Public lighting authority, public lighting department.

Come on down.

Because we need to make sure we have all those documents provided to the team in advance.

Just saying again to all departments, make sure you give us all documents so we can hand them out so we can move again that word expeditiously.

Good morning, gentlemen and lady.

Thank you for being here.

Please introduce yourself for the record, and the floor is yours.

Do you have any PowerPoint that you are looking to provide?

Hopefully so, because I was mentioning we want to make sure the public has an opportunity to review what we see.

Okay.

While we're doing that, John Primeck, PLD.

Good to see you again, sir.

Bo Taylor, PLA.

Good day.

Good morning.

I'm Janet Anderson, PLA.

Dr.

Anderson, thank you.

Let me get on.

For the sake of time.

Um she's not able to get online yet.

And uh we'd like to start and maybe have a few comments that uh aren't reflected in the PowerPoints while we wait.

Okay, you may proceed, sir.

Yeah, I'll I'll start.

She's gonna get the PowerPoint here in a minute.

So uh I was just gonna I basically was gonna reflect on last year's closing resolutions while we wait for the PowerPoint.

Okay, John can start.

Um last year there were four closing resolutions.

One was uh um paying attention to uh McNichols Road and uh the lighting issues that were across that corridor.

Um we were able to complete uh a project to standardize the lights on McNichols, so that issue has been resolved.

Um we were asked to um look at smart lighting, and um we continuously do look at smart lighting, and um we have some ideas down the road uh that would be predicated on funding, and it would be mostly in the uh downtown corridor, and our focus is on the residential areas at this point, but we're not losing sight of uh opportunities down the road for grant funding and external partners to come in and uh work with us on the smart lighting issue.

Um I would say one of the major things that we could accomplish with smart lighting would be a reduction in the electric bill by dimming the lights at uh certain times and you know having a better coordination of when they come on and off.

Um there was uh um closing resolution that they wanted us to be more uh interactive in the community.

Um we have hired a new uh community relations person and have applied additional resources and um as we embark on uh moderate uh creating a new lighting plan.

Um it's gonna be heavily centered on community input feedback and uh um interactions with uh constituents within each one of your districts.

That will be the core of the lighting plan that uh we look to develop.

So we did take that message to heart.

Um and um ensure that the things that we were asked to do in the closing resolutions were uh completed in the last year.

Are we close?

We are getting close.

Okay, I'll just go through some budget numbers, such as a budget hearing.

Go through some budget if you guys so our total budget for uh PLT this year is 18.5 million dollars.

Uh we have revenue of over 2.6 million.

And Mr.

Prime, just so you some folks may not have caught that because you got PLA, PLD.

Okay.

So if you can explain who you're representing.

I'm gonna PLD.

And that is the basically PLD is the funding mechanism.

I was gonna go through that.

We uh support PLA.

We give them 10.5 million dollars.

Public lighting department.

Yeah, well, I should say yes.

Our our budget is tied to theirs, of course.

I just again remember this is a public hearing, and everybody may not be familiar with the way it works in them.

So and how it works.

I just want to kind of walk folks through the difference between the two of you.

So PLD more or less, anything else.

We're basically um decommissioner infrastructure in the city of Detroit as of now.

And PLA, of course, runs all the street lights in the city of Detroit.

So our total budget is 18.5 million.

We have a but PLD does have revenue.

We have do we have revenue of over 2.6 million dollars.

Our expenses are basically 10.5 to PLA, and our expenses for electricity are 6.5 million dollars.

That's basically for all the street lights in City Detroit for 12 months of the year.

Our contract is services.

We have a 900,000 dollar contract with Miss Dig program.

So basically our staking program in City Detroit.

People are digging up something in Detroit, they call Miss Dig, and we stake as well as 900,000.

We have a 940,000 dollars, which is a salvage and make safe program in Detroit for decommissioning our infrast infrastructure overhead and underground.

And also we have uh 100,000 in security.

But the biggest thing that PLD does, we maintain over 500 miles of conduit in the city of Detroit.

In the future, we are in currently we use that for base for rental for fiber in the city of Detroit for the people downtown.

And we create about 1.2 million dollars in revenue from that source right now.

Hopefully it'd be growing in the future.

Our biggest program right now, I think out there basically is uh as you'll see in the neighborhoods, we're taking down old infrastructure, old poles, old wires.

We call that basically our um I like to say basics are our light in the city in the city of Detroit and the alleys and those kind of things, we're cleaning up, taking down poles and take old infrastructure down.

That's our biggest thing.

But that whole program pays for itself with the price of copper right now, is copper's all-time high.

So that program we have in place, you'll see that in our contract is for $900,000 for that.

But we generated last year probably over uh $2.4 million in revenue.

And that money is captured in the 1011 fund.

If you you'll see that later on.

I think we have like about $13 million in that fund right now.

So it's one of those things that's a make-safe program, pufication system, but actually pays for itself.

And I think that's what PLD has, and we'll both speak about PLA.

Thank you, John.

Um PLA uh is a successor agency of PLD in a lot of ways, what as it pertains to the street lights.

So um for the public that may not understand the difference during the bankruptcy, public lighting authority was created to fix the street lights.

Um PLD still does exist to maintain the residual infrastructure from when PLD provided power to customers throughout the city.

So there's a difference, and it's ambiguous a little bit, but John and I work together and we understand you know the needs of the citizens from uh lighting perspective, and um we're we're not at all uh bifurcated in our approach to things.

Um our ten point five million uh appropriate uh um budget is uh based on a contract that was signed in 2014 uh called an interlocal agreement between the city of Detroit and the public lighting authority.

It was indexed to the number of street lights, and it was a unit-based uh contract, so the public lighting authority uh receives revenue based on the number of lights and a fixed administrative uh cost.

And the sum of that is ten point five million, and it has been since twenty fourteen.

Um PLA has not um attempted to nor really sees a need up until maybe two years from now uh to renegotiate that contract.

We've operated efficiently, we've kept our costs down, and I I can say, you know, very comfortably that we operate at a better value and at a lower cost than utilities in the private sector.

Um we take a lot of pride in in looking at our expenses and um not spending because we can.

Um we have we recognize that there are a lot of needs in the lighting system that are gonna take place down the road.

And historically we have uh used any excess revenue to address those needs down the road.

So we have depleted most of those funds uh in a sinking fund to uh modernize the system.

Um Jan can talk uh about what we've done in the past year in in the city for putting in new poles and lights.

All of the first generation lights have been um replaced.

So there's no virtually virtually, we're almost there.

So there's no risk of them burning out uh based on useful life.

Uh likewise, we've replaced thousands of poles that are uh were old and rotting in the neighborhoods, and our goal now is to uh finish standardizing the corridors.

Uh we want a uniform look throughout the city, so it uh um so the neighborhoods look like a city should look.

And those are activities that have been taking place in the neighborhood for the past um past two years, year and a half at least.

Um now we're looking to go into the residential blocks because the city was lit to a national standard before.

But unfortunately, that national standard didn't necessarily take into account things that weren't driving related, that weren't roadway lighting related.

Uh they're the multiplier effects of how light makes people feel safe in their homes.

Um it's a public safety issue that's unique to Detroit.

So, you know, though a national standard applied in 2014 and we had a budget constraint, um now that we have uh more resources available, we have more capacity, and we have the system in a sustainable fashion.

Um the public lighting authority uh will in the next year revise our lighting plan.

Um Mayor Sheffield has been uh proponent of this for 10 years every year.

