I'm going to call this meeting of the city commission to order and ask you all to join us as is our habit with a moment of silence please stand if you can and join us for the pledge of allegiance to the United States.

Mr.

Clerk, if you could call the roll, and while you're doing so, if our interpreter could make her way to the podium.

Commissioner Asasi.

Present.

Commissioner Knight.

Present.

Commissioner Purdue.

Present.

Commissioner Balchak.

Here.

Commissioner Kilgore.

Present.

Mayor Legran.

Yes.

If you could introduce yourself for the audience.

You'd say necesita interpretación in cualquier momento.

Estoy aquí para ayudarle.

Good evening.

My name is Sandra.

And I am an interpreter professional, interpreter from the Hispanic Center.

We're here to serve you.

I will be glad to interpret from Spanish to English or English to Spanish for anyone who needs it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And Commissioner Saucy.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

My apologies, colleagues.

I'm not feeling well.

I plan to go through the agenda that we have and vote on the appropriate items, but then I'm going to ask to be excused.

We need to be back in chambers tomorrow at nine.

I want to be sure I'm there for that vote.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So uh first item of action for us tonight is approval of our prior minutes.

Could I have a motion?

So moved.

Support support.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

That brings us to petitions and communications, Mr.

Clerk.

We have a few.

Communication received from Garrett McTavish regarding FOIA request PD 2026-545.

Received and filed.

Communication received from Erica Shember expressing concerns for the growing number of flock cameras in Grand Rapids Public Roadways.

Received and filed.

Communication received from Kelly Woolheist, Gable Ventures LLC expressing strong opposition to the continued renaming of streets.

Received and filed.

Two communications received from Scott Atchison regarding a downtown information center.

Received and filed.

Communication 10 of them received expressing support of Phil Strom for the position of city attorney.

Received and filed.

Communication received from Kyle Vinstrine regarding his resignation from the Economic Development Corporation of Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

Referred to committee on appointments.

And communication received from Crystal Hartzall regarding artwork in the uptown area.

Received and filed.

Received and filed.

That brings us to our consent agenda and reports of standing committees.

These are items which passed out of committee unanimously and did not uh get pulled for further discussion or for any other reason by any member of the commission.

The uh agenda was available at the door.

I'm at least some of you have it.

So if there are any of those items you wish to speak to later, you're certainly welcome to.

But I'd like to ask for a uh motion to pass our consent agenda.

So moved.

Support.

All in favor say aye.

Aye aye.

All opposed.

Motion carries.

That brings us to ordinances to be adopted.

The first one is an ordinance amending section one of the budget ordinance 25 2025-11 for fiscal year 2026, amendment number six.

Thank you.

I'd like a motion.

So moved.

Support.

Commissioner Usasi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um we have a number of items on this ordinance item.

First is for the police department, M.

Cole's funding for recruit stipends, an amount of a hundred thousand.

Second for our engineering department.

This is um Grand River's Edge Trail.

Construction, the amount of two million uh two point five million approximately number three for the DID for the Snow Mount Mount Fund, 50,000.

My apologies.

Um item number four, fiscal services department um for cloud services.

Um this is a carry forward of a little over a million dollars.

And um that is the remainder of the items um and no other items to mention for this ordinance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any comments or questions, Commissioners?

Seeing none, uh, this is a roll call vote.

So Mr.

Burke, Commissioner Knight.

Yes.

Commissioner Balchak.

Yes.

Commissioner Kilgore, yes.

Commissioner Asassi?

Yes.

Commissioner Purdue?

Yes.

Mayor Legrand.

Yes.

Motion carries.

Can I have a motion for immediate effect?

So moved.

Support.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

This brings us to our second ordinance.

It's an ordinance rezoning 3113, Plaza Drive Northeast from the NOS, which is neighborhood office of services, to the MON MDR modern era neighborhood mixed density residential zone district.

Thank you.

Can I have a motion?

Support.

Commissioner Knight.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um, this uh property is under consideration, is located south side of Plaza Drive, which is a private street and north of I 96.

The property is irregularly shaped and is encumbered by the private road right off the easement along its entire 315 foot frontage width, as well as a 25-foot easement for ingress and egress to a cell tower located at the southwest corner of the property.

The purpose and intent on the modern era neighborhood mixed density residential district is intended to permit the moderate to high density single use development pattern that present presently exists.

Um it is encouraged uh that the redevelopment of these properties into mixed density format where a variety of housing densities and styles are provided.

Thank you.

Uh any questions or comments, colleagues?

Seeing none, uh this is also a roll call vote.

Commissioner Balchak.

Yes.

Commissioner Kilgore, yes.

Commissioner Sasi?

Yes.

Commissioner Purdue?

Yes.

Commissioner Knight?

Yes.

Mayor LeGrant.

Yes, motion carries.

Uh this brings us there being no city commission resolutions this evening to uh public hearings.

There are two, but they can uh uh they should probably be discussed together.

Uh they are a public hearing, there they both reference the same project.

Uh the first is a public hearing for obsolete property rehabilitation district uh for the Gideon Project LLC at 801 Oakdale, and the second is a public hearing for an application for an 11-year uh what's sometimes called Oprah and Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Exemption Certificate for that project.

Um if I could have doesn't look like Ms.

Mrs.

Rennero, but anyone from the public wants to speak.

No, no, she's from the department.

Oh, but well, you can come up too, but it's it's a it's a public hearing.

So if you want to uh frame the matter for us, and then we can let the folks speak.

Thank you.

Good evening.

No, uh Ms.

Rennero is on a well-earned vacation for spring break, so I am filling in tonight.

Uh thank you for allowing me to address the council on behalf of this project.

This project is being put forth by the Gideon Project LLC by Tasha Cruz, whom you'll get to hear from in a few minutes, alongside Kurt Repart.

This is a tax abatement request for this facility, which is going to be a complete renovation of a blighted uh commercial building at the corner of um, I believe Eastern and Oakdale Street.

There's over 6,000 square foot of space to be rehabilitated, which includes the full scope of the ground floor picture here, into a cafe and ice ice cream shop and community event space.

In addition to rehabilitating the upper um second floor of the corner building to create um housing units that will be rented um to households earning between 15 and 80 percent AMI.

So total project cost for this do um exceed two million dollars, it's around 2.1, most of which is uh hard construction costs.

And tied to this project are some aspirational inclusion plan goals, um, just under 10% of total project cost to women and minority-owned businesses in this region.

The project uh is being proposed for an 11-year exemption certificate based on its achievement of one of the investment criteria outlined in the poll in the policy, specifically housing and income diversity, given its ability to meet um some affordability by design metrics.

Construction is estimated to begin this year and take up to 18 months to complete.

Uh, and fun fact just in addition to the project seeking support from the commission in the form of a tax abatement, it's also being supported through the South Town CIA through generous facade uh facade grant award.

So staff have been working with the uh developer to layer support where possible uh to make this project possible in this corridor and for this emerging developer.

Thanks.

Uh, before you go, um I assume this is your I'm guessing this is your first time doing this for the city.

It is.

Right on.

You did a great job.

Thanks.

Um, but for the record, can you just give our give us your name?

Yes, I am Audrey Tappenden, and I am one of the newest hires of the economic development department.

Good job.

Thanks.

Right on.

Uh so anyone from the public who wants to come up and speak to this, but also we'd be happy to hear from the developer on any details they want to add.

And uh Mr.

Rappert was getting up and down from his seat because he's excited.

I am excited.

Hello, Mayor and Commissioners.

Um I'm Kurt with Collective Ventures.

I'm here with Tasha Cruz.

Uh we're here.

Thank you for listening about the Gideon Project.

It has been just an absolute joy for me to work on this project with Tasha and play a small role in it.

Um we've had a few details from me.

We had Paul and her team out to the site.

They're not really pretty pictures that the assessor takes of an obsolete property.

Uh but she did that.

McKenzie and Audrey from the Economic Development Department have been great to work with.

We've also connected with planning and community development.

Uh the Southtown CIA, thank you for your support of our facade grant.

Uh it was kind of a fun little tour of city staff for me, uh, which I'm grateful for.

And also throughout this process, thank you for your support that you've expressed.

Uh the last detail because it's my jam.

We are adding one 60% AMI unit in this neighborhood that will be for neighbors, and uh and it will be at 60% of the area median income.

So, Tasha, you want to just say a little bit.

Most of um everything has been covered.

I will say that um part of this uh project has been in response to my great grandmother.

Um the ice cream shop is named Annabelle's, and she was born in 1907 and was a surgical nurse and had properties um in California and Illinois and Michigan, and surely if she could do it during her time, I can do it now.

And so that is um the motivation for me to um continue her legacy.

So my grandmother didn't quite have that vision, but we I am taking up that mantle again in her honor, and so um the ice cream shop is named Annabelle's ice cream shop, and so this is part of her legacy that I want to continue.

Well, those of us with long memories of that neighborhood remember when there were businesses along there.

Uh there was a hardware store there back in the day.

Um I want to say it was Hammer and Courtney off, but I don't remember the name.

Either it was either that are called Oakdale Hardware or something.

But yeah, I actually went there before it closed in maybe the 80s, so it's been a long time coming.

Um so thank you.

This is great.

If you have any questions, let us know.

Yep.

Uh anyone members for the public wanting to comment on this.

Um I'll just take another two seconds and explain how obsolete property rehabilitation the certificate that we're hearing about.

Basically, the idea is to give people an incentive to invest in exactly this kind of project by holding their property tax at the level it is now so that they're encouraged to invest in the property without getting penalized by having a uh uh big increase in their property tax.

So it's a very effective tool.

Very happy that we're using it here and seeing no one coming forward.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Um thank you so much.

It's been such a pleasure to work with you all the last maybe we met two years ago.

Um, and to get to this point in the project, I'm really excited to see so much development, a particularly locally owned development happening along the Eastern Avenue corridor, and I'm looking forward to the day where you can travel from Eastern and Wealthy all the way to 28 and Eastern and have every single one of our business districts on that Southeast Inn uh be vibrant and thriving, and certainly uh about a quarter of the district this will represent revitalization or redevelopment uh for.

I do have one question of clarification, Kurt.

Um, you mentioned um so on this piece that we have up, we see that there's going to be one one bedroom unit, one two-bedroom unit between 50 and 80 AMI, but you mentioned something about it an additional 60 percent in your comments.

Can you just clarify what you meant?

So the buildings over occupied in one unit, and then the other occupant will be real rent fully renovated at 60 percent.

Okay, okay.

So here's an interesting thing, and I had a conversation with Deputy Chief Barns about it today.

We said that we picked the rent based on what we thought would be for that neighborhood, which is actually not which is lower than what you could get at 60 percent.

So it's actually presents as 50 percent, but there's a there's a there's an interesting debate there around AMI to have.

Thank you.

Commissioner Balter.

Well, I might not let you off the hook so easily.

Um, first of all, both of you, I really appreciate it.

We know that this is a needed missing income bracket.

Um, it's I wouldn't mind if you you know, for everyone, like when you're thinking about renting, what those actual rents per month would be.

And you mentioned affordability by design metrics in the presentation.

I think that's an interesting concept.

