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Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Meeting - July 28, 2025: Contracts, Grants, and Unfinished Business

City Council — Monday, July 28, 2025
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, July 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Gabriella de Santiago Romero.

0:10

Present.

0:10

Councilmember Scott Benson.

0:12

I've been tonight.

0:13

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:14

Madam Chair, you have a quorum present.

0:17

Thank you.

0:17

Madam Clerk, given a quorum, we'll go right into the rest of the agenda for today.

0:22

We are now under unfinished business 7.1.

0:24

This is a memo relative to the health department wellness checks for senior citizens.

0:29

We've been asked to bring this back on September 8th.

0:32

Motion.

0:32

Hearing no objection, 7.1 will be brought back on September 8th.

0:38

7.2 is the ordinance regarding citizens radio patrol.

0:51

Is there a motion to discuss?

0:53

Motion.

0:54

Thank you, Vice Chair to Law Department.

0:56

Where are we with this ordinance?

0:58

For the chair, there needs to be a meeting between Councilmember Callaway's team, Law Blight, and DPD.

1:03

So we will need to have this brought back after recess.

1:06

All right.

1:07

Is there a motion to bring back 7.2 back TBD?

1:10

Motion.

1:10

Hearing no objection, 7.2 will be brought back TBD.

1:15

7.3 is a memo relative to questions regarding how blight violations are handled.

1:21

7.4 is a memo requesting a draft ordinance regarding DPD video release.

1:28

Is there a motion to discuss 7.3 and 7.4?

1:32

Discussion, 7.3 and 7.4.

1:34

Thank you, Vice Chair.

1:35

So the law departments, where are we with these items?

1:38

Through the chair, I have reviewed the response to 7.3.

1:44

It just needs to be approved by Corporation Council.

1:46

Um, so hoping that gets done.

1:49

So it's not going to be all of recess await that council member Johnson will have to wait.

1:52

It'll hopefully be by the end of this week.

1:54

She will see that response in regard to 7.4.

1:58

Corporation council is um interested in additional conversations with DPD himself.

2:06

So we'd also need to be brought back after recess.

2:09

So we're gonna just bring these back on the first uh PHS that we have.

2:14

That's gonna be September 1st.

2:15

If there's a motion to bring back 7.3 and 7.4 on September 1st, Madam Chair, September 1st.

2:22

Excuse me.

2:22

Am I reading my calendar wrong?

2:24

One second.

2:25

After recess the first Monday after recess is September 1st.

2:31

With the chair, I believe that's Labor Day.

2:34

Oh, that's right.

2:35

Uh September 8th would be when we come back.

2:38

Motion.

2:39

Thank you.

2:40

Thanks, everyone.

2:41

September 8th is when we will be coming back here in PHS.

2:44

7.3 and 7.4 are both going to be back back on September 8th.

2:52

7.5.

2:57

And 7 through 7.7, these are all various construction and demolition contracts.

3:03

7.5 is contract number 308.

3:08

3818.

3:09

This is regarding this is this is using blight's funding, 100% blight funding to provide emergency demo at 1943 6 Westbrook.

3:20

The contractor is Detroit next.

3:21

They're located in Detroit.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procurement██████████████████████22%
Contracts and Procurement██████████████████18%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████17%
Public Transportation███████████11%
Procedural██████████10%
Public Works██████6%
Small Business Support██████6%
Blight████4%
Construction and Demolition███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Meeting - July 28, 2025

The Detroit City Council convened on July 28, 2025, with a quorum present. The meeting covered unfinished business items, approval of multiple contracts and grants, discussion of major water main replacement projects, and several items postponed to after the August recess. The session closed with member reports and a poem.

Consent Calendar

  • 8.1: Contract for environmental consulting services ($400,000) with Atlas Technical Consultants – approved and sent to formal session.
  • 8.2: Contract for removal, transport, and disposal of fill material ($66,000) with Inner City Contracting – approved.
  • 8.5: Amendment to fire incidence alerting system contract – time extension only, no cost increase – approved.
  • 8.6–8.8: Transportation contracts (bus fare cards, bus stop signs, power washer maintenance) – approved and sent to formal session.
  • 8.9: Emergency EMS billing services contract ($1,118,864) with Digitech – approved after discussion with Deputy Commissioner Derek Hillman and Chief Procurement Officer Sandra Stahl.
  • 8.10–8.15: Deferral recommendations for various properties – received and filed.
  • 8.16–8.21: Grant applications and acceptances (Hamtramck Drive improvements, public health emergency preparedness, fire prevention, bus replacement, brownfield redevelopment, birthing futures) – approved and sent to formal session after discussion with Richard Doherty.
  • 8.22: Authorization to grant DTE an easement for EV charging stations at 19384 Livernois – approved after explanation by Tony Guerra and Keith Hutchins (two charging stations with four heads).
  • 8.23: Resolution to accept donated vehicles for crime reduction – approved.
  • 8.24: Intergovernmental agreements with Wayne County for Hamtramck Drive improvements – approved.
  • 8.25–8.28: Various easement and encroachment requests – approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comment period was observed in the transcript.

