Granted, call this meeting the ground city commission order.

Um, and I would ask you all to join us in a moment of silence.

Please join us in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

I allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and individual with liberty and justice for all clerk.

If you could call the roll.

Commissioner Belchak.

Present.

Commissioner Purdue.

Good evening.

Commissioner Sasi.

Present.

Commissioner Kilgar.

Present.

Commissioner Robbins.

Present.

Mayor LeGrand.

Present.

Can I have a motion to excuse the absence of Commissioner Knight?

So move it.

And if our interpreter could come up and explain the vote.

Pardon?

Yeah, I call the vote on it.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh yeah, I need a vote on that.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Didn't think that would be contentious.

If our interpreter could explain in Spanish that they're here to interpret from Spanish to English and vice versa for people who need it, um, that's the language that we provide interpretation services for.

Oh, if you can push the buttons.

Sorry.

Good evening.

We are pleased to offer interpretation services this evening.

If you would like to make a comment in Spanish during the public comments, I will be pleased to interpret it into span into English.

And this meeting is also being interpreted simultaneously in Spanish.

And that brings us next to public item uh public comment on agenda items.

Um those of you who wish to speak to items that are on the agenda and limit yourself to those items, uh, are welcome to do that.

However, um, before I do that, um I would like to uh use a point of privilege and take the things slightly out of order here, and before we do public comments, move to petitions and communications.

Clerk.

I'm sorry, reports to city officers.

Okay.

The first one is a comptrollers' warrant report for the period of December 30, 2025 through January 12, 2026, and the amount of 30 million two hundred and ninety-one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine dollars and twenty-six cents in the small claims fourth quarter twenty twenty-five in monthly travel reports.

Received and filed.

And the treasury report for the period of January 1, 2026 through January 13, 2026.

Received and filed.

And the city manager's report, public safety committee motion in support of know your rights campaign engagement for the city's immigrant community.

Yep.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'll highlight real briefly what occurred today at the public safety committee.

Our Office of Oversight and Public Accountability provided an update on the know your rights awareness and education program as we partner with other community partners and specifically with our immigrant and refugee community.

Um that meeting, uh, they did an excellent job in announcing uh upcoming efforts in which we uh attempt to inform our residents on how to interact both with local law enforcement, law enforcement at all levels, both state and federal.

Also, previously in a January 2025 meeting, I had the opportunity to clarify the Grand Rapids Police Department's position regarding our policy on foreign nationals and our relationship with federal immigrants and federal immigrations and custom enforcement ice.

And my January 28, 2025 report I also submit again today for this commission, uh acknowledging our protocols for our officers as we uh remain consistent with that previous report.

The police chief has already stated both in media interviews and at various city commission meetings and briefings that GRPD does not actively participate or assist in ICE with civil immigration enforcement operations and our stance remain firm in terms of you can use a lot utilizing local resources uh for local issues.

I do not expect the department to um I do expect our department to cooperate with law all law enforcement agencies when serious criminal or violent acts are involved.

Again, I document in the report those uh comments on the record, both written as well as in the media.

There are several of those, as well as our uh collaboration with uh Kent County on the West Michigan Welcome Plan Collaborative Plan Initiative as we continue to ensure that our community remains inclusive.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I want to comment to the public uh in the context of this report myself.

In this country, we have always been clear that to be human is to have rights.

We have not always lived up to that ideal in this country, but when we failed, we can and we must always be called back to that ideal.

We don't have rights because we're Americans.

We know we're Americans when we proclaim that everyone has rights.

The recognition of those rights, our universal value as humans, is a core part of how we love each other and live in community with each other in love.

When we use and invoke our rights properly, it strengthens the observation of everyone's rights.

And when we insist on the rights of others, we express the best of our humanity.

Recent events in Minnesota should in that context shock us to our core.

But the killing of nonviolent humans by government agents is only the latest step down a terrible road.

It's a road whose first step was trod with the dehumanizing rhetoric filled with hate and fear initiated by the chief executive of our nation.

It's a road whose further steps included assertion by the chief judges in our nation that persons could be detained based on skin color.

And it's a road where martyrs to the vision of human rights are denounced as terrorists.

Grand Rapids will not go down this road.

No matter how well traveled, no matter how much the tactics of fear and hatred and division and demarcation are invoked and employed, we will not seek safety by betraying the rights of our brothers and our sisters and our neighbors.

We will not point to the flaws in those targeted as an excuse for our own cowardice, because we too are flawed.

We too hope to be the beneficiaries of grace and love, not conditioned on our status, but as the birthright of our shared humanity.

So let me be clear.

As a city, we are committed to three areas of action in the realm of rights.

First, we are absolutely committed to the preservation of the rights of all humans in our community.

Those rights are not limited to what are often named as constitutional rights, but constitutional rights are foundational minimum.

We will defend the rights of all of our residents, all of our residents, not to prove identity on demand for no reason not grounded in shared public safety.

We will defend rights of speech, assembly, equal protection.

We will defend all of our citizens' rights to life and liberty.

Second, we are committed to be clear about what all residents' rights are relative to those who act for our city.

Recently, individuals have demanded that we enact policies which are already in place.

Let me read some of them to you.

This is a policy that's currently in place for the Grandes Police Department.

No member of the Grands Police Department shall coerce threaten with deportation or engage in verbal abuse of any person based on that person or person's family members' actual or perceived immigration status or citizenship.

No member of the Grand Apps Police Department shall inquire into a person's immigration status when the person is seeking police services, such as filing a police report or calling 911.

No member of the Grand Apples Police Department will stop, question, investigate, arrest, search, or detain an individual based solely on actual or uh suspected immigration status or actual or suspected violation of federal civil immigration law, including an immigration detainer, administrative and immigration warrant, prior deportation order or other civil immigration document.

Everyone in the in the community, I urge you all to go and review that policy which is in place.

And I and I and I ask you to look at it, digest it, and understand it.

Let me be clear.

All of our residents have these rights.

They all have the right to understand how they interact with the people who serve them and the people who work for our city.

All of our residents have right to reference these rights and to insist that they're followed.

Finally, we are committed not just to defending the rights of all of our residents and to crafting rights in our cities related to city actions.

We're also committed to shouting those first two points from the rooftops.

We recommit to those values every time we pledge allegiance to a republic whose only real value is in its identification with a commitment to liberty and justice for all.

And so we will communicate those rights again and again to groups, to individuals, and we will not surrender.

Thank you all.

Now we'll move on to public comment.

Mr.

Jones.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

First, I would like to say our last year, David Le Grand did say he does not support ICE and that he does not want ICE in our community, uh detaining our citizens.

I remember that.

And so I just remember hearing that saying him saying that.

And I don't like ICE.

Uh I have Hispanic and African American nieces and nephews.

But I'm here to speak about affordable housing.

Uh you guys have it on the fiscal committee, uh resolution three, and I understand that the city's uh funds that goes into the affordable housing fund is uh going to our community foundation.

So I'm using this opportunity uh to ask the billionaires and the foundations, uh the people that uh control our power structure, they say.

But I believe if the citizens stand up that uh the billionaires wouldn't control our power structure, that we can do things like participatory budgeting where we can have 3D printing construction one day on the participatory budget, and I was the person who handled the voting coordination for the participatory budgeting process where citizens actually control where the fund where they voted, where funding goes into their ward, and so I was the person who advocated heavily for that, but I like to take this time to speak about the affordable housing fund.

We have a soccer stadium being built, and I believe the divos is still should put additional funding into it.

I believe 8.5Ms is not enough for affordable housing.

Uh that's a lot of taxes going into nine figures in taxes.

We're getting very, very little for our affordable housing fund.

