Three parcels received discussion at the council's May 7 meeting, from south to north: 415 W. Washington, 721 N. Main, the MichCon property. (Image links to higher resolution file)

In connection with different agenda items, the council discussed the future of three major parcels within the city, two of which are city-owned: 415 W. Washington and 721 N. Main, and the MichCon site near Broadway bridges.

First the council heard an update on the possible future of the city-owned 415 W. Washington property, located across from the Ann Arbor YMCA, which opened in 2005. The Y replaced the old Ann Arbor Technology Center, which had been the home of the 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios, along with independent artists and musicians, who rented space at the center. It burned in the course of a 2003 demolition.

The 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios went on to re-locate in Detroit. The group has some experience re-purposing buildings as space for artists, recently hosting a fundraiser for an additional property it has acquired – the 3rd Police Precinct in southwest Detroit. Artists can rent literal jail cells there as work space.

On Feb. 1, 2010, the Ann Arbor city council had established a task force – consisting of greenway advocates and members of the arts community – to explore the future use of the 415 W. Washington property. The Ann Arbor Arts Alliance was the group identified to represent the arts community interests.

Now, the 555 group appears ready to take responsibility for the arts portion of planning for the site. That’s the portion that entails re-using the existing building on the site, which is located in the Old West Side historic district. Carl Goines, a representative of 555, addressed the council on Monday night. Goines had co-founded the group 10 years ago in the tech center.

Goines described how an investment of around $45,000 is needed for surveying and environmental analysis of the 415 W. Washington site. That investment would be required whether the building is preserved or demolished, he said. Mayor John Hieftje indicated in his comments at the meeting that he’d be willing to give the group perhaps a year to establish a viable way to re-purpose the building, but also indicated an eagerness eventually to apply to the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for a grant to develop the entire parcel as a park. If the 555 group could not find a way to rehabilitate the structure within a reasonable time, Hieftje indicated a willingness to pursue the option of asking the city’s historic district commission for permission to demolish the structure.

The other city-owned parcel discussed by the council was 721 N. Main, former site of a city maintenance yard.  That came in connection with a council resolution to establish a task force to study the North Main corridor, and deliver a report in a year’s time, by July 31, 2013. Earlier than that, by the end of 2012, the task force is supposed to provide a recommendation on the use of 721 N. Main.

The city has an already-approved grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for demolition of two buildings on the site – but not the main building. The 721 N. Main parcel will also likely be part of a Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application by the city in the spring of 2013.

The task force is also supposed to provide a recommendation on the future use of the MichCon property, between the Amtrak station and the Huron River. MichCon is currently undertaking an environmental cleanup of the land, and the standard to which MichCon remediates the parcel will depend on its intended future use. Hieftje has been clear about his preference – that the city acquire the land for a park. A possible source of funds the city could use for acquisition of such a park would be money generated by the open space and parkland preservation millage.

By administrative policy, a third of the revenue from that millage is overseen by the land acquisition committee of the city’s park advisory commission. The council confirmed a new appointment to that commission at Monday’s meeting – Ingrid Ault, who replaces the term-limited Gwen Nystuen. The other two-thirds of the millage revenues – for preservation of land outside the city as a greenbelt – is administered by the greenbelt advisory commission. And notice of two upcoming reappointments to that body was also on the agenda – for Catherine Riseng and Peter Allen.

Allen is a real estate developer, who might have alternatives in mind for MichCon’s property that include more than just a park.

415 W. Washington

On the council’s agenda under the “introductions” section was an item updating the status of the city-owned 415 W. Washington site. For the council, the most recent historical touchstone was their Feb. 1, 2010 resolution establishing a task force consisting of Allen Creek greenway advocates and representatives of the arts community to work together to explore uses of the site. Chronicle coverage of that council meeting: ”Council Restarts 415 W. Washington Process.”

But the history of the planning for the site dates back more than just two years.

415 W. Washington: More Context – Current Use

Currently, the part of the parcel not occupied by buildings is used for surface parking in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The lot offers 161 spaces, and generated $160,274 for 49,818 hourly patrons for the first nine months of fiscal year 2012 – that is, through March 31.

Based on the first three quarters of FY 2012, the annual revenue from 415 W. Washington’s parking lot can be estimated at $214,000 annually. The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority operates the public parking system under contract with the city of Ann Arbor – a contract that stipulates 17% of gross parking revenues be paid directly to the city. So currently, the surface parking lot at 415 W. Washington could be estimated to provide about $36,000 annually to the city of Ann Arbor.

415 W. Washington: More Context – Future Use

A 2007 city of Ann Arbor greenway task force’s report included the following alternative recommendations for 415 W. Washington: (a) open space and a community art park; (b) a community building; and (c) new housing and additional open space. The (b) alternative mentioned the arts community specifically, but was not limited to that nonprofit sector. From the report:

Another rationale for maintaining the current structure has been provided by a variety of artists, artist organizations and other non-profit entities such as Kiwanis, many of which have expressed a desire to maintain the building for use by their respective organizations.

The city then issued an RFP (request for proposals) for the site. The RFP included a range of site objectives, but did not specify any one of the three recommended greenway task force alternatives for the site. The RFP site objectives, in excerpted form, are these:

1. Beneficial use of the site. … Preference will be given to proposals that incorporate a use (or uses) that provides a publicly available service to the community, for instance, building space that may be used for public meetings and civic or cultural events. Additional consideration will be given for the development of dwelling units affordable to downtown workers earning between 60% and 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. Public greenway linkage. The floodway portion of the site should be reserved in some manner as open space for the Allen Creek Greenway. … The proposal should include provisions for long-term maintenance of the public elements by the applicant.
3. Flood risk mitigation. A successful proposal will employ the best management practices identified in the City of Ann Arbor Flood Mitigation Plan. …
4. Environmental benefits. The development proposal should incorporate to the greatest extent possible environmentally sensitive design and energy efficiency features that follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Preference will be given to proposals that reuse or rehabilitate existing structures, consistent with historic district standards. …
5. Historic preservation. The project design must respect the historic character of the surrounding neighborhood and comply with the Old West Side historic district regulations. …
6. Financial return. The proposal must provide a positive financial return to the City. …

The three proposals received by the city, in severely abbreviated form, were as follows:

Old West Side Design Group: This proposal called for construction of a 3-story artist loft and live/work building totaling 24-36 units with above grade-level parking. The building, which would contain a minimum of 5-8 affordable units, would be located south of the main building on land currently occupied by garage structures. It would be designed for a LEED Silver rating or higher. A 24-unit residential condominium and commercial building is proposed on the adjacent 318 W. Liberty, to be developed under a separate site plan by members of the OWSDG proposal team.

Morningside: Construction of a new five-story, 52-unit condominium building with 48 parking spaces on the grade level under the building. Second floor residences are proposed for artist live/work space. Units would be priced in the mid-$200,000 range. The building, which would be designed for LEED Gold certification, would be located south of the main building on land currently occupied by garage structures.

Ann Arbor Art Center: Renovation of the 415 W. Washington building and garages into a community arts facility, to be owned by the Art Center. The Art Center would occupy approximately 13,000 square feet and rent or lease the remaining space to art groups and individuals.

Membership on the RFP review committee was as follows: Christine Brummer (Old West Side Association), Chris Easthope (now 15th District Court judge and then Ward 5 city council member), Sue McCormick (then director of public services with the city of Ann Arbor), John Mouat (then as now, an Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member), and Scott Rosencrans (then a member of the city’s park advisory commission).

After meeting seven times from May to December 2008 to review and evaluate the proposals, the RFP committee offered praise for all three proposals but did not designate any one of the three a recommended choice. From the committee report:

Notwithstanding these positive elements, the Committee finds that no single proposal is able to satisfy all of the site objectives and requirements of the RFP on its own merits. This evaluation is described in the findings below, followed by recommendations for the next steps in the site redevelopment process.

The RFP committee then kicked the process back to council by asking councilmembers to refine the RFP and allow opportunity until mid-March 2009 for revision to the proposals. From the report:

City council should further clarify its vision for the intended uses of the site and revise the site objectives in the RFP accordingly. The Committee recommends that city council include the following elements in its vision for the site:

• A publicly-owned greenway along the existing floodway.
• Renovation of the 415 W. Washington office building for an arts and/or civic use.
• Removal of the garages behind the office building.
• Construction of a new multi-family or live-work residential building at the southwest corner of the site.
• Pedestrian and vehicle connections to both Liberty and Washington streets.

City council should provide each of the three proposers an opportunity to amend their proposal to respond to the revised site objectives and to provide for collaboration between the parties. The charge of the advisory committee should be extended to review the amended proposals and make its recommendation to city council by March 16, 2009.

The city council did not act in the fashion described by the RFP review committee.

Instead, the city council eventually moved ahead with its Feb. 1, 2010 resolution on the 415 W. Washington site. That resolution could be fairly described as taking the concept from the Ann Arbor Art Center’s RFP response and starting a community-based process to explore its realization.

The resolution language referred explicitly to an “innovative process of community collaboration to explore a greenway park and arts center.”

415 W. Washington: Update on  Process – 2011

The Greenway Arts Committee established to engage in the “innovative process” included: mayor John Hieftje, Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5), Margie Teall (Ward 4), Christine Schopieray (the mayor’s administrative assistant) on behalf of the city council; Joe O’Neal and Jonathan Bulkley for the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy; and Tamara Real, Susan Froelich and David Esau for The Arts Alliance.

A year ago, at its April 4, 2011 meeting, the council received an update on the process. Esau of the Arts Alliance gave the presentation for the group. Highlights of the work included a report on focus groups conducted with artists. The committee also had made site visits to The Russell in Detroit, the Park Trades Center in Kalamazoo, and the Box Factory in St. Joseph.

At that time, the committee had secured a donation that had allowed a grant writer to be hired, to help submit applications for several grants, but none had yet been secured, Esau reported. He said the next step would be to raise $100,000 for additional studies on the old buildings located at the site, which are protected by the Old West Side historic district.

