Sep 22, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting

[1. Proclamation Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15–October 15, 2026]

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OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO ORDER. AND OUR FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS A PROCLAMATION FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH. SO I'M GOING TO GO TO THE PODIUM AND BE JOINED BY MR. DAVIS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. TO. SO BEFORE I READ THE PROCLAMATION, I'LL POINT OUT THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ON THIS COMMISSION AND IN THE COMMUNITY IS HOW TO BE A TRULY WELCOMING COMMUNITY. AND IT'S OUR CITY ALWAYS CONTINUES TO CHANGE. AND FORTUNATELY, WE DO HAVE NEW PEOPLE WHO JOIN US. I THINK OUR CITY MANAGER FOUND, DID A LITTLE RESEARCH RECENTLY AND FOUND OUT THAT ABOUT 1 IN 10 OF PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK IN OUR COMMUNITY ACTUALLY WEREN'T BORN IN THE UNITED STATES. SO THERE ARE LOTS OF COMMUNITIES THAT WERE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMUNITY, WEREN'T IN FACT, BORN IN THE US AND OUR, OUR NEW NOT JUST TO THIS COMMUNITY, BUT TO OUR COUNTRY, OUR HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY. AND IN FACT, THE MOST RECENT STATS I LOOKED AT THE OUR, OUR BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN TOWN IS ABOUT EQUAL IN SIZE TO OUR HISPANIC COMMUNITY AT THIS POINT. SO THEY'RE BOTH ABOUT ONE SIXTH OF THE GRAND RAPIDS POPULATION.

AND THAT'S A NUMBER THAT'S REALLY INCREASED. AND AS MY FRIEND GUILLERMO ALWAYS POINTS OUT, IT'S EXPECTED TO INCREASE EVEN EVEN MORE IN THE IN THE COMING YEARS. SO IN THAT CONTEXT, OF COURSE, HIGHLIGHTING THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE AND THE VALUE OF OUR HISPANIC COMMUNITY IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT. BUT I WANTED TO FRAME THAT BEFORE I MADE THE PROCLAMATION. SO WHEREAS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH IN THE UNITED STATES IS A MONTH LONG PERIOD THAT HONORS THE RICH HISTORY, TRADITIONS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF HISPANICS AND HISPANICS AND LATINOS HAVE MADE TO THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THE ARTS, SCIENCES, EDUCATION, BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, AND CIVIL RIGHTS. AND WHEREAS, THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS IS PROUD TO UPLIFT THE NATIONAL RECOGNITION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BOTH THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL HISPANIC AND LATINO COMMUNITY. AND. WHEREAS, THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION, PIONEERS OF CHANGE SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER, CELEBRATES THE HISTORIES, CULTURES, AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF HISPANIC AND LATINO AMERICANS AND HONORS THE TRAILBLAZING SPIRIT OF HISPANIC AND LATINO LEADERS WHO HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS IN FIELDS SUCH AS CIVIL RIGHTS, ARTS, SCIENCE, POLITICS, AND SPORTS.

AND WHEREAS HISPANICS AND LATINOS HAVE PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE SHAPING OF OUR HISTORY AND IDENTITY BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, FROM THE EARLY SETTLERS TO THE MANY WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY TO BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR ALL. AND WHEREAS, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO HONOR AND CELEBRATE THE CULTURAL TRADITIONS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND LASTING IMPACT OF THE HISPANIC AND LATINO COMMUNITY. AND WHEREAS WE CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH AND OUR CITY AFFIRMS ITS CONTRIBUTION TO ENSURE ALL COMMUNITIES ARE WELCOME TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY, SEEK OPPORTUNITIES SAFELY, AND REMAIN VALUED AND RESPECTED. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DAVID LEGRANDE, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM SEPTEMBER 15TH TO OCTOBER 15TH AS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH AND INVITE ALL RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO JOIN IN CELEBRATING PIONEERS OF CHANGE SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER THROUGH EVENTS, EDUCATION, AND RECOGNITION THAT EMBODY THE THEME SPIRIT. THANK YOU, MR. DAVIS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAYOR, CITY COMMISSION, CITY MANAGER. IT'S MY HONOR TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR CITY STRONGER EVERY DAY. TO OUR HISPANIC LATINX EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOUR TALENTS, AND THE PERSPECTIVE YOU BRING TO OUR ORGANIZATION. YOUR WORK MATTERS, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE WAYS YOU HELP US SERVE OUR RESIDENTS AND MOVE OUR CITY FORWARD TO OUR HISPANIC AND LATINX RESIDENTS, FAMILIES, BUSINESS OWNERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND ORGANIZATIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE MANY WAYS YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIFE AND CULTURE OF GRAND RAPIDS, WHETHER THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PUBLIC SERVICE, EDUCATION, ARTS AND CULTURE, NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP, OR SIMPLY INVESTING IN YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITIES, YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR SHARED STORY. HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE THAT HISTORY, RECOGNIZE THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS, AND CONTINUE BUILDING A CITY WHERE EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BELONG, CONTRIBUTE, AND THRIVE. AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME

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GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. COMMISSIONERS, MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER. I AM WITH THE MICHIGAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISPANIC NETWORK. WE'RE LOCAL ERG GROUP HERE WITH THE CITY. AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO INVITE YOU GUYS. WE HAVE AN EVENT TODAY AT NOON WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING FOOD JUST KIND OF KICK OFF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, THE CELEBRATION. SO WE'LL HAVE FOOD, NETWORKING, MUSIC, AND ALSO WE'LL HAVE A LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER FROM ISABEL MEDIA STUDIOS TAKING HEADSHOTS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ATTENDING THE EVENT TODAY. SO I HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS ALL THERE. THANK YOU. OH, SORRY. CALDER PLAZA. WELL GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. I WANT TO THANK MAYOR DAVID LAGRANGE FOR THE WARM, WELCOMING AND THE ENTIRE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. AND I REALLY WANT TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR RECOGNIZING AND FOR GIVING US THIS PROCLAMATION AS HISPANICS. I WAS IN TEXAS LAST WEEK, AND EVERY YEAR THAT WE GET TOGETHER AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR THE NUMBERS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LATINOS IN THIS COUNTRY THIS YEAR. THE NUMBERS PRESENTED ARE THAT LATINOS CONTRIBUTED LAST YEAR TO $4.4 TRILLION TO THE ECONOMY. IF LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES WERE TO BE ITS OWN COUNTRY, WE WOULD BE THE FOURTH ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, THE FOURTH ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. AS YOU SAID, THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS. FOR THE ONES THAT DON'T KNOW THE DATA, 33% OF PEOPLE THAT WORK IN, IN, IN, SORRY, I HAVE I HAVE THESE NUMBERS IN MY HEAD. 50% OF PEOPLE THAT WORK IN CONSTRUCTION IN THIS COUNTRY ARE IMMIGRANTS, 50%, 67% OF PEOPLE THAT WORK IN AGRICULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE IMMIGRANTS.

67% AND 27% OF PEOPLE THAT WORK IN HEALTHCARE ARE IMMIGRANTS. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU? THAT THIS COUNTRY CONTINUES TO BE BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS. SO IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL AND TO REALLY RECOGNIZE THE AMAZING CONTRIBUTIONS THAT DIFFERENT GROUPS IN THIS COMMUNITY BRING TO OUR CITY, TO OUR COUNTIES, TO OUR STATES, TO OUR REGIONS, TO OUR COUNTRY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. ONE MORE TIME. CITY MANAGER, THANK YOU FOR WELCOMING US, AS ALWAYS, FOR ALL THE SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN FROM YOU AND FROM YOUR TEAM THROUGHOUT THESE YEARS. SO IT IS IT IS A MOMENT OF HONOR TO TO BE HERE REPRESENTING MY DEAR HISPANIC COMMUNITY. SO LET'S CELEBRATE TODAY. THANK YOU.

YOU GOT EVERYBODY. HOW'S IT GOING? SO MANY BLACK.

YOU CAN'T SEE ME. OH. THANK YOU. OKAY. GOOD TO SEE YOU. OVER. DAVID. CLOSE ENOUGH. NOT CLOSE ENOUGH. VERY CLOSE. OKAY. OUR NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS CITY COMMISSION

[2. City Commission resolution affirming City Manager's appointment of Steven Hudson as the City Assessor]

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THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS. YEAH. CAN I HAVE A MOTION FIRST? SORRY. SO MOVED SUPPORT. GREAT. THANK YOU, MAYOR COMMISSIONERS, FOR YOUR WORK AND TAKING THIS ITEM UP. I WANT TO THANK OUR CFO, MOLLY CLAREN, AND ALL THE WORK OF OUR STAFF AND OUR ASSESSOR'S OFFICE.

BUT AFTER CONDUCTING A VERY EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH, THE TOP CANDIDATE EMERGED FROM THE PROCESS FOR OUR CITY ASSESSOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING A LOT OF IMPORTANT ASSESSING OF PROPERTIES, BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL. WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT TEAM, BUT WE NOW GET TO ADD TO THE TEAM BY HIRING MR. STEVEN HUDSON, WHO IS A VERY SEASONED MUNICIPAL PROFESSIONAL WITH OVER 40 YEARS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE. HE HAS SERVED AS ASSESSOR FOR EMMETT CHARTER TOWNSHIP AND PREVIOUSLY AS ASSESSOR FOR BATTLE CREEK AND OTHER PLACES IN THE CITY. BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE, IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT COMING HERE, BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY. HE IS BOTH DEGREED AND HOLDS A MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN AND A MASTER OF ASSESSING LEVEL CREDENTIALS. SO VERY QUALIFIED. I WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR THEIR WORK AND LOOK FORWARD TO HIS START AND WORKING FOR THE CITY. HE'LL BE HERE SEPTEMBER. HE'LL BE HERE THIS MONTH. GREAT. SORRY. I'M SORRY. OCTOBER. OCTOBER 12TH. OKAY. OCTOBER 12TH. GREAT. ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS? COLLEAGUE. MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE'S PART OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION AND WE HAVE PUBLIC ACCURACY TEST THAT DAY. SO I GUESS HE'S GOING TO JUMP RIGHT IN. I'M JUST KIDDING. LINDSAY CAN CONTINUE WITH THAT. BUT COMMISSIONER YEAH, I'M BEING SILLY AS WELL. THE RESUME IS STELLAR. BUT GO BRONCOS. I'M HAPPY TO HAVE ANOTHER BRONCO. BRONCO. OKAY ONE SECOND LEFT, ONE SECOND LEFT. OH. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE APPOINTMENT SAY I, I ALL OPPOSED MOTION CARRIES. THAT BRINGS US TO OUR THIRD

[3. Resolution approving Mayor David LaGrand's request to travel to the Michigan Land Bank Association Leadership Summit 2026]

[4. Motion to go into closed session.]

COMMISSIONER. SACHS. YES. COMMISSIONER. KILGORE. YES. COMMISSIONER. KNIGHT. YES.

MAYOR. LAGRANGE. YES. THAT BRINGS US TO OUR MOTION CARRIES. THAT BRINGS US TO OUR ANNUAL

[ FY2026 Annual Performance Report]

AND YOU'LL HEAR TODAY FROM ME AND SEVERAL CO-PRESENTERS FROM OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM, MISS BEHRENS, MISS MATTHEWS. BUT I DO WANT TO SPECIFICALLY RECOGNIZE THE YEOMAN LEADERSHIP OF LUKE CANFIELD, WHO IS OUR STRATEGY OFFICER, AS WELL AS ERIC SHANNON, WHO'S OUR

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AND YOU'LL SEE HIGHLIGHTS OF THOSE HONORS AND RECOGNITIONS THAT'S BEEN RECEIVED IN 26. SO WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE SECTION OF GOVERNMENTAL EXCELLENCE. AND I'LL START WITH MR. MATTHEWS.

THANK YOU, MR. MANAGER. SO GOVERNMENTAL EXCELLENCE COVERS A LOT OF THE WORK THAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SURE THAT THINGS ARE WORKING THE WAY THAT WE WANT THEM TO WORK.

