Archive for May, 2013

A rezoning request for State Street Center, near the intersection of State and Ellsworth, has received initial approval from the Ann Arbor city council. The action came on May 13, 2013 – at a continuation of the council’s May 6 meeting. A site plan for the project has not yet received council action.

The project calls for demolishing a vacant 840-square-foot house on this site. In its place, the developer plans a one-story, 1,700-square-foot drive-thru Jimmy John’s restaurant facing South State Street. A one-story, 6,790-square-foot retail building will be built behind the restaurant. The driveway off South State Street would be relocated and widened. The site would include 39 parking spaces, as well as covered bicycle parking between the buildings.

The Ann Arbor city council has given initial approval to changes in the way utility improvement charges are calculated. The initial action was taken on May 13, 2013 at a meeting that had started on May 6. If the changes are given final approval at a subsequent meeting, the charges would be calculated differently for the next two years. That would give the city time to hire a consultant to give a more comprehensive review to the charges.

Ann Arbor water main and sanitary … [Full Story]

An expansion of the Theta Delta Chi house at 700 S. State has received approval from the Ann Arbor city council. The property is located at the southwest corner of State and Monroe streets.

The city planning commission had recommended the project for approval at its Feb. 21, 2013 meeting. Commissioners also granted a special exception use for the building.

The council’s action on the Theta Delta Chi item came at the May 13 session … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor city council’s May 13, 2013 session of its May 6 meeting will begin with consideration of the site plan for 413 E. Huron St. – a 14-story residential building proposed for the northeast corner of Division and Huron streets in downtown Ann Arbor. Live updates will be filed from the meeting, and published “below the fold.”

The May 13 session – scheduled to start at 7 p.m. – will begin immediately with the agenda item on the 413 E. Huron site plan, unless the agenda is re-opened and amended in some fashion. None of the routine elements associated with the start of meetings, like public commentary reserved time, will be included. Those items were already dispatched on May 6.

It was around 11:30 p.m. on May 6 when the council decided to recess the meeting, and to resume it on May 13. At that point the council had completed eight public hearings and voted on a number of other items, before reaching the 413 E. Huron site plan.

While the 413 E. Huron site plan will be the first item that the council confronts, several other significant items appear on the remainder of the council’s agenda.

The council is scheduled to hear a first reading of proposed changes to the city’s public art ordinance. The proposal includes removing the requirement that 1% of all capital project budgets be set aside for public art.

Another ordinance change to which the council will be asked to give initial approval is a change to utility connection charges for undeveloped property.

In addition to initial consideration of changes to those two ordinances, the council will be asked to give an initial approval to rezoning of two different parcels – a property at 490 Huron Parkway and on South State Street. The property on Huron Parkway is supposed to be rezoned from R3 (townhouse district) to R1B (single-family dwelling) and would allow the currently vacant 1.22-acre site, located north of Ruthven Park, to be divided into three separate lots.

The State Street Center project is located adjacent to a new Tim Hortons restaurant, which opened last year. The rezoning request is from O (office) to C3 (fringe commercial). It would make the actual zoning consistent with the city’s official zoning map, which had been mislabeled. The site plan calls for demolishing a vacant 840-square-foot house and building a one-story, 1,700-square-foot building with a drive-thru Jimmy John’s restaurant facing South State Street.

An expansion to the Theta Delta Chi house on State Street is also on the agenda for approval.

The Ann Arbor fire department shows up on two different items – one to accept a federal grant that will pay for exhaust fume removal systems for fire stations, and another to appropriate funds to replace protective gear worn by firefighters.

And the University of Michigan appears in two different agenda items. One item authorizes a contract for the city worth more than $600,000 in connection with the vehicle-to-vehicle study – for which the UM Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) won a $14 million federal grant. The other item related to UM involves a right-of-way agreement for the placement of electrical conduit under Tappan Street, so that an emergency generator can serve a law school dorm.