415 W. Washington: Update on  Process – 2012

At the council’s most recent meeting on May 7, 2012, Esau’s update was less sanguine about his own group’s involvement.

He characterized the group as having completed the work for the skills that are relevant to the Arts Alliance. The group had wanted to see a combination of different kind of spaces for artists and had generated preliminary layouts for the building. The result of that work suggested the building could house the activities that the Arts Alliance would like it to house, and that it could operate on a break-even basis. What was needed was a more sophisticated and detailed revenue/expense analysis, he said.

Funding for grant writing had been arranged, Esau said. However, most foundations offering grants are limited in their scope, he said. Foundations offering grants often are not interested in funding bricks-and-mortar capital projects, especially not early-stage projects like the 415 W. Washington project. The group wound up applying for just one grant, and it turned out that for that grant as well, the kind of capital project the Ann Arbor group had in mind was not a good fit, even though that was not evident from the grant criteria. The balance of the money that had been donated to the group for grant-writing activity has been returned to the donor at the request of the donor, Esau reported.

For the greenway portion of the project, Esau indicated that it would be included as part of the city’s grant application to Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund. [That same entity is funding part of the Ann Arbor skatepark and the renovations to the city's boat facilities at Gallup Park.]

Esau told the council that if the city is serious about redevelopment of the building, there is money that needs to be spent now. Some of that money would be needed anyway – even if the building is demolished. The Arts Alliance still believes a shared arts facility has potential and could be beneficial. However, as supportive as the Arts Alliance is of the concept, that organization can’t continue to do work on the project without compensation. All their work thus far has been pro bono. He noted that a different arts group has emerged that has more experience in adapting existing structures and is interested in participating.

With that, Esau handed over the presentation to Carl Goines, executive director of 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios. Goines sketched out the mission and history of the group, as it was founded in the Technology Center, where the Ann Arbor Y now stands, across the street from the 415 W. Washington site.

Vision of 415 W. Washington as complementary spaces with a greenway and space for contemporary artists. The bottom image is an aerial view of the existing site, looking north. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Goines described three locations in Detroit that 555 currently operates, including the former 3rd police precinct building, with around 7,000 square feet, including jail cells. Goines said 555 was interested in working with greenway advocates to create complementary spaces – the greenway portion of the parcel and a building with space for artists.

The first steps that Goines said need to be taken are: hazardous materials assessment ($5,200); Phase 2/3 environmental assessments ($20,000); topographic and boundary survey ($6,200); structural condition survey ($3,000 to $5,000); and architectural/structural as-built survey ($8,000).

So the estimated total for survey work, he said, is $45,000 – but he had an understanding that the first three items were already in the city’s budget. It’s work that would need to be done, whether the building is demolished or rehabilitated, he said. [In subsequent remarks, community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl described the need to have environmental closure on the site, in order to be able to apply for a grant from Michigan's Natural Resources Trust Fund.]

After those first steps, Goines said, the next steps would be: developing a hazardous materials abatement plan; doing a structural feasibility analysis; doing a more detailed analysis of programming and design feasibility; performing a site and environmental feasibility analysis; doing a cost analysis; forming partnerships; and fundraising.

415 W. Washington: Council Deliberations

Mayor John Hieftje had introduced some of the history of the site before Esau and Goines addressed the council. When they concluded their remarks, Hieftje noted that 415 W. Washington is a city-owned site. The city needs to do something with it. He characterized it as a magnet for graffiti. Because it’s in the Old West Side historic district, the city can’t simply remove the building. The city would need to petition the city’s historic district commission, Hieftje said. He hoped that a proposal could be brought forward working with people who’ve done a similar project before – the 555 group.

However, Hieftje cautioned that if something couldn’t be brought forward in a year, the task force would have to come back and say they haven’t been able to bring something forward, and a decision would need to be made at that time. A year from now, Hieftje remarked, the building won’t be in better shape than it is now. He echoed the remarks of Esau and Goines in noting that the expenditures they’d identified would need to be made anyway before tearing down the building.

Sumedh Bahl, community services area administrator, explained that the annual deadline for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant applications is in April. Bahl reported that staff had looked at 415 W. Washington as the subject of a possible grant application, but had concluded there are a number of elements not yet in place – for example, “environmental closure” on the site.

At the city park advisory commission meeting on Jan. 2, 2102, Colin Smith – the city’s manager of parks and recreation – had responded to a question from commissioner Gwen Nystuen about the possibility of moving ahead with development of a greenway park at 415 W. Washington. He noted the issue with the historic district as well as the need to master plan a greenway as items that would need to be addressed before a trust fund grant application could be made. From The Chronicle’s meeting coverage:

Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, noted that a council resolution was passed on Aug. 4, 2011 expressing general support for the idea of a greenway. There have been conversations, he said, about applying for a grant from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund, to turn the 415 W. Washington site into a park. The city staff is looking into that. The process would be similar to the way that the trust fund application for the skatepark had been handled, Smith explained. Staff would first come to PAC for a recommendation to apply. That recommendation would be forwarded to city council, which would need to approve the application.

Smith noted that one issue for the 415 W. Washington property is that it’s located in a historic district – the Old West Side. So in addition to PAC, the city would need a recommendation from the historic district commission too, he said.

Finally, Smith reminded commissioners that the parks, recreation and open space (PROS) plan, which PAC approved, recommends that the first action should be development of a master plan to guide the creation of a greenway. That point bears consideration, he said.

415 W. Washington: What about 721 N. Main?

At the council’s May 7 meeting, Bahl explained that because the city could not move quickly with a trust fund grant application for 415 W. Washington, staff were instead considering the city-owned 721 N. Main as a grant application. To apply to the trust fund, he explained, there would need to be environmental closure on the site, a budget and a plan. Even for 721 N. Main, he said, it’d be an aggressive time schedule, but he felt the city could manage it. All the planning work would need to be done by Jan. 1, 2013, he said, to have the application ready for the April 2013 deadline. It would need to be reviewed by the park advisory commission and the environmental commission. Also, community meetings would need to be held and a community consensus achieved.

The introduction of the topic of the 721 N. Main property led to some confusion among councilmembers: Was the city considering applying for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants for 721 N. Main or 415 W. Washington, or possibly both?

Back and forth between Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Hieftje, and Bahl established that the city would plan to try for an application on 721 N. Main in April 2013, and for 415 W. Washington the following year, in April 2014. Hieftje said that city staff say they won’t have the capacity to do both at the same time.

Hieftje also indicated there’s a problem with the environmental conditions at 415 W. Washington. The city thinks it can meet the environmental standard at 721 N. Main. Hieftje also indicated that there’s some concern on the part of the city’s lobbyist in Lansing that the Natural Resources Trust Fund might not be as flush in coming years as it has been. In addition, Hieftje said, the Greenway Conservancy needs to have a park established as a part of the Allen Creek greenway so they can point to it, which will facilitate fundraising for additional acquisitions.

Lumm agreed that both properties are key parcels. She ventured that many members of the city council would like to assist with the planning effort for the greenway, and noted that it involved asking city staff to invest the time to master plan the greenway. Bahl said that planning exercise would be a two-year effort.

In his remarks on the 415 W. Washington presentation, Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) noted the relationship between the two parcels, saying a lot things are coming together at the same time. The 721 N. Main property is within the area of the North Main corridor task force, he said, which was an item later on the council’s agenda.

Outcome: The council did not have a voting item on its agenda related to 415 W. Washington.

North Main/Huron River Task Force

The council considered a resolution establishing a task force to study the corridor along North Main Street and the Huron River.

The scope of the task force is described in one of the “Resolved” clauses:

RESOLVED, This task force’s efforts should develop 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; …

The task force is supposed to submit a report on its vision more than a year from now, on July 31, 2013. The membership of the task force is described as follows:

RESOLVED, That the task force will include one member of the park advisory commission, one member of planning commission, one resident representing Water Hill, one resident representing the North Central, one resident from Old Fourth Ward and one resident representing Broadway/Pontiac neighborhood, two business and property owners from the affected area, and one member of Huron River Watershed Council;

North Main/Huron River Task Force: 721 N. Main

In addition to the MichCon property, the resolution establishing the North Main/Huron River task force explicitly mentions another parcel – 721 N. Main.

RESOLVED, This task force’s efforts should result in a recommendation to council for the best use of 721 N. Main as part of the Allen Creek Greenway trails by Dec. 31, 2012;

So there are two deadlines for the task force – an outcome that was decided only after confusion and much conversation by the council during its May 7 deliberations. The earliest deadline is for a recommendation on the 721 N. Main property – by the end of 2012. The later deadline, for the overall report, is not until 2013, on July 31.

The 721 N. Main parcel is west of Main Street. The main building on the site is oriented north-south, visible just north of the blue-shaded area (the FEMA floodway) and inside the green area (the FEMA floodplain). The FEMA grant for demolition of buildings does not include the main building. (Links to higher resolution image.)

Council deliberations on the 721 N. Main portion of the task force resolution had already begun in the context of the presentation on 415 W. Washington. At that point in the council meeting, it was already established that the 721 N. Main property would be put ahead of 415 W. Washington for consideration of a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund application. It’s the trust fund’s April 2013 application deadline that pushed the council to give the task force a Dec. 31, 2012 deadline for a recommendation on 721 N. Main.

Some of the additional background on 721 N. Main, reviewed by community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl, included the fact that the city has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to demolish two of the buildings – those in the floodway. The main building is in the floodplain, not the floodway, and is not included in the FEMA grant. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) asked if there was any intent to save the main building. Bahl said he didn’t know right now, but the FEMA grant is for the demolition of the other two buildings.

The receipt of the FEMA grant is contingent on getting the city’s All-Hazard Plan updated, Bahl explained. It had lapsed, and FEMA requires an updated plan before the grant award can be made. [The city recently hired a new emergency management director, Rick Norman, who was introduced to the council at its Feb. 21, 2012 meeting. Updating the plan will be one of Norman's priorities.]

