So, I had the opportunity to go to uh Vanguard for the longevity award. My goodness, I was so impressed because all the teachers who did not get the longevity were there also to applaud their peers who had made it up there. High Desert Premier was special to me because one of the people there um was one of my office managers. Um so I really wanted to be there even though I had no idea she was retiring. So that was one of those um exciting moments. Uh Apple Valley uh virtual academy. um another impressive experience to be able to have the longevity for people who um who meet our children virtually and they have actually provided uh a service that most people only can think about but they don't implement but we have an outstanding virtual academy we have the opportunity to go read to those kids virtually and I never had that experience because I'm from the old school I like chalk and pencil and so to be able to read to somebody virtually was a little a little challenging.
This in my opinion should receive um some attention for them from them before it comes to the full body of council for consideration. Thank you, Commissioner Graham. Um Miss Cornell, um the environmental commission uh advises the city council It doesn't doesn't have anything to do with high commission. Well, I we would really like to work with them. We'd really like to work much more than we have with planning director. I ran the natural features committee for nearly 20 years. In the last 10, while we were trying to work out improvements to natural features ordinances, natural features provisions in the UDC, we invited the planning director to every meeting, sent him minutes. He came to one over all those years. He came to a meeting last week with us, biodiversity committee. He said, quote, I am not interested in expanding natural features protections in the city, unquote.
You will be very impressed. It starts at 10:00 a.m. That's a Saturday. As we approach Memorial Day, let us take a moment to reflect. This day is not only a time for gathering with our family and friends. It's also a solemn occasion to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Remember, Memorial Day is memory, not not it's different. Can I May I just finish? I have one more sentence. Uh may we remember with gratitude and uphold the values they fought to protect and strive to live their lives worthy of their legacy, wishing everyone a meaningful Memorial Day and continued success for all our students and staff. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Bastard. Uh, Commissioner Brussiak. Thank you, Mr. President. I was unable to attend this past Tuesday, so I want to congratulate all the recipients of the Distinguished Academic Achievement Awards.
Will we have a new art room somewhere? Will we have art on a cart? Do fifth graders really need a kiln in their classroom? Like Matt, my son's first thing was, "There's a really big closet in that room and a kiln. Will I never get to use the kiln? Please put our students first. Let them keep the premium classroom space in a pod. Spread the Yale classes throughout the Macy's school. Put one in each of the hallways, the elementary hallway, the green hallway, and the red hallway. I know that these are K to5 students, but our students and their needs should always come first. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. Um, I just wanted to My name is Sean. I live in uh where we live in the Bernard Run. Um, I just got to take up something that happened last week by some of the board members when some of us who work with kids with disabilities were given our views on, you know, our experiences of how we, you know, some childrens that we some children that we dealt with.
Any discussion? All those in favor? 7. So that brings us to other. No other. Okay. Hearing nothing else. So I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Travis second. All those in favor 70.
So, we will have a second person on that committee. Um, So you don't have to feel that it's do or die. So but but yours if you would like it. So just a question. Um if because they're going to talk soon, right? Like hopefully over the weekend. If you like it, can he start participating in it before we vote or does he can I can I make one can I make one clarification on the comprehensive plan position? My understanding, Trisha, is that it does need to be voted upon and approved both by the planning board as a unit and by the select board. I don't think we can just plug someone into Kit's role. If I recall, the two planning board members and the two select board members were selected by each group and then voted upon together. Right. So that's true. So when they first process, throw somebody in.
Um during the read across America, I went to uh Granny Hills High School and and was um selected to um to give an award to a senior who is graduating from Granite Hill High School. I have to say that even though I I am a recipient of an award from uh DVL, I went so that the students will see that even though we have received these awards, we are still here to hold them up. I am of the feeling that if you cannot climb uh um uh the the to the roof, hold the ladder for somebody else to get there and hold on to that ladder so that if they should look back, they can see you still there waiting for them and making sure that they get there. So that was one of those espec especially um impressive experience that I had at Granite Hills.
