2026-09-08 - Committee on Appointments

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08:22Good morning everyone. We will call the

08:24committee on appointments to order at 8

08:26a.m. We have a short agenda this

08:29morning. Uh Miss Boser, if you could

08:31please guide us through a discussion on

08:33the current board and commission vacancy

08:35list.

08:36>> Yes, obviously not much has changed. Um

08:38we're still working in the background. I

08:40know that the mayor has somebody in mind

08:43for the land bank and that you all have

08:46someone in mind for vital streets. We're

08:48just working through getting betting

08:49wrapped up for those. So hoping as soon

08:52as that those are ready, we'll get them

08:55on the next agenda. Um and then in

08:59addition, still just working on the end

09:01of year this week. I will be getting a

09:04draft of the end of year agenda item to

09:07the mayor just to have in one spot

09:09everything to expect. Um, and I'll get

09:11that to you all as well to start

09:13thinking about those appointments and

09:16vacancies and reappoints. Um, and then

09:18in addition, we're getting applications

09:20in for some of those corridor

09:21improvement authority vacancies. So,

09:23we'll keep that moving too. Even though

09:24those uh appointments, those terms

09:26aren't ending with the year end, we'll

09:29still try to fill some of these

09:30vacancies in the next couple meetings.

09:32Thank you, Miss Boser, and thank you for

09:34your work on this. Questions, comments,

09:36concern, colleagues? Commissioner Isasi.

09:39>> Um, thanks so much, Miss Boser, for that

09:41overview. Could you when we look at

09:43these in the future, I know for the

09:45corridor improvement authorities, um,

09:49each body can have up to two resident

09:51members. Is that correct? Or is that,

09:54you know, is that more of our practice

09:56that we've had or the requirements of

09:58that body? I think the requirement is

10:00that one

10:02>> at least one has to be a resident and I

10:05think it's just sort of been the

10:06practice my understanding is to not have

10:08it be a majority be residents that they

10:11do like to have the business interest

10:12but I think the requirement is just to

10:14have the one

10:14>> just to have the one okay and then um

10:18>> could we include that that detail on

10:21this sheet as well of you know not

10:24necessarily one is for a resident but if

10:27you could list the makeup either as we

10:29add the current or as we add or as we

10:32lose people of what is that makeup of

10:34how many residents to property owners I

10:37should say it's property owners not just

10:39business owners so

10:40>> yes property owners and business owners

10:42I should say y okay great thank you

10:45>> thank you for that note commissioner

10:48>> all right any others all right you all

10:51well happy September it's crazy that

10:53it's already September what a fun year

10:55it's been hope everyone has a wonderful

10:58morning and we will adjourn the

10:59committee on appointments at 8:02 a.m.

11:02>> Thank you.

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38:24>> Good morning. The time is now 8:30 and

38:26we can go ahead and call our fiscal

38:27committee meeting to order. Hope

38:29everyone had a nice holiday and um yeah,

38:32we have a fairly short agenda for today.

38:36I swear that was for something that I

38:39don't even know what I'm doing.

38:40[laughter] I need the Jenzers to help

38:42me.

38:45Just just to let you guys know, I was

38:47not watching videos. I was looking up

38:49this this postcard that we got and I was

38:52like, "What's this organization?" And

38:53apparently they turn it on, so I'm not

38:55going to that. [laughter] Um, no, just

38:58kidding. All right. So, first is a

39:00resolution recognizing Beer City Dog

39:02Biscuits as a local civic organization.

39:05Do I have a motion?

39:06>> So, moved.

39:07>> Support.

39:07>> Moved and supported. I'm going to turn

39:08it over to Miss Hartman to do an

39:10introduction to Miss Hookers who is here

39:12on behalf of the organization. Uh yes,

39:15this is uh as uh commissioner said, a

39:18resolution to recognize Beer City Dog

39:20Biscuits as a local civic organization

39:24uh for the purpose of obtaining a

39:26license from the Bureau of the State

39:28Lottery. And Miss Hooker is here and I'd

39:30like to have her come up and say a few

39:33words about the organization. Thank you.

39:34>> If you can push the button right there.

39:36Perfect.

39:37>> Gotcha. Uh thank you. I really

39:39appreciate the opportunity to um get a

39:41license for Beer City Dog Biscuits.

39:43We're a nonprofit uh located on the

39:45northeast side of Grand Rapids and um

39:49our mission is to provide work skills,

39:52life skills, community and employment

39:54for individuals with intellectual and

39:56developmental disabilities. And

39:59currently we have over 350 individuals

40:01who come to us uh four days a week,

40:04Monday through uh Thursday. About half

40:07of that group is from the ISD, the

40:09empower you, the transition program in

40:12Grand Rapids. Um we have AFC homes,

40:15individuals that just come on their own

40:17with um supports and um we are, you

40:22know, we'd love a license just for

40:23fundraising. We about 80% of our um

40:27budget is through fundraising. The other

40:2920% is through the creation of the dog

40:31biscuits that we make. And I'd invite

40:34everyone in at some point to come tour

40:37um see what we're doing. I think we're

40:39probably one of the largest work skills

40:41programs, life skills. We have about 20

40:43different skill levels um that you can

40:46choose from to do and um just invite you

40:50to come and tour or volunteer.

40:52>> Thank you.

40:53>> Thank you so much.

40:54>> Thanks for being here. Questions,

40:56colleagues

40:59hearing and seeing none. Yes. I I just

41:01want to say I I saw this organization a

41:03long time ago. Okay. When you actually

41:05first started putting the the biscuits

41:07in different stores, so I see them at

41:09Pet Supplies Plus and that story just

41:12really resonated. So I I commend you on

41:14the work that you do. It's fantastic.

41:16>> Great.

41:17>> Thank you, Mr. Treasurer. All right. Um

41:20all those in favor?

41:21>> I. Any opposed?

41:23>> Item carries. Thanks so much for being

41:25here. Um, next is a resolution accepting

41:29$720,000

41:31uh grant award and approving an

41:33agreement with the Michigan Department

41:34of Health and Human Services, MDHHS for

41:37the fiscal year 2027 Michigan Medicaid

41:39CHIP les hazard control community

41:42development grant program. Do you have a

41:44motion? So moved.

41:45>> Support.

41:46>> Moved and supported. Mr. Tucker.

41:47>> Good morning, fiscal committee. This

41:48agenda item deals with the acceptance of

41:50a $720,000

41:52annual grant from our state partners

41:54through the m uh through the Michigan

41:55Department of Health and Human Services.

41:58Um this is an annual award and it

42:00authorizes our city manager and mayor to

42:02accept the award and enter into

42:04subawward agreements uh with our

42:06subreients.

42:07>> Thanks so much. Colleagues, questions

42:09for Mr. Tucker? Yes, Commissioner.

42:11>> Um this is less of a a question and more

42:14of a comment. Yeah, I just want you to

42:15know that this program really makes a

42:17big difference in people's lives,

42:18helping families uh address the lead

42:21issues that they have in their house

42:22when they have young children who have

42:24tested very high. And I've actually

42:26talked to someone recently who had

42:28participated in the program. Their child

42:31is going just turned three. So, um but

42:34they they're doing well and they had a

42:36lot of good services from the testing,

42:38the investigation, the window uh

42:41treatments, the painting, and even

42:44sighting. So, it was it's very helpful

42:45and I'm really glad to see that we're

42:47accepting quite a sizable amount here

42:50today.

42:51>> Thank you. I'm going to go ahead and

42:53call the question. All those in favor?

42:55>> I. Any opposed? Item carries. Thanks so

42:57much. Um item number three is a

42:59resolution accepting the continuation of

43:01a grant award of $834,595 [snorts]

43:05from the Autotheft Prevention Authority

43:08um ATPA. Do you have a motion?

43:09>> So moved.

43:10>> Moved and supported. Mr. Wel, nice to

43:12see Good morning, commissioners. Uh,

43:14this is a grant we receive every every

43:16year from the state for the combined

43:18auto theft team. Um,

43:21we primarily use this for salary and

43:23overtime for two officers and one

43:25detective that participates in the team.

43:28Uh, two things I'll note about this

43:30grant. It's significantly lower this

43:32year because the city of Wyoming doesn't

43:33participate. It's just Grand Rapids and

43:35Kentwood. Previous years were around 1.1

43:37million. So, this drops down. And then

43:39the state also changed the matching.

43:41Previously, it was 40% state, 60% local.

43:44Now, it's 35% state, 65% local, which we

43:48easily hit with salaries. But I just

43:50wanted to point that out.

43:51>> Okay. Thank you so much for that update.

43:53Questions, colleagues?

43:55Hearing and seeing none. All those in

43:57favor? I. Any opposed? Item carries.

44:00Thanks so much. Um, item number four is

44:02a resolution authorizing a budget

44:04substitution in the amount of $485,000

44:07for the lead replacement phase 3

44:09project. Do you have a motion? So moved.

44:12Morted.

44:12>> Thank you, Miss Claren.

44:14>> Um, and this is this is budget

44:17substitution simply to get bump proceeds

44:19out the door. Um, the uh LED project is

44:23something we've been working on for

44:26>> at least since I've been here. Seven

44:27years.

44:28>> Yeah. Yeah. So, so it's been a while.

44:30Uh, this is phase three. We we've been

44:31issuing bonds every like every uh two to

44:34three years to keep up with the project.

44:36This is to um use up the remainder of

44:38the that third tranch of bonds we've

44:40done and this should be I believe the

44:42remainder of the of the work. So,

44:45>> thanks so much. Questions, colleagues

44:48hearing and seeing none. Oh, yes. I'm

44:50sorry.

44:51>> That's okay. I just want to say it looks

44:52like according to the memo that we're at

44:5499%

44:56completed with the LED replacement. Is

44:59that correct? Am I in the right place?

45:01>> It's coming up.

45:02>> Okay, that

45:04I didn't see you back there. Go ahead.

45:05[laughter]

45:06>> Ryan, Energy Light Communications.

45:09Yeah, we're at about 99 over 99%.

45:12>> Put the microphone.

45:12>> Sorry. Yeah, we're over over 99%. Um,

45:16these are non-standard fixtures that

45:18didn't really fit into the other

45:20projects. It took additional engineering

45:23um and acquiring different types of

45:26fixtures to fill these locations. So,

45:29>> do you happen to know if uh

45:32I'm assuming that we've had a

45:33calculation on the carbon emissions that

45:35we're saving by switching over to or the

45:37energy savings. Um does the

45:40sustainability office have that or is

45:42that something you would have?

45:43>> I think we could definitely follow up on

45:44that item.

45:45>> Yeah, I could I can get that to them if

45:47they should have the previous projects

45:49and then I can get them the information

45:51on this last

45:52>> Yeah, it'd be good to know how much

45:53money and carbon we're saving.

45:55>> Yep. We can follow up.

45:56>> Thank you.

45:58Thanks so much for coming up.

45:59>> Thank you.

45:59>> Um all those in favor I. Any opposed?

46:03Item carries. Thanks so much. Uh next

46:05two are uh salary ordinance. But the

46:08first one is number five salary

46:09ordinance for supplemental

46:10classifications

46:12election aid um for levels one through

46:15five. Do you have a motion?

46:16>> So moved.

46:17>> Support.

46:18>> Moved and supported. Miss Eddie.

46:19>> Good morning fiscal committee. Michelle

46:21Eddie, deputy HR director. So on August

46:2425th, um the HR department took two

46:26classifications to the civil service

46:27board that was reviewed and and

46:29approved. So today I'm bringing them

46:31before you to approve the salary

46:33ordinance for those two classifications.

46:35So for the first one is the election

46:37technician aid. And so for this one,

46:40this is a classification that we use for

46:42internal staff and returning u retirees

46:45that come and assist during election

46:46time. And so the last time those wages

46:49um was increased was like 2017. So we

46:53reviewed that and just asking for your

46:55approval today to amend that ordinance.

46:57>> Thank you. Mr. Clerk, would you do you

47:00want anything to say anything about this

47:01one?

47:02>> No, she's got it.

47:02>> Okay. And noted this was all both of

47:05these were reviewed in our civil service

47:06meeting as noted. So um all those in

47:09favor I.

47:10>> Any opposed? Item carries. Thanks so

47:12much. Um, item number six is a salary

47:15ordinance amending section 4.4 of

47:17amendance, I'm sorry, of ordinance

47:202205-22,

47:23creation of a new classification,

47:25utility valve specialist. You have a

47:27motion. Oh, so moved.

47:28>> Support.

47:29>> Moved and supported.

47:30>> Thank you. And then the second one is a

47:32new classification and we titled it

47:34utility valve specialist. And for this

47:37one, previously the work was um

47:39outsourced um and so we've decided to

47:41bring that work in house and created a

47:43classification um to be able to staff

47:45that role internally. And today I'm just

47:48requesting your approval to amend that

47:50ordinance, that salary ordinance. Thanks

47:53so much. Questions on this one,

47:55colleagues? Hearing and seeing none. Um

47:57all those in favor?

47:59>> I. Any opposed? Item carries. Thanks so

48:01much. Um item number seven is the bid uh

48:04bid resolution list for September 8th,

48:062026. Do I have a motion?

48:08>> So moved.

48:09>> Support.

48:09>> Moved in support of Miss Claren. Any

48:11ones that you'd like to highlight or

48:13questions?

48:13>> You know, just just 11 items this

48:15morning. Um all fairly routine. I

48:18wouldn't say anything's worth um pulling

48:21out unless there's any questions.

48:24>> I don't think so. So I will call the

48:26question. All those in favor? I.

48:28>> Any opposed? Item carries. Um, and this

48:32next one is also you, Miss Clarence. So,

48:34item number eight is a report of a bond

48:36sale, uh, $39,540,000

48:40limited tax general obligation bond

48:44series 2026A. Does this need a motion or

48:47is this uh this is simply just a report

48:50of the bond sale? So, it's not I don't

48:51[clears throat] know.

48:52>> I'm waiting for my clerk to respond to

48:54me.

48:55>> No.

48:55>> No.

48:56>> No. Okay. [laughter] Um so so as we do

48:59after we sell bonds we we like to come

49:01back and report to fiscal committee how

49:03we performed and uh with this one we got

49:05quite a sizable premium on we priced

49:07very well so our par amount was 39.5

49:10million with proceeds uh 41.5 this to

49:14satisfy the remainder of the fire

49:16trading center campus work as well as

49:19the the final gap with the scrier um

49:22which is a scrier we call the scrier

49:24project but it's the public work

49:26facility up on Scrier Avenue. Um we're

49:29we're very pleased with the outcome. Our

49:32um bonds are are double A. They price

49:35very well. Um so, you know, again,

49:39again, just just very pleased with the

49:40outcome. Um these bond proceeds, you'll

49:43see in some of our other fiscal

49:45committee items that um you know, when

49:48they know bond proceeds, we have to get

49:50them spent down in two years. We're

49:51confident we're able to do that. And um

49:54yeah, overall if there's any if there

49:56there if there are any questions um you

49:59know please let me know. [laughter]

50:02>> Thank you.

50:03>> Yep. Um thanks for this overview and

50:06highlighting it. Questions colleagues?

50:10>> All right, Mr. Treasurer, do you have a

50:12question? [laughter]

50:16>> No. No. Although, you know, I'm I'm

50:19thrilled the fact that we see these

50:22bonds being issued at this type of rate

50:24and that, you know, as as investors look

50:27at us, it's overs subscribed, which

50:29means

50:30>> people believe in Grand Rapids. They

50:31believe in our growth and our

50:32development.

50:34>> Um, it's outstanding for our our debt

50:36and the capital projects that are going

50:38on. Um, it's just something I can't

50:40invest in. [laughter]

50:42Uh just just for clarific I probably

50:44should have explained that I do note

50:46that our bonds get overs subscribed.

50:49What that means for the public is um you

50:52know banks or you know um investors

50:56basically will all bid on purchasing our

50:59bonds. We get more than one bidder and

51:02then so we're able to buy down you know

51:04that interest rate against them. So it

51:06is it's great. It it's great when we can

51:09be overs subscribed and like I said we

51:10trade really well. So yeah, thanks so

51:13much. Yeah. Okay. I was told that I was

51:15picking on you guys today, but

51:17[laughter]

51:18I think it's this um Thank you for

51:20adding comments because, you know, I had

51:22a boss that used to be like, you know,

51:24uh we're great, just ask us and not only

51:27ask us, but ask other people, right? And

51:29so we have these checks, not you know

51:31we're not checks and balances but

51:32different departments that work together

51:34and especially as we're trying to sort

51:36of show the transparency that we engage

51:38in the kind of fiscal health of this

51:40organization um that we take it very

51:43seriously when we borrow money and so

51:46thank you all for your comments on that.

51:49All right. Um and then the last I know

51:52actually two more items today. Um,

51:54number nine is a comprollers warrant

51:56report for the period of August 11th,

51:582026 through August 24th, 2026 in the

52:01amount of 69,426,965.73

52:07and the monthly travel report. Um, and

52:10I'm going to turn it over to our deputy

52:12comproller, Miss Kirkland.

52:13>> Good morning, commissioners.

52:15>> Morning. Nice to see you.

52:16>> Good to see you all. Cash payments

52:18released total the $69 million including

52:22which includes $6.4 million for payroll,

52:26181 for income tax warrants uh with a

52:29total of 772 income tax refunds and

52:331,141

52:34accounts payable tax issue. That's a

52:36warrant report.

52:37>> Thank you.

52:37>> Thank you.

52:39>> That report is received and filed. And

52:42our last item today is our treasures

52:45report for the period of August 12th,

52:472026 through August 25th, 2026. Mr.

52:50Treasur,

52:51>> good morning, commissioners. Um, with

52:53our report today, the interest rates

52:54have held at 3 and a half to 3.75%.

52:57Um, however, just last week, we saw

53:00162,000 jobs in the jobs market hit.

53:03That actually, um, increased the

53:05probability now of seeing a rate hike

53:07later in September. um they're putting

53:10that probability at 60%. But again, as

53:13as each of these little economic data

53:15pieces fall into place, those

53:17probabilities change. What doesn't help

53:20it doesn't help that the administration

53:21is putting pressure on a rate cut when

53:24we're staring at a rate hike. So the

53:28independence of the Fed is something

53:29that is truly crucial in this in our

53:31market that if something like that were

53:33to happen, it would really signal to all

53:36the investment community that our Fed is

53:39now politically u motivated by whatever

53:42the administration uh is trying to

53:45accomplish and that might fly in the

53:48face of all economic data and economic

53:51outcome. So I I'm my concern is that we

53:54need to make make sure that the Fed

53:56stays independent and follows the data.

53:58If they do that, we'll be absolutely

54:00fine. If they start making decisions on

54:02a of a political nature, then that that

54:04all bets are off at that point in time.

54:06So I don't I would I would be staring at

54:09higher inflation and other things that

54:11that could really shock the market if we

54:14were to lower when we're staring at

54:16increases. Um,

54:19with that we have a our portfolio is is

54:21very strong and stable and in a great

54:24place. We are at uh $670 million running

54:293.26%.

54:31And

54:33one other caveat, I saw the Hail Mary on

54:37Saturday. [laughter]

54:38I was at U of M cheering on my Broncos,

54:42so I was a little disappointed uh with

54:44that. But if you want to watch somebody

54:46um really control uh grace in a tough

54:50situation, the Western Michigan

54:53president and head football coach gave a

54:55YouTube um video uh after after the game

54:59after everything was settled and done

55:01and uh it's spectacular. It's about a

55:04three, four, five minute clip if you

55:06want to watch uh grace under adverse

55:09situations. Um it was amazing. So I'm

55:12thrilled with the Broncos. I'm thrilled

55:13with what their season's going to look

55:15like. Um, they were the conference

55:16champions last year and they should be

55:18front runners this year.

55:20>> Well, thank you for that report. I think

55:22you, you know, our colleague here,

55:24Commissioner Kilgore is a proud Bronco,

55:26too. So, and I am a Michigan State fan,

55:29so I'm supporting you guys, too.

55:31>> Um, all Broncos. [laughter]

55:33>> We were all Broncos on Saturday.

55:36I redeemed myself with the clerk now.

55:37That's right.

55:39um thank you so much for that report and

55:41um you know thanks for sharing that. I

55:44mean, both of those things. I'm going to

55:45look at that clip. But I think even

55:48today um when I was listening getting

55:49ready I was listening to um NPR in a

55:52show about the the increased use of like

55:55a CLA credit or these you know pay as

55:58you go or you know split it out over uh

56:01for for you know payments and it's

56:04because you know typically people are

56:06not able to maybe get a credit card or

56:08get credit but just the increase of that

56:10since COVID and the increase for things

56:12like groceries um and just you know this

56:17is not a very regulated market a lot of

56:19unknown and so yes I I was getting ready

56:22as I was straightening my hair I thought

56:24about you treasurer and like I want to

56:26talk to you about this because we have

56:28continued to see this and it's just a

56:31challenging environment we all you know

56:33up here and those of us our colleagues

56:35who aren't up here we hear this

56:36consistently from individuals um you

56:39know today we'll have a review of the

56:41corrections millillage and so you know

56:43those are the questions that we'll

56:44continue to have is what what is this

56:46ultimately going to mean in the

56:48pocketbooks of individuals in our

56:50community and our own? Um, so I just

56:52thought of you and appreciate always

56:53your commentary on these on these

56:55topics.

56:56>> Well, and and you know, it it's it's

56:58always there. Um, when when I went to I

57:01took my I'm staying with my dad a couple

57:03days while his his girlfriend's out of

57:05town. And so I took my son to the

57:06grocery store and we went through um and

57:09I'm just picking out stuff for him. He's

57:11putting stuff in the basket. And you

57:12know, next thing you know, I I go to the

57:15checkout lane and I have the smaller

57:17cart, the top level, not overly full,

57:20and it was $70.