Uh your body and and her have came to me and said they want lights in the residential areas, and now we're gonna get it.

And uh I've been waiting for this moment a long time.

Can't wait to get started, and uh I appreciate uh the cooperation that we've had with the city council, new mayor, and I look forward to uh working with you in each one of your districts to hear the residents' concerns and actually use them as a means to create a plan that is uh inclusive.

So thank you very much.

And if there's any questions, um feel free.

Thank you.

I see with the um mayor's proposal for the mid-like mid-block excuse me, lighting program, there's about a million dollar uh increase there.

Does that million dollars uh increase as a result of operation like the infrastructure and the the actual um yeah, the infrastructure, or is it more the energy output or the cost of the energy?

Uh sorry.

It's uh it's neither.

Uh our contract was set based on the number of lights in 2014, and it comes to 10.5 million.

The the past three years, um the full appropriation was not the full contract was not paid.

So we did not receive the full 10.5.

The additional 1.0 is really a restoration of the original contract amount.

The new lights that are going in, we refinanced our bonds last year, and we were able to get 10 million dollars in upfront savings as well as 1.4 million 1.4 million dollars in annual savings.

So when we restructured the bonds, what we did we looked at in anticipation of adding lights to the residential areas, we refinance the bonds with the financing somewhat pegged to that project.

So the $10 million will support the additional mid-block lights, and the 1.4 additional annual savings will then support the operation additional operating costs, and it will be uh essentially budget neutral as a as a result of the refinancing of our bonds.

The um additional one million that we received this year that we did not receive last year again as a restoration of our original contract.

We had um in the fur early earlier phases of PLA, uh there weren't as many operating costs.

The system was you know relatively new.

We weren't replacing um lights at the end of their useful life, so we had this quote unquote surplus, but it really wasn't a surplus, it was money that needed to be spent down the road that would be in excess of that 10.5 million because our operating costs are not equal every year.

Um we installed all the lights in a short period of time, so that means we have to swap them out in a short period of time, and that escalates our operating costs for three-year intervals.

So we did have that savings, and we did um save enough to complete that first overhaul of the lights.

I don't believe our current contract will allow us that same flexibility ten years from now.

But the fact that we're looking at things 10 years from now, I hope is a reflection of how we plan and look to the future.

Um, and we'll be speaking with the administration and council in a few years to talk about how we you know ensure that there's sustainability and financing for PLA.

But um, you know, I I think the relationships we have and and and the way we communicate with the administration and uh city council, you know, provide that opportunity.

We're um you know, we're operating efficiently, we do uh things below uh market great, and uh we'll continue to do that.

So so the one million is technically not just for the mid light.

It's not mid-block lighting program overall.

You know, the the time the one million restoration will allow us to keep the system that we had before running.

The additional financing will allow us to add to it without coming back to the city and putting additional pressure on the general fund.

Okay.

So my my other question is was basically another question that we ask every year about alternative uh energy sources for these lights that we're we're using.

Um we've talked about solar in the past, we've indicated it's been indicated to us that the uh infrastructure is unstable, and sometimes the companies go out of business and it just creates a um chaos for us when it's it comes time to either maintain them or replace them.

Uh has there been any additional consideration to alternative uh energy sources uh for uh electricities other than direct power from DTE.

No, why is that it's not a uh I mean uh so I'll say that part of part of my question is that and I know that we're now moving into at least last term we had uh approved contracts for solar farms, solar gardens that are taking place, solar arrays that are taking place, and those that electricity was to go to the city for municipal power, all right, not to the residents.

And many residents saying, Well, what am I getting out of this?

You know, uh if I'm just general citizen who may not even live in uh one of the areas nearby where the arrays are taking place.

This would allow for potentially everyone to benefit from it, not just folks in this building.

Uh if we were to use the the thought process of the solar arrays being utilized for uh the PL the lights.

So it's it might it might be.

They they they they may have included the the electricity for the street lights in their uh bundle.

Right, but that's what I'm saying.

It maybe possibly could be, but what we did, we approved contracts last year for it to actually take place, but it sounds like that's not the discussion that has had been been had.

I wasn't involved in the solar array discussion uh that much.

Um basically you you you you generate power in it by any number of means, and it's not directly related to the power you use because it goes through a system.

So the power that's generated through those solar arrays is off, it's an offset.

So I don't I'm not sure whether our energy is offset or not.

I'm I assume it is because the city pays the energy bill.

Um but as far as directly powering lights, solar power is not the uh answer because the sun comes up in the day, and energy isn't something that you can really store uh reasonably.

I mean you can store it kind of, but it makes the cost of the technology that much more, and you're not really reducing the carbon emissions for the for the residents because air is air, it's everywhere, right?

So as long as we have emissions from you know uh things that are that are really polluting the air, you know, it's meaningful, it's a policy, but um I wouldn't want the people to think that um their air is any cleaner.

That's just my personal view.

Um President Tate uh if I may, I want to assure you that there are some other environmental improvement improvements that we have worked on in PLA.

One of the things I'm most excited about is the new fixtures that we're installing the on the metal poles uh have retro are retrofitable so that you won't have to throw out the housing.

You'll just take the guts inside, like basically like literally putting a new bulb in.

Uh so we have been looking at all of our specs for ways to reduce waste and reduce that kind of uh pollution.

That's what our planning team has uh been working on.

The the available um technology for directly feeding lights requires a solar panel at each light.

Um I think that presents significant risk if for example there were days without enough sunlight to power those batteries, the whole city would be at risk of not having any light because they wouldn't be able to obviously charge the batteries.

Um I'm just I just I'm not sold on the technology to be honest yet.

So you said no one is actually doing that I know even in our warmer climates where the sun is out all the time.

Not that I've not that I've witnessed and then not that I've been made aware of, uh, not at scale.

Okay.

Well, we got our uh resident tech guy sitting next to me, so I'm sure he's got some questions down that road for you.

So there.

All right, let's have it.

We're gonna go to uh member Johnson.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and good morning to you all.

Um I have some questions that I'm gonna send over.

I'm going to ask just kind of one general one and then one specific one to District 4 and 5.

Okay.

Um can you share how you identify where lights will go on the commercial corridor?

We've been kind of focusing on um crime prevention through environmental design, and I think lighting is a significant component within that.

Um do you have just standard metrics that you use?

There's a calculation of how wide the street is divided by this, that, or whatever.

So uh does it really help to focus on septa?

Um I think your description is probably as as accurate as mine.

Uh it is a technical uh uh calculation based on um foot candles is what they're called.

So um essentially the the the corridors had proper foot candles uh since 2014 based on stand based on the national standard for like what's a foot candle?

Uh uh through the chair, a foot candle is a volume of light seen uh at your feet, and so the photometrics we have engineers that look and they're the most uh trafficked corridors, so we use SEMCOC data to identify the corridors, and then the engineer is doing the math in the way you described about how much light output is at these various intervals based on how it's cast from right and that standard was applied throughout the city on the commercial corridors as well as the collectors, and was not in the residential areas because there's really no standard because there's not enough traffic to use that met use that formula.

So what we're attempting to do now that we move it beyond those corridors is apply a standard unique to Detroit that reflects what we need here and not using um something that doesn't apply here but is used in other places.

So all right, and is it is it proper to assume that because we're talking about residential mid-block lighting that all of the commercial corridors have been lit up?

Yes, that is well, I would say all the highest trafficked ones.

They there were a few that you know are not.