Other agenda items include some resolutions necessary to impose a special assessment on property owners along Miller Avenue, to help pay for construction of new sidewalks. And the council will be asked to choose Coke over Pepsi as the vendor for Ann Arbor’s city parks. [Full Story]

On her blog, Ann Arbor Public Schools trustee Christine Stead posts a list of budget questions that she has sent to the AAPS administration in preparation for an upcoming study session. Many of the questions focus on finding ways to make budget cuts without impacting the classroom and programs. [Source]

University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman is the sixth-highest paid public university president in the U.S., according to a compensation study by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Coleman earned a total compensation of $918,783 during fiscal 2012. The New York Times reports on the study, noting that four public university presidents topped $1 million in total compensation. [Source]

Washtenaw County board of commissioners meeting (May 1, 2013): The location and accessibility of a planned May 16 budget retreat drew some heated rhetoric from commissioner Ronnie Peterson, who argued strongly for all budget-related meetings to be held in the main county boardroom and to be televised, as the board’s regular meetings are.

The May 16 retreat is set for the county’s Learning Resource Center at 4135 Washtenaw Ave. – near the county jail complex – starting at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be videotaped.

Peterson also questioned the content of the retreat. “If it’s a hug fest,” he said, “I don’t have to be there.” Board chair Yousef Rabhi told commissioners that the goal will be to set priorities for the upcoming budget. “It’s going to be work,” Rabhi said. “There aren’t going to be any hugs, unless somebody wants to give me a hug.”

Also at the May 1 meeting, the board gave final approval to authorize the development of a four-year budget planning cycle, a change from the current two-year cycle that’s been in place since 1994. The vote was 7-2 vote, with dissent from Peterson and Rolland Sizemore Jr. Peterson argued that developing a budget is the main job for commissioners. “So we owe the taxpayers a rebate. I hope we cut our salaries in half … because there’s really a lot less work to do.” Though the planning cycle would be longer, the board is still required by state law to approve its budget annually – so that process wouldn’t change.

The board will get a better sense of the county’s financial status at its May 15 meeting, when county administrator Verna McDaniel will give a first-quarter update and a “state-of-the-county” presentation. One major factor is a pending decision for the board on whether to issue a $345 million bond to cover the county’s pension and retiree healthcare obligations. The board discussed that topic at a May 2 working session. [See Chronicle coverage: "County Board Debates $350M Bond Proposal."]

One item not on the May 1 agenda was raised during public commentary: The deteriorating condition of North Territorial Road, specifically a section running through Northfield and Salem townships. Residents have collected about 600 signatures on a petition urging the road commission to repair that stretch, and asked the county board to help address the problem “before somebody gets hurt or comes in here shouting or raving.”

County commissioner Dan Smith, who represents the district that includes Northfield and Salem townships, pointed out that there are possible funding mechanisms available to the county, including the possibility of levying a tax under Act 283 of 1909. A 1 mill levy in Washtenaw County would bring in about $13.8 million, based on 2012 property values, he said. He also noted that there’s a similar law on the books that appears to allow townships in Michigan to levy up to 3 mills for roads. That could bring in another $24.9 million throughout the county, he said. In total, about $38 million could be raised in Washtenaw County to fix the roads.

In other action during the May 1 meeting, commissioners gave initial approval to the Washtenaw Urban County‘s five-year strategic plan through 2018 and its 2013-14 annual plan.

The board also declared May 12-18, 2013 as Police and Correction Officers Week, and May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. Dieter Heren, police services commander with the Washtenaw County sheriff’s office, was on hand to accept the resolution on behalf of sheriff Jerry Clayton and all law enforcement agencies in the county. He reminded the board that on May 15 at 10 a.m. there will be a memorial service in the Washtenaw 100 Park in Ypsilanti to “honor the law enforcement officers who have fallen here in Washtenaw County while serving the community,” he said. The park is located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Ballard Street. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (May 6, 2013 – May 6 session): Although the council did not take final action on many agenda items, it did complete eight public hearings and postponed some significant questions – before deciding to recess the meeting for a week. When the same meeting resumes on May 13, the first item to be confronted by the council is the site plan approval for the 413 E. Huron apartment project.

