At left is city councilmember Christopher Taylor (Ward 3), who also serves as an ex officio member of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. To the right is Sam Offen, chair of PAC's budget and finance committee. (Photos by the writer.)

This is the second year of a two-year budget cycle, and commissioners had recommended approval of budgets for both years at their April 2011 meeting. The recent recommendations for FY 2013 include: (1) increasing the frequency of the mowing cycle from every 19 days to every 14 days; (2) increasing seasonal staffing between April 15–October 15 to maintain active recreation areas better; (3) establishing three seasonal park steward/supervisor positions to improve park maintenance and enforcement; and (4) increasing seasonal staffing at the ice arenas to improve facility cleanliness.

Fee increases at several parks and rec facilities are also part of the budget recommendations, but most have already been implemented in the current fiscal year.

The April 17 meeting included a public hearing on the renewal of the city’s park maintenance and capital improvements millage, which will likely be on the November 2012 ballot. No one spoke at the hearing. In general, “there seems to be a great deal of relative silence” about the millage, parks and rec manager Colin Smith told commissioners. Few people have attended the recent public forums held by parks staff. The final forum is set for Thursday, April 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library’s Traverwood branch, 3333 Traverwood Drive.

Parks staff gave an update on deteriorating conditions at Windemere Park’s two tennis courts, and provided an initial estimate on costs to replace one or both courts at that location. No formal recommendation has been made, but options include moving the courts to another park. Commissioners discussed the need to assess the distribution and conditions of all of the city’s public courts – including ones in the public school system – as well as their overall usage, to get a better idea of where the greatest needs are.

Another update came from an engineer at the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner’s office, who described a drain replacement project that will affect Veterans Memorial Park later this year. Also related to Veterans Memorial, the request for proposals (RFP) for a skatepark there has been issued. [.pdf of skatepark RFP] The goal is to solicit proposals for a consultant to handle design and oversee construction of the skatepark, which will be located on city-owned property.

During public commentary, commissioners were given an update on the nonprofit Project Grow, which has several gardens located in city parks and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Another speaker urged commissioners to take control of the parking lots in city parks, and possibly increase revenues by installing metered parking.

Parks & Rec Budget Recommendation

Park commissioners considered two resolutions related to the city’s fiscal year 2013 budget, for the year beginning July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. It’s the second year of a two-year budget planning cycle. PAC had previously recommended approval of budgets for both years at its April 2011 meeting. The parks budget is part of the city’s overall budget, which city administrator Steve Powers proposed at the April 16 meeting of the Ann Arbor city council.

Most of these changes have already been implemented, as part of the current year’s budget. Colin Smith, the city’s parks and rec manager, reminded commissioners that there will be no increase in budgeted expenses. These changes will be made within the budget plan that was discussed last year for FY 2013, when the FY 2012 budget was formally adopted. [.pdf of budget resolution adopted by council for FY 2012, including parks-related items]

The portion of the city budget relating to parks is separated into two parts: (1) park operations; and (2) parks and recreation.

Sam Offen, who chairs PAC’s budget and finance committee, noted that the budget is in better shape than in recent years. He joked that it makes his job much easier.

Parks & Rec Budget Recommendation: Parks Operations Budget

PAC was asked to approve recommendations for the FY 2013 parks operations budget, which includes the following proposed changes: (1) increasing the frequency of the mowing cycle from every 19 days to every 14 days; (2) increasing seasonal staffing between April 15–October 15 to maintain active recreation areas better; (3) establishing three seasonal park steward/supervisor positions to improve park maintenance and enforcement; and (4) increasing seasonal staffing at the ice arenas to improve facility cleanliness. [.pdf of parks operations budget recommendation]

There was considerable discussion about whether to change the wording on the recommendation for the mowing cycle. Tim Doyle initially felt it sounded too much like a dictate rather than an objective, and preferred deferring to staff’s judgement on the exact number of days in the cycle. After some wordsmithing on a possible amendment, Christopher Taylor – PAC’s ex officio member who also serves on city council – was asked whether his council colleagues would understand the intent. “Contextually, it’s plain enough,” he said.

Ultimately, PAC reached a consensus not to change wording on the recommendation.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend approval of the FY 2013 parks operations budget.

Parks & Rec Budget Recommendation: Parks & Rec Budget

In a separate resolution, PAC was asked to recommend approval of the FY 2013 parks and recreation budget. The resolution commended parks staff for its work, and made several general recommendations: (1) reduce energy expenses to reflect the benefit of infrastructure energy improvements at recreational facilities, including Cobblestone Farm and Mack Pool; (2) reduce materials and supplies used to maintain various facilities as a result of recent improvements; (3) reduce water usage expense to reflect actual usage better; (4) eliminate unnecessary software installations where appropriate; (5) increase revenue by initiating additional programming at the Argo Cascades; and (6) increase revenue by increasing fees for admission to swimming pools. [.pdf of parks & rec budget recommendation] [.pdf of fee increases]

Most of these items have been started in the current fiscal year, Offen noted, and will continue into FY 2013.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the FY 2013 parks and recreation budget.

Parks Millage Renewal: Public Hearing

No one spoke during a public hearing on the renewal of the city’s park maintenance and capital improvements millage, which will likely be on the November ballot.

Park commissioners had been briefed by staff about the millage renewal at PAC’s March 20, 2012 meeting.

John Lawter, PAC’s vice chair who was presiding over the meeting in the absence of chair Julie Grand, noted that two of the four public informational forums regarding the millage had been held. [The third forum took place on Monday, April 23. The final one is set for Thursday, April 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library's Traverwood branch, 3333 Traverwood Drive.]

From left: Greg McDonald, assistant manager of city operations for Community Television Network (CTN), explains a camera problem to Colin Smith, the city's parks and recreation manager. The controller that allows CTN staff technicians to remotely control cameras in city council chambers wasn't working during the April 17 park advisory commission meeting. CTN staff instead adjusted the cameras manually prior to the meeting, to capture wide angle views of the proceedings.

Colin Smith, parks and rec manager, noted that Grand had wanted to schedule some of the public forums prior to the public hearing at PAC, and prior to a vote by PAC on whether to recommend millage renewal. That way, PAC could respond if any issues arose. However, Smith added, ”there seems to be a great deal of relative silence,” and nothing has come up to indicate that the city is on the wrong track in seeking renewal. [At an April 11 forum held at Cobblestone Farm, several city parks staff, PAC commissioners, city councilmember Jane Lumm, and two members of the media – from The Chronicle and WEMU – showed up. But only one member of the public came: Eric Meves, a board member at Project Grow who also spoke during public commentary at the April 17 PAC meeting (see below).]

Gwen Nystuen observed that it’s hard to get people excited now about a vote that won’t happen until November. She said she hadn’t heard anything unfavorable about the millage, and that people in Ann Arbor are very supportive of parks. “I’m optimistic,” she said.

Sam Offen asked whether there were any significant comments or feedback from the first two forums. Lawter reported that the one person at the forum he attended was supportive. [That person was Meves.] Nystuen praised the staff – she said they had done a good job of answering questions at the first forum about how the budget was prepared.

Informational handouts are being distributed, and Smith pointed out that information about the millage renewal is also available on the city’s website.

Windemere Park Tennis Courts

Parks planner Amy Kuras gave a presentation on the tennis courts at Windemere Park, a nearly four-acre parcel on the city’s northeast side, north of Glazier Way between Green and Earhart roads. There was no action requested of PAC at this meeting – the staff just wanted to update commissioners on the situation.

The courts were initially built in 1986, then color coated in 2007. Repairs to cracks in the court were attempted in 2009, Kuras said, but failed because of poor soil conditions. The city also attempted to install new net posts in 2009, but that also failed.

In 2010, the city took soil borings in five parts of the park. The borings revealed saturated organic soil and fill, particularly in areas located near the tennis courts in the west part of the park.

Cracked pavement at the Windemere Park tennis court. (Image provided by city staff in a slide presentation to PAC.)

Part of the problem is a high water table, Kuras said. In fact, the parks staff have noted higher water tables throughout the city, she added. The only hard data that the city has collected on the water table is at the municipal airport, and there the water table measures between 2-7 feet below the surface now, compared to 15 feet below the surface 50 years ago. Jen Lawson, the city’s water quality manager, attributed the change to a variety of factors, Kuras reported, including climate change and more impervious surfaces in the city.

Kuras presented a chart showing cost estimates to replace either one or both courts at the current location. She based her estimates on work done for tennis courts at Veterans Memorial Park and West Park. The total would be $181,377 for two courts at Windemere, or $107,408 for one court. [Link to chart of itemized replacement costs.]

The options to consider, Kuras said, include: (1) replacing both tennis courts at the current location, (2) replacing the courts in another part of Windemere Park, (3) replacing only one court, (4) removing the courts, or (5) possibly putting the courts in another park.

Matt Warba, the city’s acting field operations manager, told commissioners that he’s frustrated by the situation. The staff has attempted several repairs, but with water at just two feet below the surface, it’s difficult. There’s a likelihood that having tennis courts at that location isn’t reasonable, he said. But he understands the value to the neighborhood,  and the staff is still working on getting some firm numbers and options to consider. There’s no easy or quick solution, he said, but they’re working on it.

Windemere Park Tennis Courts: Public Commentary

Jeff Alson told commissioners that he has lived near the park since the late 1970s. He bought his home there in part because of the park. There are a lot of tennis players in the neighborhood, and there are a lot of young children in the area so demand could grow. But because of water issues there’s only one court that can be used. Last summer, he hardly played there at all. Alson said he understood that there are problems with water that make maintenance of the courts more expensive. But he emphasized that the courts have held up well for at least the last 10 years, and he would consider it a good investment. It would be disappointing to him if the courts were removed. Alson concluded by thanking commissioners for their service to the city.

Windemere Park Tennis Courts: Commission Discussion

David Barrett asked whether the water table is the same throughout the park. Yes, Kuras said, but the soil composition is different  at certain locations in the park – that’s a factor, too. She clarified that there are water table issues at other parks, but nothing to the degree they’re seeing at Windemere.

Barrett recalled that when the city decided to put in rain gardens at Burns Park, they were slow to let the community know about it. He wondered what kind of outreach was happening for the tennis courts at Windemere. Colin Smith, parks and recreation manager, indicated that outreach would occur when the staff had more information to share. If it makes sense to move the tennis courts, the neighborhood would need to be engaged, he said.

Tim Doyle asked is there’s evidence of this same kind of problem at other city tennis courts. He said he’s encountered it on a similar project he’s working on near Honey Creek, on the west side of town. Warba said that certainly there are areas in the parks that are wetter than they’ve been in the past. But the Windemere courts are the worst by far.

Sam Offen noted that there are a lot of city tennis courts on the west side of town, but he wondered how many there were on the northeast side. Kuras reported that there are three courts in Leslie Park and two in Sugarbush Park, and it might be possible to accommodate new tennis courts somewhere in Foxfire North Park. All of those parks are in northeast Ann Arbor.

Jeff Alston, a resident who’d spoken during public commentary, pointed out that the courts at Sugarbush are too short for adults to play – they hit the back fence with their rackets, he said.

Gwen Nystuen said she didn’t know too much about tennis courts, but that it seemed like the city should assess the distribution and conditions of all of its courts, as well as their overall usage, to get a better idea of where the greatest needs are.

Commissioners and staff also discussed the availability of tennis courts at Ann Arbor public schools, noting that certain times of day and certain days of the week those courts are heavily used by students. Tim Berla noted that Ann Arbor Rec & Ed runs tennis leagues, as does the Ann Arbor Area Community Tennis Association. He pointed out that court conditions aren’t just a concern for the city parks – a sinkhole developed at the relatively new tennis courts at Skyline High School, putting one of the courts out of commission. Berla suggested looking at other materials, such as clay, which he said required more maintenance but wouldn’t crack.

Assuming there’s need for more tennis courts on the northeast side of town, Berla wondered whether the former Pfizer property – now owned by the University of Michigan – could be a possible location for new courts. He noted that there’s a lot of unused land there, as well as available parking.

Drain Project at Veterans Memorial Park

Scott Miller, an engineer with the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner’s office, was on hand to give a presentation about a drain project that would affect Veterans Memorial Park. He said the county had been petitioned by the city to do this project. It’s referred to as the West Park Fairgrounds project, which is the name of the drain that runs through that section of town – on the west side of town, in the former fairgrounds area. Miller acknowledged that it was a bit confusing, given that a park in a different location is called West Park.

Scott Miller of the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner's office describes an upcoming drain project that will affect Veterans Memorial Park.

The upper end of the drain is located in the Maple Village Shopping Center, where Kmart and Plum Market are located. The drain starts out as a 30-inch pipe and quickly transitions to a 54-inch pipe and then a 66-inch corregated metal pipe as it runs toward town. The pipe runs through Veterans Memorial Park, crosses under Dexter Road and heads east, eventually connecting to a pipe that contains another branch of the Allen Creek.

The city conducted video inspection of the pipe and found several sections that are cracked and corroded, resulting in leaks. Portions of the pipe were clogged with debris. [The city council voted at its Sept. 20, 2010 meeting to petition the county water resources commissioner for this project, estimated to cost roughly $2 million. It will be repaid by the city in annual installments over 15 years.]

Miller said the county staff began work last fall, first clearing the debris and then conducting another video assessment. That revealed two sections of the pipe that have a significant sag, and result in water being held in those sections year-round. One sagging section is in the parking area in the shopping center. Another is in the north side of the park’s parking lot that’s accessed off of Dexter Road. The preliminary design is to dig up the two sections of sagging pipe and replace them. For the rest of the pipe, the plan calls for putting in a cast lining to reinforce the pipe structurally.

The project would cause minimal disruption, he said, but would include some impact to the parking lot and a small portion of the area west of one of the ballfields. The county is coordinating with the city, which is doing road work and water main replacement along Dexter Road, as well as upcoming work to renovate the ballfields in the park.

The project is in the design phase now, Miller said, with construction expected to begin in the fall.

Drain Project at Veterans Memorial Park: Commission Discussion

Gwen Nystuen asked for more details about how much land would be dug up for the project. Miller reported that in the Maple Village lot, a section about 15 feet wide and 150 feet long would be excavated. In Veterans Memorial Park, the work would be about 15 feet wide and 190 feet long.

Nystuen also commented on the confusing name of the project, and Miller agreed: “It’s raised confusion at a lot of levels,” he said, but they don’t have much latitude to change it.

Ann Arbor park advisory commissioner David Barrett.

David Barrett pointed out that there’s already disruption to the park – a big pile of dirt has been dumped by the ballfield. He wondered if the county had also coordinated with Ann Arbor Rec & Ed, which runs softball leagues in the park. Miller said the drain work hasn’t yet started, so the excavated dirt isn’t from their project. Matt Warba, the city’s acting field operations manager, clarified that it was likely related to road construction there. Parks and rec manager Colin Smith said the parks staff has been coordinating with Rec & Ed since last year regarding work in the park.

Sam Offen asked about the project’s timeframe. It will likely take about two months, Miller replied, but more if there’s a lot of rain. In response to another query from Offen, Miller said the county is mindful of the potential flooding impact downstream, but noted that this project isn’t intended to increase capacity dramatically. There will be more efficient flow, however.

Tim Berla clarified that Rec & Ed has cancelled its fall season, which starts in August, because of renovation work on the ballfields at three parks, including Veterans. [PAC had recommended those renovations at their February 2012 meeting.] He asked whether it would be possible to do the park portion of the drain project first, to ensure it would be finished by the spring season. Miller said it probably wouldn’t matter – the entire project is expected to be done by the spring of 2013 – but he would look into it.

Berla also asked whether the proposed skatepark – to be located in another part of Veterans Memorial Park – would affect the drain project, in terms of adding runoff. Miller said that although the addition of any impervious surfaces would affect runoff, the pipe is underutilized and has the capacity to handle it.

Smith noted that one of the elements of the skatepark design, as reflected in the request for proposals, will be to include stormwater management that meets or exceeds city standards.

Communications & Commentary

Every meeting includes opportunities for public commentary and communications from commissioners and staff.

Comm/Comm: Public Commentary – Parking in Parks

During public commentary, George Gaston told commissioners that he recently visited the University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens – it’s a lovely place, he said. He had noticed that UM now has metered parking there at $1.20 per hour, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Gaston noted that the city leases its Fuller Park parking lot to UM. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but it’s been going on for about 20 years. He wondered if the city has considered taking back control of that lot and and making it a metered lot, too. UM hospital employees use it 24/7, Gaston said, but only pay for part of that time. It could be a great revenue source for the city.

Gaston noted that people park their vehicles all day at Island Park and West Park, as two examples. And with UM planning to build a parking structure on Wall Street that would add another 500 spaces to that area, it might be possible to forego leasing the 18 spaces at Riverside Park to UM and adding metered spaces instead. “You might gain real money out of this,” Gaston said. There’s precedent in the city for 24-hour metered lots – at the Amtrak station on Depot Street, for example. Right now, it seems the city is undercharging the university for parking. With meters, the lots would be available to anyone if they paid. It might make sense to look into this, he concluded.

Comm/Comm: Project Grow – Public Commentary

Eric Meves, a board member of Project Grow, gave commissioners an overview of the nonprofit. He started by referring to Gaston’s comments about parking, noting that Project Grow had to buy parking tags at Matthaei for its gardeners there this year. Meves told commissioners that Project Grow is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and he’s gardened with the group for 39 of those years.

Eric Meves, treasurer of the Project Grow board.

Several Project Grow gardens are in city parks, so he wanted PAC to become familiar with the organization. It’s an educational organization, with assistance for low-income residents. Although the nonprofit has received city funding in the past, it no longer receives public money, he noted.

Project Grow doesn’t own any land. About a third of the gardens are located in Washtenaw County parks, and a third on Ann Arbor public school property. The remaining third is evenly divided between UM land, private property, and city of Ann Arbor parks. About 300-350 families have garden plots each year, Meves said. People do it to grow food, but also for outdoor exercise and to be in a pleasant environment, he said. There’s also an element of community – being with your fellow gardeners.

The nonprofit grosses about $40,000 to $50,000 annually, Meves said. About 60% of that comes from plot fees – it costs about $130 for a full plot. About 20% of revenues come from fundraising, primarily through an annual plant sale. The remaining 20% comes from an organic gardening class that Project Grow developed for Washtenaw Community College.

Roughly half of those revenues allow Project Grow to have one half-time employee who works out of his house, Meves said. The group relies on volunteers and a working board. The rest of the funds are used to pay for things like water, utilities, insurance and capital improvements. There are about 40 people on a waiting list for gardens now – demand for gardens is about two to three times what Project Grow can provide, he said.

Meves unfurled a map that he said was made with the help of Merle Johnson and Dan Rainey of the city’s information technology department. It showed possible additional locations for gardens within the parks system.

Comm/Comm: Project Grow – Manager’s Report

Later in the meeting, Colin Smith reported that parks planner Amy Kuras has been working with the Project Grow managing director [Kirk Jones] to draft an agreement that will outline the formal relationship between the city and the nonprofit. It’s been a few years since the city funded Project Grow, he said, but because the group uses city parkland, there’s still a relationship. The agreement will stipulate what the procedures are for putting gardens into parks. There have been varied reactions to having gardens in the parks, depending on the neighborhood, he noted. Parks staff will share the agreement with PAC when it’s ready, he said.

