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| | 1. | | Roll Call.
Minutes note: Meeting convened: 9:03 AM
Members present: Cyndee Chatham, John Erdmann, Dr. Terri Brookshire, Ramandeep Kaur, Rupinder Sandhawalia, Natasha Upshaw and Ivory Britton | | | |
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| | 2. | | Review and approval of the minutes of the October 1st minutes.
Minutes note: Dr. Brookshire moved, seconded by Ms. Kaur, for approval of the minutes. There were no objections. | | | |
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| | 3. | | Review and possible vote on application of Miana Lee for Cultural Center Business at 11301 West Lake Park Drive.
Minutes note: Ms. Miani Lee is a dentist and she and her husband own Smiley Dental. They were victims of a scam, which is how they came about to own this building. There were trying to sell it and it's been vacant for 1.5 years. The plan is to turn the building into a culture center for the Hmong and the Milwaukee community. She is working with the city development team to amend the zoning to turn it into an assembly hall. This would only open on the weekends, Friday-Monday, and there would be a kitchen. The building is valued at $1.75 million and it wasn't even selling for $1 million, due to financing, so she believes everything happens for a reason. The Hmong had lengthy and important traditions relating to births and deaths and she would hate to lose this due to not having a gathering place. Mr. Erdmann asked about the church members who were at that location, but, per Ms. Lee, they were part of the scam. This building was purchased by a family member who had pooled family money to purchase multiple properties and the church formerly in the building had to be evicted. Ms. Lee said the building can be rented by community members, but there will be no partying and there will be one person monitoring the event and assisting as needed. Ms. Lee noted there was a break-in a couple weeks ago and it cost $11,000 to replace all the wires being cut and stolen. There will be cameras on-going and her brother now drives by daily. Mr. Erdmann recommended battery back-ups for the cameras and security system.
Motion by Mr. Sandhawali, seconded by Dr. Brookshire, for approval. There were no objections.
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| | 4. | | Review and possible vote on Homage Hemp at 8923 W. Brown Deer Rd.
Minutes note: Mr. Caliph Morris Bell present on this item. This is a national franchise that has about 500 stores across the country selling their products; these are partner stores. This would be the first retail store. Their goal is set up economic infrastructure and teach people how to generate generational wealth and to assist former inmates getting onto the right track. They engage the community and build something great for the community. The products are premium products. They believe in taking care of the community and bringing down violence. They throw block parties, give a ways and bring out hardcore rappers who were asked to add positive messages to their raps. They have a good relationship with All Star Cuts and want to go into Meadowlands and do great work there. The main sales are the hemp products and some CDB products. Mr. Devin Lindgren started Homage Hemp about a year ago after seeing the impact the laws and legislation and lack of education have had on overlooked communities. Across the US, they have a high revenue, but no profit as they are returning the revenue back into the community. They want to provide access to safe, compliant, tested products and then give the community resources to go out and open another franchise. They will be starting a new LLC for this location, but wanted to wait until they after they met with GHAC.
Dr. Brookshire asked about the city web site and how they are verifying that buyers are of legal age. She also noted that the location of the 500 stores are not listed on the web site.
Mr. Lindgren said this location was chosen as Caliph is local to this area and the plan is to open 3-5 stores in Milwaukee. Ald. Taylor has been wonderful for them to work with and they have partners in the community. There will be on-site security and third-party monitoring via cameras. They have partnered with 20 stores in Wisconsin, but he can't remember specific stores in Milwaukee but not in a lot of stores in the city of Milwaukee. Mr. Morris Bell said they have partners willing to work with them in Milwaukee. They use DEA-accredited labs and will be doing full-panel tests of their products. They sponsored Gas Mask Cypher and have partnered with Breaking Barriers (Caliph's organization) and have done cash donations to different organizations in other states; there isn't a lot in Milwaukee as they aren't in Milwaukee yet. They also want to start working with city's Office of Community Wellness and Safety. The impact will be from the message they are sending via the rappers. Mr. Morris Bell noted that his organization has the credible messengers and there are a lot of them in the Meadows (about 50 of them) and he wants to decrease the violence there. Breaking Barriers got about $30,000 in the past 3 months in support dollars and the stores nationwide produce a half-million in revenue a month; it's not a grant, Homage provides a continued relationship. They are currently working out on handing out 10% for legal support for the community, particularly on getting individuals' records expunged. This is being developed as time goes on. The building will be leased, not purchased. Mr. Erdmann asked why this location and why not more centrally located within the city itself. Mr. Lindgren said he likes the property owner, close to the Meadows and also close to Caliph's location. Caliph said there's a lot of development going on in the area, but not necessarily assisting the minorities in the area through education, training and employment. Mr. Lindgren said they don't need to draw in huge number of customers, but want locations throughout Milwaukee that are accessible to all, with the goal of five or more stores. Ms. Upshaw has worked with Breaking Barriers because she works with the Fatherhood Initiative. Mr. Lindgren said they will be working with young men and he is open to exploring further with her.
Ms. Upshaw moved to approve. There was no second.
Dr. Brookshire moved to decline. There was no second.
Mr. Erdmann moved to hold to the next meeting to get information on past donations and the legal defense fund, seconded by Ms. Chatham. Ms. Kaur and Mr. Britton agreed to table as well. Mr. Lindgren has presented himself as the legal entity; Caliph is not part of that.
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| | 5. | | Review and possible vote on Rally Auto Sales and Detailing LLC at 5744 Good Hope Rd.
Minutes note: Mr. Brandon Bell is proposing a used car dealership and also detail and hand wash cars. They are taking over a location that used to have auto sales and have been leasing the location a few months. He has never owned a dealership prior to this one; he did help sell cars a few years back as a sales person. He does have 3 prior LLCs, but he never got those businesses up and running, he just locked in those names in case he wished to move forward. He is trying to start another business at 32nd and Lisbon with his brother, the same as this location (and his brother's girlfriend for this location). They are applying for both occupancy permits through BOZA. He has a three-year lease. Mr. Bell said the previous car business closed due to the owner's death. They plan on selling high-end vehicles, not transportation or work vehicles. The car wash down the street isn't hand-wash so they will be more craftsmen and you don't need to worry about your vehicle being damaged by machines. This is a stepping stone and he will learn as he goes and seek the best guidance and advice. Once trust with the community is built, he thinks success is inevitable. He has never owned a business nor have his partners. His mother has her master's degree in business and he consults with her and uses the Internet; he thinks it's a tedious business, but it's not rocket science. He knows how to deal with people and he's good with money. He doesn't have an attorney or accountant and they cost a lot of money, although he thinks they will generate cash flow pretty quickly after they open; right now he's focusing on getting his required city licenses. They need to conserve their resources as they are currently paying rent, but not generating any income. They have started on the rehab. They will be getting attorneys and CPAs within the first year. They will have the required insurance to deal with their being sued.
Mr. Britton and Ms. Kaur moved to table post-BOZA meeting (which is tomorrow) for the 32nd and Lisbon location (which is just a tire shop). There was no vote on this motion.
Mr. Erdmann would recommend that BOZA only approve a one-year permit. There were no objections.
Meeting adjourned: 10:42 AM
Linda M. Elmer
Staff Assistant | | | |
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240909
| 0 | | Communication | Communication relating to the 2024-2025 activities of the Granville-Havenwoods Advisory Council. | | | |
Action details
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