Discussion Items

  • 7.1 (Health department wellness checks for senior citizens): Brought back to September 8, 2025; no objection.
  • 7.2 (Citizens radio patrol ordinance): Requires meeting between Councilmember Callaway’s team, Law, Blight, and DPD; brought back TBD after recess.
  • 7.3 & 7.4 (Blight violations and DPD video release): Awaiting legal review; brought back to September 8, 2025.
  • 7.5–7.7 (Emergency demolition contracts): 7.5 ($15,000, Detroit Next) – tax clearance denied; brought back to September 8. 7.6 ($41,650, Inner City Contracting at 3935/3941 Fairview) – property removed from pipeline; correction letter required, brought back to September 8. 7.7 ($19,268, Celebean at 5198 S Clarendon) – DTE disconnect not cleared; brought back to September 8. Councilmember noted 3941 Fairview was pulled from the pipeline and requested a correction letter.
  • 8.3 & 8.4 (Water main replacement contracts): Two contracts with LGC Global ($13,892,423 for WS-741 and $19,477,752 for WS-742) – funded by Drinking Water State Revolving Fund with partial principal forgiveness. Deputy Director Sam Smalley and Procurement Analyst Michelle McKenzie described 22,580 linear feet of water main replacement in District 1 (8.3) and 32,300 linear feet in Districts 2 & 3 (8.4). Councilmembers raised concerns about lack of socialization with colleagues and potential disruption to residents. The administration acknowledged the need for outreach. Motion to send to formal session without recommendation – approved.
  • 8.16 (Hamtramck Drive improvements): Discussion with Richard Doherty confirmed reconstruction from East Grand Boulevard to St. Aubin (0.57 miles), including off-road bike path using congressional allocation; part of larger project around Factory Zero.
  • 8.22 (DTE easement): Confirmed EV charging stations with two stations/four heads; if access issues, could reduce to one station/two heads.
  • 8.29 (Memo relative to AVIRAS Specialty Services Corp): Brought back to September 8; resolution provided but council needed time to review.
  • 8.30 & 8.31 (Funding for accessibility program and vending zone changes): Received and filed.
  • 8.32 (Request to extend summer recreation center hours): Brought back to September 8.

Key Outcomes

  • Unfinished Business: All items (7.1–7.4) postponed to dates after recess (Sept 8 or TBD).
  • Demolition Contracts (7.5–7.7): All three brought back to September 8 due to tax clearance issues, property removal from pipeline, or pending DTE disconnect.
  • Major Water Contracts (8.3 & 8.4): Sent to formal session without recommendation due to lack of prior socialization; administration committed to reaching out to councilmembers before formal session.
  • Other Contracts (8.1, 8.2, 8.5–8.9, 8.16–8.24, 8.25–8.28): Approved and sent to formal session with recommendation to approve.
  • Grants (8.16–8.21): Approved, including $4.2 million for Hamtramck Drive reconstruction.
  • Councilmember Reports: Councilmember Mary Waters reported attending a press conference for starter businesses funded by the budget. Council Chair read a poem titled "Turning to One Another" by Margaret Whitley to close the session.
  • Meeting Adjourned: The Council recessed for August and will return on September 8, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Gabriella de Santiago Romero. Present. Councilmember Scott Benson. I've been tonight. Councilmember Mary Waters. Madam Chair, you have a quorum present. Thank you. Madam Clerk, given a quorum, we'll go right into the rest of the agenda for today. We are now under unfinished business 7.1. This is a memo relative to the health department wellness checks for senior citizens. We've been asked to bring this back on September 8th. Motion. Hearing no objection, 7.1 will be brought back on September 8th. 7.2 is the ordinance regarding citizens radio patrol. Is there a motion to discuss? Motion. Thank you, Vice Chair to Law Department. Where are we with this ordinance? For the chair, there needs to be a meeting between Councilmember Callaway's team, Law Blight, and DPD. So we will need to have this brought back after recess. All right. Is there a motion to bring back 7.2 back TBD? Motion. Hearing no objection, 7.2 will be brought back TBD. 7.3 is a memo relative to questions regarding how blight violations are handled. 7.4 is a memo requesting a draft ordinance regarding DPD video release. Is there a motion to discuss 7.3 and 7.4? Discussion, 7.3 and 7.4. Thank you, Vice Chair. So the law departments, where are we with these items? Through the chair, I have reviewed the response to 7.3. It just needs to be approved by Corporation Council. Um, so hoping that gets done. So it's not going to be all of recess await that council member Johnson will have to wait. It'll hopefully be by the end of this week. She will see that response in regard to 7.4. Corporation council is um interested in additional conversations with DPD himself. So we'd also need to be brought back after recess. So we're gonna just bring these back on the first uh PHS that we have. That's gonna be September 1st. If there's a motion to bring back 7.3 and 7.4 on September 1st, Madam Chair, September 1st. Excuse me. Am I reading my calendar wrong? One second. After recess the first Monday after recess is September 1st. With the chair, I believe that's Labor Day. Oh, that's right. Uh September 8th would be when we come back. Motion. Thank you.

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