From left: Park advisory commissioners Tim Berla and John Lawter. Lawter, who chaired the April 17 meeting in the absence of chair Julie Grand, was reviewing procedural rules with Berla before the meeting. Berla's advice: "No one ever did time" for flubbing Robert's Rules.

Tim Berla asked if there’s anything PAC or the city can do to help Project Grow identify potential locations for more gardens. Kuras said she works with the organization – sometimes she’ll be contacted by someone in a neighborhood who’s interested, and she’ll in turn contact Project Grow, or sometimes Project Grow comes to her. There are certain requirements, she noted. The land needs to be in a sunny area, and have access to a water source. The city also needs to hold a public meeting if a park is being considered for gardens, and sometimes neighbors don’t want it, she said.

Smith noted that the agreement with Project Grow will include details about how PAC can be involved in the process of selecting new locations.

Gwen Nystuen said she appreciated that Eric Meves had spoken to PAC during public commentary. She hadn’t realized how many people are involved, and how the city provides relatively little land for the group. It’s useful information, she said, especially given the growing interest in the local food movement.

Tim Doyle clarified with Smith that there is no relationship between Project Grow and the city’s greenbelt program.

Comm/Comm: Skatepark RFP

Smith reported that the request for proposals (RFP) for a skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park would be issued the following day. [.pdf of skatepark RFP] The goal is to solicit proposals for a consultant to handle design and oversee construction of the skatepark, which will be located on city-owned property.

Tim Doyle asked how the project would be funded. Smith replied that there are three sources for the roughly $1 million cost of the project: (1) private donations – primarily solicited through the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark; (2) a $300,000 state grant; and (3) up to $400,000 in matching funds from the Washtenaw County parks and recreation commission. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation is acting as fiduciary for the project.

The city’s contribution will be the land and staff time to manage the process, Smith said, not money. It will be a city-owned asset, he said.

In terms of process, a selection committee – which will include members of the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, as well as city and county representatives – will be relied on to make a recommendation for the designer. That recommendation will be reviewed by PAC. PAC commissioner David Barrett will serve on the committee. Park planner Amy Kuras is the city’s point person on the project.

Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2013.

Gwen Nystuen asked about the relocation of pathways that will be required because of the skatepark location. Kuras noted that some pathways in Veterans Memorial Park are being redone as part of the Dexter Avenue improvement project that’s currently underway. Paths that connect to the skatepark will be designed as part of the overall skatepark design, she said.

Comm/Comm: Manager’s Report – Market Manager

Smith reported that the field had been narrowed to two candidates to replace Molly Notarianni, who left the job of public market manager earlier this year. He said he hoped to have finalized a hire by PAC’s May 15 meeting.

Comm/Comm: Manager’s Report – Argo Cascades

The same day as the PAC meeting, the consultant who designed the new canoe/kayak bypass by Argo Dam – Gary Lacy of Boulder, Colo. – was testing the series of drop pools along with city staff. Smith said he had hoped that Lacy would have the time to give an update to PAC about the new Argo Cascades, but the morning had been chilly and Lacy had gotten a late start on the testing, so he wasn’t able to attend the meeting.

A grand opening of the Argo Cascades is planned for June, but it will be open to the public before that. May 5 is the date for the first trips from the Argo Pond livery to Gallup Park, Smith said.

Present: David Barrett, Tim Berla, Doug Chapman, Tim Doyle, John Lawter, Karen Levin, Gwen Nystuen, Sam Offen, councilmember Christopher Taylor (ex-officio). Also Colin Smith, city parks and recreation manager.

Absent: Julie Grand, councilmember Mike Anglin (ex-officio).

Next meeting: PAC’s meeting on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 begins at 4 p.m. in the city hall second-floor council chambers, 301 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

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The deadline for submitting proposals is May 4, 2012 at 10 a.m. A pre-proposal meeting for potential respondents will be held on Thursday, April 26 at 4 p.m. at the proposed skatepark site at Veterans Memorial Park, near the corner of Dexter Avenue and Maple Road. After proposals are submitted on May 4, they will be reviewed by a selection committee, with interviews held during the week of May 29.

The RFP provides this description of the project design: ”The site allows for an approximately 30,000 square foot Skatepark. The design must include, but not necessarily be limited to, both “street” (e.g. flat surfaces, stairs, rails) and “transitional” elements (e.g. bowls, pools, curved surfaces, halfpipes), lighting and seating, and must accommodate skaters at a range of skill levels, from beginners to advanced. The final plan must meet or exceed all storm water management and other environmental requirements, must complement the current park landscape, and must preserve the existing trees. Where practical, solar powered lights, drought resistant species, and low maintenance ground covers shall be incorporated into the design, as applicable.”

The RFP was discussed at the April 17 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, told commissioners that the goal is to select a designer within two months. He explained that the RFP is being handled through the city’s purchasing division using city guidelines, and the skatepark will be a city-owned asset. However, he said the selection committee – which will include members of the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, as well as city and county representatives – will be relied on to make a recommendation for the designer. That recommendation will be reviewed by PAC, he said. PAC commissioner David Barrett will serve on the committee. Park planner Amy Kuras is the city’s point person on the project.

Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2013.

The city had been notified last month that these projects ranked in the top 12 out of 100 applications statewide for funding from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. The skatepark application ranked 12th out of the 100 applications, based on a scoring system used to evaluate the grants. The Gallup Park application ranked 2nd. There was a cap of $300,000 per project.

At its March 15, 2011 meeting, the city’s park advisory commission had voted to recommend supporting the grant applications. The city council made a similar vote of support on March 21. Council’s resolution of support prioritized the skatepark project over the Gallup renovations – based on the opportunity to leverage $400,000 of matching funds from the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission.

A press release issued late Wednesday morning from the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark indicated that the state grant allows the group to reach $800,000 in fundraising, and assures that construction of the skatepark will move forward. [.pdf of FAAS press release]

The skatepark application ranked 12th out of the 100 applications, based on a scoring system used to evaluate the grants. The Gallup Park application ranked 2nd. Smith also reported that a $300,000 grant application for Rutherford Pool in Ypsilanti had ranked 11th in the scoring system. The scoring is an indication of the likelihood that these grants will be awarded, but that announcement won’t happen until Dec. 7, Smith said. It’s also unknown how much money will be awarded this year from the trust fund. He told commissioners that the top 12 grant applications total $2.7 million. There’s a cap of $300,000 per project.

At its March 15, 2011 meeting, PAC had voted to recommend supporting the grant applications. The city council made a similar vote of support on March 21. Council’s resolution of support prioritized the skatepark project over the Gallup renovations – based on the opportunity to leverage $400,000 of matching funds from the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission.

This brief was filed soon after adjournment of the PAC meeting, held in the second floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.

A recycling bin used in the city of Ann Arbor. Some county commissioners would prefer that the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority partner with Ann Arbor, rather than build its own single-stream recycling facility.

The longest discussion focused on a proposal by the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority, which is hoping to build a $3.2 million facility to handle single-stream recycling for communities on the county’s west side. The 20-year-old entity would like the county to issue $2.7 million in bonds, backed by the county’s full faith and credit, to be repaid through special assessments on households in participating communities, including the city of Chelsea.

Commissioners wanted more details on the project’s business plan and projected budget before they consider a formal proposal, likely in early September. Several commissioners also questioned why the WWRA wasn’t planning to partner with the Ann Arbor recycling facility. Commissioner Rob Turner, whose district covers much of western Washtenaw and who supports this effort, voiced some frustration that recent bonding for drain projects in Ann Arbor hadn’t received the same level of scrutiny from his fellow commissioners.

The skatepark presentation was relatively brief, and commissioners generally expressed support for the project. Commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr. felt the organizers were too Ann Arbor-centric, however. He reminded them that the county parks & recreation commission had committed $400,000 in matching funds for the project, and that organizers should consider fundraising and selling skatepark merchandise in other parts of the county, not just Ann Arbor.

The board also learned some details on a proposed transfer of about a half-dozen employees from the county payroll to the WCHO, as part of a restructuring aimed at limiting the county’s financial liabilities. The WCHO is an entity that receives state and federal funding to provide services for people with serious mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse disorders. At this point, WCHO “leases” its employees from the county, and contracts for services through the county’s community support and treatment services (CSTS) department, which employs about 300 people. A CSTS employee spoke during public commentary, complaining that the staff hasn’t been adequately informed about these proposed changes.

And though commissioner Ronnie Peterson, at a June 28 agenda briefing, had advocated strongly for reordering the working session’s agenda in order to give more time to the WCHO discussion, he did not attend the meeting.

Ann Arbor Skatepark

Scott Rosencrans, a board member for Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark (FOAAS), gave a presentation to commissioners about progress the group has made toward their goal of building a skatepark in Veterans Memorial Park, on Ann Arbor’s west side. Other FOAAS board members – including Trevor Staples and Diane Kern – attended the meeting but did not individually address the county board.

The presentation was similar to one Rosencrans gave at the Ann Arbor city council’s June 20, 2011 meeting. He began by telling commissioners about merchandise sales that support the skatepark: T-shirts, coffee mugs and skateboard decks, which are sold by several local merchants: Acme Mercantile, Launch Board Shop, Play It Again Sports, Vault of Midnight, Roos Roast and Produce Station.

In 2011, FOAAS is focusing on two areas, Rosencrans said: skatepark safety, and accessibility for the physically challenged. He cited a Consumer Product Safety Commission study that showed skateboarding as being safer than basketball, baseball and soccer, based on the number of injuries per 100,000 participants.

FOAAS has done outreach on the issue too, Rosencrans said. They’ve visited and talked with organizers of the Riley Skatepark in Farmington Hills, which opened in 2009 and is similar in size and population to the Ann Arbor project. Anecdotally, he said, the experience at Riley reflects the injury statistics reported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He noted that the highest injury rates occur when there’s physical contact between participants. Contact between skateboarders is an anomaly, not part of the sport, he noted.

FOAAS is also working hard to make the skatepark design accessible to people with disabilities, Rosencrans said, and they’ve sought input from that community. In March, FOAAS made a formal presentation to the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues, and went on a field trip to the Riley Skatepark with members of that group. The result was a resolution of support from the commission for the skatepark, he said.

Rosencrans also reviewed why Veterans Memorial Park was chosen as a location. Among the reasons he cited: (1) it’s located between two high schools (Pioneer and Skyline), and on bus lines; (2) it’s near two major highways – I-94 and M-14 – to accommodate skaters from other parts of the county; (3) there’s lots of parking; (4) and it’s near emergency health facilities, ”though we know those won’t be used very often,” he joked.

In characterizing the importance of a skatepark, Rosencrans noted it would serve about 5,000-7,000 people, mostly kids, throughout the county. A survey for the update of the Ann Arbor parks, recreation and open space (PROS) plan found that skateboarding was more popular than hockey, volleyball and rowing, and had roughly the same level of participation as sports like baseball, basketball and ultimate Frisbee, among others.

Skateparks are also important for economic development, he said, citing the potential to draw visitors from three states, and beyond. Rosencrans also noted the growing trend of citizen participation as spearheading these kinds of public projects – examples of that, he said, include local dog parks, and involvement when public amenities like the city’s golf courses, Mack Pool or the senior center have been threatened with closure. He also mentioned the trend of private philanthropy supporting public projects, citing examples of the pétanque courts in Burns Park and the recent gift of $50,000 by the Morris family to renovate South University Park.

The future of community improvement projects like the skatepark will depend on public/private collaboration, Rosencrans told commissioners. Local governments have limited resources, and public servants have a stake in encouraging residents to participate in these projects, he said. Rosencrans urged commissioners to ask their constituents to become involved.

Ann Arbor Skatepark: Commissioner Discussion

Barbara Bergman began by saying that her two grandchildren will look forward to using the skatepark – when they come to visit now, there’s no place to skateboard other than on the sidewalks of Highland Road, which isn’t safe. She also appreciated information about where to by skatepark merchandise: ”I’ll be buying some birthday and Hanukkah presents.”

Conan Smith said he wanted to remind commissioners and the public that the county parks and recreation commission has approved $400,000 in matching funds for the skatepark. [See Chronicle coverage from March 2010: "County Offers $400K Match for Skatepark"] Every dollar that’s donated will be matched, he said, and he urged people to give generously.

Rosencrans explained that people could donate by going to the FOAAS website and clicking on the Crowdrise button.

Several questions by Rolland Sizemore Jr., whose district includes parts of Ypsilanti and Superior townships, reflected his frustration at the Ann Arbor-centric nature of the project so far. He asked whether any stores outside of Ann Arbor sold skatepark merchandise. Not yet, Rosencrans said, but skatepark organizers are working to make that happen. Sizemore said he thinks it’s wrong to exclude other parts of the county. He also objected to the fact that Washtenaw County wasn’t mentioned in the presentation or materials – given the county’s financial contribution, it should be included, he said, even though he knows that will probably irritate people in Ann Arbor.

Sizemore had raised the same issue at the March 2010 meeting of the Washtenaw County parks and recreation commission, when he’d suggested that he’d like the county to get its due in terms of signage associated with the park. At that meeting, he’d asked: “Do we have any input, or is it Ann Arbor and skateboard people?”

Rob Turner echoed Sizemore’s sentiments. Turner, whose district includes Chelsea and other portions of the county’s west side, said there’s considerable interest in the skatepark by residents of western Washtenaw. That part of the county could also be a potential for raising skatepark funds, he noted.

Sizemore told Rosencrans that he started skateboarding when you still had to build your own skateboard – he supported the skatepark, but thought the organizers needed to broaden their reach. The skatepark effort needs to be publicized throughout the county, he said, adding that he’d be happy to help with that effort. Conan Smith noted that Sizemore has been a driving force in the county’s participation in the project – both Smith and Sizemore serve on the county parks & recreation commission.

Sizemore also wanted to know whether skateboarders would be required to wear safety equipment when they use the skatepark. Some kids he’s talked with have indicated they don’t wear helmets and other safety gear, but they would wear the gear if that was the only way to use the skatepark, he said.

Based on his experience as a former Ann Arbor park advisory commissioner, Rosencrans said that typically a committee would be set up to recommend rules for a facility like this. That was the process for creating the BMX/dirt bike course in Bandemer Park, he said.

Sizemore asked whether there might be room to expand the skatepark to include a BMX course at Veterans Memorial Park, too. Rosencrans said the skatepark won’t take up the entire area on that side of the park – the skatepark  site is on the northern side of the park, off of Dexter-Ann Arbor Road.

Leah Gunn, an Ann Arbor commissioner, concluded the board’s comments by speaking to constituents who might be watching the meeting on Community Television Network (CTN) or online: “I sent a check, so all of you – send a check.”

Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority

Dan Myers, the county’s director of public works, and Frank Hammer, a Chelsea city councilmember and board member of the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority, gave a presentation and fielded questions from commissioners about a proposal for expanding the WWRA. Specifically, the authority is asking the county to issue $2.7 million in bonds to help pay for a $3.2 million new recycling facility. The bonds would be repaid through a special assessment levied on the communities in western Washtenaw that agree to be served by the facility.

Myers began by describing the history of WWRA, which was formed in 1991 as a response to the 1989 update of the Washtenaw County Solid Waste Plan, a state-mandated document. Eight communities participated, creating the authority under Public Act 233: the city of Chelsea, the village of Manchester, and the townships of Bridgewater, Dexter, Lima, Lyndon, Manchester and Sylvan.

A contract was struck between the county’s board of public works and the WWRA, and assessment districts were created by the BPW under Public Act 185 to pay for construction of the original facility. New assessments have been made every five years for operations – by 2006, over 11,000 households in these eight communities were assessed annually.

Hammer described the current services that WWRA provides, including curbside recycling in Chelsea and the village of Manchester, and drop-off stations in the townships. The original facility, now 20 years old, was put together on “a wing and a prayer,” he said. It has been operating at a reasonably high level with antiquated equipment, but staff believe it’s time to upgrade the system. About 18 months ago, the WWRA board decided that single-stream recycling was the way to go, he said. The WWRA got feedback that more residents would recycle if they didn’t have to sort materials, as they do now.

An expanded, upgraded facility for single-stream recycling would allow for a range of benefits, Hammer said. Those include: expansion of the types of materials that can be recycled; increased convenience for residents who recycle; ability to store recyclables to capture a higher market value; less material processing time; less fuel use; and decreased staff time.

Myers said that the WWRA has saved $500,000 to put toward the new facility, but needs $2.7 million in bonds to pay the remainder of the $3.2 million project, which includes a new building and equipment. So far, the governing entities of four communities have voted to support the project as “investing” members – Chelsea, and the townships of Dexter, Lyndon and Manchester. That’s a total of about 7,000 households so far that will be assessed to repay the bonds. In addition, the Bridgewater Township board has voted to participate as an “associate” member, with households paying a lower fee for service, but not taking on debt payments. The Lima Township board also voted to become an associate member. [Responding to a follow-up query from The Chronicle, Myers said Lima Township might consider becoming an investing member, pending a review of contractual obligations.]

Chelsea households, which will continue to receive curbside pick-up, would make debt payments of $68 annually, plus $6.35 for operating expenses. Households in the three investing townships would pay $24 annually, plus the $6.35 for operating expenses. Households in associate member communities would pay $24 annually. The plan is to pay off the bonds in 15 years, Myers said – or sooner, if possible. Residents of investing communities would see their annual operating assessments go down as the facility comes on line, while payments would remain static for associate member communities.

Next steps would be for WWRA’s investing members to approve a contract with the county. The county board would also need to approve the contract, authorizing the county’s full faith and credit to back the bonds. A formal proposal is likely to come before the county board for an initial vote in early September. The county board of public works would then establish the special assessments required for the debt and operating budget. Bonds would be sold, allowing for the new facility to be constructed.

Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority: Commissioner Discussion

Commissioners raised several concerns during an extensive discussion about the WWRA project. For this report, their comments and questions are organized by topic.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – Regional Cooperation, Governance

Rolland Sizemore Jr. told Hammer and Myers that he wanted to look at countywide recycling needs – WWRA might find additional savings that way. He asked how many years a community must commit to being an investing member. It’s a 15-year commitment for investing members, but associate members can opt-out after five years, Hammer explained.

Hammer also emphasized that the WWRA is already a regional effort, with multiple communities involved. He noted that Sylvan Township voted against participating in the project. But Sylvan Township has other issues, he said, adding that he hoped Sylvan would eventually sign on as an associate member.

[Sylvan Township has been struggling with $12.5 million in bonds issued to build a water and wastewater treatment plant intended to serve future development. The plan was to use revenue related to that development – from connection fees to the system – to cover the bond payments. However, the economy soured and development hasn’t materialized. Last year, the county board approved a bond refunding in order to restructure the debt and lower the township’s bond payments. Township residents will likely be assessed to cover those bond payments.]

Regarding Ann Arbor’s materials recycling facility (MRF), Hammer said it’s on the east side of the county – it would cost more to transport materials there than to build a facility in western Washtenaw, he said.

