OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee Meeting – July 23, 2026

City Council — Thursday, July 23, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, July 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 28:41

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Scott Benson.

0:01

Councilmember Renata Miller.

0:04

Mr.

0:04

Chair, you have a quorum present.

0:05

Thank you, ma'am.

0:06

I'm uh clerk.

0:08

Um Member Miller is on her way.

0:10

She'll be running wait, but she's on her way.

0:13

Is there a motion to approve the minutes?

0:15

Motion.

0:15

Motion made are any objections?

0:17

Here, none of it is approved.

0:19

Chairmarks of it is my chief of staff and my mother and Ivy Calvert's birthday.

0:24

So happy birthday to her.

0:26

Uh, we have cake and cupcakes and chicken outside if you want it.

0:29

So I just wanted to say the best there is, the best there was, the best is ever gonna be, and the best chief of staff of my lifetime and ever.

0:36

Happy birthday to my mother.

0:38

Everything I have, hold, and am is because of my dear sweet angel mother.

0:44

All right.

0:44

We will now move on to public comment.

0:48

How many people do we have in the queue, Mr.

0:51

Bo for public comment?

0:58

Mr.

0:58

Chair, we currently have two individuals' hands raised for public comment.

1:01

All right, two individuals.

1:03

All right, uh public comment is now closed.

1:07

Public comment is now closed.

1:10

Public comment.

1:13

Is now closed.

1:14

All right, who do you have first in the queue, Mr.

1:16

Bo.

1:19

Mr.

1:19

Chair, the first caller is Betty A.

1:21

Verner.

1:21

All right, Ms.

1:22

Varner, floor is yours.

1:23

Two minutes.

1:25

Uh good afternoon to all.

1:26

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

1:28

Brown, the president of DeSoda Elseworth Black Association.

1:32

Again, want to give a special thanks to you, Pro Tim, uh, for uh reaching out, having me to contact your staff, your loving staff who has helped me get going through this process of getting my uh property uh repaired.

1:51

Um it's not repaired yet, but uh I did speak to the director of BC and also uh project manager from the uh major contracting company did come out to my house.

2:06

So hopefully uh there's gone, they tell me there's gonna be a meeting, and hopefully the right decision is made and my property is repaired.

2:14

Also, I want to give a special thanks to your mom.

2:17

Happy, happy, happy birthday, and thank you for reaching out to me and assisting me through this process.

2:25

Uh Pro Tim, I love you and your team.

2:29

You got one of the best teams here in the city of Detroit.

2:33

And kudos to them.

2:35

I say it publicly.

2:37

They have really, really helped me, not just with this situation, but I received so much kind loving and uh respect when I attend your meetings, and I appreciate it.

2:49

Um we're still looking for uh assistance for uh for our event that's August 1st.

2:56

We are needing volunteers, we need people to help us break down our tents, etc.

3:03

Also, we have been blessed.

3:05

We're going to receive some uh additional school supplies and uh hygiene products, but it's gonna be really, really late, close to our uh event.

3:15

We are not complaining.

3:17

We really are blessed, but we're gonna need people to help us get the kids together that day, that morning.

3:24

So thank you and happy, happy, happy, happy, happy birthday again.

3:28

I wish you many, many.

3:31

Well, thank you so much.

3:32

We appreciate that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████33%
Procedural██████████████████████22%
Public Comment████████████12%
Technology and Innovation███████████11%
Entertainment Venues█████████9%
Contract Management████████8%
Budget███3%
Procurement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee Meeting – July 23, 2026

The Neighborhood Community Services Standing Committee of the Detroit City Council met on July 23, 2026, under the chairmanship of Councilmember Scott Benson. The meeting opened with a quorum and included the approval of minutes, public testimony, and consideration of several agenda items. Key discussions focused on broadcast infrastructure upgrades, management of the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, and updates to rental compliance ordinances.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: A motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting was made and passed without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Betty A. Brown (President, DeSoda Elseworth Black Association): Expressed gratitude to Chair Benson and his staff for assistance with a property repair issue. Also requested volunteers and help for an August 1st event providing school supplies and hygiene products.
  • Caller ending in 534: Criticized the master plan update process as insufficiently inclusive, citing a block club treasurer’s request for a meeting that was denied and secretive stakeholder meetings. Expressed support for Councilmember Miller’s call for more master plan meetings and opposition to the sixth tax amendment, arguing it should be broken into smaller pieces and that rezoning should wait for a more inclusive master plan.