57:22>> And so you start seeing that you start

57:24seeing when you go fill up your gas tank

57:26and it's $75 for 16 gallons of gas. And

57:31you know, we

57:33our our public is being is being

57:35challenged. Um, I'm going over and

57:38looking at all of my cell phone and

57:40cable bills and internet bills and I'm

57:43going to start squeezing people to get

57:45lower rates myself. I mean, that's

57:47that's what we do. Um, to to make sure

57:49that we have enough for our families to

57:52get them into school, school clothes,

57:54books, you know, this today's the the

57:57time where all the kids are flooding

57:58back to school and those expenses aren't

58:00going down either. And now we're going

58:02to turn around and stare at Thanksgiving

58:05holiday meal. How expensive is that

58:07going to be for a family this year?

58:09>> And then the Christmas holidays. And

58:11it's, you know, we we talk about um all

58:15the stuff and and really as an

58:16organization

58:18um we we try to focus on what is the

58:21best value and keeping cost down because

58:24we know that every every rate increase

58:26we ask for whether it's water sewer,

58:29whether it's refuse, whether we see the

58:31the millages um and taxes go up because

58:34housing values and millages uh interact.

58:38It's all stressors on our community and

58:40and it it's real.

58:43>> Thanks so much. Well, with that, we're

58:46going to go ahead. That report is

58:47received and filed and we will go ahead

58:49and adjourn at 8:50. Thank you.

58:59[music]

59:04[music]

59:47>> [music]

1:00:08[music]

1:00:13[music]

1:00:22[music]

1:00:24>> Heat. Heat.

1:00:43Heat.

1:00:52>> [music]

1:00:59[music]

1:01:09[music]

1:01:15>> Heat. Heat.

1:01:17Heat. Heat. [music]

1:01:40Heat. Heat.

1:01:42[music]

1:02:42>> [music]

1:02:49>> Heat. Heat. [music]

1:03:04>> [music]

1:03:12>> Heat. Heat.

1:03:18Heat. Heat.

1:03:24[music]

1:03:36[music]

1:03:47>> [music]

1:04:04[music]

1:04:16[music]

1:04:20>> Heat. Heat.

1:04:29[music]

1:04:38[music]

1:04:44>> [music]

1:04:58>> Heat. Heat.

1:05:16Heat.

1:05:22Heat.

1:05:52Heat. Heat.

1:05:55Heat. Heat.

1:06:05[music]

1:06:29Heat. Heat.

1:06:34[music]

1:06:54Heat. Heat.

1:07:09Heat. Heat.

1:07:18[music]

1:07:19Heat. Heat.

1:07:43>> [music]

1:07:52>> Heat. Heat.

1:08:11Heat.

1:08:31Heat.

1:08:36Heat.

1:08:47Heat.

1:08:50[music]

1:09:13Heat. Heat.

1:09:20>> [music]

1:09:31>> Heat. Heat.

1:09:39[music]

1:09:40Heat. Heat.

1:09:48[music]

1:10:07>> [music]

1:10:19>> Heat. Heat.

1:10:25Heat.

1:10:37[music]

1:10:44[music]

1:10:48Heat.

1:10:59>> [music]

1:11:11>> Heat. Heat. [music]

1:11:16Heat. Heat.

1:11:47>> [music]

1:11:55[music]

1:11:57>> Heat. Heat.

1:12:01[music]

1:12:17Heat. Heat.

1:12:39>> [music]

1:12:51>> Heat.

1:13:02[music]

1:13:15Heat.

1:13:19>> [music]

1:13:36>> Heat. Heat.

1:13:42Heat. Heat.

1:14:03Heat. Heat.

1:14:08[music]

1:14:30Heat.

1:14:41Heat.

1:14:51Heat.

1:15:01Heat.

1:15:05[music]

1:15:11Heat. Heat.

1:15:16[music]

1:15:29[music]

1:15:33Heat. Heat.

1:15:51[music]

1:15:57Heat. Heat.

1:17:53>> [music]

1:18:34[music]

1:18:39[music]

1:18:58>> down.

1:19:04>> [music]

1:19:28[music]

1:19:37[music]

1:19:44[music]

1:20:48[music]

1:21:15[music]

1:21:33[music]

1:21:40[music]

1:21:44>> Heat. Heat.

1:21:47[music]

1:21:53[music]

1:22:33>> [music]

1:22:41[music]

1:22:50[music]

1:22:58[music]

1:23:08[music]

1:23:14[music]

1:23:27[music]

1:23:42>> Commissioner Purdue will be here

1:23:43shortly. So, um, we're just kind of in a

1:23:45holding pattern for the moment.

1:23:55>> [music]

1:24:00[music]

1:24:07[music]

1:24:07>> Heat. Heat.

1:24:27>> [music]

1:24:49>> Heat. Heat.

1:24:59>> [music]

1:25:24[music]

1:25:24>> Heat. Heat.

1:25:41[music]

1:25:49>> [music]

1:26:00[music]

1:26:06[music]

1:26:25>> Heat.

1:26:33Heat.

1:26:40Morning.

1:26:51[music]

1:26:56It's 9:18. We're going to get today's

1:26:58community development committing

1:26:59committee meeting started. Uh happy

1:27:01belated labor day. Um just want to

1:27:03express my thanks to uh the labor

1:27:05movement of this country, past, present,

1:27:07and future.

1:27:09So with that, our first item this

1:27:11morning is a resolution setting Tuesday,

1:27:13September 22nd, 2025.

1:27:16This should be 2026. At 7 p.m. as the

1:27:20date, the city commission will convene a

1:27:22public hearing to sit as board of review

1:27:23to hear appeals on special assessment

1:27:25nuisent role 8808.

1:27:27>> So move

1:27:28>> support. Supported. Good morning.

1:27:30>> Good morning. Um so this is for the

1:27:33nuisance role. it. On July 21 of this

1:27:36year, the commission issued an order for

1:27:38the assessor to create the special

1:27:40assessment role number 8808. This was

1:27:43for unpaid charges for services and code

1:27:46violations issued between January and

1:27:49June of 2026. So, these charges stem

1:27:51from miscellaneous services such as

1:27:53housing violations, yard violations,

1:27:56rental certifications, and blight

1:27:58monitoring. Um, property owners were

1:28:01affected by these charges were sent the

1:28:03notices on August 14th that included the

1:28:06amount of amount of the charges as well

1:28:09as information on the appeal process.

1:28:11The role has is available in the

1:28:14assessor's office and has been open um

1:28:17for inspection. The city's charter

1:28:20requires a public hearing to allow

1:28:21property owners affected by the special

1:28:24assessment a right to appeal. And this

1:28:26proceeding today is to set that date for

1:28:29public hearing for September 22nd. And

1:28:31this would be to hear any additional

1:28:33appeals.

1:28:34>> Thank you. All in favor?

1:28:37>> I.

1:28:37>> Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you,

1:28:40Miss Post. Item two this morning is a

1:28:42resolution scheduling a public hearing

1:28:44for September 22nd, 2026 to consider an

1:28:48obsolete property rehabilit

1:28:50rehabilitation district pursuant to PA46

1:28:53of 2000 for 1956 Eastern LLC at 1956

1:28:57Eastern Southeast.

1:28:59>> Saloo

1:29:00>> supported.

1:29:02>> Good morning.

1:29:03>> Good morning. [laughter]

1:29:04>> Uh yes. So we have several Oprah items

1:29:06today. Uh each one will be taken uh two

1:29:09at a time. So there's the district and

1:29:10then the certificate. So this first one

1:29:12is for the district. Again, this is a

1:29:14property at Eastern and Burton. Uh this

1:29:16is to rehabilitate an 800 ft² structure

1:29:20that will result in eight one-bedroom

1:29:22apartment units. And the uh estimated

1:29:25investment from uh the uh from the

1:29:28builder is $1.5 million. Um this is an

1:29:31emerging developer, Mary Malone, uh that

1:29:34we've been working with uh quite a bit.

1:29:36Um, so, uh, any other questions on that

1:29:38project?

1:29:40>> I'm curious, just as an aside, um,

1:29:42because I know she was in the emerging

1:29:44developer program, um, and it was

1:29:46paused. Is there any update on that and

1:29:48how that might relate to this project?

1:29:50>> So, currently our office is looking at

1:29:52other funding op options for the

1:29:53emerging developer program. So, those

1:29:55applicants that were in the queue um,

1:29:57will likely be the first ones that are

1:29:58looked at for when funding opens up

1:30:00again. Um, so she is in that queue. Um,

1:30:03we're looking at this specific abatement

1:30:05because it is sundowning at the end of

1:30:06the year. That's why you're going to see

1:30:07several of them today. Uh, because we

1:30:10this is basically the abatement that we

1:30:11can do to help and incentivize this

1:30:13project.

1:30:14>> Great. And I think your office has been

1:30:15working with her since I think she said

1:30:172017. So long. Yeah. Long time coming.

1:30:19So glad to have us here today.

1:30:22>> Yes.

1:30:22>> Any other questions, colleagues? All

1:30:23right. All in favor?

1:30:25>> I.

1:30:25>> Any opposed? Motion carries. Item three,

1:30:28companion item is a resolution

1:30:30scheduling a public hearing for

1:30:31September 22nd, 2026 to consider an

1:30:34application for an 11-year obsolete

1:30:36property rehabilitation exemption

1:30:37certificate pursuant to PA46 of 2000 for

1:30:411956 Eastern LLC at 1956 Eastern LLC.

1:30:44>> Salute.

1:30:45>> Supported. Any additional questions or

1:30:47comments? Seeing none, all in favor?

1:30:49>> I.

1:30:51>> Any opposed? Motion carries. Item four

1:30:53is a resolution scheduling a public

1:30:55hearing for September 22nd, 2026 to

1:30:58consider an obsolete property

1:30:59rehabilitation district pursuant to PA46

1:31:02of 2000 for 1024 MLK LLC at 1024 Martin

1:31:06Luther King Jr. Street Southeast.

1:31:09>> So

1:31:09>> supporting

1:31:11tell us about this one.

1:31:12>> Yes. So, this one is to rehab a 500 uh

1:31:165,300 ft² structure um that will create

1:31:18a space for a childcare facility um as

1:31:21well as flexible areas for afterchool

1:31:23programming and community uses. Uh this

1:31:25is the developer is Latrice Hampton. Um

1:31:27and they have also applied for a facade

1:31:30uh application from one of our corridor

1:31:32improvement districts. Uh the investment

1:31:34will be about $1 million and they have a

1:31:3620% uh on goal on their inclusion plan.

1:31:40Uh and it will also create eight

1:31:42full-time equivalent jobs.

1:31:44>> Wonderful. And uh the last property also

1:31:46apply for if a second too. So yeah,

1:31:48we're

1:31:49>> happy to be moving these projects

1:31:51forward. Uh any questions or comments,

1:31:53colleagues? Seeing none, all in favor?

1:31:55>> I motion carries. Can you give me a

1:31:57little scroll, please?

1:31:59>> Thank you. All right, we are on item

1:32:01number five. a resolution scheduling a

1:32:04public hearing on September 22nd, 2026

1:32:07to consider an application for a 10-year

1:32:09obsolete property rehabilitation

1:32:11exemption certificate pursuant to PA46

1:32:13of 2000 for 1024 MLK LLC at 1024 Martin

1:32:18Luther King Jr. Street Southeast.

1:32:20>> So move

1:32:21>> support.

1:32:22>> All right, any additional questions?

1:32:24Seeing none, all in favor?

1:32:26>> I.

1:32:27>> Any opposed? Motion carries. Item six is

1:32:30a resolution scheduling a public hearing

1:32:32for September 22nd. We are going to be

1:32:34very busy on that day. Uh to consider an

1:32:37obsolete property rehabilitation

1:32:39district pursuant to PA46 of 2000 for

1:32:42North Quarter Development LLC at 2130

1:32:45Planefield Avenue Northeast.

1:32:47>> Support and supported.

1:32:49>> All right. So this one is with the

1:32:50developer Andrew Stab. Uh he is also an

1:32:52emerging developer recipient um and is

1:32:55neighbor to this property. So he lives

1:32:57next door. Uh this will be

1:32:58rehabilitating a 3,000q foot structure

1:33:01that will create four one-bedroom

1:33:03apartments and they will also create um

1:33:05a new 1600 foot commercial building uh

1:33:08that will be white box space and the

1:33:10courtyard will be shared by the

1:33:11residents. Um and this will be uh again

1:33:13those four units will be at 100% AMI.

1:33:16And something that we want to highlight

1:33:17on this one is uh this developer has an

1:33:2082% goal on their inclusion plan which

1:33:22is the highest that our office has ever

1:33:24seen. So, they have already identified a

1:33:26microlo business uh to be the

1:33:28contractor. So, we're pretty excited

1:33:29about that one.

1:33:30>> That's wonderful. Any questions or

1:33:32comments, colleagues?

1:33:34>> All right. Seeing none, all in favor?

1:33:36>> I.

1:33:37>> Any opposed? Motion carries. Companion

1:33:40item is item seven, which is a

1:33:42resolution scheduling a public hearing

1:33:44on September 22nd, 2026 to consider an

1:33:47application for a 10-year absolute

1:33:49property rehabilitation exemption

1:33:51certificate pursuant to PA146 of 2000

1:33:53for North Quarter Development LLC at

1:33:552130 Planefield Avenue Northeast.

1:33:58>> Motion support.

1:33:59>> Moved and supported. Any additional

1:34:01questions or comments? Seeing none, I'll

1:34:03call the question. All in favor?

1:34:05>> I.

1:34:05>> Any opposed? Motion carries. We are on

1:34:08non burr item 8 this morning which is a

1:34:11resolution requesting the revocation of

1:34:13an existing industrial facilities

1:34:15exemption certificate under PA98

1:34:18Hudsonville products LLC.

1:34:20>> So move

1:34:20>> support moved and supported.

1:34:22>> This one is pretty straightforward. Uh

1:34:24the recipients of that IF are no longer

1:34:27at that address. They have sold the

1:34:29property and they no longer occupy it.

1:34:30So we are just cleaning things up and

1:34:32revocating it.

1:34:34>> Good. Seeing no further discussion, all

1:34:37in favor?

1:34:38>> I.

1:34:39>> Any opposed? Motion carries.

1:34:42Item nine this morning is a resolution

1:34:44authorizing execution of a memorandum of

1:34:47understanding with Commonwealth

1:34:48Development Corporation of America

1:34:50regarding the future conveyance of green

1:34:52space at 8637th

1:34:54Street Northwest.

1:34:55>> So move

1:34:56>> support.

1:34:57>> Good morning. Uh Laura Clay with the

1:34:58parks department. So Commonwealth is in

1:35:00the process of acquiring acquiring this

1:35:02property from Grand Rapids public

1:35:04schools. Um and through extensive

1:35:06community discussion around the upcoming

1:35:08development uh the issue of maintaining

1:35:10public green space um is something that

1:35:13the neighborhood and the surrounding

1:35:15community are very concerned about. Um

1:35:18so thisou formalizes the shared

1:35:20commitment between the city and

1:35:22commonwealth. Once Commonwealth s uh

1:35:25successfully acquires the stocking site,

1:35:27they'll convert a designated space about

1:35:296 acres um to the city and the parks

1:35:32department will maintain and develop

1:35:34that space as parkland for the

1:35:35community. The green space will preserve

1:35:37a longtime community asset staining some

1:35:40youth uh development and outdoor public

1:35:42space usage and the city will uh assume

1:35:45long time long-term stewardship of the

1:35:47space.

1:35:48>> Thank you. So 6 acres, how large is the

1:35:51site? It's about uh where the existing

1:35:54play structure is. So if you are at

1:35:56stocking site um it encompasses that

1:35:59general area.

1:35:59>> Okay. So we're kind of preserving about

1:36:01the same amount space.

1:36:02>> Correct.

1:36:02>> Wonderful. Well, thank you for your work

1:36:04on that um your team and everyone else.

1:36:06I know once uh that sale kind of moved

1:36:09forward at the the school board level,

1:36:11folks were really um upset because they

1:36:14don't want to lose that long-standing

1:36:15asset. And so, um, you know, we know

1:36:17that our intention was to work with them

1:36:19and I'm glad that the developer came to

1:36:20the table to do that to allow that. So,

1:36:23thank you. Any other questions or

1:36:24comments? Uh, Commissioner Belshack.

1:36:26>> Yes, thank you. Um, yep. This is in our

1:36:29neighborhood. We happen to have had a um

1:36:32presentation by the developer at the

1:36:34Westside CIA meeting last Friday. And

1:36:38so, they did have some maps and things.

1:36:39So it it is worth noting that the part

1:36:42that the the city will be taking over is

1:36:44the north the what is it the southwest

1:36:46quadrant where the existing play

1:36:48structures and fences are that the front

1:36:50lawn will be kept green space and that's

1:36:53separate from the city in engagement or

1:36:57umou because they're going to be

1:36:59applying for historic federal funds for

1:37:02the building and then that requires the

1:37:04facade and the approach to all remain

1:37:06the same. So that will be grassland or

1:37:09grassite lawn. But the green space that

1:37:12I think some of the community is still

1:37:14concerned about and may not be something

1:37:16as completely in our control is the

1:37:18middle green space between the building

1:37:20and the alley that has been basically

1:37:23like a football field size worth of

1:37:25green space and that's going to be

1:37:26developed into housing and parking lot.

1:37:28So, um, I think there's going to be a

1:37:30lot of work for the planning commission

1:37:32to work on when it comes to how that

1:37:34layout actually gets finalized, but it

1:37:36is very exciting to know that we will be

1:37:38in charge of the playground and some

1:37:40green space there and that the parks

1:37:41department has worked so hard on that.

1:37:43So, I really appreciate all that work

1:37:45and I hope that we can adjust because we

1:37:47need we need the new housing as well.

1:37:50Yeah, we were very um pleased that I

1:37:52think the entire site is only 3 acres.

1:37:54So to be deed um6 I mean that's a pretty

1:37:58significant percentage and so the parks

1:38:00department was very pleased um with

1:38:02that.

1:38:03>> Thank you for that additional context

1:38:05commissioner. Seeing no other

1:38:07discussion. All in favor?

1:38:09>> I. Any oppose? Motion carries. Thank you

1:38:13so much.

1:38:13>> Thank you.

1:38:14>> All right. Engineering is your turn.

1:38:17[laughter]

1:38:17Um, item number 10 this morning is a

1:38:19resolution awarding a contract with J

1:38:21Rank Electric, Inc. for installation of

1:38:24Gateway Signage at various locations in

1:38:26the amount of 1,198,991.50

1:38:32with a total amount not to exceed

1:38:35$1,700,000.

1:38:37>> Salute.

1:38:38>> Support.

1:38:39>> Well, I'd like to start by saying I kind

1:38:41of enjoyed economic development having

1:38:43more items than me this morning. It was

1:38:45very [laughter] fun.

1:38:46Um, so this item for the Westside

1:38:48Gateway signage has been in the works

1:38:50for quite some time. Um, a lot of

1:38:52collaboration with staff and Westside

1:38:54CIA. There will be three gateway signs

1:38:57going into the business districts on the

1:38:59west side. Um, on Leonard between

1:39:02Broadway and Hamilton and that sign is

1:39:05being branded in blue. Um the west side

1:39:08worked on their branding and their

1:39:09colors for the different business

1:39:10districts on Bridge Street between Mount

1:39:13Vernon and Summer and that sign will be

1:39:15green. Uh and on Fulton between Seward

1:39:18and Lexington and that sign will have

1:39:20some red. So a lot of it will be metal

1:39:21but they'll have a bit of color just to

1:39:23show the different business districts.

1:39:25Um and I really like their words that

1:39:27this helps um establish the visual

1:39:29identity, marketing presence, and

1:39:31overall sense of arrival in the

1:39:33corridor. So, we're excited to award

1:39:35this project and get it moving. Um,

1:39:38they're looking at working on um

1:39:39foundations. Likely the final signs

1:39:41won't be till next year. Um, but getting

1:39:43the project moving forward.

1:39:46>> Thank you. And so, looking at the

1:39:48drawings, I noticed that um they are

1:39:50gateway signs and that they do connect

1:39:52over the street. So, know we were

1:39:54talking about something similar um in

1:39:56another CIA district and there were some

1:39:58concerns from fire around height and

1:40:01just emergency vehicles. So, can you

1:40:03talk a little bit? Do do you know how

1:40:04how they resolve those issues um around

1:40:06design and actually having the

1:40:08connection overhead?

1:40:09>> Sure. Absolutely. So um engineering and

1:40:12traffic safety work with um the gateway

1:40:15signs to set the height. I believe the

1:40:18height on these we set was 16 ft. Part

1:40:20of that is that these are major roads

1:40:23connecting to highways. So we're

1:40:24anticipating there could be large

1:40:25trucks. Um the other thing with the

1:40:28signs is they can be removed. Right. And

1:40:31I think we've all seen those moments

1:40:32where something very odd moves across

1:40:34the state and we remove power poles and

1:40:37and everything else so they could be

1:40:38removed should something non-standard

1:40:40come through. So yes, there are

1:40:42standards that they met that they

1:40:44submitted and were reviewed with the

1:40:46city.

1:40:47>> Thank you, Commissioner Belsha.

1:40:50>> Yeah, I just feel um since I sit on the

1:40:52West Side Corridor Improvement

1:40:53Authority, um this was a topic of

1:40:56discussion this last Friday as well. Um,

1:40:59this has been in the works for four

1:41:00years. So, the Westside Corridor

1:41:02Authority is very excited about it. I

1:41:04can't take credit at all for that. Um,

1:41:06former commissioner John Oconor is our

1:41:08chair and um, he's going he's looking at

1:41:11this uh, with great anticipation, I

1:41:14think. But we did have a lot of

1:41:16discussion and a little bit of delay in

1:41:18bringing this bid forward because we had

1:41:21as the board discussed the additional

1:41:24amount. It was about 30% higher than we

1:41:26had originally estimated and we weren't

1:41:28sure where exactly that was coming from.