Sizemore then suggested that Rob Turner, a commissioner whose district covers parts of western Washtenaw, become a WWRA board member. He thought the county board should be represented. Hammer replied that it would entail revising WWRA’s articles of incorporation, but he didn’t see a problem with that. The WWRA board would likely need a special meeting to make that change, he said.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – Finances

Wes Prater asked whether WWRA had a business plan for this project. Hammer reported that they’ve developed a five-year budget, based on several scenarios – with budgets for four investing members, as well as plans based on having five or eight members. When all the communities finalize those decisions, WWRA will be able to finalize its budget, he said. Prater urged him to share that information.

Kristin Judge clarified that the county does not currently fund any portion of WWRA. She pressed the issue of whether WWRA had done a complete analysis of other options, and asked how residents were reacting to the prospect of a special assessment. Hammer reiterated that WWRA had explored other possibilities, but had found it would be cheaper to build its own facility. He said he hadn’t heard any negative reaction about the assessment.

Judge also questioned why the authority itself couldn’t issue the bonds, rather than the county. Hammer replied that WWRA had consulted two bonding agencies. WWRA had been informed that because the smaller communities don’t have a track record issuing bonds – unlike the county, most of the municipalities in the WWRA don’t have a credit rating – they’d be charged higher interest rates.

Hammer told commissioners that there would be zero risk to the county, because the bond payments would be made by assessments on existing households. Myers added that the WWRA is set up through the county’s public works board, so county administrative and finance staff, as well as the county’s bond counsel, have been involved in discussions about the project.

Barbara Bergman questioned the stability of the financing model – what if houses go into foreclosure? In this economy, that’s a real possibility. She also wondered how the pricing of recyclables – which she characterized as “interesting, at best” – is being factored in to the business model. Finally, Bergman wanted more details on WWRA’s analysis of a possible partnership with Ann Arbor’s MRF. Ann Arbor staff have expressed interest in that kind of partnership, she said, and MRF has done work with communities as far away as Lansing.

Hammer replied that if houses go into foreclosure, taxes and assessments will still be collected by the county treasurer. Myers said that even if a small percentage of houses went into foreclosure, and for some reason those assessments weren’t paid, the WWRA would be able to absorb those losses.

Bergman observed that she’d grown less optimistic over the years, and believed that 15-year plans aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. The county itself had made very rosy financial forecasts “that crashed in our laps,” she said.

Hammer emphasized that their projections are very conservative. For example, revenue projections are based on prices paid for recyclables in January 2011, even though those prices have increased 15% since then. He also noted that the projections are based on conservative tonnage, and that WWRA has set aside contingency funds. Myers added that debt payments don’t rely on the price of recyclables – the debt will be repaid through assessments on households.

Bergman concluded her comments by saying she wanted more information about why collaborating with Ann Arbor’s MRF wouldn’t work. As an Ann Arbor commissioner, she said, “that’s my very parochial interest.”

Regarding a partnership with MRF, Hammer said there were some very serious flaws in the assumptions on which an analysis by Ann Arbor staff was based. Certain information related to labor costs and insurance hadn’t been factored in, for example. Any way you look at it, he said, transferring recyclables to Ann Arbor’s MRF makes no sense for residents in western Washtenaw, he concluded.

Leah Gunn wondered how projected revenues would be affected, now that the village of Manchester and Sylvan Township had decided not to participate. Hammer said he’s continuing to talk with Sylvan Township officials about the possibility of being an associate member. He was disappointed about Manchester’s decision, but said that the project can proceed without them.

Gunn then noted that she’s seen Ann Arbor’s MRF – it’s a complicated place. So in the WWRA’s business plan, she’ll be looking at items related to operations and maintenance. She said she’s especially sensitive to that because she’s also an Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member. “I’ll give you two words,” she said. “Parking structures.”

Hammer invited Gunn and other commissioners to tour WWRA’s existing facility, saying they’d find it to be well-maintained and organized.

Alicia Ping, whose district covers southwest Washtenaw, said it was commendable that WWRA had been operating 20 years and had no debt. She confirmed that WWRA also provides recycling services to other communities on a contract basis. Hammer said those revenues hadn’t been factored in to the project’s budget. Ping told her fellow commissioners that when they saw the business plan, they’d be very impressed with it.

Sizemore said he’s a little gun-shy about offering the county’s full faith and credit, but he’d support the project.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – Double Standard?

Rob Turner, a Chelsea resident whose district covers several communities that participate in WWRA, said the recycling authority has provided excellent service for 20 years. The single-stream service will be extremely helpful in increasing the amount of recyclables collected, he said.

Turner pointed to the concerns that fellow commissioners were expressing over issuing $2.7 million in bonds, and wondered why he hadn’t heard the same concerns at their previous meeting. Without discussion, on July 6 the board had approved five drain projects in Ann Arbor that required the county’s full faith and credit on over $6 million in bonds. There hadn’t been this kind of scrutiny of those projects, he observed. “Where’s the pushback – why wasn’t there pushback on these other five issues?” The same questions that are being asked of the WWRA could have been asked about the Ann Arbor drain projects, he said, but weren’t.

Responding to Turner, Leah Gunn noted that the county has had a “long and satisfying relationship” with the county water resources commissioner [Janis Bobrin], and there had never been any defaults in drain assessment districts. [The office of the water resources commissioner made the requests for the drain projects mentioned by Turner.] Gunn said she has confidence in Bobrin, based on past experience. The reason why some commissioners are skittish, Gunn continued, is because of the “mess” they’re in with Sylvan Township.

Kristin Judge noted that when Bobrin comes to them with requests for drainage work, it’s typically related to flooding. Dealing with that is a necessity. Recycling is important and she supports it, but it’s not a necessity, Judge said. Also, it’s technically possible for the WWRA to get services from Ann Arbor’s MRF, she noted. For the drain requests, that’s not possible.

Turner responded by saying the WWRA project is very different from the Sylvan Township situation. Sylvan officials had planned to make bond payments with tap fees from future developments – those developments never materialized, he noted. The WWRA will be assessing existing households.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – Why Not Privatize?

Dan Smith said he’s generally quite supportive of recycling, but noted that the community where he lives – Whitmore Lake – is served by a private company. He wondered whether that might be an option. Everyone talks about doing things differently, he said, and now WWRA is presented with an opportunity to shake things up and look at providing the recycling service in a different way. He had no objection to taxpayers determining how they want to spend their money, but he had some concerns.

He clarified that WWRA was projecting 20% revenue growth over five years. D. Smith noted that he’d been involved in putting together some revenue projections several years ago, and had been very conservative. Yet even those conservative numbers had proven to be too optimistic, he said. Related to foreclosed properties, D. Smith observed that in some cases the county treasurer had difficulty selling foreclosed properties at a price that would cover the taxes owed on the property. There aren’t any guarantees, he said – this economy is different from any situation they have ever experienced.

The county board is concerned about extending its full faith and credit. D. Smith noted that commissioners had lengthy discussions on the issue as it related to a private developer. [Smith was referring to a request made earlier this year for the Packard Square project at the former Georgetown Mall site in Ann Arbor. Developers had asked to use the county’s full faith and credit as a guarantee for a state loan the developers intended to apply for. And after concerns were raised by commissioners, the developers ultimately withdrew that request.] D. Smith said that for the WWRA, it was another government entity making the request, so it’s a different situation. Still, the WWRA needed to follow up on the issues that were being raised, he said.

Hammer responded to D. Smith by saying that the WWRA had approached two businesses – Recommunity Recycling and Republic Waste Services. Neither one were interested in the work, he said.

The WWRA model is very much like a private business, Hammer continued. The WWRA has run the facility for 20 years without incurring debt, and has paid for its equipment in cash. The main difference is that the authority’s bottom line isn’t profit – it’s public service, he said.

D. Smith said it’s appropriate for the county to pledge its full faith and credit for a project that’s providing a public service. At the same time, he added, the county isn’t a bank. What’s the difference in interest rates between having the county issue bonds, compared to the WWRA issuing bonds? Hammer said they’ve been told it would be a difference of at least 2 percentage points.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – Length of Discussion

After about an hour of questions, Barbara Bergman noted that several people had come to the meeting for the night’s final presentation – on proposed changes to the Washtenaw Community Health Organization (WCHO). She felt that questions regarding the WWRA were becoming repetitive, and asked that commissioners wrap up the discussion. Leah Gunn suggested that commissioners send their questions to the county administrative staff, then the answers could be emailed to the board at a later date. It’s a complicated issue, she said, and these questions wouldn’t be resolved that evening.

Wes Prater disagreed, saying the point of a working session was to ask questions about a project.

Conan Smith made a motion to limit the remaining WWRA discussion to 15 minutes.

Outcome: On a 5-4 vote, commissioners limited the WWRA discussion to another 15 minutes from that point in the meeting. Dissenting were Kristin Judge, Alicia Ping, Wes Prater and Rolland Sizemore Jr. Two commissioners – Ronnie Peterson and Yousef Rabhi – were absent.

WWRA: Commissioner Discussion – General Comments

Conan Smith voiced strong support for the proposal, reminding commissioners that the WWRA’s mission would ultimately be valuable to the entire county, not just the western portion. It’s about serving the public, he said, and if residents in that part of the county want their own facility and are willing to pay for it, “let’s help make that happen.” He said he was excited at the prospect of increased recycling because of this project. The finance model works, he said, and the special assessments provide strong financial protection for the county. ”I’m fully supportive of it,” Smith concluded.

Rolland Sizemore said he didn’t like the presentation he’d heard. Many of the questions that were asked had been previously communicated to WWRA, but the county board still didn’t have answers, he said. He cautioned Hammer and Myers to be sure to address these concerns when they came back to the board with a formal request.

Changes at Washtenaw Community Health Organization (WCHO)

Before the presentation on a restructuring proposal for the Washtenaw Community Health Organization, Barbara Bergman – a commissioner who also serves on the WCHO board – apologized to people who had waited through the preceding presentations, and thanked them for their patience.

Patrick Barrie, WCHO’s executive director, began by quipping, “I have a five-hour presentation.” That prompted commissioner Wes Prater to reply, “We’ll stay – we’ll stay!”

Barrie noted that he’s an historian by trade, and he began by giving a brief overview of the WCHO’s “extremely complicated history.” In 1974, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation that enabled the state to shift responsibility for public mental health services to the counties. It was slow going until Gov. William Milliken pushed for financial incentives a few years later, Barrie said, to encourage the transfer. Washtenaw County was one of the first counties to take on that responsibility, he said. Budgets for county mental health programs grew dramatically, both from expanded state funding as well as federal dollars.

In 1996, amendments to the state’s mental health code allowed community mental health services programs (CMHSPs) to be established in three different ways: (1) as an agency of the county; (2) as an organization under the state’s Urban Cooperation Act (UCA); or (3) as a mental health authority – a governmental entity that’s separate from the county, with its own governing board. That code change led to the establishment of the WCHO in 2000, in a partnership between the county and the University of Michigan, set up under the UCA. Governance shifted from the county board to the WCHO board.

With a total budget of $112 million from multiple funding sources, the WCHO serves as the community mental health services program for Washtenaw County, and is the Medicaid prepaid inpatient health plan (PIHP) – a federal designation – for Washtenaw, Monroe, Lenawee and Livingston counties. The PIHP accounts for about 80% of WCHO’s funding. The WCHO is also the substance abuse coordinating agency – a designation under the state’s public health code – for Washtenaw and Livingston counties.

The WCHO primarily serves people with serious mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse disorders, Barrie said. But managing the services is a complex process, he said, because each of the different funding sources has its own set of legal constraints, eligibility requirements, service qualifications and benefit arrangements.

The WCHO has some organizational “peculiarities,” Barrie said. The WCHO uses lease and contract agreements with the county for staff, direct services, facilities and equipment. The WCHO has no employees of its own, he said – “I’m leased.” Its primary contract for services and personnel is through the county’s community support and treatment services (CSTS) department. That county department employs a total of about 300 people. While this arrangement was appropriate at WCHO’s inception, Barrie said, it appears contrary to the intent of the enabling legislation, which seems to indicate that employees would eventually shift over from the county to the WCHO.

There’s also a question of liability for the county, he said. In many ways, there doesn’t appear to be any real distinction between the WCHO and the county – and that exposes the county to liability for the WCHO’s operations. So in consultation with the county administration and legal counsel, the WCHO board is requesting that a small number of administrative, non-union positions – including Barrie – be shifted from the county to the WCHO. Initially only six employees would be transferred, he said, with possibly an additional eight employees transfered at a later date. The employees would be limited to those who are necessary for the operation of the agreement between WCHO and the county, he said. And all of the transfers are being vetted to ensure that no employees would be disadvantaged because of the change, in terms of their salaries and benefits.

There are no plans to transfer employees beyond this core group, Barrie said, and the change would not significantly affect other financial arrangements between the county and the WCHO. The intent is to establish an arm’s length relationship between the two entities, he said, and to put some key administrative positions under the control of the WCHO board.

Changes at WCHO: Commissioner Discussion

Leah Gunn noted that she has sat next to Barbara Bergman at county board meetings for 15 years, and during that time Bergman has explained how WCHO has been organized and reorganized over the years. It’s extraordinary what the organization delivers in terms of services, she said. Gunn described the organization as complex and she didn’t completely understand it, but she said she had confidence in Barrie.

Wes Prater said the county is carrying a liability now, and would benefit from making these changes. He asked for more details, including a proposed timeline for the changes.

Initially, Barrie said, the WCHO is looking to shift over six administrative employees, including himself. There might be an additional eight employees in a second wave, assuming the employees qualify as people who are essential to the functioning of WCHO’s mission. This would establish an arm’s length relationship between WCHO and the county, he said. The interlocal agreement between WCHO and the county states that the county isn’t liable for WCHO’s debts, but the current structure of the organization belies that, he said.

WCHO’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, and that’s the timeline the organization has set for making these changes, Barrie said. The WCHO has hired attorney Jerry Lax to evaluate each employee’s status and ensure that employees wouldn’t be disadvantaged by transferring to the WCHO – Barrie said the WCHO, not the county, is footing the bill for that legal work. He hopes to make the change prior to any state legislative changes, he said, adding that every day in Lansing bills are introduced that weaken protections for public employees. ”So sooner rather than later is probably a good idea,” he said.

Kristin Judge said she gave her full support to this transition, and that taking care of WCHO’s customers should be the No. 1 goal.

In response to a query from Bergman, Barrie explained that the WCHO has been able to find creative ways to maximize federal grant support for services – when federal stimulus funds were available, about 75% of WCHO’s budget was from federal funding. All states are preparing for the upcoming changes in 2014 resulting from federal health care reforms, he said. Unless Congress alters the current law, Medicaid will expand the number of eligible recipients significantly in 2014, and funding is available for poorer states to help handle that influx. “We were a donor state for a lot of years,” Barrie said, “but now we’re living off federal dollars.”

Bergman joked that with WCHO as a separate entity, the county might be able to sell some of its assets to the organization. Barrie quipped that WCHO could be a toxic asset fund, but quickly noted that he had said that in jest. Barrie said he’s very concerned about the future configuration of health care services in Michigan, citing Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to make an announcement related to health care in September.

The WCHO is working on how to use its affiliation with UM to come up with novel ways to keep control of mental health services in the public sector, rather than see it shift to private sector entities.

Rob Turner praised WCHO and CSTS, referencing specifically a partnership with the nonprofit Faith in Action that serves the western part of Washtenaw County, which he represents. He supported the reorganization, and said he thought it would allow WCHO to grow and serve local residents in even better, more efficient ways.

Changes at WCHO: Public Commentary

Three people spoke on the issue of WCHO restructuring at the meeting’s final public commentary period.

Paquetta Palmer told commissioners that she works in the CSTS department. The staff has been left out of the discussions about these changes, she said. The way that these changes are communicated is crucial to the staff’s comfort level – but they’ve just been hearing rumors, she said. The process should be laid out very clearly. There are also other counties that have gone through this kind of change, Palmer said, and it hasn’t always been effective.

The timing is also an issue, since right now unions that represent county employees are in a negotiating period, and people are fearful about what might happen to their jobs, she said. As a taxpayer, she’s also used the services of the Washtenaw Health Plan, Palmer said, and a lot of people are concerned about what the changes will mean to these services.

If the WCHO is separate from the county, for example, will CSTS be a preferred provider of services? Or will it be only one of a number of contractors that WCHO will consider? Palmer also indicated that she had previously expressed interest in serving on the WCHO board, but was told that county employees couldn’t do that. However, she noted that commissioner Barbara Bergman was on the board, as were people from UM and the community – but no county staff were represented. She reiterated that the county staff has useful input, and that the board and administration should seek that input.

Peg Ball expressed appreciation for the county in supporting these services, and said the time is right for a change. She hoped that commissioners would support the proposal. Responding to Palmer, Ball said she felt like communication would improve – she’d hard WCHO board members talk about the importance of communication with WCHO, CSTS employees and people who use the services.

Dennis McDougal, a WCHO board member, said he welcomed the support of commissioners for these changes. He praised Bergman for her support during this transition. And as a consumer of WCHO/CSTS services himself, he also wanted to support the staff for their work.

Several commissioners responded to the public commentary. Bergman thanked her fellow WCHO board members, then told Palmer that she felt the new organization would better serve county residents. They need to continue improving communication, she said.

Alicia Ping said she’d heard similar complaints from staff about poor communication regarding the reorganization of the employment training and community services (ETCS) department, which is merging with the office of community development and the economic development & energy department. It’s a balancing act, she said, especially during labor negotiations. But the board needs to be sensitive to the rumors that are out there.

Rob Turner concluded the discussion by saying that the more the staff knows, the more likely they’ll be to support and take ownership of these changes. Employees can be a big help, he said.

Present: Barbara Levin Bergman, Leah Gunn, Kristin Judge, Alicia Ping, Wes Prater, Rolland Sizemore Jr., Conan Smith, Dan Smith, Rob Turner.

Absent: Ronnie Peterson, Yousef Rabhi

Next regular board meeting: Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the county administration building, 220 N. Main St. The Ways & Means Committee meets first, followed immediately by the regular board meeting. [confirm date] (Though the agenda states that the regular board meeting begins at 6:45 p.m., it usually starts much later – times vary depending on what’s on the agenda.) Public comment sessions are held at the beginning and end of each meeting. In addition, the board will hold a July 21 working session on the 2012-2013 budget, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the same location.

Next working session: Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the county administration building, 220 N. Main St. The working session will focus on the 2012-2013 budget.

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Susan Pollay, left, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, with councilmembers Sandi Smith (Ward 1) and Margie Teall (Ward 4, sitting) before the start of the March 21 council meeting. Pollay was distributing copies of the downtown street outreach task force report. (Photos by the writer.)

The council has now been formally considering the new licensing ordinance for three months. The ordinance will next come before the council at its Tuesday, April 19 meeting for final approval. Also on April 19, the council will take a final vote on a zoning ordinance that would apply to medical marijuana businesses. The moratorium on use of property in the city for medical marijuana businesses – originally enacted on Aug. 5, 2010 to last for 120 days, but subsequently extended – was extended again at Monday’s meeting through June 30, 2011. [.pdf of medical marijuana licensing ordinance as amended on March 21, 2011]

In a lower-profile but logistically significant move, the council voted to move its second meeting of April from Monday to Tuesday, April 19, because sundown on that Monday marks the start of the week-long Passover celebration in the Jewish tradition.