I don't think his planning commission is going to be interested in this either. I don't think there's anybody on the planning commission that isn't strongly prodevelopment. It doesn't think that natural features productions are an impediment to development, which is silly and not in accord with most people in the city of Ann Arbor think who actually loan property here and live here. I we we're going to pass this resolution tonight and pass it on to you. If you want to send it to the planning commission, you can. But I would advise you to uh take our side and try to get your fellow council members to stop drinking the developer Kool-Aid. We don't want greed doing densification in this city. We want really fun, exciting natural features protecting, biodiversity protecting, uh, design with nature development to happen in this city. And you can do that. You don't have to go this willy-nilly break neck change everything course of action.
To have an average GPA of 89 over three marking periods is absolutely exceptional. I don't think I've ever done that. So, when I attended Clifton High School, so congrats to all you recipients. You absolutely earned it. Uh I was also unable to attend the CA 40th annual annual dinner. I want to congratulate CA teacher of the year par of the year and those with excellence excellence in education 25 years in and the retirees. You made it. Congratulations. Shout out to the CHS orchestra which I went to go see last night with my kids. It was absolutely outstanding performance. There were there were students from freshman all the way up to seniors and it was absolutely fantastic. Uh lots of classics too when you were growing up and um I'm sorry I didn't see more people there but there were lots of conflicts. So even Woodro their eighth grade classes but there are only so many days we could do it.
We weren't dis we were told we were disparaging those kids. We were told we should be ashamed of ourselves. Why should we be ashamed of ourselves? We're giving given our personal experiences. My son is on the spectrum. I wouldn't disparrage or disrespect him or put him down or put anybody down like that. We were just given our experiences and I and you know what I I it really made me mad. It made a lot of other people mad that you guys would sit up there, not all of you, but some of you would sit up there and talk to us like we're some little kids and that we should be ashamed of ourselves for publicizing our personal view or our experiences. I I can't speak for everybody else, but I know for me, if I was going to say everybody was like that, I would just say it.
Yep, I got it. Wait, wait. So you'll see. So I will see if um well Camille can see if he is interested. If he is interested then we will follow that proper process with the select board. If he determines that he cannot do it at this time then I will submit we will again decide as our group and then we will follow the proper process. So um so yes there we'll we'll make sure things are done uh done properly just to make it clear. Yeah. Okay. And and again, I would be delighted to have a planner on that on that group because without a planner in the room, it's been very difficult. All right. So, it is actually exactly 8:00 and I want to be respectful of your time and wherever you need to be. You're being missed on comprehensive plan team. So, um I'll take right now.
Then um uh the the at the last board meeting I was just I was teasing the principal from Yakaloma to say I never see anything that you're doing um you know so can you tell me and he says well we have Lion King at 9:45 and I said 9:45 that is that is too early for me I'm retired so 9:45 means I have to get up early but will you believe it those children did not disappoint I showed up there those children knew their lines. They made me sit in I sat in the back and I was singing along. It was the best experience. Anybody that knows me knows that I come alive when I'm in front of children. And so I was worse than the children. You know, the music is still going and I'm just singing away and they couldn't control me. Um then I went to uh the arts attack at Rancho Verdie.
Thank you. I'm just going to say I think what I heard council member Cornell said they're going to get feedback from planning. That doesn't necessarily mean they have to accept all the feedback that planning gives. Um I think very appropriate for council but the council needs to ask the planning commission. We don't go to the planning commission and say okay give the council your opinion. We don't we don't work for the planning commission. We were established as an environmental commission almost 30 years ago because there was a very pro-development mayor who was appointing highly developmentoriented people to the planning commission and there still were people on the council that really like the environment in Ann Arbor. And so led by Chris Cole, the council decided we'd establish an environmental commission to to advise the council on a different set of policies. And instead of the mayor appointing appointing uh environmental commission members, they were appointed by the council and have been ever since.
There only so many days and uh as a result there are unfortunately some conflicts. So shout out to everybody uh who helped make that happen yesterday. I want to give my prayer to uh Commissioner Suarez and Mr. Shahada on their marriage this weekend. Lord, I give you this marriage that Tanya and Ahmed are about to embark on. Give them an unshakable bond with one another that they commit you to their intentions for a strong family, remain faithful to one another, and grow old together. We trust you help them to succeed in your name. Amen. Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. May we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Thank you for your time and God bless America. Have a good night everybody. Thank you, Commissioner Brunak. Commissioner Kenova, uh congratulations to all the award recipients tonight and retirees.