I think Mound Road uh is one of them.

Um but I would highlight that there are you know area situations throughout the United States where where lighting isn't necessary.

Um we don't need lights on every street to do everything, but we need to figure out which ones we need them on and put them there.

Um we haven't received complaints for the limited areas that don't have um a lighting footprint, so we've taken that to mean there probably isn't a need, but as those um issues become you know apparent to us and people do make those requests, we include that in what we're gonna do with the lighting plan moving forward.

We're not just going to um make decisions, we're gonna take feedback on any number of issues to make the lighting plan better as we go through the next revision.

All right.

With that being said, help me understand what's going on on Jefferson between Bell Al and Irma Henderson Park.

I I know we sent an email um to the team.

Okay.

Pretty much 80 percent, if not 90 percent of the lights are out on the south side of Jefferson.

Uh I I will have to get back with you on that.

Um I'm not been made aware of that, but now that I am, we'll get back with you.

Okay.

I didn't was how long have they been out?

It's so I was notified the end of last year.

Um, and it's it's a long stretch.

It's it's probably about 25 lights.

Um, and I try to like I'll drive Jefferson heading to the east side.

Um sometimes I catch it when the light should be on.

Uh half the time I don't, and I'm thinking, okay, will the lights just come on so I can identify whether or not they're working.

Um, but it's it's a long stretch, and I think it's there's been a challenge with them for a little bit of time because I went to visit a new part of District 4 and was notified that the lights have been out.

Have they been continuously out or have they been intermittently out?

That I can't answer.

Okay.

That's a problem, and uh that will be our highest priority uh because that corridor is one of the most highly trafficked areas in the city, and people actually walk on those sidewalks, making it that much more of an issue.

So thank you.

And uh thank you.

We'll get it in writing when we get it fixed, yeah.

Look forward to a response, and we'll send the additional questions over to you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, member Waters.

Good morning.

Uh just uh can you tell me about um employment opportunities for Detroiters?

Thank you for the question.

I forgot to um mention what we're doing in this sphere.

PLA has um contracts out its work to um private sector.

So we have um I believe two contractors now, one primary and one secondary.

They're both um union contractors, they're uh local 17.

They do their linemen, they perform the same work as uh the people that fix the power lines when the power goes out.

Um PLA has uh it's called the best value language within its uh enabling legislation at the state, and it was left somewhat ambiguous, but we have taken that uh best value to mean that we want to recycle as much money into the community as we can by keeping our contracts local.

So we have a clear focus on working with Detroit-based businesses, especially those minority owned that haven't been represented in this industry.

Um at the worker level, we have what's called the plant program, which is uh public lighting authority nurturing talent.

Um there is a deficit in this industry for um people of color, and we work tirelessly to break that barrier, and we have a great relationship with local 17, and they have worked with us to overcome these issues, and I would like to bring them in and introduce them to every one of you as well as the mayor, and show them how we're you know working to ensure that um Detroiters can get their foot in the door uh to these high-paying jobs because you know they can pay up to 200,000 dollars a year after they get through the apprenticeship.

So what we do is we um provide resources for our plant participants.

They are given a job as a groundman, which is a helper on the cruise, so they become familiar before they apply.

Um that reduces the recidivism rate when we when we do find, you know, we get them pre-qualified.

Um we help them with the uh qualification test.

There's a you know test that you have to take writing to get in, interview prep, and the union already knows the uh individuals within the program when they open up their hiring, so they're not unfamiliar, so they get some of the same advantages as the relatives of the union members that have their kids applying.

So it's been successful, but the challenge for us is you know, we only have so many jobs that provide, but we have a great program.

How do we make this program scalable and demonstrate that it can be used, you know, in other departments?

How can we, you know, figure out uh a pipeline to get some of our graduates into the DTE hiring mechanism?

Um these are all things that we really are excited to um to try to get done, and uh any support we can get uh from your side would go a long way to make that happen.

Okay, well, two things.

Um last last year I started an apprenticeship program here at the city of Detroit.

I'm assuming nobody has reached out to you.

That's what it sounds like.

Um, would you be willing to at least comp to attend one of our task force meetings?

Um skill trade, and um and talk about you know, job jobs and or contracts.

Absolutely.

We'll we'll come to all of them.

We're part of the process.

Okay, all right.

Well, well, I certainly look look forward to that because you know we're trying to get as many people employed as possible um in this city, and that's part of part of part of my goal.

So you had a 9.7 increase um in the uh in your reserve fund for this fiscal year 2027, but there's no change for 28 through 30.

So um I'm sorry, would this be a uh public lighting department?

Um I'm not familiar with the figure you're looking at.

Okay.

We don't have a budget yet, so can't be honest.

Yep.

All right, gotcha.

I'm good.

Oh, great.

So you know, when you have these these authorities come to you, then you have the department come to you.

Yeah, I'll start to sound the same.

But but um, but really, I was just most interested in in the um the jobs and the contractual opportunity.

So if we could work together, you could participate in some of the skilled trade task forces.

That that would be awesome.

Absolutely.

All right.

So um you're gonna leave your contact information.

Okay.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you.

Pro Tim Young.

Oh, um, and I just have been uh requested to uh remind colleagues to uh please speak into the mics.

That'll help.

Thank you.

Okay.

All right.

Uh thank you so much.

Always good to see you guys.

Um I you know, it's kind of funny.

I'm seeing you with the public lighting department, and I'm kind of like you going on a countdown or when I'm not gonna see you, because I know you're supposed to be um working yourself out of a job here.

So I'll just kind of always wonder, like, you know, when am I not gonna see you?

Are you gonna be absorbed here?

What's gonna happen?

You it's not that I don't like seeing you, it's just I kind of prepare myself for change.

Well, I still run the good refer to trade also.

So you see here again.

Okay, so you'll be around a couple of weeks correctly.

Yeah, I thought it was like once you're done, like you're gone.

Okay, I just want to.

So let's just I just want to be sure.

Okay.

So I I wanted to ask you, what are you doing in the department one for artificial intelligence to be implemented in it?

And then secondly, what are you doing involving smart lighting?

Okay.

Told you.

Take your time, it's okay.

There's no wrong answers.

Um I I used chat GPT to answer the questions you guys sent me.

Okay.

Um, literally I did.

I told what to write and popped it right out.

So um I would love to use um AI.

I as part of our software, we're looking to upgrade, right?

And that's one of the things that I've been focusing on is making sure that whatever we choose has that ability at least or has that, you know, integration potential.

Um but it's it's also new that I'm still trying to figure out how we can use it, to be honest.

Um, but I think as the smart, you know, I don't think it exists in a vacuum separate from the smart technology, smart grid stuff.

So I think as we you know approach those types of pilots, we ensure that you know AI is part of the smart grid, otherwise it's probably not gonna be too smart.

Right.

So um, yeah, from that perspective, yeah.

I I also look at it and encourage our staff to um to utilize it for you know editing their memos for you know getting it done a lot quicker.

You can talk right into it, and it produces uh uh Microsoft Word, you know, document for you.

So you know it makes life a lot easier and you get a lot more time to do creative stuff.

Um so we encourage it.

Uh most of our staff is uh uh is of a younger generation than myself.

So uh as I you know encourage them to do it, they kind of roll their eyes and say, oh, that's last week.

So um but you know, we're we we do uh stay on stay on uh as much of the cutting edge as we can.

Um, but we don't also want to throw a lot of money at at stuff in an esoteric way.