And so I like to take this opportunity, even ask the other billionaires.

Uh the Sekchius, I know they're not billionaires, but the Van Andels, uh, the foundations, the people that actually have built this power structure, but it's not equitable.

It's not sustainable.

Uh, and I've got 3D printing construction into our city's plan because I advocate it so heavily.

Uh, you see a press release that I've given to you guys, and I'll speak about that again, but is about creating affordable housing.

There's a company called Gardy Tech uh in Los Angeles that actually has uh sent a letter of exclusive intention to partner with the city of government.

They've actually 3D printed 17 government buildings in partnership with the government in Dubai.

It's the city that has the GDP close to a trillion.

And so I believe that our city's uh goals and vision can be bigger and broader.

I believe we can be better and innovative.

As I heard uh Commissioner Yasasi slip up a little bit earlier and say construction inc.

I heard that.

And then David LeGrand, you talk about being experimental.

I believe we should experiment on 3D printing construction and actually 3D print truly affordable houses.

I have some cost estimates where people actually 3D printed 3,000 square foot houses, uh 187,000, that's crazy, and that's in Canada.

That was a hundred houses that actually could be printed in 90 days.

If the government actually wants to do this and actually do 12 printers, we can print a thousand houses in a year.

And so, as I'm going to continuously advocate and being at the chambers, I'm going to continuously challenge the billionaires and the foundations to invest in affordable housing.

Thank you.

Good evening, Lucas.

First ward.

Speaking on Section 10.

Uh, Mr.

Mayor, I commend you for removing these items from consent and recusing yourself from topics concerning long road distillers.

I believe you're an ethical leader.

I do try to be fair.

During the election, I heard something a lot.

Lucas, I can't believe you're openly supporting him.

He's such an a-hole.

And I would reply, yeah, but he's my kind of a-hole.

He speaks his mind.

I defended voting for you so many times, and I've given you a year to deliver, which is more than enough.

This hearing that you've got coming up to discuss incentives to help your business grow.

I'm cool with that.

I once called for a boycott, but recently criticized sloppy efforts at such.

I challenge folks not to take for granted that everybody knows that Long Road is your business.

I was called a racist for daring to give critiques to activists.

People are on your case because your election promises and rhetoric are not matching your actions.

Why not?

Your liquor brand delivers on its promises.

Why can't you?

Pulling the levers of government to enable your business growth.

Why not pull those levers to deliver on the promises that you've made?

Tonight's opening remarks are a great start.

But we need action.

You say we shouldn't arrest people for every little thing, but then you defended just that in a video statement, bending the knee to police.

It's stuff like that that encourages and enables a violent culture of escalation from law enforcement that gives permission to the likes of ICE or Chris Schur to murder citizens.

And the most financially independent and politically experienced GR mayor ever, maybe in history, you could flex your political muscle in this town against oppression from the oligarchy.

You want a master class?

Look at Minneapolis's mayor.

I'm really just stuck.

I love the brand, and as an expert in that space, I know a good one when I see it.

And when it helps the community that I also love, I want to work with this city, but this city can't seem to come off its high horse, get real, and take a stand for what's right, despite every opportunity to do so.

Even making thoughtful and polite suggestions ruffles feathers, and I get told that we should be glad to have mediocre things rather than not having them at all.

So I admit I don't know how to play your game.

High school drama seems to be the core of West Michigan politics and activism for that matter.

I'm not content to just let you fall short, rising to critical times in history, but I will also support almost anybody when they do redeemable things like those remarks tonight.

Nothing's black and white.

Join me in the gray and grow up, Grand Rapids.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners, staff, fellow citizens.

My name is Daniel Scott.

Longtime resident of the city.

But again, my real identity is I'm a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to address letter D community development committee resolutions 9 and 10.

I think I just learned that you're involved in this mayor.

I didn't know that before.

But as I've said here many times, I'm opposed as a citizen of the Grand Rapids of any more distilleries, bars, and the like.

Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, who puts your bottle to him and makes him drunk.

You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.

Now you yourself drink and expose your own nak your own nakedness.

The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your life.

Again, I'm administering in hardside for 45 years.

And I see every day the result of alcohol.

And it begins just with one drink with many of these people.

But then of course they end up on the streets.

Living in our church's doorway.

We just recently had that on South Division.

And of course, I've seen it for 45 years.

Again, I used to be a drunkard myself.

I know what it's like.

But by the grace of God and Jesus Christ, he saved me from that terrible lifestyle.

He gets all the glory.

But I would appeal to you, don't uh allow this licensing.

Grand Rapids will be a better place.

Thank you.

At first I was not gonna speak.

I usually keep my comments until later, but um I had no choice, and although I'm not as old as he is, I too I do uh to see and I'm speaking on the 99 keys, and I too have seen it whether it's at uh job we experienced it Sunday, unfortunately.

Whether it's uh job we experienced it Sunday, unfortunately.

I mean that's we expanded Sunday, unfortunately.

And um whether it's at my job, I will go to a hotel down the down the um street.

I mean, you know, downtown and I see I see the yeah.

The Lord the Lord will the Lord will hold you accountable for this and yeah.

Zosp you don't want to be uh accomplice, thank you.

See no further public comment.

Um I ask that we move on to approval of the minutes.

I have a motion.

So moved.

Support.

All in favor of approving the minutes of January 13 say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to petitions and communications.

First one's communication received from Richard regarding a recent arrest.

Received and filed.

Communication received from Jason Corey regarding the public naming of the new soccer stadium.

Saved and filed.

Communication received from David Williams requesting a zoning text amendment.

And a communication received from unspoken crime media regarding the appeal of FOIA PD-2025-3938.

Received and filed.

This brings us to our consent agenda.

And these are items which uh either pass unanimously in committee.

Uh or uh well, the their items that passed unanimously from committee and were not pulled from that agenda uh by any individual commissioner.

And as already noted in some of the public comment, um I requested that two items um be removed from this consent agenda, but let's uh I'll speak to those after we uh move on the remaining items.

So can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

So moved.

Support.

All in favor of the approving the consent agenda say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to items removed from consent.

Two items, these are related to a business in which I have an interest.

Uh, and that is uh, of course, uh the definition of a conflict.

And so uh that means that I'm not gonna be voting on these.

I am not gonna be deliberating on them, and for the record, these are also things on which I've had absolutely no communication with any of my colleagues to this point, nor with any city uh staff.

That's not something that normally uh people go to the trouble of pointing out, but I uh as many of you know I'm very very careful and as careful as I can be um to separate my business and my work for the city um from my uh private and private operations.

So um I'm gonna recuse myself and ask um uh commissioner Yasasi.

Oh, actually, yeah, right.

We're in the New York she is um uh to take over uh in my absence, and I will want to turn off my microphone.

As you leave.

Oh, okay.

Um and I'm out of here.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um all right, colleagues.

Uh next on our agenda is items removed from connect consent.

As previously noted, we have two items, they're companions, but we'll take them individually.

Um so first is a resolution scheduling a public hearing for February 10th, 2026 to consider establishing an industrial development district for long road distillers at 1750 Elizabeth Avenue Northwest.

So moved.

Support.

It's been moved and supported.

Uh Commissioner Belchak, is there anything additional you'd like to add to this?

Yes, thank you.

Um this was discussed at our community development uh committee this morning, and it is as as said that we will be scheduling a public hearing for February 10th, 2026 to consider an industrial facilities exemption for certificate for long road distillers at 1750 Elizabeth Avenue Northwest.

The um expansion will enable long road distillers, which opened in 2020 2015 as the first craft distillery in the city's history to then expand for additional distillery capacity and the installation of a canning line for ready-to-drink products.