1:41:30And a lot of it is the pressure on the

1:41:31timeline. And in the end we as a board

1:41:35decided that rather than delay and rebid

1:41:37it is better to go ahead and take the

1:41:40additional amount. We don't know what

1:41:41construction costs will be in the

1:41:43future. And with this approval, hope we

1:41:47will be hopefully holding and that's the

1:41:49goal is to hold the timeline firm with

1:41:52the um with the overages and the

1:41:54contingencies already built into this

1:41:56dollar amount that we can have the

1:41:58footings, the foundations, the storm

1:42:01drains done. Hope the original goal was

1:42:04October 27th, I think, in the bid, which

1:42:06is still pretty tight for contractors at

1:42:09this time of year. So, you know, plus or

1:42:11minus uh a week or two, but we are

1:42:13really as a board in intending it to be

1:42:16done so that we can get the signs up

1:42:17while they're being fabricated over the

1:42:19winter in h inside. So, it is possible

1:42:22they could go up in February, April,

1:42:24May, May for sure by the end. Maybe in

1:42:27time for the soccer stadium to open.

1:42:29>> Very cool. Thanks again for that

1:42:30context. Say no further discussion. All

1:42:33in favor?

1:42:34>> I.

1:42:34>> Any oppose? Motion carries. Item 11 is a

1:42:38resolution approving a construction

1:42:39agreement and accepting a public

1:42:41utilities easement for Lakewood site

1:42:43condominiums.

1:42:45>> Have a motion.

1:42:46>> Supportion supported. Um this is a

1:42:49private development in Kentwood um with

1:42:51a private road and this is near 52nd

1:42:54Street and um Wing Avenue and this is um

1:42:59public utilities in the private road and

1:43:01on private property and then those

1:43:03utilities will be maintained under our

1:43:05uh utility service contract.

1:43:08>> See no discussion. All in favor?

1:43:10>> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item 12

1:43:14is a resolution approving a construction

1:43:15agreement and accepting a sidewalk and

1:43:18utilities easement for Jars Cannabis

1:43:19development.

1:43:21>> Support. So Jars Cannabis is at 1947

1:43:24Alpine which is near an and Alpine

1:43:26Street. Um in addition to the sidewalk

1:43:29and utility easement. This also involves

1:43:31some work at the traffic signal because

1:43:33of how they want to locate their

1:43:35driveway. So they work closely with

1:43:37traffic safety to make improvements to

1:43:38make sure that um entrance and egress

1:43:41are safe. Um

1:43:44and then also uh working with the city

1:43:46to improve the sidewalk. The sidewalk

1:43:48right now is very close to traffic, so

1:43:50trying to make that a more pedestrian

1:43:52friendly space.

1:43:54Wonderful. See no discussion? All in

1:43:56favor?

1:43:57>> I. Any oppose? Motion carries. Our last

1:44:02item this morning is item number 13. A

1:44:05resolution accepting a sidewalk and

1:44:07utility easement at 915 Leingwell Avenue

1:44:10Northeast in connection with Leingwell

1:44:12and Bradford reconstruction for $1.

1:44:15>> So moved.

1:44:16>> Moved and supported.

1:44:17>> So this is the ongoing project where

1:44:19Corwell is our partner and we're putting

1:44:21in a path through this area. This is an

1:44:23area with questionable soils entering a

1:44:25wetland. They just need to extend um the

1:44:28easement for for the structural

1:44:31anchoring of the bridge.

1:44:33>> Wonderful. Any questions or comments,

1:44:35colleagues? Seeing none, all in favor?

1:44:37>> I. Motion carries. All right. We are

1:44:40journ. Thank you.

1:45:02>> [music]

1:45:11>> Heat. Heat.

1:45:18Heat. Heat.

1:45:28[music]

1:45:36[music]

1:46:05Heat. Hey, Heat.

1:46:25>> [music]

1:46:53>> Heat. Heat.

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1:47:14[music]

1:47:17>> Heat. Heat.

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1:47:48>> Heat. Heat.

1:47:58[music]

1:47:58Heat. Heat.

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1:48:11>> [music]

1:48:23>> Heat.

1:48:30Hey, heat. Hey, heat.

1:48:51>> [music]

1:49:01>> Heat. Heat. Heat.

1:49:12[music]

1:49:15Heat.

1:49:18[music]

1:49:24Heat. Heat.

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1:49:44Heat. Heat.

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1:49:54Heat. Heat.

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1:50:15Heat. Heat.

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1:50:52Heat. Heat.

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1:51:23[music]

1:51:26>> Heat. Heat.

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1:51:47>> [music]

1:51:55[music]

1:52:01>> Heat. Heat.

1:52:20Heat. [music]

1:52:21Heat.

1:52:30Heat. Heat.

1:52:54>> [music]

1:53:19>> Heat. Heat.

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1:53:41Heat. Heat.

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1:54:32>> Heat. Heat.

1:54:38>> [music]

1:54:43[music]

1:55:03>> Heat. Yeah,

1:55:05[music]

1:55:32I did it. Heat. Heat. [music]

1:55:56[music]

1:55:57Heat. Heat.

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1:56:36>> Heat. Heat.

1:56:55>> [music]

1:56:57>> Heat. Heat.

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1:59:50>> Heat. Heat.

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2:00:12Heat. Heat. [music]

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2:00:52>> Heat.

2:00:54Heat.

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2:03:28Heat.

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2:08:30[music]

2:08:36>> Going to call this meeting of uh

2:08:38committee of the whole to order and um

2:08:41I'm going to our first item of business

2:08:43is a proclamation uh regarding welcoming

2:08:46week. So I'm going to go up to the dis

2:08:47and read that and I don't know that I

2:08:49see Mr. Davis here. But

2:08:52>> ah okay.

2:08:53>> Can you come down please? Sierra, can

2:08:56you come down to the podium please?

2:09:07>> Circus.

2:09:12>> So I will preface this by saying that

2:09:14I'm going to read a proclamation on

2:09:16welcoming week. Um, but this is uh part

2:09:19of our larger framework of what I'll say

2:09:23is our commitment to making it very very

2:09:26clear that everyone who's a resident in

2:09:28our community uh is equally valued and

2:09:32respected and um and we have a vision at

2:09:35least that everyone in our community is

2:09:37equally supported and um there's always

2:09:40more work to do in that in that uh space

2:09:43and um and we all know from personal

2:09:46experience that it's one thing to have

2:09:49have someone say that you're welcome.

2:09:50It's another thing to feel welcomed and

2:09:52to feel uh uh real uh real inclusion and

2:09:57I I don't know that I want to say

2:09:58ownership because I'm not really all

2:09:59that into owning things, but um feeling

2:10:02like you're an equal member of the

2:10:04community and you have an equal voice.

2:10:05And um how we know people in Grand

2:10:07Rapids are entitled to that is if they

2:10:10are residents. Uh not if they are. We

2:10:13don't have passports in Grand Rapids and

2:10:15we don't have uh citizenship

2:10:18requirements. We have uh residency and

2:10:21so people everyone who is a resident of

2:10:23our city uh is part of our welcoming

2:10:26vision and of course welcoming means we

2:10:28want other people to join the party. Uh

2:10:30we are excited to be a city that really

2:10:33says to people out everywhere in the

2:10:36world that we would love to have you

2:10:38join us here. We we're proud of our city

2:10:41um and we're working to make it better,

2:10:43but we hope it's inviting and welcoming

2:10:45enough that other people will want to

2:10:47join us and and be residents of our

2:10:48city. So, I read the proclamation.

2:10:51Whereas the success of Grand Rapids

2:10:53depends on ensuring that all Grand

2:10:55Rapidians are welcome and that new Grand

2:10:57Rapidians remain a vital part of our

2:10:59community and along time alongside our

2:11:02longtime residents, they bring bring

2:11:04ideas, start businesses, serve in civic

2:11:07roles, and contribute to our diversity.

2:11:09And whereas in January 2019, the city of

2:11:12Grand Rapids in collaboration with the

2:11:14immigrant community, organizational

2:11:15partners, and with support from Gateways

2:11:17for Growth embarked on a journey to

2:11:19create a welcoming plan for our city.

2:11:21And whereas to fully embrace diversity

2:11:24as an asset, our community must create

2:11:26policies and a culture that ensure that

2:11:28everyone belongs and thrives. This

2:11:30includes addressing disparities,

2:11:32countering hate, understanding history,

2:11:35and helping neighbors come together.

2:11:37Whereas Grand Rapids stands against

2:11:40racism, xenophobia, and all forms of

2:11:44othering that threaten our collective

2:11:47well-being, health, and prosperity. We

2:11:49acknowledge that by fostering a

2:11:51welcoming community for all, we enhance

2:11:53the city's prosperity and social

2:11:55well-being for current and future

2:11:57generations. And whereas during the last

2:11:59year, the city has partnered with

2:12:01refugee and immigrant organizations to

2:12:03implement a range of initiatives that

2:12:05reduce barriers to integration,

2:12:07strengthening community bonds through

2:12:09events and festivals and foster full

2:12:11participation of new Americans. And

2:12:13whereas the city of Grand Rapids is a

2:12:15member of the welcoming plan steering

2:12:17committee and during the last three

2:12:18years has committed financial and staff

2:12:20resources to support the West Michigan

2:12:22welcome plan and in its current year has

2:12:25reaffirmed its commitment to support

2:12:27immigrant and refugee focused

2:12:29initiatives to build trust and

2:12:30understanding between government and

2:12:32neighbors who may fa face cultural,

2:12:34linguistic and institutional obstacles

2:12:37to civic engagement. And whereas the

2:12:39theme of welcoming week in 2026 is

2:12:42stories we share, the courage to connect

2:12:44and is focused on the courageous work of

2:12:47being together in vulnerability to

2:12:49welcome others to be seen and make our

2:12:52community [clears throat] stronger.

2:12:54Now therefore, I, David Lrand, mayor of

2:12:57the city of Grand Rapids, do hereby

2:12:59proclaim September 10 to 19, 2026 as

2:13:02welcoming week in Grand Rapids, and call

2:13:04on residents and stakeholders to join

2:13:06together to build stronger communities

2:13:08and relationships with all our

2:13:10neighbors, renew our commitment to our

2:13:12common values, and take actions in the

2:13:14spirit of welcoming. So, right on.

2:13:18[applause]

2:13:21>> Thank you, Mayor, and good mornings. uh

2:13:24commission, city manager, friends and

2:13:26family, community. Uh my name is Sarah

2:13:28Hatfield. I'm the equity systems manager

2:13:30in the office of equity and engagement

2:13:32filling in for Mr. Davis today. Just

2:13:34wanted to say a few words. First of all,

2:13:37it is an honor to join everyone here

2:13:39today as we recognize welcoming week

2:13:41here in the city of Grand Rapids. Uh

2:13:43welcoming week is a national opportunity

2:13:46to celebrate the many backgrounds,

2:13:47cultures, languages, experiences, and

2:13:50perspectives that make Grand Rapids

2:13:52stronger. Being welcoming is more than

2:13:54simply inviting people into our

2:13:56community. It means creating a place

2:13:58where people feel that they belong,

2:14:00where they can participate, contribute,

2:14:02access services, and know that their

2:14:04voice matters. This is why we support

2:14:06the West Michigan Welcome Plan and other

2:14:08community partners and networks that

2:14:09help make Grand Rapids feel like home to

2:14:11a wide variety of cultures and

2:14:13backgrounds. Welcoming Week also reminds

2:14:16us that building an inclusive community

2:14:17is something that must happen over time

2:14:19and with many hands. It is something we

2:14:22build together through our workplaces,

2:14:23our neighborhoods, our schools, our

2:14:26businesses, our community organizations,

2:14:28and our interactions with each other.

2:14:31For that reason, we are excited to

2:14:32continue working as a city on a language

2:14:35inclusion policy and other tools for

2:14:36staff to build our cultural competency

2:14:39as public servants so that we can have

2:14:40more meaningful interactions with all of

2:14:42Grand Rapids diverse communities. I do

2:14:45have some information here about some

2:14:47upcoming opportunities that I will leave

2:14:49outside, but we have a upcoming

2:14:51partnership with the Disability

2:14:53Advocates of Kent County and um some

2:14:56programming with the Michigan Local

2:14:58Government Latino Network Employee

2:15:00Resource Group for Latina Heritage

2:15:02Month. Grand Rapids is at its best when

2:15:05everyone has the opportunity to belong

2:15:07and participate. So finally, I encourage

2:15:10all of us to take the spirit of

2:15:11welcoming week and the stories we share

2:15:13theme beyond this celebration, to be

2:15:16curious about one another, to listen to

2:15:18perspectives different from our own, and

2:15:20to look for opportunities to make our

2:15:21community a little more welcoming for

2:15:23all. And at this time, I'd like to

2:15:25invite Mr. Omar from the chamber to say

2:15:28a few words as well.

2:15:31>> Thank you so much.

2:15:34Boing, city commissioners, um, city

2:15:37manager and city attorney. I'm Omar Quas

2:15:39at the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce.

2:15:40I'd like to thank you all for the

2:15:42support that you've provided to our Kent

2:15:44County welcome plan. It's we're in the

2:15:46ninth year of this welcome plan. This

2:15:48work that uh is uh is challenging work,

2:15:52but it was always done with the intent

2:15:53to ensure that we align our priorities

2:15:56around population growth, economic

2:15:58vitality, not forgetting about the human

2:16:01element that's at the center of all

2:16:02this. a welcome plan that was created

2:16:05with immigrant and refugees, making sure

2:16:07that their voices were heard from the

2:16:09beginning, identifying even literacy

2:16:13issues, technology literacy to ensure

2:16:16that we're having focus groups uh

2:16:18working with centers of influence in our

2:16:19community and making sure that we um

2:16:22heard um different voices uh as we um

2:16:25put together this welcome plan. It's

2:16:28about uh educational attainment,

2:16:30economic prosperity, safe and connected

2:16:33communities, equitable access to

2:16:35services, and the work that the welcome

2:16:37plan steering committee and the

2:16:39different work groups have done has

2:16:41moved this work forward. We don't want

2:16:44to let perfection be the enemy of

2:16:46progress. We know there's still so much

2:16:47to do. We are in a journey, but the goal

2:16:50has always been to make sure that Kent

2:16:52County and the city of Grand Rapids is

2:16:54best-in-class when it comes to making

2:16:56sure people feel like they belong. And

2:16:59this work is uh never ending. And we

2:17:03want to thank you all on behalf of the

2:17:04Grand Chamber of Commerce for being

2:17:06collaborative partners in this work. Uh

2:17:08this morning as we celebrate this moment

2:17:11in time, a welcome week, but it's a

2:17:13reminder that it's just not limited to

2:17:15one week. Welcoming is done in the small

2:17:19moments. Uh it's where we shop. It's

2:17:22when we interact with individuals to

2:17:25make sure that we do something, an act

2:17:27of kindness to make sure people feel

2:17:29like Grand Rapids is their city because

2:17:32it's always greater here in Grand

2:17:33Rapids. So, thank you so much this

2:17:35morning.

2:17:37>> Should we do a picture?

2:17:38>> Yeah.

2:17:39>> All right.

2:17:57I

2:17:57>> think I missed you, sir.

2:18:18>> [laughter]

2:18:18>> each other.

2:18:33>> Thank you. Thank you.

2:18:59Okay, this brings us to more of the

2:19:03nuts and bolts works work of our uh

2:19:06group. So uh next up I have a resolution

2:19:08in uh establishing an industrial

2:19:10development district for citybuilt

2:19:12brewing uh at 1560 Taylor. Um we got

2:19:16briefed on this pretty extensively last

2:19:18um uh commission session, but this is a

2:19:20resolution to establish the district.

2:19:22Can I have a motion?

2:19:23>> So move

2:19:24>> support

2:19:24>> on Oh, sorry. Um and uh you want to go

2:19:27ahead and refresh our memories on this?

2:19:29>> Absolutely. Good morning, Commission. Uh

2:19:31Rachel Gray with the economic

2:19:32development department. This is for an

2:19:35industrial um industrial development

2:19:37district at 1560 Taylor Avenue. Right

2:19:40now uh there are buildings on that

2:19:42property, but they are vacant. They've

2:19:43mostly been used um for storage space.

2:19:46And Citybuilt Brewing, which is one of

2:19:48our local businesses here, uh they are

2:19:50looking to use uh that um that property

2:19:52for a beverage production facility, tap

2:19:54room, and complimentary commercial

2:19:56destination.

2:19:58Happy to answer other questions.

2:19:59>> Great. Um everyone recall this then? Um

2:20:03I'll if there's no discussion I'll ask

2:20:04for a vote. All in favor say I.

2:20:06>> I.

2:20:07>> All opposed. Motion carries. Uh and the

2:20:10next resolution uh regard is regarding

2:20:13exactly the same project. And this is a

2:20:14resolution for a 12-year industrial

2:20:16facilities exemption certificate for the

2:20:18same project. Can I have a motion?

2:20:20>> Support.

2:20:22>> Any discussion, colleagues? All in favor

2:20:25say I.

2:20:26>> I.

2:20:27>> Thanks, Miss Gray. And uh next we have a

2:20:30resolution um revising the downtown

2:20:33social district to add another location

2:20:35to the commons area. And Mr. Clerk, you

2:20:38want to thank you support.

2:20:41>> Yep. So this is adding on um to 115 117

2:20:46um south division in that area to add it

2:20:47to the comments and the next item will

2:20:49be to allow for a social district in

2:20:52said area.

2:20:54>> Great. Um

2:20:56uh this is 115 117 division. So um

2:21:00pretty close to the office here. I'm

2:21:01sure all of us know where that

2:21:02>> Well, it it's sorry it's the old

2:21:04Rockwell Republic,

2:21:05>> right? Um so this is a core uh sort of

2:21:09an anchor very visible uh project

2:21:11downtown that's currently uh unoccupied.

2:21:13So this is exciting. Um we've got a

2:21:16motion. Any further discussion,

2:21:17colleagues? Uh all in favor say I. I.

2:21:20>> I. All opposed? Motion carries. Uh and

2:21:23then the next is the resolution on the

2:21:25social district for the same project.

2:21:26Can I have a motion?

2:21:28>> So move

2:21:28>> support. Um any discussion? No. Thank

2:21:31you. Uh all in favor say I.

2:21:33>> I.

2:21:34>> I.

2:21:34>> All opposed. Motion carries. And that

2:21:36brings us to our briefings.

2:21:38>> Close session.

2:21:39>> Uh yes. Uh before we get there, we uh

2:21:42our city attorneys ask that we go to

2:21:44close session to discuss uh litigation

2:21:47matters. Um and uh can I have a motion?

2:21:51So moved or

2:21:52>> and roll call.

2:21:54>> Commissioner Kilgore.

2:21:55>> Yes.

2:21:55>> Commissioner Knight?

2:21:56>> Yes.

2:21:57>> Commissioner Sassy?

2:21:57>> Yes.

2:21:58>> Commissioner Purdue?

2:21:59>> Yes.

2:21:59>> Commissioner Belch?

2:22:00>> Yes.

2:22:00>> Mayor Lrand?

2:22:01>> Yes. And that will be in

2:22:03>> 601.

2:22:03>> 601. Thank you. Okay. Mr. Clerk, give us

2:22:09an update on election work.

2:22:13Have slides and pictures and arrows and

2:22:16paragraphs on the back of each one.

2:22:20Thank you, Mr. Kane.

2:22:22>> Good morning, every Good morning

2:22:24everyone. Uh uh glad to be here to uh

2:22:27give a little update on the past August

2:22:30primary election and then looking

2:22:31forward to the November 3 um election

2:22:35season. Um not one day anymore, it's

2:22:38over several days. So, um even though we

2:22:40say the election day, it starts much

2:22:42earlier.

2:22:44Um to recap August 4 primary election,

2:22:48um we had 100 we're up to 153,000 um

2:22:52registered voters uh in the city of

2:22:55Grand Rapids. 47,000

2:22:57plus voted um giving us about almost 31%

2:23:01turnout. If you look at the the the grid

2:23:04below hand shows that um that's a

2:23:07[snorts] um 7.36 higher turnout than uh

2:23:10two years ago and that's 12,000 actual

2:23:14voters increase um in in an August

2:23:17primary. Um so obviously there was some

2:23:20more interest in this election. This was

2:23:22the first this is the first election

2:23:24since the direct um election of US

2:23:27senators. Um, so that's been a while um

2:23:31that [snorts] we've had an open US

2:23:32Senate and open governor seat on the

2:23:34same same ballot. So there was a a lot

2:23:37of um interest in this election with

2:23:40anytime there's an open governor seat

2:23:42versus that because you can see the

2:23:43difference between the 2018 and 2022

2:23:46turnout um when when Whitmer was the

2:23:50incumbent governor. it it definitely

2:23:52declines and we see that we see those

2:23:54presidentially too be between the ' 08

2:23:56and 012, you know, between the first

2:23:58Obama election and the second Obama

2:24:00election. If you look at anytime there's

2:24:01an incumbent um running, result um

2:24:05turnout dips down a little bit. So,

2:24:07we'll probably see a little bit higher

2:24:08turnout this November with an open seats

2:24:11as well. The highest percentage uh

2:24:13precinct turnout was precinct 25 at

2:24:15Encounter Church, which is in the second

2:24:17ward. um 50 point 20 50 um percent

2:24:20turnout and only one precinct under um

2:24:2310%. So in 2022 and other elections

2:24:26we've had other lot more precincts at um

2:24:28under 10% turnout. So that's really good

2:24:31that um it's not good that it's under

2:24:3310% but only one um precinct is that

2:24:37>> and if I can interrupt you a little bit

2:24:39Mr. Clerk just for the public's uh

2:24:41perspective here what's really I mean

2:24:43there's two things that stand out. One

2:24:44is we had great turnout, but the other

2:24:46is since 2018, we've had an almost 15%

2:24:49increase in registered voters and our

2:24:52population did not increase 15% since

2:24:542018.