WE'VE CATEGORIZED THIS INTO A COUPLE OF KEY AREAS THAT RELATE BACK TO THOSE FOCUSED PRIORITIES. IN TERMS OF INVESTING IN OUR WORKFORCE, OF COURSE, WE'VE CONTINUED WORK ON OUR COMPREHENSIVE COMPENSATION AND CLASSIFICATION WORK AND REALLY LEANED IN TO SOME OF THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORK, BOTH AT THE NON-REPRESENTED LEVEL, BUT ALSO THROUGH A NEW PROGRAM CALLED EMBARK, WHERE WE'RE WE'RE BRINGING NEW SUPERVISORS IN TO PROVIDE THEM WITH LEADERSHIP ORIENTED ORIENTATION AND TRAINING THROUGH THE ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE. AND WE'VE ALSO REALLY TRIED TO FOCUS ON AREAS WHERE WE KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT WE'VE GOT OPPORTUNITIES TO REINVEST IN OUR EMPLOYEES. ONE OF THOSE AREAS IS WITH TRADE, PROFESSIONAL AND TRADE CERTIFICATIONS, AND THAT ACTUALLY RELATES TO THE THE OTHER COLUMN HERE ON THE COMPETITIVE MARKET SIDE, WHERE IN ORDER TO BRING IN AND RETAIN EMPLOYEES, WE'RE CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN BRING FOLKS IN AND THEN HELP THEM GET THE CERTIFICATIONS THAT THEY NEED TO BE A SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYEE AND TO BE ABLE TO ADVANCE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. AND THAT'S PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN OUR SKILLED TRADES AREAS. ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR SOME TIME, AND IT'S ALWAYS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST EXAMPLES WE HAVE OF BRINGING YOUNG PEOPLE IN AND INTRODUCING THEM TO THE WORK AND THEN HIRING THEM INTO THAT WORK. THE WATER CAREER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS GOING ON FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, WE'VE HAD 22 PARTICIPANTS GO THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. ALL 22 OF THOSE PARTICIPANTS HAVE SECURED EMPLOYMENT IN WATER CAREERS. OF THOSE, 13 HAVE BEEN HIRED DIRECTLY BY THE CITY OVER THAT

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AND THEN PRIVACY, SECURITY, DATA INTEGRITY AND RESPONSIBLE USE. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO DIVE INTO BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE ALL PROBABLY READ ARTICLES ABOUT WHERE THINGS HAVE GONE WRONG, AND THAT USUALLY HAS TO DO WITH WHAT AN ORGANIZATION HAS DONE TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE ITSELF TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING SUCCESSFULLY. TO THAT END, WE DID INITIATE A LIMITED MICROSOFT COPILOT COHORT THAT WAS SELF-SELECTED EMPLOYEES WHO WERE EITHER ALREADY USING OR WERE INTERESTED IN USING THE COPILOT AI TOOLS. WE'RE RUNNING THAT FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM. WE'LL PROBABLY RUN A SECOND COHORT WITH SOME MORE DETAILED ASSIGNMENTS THAT EMPLOYEES CAN PROVIDE US FEEDBACK ON. THE REASON WE WANT TO DO THIS IS THAT NOT ONLY ARE THERE RISKS WITH AI, THESE TOOLS AREN'T CHEAP, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WHERE WE'RE DEPLOYING THEM FOR EMPLOYEE USE, THAT THE EMPLOYEES ARE ACTUALLY USING THEM IN A WAY THAT WE GAIN SOME BENEFIT FROM. SO THAT WILL HAPPEN THROUGH PROBABLY THROUGH THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR. AND THEN WE'LL PROBABLY START LOOKING AT WHAT A BROADER DEPLOYMENT LOOKS LIKE. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT TARGETED APPLICATIONS WHERE AI MAY BE BENEFICIAL. I KNOW THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAS BEEN LOOKING AT THOSE APPLICATIONS FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS. 311 HAS BEEN WORKING WELL IN FY 26, THEY WERE WORKING UP AN RFP THAT'S NOW GONE OUT AND UNDER EVALUATION FOR AI CHATBOT SERVICES THAT WOULD BE LINKED BACK INITIALLY TO THE SCRIPTS THAT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES USE. THE GOAL WOULD BE THAT AS WE DO THAT, WE CAN START THINKING ABOUT, OKAY, WELL, WHAT ARE THE AREAS WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE THAT CHATBOT WITH OUR SYSTEMS OF RECORD TO ACTUALLY CREATE SERVICE REQUESTS AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK? AGAIN, WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT. I WAS I WAS AT AN AI CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK, AI IN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK, AND THERE WAS ONE REALLY INTERESTING PRESENTATION FROM A IT DIRECTOR FOR RPI IN RHODE ISLAND. AND HE CHARACTERIZED AGENTIC AI IN A REALLY UNIQUE WAY. HE, HE, HE EXPLAINED TO EVERYONE THAT YOU'VE GOT TO TREAT AN AI AGENT THE SAME WAY THAT YOU TREAT AN EMPLOYEE.

THAT AI AGENT IS GIVEN CERTAIN ACCESS TO CERTAIN SYSTEMS OF RECORD. SO THEY'RE WALKING AROUND INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION WITH A BADGE. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO THAT AGENT IS, WHAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO, AND YOU NEED TO MONITOR THAT ACCESS SO THAT YOU CAN REVOKE THAT ACCESS. IF IT DOES SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN'T AUTHORIZE IT TO DO. SO JUST A LITTLE BACKSTORY ON WHY WE WANT TO BE AS THOUGHTFUL AS WE'RE BEING. THE LAST ONE I WANT TO NOTE HERE, AND IT'S BECAUSE IT'LL PROBABLY BECOME PART OF OUR BUDGET DISCUSSIONS INTERNALLY, WE CONTRACTED WITH A LOCAL GROUP, MUTUALLY HUMAN, SPECIFICALLY, TO DEVELOP A LONG TERM DATA STRATEGY FOR THE ORGANIZATION. THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT IS, AS WITH ANY SYSTEM, AND PROBABLY EVEN MORE

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YOUR DATA HAS TO BE TIGHT. IT HAS TO BE WELL ORGANIZED, AND IT HAS TO BE WELL MANAGED IN ORDER FOR AI TO PROVIDE THE KIND OF RESULTS AND ANSWERS THAT YOU WANT TO PROVIDE TO THE PUBLIC. SO WE'VE DONE THAT ADDITIONAL THAT INITIAL WORK. AND NOW WE'VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT HOW IS IT THAT WE IMPLEMENT THAT ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION? OF COURSE, WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE ERP. YOU ALL APPROVED A CONTRACT WITH ETRURIA SOLUTIONS TO CONTINUE OUR EVALUATION AND REFINEMENT OF THOSE ERP TOOLS AND IDENTIFY WHAT THE NEXT ROUND OF IMPROVEMENTS LOOKS LIKE. I KNOW HR HAS BEEN A MAJOR POINT OF CONVERSATION INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION, AND WE INTEND TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THAT AND THE WATER SYSTEM. THEY COMPLETED A MAJOR UPGRADE TO THEIR BILLING SYSTEM. I'M ASSUMING NOBODY NOTICED. AND THAT MEANS THAT THEY DID IT WELL. BUT THAT'S THAT WASN'T A SMALL LIFT, BUT IT WAS A THOUGHTFUL DEPLOYMENT THAT AFFECTED MORE THAN 83,000 ACCOUNTS. WE RECENTLY TRANSITIONED OUR UTILITIES AFTER CALL AFTER HOURS CALL CENTER TO A SOFTWARE POWERED SOLUTION THAT MORE EFFICIENTLY STREAMLINES THAT OUTREACH. WHEN WE HAVE INCIDENT RESPONSE, AFTER HOURS CALL MANAGEMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THEN WE AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL APPROVED HERE RECENTLY, WE CONTINUED THE MONITORING MODERNIZATION OF THE UTILITY CONTROL SYSTEM OR SCADA SYSTEMS. THAT WAS A $3 MILLION INVESTMENT IN FISCAL YEAR 26. AND WE EXPECT TO HAVE THAT DONE IN FY 27. THE LAST THING HERE ON GOVERNMENTAL EXCELLENCE, OF COURSE, IS OUR FACILITIES. WE OPENED 1500. SCRIBNER. WE'VE ALSO BEEN LOOKING AT THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR NEXT OPTIONS MIGHT BE. ONE OF THOSE WAS CONTRACTING WITH FISHBECK TO LOOK AT A MASTER PLAN FOR THE WHARF SITE THAT COULD OFFER POTENTIAL CO-LOCATION OF OUR UTILITIES DEPARTMENTS ON ONE SITE FOR EFFICIENCY, AND ALSO FOR COORDINATION OF THOSE SERVICES. NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE THERE, BUT WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE SO THAT WE KNOW WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO INVEST IN. WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE FIRE TRAINING FACILITY EXPECTED TO OPEN IN 2027, STARTED DEVELOPMENT OF AN RFP, RFP FOR A PARTNER TO ENVISION WHAT REDEVELOPMENT OF COLEBROOK MIGHT LOOK LIKE, WHETHER THAT'S ENTIRELY PRIVATE OR SOME PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT MAY ALSO INCLUDE 1120 MONROE THEN THE LAST ONE HERE, I MENTIONED, WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THOSE PRIORITIES FROM THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN. FROM A FISCAL STANDPOINT, WE WERE ABLE TO RESTORE THE CITY'S POLICY ALLOCATION OF 5% OF INCOME TAX REVENUE GOING TO CAPITAL RESERVE PARTNERED WITH GVSU TO ENHANCE OUR INCOME TAX FORECASTING MODEL, TO GET THAT TO BE MORE ACCURATE, AND DEVELOPED OUR FIRST FORMAL INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN THAT WAS IN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, TO KIND OF LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY WANT TO LOOK AT AS AN ORGANIZATION TO EVALUATE AND SEE IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE, EITHER FISCALLY OR OPERATIONALLY. WE HAD AN AUTOMATED INCOME TAX WITHDRAWAL CAPABILITIES. THAT'S AN ACCESS AND CONVENIENCE MOVE FOR OUR RESIDENTS, AND ACHIEVED THE NINTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH IN ELECTRONIC COLLECTIONS. I BELIEVE MR. GLOBENSKY CAME FORWARD HERE RECENTLY TO TO CELEBRATE THAT, WE ACTUALLY CROSSED THAT $1 BILLION TOTAL IN COLLECTIONS SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THAT ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM. THEN THE LAST WE DID RECEIVE THE 2025 GFOA AWARD FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING AND BUDGETING EXCELLENCE. THAT CAME TO US IN A FISCAL 26. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR MEASURES HERE, I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THE THE POSITIVE NOTES IN TERMS OF OUR EMPLOYEE TURNOVER. SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I DID WANT TO POINT OUT. YOU NOTE THAT WE CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION IN OUR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAMS. I MENTIONED THE TIME FROM REQUISITION TO OFFER ACCEPTANCE, GOING DOWN PRETTY SUBSTANTIALLY AND MAINTAINING A HEALTHY VACANCY RATE, AS WELL AS OUR TURNOVER RATE MENTIONED BEFORE. PARDON ME. AND NOW THAT I'VE COUGHED ALL OVER THIS SPACE, I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. SO JUST A REMINDER, THE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND AFFORDABILITY PORTION OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN IS REALLY FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. THAT MIGHT BE A CAPTAIN OBVIOUS SORT OF OBJECTIVE OF OURS, BUT