The expansion at 1750 Elizabeth Avenue Northwest is being completed with the intent of both expanding the production and the manufacturing for those things.

Uh the facility provides approximately 20,000 square feet of leased space by long row distillers, and the estimated project cost is $679,727.

The real property improvements for the project are estimated at $120,000 and also approximately 1391, 125 dollars in new equipment in order to expand.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Any questions, colleagues?

Hearing and seeing none.

All those in favor, aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

That motion carries.

And next, the companion is a resolution scheduling a public hearing for February 10th, 2026 to consider an application for an industrial facilities exempt certificate filed for long road distillers for the stated amount of 680,000 at the previously noted 1750 Elizabeth Avenue.

I won't um this isn't this as a companion item.

I'm just gonna go ahead and call the question again.

Um, all those in favor?

I need opposed item carries.

With that, we can grab our mayor and return to the regular schedule.

Thank you.

This is an ordinance uh amending section one of the budget ordinance 25-11 for fiscal year 2026.

Can I have a motion?

Support.

And Commissioner Robbins.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

Um, this is an ordinance amending section one of the budget uh ordinance 2025-11 uh for fiscal year 2026.

It's amendment number five.

Um I won't go there's 20 items in total.

I won't go through every single one of them in details, but uh the department's impacted include the 61st district court, clerk department, parks and recreation, police department, engineering department, uh economic development, planning department, fiscal services department, and our executive department.

Um, and I would refer to the agenda packet in case people have questions as to what those include specifically.

So any questions or comments, colleagues.

Seeing none, um, those in uh pardon me.

This is a roll call vote.

So uh city clerk.

Um I have a can you ask you to call the roll?

Yes, Commissioner Asassi.

Yes.

Commissioner Robbins, yes, Commissioner Purdue, yes, Commissioner Balchak?

Yes, Commissioner Kilgore, yes, Mayor Legrand.

Yes.

Uh can I have a motion for immediate effect?

So moved.

Support.

Uh all in favor of immediate effects say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to city commission resolutions, of which we have one.

Uh, this is a resolution approving a settlement of uh an uh uh lawsuit that came out of an incident um a number of years ago.

And uh I'll pass that over to you.

Uh let's see, we're in the motion.

So moved.

Support.

This is to resolve the matter of uh the uh settlement of Hodges versus City Grand Rapids.

Uh Commissioner Saucy.

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

Um, as noted, this is a longstanding suit.

Uh, but it's a federal lawsuit that was presented to all of us in our closed session on January 13th of 2026.

Settlement for this matter uh was recommended in the amount of two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars.

Um, and there's an additional resolution that approves this detail.

A reminder to all of us that this is still active litigation until this item is fully executed by both parties.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um in favor of approving the resolution say aye.

Oh, seeing no comment.

Um, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

Uh, and that brings us to our second round of public comment uh for any item which you wish to be heard.

Uh again, um comments limited to three minutes.

Uh please identify yourself and at least roughly where you live, whether you're inside or outside the city will be helpful.

Um, but uh Mr.

Jones.

Hello, everybody.

I stay in the orchards.

I was forced out of the house I live on Tamarak.

My granddad died in the house.

A lot of a lot of stuff happened at that house.

I love the house, and I'm going to keep fighting for affordable housing and bad landlords and people that don't care about uh people living on the houses and sleeping under bridges.

It was like negative 10, negative 13 outside.

It was so cold that it was frost in my room.

It was actually frosting my room.

I should have took a pick is snapped it on put it on Facebook, but it's like it's crazy.

But people sleep outside in these conditions.

We have billionaires that are building stadiums and amphitheaters, and I feel like those billionaires and those foundations to give back because it could create in housing and truly affordable housing, it could actually reduce crime.

And I'd like to see uh, you know, a community where we don't have an unhoused population like in Dubai, you can't actually sleep outside.

They'll lock you up for sleeping outside.

Did y'all know that?

They don't have unhoused population out there because people get caught sleeping outside, they get locked up.

So I love for us to have the very high standards of creating affordable housing for everyone one day.

I know that's a very ambitious goal, but I believe we can do it.

I know we have the financial power here.

I know we have the billionaires.

I know we have very intelligent people here that can actually produce results and actually change things.

I know we have a mayor that cares about citizens.

And uh Leisha Maria, I'm looking to actually have you hands on because in this press release, if you guys look at it, I actually have the engineer from Guardi Tech come in here for seven days to actually be sure that the 3D house is actually produced, that we actually successfully do this.

I have very, very, very, very, very high standards, and I want to be sure that this actually is completed here.

So if you look into this, it says that the city is that Guardi Tech is going to come here.

They're going to be here for seven days to be hands-on, and me and Leecha Marie spoke at David LeGrand's uh establishment that he has a part of uh about her being hands-on 3D printing that house and a bunch of Republicans because they're also into this at the county level.

I go speak at the county at the policy.

I'm using their exec executive committee before even the Republicans or anybody is there, honestly, because I'm that dedicated to actually change to actually being sure that policies and you know bipartisanship actually happens because I'm tired of the partnership at the parties at the county level because they have the financial power to change these things.

And I believe the divorces in the Van Andals and the people that have these foundations and these big foundations and these funds should be truly invested into affordable housing into our community.

We shouldn't be struggling.

Our economy shouldn't be better.

I shouldn't be going to uh bents for coalitions for houses, unhoused people and seeing that the highest population for unhoused people is African Americans and this Caucasians right behind them.

So I don't just do this for me or this African Americans or Caucasians, I do this for everybody.

We're going to 3D print houses here.

I'm going to be sure this is this is already in uh public record, but I'm looking forward to this.

Thank you.

How fruit, Grand Rapids.

Mayor LeGrand, I know one of your pet peeves is walkability in this city.

And I kind of like to talk about that.

Uh a week before Christmas, we had a lot of snow here, and we're still getting a lot of snow.

I called 311 concerning the sidewalks on Pearl Street and Fulton Street Bridges.

They were a disaster.

And I filed a report with them.

I asked for a tracking number or some way that I could call back and follow up on that.

Well, a week after Christmas, I called back because I figured it takes a while, it's a holiday.

They'll get the sidewalks cleaned.

So I called back 311.

They had no way of looking up my incident.

It was lost in the cloud or in the snow in this case.

So I made another phone call.

Called the mayor's office, and I talked to one of your staff who happens to be sitting at that table.

And he did a wonderful job.

I won't mention his name, he knows who he is.

He did a wonderful job.

We had a nice conversation and said those bridges are low priority because we can't shovel anything because it ends up in the river.

Well, the next snowstorm, they got plowed.

They're plowed now.

At least salt them, do something.

So I found out the way this city works.

Squeak loud.

Very loud.

And if you complain enough to the right people, things get done.

The problem is I shouldn't have to do that.

So I'm gonna leave it in the hands of this body to come up with a solution with 311 and to make sidewalks walkable, especially those two that transfer a lot of convention goers back and forth and a lot of people to the Van Andel Arena for events.

And I'm sure they don't want to slip and fall.

Two weeks ago, uh I was still on my way from Mexico.

I was there for three and a half weeks.

And during those three and a half weeks, a lot happened, not only here in the city, but across the country.

And they were in a situation where they had to let their dock collapse.

And the officer who I'll be honest, especially Commissioner Isashi after speaking with you, um, I'm it's still unclear to me whether this was GRPD or Wyoming PD, so I'm not gonna make accusations against GRPD on that today.

Uh, but the point is that she was deported for having tents.

Um, the officer detained her in Kent County jail for two weeks, and she was deported for the crime of having tents on her window.

Um, of course, we all know that I used to murdered somebody, Ms.

Good back then in Minnesota.

