Warren City Council members scrutinize building safety appointment

WARREN — Veteran members of the Warren City Council recently voiced opposition to Mayor Lori Stone’s appointment of a new building and safety engineering director due to his past comments toward an advocate for disability rights in the city.

The City Council opted to receive and file the appointment of Kirk Rehn as the city’s director of building and safety engineering with a 5-2 vote at its April 8 meeting.

Rehn had previously been the department’s acting director. Council Secretary Mindy Moore and Jonathan Lafferty both voted no. Councilmen Gary Boike, Henry Newnan and Dave Dwyer, Councilwoman Melody Magee and Council President Angela Rogensues all voted yes.

According to a previous Warren Weekly article, Tony Baker was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis in 1985. He’s a former autoworker, previously working in prototype, paint and bodywork. He became disabled four years after his retirement and has been an advocate for disability rights. The Warren City Council passed the “Tony Baker Bill” in 2021, updating its ordinance to more thoroughly enforce Americans with Disabilities Act compliance in the city.

At a June 28, 2022, City Council meeting, Rehn, who was a building official with the city at the time, spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, defending his work with the city. During the appearance, he defended his and his department’s enforcement of ADA compliance and denounced a “misinformation campaign.”

“It astonishes myself that an internet keyboard warrior with no formal training, certifications, nor licenses, who picks and chooses parts and sections of civil rights law that may or may not even be applicable, is the expert that the city of Warren City Council continues to empower and entrust in these matters,” Rehn said at the meeting.

At the 2022 meeting, then-director James Cummins said the city was in compliance with the ADA. He said he respected Baker, but that some of his opinions clashed with the act’s specifications.

Following the April 8 meeting, Baker said he didn’t think Rehn deserved the appointment. Baker cited examples with store parking lots and gas station signage that were not following ADA guidelines. He also questioned Rehn’s training in ADA compliance.

“He reviews the plans for new and renovated buildings,” Baker said. “He’s completely dropped the ball on ADA compliance on those buildings.”

At the 2022 meeting, both Lafferty and Moore criticized Rehn’s comments and defended Baker. The two remained consistent at the April 8 meeting and explained their votes against Rehn’s appointment. Moore started things off, mentioning how Baker had made her more aware of issues disabled people face.

“I am going to probably be a no vote because of Tony Baker,” Moore said. “He is my friend. He’s taught me a lot. He feels he has been wronged, and my vote is going to be in support of Tony.”

“He’s been through thick and thin on ADA and, as I referred to him, is the champion of ADA in Warren,” Lafferty said. “He is the reason that we have a five-year transition plan that was approved by the previous council.”

Two residents spoke against the appointment. Lori Harris was one of them, citing many examples of what she said were instances of ADA noncompliance. She laid the blame at Rehn’s feet, as acting director, for letting these instances happen and ignoring residents’ concerns. She mentioned the June 28, 2022, meeting, sharply criticizing Rehn’s speech.

“I am saying this was a terrible decision,” Harris said.

Warren Public Service Director David Muzzarelli said he asked Rehn to not attend the meeting. He spoke in Rehn’s defense after being questioned by Newnan.

“I hold my appointees to a very high standard, as well as, all of their appointees,” Muzzarelli said. “There is no screwing around. There is no disrespect to residents or council. I don’t accept that in my public service department at all.”

Muzzarelli spoke to the training Rehn is going through.

“All of my inspectors, myself and Mr. Rehn included, are going through conflict resolution training,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, Muzzarelli listed Rehn’s qualifications for the position in a lengthy Facebook post. He highlighted his education, numerous certifications, association memberships and his achievement as the Southeast Michigan Building Officials and Inspectors Association’s Inspector of the Year for 2024.

Newnan said if Rehn wasn’t a strong leader in executing the ADA plan, the city should seek out someone who is.

“In the last year, he’s shown me nothing but being a strong leader in that department,” Muzzarelli said.

Muzzarelli expanded on this, citing Rehn’s ability to have inspectors stick with jobs, and his role in implementing new safety protocols for the inspectors, new dress codes and training facilities. He confirmed that Rehn is currently the acting director.

“I’ve looked at his plan moving forward and he’s going to be a great asset to the city,” Muzzarelli said.

Muzzarelli said Rehn does not solely oversee the implementation of the city’s ADA plan. He said the Warren Commission on Disabilities is more directly tasked with making sure the improvements are made.

Magee said she was satisfied with the training that Muzzarelli said Rehn would undergo in the role.

“I do not like the fact that the disrespect (was shown) towards our constituents, especially Tony Baker as well as our City Council, but that will be enough for me to move forward and I will be doing follow-up,” Magee said.

Boike said he supported Baker’s advocacy for disabled people. Ultimately, he said he was satisfied with accountability in place for the appointment. Though, he said he was taken off guard by comments Baker made to him before the meeting.

“He made a statement to me that kind of caught me off guard and basically, he says, ‘I’m going to come out against everybody that votes yes on this in the next election,’” Boike said.

Newnan made the motion for Rehn’s appointment and said he talked to him prior to the meeting.

“It seemed that he had a fairly well-balanced mind,” Newnan said. “I wasn’t on the council. If he was attacking the council inappropriately and shaming us as an employee, I would say that would be totally wrong. If he does that again, it’ll be very irksome indeed.”