City Hall Insider … 9/24/24

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Sept. 24, and all councilmembers, except for Mohammed Hassan, were in attendance.
Certificates of appreciation were handed out to the following people: Mark Zarkin, Chairman Shamin Ahmed, Abdulmalik Kassim, Luqman Saleh, Akil Alhalemi, Mansour Algahaim, Matahar Fadel, Faisal Mohamed, Adam AlHarbi, Fadhl Alhanshali and Adnan Gobah.

A presentation was made about SMART bus service, which is considering a new route that would include Hamtramck.
The organization said that key destinations for the route would include:
• Wayne State University
• Detroit Medical Center
• Children’s Hospital of Michigan
• Mid-Town
• Detroit Institute of Art
• Downtown Hamtramck
Also, according to recent public engagement, most people who use buses are seeking: Reliability, amenities (such as more shelters and benches), frequency and customer service.

During public comment, a resident complained about how the police department handled a call he made for an officer to come to his neighborhood.
He said the dispatcher had insisted that his house is actually in Detroit. An officer did arrive anyway, but the officer did not engage the resident, and when the resident knocked on the patrol car, the officer drew his firearm.
City Manager Max Garbarino said the matter is under investigation.
Attorney Mark Koroi said that, since Mayor Amer Ghalib endorsed former president Trump to be re-elected, Hamtramck is “famous the world over.”
(Ghalib has attracted a lot of media attention for being the mayor of a Democratic city, and a Muslim, who is now endorsing Republican candidate Trump.)
Koroi said the Republican Party has a long history in Hamtramck. He also said that he has “plenty” of Trump paraphernalia, if anyone wants anything.
Trump, he said, “deserves to be re-elected.”
Bill Meyer said that he is not a Democrat or Republican, but the mayor’s endorsement is Ghalib’s “personal choice.”
Meyer described himself as politically progressive, who will likely support a third party candidate for president.
The mayor’s endorsement, Meyer said, doesn’t mean that the opinion represents the whole city. The mayor, Meyer said, is a “humanist.”
“I’m still with you,” Meyer said of Ghalib, despite his endorsement.
He added that both the Democratic and Republican parties are “warmongers.”
Meyer also warned that Trump wants to get into China, and that means “we’re going to war with China.”

Various contracts were agreed upon having to do with the reconstruction of Caniff, from Jos. Campau to Conant.
John Hennessey, of Hennessey Engineers, Inc., said this $2 million project is funded 81 percent by a federal grant, and the remaining amount by the city’s Water Department budget.
The project, he said, should be completed by mid-December. It is being done in two steps: first from Jos. Campau to Gallagher, and then from Gallagher to Conant.
Mayor Ghalib said that, waiting for this final leg of Caniff’s total reconstruction “has been very annoying to us.”
The project was originally scheduled to have both sides of Caniff closed, but the city council insisted on keeping one lane open while the other was being constructed.
Councilmember Khalil Refai said one lane has to remain open for businesses. Closing both lanes at the same time, he said is “going to make business owners call like crazy’ with complaints.
City Manager Garbarino said that will delay the project by as much as three weeks.
“Time is of the essence,” Garbarino said.
In another project update, the replacing of water mains in the southend was agreed on. The project will cost about $3 million, with over $500,000 coming from the city’s Water and Sewer fund.
This also includes funding provided by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Garbarino said that this is “laying the groundwork” for the next step in upgrading the city’s water and sewer lines. The project, when eventually completed, should prevent further basement flooding during heavy rain storms.

In his mayor’s report, Ghalib spoke at length about what’s happened since he endorsed former Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
(Hamtramck has, for decades, been a Democratic stronghold. The media has focused on Ghalib being a Democrat and a Muslim immigrant from Yemen.)
He said he received about 70-80 requests from media outlets for an interview, but he “declined many of them.”
As for the endorsement, he said “It’s a good thing for the community to explore new relationships and open a channel of communication with different parties that we always used to think that they are enemies.”
He continued: “We have to communicate to solve our issues. If you are scared of something, get closer to the source of fear and see what’s going on and communicate, get your issues addressed.”
Ghalib said that Hamtramck has been “neglected by some elected officials over the past two years, to the point where you see some elected officials were visiting our city without even considering the leadership of the city, to let us know they are here.”
The most important event that has happened in the last two years, according to Ghalib, was his meeting with Trump.
“I think it was a productive meeting. I explained to him what the community wants to hear, our concerns and top issues that he needs to address,” Ghalib said.
As for what his endorsement might mean for the city, and Trump’s possible defeat, Ghalib said he will take the “risk, and I’m ready to face the consequences.”
He said that, since he lost the support of one political side, “I’m not losing anything. What else is there to lose?”
Councilmember Mahmood Muhith said he is concerned about what Trump has said about deporting immigrants, including anyone supporting Hamas, the militant arm of Palestinians.
Ghalib assured him that applies only to illegal immigrants, not those who are citizens.
“This is a country of institutions. No single person has absolute power to do this (deport citizens),” Ghalib said.
He said it’s the Democrats who are pushing “fear” about this issue.
“We are legal immigrants here and we should not fear anything from this side,” Ghalib added.

During the second public comment portion of the meeting, Bill Meyer said that something needs to be done about councilmembers who take extended leaves and cannot make meetings.
He suggested holding meetings via zoom for them, or having substitutes take their place.
Posted Oct. 11, 2024

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