from folks in uh the Northville uh and Plymouth Township and Salem Township area around this issue. And uh just really want to make sure that we're weighing in early in the process to uh share the concerns around this proposed expansion and request that the board when it finally gets to a decision uh would strongly consider those concerns that they're hearing from folks outside of the the county necessarily uh and to consider that as they make that decision. um particularly a lot of folks would really prefer that the landfill not be expanded but I will um pass things over to my colleague uh Senator Shink.

Thank you. And um it is wonderful to see you. I I miss serving with you, but also it's important to do all this different work. Um and I recognize that this is your decision, but that's why we're here asking you for your consideration and help. Um, one of the things that is most kind of jumping out to me is that after a new cell was opened in November of 2025, complaints, which always stay at a certain level, rose from 41 to 199 in just one month. And I do recognize that county gets some revenue from the landfill and that that revenue is put to good use. At the same time, my guess is that the harm to the residents who are impacted by the landfill is more than that amount of money and that those good worthy projects that are being funded by it by that income revenue right now, we can find a way to fund because it's important not to do that on the backs of people who are really struggling to stay in their houses. And you're going to hear more from them more. But I look forward to talking to you more in the the coming weeks and months and appreciate your work very much. Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak and for the three minutes. Um I am the state senator for next door district here. Uh Rosemary Bayer includes Northville and Northfield Township and we understand there are benefits to county and Salem Township for hosting the landfill and the landfill expansion. But as you complete your minerals management plan, I'm asking you as commissioners and the people of Washington County to not only consider the business aspect of effectively adding another landfill, but to consider the human impacts on your neighbors next door. I'm asking you to consider the impact of Arbor Hills on the residents on the other side, just the other side of the county line. These are your neighbors. They have no voice. They have no benefits. and they've been experiencing the smells from Arbor Hills for decades. Arbor Hills and GFL have not shown themselves to be good neighbors. They've received violation after violation, been through multiple lawsuits from both the attorney general and the US EPA, and yet residents are still experiencing issues. In last November alone, there were 114 new complaints from 80 unique people in uh North Belt Township. This isn't just the same people complaining over and over. It's a widespread problem that GFL just doesn't want to bother with. The new site is even closer to houses. Planned proposed site is just a thousand ft from people living in their homes. If the odors are bad now, imagine how much worse they will be when the landfill is less than half of the current distance from Arbor Hills and the homes the homes now in Northville Township. In an effort to fully understand what was happening in the landfill, I went and visited the site and met with GFL folks. Went to the top of the mountain of garbage, striving to breathe without using my nose. It smelled pretty bad at the top and I was closed so you could understand why it

kind of smelled. I could see the subdivision where the residents and school children were struggling with the smell. I could see them. They are unable to go outside many days. And I could see that other subdivision where the proposed new site will be less than half the distance of the one that's already there. So if it smells at a mile away, how's it going to smell at a thousand feet away? Those are our neighbors. I asked the executive that was with me on the tour. I said, you know, if it's a smell, is this bad already at a mile away? How do you think it's going to be when it's a thousand feet if you put that new site there? and you just kind of shrugged and didn't care. Just doesn't care. They're not good neighbors. Washington can be good neighbors. The people of Washington can be good neighbors. If you need some more space for more landfill, just move it another mile and a half away. Give it a little bit of space so we don't do this again to the neighbors so we don't continue to make it hard for people to go to their backyards and play in the playgrounds. And I know I'm out. Thank you. Thank you all.

Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Just come on up. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you. My name is Mark and I'm the Northfield House Supervisor obviously in Wayne County. Uh you folks don't have an easy job and I appreciate what you do. So, so thank you for this. Uh I'm going to echo echo some of the same comments. Um you know, the the landfill used to be a good neighbor. They used to be a good neighbor. They were 200 feet high. They expanded 15 some years ago to from 200 and they went up to 400 feet. And it was at that point in time they they were unable to control the odors that were coming and they became a nuisance to North Township in Wayne County. Um if you've ever driven by a landfill, you'll see sometimes a flare that that burns off the methane. Federal regulations are that they either flare it or they capture it. The reason for that is because methane is toxic to the environment. It's actually 22 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. And they've proven that they cannot control the odors that come from the landfill. The state of Michigan has sued. State North Township has sued. I have a violations list and I can give this all to you. list of violations of the Arbor Hills landfill over the last several years. I can give you a list of all of the complaints, the odor complaints that we've received over the last several years. And as it been been indicated, just in the month of November, 199 violations and residents are are asked don't don't file a violate or an odor complaint unless it's really serious. So these are the serious ones. Um, I understand that we need new landfills. I understand that we need to do something to to deal with our solid waste. But this location is wrong. It had been indicated there is

a current buffer of 2,200 ft from the current landfill. And that buffer is not being respected. The proposed new landfill will be less than 1,000 ft. I'm sorry, less than half. a thousand feet away. And if they're a problem now, they're going to be a bigger problem later. Some of the problems with landfills right now, I think probably goes back to laws of the state of Michigan that deal with them. I would urge you, do not approve this expansion. Do not approve this new landfill. Let's deal with the problem in Lancing. Let's find a different location and let's make it so that the costbenefit relationship exists where where landfills are. Right now, Salem Township gets all the benefit and their neighbors get all the problems. Thank you for your time and thank you for your consideration. I prove it. All right. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you. Just to clarify, commissioner comment comes at the end of public comment. So, if you're wondering why we're not saying anything, that's why. I also just want to clarify the MMP or the landfill is not on our agenda tonight, just in case you're curious. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Good evening, commissioners. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you. I'm Karen Kar. I live in Northville Township off six mile, less than a mile from the landfill. I'm here to address the critical issue of the proposed landfill expansion. This is of utmost importance and an issue our community is passionate about. The facts and the reasons from A to Z, which maybe you've heard some and there's more to come. All the research that's been done, all the facts that we're learning um that have been presented to you, I hope you will take to heart. Most importantly, the pollution of our earth, the PAS, the pollution in our water. the air, the wildlife, it affects us all. County line or no county line, it's going to impact all of us. There's no separation there. The noise from the trucks that go to the landfill that are supposed to drive down five mile and occasionally disregard, more than occasionally, disregard the signs that say no trucks on Six Mile, which is all residential. come by. They're noisy at the site. They're noisy coming down the road. You can hear them. You can feel them. The huge trucks are just they're too huge for our roads and it's Wayne County

and we're listening to that. The trash that accumulates from the trucks that I often consistently pick up pounds of so that our earth looks better. As a nurse, I'm concerned about the health implications that all this presents for every one of us. A walk, a run, a bike ride, enjoying time with your family outside, sitting on the porch, on the patio is impeded because of the offensive orders that blow our way. Burning our eyes, our noses, our throats, and causing health issues for some. Our community suffers all the negative aspects of the landfill. We reap no rewards. Big business benefits. Somebody's making money. We moved to Northville Township with the understanding that the landfill would close in time when it was at full capacity. No knowledge of an expansion. Otherwise, we might not have moved there. Some people have decided not to buy our homes because of the landfill. I ask you to think about how you would feel and think about the expansion if you lived in our community on the opposite side of the county line. I invite you all to drive down Six Mile and look at this enormous monstrosity of the current landfill. I believe if you lived here in our community and share our you would share our concerns of why we do not want this expansion. We do not have a vote in this matter, but we do have a voice.

Thank you. That's time. Good evening. My name is Nan Spike and I live in Silvin Township in County. I live on Workner Road in Chelsea with my husband and two sons on a 40acre organic hay farm. I'm here regarding the Washna County Road Commission's Workner Road project. I'm here to speak for the trees. We have approximately 30 old growth hickory and oak trees on our property that are in jeopardy of being cut down for the proposed Workner Road project. This is a scenic country road. The past month has been emotionally draining for our entire entire neighborhood and incredibly disappointed in the Washna County Road Commission's lack of stewardship. We shouldn't have to fight for the trees. Washington County Road Commission has the authority and responsibility to preserve and protect these historic giants. Today, over 99% of oak savanas in Michigan are gone. But the less than 1% that remain support more rare and declining wildlife and plant species than any other habitat type in Michigan. The original and plan design was to significantly widen, pulverize, and pave Workner Road without consideration for the environmental and ecological impact and historic significance of the old growth trees. The lack of communications with residents was disturbing. It wasn't until stakes were driven into the ground on our properties and we started asking questions do we become aware of the planned widening. After demanding more information and voicing our discontent in opposition to the widening, the county road commission made the decision to consider revising the design. Workner near road does need to be repaved and drainage issues addressed,

but the trees need to be considered in an alternative design engineered which includes the trees. My 13-year-old son and I measured the girth of several white oaks along our property with a forestry diameter tape to calculate their ages. They range range from 150 to 300 years old. Oaks are known for their longevity. White oaks have been known to live 600 years and other oak species over 1,000. These trees are adolescents just like my sons. They are irreplaceable and deserve to live out their natural lifespans, gracing county's landscape for future generations. Thank you for listening this evening and for your thoughtful consideration of this project.

Thank you. My trees.

Thank you. Thank you. Hello, I am Leslie Pansika Galapa and I live in Washington Webster Township and I am also here in behalf of saving these beautiful oak trees. Um I don't know if the commission, the road commission is considering that there's animals that live in these beautiful trees, woodpeckers, birds, squirrels, all these. they're just going to slaughter their homes. And there's a book um called The Hidden Secret of of Trees. And these beautiful trees, they network underground. There's a root system and they all are underground networking and communicating with each other. So, the mama trees, the 300 year olds are going to be gone. But I also wanted to share um a story about Koko the gorilla. Koko was born in 1971. Um, a western land gorilla who became famous for communicating through a modified form of American sign language. Taught by Penny Patterson, she learned thousands of spoken words showing remarkable emotional intelligence. Koko died peacefully in her sleep on June 19th, 2018 at age 46. A widely shared video of her signing a message about protecting nature was later clarified as a scripted awareness video. Not her lit literal last words, but it still reflected the bond she helped build between humans and animals. So she literally sign language and this these were her words. I am gorilla. I am flowers, animals. I am nature man cocoa love earth cocoa love but man

stupid stupid exclamation point sorry coco cry time hurry fix earth help earth hurry protect earth nature see you thank you thank you for considering keeping these beautiful trees. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Sheila. I live in Webster Township. Oh, that was tough. It's here. I'm here today to talk to you about the road commission and the work the road trees. I know all of you are very busy and not had a chance to drive out there. So, I brought you those pictures. I hope you get a chance to look at them. The road commission is in total disregard of our environment again. This $600,000 project that us taxpayers are paying for is just ridiculous. And the guy that planned this project should be fired as his values do not align with the environment at all. We got terrible dirt roads. We got potholes galore. They're wasting our money cutting down old heritage trees, putting paved shoulders and curbs on rural backcountry roads. who comes up with these projects make it make sense. The only response we get is safety, but that is just a bunch of crap. They have made this argument over and over in the 2019 tree battle and in the 2020 toxic spray battle. Statistics show treeline roads slow drivers down. Wider roads make people go faster. This safety excuse is a bunch of BS. Now 250 years later, these trees are a safety hazard. These trees are not dead nor sit and part of a thriving ecosystem of this neighborhood. The area is mostly farmland. So most of the trees in the neighborhood are the ones that line this road. These trees are not dangerous. Cars are dangerous. Distracted drivers are dangerous. We have plenty of street lights and telephone poles lining our roads. Should we cut those down, too, in the name of safety? And by the way, these trees have been here long before automobiles were even around. They deserve to live. Every single resident on this road does not want their trees cut down in their front yard. Period. The community has been begging the road

commission for over two months, asking them over the phone, meeting in person, emailing them, showing up at meetings, and yet they still haven't said they would save one single tree. any day they might start cutting. This project might start next week. And you know what? They have started cutting trees before public meetings in the past. So, you know what? I beg you, call them. Protect the trees. Call them tonight. We cannot wait. We have to act now. We cannot stop the road commission without your help. We have 1488 signatures on the petition right now. Please help us. Today, I bring you a gift. A number one New York Times best-selling book by Dr. Seuss. It's called The Lorax. Maybe you've heard of it. Please read it. It only takes five minutes. The Lorax speaks for the trees. And today, I am the Lorax. I also bring you a copy of my road commission speech and their response. it's inside and a map of what they want to do and um also the petition link. Thank you.

Thank you, Sheila.

Who can I pass this to? Thank you so much. Hi, my name is Kathy Squires. Uh, concerning the widening of the road, Workner Road in Washington County, uh, near Chelsea, uh, safety is often cited with their proposals, the road commissioner's proposals to, uh, take down trees. Um, I'd like to see anybody show how a tree has hurt a person that wasn't a drunk driver or any of these trees actually harming anybody driving down the road. Um, Workner Road by the countyy's own reports is one of the safest roads. Why would we be um concerned about the safety by taking down 100-year-old plus trees? Um there's a lot of research supporting arguments against widening rural roads. Um lots of research anybody at their fingertips uh re major research in 2013 shows that winding rural roads focus on the perpetuation of card dependency. It increases urban sprawl. It increases environmental degradation and the destruction of rural character. Winding projects often lead to induced demand and encourage further low density development urban urban sprawl.

Also, you know, we have a concern about what our money is being spent on. People need housing. Why are we spending money on widening a road that doesn't need to be widened? The average cost to remove a hund 100y old oak, mature oak tree is $3,500. It can get up to $15,000 if you're going to be removing stumps. Conversely, conversely, planting three 6 to8 foot tall new oak trees may cost about $1,500 for all three. So, at the very very least, if you're going to be taking out trees for no good reason, please replace them. County um you guys have oversight for the county road commission and all we have is a tree policy. The road road commissioners make their decisions on what they do with these trees. Who's really profiting taking down all of this timber? Um it's it's just destruction and and and a waste of taxpayer money as far as I'm concerned. Again, there's other things to address like um paving roads that have potholes and and uh addressing speeding limits and s such like that rather than taking down trees and widening roads that don't need to be widened. Um thank you.