As funding sources for development of 721 N. Main as a greenway park, Hieftje gave another possibility in addition to the FEMA grant and the possible Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. Hieftje reported that he also had had a fruitful conversation with Washtenaw County parks and recreation on possible funding from that group. [The Washtenaw County parks and recreation commission operates with its own dedicated millage funds.] No formal agreement exists, Hieftje allowed, but the group was happy to see an application for funds go forward.

By way of additional background, Bob Tetens – director of Washtenaw County parks and recreation – told The Chronicle in a recent phone interview that there was not anything yet in front of the parks and recreation commission related to 721 N. Main. He indicated that there’d been conversations with the city about the project, and that the idea of connecting the 721 N. Main property would be a good fit with the county parks and recreation Connecting Communities grant program – a $600,000 annual program over five years, for a total of $3 million. Tetens also said that a project already partly funded through another source (like the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund) would enhance that project’s application for a Connecting Communities grant. However, there are more applications for various projects every year than Washtenaw County parks and recreation can fund through the program, Tetens said.

Excerpt from the city's 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

At the council’s May 7 meeting, Bahl said that Ann Arbor will work with Washtenaw County parks and recreation as the project moves along. Hieftje also described the possibility of a tunnel under the railroad track that could connect the 721 N. Main side of the railroad tracks to the Border-to-Border Trail. [The two borders to which the trail's name refers are the eastern and western edges of Washtenaw County.]

The city’s 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, which is currently being updated by the city, shows a non-motorized trail underpass for the railroad tracks that would essentially extend a shared-use path from Fifth Avenue at Depot Street under the tracks across the MichCon property, where it could eventually connect with the Border-to-Border trail. [.pdf of map from 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan]

Hieftje commented that he’s hopeful about a railroad underpass, because the Michigan Dept. of Transportation would be soon be acquiring the tracks from Norfolk Southern Railway. Railroad are notorious for being difficult to work with, he said. Hieftje felt that MDOT should be easier to work with than Norfolk Southern.

Bahl responded to Hieftje’s speculation by saying that MDOT might be easier to work with than the Norfolk Southern, but said that working with MDOT is no piece of cake. Bahl’s sentiments were consistent with those expressed by city staff on a March 16, 2012 staff-led tour of the area around the MichCon site and the Broadway bridges. Responding to residents who ventured that MDOT would be easier to work with, city engineer Michael Nearing and city transportation program manager Eli Cooper were both keen to stress that MDOT would not be easy to work with on railroad issues.

North Main/Huron River Task Force: Council Deliberations

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) led off the deliberations on the task force resolution. She co-sponsored it with her wardmate, Sabra Briere. She highlighted the fact that it’s meant to be a collaborative effort to look at the North Main corridor along the Huron River. She noted that access to Bandemer Park was difficult – for pedestrians, bicyclists and cars. None of it is being done very well currently, she said. So people use the illegal cut-throughs across the railroad tracks.

The city has given up maintaining a fence there, because it was destroyed so many times, she said. But across the railroad tracks is the only way into Bandemer, unless you go up North Main and cross the tracks at the at-grade crossing. Almost everyone takes the illegal shortcut, she noted. The city is investing a lot of resources in that general area. The Argo Cascades bypass around the Argo Dam has doubled or tripled the number of visitors to the area. People are flocking to it, she said. A connection between 721 N. Main and Bandemer will serve the greenway very well, she said. Getting to the Huron River from that side of the railroad tracks needs to be addressed, she said.

In his remarks, made later in the deliberations, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) noted that Smith had served on the Allen Creek greenway task force that had produced the 2007 report. It had a lot of technical detail that’s very deep, he noted. The participation of the greenway conservancy would be an asset, he said.

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) said the task force effort ties in with efforts that had been discussed two years ago. He noted that he and Smith had walked the area to see what the North Main entrance into the city looks like. He said he’d support the resolution as an idea whose time has come.

Briere noted the difference between the work of the task force and the work that city staff would do. She observed that members of the task force are individual citizens, not staff members. She continued by saying she is partial to the resolution language that says the task force will conduct a series of workshops and would work with independent professionals – to help everyone listen to ideas they might not think of inside the box they live in. She stressed that the task force membership includes people who have a real stake in the area. She also stressed that anyone who wanted to attend the task force meetings would be welcome to do so.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) indicated she supported the resolution. But she wanted to know how the work would be funded. Briere indicated the task force would have access to one staff member – Sumedh Bahl. Most of the work would be done by people who don’t get paid. So Higgins ventured that the independent professionals the task force was supposed to consult with would be volunteers – yes, said Briere.

A lengthy discussion then ensued about the work that the task force would do on 721 N. Main, compared with the staff work that would be done specifically in connection with preparing to meet the April 2013 application deadline for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) and Sandi Smith (Ward 1) before the May 7 council meeting.

Bahl indicated that the initially proposed deadline for the task force recommendation on 721 N. Main (which had been March 31, 2013) would be much too late to make a difference for the April grant application. That deadline was revised to Dec. 31, 2012.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) expressed some concern that even that earlier deadline would not give city staff enough time to prepare the grant application. Bahl assured Taylor that the site plan that would be produced in connection with the grant application would be only at the conceptual level, indicating that the deadline would be achievable.

Hieftje stressed that the best thing from the point of view of pushing a greenway forward is to get the funding for 721 N. Main, so that the first of a series of greenway parks could be established. That would be the best approach to establishing 415 W. Washington as part of an Allen Creek greenway, he said.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) thanked Briere and Smith for developing the resolution and bringing it forward. He counted it as significant progress since the greenway task force had submitted its report. He also noted that progress had been made on the First and William lot. Hohnke felt that progress was now being made on the other two city-owned parcels [identified by greenway advocates as three key parcels for an Allen Creek greenway.] Hohnke noted that part of the challenge of the First and William site is environmental remediation.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved establishing the task force to develop a vision for North Main/Huron River. Appointments to the task force could come as soon as the next council meeting on May 21.

Appointments to Open-Space-Related Bodies

In addition to eventual appointments to the North Main/Huron River task force, at its May 7 meeting the council considered appointments to two park-related bodies of the city: the park advisory commission, and the greenbelt advisory commission.

Appointments: Park Advisory Commission

The council considered the nomination of Ingrid Ault to the city’s park advisory commission (PAC). Ault – executive director of the nonprofit Think Local First – replaces Gwen Nystuen, who served two three-year terms on the commission starting in 2006. Service on the commission is limited to six continuous years at a time – but an additional appointment can be made after a three-year pause.

During the council’s opportunity to deliberate on the appointment, Jane Lumm (Ward 2) spoke at length in praise of Nystuen’s service to the city on PAC.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved Ault’s nomination to the city’s park advisory commission.

Appointments: Greenbelt Advisory Commission

A parliamentary snafu was associated with the nomination for re-appointment of two members of the city’s greenbelt advisory commission (GAC), which is charged with overseeing a portion of the proceeds from the open space and parkland preservation millage. By administrative policy, two-thirds of the millage proceeds are invested in land preservation outside the city – GAC makes recommendations to city council for those investments. The other third of the money is overseen by the land acquisition committee of PAC, which also acts in an advisory capacity to city council.

The re-appointment of Catherine Riseng and Peter Allen to GAC was on the agenda as a voting item, but was supposed to be a communication. The council agreed informally to postpone the vote until its following meeting, on May 21. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) raised the corresponding point of order – the council should actually vote on the postponement as a matter of form, which the council then did.

Outcome: The council unanimously postponed the reappointment of Riseng and Allen to GAC.

MichCon Site

Also a part of the North Main/Huron River task force scope of work is the MichCon site, bounded roughly by the railroad tracks next to the Amtrak station on the west, the Huron River on the east, and Broadway bridges on the south.

MichCon, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, is currently engaged in the environmental cleanup of contamination that’s related to the site’s history as a coal gasification plant. The cleanup plan for the strip of land alongside the river was presented to the city council recently, as well as to the city’s park advisory commission. [For a more detailed look at that plan, see Chronicle coverage of the March 20, 2012 park advisory commission meeting.]

At an April 10, 2012 public hearing held at Cobblestone Farm, Shayne Wiesemann, a senior environmental engineer with DTE Energy, spoke to The Chronicle about the cleanup. He explained that the cleanup of the area next to the river was the subject of the hearing, not the cleanup for the entire site. While the standards for remediating the riverside strip had essentially been determined, that was not the case for the entire site.

The cleanup standard that DTE Energy would meet for the entire site would depend on its eventual planned use by a future owner, Wiesemann said. He indicated that the MichCon leadership is interested in selling the property – but does not have an immediate sense of urgency to dispose of the land. He indicated that something like a five-year time frame would be appropriate to think about.

"Broadway Mills" – a University of Michigan student project. This rendering is oriented with south at the top of the image. (Image links to large .pdf of class project.)

Mayor John Hieftje and others have spoken about their desire to see the land acquired by the city and become a park. One possible source of funds for acquisition of at least part of the parcel by the city would be the open space and parkland preservation millage. That purchase would need to be recommended by the park advisory commission’s land acquisition committee.

For Peter Allen, who serves on the greenbelt advisory commission in the slot designated for a real estate developer, the vision of the MichCon property is more than just a park. [Allen's service on GAC would not allow him to have say in the expenditure of open space and parkland preservation millage dollars on the MichCon property, which lies inside the city.]

In a recent phone interview with The Chronicle, Allen described how the “buildable” portion of the property is closer to the Broadway bridges, and that he could imagine the parcel as including parkland as well as developed property. He highlighted in particular the possibility of including a performing arts venue at the location.

NoMo – a University of Michigan student project. The view is from the east with the Broadway bridges in the foreground. (Image links to large .pdf of class project.)

