After being shut down temporarily due to a sanitary sewer overflow into the Huron River, Ann Arbor canoe liveries along the river have been re-opened as of 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, according to city of Ann Arbor staff. The liveries had been shut down on Aug. 29 until the problem was rectified and until testing of river water would indicate that it was safe to re-open them.
Ann Arbor park advisory commission meeting (March 19, 2013): A packed agenda for this month’s PAC meeting included several items related to downtown parks and the Huron River.
Park planner Amy Kuras, left, talks with Stewart Gordon, an advocate for putting an ice-skating rink atop the Library Lane site. In the background are Andrew Walton, left, and Doug Kelly, the city’s director of golf. Walton supervises the Huron Hills golf course. (Photos by the writer.)
Commissioners discussed a proposal to build an ice-skating rink atop a portion of the city-owned Library Lane underground parking structure. They took no action on the item, but were briefed on the proposal by two advocates of the effort: Alan Haber and Stewart Gordon. The two men also attended a subsequent March 26 meeting of a PAC downtown park subcommittee. This report includes a summary of that session as well.
River-related items on PAC’s March 19 agenda included a resolution to recommend awarding a $295,530 contract to Gerace Construction Co. for repair work and repainting at Argo and Geddes dams, as well as site improvements around Argo Dam. Brian Steglitz, an engineer with the city, told commissioners that the work is being done in response to the most recent inspection by state regulators.
Commissioners also recommended awarding a $512,180 contract for improvements at the Gallup Park canoe livery to Construction Solutions Inc., which will be funded in part by a $300,000 state grant. Cheryl Saam, facility supervisor for the Argo and Gallup canoe liveries, gave commissioners a presentation on those operations, in preparation for budget recommendations that PAC is expected to consider at its April 16 meeting.
As part of her report, Saam noted that the city plans to issue another request for proposals (RFP) to design a whitewater section along the Huron River, downstream from the Argo Dam near the Argo Cascades. Parks and recreation manager Colin Smith reminded commissioners that the first attempt at this project wasn’t successful. The Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality did not approve the initial design, and would not issue the necessary permit for the project. The staff is working with the state to address MDEQ’s concerns, he said. Smith also reported that DTE Energy still intends to pay for the project, which is located adjacent to property that the utility company is cleaning up.
DTE representatives were on hand at the meeting because of a different project: To request an easement on city-owned land in Riverside Park, where utility poles are located. The easement is needed as part of an $8 million new electrical substation that DTE is building on land adjacent to the park. Commissioners unanimously recommended that the city council approve the easement.
In another presentation to set the stage for next month’s budget discussion, PAC heard from Doug Kelly, the city’s director of golf, and Andrew Walton, recreational facility supervisor at Huron Hills. They reviewed the status of the city’s two golf courses – at Huron Hills and Leslie Park – and noted that both courses have seen significant revenue gains over the past five years.
The issue that drew the most public commentary during the meeting wasn’t on the March 19 agenda: a possible dog park on a knoll in West Park. Residents in that area aren’t happy about the prospect of barking dogs in their neighborhood. [Full Story]
A $3,000 lease to accommodate overflow parking for the Argo canoe livery has been approved by the Ann Arbor city council. The vote came at the council’s April 1, 2013 meeting, having been pulled from the council’s March 18, 2013 consent agenda and postponed at that time.
Sabra Briere (Ward 1) had asked that the item be separated out from the consent agenda. Briere had heard concerns that the lot is not very well-graded and that there’s a lot of runoff. She wondered if there was a way for the city to enforce maintenance of the lot through the lease.
At the council’s April 1 meeting, Briere indicated that it was not feasible to enforce through the contract the kind of improvements … [Full Story]
The Ann Arbor park advisory commission has recommended that the city council award a $512,180 contract for improvements at the Gallup Park canoe livery to Construction Solutions Inc. The action took place at PAC’s March 19, 2013 meeting. The project budget includes a 10% construction contingency, bringing the total cost to $563,398.
Schematic of the proposed Gallup Park canoe livery improvements.
Construction Solutions, based in Ann Arbor, was the lowest qualified bidder on the project. Other bids were submitted by Braun Construction Group ($534,600); Detroit Contracting Inc. ($554,620); The … [Full Story]
A $3,000 lease to accommodate overflow parking for the Argo canoe livery was recommended for approval by the Ann Arbor park advisory commission at its Feb. 26, 2013 meeting. The lease of a parking lot at 416 Longshore Drive – with about 40 spaces – will cover Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from May 25 to Sept. 2, 2013, with an option to renew administratively for two successive one-year periods.
City parks staff reported that the overflow parking at this lot had been used during the 2012 season, and they recommended continuing the lease. According to city records, the land is owned by the Stewardship Network.
This brief was filed from the second-floor council chambers of city hall at … [Full Story]
State grants have been approved for two projects in Ann Arbor: $300,000 for a proposed Ann Arbor skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park, and $300,000 for improvements at the Gallup Park canoe livery. A staff member for the lobbyist Kirk Profit alerted Ann Arbor city council members and staff about the news on Wednesday morning, Dec. 7. Profit was in Lansing attending the meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board, where the grant awards were announced.
The city had been notified last month that these projects ranked in the top 12 out of 100 applications statewide for funding from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. The skatepark application ranked 12th out of the 100 applications, based on a scoring system used to evaluate the grants. The … [Full Story]
Two state grant applications made by the city of Ann Arbor – $300,000 for the proposed Ann Arbor skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park, and $300,000 for improvements at the Gallup Park canoe livery – ranked in the top 12 out of 100 applications statewide for funding from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. At the Nov. 15 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission, Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, told PAC members that he received the application scores in the mail earlier in the day.
The skatepark application ranked 12th out of the 100 applications, based on a scoring system used to evaluate the grants. The Gallup Park application ranked 2nd. Smith also reported that a … [Full Story]
At its March 15, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor park advisory commission passed two resolutions of support for the city to apply for grants from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund. The grants – for $300,000 each – would help fund the Ann Arbor skatepark and upgrades to the Gallup canoe livery and park. The vote for the Gallup application was unanimous. Commissioner Sam Offen voted against the resolution of support for the skatepark grant.
The issue of the city’s grant applications previously emerged during the March 9 meeting of the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission. At that meeting, Tom Freeman of the county’s parks & recreation department told greenbelt commissioners that the county would be applying for a DNR trust fund grant to help buy a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms. The parcel would become part of the county’s natural areas preservation program.
Greenbelt commissioners discussed voting on a letter of support for the county’s application, but were dissuaded by Ann Arbor councilmember Carsten Hohnke, who felt it would dilute the city’s own chances for grant funds from the state – for the skate park and the canoe livery. Ultimately, greenbelt commissioners voted to recommend that the city council consider sending a letter of support for the county’s application.
This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the park advisory commission is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]
