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.
Could someone please explain this?
To “SF” — Wystan Stephens is an Ann Arbor historian and curator of the Kempf House on Division. He has long led cemetery tours of the graves of early local notables with studied oration and anecdotes of the city’s history. He is known to be an entertaining fellow, and unless I am wrong, today’s is to be the last tour he will do.
Aye, it was scheduled to be the last but the other day some other local news outlet published that he was giving tours on Saturday and Sunday. Some large group came on Saturday even though historically Wystan never gives Saturday tours, so to make up for their mistake Wystan is giving one final tour next Sunday 11/15 to give everyone one true last chance.
This was my second time this year and definitely the larger of the two. The last time I went, in 2007, there were around 12 people there. It’s $10, starts at 2pm, at the entry gate of Forest Hill on Observatory and it comes highly recommended.
Thanks for the heads up, Phil. I always wondered how the tour worked, and I’ve always meant to poke around the cemetary. Will definitely try to get there next weekend.
Forest Hill Cemetery is extremely beautiful – - an amazing piece of land to drive or walk through. Many of my ancestors are buried there, including my great-grandfather with this somewhat unusual grave marker. [Photo] I think Forest Hill is the largest cemetery in Ann Arbor, about 65 acres. Excellent website: foresthillcemeteryaa.org. Wystan’s tour is well worth the ten bucks and it’s sad to know he won’t be doing them anymore.”