Join the committee by phone, online, or in-person at 500 Griswold Street, Floor 6: https://buildingdetroit.org/events/meetings

📎 No agenda! The only one I found on their website is for a past meeting. I emailed the DLBA yesterday to ask for an agenda, but I didn’t get a response.

🏃 Need to catch up on DLBA? See @HeatherPInTheD’s tweets from the last meeting we covered: https://twitter.com/HeatherPInTheD/status/1518940494990123011

See our past DLBA reporting: https://detroit.documenters.org/reporting/?search=detroit+land+bank+authority

We will have notes, recordings, and archived materials from this meeting: https://detroit.documenters.org/assignments/financeaudit-committee-meeting-4064/

🗞 Who can buy from the Detroit Land Bank Authority? Can their properties get blight tickets? Are they really a public agency? @AaronMondry and @MalakSilmi answered these questions and more: https://outliermedia.org/detroit-land-bank-authority-explainer/

The Land Bank has gotten criticism from a number of their homebuyers, who said they had no way of knowing their new homes were disconnected from water. Many blamed @DetroitWaterDep. Aaron Mondry reports: https://outliermedia.org/land-bank-homebuyers-claim-detroit-dwsd-misled-water-lines/

❓ The Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) acquires and sells abandoned, foreclosed, and otherwise vacant properties. It’s led by a Board of Directors, appointed by @MayorMikeDuggan. They meet monthly.

DLBA’s website: https://buildingdetroit.org/

Your DLBA boardmembers and their roles:

• Carol Walters
• Erica Ward Gerson, chair
• Miranda Morrow-Bartell, secretary
• Patricia Pernell Shelton, vice chair
• Richard Hosey, treasurer

It’s hard to find info on DLBA’s boardmembers, which is frustrating for a public agency. So I dug around, fired up my old LinkedIn account (shivers), and put everything I found in this thread: https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539227851454570496

Those are my background notes on this meeting. See you at 10:00 AM!

Find something inaccurate? Email documenters@outliermedia.org with the subject “Correction Request”. I’ll add corrections at the end.

Need image descriptions? Reply and I’ll describe images for you.

The online meeting is now live, y’all. https://t.co/KPZ3QJWHPX

I’m still stuck in the waiting room too! @taliargordon https://twitter.com/taliargordon/status/1539247749622861830

@taliargordon Got into the meeting! https://t.co/yEmJNKSkMK

@taliargordon At least three people here with what seems like ten attendees. A host says that some staffmembers joined the wrong online meeting, which caused a delay.

@taliargordon Walters is here. An unidentified member of the meeting body says this will be an informal meeting since they won’t meet quorum.

⌚️ At 10:12 AM, the meeting starts! #DETdocumenters

@taliargordon 📣 The committee proceeds straight to public comments! No-one requests to speak in the online meeting.

@taliargordon 📝 At 10:13 AM, the committee proceeds to updates on client services. Reginald Scott, finance, says the board will receive two budgets on Tuesday: the upcoming fiscal year budget as well as next year’s budget-to-adopt. …

@taliargordon Reginald says they still need to make sure the latter budget reflects their current operations.

He remarks that “revenues are trending in a positive direction” and that there are “no red flags” at this time.

@taliargordon 📊 At 10:17 PM, the committee proceeds to Karla Marshall’s presentation on property dispositions.

@taliargordon We’re talking about properties on the 2900 block of Glendale, 12700 block of Lawton, and 2600 block of Rosa Parks. https://t.co/7lrzB3K7d2

@taliargordon Now some properties on 6800 Plainview and 6500 Auburn. One of them was bought as a Christmas gift!

Bridging Communities, a non-profit, is also acquiring a property on the 8200 block of Alpine to develop and rent out.

@taliargordon More properties being acquired on the 2600 and 2700 blocks of Lothrop. They picked the buyer as they made the highest offer and had more experience in Detroit.

Jim and Peter’s Farm purchasing some properties on 4100/4200 blocks of 25th Street.

