Residents press council on DWSD tree cutting, library closures, speed humps and transparency during public comment

A string of public commenters at the start of the March 25 committee meeting raised neighborhood quality‑of‑life concerns and transparency requests tied to utilities, trees, libraries and traffic calming.

An in‑room resident said neighborhood speed humps were installed without resident consent and described repeated attempts to get information and have them removed. The resident said staff told her removal required a majority of residents or payment: “I was the only full time resident on the block at the time… So if you can please do something about that,” she said.

Remote callers urged transparency and answers in writing. William M. Davis asked that the Thomas Edison branch be considered for expanded hours and asked the council to investigate what extra debt the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s bankruptcy added to the city’s debt service. Another remote commenter asked for a forensic audit of DWSD, said crews were cutting trees along Oatman Boulevard and described a year‑and‑a‑half flooding issue during a reservoir build that caused standing water at her home.

Tyson Gersh pressed the committee for public posting of Board of Zoning Appeals materials and budget charts, saying a BZA chart shown at a prior hearing was not posted and public documents that were part of hearings should be freely accessible. A remote commenter using the display name "Galaxy Tab A" said Knapp Library closed after boiler failures and asked the council to schedule removal of a dangerously leaning tree that threatens a nearby house.

The chair and clerk noted that written responses to questions will be posted as memos on the agenda when available and encouraged residents to reach out to the office for follow‑up.