Other business conducted by the council included: (1) approving a recommendation for non-renewal of a liquor license for the Fifth Quarter; (2) authorizing transfer of $90,000 to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to improve a public plaza near the Forest Street parking structure; (3) setting a public hearing to establish an industrial development district that could lead to tax abatements for the firm Sakti3; (4) authorizing a letter of support for a Washtenaw County grant application to the state for acquisition of a natural area; and (5) authorizing the city’s own application to the state for grants to support park improvement projects and a new skatepark.

Council deliberations on the park improvement grant applications resulted in the prioritization of a grant to support construction of the skatepark over one to support improvements to the Gallup park canoe livery. The city hopes both grants will be approved by the state.

The council also heard a presentation on a plan for the Millers Creek area, and later in its meeting adopted the plan. It could eventually lead to establishing the creekshed formally as a “drain,” in the sense that the county water resources commissioner (formerly the drain commissioner) uses the term. That designation will increase the area’s eligibility for various funding mechanisms to pay for projects there.

The council heard a presentation from its street outreach task force, summarizing its work over the last six months. That work includes a proposed revision to the city’s panhandling ordinance, which the council will begin considering at its April 4 meeting.

The council also passed a resolution establishing a search committee for a new city administrator. The committee will bring a recommendation to the council at its April 19 meeting on an interim administrator, who will assume responsibilities when current city administrator Roger Fraser departs at the end of April.

The city’s IT director, Dan Rainey, was on hand to receive a Digital Cities award recognizing the city’s efforts to improve services through digital technology. Fraser mentioned during his communications time that the council’s meetings are now being streamed live over the Internet: CTN Channel 16 Live.

Medical Marijuana Licensing

At its March 21 meeting, the council considered a set of licensing requirements for medical marijuana businesses. All new ordinances require an initial approval, plus a final vote by the city council after a formal public hearing. The council had first considered the licensing scheme at its Dec. 6, 2010 meeting. Councilmembers undertook several amendments to the licensing proposal at three of its meetings over the last three months: on Jan. 3, Feb. 7 and March 7.

Dennis Hayes, who has addressed nearly every meeting of the city council when it has discussed medical marijuana, and councilmember Sabra Briere (Ward 1).

At its Oct. 18, 2010 meeting, the council gave initial approval to a set of zoning regulations for medical marijuana businesses, but it has not yet given its final approval to those regulations. The council’s strategy is to bring licensing and zoning forward at the same time for a final vote. The context for development of zoning regulations was set at the council’s Aug. 5, 2010 meeting, when councilmembers voted to impose a moratorium on the use of property in the city for medical marijuana dispensaries or cultivation facilities, and directed its planning commission to develop zoning regulations for medical marijuana businesses. Subsequently, the city attorney’s office also began working on a licensing system.

The moratorium on using additional facilities in the city as medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities – first enacted on Aug. 5, 2010 and subsequently extended – was extended a second time by the council at its Jan. 18 meeting to go through March 31, 2011.

During the course of Monday’s deliberations, mayor John Hieftje elicited from the city attorney’s office an estimate that there are 15 marijuana dispensaries currently operating in the city, plus three dispensaries that are operating in areas that would be prohibited, if the city’s zoning ordinance is given final approval.

Medical Marijuana Licensing: Public Commentary

Gersh Avery reported to the council that a lot of people come to him asking for help – cancer patients who are in stage four, typically. They ask him to make an extract of cannabis that can be used as chemotherapy. In Michigan, there have been 15-20 skin cancer cases cured, he said. He stressed that this is not palliative care, but curative. This kind of cancer research is taking place in other states and other countries, so he wanted to know why it was not taking place in Ann Arbor. A research laboratory to test these materials, he said, needs to be protected, not persecuted. Ann Arbor should be made a center of medical advancement, he said.

Rory Gould told councilmembers he had moved to Ann Arbor from New York 10 years ago, because he wanted to raise his children in a place where they would not be on top of each other, where people are nice to one another, where they’d be exposed to cultural diversity, and have access to high quality education. He thanked the council for their hard work on the ordinance – it’s an example of the spirit of tolerance Ann Arbor is famous for, he said.

Still, he cautioned that there are some remaining concerns. Requiring permanent record-keeping of growers might put good people in danger, he said, and could put a damper on supply. He also expressed concern about the number of dispensary licenses. Most of the existing dispensaries are very well run, he said, but a license might fall into the wrong hands. He said there are some places that are not well run that have no handicapped access and don’t supply locally-grown cannabis. He suggested that licenses also be made transferable on approval of the city council.

Dennis Hayes observed that it’s a now familiar cast of characters who have been speaking and he thanked the council for the work they’ve done. He noted that there are some councilmembers who are spending an extraordinary amount of time to get it right. The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act is helping people get access to high quality medicine, he said. There are still some restrictions, however, that he feels are not helpful to patients. One of those restrictions is that the applications require disclosure of a substantial amount of information about the ownership of the entity – which could be burdensome for dispensaries organized as collectives.

Chuck Ream thanked the council for the opportunity to address them. He said he’d met with Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and the mayor the previous Friday about the issue of documenting the source of the product. He agreed with the intent of the ordinance – we should know where the product comes from in the event of a health emergency. He suggested language that would allow relevant local, county, or state health officials to take action. He suggested that records be kept for 30 days – there’s no reason to keep them for longer than that. He called the need for a cultivation license “pernicious,” because it attempts to restrict the right of people to grow marijuana. About the ordinance requirement that cultivation facilities need a license, he called on the council to “get it out of there,” or everyone who’s currently growing in Ann Arbor will file suit.

Medical Marijuana Licensing: Council Deliberations

The council undertook a series of additional amendments to the ordinance.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Code Section

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) began with an amendment to move the proposed licensing code out of Title VI of the city code, which is designated “Food and Health,” and to move it to Title VII, “Businesses and Trades.” The move entailed a new chapter number – it was proposed that it be changed from Chapter 71 to Chapter 95. The amendment also changed the name of the chapter by striking the word “business.”

At council’s March 7 meeting, Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) had complained to city attorney Stephen Postema that the new chapter was not included in an existing chapter on business licenses – which is also in Title VII. The proposed amendment could be seen as a partial accommodation to Higgins’ concern. The introduction as amended reads:

That a new Chapter 95 be added to Title VII of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor to read as follows:

CHAPTER 95. MEDICAL MARIJUANA LICENSES FOR CULTIVATION FACILITIES AND DISPENSARIES

Postema indicated that he had no problem with the change.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the amendment changing the code section and title.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on License Eligibility

An amendment was proposed to make the ordinance consistent with a different amendment made at the council’s previous meeting – it disqualified people based on a felony conviction only if the felony was for a controlled substance offense. Previously, section 6:415 (2) had disqualified a person based on any felony conviction. As amended, it reads:

6:415. License Required, Number of Licenses Available, Eligibility. …
(2) A cultivation facility or dispensary shall not be eligible for a license if any person required under this chapter to be named on the application has ever been convicted of a felony involving controlled substances as defined under the Michigan public health code, MCL 333.1101, et seq, the federal law, or the law of any other state.

Outcome: The council approved the amendment restricting disqualification just to controlled substance felony convictions, with dissent from Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2).

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Board Activity

An additional amendment to 6:415 added the phrase “taking into consideration recommendations from staff” to the way the licensing board would make its recommendations:

6:415. License Required, Number of Licenses Available, Eligibility.
…
(7) … The Board will annually review and recommend the licensing criteria, the number of licenses authorized, the license fee structure taking into consideration recommendations from staff, …

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the amendment without comment.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Home Occupations

At the request of Sandi Smith (Ward 1), the following amendment was added to allow for the possibility of voluntary registration with the city by home occupation businesses – which the ordinance does not require to be licensed:

6:415. License Required, Number of Licenses Available, Eligibility.
…
(9) Medical marijuana home occupations do not require licenses but may register with the City by providing the address of the home occupation and the registry number on the caregiver registry identification card or that the MDCH issued to the caregiver who is delivering the marijuana, or some other form of identification.

Smith indicated that the idea is to allow the opportunity to have clarity, in the event that someone gave a tip to the police about suspected illegal activity at a location and that there could be a police raid. She wasn’t sure if anyone would take advantage of that opportunity to voluntarily register with the city to avoid the police storming in. She said she didn’t see any harm.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) suggested that “registry identification card” be supplemented with “some other form of identification.” [The Chronicle understood this to have been accepted as a friendly amendment, but the city clerk's records do not include it as part of the amendment.]

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) wondered if this kind of thing was something usually found in an ordinance or rather was simply a service the city is providing. Postema said it wasn’t usual but said it was also appropriate. The police could have their own program based on a council resolution, he said.

Outcome: The council approved the amendment on a roll call vote, with dissent from Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3).

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Titling

The next amendment simply made the subsections of 6:417 parallel by giving them each a title:

6:417. Application Requirements for New Annual License or Renewal of Existing License; License Requirements for New License and for Renewed License
(1) Application Acceptance. …
(2) Application Requirements. …
(3) License Requirements. …

Outcome: The council approved the titling of the subsections.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Signage

Originally proposed at the previous council meeting, but inadvertently amended out of the proposed amendment, was language specifying the size of letters on the required signage:

(3) License Requirements. A new license shall not be issued to a dispensary or cultivation facility until the applicant for the license complies with all of the following requirements:
…
(d) The applicant has installed a sign in a location visible to all persons who enter the premises, which contains the following statement in letters that shall be no less than one inch high: …

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) wanted to strike the hyphen included in the phrase “one-inch” that appeared in the amendment as offered. Postema indicated that it was not a legal issue, and the hypen was dropped.

Outcome: The council approved the requirement on lettering size for the signs.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on Labeling, Record Keeping

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Sandi Smith (Ward 1) had developed an alternative to the package labeling requirements that was meant to address concerns about record-keeping and the need of a patient to contact someone about the product they were provided. Record-keeping requirements in subsections 6:419 (5) and 6:419 (10) were also eventually added to the discussion and moved as part of the same amendment, with revisions made along the way. As amended and approved by the council, the material read:

6:419. Conduct of Business at Cultivation Facility or Dispensary.
…
(4) All marijuana delivered to a patient shall be packaged and labeled as provided in this chapter. The label shall include:
(a) a unique alphanumeric identifier for the person to whom it is being delivered;
(b) a unique alphanumeric identifier for the cultivation source of the marijuana;
(c) that the package contains marijuana;
(d) the date of delivery, weight, type of marijuana and dollar amount or other consideration being exchanged in the transaction; and,
(e) a certification that all marijuana in any form contained in the package was cultivated, manufactured, and packaged in the state of Michigan.
(f) the warning that:
THIS PRODUCT IS MANUFACTURED WITHOUT ANY REGULATORY OVERSIGHT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY OR EFFICACY. THERE MAY BE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INGESTION OR USE OF THIS PRODUCT. USING THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS. DO NOT DRIVE OR OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY WHILE USING THIS PRODUCT. KEEP THIS PRODUCT OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. THIS PRODUCT MAY NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY THAT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE MICHIGAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT OR BY ANY PERSON WHO DOES NOT POSSESS A VALID MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT REGISTRATION CARD.
(g) The name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of an authorized representative of the dispensary whom a patient can contact with any questions regarding the product.
(h) The name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of at least one governmental or non-profit organization that may be contacted by a patient who has concerns about substance abuse of drugs, including marijuana.
(5) All of the required labeling information, including coded patient and caregiver information shall be maintained and available for inspection at a cultivation facility or dispensary for no less than 180 days one year after dispensing.
…
(10) A cultivation facility or dispensary shall keep records of the caregivers from whom they receive marijuana in any form, and shall make the records available to the City in a health emergency upon request to promote health, safety and welfare, or to otherwise verify compliance with this chapter.

Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) wanted to know what the rationale was for the alphanumeric coding. Smith explained that it would be a way for dispensaries to create a code to allow tracing of product origin without using the codes provided by the state. If it turned out to be necessary to find someone who grew or delivered some particular product, you’d be able to find them.

Briere indicated that they’d learned that the state would not release any information to the city based on Michigan Dept. of Community Health codes unless it’s related to a criminal investigation, so the previous version of the ordinance would not help in the event of a health emergency.

Margie Teall (Ward 4) wanted to know about the requirement that a “certification” be required that the product originated in Michigan. Briere answered by saying that would have to be figured out – it might wind up just being an assertion.

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) expressed some irritation at the timing of some of the information, saying it had come at the “eleventh hour.” He wanted to hear comments from the city attorney on possible effects on the ability of the police to enforce the law. City attorney Stephen Postema indicated that it’s not new that the state won’t give out information related to registry numbers. The issue, he said, is what kind of record-keeping the council wants dispensaries to have. He didn’t have a problem with the changes. But Postema said that it’s more than just a health issue – the state’s statute intends that there be a close relationship between the patient and the product, he said. He then advocated for enabling the licensing board to look at dispensary records in order to ascertain that the product is grown in Michigan.

Briere noted that even if the city had registry card numbers, the state would not confirm that a number is an authentic registry card number.

Derezinski said he was interested not just in the health issue but also the origin of the product. He wanted to make sure the numbering system would allow for the board to verify that the product was being grown in Michigan. He wanted to know if the board would be able to do spot checks or if the process would be driven by complaints. Postema again advocated for the council to require that records be turned over not just in the event of an emergency, but also to verify that the product originated in Michigan.

Smith suggested adding 6:419 (5) to the amendment on the floor at the time.

Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) wanted to know what the rationale was for maintaining the records only 180 days. Smith indicated that just a few hours earlier, there was a draft that indicated 30 days, but she’d be willing to think about an even longer period.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) worried about having just a single unique identifier – perhaps there should be some way of cross checking. Smith indicated that patients would know what their own unique identifier is – they could give it to someone else if they wanted that person to pick up their medication for them.

As he scanned down the other sections, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) wondered about the idea of site visits – would the licensing board be visiting dispensaries? He said he was leery of having inspections conducted, because it would put city staff in positions they might not want to be in or qualified to handle. He wanted to know what other communities are doing in this regard. Postema indicated that few other communities were trying to enact any ordinances and were instead continuing to “punt,” in some cases by extending moratoria for another two years. Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township had developed some legislation, Postema said.

Postema continued by picking up on Smith’s comment about someone picking up another person’s medication for them. There needs to be some additional thought about ensuring that the product goes to a qualified patient, Postema said.

Derezinski indicated he was troubled by questions about when the information on the coding would have to be made available. Briere noted that this was dealt with in subsection (10), and that the council was then discussing just (4) and (5) – would he like (10) to be added to the discussion? Derezinski agreed he wanted it to be added.

At that point, Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) suggested including (10) to the same amendment – which deals explicitly with conditions on which the coded information would need to be made available. Taylor made the suggestion that instead of a medical emergency, more general conditions could result in a request to produce records: “… upon request to promote health, safety and welfare, or to otherwise verify compliance with this chapter.”

Rapundalo indicated his support for the additional language. He asked if the 180 days could be extended to a full year – that was accepted as a friendly amendment.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) wondered how the record-keeping for labeling information – for example, “that the package contains marijuana” – would be handled. Briere explained the logic was that you would just run off two labels, and put one on the package and stick one in a book.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the labeling and record-keeping amendments as revised during deliberations.

Medical Marijuana Licensing – Amendment on License Renewal

The last amendment introduced was one that dealt with how licenses get renewed.

6:417. Application Requirements for New Annual License or Renewal of Existing License; License Requirements for New License and for Renewed License
…
(8) A license issued under this chapter shall expire one year after the date of issuance. To renew an existing license, the licensee shall submit an application in the same manner as is required to apply for a new license no sooner than ninety (90) days before the expiration date and no later than sixty (60) before the expiration date.

Briere explained that the language had been developed in response to concerns expressed in the community that with an annual license renewal, a dispensary might have to compete with everyone else who wanted a license. She had not been able to come up with language that made clear that existing license holders would not compete for renewal of their license with others who wished to obtain a license for the first time.

Postema said it would not be his expectation that a dispensary with a license would have to compete in that way. Rapundalo noted that it was an important issue, because the city had seen what could happen when an extra liquor license became available a few years ago – it was confusing to determine who might have had a grandfathered-in request. Mayor John Hieftje stressed that the renewal of a license for a dispensary would not be automatic.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) felt that appropriate language to afford first-in-line status could be drafted by the time of the second reading of the ordinance.

Final outcome: The council voted unanimously to give initial approval to the marijuana licenses. The second and final votes on its medical marijuana business licensing proposal and its medical marijuana zoning ordinance are scheduled for council’s April 19, 2011 meeting. The moratorium on the use of property in the city as a medical marijuana dispensary or a medical marijuana cultivation facility was extended from March 31, 2011 to June 30, 2011.

[.pdf of medical marijuana licensing ordinance as amended on March 21, 2011]

Medical Marijuana Non-Disclosure Policy

Before the council for consideration was a policy on non-disclosure of certain information, like names and birth dates for patients and caregivers, that might be collected in the course of the zoning and licensing process for medical marijuana businesses. The non-disclosure policy had been discussed, but postponed, at the council’s March 7, 2011 meeting.

The resolution had originally been introduced by Sabra Briere (Ward 1) in the context of the council’s current work on zoning and licensing ordinances for medical marijuana businesses – legislation that has not yet been given final approval by the council. [.pdf of original draft resolution]

Because the medical marijuana licensing ordinance that received initial approval that same evening ultimately did not include the collection of any personal information, Briere – who’d sponsored the resolution – indicated she wished to withdraw it.

Outcome: No council action was taken, as the resolution was withdrawn.

Non-Renewal and Renewal of Liquor Licenses

The council considered two resolutions regarding liquor licenses – one for renewal and one for non-renewal. At its previous meeting, the council had authorized the appointment of Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) as a hearing officer to entertain appeals – a move that was made over the objection of Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2), Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) and Sabra Briere (Ward 1). The appointment of Derezinski as a single hearing officer had come as an amendment to the original council resolution that night, which had called for the council’s liquor license review committee to serve as a hearing board.

Since appointment as hearing officer, Derezinski has handled two non-renewal recommendations. The city’s intent to pursue non-renewal of a liquor license for Studio Four – located at 314 S. Fourth Ave. – had been based on non-payment of taxes, but they’d since been paid, Derezinski reported at Monday’s meeting. So that license was now being recommended for renewal.

Derezinski’s finding of facts concerning The Fifth Quarter, however, included more than 89 calls for police service at the establishment between Jan. 1, 2010 and Oct. 25, 2010, and reports of fights among patrons, and between Fifth Quarter staff and their patrons. [The club is located at 210 S. Fifth Ave.] The report included one occasion on which 25 officers from Ann Arbor police department, University of Michigan department of public safety, and the Washtenaw sheriff’s office had monitored crowds exiting the establishment and had needed to arrest several people for disorderly conduct.

Outcome: In separate votes, the council voted unanimously to recommend renewal of Studio Four’s liquor license, over dissent from Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) and Sabra Briere (Ward 1), and unanimously to recommend non-renewal of The Fifth Quarter’s license.

Applications to MDNRE

Before the council were two items concerning applications to the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) – the city’s own applications, and an application that Washtenaw County is making.

MDNRE City Applications – Skatepark, Canoes, Boats

For two of the MDNRE grants – for improvements to the Gallup livery and park, and for the proposed skatepark at Veteran’s Memorial Park – the city is applying to MDNRE’s Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. For the third grant, the city is applying to MDNRE’s Waterway Grant-in-Aid program to upgrade the boat launches at Gallup and Argo parks.