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IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, SIX OF NINE WERE APPROVED, COVERING 155 UNITS, AGAIN, FOR OCCUPANTS WITH HOUSEHOLD INCOME AT OR BELOW 120% AMI. SO REALLY, THE FIRST TIME WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THAT POLICY CHANGE HERE REPORTED TODAY. SO MAKING SOME MORE GOOD TRACTION IN PARTS OF OUR HOUSING ECOSYSTEM. TRADITIONALLY, WE ALSO SUPPORT THROUGH OUR FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS, CONSTRUCTION OF UNITS, AND ALSO ON THE ZONING FRONT, YOU RECALL WE HAD A TASK FORCE THAT WAS LOOKING AT HOW WE COULD INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS, AND A NUMBER OF CHANGES WERE MADE BY THIS COMMISSION IN FISCAL YEAR 26. THERE IS ALSO OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR ZONING CODE OVERHAUL UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW IN LINE WITH THE COMMUNITY MASTER PLAN, AND WE EXPECT TO SEE MORE ZONING CHANGES THAT WILL RESULT IN, AGAIN, EASE OR INCREASE FLEXIBILITY IN UNIT TYPES ACROSS THE CITY. THAT SHOULD HELP ADD TO OUR HOUSING STOCK. AGAIN, WE WE ALWAYS PROVIDE THIS. IT'S DEFINITELY NEEDS YOUR READERS AND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO PROCESS IT, BUT JUST WANTING TO PUT UP FOR YOU THOSE NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS BELOW 80%. AMI, I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO DO A SPECIFIC AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND BOARD UPDATE. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE BOARD IS UP TO AND HOW THE BOARD IS APPROACHING THE RECENT TRANSFER OF NEARLY $10 MILLION FROM THE SALE OF 201 MARKET. SO THIS SLIDE JUST REVEALS WHAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND BOARD HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO SINCE INCEPTION. SO THEY HAVE INVESTED IN 11 DIFFERENT PROJECTS, $5.8 MILLION WORTH OF INVESTMENT THAT HAS TRANSLATED INTO 161 RENTAL UNITS. THOSE WOULD BE AT OR BELOW 80% AMI, PER THE POLICY THAT ESTABLISHED THIS BOARD. ALSO 59 OWNERSHIP UNITS. SO THEY INVESTED IN THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST MODEL, WHICH DROVE SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS UP. BUT THEY'VE HAD GOOD SUCCESS WORKING THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND ALSO TARGETING OWNERSHIP AND AGAIN, UNDER THEIR FORM, FORMULATING POLICIES. THAT'S AT 100% OR BELOW AMI OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. SO THE FUND CURRENTLY HAS APPROXIMATELY $11 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR INVESTMENT. JUST LAST WEEK, THE BOARD HAD A PRIORITIZATION WORKSHOP TO HELP GIVE US GUIDANCE ON HOW THEY WANTED TO SEE THOSE FUNDS INVESTED. THAT WORK WILL CONTINUE, BUT FOR NOW, THEIR PRELIMINARY DIRECTION WAS THEY ARE INTERESTED IN RETAINING A PORTION OF THAT IN SORT OF A A MODEL THAT WILL THROW OFF ANNUAL INCOME THAT THEY CAN THEN PREDICTABLY FEED INTO A PROCESS OF SUPPORTING UNIT PRODUCTION AND ARE STILL HIGHLY PRIORITIZING PRODUCING UNITS AT SCALE. OBVIOUSLY, THE THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OF NEED IN THE COMMUNITY IS SUCH THAT IT'S HARD NOT TO WANT TO PRIORITIZE THAT. THEY DO RECOGNIZE THAT THE INFUSION OF

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OUR CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM RUN THROUGH OPA AND JUST GENERALLY EXPANDED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE IMMIGRANT, REFUGEE AND OUR HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, WHICH IS PARTICULARLY VITAL IN THE PAST YEAR OR SO. FROM A COMMUNICATIONS STANDPOINT, ONE OF THE BIG ACHIEVEMENTS THIS YEAR, WE DID A FULL, FULL THROATED REFRESH OF THE WEBSITE, REORGANIZATION OF THE CONTENT AND VISUAL REDESIGN THAT WAS BASED MORE ON WHAT IT IS THAT OUR RESIDENTS ARE LOOKING FOR, AND LESS ON HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED AS A AS A CITY ORGANIZATION. WE HAD A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, WHICH IS NOTABLE. THAT INCLUDES IF YOU SEE ACTUALLY ON THE SIXTH FLOOR, WE'VE GOT A COPY OF THE ARTWORK THAT WAS CREATED BY A COMMUNITY MEMBER AS PART OF OUR COMMEMORATIVE ARTWORK COMPETITION. WE ALSO HAD A LOCAL DESIGNER THAT DID ALL OF THE ALL THE LOGO AND MERCH DESIGN FOR THAT PROGRAM. WE LAUNCHED OUR INDEX VIDEO SERVICE. AGAIN, THAT'S A BIG

[00:50:01]

OF COURSE, WE CONTINUE TO TO DRIVE FOLKS TOWARDS 311 AS A PRIMARY POINT OF ACCESS. BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT WELL. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE THINGS THAT FOLKS WANT US TO BE DOING. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID THIS YEAR WAS START EVALUATION OF POST SURVEY SERVICES. SO ANYBODY THAT'S CALLED THEIR BANK FOR ANYTHING YOU GET TOWARDS THE END OF THE CALL AND THEY'RE LIKE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY ON AND PROVIDE US SOME INFORMATION? WE'RE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT TO GET FEEDBACK ON WHETHER OR NOT FOLKS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE INTERACTION. WE ALSO STARTED THE EVALUATION OF THOSE CHATBOT CAPABILITIES. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I BROUGHT UP EARLIER IN GOVERNMENTAL EXCELLENCE. WE'RE HOPEFUL, AND I DON'T WANT TO PUT MR. CANFIELD ON THE POINT, BUT WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT THAT THAT PILOT WILL GET LAUNCHED THIS YEAR. WELL, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, I SHOULD SAY. AND CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN REDUCE THE ROUTINE CALL CALL VOLUME. WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WAIT TIMES GO UP AS THE STAFFING FLUCTUATES. SO THE BEST WAY TO SMOOTH THAT OUT IS TO GIVE FOLKS MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELF-SERVICE, BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS IN THAT ROLE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE VOLATILITY EITHER BECAUSE THEY'RE HIGH PERFORMERS, THEY LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AND THEY FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ORGANIZATION, OR THEY THEY FIND ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY EVENTUALLY. SO WE WANT TO FIGURE OUT WAYS THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY IN THAT SPACE AND THEN CONTINUING TO, TO ADVANCE LANGUAGE ACCESS TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN HELP SUPPORT ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OUR MEASURES HERE, I MENTIONED WAIT TIMES TRACK WITH STAFFING LEVELS. THIS YEAR WAS OR THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR WAS PRETTY CHALLENGING FROM A STAFFING STANDPOINT. YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE NUMBERS.

EVERYTHING ELSE STAYED PRETTY FLAT. YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF METRICS THAT JUST POP UP IN FY 26. THAT'S BECAUSE ALSO IN FY 26, WE UPDATED THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND WE UPDATED A LOT OF THE METRICS. SO SOME OF THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE ADDED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN METRICS WE'RE MEASURING THIS FISCAL YEAR. AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT CONTINUE TO PROGRESS MOVING FORWARD. MOVING ON TO HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT, WE'LL START WITH PARKS AND RECREATION.

CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR CURRENT ASSETS. PROBABLY THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE MLK COMMUNITY CENTER THAT OPENED IN FY 26. WE CONTINUED THE RIVERFRONT IMPROVEMENTS AROUND THE PUBLIC MUSEUM AND COMPLETED A COMPREHENSIVE PARK ASSET CONDITION ASSESSMENT. IN 2019, WE HAD 15% OF OUR PARKS WERE IN AN ARB CONDITION, ACCORDING TO THE ASSESSMENT. THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE NOW AT 81%. I THINK THAT'S A CREDIT TO THE ENTIRE TEAM OVER THERE, AS WELL AS TO THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE CHOSEN TO MAKE OVER THE PAST YEARS. LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE, OF COURSE, WE CONTINUE THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE INVESTMENT IN THE RIVER PARKS AND TRAILS THAT THAT'S NOT SOLELY IN PARKS AND RECREATION, BUT ULTIMATELY IT'S GOING TO BE A RECREATIONAL BENEFIT FOR THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS IMPLEMENTATION FOR LEONARD AND AS AND ADVANCED PLANNING FOR THE SILVER CREEK PLASTER CREEK CORRIDOR. WHEN WE LOOK AT PROGRAMING PART PROGRAM PARTICIPATION CONTINUES TO GROW 6%, UP FROM CALENDAR YEAR 25.

OUR POOL PASS PROGRAM DOUBLED VERSUS THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR. AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE INITIAL PROGRAMING NUMBERS FOR MLK. 8600 PROGRAM AND OPEN GYM VISITS OVER THE

[00:55:06]

AND INITIATED A PILOT WITH THE CITY OF WYOMING, WHERE WE'RE RECEIVING AND PROCESSING THEIR WASTEWATER SLUDGE THAT BENEFITS THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE OTHERWISE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL INVESTMENT TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE THEIR VOLUME. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE IT GIVES US MORE HIGH QUALITY FEEDSTOCK FOR OUR BIOGAS BIOGAS PRODUCTION PROGRAM, WHICH ULTIMATELY THAT REVENUE HELPS PAY DOWN THE INITIAL BONDS THAT WERE USED TO BUILD THAT DIGESTER FACILITY. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR CONTINUED SYSTEM MAINTENANCE, OVER THREE MILES OF EXISTING WATER MAIN, ALMOST FIVE MILES OF SYSTEM FUNDED EXPANSION, AND THREE AND A HALF OF PRIVATELY FUNDED WATER MAIN EXPANSION OVER THE PAST FISCAL YEAR. MAJOR UPGRADE TO OUR FILTER FILTER CONTROL SYSTEMS AT THE FILTRATION PLANT. THAT'S BOTH FOR A SECURITY STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO IT GIVES US BETTER ACCESS TO THE DATA SO THAT WE CAN DETERMINE BETTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM OVER TIME AND TWEAK IT. AS WE, AS WE TYPICALLY DO. MR. JERNBERG MAINTAINED A RECORD OF 100% COMPLIANCE WITH OUR STATE AND FEDERAL DRINKING WATER STANDARDS. ON THE ESG SIDE, WE SECURED OVER $1 MILLION STATE APPROPRIATION THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW US TO UPGRADE OUR UV FILTRATION SYSTEMS AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT. THAT WAS A PARTNERSHIP PRIMARILY WITH WITH HILLARY SKOLTENS ASSISTANCE CONTINUED TO INVEST IN MODERNIZATION OF THE OVERALL SYSTEM IN TERMS OF OUR LIFT STATIONS. AND THIS PAST YEAR LEANED INTO CURED IN PLACE PIPING AS A MEANS OF ACCELERATING SOME OF OUR MAINTENANCE ON OUR SEWER SYSTEMS. THAT'S EFFECTIVELY LINING THE SYSTEMS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE PIPES. THAT REDUCES THE DISRUPTION. WE'RE NOT OPEN OPENING UP THE ROADS, SO WE'RE REDUCING DISRUPTION TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE COMMUNITIES AND ALLOWS US TO DO A LOT MORE, A LOT MORE EFFICIENTLY. SO YOU SEE, WE'VE GOT 17,500FT OF SEWERS THAT WERE LINED IN FY 26. THE LAST ONE, JUST AS AN UPDATE, THE LAGOON REMEDIATION CONTINUES. WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE THAT WORK COMPLETE.