@taliargordon They’re going too fast for me to post every screenshot live. I’ll post them at the end of the thread.

Bedford Community LLC is buying a ton of properties, which they’ll rehabilitate. Marshall remarks that the developer “moves very fast” with development.

@taliargordon A current renter wants to buy a house on the 4400 block of 15th Street. They’ll rehabilitate the home themselves.

That’s it for Marshall’s presentation.

@taliargordon 📝 At 10:26 AM, the committee proceeds to a report from Robert Linn. I think these are more property purchases.

The city wants to acquire parcels on the 3700 block of Tuxedo for a recreation center.

@taliargordon The city also wants to acquire parcels for the Joe Louis Greenway. Linn makes a joke and folks laugh… went over my head.

@taliargordon The land bank is doing a land transfer between them and Wayne County. Did not catch what it’s about but I have a screenshot I’ll share later.

@taliargordon Someone wants to exchange three parcels for one on Field Street. Linn says those three parcels would be “a nice site” for development and that it would be a “good opportunity”.

@taliargordon Linn is about to propose a private blight listing pilot to the board. It would let owners of vacant homes to give them to the land bank, but also share in any sales proceeds. …

@taliargordon Their grant funding would let them acquire ten homes through cash (up to $1000) or a share of auction sale proceeds.

@taliargordon Walters says it “sounds exciting”. She sounds enthusiastic about this proposal. Walters asks about the limit on ten properties. Linn says they want to start small, discuss their results, then go big. He’s also waiting for results on a survey.

@taliargordon Walters asks if maintenance of their properties is a problem “this season”. Linn says it’s a “neverending” problem but that they’re keeping up with requests from residents. Linn says “the Land Bank is doing more maintenance than we ever have.”

@taliargordon The unidentified meeting host pivots the discussion to client services. “How could we answer more calls, answer more questions, […] deal with the call volume?”

@taliargordon 📊 At 10:39 AM, the committee proceeds to a presentation on the Customer Service Department’s latest update. Antoine Glenn and Michele Chittick present.

@taliargordon They’re mainly focusing on how to improve intake of customer information and transferring that to other DLBA departments. https://t.co/suZIGrO1Jr

@taliargordon Chittick says their staff turnover is “extremely high” because their pay is not competitive. She attributes this to their flat organizational hierarchy.

@taliargordon Chittick says, as a result of the turnover rate, staff scheduling is difficult

Chittick suggests rebranding their Client Services department as “Customer Service”, an org restructure, better job descriptions, revising compensation, emphasizing education when hiring candidates… https://t.co/OBHNTuCP4l

@taliargordon Chittick says they need to better sell their employment opportunities. She also suggests staggered shifts, pointing to their Monday shifts as “crazy”.

@taliargordon Chittick goes over what they observed from call reporting. They contract with Vonage for phone services. https://t.co/tQRfciw56b

@taliargordon They’re working with Vonage to improve DLBA’s call system. Chittick says they’re also working with Google.

@taliargordon https://t.co/3Z3L0Hy0OG

@taliargordon Chittick says they also need to improve how they use Salesforce. https://t.co/TcR2b8la42

@taliargordon Chittick says their department seeks to renew their Vonage contract.

Antoine Glenn says they did their best on how they could improve their peak time customer service.

We’re going to get a product demonstration from Google on their software.

@taliargordon Walters is “so happy” that Glenn and Chittick are paying attention to customer service.

The unidentified meeting host mentions that they saw a Google product demonstration previously.

@taliargordon The unidentified host says that the Google product they’re considering is part of a bigger strategy they developed over the past few months.

Google’s Mark Aplito (spelling?), sales account manager, and Nathan Redmond are here.

@taliargordon Trever Johnson, technical account leader, is also here representing Google.

@taliargordon Redmond presents a website mockup with a chat bot widget. They want the chat bot to replicate the experience that customers get when calling in.

(Editorial: I really dislike like chat bots.) https://t.co/4Moccr0NvM

@taliargordon The chat bot would reply to frequently asked questions.

