Grand Rapids City Commission Meeting - April 14, 2026
Grand Rapids City Commission Meeting - April 14, 2026
The Grand Rapids City Commission met on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 2 p.m. The meeting included approval of minutes, consent agenda, a contested appointment to the Housing Commission, a historic landmark designation, an opioid settlement authorization, and four public hearings on historic preservation, neighborhood investment, brownfield redevelopment, and industrial tax exemption. Public comment addressed downtown information centers, the Downtown Improvement District, housing, transit, parking, traffic safety, and police oversight.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from March 31 and April 1, 2026, unanimously.
- Approved the consent agenda, including routine items passed out of committee without objection.
Public Comments & Testimony
- First Public Comment (Agenda Items): Scott Atchison spoke on two agenda items: (1) supported the resolution recognizing the African American Museum but urged better downtown information dissemination; (2) opposed the three-year contract for the Downtown Improvement District special assessment, citing concerns about the ambassador program (paid $15/hour by Block by Block, but the company gets $21/hour) and lack of oversight.
- Public Hearing: Neighborhood Investment Plan: Five speakers:
- D Jones (Chair, Stocking Neighborhood Hub) supported the plan, praising neighborhood organization funding and requesting increases for 3D printing construction.
- Mark expressed skepticism about federal funding availability under the current administration.
- Deborah Cross (M Village) thanked the city for supporting affordable housing initiatives.
- Tom Rolston (Union Suites Development) supported the affordable housing component.
- Scott Addison (3rd Ward) questioned whether downtown is a neighborhood and suggested using CDBG funds for an information center.
- Public Hearing: Brownfield Plan for 528 Bridge St.: Three speakers:
- Russell Omstead (1st Ward) expressed concern about using limited public resources for private for-profit development instead of housing.
- D Jones advocated for 3D printing construction engagement.
- Kenneth (business owner) echoed concerns about parking and transit, urging more responsible spending.
- Second Public Comment (General):
- D Jones advocated for 3D printing construction, HBCU partnerships, and cryptocurrency regulation.
- Deb Van Dynen and Anthony McConnell (Oakdale Neighbors) requested traffic safety improvements on Kalamazoo Ave, including a four-way stop ($20,000) and flashing crosswalks ($125,000).
- Dennis Rodriguez (Family Outreach Center) thanked the city for continued funding of behavioral health services for men of color impacted by trauma.
- Kenneth criticized reduced Dash service, parking shortages, and urged better public transit.
- Shannon (3rd Ward) opposed Dash service reduction and parking rate increases, advocating for funneling parking revenue to transit.
- Mark criticized Sinclair Broadcasting for alleged bias and false narratives.
- Michael Scrugs urged creation of a civilian police oversight board with statutory subpoena power.
Discussion Items
- Appointment to Housing Commission: Commissioner Kilgore dissented from the appointment of Joshua Lunger (Grand Rapids Chamber) to the Housing Commission, citing the Chamber's advocacy against housing bills, support for a nuisance ordinance criticized by ACLU, and misinformation about the Climate Action Plan. Mayor LeGrand and others supported Lunger, highlighting his work on complex care housing. The appointment passed on a voice vote with Kilgore the only dissenter.
- Historic Landmark Designation: Ordinance establishing the Dean Kendall House (2350 Leonard St.) as a historic landmark was adopted unanimously. The house, built in classical revival style, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Opioid Settlement: Resolution authorizing entry into participation agreements for the national opioid settlement with six remaining defendants (total $97.625 million, with Grand Rapids receiving approximately $56,000). Passed unanimously.
- Brownfield Plan for 528 Bridge St.: Public hearing held on a brownfield plan amendment for a 100-year-old building to be redeveloped by Advantage Commercial Real Estate for commercial use. Total project cost $2.7 million, with $710,831 in eligible brownfield activities including sidewalk activation. The plan has a 24-year term and aspirational inclusion goals of 8% for micro-local, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses.