Thank you. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Michelle Stambbleis. I live in Dexter Township, Michigan. I'm here this evening to speak on behalf of the trees that are potentially subject for removal on Workner Road located in Silvin Township. I am a lifelong resident of Dexter Township and in all of my years I can count on one hand how many times I've traveled that I've had the need to travel down that stretch of Workner Road. I'm sure all this comes down to grant funding which is another concern. There is so much more important infrastructure that needs to be addressed in and around our community. So it baffles me as to why the road commission feels the need to provide such extensive tree removal to a minimally traveled road. I have a list of questions I want answers to, but I will limit my questions to two, realizing that you cannot answer them. Number one, were traffic studies performed to determine how much traffic is traveling down that road? Number two, what is the reasoning? Is it potential dangers? If so, how many accidents, if any, have occurred to make such a detrimental environmental decision? I realize that you cannot provide me with these answers because the WCRC has no oversight. I want to emphasize this to the board without direct authority from the commissioners who appoint them. It feels like a betrayal to the residents of the communities that our concerns are not being listened to. Again, as a lifelong resident, I feel it would be absolutely disgraceful to eliminate beautiful, healthy heritage trees and destroy our natural rural character. I appreciate your time and listening to my concerns.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Jen Dharski. I'm a resident of Northville Township in Wayne County. I'm here today to thank the county Environmental Council for their recent public and unanimous opposition to the expansion and creation of a landfill associated with Arbor Hills. The environmental council advises on policies that protect the health, safety, environment, and quality of life for county residents. But in this case, their actions are also felt by communities beyond county. And I'm grateful for their support. Arbor Hills landfill currently sits at the southwest corner of Napier and Six Mile Roads in Salem Township. Because the wind generally blows from west to east, having a landfill on the county's eastern most border means that many of the people most impacted by odors, loose trash, and excessive truck traffic, don't live in county. They, like me, live in Wayne County. It's my hope that the residents of county, especially constituents in districts one and three, never have to experience the frustrations of being impacted by a landfill with little to no recourse to fight it. Arbor Hills has a long history of non-compliance and lack of accountability, which is partially outlined in the environmental council's resolution. This can make it difficult to reconcile with GFL, Arbor Hills operator, when they bring up all of the things they've done for the community, such as a network of air monitors to detect hydrogen sulfide and methane emissions or operating a hazard household's hazard hazardous waste collection site for surrounding residents. It's not difficult to reconcile that once you realize that those activities were required by a consent judgment which resulted from a 2020 landfill or lawsuit filed by Eagle and the Michigan Attorneys General focused on failures in landfill gas capture and leech management. These are not things that GFL has done out of the kindness of their hearts or the concern for our community.

For the sake of today, let's give those involved with allowing Arbor Hills to first begin operations in the late60s the benefit of the doubt. Let's imagine that everyone expected that the landfill would operate as a good neighbor and would follow the rules required by the state. For this board, though, that benefit can no longer be afforded. We now have years of proof that those expectations are very wrong. If the board of commissioner allows for the expansion of Arbor Hills, you can no longer use the excuse of we didn't know or they said they'd do the right thing. If you allow the landfill to expand to be closer to homes, schools, and wetlands, then you own at least some responsibility in the decades of future harm that will be caused to the health of your constituents, the well-being of communities surrounding the landfill, and the environment, which impacts all of Southeast Michigan. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi. Uh, my name is Fidushimaru and I live in Northville. I've lived in Northville since 2008. Became aware of the landfill surprisingly in 201 17 when it started to just smell really really bad. I drove um a half hour to be here on a for a long day of work on a school night um because I feel that something vital has been missing from the discussion. the experience of the people who already lived on wind of Arville Hills landfill. So yesterday morning while my son was waiting for the bus, the smell was really bad. It was kind of odor that made me want him to stay in the car until I saw the lights of the bus so he wouldn't make the the bus. But I wish I could have bottled it and brought it with me tonight so you could experience what our families live with. And I I wish that um you would be able to come to a landfill town hall meeting that we have in Northville so you can really see the community support for what we we are bringing to you today. So today, I'm here to help protect my community, my home, my children, my dog, the place where we're supposed to feel safe. No matter what promises are made about controls or compliance, past performance is the best predictor of future behavior. And the history of this landfill has been one of repeated flagrant violations, persistent odors, water pollution, noise, litter, truck traffic, and we even have vultures that sit on the homes in our neighborhoods. So, do we need another landfill in Michigan? By many accounts, no. We have excess landfill capacity in the state and recycling incentives will sort of add to that landfill capacity. Does county need this landfill for its own waste? From what I hear, no. Much of the trash brought to Arbor Hills comes from outside the county and even outside our country. So, the question becomes, should a new landfill be cited just north of the current site at the ongoing expense of entiring neighboring communities because we will have to list that landfill on the disclosures whenever we try to sell our homes. So, should the current operator be rewarded yet another opportunity to do better? And I would argue no. Either they cannot comply with regulations or they choose not to. But how many chances should a

company be given? How many times must we be told to like trust them again? They're doing the right thing. It'll be okay. Don't worry about it. Northville and the surrounding towns bear the burden while others reap the rewards. And if the goal is jobs or revenue, there are countless places to sight a landfill away from neighborhoods, schools, and families. I love my home in Northville. I do not want to move. I do not want to have to move. So, please take our concerns seriously. Please listen to the people who will live with the consequences of your decision on a daily basis. I urge you, do not allow this new landfill to move forward. Don't let this proposal see the light of day. Please choose the health, dignity, and future of all our communities. and I know you'll do your due diligence and I thank you for that.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Ashley Flynn. I'm a resident of Wayne County in Detroit, but I represent Friends of the Rouge as the executive director and a large portion of our watershed exists in in Washington County. Um, we are a nonprofit 501c3 organization founded in 1986 to restore, protect, and enhance the Rouge River wershed. The current Arbor Hills landfill discharges pollutants into Johnson Creek, the only cold water tributary to the Rouge River and home to the most diverse aquatic ecosystem in the Rouge River wershed. Friends of the Rouge has been monitoring the benthic macro invertebrate or bug and fish populations in Johnson Creek since 2002. Our data demonstrates the stream's diversity as having some of the highest scoring sites based on the Michigan Clean Water Core stream quality protocols for benthic macro invertebrates or bugs. The stream is home to many sensitive macro andvertebrate communities such as stone flies, catis flies, and mayflies. Johnson Creek is also home to a diversity of fish species, including the Michigan endangered redside dace minnow and other sensitive fish species such as modeled sculpin, brown trout, and rainbow darter. The northern portion of the area that the landfill is proposing to expand into is almost 100% wetland and contains a tributary to Johnson Creek. We've already lost most of our wetlands in southeast Michigan and cannot afford to lose anymore. Adding more leech will only further harm the creek. Expansion of the Arbor Hills landfill will significantly increase the amount of storm water and leeate discharge into Johnson Creek and will incl. This proposed expansion will cause will cause irreparable damage to the ecosystems and to the public health across the watershed and especially to the citizens of Northville. Friends of the Rouge is actively opposed to the proposed expansion of Arbor Hills. Thank

you so much for listening. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Lisa McIntyre. I'm a resident of Northville Township in Wayne County. I currently serve also on the Northville school board. In 2017, I joined the executive board as the for the PTA as vice president of Ridgewood Elementary. Immediately, the board started hearing concerns from parents whose children were upset about recess time that was impacted by odors from the landfill. We, as the PTA, raised the concern to the school board, our township board of trustees, and our state legislators. We have seen good action in our community to bring awareness to this problem in Northville. I personally have watched neighbors and friends move to different parts of our community to live a greater distance from the odors of the landfill because they were unbearable. They they had an impossible time enjoying their backyards, their front yards, and time with their children. I want you to consider the perspective of a child. You look to the adults around you to protect yourself from the many dangers that exist. As a child, you don't know what those dangers are. As the adults here in Washington County who can have impact as the leaders who make decisions about what can and cannot happen in Washington County, please consider the hundreds of children who play on the elementary playground with the hill of the landfill as the landscape behind their school. I don't know if you've ever been to Rididgewood Elementary, but it's quite a sight. It's a beautiful school. It's a new school and behind it is a very tall hill of trash. Please consider the health impacts of the current landfill and I urge you to vote against the expansion of the landfill to the north side of Sixmile. Like I said, I'm currently serving my second term on the Northville School Board and during my first term, the school board approved the installation of the air quality monitoring system at the elementary school I just referenced. Northville School Board has established strong partnerships with Northville Township, Northville City, our state legislators, and I'm here to ask you all to work in partnership with your neighbors on the other side of the county line. It's an imaginary line, but it's there. We I believe we are always better together and our decisions influence our communities, our collective communities

for generations to come. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Ashoke. I live in Northwell Township, Washington County. First of all, thank you for the opportunity to voice our concern here. In my professional life, I evaluate complex deals, assess vendor performance, and manage long-term risk. What we are going through right now here, any successful project requires three things. A clear market need, a trustworthy operator, and an acceptable risk profile. I will quickly talk these three. Let's look at the business case. The data is clear. Michigan already possess over 20 years of landfill capacity. We have excess space available right now at Woodland Meadows and other facilities. Furthermore, state policy is actively pivoting towards waste reduction and recycling. Approving a new landfill with a 50 plus year lifespan right now is backward-looking strategy. It's investing in obsolete technology and the market is moving in the opposite direction. Number two, vendor performance trust argument. We must evaluate the partner. Since 2016, this operator has logged at least 60 environmental violations. They have paid over 1.5 million in fines and were forced to spend more than $25 million in operational failures. On top of that, they received more than 1,600 order complaints over the last two years. Point three, risk management. We had to talk about liability. The concealment of PFOS discharge data into Johnson Creek is a massive red flag. An operator that hides data regarding toxic contamination cannot be trusted to self-regulate. Additionally, the financial structure here is uh not equitable. Salem Township collects

revenue roughly $3.2 million annually while boasting a $20 million surplus funds. Meanwhile, Northwell and Plymouth bear the operational cost and roadware and uh risk around health issues. I'd like to conclude this proposal is unnecessary. The operator is unreliable and the risk are unmanageable. Thank you once again for providing this opportunity. Thank you.

How you guys doing? All right. I'm my name is Aam like Shazam and I'm from Wayne County neighbors with Washington County and uh although I do love the trees, I'm not here for the trees. I'm here for their arbor landfills. So, okay. So, uh I'm here to strongly oppose the proposed new landfill and express my support for environmental council's resolution. Living near the existing landfill has already taken a real toll on residents daily lives. Persistent odors make it difficult or impossible to sit outside or open windows. And these odors often bring headaches or irritation and ongoing discomfort. The constant truck noise and backup alarms disrupt sleep and peaceful enjoyment of our neighborhoods. Importantly, this isn't just a matter of nuisance. Peer-reviewed scientific studies consistently show that living near landfills is linked with measurable health impacts. A community a community health survey found that residents living close to a landfill reported higher rates of headaches, sore throat, eye irritation, fatigue, and respatory symptoms compared to those further away attributed to gases like hydrogen sulfi sulfide and other emissions from waste sites. A cohort study of more than 240,000 people living within 5 kilometers of multiple landfills in Italy found that exposure to a landfill related airborne contamination was associated with increased mortality from lung cancer and respiratory illnesses and higher hospitalization rates from respiratory illnesses especially among the children. Systematic reviews of m municipal solid waste sites show some evidence of increased risk for respatory diseases, adverse birth outcomes, and negative mental health effects such as stress and anxiety among nearby residents. Quality of life research shows that people living near waste facilities report lower overall well-being, more health symptoms, and increased fear about future health

impacts compared to those living farther away. These studies not these studies are not isolated anecdotes. They represent findings from multiple countries and diverse populations. They demonstrate that the impacts are not just about perception, but but are tied to both physical symptoms and long-term health concerns that many residents here are already experiencing firsthand. Commissioners, the residents you represent are living within these burdens every day and your neighbors. Approving a new landfill or expanding the footprint of the current one will only exacerbate the ongoing smells, stress, and potentially harmful exposures people now face. This issue goes beyond inconvenience. It's about about public health, quality of life, and environmental justice for entire communities in Washington and Wayne County. Please protect our health, our environment, and our community by opposing the new landfill proposal and in supporting the environment environmental council's resolution. Thank you for your time and consideration. And if this noise didn't annoy you, imagine living with it every day. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. Good evening everyone. My name is Shafali Gupta. I live in Northville, Wayne County. I'm here to urge you to strongly oppose the expansion of a repeatedly violating and polluting landfill. I urge each of you today, not as a commissioner, but as a good neighbor, responsible citizen, and just an empathetic human being. Let me paint a picture for you of what it's like to live near a landfill. Imagine the scene. You open the door and the see new families with young kids move into the neighborhoods, the new condos and town homes that are being built all over Northville and Plymouth and wonder what lies they are being told. This is the reality of what life looks like when you live near a landfill. Many times I've had this question thrown at me. Why don't you move? I ask you the same question today. If this happened to you, would it be that easy for you to move with kids in comm community in the school, their friends, the community you

have built, your family, your jobs when all your energy is put into paying your bills and bringing up a family? Would you want the stress of not only finding a new house, but leaving everything you know behind? These are neighborhoods all around. There are neighborhoods all around the area of the landfill. Families with young kids who are working hard to put their kids through schools are paying their taxes and just being good citizens. They don't deserve this polluting neighbor to expand in their backyard. There is an elementary school right next to the landfill. Every time I pass by and see the little innocent kids running around with abandon in the shadow of the landfill, I ask myself if I'm doing enough to guarantee their health and future. The kids of Northville and Plymouth need us adults to make sure that they grow up in a place that is pollutionfree and that their hometown is not swallowed up by a profit- seeeking violating landfill. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. I am Norman Weber, 67 6710 Workman Road, Chelsea, Michigan, Silvin Township. I like many others have come to speak here about the trees. Not only about the trees, but the expansion of the Workman Road project. My family has lived on the corner of Workner Road between Ivy and M52 for over 75 years. We have farmed that land almost all of those years. Myself and four other people also farm a working road. The county road commission says that widening the road will make it safer. How is it safer when these cars are already going over 55 miles an hour? When I pull out on a tractor with a hay wagon, when I plow my driveway in the wintertime, I am constantly having to dodge very, very fast traffic. But my major concern is the authoritarian nature of the county road commission. We have presented petitions. We have come to meetings. We have spoken. They've been willingly deceitful in their plans for our road. How is it this county commission has no oversight by anyone and what they want is what they get. They say they want to work with us, but yet they haven't talked to us. How is this acceptable? Yes, I stand to lose a lot of trees. I have some walnut trees that are over six feet in diameter that may be cut down. We don't know. But I don't think safety is their main

