Committee advances $18M stormwater contract, sends sidewalk replacement and multiple contracts to formal/new business

The Detroit City Council’s Public Health and Safety committee on June 16 reviewed and acted on a long list of procurement items, moving many forward to formal session or new business and scheduling follow-ups on several others.

Stormwater contract (6.3): committee members heard from DWSD staff that contract 6007080 will provide stormwater infrastructure program management, support green stormwater infrastructure requirements under an EGLE-issued permit and focus work on the Upper Rouge tributary and Near East Side. The contract uses 100% DWSD CIP funding, lists Orchard Hills and McClements Inc. as contractors located in Detroit, extends through May 31, 2030 and was described in the meeting as an $18,000,000 contract. Committee members asked about a required resolution of necessity tied to property conveyances; staff said that resolution would go to a different committee in July. The item was set to be brought back in two weeks to allow further review of property-acquisition and permitting steps.

Sidewalk-replacement contract (7.6): members questioned whether demolition contractors had been held accountable for damaged sidewalks and whether bonds were in place. OCP and group-executive staff said funds withheld from demolition contracts were being used to pay for repairs when contractors did not complete work. OCP confirmed bonding for the contract (a bond figure of $2,800,000 was cited during the meeting for a named contractor) and the committee ultimately voted to send the sidewalk contract to formal without recommendation.

Other contract actions: the committee approved or advanced multiple items by voice vote or consensus: an emergency demolition contract (7.1) was approved and sent to formal; amendments extending time or funds for environmental due diligence and remediation work (7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5) were corrected and advanced; various public-works and public-lighting contracts (7.11–7.14) were approved or sent to new business with correction letters; and a suite of transportation contracts (7.15–7.18) for bus-engine remanufacture, driver training and maintenance supplies were advanced.

Autonomous-vehicle pilot (7.19): committee members approved moving forward with a fully grant-funded accessible transportation pilot contract with Perrone Robotics for $1,550,000 to redeploy an autonomous shuttle route that previously ran between Corktown, downtown and the East Jefferson Riverfront. Tim Slusser, chief of mobility innovation, said the city intends to have the service up and running again shortly after the July 4 holiday and that MDOT and other partners are contributing funding.

Follow-ups and procedural items: committee motions scheduled 6.1 (rehab outcomes data on dangerous buildings) and 6.4 (Kronos concrete facility memo) to be brought back in one week; 6.2 (a demolition payment tied to tax clearance) was set to return in three weeks; and correction letters were requested for several agenda entries where the committee report contained errors. A resolution in support of striking nursing-home workers (7.22) was approved and will go to formal session.

Next steps: most contracts will be reviewed again in formal session or after correction letters; staff will return with additional information about resolution of necessity for the stormwater project and vendor details where requested.