I haven't heard that per se.

I wouldn't mind a 30-second description of that.

Uh I mean it's a small apartment, so it's uh it's an efficiency, it's a it's an efficiency.

The affordability is by the efficiency in terms of what we're gonna do, as well as energy efficiency upgrades to the property to make the the utilities cheaper.

Thanks.

I'm looking forward to having ice cream there.

We're gonna have to have our community hours together, a little long eastern first word, third word.

Okay, seeing no other uh public comment, this takes us to our general uh public comment time.

So anyone wishing to be heard on any issue can come up.

Please give us your name, tell us where you live.

Um Mr.

Jones, I already know you live in the first ward, but anyone else uh please give us your name and and uh tell us where you live.

And you have up to three minutes to talk to us.

How y'all doing?

I'm D.

Jones, passionate entrepreneur and visionary.

I brought a couple of friends from uh from the hood from the underserved community.

David, I want to give you a shout-out because uh I was looking at the stream and I end up seeing D.

Jones and a couple of his friends at the Mayor's Monday at the state of the city.

So thank you for putting the people, real people from the hood on the state of the city as black people are pioneering.

So, as you guys know, uh I'm the guy who got the city to adopt 3D printing construction with my continuous advocacy, but I actually just handed you guys some curricula.

So I'm working with historical black colleges, Texas Southern University is the HBCU, uh, the regional director of that HBCU controls 30 HBCUs.

So you guys see curricula that is going to be integrated across the nation.

I also have a guy who has uh connections to a 1.2 trillion, 1.2 trillion, making sure everybody here is 1.2 trillion, but he has a connection to a 1.2 trillion sovereign fund.

And if you go to HBCU grid.1, you will see the guy who made a one point who has connections to a 1.2 trillion dollar sober and fund who has a national innovation grid that literally helps us integrate our curricula into the nation and already has a platform and has thousands of universities and all of that.

So you guys know where I'm going for with this.

I am an innovative genius, a left-handed genius that is going to change our economy, that is going to build things and beautiful things and 3D print houses, show people how to use a decentralized streaming platform, build a digital brand, use your digital assets because now Fannie Mae, the federal financing agency allows people to collateralize against their Bitcoin.

So now you can use your digital assets to actually have a house without selling them.

So, David, I'm going to be on you even heavier now that the federal agencies and the financial federal agencies is allowing people to use cryptocurrency to actually purchase houses without selling their crypto.

No, we can use free digital assets.

Now people can actually stream and voice their free speech and their opinion without having subscribers and earn free digital assets that could be utilized to actually have a house.

Or because of D.

Jones influencing digital money, now you can actually stream and earn digital assets that can be utilized to actually purchase 3D printers or construction ink.

This is all going to be prioritized and started with prioritizing historical black colleges, African Americans, and people of color, and then we'll expand it to the other standardized organizations and communities, and the stock and community hub is actually a part of that.

I'm excited for what we're going to do with the stock and community hub because the stock and community hub will be the base of this.

So as I am a natural innovative, left-handed genius that's doing beautiful, beautiful things for Kent County.

1.2 trillion dollar sober and funds.

The guy who has access to funds has already developed this site.

I'm excited for my friends that I brought from the hood to speak to you about the initiative they got going too.

Mr.

Deans, I'm going to give you a two-minute and thirty-second uh timer.

I'm just going to tell you when you're at two and a half minutes because you have three minutes to speak, and I know you can't see the timer.

So if that's all right.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, my name is Sydney Deans.

I've been uh speaking to you, not you people specifically, but uh to the city uh concerning the Grand River and the waste that's going into Grand River, and uh how important that water was back when I was a child, uh back in the 50s.

We ate a lot of meals out of that out of that river.

I'm gonna tell you.

Although it was being dumped a lot of stuff in that river that it's not being dumped in there now.

But what I want to do is to see if we could filter our water system good enough to where we are to where we are releasing zero tolerance.

You had got a zero tolerance on it, you know, against pollution.

Because uh the state, not the state, but the federal government has these regulations that they say, hey, you can release so much uh foul water in there, but if you got a zero tolerance, it'd be better than what the government says because all you doing is polluting it, you're still polluting it.

And it don't take much chemical to pollute any water.

You know what I'm saying?

So it's better that we uh put a final filtering system on our water system.

Our uh uh outgoing water system to stop this here uh chemical, which which we still putting into the river inside my lake, and you don't want you to come right back, excuse me.

It comes right back into our kitchens because our water drawing, if I'm not mistaken, for the city is in Grand Haven, also at the lake.

See that water isn't making a circle, come right back to us.

So the better we make it, the better it is for deuce people and people of of this of this country and of the world because that water there's no limits to where that water can't go.

And another thing is um we have got to uh yeah, yeah, I don't know.

Um make it right for us to um get our sales together as far as chemicals being brought into this into this this state.

Chemicals be led into this state that shouldn't be coming into these states because other states say don't bring them across our border, but later thing let them come into our Mr.

Deans, you got five seconds left.

Sorry, I should have told you earlier.

Thank you.

I just let that five telling me quick so you can take a little bit.

First of all, thank you for letting us speak.

Um I'm Casimir Sterling.

I own a recording studio downtown.

Um some years ago, I was able to change my life through the Hyda Act.

Thank you to the honorable judge Nicholas Ayub and uh the things he did, his brother did with uh building the studio in Grand Rapids Public Schools really inspired me.

So uh every Wednesday we do a mentor day thing and we record some younger artists for free.

Um, I just wanted to let everybody know that that happens every Wednesday, no matter what's going on.

If you just look up Patrol Media on uh Google, you'll find my business.

Um here and uh Antonio are actually a couple of the guys who have been working to turn their lives around and work really hard at the studio, they've been doing really great job.

Um, and they're a little more in tune with the current issues of today more than myself.

Um so I like to listen to the younger youth as much as I can.

Um, but yeah, if anybody any Wednesday, we're there working hard.

Keep speaking, keep speaking about your initial initiative.

Uh eventually we're hoping to build a community center um based uh you know in knowledge, uh grounding and understanding, um and maybe like more of a safe haven for especially for younger kids, somebody like myself who grew up right over on uh Franklin and Eastern and didn't have uh much of a parental thing going around.

I just kind of spent a lot of time on the streets.

I really like to uh help curb that if I can and give a safer place for kids nowadays, and you know, I mean, uh some more creative too.

Kids nowadays are creating some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard in my life, and they're doing it off the top of their head.

Uh it's quite quite inspiring, honestly.

Um I just want to do whatever I can to help keep fostering a place of growth and knowledge, and yeah, that's that's what we're doing.

So hope to see you guys soon.

We'll definitely come back with more plans and more more specifics.

We do need uh we are looking for funding in the future, but I'd like to come with a more ground plan, like for that, obviously.

Um so you know for now, I I mean I have some small plans for just investing in like younger artists if you wanted to, you know, really boost their careers.

Uh I went to the LA Recording School, so I I learned like a lot on how to actually do that.

I've written quite a few plans for that matter of fact, but the the community center thing is a much bigger mission and that I know, and it's gonna take some years, but we definitely want to get started as soon as possible.

So that's good.

Hey, um, he introduced me as uh Deshaun.

I get three minutes again.

Oh, okay, good.

I thought I only had like 30 seconds left.

Um he introduced me as Deshaun, but they I'm known as like um they call me like uh anything that has to do with a plant or water.

So I'm just came to say I agree with the guy that spoke before we did about the water thing and about the river.

You know, that's kind of um, it's like for me, the youth kind of like relates to me.

I can talk good, I can dress good, I can uh they relate to me, so they listen to me.

But the only thing that I tell them is exactly things like what the older man said about the water, you know, and it's like all of our bodies are made of water.

I don't know if you guys know that majority of your our body I think it's like 80% water.

So it's like I hear a lot of funding about a lot of housing and a lot of a lot of things around this is why we I bring my cousin here today and kind of D Jones kind of like forcefully are as you can tell, making us get used to talking and you know coming, but um Yeah, I just feel like there's a lot of there's there's a like a lack of education and um about as to like you know what water is and health and like eating and you know I just feel like um I feel like maybe as he said we come from the hood.

I don't know where a majority of these people come from or where you guys originate from, but I feel like there's things that on both ends that I feel like there's a lack of communication, basically.

Like no no one really communicates, no one really talks, and that's why we're here today to see, you know, what you guys are talking about.

What what is the funding going towards?

What is you know, and that's where I come into play as like you know, the youth relates to me.

If you want the youth to listen, they listen to me.

If there's anything you'd like to present to them, I can present to them.

You know, but my biggest thing is like what the older man said, the water, you know.

I feel like I mean, if you need to know something else about me, there's a m only a minute left.

Um two years um of no eating like me.

I've been it's been like two years straight.

I've been in my study about you know, like African holistic health and just different, just different cultures and ethnicities, ethnic ethnicities and recipes and how they just what they know and what we don't, and there's just a lot that our youth doesn't know.

I mean, they don't know anything, quite frankly.

And it's like the common core education thing is like I just like obviously not working.

I don't think so.

I don't know if you guys feel like it's working, but I just feel like a lot of the books, a lot of this everything.

I mean, like I just feel like without education and water, where where can we get without that?

Without the first steps, you know.

Nice to meet you guys.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Good evening, commissioners and mayor.

I'm Ellen Atkins.

Um, I'm here tonight with a group of concerned residents.

We are King Park Neighborhood Association and Together West Michigan.

A group and organization that brings communities together with one voice to make our community stronger.

Y'all stand up.

All right, see what I mean?

Okay.

We're here tonight regarding traffic safety on Kalamazoo Avenue.

We heard earlier that there are many plans for traffic safety in the city of Grand Rapids, and there is certainly a need for that.

We won't debate that with you.

Um, but what we didn't hear in that discussion were plans regarding Kalamazoo Strait, which I kind of regard as the expressway between Burton and Hall.

Certain times of the day.

We know that construction is happening in an area south of Evergreen, with improvements happening there, which is great.

Our concern is for the area between Evergreen and Hall, where there are several cross streets with limited, and I mean limited site lanes.

We've also heard that there's a good possibility of a four-way stop costing 200,000 at Kalamazo and Adams, which would be good too.

We believe there's also a need for flashing crosswalk, a few blocks north at Ewing or Hancock Street, which would cost uh 125,000.

Both of these safety features will make the area much safer.

We know that.

I'm sure the city wants the residents to be safe on these streets as the neighbors do.

As you begin to work on the upcoming budget, which I hear y'all getting ready to do, we are urging you to keep the safety of our neighborhood in mind as well.

Our children should not have to run across the street on Kalamazoo, nor should old ladies like me who can't run quite as fast.

So please consider us when you are looking at your budget.

Don't forget us, because we are great taxpayers, we're great citizens, and we want you to take care of us as best that you can.

I would uh be uh remiss if I didn't thank uh commissioners for the work that they have done on this project as well.

Uh so thanks, Kelsey.

Thanks, Marshal.

Seeing no, hello, my name is Shannon Tannis, and I'm a displaced um former resident of the first ward.

Um there's a few things I would like to speak about.

