Flint City Council looks to suspend Eric Mays at upcoming special meeting

Flint, MI — The Flint City Council is calling a special meeting after members failed to hold a regularly scheduled meeting on July 24, 2023 due to time restraints.

Some lingering agenda items included grants providing recycling carts for the city and a resolution that would suspend Flint City Councilman Mays from council meetings and responsibilities until September.

The special meeting will take place at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 31 in the Dome Auditorium at Flint City Hall.

Since the beginning of May, council has been meeting in the Dome Auditorium or the Genesee County Administration Building due to renovations in the body’s normal chambers at city hall.

When council meets in the Genesee County Administration Building, they have to vacate the meeting room by 9:30 p.m.

After running out of time, a number of outstanding items were left on its July 24 Special Affairs meeting agenda which is held before their regularly scheduled city council meeting.

During its Special Affairs Committee meeting on July 24, 2023, council voted to send a variety of items to the council meeting agenda:

• Council voted to send a resolution to the council meeting agenda that would call for a public hearing on the Brownfield Redevelopment Plan.
• Council voted to send a resolution to the council meeting agenda that would initiate a $151,528 contract with American Leak Detection for water line leak detection.
• Council voted to send a resolution to the council meeting agenda that would hold an investigative hearing about the credit card policies of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
• Council voted to send a resolution to the council meeting agenda that would allocate an additional $90,000 to its contract with Rowe, Inc. for zoning services, for a new contract total of $350,000.
• Council voted to send an appointment to the council meeting agenda that would appoint Melissa N. Brown to the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library District Board until September 30, 2025.
• Council voted to send an appointment to the council meeting agenda that would appoint Carol-Anne Blower to the Flint Planning Commission until March 31, 2024.
• Council voted to send an appointment to the council meeting agenda that would appoint Derwin S. Munroe to the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors until August 7, 2024.
• Council voted to send an appointment to the council meeting agenda that would appoint Karen Vance to the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors until March 31, 2026.
• Council voted to send an appointment to the council meeting agenda that would appoint Marsay Wells-Strozier to the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors until March 27, 2024.

The council meeting agenda from the July 24, 2023 also already included the following:

• A change order for qualified electrician services that would add $70,000 to a total cost of $494,832.
• A resolution that would issue a $400,000 purchase order to Metron-Farnier, LLC for residential and commercial water meters.
• A resolution that would issue a $200,000 purchase order to Siemens Mobility, Inc. for Eagle Signal parts for Flint’s traffic lights.
• A resolution that would issue a $176,000 purchase order to Aldridge Trucking for aggregates that would go toward road repairs, yard repairs, sidewalks and other construction items.
• A resolution that would issue a $140,000 purchase order to William E. Walter for HVAC services in city buildings.
• A resolution that would enter in a $78,028.72 agreement with Tyler Technologies New World System for standard software maintenance through June 30, 2024 for the police records management system.
• A resolution that would accept the $72,000 Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Audible Crosswalk Assists grant.

Other outstanding items from the Special Affairs Committee meeting agenda on July 24, 2023 include:

• A resolution to add an additional $5,989.79 to the city’s contract with the Genesee Land Bank for demolition of properties where there are fire insurance funds held in escrow.
• A resolution to accept a $129,720 grant from the State of Michigan for the City of Flint’s Essential Services Buildings projects.
• A resolution that would suspend Councilman Eric Mays from council meetings or responsibilities until September 1, 2023.
• A resolution that would accept a $1 million grant for recycling carts and educational materials.
• A resolution that would accept a $2,492,000 grant for the purchase and distribution of recycling and trash carts and educational and outreach efforts. This portion of the grant also includes a resign donation for the carts that is valued at $900,000 and other in-kind services valued at $125,000, giving it a total value of $3,517,000.
• A resolution that would authorize a contract with Priority Waste, LLC. that would end June 30, 2028. The contract total for a fiscal year would be $6,722,407.80.
• The appointment of Dr. Khalid M. Ahmed to the Hurley Board of Hospital Managers until April 30, 2028.
• The appointment of Mildred Silva-Zuccaro to the Hurley Board of Hospital Managers until April 30, 2028.
• The appointment of Shawn Hairston to the Flint Planning Commission until March 31, 2026.
• The appointment of Joseph King to the Ethics and Accountability Board until June 25, 2028.
• The appointment of Billie Dantzler to the Ethics and Accountability Board until June 25, 2028.