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Committee approves lobbyist contract renewal, extends women’s history study and clears multiple settlements
Summary
At a meeting of the City of Detroit Internal Operations Committee, members approved sending a federal lobbyist contract renewal and a two‑year extension for a National Park Service grant study to formal consideration, and moved several settlement requests forward, mostly by unanimous consent.
The Internal Operations Committee voted to send a series of contracts, a corrected contract period for a women’s history study and several settlement requests to formal consideration, with members taking most actions by unanimous consent.
The committee moved Amendment No. 1 to contract 6006291‑A — a one‑year renewal for federal lobbying services with Boundary Stone Partners LLC — to formal with a recommendation to approve; committee discussion noted prior requests for better preparation by the contractor. The chair recorded the item as 100% city funded with a $210,000 increase for a total contract amount of $420,000 and a contract period listed through 06/30/2026.
Committee members also approved sending an administrative correction and extension for contract 6006726‑A — a grant‑funded project with Quinn Evans Architects Inc. to conduct a Detroit women’s history study — to formal with a recommendation to approve. Janice Chapman, director of the Historic Designation Advisory Board, said the project is a two‑year National Park Service grant that will document underrepresented women in Detroit from the city’s early history through the 1970s and that a steering committee and community advisory group will be formed. "We are at the very beginning phases of this grant project," Chapman said. She confirmed the contract period was being corrected to run through 12/31/2026 and said the office will share a tentative list of women being considered and invite council staff to participate in the steering committee.
The committee received and filed a monthly report of contracts approved administratively between $25,000 and $50,000. Sandra Stahl, identified as chief grant officer, confirmed the report covered March approvals and that a separate memo had covered February contracts.
The law department’s placeholder for an emergency legal contract with Dickinson Wright PLLC was received and filed. The committee then considered several settlement requests and related items presented by the law department. Actions taken (all motions recorded as sent to formal or approved and noted as taken "hearing no objection") included:
- Settlement request: Kenneth Kinkade v. City of Detroit, Terion T. Johnson, Andre S. Thompson; case no. 23‑014633‑NF — $12,500; motion sent to formal with recommendation to approve.
- Settlement request: Markelle Stewart and Leah Tamar Williams v. Officers Marquia Swayze, Dana Ford and Jeremy Miller; case no. 23‑006491‑NO — $125,000; the committee moved to bring this item back in two weeks for further consideration.
- Settlement request: Renee Grant v. City of Detroit — $80,000; motion sent to formal with recommendation to approve. Member Callaway expressed disappointment in the legal handling and called the payment "avoidable" from her perspective.
- Settlement request: Roshanna Lateri Buckner Collins v. City of Detroit and Andre Smith; case no. 23‑012693‑NI — $21,000 (Department of Transportation); motion sent to formal with recommendation to approve.
- Settlement request: Step by Step Physical Therapy LLC v. City of Detroit; case no. 24‑003815‑NF — $125,965.43; motion sent to formal with recommendation to approve.
Most procedural motions were made without roll‑call votes and were recorded as "hearing no objection"; where members raised questions the items were clarified or scheduled for return. Committee members asked staff for corrected contract language where necessary (Quinn Evans contract corrected to reflect a 24‑month grant period) and requested additional detail offline on administrative contracts.
The committee also approved sending contract item 5.1 (Boundary Stone Partners LLC) to formal with a recommendation to approve after members noted the contractor had previously appeared unprepared and had since provided additional materials.
The meeting concluded with member reports and event notices.
Ending note: Where motions were recorded as "hearing no objection," no roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
