Dearborn Heights City Council Chair Dave Abdallah (right) addresses a speaker during the June 13 council meeting while Councilmember Mo Baydoun listens.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS – Tempers flared during a long, contentious City Council meeting June 13, with a former city attorney, concerned residents and current council members speaking passionately about topics of importance to them.
Former Corporate Counsel Gary Miotke, speaking as a resident, spoke twice during public comment time, cautioning the city council that it may be acting in violation of the laws that govern the body, and offered to work with the council gratis during a study session, an offer with which current City Attorney Roger Farinha took issue.
Former Dearborn Heights Corporate Counsel Gary Miotke, speaking as a resident, warned the City Council that it may be in violation of the laws that govern the body, and offered to speak with the group, gratis, during a study session to offer advice.
City Council Chair Dave Abdallah, who runs the meetings, said the day after the 3 ½ hour meeting that he tries to allow everyone to exercise their free speech, which sometimes makes him hesitant to use his gavel to end discourse even when dialogue becomes heated.
Many topics led to passionate conversations, from residents wanting to remove sycamore trees which they feel ruin the esthetic of their property, to parents concerned that pedestrian safety walkways have still not been painted to their satisfaction near schools eight months after 12-year-old resident Joey Smith was killed at Pardee and Annapolis while riding his bicycle.
The lack of walkway striping has been attributed in part to the difficulty in obtaining the proper paint in a constrained supply chain impacted by many road projects currently under way.
Councilmembers Tom Wencel and Ray Muscat were at odds over issues surrounding the city-owned Warren Valley Golf Course, including the quality of the work being performed at the site to rehabilitate and improve the facility. Both men went to the podium during public comment time to exercise their right to speak as residents outside of their role as councilmembers.
Their discussion continued after the meeting, both inside and outside city hall. While it was rumored that Muscat was considering resigning from the council, he spoke June 14 to the Times-Herald and said he was “taking some time off” to “clear my head.”
While residents said they enjoyed the previous weekend’s Summer Fest, formerly known as Spirit Fest, concern was expressed about fights that broke out among young people June 10 during the evening.
Police Chief Jerrod Hart, who attended the early part of the meeting, left before addressing resident and councilmembers’ safety concerns about the disturbance.
The Dearborn Heights City Council, with the mayor and corporate counsel Roger Farinha (right), endure a contentious meeting June 13 that lasted more than 3 ½ hours, which included heated words from councilmembers, residents, the current corporate counsel and the most recent former city attorney on issues ranging from council protocol, the Warren Valley Golf Course, removal of nuisance trees and the perceived lack of progress on student pedestrian safety near schools.