Redmond says that the chat widget would use Google’s machine learning technology, which would understand context and natural language. https://t.co/sODH8tCGbS

@taliargordon The chat bot will also connect customers to a phone line, which would also have automated responses and a way to reach a real customer service agent. https://t.co/ZXRr4ymOpJ

@taliargordon Apparently this chat bot and the automated call system will be able to understand customers’ moods, which would then be recorded in analytics.

@taliargordon Walters likes this demonstration. She asks if Google will track phone call progress after a call transfer is made. Johnson says no. The unidentified host says a service called Lighthouse already tracks Ethics Department calls.

That’s it for the demo.

@taliargordon Walters says the demo is “impressive”. Other committee members also seem happy with the demo.

@taliargordon 📝 At 11:05 AM, the committee proceeds to a report from the legal department. Someone from that department is speaking, but I didn’t catch their name.

@taliargordon They say they’re focusing on “bleeding” blight violation lawsuits, where a negligent landowner’s violations affect adjacent properties.

@taliargordon This speaker says the legal department is in a “consent judgement” with a “big fish” business owner, who needs to properly barricade their windows. They have until March (2023?) to do so.

@taliargordon CORRECTION: The deadline was March 2021.

This business owner finally complied, emailing some pictures of their barricades just this morning.

@taliargordon This large big business owner was fined thousands of dollars. The speaker says that defendents like this one create complicated webs of limited liability companies (LLC) to obfuscate the ownership. The speaker says they’re “shopping around” the legal judgement.

@taliargordon The speaker is very excited about this legal conflict, attributing it to their “adrenaline”.

@taliargordon The speaker says a judge who “understands” or often sides with the Land Bank on legal cases is retiring.

@taliargordon The speaker says they have five job positions left to fill, but they have “good candidates”. They say the hardest ones to fill are clerical positions, such as the ones dealing with entry-level administration.

@taliargordon 📝 At 11:15 AM, the committee proceeds to a report from Dwayne Barnes on engagement.

He says “media sentiment” was neutral in May 2022, and mentions Outlier Media’s reporting on disconnected water line, which I linked before the meeting.

@taliargordon Barnes says their social media engagement is on the up-and-up. They’re planning virtual and in-person events with the city and neighborhoods. They’ve also developed a new brochure for prospective buyers.

@taliargordon Barnes says they’ve improved their relationship with Detroit City Council. The council wanted to see improvements in transparency, response times, and overall communication. Barnes says they’re working on a “proactive communication strategy” including community updates.

@taliargordon Barnes says the land bank is engaging with block clubs. They also want to create “personalized pathways” for residents who file frequent complaints on Land Bank properties.

@taliargordon Walters asks about the media coverage, and if reporters get contacts through the land bank or independently. The unidentified meeting host says it happens both ways, but more often through the land bank. (cc @AaronMondry)

@taliargordon @AaronMondry Walters asks about an article’s use of an asset library and whether it’s available to staff. Charisma, digital content specialist, says they generate content themselves and acquires customer content too. Walters asks if DLBA staff gives “good news stories” to Charisma – yes.

@taliargordon @AaronMondry The unidentified speaker who spoke on behalf of the legal department talks about a previous case on a demolition contractor. It’s been handed over to the state attorney general.

@taliargordon @AaronMondry We’re winding down. Walters thanks everyone’s time, which “is a lot of time for briefing one person”.

⏱ At 11:26 PM, the meeting adjourns! https://t.co/vEmZADG7LU

Detroit Documenters will offer more notes and archived materials from this meeting: https://detroit.documenters.org/assignments/financeaudit-committee-meeting-4064/

DLBA’s next Finance/Audit Committee Meeting will be next Tuesday, June 28 : https://buildingdetroit.org/events/meetings

That’s my live coverage of this Detroit Land Bank Authority Finance/Audit Committee Meeting. As always, thank you for following along!

