Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters urge bus shelters, criticize rehiring decisions and raise housing and pension concerns
Summary
Public commenters during the committee’s general comment period urged a bus shelter at 6 Mile and Woodward, praised community volunteer Michael Cunningham, raised concerns about pension funding and alleged favorable treatment for certain property owners; the committee noted the transit shelter concern would be referred to transportation staff.
Public comment at the start of the Planning and Economic Development committee covered a mix of neighborhood concerns, ranging from transit infrastructure to housing, pensions and community services.
Marla Prince urged the council to address a lack of seating and shelter at the 6 Mile and Woodward bus stop and recounted negative experiences with some bus drivers. "They'd be late...Nowhere to sit...I see him every day because I catch the bus every day," Prince told the committee, and the chair said the matter would be referred to the Department of Transportation.
Multiple callers praised Michael Cunningham for distributing small supports (bus tickets, hand warmers) and reported social-media coverage of an assault; one caller said Cunningham’s injuries were minor and urged support for his community work.
Other public comments included Rochelle Stewart asking for more deeply affordable single-family housing units at 30% area median income, William M. Davis expressing concern about retiree losses he said accumulated over recent years, and several callers raising accountability concerns: a caller criticized rehiring of certain officials, and Jadonte Smith, vice president of the Helen Street Block Club, alleged a 23-parcel property-maintenance agreement connected to Crown Enterprises (Kronos Concrete) effectively wiped away blight tickets for that owner for about $50,000. The transcript shows those claims were made in public comment and were not resolved during the meeting.
Betty A. Varner, president of the DeSoto Ellsworth Black Association, shared a resource for seniors — Franklin Wright Settlement Organization’s Senior Chore Services — and provided a phone number for the program.
The chair thanked speakers and said staff would follow up on the bus-shelter request with the Department of Transportation; the committee then moved to its agenda items.