2:24:54>> Correct. So, a couple factors with that

2:24:56would I'll get to that that how we got

2:24:58to that factor. And then if you can you

2:25:00can also see that um just barely more um

2:25:04more over 50% of voters voted absentee

2:25:07or early than voted um on election day

2:25:10in the precinct. But the precinct

2:25:12turnout was higher than what we had

2:25:14definitely anticipated. So there was

2:25:16there was great interest at the end. Um

2:25:19and we'll see how what happens with

2:25:22early voting absentee voting and we'll

2:25:24talk about uncertainties here in a in a

2:25:26little bit. So that's [snorts] that's um

2:25:29the turnout. And if you and if you can

2:25:31notice if the registered voters because

2:25:33as we're getting closer to 2030 as we're

2:25:35talking about census and things if you

2:25:38can see the registered voters are still

2:25:39pretty pretty close between the three

2:25:42between the three ws. Second w has a few

2:25:44more voters but um it's still the the

2:25:46three ws are still um dispersed pretty

2:25:50evenly um even with lots of uh changes.

2:25:55So, this was a this video I'm going to

2:25:56play in here. This was on election

2:25:58night. Um, someone actually somebody

2:26:01from the county office sent it to me

2:26:02because if you look on the on this

2:26:04board, there are no results here.

2:26:06There's nothing on the board for

2:26:07Michigan. Um, so if you're familiar with

2:26:10Kaki, Steve Kernaki, he's kind of the

2:26:12numbers guru on NBC. And um, so he's

2:26:17going to show some results that pop up

2:26:18on the screen here in a minute. This is

2:26:20going to be our absentee our first batch

2:26:23of absentee voters. So the first results

2:26:25in the entire state of Michigan came

2:26:27from our absentee counting board um that

2:26:31first batch. Now I'll give the caveat.

2:26:33We're also the the last batch that came

2:26:35in at the end of the night because we

2:26:36had all the end of the night. So we were

2:26:38the first and the last um which which is

2:26:41okay. But his excitement here of getting

2:26:44getting um elections election results

2:26:47started coming in. This was um if you

2:26:50notice it says 56 minutes till the polls

2:26:53close because the UP remember the UP is

2:26:55part of the UP is central time. They

2:26:57actually go with their time zone not

2:26:59Eastern time. So that's why it says so

2:27:02within 4 minutes of um the polls closing

2:27:06we get results in

2:27:08>> a number of house races too that we'll

2:27:09be keeping an eye on in Michigan but oh

2:27:11and we do look at this we have our first

2:27:13results.

2:27:13>> Oh

2:27:14>> okay so this is from Kent County Western

2:27:16Michigan. This is where Grand Rapids is

2:27:18from. Um those are the results

2:27:19statewide. They are also the results

2:27:21that we're seeing here um in Kent

2:27:22County. Um so I I I think one one thing

2:27:26we need to figure out right away is are

2:27:28we looking at uh uh early vote? Are we

2:27:30looking at election day vote here?

2:27:32That's going to be key. Adam is taking a

2:27:33look at that. But one thing I can tell

2:27:34you about this county here is this is a

2:27:36place where Sad has to do well. Okay. Um

2:27:40his support in polling and the support

2:27:42of these progressive insurgent

2:27:44candidates.

2:27:46So that shows that we we because of

2:27:48early tabulation, we could have the we

2:27:51could have those results ready to go to

2:27:53send to the county so they can upload

2:27:54them right 8:00 and then they upload

2:27:56them right to the secretary of state's

2:27:58office which the wires and everybody

2:27:59else grabs from there. So um that's one

2:28:02of the things I've been wanting forever

2:28:04is to get election results quicker and

2:28:08and early tabulation has really helped

2:28:10with that. Um just a little bit on

2:28:13election results because everybody has

2:28:15this is one of those misinformation

2:28:17things from 2020 as people were watching

2:28:20what was happening on the screen. This

2:28:22goes back to 2000 as well. Um for those

2:28:25of us who remember the 2000 election

2:28:27when we when everybody was up and down

2:28:29and with Bush Gore this we get into this

2:28:32thing of we're watching the scrolls on

2:28:34the bottom of the screen. This is all

2:28:36unofficial from until the um county

2:28:40board of canvasers and the state board

2:28:41of canvasers do their work and certify

2:28:44the election. The election results are

2:28:46unofficial. Things can change in between

2:28:48that. Um military and overseas ballots,

2:28:51as long as they're postmarked by

2:28:52election day, we have six days they can

2:28:54return those. Those can be added. If

2:28:56your signature doesn't match or you

2:28:57didn't sign your absentee ballot, you

2:28:59have till till 3 days after the election

2:29:01to cure your signature. That goes over

2:29:02to the board of canvasers. So votes can

2:29:04be added um between election day and the

2:29:08canvas and the the certification of the

2:29:11election. So we need to remember that on

2:29:13election day when we're watching things

2:29:14that are on the TV screen or on

2:29:17websites, those are all unofficial.

2:29:20There was an issue in in Milwaukee where

2:29:23they uploaded the they they downloaded

2:29:25the wrong files and then got up and they

2:29:28didn't have them. So they had to add

2:29:29those during the canvas. Things happen.

2:29:32Elections are still, even though we use

2:29:34election equipment, that's computers and

2:29:37tabulation, it's still a very human

2:29:39process, which is great because there's

2:29:42still people that are monitoring things,

2:29:44making sure things happen. But errors or

2:29:47mistakes can happen. They're rare, but

2:29:49if they do, there's a way for them to be

2:29:50fixed. And that's how that happens

2:29:52through this official part. So, just

2:29:54remember that you can go to

2:29:56kentcountyvotes.com to see unofficial

2:29:58results. We send all that stuff to the

2:29:59county. When I post results, it's a few

2:30:03it's a couple weeks later after the

2:30:04canvas is all done and I post official

2:30:07results onto the onto the clerk's

2:30:09website. So, just to make sure just want

2:30:12to make sure the public is clear that

2:30:14there's a difference between unofficial

2:30:16results and official results.

2:30:20>> And clerk, how what what's the amount of

2:30:22time between the election and the uh the

2:30:25board of canvasing? Um the county has

2:30:27two weeks and then the state has like

2:30:29another week

2:30:30>> after that.

2:30:31>> So you say about three weeks

2:30:32>> about three weeks before it's done.

2:30:34>> Um so just a just a I always like to

2:30:36throw in these couple slides of what um

2:30:39to the proposals in 2018 and 2022 got

2:30:42got um so you have a constitutional

2:30:44right to a secret ballot, straight party

2:30:45voting, no reason absentee automatic

2:30:48voter registration. That's that's the

2:30:49one that gave us the tool to have this

2:30:51high really high voter registration. Um,

2:30:54we still have a lot of groups that are

2:30:55out doing registering voters, but you

2:30:57have automatic voter registration. So,

2:30:59anytime you're doing something at the

2:31:00Secretary of State's office, they

2:31:02automatically register. You have to opt

2:31:04out if you don't want to be registered.

2:31:06Um, the same day registration up until

2:31:088:00 on election night, you can register

2:31:10to vote. Uh, military overseas ballots

2:31:12available 45 days before the election

2:31:15and election audits. In 2022, still a

2:31:18fundamental right to vote. um gives us

2:31:20early voting, photo ID or sign an

2:31:22affidavit on the back of your

2:31:24application. Um single application for

2:31:27absentee ballots. Um you don't have to

2:31:29pay for postage to have your ballots u

2:31:31mailed back. We have to have dropboxes,

2:31:33one for every 15,000 v voters.

2:31:37Absentee ballot tracking. You can go to

2:31:39the state website to see if you got your

2:31:41absentee ballot. If we received it back

2:31:44here, you can check that there, too. Um

2:31:46that's the there's the postmark for the

2:31:48military and overseas. Um allow private

2:31:50donations so we can accept grant money.

2:31:52Um some states don't allow you to take

2:31:54any private money to um like grants or

2:31:57various other things but we are allowed

2:31:58to do that. And then audits and

2:31:59certification.

2:32:01I'm just looking at po post November or

2:32:04past November elections just kind of you

2:32:06can see the the ups and downs between

2:32:08gubernatorial and presidential years.

2:32:10Um, so that 77,000 for um, you saw

2:32:1577,000 in 2018, about 70 thou 77,000

2:32:192022. I'm I'm going to say we're

2:32:22probably going to because of the

2:32:24interest in this election, we'll

2:32:25probably see that tick up a little bit.

2:32:27Um, so we may see percentages go up a

2:32:30little bit higher than we've seen in

2:32:31other gubanatorial years, but nowhere

2:32:33near probably a presidential year.

2:32:36in 2024. You can see the interest that

2:32:40was in early voting and absentee voting.

2:32:42We'll see if that holds true going into

2:32:44um this November election as well. Um we

2:32:49be we used a lot of this data when we

2:32:51used to um to change the precinct lines

2:32:54and the polling locations in 2025. Um

2:32:58and I did not hear a lot of um

2:33:00concernation for the August election of

2:33:02people finding their finding their new

2:33:04locations there. Um, I think people

2:33:06found that information. Um, and so we'll

2:33:08see as we go, as more people are engaged

2:33:10in the November election, we'll be

2:33:12getting information out there. Make sure

2:33:13that people know before they go um to go

2:33:16to michigan.gov/vote.

2:33:19So, this upcoming November election uh

2:33:22is a federal and state partisan. There

2:33:24will be a federal and state partisan

2:33:25section. This is where you can vote the

2:33:27straight parties, Republican, Democrat,

2:33:29natural law, working party. I don't

2:33:30think people understand there's like

2:33:32seven seven different parties here in

2:33:34Michigan. You can vote a straight

2:33:35ticket, a split ticket, or you can pick

2:33:38candidates however you want. Um, one

2:33:41candidate from this party here, another

2:33:43candidate from another party in a

2:33:45different um section of the ballot. Um,

2:33:48we also have judicial, city, um, local

2:33:50education boards. Those will be all on

2:33:53this ballot. And there's five proposals.

2:33:55Um the uh constitutional convention um

2:33:59money out of politics made the so

2:34:01there's going to be state two state

2:34:02proposals. There's a third one out there

2:34:04that was that did not make it because of

2:34:07the the did not get certified by the

2:34:09state. They went to the US Supreme

2:34:10Court. It got denied. They did not take

2:34:13it up and it went to the state supreme

2:34:14court. They're not taking up either. Um

2:34:16then we have the museum zoo millillage,

2:34:18the corrections and detention facilities

2:34:20millillage. And for 19 of our voters,

2:34:22they have the Kenowa Hills uh public

2:34:23school millillage. So, um no other major

2:34:27school um bonding issues um there. So,

2:34:30those are the five proposals. Most of

2:34:32our voters will be seeing four proposals

2:34:35on their ballot.

2:34:37Early voting. So, we are going to um

2:34:40have 13 days of early voting. So, the

2:34:42constitution mandates that we have to

2:34:44have at least nine. We're going to add

2:34:46four more days starting on Tuesday,

2:34:48October 20, and going through Sunday,

2:34:50November 1. The reason why we added the

2:34:54four days is in 2024,

2:34:56um after seeing the February turnout for

2:34:59early voting in the August, we thought,

2:35:01"Oh, people aren't really engaging to

2:35:03this." And they did engage into it. And

2:35:05we started on a Saturday morning and we

2:35:07were overwhelmed. I we weren't

2:35:09overwhelmed. We were we were able to

2:35:11serve people, but we didn't anticipate

2:35:14how much people were going to turn out.

2:35:15And we had to get people like ready and

2:35:17acclimated um to to to do their duties

2:35:20at the at the early voting site. Um and

2:35:23then if we had any computer issues, we

2:35:25had a couple little computer issues. Um

2:35:27IT departments aren't open on that on

2:35:29that Saturday. Um, also we're running

2:35:31out of toner and paper and it's it's the

2:35:35weekend so we we're running around to

2:35:37Staples and Office Depot and stuff to So

2:35:39we we've done we've learned some lessons

2:35:41and one of those lessons is we're not

2:35:42going to start ever on a Saturday in a

2:35:44major election. We're going to start on

2:35:46a Tuesday. Give us some time. You can

2:35:47see on Tuesdays and Thursdays we go 11

2:35:50to 7. So we have that morning to get

2:35:52into the flow and then after the after

2:35:55day one everybody's going cuz we

2:35:58generally have the same the same um

2:36:01election inspectors every day. So by day

2:36:03nine they got they are a welloiled

2:36:06machine. By day 13 they're going to be

2:36:08either really tired or really great. So

2:36:10um no it's eight hour days. So it's not

2:36:14like the 14-hour election day. So it's

2:36:16different. Um, so every day, um, so on

2:36:19Tuesdays and Thursdays we do 11 to 7.

2:36:21The other days we do 9 to5, except on

2:36:24Saturday, October 31, which is

2:36:26Halloween, we're going to be going, um,

2:36:287:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., so people can

2:36:30get out and do um their whatever they

2:36:33their fall festival, trick-or-treating,

2:36:35very get our election inspectors out.

2:36:37Um, not expecting a lot of voters after

2:36:39that time. Also, we're adding a fourth

2:36:42location at New Hope Baptist Church. So

2:36:44that gives us an early voting site in

2:36:46all four quadrants of the city. Uh and

2:36:49New Hope Baptist Church has their fall

2:36:51fest that evening, too. So working with

2:36:53them, we decided, let's make make sure

2:36:55it's uniform, that we're not having

2:36:56different times at different places. So

2:36:58Halloween is 7:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. And

2:37:01that matches the hours that we have here

2:37:03at city hall for our clerk staff as

2:37:04well.

2:37:06Um absentee voting, military overseas

2:37:08ballots must be sent at least at the

2:37:10latest 45 days before the election. um

2:37:13available 40 days for all other voters.

2:37:15So, we're anticipating ballots around

2:37:17September 19th for us to receive them

2:37:19and start preparing those um to be

2:37:21mailed. Um our permanent ballot

2:37:24envelopes are being

2:37:27um produced right now. Um we get

2:37:29everything screen printed on. So, we're

2:37:31getting we're very getting very close to

2:37:32um to ramping up to u prepare absentee

2:37:35ballots to be mailed. Um, election day

2:37:38polls are open 7 am to 8:00 p.m. Anyone

2:37:40still in line can still vote. All 59

2:37:42precincts will be open. Um, we're still

2:37:46Kenosha is still under con construction.

2:37:48That was some major construction at

2:37:49Kenosha Elementary. So, they'll be

2:37:51across Kazoo Avenue at um, Brookside

2:37:53CRC, but this will be like the third

2:37:54election where they they'll do that. Um,

2:37:57those voters have have been contacted by

2:38:00mail. The other thing that happens on

2:38:02election day as well is same day

2:38:03registration. you can register up until

2:38:058:00 on election night. Um because the

2:38:08the massive amount of people that do um

2:38:11register and because of the interest in

2:38:14this election, I have a feeling there's

2:38:15going to be a lot of college students

2:38:16that are going to want to register um

2:38:18from, you know, that are students that

2:38:20that are don't live here year round, but

2:38:22our residents here for their 60 days, so

2:38:25they are eligible to vote in Grand

2:38:26Rapids. I think there's going to be a

2:38:28lot of interest in that. So on the

2:38:29Monday and Tuesday, so November 2 and

2:38:32three, the city clerk's office is

2:38:34actually at Devos Place in exhibit hall

2:38:36A. So it gives us much more space. We

2:38:39don't have the room here to do have long

2:38:41lines of people. So we are using exhibit

2:38:43hall A across the street. So we're going

2:38:45to direct everybody on Monday and

2:38:46Tuesday to go to Devos Place. And we'll

2:38:50so we'll be producing some videos that

2:38:52also show that we we we shot a video the

2:38:55other day that shows me walking from um

2:38:57Mayor Park's um statue and walking

2:39:00across the street to Devos Place to show

2:39:01how that will work. So that video will

2:39:03be show showing on those those days.

2:39:08Um my tagline is know before you go. Um

2:39:12so this this is a lot of good three good

2:39:14websites to go that is factual um

2:39:16governmental

2:39:18issues. uh issued um election

2:39:21information. So, Grand Rapids elections,

2:39:23you can go to Grand Rapidsmi.gov, GR

2:39:25votes, Michigan Bureau of Elections,

2:39:28Michigan.gov/vote, and then Kent County

2:39:30Elections is kent county votes.com. So,

2:39:33any of those election results, campaign

2:39:35finance, you'll find at Kent who's, you

2:39:36know, supporting, you know, who's paying

2:39:38for campaigns. You can find that

2:39:40locally, you can find that at the Kent

2:39:41County elections. Um and also so this

2:39:45gives you a good information areas to go

2:39:47to so that you're prepared that you make

2:39:49a plan to vote.

2:39:51All right.

2:39:53Executive order 14399 ensuring

2:39:56citizenship verification integrity in

2:39:59federal elections. So this has been in

2:40:00the news a lot lately. Um there's been

2:40:03court cases and junctions and supreme

2:40:05court rulings and various other and you

2:40:07US Postal Service rules. We're watching

2:40:09this very very closely. So the big parts

2:40:13of this is Department of Homeland

2:40:15Security has developed a state

2:40:16citizenship list. So this so they would

2:40:19have to so Homeland Security would

2:40:21develop a list of of citizens. Then

2:40:24there's USPS bail mail guidelines. We

2:40:27generally follow this already. Where

2:40:29this would affect is more rural

2:40:30communities where they're not using um

2:40:34like preprinted envelopes. They're just

2:40:36mailing their ballots in a regular

2:40:37envelope. This would say election mail.

2:40:39So this would this one wouldn't affect

2:40:41us too much. We're already doing we're

2:40:42already doing these things. But the

2:40:44other next part is a state specific

2:40:46mailin and absentee parts participation

2:40:48le list into the US postal service. So

2:40:50the secretary of state's office would

2:40:52have to send a list of all the people

2:40:53that we're mailing ballots to and it

2:40:56would have to go to the post office and

2:40:58then they would have to match that mail

2:41:00to that list which obviously would

2:41:02probably delay in mailing because they

2:41:04have to go through and and match these.

2:41:06Now there's some talk of what does that

2:41:08actually mean?

2:41:10um if if like one of the batch is gone,

2:41:13is it the whole batch? So there's a

2:41:15there's so much unknown in this and

2:41:16we're you know 60 days less than 60 days

2:41:18out. Um so there's an injunction there.

2:41:20The the president has asked for um the

2:41:23Supreme Court to rule on this latest

2:41:25injunction. So we're follow we're

2:41:27following this real close. The other

2:41:29part that's in this this law as well, it

2:41:32says if a state official or a local

2:41:35official

2:41:36um issues an a ballot to an undocumented

2:41:41or illegal well in their terms, an

2:41:42illegal alien or undocumented person,

2:41:46then we could face criminal charges. It

2:41:50might not even be something that I did,

2:41:52but if I sent a ballot to somebody who

2:41:55was not supposed to get a ballot because

2:41:56the state, remember I said the state

2:41:58automatically does automatic

2:41:59registration. I didn't register that

2:42:02person or they mail, they send me a

2:42:04form. If everybody likes to use that um

2:42:06the the student from China in Ann Arbor

2:42:08in 2024,

2:42:10he filled out an application and marked

2:42:12that he was a US citizen. How is how am

2:42:14I as the clerk supposed to know that? Um

2:42:17because it's a self

2:42:20you know, yourself declaring that you're

2:42:21over 18 and that you're a US citizen.

2:42:24Um, if that if this law was under there,

2:42:27then the Ann Arbor clerk because they

2:42:30found out the Ann Arbor clerk could go

2:42:32to jail because they issued a ballot to

2:42:34someone. So, um, that's got clerks a

2:42:37little antsy right now. Um, if that part

2:42:40of that goes in there. So, so we are, as

2:42:42I said, we're monitoring very closely,

2:42:44watching what's happening with, um, any

2:42:46injunctions or that. So, our plan is to

2:42:48mail out ballots. Um,

2:42:51uh, for what state? One of the states

2:42:53just Oh, um, North Carolina already

2:42:55mailed their ballots. They're one of the

2:42:57first states that mailed their ballots.

2:42:58There's going to be others that are

2:42:59going to be, um, starting to send

2:43:01ballots in the next week. Ours will be

2:43:03by the 24th of September. So, we're

2:43:07obviously everybody's watching this

2:43:08very, very closely.

2:43:11Um, November. So, like I showed you

2:43:13before the August election, these are um

2:43:15our posts that we're going to be doing

2:43:17for social media. We are doing um social

2:43:19media buys. So, we'll be putting out um

2:43:23carousels in various other reels that

2:43:26will be out in English and Spanish and

2:43:29we will be buying um Instagram and

2:43:32Facebook ads as well. Um, so to to to

2:43:36boost that traffic of it going out and

2:43:38of course everybody else can help share

2:43:40by sharing anytime anything comes out

2:43:42from the official city of Grand Rapids

2:43:44um website or Facebook or Instagram post

2:43:46as well. And please share that as well

2:43:48so we can boost traffic.

2:43:52Um, this is an example of the absentee

2:43:54voting social media carousel um to give

2:43:57people information. We're also doing we

2:43:59have a billboard by I for if it's four

2:44:01or five billboards that we'll be doing

2:44:03as well, but um one of the one of the

2:44:06billboards will be in the Caesar Chavez

2:44:08uh corridor and that one will be in

2:44:10Spanish. Um so we are um doing

2:44:13billboards around the community as well.

2:44:15This is what another one of those um

2:44:18what it looks like this the same um

2:44:20information in English and Spanish that

2:44:22would be put up on our um one of our ad

2:44:25buys.