Allen teaches a course in urban planning as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan. Two and a half years ago, The Chronicle reported on a class assignment that Allen gave students to look at the potential development of various sites around Ann Arbor. Two groups of students took on the challenge of evaluating the MichCon property as developable land.

The two projects were called Broadway Mills and NoMo. Both proposals include construction of buildings on the eastern part of the parcel, leaving the western portion as open space.

NoMo proposed a mix of retail (ground floor), office (middle) and residential uses (top). Broadway Mills also included a mix of retail and residential uses, and specifically called for a small amphitheater and a seasonal ice rink. A space the project team dubbed “Depot Plaza” – located roughly where the current Amtrak station is located – would be “a family-oriented space, with a splash fountain, climbable sculptures, and a playground.”

Outcome: The council did not have a voting item on its agenda regarding the MichCon property.

Present: Jane Lumm, Mike Anglin, Margie Teall, Sabra Briere, Sandi Smith, Tony Derezinski, Stephen Kunselman, Marcia Higgins, John Hieftje, Christopher Taylor, Carsten Hohnke.

Absent: Margie Teall.

Next council meeting: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 301 E. Huron. [confirm date]

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Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board members Roger Hewitt (left) and Keith Orr. They're examining a Girl Scout badge created for assisting in the Downtown Blooms event. The car on the wall in the background is a mockup of the planned wayfinding system for the levels of the new underground parking structure, anticipated to open by mid-July. (Photos by the writer.)

One of those structures farther west of the campus is the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue, which is nearing completion. The garage, which the DDA is currently calling the “Library Lane” parking structure, is now expected to open by the time the art fairs begin, which this year fall on July 18–21. South Fifth Avenue between Liberty and William is expected to re-open by Memorial Day.

A characterization of that timing as “on schedule” was disputed during public commentary by Ali Ramlawi, owner of the Jerusalem Garden restaurant. Jerusalem Garden is adjacent to the construction site. Ramlawi noted that the structure was originally due to be completed by August 2011.

The future use of the top of the underground garage was the subject of public commentary from advocates who’d like to see it used as a green plaza. That suggestion was met with remarks from mayor John Hieftje, who sits on the DDA board, with a description of his expectation that three major parcels would soon be incorporated into the city’s park system – 721 N. Main, 415 W. Washington, and the MichCon property (located between the Amtrak rail station and the Huron River near the Broadway bridges). Hieftje’s point was that the additional financial burden for the maintenance of those parcels as parks might impact the city’s ability to add a downtown green plaza to the park system.

Requests for better information about the parking system and suggestions for disseminating information about the availability of open parking spaces were topics of additional public commentary.

Although it was not an action item, the board discussed a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy]

The committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. If the project moves forward, the 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF (tax increment finance) revenue to the DDA. If adopted as it’s currently worded in the draft, the formula in the policy would translate into up to $625,000 of support for 618 S. Main.

The board also received updates on the third-quarter financial statements for the DDA, as well as an update on the Connection William Street planning project. 

The DDA manages the city’s public parking system under a contract with the city of Ann Arbor that ensures the city receives 17% of the gross parking revenues, which amounts to around $3 million annually.

So parking is typically a topic at DDA board meetings that receives a great deal of time and attention. The May 2, 2012 meeting was no different. The construction of the new parking garage on South Fifth Avenue was highlighted at the meeting in three ways: (1) public comment on future planning for the top of the underground parking garage from advocates of a public park to be constructed there; (2) a resolution to help foster usage of the new garage through differential pricing; and (3) and the regular update on construction progress.

Parking Structure Park

A request for proposals (RFP) process that could have led to the selection of a development project on the top of the underground parking structure was terminated by the Ann Arbor city council on April 4, 2011. The structure includes reinforced footings designed to support future development on the site.

Parking Structure Park: Public Comment – Library Green

Will Hathaway told the board that he was speaking on behalf of group of Ann Arborites advocating for a downtown public park – a Library Green on the Library Lot. He allowed that there are other competing views for the future of the Library Lot. He also allowed that there are also concerns about the possible impact of public open space in the downtown.

He reviewed the site plan for the top of the parking structure, given the absence of any future development on the top of the lot. The design includes 40 parking spaces, he said.

The red rectangle outlines the area where Hathaway and the Library Green advocates would like to see a public park/plaza constructed, instead of using all the available area for surface parking. (Image links to higher resolution .pdf file)

Hathaway then reviewed the configuration of the spaces that are currently planned for the top of the structure. He suggested that a public plaza be created now and proposed a configuration that would leave 18 parking spaces, but would allow for a plaza too.

He invited the DDA board to think about an interactive water feature or an ice rink or a piece of public art like The Cube as elements of the plaza. He reported that he’d been on a tour of the underground garage, which is nearing completion, and he allowed that in some ways it’s architecturally beautiful.

But it needs a better “crown,” Hathaway said, than a surface parking lot.

Eric Lipson introduced himself as a resident of Ann Arbor and former city planning commissioner. He told the board he was also wearing the hat of a Library Green advocate. He explained that as general manager of the Inter-Cooperative Council, he was also representing a stakeholder in the Connecting William Street project. The ICC houses 600 members, and its headquarters is located on East William Street, within the area of study for that project.

Lipson reminded the DDA board of the Calthorpe process that the community had engaged in around 2005. He described it as an extensive process that had included a series of design charettes. One of the ideas that had emerged was the need for a public plaza, or a “town square.” The Calthorpe report mentions a town square over a dozen times, Lipson said, and depicts such a square on the Library Lot.

Lipson called it a perfect time to revisit the question of what to put on top of the underground structure. He told the board it was doing an excellent job on the Connecting William Street project. The DDA’s planning and research specialist, Amber Miller, and executive director Susan Pollay were doing a good job, he said. The speaker series that Concentrate is sponsoring as a part of that is very useful, he said.

Right now the plan for the top of the Library Lot is for it to be a surface parking lot [until some other possible future use is identified]. But surface parking lots are anathema to active downtowns, he said. He encouraged the DDA board to put something on the site that is not a surface parking lot. He acknowledged the concern about crime and panhandlers, but characterized that as a broader issue. The community shouldn’t sacrifice the idea of a plaza because of the issue of the homeless. He said that as he moved through downtown Ann Arbor walking along the sidewalks, he was approached more and more by panhandlers – but no one is suggesting we abolish sidewalks.

Ray Detter, during his report from the downtown citizens advisory council (CAC), said that Lipson and Hathaway had spoken to the advisory council at its meeting the night before. Detter said the CAC agreed with them that a plaza space should be part of the plan. But he said that a plaza space has always been part of the plan. The CAC agreed there should be a clear-cut process for using Library Lane when it was finished. [Library Lane is the mid-block cut-through from Division Street to Fifth Avenue just north of the current location of the downtown district library.] Detter said the CAC had affirmed a long-held commitment to tax-producing private development on top of the parking garage. The CAC has always believed that whatever goes on the top of the parking garage should benefit the library, Detter concluded.

Parking Structure Park: Board Response – Three Other Parks

Responding to the remarks of Library Green advocates about the perceived problem of panhandling as an argument against additional open space in the downtown, mayor John Hieftje noted that panhandling had been the focus of a task force that had done some work on the issue. He mentioned that people would start seeing posters appear that give suggestions for ways to help without giving money to a panhandler.

[By way of background, the city of Ann Arbor previously staffed a downtown beat patrol, which many officers chose to cover by bicycle. With the reduction of the police officer force, that specific patrol assignment has been reduced to the point of elimination. Many people have contended that there's an increased panhandling and other nuisance-type crimes in downtown Ann Arbor and that it can be attributed to the elimination of the downtown beat patrol.]

So in connection with panhandling, Hieftje then took the occasion to point out that later in May, the city council would be likely to approve a budget that does not cut 9 police officers as had been planned last year, but would add one, for a net gain of 10. He also pointed out that some additional personnel would be added as part of a recruitment program.

[In May 2011, the city council approved a budget that eliminated six police officer positions, with a plan to eliminate nine additional positions this year. So compared to 2010 budgeted levels for sworn officers, preserving the nine positions and adding one leaves Ann Arbor police officer staffing at five fewer for next year. That doesn't include the proposed recruitment program, which calls for potential new hires to the department to work under the direction of sworn officers.]

Image from the city/county flood map website showing the 721 N. Main parcel. The blue area is floodway. The green area is floodplain. Two of the three buildings on the parcel are in the floodway. They could be demolished with a FEMA grant described by mayor John Hieftje. Acceptance of the grant from FEMA would require a deed restriction against development in the floodway. (Image links to floodway mapping tool.)

Continuing his remarks on panhandlers, Hieftje noted that most of them are not homeless.

Hieftje then pitched a framework for discussing the future of the top of the underground parking garage – which Library Green advocates are suggesting should become a public park. Hieftje contended that it should be considered in the context of other significant anticipated additions to the city park system.

Hieftje indicated that the city council’s May 7 meeting would include a presentation about a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for demolition of buildings on the city-owned 721 N. Main property.

By way of additional background, Jerry Hancock, the city’s floodplain manager, provided some explanation about the grant, which has been awarded but still awaits some steps on the city’s part. One of those steps is updating the city’s All-Hazard Plan, which had expired, delaying the award of the grant by FEMA.

From The Chronicle’s March 5, 2012 city council meeting report:

Hancock responded by saying there’s only one other site on which the city has moved forward with FEMA applications: 721 N. Main St., a city-owned property.

The city had received approval of a grant to remove two storage structures in the floodway on the 721 N. Main site, but that grant has been delayed because the city’s All-Hazard Plan has expired. The city’s emergency manager, along with the city attorney’s office, is updating that, Hancock explained. Once that All-Hazard Plan is complete, the city will be able to move ahead with that grant. However, no other sites besides the two storage structures at 721 N. Main have been identified for FEMA applications, Hancock said.

