I have on good authority that the month of May is “Grow your own garden month”, and the market will offer support for local gardeners. KT Andresky will be there with expert advice and heirloom tomato transplants raised with organic methods, and free soil testing will be available. (Soil testing is a requirement for selling your extra produce at the community tables that will be available for home gardeners, so get your test in early to be sure that you will have the results before your bounty is ready to pick.)

For the rest of us non-gardeners, Noah Link of Food Field in Detroit will be there with salad mix and other early vegetables. He will also have new CSA shares for sale, which can be delivered to the Hamtramck Market every Wednesday from June through September or October, depending on the weather. There are only a few spots left; get them while you can.

If we are lucky, Emily Brent will be there with cutting boards and more, and Loni Weems of Native Kitchen, too, with gluten-free and alternatively sweetened treats made with local ingredients when possible.

See you there!

Saturday, May 19, 2012, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.,

“Hamtramck’s new Chief of Police. Max Garbarino will be welcomed by the community and the NAACP, and will address public concerns including racism, discrimination, crime and safety.”

Above, the most stolen photos on our website, taken 17 days apart.

Mayor Zych’s building on Caniff at Klinger. Senate Cafe, a favorite of polka fans for decades and an early haunt of the Dynamic Misty Blues; Pieronek Studios on Joseph Campau, with skylights on the second floor for natural light photography.

The old stoop of Max’s Jewelry, now Gold and Glitter. Before Detroit Threads, a short-lived thrift shop, run by an Egyptian woman who once warned me quietly that Polish grocery stores mix pork and beef. (She was extra-horrified when I told her about “meatloaf mix”.)

Councilmen, Rob Cedar and William Hood on Meet the Candidates night. (Mr Hood would later replace Mr Cedar on the council.) Old Bengal Spice.

Kosinski Hardware, in our experience, a place to buy supplies for shoddy home repairs where the prices were on a sliding scale depending on how nice one was to the staff. In the Greater Hamtramck Area: High Rollers Go-Go Girls, and the Full Gospel Church.

Mosaic over the door of Q of A school, covered when it became Hamtramck Academy. Friendship House Family Shop on Caniff.

Adams Corner bar, demolished for the expansion of Caniff Electric in 2006. The Labor Day Festival by the Hamtramck Chamber of Commerce.

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Hamtramck Labor Day Festival
Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 10:43:12 -0500
From: Hamtramck DDA
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Good morning friends, residents and business owners of Hamtracmk,

I will not take up much of your time but want to address the rumor that is running rampantly through the city that the Labor Day festival has been cancelled. It is just that, a rumor. The Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority has hosted/sponsored the festival for the last two years. Due to decreasing real estate values, and consequently decreased revenue for the DDA, we can not fund any potential festival shortages from the DDA fund as we have in the past. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED. We are actively fundraising to insure that the festival can continue at no cost to the City of Hamtramck or the DDA. We will be in constant contact updating you regarding upcoming fundraising events. Please spread the word. If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions please feel free to drop me a line at this email address or the phone number below. Thank you very much for your time.
Darren

–
Darren Grow
Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority
Executive Director
313.870.0346 office
313.876.7771 fax

1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Pledge of allegiance to the flag
4. Agenda approval
5. Proclamations/presentations/recognitions/announcements
6. Public comments: Agenda items (5 minutes allowed per person)
Non-agenda items (2 minutes allowed per person)

SECTION I: CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS

The following items will be adopted on a single motion without discussion unless a councilmember requests separate consideration.

1. City Council Meeting Minutes:
a. Regular Meeting – April 24, 2012
b. Special Meeting – May 1, 2012

2. RESOLUTION APPROVING AN EXCUSED ABSENCE FOR COUNCILMEMBER ALGAZALI ON APRIL 24, 2012.

SECTION II: NEW BUSINESS – Ordinance introductions and resolutions for initial consideration.

1. FUND WARRANT LIST AND PAYROLL.

2. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 150.062 (BLIGHT PROHIBITED) OF THE HAMTRAMCK CITY CODE. This is the first reading of a proposed ordinance. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Algazali.

3. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING NOTICE OF FLOODING. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Zwolak.

4. DISCUSSION – Guidelines for $1,500 Spending Resolution. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Gordon.

SECTION III: OTHER ITEMS

1. Mayor’s Report
2. Mayor ProTem’s Report
3. City Manager’s Report
4. Public comments
5. Non-agenda items and other business

SECTION IV: CLOSED SESSION

Council will discuss contract negotiations.

ADJOURNMENT

NOTE: Anyone planning to attend the meeting who has need of special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is asked to contact the City Clerk’s Office at (313) 876-7700, 48 hours before the meeting. Staff will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements.

Nostalgia leads to looking through old photos, so below are some of our earliest, January through June of 2005.

The old Mother’s bar isn’t quite in the city, but I still tend to use the angel of Alfred E. Neuman as a reference point when giving directions in that area. Conant at Evaline, when Skipper’s was between being Cactus Pete’s and Chill and Mingle, Tri-State Karate was a Bollywood video rental, and the 8-Ball pool hall was a kabob shop.

Seroka Realty before Bengal Spice, Kenora Radio and Television repair before the sari shop, and Swifoto before Aladdin Cafe expanded.

White Star club and a fresh anarchist stencil across the alley from Polonia. (The last of these was painted over on the viaduct just last winter.)

Pope John Paul II bookstore on the day that John Paul passed away, and the stained-glass window of the restaurant he George Bush Sr ate at, Under the Eagle.

Brownie Rootbeer ad at one of the former Atlas buildings on Conant and Disneyland.

Genie’s Wienies and Salvador Deli

Shahi Tandoori/Bengal Masala/Al’s Corral and everyone’s favorite, Norwalk bar.

The end of the Holbrook ditch on Joseph Campau and Holbrook. (The old clock at People’s State bank is in the background.) A mural at Wafa grocery on the south end.

This corner lot was empty for 30 years before Royal Kabob. (The Johnson Creamery was on this corner until a fire in 1970, and older residents remember being able to watch bottles being filling in the front window.) An inspirational flier in Hannah’s Cafe advertising for a clean-up.

Saleh Almasmari was waiting for a letter from the city about a change in the law after he talked to the council about ice cream trucks, but received a ticket instead.

Mike Nemith was ticketed by code enforcement for a pile of wood that has been on his property for 40 years.

Consent agenda passed unanimously.

Zwolak and Gordon tried to withhold vendor payments to save money for payroll. Nazarko said it wouldn’t help because he is already withholding payments where he can. Gordon complained that purchases from Office Depot are not a core service to residents. Fund warrants passed 4-2.

A letter to the County about paving Conant passed unanimously.

Permission to close the Hamtramck side of Conant passed unanimously after Tungate said that city services would be charged to the committee and the city checklist will be followed.

The single-audit was “unqualified”, though a number of financial reporting control deficiencies were cited: classification of revenue as federal vs non-federal, differences between audits required reconciliation, and a debt servicing payment was made but not reported, a grant transaction was not properly recorded, and a payroll accrual of $340,000 was not initially shown. The city failed to check vendors for federal suspension and disbarment prior to hiring. A demolition paid for by NSP1 was done by a low-bidder, but it is a best practice to have quantifiable criteria regarding experience and capabilities. An employee salary was inadvertently omitted on a statement regarding a MSHDA grant.

Nazarko said that the mistakes were primarily due to the former DPW director. A payroll mistake was made by a worker who was filling in for a staff member on maternity leave. He disagrees with the auditors about the booking of payments made to retired police officers.

A resolution to allow the police department to expand their fingerprinting services to residents passed unanimously.

The fiscal note for a site plan review on Holbrook said there would be no cost to the city, but it included a traffic study for a crosswalk. Jankowski said that the applicant is to pay. All voted in favor. Bobby Olko pointed out during public comment later that a study was already done for people who live at Senior Plaza and worship at St Florian, and their request was denied.