2:44:27And then this is a video that went out

2:44:29on election day. We'll probably have

2:44:30this on election day itself.

2:44:32>> Hi, I'm city clerk Joel Hunter. And it's

2:44:34election day. Polls are open from 7:00

2:44:36a.m. to 8:00 p.m. As long as you're in

2:44:38line at 8:00, you can still vote. And

2:44:41also, if you haven't registered to vote

2:44:42yet, you can still register by going

2:44:44down to the city clerk's office and

2:44:45register. Know before you go, go to

2:44:47michigan.gov/vote

2:44:49and vote today.

2:44:52I was either selling used cars there or

2:44:54mattresses, but it [laughter] it was it

2:44:57was it was a little little quick, but um

2:45:00but try to try to keep try to keep high

2:45:03energy and um get these these out. So,

2:45:06there's other things that I'm doing to

2:45:08prepare for this. Um I'm doing a um a

2:45:11shoot with um a video shoot with ACLU on

2:45:14Thursday morning to um they're they're

2:45:16doing some video series with some um

2:45:18some clerks that they that they that

2:45:20they work with. So, we'll be doing some

2:45:22more things. So, there's other groups

2:45:23that are out there doing stuff, but um

2:45:25some of the groups have reached out to

2:45:26me so I can review their um information

2:45:29as well to make sure that it's factual.

2:45:32There there are some groups that are

2:45:34election protection groups, but they

2:45:36don't exactly get the the nuts and bolts

2:45:37or details right as well. So, we don't

2:45:39want misinformation from people who are

2:45:41trying to assist us as well. So there's

2:45:43a um concerted effort by the the um

2:45:46Michigan Association Municipal Clerks to

2:45:48make sure that we're reviewing working

2:45:50with our trusted partners and our not

2:45:52trusted partners um to make sure that um

2:45:55factual information is going out and um

2:45:58so as you're how the city commission and

2:46:01the public can help too, let us know if

2:46:03you see something that you're like, I

2:46:05don't think that's quite right and that

2:46:07that could be misinformation. And it's

2:46:09not even like they're trying to they're

2:46:11trying to mislead. They just have some

2:46:13old information from some other way. For

2:46:15example, they're going to say early

2:46:16voting starts in Grand Rapids on October

2:46:1824th. Well, that could be the case if we

2:46:20did the nine days, but we're starting

2:46:22October 20. So, I'm going through making

2:46:24sure everywhere, anybody who I've talked

2:46:26to saying, "No, we don't. We we're doing

2:46:2813 days and at four locations, not three

2:46:31locations." So, it's going to be that it

2:46:34takes it takes a village on this one to

2:46:36make sure that we're giving out good

2:46:37information and u making sure that we're

2:46:40we're doing um our due diligence to make

2:46:42sure voters are well informed and ready

2:46:44to go.

2:46:46Questions for me

2:46:51>> questions, colleagues? Um Commissioner

2:46:53Sassy,

2:46:55>> more of a a comment than a question. I

2:46:57just wanted to say thank you to our city

2:46:59clerk for this presentation, but also

2:47:01thank you uh representative Grant hosted

2:47:04um a few of us was that last month uh

2:47:07city clerk right before the primaries I

2:47:09think um just to talk uh brought in some

2:47:12of the staff from the secretary of

2:47:14state's office. So if we could probably

2:47:15share that with this off their office

2:47:17too. I think it'd be good for for them

2:47:19to know all the things that we're doing

2:47:20and just um staying informed. So, thanks

2:47:22for going to that forum um sharing what

2:47:25we're doing and thank you to all those

2:47:27that you know work on those days uh

2:47:30needing um and recruiting election

2:47:32workers. I have a couple family members

2:47:35who who volunteer as well, not in the

2:47:37second w um [laughter]

2:47:39but uh really take the election workers

2:47:41take a lot of pride in what they do. So,

2:47:43I want to say thank you. I know there's

2:47:45a lot of coordination that goes into

2:47:46that as well. Thanks,

2:47:48>> Commissioner Purdue.

2:47:50>> Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much for

2:47:51the update, clerk. Um, happy to see some

2:47:54of the positive trends uh for turnout. I

2:47:57do want to reiterate, colleagues, that

2:48:00uh election day voting still is our most

2:48:02popular mode of voting. And so, this was

2:48:05a big conversation last year. So, just

2:48:07want to reiterate how important it is to

2:48:09have access to uh some place local that

2:48:11you can show up on election day. Um, so

2:48:14that that that pattern remains as well.

2:48:16Um, clerk, I'm just wondering, I think

2:48:18that the particularly the ABV, uh, the

2:48:20absentee ballot, um, uh, uh, lack of

2:48:24clarity around what we can expect with

2:48:26the executive orders. Um, do you plan to

2:48:29come back to us to give us an update on

2:48:31where that lands between now and the

2:48:32election day?

2:48:33>> Yes. Um, so if it if anything, I'll I'll

2:48:36make sure that we have memos under and

2:48:38I'll probably do a couple memos between

2:48:40now and the election under the um

2:48:42updates from, you know, memos or

2:48:44communications from appointed officials.

2:48:47I'll probably just keep you in the loop

2:48:49on that and any other um election

2:48:51preparation as well.

2:48:52>> Thank you. I think we would all

2:48:53appreciate that because that is TY

2:48:55situation for sure. Um, lastly, just

2:48:57want to say thank you for thinking about

2:48:59the I mean logistics galore. Okay. Um

2:49:03but particularly around anticipating the

2:49:05amount of new registrations that might

2:49:07come and getting to a a bigger venue so

2:49:08that we can handle that. Um just want to

2:49:11you know plant a seed of you know with a

2:49:13lot of things we know that coming

2:49:15downtown can be a barrier for folks. Um

2:49:17which is why we do commission night out

2:49:19and a lot of things out at community

2:49:20locations. And so, um, just ask you to

2:49:23consider if we still can for this

2:49:24election to do some outreach, whether

2:49:26it's partnering with, uh, community

2:49:28organizations based throughout the city.

2:49:30Um, but just trying to meet people where

2:49:32they are to help them register easily

2:49:34and even if it, you know, if it's if

2:49:36we're expecting more college students,

2:49:38getting on Aquinus campus, getting on

2:49:39Calvin, um, and those who are local as

2:49:42well as in some of our neighborhoods.

2:49:44Um, I think that's really important

2:49:46around access and ease, right? So, uh,

2:49:48thank you for all your work. I'm looking

2:49:50forward to um getting through this

2:49:52midterm um and hopefully seeing some uh

2:49:56some positive results of of really good

2:49:58leadership to kind of lead us um through

2:50:00these really difficult times quite

2:50:01frankly. So, thank you. Thanks.

2:50:04>> Uh yeah, so Mr. Clerk, I guess one

2:50:06question I have is um and this is

2:50:10piggybacking off of uh Commissioner

2:50:12Purdue's comments. Um I in the past in

2:50:15the last few elections have gotten my

2:50:17absentee ballot what feels luxuriously

2:50:20early. Um so early that I've I sort of

2:50:24turn it around mail it out uh the same

2:50:26day usually and then I kind of like it's

2:50:28done and it's done a long time before

2:50:30elections. So um a lot of us are getting

2:50:33used to that. Um have you given some

2:50:36thought to communications if this if if

2:50:39the feds slow this process down? Um uh I

2:50:43I just want to suggest we may want to

2:50:44have something really really prominent

2:50:46on the city website saying something

2:50:48like, you know, hey, you know, ballots

2:50:50have been delayed 7 days. Don't panic.

2:50:53Uh something that stops our 311 system

2:50:55from being swamped when people don't get

2:50:57them. Um or people worried that they got

2:51:00dropped off the list. It seems to me

2:51:02like I mean if I didn't get a ballot

2:51:04about when I expected to get it, I might

2:51:06think did I do something wrong? Like is

2:51:08the system completely broken? So, I

2:51:10think it's really important not just to

2:51:12get this information out now to the at

2:51:14least twothirds of the voters who are

2:51:16watching this hearing um but um also

2:51:18that we get it up on the

2:51:19>> say two/3s or two or three.

2:51:22>> I'm sure we've got 100,000 viewers right

2:51:24now. Um but uh the uh you get my point.

2:51:29I I I guess I I and city manager maybe

2:51:32work with the clerk to make sure that we

2:51:34may have to sort of take over our

2:51:35homelanding web page if things get weird

2:51:37here. um because this is going to be a

2:51:39big deal for our voters if they start if

2:51:41they start not seeing ballots that they

2:51:44expect to see. Um we want to be able to

2:51:46manage manage up updating people. So we

2:51:49do we do monitor that closely because we

2:51:52had an issue in the 2024 November

2:51:54election where there was we got there

2:51:56was a whole tray in of ballots that went

2:52:00arry somewhere in the postal service and

2:52:02the postal service tried to push it back

2:52:04on our vendor and us and we're like no

2:52:06we have a proof that we delivered it to

2:52:08the dock at the post office and so we

2:52:10reissued that to those 300 voters new

2:52:13ballots and then like a month later they

2:52:16got that original ballot delivered so it

2:52:18was a postal office issue. Um so we so

2:52:22we do monitor even without this we

2:52:24monitor this closely and let people know

2:52:26if if we see an issue. So yes, we

2:52:28continue to do that and there's banner

2:52:30ads and things that we can do on the

2:52:32website. So yes.

2:52:33>> Okay. Thanks. So let's keep let's keep

2:52:35thinking about how to make sure that if

2:52:36there's if the federal government slow

2:52:39rolls this that um we tell voters before

2:52:42everyone freaks out.

2:52:43>> Yep.

2:52:43>> Thanks.

2:52:46>> All right. Thank you. I'm not seeing any

2:52:48further questions from colleagues. Um,

2:52:50thank you, Mr. Clerk. And that brings us

2:52:51to one of the things that's on the

2:52:53ballot, and that is the Kent County

2:52:55Corrections and Detention Mill. Um, and

2:52:58I know we I see we have our sheriff here

2:53:01to discuss this.

2:53:03>> You have it on here.

2:53:05>> Oh,

2:53:07and [snorts] um,

2:53:08>> you have the landbank one,

2:53:09>> Deputy Chief Moft, who's definitely not

2:53:11a sheriff. So, are you going first?

2:53:18The land bank.

2:53:24[snorts]

2:53:53Thanks. Appreciate it.

2:53:57>> Good morning, commissioners, mayor.

2:54:00[clears throat] Mike Mccraoft here, and

2:54:02it's my distinct honor and privilege to

2:54:05introduce Sheriff Michelle Lejoy Young,

2:54:08who it's kind of a bittersweet day.

2:54:10She's announced her retirement after 37

2:54:12years of service to uh this county and

2:54:15she has been awesome to work with,

2:54:17especially for me for the last 30 years.

2:54:20So, we appreciate everything she has

2:54:22done for us in the city and her

2:54:24leadership team. It is bittersweet. I

2:54:26know we're in good hands. Under Sheriff

2:54:28Mure will be assuming this role in

2:54:31October and I just want to uh tell her

2:54:34how much we appreciate the working

2:54:36relationship we've had over these years.

2:54:38She's going to brief you now about the

2:54:40corrections of detention millillage. I'm

2:54:42a member of adjust GR which you guys

2:54:44were briefed on along with Commissioner

2:54:46Purdue, uh, Chief Deputy Cole, Mr.

2:54:50Davis. Um, and I think part of what we

2:54:52learned after the last couple years is

2:54:54how important the role of corrections of

2:54:57detention is here. I think sometimes we

2:54:59get caught up of arrests, just the

2:55:02arrest factor. But I think what the

2:55:05sheriff will show us is how much goes

2:55:07into

2:55:09that afterwards and the amount of

2:55:11resources that we do to try to reduce

2:55:13recidivism in this county and in this

2:55:16city. It's a very important millillage

2:55:18and we appreciate her doing this

2:55:20briefing today. So thank you.

2:55:23>> Good morning everybody.

2:55:25>> So my very first job with the county was

2:55:28a corrections officer. I started in 1989

2:55:32which was a number of decades ago. Uh so

2:55:35you know I'm going to talk a little bit

2:55:36as we roll through this presentation how

2:55:39much change there's been in corrections

2:55:41as an industry overall but really

2:55:45specifically how our own community has

2:55:47changed and grown and adjusted to the

2:55:50needs of the community. So the the topic

2:55:53is our corrections and detention

2:55:55millillage. Okay. And I know you told me

2:55:57which way to go. There we go. Okay. So

2:55:59I'm going to put up this screen first.

2:56:01Uh you may or may not remember that

2:56:03there is a millillage that is currently

2:56:06being collected. Um it has been

2:56:09collected since 1990. Um the original

2:56:12millillage was 0.84 but due to Headley

2:56:16that millillage has adjusted down to 733

2:56:19and we are asking for a renewal and

2:56:22improvement to 98

2:56:25um which would commence uh 26 through 20

2:56:3045 which seems unbelievable to say out

2:56:32loud.

2:56:34Okay. So what we're specifically asking

2:56:36for is a 20-year renewal and increase.

2:56:39Um, it would provide for operations of

2:56:43the correctional facility and also

2:56:45improvements to any facilities that may

2:56:48need to be improved during the course of

2:56:50that time. So, let me give you a couple

2:56:51examples. The beautiful round buildings

2:56:54that are on the expressway that have the

2:56:56brick fascia. Number of years ago, we

2:56:59had to reattach the brick to the outside

2:57:02of the building, which I understand is a

2:57:04pretty normal thing. We've had to put

2:57:05new roofs on. We've had to do chillers

2:57:08and really exciting things like that in

2:57:10a correctional facility. We had to spend

2:57:14over $3 million to replace doors in a

2:57:17correctional facility. So things that

2:57:20have that kind of um strength and that

2:57:24application are are very expensive and

2:57:26often have to be done outside of the

2:57:28normal capital improvement process

2:57:30within the county because honestly

2:57:32they'd spend every dollar on the

2:57:34correctional facility and no other

2:57:35resources would be updated. So that's

2:57:38the kinds of things you normally would

2:57:39see and not only for the jail but also

2:57:41for the juvenile detention facility. Um

2:57:43so both of th those are covered. Uh what

2:57:46this isn't a specific millillage for is

2:57:50a specific building. We're not asking to

2:57:52add on to the jail. We we have no need

2:57:56to add additional beds to the jail at

2:57:58this point and don't intend to do that.

2:58:01Um

2:58:02you know in today's day and age, it's

2:58:04always that concern that uh we have

2:58:08developed a partnership with ICE and we

2:58:10want to build a facility to improve our

2:58:13ability to hold for ice. That is not the

2:58:16case. It's not on the radar at all. This

2:58:18would not increase our gel bed space and

2:58:22it would not um lead to any contracts

2:58:25with any federal entities or state

2:58:27entities for that matter. Um

2:58:31uh so the jail is a shared county

2:58:35resource. Back in 1990, one of the

2:58:37things that vote did was to create a

2:58:40central booking process. Um, I don't

2:58:43know how familiar you are with other

2:58:45organizations throughout the state, but

2:58:47it's very uncharacteristic that we have

2:58:49a central booking system here in Kent

2:58:52County. Uncharacteristic and very uh

2:58:55very helpful to all of our budgets and

2:58:58to the process of justice here uh as a

2:59:01whole. Many years ago, every city that

2:59:04had a certain class of court had to

2:59:06maintain their own lockup. This meant

2:59:09that arresting agencies would take

2:59:11somebody into custody. They would have

2:59:12to go to their own lockup. They would

2:59:15have to provide for security for that

2:59:17person while they were being held there.

2:59:19They would have to do their own

2:59:20processing, which would include

2:59:22fingerprints and mug shots, all the

2:59:24technology necessary to do those things

2:59:27if there were a medical need that had to

2:59:29been done at the lockup.

2:59:31And so many years ago, they thought this

2:59:34this would make a lot more sense if we

2:59:37did this altogether, especially since

2:59:39many individuals are arrested for more

2:59:42than one charge. They may have

2:59:44outstanding warrants from Kentwood, for

2:59:46example, and be arrested by the city of

2:59:48Grand Rapids. So instead of processing

2:59:51at two different locations, again, we go

2:59:53back to a central booking and we can do

2:59:56it all at one time. And I would say I

2:59:59would be throwing an estimate out there,

3:00:01but it cost us about $250 per person to

3:00:04do that booking. And if that were

3:00:06distributed over every agency for every

3:00:09charge of every person, um that would

3:00:12add up to millions and millions of

3:00:14dollars that as communities we have

3:00:15already saved by having this millage.

3:00:18Our current framework also has a predium

3:00:21cost that um is assessed for every

3:00:25charge that a local agency would have um

3:00:28for per inmate and also a booking fee

3:00:32that would uh be and more on that in a

3:00:35second because that's part of what we're

3:00:37proposing to change. So currently with

3:00:41that 50.42 42 pdeium rate. The city of

3:00:45Grand Rapids is paying 400 547,000

3:00:49and change in pdium costs. Um and that

3:00:53that was based on a 2025 billing which

3:00:55was our last full billing. And um you

3:00:58are also paying 1828 booking fee per

3:01:01person that you book. Uh under the

3:01:04proposed millillage, if the millillage

3:01:07were to go through, we're advocating

3:01:08that this become simplified and reduced.

3:01:11So the city of Grand Rapids would no

3:01:13longer have any predium. No, no city

3:01:16would have any predium cost, saving over

3:01:19a half a million dollars a year. The

3:01:22booking fee would be held to 10% of the

3:01:25booking cost. So right now it costs us

3:01:28about $25 per person to book them. And

3:01:32again, that's likely on multiple charges

3:01:35across the whole area. That booking fee

3:01:38is $25. So that's 10% and you would end

3:01:42up saving substantial amount of money as

3:01:44a city along with every other city in

3:01:46the county.

3:01:48And again, I've been over this. The

3:01:49original funding was at a 0.84

3:01:53uh in 2008 that was renewed and uh put

3:01:58in place for another 20 years. This

3:02:00technically expires two years from now,

3:02:03but

3:02:05this if this is not renewed, it would

3:02:07cause such a major hole in the county

3:02:10budget that we thought it necessary to

3:02:13have some planning time if this were

3:02:15going to be the case.

3:02:19And this is just a little bit about our

3:02:21operating costs, about $56 million a

3:02:24year to operate the jail. So, it's a

3:02:26it's a pretty heavy lift. And you might

3:02:29know that a jail is a mandated function

3:02:31of the county. It's constitutionally

3:02:33mandated. Uh but again, the booking

3:02:36process isn't mandated. Only the lodging

3:02:38after arraignment. We get about 20 just

3:02:41under 25 thou million dollars a year

3:02:44from this millillage to operate both the

3:02:46jail and the detention. Um so there's

3:02:50two facilities and we are still paying

3:02:53about $3.8 million of debt service.

3:02:55That's largely the juvenile detention

3:02:57facility that was built and some smaller

3:03:00improvements that were made to the

3:03:01correctional facility a number of years

3:03:03ago. Current rate that we are now

3:03:05collecting is 73.

3:03:09So

3:03:11I started this with saying uh this is

3:03:13near and dear to my heart. I started as

3:03:14a correctional as a corrections officer

3:03:17at the county and Mike talked a little

3:03:20bit about the importance of it but 90%

3:03:24of the people who are booked in our jail

3:03:26will rejoin our communities as active

3:03:29participating members in our community.

3:03:32So it's important that we do everything

3:03:34we can first to keep them in community

3:03:36if that's where they if that's where

3:03:39they can be served.

3:03:41If they can't be kept in community and

3:03:43they are being lodged in the

3:03:44correctional facility, we have to do

3:03:46everything we can to stabilize them to

3:03:49improve their success when they're

3:03:52released back into our community. We do

3:03:54this a number of ways um largely through

3:03:57much much programming that happens

3:03:59within the correctional facility,

3:04:02but a substantial part of what we do is

3:04:04to provide wraparound services for

3:04:06everybody who's incarcerated.

3:04:08That means community

3:04:11equivalent medical services while

3:04:14they're in the correctional facility. If

3:04:16you live in the city of Grand Rapids and

3:04:18you get sick, you go to many worldclass

3:04:22hospital options or doctor options that

3:04:25are in the community. When somebody's

3:04:27incarcerated in Grand Rapids, they also

3:04:30have the ability to go to many of the

3:04:33same doctors that you would see. and

3:04:36providing that care financially is the

3:04:39responsibility of the correctional

3:04:42facility. One of the most significant

3:04:44costs that we've seen rise just as you

3:04:47have in the community, but one of the

3:04:49most significant causes we've seen rise

3:04:52is that medical cost that we're

3:04:54providing. I'm going to get to a little

3:04:56bit of how we can attack that further in

3:04:59the presentation. But the other thing I

3:05:00want to talk about is psychological

3:05:02care.

3:05:03When I started in 1989, there were no

3:05:06counselors in the correctional facility.

3:05:08There were no psychiatric services in

3:05:10the correctional facility. If somebody

3:05:12needed to receive psychiatric care and

3:05:15it was se severe enough that they

3:05:18weren't able to stand trial, they had to

3:05:20wait long long long periods of time to

3:05:22get to a psychiatric bed. generally in

3:05:25the state system. Um the state system

3:05:29still takes a very long time to get

3:05:31somebody there, but uh one of the things

3:05:34that we've really strove to to be able

3:05:36to provide in community in the facility

3:05:40are those very psychological services

3:05:42that somebody needs to stabilize. Uh

3:05:45this this is wrapped into our medical

3:05:47cost, but it's a significant cost for us

3:05:49to do, but I would advocate to you it's

3:05:51a more significant cost if we don't do

3:05:53it. If somebody's not stabilized,

3:05:56they're more likely to commit an offense

3:05:58soon after they're released. That

3:06:00offense causes them to continue to be

3:06:02justice involved, but it also creates

3:06:04additional victims in our community,

3:06:07people who then have needs that have to

3:06:09be met in other services. So our best

3:06:11approach as a community is to continue

3:06:13to pitch in together to work to make

3:06:16sure everybody has the tools they need

3:06:18to succeed and that they have the right

3:06:20size care when they become justice

3:06:23involved so that they can reassimilate

3:06:25back to our community and be proud of

3:06:27how they're participating in daily life.