concern. There have been six accidents in the last five years. Five of them concerned deer. Now, has anyone talked to the deer about this expansion? We know whiter roads, less trees, faster traffic. How is that going to affect everyone on the road? These are my questions. Thank you for your concern. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Barbara Gregerson and I live in Washington County in Pittsville Township and I also work for MSU Extension as a horiculture educator in the Washington office. And so I really am just here today to introduce you to myself. Um, so I've been with extension for about three years and I'm in the Washington office on Tuesdays and Fridays. Anybody wants to come visit? Um, otherwise I spend my time over in the Livingston office because I split my time between the two counties. So when I'm not in the office or I'm sorry, when I'm in the office, um, I uh, help residents with soil tests and uh, dropping off plant samples for diagnostics and I answer questions for the Lana Garden hotline and ask extension. So, I brought you bookmark so you can all share this. Um, and um, these are just these are especially handy when you're in the garden and you find an insect or plant or see a disease and you don't know what it is, you can just use the QR code and let us know and we'll help you figure it out. Um, I also want to let you know that we sell soil tests in our office and last year we sold over 170 to residents of Washington County and over 50 commercial soil tests. I also manage the master gardener program in Washington County where we have over 120 active master gardeners. Um, the foundations of gardening is a basic gardening course. It's a 10-week online course and um it's also the first step to become the or the first step to become a master gardener. I also oversee the master gardeners in six counties which include Washington, Livingston, Lenway, Hillsdale, Monroe, and Jackson. And I'll be hosting a recognition event, which is partially why I'm here. I want to invite all of you to come to the event, meet the master gardeners, learn about all the good work that they do. The recognition event is going to be about the projects that they do around the community and so we would love it if you would be there. It's on Saturday,

February 21st. Um, and I'll also be hosting a smart garden conference with horiculture educators from Wayne County and Oakland County and that'll be at the end of March. Thank you. Thank you. Hi, welcome.

How y'all doing? My name is Don Weatherspoon, Senior. I am the CEO of Powerpiece Enterprises. It's a local advocacy organization if Michigan. I am a war one resident and business owner um by natural trail. I am a human rights advocate um project liaison. Um, but today I stand to y'all as a man that has had a rough life and I've changed it through tragedy and I'm here on this platform to say that from Ipsellini I would like to get more inclined to what's going on in the county level. Um, I've been on the CVI platform for two years. And I've been more stuck in the 48197 and 98 area code, but I would like to be more a breast of what's going on in Washington County as a whole because we are a family. And if I'm going to be a community liaison, I need to know everybody around me. And I would like to bring awareness to the things that my organization has going on this year in the um cause of crime prevention and trying to give our community people another way of looking at their trauma. Um I do a lot of programming based on cognitive behavior therapy and selfmastery and I um infuse it with entrepreneurial and ac academic uh development. Um I work with a lot of organizations out here and I just want to share light to y'all. I know y'all have a tough platform to deal with. So I appreciate y'all time and energy. I've seen a lot of you people out here in the actual community. So I'm glad to meet the rest of y'all. I'm not gonna hold y'all time, but uh I need y'all help. I'm only one person. My organization is only one person. We are a grassroot organization. Um we just trying to make sure people doing the right thing. You know, we know how hard it becomes. And I feel like if you believe in some kind of higher power, you know that you're going to survive.

That's what's inside us. But my my problem is that people don't understand that to in order to thrive is going to take resources. You know, people don't want to hear go talk to God about it because they do that on their own. They want to hear how can I help and how can I genuinely help. So, if y'all can get my name, number, and stuff like that, I would love for y'all to get in touch with me so y'all can actually hear the voices of the people that's scared to come in here. Um, that maybe they don't want to tell everybody their business like I would. So, um, when I stand here, I stand here on behalf of my community wholeheartedly saying that my email address is pp coachspoon734gmail.com. Uh, my number is 734896108. Um, I am in under a cultural integration with the beer cooler. Um, that information is public and I would love for y'all to get in tune with that, but I'm only one person. I'm busy. So if you can catch me there or the Ipsy district library on Michigan a it's pretty cold at the cooler. So I'm over there. We have a um Ipsy debate team that we bringing. So if you know anybody in that area that wants to get down and mock the trial mock trials or we the people we love for them to get down. Thank y'all for your time.

Thank you.

Hello. Um my name is Jar Ho. Um, I live in Northville and Wayne County. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Honestly, this is great to have a voice. I know I've been hearing a lot from everyone and the fact that we're able to come and talk here, this is an incredible opportunity. Um, I want to start by grounding this in a in a very personal in a very serious matter. We've been hearing about this all night and I kind of want to echo it in a in a personal way. Uh my family and I moved to Michigan intentionally. Uh I came to the US 25 years ago. Um and I've lived all across the country, east coast, west coast, and now here. And we chose this community because the quality of life, the people, the ability to actually be outdoor. And this is probably the first place in the US where people really love being here. And I love that. Um, but I do have young kids. I worry about them. We all worry about our kids. This is the future. Um, I want to play with my kids outside. I spend a lot of time outside. And part of being outside is dealing with with a smell, dealing with a view. And uh, what bothered me a lot when this topic started coming up in our neighborhood was that people were claiming that this order or this smell is is not real. that people are filing these complaints just to make a case. And I'm here just to say no, this is this is real. Uh this is not just a feeling. People don't go out of their way to just open up a website and file a complaint. We have we have other stuff to do. Um there there's reports multiple times a week, even in the dead winter. I mean, this is so cold outside. I'm still new to Michigan and when I walk outside,

I hate the cold, but then the smell, I hate it more. And if it's like this this time of the year, I can just imagine what's my summer is going to be like. Um, what's frustrating and honestly concerning is that um people are still continuing to say that we're exaggerating this. Um, this is not being sensitive. This is really being honest. you're hearing from real people, people living in a neighborhood, people who every day go to work and have to deal with this. Um, the landfill is not a short-term decision. This is um this is a commitment that we have to endure. Uh, this is a place where our families going to live. Uh, approving this new landfill near existing neighborhoods is actually sending a bad signal. Uh for the longest time I thought and I read about Michigan's policy about being uh reducing the the landfills and I know we are at the forefront of being so advocate for environment and this is really sending the wrong signal. I appreciate everything you're doing and I hope you guys can listen more to what we're asking for and be our voice in this matter. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi. Hi. I'm Lesley Evans and I live in Northville close to the landfill. You've been hearing a lot from a lot of our representatives today. I'm on the board of the conservancy initiative and I've toured the landfill like you have and because we have so many people here tonight, I also understand that you don't want long meetings and we could hear from every single person here and we'd all be worn out and we don't make good decisions when that happens. So, what I'd like to do is ask everyone in this room behind me just please stand and show that you are representing our effort to oppose the landfill. And then we'll be done with our comments. Thank you. And we appreciate your attention and your kind consideration of all of our comments. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Wasu Marla. I live in Northwood Township. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Uh I'm here to strongly oppose any landfill expansion or new landfill development in this area. This concern isn't just limited to individual residents. The Washna County Environmental Council recently voted unanimously to oppose the proposed landfill in Salem Township. A unanimous vote from a regional environment reflects serious concern about public health, environmental risk, and long-term regional impact. Residents already live with the consequences of these landfill operations. the persistent orders, air quality issues, truck traffic, noise, and ongoing fears about water contamination. These are not hypothetical concerns. They are daily realities. Expansion definitely doesn't address these problems. It extends and magnifies them. Landfills are long-term infrastructure with permanent risk. As you all know, expansion increases the likelihood of methane emissions, irreversible harm to groundwater and nearby waterways. Once the contamination occurs, it cannot be undone. It can only be managed after damage is already done. This is also a matter of fairness. Our community is being asked to accept a disproportionate share of this regional waste while bearing the environmental and health consequences locally. Increased truck traffic area affects our road safety, infrastructure, and quality of life.

The environmental council's resolution underscores an important point. This is not the future we should be building. I urge to deny landfill expansion and new landfill proposals and choose sustainable forward-looking solutions. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Larry Petroski. I'm a property owner in Salem Township in County. Someone you probably haven't heard too much from this evening. I live due south of the landfill. As I walked out my door this evening, I got a pungent odor from the north. You know what that came from. They've been talking about it all night long. We've endured the odors, pollution, traffic, contamination, the surrounding land and water for far too long. We've been promised for years that once the landfill reached its capacity from our local leaders in Salem Township, excuse me, Salem Township, yes, that the once that was filled, we were done. So, I urge you tonight to deny the approval of a new landfill and any expansion beyond the current point. We've been the dumping ground for surrounding communities, other counties that bring their trash to us here in Salem Township and innoc County and even Canadian neighbors for far too long. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello. Good evening. My name is Raj Mumini. I live in uh Northville Township in the main county right across from the do landfill. I know some of my neighbors here have made a lot of points. I want to highlight couple of things and take a datadriven approach about the landfill compliance by this company. the orders were, you know, we asked the landfill to implement the parimeter monitoring uh sensors as part of a consent agreement couple of years ago. And this we have scientific data that we can prove when the landfill parimeter monitors show that there is excessive methane emissions coming from the landfill and that is exactly when the order complaints are coming in. So nobody is making any of these order complaints out of uh you know just just uh just to stop the landfill. We are making the order complaints exactly and only when we are smelling the dump. And just to give you an example, we are going through these three weeks of severe cold weather, right? Single digits, negative temperatures. On February 1st, just a few days ago, there were nearly 70 order reports in just one evening alone. This is not people talking to each other. These are not people going out for evening walk. They're just probably getting out of their cars, getting into the house or dropping their kids off, picking them from the school bus, whatever. They could not stand it in just a matter of four hours. 70 order complaints. Imagine that, right? Just to emphasize how bad the situation is for us. I know the landfill was built 40 years ago. Not many homes are around it. But now there are population has grown. There are a lot more uh residents around the neighborhood. It is just impossible for a landfill to be operated without impacting the neighboring community's

health and well-being. I would like to apprec you know sincerely request you to consider the health effects of operating a massive landfill with such close proximity to so many residents and impacting their health. So thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. Hi, my name is Kevin Cabellski. I'm a resident of Northville Township. I want to focus in it on on one particular aspect, many of the things that have been brought up tonight. And what I want to highlight is that there are many of these details about all the the bad conditions. And what I want to highlight is that it's a known It's a fact that these violations have led to lawsuits and things like that. And for me, I don't want to waste your time arguing the facts of that because there are other venues where that's happening. I look at your role. You have an organization that's coming to you to ask for permission. It's a privilege that they're asking you to extend to them. It's not their right. And so the question is for you as hardworking public servants is to say, okay, what are my duties? And so the question is if you look at the party who's making the request, a party who's violating laws, they're not just violating the convenience or comforts of these people, though they are. They're violating laws. And if we're a nation, a community of laws, if an applicant is violating laws, I ask you, how can you approve that? It's not. It could be though it's in my mind it's not necessary for you to take on the role of being a legal evaluator. But I would think you would say there

are legal channels that we've established as a law-abiding community and if you haven't met those standards then you shouldn't be coming to us to ask for a privilege. Right? And so to the extent that you support this application for someone who many of us believe and we can give you all the details you want as to whether they're worthy of a privilege to me what signal are you sending? Oh yes, you're a violator. Yes, you know your business, but you violate the law continually, continuously. And you can speak to the people on the legal side of the house who that's what they do for a living and they'll tell you that. So what signal do you want to send? Where how do you see your responsibilities? So I would strongly urge you that based on that they are not worthy of the privilege. If they were a different operator, we have many responsible operators in the state who don't have these problems then. Okay. In my personal mind,

thank you. That's time. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Y thanks.

Good evening. Uh my name is Shaker Arasala. I'm a resident of Northville Township, very close to the landfill. Um, I really feel sad that I got to be here to complain to my neighbor that my neighbor is, you know, emitting noxious gases and toxic water. I mean, it's really sad that I had to come and plead. I got to come and plead to a neighbor that please give me a chance to breathe fresh air. All I'm asking is give me my right human basic human right to breathe fresh air. Is that too much to ask for my neighbor? Please keep that in mind. Expanding the landfill will only make it worse. So I rest my case. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Jean Wallace. I live in Webster Township, Washington County, and I'm here about the trees, but more importantly about the road commission. This is the third time in the last six years that I've come to speak before this board with concerns over the road commission um not being respectful or responsive to residents concerns in Washington County. And I know that there were changes made um in the past, but we seem to be back where we were six years ago with them not listening, not giving us or allowing us any avenue of recourse. There are there's no one for us to go to the the county conservation district. Who do we go to to get the road commission to have some respect for our environment? And every single one of us knows that we're dealing with climate change and that trees are one of our major resources in terms of oxygen cooling the climate. You know, I could go on and on. Um, but I mostly want to concentrate on the fact that the road commission once again feels like a big bully. And I don't know how many times we have to try and resolve that issue or try to find a way to work with them. I would suggest a committee that has maybe two people from the road commission, several environmentalists from our uh county conservation district. Ann Arbor is tree city for God's sake.