We saw one of our community members, Jesse get arrested for protesting on the street.

And Minnesota and Minnesota Ice murdered somebody else just this past weekend.

I'm sure that you all have received in your inbox the over 500 letters that have been sent to you by community members asking you to take action.

Now, uh mayor, I would agree with you that there are some certain things that have been asked of you all by certain members of the community that are not within your power, but there are certainly things that you can do, and I'm gonna get very specific here.

You can make a resolution banning ICE from all city owned property.

You all can use this body to pass a non-bining resolution and your individual voices to call on the county sheriff to stop using our county jail to detain people, especially when they have not been convicted of any violent crime or of anything that would harm our community.

You all can do that, and you haven't done it.

Commissioner Kilgore, you have in the last couple of weeks been using your voice and your platform to speak out a little bit more.

I appreciate that.

Commissioner Belchak and Isaac and Commissioner Knight, who's not here.

We have had personal conversations.

I appreciate you taking the time to do so.

You all can do a lot more, though.

I ask you to look to our neighbors to the east of Detroit, who's mayor and recently elected commission, are moving forward in the next couple of days and then the next couple of weeks to do everything they can to stop ICE from terrorizing our communities.

I am asking you all to move forward ASAP with the community members who are asking you to reframe or to change our uh cities harder so that we can expand the definition of what public safety means.

And no, that doesn't mean raising parking uh rates so that we can give more money to GRPD.

I'm asking you to give the community control of the police because we do not trust the police.

I don't have enough time to get into everything else, but I thank you for the opportunity.

Uh my name is Diana.

I'm a resident of the third ward.

Um, I'm a lot of things, including a mom of a soon-to-be six-year-old GRPS student.

Um, for some reason, most of you know me for my solidarity with Palestine and my work with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids.

Um, it's really imperative to know how Palestine and Grand Rapids are related right now.

Um I have long worked towards collective liberation, and I sent the letter that 500 of us sent to each of you saying here's four different things we could do.

The reason that we sent those letters is there is a connection between police and ICE.

They are not separate entities.

Um I'm asking each of you to use your position of power to explore real change that we can enact right now.

We've given you examples.

You can bring about your own ideas.

Move this issue to a vote.

I appreciate the comments that the mayor said at the beginning of this this meeting.

Um Marshall, you have said a lot.

You've used your voice.

Yes, yes I know that you have had conversations as well.

I we we need more at this point.

Um I will also include the direct attack on political activists that has happened.

You know, Jesse's arrest going viral really showed what's been happening.

Um, I will share with you that in May of this year, I was in front of the courthouse where Christopher Scher was on trial.

He murdered somebody.

Um, and that's really jarred our community for a very long time.

So while I was in front of the courthouse on the sidewalks, um, in a really really confusing moment, all of a sudden we were being circled by the GRPD.

I was being pushed with bikes, and a woman who I was next to was grabbed, a black woman was grabbed, thrown to the ground, and they began arresting her.

Um she had a lot of health issues.

We were trying to communicate with her.

We didn't know why this was happening.

Um, and as the police continued to hit me with their bikes and yell at me, suddenly I saw something in my face point blank, and I was shot right here with a bullet with an inert bullet.

Um at about this range here.

She was taken to jail.

Two months later, I received a um charges.

I received charges in the mail.

I never gave anybody my name.

I never knew.

Nobody knew who I was.

I was there just to witness what was going on in our community.

I was lawfully in the place that I was allowed to be.

I was charged, it dragged through the courts through to November, so probably five months of wasted money in our community.

Um, and I'm okay.

I was bruised, it didn't feel good, it was really scary.

But that's what happens.

I was targeted because I wear this all the time because I come and I speak.

And the GRPD put me through a system, they traced my face.

This is what they're doing with ICE.

I'm running out of time.

There's a lot more to say.

I'd be happy to share my experience with you, but these things are connected, and we have to do something about it.

Hi again, still Lucas.

Mr.

Washington.

I think you often confuse disrespect for your choices with disrespect for you.

Yes, many, many people who come here have moved past any respect for you.

I actually do respect you.

You're intelligent.

A shrewd politician cleverly disguised as a bureaucrat and a deft manipulator of other people's words.

Maybe it's a game recognized game thing.

I don't even doubt your expertise, despite my ox opposition to your ridiculous paycheck.

And the incessant hand wringing from elected leaders over the possibility of losing you to another gig elsewhere.

Recently, you took issue with me telling you and other leaders to get out if you aren't prepared to stop being puppets to the Van Voss Mafia.

You turned that around on me and likened it to telling me to go back to Nashville.

There's a huge difference.

And I certainly didn't come here to be treaded upon by greedy corporate overlords.

To me, if you and or the police chief, who I also happen to like, are just carpet bagging to see how much more you can make elsewhere, then I do think you can get out.

Same with any elected official.

Anyone not prepared to stand up for the people?

Get out of the chair.

Nobody made you run.

And none of these magacultists are a surprise element.

Not even the ones serving as police.

The philanthropic gaslighters in this city abuse our government as their own personal enforcer to keep us commoners in line.

It feeds the system making them richer while never facing consequences and getting vanity buildings and street names for their trouble.

The city manager is an unelected throttle on the will of the people.

We should begin the process of diminishing or abolishing the role of city manager and moving our great city back to a strong mayor system where the people we vote for are the actual people in charge.

And we do have the power to do this by petition.

We can upend the corrupt format of this system.

And I urge our communities to start having that conversation.

Mark, I don't think you're a bad guy.

But I won't take cheap hints at my motives lying down.

Let's all be grown-ups with thick skin, sit with our disagreements, and honor the people.

Not just the whims of the robber barons or the gripes of MAGA chicken hawks in the comment threads.

One more thing, a disclaimer.

I'm representing my own views tonight, and any other night.

Not that of any group unless I specifically say so.

But my values and principles figure into everything I do, and anybody that doesn't like that can cry me a grand river.

Hello, Matthew again.

Um son to Daniel and um we have been permission.

We we have been granted uh we have been quite permission by you and uh county to Nature Address because of his threats.

Thankfully, the thankfully we have not received any threats lately.

And um I would have loved to be at the vote, but like I said, the Lord will hold you accountable.

And unlike others, he does not forgive and forget, and he used to he used to win cuts in, but none no more.

He's coming back up to his enemies, and no one no one can stop him.

And no I am uh yes, I'm a republican in some and in others.

Um would murders me and dad uh followers of Christ because unlike unlike the politicians, he cannot be stopped, and we serve a wizard save you, and we serve um yeah, we serve a wizard and save you, and we are not villain, we are not vilifying anyone.

And um, if let me warn you like the like the professionals said you were gonna be sued, and no, we are not suing for money, we are suing because you allow you wouldn't do um shut um the um the you wouldn't do sod a um be alarm or the other communists, so why try with us and you will be unsuccessful because even you may say we may you may say no obviously, but we will we will we will continue to speak up and even that even though that means even if that means disobeying um you to obey God who's higher than you.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Graham.

I've lived in Grand Rapids for three years, and it's definitely been some of the best three years of my life.

But and Mayor Le Grand, your opening speech was inspired and reminds me of honestly from my childhood.

I grew up hearing the stories of what it meant to be an American that to have the rights uh enshrined.

As I grew up, I learned how many were not actually given those rights, and those and those abil and such.

And you mentioned in that speech that there are people have requested that you've already had the policy on the books with GRPD about um regarding immigration status and other things.

My only question is it may be on the books, but is it enforced?

Is it actually held up?

Because I've heard too many stories of GRPD and working with ICE, working with other groups to discriminate based on perceived immigration status.

I know many people very afraid, some who barely want to leave their homes be out of fear of getting kidnapped off the streets.

