City Hall Insider … 2/25/25
By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Feb. 25, and all councilmembers were in attendance, except for Mohammed Hassan.
A discussion was held on the continuation of the reconstruction of Caniff from Gallagher to Conant this spring and summer.
One option was to close the entire street down and get the job completed in 90 days. The other option was to do half at one time and the other half after. That option would take 130 days.
It was eventually agreed to go with the complete shutdown. Charles Johnson, of Hennessey Engineers, said some accommodations will be made for the businesses located in that portion of Caniff to ensure no disruption for their customers.
City Manager Max Garbarino said the choice of which option “is pretty obvious” – meaning the complete closure of Caniff.
Work will begin in mid-April and go through July.
A presentation was made by the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority on what was accomplished during the past year. DDA Chairman Milo Madole said there was “explosive growth in our refresh branding campaign.”
One of the highlights of the year were the “Night Bazaar” events that featured dozens of local retailers and locally produced crafts.
Madole said that “a thriving community requires a thriving downtown and a thriving small business community.”
The city’s Arts and Culture Commission also made its yearly report.
Chairman Timothy Price said a highlight was the commission’s support of the Hamtramck Queer Alliance and promoting “global LGBTQ+ Pride Month” in June.
During public comment, two emails were read. The first was from Jasmine Rae, who opposed the proposed purchase of a drone for the police department.
Rae said the city doesn’t need more surveillance. “We need more support from the city,” Rae said, in reference to the elderly, low-income and disabled.
Ahmed Sharaf Aldeen asked what justification the mayor has in surveying the city on social media on whether Hamtramck should revert to a strong mayoral government instead of having the city run by a city manager.
Mayor Amer Ghalib responded, saying the city used to have a strong-mayor form of government.
“You’re making it sound like it’s something odd,” he told Aldeen.
The mayor continued: “Most cities in the United States had or have a strong-mayor system. If you don’t know this is the most common system in the United States then that’s your problem, not ours. … I didn’t say I was going to do it. I got a survey asking the people about their opinion.”
Ghalib stressed that he has no problem with the city manager.
“This is part of the research,” he said.
Lynn Blasey said she is opposed to purchasing a drone for the police department.
“I don’t think we need to be surveilling the city,” Blasey said. “We don’t need the police to look into our backyards.”
She added that the department already has drones.
(Later in the meeting it was clarified by the police department that it does not have any drones.)
A resident claimed that mayor pro tem Khalil Refai does not really live in Hamtramck, but instead lives in Detroit near the border of Hamtramck.
The resident said the council needs to make it a requirement for elected officials to live in the city.
In new business, the council OK’d spending $837,530 to rebuild restrooms at Hamtramck Stadium, as well as renovate other vacant buildings there. The money comes from various grants.
In another contract, the city agreed to spend $71,000 to hire Hennessey Engineers to design improvements to parts of nine alleys that will later be repaved.
The alleys that will be repaved include:
• Alley west of Jos. Campau between Andrus and Grayling
• Alley east of Jos. Campau between Roosevelt and Jacob
• Alley south of Jacob between Jos. Campau and Gallagher
• Alley north of Goodson between Jos. Campau and Gallagher (Keyworth Stadium)
• Alley north of Miller between Conant and City Limit
• Alley east of Conant between Dorothy and Miller
• Alley east of Conant between Oliver and Vincent
• Alley west of Conant between Jacob and Hanley
• Alley west of Conant between Hanley and Lehman
The money for this project comes from a grant.
City Manager Garbarino said he is hoping for more grants to do a “slew of alleys.”
A lengthy discussion was then held on the proposal to purchase a drone for the police department, at a cost of $40,000 through 2028.The cost of the drone would be covered by the department’s narcotic fund.
Dave Adamczyk, an investigator in the department, said that there have been “misperceptions” from some about the use of a drone during the department’s prior presentation of the proposal several weeks ago.
He stressed that this will not be used for surveillance on residents, but, instead, to help track suspects on the run.
Deputy Chief Andy Mileski said the drones are for “the safety of officers and residents.”
City Manager Garbarino said that any misuse or “shenanigans” with the drone by an officer “will not be tolerated,” and will be a reason to fire that officer.
Councilmember Muhith Mahmood questioned whether the money would be better spent on purchasing another “petrol” car.
Mayor Ghalib said the purchase of the drone is something “worth trying.”
The council eventually voted to allow the purchase.
Later in the meeting, Mayor Ghalib said there should be no concern as to the drone being used to assist ICE in hunting down illegal immigrants.
“We don’t have any illegal immigrants here,” Ghalib said.
Moving on, the council accepted a $2 million grant from the state to build a Department of Public Works building on the southend, and another $2 million state grant for reconstructing a parking lot at the Hamtramck Stadium.
City Manager Garbarino credited the receipt of both grants with the help of former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck). Aiyash did not seek re-election.
In the mayor’s report, Ghalib said that, as elected officials, criticism is expected.
“We do not disregard any suggestions or opinions. We always encourage community engagement. We don’t take things personally when someone criticizes us. That’s how public service is,” he said.
Ghalib also noted that there is an election this year for three city council seats as well as the position of mayor. He encouraged people to run for office.
“I welcome anyone to run,” he said.
During public comment, Ahmed Sharaf Aldeen once again spoke, this time accusing the mayor of attacking him and his daughter on social media.
“I’m asking you to stop it,” Aldeen told the mayor.
Ghalib responded: “I never commented about you. … You wrote a post about me that really caused serious threats about me, and I never reacted to that. I never target any of our residents.”
(Aldeen has since announced his candidacy for mayor.)
Posted March 28, 2025