Well, well, listen, what what what I would say is is I think that's really good.

And it if I can, I would say the reason what you could do is if you had artificial intelligence asset monitoring and monitoring and smart nodes, if you had predictive maintenance and automation, uh that's 1.3 to 3.2 million dollars in annual savings.

If you have predictive failure detection plus automated dispatch, that's 10% and 20% fewer truck rolls.

Uh your real-time sensor alerts, that's 25 to 50% faster repairs, your adaptive dimming in your time of night controls.

Your adaptive dimming in your time of night controls, that's smart light, so that's when no one's around, the lights turn off when someone comes in, the lights turn on.

Um that is about a 10 to 25% additional energy savings.

So not only are you saving energy in terms of what you're producing, but you're also saving uh the consumers in the city of Detroit uh energy, which is a major issue, you know, particularly in the African American community about people being housing burden and energy burden.

So for you to be able to kind of take you kind of knocking two things, you know, two birds with uh were you two birds and one stone, so it's really a good thing in terms of that area.

Also, uh artificial intelligence optimized crew routing, it's an eight to fifteen percent efficiency increase.

And also it turns it's a five to twelve percent property crime reduction targeted areas because artificial intelligence prioritizes crime hot spots, transit stops, and schools.

Now, I would say you would partner with DPD.

You know, I'm not encouraging you know, you guys be going out there and you know, playing Paul Blart here, but I was just saying I think you you know that was something that you could work with in terms of crime reduction.

If you have brighter corridors, they approve patrol visibility, it's about zero to six percent reduction targeted areas, smart corridors, two to six million dollars in corridor economic value, proves commercial activity, um, faster repairs, reduced blight perception, property value stabilization, which is critical because we've had a lot of problems in terms of property value decreases, and I also think it's good because we got like 1.61.7 billion dollars in leakage for people going out of this shopping out of the city.

So I think having those property value stable is a good thing.

Uh pole host sensors, fiber traffic monitoring foundation for uh IoT city infrastructure.

IoT city infrastructure is the internet of things.

Okay.

The internet of things when things or objects are connected to the internet and each other.

So that that's what that means when I say IoT.

Uh emergency lighting escalation, faster police, faster fire response visibility, AI software, smart controllers, about three million to eight million dollar implementation, depending on your scale.

About two to six year payback period for AI and smart lining development.

So there's a lot of things that you could do in terms of what this is.

And so I think but the expected result like 1.3 million, 3.2 million dollars in your annual financial savings.

And so I think that these are things that you could do one, because it's showing you're more efficient and you're more effective.

It also allows you to be able to do your job more efficiently, because your job is very important.

You know what I mean?

People are not gonna be in the city when they feel safe.

And there's a lot of people remember when the lights weren't on and didn't turn on.

And so what you've been able to do in a short time, and I remember when I was in Lansing, they were just talking about turning lights off in certain neighborhoods.

We talked about the public lighting authority.

And so, you know, I think for what you've done and what you're continuing in certain neighborhoods, so to be able to have the lights, I think that's a real good thing.

So I would encourage you to do that.

My final question, I just wanted to ask you about um lighting in uh alleyways.

I just want to say is that is the policy still that the citizens have to be able to pay for that, or and what can we do to change that?

Because that's something I get complaints about a lot.

You know, I'm gonna take out my trash and it's dark.

So what is there something you need financially to change that?

What can we do?

Is there the public pride partnerships with DTE here?

We talk about the change that well, um that policy is about to change.

Okay, good.

So the mid-block lighting is a clean project that we can knock out without a whole lot of fanfare because we know primarily where the lights are needed.

We have the crews to go out and fix them immediately, and um we think it will provide greater impact, but a close second is the alley light issue, and it is a little bit more complex because the alley lights exist in the easement seemingly sometimes it's not even an easement anymore, but it's behind the houses, and those alleys aren't clean, and the lights are located on power lines, so there's this interaction or overlap with DTE.

And there's opportunity, I think, because DTE is rebuilding a lot of their power lines throughout the city, and as they rebuild though their power lines, it would be ideal for us to identify where there's overlap and where we want alley lights and to have that done in coordination with them rebuilding their utility network.

So that is our plan to work with them and to identify those areas that absolutely need alley lights.

It is uh a grueling process because again, it's not as apparent as a mid-block light.

It's uh it's a historic issue in the city because the alley lights were there initially because the garbage was picked up behind the houses.

So you had a lot of alleys in traditional single-family neighborhoods that that don't exist generally speaking because of the garbage.

And when they stopped picking up the garbage behind the houses, those alleyways went uh went by the wayside for a number of years, but the lights still stayed on until they burned out.

And a decision was made when the public lighting authority was created to no longer have alley lights, and that was a uniform across the board decision, and unfortunately, during bankruptcies, you don't have a lot of flexibility sometimes.

But I think it's I think it is absolutely appropriate as you emerge and become more financially stable to circle back and look at those issues that happened during the bankruptcy and and correct them, not act like you're just stuck with them.

And uh alley lights are one of those issues as well as the mid-block light issues that myself and my team are excited to do.

We want to, we wanted to, and we will.

So we're on your team with this one, and we will get it done.

No, actually, a thank you.

And if you and I'll see the rest of my question, they're writing, but if you could give me a timeline when I you it turns on when you plan on doing in the alleyways and when you when you do the plan on doing that throughout the whole city, I appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you.

Um Member Benson.

Thank you.

Uh thank you all for being here today.

Good doctor, always good to see you, Mr.

Taylor, Mr.

Primack.

Um, thank you for being forward looking when it comes to our illumination as has been stated.

I would hope that we could take a round turn when it comes to sustainability on our lighting.

I understand you don't want to be left holding the bag if solar lights don't work, but there are examples regionally where other municipalities are utilizing uh solar lights effectively.

I think that if you were to look at a small investment in a small pilot area, that we could look to do something of that nature, and I think the third district would be a great place to start something like that, but at least to have us looking at how we could do that, but I think would be fantastic, and maybe it's not as citywide type implementation, but something done strategically.

Um, and as the pro Tim said, there are certain areas maybe don't need lights all the time or every day, something of that nature, but just let's keep an open mind to it's my suggestion.

Um, looking at some of the numbers, Mysterski power plant.

What are we doing with that relic icon of a power generation station?

I believe maybe even close to a super fund type site.

What's the future of that former asset current liability?

I've talked to uh the new uh mayor's team on this project right now, as you know it's been sitting there uh uh desolate for 10 years or so or more than that, right?

So the question is how we sell it.

Do we do the take care of all the asbestos in that facility or resell it as is?

So we're looking at that right now, how to market that piece of property as you're talking right now.

So I think it's one of those things we probably sell it as is because we don't have the responsibility of taking care of the asbestos, so the person who purchased it will take care of all those uh liabilities with it.

I think so.

That's up to the mayor's office, but we're talking about how we're gonna market it right now as you're as we're speaking.

Okay, and then the numbers that have come back from you, your office on what it's gonna cost.

Well, it depends how I I do think there's some actually uh benefits to that piece of property because we have a huge uh gas line going through there.

So somebody might want to take it.

We had had talks with uh the state probably about three or four years ago.

They're gonna actually because close to the new bridge, they'd be open that site up there for maybe some rechargers for uh the trucking industry and that kind of stuff.

So they haven't decided what they want to do, but we do have interest in that property.

Uh so we'll see hopefully I'd like to see it gone as soon as possible because we don't want to deal with the security aspect and all the liability going forward.