Thank you for your time.

Good evening, Ned Andre, third ward.

Um, I come here to parallel the situation in Minnesota.

Um, a lot of folks have spoken about ice here tonight, but here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the black community, the poor community, the LGBT community, the indigenous community, um, many people in the city of Grand Rapids experience that same treatment that we see ice in Minnesota.

It's happening right here on the streets of Grand Rapids by GRPD.

This summer, uh, my life was nearly taken by GRPD in an incident in a Walgreens parking lot where no crime of any kind had been committed.

When the Grand Rapids Police Department shows up, they escalate, they antagonize, they incite, they aggravate, and they make the situation dangerous.

I'd like to propose that we transform GRPD, that we transcend law enforcement.

The very word force is built right in.

GRPD is here to force the law.

I think about Malik Carey in 2017, 200 yards from where I was brutally assaulted by GRPD and nearly killed.

His family calling 911, we need help.

Our son is having a mental crisis.

He's having a breakdown, he's suicidal, he's got a gun.

Gun!

Gun!

Gun!

And they come flying in and they kill that young man.

I think about Patrick Leoya, who was merely driving home.

He was blacks from his house, he had a bad plate on his car, and that becomes a death sentence.

We came across three young black men in Grand Rapids being held at gunpoint by GRPD.

They were lawfully exercising their right to the second amendment.

But we have two constitutions in this country.

We have a white constitution, we have a black constitution.

Black man can't open carry a gun in the state of Michigan, even though they were following every lawful procedure.

And GRPD shows up and they endangered the entire community.

They start pointing their guns at the entire crowd.

They don't follow good tactical uh procedures, and they endangered every single person there.

And then they cross distance of 75 feet or more to assault me and other neighbors.

Uh and then Chief Winstram does exactly what we see ICE doing today.

When they say this young woman who was killed by ICE was a terrorist, the nurse was a terrorist.

Chief Winstrom gets on TV and he says, Ned Andre is guilty.

And I accused him of committing a crime.

He's tampering with the jury pool.

He's going on to control the narrative and say these people are guilty in Channel 8, and all the news stations are more than happy to portray these lies.

And then GRPD internal affairs, they're a ridiculous joke that you cannot have the police policing the police, and I can't even begin to talk about this know your rights campaign where 200 black people were just told if you don't act right, you're not gonna have safe encounters with GRPD.

If you don't act right, you may be killed and not make it home safe.

Know your rights, all these things.

Brandon Davis and these folks.

Good evening.

Daniel Scott once again.

Mayor Le Grand, I appreciate your opening comments as well.

To quote two of them, every human has rights.

Quote, we must defend all of our citizens.

The holy scriptures declare life begins at conception.

And as I've said here many times, and others have said it, those precious little babies being torn apart at 425 East Cherry, and within Corwell Health, and within Metro Health hospitals, are just as much of a citizen as you and I are.

Against silencing the Christian message at 425 East Cherry.

Appreciate that.

And those of you that voted for that, I am uh sorry to hear that.

I did learn by doing a little research that Mayor LeGrand, you're uh funded by Planned Parenthood.

Right there on your website.

And also, Commissioners Usasi and Knight, you've been endorsed by that blood cult.

I don't know if you've taken any money, but the website said you've been endorsed by them.

So maybe that's what it's all about.

You're voting.

Because every baby that's murdered there, Planned Parenthood gets six or seven hundred dollars.

Even more than that when they sell the body parts.

One hundred of our fellow citizens who have no voice.

If you ask them if they want to be torn apart limb by limb, I'm sure they would say no.

And that's why we're here to speak up for them.

Appreciated the comments.

City manager in the newspaper, Grand Rapid City newspaper about the violence, stopping the violence.

Again, I've said many times.

Stop the murder at 425 East Cherry and Corwell Health and Metro Health Hospitals, and you will see a dramatic decrease in the violence in this city.

Um, hi, my name is Libby, lifelong resident of Grand Rapids, currently in the second ward, or pretty much always have been in the second ward.

Um, to the mayor, I do appreciate your words at the beginning of this assembly.

However, I want to point out as somebody else did that policy is only as good as enforcement of said policy.

Um I I see a lot of the police in the city coming out with we have policy, we have policy, but policy is also up to interpretation, and we see that being used a lot to excuse behavior that is not excusable.

Um, I came out tonight because I wanted to address the arrest of a young woman on January 3 with Channel 13 cameras rolling.

I take issue with this whole event.

First, why do this while the cameras are rolling?

It feels to me that it was a an attempt to intimidate us.

Hey, if you come protest, you might get arrested.

Why else would you do something like that while the cameras are filming?

Second, why even arrest somebody for blocking or impeding the roadway?

There are so many crimes in the city and city ordinances that the Grand Rapids Police never even bat an eye at.

And all of a sudden the crime of blocking the street gets somebody arrested.

That also seems like intimidation.

I bring this up because the idea of Grand Rapids police and ICE being together is terrifying to me.

I wish it wasn't.

I wish I was braver.

I've had a lifelong lifetime of privilege that has allowed me to not have to fear for some of the things that my neighbors have always had to fear.

GRPD is answerable to us through you.

Do your job.

Create and enforce ordinances that protect us and not them.

If they can't work for us, why are they here?

Why are we paying them?

And if you can't enforce the policy, why are you here?

Um, just with a few minutes of time.

I want to have an Anne Frank quote that a lot of people know.

Terrible things are happening outside at any time of night and day.

Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their houses.

They're allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them.

And even then, they're robbed of these possessions.

Families are torn apart.

Men, women, and children are separated.

Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.

Shame on a country that allows that, and shame on you if you allow it to happen here.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Shannon.

I'm a resident of the third ward.

Um, I'd like to echo what several people have said that having a policy saying that police can't cooperate with ice is pretty much useless if it's not enforced.

We also have a constitution that says that we have the right to freedom of speech, yet GRPD constantly infringes upon that right.

Um they also constantly are racially profiling, harassing people, targeting activists and protesters.

So clearly having a policy doesn't mean that GRPD will follow that policy.

Um that policy needs to be enforced, but clearly the police are not held accountable to you.

They're held accountable to themselves and to corporate interests.

Um we need a to make the police force um controlled by the community and counter accountable to an elected civilian entity that has actual oversight, unlike the OPA, with actual teeth and actual disciplinary abilities and authority over the police force.

Um I would like you to listen with a why more open mind to the requests of community members, um, the immigrant community, um, to actually uh talk about meeting their demands instead of just saying, oh, we already do.

And you also said earlier today um that there are things that you can't control, like the county um and the federal uh agencies.

Um but I would like to encourage you to work with the county.

If the city doesn't work with the county, then you should be.

Um, and as the largest city in Kent County, I imagine that Grand Rapids should have some sway.

Um, and as far as uh federal agency offices in the city, um, you may not be able to kick them out.

Um, but I imagine that the city could make their life an administrative hell.

Um maybe that's not the West Michigan nice that you are comfortable with, but if you are actually serious about what you said in your opening statements about Grand Rapids not going down the road that um other places are going down, then you need to be committed to action and action that you may not be completely comfortable with.

Thank you for your time.

Hello, friends, Mark from Grand Rapids.

The orange fell in chaos continues.

He wasn't brushing no gun, which he was, which he was permitted to carry under Minnesota law.

He was witnessing these ice agents.

Basically trying to do an attempt to gang rape on a woman.

People are afraid to say it, but I'm damn sure not go say I'm damn sure not.

He comes intervene.

Gives her away from the situation.

They turn on him.

And they go after him like wild dogs going after a piece of meat.

Yanks is legal farm away from him and gets offed ten times.

