Brown Recommended for N. Main Group
At its May 23, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor public art commission (AAPAC) unanimously recommended that Connie Rizzolo Brown be nominated for a position on a task force to study the corridor along North Main Street and the Huron River. That recommendation will be forwarded to mayor John Hieftje.
The task force was established by the city council at its May 7, 2012 meeting, with membership to include the following: one member of the park advisory commission, one member of the planning commission, one resident representing the Water Hill neighborhood, one resident representing the North Central neighborhood, one resident from the Old Fourth Ward, one resident representing the Broadway/Pontiac neighborhood, two business and property owners from the affected area, and one member of the Huron River Watershed Council.
At its May 21 meeting, the two sponsors of the resolution that created the task force – Ward 1 councilmembers Sabra Briere and Sandi Smith – proposed adding three additional representatives: a member of the city council, someone from the boating/fishing community of river users, a representative from the Huron River Citizens Association. Tony Derezinski (Ward 2), who also serves on AAPAC, then proposed an amendment to add an AAPAC member to the task force. The AAPAC addition was passed by council on a 6-5 vote. [See Chronicle coverage: "Positions Added to North Main Task Force"] Appointments are expected to be made at the council’s June 4 meeting.
At AAPAC’s May 23 meeting, Derezinski told commissioners that “basically, we need someone at the table.”
The task force is charged with delivering a report to the city council more than a year from now – by July 31, 2013 – that describes “a vision to create/complete/enhance pedestrian and bike connection from downtown to Bandemer and Huron River Drive, increase public access to the river-side amenities of existing parks in the North Main-Huron River corridor, ease traffic congestion at Main and Depot at certain times of a day and recommend use of MichCon property at Broadway; …”
Earlier than that – by the end of 2012 – the task force is to make recommendations on the use of the city-owned 721 N. Main parcel.
Brown has served on AAPAC since early 2009, and has chaired the commission’s projects committee. She is a principal of Rizzolo Brown Studio, an Ann Arbor architecture firm.
This brief was filed from the basement conference room of city hall at 301 E. Huron, where AAPAC held its meeting. A more detailed report will follow.
I was quite interested to see this Stopped.Watched comment because about a year ago, I phoned the AANews to complain about their littering Old West Side sidewalks and lawn extensions with their “Food Fun and Fitness” issues (in PLASTIC wrappers yet!) that nobody seems to want. The newspaper representative I spoke to brushed me off by saying that they had to do this for advertising purposes. I hope that now this anti-ecological practice will come to an end.
Anna, I have bad news for you – AnnArbor.com, which is replacing the A2News in mid-July, also plans a “total market coverage” product. The person you talked to is right: TMC products are vehicles for ads. Ads are sold to advertisers who want to reach every household, not just the much smaller market of subscribers.
Of course, as you’ve seen, there’s absolutely no guarantee that if something is delivered to every household, it will actually get read – or even picked up from the sidewalk.
And A2Weekly, the Heritage newspaper also starting in July, promises to be “A free weekly, home-delivered newspaper launching July 9 covering the people, traditions and institutions that make Ann Arbor unique.”
I was also hoping this might stop with AA News ending. It typically lays in my driveway for a couple days because it ends up being under where I park. Then I have to bring it inside and put it in the recycle bin. I thought about calling to ask for it to be stopped, but figured they would just tell me to deal with it.
Re. #3: The Heritage paper will be called A2Journal.
Whoops, sorry. I had “weekly” on the brain. Wonder if that will be on Thursdays too.
I have to clean up a dozen of these papers every week around my neighborhood as they are left at empty and ‘for sale” houses. I too called the A2 news and received a complete brush off. I’ve been meaning to work with community standards to have tickets issues but I haven’t gotten to it yet (since I hoped it would stop once A2 news is out of business).
This has irked me for a long time. What does the A2 Police Department website say about protecting your home on their Vacation Checklist? Make sure all home deliveries are stopped. I don’t even subscribe to the A2 News, but these things appear in my driveway anyway. If I go on vacation they sit there making the house look vulnerable. This is not a community service.
My neighbors had that problem too, so I usually would pick that up and dispose of it. I hope it was legal. You might ask your neighbors to watch out for you.
It is lovely to be neighborly and, of course, we certainly should be whenever possible, but if this anti-ecological tossing of unwanted plastic-wrapped newspapers onto neighbors’ extensions and driveways (so-called “Total Market Coverage”) continues in such an un-neighborly fashion–we could term it “littering,” which, we understand, is against the law.
I just received a response from the Ann Arbor Police that such distribution of flyers is considered illegal in Ann Arbor. They have requested a license plate number of the distributing vehicle. I have also tried to contact the Ann Arbor News, but have received no response.