Um I've been trying to get to these meetings for a couple of or a few weeks now, um, to address uh the mayor's comments regarding uh uh the right to carry and those who exercise that right, and um I informed uh his person that arranges his schedules and Monday coffees and stuff of my viewpoints and how arinous he was in that.

Uh I appreciate his response to backpedal his comments, but it's too late.

Um I've witnessed so much arrogance from you, Mayor Le Grant.

Um, at this point, I have asked for the signatures for recall, and that is 2,001 signatures, if that's actually correct, considering that our state has been influenced by Eric and our elections have been compromised.

Um I had conversations with Joel back in 2023 regarding my engagement in oversight with elections.

Um, and we're at the time of the wrath of judgment, and for those who participated in that to influence that.

Um, furthermore, about speaking about policing matters.

I was assaulted at the county commissioner meeting on March 12th.

I was informed by the Sheriff's Department at the time to call the Grand Rapids Police Department to make a report.

I did.

And um I had no one contact me back, even though it was assigned to a detective.

Um I documented every um recording and message I left asking for engagement.

I also called and inquired with just a regular cadet when they informed me that uh the detective decided that they weren't going to investigate.

Not because there wasn't any evidence, just because they chose not to investigate.

And the fact that a detective couldn't even contact me or anything like that is highly concerning.

Then I must left a message a week ago with the Office of Oversight and Accountability.

Um the non-follow-through with that is still continuing.

Um multitude of issues regarding the exercise of uh First Amendment uh right, uh freedom of speech.

Uh doesn't, it's not just about speaking, it's about the engagement of public meetings and the safety of those and public officials not participating and coordinating protest and um giving them some kind of entitlement that think that they can physically assault people during a public meeting.

Um I'm kind of over telling you guys and asking you to come to the table to address these issues.

Thank you.

Lucas's first word.

First, I want to pay a compliment to the GRPD.

Yes.

You heard that right.

This won't get four million views like last time, but it was never about any of that anyway.

At Saturday's No King's March, our police responded with the appropriate force four once, using bicycles for safety and routing.

And I can commend that.

I'm sure they hid their paramilitary units around the corner, but this was a small step in the right direction.

So good job.

Keep it up.

Now I'd like to open with a quote.

I'm acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots.

Jerry Ford, the only U.S.

president never elected by the people's vote.

GR's hometown homeboy.

This probably figures into the corrosive habit of government by appointment, widely accepted as perfectly reasonable here.

But it's not reasonable.

Offices are repeatedly appointment-filled from city hall to school board, and while it may be the current law, it should not be.

Between these appointments and the unelected city manager's corporate throttle on the will of the people, most GR citizens probably don't understand that their government isn't controlled by the people they vote for, but we can force it to change.

It's time for Grand Rapids to empower leaders who will propose a referendum to amend our charter and flip this government back to the will of the people with a strong mayor and commission.

We can also rid this city of another bizarre practice.

See, Drew Robbins didn't leave office because he wanted to.

He left because he was required to by local law, out of step with most of the rest of the American political system.

In filling his vacancy, the law defines very little.

Instead, the most honest method of special election, they get to just make up what they want to do each time.

And this time, they've told us out loud that they would prefer former Commissioner Reppart.

And they could have disappointed him.

Instead, we have this process of political theater and applications, but we all know it'll be Kurt.

His appointment would be justice, writing a nasty wrong, and entrusting him as caretaker of a seat that was robbed by dishonest and unethical players in a dark money conspiracy.

I'm among those now interviewing for this seat, but I still see these flaws.

I'm a firm believer that you can't complain about something unless you're willing to help change it.

So I'm honored to diversify the ideology in the conversation, despite knowing this government has little to no interest in an OBS approach like mine.

We are settling for a corrupt system crafted by the rich and powerful 110 years ago, and it's time for the people of GR to rethink it all and put the power back into their own hands.

And if I can help, I will.

So folks, maybe um if you wouldn't mind just cueing up in the middle so we have an idea, because I almost cut off public comment by mistake there because I didn't see anybody at the in line.

So my name's Chloe Mulder.

I've lived in Grand Rapids for 25 years.

Um I hold this community very close to my heart.

Um and I want the people who live here to be safe, but as of late, things have not felt very safe for some of our neighbors.

Um I'm not sure why we still have to keep coming to this meetings just to demand answers and justice for Daquan Johnson and his family.

The lack of urgency, the lack of transparency and accountability shown by the city is truly unfortunate.

A mother lost her son in a family's grieving.

A whole community is hurt hurting and outraged, and yet what we keep getting in return is silence, deflection, and delay, which is unacceptable.

In what world does someone who's already being restrained, held down and attacked by police dogs deserve to be shot in the back.

Officers carry tasers and they are trained in de-escalations.

They had options and they chose deadly force.

That is not protection or justice.

Well, this family is begging for answers.

I'm sorry, well, you can't release the death report yourselves.

You are not unable to speak.

Speak up for the family, call for the death report to be given to the mother.

And it feels like the city is more focused on economic projects and profit than accountability and human life.

And let me be clear: nothing is more important than jet than justice, not development deals or business interest.

The community is not going anywhere, and we will not be quiet.

We are demanding real transparency, real accountability and justice for Dequan Johnson.

And beyond this case, we are also demanding that ICE be kept out of our city.

Kosecha has been calling on the city to adopt the six sanctuary policies that would protect our neighbors and keep our community safe.

And it is time to listen.

Do better.

The family deserves it.

This community deserves it, and Dequan Johnson deserves it.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Bryce, and I'm an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

I'm here again to join Daequontray Johnson's family in demanding the release of the unedited body cam footage and to name fire and convict the officer who murdered Daquan.

When we last came here and said we need a new system, your response was we have a justice system.

Well, if we take a look at that system, we see 12 GRPD officer-involved shootings in the past four years.

Nine of those were located in the southeast side of Grand Rapids, and 11 of the 12 shootings involve black and Latin people.

Meanwhile, black and Latin folks make up roughly only 34% of the city's population combined.

This doesn't even include others like Riley Doggett and Samuel Sterling, who have been run down by MSP cars, or DeAndre uh Givon, who was brutalized by GRPD dogs.

Even just five days ago, GRPD destroyed Carol Liptrot's home while keeping her in the back of a cruiser without her oxygen for hours.

This is the real legacy of Grand Rapids so-called justice system.

You say things like, We see you, we hear you, but then in the same breath claim nobody is against police, just police brutality, or as Mayor LeGrand claimed, that our characterizations of police are strawmen arguments last time.

You offer next steps like policy reviews and increased incentives for officers to live in city limits, all while saying you can do nothing to meet the family's demands.

Get real.

We've heard it all before and after Patrick Loyoya's murder.

Winstrom implemented all sorts of so-called reforms around increased training, diffusing conflicts, directives to use deadly force only as a last resort.

And let's not forget his sanctity of life policy that all people, including lawbreakers, should be treated with dignity, and that preserving one's life should be an officer's top priority.

Yet here we are with Daekwan murdered because this is not a mere issue of tactics.

The truth is for a long time that you have no real solutions, that you are committed to running defense for killer cops in the same system that is rooted in slave patrols, hunting down black and brown folks, a system that is clearly still hunting down black and brown people, working class people and poor people in this city.

A system that only serves and protects the Van Andles and the Devosses with that grace and patience Mayor LeGrand was talking about last time.

Just to be clear, we aren't begging and expecting you to do something about this on your own.

We know you won't.

We're here to remind you that real solutions, real justice has only ever come from the people.

Ninety-eight percent of cops in this country who are involved in shootings never even face charges for their killings.

In those other two percent of cases like George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, or Elijah McLean's, justice didn't come because the system worked.

It was because thousands of people over years-long struggle shut down their cities until police chiefs and politicians like y'all were left with no choice but to recognize and meet their demands.

We've got to build our own movement right here.

Okay, I'll just say release the unedited body cam footage, uh, name fire and convict the officer, Justice for Dayquan, and get those sanctuary policies passed too hello.

As I stand here in the midst of another tragedy, I am burdened for this city and the Grand Rapids Police.

If we take a walk back in history, we will see a clear picture of where we stand today.

In times of political unrest and moral chaos, God raised up prophets to warn against coming judgment.

They called the nation to repentance, and they warned of a great deception.

A deception so great that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived.

Take heed, let no man deceive you.

They warned of evil men and impostors that would become worse and worse, deceiving many and themselves being deceived.

Deception does not come dressed in horns in a pitchfork.

It comes cloaked in religion, quoting scripture.

There is something sinister at work here when leaders and pastors campaign for the lawless and launch assault against those that have been called to uphold the law.

No call to repentance, no conviction of sin, no call to take responsibility.

Something is wrong when we reward the evil and punish good.

Truth must be the standard by which we measure all things in these dangerous times.

The truth is uncomfortable, but the truth is the only thing that will bring forth true change.

Truth is we don't have a race problem or a police problem.

We have a sin problem.

My Bible says the heart of the sons of men is full of evil and madness.

The hard truths, truth is the greatest threat to any society are those who reject the law and choose violence and walk in rebellion.

When a nation or a city rejects the law, lawlessness will increase.

Until we take hold of the truth, nothing will change.

The city needs revival.

We cannot raise a generation with no accountability and then be shocked by the consequences.

The real issue in any community or nation is the condition of the heart.

Laws can restrain behavior, leadership can influence policies, but neither can transform a soul.

Only when heart change changes does culture change.

Sorry, I lost my spot.

The true church is the only legal entity that has the ability to bring forth change.

It is the only by the power of the Holy Ghost that changes a man's heart, which changes his mind and changes his direction.

A society without warriors will crumble.

The heroes of the Bible stood against false religion, false preachers, and corrupt systems.

They paid with their lives.

They spoke the truth even when it cost them everything.

So today I make a stand with heroes.

Mr.

Scott, you know the rules here.

Okay.

Right.

Bad precedent.

So generally, folks, there we've got rules for of decorum for a reason.

We don't want this to be a popularity contest.

It's really important that people get heard and that we respect them.

But I would appreciate it if everyone would try to abide by the rules for public comment and not clap.

I can't force you, but I would appreciate it.

Hi, uh Russell Omstead, Westside, first ward resident.

Um I wanted to uh talk about the presentation this morning from uh GRPD, uh the the induct chief uh trick um around the police shootings that were happening um over the last four years.

Uh the the statistical data and everything that was presented, I think was enlightening.

However, I think it's really important that we don't just accept statistical data without pushing back against it.

I had a few questions uh around that presentation.

Um I don't know if he's here this evening, I didn't see him.

If he is, I would love to talk to him.

Um, but I would also like to be uh to have some of these on the record, and perhaps you on the dais may be able to look into these as well.

Um it was discussed at one point um around a debriefing that would happen around 48 hours or so afterwards, but it wasn't really gone into in depth about who the who was involved in that debriefing, um, what all part parties were involved in it, what was the purpose of the debriefing.

So I think that's really important.

Um the internal review process that happens when a police involved shoot officer involved shooting happens.

It was discussed that they review all of those cases, and uh it's used if necessary to improve training practices, but it wasn't discussed on any of those ten incidents that were discussed today, if that was ever done.