Probably more than that.

And have the dog killer herself get in front of the cameras and lie.

The head of this ICE agency lied.

Timu Charles Manson lied.

Oh, because the orange felon wants to try and cancel elections.

This is his plan.

And trust me, these people are not ice agents.

These individuals are from members of the violent boys, oathkeepers, Patriot Front, Blood Tribe, and every other hate group under the sun.

This has to stop.

And it's up to the people to stop it.

I'm tired of it.

And in the 10 seconds, and then the final seconds of half of this.

Do I lean that battle?

I'll defer.

Commissioner Balter.

Wow.

Okay.

Uh let's take a deep breath in this moment here.

Um yeah, I think that there's been a lot brought up since tonight's public comments.

There's a lot we came into this as commissioners expecting to have to discuss.

There's been a lot of um heartfelt intentional care put into the work here today.

Um, and I really want to commend our call my colleagues on that.

Um, I want to say thank you to everyone who came out and expressed as well as anyone who sent an email, a phone call.

I've had some very um heartfelt phone calls with people calling me.

In fact, after the last commission meeting, I answered my phone at 5 30 at night here in the office, and it was someone panicked, and we had to breathe.

And we had to take a moment, and we had to not be just commissioner, but be a human together.

I think it's really important as we continue down what is clearly frightening, full of grief, and a lot of turmoil in our own community as we reflect back.

But it's important that we continue to try to build some relationships and trust.

Um today we talked about our community engagement framework, which I think is something that will be very key as we move forward in our city to help bring that clarity, that decision making of where input is is needed, where input is more about us telling you what's happening versus making your decisions part of your ideas part of the decision making.

So go back and listen to that during our community of the whole.

So I want to give a little shout out in this moment to our public works department and the snowplow drivers who are out there while we're all hungered down.

My kids have had another snow day today.

My elementary student only went one day last week to school.

So I rode on a snowplow on Friday, and while that is a far cry from the other things that were brought up here tonight, I think it's an exemplary moment to think about how we are showing up in our community.

These guys are putting in and gals, 12 hour shifts.

So that we all can get to our places, even if we don't want to get there.

And even though our side streets get plowed last, there's first all these layers of first response roads versus later response roads.

But just think about that, and you know, this is my own public safety request.

When you're in that uh plow truck and they're playing joystick video game around your car because it's piled up with snow.

Remember, they could skip your side of the street altogether.

So they didn't, and let's move our cars.

Um I also want to commend our 311 folks.

I heard somebody bring up 311 today.

I had the opportunity to sit in uh and tour, so to speak, that department, sit in on the calls, listen to how they're responding.

These folks are on probation for six months before they even consider becoming like a real person, so to speak.

Um they're doing a fantastic job, and I can assure you that if there is a question, we are working on it behind the scenes with better systems, better ways to look up how things are being tracked, and how we can report back to you all.

So I just want to reflect that we can build trust even in turbulent times.

It's not a soft concept and it's not optional.

It is part of what I mean when I say let's build a civil society, and yes, we have to do it from the ground up.

Because when trust breaks down, what fills the gap is fear, misinformation, and isolation.

That's why trust is a go in government, is not just a civic value, it's a public safety issue.

And I get that we have communities where trust is broken.

There's a line from the Lord of the Rings, since we heard about Ann Frank, that I often am coming back to.

I happen to have splurged recently on the 25th anniversary marathon all 14 hours in the theater.

Yes, it was fantastic, but that also reminded me so much of what we're living through.

There's a character.

If you know Lord of the Rings, you know which one.

And we can do that when we act with care, courage, and integrity.

So thank you to all my colleagues and to all of you.

We're just in the beginning.

Commissioner Purdue.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

Um, it really is great to see all of you here.

You know, earlier this month, we celebrated Martin Luther King Day, and I got the opportunity to be a keynote speaker at a local event.

And so I did quite a bit of studying and just refreshing and looking at original words of Dr.

King, and so much of it felt so relevant to now, um, as many of you articulated today.

Uh, but there were two two things that uh he talked a lot about that I think are extremely relevant today, and why I'm uh even more thankful to hear all of you.

Um, and that is his emphasis for us to express our discontent.

He said, express your discontent.

Um he talked about it really was the courageous protests, right?

That um shattered the myth of the black part the black Americans uh discontent in this country.

Um even Zora Neil Hurston uh talked about um if you are silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it.

And that's really a that's a that's a good one.

So um I say all that to say that it is just so important for us to express our discontent.

Um what I heard tonight, um, some of your discontents that I heard tonight, um, certainly um our concerns with our individual rights, um, our desire and our expectation to be treated fairly, to be treated justly, and to be treated with common sense, um, and your ask and all of our desire for good strong leadership that is reliable, that has integrity that is trustworthy.

So I want to let you know that I heard that uh from you, and um it certainly is my always my goal um to act in that way.

King also talked about we have to he talked about a political alliances, but not just political alliance in general.

He said we have to master the art of political alliance, master the art, and I think particularly in this moment with so much discontent, so much disruption, so much grief, so much pain, so much harm, it's all the more important for us all to work to master the art of political alliances to work towards achieving the things that we believe in.

So I want to emphasize that tonight, and also just we all understand the great responsibility we have in this moment, every single one of us to show up in these challenging moments and these divisive moments and these deciding and defining moments.

Um so with all of that, I'm gonna continue to focus on our local work.

Um I'll continue to speak up and stand up on the things that really align with my values and where um I believe is best for our cities to go and to work that in a way that works for all people, all neighborhoods, and in a way that we can share progress.

And I'm also committed to staying connected to you.

Um so I've talked a little bit uh here before about uh online engagements that I do uh on a regular basis.

Uh this year I want to make sure we don't miss one.

And so we're starting tomorrow, and typically the last Wednesday of the month, 30 minutes online, 6 30 to 7.

I ask you to join me for let's talk third ward for updates on wins, what's coming up, details about our decisions.

We can go into a different type of two-way conversation and detail that we're not able to do up here.

Um, and if you've been to those, you know how valuable that time is, and if you haven't, I encourage you to join.

It's not restricted to third warders.

Uh, a lot of what we talk about is is relevant for the city, uh, but certainly uh we'll focus on what's happening on the southeast side of town.

Um I think that's really all I have uh tonight that I wanted to make sure I share.

Um, just I really appreciate seeing you all.

I think it's important to continue expressing our discontent.

Um I have much of it.

Um and I also want to make sure that we uh take care of ourselves and our neighbors in this time.

Um and I hope to see many of you tomorrow so we can talk further on the things that you brought up tonight um as well as what's coming up.

Thank you.

Commissioner Sassi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you everyone for being here today and colleagues as well as staff.

Um appreciate the work as we've been looking out here into a little snow globe.

Um, and I don't know what it's like outside right now, but I think it's been as some of the sentiment from some of you that were here, and and some of you who have already talked up here, um, the thing that keeps striking me is you know, what is what is our role in this time.

Um, thank you, Commissioner, for you know, making that space.

I think that's really important.

You can hold a lot of things both at the same time, be excited about seeing a colleague or seeing somebody here a win, but also feeling very overwhelmed and frustrated in these moments.

Um and so I think back to a couple weeks ago of a situation where there was a report of ice in our community, and somebody had called me, another colleague had called me, and I called the mayor, called city manager, and you know, we find out that it was it was a different operation.

And so, in that nobody was wrong because the fear was there.

The fear is very raw.

Uh, have family members who the fear is very raw, and you know, you're like worried about them being in Texas, but maybe I should be more worried about them being in other places.

And so, what I kept thinking was that it's really my job to be to try to remove that intuitive thinking of I trust this person, I know this person, this thing is happening, and my job is to be a critical thinker during this time.