THAT HAS BEEN A LONG STANDING ISSUE. WE'RE HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME FUNDING ASSISTANCE TO GET THAT LAUNCHED. WE'RE STORMWATER IS A MAJOR DISCUSSION. IN FY 26, WE HAD ONE OF THE WETTEST SPRINGS ON RECORD. THE THE PATTERN OF SNOW AND THEN RAIN AND THEN TEMPERATURE, WE KNOW, DIDN'T HELP US. AND THAT THAT ISSUE STARTED IN THE FALL. THAT ISSUE STARTED WITH WITH A FAIRLY SURPRISED SNOW SYSTEM BEFORE WE WERE ABLE TO SWEEP ALL THE ROADS. AND THEN IT ALL CAME BACK AT THE END WHEN IT GOT REALLY WET REALLY FAST. SO WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THAT MOVING INTO THIS FALL, AND FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD PROGRAM IN PLACE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE COMING BACK AND TALKING WITH YOU ABOUT. BUT WE ALSO REALIZED THAT IT WAS TIME TO INCREASE SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAVE ON OUR CRITICAL SYSTEMS, THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, ANYTIME WE HAVE FLOODING, THAT SALVAGE YARD IS, IS, IS UNDER QUITE A FEW FEET OF WATER. SO WE'VE PURCHASED SOME NEW FLOOD BARRIER SYSTEMS THAT ARE GOING

[01:00:07]

AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HOPEFULLY WRAPPING THAT UP BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR OR BEFORE THE END OF 27. IN TERMS OF FACILITY AND FLEET PERFORMANCE, CONTINUE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN IN VEHICLES, AS WELL AS WORKING ON OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DECARBONIZATION IN OUR OWN FACILITIES. YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MEASURES NOW CONTINUING TO INVEST IN DIVERSION. WE MENTIONED THE MUNICIPAL COMPOSTING PROJECT. WE RECEIVED A $350,000 GRANT TO SUPPORT OUR ORGANICS PROCESSING. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ORGANICS, THERE'S TWO PIECES. THERE'S THE WOOD WASTE, AND THERE'S THE FOOD WASTE. THAT 350 IS GOING SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS THE WOOD WASTE, WHERE WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY SPENT ABOUT $100,000 A YEAR TO PAY SOMEBODY ELSE TO PROCESS THAT WOOD. AND THEN ANOTHER LITTLE KNOWN FACT IS THAT PART OF THE BIO DIGESTION PROCESS, WE'RE ACTUALLY EXTRACTING PHOSPHATE FROM THAT PROCESS, AND WE'RE ABLE TO RETURN THAT BACK TO AGRICULTURAL USE. WE'RE PROCESSING ABOUT, I BELIEVE, A IS IT A TON A YEAR? I'LL GO BACK AND GET THAT NUMBER, BUT IT'S A NOT INSIGNIFICANT, INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PHOSPHATE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT RECEIVED THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S BETTER PROJECT AWARD IN FY 26, INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY. OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE THE BUTTERWORTH SOLAR PROJECT. WE SELECTED THAT DEVELOPER INSTALLED SOLAR AT COMMUNITY ARCHIVES, INVESTED IN ZERO CARBON STEAM AND HEATING AND HEATING AND ENERGY SERVICES FROM VICINITY ENERGY. THAT'S NOT 100% OF OUR STEAM, BUT IT WAS A MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND RECEIVED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT EE0 INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE TO COMMERCIAL BUILDING OWNERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO BE ABLE TO FIND WAYS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PARTNER TO HELP THEM MAKE EFFICIENCY UPGRADES MAINTAINED OUR RENEWABLE GOAL INCREASE BIODIESEL, BIOGAS PRODUCTION CAPACITY, AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HOMEOWNERS THROUGH THE SOLARIZE PROGRAM. IN TERMS OF OUR TREE INVENTORY, WE PLANTED MORE THAN 1700 TREES IN FY 26, COMPLETED ALMOST 600042 TREE PRUNINGS. WE'VE ONLY GOT ABOUT 100 REMAINING.

WE GROUND 407 STUMPS, WITH ABOUT HALF OF THOSE REMAINING TO BE DONE, AND CONDUCTED ALMOST 500 REQUIRED TREE REMOVALS. SO IF WE LOOK AT OUR OUR MEASURES HERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT EVERYTHING REMAINS POSITIVE. ONE OF THE THINGS I DID WANT TO NOTE IS RIGHT UP AT THE TOP PERCENTAGE OF CARBON AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCED FROM OUR 2008 BENCHMARK.

WE'VE CONTINUED TO PUSH THAT UP. WE'RE NOW AT 47% NOTABLE THAT OUR ORIGINAL TARGET WAS 85% BY 2030. WE'RE GETTING PRETTY CLOSE TO 2030, BUT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO PUSH THAT PERCENTAGE UP BASED ON OUR COMMITMENT. OKAY. I THINK AT THIS POINT WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. IT'S A LOT, MAYOR. PERHAPS IT'S GOOD TO GO SECTION BY SECTION AND

[01:05:05]

I'M NOT WELCOMING IT YET. AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S MY MAIN, MY MAIN THING UNDER GOVERNMENT EXCELLENCE THAT I WILL HIGHLIGHT. THANKS. COMMISSIONER PERDUE AND THEN COMMISSIONER KNIGHT. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR. CITY MANAGER. DID YOU SAY HUNDREDS OF STAFF WHO HAD THEIR HANDS IN THE FINGERPRINTS ON THIS? SO THANK YOU. I KNOW IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT TO PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER IN A VERY KIND OF COHESIVE AND STREAMLINED FORMAT. SO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT SAY CONGRATS AND LOTS OF GREAT WORK BEING DONE IN THIS SECTION. REDUCING TURNOVER ALSO REALLY STUCK OUT TO ME. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE NOTE BECAUSE IT WASN'T IN THE SLIDES, BUT YEARS AGO I THINK WE STARTED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CITY EMPLOYEES LIVING IN THE CITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND I KNOW THAT WE MADE SOME POLICY CHANGES. WE ADDED SOME ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES AROUND HOME OWNERSHIP, BUT I JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT FRONT OF MIND. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO INCENTIVIZE AND ENCOURAGE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY DESIGN AND ENGAGE WITH, AND THEN ALSO JUST CELEBRATING OUR USE OF TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTICULARLY PASSING THAT $1 BILLION THRESHOLD. I MIGHT BE IN THE WRONG SECTION NOW. I'M IN THE RIGHT. OKAY. AND JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE, AND I HAVEN'T HEARD US SAY THIS, THAT WE WANT TO HAVE 100% COMPLETELY ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS, BUT JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE THAT, THAT UPTAKE, BUT ALSO BE CLEAR THAT WE THINK THE HUMAN TOUCH IS SO IMPORTANT AND KEEPING THOSE NON-ELECTRONIC OPTIONS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR ELDERS, OUR SENIORS, THOSE WITH ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES.

YOU KNOW, THE USE CASE GOES ON AND ON. SO I WANTED TO POINT OUT THOSE TWO THINGS ABOUT RESIDENCY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING THE HUMAN TOUCH AND NON-DIGITAL OPTIONS AS WE CONTINUE TO INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY. CAN I ASK ONE MORE THING ON THAT? I NOTICED THAT FOR THIS SECTION, IF YOU GO TO THE DASHBOARD OR THE KEY METRICS THAT THE EQUITY TOOLKIT

[01:10:05]

OKAY. I'LL COME. OH, HERE IT IS. SIX FOR. NO IT'S NOT THAT 16565. PERCENTAGE OF DEPARTMENTS UTILIZING EQUITY TOOLKIT TO EVALUATE AND REPORT ON EQUITY AND JUSTICE IMPACT. I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN. I NOTICED THAT IT'S NOT BEING MEASURED. SO I'M CURIOUS AROUND THAT. AND I WANT TO ENSURE THAT REMAINS A FOCUS OF OURS THROUGHOUT EACH DEPARTMENT.

YEAH, WE CERTAINLY CAN GET THAT INFORMATION. I KNOW WE HAVE THE DATA ON IT. THANK YOU. THANKS, MAYOR. COMMISSIONER, MY QUESTION MIGHT BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THAT VERY QUESTION. I KNOW THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD ASKED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ABOUT EMPLOYEE SURVEYS AND FINDING OUT HOW EMPLOYEES ACTUALLY FELT ABOUT WORKING IN THE CITY WITH THE CITY, HOW THEY FEEL WITH WHO THEY WORK, WITH, THE CLIMATE OF THE ORGANIZATION, AND MAYBE MAKING THAT CONNECTION WITH THINKING ABOUT THE TURNOVER AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, GAVE THE STATS ON THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, SHIFTING AND CHANGING AND HIRING PRACTICES, PEOPLE BEING HIRED IN A LITTLE BIT QUICKER THAT THAT WHOLE SYSTEM. I, I HEAR FROM A COUPLE OF PEOPLE OUT IN COMMUNITY THAT HAVE HAD ACTUALLY APPLIED FOR POSITIONS AND HAVE GOTTEN FRUSTRATED BECAUSE OF THE, THE TIMELINE, BUT IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THOSE TWO KIND OF INTERSECT. OKAY.

COMMISSIONER KOGER, THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER, MR. MATTHEWS AND MISS BEHRENS AND ALL THE STAFF THAT HELPED GET THIS TOGETHER. I AM ALWAYS EXCITED TO GIVE RESIDENTS A VIDEO TO REFER BACK TO ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN CITY HALL, AND I THINK THIS MEETING WILL CERTAINLY BE HELPFUL. I HAVE A QUESTION REFERRING TO SLIDE NINE. IT'S TALKING ABOUT THOUGHTFUL AI STRATEGY. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE COUNCIL, THE CITY AI COUNCIL. IS THERE A WAY I STILL AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHO ALL SITS ON THIS BODY? AND THEN HOW WILL THE PUBLIC INTERACT AND INTERFACE WITH THIS COUNCIL? IS THERE A CENTRAL LOCATION WHERE FOLKS IN COMMUNITY CAN ALSO FIND WHO SITS ON THIS COUNCIL, OUR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS? IS THIS SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE THAT AS THE CHAIR OF APPOINTMENTS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL BE APPOINTED TO. JUST TRYING TO. AS THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT CONSTITUENTS CONTINUE TO REACH OUT ABOUT, SEE HOW THEY CAN REALLY BE RIGHT THERE ALONGSIDE US LOCKSTEP AS WE'RE DEVELOPING OUR THOUGHTFUL AI STRATEGY. YEAH. WELL, I MEAN, FOR FOR THE STAFF PORTION OF THIS, I KNOW AT LEAST TWO OF THE COMMITTEES HAVE TALKED ABOUT GOING THROUGH SOME PUBLIC OUTREACH, INVITING COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN AND HAVING SPECIFIC CONVERSATIONS. THE QUESTION INTERNALLY HAS BEEN, AT WHAT POINT DO WE ENGAGE THAT CONVERSATION TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S A PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION? BECAUSE IF YOU JUST THROW AI OUT INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A LOT OF OPINIONS, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO BE INFORMATIVE TO WHAT IT IS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO. SO THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ENGAGING. THE NEXT TIME THE GROUP GETS TOGETHER IS, OKAY, WELL, WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WANT TO ASK THAT WILL HELP INFORM THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LAID OUT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR US WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION. SO IT'S BEEN A PROCESS, BUT THAT REMAINS PART OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. MATTHEWS.