Algazali said that it was too late to conduct pre-employment testing on the city manager since Tungate had already been hired without them. Hassan agreed with Algazali. Jankowski argued that the employee manual doesn’t require pre-employment testing; Gordon pointed out that all other employees of the city have been tested. Zwolak removed the testing deadline when Majewski questioned if the tests could be completed in time. The resolution was approved, though the vote was unclear.

The resolution to restore the treasurer’s authority as provided in the city charter failed 2-4.

Zwolak’s resolution to have all city files returned and placed on file in the clerk’s office passed, though Hassan and Jankowski voted against it. It came out in the discussion that the city attorney removed documents from the city manager’s office and took them out of the city.

A resolution to send a letter to Highland Park regarding water services passed unanimously, even though Hamtramck already has a contract with Detroit through 2029.

School maintenance of Veterans Park passed unanimously.

A mix up with insurance caused the city to take possession of a lot on Alice, even though the owner still lives in an existing house on the same lot. Council voted to sell it back to the resident.

Tungate said that there would be a work session scheduled about the loan, credit card machines are to be placed in key areas of city hall “at no cost”, and he would be meeting Friday with the MML about the city manager search.

During public comment, Bobby Olko threatened to recall council, starting with Hassan. Susan Dunn asked Majewski why she surrounds herself with men who are aggressive and inappropriate toward women, like Hassan, Jankowski and Tungate. Jankowski shouted over Dunn that she couldn’t berate council members, and then Dunn was escorted out of the meeting for saying that Jankowski was arrested for domestic violence against a live-in girlfriend.

Gordon pulled the codified version of the noise ordinance and discovered that decibel levels had been added, though she didn’t remember that ever being added to the ordinance. The city attorney said he didn’t recall how that was added.

Zwolak said he is talking to veterans groups about repairing the flag poles on Joseph Campau and getting flags.

St Florian Parish Strawberry Festival 2012
Saturday, May 5 from 5 pm to 11 pm & Sunday, May 6 from 1 pm to 9 pm

Delicious Polish Food
Our famous City Chicken and Meatball Dinners (while they last)
Stuffed Cabbage, Kielbasa, Potato Pancakes, Pierogi, Nalesniki and more
Foods available starting Saturday @ Noon

Strawberry Bakery
Pies, Tarts, Sundaes, Pastries and More

Firefighter’s Parade and Mass Saturday, May 5 at 3:30

Great attractions
Performances by the Best Local Polish Dance Ensembles

Saturday – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Sunday – 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Main Raffle Drawing
Sunday, May 6 at 9:30 pm
$3,500.00 in prizes
Hourly 50/50, Pull Tabs, Tin Can Auction, Quilter’s Raffle

All Class Reunion, Saturday, May 5

Tour Our Historic Church, Founded 1908
Sunday, May 6, 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm every hour

Entertainment
Saturday
The Polish Muslims – 5pm-9pm
DJ Adam – 7pm-11pm
Sunday
Alex Tone – 2pm-7pm
The Kielbasa Kings Polka Band 5pm-9pm

Dance and Dine in our Church Hall or Heated Tent

We’re on Facebook: St Florian Strawberry Festival

St. Florian Parish is located East of I-75 and South of Davison in Hamtramck (just north of Holbrook) www.stflorianparish.org

PRELIMINARY MATTERS
1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Pledge of allegiance to the flag
4. Public Comments

SPECIAL BUSINESS
1. RESOLUTION TO RESTRICT SPENDING AND MANDATE PRIOR APPROVAL FROM CITY COUNCIL FOR EXPENDITURES OVER $1,500. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Gordon.

2. RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THREE YEAR BUDGETS AND BUDGET REDUCTION. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Zwolak.

3. RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATUS OF ALL RECEIVABLES FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS AND ACCOUNTS BE PRESENTED TO THE HAMTRAMCK CITY COUNCIL BY MAY 1, 2012. Placed on the agenda by Councilmember Zwolak.

CLOSED SESSION
Council will discuss contract negotiations.

ADJOURNMENT

NOTE: Anyone planning to attend the meeting who has need of special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is asked to contact the city clerk’s office at (313) 876-7700.