Lowell City Council held their first regular meeting of the month on Monday. All councilmembers were present for the session which ran just over an hour and followed a special joint meeting with the Downtown Development Authority Board.
While there were four pieces of business on the agenda, it was public comments that took up the lion’s share of the time. But before councilmembers got to any of those items, they started with a presentation by the National Weather Service
Waste Water Treatment Plant Receives Honored Institution Award
Two representatives from the National Weather Service were on hand to present an Honored Institution Award to the city’s waste water treatment plant. The award recognizes that staff from the plant have been providing weather reports to the NWS for 50 years, although it was also noted that there are official reports from the city dating back to 1915.
In addition to reporting the weather, staff from the waste water treatment facility also measure Grand River levels, and during flooding events, this information is invaluable for the NWS to predict impacts on vulnerable communities downstream. “We couldn’t do our job nearly as well (without this data),” one representative of the NWS noted.
At the end of the presentation, staff members from the plant were invited to come forward to accept the honor.
Public Comments on Pride
Lowell Pride held its third annual event on Saturday, June 3, and it was the main topic of discussion during the public comments portion of the meeting. Emotions ran high as people were both supportive and critical of Saturday’s happenings.
Shannon Hanley, representing the Lowell Pride board, was first to address councilmembers. She noted that the event was a success with an estimated 3,000 people attending throughout the day. There were some minor medical issues, but they were quickly resolved.
She added that protestors at one point began shouting, which resulted in them delaying a scheduled event. However, the Lowell Police Department was able to help diffuse the situation. “We look forward to continuing to work with the city,” Hanley said in concluding her remarks.
Next, Deacon Nick Rogers with the Bible Believers Church handed out copies of the city’s noise ordinance along with a section of the Grand Rapids noise ordinance. He asked that the council consider amending the ordinance to aid in the church’s street evangelization efforts.
Currently, Lowell’s ordinance only allows sound amplification to be used during the hours of 9am-5pm, and noise must be inaudible at 100 feet. Rogers would like the ordinance changed to allow the use of sound amplification between 7am-10pm with noise being conversational at 100 feet. He said this would be “less crude and more clear” than the current method of church members raising their voices to make themselves heard.
Josh Langdon, a pastor with the Bible Believers Church, was next to speak. He and some church members were at the Pride event on Saturday. “Our purpose is to preach and not to antagonize,” he said before speaking at length about his concerns.
He noted that he didn’t think the event was as unruly as other Pride events he’s attended, but he felt illegal activity had occurred. He passed out a flyer to councilmembers that he said was distributed during Pride and that included content he did not think was appropriate in a public place. The flyer was not shown to the audience at the meeting, and Lowell’s First Look has not seen a copy. Langdon also said the “naughty boutique” had a pornographic image in its booth which was visible from the Riverwalk.
Finally, Langdon said church members were wearing body cameras at the event. He played a recording that he said was one of the drag performers speaking to the crowd. In it, a person could be heard saying, “I don’t even want to f*** my husband after this. But I’ll tell you who I did f***, your Jesus last night.”
After the meeting, Lowell’s First Look contacted Lowell Pride about these concerns. In a written statement, the organization said it did not see the flyer in question and that there was nothing pornographic in the vendor booth. Regarding the recording, the board said it was “a moment of lapse in judgement due to emotion.” The statement continued: “We don’t condone the words said (and) we will be reviewing all internal policies and training to better manage this situation in the future.”
The full statement from Lowell Pride can be viewed here.
The next person to step to the podium was Lowell Pride board member Chelsey Liu who said the organization was trying to create an event that was comfortable for participants, but that became difficult when protestors arrived with signs. She added that because of the level of noise created by protestors, a poetry reading had to be pushed back and one young participant was left in tears.
Liu was also concerned about protestors walking through the crowd with body cameras recording people. “Pride is supposed to be about love, support and acceptance,” she said. “We just want to exist.”
Resident Perry Beachum addressed Lowell City Council to first thank them for the informative newsletter that arrived with his water bill. He then addressed the Pride event.
“Do I appreciate the language? No, I don’t,” he said before adding that he also didn’t appreciate being screamed at by members of the Bible Believers Church during their evangelization efforts on the corner on Hudson and Main Streets. Sounding emotional at times, Beachum shared that he grew up going to church and “I believe God loves everybody.”
Dustin Lintemuth, who was head of security for Lowell Pride, said the organization handled its own security so the Lowell Police Department wouldn’t have to be in one spot all day. He also said that based on his background in law enforcement, he recognizes when someone comes to an event with the intent of eliciting a reaction.
According to Lintemuth, protestors were using their signs to “rub and push on minors.” One church member in attendance said, “That’s a lie,” but Mayor Mike DeVore cut him off, noting they had their chance to talk.
Another church member, Bethany Langdon, said she attended the Pride event protest out of love for everyone. “There is not enough hate in the world to subject myself to what occurred on Saturday,” she stated, saying that she experienced ridicule, screaming and hateful gestures while there.
The final public speaker was Charles Michael Langdon, another pastor from the Bible Believers Church. He started his comments by quoting scripture and then said that his congregation would continue to protest the Pride event for as long as it continues. “What went on on Saturday was dirty and it’s wicked and it’s wrong,” he said.
Once public comments were closed, Councilmember Leah Groves asked if she could speak. With tears in her eyes, she pointed to a girl in the audience who had attended the Pride event and said, “Nothing they say is true…nothing about this weekend was dirty.”
She turned to members of the Bible Believers Church in attendance and added that while church members have a right to protest on public property, she didn’t think it was right for them to dictate what others believe. “I get to choose, and I get to take it up with Jesus or God or whoever my higher power is,” Groves said.
During councilmember comments at the end of the evening, DeVore and Councilmember Marty Chambers thanked Groves for her comments.
Other Meeting Business
With public comments over, Lowell City Council moved through its remaining business relatively quickly and voted unanimously to do all the following:
- Authorize up to $48,596 to Williams & Works for an update to the city’s master plan.
- Accept the recommendations of the Compensation Commission as presented at an earlier meeting.
- Allow the River Trail Triathlon to use the grassy section behind the library to store kayaks and also to block off a portion of the Riverwalk for cyclists to use.
- Accept a bid from Corporate Cleaning and Facility Services for regular janitorial services at a cost of $585 per week plus deep cleaning services at an annual cost of $10,522. The only other bid for this service had a price of $1,205 per week for regular cleaning services.
During his comments, City Manager Mike Burns noted that outdoor sprinkling restrictions are now in effect. Work has also begun on S. Monroe Street.
The meeting adjourned at 8:09pm. The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will take place on Monday, June 19, at 7pm in City Hall.
Well said, Perry & Leah!