It costs probably around 2.4 million dollars to get rid of all the asbestos in that facility on the low side.

So it's one of those questions that you take care of the um liability or you sell it as is.

I think uh we're probably looking at uh people buying it as is and they clean it up.

Okay.

Um and then Mr.

Taylor, you discussed the new lights, and we're looking at several thousand lights for our mid-block implementation program.

Procurement, and you talked about supporting minority-owned Detroit-based businesses.

How are we looking on the procurement of our new lights?

It are that going out for bid.

How are we looking to support local businesses that may want to participate in this new acquisition?

Which sounds like it will be a large one, something of significance to get more organizations, firms involved in the space.

Thank you for the question, Member Benson.

We have done a number of initiatives in procurement.

One of the big ones is to leverage the volumes so that point of information.

Pardon me.

Thank you, Member Benson.

We have done a lot of work in procurement, and one of the big ones has been to leverage our volumes so that we get substantially lower unit prices.

The hard thing about this type of equipment is that it's you know it's national and global suppliers.

We did compete the fixtures and GE current won the uh fixtures.

We got a tremendous price on it.

The challenge, how do you get local involvement?

What we've done is to reach out to a firm uh I can't, I believe it's Choctaw, uh at Vinewood and Boulevard, and uh they will be handling distribution, things like wire.

Um, you know, there's a lot of a need, it's kind of the middleman who gets our you know, just in time on that.

So where we can, we are recruiting the local participation.

Of course, one of our contractors is Detroit-based as well, universal.

Uh, but that the general approach to procurement is mindful of local involvement, just the challenge of national suppliers.

One thing that we want to have in the lighting system, is it is uh uniformity.

Every time we decide to add lights here or lights here, we don't want different types of lights.

We want ones where our um our supply chain is is intact, and uh after going through COVID and uh the procurement issues with physically getting the lights, we wanted to have uh continuous uh procurement relationship with our vendors and have a standardized type of light so there's uniformity across the city, and we did an RFP that selected GE as the the standard for our lights throughout the city with only a few minor exceptions for specialized lighting for decorative purposes and things of that nature.

And just quickly, you did say there was an RFP that was released for the new lights?

Uh member Benson, it was we actually it was qualification, so we competed the uh materials of several suppliers.

So it wasn't an open comp bid, but there were several uh suppliers were doing that as well for downtown fixtures.

You may see some non-uniform fixtures.

So we are competing the uh materials of selected firms.

Okay, and and so my office has received complaints and concerns that it wasn't competitive, you just said it wasn't.

And there could be reasons, obviously, you've given some.

So just want to make sure that that is that feedback is provided to you that there is a concern locally with some of the suppliers of lights, that they're not able to compete, and there may be an issue of economies of scale, but also you you are very smart people.

I'm hoping that we can think and be creative of how to get our local suppliers of lights engaged and involved in the process as well.

If we are putting money, this is significant amount of money that we're putting into our lighting system that we make sure, and you've committed to ensuring that local companies can participate that we're being creative when it comes to the actual hardware as well.

Now I understand what you don't want to do is have 10 different types of lights, one breaks here and one's not, you can't get it back.

I think we had that issue initially when we did that.

So we've seen what the downside of having a broken supply chain can be with our lighting system, but I'm hoping we're going to get local players involved as well.

GE, fantastic people, I'm sure, but I rather make sure that money stays in terms right here in the city of Detroit.

And yes, good doctor.

Pardon me, member Benson, through the chair, if I may just be sure I've said that the specification, we we competed to a specification.

We know of no local suppliers that were excluded who meet that specification.

Okay.

The specification has to do with the efficiency of the light output and uh the length, the total life cycle of it as well as the price.

So there's always two sides to every story, and I'm glad I'm I'm getting your side today.

But just understand that that is what's being spoken to on the street, and as you say, that's a perception, and oftentimes perception is reality.

And so I do want to get it out there that that's not what you all are doing, and you're trying your best to get everybody involved.

If you could just communicate that better, and then let's look at other ways to get these local uh suppliers engaged and into the space.

And motion to add that to the closing resolution.

Motion for the closing resolution to strongly encourage PLA to get more local suppliers involved and engaged in the hardware process of new lighting.

Colleagues, there's a motion on the floor.

Discussion.

With discussion, Member McCampbell.

If I could join you on that, Member Benzler.

Welcoming request to join that motion by Member McCampbell, colleagues.

Any objections?

See none, that action shall be taken.

Well, I'd I'd like to point out that you know the physical lights are one of the one of the areas where we don't.

And we'd love to be a hundred percent, but you know, I have to balance you know the service that we're providing.

And I think that you know, when you look at lighting throughout the city, um having that company that can provide the warranty, having that having the company that can provide multiple types of lights and has done it throughout the country in a street lighting way, is important because of the reliability issue.

Given the outages that we had a long time ago, um there's certain things I'll put at risk, certain things I won't.

And uh this is one of them I'm gonna go with the lights I know that are gonna stay on, and uh that's the only factor that we use to make the decision.

Member Bence, the floor remains yours, sir.

And Mr.

Taylor, thank you for that response.

I'm hoping that's the type of feedback that's being provided to everyone who wants to get in and participate.

If you're just not able, you're not able.

If I'm as a city unwilling or unable to take on a level of risk to bring you in, then that's the type of feedback that needs to be provided.

And then on top of that, to let them know if you do want to be in this space, this is what you would have to be able to provide me.

If you can't do that, then partner with somebody who can.

Now you made yourself competitive.

And that would be my suggestion.

If we can't do it, we can't do it.

But don't just let people not understand why they can't or why they're not competitive.

Educate them on that as well.

Thank you.

Well, I did receive just a follow-up.

Um I did receive uh similar feedback and talk to the vendor.

And one of the things we came up with was, you know, as we expand the lighting system, there might be some smaller areas that we could extend some business to, like, you know, for example, um rec center parking lots, stuff like that.

Uh uh smaller footprints that aren't necessarily 100% part of the street lights.

Um I'm having those discussions and I I I know the vendors around town, and um, you know, I'm not you know putting my head in the sand when these you know uh issues are raised, and I go directly to them and I say, what can we do?

Where is this coming from?

What um so appreciate the question.

I'm sorry that uh you've had uh those types of uh uh concerns raised, but if you'd like me to sit down with any individual vendor, I'd be more than willing to do it and talk to them about what we have to offer, what's uh out there, what's not out there, and and set the set the um make a level playing field, I guess.

I mean it is a level playing field, but I guess we need to communicate it better.

We'll go ahead and do that if we know who to communicate it to.

Mr.

Taylor, you have assembled a very strong team of very strong swimmers.

I have every confidence that you all will be able to figure out a way and be creative to get more of our local players engaged in the space.

Thank you.

Yes, all right, thank you so much.

Next up we have Member McCampbell.

Uh Mr.

President, before Mr.

President.

Oh, yeah, Donnie.

If I might interject, I I do apologize, Mr.

President, Donnie Johnson, uh budget director for the city.

I do want to correct the record a little bit on the um one million dollar operating contribution increase.

That is related to mid-block lighting.

The the million dollar increase is so that the entire amount of the savings from the bond refinancing can be put back into the mid-block lighting program.

And that million dollar increase is to enable PLA to effectively and efficiently get the mid block lighting program done.

So it's it is related to that, and it will continue to be related to that until the midlock the the new lighting plan is complete.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for correcting that.

Yeah.