At the DDA board meeting on May 2, Hieftje also said there was a real push being made to get the area across Main Street from the 721 N. Main property cleaned up – it’s the site of Avalon Housing‘s Near North affordable housing project, which currently has several vacant houses on it. Hieftje indicated that the city would be pursuing a state Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to make the 721 N. Main site the first of the greenway parks. It would have a linkage across Main Street under the railroad tracks to the countywide Border-to-Border Trail, he said. City staff would be investing time in planning for that, he said. Washtenaw County [parks and recreation], Hieftje reported, had agreed tentatively to participate in the project by making a match for the Natural Resources Trust Fund grant.

[Hieftje appears to have somewhat overstated the currently expected level of participation by the county's park and recreation program. In a phone interview, Bob Tetens – director of Washtenaw County parks and recreation – told The Chronicle that there was not anything yet on the table in front of the parks and recreation commission. He indicated that there'd been conversations with the city about the project, and that the idea of connecting the 721 N. Main property would be a good fit with the Connecting Communities grant program – a $600,000 annual program over five years, for a total of $3 million. Tetens also said that a project that's already partly funded through another source (like the state's Natural Resources Trust Fund) would enhance a project's application. However, there are more applications for various projects every year than Washtenaw County parks and recreation can fund through the Connecting Communities program, Tetens said.]

Hieftje characterized the land at 721 N. Main as something that the city needs to do something with – because the city doesn’t want to contribute to blight. [The property was previously the city's fleet maintenance yard, but was closed when the Wheeler Service Center opened in 2007.] He also reported that he’d been working with community members on the city-owned 415 W. Washington property. He said that not much progress has been made because of the condition of the old building. By council resolution, he said, that parcel will be a greenway park. [The council resolutions to which Hieftje is referring don't appear to commit the entire parcel to becoming a greenway park.]

Environmental cleanup work is being done on the MichCon property, located between the Amtrak rail station and the Huron River, near the Broadway bridges. Hieftje stated he hoped that would also become a park – across from the new whitewater features to be constructed in connection with the Argo Dam bypass, now called the Argo Cascades.

So as people start to think about adding parks, he said, people need to think about how to maintain them. According to the park advisory commission, Hieftje said, the city is at the limit of being able to maintain parks. Because the city already owns the 721 N. Main site, and because the MichCon property is one the city has wanted for 40 years to be cleaned up and added to the park system, those would be “first in line,” he stated. The capacity to care for another park will stretched, Hieftje said. He recommended to people who are working on the Library Green to take that into account: How will we maintain the park? Also, Hieftje invited Library Green advocates to think about how that fit into the competing interests of three large new parks that will need planning, development and maintenance.

Hieftje also said that he’d be recommending to the park advisory commission that they take up the issue of how to re-design Liberty Plaza [at Division and Liberty streets] so that it becomes a more active center and not something that people avoid. It’s fortunate that First Martin cares for the park, Hieftje said. [First Martin is an Ann Arbor firm that owns the building adjacent to Liberty Plaza.]

Picking up on Hieftje’s comments, Sandi Smith noted that the Connecting William Street committee members would have the future of the top of the underground parking garage on their radar as well, and noted that Liberty Plaza is within the boundary of the study area. Trying to maintain and activate two parks within the same block seems to be a difficult chore, she said.

Responding to Hieftje’s comments during the second opportunity for public comment at the end of the meeting, Jerusalem Garden owner Ali Ramlawi suggested that one idea of funding the maintenance for a public park plaza on top of the parking garage would be to take a fraction of a percent of the parking revenues collected from the structure.

Parking Demand Management

Parking demand management is basically a strategy of differential pricing – higher for higher demand areas and lower for lower demand areas – to try to optimize the available parking spaces in the system. At an April 9, 2012 city council work session, Ward 1 city councilmember Sabra Briere had asked DDA board member Roger Hewitt when residents could expect to see demand-management strategies implemented. At that work session, Hewitt had been presenting the DDA annual budget to the council.

Parking Demand Management: Resolution on Permits

At their May 2 meeting, the DDA board considered a resolution authorizing its operations committee (aka bricks & money and transportation committee) to use demand-management strategies to price monthly parking permits in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The goal of adjusting monthly parking permit rates is to expand campus-area parking to structures other than those immediately adjacent to the University of Michigan campus. In broad strokes, “demand-management strategies” means pricing the most desirable parking options higher than those that are less desirable.

The move comes as the opening of the new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, offering around 700 total spaces, is set to open by the start of the Ann Arbor art fairs, which this year run from July 18-21. Monthly permits for some of the spaces will be offered at the new structure, which will add to the five public parking structures where permits are available: Ann & Ashley, Forest Avenue, Fourth & William, Liberty Square (Tally Hall), and Maynard.

Under a demand-management strategy, prices of monthly permits at the underground parking structure are likely to be lower than at other structures.

The Ps denote parking structures offering monthly permit parking. (Image links to Google map.)

Hewitt noted that the DDA has been focusing on the completion of the new underground parking garage and has not had time to pay as much attention to parking demand-management initiatives.

As the DDA gets closer to opening the new underground garage, Hewitt said, the idea is to look at carrots and sticks for evening out the usage in the system. Rather than forcing people to move their permits from structures in high demand to those that are in lower demand, the idea is to offer incentives. There’s a number of ideas to relieve the pressure on the structures closest to campus – Forest, Maynard and Liberty Square. The idea is to move those folks into the new underground structure or the Fourth & William structure, he said.

The resolution authorized the operations committee to use parking demand management to alter rates to even out the demand in the system, he said.

Newcombe Clark questioned why there was an explicit mention of “two blocks west” in one of the “whereas” clauses. Hewitt assured him that the intent was to explore parking demand management for monthly permits throughout the system, without any particular boundary.

Outcome: The DDA board unanimously approved the resolution authorizing the operations committee to use parking demand management strategies to alter monthly parking permit rates.

Parking Demand Management: DDA-City Contract

The  Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority manages Ann Arbor’s public parking system under contract with the city. The DDA has the unilateral ability to set parking rates. To implement an increase, the DDA is required under the contract to complete a series of steps designed to ensure adequate notice and public input before implementation of a rate increase. From the contract [emphasis]:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, DDA shall not implement any increase in the Municipal Parking System’s hours of meter operation or parking rates intended to persist for more than three (3) months without first: (i) announcing, and providing written communication regarding, the details of such increase at a meeting of the DDA Board; (ii) providing all members of the public an opportunity to speak in a manner similar to a public hearing before the DDA Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting on the subject of the proposed increase (“Public Hearing”); and (iii) postponing any vote on the proposed increase until at least the regularly scheduled meeting of the DDA Board after the Public Hearing

The changes to the monthly permit system, which Hewitt characterized as “incentives,” do not appear to involve rate increases, but perhaps only decreases. So the various steps outlined in that contract clause would not apply.

Parking Demand Management: Public Comment

Edward Vielmetti addressed the board during the second opportunity for public commentary, and focused on the topic of demand management pricing. He ventured that sometimes people don’t have much of a choice as to where they can park and they pay whatever price they have to pay – because they don’t know much about what their alternatives are.

In addition to improved communication about availability of spaces, Vielmetti asked for better communication about information on the parking system performance – as opposed to simple pronouncements about the parking system being at full capacity.

Vielmetti also addressed the board at the start of the meeting on the topic of relatively low-tech ways to get parking space availability information to people who need it – people who are looking for a place to park.

He shared an experience he had visiting Toledo to watch the Toledo Mud Hens play. It’s usually easy to find a place to park, he said, and if the lots near the stadium are full, there are usually other lots that are easy enough to find. But on the occasion of the visit he described to the DDA board, the Detroit Tigers were playing, and all the lots were filled up. So he had to navigate using his wits and found the farmer’s market, which offered free parking.

Part of the challenge of parking in an unfamiliar place, he said, is not knowing the lay of the land. You have to figure out if the place you want to park is legal, and you might not know if the structure you know exists is already full. He said that what was fascinating about Toledo was not any kind of fancy smart phone application that anyone had running, but rather a sign at the border that advised people to tune their radios to AM 1640. That’s a station that tells you how much traffic was on the roads to get to the stadium, or to get to downtown Toledo from the Michigan border.

The radio station, Vielmetti said, would give estimated travel times to different places, on a constant loop. Every few minutes the information would be updated. It’s a low-power AM station that you can only hear in Toledo, he said. He suggested that setting up such a station would be within the means of any municipality or a public body like the DDA, and the radio station could tell people a little bit about what they need to do in the downtown. The DDA already has realtime parking information available, so potentially that information could be broadcast every three minutes and listeners could hear something like “All the lots have spaces available,” or if the Fourth and Washington structure is full, then it could advise people to use the underground garage.

Vielmetti said he wanted to revisit the realtime parking information issue that he’d raised with the DDA back in 2009. This time around, he said, he didn’t want to look at “fancy things” that only people with fancy phones could use, but something that people could tune into from their car radio.

Parking Demand Management: Parking Report

A report of the monthly parking figures are a standard part of every DDA board meeting. Generally, the message conveyed by Roger Hewitt is that revenues are up in excess of the rate increase, which he interprets as an indicator that demand for parking is increasing.

For the past few months, The Chronicle has charted out revenues and hourly patrons in the system as reflected in the DDA’s monthly reports over the last couple of years. Hourly patrons don’t include people who park at on-street meters, but rather those who pay hourly at a parking structure – as opposed to parking there using a monthly permit.

Ann Arbor public parking system revenue through March 31, 2012. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Ann Arbor public parking system hourly patrons (in structures) through March 31, 2012. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Parking Garage Construction

At its monthly meetings, the DDA board typically receives a report on the progress toward completion of the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue. It will offer around 700 spaces underground. The surface lot that existed there previously offered 192 spaces.

Parking Garage Construction – Public Comment

Ali Ramlawi introduced himself as the owner of the Jerusalem Garden and a resident of Ward 5 – but he allowed that board members already knew who he was. [Ramlawi has addressed the board previously to raise essentially the same issues he did at the May 2 meeting.]

