Detroit City Council Formal Session
Detroit City Council
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
10:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. EDT
2 Woodward Ave Detroit, MI 48226 (Directions)
ERMA L. HENDERSON AUDITORIUM, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallet gave a detailed legal update on the city’s solar initiative. He said all 964 properties in Phase 1 have been acquired, 104 by condemnation. He said there were a few litigations, as expected, but that the “process has worked swimmingly.”
Hey Detroit! 5/6 at 10 AM I live cover Detroit City Council for @DetDocumenters #DETdocumenters & media partners…
04:00 AM May 6, 2025 CDT
Hoping to have a quorum–last meeting was ‘inquorate’ so no business could be done, only public comment heard
As always, meeting is at the CAYMC building … info on attending live or accessing remote options, along with the agenda, is available here 👇🔗
detroihttps://detroitmi.gov/government/city-council
Okey dokey @detdocumenters.bsky.social #DETdocumenters we are starting the meeting at 10:11 — and they have a quorum! Council President Mary Sheffield (D-5), Angela Whitfield Calloway (D-2) and Coleman A Young II (At Large) are absent
First presentation being given by Gabriela Santiago-Romero (D-6)…recognizing 70th anniversary of Detroit Rollercade
https://www.rollercadedetroit.com/
Next presentation is for Delta Sigma Theta…Social Action Committee for the sorority is giving presentation on action principles…Edwina King leading the presentation
A lot of Delta red is in the forum! She also notes that the auditorium is named after a Delta Sigma Theta – Erma Henderson. You can read about her here 👇🔗
detroihttps://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/henderson-erma
Presentation continues with additional Delta members–historical overview and look at their social action legacy
A very impressive list of work on international, national, state and local level
Now we have a presentation to update what is going on (legally) with solar in Detroit…being done by Conrad Mallett, Detroit legal counsel.
Phase 1 – all the parcels/property acquired…104 by condemnations…there are disputes…20-some compensation lawsuits (for prop all owned by one person)
Phase 2 breakdown of property/parcel acquisitions…all upbeat with continual repetition that all commitments have been met and process has worked…”there will always be litigation” he states while pointing to city being beset by property speculators
President Pro Tem James Tate (D-1) asks if this report was emailed to Council…Mallett says he can email it…so he has not?
I could not keep up with his information dump of numbers…and am really surprised his office could not have presented a simple spreadsheet illustrating this…I mean, c’mon🤷♂️
Latisha Johnson (D-4) asks about vacant land, wants more detail about percentages being used for the project
Fred Durhal (D-7) asks for details about the community benefits promised in this project–energy efficiency and structural upgrades (roofs, electrical). Rep from DTE on hand to say that–wait for it–everything is going just great! And residents have signed off 7 times on Scope of Work…so there!🤔
The DTE rep also says beneficiaries of the community benefits are on hand to testify to their experience…the total costs have been “in the millions” and work goes well beyond just the installation of the solar and is example of forward-thinking repurposing of land
Mary Waters (At Large) has some concerns, in particular about what happened to a person who had come to City Council saying that the property–the family home–had been improperly seized.
Mallett is aware of the property in question…he gives address & provides the timeline…during Mallett’s explanation, a member of the public is shouting out and Tate lets him know he must wait until public comment to respond. The timeline describes actions…visits/inspections/tax foreclosure
Mallett points out City of Detroit does not run the foreclosure process–that is done through Wayne County Treasurer’s office, and property foreclosure is a 3-year deal and final decisions are not appealable. Insists nothing nefarious about the process & city followed all the rules/laws
More info on that is here 👇🔗
www.wahttps://www.waynecounty.com/elected/treasurer/forfeiture-foreclosure.aspx
They are now moving on to public comments…they have 45 people waiting!
This person…Danielle?…has been to Council 3 times…is listing a long litany of confusion regarding property being improperly seized
The next person is connected to the property that Waters referred to and Mallett was familiar with and said everything was done properly…well, he insists that is simply not the case
The next two people, Thanis Hadley (sp?) and Haley Henley (sp?) both testify to the real benefits that they received from the solar project’s community benefits program
We have another person speaking critically about the land acquisition process for the solar farm project … does state the name of the owner of properties owned by single person and in legal action as Mike Kelly & says it is only people like him big enough to oppose the abuses
Now a person speaking about need for council to focus on enforcing ordinances for air quality
A Mikayla Winbourne (sp?) and second young person point out how air quality issues are leading to increases in asthma and affecting their futures
A rep from Clear the Air on hand, noting it is National Asthma Day and has some policy proposals she wants council to consider. More on the organization here👇🔗
clearthttps://cleartheairmi.org/
So, we have person who is more than a little upset…a lot of foul language directed at council and calls Mallett “Crafty Conrad”
A person who is homeless states she has not been able to get response from any of the city offices she was directed to contact…Mary Waters (At Large) asks to take her information right now to attempt to take action/get help
Second person present to speaking on issue of homelessness…she underscores what was said, that CAM is not responsive. For those wondering about who/what ‘CAM’ is, well, it is acronym for ‘Coordinated Assessment Model’. More detail here 👇🔗
camdethttps://camdetroit.org/
Up next is transportation advocate Michael Cunningham with update on his activity an appeal for help with getting a new van. For those who don’t know who this man is, check out @brycehuffman.bsky.social article here👇🔗📰
www.bridghttps://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-transit-warrior-finds-his-place/