The council decided to suspend the proceedings around 11:30 p.m. – a different strategy than the one taken at the council’s April 15 meeting. On that occasion, councilmembers let the meeting continue until about 3 a.m. before deciding to end the session, postponing all remaining items until the next regular meeting on May 6.

At its May 6 meeting, the council voted unanimously to postpone until Sept. 3 one of the most controversial items on the agenda – revisions to the ordinance governing the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The most significant revision would clarify language from the original 1982 ordinance, which caps tax increment finance (TIF) revenue to the DDA. The clarifications would not allow for the kind of interpretation the DDA has given the ordinance for the last two years, which has resulted in no return of excess TIF to jurisdictions that have their taxes captured by the DDA.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) led off communications time early in the meeting by describing some further changes he was prepared to make to the DDA ordinance – which would earmark money to support affordable housing. During the public hearing on the ordinance changes, the council heard from speakers on both sides, including five members of the DDA board. A highlight was the apparent initial indication of a slightly moderated position by some opponents of the ordinance changes. The council’s relatively brief deliberations on postponement revealed only grudging support from some councilmembers for putting off the vote for four months. Margie Teall (Ward 4) and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) made clear they did not support the proposed changes to the ordinance.

The council also postponed action on a revision to the city’s sign ordinance, which would allow only certain types of digital signs. The ordinance amendments would cap the total number of billboards in the city at 28 and allow them to remain in place as non-conforming signs. It would not allow for retrofitting any existing billboards with digital technology. The council has already given the ordinance initial approval, and will take up the issue again on June 17.

Another item postponed by the council was consideration of a video privacy ordinance, which has not yet been given initial approval. That will come back to the council’s May 20 meeting.

Receiving approval from the council was the site plan for Summit Townhomes, located on Ellsworth Road. The project has been working through the city’s review and approval process for more than a year.

The downtown section of Fourth Avenue was somewhat of a geographic highlight for the May 6 meeting. The council approved a $741,900 contract with E.T. MacKenzie Co. to make improvements on Fourth Avenue between Huron and Liberty streets this summer. And the council formally withdrew its objection to renewal of the liquor license for The Arena, a bar located at Washington and Fourth. The Arena finally paid back taxes, which led to the council’s vote – but not without complaint from some councilmembers.

Another highlight of the meeting was the general topic of appointments to city boards and commissions. A brief discussion of how appointments work was prompted by the observation during public commentary that none of the appointments are current for members of the downtown citizens advisory council. The city council put off voting to confirm Stephanie Buttrey’s appointment to the greenbelt advisory commission. And not reached on the agenda were nominations to replace Jesse Bernstein on the board of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority and Eric Mahler on the city planning commission – with Susan Baskett and Paras Parekh, respectively. [Full Story]

When the Ann Arbor city council recessed its May 6, 2013 meeting around 11:30 p.m., to resume on May 13, the council was poised to deliberate on the site plan approval for 413 E. Huron St. – a proposed 14-story, 216-apartment building at the northeast corner of Huron and Division streets.

During the lengthy public hearing at the city council’s May 6 session, some opponents of the 413 E. Huron project presented their case against the project in terms of a nine-point booklet they’d distributed to councilmembers.

On May 10, Ann Arbor city planning staff provided responses to the nine points. The nine points presented in the booklet  – titled “The Facts” – are summarized as follows, with a brief synopsis … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor council candidates have until May 14 to submit nominating petitions for the Aug. 6, 2013 partisan primary, and many of them have already filed.