Um member McCampbell.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Good afternoon now to you all.

Thank you for being here.

Definitely hearing you on not having making sure that the technology is where it needs to be as we move to try to be more sustainable.

But I you know, especially as we're thinking about what the next 10 years will look like in public lighting for the city.

So as much as we can have that green technology in our lighting system, um, the better.

So just want to echo that.

Uh and also as you mentioned some areas of some corridors not having or not having lighting as others.

Is are you able to provide a map or those places where that is the case?

Yes.

Okay.

Um because I hear you on you know more travel corridors and where folks are walk and may be, but I also we never know when folks are gonna be somewhere, and we want to make sure that they do have the safety and lighting that they deserve in the city.

Uh and I wanted to ask a question around um do you have a current backlog of repairing or replacing broken poles and and how long does it usually take to address those?

Um generally speaking, if it's a simple outage, uh we get it done in five days.

So if it's you know light goes out and it's just replacing the fixture.

If it's a major repair, um it's two weeks.

Now there are some caveats out there uh during construction.

We intentionally don't do minor repairs if we're gonna be in the neighborhood within a few, you know, within a month or so.

Um also the oftentimes the more reliable the system is the longer it takes to get the lights fixed, as weird as that sounds.

Um we're at 99% operability, and that means a lot of the lights that are out, there's a big problem with them.

So we can't don't really apply that when we get to the last light out, but um we're able to get to most of them within five days, and uh the ones that are major repairs or two weeks.

So um we have a we follow up with uh the residents when they make complaints, and we do have the C click fixed system that we interact with.

I do believe that we need to do a better job of getting our contact information out there because residents still aren't clear sometimes who to call, so a light can be out for a long period of time because there's no you know ability for the resident to call someone because they don't know who to call.

Um but yeah, that's something we need to work on, and uh I hope we'll be able to get more visibility in the public sphere in the next year so people know who we are and and who they need to call.

I appreciate that.

And and I'm glad you brought that up because I was gonna make that point of as you were saying of um not hearing about those outleges.

I even as we started the hearing today of making sure folks know the difference between PLD and PLA.

Uh I do see that folks are wondering who to call when it comes to oligists.

And you know, um, I'm sure I my office we can push out information on that as well uh to help in that education, but would love to see more of that as you mentioned.

And I don't have any more questions.

I did get uh email about uh the outreach and the education around the MIB block lighting.

I will underscore that that is we hear from quite a few folks across the city, of course, but in district seven as well.

So looking forward to that work.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

Member Waters.

You gone already?

Oh, you sure did.

My apologies, Member Callaway.

Thank you.

I've always been curious since 2025 to uh thank you, Mr.

Chair.

What is your salary, Mr.

Taylor?

Because I'm looking and I don't see like the um the wages and benefits and salaries.

What is your salary, Mr.

Taylor?

What is my salary?

I and who pays your salary?

Public lighting authority board uh approves my salary, and um I need to think in my head because I have uh um just stuff like that.

If I can can we not have a salary out of the case, well no, I'm just asking it's public information, but I can't find it.

So what is your salary?

That is my question, Mr.

Taylor.

I believe it is two hundred and I think it's two thousand two hundred and forty, but I I have a bonus and it's indexed to my salary as well.

So I don't want to give a concrete number because I don't know exactly.

Um but I'm more than happy to send it to you in writing and uh give you a copy of my contract if you like.

Yeah, and for everyone, um I've always been curious, and I can never seem to find it.

And it is public information.

Um and the public is paying it.

So I I have a right to ask that question.

Absolutely.

Um thank you so much for answering.

Solar solar panels.

Um we have a solar light um in my community.

I think we've had to change it out once.

Um thank um we'd like to thank Frank and um Karen Hammer for bringing that to our park.

It does a wonderful job with lighting up the park and um alleys.

We have a lot of alleys in District 2.

Is there any way we can put solar um lights or a solar panel on garages to light up our alleys?

We're doing a lot of art in the alley, a lot, a lot of art installations and murals, a lot of um wooden fits fencing being built and then murals being painted.

It's just sometimes difficult to see them at night.

So is there a fund or is there a way to get this source through public lighting authority?

Um, I guess, or public lighting department, just to put a small solar panel on garages in those alleys that are now um open to the public and have been cleared out of um garbage.

I I'm not sure because there may be some limitations around placing um assets on private property.

Uh uh, this is with permission.

If again, I I don't know our ability to do that.

I'm I'm not sure it's something we could look into and we can work with your office on, but I I can't something not something I could commit to at this point, but I'd be more than happy to to keep the door open and and work with you on it.

Yeah, because we're talking about lighting up alleys, and um some alleys need to be lit for safety purposes.

And absolutely, and and lighting of the alleys is something that uh um Mayor Sheffield has championed, and um is absolutely gonna be part of uh um the next lighting plan, um, or else I may not be making my salary.

So um I definitely want to find a solution for it.

I don't know if that's the exact solution, but I think we identify the problem and then figure out the proper solution and and get it done.

But yeah, alley lights are are are on our radar screen, and we're gonna get it done after we get the mid-block lighting done.

So I'm thinking um through the chair, um, to you and your team, we could possibly roll it out in um some areas um across the city that still have some um nice alleyways and um they're cleaned out.

Um, and I know several that are in District 2 and District 3 in Grixdale in the Penrose area and also in the Bagley and Fitzgerald area.

Um they're doing some amazing things over there.

Um, and also um Mr.

Chuck Rivers is president of the neighborhood association, and they have some really beautiful alleys now with gardens and murals, and it's just beautiful.

But it would be great if we could put panels on some of those garages, and then that would probably address the lighting situation in some of those alleys.

Um for and and and member Benson Brent um touched on one of my um questions about the uh what is Merskursky, the power plant.

Is there any plans to demolish that?

Uh like what is it called?

The maturski or mature.

Yeah, is there um I I thought I heard some years ago that there were some conversations about um demolishing it.

Uh through the past administration, uh we had some quotes to take down the plant.

It was uh very expensive.

Yep, and they did uh a little bit of a homework on that project and thinking more cost effective for the city to sell it as is.

So that's a process we're going through right now is sell it as is the property, so it revives it has to, of course, apply by all the state and federal regulations to take the plant down as a safe for the community.

Okay, all right.

Um and I have already submitted my questions, and thank you all so much for being here today.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Member McCampbell.

Uh, if I have a motion if if uh member Calloway would like to join me on this, if we could move to executive session and conversation around uh alley light and solar.

Um, I know there are folks in Holland Park there doing this work with solidarity, so it seems to be possible, but that's my motion.

There's a motion on the floor, colleagues.

Any objections?

See none, that action shall be taken.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um Member Miller.

Good morning, uh panel.

Thank you for joining us.

I am not going to join their discussion because we have a discussion already in place with alley lights.

Mr.

Taylor, thank you for uh meeting with me on a few occasions regarding the alley lights because we have neighbors in District 5 who are paying for their alley lights.

And while things continue to be an authority around here, I know people think they know more than everybody else because they're on the authority.

I appreciate your transparency and your opinions when asked, because when they eliminated the um alley light, it was because of trash, but like I brought to your attention on the times we've met that there's residents who enter their homes through the alley.

And there's no garages in a lot of places in District 5.

So we need lights, not because the trash cans are gone and the authority, authoritative people decided that for us, but because people cannot enter their homes but through the alley.

And the residents and neighborhoods that do pay for the alley lights because they did not agree what was done during the bankruptcy.