What you know, we really need to pay more attention to the way that they are not caring for our environment. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Richard Bur. I reside at 10478 North Territorial Road, Salem Township. I am I'm in support of the landfills expansion. And I'll tell you why. It has been there for approximately 70 years, long before most of these people ever moved to the landfill. The landfill didn't move to them. So, we need a place for our waste to go to. The gases aren't going to stop being burned off for at least the next 30 years. So by not allowing the expansion of that landfill is not going to stop the smells. No one likes the smells. If you travel down 275 through Vanier and Kant Township, they get the smells down there. So do we close the landfill and not do the expansion in Salem Township because people move close to the landfill because their leaders allowed them to come. They allow the development of uh neighborhoods to be developed there. They should hold their townships and their cities responsible. They brought them there. They build it. I don't believe that we should be sending our garbage, which we're taking almost 50% in Salem Township of Washington County's waste. Okay, which is good. Keep it in our community. We should not be sending it down to lower income because the higher class people as they want to hold themselves think that it should go to a lowerass neighborhood. It should stay there. And as someone spoke earlier, they said, um, how can the Johnson Creek be uh contaminated when there's trout in the river, right? So, I support the landfill to expand across the street. It's been there a long time. It's not going to hurt anything to go across the street. These people knew when they built their homes, they bought their homes, that landfill was there. They should not have came

there if they didn't want it. They talk about their air quality. It's got to be somewhere. So, I strongly urge you guys to keep the landfill where it's at. We have no landfills in Washington County. We have a responsibility to hold some of the waste ourselves in our county, not send it out to somewhere else and put it on their back. It comes from your homes, your homes, my home. I live one mile from the landfill. I'm going to tell you maybe once a year I may smell it. It's just the way life is. You know, it can't all be great and it can't just be put in someone else's backyard all the time. appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Senator Pisar, resident of Northville Township. I'm not shocked to hear that the landfill people are recommending that they'd like the landfill expanded. That's not a shocker. Um, this is a question about repeated violations of the law, which is a fact, over and over. So, it's not a matter of, well, you know, there's going to be smells because it's going to go for the next 30 years. That's not a reason to allow law violators, a company with a proven negative track record to then expand because, oh well, it's there. So, let's just keep going. That's flawed logic. I just I couldn't stand not saying something. So, thank you for this forum. We know you're a different county, but you are excellent neighbors to allow us to come in and have this discussion. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening everyone. My name is Gretchen Driscoll and I was elected as the County Water Resources Commissioner effective January 2025. I understand that the board of commissioners received a resolution from the County Environmental Council dated January 27, 2026 that is included in your communications for tonight's agenda packet. This resolution begins quote resolution recommending that the Washington County Board of Commissioners vote against approval of the proposed expansion or creation of a new landfield associated with the Arbor Hills Landfill in Salem Township, Michigan. Close quote. This resolution was prepared without reaching out to my office. This circumstance is extremely disappointing because jurisdiction for the landfill is within my office. It is my understanding that a presentation was made last November to the environmental council from a Wayne County resident and that is the basis for much of the resolution's points. I have spoken recently with the Eagle Air Quality Department and the current operator has improved operations substantially since their ownership began in late 2020. Our board of public works is responsible for the current solid waste management plan. In 2022, the state passed PA 115, which mandates a process for materials management. This board of commissioners appointed a materials management committee. MM the MMPC as required by state law in 2024 to develop this process. Since November of 2024, the MMPC comprised of 13 stakeholder members has been meeting to develop the plan, which they will vote on and will send to this board of commissioners for a vote. The plan will include many aspects ranging from a sighting process, capacity for waste, recycling and organics, recycling accessibility requirements, and most

importantly, implementation and diversion goals. The MMPC will not be discussing sighting sighting until later. To date, the MMPC has been focusing on how to minimize waste that goes into the landfill. And you can see all the minutes and the presentations on our website. And you may remember um we did a presentation on uh diverting food waste and that's a major contributor to the landfill. Last fall in front of this body, we had a pilot grant to collect residential food waste around the county. and we were one of three counties in the country to get this grant. So we are working diligently to address the concerns. Theo Eggerman, our director of public works and designated planning agent will be presenting to this board at your work session on March 4th. At that time you will have an opportunity to learn more about how our office, the materials management division protects the environment through our recycling and home toxics programs. Additionally, I believe the current landfill operator will share facts about operations of the facility and how operations have changed since 2022. I believe in taking a best practices approach to policy implementation, and I think this board has the same value. I asked this board to not take a position on landfill expansion until the MMPC has voted on a draft that considers the public input, which is comprised of public hearings and a 60-day public comment as the state law requires. Thank you.

Thanks. And um we have a flowchart that I've had. We got it. Okay. Thank you. Thanks.

Uh Jeremy Haley, Ipsy Township. Um I'm just going to ask Representative Morgan to talk with Jimmy Olsson Jr. on the bills 55,96 97 uh that he's put together with one of the representatives from Frenchtown County. Uh, one of those bills will bring back power to the uh, local governments when it comes to U of M as building, make them come to the governments when they buy a piece of property that they'll have to go to local governments and go for local zoning and ordinances and take that exemption away from them because right now they're they've got inflated heads because of it that needs to be taken away. the road commission. I know somebody who works in that area. Um he said they're going to be putting in bike lanes along that stretch. So that's why they need to expand it. And just let you know county road commissioner are doers and not thinkers. What I mean by that, you tell them cut a tree down, they cut the tree down. Uh you tell them fill the potho. You tell them to plow, they plow. They don't ask why they're doing what they're doing, they just do. And that mentality runs straight up the chain on that one. Um, second, you know, it is Black History Month and I just like to reflect on a local person that I had the opportunity to spend the summer time with between 8th and 9th grade year. Um, that's Joe Doulan at Roberto Clemente. Uh after I moved from Ipsy to San Arbor, it's not that I wasn't smart. I just probably didn't apply myself. So I didn't do do very well. When I got to Roberto Clemente,

I had found all the kids that got kicked out of my junior high in Ann Arbor. I fig figured it real out real quick what Roberto Clemente was. And I stood there and thought to myself, I'm probably the only kid here who's here for bad grades and probably literally was. And it was that time spent that summer with Joe Dulan. He took the time to go to the each separate classrooms to spend time with the kids to engage with them all. He took that time to spend with the kids. even took us, you know, in the late 80s to Detroit to the Renaissance Center and just let us all go free. I mean, who would do that? You know, he did. He built up trust even with the worst kids you would see in our school system. He built trust with them. Oh, that was a good summer for me. We all had a good time. You would you'd be surprised how much fun we could have, you know, you know what they could all think of getting into. It was exciting. But Joe was a good experience. Marine, I just wanted to share that with you. Thank you.

Thank you, Jeremy.

Hello, my name is Tammy Craig. I am a resident of Bedford Township, Monroe County, Michigan. However, I am here as the area landfill director for Michigan and Indiana for GFL Environmental on behalf of Arbor Hills Landfill. Um I will gonna go off my notes. Um no one here is going to dispute the environmental record of Arborhost Landfill prior to the acquisition by GFL Environmental. The lawsuit which resulted in the consent judgment was filed within days of our acquisition. It was based on previous owners bad practices. Um you know landfills landfills are a reality. I mean, if you look at the data, yes, our recycling rates are going up in Michigan, but so is our waste generation and our landfill waste as well. Eagle will not site new landfills. They have stated that. So the only option is to expand ones that already exist. You know, there's been a lot of data put out there uh by the opposition which skews the facts. Everything is public information on the state's

website. Uh there were information packages that were shared with everyone uh around the time of the last meeting. Washington County is a very social conscious human rights centered county. No one on the opposition is mentioning anything regarding environmental justice. They propose that county's waste goes to the landfill in Van Beern Township which is already overburdened. You know, they have a landfill comparable to Arbor Hills. They have a hazardous waste landfill. You know, there's one landfill in Washington County. Wayne County has six licensed solid waste facilities and six licensed hazardous waste storage transfer and disposal facilities. They are overburdened the vanurren that's time. Sorry.

Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening. Good, good evening everyone. My name is Adam Case. Um I'm a resident of Auburn Hills in Oakland County. Um I'm the I'm a landfill site engineer for Auburn or Arbor Hills Landfill. Um part of my uh duties include um managing our daily operations um engineering controls and projects as well as helping to ensure compliance um with the local and state um regulations. Um, I'd like to take a moment to respond to some of the words that were that said by others tonight about um that Arbor Hills fails to remain compliant with regulations. Um, I'd like to note that the historical violations as Tammy had mentioned um at the landfill are just that, historical. Um GFL has invested more than since GFL has taken over, they have invested more than $150 million to improvements and upgrades um not only to meet and exceed regulatory compliance um but to improve the quality of life of surrounding communities. In 2025, Northville um Township contracted the services of CTI and Associates, a third party um to evaluate Arbor Hills um in respect to meeting the requirements of the affformentioned 2020 consent judgment um as well as overall environmental compliance. CTI concluded that the operations of Arbor Hills Landfill currently meets and ex or exceeds applicable industry standards and and the requirements of Eagle's consent judgment. Um, we maintain as GFL a strong working relationship with Eagle um with regular inspections from not only them as well as county um

and they do their part to ensure that we are accountable for what we are responsible for. um myself and over 40 other employees including um union employees of the local operating engineers of 324 um work every day extremely hard to make that place the best place that it can possibly be. Um and we we strive to improve our operations every day. Um, additionally, we also have um over 20 to 30 contracted employees that are out on that on on that site every day striving to make it the best place it can. Overall, um, my fellow co-workers and I are proud of the work that we do and the service that we provide to help protect the environment. Um it is a necessary service um for county and the surrounding communities. Um and I ask that you guys look at all the facts and all of the information before you make your decision. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, good evening. My name is Anthony Ta. I am a resident of Canton Township Wayne County. I'm also employee of GFL. I'm the regional landfill gas manager. However, tonight I just want to discuss POS and maybe some misunderstandings, some misinformation that you may have gotten. Um, as you all may or may not know, in 2016, there was a a fire, a significant fire at the adjacent recycling facility that was owned by a third party. Um, was operated by a third party contractor, Great Lakes Recycle. Um for that fire there were many fire departments dispatched including Salem Township, Northville and Plymouth. In an effort to put out that fire they had to use um acquous film forming foam. I have to say that slowly because it's a tongue twister. So AFF um which since that fire has been banned for use due to the high contents of POS. Um, so while they were putting out that fire, drainage from the liquid was draining into the storm water ponds and on-site wetlands at that time. So, um, Arbor Hills does not produce PAS. Arbor Hills did not cause the fire. Arbor Hills did not use the AFF or cause its release. The landfill did however take responsibility for investigating the FFF release and addressing the environmental impacts. Um, as the new land owner, GFL uh remediated the storm water pond on the property um by removing all the liquid and sending it to a P or or a waste facility, a wastewater treatment facility. um and also excavated all the silt and replaced it with with clean clean soils.

Um after cleaning the pond, we did subsequent testing to asssure that the cleanup was successful. As stated before, the POS is coming from the adjacent property, not the landfill. Arbor Hills has traced the POS to a wetland on adjacent property. uh we are actively working on a plan to clean up and are in contact with Eagle on approval of the pipe. So just so you all can have a clear picture of this, the wetland if it overflows, it'll flow into a a drainage ditch near the landfill and then all that liquid discharges to the same discharge point that goes to the Johnson ditch to the Johnson Creek. Um, with that it's my time. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name's Dave Sear. Good to see you all again. I'm the general manager of Arbor Hills Landfell. I live in Salem Township, Washnau County. I've been in county for 30 years. I married a Manchester gal and told me to get up here. Um, I have many friends, family that's worked for county, live in Washna County. I answered all them folks too, uh, for what I do uh, for a living. So, I just want to one misconception that I I I want you guys to understand is that Northell Garbage, Northell Township and Northell City, the garbage comes to our landfill, which is in their backyard. I think last meeting I heard that someone said they it didn't. It does come to Arbor Hills landfill. Adam spoke on uh on the CTI report. They were hired by Northville Township, not hired by us. Third party consultant independent. Um I just wanted to I gave you guys the the uh paperwork from that. Um some good reading. Um I just want to highlight a couple of them things. Um by the way, we got a couple complaints today and yesterday and the winds going from the north to the south. U want to bring that up too. The position is supported by studies. There was a meth uh methane emissions conducted by NASA uh affiliated carbon mapper coalition at landfill sites across the United States that show some level of methane emissions is likely detectable. As a comparison, the figures below show satellite based emissions mapping of numerous landfills in Michigan and a relative emission rate. It's kilograms of methane per hour taken at various times from 21 to 24 as indicated by the rate of methane emissions at the time of measurements. HL site exhibited a relatively low rate of emissions while compared to the other sites of varying sizes. You guys have that in your packet. We're at 31 uh kilograms. They

range from us the lowest at 31 up to 17 thou uh 1,700 kilograms per hour uh for the landfill way. There's one from Auburn Hills um Canton Brownstown and Marshall in there. So please take a good look at that. Um so the technical memorandum uh from the third party hired by Northville uh I want to go through and um the chart below is published monthly based on data compiled by the conservancy initiative which runs the complaint hotline and they manage it. Um represents a total number of registered complaints recorded each month through their online reporting system. The overall trend shown as a website using the chart uh see figure one suggest a continuing increase in complaint volume over time. A focus review of the complaints lodged in the past 18 months provides a different perspective that a market marked reduction in complaint activity has been documented since imple implementmentation of the CJ. It's worth noting that the complaints registered through Eagle system in April 25 identify numerous complaints originate repeatedly from a subset of addresses. This observation highlights the total number of complaints received each month uh may occur due to sensitized receptors or unique conditions at those addresses.

Dave, that's time. Sorry. Yeah, sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Please, please read that if there's a lot of Thank you. Anyone else in the room for public comment? And we move to Ashley and put online for public comment. Yes, chair. First, we have KJ Pedri. Kate, go ahead. Welcome.

No. Sorry y'all. I'm getting there. Okay, great. Hi, Go ahead. I have you on both my phone and my computer, so I'm just getting you off of there so it doesn't echo. Sorry.