He described the construction of the underground parking structure as stretching now into its fourth calendar year, but was not yet complete. [The ceremonial groundbreaking took place in October 2009.] He reviewed some of the issues he’s raised before – loss of income, disruption in deliveries, forced evacuation [due to the emergence of a sinkhole]. He questioned how the construction contract was awarded to the Christman Company and contended that the choice of subcontractors by Christman had raised some eyebrows. He contended that the original contract with Christman had no penalties for being late and no reward for finishing on time. No one is held accountable, he complained. With the powers and budget the DDA board members have, they need to do a better job of awarding contacts, he said. If this were the private sector, he contended, someone would have been fired. Where are the penalties for the lateness? he asked.

He told the board that when they have the ceremonial opening celebration he would not be around for it because he didn’t want to “puke over [himself].”

Parking Garage Construction – Board Report

John Splitt gave the update on the construction of the underground garage. Work continues on the mechanicals. The most exciting part of things, he said, is that the backfilling on the plaza level is going along nicely and the waterproofing is almost complete. Backfilling on the “bridge” section, which will allow the re-opening of South Fifth Avenue, is almost complete, he said. Curbs are beginning to be formed on South Fifth Avenue. It’s on schedule to reopen by the end of May, and it’s anticipated that the underground garage will be open by the time that the art fairs start, he said. The fairs run from July 18-21 this year.

During the second opportunity for public commentary near the end of the meeting, Ali Ramlawi objected to Splitt’s use of the phrase “on schedule to open,” saying that the project is a year behind schedule. He contended that saying it was on schedule undermined the DDA’s credibility.

Following up on Splitt’s construction summary, Newcombe Clark asked that the depiction of the Lincoln Continental on the meeting room’s wall be explained, so that people did not think the DDA was getting into the sponsorship business. Splitt explained that it’s part of the underground garage wayfinding system – which will use both colors and four different automobiles to identify floors. The car is a mockup of a wayfinding sign.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft

The DDA board considered a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy] The board was not expected to act on the policy, and did not vote.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft: Background

The DDA’s partnerships committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. The 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF (tax increment finance) revenue to the DDA.

Ketelaar is asking that the DDA pledge 80% of its TIF capture money for six years – about $1.3 million – to support certain aspects of the project in connection with the state’s Community Revitalization Program. The CRP is the successor to the brownfield and historic preservation tax credit programs. In order to approve the tax credit, the state would like to see a commensurate commitment from local units – and Ketelaar is proposing that it take the form of the DDA’s support.

At the April 11, 2012 DDA partnerships committee meeting, one of the points that resonated strongest with some board members in favor of supporting the 618 S. Main project was the ability of the contribution to leverage state money that would otherwise not be invested in Ann Arbor. The amount of money from the state that could be leveraged is in the range of $3 million.

Under Ketelaar’s proposal, taxes on the property would still need to be paid. In other words, the DDA would not simply waive its tax capture on the property. The 618 S. Main project would be reimbursed for a portion of those taxes it would normally owe. In the draft policy, that’s reflected in the following passage: “The DDA will not forgo its TIF capture from a project; the DDA may elect to provide a grant to a project utilizing its funds, or it may elect to provide all or some of its support using such in-kind elements as access to parking for contractors or construction staging.”

The maximum amount of a possible grant described in the draft policy is “calculated by estimating 25% of the total TIF captured by a project over ten years.” In the case of the 618 S. Main project, that amounts to .25*(10*$250,000) = $625,000. That’s about half what the 618 S. Main project is requesting.

The DDA board has heard about the proposal on several occasions – first at the full board meeting on Feb. 1, 2012, and at four subsequent DDA partnerships committee meetings. DDA board members are cautious about the precedent that such a pledge might set, and the appropriateness of the DDA’s role at this early stage in the project. (Ketelaar has not yet acquired the land.) At the March 28 partnerships committee meeting, DDA board member Newcombe Clark expressed concern that, depending on the precise role defined for the DDA’s participation, the DDA could effectively be artificially inflating land values.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft: Board Discussion

Sandi Smith introduced the draft policy. Looking at the 618 S. Main project caused the partnerships committee to take a really hard look at the reasons why the DDA would participate in the project at all, some or a lot, she said. The committee felt that it was struggling with the idea of creating a precedent. So the committee wanted to make a strong policy statement that the DDA would be able to honor for the 618 S. Main project, as well as for projects that came after it.

She walked the board through some of the highlights of the draft policy. She said she was looking for board-wide feedback for further work by the partnerships committee.

Roger Hewitt said that a lot of his concerns were addressed by the draft policy – about the subjectivity of picking projects. He liked the idea of getting rid of as much subjectivity as possible. The idea of a state match was good, he said, as well as the idea that the only costs to be reimbursed would be public infrastructure, not parts of the development itself. He also wanted to make sure that the DDA would not be paying out more than the DDA would receive in TIF capture.

Smith assured Hewitt that nothing would be paid until the taxes have been paid. The DDA would never be in a position of being ahead of the taxes it had received. Hewitt said his concern was that the amount of the grant could become a larger percentage of the TIF, if the value of the project actually went down. He wanted some way to protect against that. Keith Orr suggested some kind of clause that states that while the grant amount would be based on the estimated value of the TIF capture, the payout would be capped by the actual value.

Russ Collins noted that the scenario that Hewitt was describing involved possibly paying out more than anticipated, but not more than the DDA was capturing. John Splitt noted that there could be flexibility to pay out sooner than the actual TIF capture was received, so that’s where the issue could arise – if it were paid out on a schedule sooner than the 10 years.

Splitt wondered if 25% was enough to make a difference in the project. Bob Guenzel clarified that “enough” meant whether it was enough to actually provide the matching leverage for state funds. Smith responded by saying that for past projects, the Liberty Lofts project [a residential development at Liberty and First] had been the most significant one – and that had amounted to 17% of the TIF over 10 years. Taking all that into account, she wondered if 25% was too high or too low.

Keith Orr agreed with the idea of making it as objective as possible and focusing on public infrastructure.

Newcombe Clark said he was happy that the DDA has continued to be creative even when the organization doesn’t have a lot of money. He appreciated the patience of Ketelaar, watching the “sausage making.” Clark said he’d enjoyed the process. Maybe the DDA didn’t make everyone happy or didn’t get it right the first time, he said – that’s always possible. He knew it was not perfect, but he felt that as a group the DDA board could pick it back up and shine it up some more. He said he’d had the fear that for a few years there’d be nothing the DDA would be able to do [because of diminished financial capacity] and he’d been proven wrong.

Collins quipped that he found Clark’s positive and optimistic attitude completely inappropriate, which drew laughs around the table. On a more serious note, Collins said that the DDA had structured itself as an organization that tends to assets. That causes a certain amount of fiscal conservatism. The draft brownfield policy, therefore, is very conservative, he said. But by being conservative, the DDA could miss the chance to be a stimulus to other private investment, which is the core of the DDA’s mission, he said. That’s the constant tension a DDA has, he ventured.

Clark suggested that based on past experience, once the DDA creates policies, it lays down the rules of engagement, and then people will line up with proposals. Collins continued with his friendly ribbing of Clark, saying that Clark’s unmitigated optimism was completely out of character.

During his report from the downtown citizens advisory council (CAC), Ray Detter congratulated the DDA on the formulation of the draft policy. He said the CAC supports the project and is confident the DDA is developing a consistent policy that will be fair to everyone.

Outcome: The draft policy was not before the board for a vote. It will be subjected to further discussion by the partnerships committee.

Third Quarter Financials

Roger Hewitt reviewed the financial statements for third quarter, through March 31, 2012. The DDA’s accounting system includes four funds: the TIF (tax increment finance) fund, which gets its revenue from tax capture; the parking fund, which receives revenue from the public parking system; the parking maintenance fund, which gets revenue through transfers from the parking fund; and the housing fund, which gets revenue through transfers from the TIF fund. [.pdf of DDA  financial picture through March 31, 2012]

The tax increment finance (TIF) income is anticipated to be $200,000 below budgeted – $3.7 million instead of $3.9 million, Hewitt reported. The drop, he said, is primarily due to changes in personal property, not changes to real property. Personal property depreciates quickly, he said. Operating expenses will be about $250,000 below budget, primarily from less use of consultants and lower administrative expenses. Only about $45,000 in capital expenses are shown so far, he said, but he anticipated that number would be right around $1 million at the end of the fiscal year.

That figure will come from the Fifth and Division streetscape improvements project and a portion of the “Library Lane” parking structure. Overall, he said, the DDA had budgeted for around a $1.5 million use of fund balance. Now, said Hewitt, it looks like it would be around $1.44 million of fund reserves that would need to be used. Hewitt pointed out that the use of fund balance was planned, and the natural consequence of accruing capital funds to pay for major construction projects and then using the money.

Revenue for the public parking system is anticipated to be around $17 million, or about $800,000 more than anticipated. The rate increases had been budgeted into the anticipated revenue, he said, so he attributed the additional revenue to increased demand. He stated that the DDA continues to see strong growth in demand for parking. It’s fortunate that the “Library Lane” parking structure is coming on line when it is, because the system is at capacity, he said, at least in the campus area and at the Ann Ashley parking structure.

Direct operating expenses are expected to be $800,000 less than expected. That has to do with the fact that Republic Parking – the DDA’s contractor for day-to-day parking operations – is doing a good job at belt-tightening and is efficient in its operations, Hewitt said. He commended Art Lowe, Republic Parking manager, and his staff for keeping costs in line. Overall, it looks like the parking fund will be around $1 million to the positive.