I'M SO THERE'S NOT CURRENTLY A PUBLIC CENTRAL LOCATION WHERE WE CAN FIND EVERYONE WHO SITS ON THIS BODY. NO, NO, LET ME, LET ME. SO WE STARTED THE AI COUNCIL TO HELP THE ORGANIZATION MORE INTERNAL. AND I THINK WE HAVE A COUPLE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM GVSU OR FERRIS, FERRIS AND GVSU TO HELP AND MORE OF HOW WE AS AN ORGANIZATION MANAGE. I DO THINK WE CAN, AS MR. MATTHEWS SAID, SAYS, EVOLVE TO HAVE MORE ENGAGING CONVERSATION. BUT THE INTENT OF THE COUNCIL WAS NOT TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT TO THE COMMUNITY OR BUSINESS

[01:15:08]

YEAH. OKAY. WELL, THIS IS REALLY GOOD TO HEAR. AND I HEAR YOU, CITY MANAGER OF IT'S IT'S LIKE AN INTERNAL TOOL CURRENTLY THAT WE'RE USING, BUT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS FOR THE PUBLIC. SO I'M JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR US TO MAYBE EVOLVE TO A PLACE WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN EASILY ACCESS THIS. BE RIGHT THERE WITH US. I THINK, YES, WE WOULD GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK AND A LOT OF OPINIONS ON THE TABLE. BUT AS WE DISCUSSED IN LATER SECTIONS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, WHICH IS ENSURING THAT RESIDENTS VOICES ARE INCLUDED EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS. SO I ENCOURAGE US, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE A YEAR OUT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S AN INTERNAL TOOL TO REALLY CONSIDER THIS BEING SOMETHING THAT IS MORE FRONT FACING. IN ADDITION, I THINK THAT BY DOING SO, WE'LL FURTHER, WE'VE DONE A LOT ON THIS COMMISSION, PARTICULARLY AROUND TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC TRUST.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ISSUES WHERE FOLKS IN COMMUNITY FEEL AS THOUGH THEY CANNOT TRUST GOVERNMENT WITH HOW THEY'RE USING AI. I MEAN, WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF THAT WITH FLOC AND THE FEATURES THAT THAT HAS. SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHERE I REALLY BELIEVE WE HAVE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW WE'RE LEADING ON AN ISSUE. WE ARE TAKING OUR RESIDENTS CONCERNS SERIOUSLY AND WE WANT TO WORK ALONGSIDE THEM. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR UPDATE, BOTH CITY MANAGER AND MR. MATTHEWS ON THIS, AND THOSE WERE MY COMMENTS AND CONCERNS ON THIS SECTION. I WILL SAY, AND IF, COMMISSIONER, IF I COULD GO BEFORE YOU A SECOND, IF YOU COULD TURN TO SLIDE 34. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF JUSTIFIABLE CONCERN IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT. AI AS A MACRO DISCUSSION. AND IS IT 34? WHERE WAS YOUR 311 DATA? THERE WE GO. OKAY. YEAH. THAT'S IT. OKAY. THAT'S IT. 34 SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S UNDERSTANDABLY A LOT OF A LOT OF REAL ANXIETY IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING SO RAPIDLY. BUT THAT'S REALLY THAT'S, THAT'S HAPPENING AT SEVERAL LEVELS REMOVED FROM THE CITY. I MEAN, WE'RE NOT CONTROLLING WHAT'S GOING ON IN SILICON VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. WE'RE NOT CONTROLLING WHAT'S GOING ON IN CHINA THIS AFTERNOON. WHAT I AM IN A LOT OF YOUR PRESENTATION WAS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT CONTROLS AND, AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT I WANT TO AT LEAST POINT OUT THAT OUR AVERAGE WAIT TIME FOR THREE, ONE ONE PHONE CUSTOMERS AT THIS POINT IS 300 SECONDS, WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE FIVE MINUTES. NOW, I THINK THE, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE MEDIAN PERSON WHO CALLS THREE ONE ON ONE ONE IS EVEN GOING TO BE ABLE TO WAIT FIVE MINUTES. WHEN I USE THE SYSTEM, I'M OFTEN TRYING TO CALL IN SNOW SHOVELING SNOW REMOVAL PROBLEMS, AND THAT'S WHEN I'M WALKING TO WORK AND I THERE'S SOMEBODY, THERE'S A UNSHOVELED SIDEWALK AND I TRY TO CALL 311. AND IF I CAN'T GET THROUGH AND CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE, I HANG UP THE PHONE AND KEEP WALKING. I THINK THAT'S AN AREA WHERE IF WE HAD A SIMPLE, YOU KNOW, RUBRIC FOR AUTOMATED RESPONSE TO A LOT OF THOSE THINGS, I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO, WHAT I WANT TO DO IS SAY SNOW REMOVAL PROBLEM, AND THEN I WANT TO GET ROUTED TO SOMETHING THAT WILL LET ME SAY THAT WILL PROMPT ME TO SAY, WHAT'S THE ADDRESS YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT? AND I CAN ENTER THAT IN. THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING WITH A HUMAN BEING RIGHT NOW, IF I CAN GET THEM. BUT A SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU WAIT FIVE MINUTES IS A SYSTEM THAT STARTS NOT BEING OPTIMIZED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, ESPECIALLY IF OUR GOAL IS UNDER 30S. SO WE'RE ABOUT TEN TIMES OVER OUR GOAL FOR RESPONSE TIME NOW. SO I WOULD I WOULD WELCOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT NUTS AND BOLTS, ACTUAL UTILIZATION AND ACTUAL THINGS THAT ARE BEING DONE IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, WE ALL KNOW THAT THOSE KINDS OF MECHANISMS ARE USED BY VIRTUALLY EVERY COMMERCIAL PLATFORM OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. SO I'M CONCERNED THAT GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HOPELESSLY LAG BEHIND ON THE CONVERSATION. SO IF WE HAVE A IT'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT A SPEEDING CAR AND YOU STAND THERE AND YOU TALK ABOUT THE SPEEDING CAR FOR A YEAR, WELL, THE CAR IS GONE BY THE TIME YOU'RE DONE HAVING YOUR CONVERSATION. AND THIS IS

[01:20:01]

MAYOR, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. I JUST WANTED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN WE

[01:25:04]

AND I THINK MAKING SURE OUR USE THIS PROBLEM CENTRIC. AND WE'RE HAVING THE BIGGEST RETURN ON THE TIME AND BENEFIT TO THE PUBLIC. AND I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD TOPIC TO FOLLOW UP ON DURING OUR WORKSHOP IN NOVEMBER. THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TOPIC TO FOLLOW UP ON. SO I'M NOTICING THE TIME AND NOTICING THAT WE GOT ANOTHER 45 SLIDES TO GET THROUGH. AND THEN WE'VE GOT PUBLIC SAFETY AT 1230. WE MAY NOT HAVE TIME FOR OUR CLOSED SESSION, BUT I WANT TO SAY LET'S CAN WE NEXT MOVE ON TO ANY COMMENTS, ANY ANY TOPICS IN THE NEXT SLIDES UP TO OUR BREAK POINT? COLLEAGUES. I GUESS I WILL LEAD OFF BY SAYING I'M HAPPY TO SEE THE GREAT SUMMARY OF THE HOUSING WORK. I HOPE WE CAN SUSTAIN THAT AND THAT THAT ENERGY. AND I GUESS THAT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR ALL OF US AS WE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. I ALSO WANT TO AT LEAST FLAG THAT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUFF, I DIDN'T SEE ANY WORK ON EITHER EV INFRASTRUCTURE OR ELECTRIFYING THE FLEET. SO REFERENCE TO A COUPLE HYBRID CARS, BUT I, I JUST WANT TO FLAG FOR THE FOR MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

I SAW A STUDY RECENTLY THAT SAID THAT MICHIGAN HAS SOMETHING LIKE A 1% ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADOPTION. SO WE'RE VASTLY BEHIND THE NATION. AND I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE POSSIBLE TO GET EV ADOPTION WITHOUT EV INFRASTRUCTURE. SO I THINK WE NEED IT'S A CHICKEN AND EGG PROBLEM. IF YOU WANT ACTUAL WANT PEOPLE TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY, THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE, THE MEANS TO CHARGE THE VEHICLES THEY'RE INTENDING TO USE. BUT I THINK THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO CITY ELECTRIFICATION OF OUR FLEET, BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW MANY CARS, THESE CARS, WE KNOW HOW MANY MILES THESE CARS GO, WHERE THESE VEHICLES GO. AND, AND WE CAN BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO CHARGE THEM.

BUT THAT'S A LONGER CONVERSATION. I JUST NOTE THAT IT'S NOT REALLY PART OF OUR CAP DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT. SO I'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE MOBILITY SECTION ON THAT MAYOR. COMMISSIONER STACEY, I'M HAPPY TO GO RAPID FIRE TO, LIKE YOU SAID AT THE TIME, I THINK

[01:30:06]

THEN I HEARD YOU SAY FIVE PEOPLE THAT WERE APPLIED BUT UNFUNDED. BUT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A FEW MORE THAT WERE APPROVED. OR MAYBE I'M GETTING THE NUMBERS CONFUSED, BUT THERE'S SOME HANDFUL OF FOLKS THAT WERE LEFT IN LIMBO, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH THEM OR APPROACHING A YEAR OUT AS TO YES, CAN STAY ON HOLD OR MOVE ON WITH YOUR PROJECT OR, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION. BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT LEFT KIND OF HANGING. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I LOVE THAT TO SEE HOW MANY HOUSING UNITS WE ARE DEVELOPING. AND, AND JUST TO CONTINUE TO REMIND FOLKS, BECAUSE IT ISN'T OUR JOB ONLY, RIGHT? WE, WE HAVE THE DEPARTMENT THAT FACILITATES IT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, IT DOES TAKE PEOPLE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO DECIDE TO BUILD THE DENSITY THAT WE NEED SPECIFICALLY WITH RESPECT TO EMERGING DEVELOPERS, BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS. AND IF I GET ANYTHING WRONG, SARAH WILL COME RUNNING UP THE AISLE. BUT JUST A REMINDER. SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT EMERGING DEVELOPERS. THE THING THAT WAS PAUSED BY THE BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY WAS A SPECIFIC EARMARK FOR GRANTS INTO THOSE PROJECTS, AND THE IDEA OF THE GRANTS WOULD THEY WOULD COME IN EARLY. WHEN YOU'RE DOING YOUR ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ARE SOMEWHAT RISKIER BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW THEY'RE SOME OF THE WORK YOU NEED TO HAVE DONE TO SEE IF YOUR PROJECT IS GOING TO WORK, AND THEN TO ATTRACT THE OTHER KINDS OF INVESTMENT THAT

[01:35:05]

SO IT PROVED OUT THERE'S A LOT OF DEMAND. WHAT IT ALSO PROVED OUT IS THAT THE BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY POOL OF FUNDS, THE THE LOCAL BROWNFIELD REVOLVING FUND, THESE WERE GRANTS, THOUGH NOT REVOLVING LOANS. THEY WERE GRANTS IS NOT THE SUSTAINABLE SOURCE FOR THOSE GRANTS. SO THAT'S WHY THEY WERE PAUSED. WE HAVE TRIED TO MAINTAIN COMMUNICATION WITH THE THE FIVE APPLICANTS THAT ARE STILL INTERESTED IN A GRANT THAT WE'RE SEEKING DIFFERENT FUNDS, BUT THOSE FUNDS ARE CONTROLLED BY OTHERS. SO WE HAVE TO GET OTHER PEOPLE ON BOARD TO SAY, YES, THIS IS SOMETHING WORTH DOING. THAT WAS THE REASON FOR THE PRESENTATION TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND BOARD. I THINK OUR STAFF HAVE REALLY COMMITTED TO TRYING TO FIND OTHER FUNDERS TO COME TO THE TABLE FOR THOSE FIVE APPLICATIONS, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT IN LIMBO SEPARATELY. ALSO LOOKING, IS THERE A GOVERNMENT ROLE FOR AN ONGOING GRANT PROGRAM OF THAT NATURE, AND WHO COULD PARTNER WITH US IN THAT? SO WE HAVE COMMUNICATED TO ALL THOSE APPLICANTS, I THINK MOST RECENTLY BACK IN JUNE, TRYING TO FIND OUT, ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED IN A GRANT? DO YOU STILL NEED A GRANT OF THIS NATURE? HOW MUCH TO TO GET TO THE PLACE WHERE THE PRESENTATION WAS MADE TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND BOARD? AND ALSO WE RECOGNIZE AND HAVE HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF APPLICANTS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME. AND SO I NEED YOU TO BE TALKING TO ME MORE OFTEN, MAYBE MORE CLEARLY, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT IS YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL ME. SO WE ARE HEARING THAT AS WELL AND TRYING TO DO BETTER IN PROACTIVELY LETTING PEOPLE KNOW. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW FOR CAN WE MAKE GRANTS IS NO. WE'RE TRYING TO FIND DIFFERENT MONEY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'LL BE SUCCESSFUL AND WE DON'T KNOW THE TIMELINE. SO THAT'S NOT YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T SATISFY. AND SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING. WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK IN PARALLEL WITH THEM ON OTHER INCENTIVES THAT THEY MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR.