And so, you know, that's kind of what I'm holding, I think, because you know, mayor jumped on the phone with me, called person, work through it.

And but but we but we get it, people are are definitely afraid.

Um, you know, Ivan, I guess I'm glad you're back from Mexico, but you know, stay off the Facebook bro.

Uh no, but I appreciate you always like looking for that space and that conversation.

I I do think this is what I would say.

A lot of discussion was brought up about policy.

Our job is policy making.

So if the policy that we make, you don't like with agree with, that's fine.

But this is what we've decided to do.

It is also our job to ensure and is enacted.

Quite honestly, the policy that exists, but specifically the foreign national um policy that was noted is because policy was broken.

It was and it was before any of us that were up here.

Well, you maybe were up here, but you weren't a policymaker.

Um, and right on the heels, and it was something that actually was uh city managers, one of the first things he worked on.

Unfortunately, we had to deal with it before, and we have this in place.

And so I would urge anybody, no matter what it is, if you believe that that has been violated, please please please report it.

Because Ivan for saying that.

That was my question is like, what is this?

What are all these things?

I need to engage in that critical thinking because if this is happening, I think you know, I'm not gonna speak up here for everybody, but I want to know that.

We would certainly want to know that.

I think city manager wouldn't want to wouldn't want to know it.

I think the chief would want to know it, etc.

and et cetera.

And so that's the kind of space I'm I'm sitting in right now, which might not be.

It's just I think that it's the it's the framework that I need to really focus on at this time.

Um, I also think, you know, there's conversation about the know your rights campaign.

Thank you, city manager, for bringing that up.

I, you know, my my comment was we need to have more in different spaces and not, you know, and if there's other people, I've seen a lot of our local attorneys, particularly in the Lethino community coming forward to hold some of these um these meetings forward, um, because we know it matters who the trusted messenger is, right?

Um, and so it might not be the city, but if we can partner with individuals, we've always been open to that.

Um, and you know, I I think that overall, um, you know, our communication with GRPS, our communication with the county, that all exists.

These are all entities that we're regular communicating and connecting on.

So, um, I just wanted to share that.

And um, you know, just hope for continued efforts where people are looking out for each other.

If there are things that we need to continue to be aware of, let's talk about them in at least for me in a way that I can critically examine that and then follow up accordingly, because again, that's really where I'm viewing my space right now.

Thank you.

Commissioner Cover.

Back to me, thank you.

Uh yeah, so thank you all uh so much uh for joining us today.

I think this moment is incredibly important.

Uh earlier today we experienced a heartbreaking tragedy in the third ward where a homicide took the lives of three people.

Uh, we don't have uh many details just yet, but I think we must continue to name uh this uh loss and stand with the affected families and my heart truly goes out to them.

Um I think it's uh good that we're coming together to truly reject violence of all forms uh in our community, and because of this urgent situation, we weren't able to really uh connect with the chief today at public safety, uh to but we did continue the important conversation about accountability in our city's policies, uh including our foreign nationals' policy, which I've been very clear and vocal that ICE is an agency that causes real harm to communities.

Uh history shows us that harm should not go unchallenged here in America.

Um, you know, so many folks have brought up Nazi Germany, but I encourage folks to go back further and look at uh slave catchers and in Boston uh folks in the community fought back so hard and really rallied to where Boston was basically declared his own where the government knew we're not gonna be able to just throw our weight around and cause violence and extreme harm to community members.

And I think folks today lifting their voices, coming to public forums, letting their elected officials know where they stand is deeply important.

Uh the head of this rogue agency has been removed, and they're I think so some of this conversation folks continually to peacefully protest is doing something.

It is being heard, it's not falling on deaf ears, so to speak.

Uh I can speak for myself.

So I thank you all for speaking with us uh in line with our public safety.

Uh recently spoke at the Safe Encounter Summit with the uh GRNAACP and the N A N B W BWC of Grand Rapids, uh, where we created an honest uh dialogue between community members and first responders.

Uh Commissioner Belchak was present.

Uh the city manager also spoke uh and creating that space for honest dialogue between community members uh is really important.

We also know uh I've been zeroed in, want to continue to lift up the new funding uh from the state with the public safety trust fund.

Uh $500,000.

Uh we we passed some things today to allow for new positions for uh the GRPD, which is wonderful, but how can we now use the money that the state allocated specifically for community for what community needs are?

So please continue to share your thoughts, your ideas with us to use that on money that are community dollars effectively.

Uh those dollars should come in April and May.

We learned that in the fiscal committee today.

And um that's what I'm looking forward to to continue to uplift these conversations and to center what our true community needs are.

But I think you all modeled today um and I'm thankful for that.

Of lifting your voices and um I'm hopeful that our collective lifting of voices uh our elected officials continuing to speak out will sh will really make this whole nation how Boston was in the mid-18 uh 50s, uh a zone that is untouchable where we know that we cannot have harm uh to our neighbors.

Um I it's deeply concerning.

Um right now we are seeing attacks on brown folks.

But I'm black, who knows where I'm from, right?

Uh actually a little town outside of Illinois, and then three months, my parents are smart and moved back to Grand Rapids.

Um, but we don't know how that's gonna look for people.

And so we have to continue to speak up in this moment and show the federal government.

There are so many other things that we can focus on.

I wish the federal government would focus on uh helping us uh fix some of uh our votes.

I wish the federal government would help us have access to child care.

I wish the federal government would help us have access to uh free education, educating our people, exploring and expanding our minds.

There's so many other ways where ice is a resource, and this resource is harmful.

And so I'm w hopeful that we can continue to speak up to uh change how this looks.

But we have heard you.

Uh we've uh talked about enforcement.

Uh, the word that comes to mind is accountability, and that has been my commitment throughout my tenure and will continue to be uh with this policy.

Um and also looking at other ways of some of the um ways that we interact with county government and things like that.

I think those are good notes, and uh we'll explore that with city staff and what that looks like.

But thank you all again.

Uh and history is deeply important.

Please look up the Boston and Boston in like 1853 and and what happened there.

Thank you all so much.

Commissioner Robins.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um, I know I'm typically not one to share tons of stuff um in my closing remarks, but uh hope you all will will bear with me tonight.

Um just a couple quick things.

I I know we had a good discussion at um public safety this afternoon, which I I I think is worth um uplifting again.

I know in the several years I've I've served on this body, um we've operated under all sorts of combinations of political uh you know, presidents, state legislature, uh so on and so forth.

And I think uh throughout my time doing so, we've we've always heard people talk about um what it means to understand constitutional rights.

Um so I I very much appreciated that conversation, I think.

Um in some ways I I feel like our education system maybe failed us as people and understanding what that means.

Um and so just happy to see the city taking strides in in intentional efforts to uh make sure every single individual, regardless of age, um, knows exactly what their constitutional rights are.

Like I said earlier, our constitution is the bedrock of our uh civilization and democracy, and so it's I think incumbent about uh all of us to um go out of our way to understand and take heat of the resources that we have um to understand what that means for us.

So um I'll leave that at that.

Second of all, I did want to say thanks again to uh Madam President Yes.

This morning I thought I could get away with uh another winter without biting the bull and buying uh a snowblower, and that was not the case.

This winter bit me very hard this morning.

So um appreciate uh the collaboration there and stepping in to tap in for me and and uh subbing in there.

So um wanted to make sure that was known and uh lastly wanted to share uh a bit of uh a personal announcement before we adjourn tonight um some information that will impact my my service on this body.

Um our next city commission meeting will be on Tuesday, February 10th, uh, which will actually be my last.

Um I'll be out of state for uh a planned work trip on behalf of my full-time job for the second meeting of February, which is on the 24th.