But I didn't say that because I know not every kid on the spectrum is like that. My son, he goes to Bronson County Special Services. He has kids that are farther on the spectrum than he is. I just want everybody on the board to remember that we put you there. We elected you. The people elected you there. And as easy it is to put you there, it's easy to take you out of there. I hope you guys enjoy your night and I and I want to say I get it. You guys are professionals. You have other jobs. I'm a professional. I I have a career. I I know it's not easy doing this. I know it's not. And I don't mean any disrespect to anybody up here, but I just want people to maybe remember that we're the bosses. You guys are doing our work for us, but we're the boss.
Yeah. Yeah. And so those are and the other things on the list um are we're reviewing a letter we've been putting together for the most recent 40B. Obviously that just goes to the state and the zoning board of appeals. It doesn't come before our board, but um but we'll be the letter actually needs to be submitted by the end of May, but it was something that the three of us were drafting and we will definitely once the draft is put together, it will be sent to all board members. that you'll have a chance to comment on it as well. It'll be happening pretty quickly over the next five or six days. Sorry. Um so it's comment via email and then right it'd be it'd be comment um back to Elvo. Um sometimes and we'll determine if we need to do that. Sometimes we do call a very short meeting online to discuss to discuss those things and we may need to do that.
I have to say it was an experience. Um the history of their artwork is all over that campus. You can see when it started. You can see all of those that has been going on. And in the past when I've gone to that school, I make a point of taking photographs of some of those uh murals to share out to show what the kids are doing. Um I came to the certificated employee of the year award. Ex. Excellent. Excellent. Um we should do this more often. Um, and I just I just felt that, you know, this is one time that they felt that somebody saw them. Um, hopefully we'll spread it to get even more people to to to to participate. Um, I went to the the most fascinating experience I had, I went to the EKG award uh at the adult education. Um, Mrs.
This the the origin of the environmental commission was to protect the environment in Ann Arbor and it was protected against uh the arrogance and over uh enthusiasm of the developing development community operating here wanting to operate here. Here we are again. So Chris, I agree that the way the bylaws are set up, the environmental commission recommends to city council. We can add something in there after that saying city council can get feedback from planning commission. I don't think that's any different whether we write it or not. That's exactly what they're going to do and that's what they should do. Um so I I have to figure out how we put the words in there. They'll have to they'll do what they do. Yeah. Uh Rita well um we are reviewing bylaws today and when I looked over the draft even coming up for the sustainability commission the point is that there's an advis advisory capacity to council and that's where we are right now and I think that that's where we should stay and and I agree with um commissioner Graham that council we would pass this to council that council would assess and I would welcome them to send it to planning and I would absolutely welcome working with the planning commission um with planning staff to really work out and collaborate in ways that can be creative and do the kinds of protective things that I think we all have as a vision for the city.
Uh, congratulations to Miss Suarez and Mr. Shahada. May you have many years of happiness and love as a family. Congratulations to Dr. Robert Tozi in the Superintendent Year award. It was great to see that others can see what we see as well. We appreciate all that you do for our district. Um, distinguished award on on Tuesday. It was amazing to see lots of kids there that filled the room. Um, it's a good problem to have a large filled room with with uh many distinguished honors there. Um, also great to hear that our district received an award for their dedication to the music program. I think that's another excellent piece that we have to offer and just have a safe and enjoyable uh memorial day weekend. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Kenova. Commissioner, Dr. Danny, yes. I'd like to say um to the student representative board, Mark, um thank you so much um for your service, for all that you've done, and and much success.
I appreciate you guys and you have a good night. Hello board members. I'm Kelly Broadbent. Um I live in Colts Run. Um and I have three children that go to Demacy Elementary. Um my head and heart are still reeling after our Democy Elementary PTA meeting on Tuesday night where Dr. Smith shared the Yell situation. Um, I want to make it very clear that our problem is not the Yale students coming into our school. We very openly welcome differences in people at our school. Our problem is that our children's classrooms that are currently being used um are being rented out and this has been done without the consideration of or the input from the Demacy teachers, the staff, the students and their families. The classrooms slated for Yale in the contract are our fourth and fifth grade class graders classrooms. And the proposed change is to push these classes to the current art room and a tiny windowless room that is currently used as a room for the middle school.