Did was it actually gone through and used for any sort of um review of training practices that led to these things?

Uh, in particular around the the incidents that happened with uh people who had box knives and not guns, as well as uh the people who it seemed from uh news coverage of those as well as the information this morning that it may have been suicide by a cop.

Um so I think that it would be important to look at that.

The gun stats that were brought on.

We've had four chiefs in the time that those gun staffs were started in 2012.

It wasn't discussed about how those stats have been compiled differently, possibly between every one of those chiefs, maybe it hasn't, I don't know.

But every leadership has a different understanding of what um how to how to categorize and retention policy and all of that stuff.

Uh along those same lines, the the first year of uh the data that was presented in 2012 only had like 60 something illegal guns.

I'm wondering if that's because it was from a shortened time period.

It wasn't implemented for the full year, if so, that probably should be included in the data.

And uh, on that note, too, the shootings that were presented was from 2020 till recently.

Well, the gun data was from 2012.

So if we're if we're looking at statistics, we want to make sure we're we're looking at everything.

Pardon me.

Looking at everything is how it uh lines up so we can make the right types of decisions.

Um quickly, I would fully support business owner in the Kalamazoo district.

Um we need to look at what's going on with the traffic there, possibly opening up a different business route on Blaine, where it's there's a dead end where it's blocked off, but there could be business traffic that could go that route and keep it from neighborhoods.

So we should look into that.

Um my name is Allie.

I'm here again to speak on the murder of Daquan Johnson and to stand in solidarity with his family and demanding justice for him.

Um I have noticed throughout the past almost six years that whenever, even when instances of police brutality that don't result in death, there seems to be a cycle of abuse that is being perpetrated amongst the public.

I feel like, in terms of the Daekon Johnson case, we are continuing to be gaslit by the Grand Rapids Police Department by releasing edited footage, telling us what we should think about what we're seeing, telling us that community conversations from eyewitnesses who saw everything happen being called falsehoods or inconsistencies.

When what's inconsistent is the fact that again we continue to hear, oh, he had a gun, he tried to reach for his gun.

Nobody saw that.

There's not footage of this happening.

Next thing you know, they're saying the gun was underneath him, and now they're coming out with information saying that he had drugs and that he had a bullet in the chamber.

And I feel like this information is specifically being pushed to the public to create doubt within Daekwan's character and dehumanize him when he can't even defend himself in death.

I'm really tired of hearing about these reviews, these reports, because they're all internal.

I don't expect the Grand Rapids Police Department to so super solely hold themselves accountable.

I don't expect Mark Washington to really hold GRPD accountable either because we've been asking for that since 2020.

More people have probably been asking since that before, and we're still not getting it.

People are still dying.

People are still being traumatized.

I just saw a video of a man being attacked by GRPD on the Southeast side, and this is a regular occurrence.

More people are starting to film the police because they don't trust them.

We do not trust the police.

I'm once again want to reiterate that this keeps happening because no accountability is taking place.

The entire city watched Christopher Schurr execute Patrick Leoya.

The entire city watched him get away with this murder after dragging the family through the legal process for years.

And it was strategic because the expectation was for people to forget.

The expectation was if enough activists got arrested and enough activists shut up about it, nobody would care anymore.

When the truth is people still care.

And the truth is the GRPD sees this as a president to do whatever they feel like because they saw their officer get away with it and be able to live the rest of his life while Patrick Leoya's family is now fighting a civil suit because they couldn't get justice in the criminal court.

Um again, justice for Daquan Johnson, just for Patrick Leoya, justice for Riley Doggett, gosh, there's too many names, just for Samuel Sterling, free Kai, stop wrecking the act arresting these activists and get ice off our streets.

My name is Michael Thompson.

I've been a resident in the Grand Rapids General Area for over 30 years.

It is my community, it is my home.

Um this past couple of years, I've moved from being a happy Slackist to coming to places like this and talking to people like you to holding pickets on the street to taking my phone and chasing down uh leads where ICE may be picking my neighbors off the street to see if I can get some footage or stand in the way.

Um if you want to arrest me, arrest me now, because if I can nonviolently, I will continue either to document or stand in the way of you removing my neighbors.

Justice, yes, for Mr.

Johnson is imperative, but also justice for neighborhood after neighborhood.

There were four people taken the other day, but five minutes from my home in one go.

I try to get there in time.

Others from our group, rapid response were able to document some of this.

It's a great organization.

I'd love you to join us seriously.

Seriously.

I've heard David Le Grand quoted, and I've heard it secondhand, so correct me if I'm wrong, that when this all started out, you referred to this as a Bonhoeffer moment.

If that's accurate, I commend you.

I commend you to follow up on that.

Bonhoeffer was willing to stand against these types of evil.

Included uh prison time, persecution, and the end of a noose.

I know I'm not alone in this room that we are willing to go to jail for our neighbors.

They are our neighbors, whatever their status.

It's also shocking to me, not only in Grand Rapids, but nationally, that when um a couple of white people got shot, and God bless their families for the loss of Renee Good.

Um the others who were shot in the same period.

There are actually two more.

Uh that it got attention.

But how come Mr.

Johnson's case isn't on CNN or Fox got help us?

So I'm inviting you to join us in the trenches because these are the people who have small businesses.

They cook wonderful food, they open all kinds of shops.

They deserve better.

In my last 30 seconds, I want to ask briefly what I know will fall in deaf ears that we as a city would divest from the s uh from the country of Israel.

I do not mean this anti-Semitically, and I have many Jewish friends who would second what I'm saying.

Israel has recently passed a fresh law encouraging death penalty for any violent Palestinians, but excluding any Jews from that law.

By law.

Sounds like America sometimes.

Thank you.

Hi, my name's Autumn.

Um I am a resident of the third ward.

I have never spoken at anything like this, so this is the first time you congratulations.

Um partner was here a few weeks ago at a at a previous city commission meeting, and she spoke on exactly the same story, but I want to tell it for myself because it's mine.

Um Patrick Leoya was shot in the back of the head in my grandmother's driveway.

Uh she was supposed to wake up 20 minutes later to go and take uh to to babysit my siblings when they were very they were pretty young at the time, so they needed to be.

Um she was not able to make that because her driveway was a crime scene.

I have not been back to her house since then.

I have not been to her house for Thanksgiving.

I have not been to her house for Easter.

That land is tainted.

I'm mad.

I want to ask if I have I the last time that I have seen a police officer in this town use their turn signals.

I s I can't even remember.

And I want to say if we can't trust them to use their turn signals who follow basic traffic laws, how can they be trusted with our lives and with police officers with guns?

I'm done with this shit.

Um hello.

Uh my name is Oak.

Uh since I last spoke here, I am now a resident of the third ward.

Um, not the first.

Um it has been a very long time since I've come to one of these.

Uh I think the last time I came there was a hearing um about a change in potential parking prices.

This wasn't from the recent four dollar thing.

This was before that.

And um I spoke at the wrong time, and I was told, oh ma'am, this is you know, you can finish your comment, but this is the wrong time.

Someone else that night, I think, pointed out that I don't use that form of address.

It's they them, but I also am past the point of really caring about that too much from people who I don't love.

Um I would implore you all to listen to all the other people who have spoken today.

Um people who kind of still believe that some of y'all are listening.

Um it can feel hard to it's hard to feel like uh people are because we kind of keep saying the same thing last time that I spoke about police, um, it was probably over a year ago, and it was about Patrick Leoya and concerns about the jury uh being fair, concerns about um how there were a lot of news articles about how good at foot chases Christopher Scher was, um a lot of stuff from MLive, um regarding Daquan Johnson.

There was uh like two, I don't know, it felt like a 30-second update on whatever news channel my grandpa watches, and it just said, as other people have mentioned, they were just like, yep, the gun had a bullet in it.

And that's kind of the rhetoric that we see every time um someone is killed by police is a lot of good stuff about the cop, although it not this time because we don't know who did it, and also a lot of this is why the person who was killed actually was bad.

And it's okay they got killed.

Um their ABV was a little high, or they had a gun with a bullet in it.

Well, a lot of people have guns with bullets in it, but we don't go around killing them.

Um something that has also been on my mind regarding uh the charges like this this circle of logic doesn't make any sense, except that it does.

The idea that with Patrick Leoya, he committed a felony or could have because he touched a taser and it's a criminal offense to or it's an offense to touch the taser because the cop was really scared he would kill him with the taser.

Well, he probably was scared about the taser too, and you don't have the right to be afraid when you're a citizen.

You don't have the right to be angry, and you don't have the right to actual discourse.

Um because whenever we try to talk about it, we get hit with a well, I don't understand.

This one was from Mayor Legrand.

I don't understand why people are upset since the you know the dread process is the most democratic.

But you did go downtown one time at least, and do you maybe understand a little more now?

If you have a conversation, not just listen to us talk for three minutes, shaking with anxiety, but like sit down and talk.

I would like to think you'd understand.

I worry that you don't want to, though.

Thank you.

My name is Tanner.

I live just south of the city.

I would like to add my voice to those demanding Chris Becker name and prosecute the officers who killed Daekwan Trey Johnson.

Uh the Grand Rapids Police Department has no basis of trust with the public.

They defended the officer who shot a peaceful protester in the face with a tear gas canister in 2020.

They defended the officer who executed Patrick Leoya in 2022.

Chief Winstrom states that Johnson pointed a gun at an officer's face.

This is not corroborated by the publicly shown dash cam footage, body cam footage, or bystander footage.

Mysteriously, the body cam footage of the officer to Johnson's left, which theoretically could corroborate the chief's claim, has not been shown.

GRPD had no problem producing footage for their propaganda series, all access PD Grand Rapids, proceeding Christopher Schreer's trial for the murder of Patrick Leoya.

So produce this footage now.

I find it very hard to believe Johnson could have drawn a gun from the prone position with a dog and two officers on his back, or that he could have pointed it behind him from this position.

I also find it very hard to believe two officers could not safely cuff a man in the prone position with an attack dog on him.

Uh release all the body cam footage unedited and prosecute the officers in a court of law.

Additionally, I find Mayor Legrand's attempt to shift the blame for this killing onto legal gun owners to be pathetic and desperate, especially so shortly after the illegal disarming and execution of Alex Predy in Minnesota.

I can only assume that the mayor has no faith that his hair trigger police force can safely interact with any person carrying a firearm for any reason and is preempting the fallout of the future violence by either the GRPD or the expanding ICE force in the city.

And on the topic of ICE, I also support the adoption of sanctuary city policies within Grand Rapids.

Thank you.

Hello.

I've lived in Grand Rapids for 30 plus years.

My name is Lauren.

I'm a mother, and I am a really tired, concerned community member, and I want to talk today about the safety of my neighbors, specifically related to both my black and brown neighbors.

I work hard every single day to build community and also be in community and support my neighbors in any way that I can with the extreme privilege that I carry, as you all carry yourselves.

Right now, the support that our community is in need of the most is directly tied to the lack of action, involvement, or necessary support from elected officials, government systems, how our city is handled, and the involvement of law enforcement at large.

It's been over a month since Daquan Johnson was murdered in the city of GR by Grand Rapids Police Department.