They are moving to the online public comments … continued concerns about air quality and need for actionable/enforceable policies to curtail industrial development that causes harms
In addition, there are concerns about what is seen as illegal/improper land seizures by the city
President of Desoto Ellsworth Block Association on hand to announce upcoming clean-up/beautification day
https://theneighborhoods.org/node/2481
A retiree from city speaking about dissatisfaction with how council has failed to support retiree’s attempt to recapture some of funds lost in bankruptcy…also says that council has pattern of retaliating against anyone who speaks out
Another retiree calling in – wants retirees be made whole. Also expresses support for effective air quality controls and support for the homeless
A caller notes that Detroit has 6th worst air quality in the nation…also says speed bumps increase particulate matter in the air; in response, one of the councilmembers (Durhal ?) asks for study/research to verify correlation between speed bumps & poor air quality
https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/2025-detroit-sota
Not sure how much new study needs to be done…looks like a lot of info already out there. Maybe they could start with this 😆😉🧐👇🔗
civilejournal.ohttps://civilejournal.org/index.php/cej/article/view/4927
A District 3 resident concerned about planting of trees without communication to the business community…while she appreciates what is being done, wants council to know that new trees cause a challenge for maintenance/landscaping
While noting the above, response from (Tate? Benson?) is interesting…almost robotic statement that more trees are essential for fighting climate change/urban heat islands, etc. This is true…but his delivery was, I dunno, kinda sorta weird
Member of one of the companies involved in solar farms project calls in to, 1) let us know it is National Nurses Week and 2) everything is going great/there were no land grabs/illegality & Detroit is a leader & should be proud 😏Learn about them here👇🔗
energyallhttps://energyalliancegroup.org/
A D-4 resident calls in to say her experience with solar project has been positive
A Ron Foster calls in to address tokenism … the community needs more than appearances and lip service but real progress and accountability
Public comments closed out and we are off…or are we? Line items 17.1-17.11 in agenda under consideration…Waters (D-4) wants 17.3, .9 & .10 held off for questions, Johnson has objection to 17.11…the remaining items are approved. These are a range of lawsuits under Internal Operations
On to Public Health & Safety Standing Committee, line items 18.1-18.6…a lot of blight funding from Santiago-Romero! Approved with waivers attached to 18.2 & 18.5
Now, New Business from Mayor’s office, line items 19.1-19.3…festival approvals…all approved
Now on to Contracting & Procurement…line items 19.4 & .5 from Santiago-Romero…19.5 is for $81,300,000.00…some (limited) info here👇🔗
pub-dehttps://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=216122
Continuing with Contracting & Procurement, 2 contracts from Young (At Large), line items 19.6, .7, .8…all approved…look to be primarily service or service-related contracts
Well, moving faster than I type 😆… approval of line items 19.9, .10…amendment to ordinance and supporting public hearing plus 19.11,.12 from Santiago-Romero for accepting grant money for infrastructure projects…all accepted/approved
Kinda sorta lost at this point…a number of ‘walk on’ resolutions are being introduced…or not
Sections 21 through 25 (with exception of 25.5) all approved/referred to the appropriate standing committee…I did not catch what is going on with 25.5, might be routed to different standing committee
At member reports section…one thing that pops up that seems relevant given recent Windfall Property Tax action is the city offers free estate planning workshops and one is coming up soon…info available here👇🔗
detroihttps://detroitmi.gov/bn/taxonomy/term/10916
Tate notes his experiences in Philadelphia with the Green Taskforce was highly impactful and looks forward to implementing some of things that were shared; more on Green Taskforce here👇🔗
www.dehttps://www.detroitgreentaskforce.org/
Final item (30) is approved…a testimonial resolution of appreciation for Cinceré Quran Al’Talet 👇🔗📜
pub-detroitmhttps://pub-detroitmi.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=215845
📣 Quick note❗📣
👇👇👇
At the beginning of the thread I stated that Young, along with Sheffield and Whitfield-Calloway, was not present. I’m not sure if he arrived after roll call or if I just missed his response…but he was definitely present and an active participant! Sorry for any confusion
As usual, lots to consider from a City Council meeting…I am always interested when we have a walk-on item to the agenda. They are permitted–Section 9.2 Agenda in City Charter👇🔗📃
library.mhttps://library.municode.com/mi/detroit/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIIADRU_DIVIRUPRPURECH_SDBRUORDECO_PT9.0STCO_S9.12AG
‘The agenda for each Standing Committee…All items referred to a standing committee shall appear on the agenda within 30 days of being referred. Walk-ons shall be permitted at the discretion of the chair.’
Ok.
But check this from @outliermedia.org 👇🔗
outliehttps://outliermedia.org/city-council-walk-on-vote-bedrock-detroit/
The walk-on item in this meeting did not seem like a major issue…but it is always a little disappointing to see this as part of process as at its best gives sense of disorganization and at its worst, deception…regardless of the intent
So, I guess that is my coverage of the Detroit City Council Formal Session for May 6, 2025. 🫤
‼️IMPORTANT‼️If anything is inaccurate, please email documenters@outliermedia.org with ‘Correction Request’ in subject line.
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Agency Information
Detroit City Council
The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Council is responsible for the creation of local laws—called ordinances. Additionally they pass resolutions, motions, and the proposed city budget. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location besides city hall. The council may convene for special meetings at the call of the mayor or at least four members of council. Areas of responsibility for the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee include, Budget, Finance and the Auditor General.
City Council members are elected on the same cycle as the Mayor and will be elected in 2021. Seven members represent the seven council districts, while two members are elected at-large.