HOW ELSE TO, YOU KNOW, GET A PACKAGE THAT'S REALLY ATTRACTIVE AND KEEP THINGS MOVING. BUT THAT IS THAT IS WHERE WE STAND WITH THAT EMERGING DEVELOPER GRANT PROGRAM, IN PARTICULAR, COMMISSIONER KOGER. THANKS, MAYOR. I HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR SLIDE 21. THE TERMINOLOGY IS INTERESTING OF. LET ME SEE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS BEHRENS. OKAY. DEEPLY AFFORDABLE. YES. IF WE COULD JUST EXPAND FOR A MOMENT ON THAT. YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER KNIGHT HAS MADE SOME GOOD COMMENTS ON OUR DISCUSSION AROUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND MAYBE ACCESSIBLE IS A GOOD WORD. IT'S JUST I WOULD LOVE TO, AS I DO ALSO BELIEVE THAT ADDICTION IS IMPORTANT. WHAT DOES WHAT DO WE MEAN BY DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HERE? THAT IS A VERY GOOD POINT. AND I'M LOOKING BACK AT CONNIE AGAIN IF I MESS THIS UP. BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, ESPECIALLY AT OR BELOW 60% AMI, YOU REALLY THE MARKET WITH JUST INCENTIVES IS VERY UNLIKELY TO PRODUCE UNITS AT THAT LEVEL. SO THE BOARD IS REALLY LOOKING AT THAT SECTION AND SAYING, WE WE HAVE FUNDS. WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON THAT SORT OF END OF THE SPECTRUM BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY WON'T BE UNLOCKED WITHOUT SUBSIDIES OF SOME SORT. SO 60% OR BELOW. BUT I WILL NOTE AND TRY TO USE MORE PRECISE LANGUAGE. THANK YOU. AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO WHAT I HEAR IN THE COMMUNITY A LOT. JUST A COMMENT FOR THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT ON SLIDE 25 ABOUT THE SOUTH SIDE CREEK WAYS PLANNING INITIATIVE.

KUDOS TO THAT TEAM. I HAVE REALLY LOVED SEEING THE COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ON THAT. ON SLIDE 38 FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT. I'M WONDERING HERE IF YOU KNOW A LOT OF OUR LEAD ASSISTANCE FOR FOLKS ARE FOR FOLKS WITH CHILDREN. I'M WONDERING IF YOU ALL COULD ENLIGHTEN ME ON RESOURCES FOR FOLKS THAT DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN, ARE NOT EXPECTING THAT THE CITY OFFERS OR THAT THE COUNTY OFFERS. I'M SEEING MISS HATCH IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM SHAKING HER HEAD. SO THAT TELLS ME THAT PROBABLY THE FUNDS ARE PRIORITIZED FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND GENERALLY LIMITED. SO WE RUN OUT OF FUNDS BY THAT TIME. BUT MY UNDERSTANDING ALSO IS THE HIGHEST RISK EXPOSURE IS DUE TO CHILDREN THAT ARE UNDER 3 OR 4 THAT ARE CRAWLING CLOSE TO THEM. AND COLLEAGUES, IF WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS, MAYBE FLAG THINGS FOR LIKE FUTURE, LIKE YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE'RE JUST, WE GOT ANOTHER 45

[01:40:02]

THANK YOU. OKAY. SO THANK YOU ON THE LAD. AND THEN MY LAST NOTE HERE IS ON SLIDE 41. SO LAUNCH THE AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM. IF YOU COULD TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. AND WILL WE HAVE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH JUST AIR. AND THEN THAT CONCLUDES MY QUESTIONS FOR THIS SECTION. YEAH. THAT WAS THE TRANSITION OF JUST AIR FROM DG THAT'S NOW BEING MANAGED BY THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE. VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. THANK YOU ALL. THANKS, COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. SO A FEW COMMENTS AND COLLEAGUES, THESE ARE REALLY JUST AS MUCH FOR YOU AND CITY MANAGER. THERE'S THREE THINGS I WANT TO QUICKLY TOUCH ON. SO WE'VE HEARD ABOUT THE LAND BANK AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND AND THE NEED FOR MORE RESOURCES FOR BOTH OF THEM. WE ALSO KNOW THAT MORE THAN LIKELY, BOTH BODIES ARE GOING TO COME TO CITY COMMISSION TO REQUEST ACCESS TO THE $5 MILLION THAT WE GOT FROM THE THE REST OF THE SALE OF 121 MARKET, WHAT HAS BEEN IN OUR. A LOT OF OUR PLANS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IS A POLICY OR REALLY IN. OUR ADOPTED PLAN IS A COMMITMENT TO CREATE AN ANTI-DISPLACEMENT POLICY, AND WE. YET I THINK WE STILL HAVE.

WE HAVE A NUMBER OF GOOD THINGS IN PLACE. WE HAVE HOME REPAIR ASSISTANCE. WE HAVE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND. WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, WE HAVE THE LAND BANK. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF REALLY STRONG FOUNDATION, BUT WE STILL DON'T HAVE A FULL, ROBUST ANTI-DISPLACEMENT STRATEGY. AND I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THAT IN PLACE BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD IN A VERY AGGRESSIVE WAY WITH LAND BANK ACTIVITY IN PARTICULAR. AND I THINK THERE'S SOME AND I THINK THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO THAT END TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD TO. SO THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE PRESERVING EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING STABILIZATION, ENSURING THAT WE ARE MEETING OUR GOALS AROUND COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP. SO I WANT TO PLUG THAT. I THINK THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE A PRIORITY. AND I THINK IT REALLY SHOULD BE A PRECURSOR TO SOME OF THE MORE AGGRESSIVE WORK WE'RE DOING, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HAVING PROPERTY EXCHANGE HANDS AND HAVING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. SO I WANTED TO FLAG THAT AROUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. RELATEDLY, ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IN THE KPIS AND THE METRICS, WE HAVE ITEMS RELATED TO THE INCLUSION PLAN, AND WE TYPICALLY REPORT THAT OUT. AND WE KNOW INCLUSION PLANS ARE CONSIDERED ASPIRATIONAL. SO THEY DON'T HAVE A TON OF TEETH. AND SO THE WAY WE REPORT OUT IS WHAT'S COMMITTED VERSUS WHAT'S EXECUTED. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE GO BACK AND WE FIND WHAT'S EXECUTED. SO I WOULD LOVE THAT AS A FOLLOW UP AND EVEN CONSIDERING ADDING THAT TO OUR METRIC DASHBOARD.

AND THEN FINALLY WE KIND OF BREEZED OVER IT, BUT THE CAP WAS IN HERE AND THE 20 PRIORITIES. SO I JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT. AND SPEAKING PARTICULARLY WITH CLIMATE ADVOCATES WHO ARE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY INVESTED IN HOW WE OPERATIONALIZE THAT PLAN THAT I THINK WE NEED TO CLARIFY. WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR SELECTING ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES? TYPICALLY, WE APPROVE A PLAN AND IT'S UP TO DEPARTMENTS TO OPERATIONALIZE IT AND IMPLEMENT IT. BUT WITH THIS ONE, WE TOOK A DIFFERENT APPROACH. THE CITY COMMISSION DECIDED ON THE TOP 20. AND SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE CLARIFY, IS THIS MEANT TO COME BACK TO CITY COMMISSION TO EDIT THOSE TOP 20 AS ONES ARE, YOU KNOW, CHECKED OFF? IS IT UP TO US? I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S THE APPROPRIATE WAY FORWARD. I THINK THAT WE TRUST OUR DEPARTMENTS, OUR OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY TO LEAD THAT. SO I WANT TO FLAG THAT. AND I THINK THAT'S AN ACTION ITEM FOR FOLLOW UP. LIKE WHAT IS THAT PROCESS? AND I'VE BEEN ASKED THAT IN REALLY IN REALLY CLEAR LANGUAGE. WHAT IS THE PROCESS? WHAT CAN THE PUBLIC EXPECT AROUND HOW WE APPROACH THOSE TOP 20 PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD? THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

I THINK LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT 45 SLIDES ON. ALL RIGHT. SO WITH MOBILITY AS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVES THERE, FIRST AND FOREMOST, AND YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES IS SAFETY. SAFETY FOR ALL USERS. WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE CHOICES OF HOW THEY GET AROUND AND WHERE THEY WANT TO GET AROUND, AND THAT THEY CAN PLAN TO DO THAT. WE HAVE OBJECTIVES AROUND TRANSPORTATION ASSET MANAGEMENT. SO AGAIN, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE WE ADD MORE AND THEN PARKING AND CURB MANAGEMENT. EVER A POPULAR TOPIC IN GRAND RAPIDS. SO JUST HITTING A FEW HIGHLIGHTS AROUND OUR EFFORTS TO BE LOOKING AT SAFETY AND SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THROUGHOUT OUR NETWORK. YOU'LL SEE HERE

[01:45:05]

SO PEOPLE ARE FINDING THE DASH TO BE SOMETHING USEFUL FOR EVENTS IN AND AROUND DOWNTOWN.

ON OUR NEXT OBJECTIVE, IT'S MAINTAINING WHAT WE HAVE. AND SO WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT AT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TODAY. BUT WE HAVE A ROBUST PROCESS WHERE WE DO PROJECTS ALL AROUND THE CITY AND TRY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING VERY CAREFULLY AT OUR ASSETS AND MAINTAINING THOSE MAINTAINING THOSE PROJECTS. SO JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOU OF THINGS WE WERE ABLE TO DO IN THE LAST CONSTRUCTION SEASON. SO THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT ON ANN STREET. AND YOU SEE HERE THE CROSS SECTION OF WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE THERE WITH SAFE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THEIR VEHICLES. WE ARE SUSTAINING THAT INVESTMENT IN OUR IN OUR MAJOR CORRIDOR. SO HERE YOU HAVE LEONARD STREET, THE AERIAL PHOTOS, SORT OF THE FINISHED PROJECT. AND THEN ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU HAVE A BEFORE

[01:50:02]

SO GODFREY WAS A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT ON THE LOWER LEFT. I'LL JUST CALL OUT. THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT THERE. SO YOU SEE SOME STRATEGIES AT PLAY. THIS WAS A VERY WIDE SORT OF SWEEPING TURN THAT YOU COULD TAKE AT A PRETTY FAST CLIP. AND SO NOW YOU SEE THOSE THAT INTERSECTION THERE IS SQUARED UP. SO SO YOU HAVE LESS RIGHT OF WAY. YOU HAVE MORE SORT OF SIGNALS AS A DRIVER TO SLOW DOWN THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO, TO ENTER A DIFFERENT STREET. AND THEN WITH PARKING, JUST REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS BECAUSE OF THE EFFORT THAT IT TOOK FOR THE WHOLE CITY REALLY TO BE PREPARED FOR THE AMPHITHEATER. AND I THINK THE NUMBER ONE THING WE GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT LEADING UP TO THE OPENING OF THE AMPHITHEATER WAS, BUT WHERE ARE WE GOING TO PARK? SO WE HAD STARTED PREPARING FOR THESE DOWNTOWN FACILITIES WITH RESPECT TO UNDERSTANDING THE DOWNTOWN PARKING DYNAMIC WELL BEFORE WE ANTICIPATED THOSE OPENINGS. SO IF YOU RECALL, WE STARTED A DOWNTOWN PARKING SYSTEM ASSESSMENT, MAYBE IN 2025 TO UNDERSTAND BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARKING, WHAT WAS AVAILABLE, WHAT WAS BEING USED, WHAT WERE PEAK DEMANDS, WHERE WERE PEOPLE GOING TO PARK, WHAT WAS REALLY OUT THERE AS AN ASSET? AND WHAT THAT RESULT TOLD US WAS WE'RE PRETTY CONFIDENT WE HAVE ENOUGH PARKING STALLS ALREADY. WE ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT TRYING TO ADD TO THAT PORTFOLIO RIGHT NOW. LET'S REALLY DOUBLE DOWN ON HAVING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY CAN PARK. SO WE DID A NUMBER OF THINGS, NOT LEAST OF WHICH WAS LAUNCHING OUR FIRST PARKING RESERVATION SYSTEM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF PUBLICITY AROUND THAT. SO A LOT OF ABILITY FOR PEOPLE TO PLAN THEIR TRIP, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT. SO IF PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO GO, THEY'RE MORE COMFORTABLE DOING THAT. THEY CAN PLAN IN ADVANCE.