Um, okay. Here we go. Um, I want to respond to some of the content of the working group session. Um, I want to make sure we keep it in perspective that even if it feels like we're getting ahead of this, we are not getting ahead of this. Um, you saw those numbers of people waiting for shelter and waiting for housing. This has been a long brewing crisis. Um, and I want to highlight to you that there are a group of people who do not need a poverty simulation to make relevant suggestions to what is happening right now. and that is the people with lived experience in our community um of which I am one and whose work I continue to try to uplift and represent in all of these spaces. Um please make meaningful investments in people with lived experience uh being able to bring their voices into these rooms and be included in these decision-making processes. Um, currently with the continuum of care, I've been working to establish a people with lived experience focus group that is only being funded with, I believe, like $5,000. Um, we need real meaningful investments in people who know these systems inside and out. Um, I am willing to say strongly what you are not able to defund our county's policing system to fund our county's housing system. Um, and I need to highlight that that needs to come at no human cost to those currently impacted by the carceral justice system. Um, we need to sell off our militarized policing equipment that has been used to needlessly brutalize our citizens who are in need of mental health and housing support. Um, we need to focus on the public housing that I was so uh glad to hear you emphasize tonight. and I really

support the idea of placing that on the site of the East Side Recreation Center. Um, I appreciate Commissioner Light's aggressive timetable and think it is absolutely appropriate as I have said because we are not ahead of this crisis. Please get it done. Um, one of the things that is going unheard in all or unsaid in all of this, I'm sorry, baby, one more minute. One of the things that's going unsaid in all of this is that we have a real need for local, sustainable, accessible jobs. Um, that is underpinning so much of this crisis and I hear no one talking about it. Please figure out what you can do to help incubate jobs that are accessible to people with a range of transportation needs, uh, educational backgrounds, uh, you know, cultural histories. Please help people to connect with income that will help them keep their housing longterm. Um, please tell me what further steps.

Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Ashley. Uh, yes, chair. Next, we have Trish Duckworth. Welcome, Trish.

Good evening, chair. Can you all hear me?

We can hear you. Go ahead. Good evening, chair and commissioners. I'm thankful for the opportunity to speak um and for you all's continued service to county. Um for those that are not listening, my name is Trisha Duckworth. I am a county resident. I'm here on behalf of Survivor Speak, a community- based nonprofit that's rooted in advocacy, civic engagement, and ensuring that the voices most impacted by policy are not the ones most not the ones most often missing from the conversation. Um, so tonight I'm here to ask you not just for your support, but for your partnership. Survivor Speak is leading a civic engagement initiative designed to meet people where they are, literally and figuratively. While many of us are comfortable navigating formal meeting spaces like this one, the reality is that many community members are not. Some carry trauma connected to government systems. Some have negative experiences where their voices have been ignored. Some are also working multiple jobs, caring for family, or navigating survival and simply cannot access civic spaces that feel unfamiliar or intimidating. That does not mean that they don't care. It means that the system hasn't cared for them. We believe civic engagement cannot be limited to who can make it into this room. Democracy has to travel. It has to show up at community centers, churches, schools, neighborhood events, and trusted spaces alongside community organizations that people already trust. And you all are in the community. This is where Survivor Speak comes in at. We are asking the county board of commissioners to partner with us by coming into community with us, participating in community- based conversations, listening sessions, and civic education events where residents feel safe enough to speak honestly and

be heard without fear, shame, or dismissal. This is not about replacing existing processes. It's about strengthening them. When residents feel seen, heard, and respected, engagement can increase, trust grows, and policy becomes more responsive to real lived experiences, not just the voices that already know how to navigate the system. We are not asking for the board to do this alone. We are offering to walk alongside you all, bringing our relationships, our credibility, and our experience working with the community communities that are too often left out or left behind. True representation requires proximity. True leadership requires listening and true partnership requires showing up together. We will welcome the opportunity to meet with interested commissioners to discuss how this partnership could take shape and how together we can deepen civic participation across county. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your willingness to consider doing this work with the community, not just for us. Thank you.

Thank you, Ashley. Anyone else online for us? That's it, Chair.

Great. Um, now we will begin commissioner followup to public participation. I'm just going to start with a quick note. I see all your hands, but I just want to say how much I appreciate both the public participation tonight. Um, and I think that it matters that people come and take the time to speak. I think it's also important to note for context that aside from Representative Morgan, Senator Shank, Larry, and Rich from Salem Tubchip, most of the residents we heard from tonight are not from Washna County. This does not make their concerns irrelevant, but I do think that it matters as we think about who is most directly impacted by the decisions that we make here. I also just want to note as a as a so you understand where we are in the process. We have not yet completed a materials management plan. We are so far away from talking about an expansion at the Arborills at the Arbor Hills landfill. The landfill is not on our agenda tonight. There's no active proposal from the board uh regarding expansion. And I will say, keep bear with me in that context. I think that I find the environmental council resolution to be premature because I think it's difficult to take positions, formal positions that aren't yet proposed or fully defined. We don't have that information right now. So what I do think is important um the work to be done here is in discussing the health impacts and the environmental ramifications of landfills particularly for nearby communities as we heard tonight and that's a conversation worth having it's one I take very seriously and I think the people at this table do too. What I am less comfortable with is the suggestion that we heard that the

solution is to simply move the landfill a mile or two away without grappling with what that means in practice. A mile or two away from whom? Toward what communities? So that type of framing risks shifting the burden from more affluent areas onto communities that already bear disproportionate impacts, particularly communities of color. And I don't think displacement is an acceptable form of environmental policy. And I'm not willing to endorse that simply moving it reduces the harm. Um it doesn't. So there has to be a different answer to come to this board and say to this commission, move it a mile or two away. You have to, you want us to be good neighbors, you have to think about who you're impacting when you say move it because I bet you're talking about moving it towards those communities of color. I'm open to hard conversations about environmental health, about community impact and long-term materials management, but I want us to have those conversations at the right moment with the right information in front of us with a clear understanding of the equity implications of any proposed solutions. And we are so far away from any of that right now, we don't even have an MMP. So, um, that's just a note. Thank you for coming and your advocacy and so we can hear you and understand where you think but we are months away from hearing anything on this. So um just if you're looking for action it's not imminent. With that I'm going to leave other comments I have about trees and I have those to the end and go to my colleagues. I believe I saw Commissioner Machiasi and then Light and then Haj and Robbie

Light.

Thank you, Sheriff. Appreciate it. Uh, as as I think we all know, I'm the representative of the MMPC from the county commission. Um, a couple of things I I wanted to note. Um, I don't know who asked for this, but it got passed around the MMPC process. We are in step three of 13, right? Step three is where we're at. We have not had one meeting when we meet monthly. We have not yet had one meeting about the expansion, potential expansion and opening new cells of the landfill. That process that those discussions will happen later this calendar year. Um, Michigan produces more trash per person than any state in the country. Right. Okay. Just put that out there. Thanks to Commissioner Sanders for reminding me of that. We through this MMPC process we here in county which is being facilitated by the water resource commissioner's office. We are we are developing a plan to aggressively increase recycling to aggressively increase how we deal with organic material and how much we compost. how to deal with construction debris with the goal of reducing how much we put into the landfill. That's what we are working towards with this plan. Um I will say that in my daily commute I drive by two of those six Wayne County

landfills. Woodland Meadows which is located I think right on the border of Canton in Wayne near Romulus and by a US Ecology run site right off of I94 just inside the Wayne County border. And I will say at that US ecology site, as I drive by it in my car, I've nearly had my socks knocked off by some of the odors coming from that facility as I'm driving by at 70 m an hour. Um, in Woodland Meadows, I used to work right down the street from Woodland Meadows. And um, I really can't say that there was ever a day where I drove by that facility and didn't smell it. I have driven by Arbor Hills on multiple occasions. I've been on a tour there on a hot day. Um, and in no way, shape, or form is it ever come close to what I've experienced at Woodland Meadows or US College. Um, not to say that odors don't exist, ever. Um, but I look forward to going through the MMPC process and getting the actual facts behind what the violation rates are, how that compares to others uh, and making a decision on a recommendation. I also as we go through this process want to give some clarification because there were a couple of comments tonight about how the what is going to be maybe proposed as new cells is actually closer to Wayne County than the current landfill. That's not my understanding. Uh my understanding is actually the cells that might get proposed are actually further away than the cells are being operated right now. um not closer to the Northville Northville border there. So, I look

forward to getting that maybe addressed as well during this process. Um I appreciate all the comments from the Northville Township folks. Um but again, as I I keep saying, we haven't even gotten there yet, and I look forward to hearing the facts, getting more information, making a decision based upon that. Um, I think uh somebody addressed the PAS thing. I think it's really important to note we're very well aware of PAS here in Washington County. I live right off the Hiron River, like two minutes from it. I'm very familiar with PAS issues. Um, and from everything I've seen and asked about that landfill, uh, the PAS, as was commented on, is not coming from the landfill. It's coming from a fire that occurred a decade ago. And if there's evidence to show that that's not the case, then I look forward to hearing. But so far, I haven't seen that. Um, so we'll go through this process, right? Um, thanks again to the folks who took the time out a to come for Northville. I know that's not easy to do. I want to thank as well the people who came out to talk about work and road tonight in the road commission. Another reminder, next Tuesday, public hearing and hope all those folks show up. Uh I have I mean we've seen a few instances with the road commission where we've had some advocacy here over over at least my time my six seven years at this point. Um this might take the cake in terms of advocacy and and um the vocal nature of it. Uh,

I will just say it's frustrating to seemingly see the same kinds of answers that get given to these constituents, these residents of Silvin, residents of Chelsea, as we have historically heard about other projects and other things. It's it's incredibly frustrating. Um, and again, if you haven't driven the road, I suggest you might want to take a little trip out to Chelsea and do that. Um, the road, as I said before, the road absolutely needs to be repaved, right? It's a matter of how we do it. Uh, so thanks to those residents coming out again um to talk about working the road. Um, I'm going to save my other comments about agenda items for later. Um, but uh again, appreciate everybody coming out tonight and uh voicing your opinion. Please go to the meeting with the road commission next week. Thanks.

Thank you, Commissioner Matias. Um, right now my order of responses light, Hajj, Robbie, then Bean, then Somerville. Thank you. Go ahead, Commissioner Light. I would like to thank everyone who came out to address their concerns um to this body. Um I would um like to thank uh our legislators for coming down, but would appreciate uh a toot on the phone or a text so that we can discuss about district 2 and what's going on. uh it would be greatly appreciated on the next encounter. As it's been discussed, we have a long road. We're on step three um of this materials management plan. And so um we got a little bit before we get to 13. And so while we're doing so, I'm going to ask that um all residents of Washington and of Wayne do a deep dive and just stay alerted and make sure that we are following um and being updated on this plan, but also continue to um present your complaints about environment, about odors and smells as that is important um because we need to have families and residents safe. I also would like to address that I would love, as I said before, um to host a town hall for uh Salem Township residents to give their input on what they what and how they feel um about this landfill. As I said about the expansion right now, it's something that we are so many miles away from. However, if the odors um if there are other violations that are present right now, that's something that needs to be discussed. And I would love to

hear from our Salem Township residents. And I would like um for to receive the data and the complaints and all the information um which I hope is public so that on our end we can address that with GFL which they have had no problem. um and being in communication, making sure that they address any violations or complaints. And so, it's not that we're rewarding them, they're just doing their job. However, I also will say I would like for our Northville and Plymouth residents to have a conversation with the Salem Township residents and ask them how they feel about um the property taxes that are paid. I I don't think they'll oppose it. And I just want to keep in mind, it's not about re It's not about revenue. It's not about how much money we're going to get. But I am not hearing the complaints from the director who lives there. Because I'm telling y'all right now, his wife ain't having it. If it stinks and it smells, she's like, "You better do something and you better do it now because he'll be sleeping on the porch." Just so you all know. So, I just need for everyone to look at the issue. If there are environmental issues, let's look at that. We're thinking about an expansion. We're on step three and it's not happening tomorrow. And I also for individuals who move to and built a half a million dollar homes where there has been a landfill that has been there since 1950. I'm just confused on I'm confused because if I purchase a home, I know what I'm buying. It's in disclosures. It's even in the listing. When you purchase your home that this property is near a landfill, there is no

no one can say if they are going to expand or what's going to happen. It's like gambling. You take a chance. A lot of people's parents say, "You better not gamble because you just you might you take a chance. It's a chance." And so I can't tell anybody where to buy or where not to buy, but from 1982 to 2000, I lived in West Willow. All the odors and the smell from yucka, they were there. But guess what? I survived. We played outside. We did what we had to do. My dad decided that that's where we were going to live because of the community, because of where it was, and that was the choice. So we all have choices. And you know, the smells are still there. I still have family members and friends who reside in West Willow. And in the summer, we sit out in the driveway with our little bomb bonfires and we play cards and we chill. And guess what? I'm like, dang, it's still the same smells from when I was younger. But that's just the choice that we've made. So, I just would love to hear from Salem Township residents on how they feel. And I would I am open um and willing to have these discussions with Wayne County residents because I want to know, are you willing to pay these property taxes? If so, that's great. We can figure that out and then, you know, you can pay for what they don't have to. So, let's just continue to be updated um and just keep these things in mind and continue advocating for where you live, but remember it's your choice.

Thank you, Commissioner Light, Commissioner Hodgej.