Discussion Items

  • Item 5.1 – Rent Escrow Process Memorandum: Motion to discuss. LPD (Phil Keller) requested the item be brought back after recess pending information from the administration. Motion passed.
  • Items 6.1–6.8 – Special Event Petitions: Eight petitions for festivals and events were presented, including the Caribbean Cultural Festival (Aug 29), Cars at the Station (Sept 11-12), Dr. Ossian H. Sweet Foundation Community Day (Sept 12), East Warren Development Corps event (Sept 19), For the Love of the East (Sept 19), a Palmer Park event (Aug 30), Labor Day March (Sept 7), and Fells Fest (Sept 19). All were moved to formal session with recommendation for approval.
  • Item 6.9 – Broadcast Infrastructure Upgrade Contract: A five-year, $781,934 contract to upgrade the city’s government cable channels (10, 21, 22, 68). Administration explained the system is aging (over 10 years old), experiences outages, and failure would cause channels to go dark and lose PEG funding. The contract includes new server infrastructure, streaming, captioning, and archival systems. Motion to formal session passed.
  • Item 6.10 – Donated Assets Report (Parks): A report on non-cash donated assets under $25,000 for parks and facilities. Initial motion to formal session was corrected to receive and file. Motion passed.
  • Item 6.11 – Amendment with Right Productions (Aretha Franklin Amphitheater): Proposed five-year extension (through 2032) with provisions for regular maintenance, capital improvements, and enhanced reporting. Councilmember Benson requested a deeper discussion and to hear from Right Productions before approval. Motion to bring back after recess passed.
  • Item 6.12 – Motorcycle Gatherings at Roosevelt Park: Councilmember Santiago Romero’s memorandum. Motion to bring back after recess, pending response from the police chief on quality-of-life concerns. Passed.
  • Item 6.13 – Rental Compliance Ordinance Update: Memorandum to update the ordinance to reflect that rent escrow payments are now administered by Health, Human, and Family Resources instead of Buildings, Safety, Engineering and Environmental Department (BC). LPD requested to bring back after recess for a response. Motion passed.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: Minutes of previous meeting.
  • Moved to Formal Session with Recommendation for Approval: Items 6.1 through 6.8 (special event petitions) and Item 6.9 (broadcast infrastructure contract).
  • Received and Filed: Item 6.10 (donated assets report).
  • Brought Back After Recess: Items 5.1 (rent escrow), 6.11 (Aretha Franklin Amphitheater amendment), 6.12 (motorcycle gatherings), and 6.13 (rental compliance ordinance update).
  • Member Reports: Councilmember Miller announced a morning men mingle on July 24 and a district five community meeting on July 29.
  • Adjournment: The committee stood adjourned without objection.

Meeting Transcript

Scott Benson. Councilmember Renata Miller. Mr. Chair, you have a quorum present. Thank you, ma'am. I'm uh clerk. Um Member Miller is on her way. She'll be running wait, but she's on her way. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? Motion. Motion made are any objections? Here, none of it is approved. Chairmarks of it is my chief of staff and my mother and Ivy Calvert's birthday. So happy birthday to her. Uh, we have cake and cupcakes and chicken outside if you want it. So I just wanted to say the best there is, the best there was, the best is ever gonna be, and the best chief of staff of my lifetime and ever. Happy birthday to my mother. Everything I have, hold, and am is because of my dear sweet angel mother. All right. We will now move on to public comment. How many people do we have in the queue, Mr. Bo for public comment? Mr. Chair, we currently have two individuals' hands raised for public comment. All right, two individuals. All right, uh public comment is now closed. Public comment is now closed. Public comment. Is now closed. All right, who do you have first in the queue, Mr. Bo. Mr. Chair, the first caller is Betty A. Verner. All right, Ms. Varner, floor is yours. Two minutes. Uh good afternoon to all. Within the sound of my voice, I'm Betty A. Brown, the president of DeSoda Elseworth Black Association. Again, want to give a special thanks to you, Pro Tim, uh, for uh reaching out, having me to contact your staff, your loving staff who has helped me get going through this process of getting my uh property uh repaired. Um it's not repaired yet, but uh I did speak to the director of BC and also uh project manager from the uh major contracting company did come out to my house. So hopefully uh there's gone, they tell me there's gonna be a meeting, and hopefully the right decision is made and my property is repaired. Also, I want to give a special thanks to your mom. Happy, happy, happy birthday, and thank you for reaching out to me and assisting me through this process. Uh Pro Tim, I love you and your team. You got one of the best teams here in the city of Detroit. And kudos to them. I say it publicly. They have really, really helped me, not just with this situation, but I received so much kind loving and uh respect when I attend your meetings, and I appreciate it.

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