THEY KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND A PLACE TO PARK. THEY CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND THEIR ROUTE. HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO THE VENUE ITSELF? THEY, AS YOU SAW, USE THE DASH, A LOT OF PEOPLE WALKING, WHICH IS REALLY A LOT OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO. WE WANT PEOPLE CIRCULATING AROUND DOWNTOWN IF THEY ARE ABLE TO AND IF THEY AREN'T, WE HAVE ADA ACCESSIBLE STALLS IN THE RAMP IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE AMPHITHEATER AND AT THE CHERRY LOT AS WELL. SO REALLY JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THAT HAS BEEN, I THINK, REALLY A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THE BUSINESSES ADJACENT AND NEAR THE AMPHITHEATER, AS WELL AS THE, THE FOLKS VISITING THE VENUE. YOU SEE, WE DID A SURVEY THERE AND MORE THAN 90% OF DOWNTOWN EVENT PARKERS WERE SATISFIED OR EXTREMELY SATISFIED WITH THAT EXPERIENCE, WHICH I THINK IF WE HAD TOLD THE PUBLIC THAT IN ABOUT JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED US OUT OF EXISTENCE. SO JUST A LOT OF GOOD WORK THERE THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WITH RESPECT TO METRICS, THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE SEEN THIS REPORT A NUMBER OF TIMES, YOU'LL SEE WE'VE ADDED QUITE A FEW METRICS WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE. SO AGAIN, AS YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO GO THROUGH THOSE, IF YOU HAVE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS FOR US, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND THOSE.

I DID WANT TO FLAG THAT WE EXCEEDED OUR TARGET ON REDUCING THOSE TRAFFIC FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES. SO THAT'S ONE YOU CAN SEE FROM THE DATA HERE FLUCTUATES UP AND DOWN. AND OBVIOUSLY WE ARE PLEASED TO SEE THAT IT WENT DOWN QUITE A BIT OVER THE LAST MEASURING PERIOD.

AND AGAIN, THAT INCREASED ABILITY FOR US TO COME IN AND DO SAFETY PROJECTS IS SOMETHING THAT WE THINK IS MOVING THE NEEDLE THERE. I DO WANT TO ALSO CALL OUT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHART HERE, YOU'LL SEE THERE IS THE ANNUAL INVESTMENT IN STREETS BY WARD ON THE LAST THREE LINES AND YEAR BY YEAR. AND THIS IS SOMETHING YOU HEAR EVERY TIME IN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION. BUT IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE ADDED THESE METRICS TO, TO THIS STRATEGIC PLAN. SO I JUST WANT TO FLAG IT. THIS IS REPORTED EVERY BUDGET CYCLE, YEAR TO YEAR, THE A THIRD, A THIRD, A THIRD INVESTMENT LEVEL IN EACH WARD FLUCTUATES. IT'S THE SIZE OF THE PROJECTS. IT'S, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OTHER NUANCES. BUT OVER THE LIFE OF THE VITAL STREETS INVESTMENT, THAT WILL BE ROUGHLY A THIRD, A THIRD, A THIRD ACROSS THE WARDS. AND WITH EACH BUDGET, WE DO SHOW YOU WHERE WE ARE CUMULATIVELY. SO WITH THAT, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK AHEAD. SO THE MOBILITY BLUEPRINT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE STARTED. AND SO YOU SEE THE KIND OF PROJECT DELIVERABLES AND ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE AND WHERE WE EXPECT TO

[01:55:01]

THANK YOU. I'M GETTING ALL THE ACRONYMS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SELECT CRIME TRENDS. YOU'LL SEE A DECREASE IN CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT. THESE ARE FREQUENTLY HIGHLIGHTED DURING PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS HAVE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF MURDER VICTIMS. HOMICIDES ABOUT THE SAME ONE MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR. AND CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY HAVE INCREASED. WHETHER ESSENTIALLY VICTIMLESS CRIMES.

IN TERMS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ONE NOTABLE INCREASE IS THE BEAT COVERAGE.

100% OF BEATS ARE COVERED NOW ON PATROL. THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I THINK WE MET THE TARGET IN QUITE A BIT. WE TALKED ABOUT 311 EARLIER. I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR 911 DISPATCH EMPLOYEES 96%, 97. ALMOST 97% OF THOSE CALLS ARE ANSWERED WITHIN 15 SECONDS. ALMOST ALL 100 OF THEM ARE ANSWERED. 40S THAT'S A DIFFERENT OPERATION. THERE ARE STAFF, MORE THAN 311.

THEY'RE PAID MORE THAN 311, AND THEY'RE 24 OVER SEVEN BECAUSE OF THE CRITICAL NATURE. SO WE CAN GET SIMILAR OUTCOMES IN 311. BUT IT'S GOING TO COST MORE INVESTMENT IN PERSONNEL. IF WE WANTED TO HAVE THAT KIND OF INTERACTION, YOU SEE THAT THE RESPONSE TIMES FROM DISPATCH TO ARRIVAL, AND PARTICULARLY WHEN THERE IS CRITICAL INCIDENTS AROUND SHOOTINGS, LESS THAN THREE MINUTES, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GAVE AN UPDATE A WHILE BACK ON THE EMPOWER PROGRAM. WELL, THE COLLABORATION WITH CALDWELL HEALTH ON SOME OF THOSE FREQUENT USERS OF SOME OF OUR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, AND TRYING TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PROACTIVE IN OUTREACH EFFORTS. WE CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH NETWORK 180 ON THE CALL RESPONSE MODEL, YOU SEE ALMOST 2800 CALLS IN THE CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR AND THE NUMBER OF REFERRALS TO THE CRISIS STABILIZATION UNIT. ALMOST 80% OF THOSE THAT ARE ENCOUNTERED GET TRANSFERRED TO THAT. OTHERWISE IT WOULD GO TO EITHER JAIL OR HOSPITALS. WE HAD A THIS IS NOT THE MOST RECENT EXPUNGEMENT FAIR. I THINK THIS IS A RESULT OF THE PREVIOUS EXPUNGEMENT FAIR 333 INDIVIDUALS. I CAN'T RECALL THE EXACT NUMBER FROM THIS PAST.

YEAH, IT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE. SIGNIFICANTLY MORE. WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR EFFORTS FOR SUPPORTING SAFETY THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, AND WE'LL HAVE A MORE IN-DEPTH BRIEFING. I WON'T GO OVER THIS IN DETAIL. OUR CODE COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT WILL GIVE US AN

[02:00:03]

THOSE ARE WELL OVER 1000 YOUTH THAT HAVE BEEN SERVED AT LEAST THROUGH SOME OF THE CITY PROGRAM. REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO DO MANY OF THOSE POSITIVE CONTACTS. AND WE CONTINUE TO UTILIZE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CURE VIOLENCE AND URBAN LEAGUE. AND THEY'VE ENGAGED ALMOST 3000 INDIVIDUALS. I KNOW THE MAYOR AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT HAVING MORE CONVERSATIONS WITH MR. DAVIS WITH CURE VIOLENCE ALLIANCE GLOBAL, AND I THINK THAT CONVERSATION IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE SOMETIME THIS MONTH ACROSS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. A LOT OF FACILITY EXPANSIONS, AS YOU'RE AWARE OF OVER $68 MILLION, AND YOU'VE SEEN THOSE OPENED UP IN KENDALL STREET.

WHEN WE OPENED UP THAT FIRE STATION, THIRD WARD DIVISION AVENUE IS FORTHCOMING, AND WE CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THE TRAINING CENTER OF THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT BEEN BY PANEL LATELY, IT'S REALLY A SIGHT TO BEHOLD. ALWAYS MINDFUL OF BOTH HOW WE PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES, RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES, AND RECOVER FROM THEM. AND BENJAMIN RANS HAS BEEN REALLY DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB LEADING OUR DEPARTMENT, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY. YOU SEE, WE HAVE OVER 101 RESIDENTS WHO ARE IN COMPLETED THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING. WE REVIEWED 100% OF THOSE PLANS DOING EMERGENCY PLANS. AND I WANT TO JUST GO BACK TO COMMISSIONER PERDUE'S EARLIER EFFORT ON THE EQUITY TOOLKIT. DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS. THE EQUITY LENS IS UTILIZED ON EVERY DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL AS WE REVIEW IN TERMS OF THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPACT COMMUNITY AS WELL AS STAFFING LEVELS. SO GOING BACK TO THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS, PARTNERING WITH THE UNITED WAY ON OUR DISASTER RELIEF FUND. THAT SHOULD BE MORE UPDATE COMING IN THE FALL.

HOPEFULLY, WE CAN HAVE THAT UNVEILED BY THE TIME WE HAVE OUR WINTER RETREAT. I WON'T GO OVER THESE METRICS IN DETAIL. I'VE HIGHLIGHTED SOME. YOU SEE WHERE WE'RE GOING IN SOME PLACES FROM GREEN TO TO RED, LIKE THE BEATS COVERED TO 100%. YOU'VE SEEN THE I MENTIONED IMPROVEMENT IN CRISIS SOCIETY AND. I WON'T HIGHLIGHT. I WILL HIGHLIGHT THE ONE THAT STILL REMAINS IN RED. WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE IMPROVEMENT. AND THAT'S THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ENROLLED IN OUR EMERGENCY ALERT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM. THE MORE WE CAN ENROLL PEOPLE, THE BETTER. AND THERE HAS BEEN IMPROVEMENT. OUR GOAL IS TO GET MORE THAN 9%, AND WE ARE WENT FROM ABOUT 7 TO 8%. SO WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TIME WE TAKE MEASUREMENT. A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO GET THROUGH THIS TODAY. I CAN SCHEDULE SOME TIME WITH ONE OF OUR FUTURE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETINGS. WE WANTED TO REALLY TAKE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE DISCUSSIONS WE HAD AT THE END OF THE BUDGET AROUND THE MEDIATION AND TRAUMA INFORMED PILOT. WE'VE KIND OF FRAMED SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE COULD DO TO INVEST IN BOTH OF THOSE PROGRAMS. AND AGAIN, WE ALLUDED TO THAT LAST TIME. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO, INSTEAD OF RUSHING THROUGH THE DISCUSSION NOW, BECAUSE I THINK IT MERITS A LOT OF CONVERSATION, IS TO DEFER THIS PART OF THE PRESENTATION TO ANOTHER FUTURE COUNCIL BRIEFING. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THE THINKING THAT WE HAVE AT THIS POINT AROUND THAT SERVICE, AS WELL AS THE THIRD WARD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FUND, THIS COMMISSION AUTHORIZES TO ALLOCATE OVER $100,000. YOU CAN SEE THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE ENTITIES THAT ARE DOING WORK IN THIRD WARD. AND IF YOU ALLOCATE THE MONEY, IT'S

[02:05:05]

I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY. IS THIS MAYBE I NEED TO IS THIS RIGHT? 2027? THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT BY THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2026. OKAY, SO ALL OF THAT IS DUE AT WHERE IT SAYS 2027, THE END OF THIS YEAR, THIS CALENDAR YEAR. OKAY. A COUPLE OTHER THINGS AS WELL THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DISCUSS. YOU GOT YOU AUTHORIZE THE FUNDING OF SEVERAL POSITIONS AND PROGRAMS FOR A PARTIAL YEAR THROUGH THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2026, BUT NOT AUTHORIZED AT FULL FULLY IN 20 FOR THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR. AND THOSE ARE PROGRAMS IN OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY ENGAGEMENT, OUR SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, AS WELL AS THE ENHANCED COMMUNICATION SUPPORT. WE WILL NEED TO KNOW BY THE TIME WE GET TO OUR FALL WORKSHOP, WHETHER OR NOT THOSE SERVICES ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUE TO BE FUNDED IN THE BALANCE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR, OR. PILOTED SOME MORE. WE NEED TO GET MORE DIRECTION, BUT WE'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE FROM THE COMMISSION ON ON YOUR PREFERENCE. MY, MY ASSUMPTION FROM TALKING TO EVERYONE INDIVIDUALLY IS THAT THERE'S A STRONG SENSE FOR THESE PROGRAMS TO CONTINUE, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE THAT PRESUMPTION WITHOUT GETTING FEEDBACK. AND AGAIN. CLOSING OUT, THESE ARE THE DATES FOR ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION, THE LEADERSHIP RETREAT WORKSHOP, RATHER, IN NOVEMBER THE 12TH, AS I COMMITTED EARLIER, I'LL COME BACK WITH SOME OTHER TOPICS BEFORE THEN. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER BRIEFING AROUND FEBRUARY FOR OUR MID-YEAR PERFORMANCE UPDATE. SO WITH THAT, I'LL PAUSE AND SEE WHAT QUESTIONS THE COMMISSION HAS. GREAT. THANKS. AND JUST A COUPLE HIGH LEVEL COMMENTS I WILL MAKE. I'VE SAID I SAID BEFORE THAT I THINK IN OUR MOBILITY, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT NON CAR TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS AND DESIGN, A COUPLE OF THINGS.