3:06:30Um I'm going to give you a small

3:06:31example. Our MAP program, this is a

3:06:34medicallyass assisted treatment in the

3:06:35correctional facility.

3:06:38one of the few programs that we have

3:06:40very specific uh stats on. When somebody

3:06:45is opioid addicted and they're

3:06:47incarcerated without any treatment, they

3:06:50are 48% likely to come back to the

3:06:52correctional facility within a very near

3:06:54term. 48%. So half of them will come

3:06:57back over and over in many cases with

3:07:00treatment with the right care with the

3:07:03right psychological services and

3:07:06medication

3:07:07that drops to 23%.

3:07:10Half of those individuals are getting

3:07:12out and being successful in

3:07:14reassimilating to life and most of them

3:07:17stay in the treatment program that they

3:07:19are introduced to while they're in the

3:07:22correctional facility. So many lives are

3:07:25impacted by having these programs. And

3:07:27that it's not just that program. We have

3:07:29many up to 20 different programming.

3:07:31Some of them uh orient around just

3:07:34functional things like do I have an ID

3:07:36when I get out of the building so that I

3:07:38can engage in services? Do I know where

3:07:41to go if I need Medicaid enrollment? Do

3:07:45I know where to go if I need case

3:07:47management or assistance getting my

3:07:49medication um for mental health? And

3:07:52those things make a difference and

3:07:54somebody's going to be successful. So

3:07:56matching those people up so that they

3:07:58know where to go when they walk out that

3:08:00door is a significant portion of what we

3:08:03do. Few stats to just keep in your mind.

3:08:06Almost 18,000 people come through our

3:08:09doors every year. Most of them will be

3:08:12released soon after they're arraigned.

3:08:14The vast majority of them will, but we

3:08:16have a daily population of almost a

3:08:19thousand people in custody every day. I

3:08:22know it's a [snorts] lot of people. I

3:08:24wish it were lower. Trust me, we all

3:08:26have the the wish that we didn't have to

3:08:28incarcerate people, but I'd say the

3:08:31thousand people that we do have

3:08:33incarcerated for a community our size is

3:08:37significantly lower than many other

3:08:39communities our size. And that's because

3:08:40of the programming. That's because of

3:08:42the warm handoffs. And that's because of

3:08:44the wonderful organizations that work

3:08:46with uh people incarcerated in our

3:08:49correctional facility every single day

3:08:51and are out in our community helping to

3:08:53support those individuals when they're

3:08:55released. It's 20 plus programs. Um, we

3:08:58also really facilitate the visitation

3:09:01and connection with community by

3:09:02providing uh a tablet for every person

3:09:06incarcerated to carry out their personal

3:09:08visits, to have personal phone calls, to

3:09:11talk to their attorney, to review any

3:09:14documents they need to participate in

3:09:16some programming or educational

3:09:18services, or watch a movie and enjoy

3:09:21themselves for a minute. So, that's part

3:09:23of what they would see while they're

3:09:24incarcerated.

3:09:27We do have some very specific physical

3:09:30needs in the correctional facility. I'm

3:09:32hoping you may have seen some of that in

3:09:34uh local media, but our medical

3:09:37facility, and this is a very hard

3:09:40picture to read, but the little section

3:09:41that it's trying to point to is a 1972

3:09:45portion of our our facility. It's the

3:09:47oldest portion of of our facility still

3:09:49standing, and it is actually where

3:09:52medical and psychological services are

3:09:54being housed today. Um, so improving

3:09:58those facilities is something we very

3:10:02much hope to be able to do over the

3:10:04course of this this improved funding.

3:10:07Uh, the bars that you see in the upper

3:10:11leftand corner, they're literally the

3:10:13last bars that exist in this entire

3:10:16correctional facility. It's not how

3:10:18facilities are built anymore, but this

3:10:20is how it remains in that area.

3:10:22um the nurses station or old cell and

3:10:26guard stations and it's just not

3:10:29conducive to uh the type of medical

3:10:32treatment that our our clients need.

3:10:35Many of our clients are very challenged

3:10:38medically, maybe not pursuing medical

3:10:40treatment on the outside and many of

3:10:43them have very long-term illnesses. One

3:10:46example, um we have a number of people

3:10:50who need procedures that have to happen

3:10:52multiple times a week. And uh because

3:10:56our facilities look like this and can't

3:10:59can't accommodate all those treatments,

3:11:01we have to take them out of the facility

3:11:03to go to local service providers. Every

3:11:06time I do that, we have to send two

3:11:08corrections officers with them for the

3:11:10entire time. So, um, if they need to be

3:11:14at the facility for treatment for 5

3:11:16hours, then I have two corrections

3:11:18officers who have to sit with them for 5

3:11:21hours. It also creates a security risk

3:11:23for many of them. And just as I can

3:11:25imagine, you can picture somebody, you

3:11:28know, who has serious medical

3:11:30challenges. It's a lot for them to get

3:11:33out of their surrounding, get ready to

3:11:35go, get transported to receive services,

3:11:38endure the services, come back. it it

3:11:41becomes a very long um operation for

3:11:44somebody who is doing this multiple

3:11:46times a week. So part of what we'd want

3:11:48to do is to be able to bring those

3:11:50services competent local services into

3:11:52the facility to be able to do the

3:11:55medical care where we can manage much

3:11:57better. The current medical wing has

3:12:01capacity for only 10 people, but

3:12:04generally depending on the medical needs

3:12:07and separation needs, realistically it's

3:12:10between five and seven for that

3:12:12correctional facility. So, we really

3:12:14need to improve those. And then again, I

3:12:16talked about psychological services. Um,

3:12:19often what we see when somebody is

3:12:21severely mentally ill, which is about

3:12:2310% of our population, is they become

3:12:26worse while they're incarcerated because

3:12:29the loud doors and the close proximity

3:12:32and um difficulties in getting good

3:12:35treatment spaces for the individuals.

3:12:38They become more challenged as the time

3:12:41goes on. So having appropriate medical

3:12:44ser medical facilities for psychological

3:12:46services is something that we plan for

3:12:49we hope for would likely happen with

3:12:52this improved millillage but we would

3:12:55need the support of the millillage to be

3:12:57able to pay for that. That service

3:13:00provided in the right moment can

3:13:02significantly reduce the amount of time

3:13:04that person's incarcerated and

3:13:07absolutely improve their transition back

3:13:10to our community.

3:13:11supported and healthy when they

3:13:14transition back to our community.

3:13:19So this is just kind of a summary uh

3:13:22page. Approximately 28 million in annual

3:13:24operation debt service support would

3:13:26need to be absorbed if this millillage

3:13:28didn't pass. So that could be a

3:13:30challenge to county. Um but frankly due

3:13:33to the relationship we have with a

3:13:35central booking facility that impact

3:13:37would be felt in all cities um all

3:13:40portions of our community because we

3:13:42wouldn't be able to receive people until

3:13:44after they've been processed arraigned

3:13:47and and then um sent to the correctional

3:13:50facility to serve time or be held

3:13:52pre-trial. uh it would impact our courts

3:13:56um obviously our detention staffing and

3:13:59our viability of our organization and

3:14:02certainly other services I have on here

3:14:05sheriff's office services that are

3:14:06general funded but in the county context

3:14:09it would be parks it would be you know

3:14:11health department would be all general

3:14:13funded services that would be impacted.

3:14:18We do have some information that um is

3:14:21available for additional questions, but

3:14:24I'm open to whatever questions you guys

3:14:25might have for me.

3:14:27>> Uh thanks, Sheriff. Um and since this

3:14:30is, you know, where I've spent most of

3:14:32my life working, I'll I I think I'll

3:14:35kick off. Um so, and I just want to say

3:14:39thank you. Um you know, I've had a lot

3:14:41of conversations with you about this.

3:14:43Um, and I really appreciate your focus

3:14:48on rehabilitation and getting people

3:14:51back into the community. And, um, I

3:14:53think that was maybe the first

3:14:54conversation we had ever about the jail

3:14:56was, you know, the the fact that our,

3:14:59you know, properly understood our

3:15:00mission is not just to keep these folks

3:15:02safe, but to like, you know, be part of

3:15:04a

3:15:06safe return to the community. And I I

3:15:08really appreciate that. Um so so I guess

3:15:11what I'll I want to throw out at least

3:15:13publicly uh since we're doing having a

3:15:16public discussion here now um some

3:15:18challenges or hopes you said that um you

3:15:21know we haven't determined exactly what

3:15:23programming is going to come if this m

3:15:25millillage passes and exactly um the the

3:15:30the complete precise landscape. So, um,

3:15:34couple things that I that I would uh

3:15:36either urge or or ask. Um, I and I'll

3:15:40say this for our new sheriff, too, I

3:15:41guess. Um,

3:15:43I am sort of I'm haunted, frankly, by I

3:15:47mean, I've been going out to the Kent

3:15:48County Jail for 30 years, and I spend

3:15:50time there every month still. And, um,

3:15:54so I'm very familiar with the place, and

3:15:56you know, I think my history there is

3:15:58about as long as your history there. Um

3:16:01and there are, you know, we've we've had

3:16:03real improvements in a lot of these um

3:16:06services for people in the jail over

3:16:08that time. Um but one of the things that

3:16:11where we took a step back about 15 years

3:16:13ago was we used to have in-person

3:16:15visitation and um we don't anymore. And

3:16:18um there's a study from the Vera

3:16:21Institute, which is an operation that I

3:16:23respect, a careful study, that indicated

3:16:25that um actual in-person visitation has

3:16:29a real effect on lowering reoffense

3:16:32rates. And your your you know, your MAT

3:16:34program, it's great that that that

3:16:36reduces recidivism. I think any program

3:16:38where we can see reductions in

3:16:41recidivisms are things where we really

3:16:43ought to be thinking about investing.

3:16:45And um the way I always put this is, you

3:16:47know, if I got locked up um you'd want

3:16:50to have my mom come out and yell at me

3:16:52um and you'd want my kids to be able to

3:16:54come and see me so that I'd feel ashamed

3:16:56and not and want to change my behavior.

3:16:58And so I think that having people see

3:17:01their people, I mean, when they get back

3:17:03out in the community, the number one

3:17:05thing that helps people not reaffend is

3:17:07a support system, a community, the

3:17:09people around them who love them or even

3:17:12if they don't love them are willing to

3:17:13help them. And um so I would I would

3:17:16love to have conversations about the

3:17:19viability if you're in fact going to get

3:17:21more funding. Um I know the the rooms

3:17:24are still there. Uh they're sort of

3:17:26ghost rooms, those visitation rooms, and

3:17:28I know that it takes officer manpower to

3:17:30get um facetoface visits. Um, but I

3:17:33think that I think the data is there

3:17:35that that makes the reason I want them

3:17:37is because um, you know, I I want to

3:17:39keep our community as safe as possible

3:17:41and I want to do everything we can to

3:17:43lower recidivism. So, I'd like to at

3:17:44least challenge all of you as we go

3:17:47forward on this to to think about

3:17:48reinstituting face-to-face visits. Um,

3:17:52the second thing is, um, I would love to

3:17:54have a continued conversation about the

3:17:57a let's call it afterare, but the

3:17:59transition back into the community.

3:18:01You're obviously leaps ahead. I mean,

3:18:04when I was a state representative, I one

3:18:06of the things that haunts me from that

3:18:08experience was finding out that the

3:18:09department of uh corrections afterare

3:18:12facility was basically don't let the

3:18:13door hit you on the way out. Um they

3:18:15didn't uh connect people up with

3:18:17community resources. They didn't ask

3:18:19questions about where are you going to

3:18:20sleep tonight? Um you know, if you've

3:18:23got medication needs, how are those

3:18:24medication needs going to get filled? If

3:18:26you don't have a job, do you have any

3:18:28idea what resources are? But again, we

3:18:30all know um then you know the number one

3:18:34of the top three ways you stop people

3:18:35reoffending is by having them have their

3:18:38needs met and then another one is by

3:18:39having employment. And so um I really

3:18:43would love to focus ongoing

3:18:45conversations about how we can not just

3:18:48not just provide services but stress

3:18:50test people's answers. And again, as I

3:18:52spend time with people inside, a lot of

3:18:55them have sort of optimistic plans for

3:18:57re-entry. Let's put it that way. They

3:18:59think, "Oh, I'm going to go stay with my

3:19:01brother." Well, maybe you're maybe your

3:19:02brother doesn't want you to stay with

3:19:04him, and maybe he's not going to let you

3:19:05stay with him. And so, maybe that

3:19:07housing plan's going to fall through.

3:19:09Um, so I would love to think about

3:19:11stress testing inmates um re-entry

3:19:15programs, their own their own ideas of

3:19:17where they're going to go and making

3:19:18sure that they've really got all those

3:19:19dots crossed. U I mean tees crossed and

3:19:22eyes dotted. Um the third thing I'd like

3:19:25to just air is and I and I think this is

3:19:28probably not feasible but I but it's a

3:19:30dream. I hear a lot from Kent County

3:19:34inmates who are um facing a choice

3:19:37between incarceration here or

3:19:38incarceration in MDOC. I hear what I

3:19:42think is sort of tragic, which is they

3:19:44say, "Well, I'd like to go to MDOC

3:19:45because they have exercise yards." Um,

3:19:48so there are people who are sort of

3:19:49asking to leave our community, crudely

3:19:51speaking, so they can get exercise

3:19:53facilities. And I know we have chin-up

3:19:56bars at the jail and we have some

3:19:57internal stuff, but it's pretty minimal.

3:19:59And I don't know if there's any way to

3:20:02to think about um giving folks better

3:20:05exercise facilities. And again, on the

3:20:07on the reoffense and the mental health

3:20:09part, um my sister-in-law, who's a

3:20:11nurse, said, "Well, if you got mental

3:20:13health challenges, you really got three

3:20:14options: therapy, medication, and

3:20:16exercise." Um and you should do all

3:20:19three of those. So, I would I would love

3:20:21to have a conversation about how to get

3:20:23folks there better physical activity

3:20:26opportunities if the if the millillage

3:20:28passes. So, and I and I know that's

3:20:30really really that's the biggest and

3:20:32hardest thing because we'd be talking

3:20:34about making new space or different

3:20:36space. Um,

3:20:37>> and and I will just say, so keep in mind

3:20:40a correctional facility, local jail has

3:20:44individuals who are largely pre-trial.

3:20:47That's the biggest category of

3:20:48individuals that we have. So, they're

3:20:49not they're not convicted of a crime

3:20:52most times. Um, we do have a very small

3:20:54part of our populations that are

3:20:55sentenced to jail. So those are the

3:20:57individuals that you're talking to if

3:20:59you'd rather be here or go to the uh go

3:21:01to the prison system in Michigan. The

3:21:05prison system because everybody has the

3:21:07same status has a lot more freedom to to

3:21:11move about the facility. their

3:21:13infrastructure is set up for everybody

3:21:15to have very similar needs where a jail

3:21:18has to be set up for every security

3:21:21type, every status in terms of

3:21:24pre-trial, pre-arrain, sentence. Um, so

3:21:27we do have substantial workout

3:21:30facilities that are in the correctional

3:21:32facility, full workout areas, and we

3:21:35have fresh air workout facilities and we

3:21:37and especially the individuals who are

3:21:39going to be there for a longer duration

3:21:41if their security level allows for it.

3:21:45Then they are generally moved to an area

3:21:47where they have the fresh air

3:21:48facilities, they play basketball, they

3:21:50play other games, they do have some

3:21:52weightlifting equipment. Uh, but it's a

3:21:54challenge, right? because it's a closed

3:21:57facility. I don't have a park outside

3:22:00that I can supervise them being moved

3:22:03to. I don't anticipate that even with

3:22:05additional funding, we would get to that

3:22:07point. But I do want you to know we

3:22:09strive to allow the the most day room

3:22:12opportunity, the most recreational

3:22:14opportunity that we can for everybody

3:22:16who's incarcerated there while still

3:22:18meeting the challenges of security

3:22:21within a jail with a variety of people

3:22:24who are incarcerated. Thank you so much

3:22:26for your comments.

3:22:27>> And I guess you you triggered a thought

3:22:29for me there, which is I know you let um

3:22:31prison ministries uh come in. I know you

3:22:34have lots of community partners come in,

3:22:36but I've never seen anybody teaching an

3:22:39exercise class in the jail. Um so I'm

3:22:42just I'm just thinking like it's one

3:22:43thing to give people the option to use a

3:22:45facility, it's another thing to induce

3:22:47them. If we know exercise is good for

3:22:48people, um that might be a community

3:22:50partnership idea.

3:22:51>> That might be one we'd be open to.

3:22:54Uh, I'm sorry. I saw Commissioner

3:22:56Kilgore Force, but maybe it's just

3:22:57because he raised his hand higher

3:22:58Commissioner Knight, but I'll

3:22:59acknowledge him first.

3:23:00>> Longer arm. Well, thank you, Sheriff, so

3:23:02much for your presentation and being

3:23:04here with us today. I have two questions

3:23:06for you. First is uh in regard to the

3:23:09most burning question we had. I know I

3:23:12personally had a few county

3:23:13commissioners reach out to us before

3:23:14this was really public to um they felt

3:23:17like it was very much rushed through and

3:23:19very quick on them because it didn't go

3:23:20through the usual committee process. I

3:23:23can't speak to that county because I'm a

3:23:24city commissioner, but um once we got

3:23:28once I received that and talked about in

3:23:31community, the most important thing that

3:23:33folks are reaching out to me about is

3:23:35what is the average annual cost per

3:23:37household that residents can expect from

3:23:39the proposed millage increase. So that's

3:23:42my first question. Um

3:23:43>> 20 about $24 per year increase per

3:23:47$100,000 of taxable value.

3:23:49>> Gotcha. Thank you so much. That's the

3:23:51really the burning question of I think

3:23:54uh you know I have so many constituents

3:23:56it's not that they don't care but

3:23:57they're working two and three jobs and

3:23:58they're like I'm barely affording

3:24:00things. Gas is $5. What does this mean

3:24:03for me? I want to help. Uh you know

3:24:05neighbors want to help but the dollars

3:24:06and cents are so important right now. So

3:24:09thank you uh for your answer on that.

3:24:11And then uh lastly um I'm proud son of a

3:24:14juvenile uh pro probation officer. She

3:24:16just retired 30 years from the county.

3:24:19Um, so congratulations on your

3:24:21retirement and I'm sure you'll be like

3:24:23her and not

3:24:24>> retire for real and

3:24:25>> still want to work and things and help

3:24:27people, but that's a good thing. But uh,

3:24:30we talked about some of the specific

3:24:32needs that you could foresee uh, um, the

3:24:36sort of adult facility needing, but are

3:24:38there any more details on what the

3:24:39juvenile detention facility needs

3:24:42possibly moving forward in the future?

3:24:44Yeah. So they share our medical

3:24:48services. We provide medical and

3:24:50psychological services to both

3:24:52facilities. So this is a major need for

3:24:55them. Although they don't have a um

3:24:58facility need in terms of providing that

3:25:00that service. They you know obviously

3:25:02the function of it is going to have

3:25:05ongoing changes that'll happen over time

3:25:07as medical procedures improve or as

3:25:10psychological needs may develop. So, uh,

3:25:15they will be served by the operating

3:25:17cost. And again, much of the building

3:25:19that they're currently operating out of

3:25:21is relatively new within the last, I'm

3:25:24going to say seven years. Um, but I'm

3:25:26guessing on that, so if anybody's

3:25:28checking the math, but it's the last

3:25:29handful of years. So, this bond, this

3:25:33bond is still being paid and would

3:25:34continue to be paid with this detention

3:25:36millage. So repairs to their facility

3:25:40would also be become something that

3:25:42they'll start to see really at about the

3:25:4510-year mark. Some of these facilities

3:25:47need to be improved and repaired, but

3:25:49beyond that, I don't see a specific

3:25:51expansion for juvenile detention.

3:25:53>> Wonderful. Thank you very much and

3:25:55thanks again for being here.

3:25:56>> Of course. Thank you,

3:25:59>> Commissioner Knight.

3:25:59>> Uh, Commissioner Kilgore actually asked

3:26:02the question that I had. So, thank you.

3:26:04>> Right on. Uh, Commissioner Saui and then

3:26:06Commissioner Purdue.

3:26:08>> Thank you. Thanks for the presentation.

3:26:10Thank you mayor and colleagues for

3:26:12asking those questions. Uh, those are

3:26:14those are as well the questions

3:26:16particularly about the visiting for

3:26:17those that might be there for you know

3:26:20understand it might not be for everybody

3:26:21because of the time frame but those

3:26:23longer periods. Um,

3:26:26so my question is could we go to the

3:26:29slide

3:26:31um where it had it had a little caveat

3:26:34and said this is not on the ballot

3:26:35language where it relates to to the

3:26:37municipal booking fee structure that is

3:26:40being proposed in this.

3:26:41>> Okay.

3:26:43[clears throat]

3:26:43>> So I just and maybe this is more of a

3:26:45question for my colleagues up here with

3:26:47the city attorney and city manager. So,

3:26:50um,

3:26:52so we we got that question, right? So,

3:26:54there's a cost savings, but again, I

3:26:56think the the concern I too have is what

3:26:58does that look like for an individual um

3:27:01in our community for my constituents?

3:27:03Um, I don't think this is the slide, is

3:27:05it? Is it? Thank you. Thank you,

3:27:07Commissioner. So, the proposed municipal

3:27:09fee framework is separate from the

3:27:11ballot language and would be subject to

3:27:12separate county action before

3:27:13implementation.