Check out @DetDocumenters to find more about your local government and how to become a Documenter yourself: https://detroit.documenters.org/

Stay tuned for the screenshots I wasn’t able to share, then corrections after that.

CORRECTION: DLBA’s next meeting, a Board of Directors meeting, will be next Tuesday, June 28: https://buildingdetroit.org/events/meetings

Read these tweets on Mastodon (@civicDetroitDan@a2mi.social): https://a2mi.social/@civicDetroitDan/108515537891726889

Now the screenshots I promised!

⏪ Two investors/residents seek to buy eight Dexter-Linwood properties for $50,000. They have bought several land bank properties in the past. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539251799177191427 https://t.co/vtizIL5UKn

⏪ Piquette Partners seeks a North Corktown property for $26,000. They want to develop it into apartments and duplexes. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539251799177191427 https://t.co/R3LpNzUqJz

⏪ Someone wants to buy two westside properties, which they’ll rehabilitate and gift to their daughters. The purchaser has previous renovation experience. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539252567225552896 https://t.co/OmBGYMM6qY

⏪ Bridging Communities will buy three Claytown and Midwest homes. The sale totals $14,400. The buyer plans to rehabilitate and rent them out as affordable housing, for folks who make below 60 percent Area Median Income. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539252567225552896 https://t.co/KBvBwNgxgq

⏪ A developer wants to buy a Wildemere Park home for $5,000. They’ll rent it out. The buyer has eight years of experience in brownfield redevelopment, with several developments in their portfolio. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539252598351482881 https://t.co/ZmmsAzqfGa

⏪ Farmers want to buy some Chadsey-Condon properties to create an urban farm/garden. They plan to sell their produce to local farmer’s markets and restaurants. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539252598351482881 https://t.co/KKXzN31tb4

⏪ Bedford Development wants to buy 45 properties (!) all over the city for $110,000. They plan to complete renovations on one property per month. Twenty-six properties are occupied but Bedford promises “supportive services” for them.… https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539253008659369991 https://t.co/LwVCG6CgMc

Marvis Burns, the sale applicant on behalf of Bedford Development, bought 19 properties from the Land Bank since 2019. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539253008659369991 https://t.co/QMatsYqhV2

⏪ A renter wants to become a homeowner by purchasing a $6,832 property in Core City. They’ll hire an architect to design the home and have family members do the interior. I guess they’ll build from scratch. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539253406271000579 https://t.co/myYJG1rQfJ

⏪ The city’s General Services Department wants to acquire six properties near Dexter Avenue. Along with privately-donated land, the properties would become site of the future Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539254040550428674 https://t.co/D2VZ2FWTVn

⏪ General Services also wants to acquire 14 lots to build the Meade Cut Through, to be part of the Joe Louis Greenway. A connecting path will be completed this fall. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539254083273605124 https://t.co/xPQbK4TcDS

⏪ Michigan Land Bank Authority owned a foreclosed Grixdale Farms property, but the Wayne County treasurer auctioned it off like it was their own. The treasurer wants to acquire the property so they can finally complete the sale. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539254622799405060 https://t.co/WL8tO0zKQb

⏪ Someone wants to swap three land parcels for one nearby, all on the eastside. The Land Bank has parcels between those three parcels, so if the swap happens, they would have a bigger one-acre site they could sell. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539254649399742467 https://t.co/nyDuEVk2jG

⏪ Robert Linn is proposing a “Private Blight Listing Pilot”. It would let owners of vacant homes to “surrender” them to the Land Bank. When the homes sell, owners get up to 75 percent of the profit.… https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539255237545959424 https://t.co/Hpr2jtquKR

The pilot will acquire up to ten vacant private homes, where homeowners would get cash (up to $1,000) and a share of sale proceeds (up to 75 percent after $1,000). The pilot would have a few rules for the homes that would be acquired. https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1539255252796551169

And those are all the screenshots I have to share. The committee scrolled through them fast!

Pretty interesting how sales are done at the Land Bank.

Corrections, if any, which will follow below! Thanks again for reading.