Parking maintenance has received around $2 million, he said, which is right where the DDA anticipated being. The DDA has not spent money on maintenance that it would have ordinarily done, but the DDA is so far ahead on preventive maintenance that it was able to scale back without any concern about the structural integrity or long-term durability of the structures, he said. So parking structure maintenance has been conservative. There’s been about $1.6 million less spent on maintenance than what had been budgeted. That money will be there for future years as needed, Hewitt said.

The only income into the housing fund was due to interest. About $500,000 had been budgeted for Avalon Housing’s Near North project, but that project has not gone forward. The $500,000 is not due to be paid until Avalon has a certificate of occupancy, and that shows as under budget on the expense side for the housing fund.

Summarizing the financial picture in terms of fund balances, Hewitt gave the following round figures: TIF fund – $6.5 million; housing fund – $1 million; parking fund – $2 million; and parking maintenance – $1.8 million. Total fund balance is $11,444,000, he said. That will certainly be drawn lower as the Fifth and Division streetscape and the “Library Lane” parking structure projects are paid off, he said, but the DDA still has adequate cash.

Communications, Committee Reports

The board’s meeting included a usual range of miscellaneous reports from its standing committees and the downtown citizens advisory council, as well as public commentary. To the extent that significant issues are not already included in the other parts of the meeting report, we include them here.

Comm/Comm: Connecting William Street

Joan Lowenstein gave an update on the Connecting William Street project – an effort the DDA is making under the direction of the city council to find alternate uses for city-owned parcels currently used for surface parking. Lowenstein said that the DDA’s leadership and outreach committee is continuing and increasing efforts to bring different “scenarios” to the public. The scenarios won’t be exact building drawings, but there would be more detail in them, she said. In mid- to late June there’d be something concrete to bring to the public.

Focus group meetings will continue in an effort to shape scenarios. A meeting with members of the city’s park advisory commission had taken place. On May 16, the committee would hear the market analysis findings that will shape the scenarios, based on survey feedback and the market analysis. Throughout the month of June, the committee was moving ahead to have something to show people and get feedback.

The next event in the Concentrate speaker series, focusing on land-use economics, will take place on May 17 at 5 p.m. at Conor O’Neill’s, Lowenstein said.

Comm/Comm: Commuter Challenge

Nancy Shore, director of the getDowntown program, gave the board a brief update on the Commuter Challenge, which getDowntown sponsors annually during the month of May.

Comm/Comm: Girl Scouts

Girl Scout badge design for "Spring Blooms" park cleanup day. The DDA is camouflaged into the design.

Board members were given a Girl Scout badge that’s been created in connection with the parks cleanup day, Spring Blooms. Girl Scouts can earn the badge by participating in the event, DDA executive director Susan Pollay said.

Pollay noted that the DDA name was hidden within the badge design.

This year, the event falls on Saturday, May 19. The assembly point is Liberty Plaza at Division and Liberty. Said Pollay: “We will go forth and clean up the downtown!”

Present: Nader Nassif, Newcombe Clark, Bob Guenzel, Roger Hewitt, John Hieftje, John Splitt, Sandi Smith, Russ Collins, Keith Orr, Joan Lowenstein.

Absent: John Mouat, Leah Gunn.

Next board meeting: Noon on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. [confirm date]

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The gentle brown S-curve in the diagram denotes a "social street" which is envisioned by the Old West Design Group to connect Washington and Liberty streets as part of a re-development plan for 415 W. Washington. Margaret Wong spoke at council against the idea of a motorized vehicular connection between Washington and Liberty. (Image links to larger resolution file.)

City Council Meeting (Jan. 5, 2009, Part II) This article reports the portion of council’s Monday evening meeting that did not relate to the City Place PUD, which is covered in Part I.

This piece is organized thematically, not chronologically.

• Laptop computers – what do they cost the city?
• Liquor – why do they get a liquor license, when we’ve heard so much negative news about them?
• Easement for public utilities – what, if anything, do the public schools have against electricity?
• Public Art Commission – an unexpected wrinkle in a garden-variety appointment.
• City Income Tax – a previous study to be updated.
• Streets and Snow – includes a ride-along in a snow plow reported by councilmember Marcia Higgins; also Stadium & Pauline and Huron Parkway & Nixon have construction planned starting in the second half of April 2009, to be completed by end of August 2009.
• Waste – commercial recycling and wastewater treatment (can you say “bio-solids”?)
• Public Commentary – against a street, for social justice, and for unbiased reporting on the bombing of Gaza.

Laptops

This resolution was originally on the consent agenda as CA-1, but councilmember Sabra Briere asked that it be separated out for discussion. It called for up to $95,500 to be authorized for personal computer replacements.

Briere called Dan Rainey, the city’s director of information technology, to the podium and asked him to convey orally the answers she’d already received from him by email in response to some questions she’d asked. Rainey gave a cost breakdown for the approximately 25 desktop and 36 Hewlett Packard laptop computers that the money was being used to purchase. The cost per laptop was $1,625, which included a 19-inch monitor, keyboard, mouse, docking station, and monitor stand. For desktops the cost was $931. There was, said Rainey, a $1,307 contingency for unplanned purchases because of breakages.

Councilmember Leigh Greden thanked Briere for eliciting the information and said that it opened a larger dialog that they need to have. To many people, said Greden, the IT departement and its budget and inner workings remains a mystery, because it’s its own internal service fund. As council enters the two-year budget cycle, said Greden, it’s important to take a very close look at IT. He characterized IT as a critical investment, but said that it was also critical to not feel like money is disappearing someplace. Briere followed up by saying that when they make technology buys, they need to buy the best that can last the longest time. She stressed that she was confident in the IT department, but the public needed explanation about where these big-ticket items go.

Liquor

Agenda item D-2 dealt with the transfer of ownership of a 2007 class C liquor-licensed business with dance-entertainment permit, located at 314-316 S. Fourth doing business as Studio 4. Councilmember Stephen Rapundalo, who chairs the liquor license review committee, reported that the committee had voted 2-1 not to recommend the transfer.

Rapundalo wanted to make clear to his council colleagues what the vote reflected: a certain amount of frustration about the number of incidents reported through the media at Studio 4 that seems higher than similarly-sized establishments downtown.

Despite that frustration, said Rapundalo, the conditions for rejecting the transfer consist only of a failure to pay property taxes: the assessor’s office determines whether there’s something delinquent. In this case the establishment had a clean bill of health. The police department looks at Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) code violations, fire code violations are considered by the fire department, and the planning department looks a building code violations. With regard to MLCC violations there were a few cases of minors in possession of alcohol.

Regarding the number of incidents, Rapundalo said in some cases it was hard to discern whether it involved an action inside or outside. [Editor's note: Ann Arbor District Library's online archive of Ann Arbor News articles provides examples over the last year of incidents ranging from shots fired outside the bar to an underage girl found passed out in a booth inside the bar.]

Rapundalo said that the new owner is the manager of the establishment. With regard to the issue of property taxes he has a clean bill of health, reported Rapundalo. He had also provided a plan to address safety, which included hiring private security guards. Rapundalo said that the liquor license review committee had put Studio 4 on notice that they would be diligent in reviewing the establishment.

Part of that diligence, continued Rapundalo, was to develop specific criteria by which to deny these transfers (beyond delinquency on property taxes), which are currently not in place.

After the resolved clause was changed to reflect approval (as opposed to denial) of the transfer of ownership, the transfer was unanimously approved.

Public Utilities Easement

Agenda item DS-8 was a resolution accepting a public utilities easement from public schools for the Miller-Maple transmission water main project at Forsythe and Wines schools. Mayor John Hieftje recalled there being an objection on the part of the public schools to having an electrical conduit installed that was connected to a windmill that generated power – something that city staff confirmed had not been done. Because he was curious to know what the source of the objection was, Hieftje asked that the item be postponed, which it was.

Public Art Commission

At the Dec. 15 council meeting, the following nominations for the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission were placed before council for consideration:

• Marsha Chamberlain re-appointment (Jan. 5, 2009-Dec. 31, 2011)
• Cheryl Zuellig replacing Tim Rorvig (Jan. 5, 2009-Dec. 31, 2011)
• Connie Rizzolo Brown serving out Elaine Sims general public term (Jan. 5, 2009-Dec. 31, 2009)
• Elaine Sims replacing Larry Cressman – U/M Representative (Jan. 5, 2009-Dec. 31, 2011)

Confirmation of such nominations is usually perfunctory. In this case, councilmember Marcia Higgins, seeing that Zuellig’s address was listed as Ypsilanti, asked, “Why is someone from Ypsilanti sitting on our commission?”

The explanation that Hieftje offered was that there was a UM connection, which was important to maintain, because UM had not yet committed in the same way as the city of Ann Arbor had to allocating a percentage of its construction project budget for public art, notwithstanding the many large public art pieces UM had installed.

It was pointed out that a different person was spelled out in the nomination (Sims) as the UM-connected replacement. Councilmember Briere noted that Zuellig was an employee of JJR, as a reminder of who was who. [Editor's note: Zuellig was slated to replace Tim Rorvig, also of JJR. The art commission meets at the JJR second-floor conference room, at 110 Miller Ave.]

Hieftje then said he’d like to withdraw Zuellig’s name. The other three nominees were unanimously confirmed.

City Income Tax and Other Taxes

During communications from council, Stephen Rapundalo made a request of city administrator Roger Fraser that the 2004 city income tax study be “dusted off” and distributed. Rapundalo introduced the request in the context of UM’s purchase of the Pfizer site [which removes the property from the city's property tax rolls, because UM does not pay property taxes]. Rapundalo said he would like staff to see what needs to be updated and bring it back at an appropriate time and manner.

Greden echoed the need for the 2004 study to be looked at again and updated, noting that he’d received emails from constituents on the topic. [Editor's note: Ann Arbor does not currently collect a city income tax.]

Related to taxes – in the form of a kind of exemption – was a public hearing on the application of Edward Brothers Inc. for an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate. One member of the public spoke, John Floyd, who said that every time we give someone a tax exemption, everybody else has to pay: either services go down or taxes go up. Overall prosperity, Floyd said, depends on keeping tax rates low.