3:27:15So, for me, this is concerning because

3:27:19so we have something right now. We're

3:27:20saying this new proposal

3:27:23um should the voters decide to approve

3:27:25it would replace this, but then I see

3:27:28this here. So, that's what I'm

3:27:29struggling a little bit with colleagues.

3:27:31Um how do I know what I can count on if

3:27:34this is going to be subject to different

3:27:37action?

3:27:38>> So, that's one. Um, do you have a

3:27:40>> Oh, I was going to say maybe we want our

3:27:41city manager to to weigh in on this too

3:27:44and answer your question.

3:27:44>> Yeah, that's what I was saying. This

3:27:46actually might be more of a question for

3:27:47them versus the the sheriff. So, what

3:27:50does that look like? Um, I also wondered

3:27:53if we could go to the slide where it has

3:27:55what are, you know, the $500 and

3:27:57something,000.

3:27:59Just going to round it up, you know, if

3:28:01I had $500,000 in my pocket, but um that

3:28:04that $54647,000.

3:28:08What is what has been the cost over the

3:28:10last three years to the city of Grand

3:28:12Rapids? Do you know what the previous

3:28:14two years were or

3:28:16>> relatively similar?

3:28:17>> Phoning. They're your phoning a friend.

3:28:18>> Yeah.

3:28:19>> Okay.

3:28:19>> Yeah.

3:28:21Yes, Commissioner. I came prepared. I

3:28:23looked at the last two fiscal years,

3:28:25fiscal year 25 and 26.

3:28:27>> Okay.

3:28:27>> We budgeted

3:28:29>> 471,000

3:28:31and FY25.

3:28:32>> Okay.

3:28:32>> And 646,000 in FY26.

3:28:36>> We exceeded the budget both of those

3:28:38years with a grand total

3:28:41>> of 637 in FY25.

3:28:43>> Okay.

3:28:44>> This is about $166,000 more than we

3:28:46anticipated.

3:28:47>> Okay. and FY26 we spent a total of 764.

3:28:52That's both the lodging and the booking.

3:28:54>> Okay. So about 118 over button.

3:28:57>> Okay. Could that be shared with us too

3:28:59just as a follow-up? Thank you. That's

3:29:00that's helpful. Um Okay. And then you

3:29:03know my question and this is again maybe

3:29:04this is more for our county colleagues

3:29:06or for the administration and I know

3:29:08city manager you stay in close contact

3:29:10with the county administrator but if the

3:29:12county is a mandated fun if the jail is

3:29:14a mandated function of the county

3:29:18could what's what has been C what has

3:29:20Kent County supported year-over-year for

3:29:22the last couple of years outside of this

3:29:25because I'm thinking you know for us as

3:29:27a city we have a capital fund right so

3:29:29we make a plan that we know our assets

3:29:32are probably going to need some

3:29:34replacement now I understand obviously

3:29:35there's this co-work here but there also

3:29:38is this mandated function of the county

3:29:40because I'm thinking about our mandated

3:29:43responsibility um of the court system

3:29:47which has gone up increasingly at least

3:29:49in the last seven years that I have been

3:29:51here. I think maybe even before then it

3:29:53was we were in the the single digits you

3:29:56know the numbers

3:29:57>> one $1 million a year when I was on

3:29:59>> it was $1 million. Wow.

3:30:00>> Now we're up to like 13 or something.

3:30:01>> Yes, we're we're close to 13. So that's

3:30:03those are some of the questions that I

3:30:05have for myself as well as a as a

3:30:07colleague up here is we also have

3:30:09mandated requirements. We have not um

3:30:12sought out any uh additional support

3:30:15outside of what is in our general

3:30:16operating fund. I would say thank you to

3:30:18to those courts that have um you know

3:30:21work to try to reduce expenses. So I'm

3:30:23really trying to understand where is the

3:30:25county what what has been that um

3:30:28contribution of [clears throat] the

3:30:29county year-over-year and how does that

3:30:32reflect because I think sometimes we get

3:30:33stuck in the binary. This either gets

3:30:35approved or it doesn't get approved,

3:30:36right? But I also understand what you're

3:30:39saying about um the need for mental

3:30:42health facilities, the the the

3:30:45challenging environment, those that are

3:30:46probably coming through and if they are

3:30:48coming through on a regular basis, as

3:30:50you said, you're seeing these um you

3:30:52know, really consistent um health issues

3:30:56that I mean that that's no surprise at

3:30:58all to any of us, I think, up here,

3:31:00right? you know, and I I can only

3:31:01imagine I've had to work um and I I've

3:31:04worked with you in the past when I've

3:31:05had an individual in my own family who,

3:31:07you know, was trying to understand their

3:31:09um you know, mental health needs as they

3:31:12were being held in the facility. So, I

3:31:15can only imagine what that looks like

3:31:16for the a thousand people every single

3:31:18day. Um but I also am trying to weigh

3:31:21out what are our responsibilities as a

3:31:23city. So um so if if you have that or if

3:31:27that can be a followup with the

3:31:30administrator.

3:31:31>> See on the screen right now I have uh

3:31:33our current budget about 56.93

3:31:36million annually

3:31:38>> goes to operate the county jail. Um and

3:31:41roughly 43.7%

3:31:43of that is collected by the millillage.

3:31:47>> All other resources are yeah the general

3:31:50fund. So um and I will also say this has

3:31:54been in place now since 1990. So the

3:31:57facility uh grew up based on having this

3:32:02structure in place. It was intended to

3:32:05be the fund to develop the the

3:32:09programming that met the inmates needs.

3:32:12uh 1990. Probably not too many of you

3:32:14guys were around at that point, but um

3:32:18we were under a federal mandate because

3:32:19we didn't have a facility that was

3:32:23substantial enough to house the number

3:32:24of inmates that we had. We had no

3:32:26medical programming. Uh we had no

3:32:29psychological programming. Uh somebody

3:32:32took us to federal court. They mandated

3:32:34release of inmates or transfer of

3:32:37inmates to other locations. Um, when I

3:32:40started at the correctional facility,

3:32:41every day were lines in the halls with

3:32:44people with their bag of personal items

3:32:46that were being shipped to places other

3:32:49than Kent County because we couldn't

3:32:51house them in the county jail. So, with

3:32:54this millillage being passed, they built

3:32:58the 92 facility, which are the round

3:33:00buildings that you see, added the

3:33:02capacity um to house the number of

3:33:05people that we needed. also did the

3:33:08central booking that we talked about,

3:33:10which again is a substantial amount of

3:33:12money that we're paying to centrally

3:33:14book people. Um, and that's part of why

3:33:17we had a millillage because that was not

3:33:19a mandated function to do. Uh, and then

3:33:23added the services and ongoing operating

3:33:27support. And at the time it was intended

3:33:29to be roughly 50% of the annual general

3:33:34operating. um that has now slipped to

3:33:3643.7

3:33:38as and I think I showed you a graph

3:33:43here. This is what we're seeing with

3:33:45health and food costs in this last

3:33:48several years just like we are all at

3:33:50our home budgets seeing those increases.

3:33:53That's what we're seeing. So, um, the

3:33:55county has

3:33:58done quite a bit to try to make sure

3:34:00that our services are sufficient for the

3:34:04people who we serve within the walls of

3:34:07Kent County Sheriff's Correctional

3:34:09Facility, but there are only so many

3:34:12resources to go around. So, this this

3:34:15would, if it didn't pass, remove funding

3:34:18that has been there for the last 38

3:34:20years.

3:34:23Mayor Thank you.

3:34:26>> This is just to follow up on a point on

3:34:29that slide on slide number seven. Can

3:34:31you go back to that one sheriff, please?

3:34:33And thank you for for being here today.

3:34:35Can you just clarify that amount of the

3:34:37millage support again? So, what you show

3:34:40is 24.8. You mentioned the 50%

3:34:43intent when it first passed, but that

3:34:45last um part of the chart where it shows

3:34:48the current millage rate of 7332.

3:34:51the uh narrative shows 28 almost 28.7

3:34:56million. So reconcile the 28.7 with the

3:34:5924.8 if you could.

3:35:01>> You know I want to just say first that I

3:35:03went into law enforcement because I

3:35:05can't do math. So making me do math in

3:35:08front of all these people.

3:35:10I'm just going to start there. So if I

3:35:12have an adjustment in my uh adding

3:35:15skills. So if you see our general

3:35:17operating budget, the 56.9

3:35:20>> and take away from that the 28.67

3:35:24million that is currently provided and

3:35:29then account for the $3.8 million that

3:35:32is servicing current bonds. That's how

3:35:34we got to the the percentage that is

3:35:37currently coming from the millillage to

3:35:39go to general oper and then of course

3:35:40the balance then comes from county

3:35:43general fund. very very few grants. I

3:35:46will throw that out that there are, you

3:35:48know, like our um the straddle cells

3:35:50that you talked about if somebody might

3:35:52have a choice that SCAP grant that pays

3:35:54for that

3:35:56probably total about $1.5 million

3:36:00annually and different grant funding

3:36:02that would go to some programming, some

3:36:05um DOC responsible inmates, but largely

3:36:09this comes out of the county general

3:36:10fund.

3:36:11So, but I just want to clarify when you

3:36:13take the operating support from the

3:36:15millillage and the debt service

3:36:18combined, then that's roughly half of

3:36:22the total operating budget. But when you

3:36:24back out the debt service, that's how

3:36:26you get less than 50%.

3:36:27>> Yes.

3:36:29>> And again, that debt service largely

3:36:30right now is the juvenile detention

3:36:32facility.

3:36:33>> Great. So to

3:36:37Commissioner Assassi's point, we issue

3:36:40debt service [clears throat]

3:36:42sometimes without millage funded

3:36:45revenue. And that I think that your

3:36:48point well made. Thank you.

3:36:50>> Uh yep. Uh and uh Commissioner Purdue,

3:36:54but before I do that, um uh Sheriff, you

3:36:56threw out a technical term there. So

3:36:58since we're for the folks at home, uh

3:37:00straddle cell means people who have uh

3:37:03sentencing guidelines uh calculated at

3:37:06whatever point in the process that

3:37:08indicates that they could either be uh

3:37:10housed in the jail for the for their

3:37:12sentence or go to prison. So those are

3:37:14folks that inside the industry we refer

3:37:16to as straddle cell people. Um but

3:37:18that's

3:37:20some people are have to be lodged in the

3:37:22jail. I mean, that's just mathematically

3:37:23what's going to happen. And the breakoff

3:37:25point is um more or less than a year on

3:37:28their sentence usually,

3:37:29>> right?

3:37:31>> Uh Commissioner Purdue.

3:37:32>> Yes. Thank you. [clears throat] Thank

3:37:34you, Sheriff, for being here. Thank you

3:37:35for the presentation. Thank you, uh

3:37:37colleagues, for the discussion thus far.

3:37:39Um I want to second commissioner uh

3:37:41Yasis. I I noticed that um item on on

3:37:45slide f of site four around the m

3:37:48municipal fee framework as as well. Um,

3:37:51so I think that's really important that

3:37:52it that it wouldn't be codified if this

3:37:54passes, right? Um, especially given some

3:37:57of the other changes that have come from

3:37:58the Kent County Board of Commissioners

3:38:00related to millages. Um, the other thing

3:38:02I want to point out related to finances

3:38:05is though this will be projected to save

3:38:08the city around half a million dollars a

3:38:10year, it would cost our residents an

3:38:14extra $2 million a year. So, it's really

3:38:16a net loss or net, you know, increase

3:38:20for our residents as a whole. Um,

3:38:22whether you account kind of what we save

3:38:24or not. So, I just want to make that

3:38:25clear like this is that that this will

3:38:26be a significant increase on residents

3:38:28particularly uh related to property tax

3:38:31or our homeowners. And um I think the

3:38:34increases in property tax in many ways,

3:38:36you know, are a really good sign of a

3:38:38healthy economy, but particularly in our

3:38:40urban core um are really posing

3:38:42challenges around affordability, right?

3:38:43with such drastic increases. Um, so I

3:38:47want to point that out relatedly or I

3:38:50guess that leads to my question for you,

3:38:51Sheriff. Um, you talked a lot about the

3:38:53medical needs. Um, and um, you know,

3:38:56it's interesting. There's only two

3:38:58places that medical care is mandated in

3:39:00our country, the emergency room and when

3:39:03you're in jail,

3:39:04>> right? Um, so I I I I appreciate that

3:39:09that the model for corrections and

3:39:11detention has uh not just included it or

3:39:14mandated it, but that you're thinking

3:39:15about quality and comprehensive services

3:39:17and really meeting the current needs and

3:39:19our trends of folks. Uh so with that I'm

3:39:22wondering um have you all discussed

3:39:26um in an aspirational way or in a more

3:39:28committal way if this millillage passes

3:39:31how much of that will actually be

3:39:33allocated to those wraparound services

3:39:36those diversion services and that more

3:39:39that that comprehensive and even complex

3:39:41medical care that you've highlighted

3:39:43today.

3:39:44So

3:39:46aspirationally I I don't have an exact

3:39:49percentage except for to say as much as

3:39:52it's going to cost. Uh we we are

3:39:56providing the service to the fullest

3:39:58extent that we can given our physical

3:40:02challenges.

3:40:04uh but we've worked very closely with

3:40:06providers to try to develop strategies

3:40:09to improve that service delivery even

3:40:12even given our physical issues. But one

3:40:14of the examples I'll give uh dialysis.

3:40:18>> Um we're providing the dialysis within

3:40:21the correctional facility right now.

3:40:23That's actually new this year and that's

3:40:25one of the examples of a a treatment

3:40:27procedure that has to happen multiple

3:40:29times a week um for several hours every

3:40:32time. So, no improved funding. I can

3:40:36manage two diialysis patients within the

3:40:39correctional facility, which then keeps

3:40:40them from having to go out, get out for

3:40:44the day, be kept out for the entire day,

3:40:46be brought back, the two corrections

3:40:49officers. But any given time, I might

3:40:51have five people who need diialysis that

3:40:54are incarcerated in our facility. Often,

3:40:56we do. So the other three people I can't

3:41:00accommodate within the correctional

3:41:02facility. So we're left to choose who

3:41:05are the the most fragile health where

3:41:07going out of the facility is probably

3:41:09going to impact them the most. We choose

3:41:12who we can serve in that way within the

3:41:15facility. But every single person gets

3:41:17served regardless. They're they're all

3:41:20treated. Yeah. Um but reasonably if our

3:41:25facility was optimized

3:41:27after the investment we expect you know

3:41:30a million to $ 1.5 million reduction in

3:41:34cost because of services we won't have

3:41:36to contract outside corrections officers

3:41:39time and you know that improves the

3:41:42system for more services but more

3:41:45specifically it slows the growth of the

3:41:48cost that eventually is passed on to the

3:41:51taxpayers. Um, and so I think that's

3:41:54what a taxpayer would expect to see that

3:41:57improvements [clears throat] will be

3:41:59very carefully evaluated. They will

3:42:01center around um the facility

3:42:03improvements for medical psychological

3:42:07delivery. They will also center around

3:42:10some uh logistical improvements for

3:42:13video courts and um visitation with

3:42:17attorneys because we do have some gaps

3:42:19there too. although they're not

3:42:22significant enough to be the the subject

3:42:24of this this detention mill

3:42:27conversation, they are there. Um, so

3:42:30you'll see us making some of those

3:42:32improvements, all of which one, improve

3:42:34the care, to improve the operations of

3:42:37the facility, but three also save future

3:42:40growth dollars.

3:42:42>> Yeah, thank you. And related to that,

3:42:45uh, so we've had the you, uh, the well,

3:42:48I was going to talk about the specialty

3:42:50courts, but I'm reminding that, uh, you

3:42:52know, we hold that at, uh, 61st

3:42:54district. However, I know the county

3:42:56through our dollars were very supportive

3:42:58of that. Um, so as those dollars, uh,

3:43:00look to sunset, do you see kind of

3:43:03support for those specialty courts

3:43:05continuing through um, millage dollars?

3:43:07>> So, I certainly hope that specialty

3:43:10courts continue to grow. We've seen

3:43:12tremendous success. Also other specialty

3:43:15courts that are in the area, mental

3:43:17health specialty court is one. Uh

3:43:19veterans specialty court is another. Uh

3:43:23but detention millillage dollars don't

3:43:26contribute to those funds. However,

3:43:29general fund dollars can and that is one

3:43:32of the impacts that might be there if a

3:43:34hole is created in the general fund

3:43:35dollars by not having the millillage

3:43:37that supports the correctional facility

3:43:39the way it has.

3:43:40>> Okay. Yeah, thank you. I think you know

3:43:43my thoughts on that I think again like

3:43:44particularly that medical care piece is

3:43:46so important. Um some of my uh concerns

3:43:50with uh the proposal as is well first I

3:43:53want to remind everyone that um in the

3:43:55presentation the sheriff said that if

3:43:56this doesn't I mean this is set to end

3:43:58in 20 um 29. So, if it doesn't pass, uh

3:44:03there will be another opportunity to

3:44:04take this to the voters. And we've heard

3:44:06from the Kent County Board of

3:44:07Commissioners this a good a decent um

3:44:11segment of them that they feel like this

3:44:13was rushed and there wasn't extensive

3:44:15planning and engagement with community

3:44:17around this particularly given the we

3:44:19still have another three years. So, I

3:44:21share some of those sentiments. Um, and

3:44:23I think about the voters in Grand

3:44:24Rapids, um, who are used to kind of like

3:44:26the GRPS millillage or the zoo museum

3:44:29millillage, and there's typically a

3:44:30pretty specific, um, plan for those

3:44:33dollars. There's still some flexibility.

3:44:35Um, but there's a a pretty um,

3:44:37well-defined plan and goals with those

3:44:40that, um, I don't necessarily see here,

3:44:43and that's what I've heard the feedback

3:44:44from Kent County Commissioners, and I

3:44:46think uh, that probably won't bode well

3:44:48within the city limits. Um, I'm curious,

3:44:51Sheriff, you know, if this passes, what

3:44:54percentage of that round up to $25

3:44:57million will actually be coming from the

3:45:00city of Grand Rapids proper?

3:45:03>> I don't have that total, but we can get

3:45:05that total for you.

3:45:06>> Yeah, I'm just curious. Is it 30%, 10%,

3:45:0980%? Um, just I'm thinking about

3:45:11population size. So, I think I I think

3:45:13that will be an interesting uh data

3:45:15point to have. Um, and when I think

3:45:17about our residents here, um, DC Merroft

3:45:20mentioned the adjust GR work. Um, I've

3:45:22actually not been on that committee for

3:45:24the last like year and a few months. Um,

3:45:26when I left my last employer, um, but am

3:45:29really invested in that work still. And

3:45:31so when they they presented to us

3:45:33recently, they pointed out um, one of

3:45:36their findings was really an over

3:45:37reliance on arrest and pre-trial

3:45:39custody. Uh specifically, their analysis

3:45:42revealed that 45% of all admissions to

3:45:44the jail are booked, placed in custody,

3:45:47processed, and released within 24 hours.

3:45:50And within the city of Grand Rapids, a

3:45:52third of our jail emissions are

3:45:54concentrated in seven neighborhoods.

3:45:56Many of them are in our our ward, uh

3:45:58Commissioner Kilgore, including um SECA,

3:46:02Madison, Baxter. So, it just it it begs

3:46:05the question of um and I will also say

3:46:08one of the findings from that report is

3:46:09there's not a lot of options and

3:46:11alternatives outside of arrest for a lot

3:46:13of those um kind of nonviolent low-risk

3:46:17offenses. So, I think we have some real

3:46:19gaps in our system that is uh causing um

3:46:22high expenses, right?

3:46:24um and um should be addressed and I

3:46:28think could and should be part of this

3:46:30more comprehensive conversation around

3:46:32corrections and detention. Um so I guess

3:46:36that that's the majority I wanted to

3:46:38share. I I guess uh the other thing

3:46:40financially that I wanted to point out

3:46:42um because we're you know we're talking

3:46:44about the financial impact. Um, and you

3:46:47know, I am concerned about the lack of

3:46:50uh, you know, I think again I asked

3:46:51about aspirational versus committ

3:46:53because I think that's really important,

3:46:55particularly what just happened with the

3:46:57county and the zoo museum millillage.

3:47:00Um, the county decided not to uh, honor

3:47:02the 50-50 share that we had brought to

3:47:04the the voters. Um, and so that means

3:47:06that our general fund, our museum is

3:47:09going to have a $27 million reduction in

3:47:13what we would expect from voters. So

3:47:15though we'll have this small savings

3:47:16relatively of half a million dollars,

3:47:18500,000, our residents will be paying

3:47:21two million a year and we're losing 27

3:47:24million over the course of this other

3:47:25millillage because of decisions. So um I

3:47:28think that some of these public

3:47:29conversations and the framing and

3:47:31particularly the rush around this has

3:47:33really eroded some of the trust. Um and

3:47:36particularly given the three-year

3:47:37horizon, um my encouragement is that our

3:47:41residents really take a look at that and

3:47:42decide if this will best service our

3:47:44needs. Um and do we want to say no now

3:47:47to get more clarity around the use? How

3:47:50much of it will be dedicated to these

3:47:52comprehensive wraparound services um to

3:47:55make sure that folks can be successful

3:47:57when they come back out and they're not

3:47:59further traumatized from being

3:48:00incarcerated. So those are my concerns.

3:48:03Um, I guess my ask and my um call to

3:48:05action uh for this body is I wonder if

3:48:08we might consider taking this up in

3:48:10legislative committee and see if we want

3:48:12to issue uh formal support or not uh for

3:48:15this proposal for this fall.

3:48:27>> All right. Uh Commissioner Bel.