We have a grieving mother, a grieving community, and there's no answers or information.

It's unacceptable.

Why are our tax dollars going towards an entity that is executing lives in our streets?

Were the extra tax dollars you've all approved going to the police funding the last couple budgets used for the slave patrol dogs that were out there mauling everyone on video?

How does that sit with you at night while you go to sleep?

Because I'll tell you how it sits with me as a mother.

It's not great.

Release the names of the Grand Rapids police officers, charge them for the murder they committed, and get the mother the answer she deserves.

Justice for Daekwan Johnson.

Let's talk about GRPD again with ICE and GRPD connected.

I myself have been in front of you asking for the six sanctuary policies to protect my neighbors and dozens of my friends as well.

I've read all of your after comments after our meetings.

I know the excuses and things that are I'm not gonna list the same sanctuary policies again because you're yawning and all of that while you're up there anyway.

So uh none of you have joined uh rapid response training, yet you wanted to say, I need to see it out there, I want to see it with my own eyes, I need to be there to see it.

You haven't been there.

Even when a video went viral of a young man having his face shoved into a snowbank as ICE wrestled and sat on him.

None of you could even address the fact that a GRPD, Grand Rapids police officer, had his hand on the gentleman holding him down in the video.

Ice and cops go hand in hand.

They always have, and I'm tired of you telling us that there's nothing you can do while we all work to feed support and fund our neighbors so that they can continue their lives here.

Doing nothing is a choice, one you've all chose to make.

But Mayor LeGrand, trying to undermine the work of Movimento Coscha and GR and rapid response to ICE by creating a peaceful observer program clothed in white fragility is absolutely despicable.

I see you laughing, and that's just really awful.

Do better.

Do something.

Adopt the sanctuary policies.

Abolish IC, abolish the GRPD cop that killed all of these people in the streets.

You let Christopher Sure go.

Don't let it happen again.

Justice for Daquan Johnson.

Thank you for this time.

Kim Combs, I've lived in the third ward long enough to watch the transition of being asked what church I go to and what my husband does for a living.

Obviously, I don't have a husband.

To now those questions are not asked anymore when I meet someone new in this city, finally.

Happy to watch that transition.

We've had a lot of people move in from outside of the area, and we are now a beautiful eclectic city, and we have the opportunity to be a city that leads by example because the stories that we're hearing are not isolated to Grand Rapids or West Michigan.

This is what's happening all across our country.

We had thousands and thousands of marches across our country this past weekend for No Kings.

And I want to share and echo my brother Lucas's sentiments about it was refreshing to see our GRPD out there on foot and on bicycles.

That was wonderful.

Unfortunately, at the end of the march, we were kettled by cars and forced to stop marching, but it started off how we would want it to.

We're peaceful community members and neighbors using our voices and our bodies and our First Amendment rights.

And my dream is to see our GRPD marching with us as well as our leadership.

But I only saw two of you out there with us this weekend, and I want to thank you for that.

If we are going to grow as a city and heal as a city, we need some serious reforms.

We need you all out there with us in the streets.

We need to being our voices.

Once we get past this, we can focus on the fun stuff and the safety issues and growing our city and providing housing.

But until Dequan Johnson gets justice and his family, and we stop unleashing dogs on our neighbors, and we make sure that our GRPD and our neighbors are friends and we know each other.

This isn't gonna change.

And you hold the power in your hands, and we're asking you to seriously do something about it now.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Shannon.

I live in the third ward.

Um I'm here to add my voice to those demanding justice for Daekwan Johnson and demanding that the unedited uh camera footage be released and the evidence be released and given to the family, um, and that the cops responsible are named um arrested and convicted.

Um I was not able to attend the public safety committee meeting this morning, but I was able to see the PowerPoint presentation that was uh presented.

Um the review of uh officer involved shootings in the past several years.

Um I hope that that is only a first step, and that was presented and such the presentation was simply a summary of the events and what Chris Becker said about each event.

Um what I did not see in the presentation was any solutions or steps forward.

Um the review needs to include more than just summaries, it needs to include analyses of um what happened and what policies could be changed to prevent uh interactions in the future.

Um there's no reason that a simple traffic stop, A should happen, or B should lead to someone dying.

Um there's no need that traffic uh minor misdemeanors need to be stopped.

Um, there's no reason anyone should have to interact with a cop for something uh so minor as uh expired license plate or something stupid like that.

Um there I I hope that that is just the first step of the review and that there is more to come, more analysis, um, and that you're not just patting yourselves on the back that oh, the police didn't do anything wrong, because they do.

Um, even if the people involved in those shootings had guns or weapons, uh they that doesn't shouldn't be a death sentence.

Um there's no reason that the police should even carry lethal firearms.

Um there are other countries where police don't have guns and it seems to work.

Um seems to be especially egregious with excessive use of force.

Um so I think that they should not be allowed to have lethal weapons.

Um with my last 30 seconds, I guess I'll just say that I agree with the people um demanding sanctuary policies um that's been being asked of you for uh uh more than a year at least.

Um I agree with the first person who spoke about um our power not being with our elected officials, but by government by appointment.

That is undemocratic, and uh some of you should have the spine to do something about that.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Catherine.

I'm a resident of the third ward.

Um last city council meeting that I was at, which I think was two ago, um you talked about the policy that the GRPD does not assist ICE.

And you said that's a policy.

And people said, well, it's still happening.

Um and you were surprised that people don't believe that the GRPD is getting good training in that regard.

Um and I just wanted to connect the dots for you between that and the killing of Daquan Johnson.

Nobody trusts the police.

Because you've made it so that the police don't have to be trusted.

And you've made it so the police cannot be trusted by papering over um issues like the identity of the killer cop.

You've made it impossible to trust the police by not releasing unedited footage.

Um that's why nobody believes you when you say what you're doing about the police, because you haven't earned that trust.

The GRPD hasn't earned that trust, and they've done everything possible to you know let that trust melt away.

So I want to support the sanctuary policy demands that have been made for a very long time.

I want to support community control of the police.

I think a great place to start would be an independent citizens' review board.

Um, so that the GRPD are not the ones that are overseeing themselves.

Nobody else gets to do that.

I don't get to do that at my job.

You know, I don't write my own performance reviews.

Um and I don't see why we're letting the GRPD control that aspect of their lives.

So I don't I don't understand why we let the cops police the cops, is what I'm saying.

Um I think that ultimately the demands to defund the police um down to the whatever the city requirement is.

I don't remember the number.

But I think um you need to reconsider that because I heard great comments today about the need for real public safety, stop signs in the right places.

And um I you know could talk about Union Avenue as well, where we seriously need some speed bumps.

Um and that's public safety.

And I think if we weren't paying police so much out of our budget, we could maybe afford some more speed bumps in my neighborhood and some more stop signs in these folks' neighborhood.

Um I think all in there, thank you.

My name is Daniel.

Longtime resident of the city.

My real identity uh as always is I'm a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Good evening, Mayor Legrand.

Please forgive me for breaking the rules.

Will you forgive me?

Thank you.

And greetings to you, Commissioners.

It's still uh women's history month.

I would agree that every month is women's history month.

What about the little women being murdered through abortion since 1977?

The total is 80 million that we can estimate.

Let's say four half of them were female.

That's 40 million little women murdered through the terrible practice, what people call abortion.

Which Almighty Scripture says murder.

Either through surgical or now the murderous pill.

Being dispensed at 425 East Cherry inside Corwell Health and Metro so-called hospitals.

We need more bold women, like the Puerto Rican governor, Jennifer Gonzalez Cologne, who signed into law recognizing that unborn babies are human beings.

Like this one.

She was Sister Scott, we remember this the policy about no signs, right?

If you want to distribute something to the Commission, you can.

But make let me make a note publicly, Mayor.

Last meeting, Commissioner Wolmack stood for three minutes.

Holding a placard.

Fair enough.

Could I be treated equally?

Well, I'm I'm trying to enforce the I'm trying to enforce the rules consistently, but you're pointing out that I don't always do that, and you'll have to ask me to forgive uh I'll have to ask you to forgive me for that.

Um but I do uh aspire to have them observe, and I also I may as well point out at this point.

Um those of you in the audience who don't agree with this speaker's comments, please don't refrain from reacting.

Um it's common courtesy.

Um if you really believe in the First Amendment, then let people have their opportunity to speak.

And it's it's the flip side of clapping, and there's that's exactly why we try to ask people to not clap, but also not gourge here.

You can go ahead.

And you're forgiven.

But let me say your name.

Baby Owen Leah, saved from murder at 425 East Cherry on December 9, 2022, and now is a striving healthy little girl that may grow up to be a city commissioner.

I saw the uh forum on the city attorney, as well as you, Mr.

Strom.

And I heard you say that uh you really want to support the freedom of speech.

But I call you out publicly because this was a public vote.

Were you publicly voted against allowing us to preach at 425 East Cherry?

So what is it?

Do you support free speech on a public sidewalk or not?

I trust you will if you win this election or vote or appointment, whatever it is.

Let's be consistent.

And let's speak up for the unborn.

They're just as much a citizen as you and I.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Jacinda Swanson.

I live in the third ward.

I spent more than 25 years researching and teaching democratic theory and social justice.

I want to raise four different issues.

They are connected, though, by the shameful lack of democracy in the city.

The Commission has a long-standing record of serving the privileged, not serving the disadvantaged, and actually allowing harassment and violence against the unhoused, black and brown people, and political activists trying to create a better world.

Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press printed a very unfavorable story about the state-sponsored report that raised serious questions about the financial viability of the DeVos and Van Andel Three Towers project, which the GR City Commission okayed granting 560 million in tax breaks.

In a democratically run city, taxpayer dollars would serve the housing, health, transportation, child care, educational, social, and safety needs of all residents.

Instead, what we seem to have is what Aristotle called oligarchy, government by the rich and their own narrow interests, with a city commission acting as representatives for the rich and for powerful businesses.

Two, I've been out of town, but as far as I can tell, GR City Commissioners have done nothing to mitigate the horrific danger our immigrant neighbors are facing at the hands of ICE and often with GRPD assistance.

For more than a year, can SACA GR Grand Rapid response, and many residents have been begging to no avail commissioners to implement six specific concrete policies.

Three.

We need transparency, including all body and dash camera videos in the name of the cop who appears on video to have executed Daquan Johnson.

We need prosecutor Kirs Becker to charge the cop with murder.

Daquan's family and the community deserve accountability.

I read over the PowerPoint review of officer-involved shootings that was presented to commissioners this morning.

It's frankly a disgusting joke.

The Fox guarding the hen house, a review by cops, of cops, by a pro-COP prosecutor.

Democracy means government is transparent and accountable to regular people.

It is long past time we had an independent citizen controlled police oversight body fully empowered to review police harassment and violence, hold wrongdoers accountable, and set policy.

Week four, we desperately need to reform our city charter so GR isn't run by an unelected city manager who caters to the rich and powerful, and our elected officers do little or nothing to serve the most vulnerable members of our community.

We need more than just seven commissioners, and we need people who will serve us.

Hi, my name is Teresa, and I've been sitting here thinking, well, what do I want to say?