Thank you, Chair. Uh thank you to everybody that came and gave public comment. It's not easy to give comments in a venue like this. It's also very awkward to have to be able to talk at us and this and then wait uh what almost two hours for us to be able to respond. So, thank you for your patience uh for those of you that stuck around. Uh, good to see you, Representative Morgan. Thank you and uh the delegation for coming out to to speak with us. I appreciate that. Uh, let's see people want to respond to Mary. Uh, I believe the first comment that was made. Uh, thank you for your reaching out um to share your experience with SWAT with us. Uh, I'd love to talk to you directly to learn more and I will find a way to to get in communication with you. and to our friends with the comments about the trees and the road commission. That area is is over there in the western part. So, I don't want to overstep my comments there, but I would say that I I will work with the commissioners that that are in that area. Uh and I Huh. Don't go west. Don't go west. Uh it's a little bit of an inside joke there. If you know, you know. Uh but I think it is worth having a conversation about challenges related to the road commission. Uh this is something this tree issue has been one that we've heard a lot about but there have been other road mission related concerns that have been brought before us. Uh and if there was something that we could do more of or uh engage in a different way I I am open to exploring that to our water resource commissioner. She's hey over there. Yeah. Thanks for giving comment. Uh and thank you for bringing us this. So I mean this is really helpful. I'm not going to make any comments about the layout bill right now because I want to have all the information before uh before I make comments. Um, I will say that I did the tour of the landfill, so I do have that information. Um, but I do want to get all the other information before we we are far from making any kind of decision. Um, so I'm just going to leave my comments there about landfills. To our resident from Ipsy, thank you for coming and giving feedback. Yeah, would love to talk to you more about the work that you're

doing. So, it's nice to see you here. And that might be it. That's it. Oh, Jeremy, good to see. Where you at, Jeremy? There you are over there. Good to see you again. Good. That's all I got for now. Thank you. Thank you very much, Commissioner Hajj. Commissioner Robbie, yes on trees, no on landfill. Thank you, Commissioner Robbie. Commissioner Bean. Thank you. Love that. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair. And thank you everyone who came out tonight. um especially uh giving us the Lorax. That's one of my son's favorite books. And I believe that you really spoke to the line that unless someone like you cares an awful whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not read that a lot as a mom. Um so I really appreciate it. I know how devastating it is to lose these trees. I had to have one on my property taken down, unfortunately. It was a 200-year-old maple um and replaced with a twig. So, it's it it cuts deep. I get it. Um so, thank you for coming out and speaking. Um in terms of the MMP, as others has mentioned, we're super early in the process. I have my own requests that will be coming in from Freedom Township in terms of the biodigtor and and what we look to address with those throughout Washington County. So, I would just say we're working through it and we need the time and the expertise to continue to work through the plan. As our chair noted, there will not be a vote today or in the very near future on that item. Um, but thank you for your advocacy. Also, speaking of trees, thank you for MSU Extension for coming out and inviting us. I love to hear um about those pieces. Uh master gardeners have a couple of those in the family. So, uh looking forward to that. Uh but yes, thank you everyone for your continued advocacy and it's not easy to come and take the time and stay so late. So, we appreciate it.

Thank you, Commissioner Bean. I have Commissioner Somerville and then Sanders. Commissioner Somerville.

Thank you. Um I just wanted to thank uh folks who came out for public comment. Um for both people who came out to speak for the landfill and against the landfill, I think it's important to hear um everybody out on the issue. Um I am one of the two commissioners that serves on the environmental council. So I have been around for many of the conversations that have happened at the environmental council. Um, and so I just wanted to share that. Um, at our last meeting we did have a resident, he did come here tonight who shared his perspective. And I thought that one was an interesting one. It was the first time I had heard from a Salem Township resident who had lived in the community for a really long time who initially didn't have many feelings about the landfill, but over the decades has grown to have strong feelings about continued expansion. So I do think everybody's voice is important. That's part of democracy. Um, and I think it's, you know, notably we don't all agree on everything. There's nine of us and sometimes you have one person that votes no on something. Sometimes you get a few. And so I do think it's um important for people to understand that we're not always going to be unanimous on something. Um, and that's okay. I I think that sometimes there's this like perception that like if two commissioners serve on a committee that supports a resolution that somehow that reflects the entire board. It doesn't. Um I but I do think that Commissioner Robbie and I serving on the Environmental Council have a different perspective. Um and that's probably why we serve on the environmental council. Um and so I just wanted to share that. Um because I do think that suggestions from members of our community that we all serve who serve on these councils, their suggestions, their suggestions to us. They don't have any real ability to make decisions directly. I think regardless of our personal feelings on the recommendations and suggestions that come from from them are important regardless of where we're at in the

formal process. I do think that it's okay for them to weigh in even if it's a year too early. Um I walk I I stepped out for a second and heard part of the comments from uh KJ supporting the general concept of us moving quickly on dealing with the housing crisis. Um so and I agree. I think the um aggressive timeline that Commissioner Light spoke of is totally like needed right now. Um that's the type of mentality that I I want us to work with given the crazy um authoritarian takeover at the federal level that's going to have really harmful impacts for low-income folks who are hanging on to their housing right now by a thread. So very important. Um, and then the resident Mary who had a difficult time speaking to us. I think they live in Commissioner Light's district, but that story about your situation sounded really familiar and I want to say maybe I had already gotten a communication about that at some point. Um, would love to talk to you more though. I think this kind of goes back to a point that I made at a last a prior meeting which I think it's really important for the community to understand what tactics our SWAT team uses. And I do not feel bad for asking those questions. And I think we have one person in this county who is elected to oversee the office that's responsible for the SWAT team. And I think it's that person's responsibility to answer to the public on the different tactics that are used and what situation constitutes a standoff. Um, and so those are questions that I'll continue to ask. I support the residents who are pushing for them, whether it's about a situation that they were personally impacted with or a situation in somebody else's community like what happened in my district recently. Um, I think that right now there's a lot of distrust in our system because people don't know if they call

for help, if it gets escalated, if their house is going to be destroyed. That is a huge problem. people like if there is a real dangerous emergency, people should feel safe to call for help without thinking their property is going to be destroyed. It is terrifying to me that if somebody calls for help, regardless of if there was a crime committed or not, that that constitutes the government agency that we we fund. They can destroy a home with human beings inside of it. So, I will continue to press on that issue. I think it's very important and I've long believed that we need to ask questions about tactics used by police and everything that has happened and recently in my district just really points to all of the concerns I've had really throughout my entire career serving the community. So, um I hope that people will continue to ask those questions because I'm going to Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Somerville. Commissioner Sanders.

Uh thank you, Chair. Um so I do sit on the um road commission as part of my commissioner liaison I don't want to say responsibility because we're asked to pick um committees sometimes we're strongly asked but um but I do serve and have been serving uh on that board um actually since my first term And I have um reached out to have communications um with the role commission about the concerns because I I because I am on the board or not on the board but I sit as a representative um I see uh the public comment and the people that that come out to their meetings. Typically they have no one in the audience other than employees that are reporting out, but lately they've been full to standup um capacity. I have reached out to try and get some additional information about the concerns related to the trees. Um and I'm not going to do this justice. So do not try and hold me verbatim

to what I'm going to share. The re the answers that I've gotten back from the questions that I have indicate that there is there's no malice on the part of the road commission uh to cut these trees down. They're not, you know, going out there and saying that you're cutting you and the but the road has to be repaired. And they also have um I don't have a better word for it like zoning requirements when it comes to fixing a road or repairing a road and you have to have so much um space on either side of the road. So, the the median um and that's a safety issue for the drivers because if you get in an accident, they want you to have enough space or you need to have enough clearance space that you may not have to leave the road to go into a ditch or to hit a tree. Um I am waiting to have further conversations with them because I think just like the landfill um in a sense it's premature maybe not as premature because they're not there yet. They're not at the point where they can even share um I think what trees have been identified that might need to be affected. So, I just wanted to to weigh in there and um say that I I' found them to be pretty responsive. Um I don't know if that's because I don't take no for an answer and they just want to, you know, hurry up and get me out the way. Um but I called immediately after I watched their last meeting to get information, help me understand what's going on with the tree issue, trees I should say.

So, I'm going to stop there with that. Um, related to GFL, I defer to my colleague, Commissioner Light, that is her district, but I find myself asking a ton of questions that I do not mean to be disrespectful to the residents of Wayne County, but I got a ton of questions. So, if this is a 50, 60 year old landfill, why on earth would you buy half a million and up valued homes right next to the landfill. And who was it that told you that the landfill was not going to be operating after a specific period of time? Cuz I feel like you might be you should be picketing in front of their house. I am also slightly disappointed and I would hope um that if I had a situation like this, my fellow electeds would have the courtesy of giving me a call to let me know that they were going to be advocating in a certain way. I just think that's just I don't know decent and in order. Um but we did not receive a communication until today that we were going to have um legislators that represent our our district, our area here speaking on this subject. I just I just think that's just courtesy, especially when you have their cell phone number. You could have picked up the call phone and said, "Can we talk about this?" Doesn't mean you have to agree. Um, but it just seems to be a little out of order to me and it it hit wrong with me. I would expect though

that if it's dealing with Pittsville Township and the portion of Ipsy Township that I represent, I'm going to just say I'm expecting that you would give me the courtesy of talking to me first and not ambushing you. um the housing situation. What I didn't say earlier, chair or chairs, um I don't know how it I forgot about it, but if you all recall before we had this sort of travel situation, I came back very excited from Texas uh about a tiny home community and pop-up housing that are options for us being able to meet the needs of people that are homeless or home insecure um and probably would save us money actually compared to what we pay for hoteling, right? And then when the winter is over with or when the summer is over with, you literally collapse that um you know that portable housing unit and you can go store it somewhere. But they would have um air conditioning, heat, it would be their own unit. They were nice size popup units. Um, and we've not followed up on that. I would like for us to be able to do that. Um, in a tiny home community, I'm just going to say it out loud. We This is a pretty affluent county and I'm sure that we would have opposition to that, but it can be done um in a way that does not endanger people's property values, provides um shelter for those that are in need of shelter, and can likely give us some financial relief

in terms of the county being um the safety net to the safety net. So, I think that we need to look at that. We do own some lands, uh, formerly known as Cheney Elementary that has the capacity to handle pop-up housing or a tiny home community. And let's be clear, tiny home communities are not free. People pay, they pay to live there. So, um, I think that that's something that we should look at. I wanted to just correct. So, um, Mr. Seager, what I said at the last meeting was that I asked one of the advocating residents from Wayne County where their trash was taken and their answer was the landfill on I275. That was their that was their response back to me. So, I wasn't saying that all of the residents um send their trash there, but um you know, sometimes when we're sitting here um and taking the lashes uh during public comment, I don't have anything else to do but Google. It's a wonderful thing. So, um I would just say that we do first we I think that we consider ourselves to be good neighbors, but We are responsible to our residents that vote for us and put us in office to represent them and what their needs are and even sometimes do what's best even if they don't think that we are doing what's best for them. So, as my colleague said, we're at three

out of 13. Um, we haven't even gotten there yet. But I I would like for someone to be able to give me something that I could sink my teeth into in terms of not being something that is that is historical that that a company inherited. Um and even if there have been violations since GFL has taken over, I don't know any business that doesn't make mistakes and we haven't had anybody come. No one has talked to us from Eagle to say, you know, these violations are so egregious, we're going to shut them down. And if anybody has heard me talk, Eagle is not my favorite department. Sorry. Um, so if if Eagle's not the one coming and whining to us, with all due respect, I'm just wondering like what is it? What is like the real issue? Um, and when you buy a property and you put that kind of money into it, you ought to be stopping by the police department, the fire station, getting data from them about how safe is the community that you want to move into. And the one department that people ignore is the planning and zoning. You ought to be going there first to find out what is the plan for the community that you're planning to move into and spend your life there. Um, but I I don't think the I don't think the liability is really on us. Sounds like a whole lot of promises were made and I have not yet heard one of the advocates say that they have taken some of this um frustration to the elected officials that allowed um land to be purchased and developed

knowing that you are literally a stones throw from a land. So that doesn't mean that I'm not stating a position at this point, but the advocacy brings up a ton of questions that I just think in fairness need to be provided. We need to be provided answers with too. So, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Sanders. Commissioner Labar.

Thanks, Chair. Appreciate the public comment uh on all the issues tonight. uh happy in any way I can be useful to this body in terms of working with the road commission on anything like this. Um we did hear reference to the great road commission battles of 2019 and 2020. Um I had not heard them categorized that way but I think we we uh will work with our road commission partners and and and prevent future battles. Thanks.

Thank you. Um I will just say briefly the trees. Yes, I signed the petition. I have actually looked at the I talked at the last meeting about the live oaks in Charleston County where my family has a house and they're like on the road essentially like and I looked at the Charleston County land ordinance and there's something in there that I'll be talking to our corporation council about about how you can designate basically like heritage trees and I'm wondering if there's something like that we can do and then that requires a vote from the Charleston county commission before those trees are are touched. She's she's making she's noting it. So, um I don't know if something like that will happen in time to help help what's happening here on your road. I will continue to advocate. I have also tried to um contact the road commission just tonight and they're not derelict in contacting me but to try to get more answers and to advocate um because I feel this like looking at those beautiful pictures. I I just I feel it. So um I have a tree that's like half dead in my front yard and my kid is like please don't cut down that tree. I'm like kiddo it's dead. And so it you know we love the trees in my family is what I'm saying. So, I'll try to do what I can to help with that. Um, thank you everyone for coming and um and talking to us. There's probably more to say, but commissioner comment now feedback has been happening for over half an hour itself and that's a lot of commissioner speak. So, I'm going to go on with um uh liaison reports. Are there any liaison reports, Commissioner Somerville? Yeah, I could have probably emailed this to you, but I know that they're going to ask why I didn't bring it up. So, um, we have a vacancy on the Commission on Aging for your district, actually. Yes. Um, and then they have been asking

questions about the millillage review committee, but that's on the agenda tonight. And so, that's my update. Okay, great. Thank you. Any other liaison reports? Okay, I see one. I was trying to not see one, but I saw one. Commissioner Maji, thank you. Just really quick, I just wanted to report in the last board of public works meeting, um, one of the items that they deal with is the um, treatment of, um, the lakes for, um, weeds and invasive species.

Yeah. And one of the things that was reported at the last Board of Public Works meeting was the success that was had at Silver Lake, which I believe is in Commissioner Light's district now, uh, in Zindex Township. Um, with controlling the the Milfoil and the uh, Star War. Um, it was, uh, they're in the the beginning stages of working with the residents at Silver Lake and it was a a big success this past year, so I wanted to highlight that as Great. Thank you. Thank you. Um, next item on the agenda is report from the county administrator.

