Meeting Watch: DDA Briefly (3 Sept 2008)

Starting at noon and going for around an hour and a half, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority Board held its regular monthly meeting at the DDA offices today.

Present were Russ Collins, Dave DeVarti, Rene Greff, Leah Gunn, Jennifer Hall, Roger Hewitt, John Hieftje, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat, Sandi Smith, and John Splitt. Not present was Gary Boren.

Josie Parker, director of the Ann Arbor Public Library, updated the board on the library’s plans for the downtown location, which have been reduced to two alternatives – partial demolition and rennovation, or complete demolition and re-construction.

Resolutions passed:

• $7.1 million budget for Phase I of the Fifth and Division project (unanimously, with Mouat abstaining because his firm had provided consulting on the project)
• $56.4 million budget for the South Fifth Avenue Parking Structure project, with approximately 777 parking spaces (with Hall and DeVarti dissenting)

Look for details of the discussion tomorrow under the headline, Meeting Watch: DDA in Detail (3 Sept 2008)