As the final pre-deadline weekend approaches, six candidates out of a total of eight who’ve taken out petitions for the Aug. 6 election – all of them for the Democratic primary – have filed their petitions with the city clerk’s office. Those who’ve filed petitions are: Kirk Westphal in Ward 2; incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand in Ward 3; incumbent Marcia Higgins and Jack Eaton in Ward 4; and Mike Anglin in Ward 5.

All except for Westphal, who submitted his petitions late Friday afternoon, have had at least 100 signatures validated by the city clerk’s office. … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (May 6, 2013): Reversing a slight tax increase that had been proposed in the draft budget, the AADL board approved a $12.3 million budget for fiscal 2013-14 with an unchanged tax rate of 1.55 mills. The library’s fiscal year begins July 1.

Nancy Kaplan, chair of the board’s budget & finance committee, said the committee met after the April 15, 2013 board meeting and discussed concerns that had been raised about the proposal to levy a slightly higher millage rate of 1.575 mills. She noted that administration had proposed cuts to allow the rate to remain unchanged.

The main reduction in expenses came from the materials line item, with nearly $100,000 saved by switching from RFID to bar code technology for handling circulation. AADL director Josie Parker stressed that the library is able to secure those savings without impacting the purchase of materials for its collection.

In addition to the budget, the board also approved a one-year extension on the space-use agreement with the nonprofit Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, which operates a used bookstore in the lower level of AADL’s downtown branch at 343 S. Fifth Ave. Proceeds of the store are given to the library.

The board was briefed on a proposal that they’ll be voting on next month to upgrade the fiber-optic infrastructure for the Pittsfield branch. Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and production, described that location at 2359 Oak Valley Drive as a “bandwidth backwater,” with about 2% of the Internet connectivity speed compared to other AADL locations. The recommendation is to hire the nonprofit Merit Network to build and maintain a connection from the branch to Merit’s existing high-speed network. The contract includes a one-time cost of $112,150 and ongoing annual costs of $2,625.

The May 6 session also included two statements from board president Prue Rosenthal, which she read aloud during the meeting. One was a letter from the board to Parker, following her annual evaluation. The board praised Parker’s work over the past year, including the recognition and leadership of Parker and her staff at the state, national and international levels. At Parker’s request, her salary was unchanged for the fourth consecutive year.

Rosenthal’s second statement, read early in the meeting, was in response to issues raised at previous meetings during public commentary about the board’s compliance with Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. The board is scrupulous about adhering to the letter and spirit of the law, Rosenthal stated.

At the end of the meeting, resident David Diephuis responded to Rosenthal’s statement, urging the board to videotape its meetings and to allow the public to attend the board’s committee meetings. He noted that the board does meet the requirements of the OMA. “My question to you is what is allowed under the act,” he said. “I believe this community wants more than what’s required.”

The suggestion to videotape the monthly board meetings had been proposed two years ago by trustee Nancy Kaplan but had been supported by only one other board member, Barbara Murphy.

A videotaping of the meeting did occur for the first time on May 6, however. Skyline High junior David Kloiber set up two stationary cameras to record the proceedings. He had been hired by the Protect Our Libraries political action committee, which posted the video on YouTube. [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education has approved a resolution calling for a public hearing on the fiscal year 2013-14 annual budget for AAPS. By law a public hearing must be held before adopting a school district budget.

The public hearing will be held on May 22, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library downtown branch during the regular board of education meeting. Anyone who wants to be heard will be given a chance to speak on the proposed budget and the property tax millage rate.

At the public hearing, the trustees will have a first briefing of a proposed millage resolution.

This brief was filed from the board room of the Ann Arbor District Library in downtown … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Public School district is now pursuing a line of credit, because the district’s fund equity balance is below the amount needed to cover payroll over the summer.

At their May 8, 2013 meeting, the Ann Arbor Public Schools trustees adopted a resolution authorizing the school district to obtain a fiscal year 2013-14 line of credit in anticipation of school state aid. The vote came after a special briefing, which means the trustees hear and approve an item at the same meeting.