I would like to see immediate action on those neighborhoods, which I've already spoken to you about, because they need a actually a reimbursement, in my opinion, for the years they have paid for those lights and entered into an agreement with DTE to pay for those lights.

And in fact, one of the neighborhoods um there they have surpassed to over almost a thousand dollars a month for their alley lights and maintaining those neighborhoods.

It is unfair, it has been an unfair practice, but I guess if they cut them off and you got to get to in your house and your association decides to pay for it, they cannot continue to substain it.

One particular neighborhood actually ended their uh payment plan with DTE as of last month.

They struggled to maintain it through membership, but they cannot pay it any longer.

So I know when you rolled out you said the change was coming under the under the new um lighting program that that would be one of the first to be addressed.

So if that would be addressed prior to the motion that this came forward, I would really appreciate it because they are paying out of their pocket for alley lights.

Um and I just wanted to say um I look forward to meeting your new community relations person.

Um I would like to set up a meeting with her and um schedule some meetings with that person in two neighborhoods in my district that are paying for those alley lights.

And um, I think that's about it.

I did not know at the time when we were meeting that you had been the director of PLD, and now you're the director of PLA.

I think those are some two uh strong positions that we've had in our our our city, and I look forward to oh, and also on the Jefferson corridor, I live in that area, and I have for 18 years, I have not seen 20 lights out.

There's approximately six senior buildings between that stretch that I am in and out of daily, and I am looking, and I'm starting tenants right councils in three, and I join I support the two right two tenant right councils that's already in existence.

So I'm on that corridor.

There's 10 apartment buildings between that stretch.

Also, I believe the answer to your question was the lighting may be intermittent.

So on that stretch, I believe that may be possibly the case.

Um I have a public safety uh director on D5.

Uh he's a new hire that we brought in when I came in.

Um they reside actually on that stretch also, a public my public safety director.

So the lights from my knowledge, and maybe this was prior to January 1st or a year ago, I haven't seen the knowledge, but I would like to um if you would send back the information once the email comes from uh member Johnson, I would appreciate it because I have not seen it in um we have a lot of seniors that ride those um motor scooters uh all up and down Jefferson, they go to the party store, the grocery store, the cleaners, and um there is also a uh a hospital there as well.

So I have not seen the lighting there.

I live approximately maybe a block and a half off that strip, and um those are 16 units.

So um I would like to get more information on your intermittent process.

Um I know sometimes when the when the wind is blowing heavily coming off the water, sometimes the transmission sometimes gets in the way.

So I would like to um give more information on that.

We will definitely keep your office in the loop as we identify the cause or um or what's going on in Jefferson.

Um you brought up the alley light issue and the and the residents that access their garages from the alleys.

That's it.

Their homes.

I'm sorry.

Um that's an excellent example of you know where we made a uniform decision 14 years ago without taking into consideration uh circumstances that are not that are not um standard, right?

So, you know, the comment about the garage that that absolutely was you know part of the discussion and justification and what have you.

But you know, I think where we failed was we didn't go back to these isolated areas that have these huge needs, and we just applied a blanket policy when it didn't necessarily reflect the needs of them.

It reflected standardized across the city.

You're exactly right.

That's why all authorities don't need all the authority.

We need to have some residents that need to be a part of some of these things to give the accurate information because they are living in these in these neighborhoods, and they can give the sometimes the best advice going forward because we don't know everything.

But um, that's why I'm not really fond of authorities and you know that's where our city has gone in that direction.

But thank you.

And I appreciate you always you're always transparent.

And and you keep it real because you I just think we have a great relationship going forward, and I look forward to telling these residents and these uh associations that they're going to be taking care of immediately.

Well, and we're gonna listen to them.

We're not gonna put a plan out there unless we hear from the residents what their concerns are.

And um, you know, we can't do all things for all people, but we need to make sure everyone knows that we have an ear and we're willing to listen and communicate.

So regarding the people that's paying for the lights.

Those taxpayers are paying to have those lights ones in their alleys.

That's those are ones I'm number one concerned about.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, if we can know that we've been joined by Member Santiago Romero.

Before I go to thank you so much.

And before we go to Member Santiago Romero would like to open up for a collection of public comments.

If there's anyone who would like to provide public comment to this body, please raise your hand now, whether in person or online.

Member Santiago Romero.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Good afternoon through the chair.

Good to see you all.

I am also incredibly grateful for our partnership in the way that we work together to address the lighting issues in district six.

Uh, since my uh first term, we've been going through the viaducts and lighting viaducts around uh around the the district, so thank you.

We have a lot of rail reads and uh railroads and and and passages and viaducts in district six, so thank you.

I think we're almost done.

I think we're um three left to light, so thank you.

I think when I started there were about 15 or 17 or so, so thank you so much.

It makes a huge difference.

Um and the question, the biggest question that I had was around alleys.

I'm glad we're moving that over to executive session to continue to figure out that solution because it is a huge problem.

Something that residents um really need us to figure out.

Um really that was my question around alleys.

We're gonna continue it um at this table moving forward.

So just want to say looking forward to our meeting in April in district six to talk with residents around uh their needs for us to illuminate in those darker areas.

Um so we'll work with you.

I I think we're just gonna look for, I believe we're waiting for your suggestions that we will review and then uh review that with residents as well.

Because I do want to make sure that we are identifying the most need.

Um, and I know that we can do that together, so thank you.

Well, district before you go any further, we'd like to now close the collection of public comments.

The floor is yours, sir.

Great.

Uh thank you.

Um District 6 has some unique challenges when it comes to alleys.

They're used in a in a in a unique way in a lot of a lot of areas in in your district, and we gotta make sure to uh to address that uh in its own way, not a uniform way like we did before.

That's what we'll do with your office.

Okay, sounds good to the chair.

Thank you.

Sounds good.

Uh so we can sit down, have a plan the way we've had a plan for Viaducts, and I I know we'll get it done.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you.

I believe we have cleared the table for questions.

Any additional colleagues.

Seeing none.

Uh do you have any last statements, final statements?

I just like to say thank you to everybody.

Um you've all been very gracious to me personally, but I also would like to say that uh the work that I do is not me, it's my team, and I would be nothing without them.

And you know, you let people, you know, spread their wings and fly, and they uh they tend to do it.

So I'm can't say enough good things about um people I work with.

Thank you if you're listening.

And uh I've had a great uh initial relationship with uh new administration.

Um it seems like a lot of their concerns are reflected in in your concerns, and when you have um you know political alignment like that, you you get things done, and I look forward to that happening in lighting as well as everything else you're working on.

So thank you for your service.

All right, thank you.

Thank you all for your service as well.

Thank you.

Um appreciate it.

I'm now transition to public comment.

There's anyone from the public.

I'm sorry, we already got that part.

Uh, team, we don't have anyone in the committee of the whole.

Uh no hands there.

We shall now transition to the online.

Um folks who want to join us, as I mentioned to the uh previous uh callers who called in, previous audiences.

We will be having abbreviated uh public hearing during our excuse me, public comments during our uh budget hearings, um, noting that there will be a full uh opportunity for public hearings on March 30th of this year, March 30th.

Have a full session.

All right, team.

Uh, who do we have first?

One minute for everyone.

Good afternoon, Council President.

There are nine online callers.

Our first caller is Tyson Gersh.

All right, Mr.

Gersh, the floor is yours.

You have a minute, general public comment.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Great, thanks.

Um, all right.