Streets and Snow

Based on the number of comments on a Dec. 29 Chronicle column about snow removal in Ann Arbor, it is a topic of keen interest to Chronicle readers. Count councilmember Marcia Higgins as someone who’s interested in snow removal as well. In her communications from council, Higgins reported on a Dec. 19 ride-along with a snow-removal crew. She spent 4.5 hours with a crew, and said that she was impressed by the finesse used – from moving tons at a time to just rolling the snow gently without flooding the sidewalks with snow.

Years ago, she said, the city did curb-to-curb plowing, which is no longer the practice. She said it became apparent during the subsequent warming trend that we have compacted snow against storm drains, which results in flooding.

Higgins reported seeing such flooding on Stadium Boulevard, where million of dollars had been spent on storm drain improvements. She wondered if, as we change snow-plowing practices, we are changing the way we build roads. She concluded by thanking the crew: “These guys do a fantastic job!” She said that it was an eye-opening experience to see them drive the truck, adjust the blade, spread the salt, and pay attention to traffic.

Besides possible flooding in connection with snow plowing, Stadium Boulevard came up in the context of improvements planned at the intersection of Pauline Boulevard. Agenda item DS-1 was a resolution to approve an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation and amend the project budget for the West Stadium Boulevard at Pauline Boulevard improvement for $1.51 million.

The breakdown provided by Homayoon Pirooz, head of the city’s project management unit, was $850,000 from a grant, $904,000 from the street millage, $250,000 from the water main fund, and $356,000 from the storm water fund. He explained that the curb-to-curb width would be virtually the same, widened only by a few inches.

Bike lanes would be achieved by decreasing existing lane widths from 12 feet to 11 feet, Pirooz said. Responding to the issue of the impact of snow plowing, he said there’s no good solution: “It’s been a challenge forever.” Councilmember Mike Anglin wanted to know if the possibility of locating underground storm water detention tanks had been explored with adjacent property owners. Pirooz replied that for residential properties it had not been explored, and that when the city had attempted to reach an understanding with the commercial owners of parking lots, ultimately there had been no understanding reached. Councilmember Higgins expressed concern about the replacement of three cobra-head street lights with 11 new lights as a part of the project: Would there be an impact on nearby residential areas?

The timeline for the project would have it beginning in the second half of April 2009 and to be completed by the end of August 2009.

The same timeline was indicated for improvements in the area of a second intersection: Nixon & Huron Parkway. Agenda items DS-2, DS-3, and DS-4 related to the Nixon & Huron Parkway project. The agreement with Michigan Department of Transportation and amendment of the project budget was made for $909,174. Council also approved $196,370 for construction engineering services from Orchard Hiltz & McClient Inc. and $39,680 for construction materials testing by CTI & Associates Inc.

Other road corridors discussed at council were not being improved through construction, but rather by adding them to the SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) system, a traffic signal control system that is already deployed on (i) Plymouth Road from US-23 into the city, (ii) Washtenaw Avenue between US-23 and S. University, and (iii) Eisenhower between Main and US-23. SCOOT optimizes signals in real time based on information received upstream from induction loops under the pavement. Les Sipowski, traffic engineer for the city of Ann Arbor, was on hand to explain the system and to offer his observations about its performance: when there was an accident on US-23 causing traffic to divert to Plymouth Road (one of the locations where SCOOT is installed), he could see that from a driver perspective the length of delays was not increased, and that means it’s working.

In agenda items DS-5 and DS-6, council approved $479,339 for expansion of SCOOT to Ellsworth Road and S. State Street and $210,722 for SCOOT on Ashley and First streets.

Streets also came up in the context of re-development proposals for 415 W. Washington. The Chronicle has recently reported on the current status of that process: the review committee has recommended that the RFP be refined and re-issued to the proposers with the hope that they will discuss a joint proposal amongst themselves.

Sue McCormick, public services area administrator for the city of Ann Arbor, plus Scott Rosencrans, a member of the Park Advisory Commission, made themselves available at the beginning of the meeting to answer any questions. McCormick said that what staff was looking for from council is concurrence with the committee’s recommendations, under which staff would revise the RFP. The committee, she said, has expressed a willingness to continue its service.

Rosencrans said it’s not a very easy piece of property to develop. The committee, on which he served, wanted to give council the opportunity to revise the RFP so that applicants can come closer to meeting the recommendations in it. One of those recommendations was that the greenway area (which had been stipulated in the original RFP to include the entire floodway area of the parcel) remain under public ownership. Another recommendation was that there be a connection between Washington and Liberty streets. [In previous coverage, The Chronicle reported that the Old West Side Design Group had used a "social street" to make this connection.]

During the public commentary reserve time at the beginning of the council meeting, Margaret Wong spoke to the issue of a street connection. She appeared on behalf of Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, and was responding to the 415 W. Washington’s RFP recommendations report.

Wong said the ACGC fully supported the finding statement: “Preservation of floodways as open space in public ownership or control is considered a best management practice for flood risk mitigation, and none of the proposals would be negatively impacted by retaining the floodway portion of the site in public ownership.” The conservancy supported the recommendation of public ownership, she said.

However, she said that it cannot support a vehicle connection between Liberty and Washington, saying that it would disrupt the free flow of non-motorized traffic envisioned for the greenway. The greenway was meant to promote a healthy community by creating non-motorized options for travel, as well as to reveal a neglected creek valley, she said. Part of the goal of the greenway was to remind us why Ann Arbor was sited where it was sited. We should set the bar high, Wong said, and “aim for the most we can achieve, not the least we can get away with.”

Waste: Water, Commercial Recycling

Agenda item DS-10 was a resolution to award a contract to SG Construction Services for $42,444,927 to construct a residuals handling improvements project at the wastewater treatment plant. Earl Kenzie, unit manager of the wastewater treatment plant, was on hand to explain what the project included.

Kenzie explained that it would replace 30-year old equipment that was at the end of its useful life. According to Kenzie, the project would take 2.5 years to complete. Mayor Hieftje elicited an explanation of why methane extraction from bio-solids was not currently feasible onsite at the wastewater treatment plant (although it had been explored and tested). Fleming Creek, Huron River, and the railroad tracks bound the treatment plant’s facility, Kenzie explained, so there simply is not enough space to undertake it. Hieftje expressed his hope that new technology might make it possible to implement using less space. The resolution passed.

Also related to waste was agenda item DC-1, which was a resolution to accept the report of commercial recycling implementation recommendations. This report came from the commercial recycling implementation committee, which was created by the city’s environmental commission to make those recommendations. The environmental commission had accepted the recommendations at its Dec. 4 meeting.

Councilmember Higgins led the discussion by clarifying a procedural matter regarding the “multi-stakeholder oversight committee” to be created “to assist the staff in the development of a solid waste collection rate schedule, which would be adopted prior to the July 1, 2009 start-up date for the solid waste franchise and the commercial recycling program, and that includes, at a minimum, a review of the frequency of pickup, the number of containers per pickup, and the weight of waste material per waste container.”

The original language of the resolution called for the environmental commission to create the oversight committee, but at Higgins’ suggestion it was revised to assign that role to city council. Higgins solicited agreement from council’s two representatives to the environmental commission, Carsten Hohnke and Margie Teall, to take responsibility for the oversight committee.

On the substantive matter of the recommendations, Higgins led the discussion with staff as well, bringing out the key feature of the recommended program (which is intended to increase commercial recycling by 50% and to save money for businesses): it will rely on a franchise system with a vendor selected by the city (Waste Management), which businesses would be required to use. Higgins said that she’d heard from a couple of businesses to the effect that they thought their existing arrangement was more economical than the rate schedules being proposed, and asked what options they might have. Staff indicated that they felt that the vast majority of businesses would have cost savings, but acknowledged that in a few instances it could go the other way. It was identified as a matter to bear in mind going forward.

Public Commentary

Besides Margartet Wong, whose comments are reported above in connection with the general topic of streets, two other citizens appeared to speak during reserved time.

Tom Partridge: Partridge addressed his remarks to the mayor, city council, the public attending and watching. He identified himself as the author of four resolutions passed at last August’s Washtenaw Democratic convention calling for countywide public transportation, the ending of discrimination against seniors and handicapped people, the creation of a universal healthcare program, and for creation of housing commissions through all regions of the state. He asked council to pass a resolution calling for economic expansion in the city, county, state and nation.

Henry Herskovitz: Herskovitz said it’s hard to know where to begin in describing the all-out assault on the “world’s largest concentration camp – the Gaza strip.” Noting that the Israeli military had dubbed their operation “cast lead,” he said it should instead be called the “Hanukkah massacre,” because it happened during Hanukkah and was, in fact, a massacre.

He conveyed to councilmembers (via the city clerk) a quarter-page information sheet that included the ratio of killed Palestinians to killed Israelis, which was 100 to 1. He then addressed the coverage of the Israeli military assault in the media. In discussing one headline, “Israelis move into Gaza,” he noted that it was accurate, because they had in fact moved into Gaza, but said that an equally valid headline would have been “Poorly-Armed Hamas Girds for Invasion by Superpower.” Another headline that began “Israeli weighs goals in Gaza” focused attention on Israel, Herskovitz said, and leads readers to believe that Hamas is the problem. We are supposed to get the who, what, when, where, and why from the media, “But where’s the why?” he asked. Part of the why, he said, was included: “Eight days of punishing air strikes failed to halt rocket fire.” But the why of the rocket fire was not there, he said. He offered that the why of the rocket fire had to do with an illegal blockade that forces people in Gaza to eat grass and eat bread made from animal feed.

Present: Sabra Briere, Tony Derezinski, Stephen Rapundalo, Leigh Greden, Christopher Taylor, Margie Teall, Marcia Higgins, Carsten Hohnke, Mike Anglin, John Hieftje

Absent: Sandi Smith

Next Council Meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]