Detroit City Council Committee of the Whole: Contaminated Demolition Fill Update - October 30, 2026

On October 30, 2026, the Detroit City Council Committee of the Whole met in the morning to receive an update on unapproved fill used in the city's demolition program. The meeting began without a quorum, then proceeded after enough members arrived. Council President James Tate presided. Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett, Construction and Demolition Director Tim Palazzolo, and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ali Abazi presented and answered questions from council members. Public comment was taken before the presentation.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Eight callers joined online; no in-person public comment was recorded before public comment closed.
• Betty A. Varner, identified as president of the Soda Elsword Black Association as transcribed, advocated for corridor redevelopment, funding for a $1,500 land-use hearing fee, and playground equipment; she also asked about a Halloween costume event.
• Cindy Darrell alleged the city violated the charter by using M1 domain for solar fields and tearing down houses; she called for fencing and public disclosure of dirty dirt locations and criticized tax breaks and nonprofits.
• A caller identified as owner Papa/owner Popper criticized the one-minute public-comment limit and called the process corrupt; the caller urged voters to reject millages supported by the committee and made personal attacks against Councilmember Scott Benson.
• Tyson Gersh said the city messed this up and argued protocols were overridden by executive order under the Duggan administration; he hoped council would address the issue sincerely and raised concerns about unlawfully issued permits.
• William M. Davis encouraged voting, said he was voting straight Democratic and for museums, and called for more investigation into dirty dirt and for polluters, not the city, to pay.
• Darren McCliskey focused on cleanup logistics, suggested notices or plaques on affected parcels, fencing for elevated results, and a ground-penetrating-radar and free-testing program for vacant lots.
• Another caller made personal attacks and allegations against council members and officials, demanded proper mitigation of contaminated dirt, and threatened to publicize alleged wrongdoing.
• Brother Connor/Cunningham offered free rides to and from early voting and described being approached by police while doing voting outreach.

Discussion Items

• Presentation: In early June 2025, the Office of the Inspector General notified Construction and Demolition that a contractor, Gianga Co. spelled variously in the transcript, may have used unapproved fill. The Law Department assisted; the Detroit Police Department opened an investigation in September 2025 and executed search warrants; OIG and DPD provided more addresses. A second source, Ironhorse in Milford, also allegedly supplied unapproved fill. Total sites in question: 655; 535 were owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
• Funding and costs: A $15 million dedicated fund was set aside around December 2025; $8.4 million remained. Staff estimated $11.65 million in remaining work. Expected $3.5 million from the Denman settlement would leave about $290,000 surplus. Staff said the dedicated fund is not used for other demolition functions and other funds remain available. Separate accounts included $8.44 million for the unapproved-fill fund, $8.62 million for abatement and clear-board supplies, and $11.48 million in remaining Prop N funds supporting residential demolition.
• Testing and remediation: 587 sites were sampled; about $3.3 million was spent on testing; initial sampling averaged about $5,700 per site. Waste-characterization testing was run on 179 properties. Removal and replacement was completed at 121 sites, 120 public and 1 private, averaging about $26,000 each for about $3 million; additional excavation at 67 sites averaged about $12,000, totaling about $830,000. Total costs incurred to date were about $7.8 million. Staff estimated an average per-property cost of about $34,000; the transcript cites both $34,005 and $34,554.
• Tiering: 195 publicly owned tier-one properties were described as presenting elevated risk due to contaminant concentrations and potential vapor migration; estimated remediation cost was $6.7 million. Another 87 tier-two properties had exceedances but lower direct-contact risk; estimated cost was $3.01 million. Eighty tier-one properties were packaged into four groups of 20 for bidding; each group was estimated at $690,000, but bids were not yet locked in.
• Private properties: Of 120 private properties, 50 owners approved access, 7 denied, and 63 did not respond. Forty-two had confirmed exceedances with estimated remediation cost of $1.45 million; eight results were pending, with estimated cost of $280,000 if all exceeded.
• Process changes: Palazzolo said the city reduced approved native sand and gravel fill sources from 14 to 7, increased inspections from annual to monthly, added city staff to inspections, tests material regularly, and plans to publish results online. Mallett said the Law Department and Office of Contracting and Procurement had corrected surety and document processes and that the city is exploring buying its own dirt and requiring stronger surety or environmental insurance.
• Recovery and accountability: Mallett said recovery from Gianga may be difficult because bankruptcy is likely, the environmental insurer is resisting coverage, and the city had no direct contract with Ironhorse. He said the city is pursuing personal and corporate liability against Gianga principals and has referred Ironhorse to the state environmental agency, EGLE, referred to in the transcript as Eagle. He said no evidence so far showed fraud beyond Gianga among demolition contractors.
• Public health: Dr. Abazi said the Detroit Health Department's preliminary review broadly supports the city's approach from a public-health perspective, focusing on potential exposure and nearby sensitive populations such as daycares and schools. The department reviewed over four million analytical records; the full report was expected in about 10 days. He stressed that contamination does not equal exposure and that the analysis was preliminary. He said health department experts could later address specific contaminants and potential health harms.
• Fencing and access: Most tier-one sites were fenced with orange or soft fencing; staff said only about a dozen remained and should be done by October 30 or the following Monday. Councilmembers McCampbell and Callaway criticized the orange fencing as insufficient and easy for children or pets to enter. Callaway formally requested do-not-enter and no-trespassing signs on all affected properties and said she would put the request in writing. Staff said tarps were limited because they can cause runoff onto neighboring properties. For private properties with no response, staff said administrative warrants, described by Mallett as court orders, would likely be sought by spring if access is not resolved.
• Grants and Land Bank: Staff said federal EPA grants are unlikely because the city was the contracting agent; state grant opportunities would continue to be explored but were not guaranteed. Mallett said cost-sharing discussions with the Detroit Land Bank Authority were preliminary.
• Council concerns: McCampbell warned that the roughly $290,000 cushion is thin given change-order risk; staff said tier-one remediation costs have ranged from the low tens of thousands of dollars to over $100,000 for one site. Pro Tem Young objected that no Department of Innovation and Technology representative was present and requested one at future meetings; Tate said members should make specific department requests.

Key Outcomes

• No substantive votes were taken on the contaminated-fill program; the committee received the presentation and staff answered questions.
• Staff committed to continue remediation, bidding, outreach, and coordination with the Health Department; a fuller health report was expected in about 10 days.
• Councilmember Callaway requested in writing that do-not-enter and no-trespassing signs be posted at all affected properties; staff said they would consider the request.
• Staff said remaining tier-one fencing should be completed by October 30 or the following Monday, and administrative warrants would be pursued for unresponsive private properties by spring if needed.
• The meeting adjourned by motion without objection.