City manager vows to crack down on housing code violations

City Manager Katrina Powell (center) poses with Acting Police Chief Anne Moise at last week’s Town Hall meeting.

 
By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck residents got their first opportunity to meet the new city manager.
Katrina Powell, who left Florida to be Hamtramck’s city manager, talked about several developments coming to the city at last Thursday’s Town Hall meeting sponsored by the Hamtramck Community Initiative.
Speaking to a gathering of about 30 people at the public library, Powell, who has been on the job for less than three months, said the biggest development will be major improvements slated to begin in spring at the city’s three parks.
In total the city is spending close to $500,000 to renovate Zussman Park, Pope Park and Veterans Memorial Park.
Powell said there will be conceptual drawings of the improvements displayed in City Hall soon.
Powell also said to look for the following:
Code enforcement will get more aggressive, she said. If you are one of those people who use a chair, a bucket or a cone to save your parking space, better get rid of them now or the city will do it for you.
This winter was rough on the city’s streets and you can expect pothole repairs to begin in early May.
While many streets are in need of being repaved, one pet peeve has been Conant. Wayne County owns the road, but Powell said it is far down on the county’s list to repair. Powell said she will continue to work with county officials to speed up that project.
“That’s a major, major issue,” she said.
The city’s website is still a work in progress but it will be fully functioning soon.
Chances are you have no idea where the city’s fire lanes are, but that will change soon, too. Fire lanes will be properly marked and painted. And if you park in a fire lane, also known as an emergency lane, you will get a ticket.
Powell has a new marketing angle to attract new residents and businesses: Promote housing rehabs.
Also speaking to the community were Acting Police Chief Anne Moise and Fire Chief Paul Wilk.
Moise was pleased to report that the number of crimes were down at this time compared to last year. However, she conceded that street crimes are always a concern.
She cautioned women against carrying big handbags.
One uptick in arrests has been drivers with fraudulent proof of insurance, “which is a big thing now,” Moise said.
She added that fraudulent insurance is one reason for why insurance rates go up.
In closing Moise said that once the department is fully staffed you can expect more community policing.
Fire Chief Paul Wilk said the recent house fire that took the lives of four family members is still on the minds of many.
“It touched my life and the people who work in my department,” Wilk said.
Fire investigators said they did not see any fire detectors in the house, and that prompted Wilk to urge those attending to make sure they have some installed.
“They save lives,” he said. “The outcome may have changed if the people had smoke detectors.”
He also cautioned against storing containers full of gas or propane inside the house, and to make sure doors leading to the outside are not blocked.
From the residents, a woman asked why residents can’t save a parking space after snowfalls.
City Manager Powell said that while the city has limited parking, “there’s no mechanism in place” to allow residents to save a parking space.
Tony Liggett questioned whether the city would crack down on code enforcement, such as folks with discarded toilets left in their backyard.
Powell stressed again her administration plans to step up code enforcement “heavily.”
She encouraged residents to call with complaints.
Dan Buttry complained about a sidewalk repair program from a year ago that seemed haphazard, or as he said, “bizarre.”
He said that within the same block some bad slabs were replaced while others were overlooked. And worse, in one case, it looked like a city employee received favorable treatment.
Powell said she will have an engineer study what needs to be done, but the first thing on her plate is street repair.
Buttry also addressed what was perhaps the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room: Powell’s suspension of Police Chief Max Garbarino and his subsequent resignation.
Powell admitted that she initiated the investigation, but that Garbarino’s resignation was his decision.
“I didn’t ask for that,” she said.
Powell said she didn’t tip off the media about Garbarino’s suspension and declined to talk to reporters in order to “protect” Garbarino.
She said he is only 35 years old, has a family and “the last thing you need is bad press.”
Powell did not say what the investigation was about, and when asked by the media declined to comment.
She said that it was never her intention to “destroy” Garbarino.
“It was just an awful situation,” Powell said. “No one wants anyone to lose a job.”