- Industrial Facilities Exemption: Public hearing for Falk Sheet Metal's new 50,000 sq ft facility in Walker (425 agreement). Estimated cost $5.4 million, with a 12-year tax abatement valued at $1.1 million. The district was established in 2019.
- Neighborhood Investment Plan: Presentation of $8.2 million funding recommendations across eight outcome areas: homelessness ($1.26M), affordable housing ($2.5M), homeownership ($360K), housing stock ($2.8M), behavioral health ($500K), economic opportunity ($149K), neighborhood safety ($314K), and engaged neighborhoods ($319K). Public comment period open until April 29, 2026; final awards May 12.
Key Outcomes
- Appointment Confirmed: Joshua Lunger appointed to the Grand Rapids Housing Commission for a term ending April 9, 2030 (voice vote with one dissenting).
- Historic Landmark Adopted: Dean Kendall House designated as a historic landmark (unanimous).
- Opioid Settlement Authorized: City authorized to participate in the national opioid settlement with six remaining defendants (unanimous).
- Public Hearings Closed: All four public hearings were closed without further action; decisions on the brownfield plan and industrial exemption will follow later.
- Budget and Transit Discussions: Commissioners noted upcoming budget deliberations and a press conference on April 20 regarding mobility for major events. The Dash route change is a pilot program.
- First Ward Appointment: The commission will interview 10 applicants for the First Ward appointment on April 17 (Friday) and select finalists for a full commission interview on April 22.
- City Attorney Oath: Phil Strom was sworn in as city attorney after the meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Call this meeting of the city commissioner order. Ask you all to join us as is our habit with a moment of silence. Please all join us in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. One nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Mr. Clerk, if you call the roll, and as you do so, if there are interpreter could come up front. Commissioner Belchak. Present. Commissioner Purdue. Good afternoon. Commissioner Asassi. Present. Commissioner Kilgore. Present. Commissioner Knight. Present. Mayor LeGrand. Yes. Do we have an interpreter? This is the first. No. Okay. Well, if our interpreter shows, I will ask her to identify herself. Uh that's a pity. Generally, we have an interpreter for English and Spanish. Uh, we do to spontaneous translation for the for the broadcast, but for people in the audience. Okay, well, moving along. Um, I will first this is our first opportunity for public comment on agenda items specifically. There's an opportunity for comment on other items at the end of the meeting. My name is Scott Atchison, and I asked the clerk to hand out a little piece of paper of what I'm going to speak to you about. Uh fiscal committee number one and committee of the whole number four. Um fiscal committee one is the resolution recognizing the African American museum as a local civic organization. Great idea. The reason I'm saying this, I think you guys need to promote all the museums downtown. That's why I'm here to go tangent to say that's why you need an information center downtown through the QR code daily scan newsletter that lets them know about all the five museums downtown. The Ford Museum, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the Art Museum, the Children Museums, and now the African American Museum. It just still makes me crazy that we don't have an information center downtown to let everybody know it's open daily and every day it changes. You know, but basically it's a simple thing. But now, committee of the whole number four, you guys are scheduling a public hearing for the necessity of a special assessment for the downtown improvement district, and I still find it hard to distinguish between the downtown development authority, the downtown improvement district, and the downtown Grand Rapids. They all work in the same building in the same office, and it's like we have three when we only need one. You know, it's but then on this um thing you're gonna be voting on or after the public hearing. This is gonna be a three-year contract instead of one year contract, and I think everybody needs to know that. Three there's a lot of shenanigans that can go on in three years instead of one year from input and oversight from this board. You know, and I I was in a downtown improvement district meeting earlier this year, and every year I see uh rates and assessments go up, but this is definitely about the ambassadors. The ambassadors, what I heard in the meeting, if they're gonna get another raise, it's gonna be more money coming out of the taxes and assessments of Grand Rapids, other than what the contract is. So these are some of the questions you need to ask when whoever shows up at your public hearing. Three years instead of one year. They're already talking about expanding the assessment area. Um who pays the ambassadors? Who do the ambassadors work for?
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