3:48:29>> Yeah, with that so I just Yes. So we can

3:48:31uh hear more on that later and I'll be

3:48:33curious colleagues if that's of interest

3:48:35to you. But uh those are my concerns.

3:48:37Again I appreciate uh the presentation

3:48:39and I appreciate kind of the thought

3:48:41around how do we make sure we have

3:48:42facilities and care that meets the needs

3:48:44of folks. Um but I think there's a lot

3:48:46of kind of outstanding questions that

3:48:48are really important particularly from

3:48:49the Grand Rapids point of view. So thank

3:48:52you

3:48:53>> Commissioner Belchure. Mayor, before

3:48:54before anyone speaks on the last part, I

3:48:56just asked the city attorney to um

3:48:59assess feasibility of that since that is

3:49:02pending ballot language at this point.

3:49:04It's not

3:49:07>> the ballot language I think has been

3:49:09set.

3:49:10>> Yes. Yeah.

3:49:10>> Yeah. Thank you.

3:49:11>> Okay. Uh Commissioner Bel.

3:49:14>> Um well, thank you for that because that

3:49:15was kind of one of my questions. I can't

3:49:17find the ballot language right now. Is

3:49:18that public because it's not on the

3:49:20Michigan website yet. Is that it's

3:49:21publicly available somewhere? I can't

3:49:24speak to that directly, but we'll get

3:49:25you.

3:49:25>> That would be very helpful to see

3:49:27specifically since we do have these

3:49:28questions. Yeah.

3:49:29>> Um I think that Commissioner Purdue

3:49:31covered a large amount of what I was

3:49:34going to bring up. I too have the uh

3:49:36adjust GR presentation in front of me

3:49:38and and was looking at these numbers

3:49:40again with the the way we are policing

3:49:44in Grand Rapids currently and utilizing

3:49:47the jail. Um I you know it it is

3:49:51something where you know residents do

3:49:53need to consider carefully what their

3:49:55plans are be or how they would like to

3:49:58vote because in in Grand Rapids you know

3:50:01we're paying for policing. So that's

3:50:03part of you know people's taxes and then

3:50:05also then the county

3:50:08uh sheriff

3:50:10through this as well. And um that's not

3:50:12always true of every property owner in

3:50:15the county since rural areas may or may

3:50:17not have their own police force and then

3:50:20use you know the sheriff instead. So

3:50:24I don't want to say double tax but

3:50:26sometimes it feels like it. We have two

3:50:27different services getting you know

3:50:29therefore we're paying twice. Um, and I

3:50:32I share a lot of these same concerns

3:50:34that my commissioner fellow colleagues

3:50:36have brought up and I think like I said,

3:50:38Commissioner Purdue covered quite a lot

3:50:40of it. I would be very interested in

3:50:42knowing what kind of plan, what kind of

3:50:44budget, what kind of, you know, I think

3:50:47people are asking those questions when

3:50:49I'm hearing that out there in the

3:50:51community right now. And it's nice to be

3:50:55able to say we would like money. I mean,

3:50:56I would like money, too. I would love to

3:50:58do some h home repairs and fix up my

3:51:011880s home. You know, I don't really

3:51:03have a plan on what that would cost yet,

3:51:05but um you know, it' be nice to have my

3:51:09bank give me some money. And the people

3:51:11are the bank here. So, I I care a lot

3:51:15about making sure that inmates are are

3:51:17treated well, that they get the care

3:51:19they need, that they have facilities

3:51:20that are not run down, that we have our

3:51:23sheriff uh officers,

3:51:26you know, working in facilities that are

3:51:29safe and that they have the pay that

3:51:31they need and and whatnot. But I do

3:51:33think that it is incumbent upon the

3:51:35county commission to be able to say this

3:51:38is how we plan to spend the money and to

3:51:40have had some sort of preliminary

3:51:42approvals of that

3:51:44>> to be able to go to the public and as an

3:51:46elected official that's what I would ask

3:51:48my fellow colleagues at the county

3:51:50commission to do and anything you you

3:51:53can do from your department to be able

3:51:54to facilitate that would probably be a

3:51:57good thing. Um, so I I would second what

3:52:00um, Commissioner Purdue said about

3:52:02having this be something we discuss

3:52:03further in legislative committee and I

3:52:06will leave my thoughts there for now.

3:52:08>> Sure. I I just want to clarify because

3:52:11perhaps I didn't cover it thoroughly.

3:52:13There is a very specific plan to improve

3:52:17the medical delivery space, the

3:52:19psychological delivery space. um those

3:52:23are the physical locations in the

3:52:25correctional facility that have to be

3:52:27replaced. So um although I can tell you

3:52:32there was a study done that was $38

3:52:36millionish

3:52:38to fix it at that point in order to

3:52:40actually come up with plans to do the

3:52:43facility. It's several million dollars

3:52:45to have those drawn up. And obviously

3:52:48we're not inclined to spend several

3:52:50million dollars towards a goal that we

3:52:52may or may not be able to accomplish

3:52:55without the improved funding. So I don't

3:52:58want it to seem as though well we'd like

3:53:00to do some stuff here and like to do

3:53:01some stuff there. Specifically, we have

3:53:04a gap in physical footprint to provide

3:53:08services in the most appropriate

3:53:10efficient way. And that's the physical

3:53:14need that is part of this question. The

3:53:18rest of it, um, there's a lot of budget

3:53:22history and trending that we can show.

3:53:25We get a we have a public budget every

3:53:27year that I have to very specifically

3:53:30outline not only my aspirational goals,

3:53:32but my actual feet hit the ground. This

3:53:36is what we're spending our money on. Um,

3:53:38and those that budget is already

3:53:40projected for next year and you will be

3:53:43passed likely in September. So, I do

3:53:46appreciate that uh some people maybe

3:53:50feel like this is more of a rushed uh

3:53:52process. I'll assure you though that the

3:53:55numbers have been vetted over and over

3:53:57again by financial staff at the at the

3:54:01county. A number of commissioners, in

3:54:03fact, every commissioner sat through

3:54:05very specific presentations before this

3:54:08was ever brought to a question. And

3:54:11we're not just swagging at how much we

3:54:14need. We can show a growth trend that we

3:54:18predict will very much be there in the

3:54:21future and will cause a gap in services

3:54:24that we can effectively provide to

3:54:26include wraparound services which aren't

3:54:28part of our mandate but very much cost

3:54:32money but are necessary and there are

3:54:34tremendous investments for our

3:54:36community. So I advocate that you

3:54:38consider the investment for the

3:54:40community that is served by our

3:54:42correctional facility and try to

3:54:45understand the services that won't be

3:54:47there for them um beyond the mandated

3:54:49services if we don't as a group

3:54:52collectively make a plan for how we want

3:54:55our community to be served. So with that

3:54:57I'd say thank you for your comments both

3:54:59of you on

3:55:00>> and thank you for the clarity that's

3:55:02actually helpful. I think that this is

3:55:04part of what happens when things do feel

3:55:06a little rushed is that the community

3:55:08and even in the conversation like we're

3:55:10having here publicly isn't necessarily

3:55:13as clear as we want it to be. And it is

3:55:15also the kind of thing where when we

3:55:17look at what how that ballot proposal

3:55:19the actual wording on the ballot will be

3:55:21given, people will be reading that and

3:55:23whether they understand it or not will

3:55:25be another thing, you know. But when you

3:55:26can say we're asking for x number of

3:55:29mills but you know this many of those

3:55:32mills is dedicated to this project that

3:55:35is already a known quantity then it's

3:55:36clearer but um again this is part of

3:55:40what that I would hold the county

3:55:41commission to making sure that is done.

3:55:44>> Great thank you.

3:55:46>> Okay thank you so much for the

3:55:47presentation.

3:55:48>> Mayor Mayor I did have one y one one

3:55:50other remark I didn't get to finish my

3:55:52thought. So I think again sheriff thank

3:55:55you um I was not expecting this level of

3:55:58in-depth uh conversation but this is

3:56:00very important. I just want to clarify

3:56:03um for the commission

3:56:06um the fiscal impact that we've been

3:56:08talking about certainly for the voters

3:56:10but but for the city

3:56:11>> to again remind the uh I think the point

3:56:14that's made earlier we subsidize our

3:56:17general use of general fund dollars for

3:56:19the courts almost 10 million a year. uh

3:56:21we have overtime costs in the police

3:56:24department partly due to transporting of

3:56:27people to the jail and this would

3:56:30certainly provide some fiscal relief.

3:56:33What I do appreciate about the model

3:56:36after speaking with the sheriff is at

3:56:38least my understanding and correct me if

3:56:40I'm wrong uh the revision of the um no

3:56:44pdeium and um the increased booking fee

3:56:50um somehow I think there's plans to more

3:56:54equitably allocate the cost of jails

3:56:57around the county

3:56:59>> and not just right now there's a large

3:57:02portion of which the cities are picking

3:57:04up as a fee that the other communities

3:57:06are not. So would would this help to

3:57:10offset some of the costs the six cities

3:57:13are contributing and spread additional

3:57:15costs around the county to help support

3:57:18jail operations.

3:57:19>> Let me hit that for a little bit. So let

3:57:21me just talk specifically about the

3:57:23pdium first, which is the part that's

3:57:24going away if this model is passed.

3:57:28Pdeium basically

3:57:31provides a portion of the bill for the

3:57:35entire stay for the duration of time

3:57:37that you have a local charge. So let me

3:57:40put that into a real life application

3:57:43because it doesn't make any sense in

3:57:45applica it doesn't make any sense

3:57:47without that. So, if GRPD arrests

3:57:49somebody and they're charged with a a

3:57:52local offense, uh, anything under the

3:57:55city statutes instead of the state

3:57:57statutes, they're alleged at the

3:57:59correctional facility. When they get

3:58:01there, we find that they have a number

3:58:03of warrants. Some of them are state

3:58:05charges, some of them are from other

3:58:07jurisdictions. Let's imagine there's

3:58:08five total charges. One of them is the

3:58:10city of Grand Rapids. So the city of

3:58:13Grand Rapids pays 15th of 50.46

3:58:19for every day that they have one of

3:58:21those charges. Well, they don't all come

3:58:22and go at the same time. So then now

3:58:24they go to the city of Kentwood and they

3:58:27clear up their charge with Kentwood

3:58:29court and now they come back. Well, now

3:58:31you're one of four agencies. So your

3:58:33bill goes incrementally up a little bit.

3:58:35Um, and then maybe the state charge is

3:58:38dispensed with you're the only person,

3:58:40the only entity left with a charge.

3:58:43You're paying the whole bill. Please

3:58:45explain to me how you would predict that

3:58:48and how you would budget that because I

3:58:50haven't been able to figure out how to

3:58:52predict it and budget for that. Those

3:58:55numbers swing wildly. $150,000

3:58:58per one from one year to the next year.

3:59:00It's very complicated for a local entity

3:59:03to impact it, provide for it, because

3:59:07again, this is a lagging indicator. You

3:59:10can make a change to your city's

3:59:13statute, but you have outstanding

3:59:15charges from three years ago. So, you

3:59:18don't know when that person's going to

3:59:20be arrested and all of a sudden now

3:59:21they're paying this pdium. I think it

3:59:23was a very good effort of trying to come

3:59:26up with a cost sharing strategy when the

3:59:29county was essentially taking on

3:59:30something they didn't have to take on.

3:59:32They don't have to lodge local charge

3:59:34inmates at all. And in fact, in many

3:59:36locations, they don't do it at all.

3:59:39Meaning you would you would have to

3:59:41lodge them in your own lockup to a great

3:59:43expense. that it was an effort to try to

3:59:45cost share equitably. But really over

3:59:49the last 40 years has become so

3:59:51complicated to apply, predict, manage

3:59:56that we're advocating your city's

3:59:58already paying their share of a

4:00:00millillage. They should get this as part

4:00:03of their share of a millillage. That's

4:00:05why we're advocating it goes away. Now,

4:00:07there is a booking fee. The booking fee

4:00:10is the cost that it takes to get

4:00:14somebody fingerprinted, mugshotted.

4:00:17Uh the original booking information

4:00:20process which are required. It's that

4:00:22seed that then goes back to your police

4:00:24department that creates their police

4:00:26report saves them from having to

4:00:27re-enter that goes to your court to

4:00:30start that charge. So they don't have to

4:00:32wonder, I guess, who's going to show up

4:00:34for court today because we don't know

4:00:36who got arrested. So all that booking

4:00:39process, it obviously takes a bit for us

4:00:42to one support the technology to do it,

4:00:45supervise the individuals to do it, but

4:00:47also be um available for surge needs

4:00:51that might arrive. I'll give an example.

4:00:53You have a large event where there's a

4:00:56lot of people in the city of Grand

4:00:57Rapids and because there's more people,

4:01:00there's going to be more arrests. Guess

4:01:02who has to staff up every time that

4:01:06happens? the Kent County jail. You don't

4:01:08get a bill because I have people on

4:01:10standby. You charge we charge a 10% of

4:01:14the cost booking fee. The rest comes out

4:01:16of the county general fund as part of

4:01:19our budget. Now, we can with all the

4:01:22communities together, we can budget a

4:01:24lot better because I know there's going

4:01:26to be a surge in one community every

4:01:28weekend. I can guarantee it. So, we

4:01:30provide for that, but it's not something

4:01:32you could easily provide for on your

4:01:34own. If you had your own city lockup and

4:01:37you have large events, they're going to

4:01:39have to staff up to provide security

4:01:42outside. At the same time, they're

4:01:44staffing up to provide security for the

4:01:46people who are being processed. And

4:01:49whether you're lodged or not lodged, you

4:01:51have to be processed. You have there has

4:01:53to be a set of fingerprints taken and a

4:01:55mug shot taken in the state of Michigan

4:01:57to create a charge that can go to court.

4:02:01So that process has to happen um

4:02:04regardless and looking for a way to to

4:02:07do it well, do it with the right

4:02:10services for every human being that

4:02:12comes in contact with uh uh the justice

4:02:16system. Doing that well, it does cost

4:02:18money. It is somewhat predictable when

4:02:21you do it on mass. And I'd say it

4:02:23represents a value for your community.

4:02:27That will cause a a gap in value for

4:02:31your community if somehow a detention

4:02:34mill isn't passed to make sure that we

4:02:37can continue to do that. It is the

4:02:40financial obligation of every local

4:02:42community for the booking process.

4:02:46$250 per person just as an example.

4:02:49That's what it costs me. I bet it would

4:02:51cost you more because you can't serve as

4:02:54as effectively in one community. It is

4:02:57your financial responsibility to care up

4:03:01until that time of arraignment. And then

4:03:03obviously if it's a city charge, even

4:03:05past arraignment, it's your financial

4:03:07obligation. Again, that's part of the

4:03:09value to your citizens by

4:03:13participating in the millillage. That

4:03:16fund is collected on a countywide basis.

4:03:19it's proportionate for the entire county

4:03:21and then we're able to supply that

4:03:23service without an itemized cost for

4:03:26every community. And again, we're trying

4:03:27to improve that formula, modernize, I

4:03:30might use the word, but I will say I

4:03:34talked to other sheriffs and who don't

4:03:36have centralized booking and they wish

4:03:39they did. Other cities who are running

4:03:41lockups, if you have any contacts of

4:03:44your counterparts throughout the state,

4:03:46ask them what it's like to run a lockup.

4:03:48the cost of running a lockup where you

4:03:51have to book and process your own

4:03:53individuals and keep them safe and cared

4:03:56for until uh after arraignment. It it's

4:04:00a huge cost and again I welcome any

4:04:03further conversations on what more we

4:04:05can do to divert individuals so that

4:04:08they're not incarcerated. But keep in

4:04:10mind that processing part of it is still

4:04:12always going to have to happen. We still

4:04:14need to know what's the name and

4:04:16identification of the person that we're

4:04:18dealing with in front of us so that they

4:04:20can be properly

4:04:22uh diverted to after court. So did that

4:04:27answer your question, Mr. Manager?

4:04:30>> All right, with that.

4:04:32>> Okay.

4:04:32>> Thank you.

4:04:34>> So, uh I want to close with one more

4:04:36thing. Um, we talked about voting today

4:04:39and we talked about our welcoming policy

4:04:41and now we've been talking about

4:04:42incarceration.

4:04:43And I think that those three things all

4:04:45sort of touch each other. And so I want

4:04:47to read briefly uh a statement that I uh

4:04:51made to the uh put out to the media uh

4:04:54on Friday uh at least in part. And and

4:04:58uh I want to point out that

4:05:00um I also want to note that I spent uh

4:05:04we talked about welcoming this morning,

4:05:05but but part of the part of welcoming of

4:05:09of course is addressing real feelings of

4:05:11safety. And um I spent a good chunk of

4:05:14my weekend actually um out with an

4:05:17African diaspora community's um uh

4:05:20observations and celebrations um because

4:05:23they asked they asked for um people to

4:05:26be present there and and um address

4:05:29their concerns about safety at this

4:05:30point in our history. So um I think this

4:05:34is a stressful time in the United

4:05:35States. Um it is it does feel to me like

4:05:39we are a long way away from the dream of

4:05:41the Statue of Liberty. Um that

4:05:44immigrants are welcomed, celebrated, and

4:05:46respected by everyone. Instead, uh I

4:05:49think it's real that immigrants are

4:05:51constantly the focus of fear and hate

4:05:53based attacks uh falsely scapegoed on

4:05:56issues as different as crime rates and

4:05:58election results. I think that since

4:06:01becoming mayor, it's been I've been

4:06:03tried to be very clear that my top

4:06:05priority is to keep all of our residents

4:06:07safe and keep Grand Rapids a truly

4:06:09welcoming community and particularly for

4:06:11our immigrant residents. And I know that

4:06:12those are concerns and foundational

4:06:14values of everybody up on the st.

4:06:17Um, as we do the work of supporting each

4:06:20other at this time, um, there's bad news

4:06:22and there's good news. The bad news is

4:06:24that we're sometimes unable to stop the

4:06:26actions of our federal government since

4:06:27the federal government can sometimes

4:06:29simply override the wishes of our

4:06:31residents and our city policies. The

4:06:33good news is that we can continue to try

4:06:35to craft city policies that implement

4:06:37our welcoming values. There's been a lot

4:06:40of misinformation in the community and

4:06:42online recently about Grand Rapids

4:06:43policies as they relate to federal

4:06:45immigration activities. That

4:06:47misinformation is causing fear and

4:06:49uncertainty in the community,

4:06:51particularly among those who need the

4:06:52truth the most right now. We all have

4:06:55the same goal to protect our neighbors.

4:06:58They deserve clear and accurate

4:07:00information and real support. So, I want

4:07:02to be clear about some key points in

4:07:04Grand Rapids policies that affect our

4:07:05immigrant neighbors and all of our

4:07:07residents. Um, caught up in a national

4:07:11campaign that targets immigrants.

4:07:14Grand Rapids does not take action on

4:07:17federal civil immigration warrants

4:07:19standing alone. We have a specific

4:07:20policy on this. It's GRPD policy 7-12.1.

4:07:27Grand Rapids will not enter into any

4:07:29287g agreements to have our public

4:07:32safety personnel deputized by ICE. We

4:07:34have three policies that would prohibit

4:07:36any such agreements. City commission

4:07:38policy 600-17.

4:07:40our Grand Rapids human ordinance policy

4:07:43uh title chapter 9 uh pardon me title 9

4:07:46chapter 176 and uh Grand Rapids Police

4:07:49Department's foreign nationals policy.

4:07:52Grand Rapids does not operate detention

4:07:54centers. While we cannot control federal

4:07:57actions with zoning policies, the city

4:07:59does not operate detention facilities

4:08:01for violations of local, state, or

4:08:03federal laws.

4:08:06Moreover, we have a clear policy closely

4:08:09mirroring policies of other cities such

4:08:10as Ann Arbor and Chicago, preventing our

4:08:13public safety employees from assisting

4:08:14ICE agents in ICE investigations.

4:08:17Our employees do however have a duty to

4:08:20keep our city and our streets safe, but

4:08:23our policies pre prohibit them from

4:08:25engaging in investigative work with ICE.

4:08:29There will always be more work to do to

4:08:31make our city feel more welcoming and

4:08:33open. I'm happy about the recent

4:08:35progress we've made in defining and

4:08:36restricting surveillance in our city

4:08:38around license plate reading cameras.

4:08:40Any surveillance raises the risk of

4:08:43misuse over surveillance or information

4:08:45being shaped shared too broadly. In the

4:08:48past past few weeks, I and we have

4:08:50engaged in conversations with advocates

4:08:52and experts and I have argued that the

4:08:55first state first step in addressing

4:08:57concerns is to place license plate

4:08:59reading cameras under our city

4:09:00surveillance policy which we first

4:09:03crafted to control the use of zone uh

4:09:05drones among other things. The city will

4:09:07now place license plate readers under

4:09:09our community surveillance policy,

4:09:11effectively placing a moratorium on new

4:09:13cameras without commission approval and

4:09:15limiting use, requiring reporting with

4:09:18clear channels to report concerns about

4:09:20misuse. In the coming months, I hope

4:09:22we'll craft a clear city policy limiting

4:09:24the sharing of license plate information

4:09:27and explore alternatives to the current

4:09:29vendor.

4:09:30Grand Rap is a city for everyone.

4:09:32Everyone deserves to feel loved,

4:09:34belonging, and in safety. Everyone

4:09:36deserves to be treated with respect,

4:09:38dignity, and have their rights

4:09:39protected. So, if anyone in our

4:09:42community sees anything happening that

4:09:44they believe does not align with our

4:09:46policies, I ask you to report it to the

4:09:49Office of Oversight and Public

4:09:50Accountability or to GRPD itself.

4:09:53Speaking up allows our policies to be

4:09:55protections people can actually rely on

4:09:57rather than words on a page. So believe

4:10:01that we are doing our best and we will

4:10:03continue to try to do better. Thank you.

4:10:09>> Uh close section 601.

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