Stories indexed with the term ‘bridges’

At a special meeting that had been announced at a city council work session two days earlier, the Ann Arbor city council voted to authorize signing a contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation related to a $13.9 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II grant. Announcement of the grant’s award to the city of Ann Arbor – for the reconstruction of the E. Stadium Boulevard bridges – had come in October 2010.

The council’s special session reflected an urgency to complete the contract. That urgency stemmed from the March 18 expiration of a continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 2. A CR is a mechanism for keeping the federal government operating based on the previous fiscal year’s budget assumptions, until formal appropriations bills are passed by Congress.

Based on proposals brought forward in February by U.S. House Republicans, but ultimately not enacted, the current two-week CR would have eliminated TIGER II grants. And based on the political posturing that took place on the current CR, the Ann Arbor city council was taking the step of signing the contract as soon as it could, to allow the U.S. Federal Highway Administration to “obligate” part of the TIGER II grant funds for the bridges project under the current CR – as a hedge against the possibility that a subsequent CR might cut TIGER II funding.

The agreement authorized by the council allows the Dept. of Transportation to obligate only $800,000 of the grant, which is to be used for the initial phase of the project – acquisition of right-of-way.

A public informational meeting on the status of the project is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Pioneer High School cafeteria.

This brief was filed from CTN television studios, where the council met due to ongoing renovations to city hall. A more detailed account of the meeting will follow: [link] [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council Sunday night caucus (June 14, 2009): At least 20 people attended the Ann Arbor city council’s Sunday night caucus to provide arguments for keeping the Argo Dam in place. The city council will have a work session on the topic starting at 6 p.m. tonight, before its regularly scheduled meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.

Other topics addressed to the councilmembers who attended caucus included the status of the East Stadium bridge repair, the proposed installation of parking meters in residential areas near the downtown area, and foliage obscuring sight lines along Glazier Way.  The allocation of $75,000 to SPARK, which is on the agenda for Monday, received some discussion in response to a query from The Chronicle.

The three councilmembers remaining at the caucus at its conclusion (Sabra Briere, Mike Anglin and John Hieftje) had little to discuss as far as formulation of questions among themselves. Briere briefly mentioned to Hieftje that she’d had some conversations with councilmembers who were interested in exploring some revisions to council rules – to address emailing policies, among other things. [Full Story]