The resolution authorizes the district to obtain a line of credit not to exceed $10 million in anticipation of the distribution of 2013-14 pledged state aid for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. The first draw from … [Full Story]

At its May 8, 2013 meeting, the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education was presented with the third quarter financial report for FY 2012-13.

According to the report, the expenditure budget will be approximately $1.3 million higher than originally projected. The increase is due to a $700,000 increase to transportation costs, a $300,000 increase of the substitute budget, and an increase of $300,000 for the health care budget to cover anticipated usage through the remainder of the fiscal year.

The $1.3 million increase in expenditures comes after the trustees had already amended the budget by $2.5 million two months ago, on March 13, 2013, to account for the second quarter financial report.

At its next regular meeting, the board will be asked … [Full Story]

Bids for contractors to do summer 2013 paving projects have been approved by the Ann Arbor Public School board. Action came at the board’s May 8, 2013 meeting.

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, had interviewed the lowest qualified bidders: Best Asphalt from Romulus, Barrett Paving of Ypsilanti, and Quality Asphalt of Howell. After the district conducted due diligence, Barrett Paving withdrew its bid.

The contract awards go to Best Asphalt at $377,535 and Quality Asphalt at $60,208 to perform the paving projects. Trent noted that Best Asphalt previously has done paving projects for the district, and Quality Asphalt has tried to get projects with the district in the past. The projects are funded through the district’s 2010 sinking fund.

The … [Full Story]

Renewal of a lease of Freeman School to Go Like the Wind Montessori School from the Ann Arbor Public Schools has been approved. AAPS board approval came at its May 8, 2013 meeting. The district has leased the building to Go Like the Wind since 1987. It’s located at 3540 Dixboro Lane.

The new three-year lease with one two-year renewal option will begin on July 1, 2014. The new proposed rate is $300,862, with a 3% increase each year. Over a five-year lease period, the district will receive over $1.5 million in rent.

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, noted that the tenants have paid for renovations over the past 10 years, while the district pays for maintenance.

As a school building, Trent noted, … [Full Story]

A first briefing on food services in the district was given to Ann Arbor Public Schools trustees at its May 8, 2013 meeting. The briefing included the a recommendation to renew the Chartwells contract for the 2013-14 school year.

The board had approved Chartwells School Dining Services as the district’s food service provider on May 27, 2009 with four one-year renewals. The contract will be the last of the four year renewals. According to a district memo, the food service management contract will be re-bid for another five-year term in early 2014.

The management fee per meal for 2013-14 will be $0.0432, an increase of 2.5% from the 2012-13 rate. The administrative fee will be $18,978.10 per month for ten months, also an … [Full Story]

Bids for district-wide network cabling and mechanical modifications to support the 2012 technology bond initiatives have been approved by the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education. The action came at the board’s May 8, 2013 meeting.

After conducting post-bid interviews, the district’s professional team recommended awarding contracts to Fuller Heating Company for $80,669 for HVAC work, and to Complete Communications Inc. for $386,989 for network cabling. Both companies were the lowest qualified bidders for each job.

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, noted that the district is opting for CAT 6 in place of CAT 5 cabling. While more expensive, it will take longer to be obsolete, he said. The team also opted for adding a “student drop” because it was cheaper … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education heard a first briefing on a bid award recommendation for the Balas server room renovation at its May 8, 2013 meeting.

Recommended for contract awards are Diversified Construction Specialists, Inc for $79,150 for the architectural and electrical work; Fuller Heating Company for $88,650 for the mechanical work; and $252,633 to Sound Engineering Inc. for the network video to support the district-wide initiatives for the 2012 technology bond.

According to a district memo, after a review of the bid proposals received, the project team of Barton Malow and the AAPS ITD staff conducted post-bid interviews with multiple bidders. All three contracts are recommended to go the lowest qualified bidders.

The board will be asked to approve … [Full Story]