And when I return home to Grand Rapids, is my intend to submit the necessary filing paperwork related to uh another race, which uh for the sake of campaign ethics, I'm not gonna go into the details of that specifically from this capacity.

But uh as many of as many of you know that does require that I have to resign from uh my current capacity as uh a city commissioner, which is very bittersweet for me.

Um so my my last day on this body will be Friday, March 6th, uh, which I hope will give ample time to work with Merrill Grant and my first word uh counterpart, which I have uh most confidence in um on a transition plan that leaves the city uh and the commission in the best place possible, which of course is my my number one priority.

Um so over these last couple weeks, I I plan to wrap up some constituent relations items and uh attend final meetings with various committees and so on and so forth that I sit on and I'll plan to give some final remarks um at my last meeting on the 10th, and so without getting too misty-eyed tonight, I'll save it for then.

But uh in the meantime, I appreciate you all.

Um, and if you have any questions in the meantime, I'm happy to answer them.

So feel free to reach out.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Mr.

Clerk.

Well, welcome to we're almost done with the first month of 2026, which is hard to believe.

So we've we had some discussion about some elections now uh and various other things.

So it is not too early to make your plan for the elections of 2026.

We have candidates in the room and candidates that are out there that have been out there a long time.

Statewide candidates changing from running from one race to another.

So it's gonna be 2026 will be a very, you know, we always say this is the most important election, but the next election is always the most important election.

Kurt um and so make a plan for that.

So now's the time to check your voter registration, make sure you're registered, make sure you're registered at the correct address that you're residing at now.

So go to Michigan.gov forward slash vote.

Um, just make sure that you're all up to date.

If you want to be come get on the absentee list, you can sign up for that there as well.

Um there is not excuse me, uh knock on wood.

There's not a plan for a May election, but the next election will be a primary election August 4th.

So make your plan, and then if you want to see that what's happening locally, um, you can always type in elections on the city's website to see what current elections things are going on, just to make sure you're up to date on everything that's that's going on election-wise.

City attorney.

Uh brief thank you and appreciation to Commissioner Robbins.

You've been a pleasure to work with.

Uh I wish you all the luck in the future and thanks for your diligence and always being prepared and asking good questions along the way.

Thank you.

City Manager.

Thank you, uh, Mayor and Commissioners for your work.

Let me also start by um acknowledging the hard work of Commissioner Robbins.

It has certainly been a pleasure uh to work with you and uh to be um part of some of the things that we've accomplished together.

And so I'm looking forward to your uh final remarks.

Uh and so I won't get too far ahead of it, but certainly uh on behalf of all the city staff, we we certainly appreciate the work that you have done for the your ward in our city.

I also want to thank all the employees who have been working very diligently um throughout the storm response.

Commissioner um Purdue had uh expressed uh the importance of expressing discontent and certainly um I like everyone else here who believes in our democracy, believes in the first amendment right of freedom of speech.

And uh that's this is 250th year founding of our country, and it was founded because of that right to discontent.

Express discontent.

But I also believe in expressing appreciation for people who are doing uh good work and helping our city, our community move forward, and not painting with a broad brush uh all the things locally that are happening nationally.

And so we have a lot of hard working city employees who spend hours over you're seeing some here, the plow drivers that you mentioned, also the police officers during a storm.

They were doing wellness checks in the snow to make sure that uh and not enforcing crime, but doing actually wellness checks, getting out of their cruises, going to check and make sure that there were not any people that were uh uh that were uh stuck in in those uh frigid conditions.

As well as our firefighters and um all of our city staff.

Um I I cannot uh express uh how much I appreciate the work of those staff that uh have been part of keeping our community uh safe and moving forward.

Also um echo the uh sentiments of um you know this month we we acknowledge uh Dr.

King and we're approaching um you know Black History Month and this moment in time is very significant around the importance of being inclusive, and so I've I made my statement earlier, it's in uh the packet, it's in writing.

We will continue to have both good policy and practice.

And um I uh too uh as Commissioner Sassi said, I'm interested in knowing whenever there is incongruence in both, but that is not what the experience has been uh regarding that specific policy about foreign nationals.

And I know we hear uh claims uh frequently about what our role is in cooperating with ICE, but uh I have yet to find that to be the case.

And so lastly, I will say uh as part of my appreciative comments.

Uh one of the uh things I uh pride myself in is uh being surrounded by good professionals.

And also we call ourselves a welcoming city.

And so that means being welcoming to every member of this community, but it also means being welcoming to my staff that's part of this community.

And as city manager, if my staff, if they're doing their job, I will ensure that they have my support and they feel welcomed in this organization and in this community.

And just like we can't treat members of the public discourteously, there's only so much of that disrespect that I will allow my staff to absorb.

And so regarding our police chief who is not here, any member of this community who believes that he should get the hell out and put it in writing.

I am going to respond.

I'm gonna respect your right to say what you want to say, but you also need to respect my right to disagree.

And of all the chiefs, my 31 plus years in local government, I've worked with nine chiefs, and he is by far one of the best chiefs that I had the ability to work with.

And I wanted him to know that.

That was a private conversation, but we're going to make it public because I hope he's listening now.

And while he is in the middle of an application process, considering another community, which is his right, I want him to know that he's still welcome in this community, at least by me.

So I will say that for him, for every city employee that continues to do a good job, and every city commissioner who has done a good work.

I wish you were not leaving.

I wish you were staying.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

And I started with a long speech, so I will be brief.

Let me like make one parting observation for you, and that is something I've been saying a lot recently to people, which is um we don't get to outsource democracy to anyone.

So we don't get to outsource it to elected officials, we don't get to outsource it to staff.

We don't get to we we just don't get to lay aside our obligation to participate.

And so part of that is the our obligation to observe and continue to engage.

And so we as an organization will always embrace uh observations and uh and feedback from the community because that's our job.

So uh the tension, of course, and I you know, to maybe echo a little bit of what the city manager said, um uh suggestions for how to do things better.

Uh these are this is something I often say at my mayor's Mondays.

If you can come up with a better way to do something that is so much easier for the people who are trying to serve to hear than you failed, you're terrible.

And so um I would encourage the community to think as constructively as possible.

Uh and and a lot of you did this tonight.

A lot of you came up with suggestions and things that are that things that are appropriate to consider, and I appreciate the tenor of the discussion tonight.

Um that was a that was a broad theme.

Um, but I mention it because it's some it's a it's a habit we have to build, uh, and we have to build the habit of being willing to engage each other in ways that are going to make all of us better and make our community better.

So the other thing I will say in this, I guess to to pivot from policy into uh humanity.

It's also all of our job right now to look around us and find vulnerable people who may be at risk of freezing to death.

And that's not something we just have to leave to GRPD.

And we do not, I hope, uh feel like we can walk past by on the other side.

Um there are people in the community who are in real risk right now and real need.

And the tragedy is that that um uh I went out uh rode around with a uh in a in a GRPD cruiser yesterday, and some of the people who are in acute danger aren't able to articulate it, aren't able to ask for the help that they need and ask for the safety they need.

And like it or not, one of the jobs of public safety is to is to help people get out of harm's way even if they don't know how to ask.

And so I'm particularly grateful and I'm grateful to to the to the work that I know is happening from our first responders, and they're doing their best.

Um, but we have 200,000 pairs of eyes in the city, and we all need to be looking around and seeing who needs care.

Um for all that in the summer we talk about um heat and and heat islands and all that.

The fact of the matter is um this is deadly weather, and those who don't have shelter are going to need our care and our attention.

So please go out and do what you can to to find the neighbors that need our help.

Thank you, and thank you all for being here.