Dearborn council approves tree-planting, generator and pool contracts; creates parking advisory commission

The Dearborn City Council on April 28 unanimously approved a set of resolutions and contracts aimed at city infrastructure, public events and governance, including a large tree-planting project, engineering services for emergency generators at city housing, electrical upgrades at Dunworth Memorial Pool and appointments to a newly created parking advisory commission.

The council approved a competitive one-year contract to Cremeboli Nursery Inc. for citywide tree-planting services that staff said will cover roughly 450 new planting locations, including sites tied to combined-sewer-overflow projects. The meeting record contains inconsistent monetary figures for the award: the agenda text listed “$333,130,000,” while staff remarks later referenced $330,000. Council discussion emphasized replanting trees removed due to disease or storm damage and completing planting and pruning by June 15, 2026.

Council members also voted to award a $42,000 architectural and engineering contract to DiClemente Segal Design Inc. to design emergency generator replacements at city housing facilities (identified in the meeting as O'Reilly Manor and Serenity Manor). Councilman Perez thanked the Department of Public Works and said the design contract is an initial but necessary step toward securing resilient standby power for senior housing.

A separate contract of $67,285 to Ainsworth Electric Inc. was approved for electrical upgrades to the Dunworth Pool water slides. Staff told the council that a two-part issue — increased power brought by the utility (DTE) and required electrical upgrades on the city side — caused damage to supporting equipment and that the upgrade is required to operate the slides safely and continuously.

The council granted the city of Melvindale permission to use Dearborn-owned property at 2661 and 2701 Greenfield Road for a fireworks display on June 21, 2026 (approx. 10:00 p.m.), including a temporary waiver of the noise ordinance and authority for the fire chief to set rain dates, contingent on compliance and reimbursement for city services.

Council also approved a request from the Dearborn Police Officers Charities to hold the annual Sergeant Chris Hampton Memorial 5K run on May 17 at Ford Field, with temporary road/curb-lane closures and police assistance for traffic control. Sergeant Mac Greben described the event’s purpose as honoring Sgt. Hampton’s legacy and raising awareness for first-responder mental-health resources.

The meeting included a slate of appointments to a newly created parking advisory commission intended to address downtown parking challenges. Appointees confirmed by the council included Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (one-year term ending 06/30/2027), Chief Zainab Hussain (appointed as an alternate mayor representative), Chief Issa Shaheen, Lieutenant Jason Skozolas (alternate police representative) and several city directors and community members with staggered terms extending to 2028–2029.

The council also authorized renewal of the city’s National League of Cities membership for $10,597 for the June 1, 2026–May 31, 2027 period, citing benefits such as federal advocacy, networking and technical resources.

All of the resolutions and contract awards on the agenda were presented for immediate effect and recorded in the minutes as passing by unanimous roll calls or unanimous consent. The council did not vote on or amend the substantive scope of these projects during the meeting.

Next steps: most contracts are time‑sensitive (planting before mid‑June; generator design and pool work to proceed through design and procurement). The transcript contains a numerical discrepancy on the tree-planting dollar amount that the city should clarify in the official contract documents.