The city’s park advisory commission recommended approval of the applications at its most recent meeting. ["PAC Supports Grants for Skatepark, Gallup"]

MDRNR City Apps – Skatepark, Canoes, Boats: Council Deliberations

An amendment offered by Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) prioritized the skatepark project over the Gallup renovations – based on the opportunity to leverage $400,000 of matching funds from the county, which will expire unless the skatepark’s construction is under contract by Jan. 1, 2012.

The amendment came after clarification with Sumedh Bahl, the city’s community services area administrator, that just two of the applications are ranked by the city in the application process – those for the skatepark and the Gallup canoe livery. Both are for $300,000 from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. The other grant, to improve boat launches, is from a different source – the Waterway Grant-in-Aid fund.

In the course of deliberations, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) wanted to know if it were possible to apply to the waterway fund for the canoe liveries – which would eliminate the need to rank the skatepark against any other project. Bahl said it was not possible.

Hohnke’s reasoning was that the skatepark grant could ultimately mean the transfer of a $1 million asset from the Friends of the Skatepark to the city. But if it doesn’t happen this year, the matching grant funding – from the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission – won’t be available. An application for improvements to the Gallup canoe livery, on the other hand could be applied for next year, reasoned Hohnke.

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) wanted to know what it would mean to “prioritize” the applications. It’s simply a matter of designating one as the preferred application, explained Bahl. Bahl pointed out that there’s precedent for communities with two applications to have both of them approved.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) – who serves as one of two ex officio city council representatives to the city’s park advisory commission (PAC) – noted PAC was very interested at its last meeting in seeing the Gallup canoe livery project go forward. They were anticipating those improvements being useful in the context of the increased canoe traffic that may result from construction of the Argo Dam bypass, which is due to start construction this season. He later stressed that PAC had itself not expressed a priority ranking of Gallup canoe liveries versus skatepark.

Taylor wanted to know if prioritization of the skatepark would significantly reduce the chances of receiving the grant to improve canoe liveries – and if so, what the negative impact would be. Bahl responded by saying that it’s not just a matter of increased boat traffic, but also the safety for pedestrians and the boats. The turnaround for taking canoes from Gallup back up to Argo is logistically challenging. There are also accessibility improvements planned as part of the project.

Taylor drew out the fact that the Gallup canoe livery project is a $750,000 project – the city’s share would be $450,000. Taylor summed up his thinking by saying that a $300,000 grant for the livery would give the city roughly half a project, whereas the $300,000 for the skatepark would mean that they are pretty much “all the way home.” Based on that, he was willing to support prioritization of the skatepark.

Mayor John Hieftje said there’d been an unexpected “bonus” of sales of gas and oil leases into the state trust fund, so it had more money in it now than anyone could remember. He said if the council didn’t accept Hohnke’s amendment, it would essentially leave the prioritization to the state.

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) wanted to know if the canoe livery improvements would be revenue positive – she noted that as far as she understood, the skatepark would not generate revenues. Bahl confirmed that the improvements at the canoe liveries would generate additional revenue – through more boats and more programming.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) indicated he’d be supporting the prioritization, pointing to the chance to leverage funds from the county. He said his understanding was that grant applications that had matching support were generally stronger than other applications. Kunselman noted that a lot of money had already been invested in canoeing recently, whereas there’d been no corresponding support for skateboarders – it was their turn.

Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) indicated that he’d support the amendment, but said it would be a hard choice if it came down to it. He said he didn’t want to dismiss the idea that there’s a need for the canoe livery improvements. For him, the county’s match was the crucial point, and he would be willing to cross his fingers that both projects would receive funding.

Outcome on priority amendment: The council voted to approve the prioritization, over dissent from Sandi Smith (Ward 1).

Outcome on approval of applications: The council voted unanimously to approve the three grant applications.

MDNRE: County Application – Land Acquisition

The city council had received a recommendation from Ann Arbor’s greenbelt advisory commission (GAC) to send a letter of support for an application from Washtenaw County to the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. Through its natural areas preservation program, the county hopes to secure funds from the state to help purchase a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms.

At its most recent meeting, GAC had recommended that the city council consider a letter of support, after Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5), the council’s representative to GAC, had cautioned against GAC’s sending such a letter before confirming that the county’s application would not dilute the city’s own chances to win grant funding. [Chronicle coverage: "Greenbelt, County Look to Partner on Farms"]

During brief deliberations, Hohnke mentioned his earlier concern about the possibility that the county’s application could dilute the city’s own chances for its grants. But he had clarified with city staff that the source of the grant money comes from two separate state funds – one for parks improvements and one for land acquisition.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the letter of support for Washtenaw County’s grant application.

“Transformer Plaza”

Before the council for consideration was authorization of a transfer of $90,000 from its parks memorials and contributions fund to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

During a council break, Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, shows Sabra Briere her book. (Photo links to close-up of book cover. Kudos to readers who can guess before clicking through what Pollay is reading these days.)

The money will be used by the DDA for the design and construction management of improvements to a plaza near the Forest Street parking structure. Because of the number of DTE Energy transformers that are situated near the plaza, it’s known in some circles as Transformer Plaza.

The $90,000 figure stems from the $50,000 and $40,000 contributions made to the parks fund by the 601 S. Forest and Zaragon I developments, respectively, which are located in the vicinity of the plaza. As part of any site plan review process in the city of Ann Arbor, developers are asked to make a donation of land so that new residents have access to adequate open space. But the city also accepts cash donations in lieu of land contributions.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) noted that the residents of the South University area would be pleased – it’d been discussed a lot. Mayor John Hieftje said the project had been in the pipeline a long time.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the transfer of funds.

Millers Creek

Scott Dierks gave a presentation to the council on the background for the Millers Creek improvement plan, which the council was asked to adopt by resolution later in the meeting. Dierks introduced himself as representing the Huron River Watershed Council, as a member and volunteer. He described Millers Creek as one of six creeksheds in the city, covering about 2.5 square miles in the vicinity of Plymouth and Huron Parkway. The creekshed drains to the Huron River.

He traced the origin of the improvement plan back to 1992 as a grassroots effort by Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM). ERIM had reached out to the HRWC and to the landscape design firm Peter Pollack & Associates. That eventually led to a Pfizer-funded effort in 2003-04, to develop an improvement plan, which made specific recommendations in light of current and future land use in the creekshed. The plan was approved by the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Millers Creek watershed improvement plan is still used as an example of good watershed planning by the EPA, and is accessible through the EPA’s website, Dierks said.

He listed off some specific accomplishments that have grown out of the plan: 56 rain barrels installed; 6 rain gardens installed; 2 detention pond retrofits, including Thurston Pond, which help control stormwater runoff on around 36 acres; planting of oak savannah; and 500 feet of bank stabilization along Huron Parkway.

The resolution before the council, Dierks said, formalizes the work that has already been done and would serve three purposes: (1) acknowledge the plan, which will guide development in the Millers Creek watershed; (2) help designate the watershed as a county drain; and (3) continue to facilitate relationships between creek groups, the University of Michigan, the city, and the neighborhood.

During council deliberations, Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) – in whose ward the creekshed is located – complimented those who’d done the long and hard work on the plan. He noted that he’d served on the action team that had worked on the plan in the earlier part of the decade. The city’s planning commission had approved the plan back in 2006, he said. What had been missing was the formal adoption by the city council. He pointed to the designation of Millers Creek as a county drain as a priority when that opportunity presents itself – the designation as a drain would allow it to be eligible for grant funding, he said.

Outcome: The council unanimously adopted the Millers Creek improvement plan.

Sakti3 Development District Hearing Set

The council was asked to vote to set a public hearing on establishing an industrial development district (IDD), which could lead to tax credits for Sakti3.

The company is a University of Michigan spin-off focused on advanced battery technology, headed by Ann Marie Sastry. The IDD would be established for just under an acre of land, located at 1490 Eisenhower Place. Sakti3 is reportedly considering an investment of $2.4 million in new equipment and hopes to hire five additional people.

The hearing will be held at the council’s April 4, 2011 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall at 100 N. Fifth Ave. [Previous Chronicle coverage mentioning Sakti3: "No Secret Sakti3 Wants Its Batteries in Cars" and "Lutz Rides Current Motors Potential"]

During brief deliberations, Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) said that Sakti3 is an incredible business, saying that it represents the future and is cutting edge.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to set the hearing on establishing an industrial development district.

City Administrator Hiring Plan

Before the council for consideration was a resolution calling on the mayor to appoint a five-member city council committee, which is to include the mayor, to handle the search process to find a replacement for outgoing city administrator Roger Fraser. Fraser announced his resignation at the council’s Feb. 28, 2011 working session. At the end of April, Fraser will leave the city to become a deputy treasurer for the state of Michigan.

The resolution charged the search committee with providing a recommendation to the council at its April 19 meeting for an interim city administrator. At that meeting, the committee is also expected to present a plan for a selection process to hire a permanent administrator. The plan is to provide for internal as well as external candidates.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5) share a laugh before the March 21 meeting.

Mayor John Hieftje led off council deliberations on the resolution by saying it was gracious of Fraser to stay on through the end of April. He thanked mayor pro tem Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) for putting together the resolution. He said he hoped to finish the hiring process before the end of the summer, if not in mid-summer.

Hieftje announced that the following councilmembers would serve on the committee: Sabra Briere (Ward 1); Christopher Taylor (Ward 3); Marcia Higgins (Ward 4); and Tony Derezinski (Ward 2). Higgins will chair the committee. Hieftje indicated that the committee members had not been chosen by seniority, but rather to get a good mix of experience and perspective. He stressed that the committee would only make recommendations and that the whole council would need to approve all the decisions.

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) asked that when the plan is presented to the council, they get a cost impact analysis for various options for doing the search.

Derezinski described himself as bringing “a lot of baggage” to the committee, having been involved in some searches for the superintendent of schools. He also said he’d been through the process when the Eastern Michigan University board of regents had chosen Bill Shelton as president. He described it as a unique dynamic. The two main functions of the city council are to hire and fire the city manager and to approve the city budget, but it’s not often that the council has the opportunity to do it. [The council also hires and fires the city attorney.]

Derezinski said his bias was to seek expertise from professionals who help with searches, like Colin Baenziger & Associates or the Michigan Municipal League [.pdf of Michigan Municipal League executive search services description]. He said there’d need to be full and robust discussion by the whole council as well as the public. He described it as “a balance” between adhering to the requirements of open government and the interest by some candidates in maintaining confidentiality in the early stages of a search.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to appoint the search committee.

Schedule Change for Passover

The council considered a resolution to revise its regular meeting schedule for the year by changing its second meeting in April to Tuesday, April 19. The shift was prompted by observation of Passover, the week-long Jewish festival and holy day – its start is celebrated at sundown on Monday, April 18. The council has been holding its meetings recently in the Washtenaw County administration building, due to renovations at city hall. But they are expected to have returned to their chambers on the second floor of city hall for the April 19 meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m.

During deliberations, Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) questioned why they are moving the meeting, given that Passover lasts a whole week. Mayor John Hieftje indicated he had no explanation. City administrator Roger Fraser indicated that it was a suggestion from the city staff, based on previous city council practice. He noted that it would affect the planning commission’s meeting as well. [The planning commission typically meets on Tuesdays, but during the week of Passover its meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 21.] Hieftje allowed he was not an expert in this area. He said he was interested “only in taking the correcting action here.” Sabra Briere (Ward 1) provided the insight that the first night of Passover is considered especially important.

Outcome: The council voted to change its calendar due to the Passover holiday, with dissent from Marcia Higgins (Ward 4).

Council OKs Property Transfer to Avalon

Before the council for consideration was a resolution to approve the transfer of property at 1500 Pauline from the Washtenaw Affordable Housing Corp. (WAHC) to Avalon Housing. The council also approved the release of WAHC from all terms of their $700,000 federal HOME loan, $300,000 federal CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) loan and Housing Affordability Agreement.

The nonprofit Avalon is currently managing all of WAHC’s properties as part of a consolidation, described as a “merger,” that began two years ago. At its Feb. 22, 2011 meeting the city council approved a site plan for the 1500 Pauline property, allowing Avalon to construct 32 dwelling units and 39 surface parking spaces. The plan includes demolition of four existing apartment buildings – known as the Parkhurst Apartment complex – containing 48 units.

The new construction would include six new buildings totaling 53,185 square feet. Five of the buildings would include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and three-bedroom townhomes. The sixth building would be a community center with a playground. The project won a recommendation from the city’s planning commission at that body’s Jan. 20, 2011 meeting.

Outcome: Without comment, the council voted to approve the transfer.

Street Task Force: “Have a Heart, Give Smart”

The council heard a presentation from its street outreach task force, which the council appointed at its Sept. 20, 2010 meeting and charged with developing cost-effective recommendations for addressing the issue of downtown panhandling and the needs of those who panhandle. [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor Task Force Consults Panhandlers"]

The report was given by two members of the task force – Maggie Ladd, executive director of the South University Area Association, and Charles Coleman, a project coordinator with Dawn Farm.

Highlights of the report included recommendations that: (1) the city council revise the city’s ordinance on solicitation to prohibit panhandling in additional locations; (2) the police chief increase police attention downtown during the busiest hours of the week; (3) the city’s community standards division increase their interaction with the public; and (4) the mayor’s downtown marketing task force take an expanded role working with residents, merchants and service providers. The task force report describes an educational campaign to advise downtown visitors and University of Michigan students about options they have besides giving money to panhandlers, a campaign with the slogan “Have a Heart, Give Smart.” [.pdf of street outreach task force report]

During her communications time, Sabra Briere (Ward 1), chair of the task force, told her council colleagues that a revision to the city’s ordinance on solicitation would be presented to them for consideration at their April 4, 2011 meeting.

Communications and Comment

Every city council agenda contains multiple slots for city councilmembers and the city administrator to give updates or make announcements about important issues that are coming before the city council. And every meeting typically includes public commentary on subjects not necessarily on the agenda.

Comm/Comm: 415 W. Washington Update Scheduled

Mayor John Hieftje noted that last year, the council had approved a three-way collaboration between the city, the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, and the Arts Alliance to work on a plan for the future of the city-owned lot at 415 W. Washington. He allowed that a report was owed to the council about progress on that project, and there’d be a half hour presentation at the council’s April 4 meeting. [By way of background, the resolution establishing the collaboration specified: "RESOLVED, That a progress report be delivered to City Council at the first meeting in February, 2011." Chronicle coverage: "City Restarts 415 W. Washington Process" ]

Comm/Comm: Increased Public Accessibility for Meetings

During his communications time, city administrator Roger Fraser mentioned that the city council’s meetings would now be available streamed live over the web: CTN Channel 16 Live. Previously, the city has provided access to archived coverage of public meetings through Community Television Network’s video-on-demand service: Ann Arbor Public Meetings Archive. [CTN also provides live broadcasts of the meeting on its cable TV community access channel.] The accomplishment of the live streaming came relatively quickly after Fraser had first mentioned the possibility at the city council’s Feb. 14, 2011 work session on the budget. From Chronicle coverage of that session [emphasis added]:

Community Television Network

Included in the impact sheets was one for CTN, which Fraser indicated was not part of the general fund, but which is also trying to meet reduction targets. The impact sheet indicates an expenditure for a capital investment of $97,431 – to transition to an appropriate digital format. The new format, said Fraser, would allow for live streaming on computers instead of on television.

Comm/Comm: DDA-City

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) gave the council an update on progress of discussions between two committees – one from the city council and another from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority – to reach agreement on a new contract under which the DDA would continue to manage the city’s public parking system. The committees have been meeting weekly, he said, and had reached the point of discussing contract language. He said they are making good progress and would be able soon to bring forward a document that could form the basis of a spirited, but fruitful, conversation. [As of the meeting on the morning of March 21, the DDA and the city's committees are still not in agreement on what the percentage of gross parking revenues should be that the DDA pays to the city, or on the specifics about the contract's term. For background on these discussions, see Chronicle coverage: "Parking Money for City Budget Still Unclear"]

Comm/Comm: Labor Report

In January, Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2), the chair of the council’s labor committee, indicated that he would be using the council communications slot on the agenda to give updates on the status of labor negotiations. Since that time, he has done that on several occasions. On Monday, he announced that he wanted to respond to some statements in an article that had appeared about a week before in a publication called AnnArbor.com.

Rapundalo said he’d already conveyed his responses to the author of that article, but that he would not be commenting on the author’s “vivid prose,” which described Rapundalo’s reaction to a report that he’d been looking at. [From the article's opening line: "It's early on a Friday morning and Ann Arbor City Council Member Stephen Rapundalo is shaking his head, a look of distaste frozen in his eyes."]

Rapundalo began by addressing the reporting of some background material provided in the article, which Rapundalo said portrayed some confusion with respect to the purpose of the state’s Act 312 statute.

Rapundalo stressed that Act 312 had not taken away the right to strike by police and fire personnel provided in exchange for compulsory arbitration. [From the AnnArbor.com article: "When it was put in place in 1969, it was seen as a solution to a problem: By sending disputing parties to arbitration, cities could avoid public safety strikes, and police and fire personnel would be guaranteed an arbitrator would consider their requests."] Instead, Rapundalo pointed out, the Public Employment Relations Act 336 of 1947 already prohibited strikes by public sector employees. He quoted the act: “A public employee shall not strike.”

Later, in 1969, the legislature passed Act 312, which Rapundalo then quoted to show again that the right to strike was already prohibited when Act 312 was passed: “It is the public policy of this state that in public police and fire departments, where the right of employees to strike is by law prohibited, …”

Rapundalo also took issue with any implication from statements reported in the article that the city had not bargained in good faith in prior negotiations. Rapundalo said the city had based its negotiations on the economics of that time, noting that economic conditions had changed, even in a very short time period. Today’s economic reality is different, he said, and the city is now negotiating based on current conditions.

Rapundalo then took issue with statements attributed to a representative of the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association (AAPOA) about reduction in health care benefits. Rapundalo stressed that the city had not asked and was not asking for reductions in health care benefits. Health coverage is not the issue, he stressed, but rather employee contributions to their own health coverage and retirement.

Rapundalo took issue with the statement by AAPOA reported in the article that expressed a willingness of the union to continue their 2009 contract, without any wage increases. If the union thinks that forgoing a wage increase is a fair sacrifice, Rapundalo contended, then they really haven’t been paying attention to what’s been going on around the rest of the state and the country. Other unions have given up longevity bonuses, uniform allowances and retirement plan contribution matches, he said. The “step increases” based on years of service that are a part of the current police contract, together with other features of the contract, will result in a 3.5% increase in costs in FY 2012 compared to the current fiscal year, Rapundalo said – when other groups’ costs are going down.

Rapundalo also disputed a claim by AAPOA that exposure to radon in the city hall building resulted in greater need for health care by its members, and that their health care plans should be left in place. Rapundalo stated that there’d been no demonstrable link between conditions in the building where they’d been previously housed and any increased need for health care. If there were such a link, Rapundalo concluded, it would be covered under a worker’s compensation claim, not under the city’s health care plan.

Comm/Comm: Digital Cities Award

Robert Blake, regional vice president for government and education at AT&T, presented Dan Rainey, the city of Ann Arbor’s IT director, with the 6th place Digital Cities Award for cities in its category for the survey – those with populations from 75,000-124,999.

