Detroit City Council Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee Meeting – September 4, 2025
Detroit City Council Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee Meeting – September 4, 2025
The Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee of the Detroit City Council convened on September 4, 2025, at approximately 6:16 p.m. with a quorum present (Councilmembers Young, Whitfield Callaway, and Benson). The committee approved minutes, heard public comments, and moved several agenda items to formal session. Key discussions included the removal of a past-due election event, questioning of ticket pricing for a private event in a public park, and member reports highlighting community events and services.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the meeting minutes (motion, no objections).
Public Comments & Testimony
- You Matter: Expressed disagreement with the mayor's meeting procedures, alleging First Amendment violations by restricting public comment due to past misconduct. Requested that Councilmember Young ask the Law Department to investigate legality. Also thanked the demolition department for boarding up 296 Smith, a property owned by the North End Landing developers, which had been open to trespass.
- Cunningham: Praised council members for their Labor Day Parade presence and urged them to ride Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) buses to understand service issues (unreliable, unclean). Also promoted his own efforts providing ice water and bus tickets at bus stops.
- William M. Davis: Invited attendees to the City of Detroit Retiree Task Force meeting (Sept 5, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., in-person and Zoom). Stated that retirees continue to suffer and that the city has not done all it should.
- Evelyn Garcia: Mistakenly thought the meeting was for East Point, Georgia; inquired about lack of East Point police response to package thefts and car thefts. After being informed this was Detroit City Council, she stopped her comments.
- Mr. Rue: Alleged widespread election fraud by the council, mayor, school board, and police commissioners. Claimed the Detroit Police Department homicide unit and a medical examiner changed a homicide ruling to suicide. Accused the city of diverting funds from children to downtown development.
- Caller 169: Asked public commenter Cunningham to reveal his voting preferences for governor, mayor, and all city council districts.
- Betty A. Barner (President, Soda Ellsworth Block Association): Promoted the Franklin Wright Settlements Senior Chore Services program (free for ages 60+, 313-579-1000 ext. 301), describing various home maintenance and cleaning services available.
- Shakira Haleem (caller "Shakira's iPhone"): Questioned how residents can work with council to change Land Bank rules given Mayor Duggan's opposition to diminishing the Land Bank. Councilmember Young responded that they are reviewing the MOU through the Planning and Economic Development committee and will bring it to the full floor for further discussion.
Discussion Items
- Item 5.1 – Repair & Maintenance Services Contract: Contract with Michigan Recreational Construction for citywide repair and maintenance at public spaces, total $2,770,000, through July 14, 2027. Previously held by Councilwoman Santiago-Romero but hold removed. Moved to formal session.
- Item 6.2 – Get Out the Vote Event (July 26, 2025): Councilmember Benson noted the event had already occurred and questioned why it was on the agenda. After clarification from Ms. Fife (Manager of Special Events) that it was planned late during recess, and the Law Department confirmed it was legally moot, Benson moved to remove the item. Council agreed (no objections).
- Item 6.4 – Trap Tailgate (Oct 12, 2025, Roosevelt Park): Vice Chair Whitfield Callaway asked if the event is ticketed and what the fee is. Ms. Fife confirmed there are admission sales but no rate schedule required. Whitfield Callaway expressed concern about private entities charging the public in a public park without known pricing, suggesting future applications include such details. Item moved to formal session.
- Item 6.15 – Wayne County Parks Village Grant Time Extension: Councilmember Benson asked why an extension was needed. Alex Weatherup (Assistant Director, General Services) explained that some amenities (benches, picnic tables, trees) still need installation. Grant amount unchanged ($280,000), end date extended to Sept 30, 2026. Motion approved, moved to formal session.
- Member Reports:
- Vice Chair Whitfield Callaway announced several upcoming events: Six Mile Street Festival (Sept 6), coffee & conversation (Sept 8), annual cookout at Palmer Park (Sept 13), community webinar (Sept 15), mandated meeting at Fellowship Chapel (Sept 23), Lunch and Learn at First Merchants Bank (Sept 17), and expungement clinic with Judge Greg Mathis (Sept 20).
- Councilmember Benson thanked the senior task force for a movie day with over 600 seniors. Reminded residents about free estate planning workshops, stating the city is saving $400,000 per month in Detroit home equity through these programs, which sunset on June 30, 2026.
- Councilmember Young (Chair) welcomed everyone back from August recess, noted the passing of Mr. Edward Deeb, announced the last produce pickup at Buttle on September 10, and listed recess activities including awards presented and events attended.
Key Outcomes
- All remaining items (5.1, 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, 6.11, 6.12, 6.13, 6.14, 6.15) were moved to formal session with record dates for approval.
- Item 6.2 was removed from the agenda by unanimous consent.
- No roll call votes were recorded; all actions were by voice vote with no objections.
- The committee adjourned without objection.
Meeting Transcript
Name of the community serves standing committee will now come into session with a clerk. Please call the roll. Councilmember Coleman A. Young the second. Here. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Councilmember Scott Benson. Scott Benson. Mr. Chair, you have a quorum present. Thank you, madam clerk. You're welcome. All right. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? Motion made or any objections. Hearing none, the minutes will be approved. Uh negative chair marks. We will now go to public comment. I think we have four people in the queue for public comment. Um, seeing no one here, we don't have any in-person public comment. So we'll now go virtual. Who is the first person that we have virtually, Mr. Bo? We currently have five callers for public comment. Our first caller is you matter. All right, you matter. Floor is yours, two minutes. You matter. Uh good afternoon, may I be heard? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Well, um, I disagree with Brother Cunningham about the mayor's meeting last night, but he was there in person. But uh the mayor and his people, in my opinion, are First Amendment lightweights, and I don't think what they're doing is legal. They are saying that because somebody in the past said something inappropriate on the phone or Zoom, that the rest of us can't speak, and that they'll ask our written questions, but two meetings in a row, they didn't ask my questions, so I will send them and see if they actually ask my questions. But that is totally inappropriate, and I believe it violates the First Amendment in equal protection because some person misbehaved in the past, you treat people differently and won't let them speak because you all don't do this at city council, you just get rid of the misbehaving person, and you don't apply it to everybody else. So I thank you, City Council, for not responding in such a First Amendment adverse way. But would you member young as at large member at large number one? Would you please ask LPD to look into the legality of what they're doing? And also, I would like to say that I'd like to thank the lovely person from the demolition department who came out the other day and boarded up 296 Smith, which is owned by the people who want to build North End Landing, and they don't take care of their property. Uh it had been open to trespass for over a week. They still have another building that's collapsing in the back, open to trespass with a bunch of debris that's been sitting there since at least 20 uh 23. But they don't well, they finally got a ticket, but it didn't have to they didn't have to uh fix it. And so all right, thank you so much for that. I appreciate that. Who you next to the queue? Mr. Chair, the next caller is Cunningham. All right, go ahead, Mr. Cunningham. Mr.
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