I guess I'll go as fast as I can.

Um, one regarding the BZA budget um hearing from earlier.

Uh circuit court only uses electronic documents.

It's totally fine to use whatever transcript the BZA is providing so long as it's um exact city of Lavonia does their transcripts in-house with one of their own staff members with half the staff and half the caseload um and half the budget that we do.

And you can view all their transcripts online, like I can look at them right now.

Um, there's no paywall imposed.

Um, the the ordinance says the BZA has to secure transcripts for its record of proceedings for all matters heard, not just the ones that are appealed to circuit court, and by imposing, in my case, a five thousand dollar transcript paywall, you're creating a retaliatory fee.

Um if how are they making the transcripts for decisions that aren't appealed?

Thank you so much.

Next caller.

Our next caller is Betty A.

Varner.

Ms.

Betty A.

Varner, the floor is yours.

You have one minute, general public comment.

Um good morning to all.

But then the sound of my voice, I'm Betty A.

Barner, president of the Soda Els War Black Association, asking the council to please consider in their budget uh monies to help black clubs uh for the fee for the land use hearing, which is $1,500 for projects that they would like to uh go in front of the council, uh not the council BC'd to see if they would get permission to uh complete their projects.

That $1,500 is a um problem for small black clubs and organizations also allocate monies, please for corridors to help black clubs with their mission to uh revitalize their corridors.

Uh we need help, they we need monies, and please, my thank or corridor, please.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is resident.

All right, caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute.

General public comment.

Good afternoon, my be heard.

Yes.

We are definitely being sure it changed on time because you know that latter hearing will only get two minutes.

Anyway, um, a question that should be asked is why is it that the BCA provided transcripts free of charge up until last year, the year before?

Somebody needs to ask that question.

Also, uh the public, there should be money.

I've had members of the community ask for training on how to go through these processes.

There should be money in the budget for the public to know since there's training or assistance to the developers.

Um there is also a huge problem, like goes on regularly with this body is that you get a board packet uh when the public doesn't.

Sometimes we do, but I'm talking about the BZA gets this big board packet at least a week in advance, but the public don't get to see it.

And um there's not enough time to address all the matters that Mr.

Ribrant said.

I'd be happy to talk to member Miller, ask them why they changed their policy.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is number ending in 083.

Caller ending in 083.

The floor is yours.

You have one minute general public comment.

Caller, are you there?

Are you there?

Caller.

Well, let's put their caller at the end of the queue and go to the next, please.

Our next caller is number ending in one two four.

Caller ending in one two four.

The floor is yours.

General public comment.

Caller, are you there?

All right, let's go place this caller at the end of the queue and go to the next, please.

Our next caller is Charlotte.

Charlotte, the floor is yours.

You have a minute.

General public comment.

Good morning.

First, I wanted to thank Councilwoman Miller for her statements and dedication to protecting uh district five's neighborhood, ensuring that residents receive notice.

Second, I wanted to address um some inaccurate statements that were made.

Um, unless the uh court reporter has since lowered their cost, it is seven fifth, it was seven fifty per page the last time I received an estimate.

Um it's not a huge difference, both are very expensive.

That was with a 400 order minimum, too.

But um more importantly, the law that Director Riban referenced, the ordinance, it specifically states that the BZA must cause a record of its proceedings to be prepared, and that record of proceedings shall include a transcribed scenographic record of all public proceedings.

This rule works with the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, which inquire requires the Board of Appeals to maintain a record of its proceedings, which shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the legislative bodies, all cases.

That must then be available to the public on the thank you so much.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is Owner Papa.

Caller, the floor is yours.

You have one minute, general public comment.

Good morning, and through the chair, may I be heard?

Yes.

Thank you.

I agree with the callers before, but um I I don't believe the BZA should be it, it makes it prohibitively uh accessible to people, and I think it's illegal to do that.

Um the PLA.

Why do we still have a public lighting authority?

I thought we were out of bankruptcy.

What is the point in having PLA and a public lighting department as well?

Why don't we hire our own people and get our own people in those jobs?

We don't necessarily need the PLA anymore.

We we did fine with before before they got here.

Um the the only difference is is that you guys want to just pay out a bunch of money to a different people, and it doesn't add is no value added to the to the citizens except for expense.

Please be mindful of how you're spending our dollars because they're becoming less and less available to you.

And as you'll find when the federal dollars come in, you won't have as many this year to waste.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Our next caller is iPhone.

iPhone, the floor is yours.

You have a minute, general public comment.

iPhone, are you there?

Let's put iPhone at the end of the queue and go to the next, please.

Our next caller is William M.

Davis.

Mr.

William M.

Davis, the floor is yours.

You have a minute, general public comment.

Ah, good afternoon.

Can I be heard?

Yes, sir.

I think public lighting, if they're gonna continue to exist, should be helping to coordinate clean energy generation in the in the city of Detroit and around the city of Detroit.

You know, be it when hydrogen solar, um, wave.

Uh there's a number of things they could be looking at.

And you know, I I also do not like authorities.

I think we should discontinue all that we can.

Uh also um in the 1980s, I was uh asking Chief Stewart in the water department.

I went down to Mystersky to represent somebody, and their equipment was ancient back in the 1980s.

You know, I think we need to be doing more to make clean energy available.

And um, yeah, and the city should explore possibilities they can make money off the expiration of clean energy.

And the city also used to sell steam too.

You know, so I think we're doing ourselves a disservice by not exploring our options and make a cleaner environment for everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next caller, please.

Council President, we are back to caller ending in 083.

Caller ending in 083.

The floor is yours.

You have one minute, general public comment.

Caller, are you there?

Going once.

Yes.

Can you hear me?

Yes, ma'am.

Well, yes.

Um, yes, can you can you can you hear me?

Yes, team less.

Hello?

Yeah, hello.

Can you hear me?

Yes, I can I can I can hear you.

Okay, well, we're gonna get your clock started back at one minute.

And then we're gonna give you an opportunity to proceed.

All right, the floor is yours.

Yes, I wanted to make a comment in regards to the BCA.

The process of the BZA is antiquated.

We need to be looking at new technology currently being used by other cities uh to communicate to residents concerning BCA hearings and new proposed developments.

We should also be able to go online, not come to the city of Detroit and have to use a computer to be able to see information as it relates to uh issues pertaining to BCA.

As it relates to the transcripts, um, it is already been stated that they shall provide us a transcript.

This issue of transcripts only became a concern when residents started taking uh their concerns to to the uh courts and find and and getting success.

Before then, the transcripts were being made available to community appeals for free.

And then that success began, and the courts began to see that hey, you know what?

Things are not going right with the BCA, and and they're they're making erroneous decisions.

All of a sudden, therefore, they're thank you.

Next caller, please.

Council Council President, we are going back to iPhone.

All right.

Going three times.

Unfortunately, we're gonna have to move on.

IPhone, if you would like to provide your comments to the clerk's office, they will be placed onto public record.

Tim, is that our final caller?

Council President, that is our last caller.

All right, that's our last caller for the uh AM budget hearings.

Uh, comments, we do have a one o'clock time set for our budget hearing for the library.

Do we want to keep that time or do we want to extend it uh for a few minutes?

Mr.

Chair.

What is the number?

Member Benson?

Discussion based on the need for nutrition.

I would suggest an extension of 20 minutes.

Okay.

So colleagues.

Uh one 130, I'm hearing.

All right.

Let's uh recess uh the meeting till 1 30 and we shall return.