Though it's not part of his day-to-day responsibilities as head of the city's IT department, Dan Rainey was wrangling cable at the start of the city council meeting. The meeting was held at the Washtenaw County administration building boardroom, where council is meeting temporarily due to renovations at city hall.

The top cities for that category – in order of ranking, including ties – were: Pueblo, Colo.; Olathe, Kan.; Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Roseville, Calif.; High Point, N.C.; Independence, Mo.; Simi Valley, Calif.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Arvada, Colo.; Roanoke, Va.; Schaumburg, Ill.; and Berkeley, Calif.

Blake noted that it was the third year in a row that Ann Arbor had been included in the top ten. This year the ranking was especially meaningful, he said, because it was based on a new scoring system that is based on actual results. Among the specific initiatives cited by Blake were: a shared data center with Washtenaw County and adoption of cloud technology; use of in-car digital video in police cars; online water consumption data for consumers; and the city’s use of Facebook and Twitter.

Comm/Comm: Police Incident

Mike Anglin (Ward 5) related how a resident of his ward had called in a report to the police about something and had wound up being cited for a violation, which had caused the person to become very upset. Anglin described how the situation had resolved itself with an apology from the police, and concluded that in this town, you can fight city hall. Anglin portrayed the episode as reflecting positively on the police department.

Comm/Comm: Palestine

Henry Herskovitz addressed the council with two items he said he thinks will help promote peace in Palestine: (1) passing a human rights resolution for the cessation of military aid to Israel; and (2) his group’s forum to be held on March 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mallets Creek branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. He told the council that they might think it was risky to challenge the local Jewish community, but he gave them an example of a food co-op in Olympia, Wash. that had passed a boycott of Israeli goods, and had become stronger as a result of it.

Herskovitz told the council that he’d joined the Olympia food co-op and and showed them a picture of himself standing in front of the co-op. He told councilmembers that standing for social justice can, in fact, have an impact. He quoted Rosie the Riveter from World War II: “We can do it!” He asked council members to “shed past acrimonies” and to attend the Mallets Creek forum on March 29.

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

Next council meeting: Monday, April 4, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers on the second floor of city hall at 100 N. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

Julie Grand, chair of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission, talks with PAC member Sam Offen before the start of Tuesday's meeting. Offen was the only commissioner to vote against support of a state grant application for the Ann Arbor skatepark. (Photos by the writer.)

The resolution for Gallup passed unanimously, but commissioner Sam Offen – without comment – cast a vote against the resolution for the skatepark grant.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, commissioner Gwen Nystuen suggested forming a committee to look more closely at the Fuller Road Station project – she felt that as stewards of the city’s parkland, PAC should take a more active role in examining the proposed parking structure, bus depot and possible train station. The project, a joint effort between the city and the University of Michigan, would be located on land that’s previously been designated as parkland, though it’s been leased to the university as a surface parking lot since the early 1990s. Nystuen did not put forward a formal resolution, and commissioners took no action on the idea.

The meeting included five presentations from various groups, including updates on the city’s two golf courses, the new Give 365 volunteer program, and a restoration project for a stretch of Malletts Creek near Huron Parkway. Commissioners also heard a proposal for a new Wednesday night farmers market, and got a mid-year financial report on the open space and parkland preservation millage.

Grant Applications for Skatepark, Gallup Livery

Two resolutions were added to the agenda at the start of Tuesday’s meeting, both recommending support for city’s grant applications to the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund. The grants – for $300,000 each – would help fund the Ann Arbor skatepark and upgrades to the Gallup canoe livery and park.

Colin Smith, the city’s parks & recreation manager, told commissioners that the city would include the resolutions as part of the application package.

[The issue of the city’s grant applications previously emerged during the March 9 meeting of the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission. At that meeting, Tom Freeman of the county’s parks & recreation department told greenbelt commissioners that the county would be applying for a DNR trust fund grant to help buy a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms. The parcel would become part of the county’s natural areas preservation program.

Greenbelt commissioners discussed voting on a letter of support for the county’s application, but were dissuaded by Ann Arbor city councilmember Carsten Hohnke, who felt it would dilute the city’s own chances for grant funds from the state – for the skatepark and the canoe livery. Ultimately, greenbelt commissioners voted to recommend that the city council consider sending a letter of support for the county’s application.]

At Tuesday’s PAC meeting, Gwen Nystuen said she approved of the resolutions, but wondered whether it hurt their chances to apply for two grants instead of one. Smith said they had reviewed the applications and grant awards from last year – out of 160 applications statewide, 117 had received funding, he said – a high success rate. What matters most is the quality and strength of the application, he said. In addition, the two projects they’re applying for are very different, and serve different user groups.

Smith said they need the funding for the skatepark in order to help reach the matching funds needed to secure a $400,000 matching grant from the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission. And the funds for Gallup are necessary for the work they need to do to improve safety and accessibility at the canoe livery, he said. They’re hoping to have improvements at Gallup completed by 2012, to prepare for increased activity following a significant upgrade at the Argo dam.

Tim Berla asked for a reminder of what work would be done at Gallup. [Park planner Amy Kuras had most recently provided an update at PAC's January 2011 meeting.] Smith reported that the work would include expanding the facility’s meeting room, improving the safety of the path approaching the livery, and giving people barrier-free access to the facility and dock area. They would also add wayfinding signs throughout the park.

Outcome: The resolution of support for Ann Arbor’s application for a state DNR trust fund grant to fund upgrades to the Gallup canoe livery and park was unanimously approved. A second resolution of support for the grant application to fund the Ann Arbor skatepark was also approved, with Sam Offen dissenting.

Fuller Road Station

During Tuesday’s meeting, Gwen Nystuen asked commissioners to consider forming a committee that would look more intently at the Fuller Road Station project. [Fuller Road Station is a joint city of Ann Arbor/University of Michigan effort to build a large parking structure and bus depot on the south side of Fuller Road, just east of East Medical Center Drive. City officials hope the initial $46 million phase will be followed by a later phase that would include a train station for commuter rail. The city-owned land, which is zoned public land but has been designated as parkland, is currently leased to the university for use as a surface parking lot.]

Nystuen said she’s been looking at this project for months, and is deeply concerned because it would mean a major change for the city’s parks. It’s an issue she’s raised repeatedly at previous PAC meetings for more than a year.

Nystuen described some of the property’s history, dating back to the time when it was a municipal golf course in the 1930s through 1968. Several transfers of ownership and changes in use have taken place over the years, she noted, and it’s time that PAC have a coordinated discussion about the current situation, given their role as stewards of the parks system.

Park commissioner Gwen Nystuen.

One of the big questions is what kind of protection does parkland have, Nystuen said. The city’s planning commission, in its discussions of Fuller Road Station, has identified several protections, she said, such as inclusion of a parcel in the Park and Recreation Open Space (PROS) plan, purchase of a parcel with parkland acquisition millage funds. One other way that planning commissioners feel parkland is protected is through oversight by PAC, Nystuen noted – so they are responsible.

The land where Fuller Road Station is to be located was assessed in 2004 by the University of Michigan for $4.25 million – Nystuen passed out a letter sent to the city in February 2004 by Gerald Alcock and Marcel Vidovic, who had appraised the property at that time. At that time, the university was looking at the land to potentially build housing there, she said.

Further, she was concerned that a complete environmental assessment hadn’t yet been conducted. As far as she knew, the firm JJR had done an assessment that was presented as a draft in June 2010. But a final assessment hadn’t been done, nor had a public hearing been held on the issue.

Nystuen also had concerns about how the county’s border-to-border trail would fit into the structure’s design. And there’s a roundabout being considered for the intersection of Fuller Road, Maiden Lane and East Medical Center Drive, she noted, where the border-to-border trail crosses. At its Feb. 7, 2011 meeting, the city council authorized a $460,139 contract with DLZ Michigan Inc. to review previous studies of that intersection and propose a design for its reconfiguration.

A lot of questions remain about the project and its process, Nystuen said. PAC needs a committee so that they’ll be fully informed and can make a recommendation to city council.

Tim Berla asked parks manager Colin Smith what the timeline is for the project. Smith reminded commissioners that he’d given them an update at their February meeting, and nothing has changed since then. The city attorney’s office is still working on the Fuller Road Station operating agreement between the city and the University of Michigan.

Berla noted that some things related to the project weren’t under PAC’s purview. But the border-to-border trail is completely within their realm, he noted, adding that he’d like to see PAC consider a resolution at their next meeting to address that issue. They should go on record identifying that as a problem to be solved, he said. Overall, though, Berla said he supports the idea of a bus or train station.

Smith reminded commissioners that they had already passed a resolution related to Fuller Road Station last summer. His recollection was that PAC gave the project its overall support, but identified some areas of concern, including how the project would be financed and how the border-to-border trail would be incorporated. He suggested reviewing that resolution before taking additional action. [For details on that resolution, see Chronicle coverage of PAC's June 15, 2010 meeting: "Park Commission Asks for Transparency"]

Nystuen said she wasn’t opposed to alternative transportation. But the area where Fuller Road Station is proposed is in a location that the city has identified as a high priority for parkland acquisition – land along the Huron River. It’s a surface parking lot now, but it could be restored and become a beautiful park – it doesn’t have to be covered with cars, she said.

Sam Offen asked Smith to check with Fuller Road Station’s project manager, and perhaps ask him to return to PAC and provide an update. Smith reminded commissioners that they’d be dealing with the annual budget at their April meeting.

Julie Grand noted that the point of the resolution they passed last year was that they wanted to be kept in the loop about the project. This is a good reminder to city staff that PAC be kept informed.

Berla asked Smith whether they could see a copy of the operating agreement when it was drafted. Smith said he would get a copy for them to review.

Nystuen again expressed her interest in having two or three PAC members sit down with the city councilmembers who serve as ex-officio members of the commission – Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5). [Anglin did not attend Tuesday's meeting.] Taylor said that for his part, he believed things would come to the city council “in their ordinary course.” While getting information is good, he said, information can be “ripe and unripe.” Regarding the border-to-border trail, he agreed that they should ask what the plans are for that effort. He agreed with Berla that there are certain things within PAC’s ambit, like the border-to-border trail. As for the roundabout, analyses are being done that are “ongoing and professional,” he said.

Berla noted that in general roundabouts are fantastic, but it’s hard to envision how someone using the border-to-border trail and trying to cross there could do so easily, given the heavy traffic in that area.

Nystuen did not put forward a formal resolution for her proposal to form a committee, and the discussion came to a close without action.

Golf Courses Update

Earlier in the meeting, commissioners got an update about the city’s two golf courses – at Huron Hills and Leslie Park – from Doug Kelly, the city’s director of golf, and Andrew Walton, golf course supervisor at Huron Hills. Kelly and Walton had previously given a detailed presentation at PAC’s Nov. 17, 2009 meeting.

Kelly began by giving brief descriptions of both courses. Huron Hills is a beautiful tract of land, he said, with vistas overlooking the Huron River valley. As a golf course with a shorter layout, it’s a tremendous asset to the entire area’s golfing community, he said, a much-needed course for introducing people of all ages and economic backgrounds to the game of golf. It’s especially important to provide opportunities for kids, to grow the game. In the winter, Huron Hills also provides one of the area’s best sledding hills, he noted.

Doug Kelly, right, the city of Ann Arbor's director of golf, and Andrew Walton, golf course supervisor at Huron Hills.

Leslie Park golf course is their pride and joy, Kelly said. It also sits on some of the prettiest land in the city, land that was previously the site of Dr. Eugene Leslie’s farm and orchard. Kelly noted that the golf course’s logo features the red barn that’s still on the property. “We’re very proud of that barn and we love it,” he said.

Leslie Park attracts golfers from around the region. Its layout is challenging, yet playable. Golf Digest magazine has rated it as the best municipal course in the state, he said.

Since the city’s re-commitment to its golf courses in 2008, Kelly said they’ve focused on the “5 Cs”: customer service, culture, course conditions, cleanliness, and community. These are the reasons why people keep returning to the courses, he said – they’re creating a place where people are comfortable and feel like they belong.

Kelly said they are caretakers of the land. He described how last year, Leslie Park was certified by the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program, and Huron Hills is now going through that process. Certification requires that the course exceed requirements of environmental laws, protect water resources and enhance the maintenance of turf grass and open spaces. It’s harder to get than certification from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, Kelly said, which focuses on enhancing the habitat for wildlife. He expects Leslie Park golf course to achieve the Audobon certification later this year.

Kelly showed commissioners some slides of wildlife on the courses, including one of a wild/domestic hybrid turkey watching golfers on Leslie Park’s No. 1 green last summer. He noted that eight bluebird houses had been added throughout the course last year, and so far seven of those are inhabited. Staff is also working with school groups to build bat houses that can be placed on the courses.

Also related to the environment, golf staff work with the city’s natural area preservation (NAP) program to do controlled burns in some parts of the courses – three of the four full-time golf employees are volunteer certified burn technicians, Kelly said. Scott Spooner, Leslie Park’s superintendent, is doing outreach with local schools as well, bringing student groups to the course for projects like water quality testing at Traver Creek, which runs through the property.

Walton, who supervises Huron Hills, focused his comments on that course, saying one of the main objectives there is to grow interest in the game of golf. It’s very affordable to play there, he said, and is a crucial course for introducing new golfers to the game. He described several programs aimed at that goal, including junior golf camps, a new parent/child instructional program and a new junior golf league. Adult programs also focus on beginners, he said.

Another goal is to use promotions and events to attract families, young people, seniors, and beginning golfers to the course, Walton said. One of the larger efforts in that regard is allowing juniors to play free on Sunday afternoons, when accompanied by a paying adult. Last season the city also started a program called “Wee Tees” – a set of shorter tees that are meant to make the game more playable and fun. The annual Herb Fowler memorial tournament has become a marquee event, Walton said, and monthly “nite lite” golf – when they illuminate the course after dusk – is becoming popular.

Walton also noted that adding power golf carts has made the course more accessible to seniors and the disabled – and even, frankly, to able-bodied people who just don’t want to walk, he said. Last year was the first full season that the carts were available, and they brought in about $46,000 in revenue.

Both courses also provide a source of revenue for the city’s parks & recreation scholarship fund, Walton said, contributing about $4,000 last year from player donations and tournament proceeds.

Walton compared Huron Hills to the other golf courses in the Ann Arbor region. Of the 12 local courses, seven are either private or provide limited access to the general public, he said, like the University of Michigan course. Three of the remaining five – including Leslie Park – are more difficult to play. That leaves Georgetown Country Club, which only has nine holes, and Huron Hills, which is an 18-hole course. “We are quite a unique facility in the Ann Arbor golf community,” he said.

Kelly returned to the podium for a brief financial overview. Golf rounds at Huron Hills are up 56% since 2007, from 13,913 in 2007 to 22,501 in 2010. At Leslie Park, rounds have increased during that period by 48% – from 21,857 to 31,998. This occurred at a time when average golf rounds were decreasing at the state and national levels, he said. Their goal is to grow rounds of golf played at Huron Hills to 25,000 and at Leslie Park to 35,000.

Revenues during the period from 2007 to 2010 have also increased at both courses. At Huron Hills, revenues grew from $242,677 to $310,602. Leslie Park revenues increased from $615,448 to $851,570. By FY 2013, revenues are projected to increase to $396,050 at Huron Hills and $929,044 at Leslie Park.

[Related to revenues, the city council recently voted to increase fees at both courses – the increases had been initially recommended by PAC at their February 2011 meeting.]

Revenues are trending in the right direction, Kelly concluded, and recognition for the courses is strong.

After the presentation, PAC chair Julie Grand thanked Kelly and Walton for their work. Commissioners had no other comments or questions.

[Neither Kelly nor Walton mentioned the request for proposals (RFP) that the city issued last year to solicit ideas for improving operations at Huron Hills. Two groups submitted proposals, but only Miles of Golf – a Pittsfield Township business – was chosen by a selection committee to move forward in the selection process. The business owners made a presentation at a Dec. 3 public meeting, but were informed later in the month that the city would not be pursuing their proposal.]

Malletts Creek Restoration

Janis Bobrin, the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner, attended Tuesday’s PAC meeting – along with Harry Sheehan, the county’s environmental manager, and Ron Cavallaro of the engineering firm Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment – to give an update on the county’s Malletts Creek restoration project.

Bobrin began by noting that the county and city have a strong history of partnering, including work on Olson Park, Mary Beth Doyle Park and West Park – a project that’s still underway. [PAC had received an update from city staff on problems with West Park renovations at its Feb. 15, 2011 meeting.]

Bobrin said they were attending the meeting to talk about the Malletts Creek restoration work, which affects the city’s Huron Parkway Nature Area.

From left: Washtenaw County environmental manager Harry Sheehan; Washtenaw County water resources commissioner Janis Bobrin; and Ron Cavallaro of the engineering firm Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment. The three were on hand to give the Ann Arbor park advisory commission an update on a Malletts Creek restoration project.

Sheehan, who’s leading this project, stepped forward to give the remainder of the presentation. He said the county has been working for a decade with the city on improvements to Malletts Creek. The current work will take place along a 1.6-mile stretch of the creek’s stream bank, he said, near the area of Washtenaw Avenue and Huron Parkway. The project focuses on the stream bank’s erosion – he noted the stream is a natural channel and can’t handle the roughly 11 square miles of urban runoff that now flows into it.

Erosion washes downstream and impairs water quality and habitat, he said. Phosphorus from the runoff flows downstream to South Pond and ultimately the Huron River, affecting the city’s drinking water supply. The state’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has created a mandate to deal with phosphorus and sediment issues related to Malletts Creek creekshed, he said, and that’s what the project is addressing.

Sheehan described several techniques that will be employed to deal with these problems. Instead of vertical stream banks, they’ll rebuild banks that are staggered back from the creek in tiers to accommodate higher flows. They’ll first stabilize the bank’s base with rock, then revegetate the bank with native plants. Another technique is to create rock structures within the stream – called veins – that direct water flow away from the banks and turn the force of the flow toward the center of the stream.

The third technique is to build different levels of channels within the creekbed – a deeper channel in the bottom center of the creek, with shallower channels carved out at the sides to handle higher flows. Finally, the project will include work to repair and upgrade infrastructure, such as cracked drains.

Sheehan said workers on the project will access the area from spots on Huron Parkway and Chalmers Drive. In response to a question from Sam Offen, who lives in that area, Cavallaro said they didn’t anticipate any traffic issues related to the work.

Sheehan said they’d work with the city’s natural area preservation (NAP) crew to coordinate with the controlled burns that NAP conducts in the area. If there are any areas that are disturbed by the work, the county will revegetate the area with native plants.

The project’s budget is set at a maximum of $4.1 million for the 1.6 miles of creek, Sheehan said. Half of that will come through a federal grant and won’t need to be repaid – it’s in the form of loan forgiveness through the Clean Water Act. The other half will be financed through a state revolving loan program – a 20-year, low-interest loan at 2.5% interest that will be paid by assessing the Malletts Creek drainage district. The city of Ann Arbor accounts for 95% of that district, Sheehan said, and funding for the assessment will come from the city’s stormwater utility fund. [It's classified as an "at large" district, so rather than assessing individuals and businesses in the district, it's paid for by the city collectively.] There’s no impact to the parks budget.