You know, because I really get tired of David looking down and doodling all day long during this conversation.

Yeah, I see that.

Um my concern is that where do you guys want to end up on this side of history?

Are you part of the Epstein class?

The bottom line is if you are, you're protecting pedophiles, and we're supposed to care about lives, but you guys sit there and say, I can't, David, you said I cannot do anything because it's it's federal when it comes to sanctuary policies.

But you know what?

That means that you are part of the group that is abusing children and allowing our politicians to get away with it at the highest level.

And you all sit there.

Does anybody care that we're being destroyed by a bunch of rich devos people that love Trump?

And I know it's not all about Trump.

I know that.

But I also know that he is a pedophile, and if you voted for him, if you continue to support him or his administration, and that goes along with the FBI and the GRPD and the ICE and everything.

If you are supporting this, that came that ICE is being treating people the way they're trained to treat people, GRPD does it too.

I've seen it myself.

I'm an old lady and yet I've been out there.

Where are you?

Where are you?

You're gonna look in the mirror and you're gonna say, I sided with the pedophiles.

Do you understand?

It's bigger than just your egos, and we need to protect our immigrant families.

You all seem to just sit there and doodle.

So please, are you gonna be a pedophile protector?

Are you?

Is that what you want to be?

Because our police are obeying the laws that came down from DHS.

And if you're gonna allow that to happen in our city, that is disgusting.

Please.

Hi.

My name is Adam Arnazzi, uh, from the Second Ward with the Grand Rapids Action Committee.

Um believed to have a healthy city.

There needs to be trust between its leaders and its citizens.

Um, because of that, I don't think Grand Rapids is currently a healthy city.

I'm sure you're aware Grand Rapids has over 80 flock cameras actively deployed that track its citizens coming and going on a daily basis.

This, on its surface, is a blatant disregard for the privacy of the people in this city.

It's even more atrocious because the people didn't vote for the implementation of these cameras in the first place.

Uh, to add fuel to the flame uh with the 287G agreements that are in place.

Not only do the police have access to unfettered tracking information on its citizens, but so does ICE.

Um, these agreements allows allow DHS and ICE to delegate actions to local and state law enforcement, which means that ICE can utilize the information from flock cameras to hunt down our immigrant neighbors.

How can we trust our leaders when systems like this are in place?

When our privacy is invaded on a daily basis as we move about the city.

Uh, we have the power to stop this.

This is but one aspect of trust.

Many of my fellow community members have also pointed out how the leadership of the city can build more trust with its citizens, justice for Daquan Johnson, hold the DRPD accountable, implement sanctuary policies, and 287G agreements, prohibit flaw cameras, and build back trust with the people.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Angela.

I'm a lifetime resident of Grand Rapids.

So I'm here with some information.

People can call the uh Kent County prosecutor whose telephone number is 616 6326710.

His name is Chris Becker.

You can say something like this.

Hello, my name is Angela, and I'm calling from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I'm calling to urge Chris Becker to formally charge the officers who murdered Daekwan Johnson.

Your mission statement says your office protects the rights, safety, and security of Kent County residents through diligent prosecution of criminal offenses.

I'm calling to make sure the prosecutor knows that people across the country are watching just as they watched Daekwan be murdered after he was subdued.

Applying the law equally protects the credibility of the justice system.

I just wanted to read that script that people could use to also call the prosecutor, but sounds like you need this reminder too.

My name is uh Missy Jekyll, and I originally didn't plan on speaking this evening.

Um I was gonna email about a different issue, and then um, you know, I have two, I guess, policy changes that I would like to discuss or have conversation about.

Um again, my name is Missy Jekyll, and I'm a local business owner and social equity advocate, working in cannabis policy compliance and community impact through social equity solutions and the Great Lakes Expungement Network.

Um I am also uh victim representative.

My father was a homicide victim here in Kent County in June of 2022, around the same time as Patrick Lalola, and you know, I feel the pain of Daquan Johnson's mother and the community and wanting transparency and information.

And there is ways to obtain some of this information.

I don't know the legalities of the Freedom of Information Act with the investigation with the MSP and um Daquan being a police involved homicide.

My father's homicide, he was by a resident of Grand Rapids.

Um what I wasn't anticipating as a victim representative was paying $90 for the medical examiner's report for my father's murder, um, thousands of dollars in freedom of information and act requests, police reports.

I never did get any of the um body cam footage because they wanted 600 some dollars for um information on my father's murder, which I think is crazy.

Um I did send a letter and ask about making changes, and I feel that victim representatives should not have to pay for these reports.

Um I would also reach out um to discuss uh specifically I am proposing exploration um of three updates on the cannabis ordinance through the committee of the whole is who I was gonna address it to.

Um, but I'd like to discuss the establishing a framework for licensed cannabis consumption lounges, as well as creating a pathway for temporary event-based cannabis consumption permits, as well as implementing a formal process to allow amendments to the good neighbor plan.

I felt that today would be the perfect opportunity with the MLI report and the seeds of justice and the millions of dollars that the city of Grand Rapids is sitting on to do the good work that these licenses were not able to do.

A lot of these licenses applied back in 2019, and the points were important for the Good Neighbor Plan.

Because the city decided to do a lottery.

So they mattered.

The points mattered.

The points for the voluntary program as part of the licensing process has no way to amend it.

You know, a lot of things have changed since 2019, and I think that there should be a formal way with their licensing application that they can amend their good neighbor plan.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Olivia, and I live in the first ward.

Um I just have one statement to make, some questions that the community has.

Um whose decision was it to give these police officers their anonymity?

Is it the Grand Rapids City Commission?

Um, I hear you all in saying that the investigation is the Michigan State Police, and we have to wait for them.

But um again, my question is who gave these police officers anonymity and what makes this situation different?

Um that's my only statement, so I'm gonna keep repeating it.

I also want to teach people to hold their time.

If you are done talking before your three minutes are up, you can say I hold my time and stand here until that three minutes is up.

I think that's a great thing.

Um again, who is giving these police officers their anonymity?

Why uh don't we know their names?

Who made that decision?

Was it um Mark Washington?

Was it Lisa Knight?

Was it David the Grant?

Whose decision is that?

Who has that authority?

Um I don't know that the community is sure.

I don't know that answering the question would give any assurity to the community, but um we haven't been uh given that answer at all.

So I'm gonna repeat the community's question again.

Who gave these police officers their anonymity?

Why is it that they are still anonymous?

Um who has that authority?

Is it the police union?

Um did they decide it?

Is it Triggs?

Is that um Chief Winstram's last gift to our city?

Um who gave these police officers their anonymity?

Is it Philip Storm?

Um is it Yasasi?

I wouldn't be surprised.

Um who gave these police officers their anonymity?

Why don't we know their names yet?

What makes this situation so unique?

Um I hear you that the investigation is still with the Michigan State Police, but uh my question is why don't we have these police officers' names?

Who made that decision?

Um when will we know?

In what case?

Will we ever know?

Was it Mark?

Was it David?

Was it the City Commission?

I'm still here, yeah.

I'm gonna walk back to my seat.

Thank you.

Patriot Front, Blood Tribe.

They're there already in most airports in the country.

They don't know a damn thing about aviation safety.

TSA responsibilities.

Where to go in terms of getting their boarding gates?

Don't know nothing about that.

They can say all they want.

With their phony videos of passing out water bottles, water to passengers whose wing in line, long lines, and everything else.

But we know what they're there for.

To reach chaos and have it.

All that.

The taxpayer money.

And the original TSA agents not getting paid.

It's as simple as that.

Reverend Scott is in his band of anti-abortionists.

If he says that abortion is murder.

Well, he couldn't well.

He's probably with the station in Missouri who's trying to institute the death penalty for women.

Pregnant women who are going to link to gent abortion.

This is why you better go, you better get registered and go out to vote.

Because this Safe Act is going to limit you from mail in voting.

But it has not yet been finalized.

So you have plenty of time.

Go out there and register to get registered to go vote, especially early, an absentee.

Because these midterms are critical.

Where he's trying to make sure that he wants to be in that office until he dies.

Trust me on that one.

Revenge 2026.

My name is Jesse Merrihu.

I've lived in Grand Rapids my entire life.

This isn't my first city commission meeting.

I've been here when Patrick Liola was killed.

And obviously the faces are different, but I still see the same wall.

Who have been telling you all of the dastardly deeds that you know about you've gotten your reports on your tables?

Who they don't get to see anymore.

Some of you have children yourself.

And I I'm sure so many people before me have asked you how you would even begin to fathom what it would be like to lose your child and to see the image of their your child being on the street, held down by grown adults, and then have dogs maul at their neck.

Could you imagine having the person that you raised your entire life?

Well, not your entire life, but like their entire life.

Be humiliated in the press, and then have all these people stand in front of you and beg you for justice and have nothing be done.

Have these performative little bills that you write off, promising that something's gonna happen, and then I'm back here again, asking, begging again for justice to be served by the government that is supposed to be protecting us, that is supposed to be helping our neighbors.

And that you wanted a better life for your children, and for the children of your neighbors.

But I'm here again, asking again to the same brick wall.

I don't pretend to believe that I am the one who is going to change your minds about suddenly being put into action.

But there are so many people who have come up to you and ask you to do something.

I assume you want to do something, so do it.

You have the power, you have the strength, so do it.

That's what we pay you for.

Thank you.

Hello.

My name is Peter.

I am a new resident to Grand Rapids, and this is my first time attending a city commission meeting.

Um I'd like to extend my thanks to everybody that spoke before me about the injustices uh to the to the hands of the GRPD and ICE as well.

Um there's been a lot of talk today about trust and it disintegrating in this space and in GR as a whole.

Um and I would like to raise concerns about that and also um promote the adoption of the sixth sanctuary city policies.

Um as we continue to see DHS expand um what they're willing to let ICE do.

Uh every day trust degrades even more as we when we cooperate with that.

Recently, um ICE or DHS has expanded ICE's profiling abilities to include those of transgender people or people that appear to be trans, which that doesn't even make sense, it's just gonna end up you know further endangering cisgender people's lives and everyone's lives.

Um I just want to express that as we see that, and I've heard today that there hasn't been much policy change um over the last however long this has been now.

Um if we continue to cooperate with ICE and DHS, the trust is going to degrade further, and I want to extend that uh to this city commission um council, and that is what I would like to say with my time.

Thank you.

Seeing no further public comment.

Um, I'm sorry.

Come on up.

My name is Mary Ann Marrera Young, and I've served in the community for over 31 years.

I've built my trust in the neighborhood by working with police officers, community, ministers, businesses, working together to make a difference.

I know your job is hard, and it's not I know you take a lot of things to heart, but you can't change things that have grown over the years in three months.

You have to prioritize what you do as I do in my job, and as people should do at in their homes.

The world itself is messed up right now, the people in it, not the world.

But the whole thing is I'm people are asking for footage, and there's a process in doing that.

If you're being investigated, you can't leak things to the public.

You will taint the investigation.

If the state police are investigating the police, and once it gets out of the hands of the state police and goes to the prosecuting attorney, now it's in his hands.

You can't take it from the state police, and you can't take it from him until he delivers a verdict.