Thank you, chair. Just a couple quick updates this evening. As always, thank you for some time on the agenda. I'm joined by Megan Bonfil Biglio. She is here to give an update on the East Side Rec Center. As you all recall, we have talked about making sure that she is before you on some kind of cadence. She is here tonight and will likely be back next quarter with a more detailed update. Megan,

hello again. Uh, good evening. I'm happy to be here and again I'll I'll plan for a quarterly update and I will have more to share at at that point and probably photos. But I think what I wanted to do today was

um give you an update on the past year of activities that we've so I know you've heard about it at a regular cadence through the administrator update. Um but since March um parks has been uh aggressively setting goals to try to move this project forward. Um, and so I'm happy to report that we ha I'll kind of review those goals and I'll let you know where we how we met all of those goals and then give you a a highlight on what to expect moving forward. So um, first goal I wanted to talk about was finalizing the schematic design work that we had started with grow. Um, so that was the firm we started working with that was involved with kind of the why. Um, finalized that work in se in the summer. Um, and then our next goal was to present to the public and share widely. So, I think a lot of the things we heard initially was that people weren't sure what was happening with the project. Uh, you know, things had stalled. They wanted to know updates. We were receiving regular calls, I think, across the board in terms of what's going on with the East Side Rec Center project. Um, and so we really took a pause in September to make sure that we shared both the schematic designs and then went on kind of a road show to share those concept plans across the community. Um and that was we had a number of conversations with folks and I really uh think that was helpful um in helping people know where we were and what our plans were. Um the one of the two I have two really big goals that we set for ourselves and I'm pleased to report that we met both of those which were one was to hire an architect of record for the project. The second one is to hire a construction company. And so um back in October we had 15 responses to an RFP that came out. We hired uh Newman Smith architects. They are out of Southfield. Uh they are the architect of record for the project and they'll be providing architecture and engineering services to take that schematic design presentation that we saw refine that schematic design because it actually needs to be uh sorted out in space and then take it to construction

drawings uh and then help us through construction. Um so they are already on board and have already been doing schematic design refinement. Uh we also in December uh hired a construction company that's Clark Construction. We had 10 different companies submit responses for that one. Um they are already on board. We're working through contract details, but they are excited to try to help with getting cost estimating in place. Um refine the design and help us really understand how we can meet our goals of beginning construction at the end of the summer or early this fall. Um, so really those were kind of the highlights I wanted to have happen in 2025, but we have a lot more work to do. So, but I do have to, you know, pause to say that we we got those done. We're happy there. We have a couple other bright spots that were things I wanted to just make sure I drew attention to. Um, working with the, um, Office of Community Economic Development, we received an $800,000 community development block grant. um and that is to offset engineering and and um architectural services. That's been really helpful to keep the project dollars going as far as we possibly can. So, it's been amazing to work with that department and with that team and I just have to shout out to to Tara Cohen on that one. Um we were also awarded a TAP grant, so a transportation alternatives program grant. Um a big thanks to Commissioner Robbie to help connecting us with SECOg. Um but we received a $2 million grant, technically 1.6 6 million from SEMCOG and then the Washington County Parks and Recreation Commission is matching the $400,000 to make non-motorized trail improvements through that full site where the Cheney Elementary School used to be. Um, and then we already have uh draft reports for both the traffic study and infiltration testing for the site. So, all probably semi- boring things to mention, but important things to mention because they really help us understand

what we need to do to to design a good building. So then looking forward and what you'll probably hear from me at the next quarterly update would be the refined design drawings. So really looking at moving around and taking a look at what that site's going to look like, where do we actually need to site the building? Uh what what kind of tweaks do we need to make to the square footage or the space? Um and then working through some of the engineering and construction site conditions and uh documents for soil testing and things like that. Um, additionally, we have to look at cost alignment. Um, so we will hopefully have a highlevel preliminary cost estimate by the end of this month. Um, and then we will need to just kind of work together. It's a normal thing with the construction company and the architectural company to just kind of narrow that delta down. Um, and then as you all know, our resilient plans set some pretty big initiatives in place. Um, and so we have been working with Beth Gibbons on a regular basis. she's attending all of as many meetings as she possibly can with her busy schedule um but really looking at how many sustainability initiatives we can put into this um facility um and really kind of helping us design a building that we're proud of. So those just a high level overview. Uh happy to take any questions.

Any questions? Commissioner Sanders, I got you. You knew you knew better, right?

I was ready. Um, I I I guess I just want to uh lift up and and um ask you to ex expand on are you are you insinuating that this new East Side Community and Rec Center uh might be like the cutting edge when it comes to um energy savings and um resiliency and sustainability and is that what we're saying? Yes, I think you can say that. I think that we are really trying to make this again a building we'd all be proud of. Certainly will function as a resiliency hub. That is baseline goal for this project. Um but additionally, the recreational amenities are going to be amazing. So, we've done some site visits. We recently went to Midland and looked at their brand new community center and have a lot of really great ideas. The reason we went to Midland and saw their community center is it was designed by Newman Smith and then built by Clark Construction. And so really looking at what that team together can do and build and I think we'll all be really proud of it.

That makes me very happy and excited to know that um through these designs we are demonstrating commitment to that community and showing them that they are valued equally valued. So thank you for that. Any other questions? Commissioner Somerville,

I don't have any questions. I just want to thank Megan for the huge challenge that you took on when you became the new director, and I appreciate you meeting our aggressive timeline. Um, I'm really excited to hear that construction's going to start in 2026. Um, it would be, uh, yeah, I don't even know, it's I'm excited. Knock on wood. But I think that is a reason for us all to leave here smiling tonight. So that's what I'm going to do. So thank you for your work. Yeah. Thank you. It's a project again that we're excited to put together. So happy to work on it. Commissioner Light,

no questions. Just kudos and thanks and super excited. Um, it's something of course that we always say the east side has just been dangling and awaiting. And so I'm uh eagerly but patiently waiting because it's being done the right way. And I can appreciate that because I am an instant gratification kind of person. And through this process, I am learning how to accept timelines for good. So thank you. I appreciate you and everyone putting in the work. Thank you.

Thank you, Megan. I did hear while while you're presenting from a few commissioners in the background talking about a road trip to Midland. So, uh you and I can talk about that off offline. Perhaps they will host us for a short trip. Yeah, happy to. I'm sure they would be more than happy to do that. Thank you. Next uh update. I will I will be joined now by our uh resiliency officer Elizabeth Gibbons.

We have been looking internally at all things data centers in our community, how they impact our residents, the environment, uh our natural resources, all of the above. And I'm pleased and excited about the conversation that is that she has been leading and we just want to share it with you all this evening. I don't know. Are you in trouble, Elizabeth? I know, right? Okay. It is welcome Elizabeth. Thank you.

Thank you. Um I think I have a couple of slides to share and I'll try to go through these uh quickly. So um I'm providing an update uh the last time that we spoke was on October 1st. So this is an update on some of what we see happening across the community as well as what has been going on within the county and some of our interdep departmental collaboration so that we're we're best positioned to know what is happening and how we're serving residents across the county. So to recap, we still have three potential data center sites. Uh Selen Township where the status is that the project is underway following a consent decree which I'll talk more about in just a minute. We have Epsilani Township where the developers University of Michigan and Los Alamos and there's an ongoing conversation about the location of this potential data center which they refer to as a high power computing facility in Augusta Township where the developer Thor Equities is on pause until there is going to be a vote this coming year to have the community um weigh in on the reszoning. So since we last spoke some things that have changed in the community um in related so I'll say as I've named these slides I've chose to name them by the developer not by the community because I do think it's notable that there's they're they're not always the community's projects um but they are very much the developers projects. So the related digital openai project um a descent a consent decree um was signed between Selen Township and Related Digital. That consent decree is what sets the terms for how this development will go forward. Some of the elements that are highlighted here um call out the uh economic benefit that is often referenced when the consent decree and when this project is being discussed. This project does not actually have what's called the community benefits agreement. Um some people will kind of

cite these as community benefits, but those come through this legal arrangement. the um the consent decree that was signed after the township was sued. So, $2 million to the township um following the approval of an industrial facilities exemption certificate. Hold on to that phrase for a minute in your mind. Um and after that has been signed within a year there'll be a second payment of $2 million. There will be $2 million for community investment fund, $7 million for the fire department for Seline as well as $500,000 for several of the surrounding townships. The developer agrees not to sell or lease the property to a taxexempt entity and the developer guarantees to not build solar on the facility. Um, so one thing just to keep in mind with this, there's other details of the consent decree of course, but the facilities exemption certificate. So this is a facility that will be paying tax at a discounted rate from the assessed property value. That discounted rate has not yet been established. Um, and other communities across the state are also asking for it. So we're not alone in not knowing what that number is going to be. It's something that is um still uncertain. And I also want to just point out that while these numbers are really high, $2 million here, $2 million there, the expectation of this project again is a $400 billion revenue for open AI. So, it's a lot of money and this is some money, but proportionality is important. Um the other thing that's passed is that on December 18th, um MPSC uh went ahead with an exparte decision. So, exparte means that the um Michigan Public Service Commission chose to not have a contested case for this project coming online from DTE. Some of the findings are included here in this slide. One thing I just want to call attention to

that I think is is really interesting and something we should pay attention to over time is about future reporting. DTE is required to show the impact of this data center operation in its integrated resource plan which is what they first put forward ahead of when they start asking for rate cases rate hikes and their renewable energy plan. They have to show both these plans with and without the data center as data center as part of their operations and I think that's going to be in the long term a really important piece of reporting for us to know about. Jumping over to the Michigan University of Michigan Los Alamos Center. Um, so since we since we last spoke, not that much has changed. Ipsilanti Township continues to request University of Michigan locate its facility on the ACM. There has been uh meetings held by Ipsilante Township in University of Michigan back in January. University of Michigan says it's narrowed down as location it's considering to these two sites. Um, and folks may be interested to know University of Michigan regents intend to discuss this project at their upcoming meeting on February 12th. There's some people who don't feel like the last meeting um put on was very public. So it may be an opportunity for public comment again. Uh we've talked before about the role and responsibility within county. Um land use decisions are made by the city's townships and township and villages. We do have a variety of permitting um and regulatory authority. And so in that vein, we've convened one cross department meeting to talk about those places that the data center is starting to come up in the work of the county itself. And what I want to highlight from that first meeting is one that the permitting agencies and offices, building inspection, water resources, environmental health are really inundated with permitting requests from this project. Those requests are changing frequently and they require a really high level of attention and time commitment. They're not necessarily new or different requests from past projects, but the magnitude of them is notable. We're doing coordination

already across departments and there's interest in continuing that. There's a desire to have a resource mapping for common questions that are coming from the public so that they can be appropriately routed to departments or entities. Um, and so that's going to be something that we'll be coming out with shortly. And then there's a recognition that Selen Township is a small it's a rural small rural township and may benefit from technical and capacity support that the county can offer. And so we're exploring what that can look like. Further followup that has come out of those conversations include an interest in reaching out to contacts in Ohio for some best practices on lessons learned about water energy noise and other common resident impacts. Convening a conversation across the municipalities of the county. Um so thinking again in that and ahead of time how can we provide support to the municipalities especially those with less capacity we need to figure out the best practice for assessing property value of data centers. This is a challenge for uh many places. They are a new land use and they need a special assessment, not a special assessment in the jargon term, but need to be assessed as a new type of land use. And we need to develop a strategy for continuing to deliver highquality services to all residents while we're also accommodating this new huge project that's taking place in our community. Um, per your request, we have some resources out there. This is the data center web page. Uh, we maintain it. We update it bi-weekly. There's an FAQ there about data centers. It's about to get a refresh based on some new questions that have been coming in. We have an external resource library. This can be a go-to for both resources and news articles about what's happening locally, but also as reputable um reports and toolkits come out. We have a municipal planning toolkit, and I've been having a lot of one-on-one meetings with community members and municipal staff.

Great questions. Commissioner Hajj waving at me. Commissioner Labar.

Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Beth, for your work on this. I I mean, as you know, there were two proposed data centers in my district, so I hear a lot about data centers. I probably get more emails about data centers than anything else, except for the landfill. I've been getting a lot of landfill related emails, but data centers are a hot topic. Uh, thank you for putting together that toolkit. uh you moved on that really quickly and we had talked before about potentially doing a resolution requesting or supporting the initiative to ask U of M to consider the ACM space. Uh hopefully we can have that on a future agenda soon. Um so I appreciate all the work that's gone into that. Uh one of the questions that I have is that hearing something about the Los Alamos part of the data center potentially having plutonium pits. Is there you know anything about that?

No. No, you don't know anything about that. % accurate. I don't know anything about it. Okay. Well, something something for us to explore. They're not at me over there. Uh Okay, great. So, we need to look into that because I don't think anybody wants them. No. And there's also a conversation there's a not dissimilar conversation happening around the Seline data center too, but I don't know that that's accurate either about like a future nuclear power facility there. I'm uh seeing commercials now for the Seline data center like no pro like pro Seline data center commercials on TV. Oh

yes streaming services. All right that's it. Thank you. Okay. Thank you commissioner commissioner labar. Thanks chair Beth. I was just going to say thank you for the update and for the way you've presented it in sort of the bullet point style. uh please keep us up to date on kind of um how we can be helpful to you in these efforts and also just appreciate that um everything you're describing now. It sounds like everybody is learning on the fly because of the newness of the technology, the sighting issues uh and and you know state law and regulatory uh precedent haven't been set because it's so new. So I I really appreciate your updates. Thank you.

Thanks, Commissioner Light. Thank you for the update and information. Uh just wondering have townships and other electives been thinking about how we can manage because we managed you know all of the data centers that are coming uh because I think unfortunately because we can't control it necessarily this body we can't say hey no um are we coming together to come up with ways that we can manage this um as we have with GFL they pay great property taxes and you know, so could there be some property tax cuts? Could we put in different um you know, ordinances for zoning? And is this just something that um township supervisors are are talking about because that's just something that I would like to do because we can manage it and we can make sure that you know we have all these folks coming in and wanting to use up our good old land and properties. Let's uh let's get our money's worth. Um and also once we start managing then they're not going to want to come. They're going to want to leave. So, just want those conversations if you could kind of initiate and pull it. I say it all the time, but I mean it like we got to we got to manage them and we can do that since we can't stop them from coming. We can stop them from coming another way.

Yeah. And I I see a couple of things that are happening in the townships right now. There are some data center moratoriums that are being passed in communities that don't yet have data center development being proposed. So that's giving those um municipalities an opportunity to do the planning that they want to do that aligns to what they want. And I've seen I've reviewed um two draft zoning codes and they do speak to kind of the value that the that the townships have. Um in both cases I've responded and marked them up with the recommendation that came from the board also of where those recommendations could fit in around water usage and reporting. Um, and then to the question about revenue, yeah, I think it's really important for the municipalities to be talking about it. And I also think that the county needs to be starting to talk about the opportunity of the revenue um and how to again like there's a proportionality question that I think we have to keep coming back to with community benefits, but then also um where do we want to see those revenues going in a way that reflects our values if this is being killed?