Bobrin later clarified that the other 5% is paid for by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT), because the work benefits state roads. She noted that the project required a formal petition from the city, which city council passed in December 2010. Sheehen added that this project does not involve a rate hike to residents’ stormwater utility fees – it’s a project that was already budgeted, and included in the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP).

Sheehan said they’re more than halfway through the project’s design, and expect to finish that part by June. They’ll have a contract for the work to be approved by city council in August, with construction starting in September 2011 at the earliest, and running through next spring or early summer.

He said they’ve been in contact with homeowners’ associations in the area to alert them about the project, and also plan public meetings later in the year.

In response to a question from Gwen Nystuen, Sheehan said that Malletts Creek is a county drain, and the county’s office of water resources has regulatory responsibility to maintain its flow and improve water quality. The county has a 66-foot easement on either side of the channel, which has been in place since the 1920s.

Christopher Taylor asked if Sheehan could articulate the water quality benefit they expect to get from the project. It hasn’t been quantified yet, Sheehan replied. About 4,000 pounds of phosophorus load comes into the Huron River every year from Malletts Creek, he said, and the sediment load can be hundreds of times that amount. Those are the two things they’re trying to reduce, he said, and they’ll be calculating how best to do that as they complete the project’s cost/benefit analysis and set priorities about where to do the work.

In response to a question from Tim Berla, Sheehan said water quality monitoring is one way to measure the effectiveness of the project. He said he could provide a report on their work at Doyle Park, which included such measurements. However, they don’t currently have funding to conduct the same types of analyses on the Malletts Creek project, he said. Another way to evaluate the project is to look at how long the changes last – how stable are the stream banks in 10 or 15 years, for example.

Night Market Proposal

Molly Notarianni, the city’s market manager, gave a report to commissioners about plans for a night market pilot program. She had given a similar presentation last week at the city’s public market advisory commission meeting. [See Chronicle coverage: "Idea for Night Market Floated"]

The proposal calls for a producers-only market from 4:30-8:30 p.m., operating as a separate entity from the existing Saturday and Wednesday daytime markets, which run from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The night market would run for a shorter season, launching this year on July 1 – the start of the city’s fiscal year – and running through September or early October. There would be a separate application process for the night market, and there would not be a seniority system as there is for the other markets, which gives an advantage to long-time vendors.

The idea would be to give shoppers more options for shopping at the farmers market, to attract new shoppers to that area, to provide opportunities for more producers to sell their wares, and to increase activity at an underused space. Notarianni said she plans to assign stalls before market day – unlike the current system for the daytime markets, when stalls are assigned on the day of the market just before the market opens. That will provide some consistency for vendors, she said, and shoppers won’t have to hunt for their favorite vendors.

The Ann Arbor farmers market building. On most days, the market is empty and used primarily for parking.

There’s a lot of action in the local food movement, Notarianni said, and this is an easy way to capitalize on that interest at little cost.

Members of the public market advisory commission had been excited about the proposal, she said. The manager for Kerrytown Market & Shops, a complex of stores adjacent to the public market, had a similar reaction, she said. The shops there often stay open later if there are special events in the area – they might keep longer hours on Wednesdays because of increased traffic from the night market.

Sam Offen asked about the logistics of transitioning between the day and night markets. Notarianni said that although the Wednesday market is open until 3 p.m., in reality about 70% of the vendors leave before then. She didn’t think that many of the daytime vendors would stay for the night market – although they could certainly apply to do so. Since they come to the market at 5 a.m., it would make for a long day, she said.

The public market is part of the parks & rec budget. Colin Smith, the city’s parks & recreation manager, said the additional revenues they expect to generate from stall fees will be reflected in the proposed budget for FY 2011, which PAC will review at their April meeting. Because it will be a change to a well-known, much cared for institution, he said he wanted to bring it to their attention. City staff have received feedback from shoppers that they want to have more options for buying fresh food at the market, and this is an attempt to provide that, he said.

Give 365 Volunteer Program

Gayle LaVictoire, volunteer outreach coordinator for Ann Arbor’s parks system, gave commissioners an update about her efforts since being hired in the newly created job last year.

On March 1, the city launched the Give 365 volunteer program, a new effort to foster a year-round culture of volunteerism for parks, LaVictoire said. They’re publicizing the program in a variety of ways, including posters and brochures at city facilities, through the Ann Arbor parks Facebook page, and by direct outreach to groups like Ann Arbor Rec & Ed and coaches for youth leagues, among others.

Gayle LaVictoire gave a presentation to commissioners about the park system's new volunteer outreach efforts.

A page on the city’s website – a2gov.org/volunteer – provides more information, she said, and allows people to register online. They’re using the Volgistics database system to handle the logistics. It allows volunteers to sign up for exactly the type of activities they’re interested in, to search for volunteer activities on specific dates or at certain facilities, and to sign up for alerts for more general volunteer opportunities. The system also sends out automated reminders to volunteers prior to the times they’ve signed up for. LaVictoire said she’s a volunteer at the Humane Society of Huron Valley, which also uses the Volgistics database. From a user’s perspective, she said she could report that it’s easy to use.

LaVictoire noted that the last time she talked to PAC, she had outlined four programs she was planning to start. Since then, she’s added several others. They include the Friends of the Field ballfield adoption program; taking photos and writing for the farmer’s market or senior center newsletters; and helping with spring and summer “startups” at the city’s pools and canoe liveries. They’re also recruiting young people between the ages of 13-17 to join a Counselor in Training program at the city’s four day camps, she said. Other volunteer opportunities are listed on the Give 365 website.

LaVictoire noted that she was modeling a T-shirt that they gave to volunteers – she reported that her boss, parks manager Colin Smith, wanted one, but she told him that he’d have to sign up to volunteer first.

David Barrett asked whether the ballfield program could be expanded to soccer fields too. LaVictoire said that in the future, she hoped the program would grow. They’re working with the city’s Adopt-a-Park staff to coordinate those efforts.

Tim Berla wondered whether these volunteer programs could be expanded into the Ann Arbor Public Schools – the city uses some of the school district’s facilities for their programs, and vice versa. LaVictoire said they were starting small but hoped to expand – the possibilities are great, when you nurture a culture of volunteerism. Smith noted that he hoped the schools would partner with the city, but he added that because LaVictoire’s position is funded by millage proceeds, there are certain restrictions about how the money – and her time – can be spent.

Julie Grand asked how the Give 365 volunteer program was different from the Adopt-a-Park program. LaVictoire replied that there’s some overlap, but that her volunteer program focused on parks & recreation facilities and areas adjacent to those facilities – activities like trash pickup, weeding, painting and planting flowers. Adopt-a-Park focused primarily on parkland and open space.

In response to a question from Christopher Taylor, LaVictoire described how Give 365, Adopt-a-Park and the volunteer outreach for the city’s natural area preservation (NAP) coordinate their efforts. The Volgistics database manages all three volunteer programs, but there are categories that volunteers use to indicate their preferences. There are also ways that city staff can “tag” volunteer information to indicate that there might be overlap, she said – those tags aren’t visible to the volunteer, but help staff share information. “Your secret’s safe with us,” Taylor said.

He asked how many volunteers had registered so far, two weeks after the launch. One group and about 10 individuals had signed up, she said, and she’s encouraging existing volunteers to register as well.

Barrett asked what assurances volunteers had that their information wouldn’t be used for other city purposes. LaVictoire said there’s nothing to indicate that the information won’t be used for other things, but that the volunteers have control over what they sign up for. She also noted that if people don’t feel comfortable registering online, they can call city staff and give their information over the phone. The number for the volunteer office is 734-794-6230 ext. 42510.

Millage Update

Ginny Trocchio, a staff member of The Conservation Fund who works under contract with the city to manage the Ann Arbor greenbelt and parks acquisition programs, gave a report on expenses and income related to the open space and parkland preservation millage. The presentation looked at the first six months of the current fiscal year, from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2010. [.pdf file of mid-year financial report for open space and parkland preservation millage]

By way of background, Ann Arbor voters in 2003 passed a 30-year 0.5 mill tax for land acquisition – called the open space and parkland preservation millage. On the summer tax bill, the line item appears as CITY PARK ACQ. Though not stipulated in the legal terms of the millage, the city’s policy has been to allocate one-third of the millage for parks land acquisition and two-thirds for the city’s greenbelt program. PAC oversees parkland acquisitions, while the greenbelt advisory commission makes recommendations for the greenbelt program.

To get money upfront for land acquisition, the city took out a $20 million bond in fiscal year 2006. That bond is being being paid back with revenue from the millage. Debt service on that bond so far in FY 2011 year has amounted to $815,288 – the first of two annual payments.

On Tuesday, Trocchio told commissioners that total gross revenues – including millage proceeds, grants and investment income – are just under $3.5 million. Millage proceeds are $2.175 million this year, down from $2.26 million in FY 2010. Investment income is also down – $88,148 compared to $492,576 the previous year. Trocchio said the year-end investment income number will likely be higher. Federal grants total $1.235 million this year – those are reimbursements for greenbelt purchases, she said.

Christopher Taylor, a city councilmember who also serves as an ex-officio member of PAC, asked Trocchio to explain why investment income is down. She said that the city’s treasurer, Matt Horning, would be able to provide a better explanation, but that part of the reason is that the millage’s fund balance has been spent down, so there’s less money to invest. [Horning had provided a detailed explanation of this issue at the greenbelt advisory commission's November 2010 meeting.]

The greenbelt has spent about $5.7 million on purchases – it’s been a busy year, Trocchio said – while nearly $1 million has been spent on parkland acquisitions. The two major parkland acquisitions were property owned by Elizabeth Kauffman and Wes Vivian, adjacent to South Pond, for $591,006; and a parcel next to Bluffs Nature Area purchased from the Elks for $369,160.

Administrative expenses as of Dec. 31 were $66,358, and included the contract with The Conservation Fund, IT costs, advertising and other items. Trocchio noted that administrative costs are capped by ordinance to be no greater than 6% of revenues. Over the life of the millage, administrative costs are tracking well under that number. Starting in FY 2005, those percentages each year have trended as follows: FY05, 7.6%; FY06, 5.1%; FY07, 2.0%; FY08, 3.8%; FY09, 4.3%; FY10, 3.5%; and so far in FY11, 0.9%.

At year’s end, about $11.7 million remained in the fund balance, Trocchio said. The bond monies have been spent down – what remains are the funds that have accrued from the millage proceeds. After calculating the one-third/two-thirds split between parks and the greenbelt, that leaves a fund balance available for parks acquisitions of $4.36 million.

Sam Offen observed that it’s difficult to know whether these numbers are good or bad, in isolation. Was there a projection that had been done at the start of the millage, against which they could be compared in terms of anticipated revenues and expenses? Trocchio said she didn’t have that information, but that Kelli Martin, financial manager for the city’s community services unit, was working on that kind of projection going forward. They would provide that information to PAC in the future.

Communications: Parks Manager, Commissioners

Colin Smith, the city’s parks & rec manager, had several updates during Tuesday’s meeting, as did a couple of commissioners.

Smith reported that the city council had approved the Parks and Recreation Open Space (PROS) plan at their March 7 meeting – that major project is completed. There are also two parks-related public meetings later this month. A meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 23 from 7-8:30 p.m. to discuss the design of a new play area at Winewood Thaler Park. That meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Ice Arena (in the lobby) at 2150 Jackson Road. Residents who can’t attend are invited to take an online survey. On Wednesday, March 30 from 7-8:30 p.m., a meeting will be held at the Northside Community Center, 815 Taylor St., to discuss improvements to Beckley Park. An online survey for that project is also available.

Smith said he’d recently met with the construction team for a project to build a bypass around Argo dam. [City council had approved the $1,168,170 bypass at its Nov. 15, 2010 meeting. It will take the place of the current headrace, which is separated from the Huron River by an earthen embankment. The bypass will eliminate the portage currently required by canoeists. It would also allow the city to comply with a consent order it has with the state of Michigan that requires the city to address the repair of toe drains in the embankment.] The city submitted the paperwork required to secure a state permit on March 7, he said, and site plans are being developed. He hoped to have a schedule to share with the commission about the work within the next couple of weeks, adding that it will be a busy summer.

Finally, Smith gave a brief report in response to a previous request from commissioner Tim Berla to look at how the parks budget compares to the overall general fund. The issue had first been raised by Berla at PAC’s Nov. 16, 2010 meeting, but had emerged again at last month’s meeting, when Smith had reported back to PAC about a city council budget work session. From The Chronicle’s report of PAC’s Feb. 15 meeting:

Smith laid out for the commission the main points of the city council work session presentation:

• Ways that parks and recreation would be meeting its roughly 2.5% reduction target. [Energy savings in FY 2012 and increased revenues due to the construction of the Argo Dam bypass channel, in FY 2013]
• A question about whether to continue a $287,000 supplement to the parks and recreation budget, which began in FY 2008 amid controversy over the interpretation of an October 2006 city council resolution about the administration of the parks capital improvements and maintenance millage.
• Options for the future of Huron Hills golf course.

[For detailed coverage of the work session itself, see Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor 2012 Budget: Parks, Plans, People"]

With respect to the $287,000 parks supplement, Tim Berla recalled how the city’s chief financial officer had addressed PAC in 2007 in preparation for the FY 2008 budget planning and had explained how the parks budget does not increase at as high a rate as, for example the police department, which has a greater percentage of its costs due to personnel. He also recalled how part of the explanation for the apparent disparity in parks funding that year, compared to other parts of the budget, was related to the idea that a department can’t count savings for activities that had been discontinued.

In broad strokes, the controversy that resulted in the $287,000 parks supplement involved the language of the October 2006 resolution, which indicated that parks would be treated the same as other parts of the budget with respect to any increases or decreases.

On Tuesday, Smith reported that the parks budget had increased 9.9% between FY 2008 and FY 2009, from $6.67 million to $7.33 million. During the same period, the city’s general fund budget grew 10.7%, from $76.75 million to $84.97 million. The parks budget then decreased 4.6% in FY 2010 and 3.7% in FY 2011. By comparison, the general fund budget was cut by 4.7% and 3.9% in those years, he said.

Smith said the finance staff is tracking those figures – they even make the calculations from the floor on the night that city council approves the budget, he said, in case councilmembers make changes that might affect the percentages. It’s very much in line with the intent of the 2006 resolution, he said.

In commissioner communications, Sam Offen invited PAC members and the public to attend the annual Mayfly fundraiser at the Leslie Science & Nature Center. It will be held on May 21 from 6-8 p.m.

Julie Grand reported that she’d met with city staff and the consultants hired to develop a strategic plan for the Ann Arbor senior center. It was a productive meeting, she said, and they’re moving toward a vision of offering services for seniors beyond the physical building where the center is housed. They’ll share the plan with PAC at a future meeting, she said.

Public Commentary

Only one person spoke during public commentary. A.J. Dudas introduced himself as a volunteer steward for the Olson Dog Park, working with Tina Roselle, coordinator for the city’s Adopt-a-Park program. He said that in the future, he’d return to PAC to present to them some recommendations that residents would like to see at the dog park. He would be a liaison between residents and the commission, he said.

Present: David Barrett, Doug Chapman, Tim Berla, Julie Grand, Karen Levin, Sam Offen, Gwen Nystuen, John Lawter, councilmember Christopher Taylor (ex-officio). Also Colin Smith, city parks manager.

Absent: Tim Doyle, councilmember Mike Anglin (ex-officio)

Next meeting: PAC’s meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 begins at 4 p.m. in the Washtenaw County administration building boardroom, 220 N. Main St. [confirm date]

The issue of the city’s grant applications previously emerged during the March 9 meeting of the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission. At that meeting, Tom Freeman of the county’s parks & recreation department told greenbelt commissioners that the county would be applying for a DNR trust fund grant to help buy a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms. The parcel would become part of the county’s natural areas preservation program.

Greenbelt commissioners discussed voting on a letter of support for the county’s application, but were dissuaded by Ann Arbor councilmember Carsten Hohnke, who felt it would dilute the city’s own chances for grant funds from the state – for the skate park and the canoe livery. Ultimately, greenbelt commissioners voted to recommend that the city council consider sending a letter of support for the county’s application.

This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the park advisory commission is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Park advisory commissioners Sam Offen, left, and Tim Doyle look at a schematic of the proposed Allen Creek Greenway during a presentation at PAC's Jan. 18 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

A speaker during PAC’s public hearing on the plan had pointed out that the official public commentary period runs through Jan. 24. That prompted discussion among commissioners about whether to hold off until all possible commentary is heard – though some indicated there’d already been ample opportunity for feedback. Another public hearing on the PROS plan will be held at the planning commission’s Feb. 1 meeting, with a vote by that group set for Feb. 15. City council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on the plan in early March.

Tuesday’s PAC meeting included two presentations. Mike Quinn, a board member of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, described the group’s efforts and asked PAC to convey a sense of urgency about the project to city council. And Scott Rosencrans, a former PAC chair, gave an update on the Ann Arbor skatepark: “The big news is that this is the year we build the skatepark.”

Updates from city parks staff included a quarterly financial report, during which parks manager Colin Smith reported that parks & recreaction is looking at 2.5% cuts during the next budget cycle. Commissioners also got briefed on the outcome of the Miles of Golf proposal to take over operations of the Huron Hills golf course – a proposal rejected by the city late last year – and an update on planned improvements at the Gallup Park canoe livery. Staff will hold a public meeting with concept plans on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at the livery, starting at 7 p.m. If the plan is approved, the city is poised to apply for state grant funding for the project, estimated to cost about $450,000.

Action on PROS Plan Postponed

The Parks and Recreation Open Space (PROS) plan, which provides an inventory, needs assessment and action plan for the city’s parks system, is updated every five years. The updated document is required by the state in order for the city to be eligible to apply for certain grants. The process – led by parks planner Amy Kuras – began in late 2009 and is nearing completion, with final input being solicited on a draft. A resolution was on the agenda at PAC’s Jan. 18 meeting to recommend approval of the plan, and a public hearing was held to get additional feedback.

[For additional details on the plan itself, see Chronicle coverage: "Planning Commission Weighs In on Parks" Files in .pdf format of the draft PROS plan sections: Intro and Section I: Community Description, Section II: Administrative Structure, Section III: Budget & Funding, Section IV: Inventory, Section V: Land Use Planning & Acquisition, Section VI: Planning Process, Section VII: Goals & Objectives, Section VIII: Needs Assessment, Section IX: Action Plan]

PROS Plan: Public Hearing

Two people spoke during a public hearing on the PROS plan. Alice Ralph said she was speaking on behalf of Rita Mitchell, who wasn’t able to stay long enough to participate. Mitchell had prepared written remarks, which Ralph read, stating that it would be premature for PAC to vote on the PROS plan at this meeting. The city has indicated that public commentary will remain open through Jan. 24, and that public hearings at PAC, the planning commission and city council would be held in February and March.

[She was referring to the following paragraph, posted on the city's PROS plan website:]

Comments may be submitted until Jan. 24, 2011 to be considered for inclusion in the plan. In February and March, public hearings will be held at the Park Advisory Commission, Planning Commission and City Council. Dates will be posted as they are confirmed. To submit comments e-mail a2parks@a2gov.org.