I wasn't there when it happened.

I see bits and pieces of videos, but that doesn't tell the whole story because a story goes from the beginning to the end, and these videos that we're seeing are pieces, and you're traumatizing the parent over and over again.

I went to the funeral.

I don't know how many of you out here that are complaining went to the funeral.

I said through the whole funeral.

I talked to her at the end.

People go through grieving states.

Um I'm a victim advocate with the police department.

I go out uh when there's death, and there's a process of doing that.

And what what you're doing right now is making it hard for her as a parent.

I wouldn't want to see all this on TV all the time in bits and pieces and not knowing the story.

The media asked me about it.

I wouldn't comment because I don't know.

And if you weren't there, you don't know what happened from the beginning to the end.

I know we have pieces, but I I know that the state police got what they needed in order to hand it to the prosecutor.

And what I'm I'm asking right now is don't blame every officer for what happens with in one incident.

Everybody makes mistakes.

If you had to wear a video camera every day, you would make mistakes.

And the whole thing is people go want to go home to their families too.

Just like everybody else want to go home and the whole family's there.

A lot of people put their life on a line every day.

Day and night.

It doesn't make a difference.

If there's a problem, I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna work with it.

And I'll pull in whoever I can to make it happen.

The commissioners know that.

The police department knows that.

I pull in the people that's gonna solve the issue.

And we work together to do that.

And I want to thank all of you for tonight.

I want to thank all of you for your voices too, because everybody's voice is important.

And I just want to thank you for letting me run over my time.

Thank you.

I lost track, sorry about that.

Hello.

My name is Maita Garcia.

I've been living in Grand Rapids my whole life.

To be honest, this is quite terrifying to stand before the people who are supposed to take care of my family, my neighbors, and have the power to do so.

But the only thing that I really ask is for your mind to be autonomous.

As I think of your PD and other police departments, and I think the ones that are here today.

To have their own individual mind and think about how murdering our neighbors is wrong, and to not side with other police officers who think this is a joke.

The way that a police officer thinks is that seconds matter, and it does.

When we call them to help us, not to murder us.

And I apologize.

And how difficult it must be to arrest and handcuff one man.

2v1 with a dog.

Isn't that incredible?

I hope to grow our education to our neighbors to know that this city council is happening.

And to speak your voice and educate ourselves in the systemic oppression that we live in.

And the redlining that has been living in for since Grand Rapids has started.

Because we really don't know the last day.

And I hope that you don't feel we're all of the people who've been executed here in our home.

And to hug our children really tight.

Because I can't stand not even seeing my own mother for a week.

For even a couple days as I live off in school alone, trying to fix and hopefully change our future.

Thank you.

Commissioner Cobra.

Excuse me.

Uh well, thank you all so much.

Uh everyone who came out this evening.

Uh stayed multiple hours.

I know that many of our neighbors have to go to work tomorrow morning, so I don't take it lightly or for granted uh that you all are raising your voices.

Um I want to continue to uplift as some folks said.

I did go to uh the No Kings rally.

I think we all have our piece in the movement towards positive change for this community, folks who show up at these uh this uh forum and continue to show us the tension, the trauma that is within our community.

I appreciate you.

I thank you.

Uh folks who I thought it was silly, but that's their the there was like a song thing this time with No Kings.

Hey, for our privileged neighbors.

That if that's how they're gonna speak against the challenging and horrible things that we're seeing uh from the federal government, let them sing.

Um and the marching was it was wonderful to see thousands of people standing against uh the tyranny that we're seeing.

I had a uh very full and productive.

Oh, and and in terms of we all have our um our role in the work, and so at the city level, I am thankful that we are doing our work.

Uh the review of the of uh the officer involved shootings that is one part of this.

Uh the city manager, this commission has agreed to also reviewing policies.

I believe that's coming in the summer.

Uh we're supposed to see that later on in the summer.

Um, so there will be more to follow.

There are action items that we are doing as this body, and I um am looking forward to seeing uh actual action and change come from reviewing.

We do do a lot of reviewing.

Uh wish things could move quicker, but there is um a way that we have to be very measured when we approach these so that they actually help the frontline communities that we want to help.

Um, once again, full and productive day reviewing those officer-involved shooting, um, also the city attorney interviews where we have three wonderful candidates.

I'm looking forward to selecting this role tomorrow.

Um, and I want to thank you all again for taking your time out of your day um to continue to raise this tension and trauma and encourage us to continue to do our roles better.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Commissioner Knight.

Um, I will echo the sentiments of Commissioner Kilgore.

Uh, we truly appreciate um the voices that have been lifted up in this space tonight and continue um to lift up their voices.

And you know, I I think we all kind of at some point in our days and in our lives wish we could just make things happen with a snap.

Um the unfortunate thing is that justice doesn't move as quick as it should.

Not the way we want it to, but we do want justice to be served, and we want people to be um in a place where things are done appropriately, things are not missed, mistakes are not made, and so we have to wait patiently, like everyone else, to see what the next steps are.

Um I do believe and will continue to believe that everyone up here grieves when someone is lost in our community.

I absolutely do because I have children that work on both sides of the public service space.

Um that pain is something that no family or mother should feel.

Um, but I do think that at some point I have hope that we will heal.

I have hope that we will change, that we will grow, and we will do so for the better of each and every member of our community.

Um at that, I'm I am grateful for the um presentation that was given to us today.

It helped uh enlighten us on some of the things that we were missing.

Um but there's always more to be done.

Um there's no perfect product, and so as we continue to work uh together as a community, um I'm hopeful that we will be able to uh grow and move forward.

Um we had our interviews again, as Commissioner Kilgore said today.

Uh it was very enlightening and looking forward to um really bringing someone forward into that space that will also feel the heart of this community and also be able to have a a balance on how to um watch over the city and do things things that are appropriate for the city, but as our community as a whole, um, and looking forward to those next steps.

Um that's it.

Uh Commissioner, thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you so much for coming out today.

Thank you for staying.

Uh Ms.

Here, yeah, I see you.

Um, you know, when we have public comment, um, particularly in long nights like this, uh, folks come in, you can say whatever you want about anything, right?

Uh for the most part.

And um typically I don't address every single thing that was stated in part because I think there's sometimes a lot of education, um, there's a lot of updates, there's just a lot that can go in that.

Um, and we'd be here all night if if if we did that.

Um, but tonight I do want to answer one question that came up, and it was where have you been and do you care?

So my answer for myself is I've been here.

I've been doing this work for over 20 years.

And I do care.

I care a lot.

I helped in this community organize to get equity-minded candidates and ballot initiatives passed starting 10 years ago, both on the local level and the state level.

I worked on state policy, influence federal policy to bolster economic security throughout our state, to protect women's health and infant health, to advocate for changes to our tax code so that we can have the resources to fund our school and fund education and other opportunities for everyday folks.

I worked on programs to help upskill folks and allow everyone to be able to benefit from the opportunities that are coming in terms of tech and green jobs.

So we are not left behind.

Since I've been on commission, I have been a strong advocate and independent voice, I think, for many of the people focused and neighborhood focused issues that we hear every single time we have public comment of we need more on, we have more leadership on.

We cannot wait for MSP to be done.

I need more information.

Develop their properties, provide affordable housing and job opportunities to our neighbors.

I have been helping to, I have been really been pushing to say our economic development tools by and large are designed for people who are already rich, who are already real resources.

How do we how do we leverage that here and or advocate for changes at the state and federal level to make sure that our tools can properly meet the people that need them most, particularly the mom and pop folks, the everyday folks, the working class folks who are trying to create more opportunities for them and for their family and add to the fabric of this community?

I could go on and on, but my point is that I say that not in a way to be defensive, in a way to be informative.

A lot of work happens.

It is nearly impossible for you all to keep up with every single thing.

I know that.

Every time we vote, our our voting packet today was about a hundred different items.

I understand that it's hard to keep up with the conversation and the process for every single one of them.

So I don't mind reiterating that.

Every single month on the last Wednesday of the month, I have a less talk third ward where we get into the issues.

We have two-way conversations.

I share what are the wins and what are the barriers, and we are going to have real talk.

And what's behind the headlines, okay?

And what's behind the social media conversation?

How can we write the record and again have that two-way conversation?

Um I grew up, we have some young men come at the beginning of our public comment to talk about them growing up on Franklin and Eastern.

And wonder, hey, is anybody else from here?

Yes, I grew up on FE as well.

I also have been to the top universities in this country.

So McCum Lada graduate of Howard University, top HBCU, and I'm currently pursuing my master's at Yale University, one of the top Ivy League institutions in the world.

So with that lived experience, I bring courage, I bring competence, and I bring commitment to this role.

That I just want to reiterate reiterate for all of you and also re-invite you and welcome you to engage with me and us off of these three minutes, right?

Um I typically stay after, I typically you call me, I'm there, you call me, I answer.

Um I am not afraid of conversation.

Um, and I know that it's going to take all of us working together in conversation, in sharing ideas and in organizing to move these things forward.

Mayor and I appreciate it.

I think it was Ms.

Marion who who said, you know, in 30 days, you can't fix what we right.

Uh an elder of mine shared with me.

Um she says, sweetheart, with all due respect, your four years on commission are not gonna fix 400.

You keep you keep working, you keep sowing seeds, you keep planting them, you keep watering, you would do the work, and I just shared some ways that I've been doing the work, and I will continue to do the work on behalf of you and with you and for you.

So I have been here.

I do care, um, and um I love the city, and I love you all, and I I you all have extremely whether I agree with um delivery, whether I agree with all of the content.

I hear the passion, the grief, and the frustration that I also share.

I got into the work not because of uh rose colored glasses or pie in the sky, but because I was angry.

I've been angry of how I felt as a young person growing up in this community.

I've been angry at how my neighbors have been treated, how my family has been treated in so many aspects of our lives.

And so I opted in to do the really, really hard work of being within the system that I am still uh that I think we all are still designing to be the one that we can actually believe in and trust in.

With that, I want to highlight a few things that we talked about today.

I want to give a shout out to the MLK Neighborhood Associations and Together West Michigan.

You all have been fabulous advocates and organizers around the issues of traffic safety in Boston Square and on Kalamazoo.

I think the way that you all have been going about this is excellent.

It is should be a case study, and this commission should and will deliver for you.

We have a big hire.

Uh tomorrow at 9 a.m.

We are going to vote on who our next city attorney will be for the city of Grand Rapids.

This is a huge hire that relates to almost every single thing that someone said in here.

One thing that I was really pushing for in that interview process is I want a leader, a strategic partner that also has an appetite for risk.

That also says, hey, we are in different times, we need courage and we need competence, and we need to push to allow us to legally deliver for everyone in this city.

And I think we have a lot of strong candidates, and I heard affirmation from each of them that they will do that, and I'm excited to cast my vote for who we get to work with on that front for the next many years.

I'll also mention that we have our neighborhood investment plan.

We we are allocating millions of dollars in grant funding to support housing, to support public safety, to support neighborhood associations.

There will be a public hearing about that uh sometime soon.

Uh send the packet, I think our next meeting, um, if you have any comments on that, but that is our opportunity to support dozens and dozens of community-based organizations in our city working on many of the very issues that you all spoke to.

