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Quarterly reports: Fire, police, transit and downtown updates highlight city work
Summary
Department heads reported rising emergency calls, training and safety work in fire and police, strong downtown occupancy and ongoing capital and grant projects; the council heard details on inspections, grant totals and planned infrastructure and downtown initiatives.
Macomb department heads presented quarterly reports covering public safety, downtown development, grants, permitting and transit, giving the council a snapshot of operations and near-term projects.
Fire Chief Dan Meyer said the department handled 560 calls in the quarter with EMS/rescue among the largest categories and nearly 1,700 training hours recorded. He noted inspection goals (target ~90) but only 41 completed this quarter, cited recent trench and rope rescue training and said two probationary firefighters completed evaluations. Chief Meyer also reported Engine 2 required pump repairs and crews have been finishing rooftop HVAC ductwork at the apparatus bay.
Marketing and downtown development director Savannah Ballard reported the city event calendar has 315 accounts and more than 29,000 visits since launch; downtown occupancy remains at about 95% with several facade projects completed. Grant supervisor Jessica Biddenstad said the city submitted nine grant applications totaling about $17,700,000 this fiscal year, received roughly $155,000 in confirmed awards, and is actively managing 23 grants with approximately $3,575,000 in award project funding pending.
Community development director Miranda Lambert said William Thorpe Park will be ready for a public opening next spring after concrete and signage work; the city approved 22 properties for TIF residential rehab (eight completed; nine with permits pulled) and demolished 10 houses this quarter through a Strong Communities grant. Lambert said a $400,000 H-wraparound grant will fund rehab of six to eight houses and WIRC will administer that program.
Police Chief Jeff Hamer announced a Walmart grant to purchase an AED, plans to replace an aging video server to meet the statutory 90-day retention requirement for body- and dash-cam footage, and continued rollout of e-ticketing to streamline citations. Hamer also announced his retirement effective Dec. 12 and said Lieutenant Todd Tedrow will serve as interim chief. The department reported 29 DUI arrests tied to an enforcement campaign and said a juvenile suspect was arrested in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries.
Transit Director Petrino said fixed-route ridership in the quarter was a little over 61,000 and demand-response about 3,500 (roughly 65,000 total); the transit team acquired several buses at regional auctions, is installing new software and planning camera installation and expects new fleet members and shop staff additions in coming months.
City Attorney Lisa Scauf described a new administrative hearing division that has accelerated fine collections and noted substantial FOIA workload from police-related requests; Scauf said she will begin using software to redact video for faster FOIA responses. Finance Director Melissa Worley reported billing and accounts-payable volumes, staff changes and implementation of BSNA cloud software.