That's it. Commissioner Le, thank you. Uh, Commissioner Bean, thank you, Chair. Um, appreciate all your work on this as unfortunately my district's the guinea pig or the first one coming in. Um,

I guess my question is, and I apologize because it's very late and I'm starting to lose my word. I'm sorry. Um but in terms of one of the issues that I'm seeing for the townships is once once the data centers come in and unfortunately in some situations like Selen Township they will it's wrestling billion dollar beasts that a rural township cannot do. In cases such as this where we know it's coming, what resources do we have to advise them? In terms of, for example, most of these have a clause as to the state they will return the land to upon closure of the facility. Mhm.

I can say I would have liked to have seen more in the judgment that came for Seline Township, though we're not pervy. We we don't have any um input into that. Is there guidance that we currently have? Is there something that we can put out there that once they're in this stage because see they're just for a little background. You can have the land returned to vegetative state which means they can throw anything on it and if it grows it's fine or you can ask for the soil to be returned to its current state. And so are there things that we can put into place to help townships in Washington County and to be quite frank counties that are watching us deal with this

um that could be helpful in that part of the situation because again when we're talking about trees and land this will have a lifespan and when it goes away I would like it to be back to farmable whether that's humanly possible or not. That's where I would like to see us go.

Yeah. Yeah. That can be written into the zoning ordinance under the decommissioning portion and there is guidance. We don't have we didn't create guidance like in the recommendation that the board passed. Um but there are some like best practices that are coming up and it also along with decommissioning there also are clauses that address operation and at what point this is no longer operational and you know so you avoid the kind of thing where you have a building that is vacant but one day of activity a year. So, um, yeah, that kind of guidance is out there and I'd hap I'm happy to connect people like municipalities with it to make sure it's getting incorporated into their zoning ordinances. Yeah, I think the more we can do on that side of things, you know, obviously protecting land, but once we're facing whether it's a data center or a battery storage facility or all the other things that are coming to my district, um that clean up afterwards, again, the restoration would be very helpful. Thank you.

Um I have Commissioner Sanders. I just wanted to um support um Commissioner Beaman's suggestion and I had actually said this out loud. I don't remember if I said it to to our administrator or maybe um Commissioner Light that I I thought a I thought that as a county we could provide support by um locating an expert that could do like a education session for the municipality leaders or supervisor of the various municipalities. um because they may not have the money to do that. But if we did a collective sort of training or maybe two so we could fit people's schedules together, I think that would be a great added value. Um, so to, you know, to try and ease those concerns about we don't have the money or the power to fight these big people, but if we're able to sort of educate them in advance about how to change zoning or planning before they're sort of ambushed.

I just think it would be helpful. We're not telling them what to do. We're just trying to help them get a playbook. Yeah. So, I just wanted to add that that I I would support that.

Commissioners, if I could just jump in here, you know, we have been educating ourselves along this journey and I it's my hope, my goal that we will understand all things data centers as we move through this pro this process. We've talked about uh and at the table right now is a crosssectional group of department heads and elected offices. Quite honestly, our water resources commissioner Gretchen Driscoll is in the audience. Thank you for being at the table. We are trying to make sure that when our residents come to us for any reason that we have at least a base understanding of what the impacts will be. The other thing that you saw in the presentation is that we have been identifying communities uh in right now in another state. Uh when you think about the state of Ohio and and and the Columbus area, uh that's data center rich and we want to hear from them what their experiences are by and large to do all the things that you guys are talking about here to make sure at the end of the day when questions arise about impacts whether they be financial, environmental, etc. I I love the conversation around returning our land to its existing condition. All those things are fact are factors that we've been discussing at the table.

Yeah. And I I I would hope that if we were able to get them all in a room together, they would be able to sort of help educate each other, right? Because they they all have different needs in their communities. And like what what uh Commissioner Bean was talking about is something that we probably wouldn't have thought about because we don't live in a rural area, but you know, all of these things are doable. So anyway, I'm in support um of us taking the lead and trying to help uh the municipalities avoid pitfalls. Can I respond quickly?

Yeah, of course you can. So last year in the resilency office, we initiated a project that we called the renewable energy technical assistance project. And it was really designed to make sure communities were getting the best available information so they could be doing the zoning that they wanted to do for renewable energy, like making sure they were keeping control of their local land use decisions around that. We worked with partners at University of Michigan Center for Empowering Communities. They've recently released a battery energy storage zoning ordinance guide book. They're releasing a data center guide book this week and they also have a revenue for revenue municipal revenue from renewable energy projects toolkit. I met with them today and we talked about a program for 2026 and they have capacity and are ready to put on a workshop on data centers. And so we've thought already about a two-part series that we do data centers and then talk about renewable energy revenue which would easily be able to be kind of broaden to talk about other revenue streams as well. And I think what I would really appreciate from this table is support reaching the right people in the townships and our municipalities so that when we bring that room together, it really is an education but also across pollination time that we can hear too from the county what capacity might be helpful if we could provide it. So your help getting the word out and getting people in the room would be most helpful. I I wanted to also lift up that um I can't take credit for finding this. Uh, I'm going to credit our water resources commissioner who told me about it, but a former commissioner, uh, Conan Smith, who now is the CEO of the Michigan Environmental Council, wrote a very interesting op-ed in cranes today about how, um, you have if you have a data center

economy, we have to double down on doing it right. and points to some of the things that have been happening in Seline and also particularly about how you have to Michigan is maybe a better place than some of the other places because we have some better laws in place in Michigan than other places like Ohio. Not to say that things couldn't be better and I think he he highlights that. But I also think like this train is coming. This train is here. I appreciate so much the work that you have done. I love that we're a resource for other people in the community who don't have the budgets to do this and they come to you and your expertise and your leadership on this is really super appreciated. So, thank you,

Mr. D. Beth, thank you. How does Thank you so much. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Just one more thing real quick. We do have uh thank you Beth a new member of the Washington County family uh team member in OCED. So I asked Tony to make the introduction and at the conclusion of the introduction that will conclude my report. Thank you.

Thank you Administrator Dill. Appreciate the opportunity to introduce the board of commissioners to our new human services division administrator Monica Bullock. She is joining us from Jennese County's Community Action Agency where she managed their human services programs. Uh also has a great history with the city of Flint's 911 call center as their supervisor uh and Jennese County ISD and uh Jennese County's Michigan Works. So Monica will be managing the staff and programs at OCED that include the continuum of care, the foster grandparents program, the hop call center, uh, as well as barrier busters. Monica,

thank you. Uh, good evening, madam chair and all the other board members. It is my absolute pleasure to be here working here in Washington County. I am uh ecstatic about the work that uh we'll be doing through OCED and working along with our providers for COC uh particularly uh with the presentation that was given earlier this evening. But just wanted to say I am uh very happy to be here and ready to get in and roll up my sleeves and get some work done on behalf of the county residents. Thank you.

Thank you for having me. Thanks. Welcome at 10 o'clock at night. Welcome to your new job working at 10 o'clock at night. Um, thank you. Uh, thank you, Administrator Dale. Uh, no report from the chair of the uh board of commissioners. Uh, we have a special order of business, three resolutions. Would somebody like to move all three of those resolutions? Yeah. Okay. Um, any discussion on these resolutions? I see none. Uh, we'll do a roll call vote here. Yes. Commissioner Bean. Yes. Yes. Commissioner Lear, yes.

Commissioner Light, yes. Commissioner Macheski, yes. Commissioner Robbie. Commissioner Sanders, yes. Commissioner Scott, yes. Commissioner Somerville, Motion carries. Okay, great. Fantastic. Very much. We've got that done. Uh appointments. Anybody like to move the appointments? So move support. All right. Uh any discussion on the appointments? Okay. Uh we'll do a roll call on Oh, wait, wait. Machi has a discussion, a comment. Okay.

Um in looking through the applicants, they're they're all very qualified. This is not a comment about the individuals who are being appointed. I just wanted to point out that um In our resolution creating this um we did note that we wanted representation on this particular review body from rural, suburban, and urban communities. Yeah. And noting that both of the general community appointees are from the city of Ann Arbor. Nothing wrong with them. It's okay. They're very qualified people. um we don't have any rural representation on this 11 person body at this point and I hope that we can take a look at that because I there are a couple remaining appointments where that might be possible. I think that would be phenomenal.

So send them our way. But I will say congratulations to the people that are up for appointment. Yeah. Thank them for uh committing to um do this important work. Yeah. Yep. Support endorse your opinion there. Okay. Any other discussion on that? Okay, let's do a roll call uh on the resolution appointed members. The OPMRC Oak Commissioner Haj, yes. Commissioner Labar, yes. Commissioner Light, yes. Commissioner Macheski, yes. Commissioner Robbie, yes. Commissioner Sanders, yes. with condition that we we look at

we will membership. Yes. Commissioner Scott. Yep. Commissioner Somerville. Yes. Commissioner Bean. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you very much. Next item is the consent agenda. Move support. Support. Great. Any discussion on the consent agenda? I see none. All those in favor of the consent agenda, please say I. I. Any opposed? Consent agenda passes. Resolutions. First reading. Commissioner Labar.

Sure. Under first reading, A, a resolution to approve the tenative agreement with ASME 2733 in Washington County. B, a resolution proving the tenative agreement with Michigan Nurses Association in Washington County. Great. We'll stop on first reading. Is that good? Do we have a Okay. Hodge supports. Moved by Lavar. Any discussion on these items? Commissioner Robbie, can we do a separate vote? We can I need to abstain from We can do two different votes. Any discussion on on the items? Okay. Um all those in favor of resolution A, please signify by saying I. I.

Any opposed? Item passes. All those in favor of resolution B. I.

Any opposed? We have one non- voting. Okay. Um, I don't think we technically have an abstension in our board rules, so I think it's probably just a a non- voting or do we have abstension? Okay, that's fine. Whatever it is, we'll look it up. Commissioner Robbie did not vote on it. It would be a conflict of interest. Thank you for being an ethical human being. Um, there are no final reading items on the agenda. Single reading, Commissioner Labar. A a resolution to approve the bylaws of the Washington County Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee and I will move claims as well.

Support moved by Labar supported by Haj. Any discussion on these items? I see none. This is a roll call. Commissioner Labar. Yes. Commissioner Light. Yay. Yay. Commissioner Masheski, yes. Commissioner Robbie, yes. Commissioner Sanders, yes. Commissioner Scott, yep. Commissioner Somerville, yes. Commissioner Bean, yes. Commissioner Hodgej, yes. Motion carries. Yes. Any items for current and future discussion? Commissioner Bean.

Mine is really quick. Um, I just wanted to bring forward that I did speak previously about a resolution for Freedom Township regarding the biodigesttors that is still in process. I'm trying to be respectful and work with the MMP, but also be very supportive of the residents in my district. So, something will be coming forward. Just wanted to let you know we're still working on it. Thank you, Commissioner Hajj.

Thank you, Chair. Uh, I've got about an hour and a half of items for current or future discussion. No, no, I'll make it quick. I just wanted to uh give a thank you to all the staff and volunteers that participated in the pit count. Uh, so I participated in it and it was an interesting experience being out about 2 am uh in the woods and under bridges and traveling around with uh the PATH team. Uh, I want to thank Christy and Christina from PATH and SOS uh for taking us along. I went with Ashley and Tabitha. Uh and they the two of them did a fantastic job uh doing the interviews with the people um that we were able to find and uh everyone that we found was offered a hotel. Um one person declined the hotel and took it for the next day. Uh but it was really critical work to be able to get out in the the really frigid cold and be able to get people um out of the cold. And I also want to thank Hakee because he worked all day too and then also participated in that. uh and uh everyone that helped organize it. So, uh Kristen, who was here earlier, did a fantastic job with helping to organize uh as did everybody at CHOCD, the PATH team, uh and our community partners. Um it was a really helpful experience to to do it. I have wanted to do it for several years and just never did. So, I'm glad I took the the time to do it this time to be able to see exactly how the process works. Uh and again, shout out to Tabitha and Ashley for just the excellent way in which they engage uh the residents that we found and with with compassion uh and just just really really good work. So, thank you and thank you to everybody else that all the staff and the volunteers. Thank you all.

That's it. Thank you, Commissioner Hodgej, Commissioner Somerville. Cool. I'm down for this. You have a current and future discussion?

I guess I do now. Uh, I want to say thank you to the staff before the pit count who during the cold stretch went above and beyond to try to take care of mo some of the most vulnerable people in the community that um typically don't navigate our traditional shelter space. I think that is a huge population of folks that have complex challenges and needs and thank you to administrator Dill. Um, but also Tabitha, I'm so sorry that this was your first experience. It was a lot, but I know that the residents that we served appreciate it, Ashley and Terrence and everybody else. Thank you. I know it's a system that we need to improve, but I also really do appreciate your ability to uh say yes to me even if it's complicated and chaotic. Um, because weather is the winter weather has been very harsh. So, thank you. I know there are improvements that need to be made. I recognize that, but I also think that you work really hard. Thank you.

Hey, I'm all for process improvements. Let's do it. Any other items for current and future discussion? I just You have one like I just wanted to say it is Black History Month

and I am educated, resilient, influential, powerful, and I'm black, baby. Thank you. Thank you. Um I I feel like I don't I don't really want to follow that but but I I am going to tell you that I was right. There is no abstension in the board rules. It is just don't vote. So there you go. Um okay. I know those board rules. Uh yeah, but it's not in ours. Uh, it very specifically calls it out in our board rules. So, I'm right. Anybody uh have a Yeah. One final thing?

Yeah. I believe it is somebody's last day with us. I told you, Brian, thank you for your your service, commissioners. You've had to stay here very late into the next day. Yes. And hand the camera on all of us. and it's a very tough job. So, thank you. We appreciate you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Brian. Thank you. Um, do I have support? Robbie and Bean, all those in favor? All right. See you. See you Friday.