And the last thing I'll mention that we continue to make progress on our our work to restore the river and to make sure that it's clean, that it's healthy, that we are great stewards of it, and it's a and it's a great place of gathering and contribution to the city.

So thank you all so much for coming out tonight.

I will be around as we adjourn and continue to uh continu looking forward to continue to have conversations with you on all these really important issues.

Thank you.

Commissioner Baldrick.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, colleagues.

Um it is very hard to respond to everything that is brought up in public comment in one sitting.

So it is good that we continue to have conversations.

I want to frame as we move on to our other um conversations here that I hear the I hear the need, I think we all hear the need that there is discontent, that there's need for change, there's always need for improvement, we're in this, you know.

Where are you?

Are you in it for yourselves?

Are you in it for the billionaires?

Are you in it for you know some for us, right?

We want to be us people.

Yeah, I can't count the number of times today I heard on this commission.

We're looking and working with people because of people.

So I want to propose to you that we need to start talking to each other, thinking with each other, and being with each other as if we are actually people.

That means we have to hold the tension, and we need even our regular everyday selves need to grow in some sort of leadership role, whether that's in our own home on our block at a wider scale, those of you who are brave enough to come and talk and shaking in your boots, that's a form of leadership.

And then there are many, many, many other forms.

And for us to be here today serving you, there's been a lot of steps for us to grow that leadership.

But holding tension, system A and system B don't get along.

It has to come through us because we're people, and the answer isn't always going to be in the moment.

Because we need data, we need ideas, we need lived experiences, we need conversation, and yes, we need neuro differences.

I want us to caution ourselves from jumping to conclusions without understanding the other side, and I will propose to you it's a kaleidoscope.

Not all of us are called to do the same kind of work.

For some of us, it will be the advocacy.

For some of us, it will be the advocate or the activist.

For some of us, it might be a police officer, a nurse, a teacher, the garbage man, the snowplow driver.

And for some of us, it was running for office.

We have 1,500 staff that show up every day in the city.

They're regular people like you, like me, and they're doing things that are boring, tedious, sometimes really dirty and gross.

I don't know if you've ever been to the wastewater treatment plant, but you might want to check it out someday.

And by the way, there's other opportunities there.

We're thinking about how to get a green infrastructure so we can have clean air, clean water.

You've heard some of the projects that are being mentioned.

We, and I mean Grand Rapids, I mean the people of Grand Rapids.

That includes all of us up here that are elected, appointed, being paid by the staff, or you out there in the community.

We are being asked to navigate some real tensions.

Growth versus affordability, investment versus dislocation, gentrification, trust versus mistrust, safety versus fear, doubt, worry.

We have to listen to each other.

And that's what we were doing here tonight.

I'm sorry if it feels like a brick wall.

I'm sorry that it's hard to, but this isn't the only place we're doing the work.

And I'm not trying to be defensive either.

I really appreciate um Commissioner Purdue's perspective on this.

I think it is our responsibility to not ignore the tensions, but I do think it is our also all of us need to show up in ways where we are not going to jump to conclusions and vilify without really finding the solution.

And I know I kind of repeated myself there, but if we want trust, and that's my issue actually.

I've just I I think we need trust and we need to solve trauma.

That's more than policy decisions.

That's going to accomplish that.

And if we're going to trust each other, we have to allow ourselves to be willing to open at least a sliver of our mind to maybe another possibility.

So I won't say more than that because we have to keep coming and having this, but just because we don't know what's happening or have the clarity doesn't mean that stuff isn't happening or that it isn't really complex.

I mean, if we could have solved it by checking off a box, we probably would have.

That's not what this work is about.

So thank you all for being here.

We got construction season, so be ready, because that's another way we're changing and growing.

City clerk.

Yeah.

Um a couple things.

Um there were a couple of comments that were made about the um filling of vacancy um process in the city, the city of Grand Rapids.

Um and we're and we're in it, I'll give updates of where we're at in that process.

Um, unlike the governor, the city of Grand Rapids can't just pick election dates and run elections on dates that we choose.

She has that ability to do that as governor say we had an open state sentency.

I'm gonna wait a year, I'm gonna wait 15 days, I'm just gonna pick these days, and that's when you run elections.

We don't have that luxury to do, or you don't have that luxury to do that.

Um that's why our our charter is written the way it is.

There's a there's a time frame involved.

So when a vacancy occurs, it depends on when the vacancy occurs.

There is a special election that's held if if it's early in a commissioner or a mayor or comptroller's term.

If it's early in a term and there's time to finish out the term, that's when there is a so it isn't just an appointment at any time during a committee or an elected officials term.

It's it's at a certain time where we there's not election time.

If if we felt if we did based on the elections this year, the person, the replacement would be elected in November to serve two months.

So that's why it's the um all cities have that, most cities have that in their charters.

Also, um every other township or village government have the same kind of thing written into their general laws.

So with that, that's why we have this process that we that we have right now for this vacancy and the first award.

And so we had um 13 applications, um, 10 of them passed the vetting process, and the committee of appointments will go through the first round of um interviews on uh April 17, and um they agreed to interview all the 10 candidates that were their vetted.

Then they will they will um reduce the pool and send that to the city commission.

Um don't know what that number is, it's up to them to decide who they move forward to the city commission for a final interview that will be on April 22nd.

So those are those are um that's the process, that's what we're going through alongside of all this other stuff that's going on, but that's that's why we have the the election.

So it isn't that they can appoint for any vacancy, it's only in a in a time sensitive or a time place manner kind of uh process.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Um City Attorney.

Oh good.

Thanks.

City Manager.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'll be real brief.

First of all, I want to thank Grand Rapids Public Schools for allowing us to use this facility, and I see uh assist superintendent Larry Johnson and his team, so thank you for letting us be here.

I want to thank all the staff that made this possible tonight, the departments that were here earlier, our facility staff for setting this room up, our communications team, uh media team, uh and all the again, all the departments.

I do also want to thank the human resources department for their work in facilitating the many, many panels for the assessment over the many, many, many days.

Uh and I don't want to let them know their work uh goes unnoticed.

Thank you, Mayor, for your remarks at the state of the city.

I thought your remarks were uh well done, and uh you uh were uh uh said a lot of good things about the things that we have going well in our city while acknowledging the things we need to improve upon.

I also want to thank our community development department for bringing forth the uh neighborhood improvement plan, uh neighborhood investment plan, I'm sorry, along with uh the committee that worked on that, allocating the over $8 million of federal funding that will help us address issues around homing, housing, homelessness, and uh public safety.

I also want to thank the police department chief trick this morning.

We'll release uh more details of the presentation that was shared today uh from an informed basis on what happened in those 10 cases.

And on it we gotta be reasonable.

We can't expect police officers to be fired at, fired upon, charged with weapons, and not respond.

It's unrealistic to do that.

And so uh they have the right to use deadly force when they feel like their life or others are at uh risk.

And so while we understand we don't want over policing and excessive force, we cannot talk about every instance of an officer involved shooting like uh painted all the same.

We have to look at the totality of the circumstances in each case.

Lastly, I want to let Ms.

Ellen know, Ms.

Barns is here.

Uh we have been talking to your Third War Commissioners about uh the traffic safety traffic mitigation around uh Kalamazoo and Adams, and uh there is a plan to allocate funding for the Third Ward Equity Fund along with some other funding to try to get some of those projects started uh as soon as this uh summer.

Uh but uh we may have to cross budget years to address to address all of it.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thanks.

Um I certainly appreciate everyone coming out tonight, and especially those of you who stayed till the absolute end.

Um particularly those of you who have to do this because it's part of your job description.

So uh I did give the State of the City uh last week, and I'm maybe acutely uh cognizant right now that there are rounding up about 3,000 people who uh work for this city every day and who see it as a vocation and a mission uh to make our city better.

And so um many not many of you, a very small fraction of you are here right now.

Um uh and thanks to those of you who are here tonight, but um certainly very grateful to the people who who do the work of the city.

Um I will um say that uh as much as I appreciate the uh uh character with the concerned characterization of Kalamazoo as uh as an expressway.

Um it doesn't even make the top five for me for the city for the uh my unofficial highways that I see around town.

Um what's that?

Well, oh no, I've taken I've taken radar, uh I've taken radar, uh I I own a radar gun.

For those of you who are interested, you can buy a radar gun on Amazon for about 120 dollars.

And if you've got a street that bothers you, go start tracking what traffic does.

Uh Michigan between Fuller and Plymouth is an official highway.

Fuller between Michigan and uh uh Fuller, Fulton is an unofficial highway.

Uh Coval, uh Lake Michigan Drive by Coval is an unofficial highway.

Uh Burton is an unofficial highway on a lot of it, and Breton is an unofficial highway on a part of it.

So we've got real work to do uh to get traffic speeds down to non-le to sub lethal speeds.

Uh and I say this all the time.

Um people, if you hit a pedestrian at 25 miles an hour, there's about a 90 percent survival rate.

A pedestrian gets hit at 35 miles an hour is about a 10 percent survival rate.

That 10 miles an hour is absolutely critical.

So um there is, and you can go to other countries and look, there's uh essentially a global movement to get uh traffic below 20 miles an hour as the exp expectation in cities, uh, because if that's the expectation, um people stop dying because they get hit by cars.

Um I I'm glad that you're advocating for Kalamazoo and I'm with you, and I want to get Kalamazoo done.

Um but if I could have a thousand flashing crosswalks in the City of Grandapis, if I could have mid block crosswalks, if I can have a lot more four-way stop signs, uh but uh as uh Marion said so wisely, it's tough to get things done on a 30-day timeline.

Sometimes you've got to look at the multi-year timeline.

Um but I do think we have to continue to focus on improvement of, I think public safety is the bedrock of a successful community.

We have to be able to get community safety right.

And I think that everyone here is committed to doing that.

Uh frankly, those are those concerns have been the focus of my entire professional career long before I was mayor.

Um, and it's something that I intend to continue to work on diligently.

Um if anyone wants to um uh work through with me any time they like uh the uh the offer and reference, six sanctuary cities policies.

Um a couple of those don't just manifestly don't apply, can't apply to the city.

Um they're really county jail policies.

Um we don't have any 287G agreements.

We actually have a policy that forbids them.

I got the city attorney to confirm uh that my reading of that was accurate.

Uh we don't have 287G policies, nor can we have 287G policies.

City manager couldn't sign one if he wanted to.

There's a policy that prohibits it.

There's a policy that prohibits any elected official from signing a 287G.

Uh we also have non uh cooperation policies in place for our police department um with ICE.

And uh those are if if people think that they see uh violations of those policy, there's a very clear mechanism for uh filing uh uh complaint about that.

And the mechanism simply is to go to OPA and and those will be investigated.

But we do have a policy in place on that.

And that's a policy that's essentially um uh identical to policies of many of the cities that are referred to as sanctuary cities.

So we have sanctuary policies.

Um, and I'm happy to talk to anybody about that anytime and go into the legal detail.

But that is in fact the situation in Grand Rapids.

So that being said, thank you all, and uh thanks for coming.