ONE IS I'M GLAD WE HAVE THE CONSULTANT COMING IN, BUT I DO THINK WE OUGHT TO HAVE A LONG TERM CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER WE NEED SOMEBODY DOING THIS VISIONING WORK, WHO'S EMBEDDED IN THE STAFF AND REALLY FOCUS ON IT FULL TIME. IT'S GREAT TO HAVE ENGINEERING, WORKING ON MAKING, BUT ENGINEERING FUNCTIONALLY, THE CORE FUNCTION OF ENGINEERING IS TO MAKE SURE THINGS DON'T BREAK. AND I THINK THAT HAVING MORE OF AN ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS ON SOME OF THIS STUFF MEANS HAVING SOMEBODY LOOKING, LOOKING AT VISIONING. AND I KNOW THAT'S PART OF THE PART OF THE CONSULTING WORK WE'RE DOING, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE AN ONGOING NEED, AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AS WE DO THIS WORK. I THINK I'M ALWAYS LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE DO NEW THINGS THAT ARE CONTINUOUS, THEY'RE POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE, THEY'RE RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO COMPATIBLE. SO, YOU KNOW, THE TENSION BETWEEN MAKING BULB OUTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT MAKE IT THAT ARE PRO PEDESTRIAN, BUT TURN OUT TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO CYCLE. I THINK WE HAVE TO ALWAYS BE LOOKING AT MAKING SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE SYSTEMS ARE MUTUALLY COMPATIBLE. AND, YOU KNOW, SAME WITH THE FACT THAT THE FACT IS MOST OF OUR COMMUNITY DRIVES AS A FORM OF TRANSPORTATION MOST OF THE TIME IN INDIVIDUAL VEHICLES. SO WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE THAT IMPOSSIBLE OR WORSE. I THINK THAT THERE'S A SPACE TO MAKE IT MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER. AS FAR AS PUBLIC SAFETY GOES, GREAT WORK A LOT IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHERE WE CAN GO NEXT. AND I THINK THAT LEVERAGING SOME OF THESE REALLY GOOD INITIATIVES EXCITES ME. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A CO-RESPONSE MODEL. CAN THAT GET FULLY CAN THEY GET GROWN TO THE POINT WHERE WE REALLY HAVE IT AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY? AND, AND LOOKING AT THOSE NEEDS AND WHETHER WE'RE MEETING THEM, BUT ALSO ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GOING COULD WE HAVE NOT A CO-RESPONSE BUT A SOCIAL WORKER ONLY RESPONSE TO SOME CATEGORIES? THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT I'D LOVE TO HAVE ON THE DAIS AND EXCITING TO I MEAN, JUST GR IS ON THE HORIZON, BUT SO IS I THINK THAT MR. DAVIS AND CITY MANAGER AND I ARE GOING TO GO TALK WITH THE FOLKS AT CURE VIOLENCE, BECAUSE THAT'S A A VERY COMPREHENSIVE

[02:10:05]

VIOLENCE IS LOOKING AT VIOLENCE AS THOUGH IT'S AN EPIDEMIC. IT'S POTENTIALLY TRANSMISSIBLE.

THERE ARE CARRIERS, THERE ARE OUTBREAKS. AND, AND LOOKING AT AT THAT ALMOST THROUGH A MEDICAL LENS, IT'S A IT'S AN EXTENDED METAPHOR, BUT IT'S A VERY POWERFUL METAPHOR. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO REALLY, REALLY SEE HOW WE CAN DRILL DOWN ON THAT. BUT EXCITING. I THINK IT'S ALL I THINK IT'S ALL GOOD TREND LINES AND THINGS WE CAN. I HOPE WE CAN MOVE, MOVE TO THE NEXT STEPS ON COMMISSIONER KILGORE. THANK YOU. MAYOR, I CONCUR WITH A LOT OF THE POINTS MADE. MISS BEHRENS, IF I MAY START ON SLIDE 50 WITH THE FUN PICTURE, I STILL. I'VE SEEN THE SCOOTERS AROUND. I HAVE YET TO SEE A. IS IT A TRIKE, THOUGH? WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT? A. IS THAT THE WORD? ALL RIGHT. I REALLY WANT TO TRY ONE OF THOSE. I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT. I BELIEVE THIS MAY BE MOBILE GR THE TEAM WORKING A POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. A FRIEND, A FEW FRIENDS SENT ME A REDDIT POST ABOUT DIRECTLY FROM STAFF ON VO SERVICES AND THE CONCERNS THEY'VE HEARD AND ADDRESSING THEM DIRECTLY. THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK, LIKE HUNDREDS OF COMMENTS AND THOUSANDS OF INTERACTIONS WITH THE POST. SO I AM ALWAYS JUST LIKE RECENTLY I HIGHLIGHTED CURE VIOLENCE, DOING A GREAT JOB OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA. WE ARE TRULY MODERNIZING HOW WE CONNECT WITH FOLKS. AND WITHOUT AI, THAT WAS A HUMAN GIVING THAT FEEDBACK, BUT I DIGRESS. BUT THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY GREAT TO SEE. SO THANK YOU TO MOBILE GR AND THE STAFF FOR THAT. WE'RE WE ARE, WE'RE COMING, WE'RE THERE.

WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE FUTURE. COMMISSIONER KNIGHT AND I ALSO TRIED OUT VO SCOOTERS IN DC LAST WEEK AT THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE. AND THAT WAS A TON OF FUN. I CAN SAY THE GEOFENCING WORKS FOR SURE. WE WERE GOING TO THE EIGHTH STREET FESTIVAL, AND WHEN I TOOK, WE WERE LIKE, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO GET UP CLOSE OFF AND IT JUST ALERTS YOU BETTER THAN LIME. I REALLY FELT LIKE, OKAY, THERE IS NO GOING THERE. SO THANKFULLY THEY HAD LITTLE PEDALS, SO WE GOT TO PEDAL AWAY. AS YOU KNOW, AS THE LITTLE BATTERY TURNED OFF. THAT WAS HILARIOUS. AND THEN ALSO WHY I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE TRIKE IS I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE US IN EVERY WAY WE CAN, SUPPORTING FOLKS WITH DIFFERENT MOBILITY NEEDS MOVING FORWARD HERE TO SAFE COMMUNITY. IF I MAY GO TO SLIDE 64. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE LAST BULLET POINT HERE AND SAY A THANK YOU TO THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE OFFICERS, GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS AND CHIEF TRIGG FOR PARTICIPATING IN A SAFE INTERACTIONS WITH THE TWO LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. IT WAS MEANINGFUL TO SEE THE CHIEF THERE. I THINK THAT SENDS A VERY STRONG MESSAGE THAT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT IS REALLY WORKING HARD TO BE ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE AND CARING AND OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES, AND IT MEANS A LOT TO SEE A DIRECTOR BE EXECUTIVE THERE, ALONG WITH OTHER FOLKS.

AND THEN LASTLY, HERE ON SLIDE 69. THE MAYOR ACTUALLY DISCUSSED THIS, AND THIS IS SOMETHING MAYBE WE CAN COME BACK TO LATER, BUT JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY EMERGENCY, WE TALKED ABOUT SORT OF WELLNESS LINES. SO SORT OF SUPPORT FOR SENIORS AND FOLKS IN NEED OF SOCIAL SUPPORT. AND A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT I EXAMINED ABOUT THIS IS CLEVELAND CARES. SO THESE ARE REGULAR CALLS TO SENIORS AND FOLKS IN NEED OF SOCIAL SUPPORT. AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE MAYOR NOTED, AND I'D LOVE TO FLUSH THAT OUT AND SEE IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. AND ALSO WITH CLEVELAND CARES, THERE IS A SECTION WHERE IT'S VOLUNTEER LED. SO IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT COME AT A SIGNIFICANT COST. AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS ON THESE ON THIS SECTION. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER KNIGHT. SURE. THANK YOU. MAYOR. JUST A YOU DID NOT HAVE TO SHARE THAT ABOUT THE VIEW. THE SEATS ARE TOO SHORT AND THEY DON'T RAISE UP. SO I HAD ISSUES. I DID WANT TO THINK ABOUT, THOUGH, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EXPANDED USE OF TRANSPORTATION CHOICES, I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF SMALLER UNITS THAT HAVE COME ON ON LINE, KIND OF THE GOLF CART ISH, THE THE KARAOKE AND THINKING ABOUT EVEN ADDING THAT. I KNOW THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES THOUGH WITH INSURANCES AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE I HAD A COUPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME PEOPLE, BUT JUST TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE EVEN LOOK AT THAT AS AN EXPANDED ACCESS FOR OTHER MOBILITY CHOICES AND TRY TO HELP REALLY HELP THEM WORK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. BECAUSE AGAIN, INSURANCE CAN BE HEFTY. SO HOW DO WE LOOK AT

[02:15:05]

BUT I WILL ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO PROVIDE YOU MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT IS AND ISN'T ALLOWED IN THAT SPHERE, BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT IT QUITE A BIT. COLLEAGUES. COMMISSIONER BELICHICK, I'LL JUST SAY VERY QUICKLY THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THE LEVEL ONE CERT FOR THE EMERGENCY READINESS PROGRAM. AND SO I GUESS I OFFICIALLY AM ONE OF THE THOSE NEIGHBORS THAT KNOWS A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE OUR OWN SELVES FOR EMERGENCIES. BUT THE PROGRAMS AT LEVEL TWO ACTUALLY PREPARES YOU QUITE EXTENSIVELY TO BE ABLE TO BE A NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE FOR YOUR FOR IN THE EVENT A REAL TRAGEDY, DISASTER, OR EMERGENCY HAPPENS. COLLEAGUES ARE THERE. OKAY, MAYOR, IF I COULD. SO THIS IS GOOD FEEDBACK. IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN CONTINUE CONVERSATION ON AI AT OUR WORKSHOP. I HEARD CAP ANTI-DISPLACEMENT STRATEGY EMERGING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND I THOUGHT I HEARD YOU. WE GET YOUR QUESTIONS ON EV PARKING STRUCTURE SATISFIED. IS THAT MORE CONVERSATION? THAT'S A LONGER CONVERSATION. BUT I THINK THAT I'M SAYING THAT THE WORKSHOP. YEAH, OKAY. AND JUST TO NOTE, JUST ON THE CLEVELAND CARES, I AM FAMILIAR WITH THAT PROGRAM. THEY DO USE AUTOMATED PHONE SERVICES AND AI TO REACH OUT TO SENIORS AND DO WELLNESS CHECKS. SO THAT'S APPROPRIATE USE OF TECHNOLOGY. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONVERSATION. GREAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

ALL. THAT GIVES US A 30 MINUTE BREAK BEFORE OH I'M SORRY. YEAH. FOR CITY MANAGER FOR NOVEMBER.

DID WE ALSO WANT TO ADD 311 FOIA TO THAT LIST? YEAH. I ASSUME THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE AI DISCUSSION. YES. SPECIFICALLY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FOIA. THAT'S GREAT. OKAY.

THANK YOU. GREAT. OKAY. THAT

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.