Warren mayor says running Michigan’s 3rd-largest city full of ‘challenges and surprises’

Warren ― Warren Mayor Lori Stone touted the city’s new defense alliance with Sterling Heights, infrastructure improvements and progress in constructing affordable housing, among other achievements, in her annual State of the City address Tuesday evening.

Stone mentioned the Arsenal Alliance, a regional economic development partnership that is focused on supporting and expanding the multi-billion-dollar defense industry in the two Macomb County cities. The Sterling Heights and Warren city councils approved the partnership in April.

“We are stronger together in growing military and defense assets, providing opportunities for manufacturing to adapt to a changing mobility landscape,” she said.

Stone, who was elected mayor in November 2023, gave her second State of the City address on Tuesday to a crowd of over 100 people at the Warren Community Center Auditorium. She shared the city’s achievements from the past year in economic development, infrastructure, parks and recreation, and other areas.

“Leading the third largest city in Michigan has brought me many joyful and jubilant experiences,” she said, “and it has also brought challenges and surprises.”

In the area of housing, Stone said Baker & Associates Realty Group LLC has broken ground on a project to construct modular housing west of Van Dyke Avenue and north of Toepfer Road. The city is also working with developers on more than 700 workforce housing units, the mayor said.

Stone also said that the city has 31 boards and commissions, such as the Animal Welfare Commission and Senior Health Care Commission. She noted that the city has filled 15 of these bodies completely and still has openings on 16 of them. She asked members of the public to serve on these boards and commissions.

Councilman Jonathan Lafferty was perplexed by the mayor’s decision to highlight vacancies on city boards two years into her first term, arguing that it is “not a success.”

“You don’t highlight the failure to appoint your boards and commissions and your appointees in your administration. You’re two years in,” he said. “This should have been done in the first 90 days. This is not a success.”

Lafferty also said the speech was Stone’s second opportunity to “provide a bold and decisive vision for the city.” He said a State of the City should laud the city’s successes and “chart the vision ahead.”

“Where are we going as a city? How are we going to compete … in the next generation? How are we going to attract businesses for an economically diverse future?” he said. “The speech completely lacked all of those essential elements.”

In an interview after her speech, Stone said one of her goals for the year ahead is the start of the city’s parks and recreation master plan. The plan will look at how the city manages its parks and recreation centers, what programming is available and what is needed, she said.

Defense sector

Warren has the Detroit Arsenal, which is home to U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). Stone said after the speech that there are communities that are “prepared to compete to attract the Detroit Arsenal away from Warren.”

Warren and Sterling Heights are each contributing $250,000 annually to the Arsenal Alliance initiative.

“By paying attention, by advocating, by fighting for and expanding on the ability to draw down federal funds, it grows our economy, and it lets people know, ‘Back off,” Stone said. “‘Detroit Arsenal, it belongs here in Metro Detroit.’”

Infrastructure

Stone touted the city’s new Stephens Road Detention Basin during her address. The city held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and plaque dedication in February for the $37.5 million basin, which city officials say will reduce basement flooding and result in fewer sewage discharges into the Red Run Drain.

After playing a video showing the basin being built, Stone said, “Warren, we did that. We did that,” leading to applause from the audience.

She also praised the fact that the city secured a $100 million low-interest loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for a project to replace the city’s aging sludge incinerator.

asnabes@detroitnews.com