Reading Mitchell’s remarks, Ralph stated that PAC hasn’t yet heard from the public, and that insufficient notice has been provided to the public about the opportunity for input. Will another public hearing be held at PAC? How will additional public input be incorporated into the plan, if PAC votes on it now? In addition, there were several specific comments directed at the plan itself. She opposed the concept of public/private partnerships, stating that it could lead to the piece-by-piece dismantling of the parks system. She cited Fuller Road Station and the Huron Hills golf course RFP process as examples. The current draft uses 2000 census data – 2010 data should be used instead. She also said there is a lack of clarity on the budget that’s included in the draft. She described here remarks as the start of her comments, and that she’ll be sending more. [.pdf file of full remarks]

George Gaston spoke briefly, saying he wanted to echo the comments that Ralph had made. He urged commissioners to postpone their voting on the PROS plan until all public input was received.

PROS Plan: Commissioner Comments, Questions

Tim Berla asked Amy Kuras to review the public process that had been done so far for the PROS plan. She said it started about a year ago, when a steering committee was formed to provide guidance on updating the plan. An online survey was open for three months, yielding about 820 responses from the public. They held three public forums, which she said weren’t particularly well-attended – about 30 people in total came to those. In addition, CDs of the draft are available at parks facilities, she said.

The public comment period to respond to the draft itself is dictated by the state, Kuras said. There’s a mandatory 42-day period from the time that the draft is released – that period ends on Jan. 24. She noted that in addition to the public hearing at PAC, there will be one at the planning commission on Feb. 1, and another at city council in March. She’s also solicited feedback directly from PAC and planning commissioners at work sessions. [See Chronicle coverage: "Planning Commission Weighs In on Parks"]

Gwen Nystuen said she supported waiting until the public commentary period has ended before voting on the draft. In response to a question from Nystuen about timing, Kuras said they needed to have final approval of the plan by all entities on April 1. If the city doesn’t meet that deadline, it won’t be eligible for certain state grants, she said. It’s not clear whether the city would remain ineligible for an entire year, or for a shorter period.

David Barrett said it was important to point out that more than 820 people had responded to the online survey. He elicited from Kuras that the previous report had used a phone survey, with about 600 responses.

Mike Anglin, a Ward 5 city councilmember who’s an ex-officio member of PAC, clarified that amendments could be made to the plan even after it is approved. He noted that over the past few years, the city has been involved in rezoning efforts, changing the zoning of city-owned property to “public land,” and adding transportation facilities as a possible use for parcels zoned as public land. That “might be a very radical change that’s taken place,” he said.

Perhaps a five-year plan is a model of the past, Anglin said. The council might want to review the document more frequently. He noted that he doesn’t use the parks much himself, but he’s proud that the city has these amenities – PAC serves as a custodian of that legacy. Anglin concluded by saying he was glad to know the plan could be amended.

Colin Smith, the city’s parks manager, said that one option for PAC would be to pass the resolution at that meeting, but make it contingent on possibly incorporating additional public commentary. He also pointed out that even if commentary is received, that doesn’t mean it will automatically be included in the plan. “It will be considered,” he said.

Julie Grand, PAC’s chair, voiced support for that approach. She observed that Kuras had met with PAC members last week at their land acquisition committee meeting, and they’d given feedback to her then. There have been multiple opportunities for input, she said, and this isn’t the last one.

Karen Levin proposed taking a vote at PAC’s next land acquisition committee meeting, on Feb. 1. [LAC is a committee that includes all PAC members. Its meetings are open to the public, but are held at Cobblestone Farm and are not televised.] Berla observed that it would be unusual not to take a vote on such a public topic at their main meeting.

Tim Doyle suggested adding the word “draft” into the resolution, making it clear that they were voting on a document that wasn’t yet completed. With that change, he said he’d support voting on it at the current meeting.

Sam Offen felt uncomfortable taking action before all the public commentary had been collected. It might be the last comment they receive from the public that prompts discussion and revisions, he said. For that reason, he supported postponing a vote.

Saying he didn’t want to prioritize the “food chain,” David Barrett clarified that the normal process would be for PAC to vote first, then the planning commission, and finally city council. If it could be worked out, he’d feel more comfortable waiting until after Jan. 24 to vote. He also praised Kuras for the tenor of the report, saying the document reflected the public commentary that had been made so far, but didn’t judge that commentary.

Because the planning commission has scheduled a public hearing on the plan for its Feb. 1 meeting, that group could vote on it at their Feb. 15 meeting, Smith said. He suggested that PAC also take a vote at their Feb. 15 meeting. [PAC meets prior to the planning commission – their meetings start at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.] That way the vote is televised, and there’s adequate time to incorporate public commentary, he said. Kuras said her plan is to compile a summary of public commentary by the end of next week, which she’d provide to both PAC and the planning commission.

Grand concluded the discussion by observing that consensus seemed to be reached on taking a vote at their next Feb. 15 meeting. She thanked Kuras for her work, saying “it’s a beautiful document.”

Allen Creek Greenway

Mike Quinn, a board member of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy and a senior principal at Quinn Evans Architects, gave a presentation to commissioners and asked for their support of the walking/biking pathway. He described the greenway as ambitious, with the goal of transforming a stretch of land that’s now considered blighted – extending from East Stadium and South State, running north along the railroad right-of-way through town and ending at the Huron River. The transformation would have major economic benefits, he said, and the time is right to act – the economic downturn provides an opportunity, he said.

The conservancy – a 501(c)3 nonprofit – is trying to facilitate discussions between major property owners needed to make the greenway a reality: the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Railroad and the city of Ann Arbor. Quinn reported that board members Joe O’Neal and Jonathan Bulkley were meeting with mayor John Hieftje that day. Members of the group also met recently with the owner of the Ann Arbor Railroad, and got a positive response, he said. And officials at the university have said they won’t impede the idea, Quinn reported – a response that greenway supporters consider positive.

Quinn noted that the PROS plan mentions the greenway briefly, but the conservancy hoped that PAC could give the project more energy.

Mike Quinn gave a presentation on the Allen Creek Greenway project at the Jan. 18 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission.

It’s critical to get a design in place so that people will have a proposal they can react to, Quinn said. There are three city properties that the conservancy hopes the city will commit to the project: 1) A surface parking lot at First & William, 2) the 415 W. Washington property, a former city maintenance facility, and 3) 721 N. Main, another city maintenance yard. He noted that all of the city land at First & William is located in the floodway, making it difficult to build there, but ideal for the greenway – the other two properties are partially located in the floodway.

In discussions last year, Quinn said city councilmembers had raised safety concerns, given that the proposed route would include crossing many streets. Conservancy members agree that it’s a problem, but it can be addressed, he said.

In response to a question from commissioner Tim Doyle, Quinn said the conservancy assumes the greenway would eventually become the responsibility of the city’s parks and recreation unit. He noted that it would connect with Washtenaw County’s border-to-border trail, and would promote efforts to create a more walkable, bikeable community.

After some wrangling with set-up, the presentation concluded with a five-minute video featuring community members – including Eppie Potts, Margaret Wong and Grace Shackman, among others – talking about why they support the project.

Quinn again asked PAC to convey to city council a sense of urgency about the greenway.

Ann Arbor Skatepark

Scott Rosencrans was in familiar territory at Tuesday’s PAC meeting. A former chair of the commission, he was on hand to make a presentation on behalf of the Ann Arbor skatepark project. He’s now a board member of the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, and told commissioners that he’s also the group’s project liaison. He thanked the public for voting in the December Pepsi Refresh competition, an online effort to win $250,000. Though they didn’t get the prize, they came in 20th out of 200 projects in their category, which was based on online votes throughout the month. He thanked the city for helping promote the competition, saying that even though they didn’t win, they raised awareness about the project.

Rosencrans reported that the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark recently added two new board members – himself, and Sam Saalberg, a teen who’s representing users of the skatepark. He also noted that Trevor Staples, a long-time leader of the skatepark effort, decided not to run for president, though he’ll remain on the board. Instead, Joe Galante was elected to that position.

Skatepark organizers are running a major donor campaign, cultivating five- and six-figure contributions, Rosencrans said. At the same time, there’s an active grant-writing program too. They’ve received a great deal of financial and logistical support from local businesses and individuals, he said, and are raising funds through selling merchandise, including items sold at Acme Mercantile on West Liberty.

But the big news, Rosencrans said, “is that this is the year we build the skatepark.” There are deadlines they need to meet – Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation has committed $400,000 to the roughly $1 million project, but that offer expires on Jan. 1, 2012 if skatepark organizers can’t raise matching funds. An agreement with the city of Ann Arbor has set aside land at Veterans Memorial Park until 2014 to use for the project, but city officials can reconsider that date if sufficient funding hasn’t been raised by 2012, Rosencrans said. He’s optimistic they can do it, but said there’s a tremendous amount of work to do.

Next steps will include writing and issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for a firm to provide construction drawings and technical oversight to the project. They’ll need to form an RFP review committee, get their funding in place, go through the construction bid process, “and then we’ll build the darn thing,” he said. The skatepark will be a world-class facility, Rosencrans told commissioners, serving an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 skateboarders. “I think this will be a project all of us can be proud of.”

Several commissioners had comments or questions. David Barrett asked about parking – when baseball or softball games are played at Veterans Memorial Park, the parking gets tight. Are there plans to expand it? Rosencrans said it wasn’t part of their design and he didn’t know of any plans by the city to expand parking. He noted that there was also a large parking lot at the shopping center across the street. Colin Smith, parks manager, confirmed that the city didn’t intend to expand parking. He noted that even at peak usage, the lots were rarely if ever completely full. He also pointed out that the park is on a bus line, and it’s anticipated that many users of the skatepark will take the bus or come from surrounding neighborhoods.

Sam Offen asked whether they expected to raise the entire amount this year – if not, would they start construction, even if they still needed additional funding to complete the project? Rosencrans said the preferred scenario is to raise all the money and build it this year. It’s possible to build it in phases, but that’s not optimal and would likely increase costs overall, he said.

Tim Berla asked what the commission could do to help the project. He said it was interesting that the PROS plan listed several parks capital projects with funding identified, but that the line item for the skatepark was unfunded.

Rosencrans replied that personal contributions are welcome – he offered to facilitate donations. Spreading the word about the project is also important, he said. Smith pointed out that the memorandum of intent between the city and the skatepark organizers – which PAC approved – was the same language used in the PROS plan. Berla asked whether PAC could ask council to try to find skatepark funding, if the organizers came close to meeting their financial goal, but fell short. Smith indicated that if it gets to that point, there’s nothing prohibiting the city from revisiting the question of funding.

Julie Grand asked how much they’d raised so far. Rosencrans said they it takes time to cultivate donors, and that there were several five- and six-figure donations that hadn’t yet been finalized. They’ve raised about $80,000 so far, he said. An invitation-only fundraiser is being planned for potential supporters, he said – mayor John Hieftje and Zingerman’s co-founder Paul Saginaw have agreed to speak at the event.

Gallup Park Livery Improvements

Amy Kuras, the city’s parks planner, gave commissioners a briefing on planned improvements for the Gallup Park canoe livery. Renovations are needed because the use of the facility has outgrown its original design, she said, and it’s outdated in terms of energy efficiency and other features. They hope to expand the facility’s meeting room, improve the safety of the path approaching the livery, and give people barrier-free access to the facility and dock area.

City staff will hold a public meeting with concept plans on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at the livery, starting at 7 p.m. If the plan is approved, they hope to apply for state grant funding.

Colin Smith, the city’s parks & recreation manager, elaborated on the issue of grant applications. As their staff has decreased over the years, he said, they’ve had less capacity to seek grants. The application process isn’t very time-consuming, but administering the grants takes staff resources that they don’t have. However, the state last year awarded about $100 million for 80 parks-related projects statewide, out of about 120 applications, Smith said. Given those good odds, it makes sense for Ann Arbor to apply, he said. City staff believes the Gallup livery project would have a good chance, given the livery’s high usage and clear need for improvements.

The city has some consultants on retainer, Smith said, who might be used to administer the grant. But even if a consultant’s fees are paid out of the grant, it would still be worth it, he said. The project is estimated to cost between $450,000 to $500,000. Kuras estimated that the cost of a consultant to administer the grant would be around $5,000.

Offen asked whether the city plans to tear down the existing building, or renovate it. Kuras described the current structure as beautiful – it wouldn’t be torn down, but it would be reconfigured. For example, they might add doors to open onto a patio area, to create an indoor/outdoor space for events.

In response to another query from Offen, Kuras said she had talked to the city’s energy office, and that there might be opportunities for other grants for features like solar panels.

Smith concluded the presentation by urging the public to attend the Jan. 25 forum and give feedback on the project.

Quarterly Financial Report

Sam Offen, chair of PAC’s budget and finance committee, gave a brief report on the second quarter financial update for parks and recreation. [.pdf files of second-quarter update and FY2011 forecast]

There are no surprises, Offen said. For the overall parks & recreation operations, expenses are $47,500 lower than budgeted, and revenues are $35,000 higher than budgeted, for a net gain of $82,500 over the first six months of the fiscal year. Revenues were $50,000 higher than budgeted at the two golf courses – Huron Hills and Leslie Park – and expenses were $15,000 lower than budgeted. Revenues were higher than budgeted at several other facilities, but down at Mack Pool, Fuller Pool and the Argo canoe livery.

Offen commented that the parks staff is doing an excellent job at maximizing revenues while keeping expenses down.

Parks manager Colin Smith reported that as of the first six months of the year, parks & recreation operations were $17,500 “to the good” of their anticipated $1.2 million general fund subsidy for the fiscal year. It was a small percentage under budget, he noted, but they were pleased that they are so close to their target.

Smith also described the process for the upcoming two-year budget cycle of fiscal 2012 and 2013. The city council has already started budget discussions, he said, including budget retreats they held in December and January. Parks managers will be going over the budget in detail with PAC’s budget and finance committee, then bringing a recommendation to the full commission in April. That recommendation would be reviewed and voted on by PAC, then forwarded to city council.

This year, in addition to that process, each service area of the city will be preparing “impact sheets” with ideas about how to cut expenses and raise revenues. They’ll be giving presentations at city council work sessions on those impact sheets, he said. Parks is part of the community services unit, which will be making its presentation to council on Jan. 31. He expects to get feedback and guidance from council at that point, which will be incorporated into the budget.

Smith reported that parks & rec has been asked to cut its budget by 2.5% – or about $93,000. He described this as a manageable number, which can be made up through a combination of increased revenues and decreased expenses. In particular, Smith said they anticipate revenue opportunities at the Argo livery in the wake of improvements being done there this year. [The city council recently approved a $1.17 million project to build a bypass channel in the Argo Dam headrace and add whitewater features. See Chronicle coverage: "PAC Recommends Argo Dam Bypass"]

Related to the Argo Dam project, Smith reported that earlier this month, the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission had agreed to fund the full cost of border-to-border trail improvements being done in conjunction with the bypass channel, for $112,500. The city had hoped for half that amount, Smith said, and appreciated the county’s enthusiasm for this project.

Huron Hills Golf Course Proposal

Tim Berla asked parks manager Colin Smith to brief PAC on the outcome of the Huron Hills Golf Course proposal from Miles of Golf, which had been rejected late last year.

Last year, the city had issued a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit ideas for improving operations at the city-owned course. Two groups submitted proposals, but only Miles of Golf – a Pittsfield Township business – was chosen by a selection committee to move forward in the selection process. The business owners made a presentation at a Dec. 3 public meeting, but were informed later in the month that the city would not be pursuing their proposal.

At Tuesday’s PAC meeting, Smith said that the selection committee’s charge was to make a recommendation to Sumedh Bahl, the city’s community services area administrator, who would then decide whether to forward that recommendation further. The committee felt that the proposal didn’t make sense for the city, Smith said. It asked for a $3 million capital contribution from the city, and the project’s risk outweighed its potential reward. The proposal also didn’t factor in operating costs that the city would still need to cover even if Miles of Golf took over operations of the course, he said.

In addition, there was a heavy emphasis on the firm’s retail business, which made members of the selection committee uncomfortable, Smith said. And though the revenue projections in the financial forecast were very aggressive, they still didn’t hit the amount needed for proposed financial incentives to the city to kick in. For all of these reasons, Smith said, the committee didn’t believe the proposal was one that the city should pursue.

Julie Grand, PAC’s chair who also served on the selection committee, added that the RFP had indicated the goal of proposals should be to improve the game of golf in this community. The Miles of Golf proposal, with its retail focus, wouldn’t do that, she said.

Smith noted that the process had been a contentious one for the community, and he gave Miles of Golf credit for trying to put together a proposal that would address the city’s needs as well as their own. “That should be commended, regardless of the outcome,” he said.

Public Commentary

John Satarino, a former PAC member, spoke against the proposed Fuller Road Station, a joint city of Ann Arbor/University of Michigan parking structure, bus depot and possible train station. He said a deed restriction placed on the property when it was bought by the city from a Detroit Edison subsidiary in 1931 requires that it remain for park purposes only. The city has spent more than $1 million on the project already, he said, partly with PAC’s blessing and partly because of the commission’s passivity.

He criticized the public forums held by the city about the project, describing them as heavily managed and reminiscent of the Third Reich. The station’s annual operations subsidy will cost millions, he said, but word about that hasn’t seemed to reach the Ann Arbor taxpayer yet. He concluded by saying that the city might have to sell off parkland to pay for it – and city officials are tooting their own horns “while Tree Town dies.”

Present: David Barrett, Doug Chapman, Tim Berla, Tim Doyle, Julie Grand, Karen Levin, Sam Offen, Gwen Nystuen, councilmember Mike Anglin (ex-officio). Also Colin Smith, city parks manager.

Absent: John Lawter, councilmember Christopher Taylor (ex-officio)

Next meeting: PAC’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011 begins at 4 p.m. in the Washtenaw County administration building boardroom, 220 N. Main St. [confirm date]

Washington & Fifth Avenue, looking northwest. The concrete mixer is parked directly in front of the DDA offices. The entry for the board's Sept. 1 meeting was through the alley and the garage, which makes up part of the ground floor of the Fifth Avenue Building. (Photos by the writer.)

The first issue, handled with relatively little comment, was the report out from the DDA’s “mutually beneficial” committee, given by Roger Hewitt. The committee has been meeting over the course of the summer with a corresponding committee from the Ann Arbor city council to renegotiate the parking agreement under which the DDA manages the city’s parking system.

While board members Newcombe Clark and Russ Collins commented in a general way on the status of the conversations, it did not lead to any specific directive to the DDA’s committee for its next meeting, which will take place on Sept. 13 at 8:30 a.m.

However, at the suggestion of DDA executive director Susan Pollay, the board will schedule a retreat between now and its monthly board meeting in October – but likely after Sept. 13 – to focus on the “mutually beneficial” issue. In the meantime, the DDA’s committee will request of its city council counterparts that they provide their own assessment of the status of the negotiations. The Sept. 13 meeting of the two committees will also be the occasion when Pollay provides a detailed version of the outline, which she’d provided at the last committee meeting on Aug. 23, for a possible role for the DDA in the development of city-owned surface lots.

The second issue dispatched by the board with little overt controversy was a resolution that Newcombe Clark had brought through the operations committee last Wednesday to allocate $50,000 for support of skatepark facilities. Clark himself suggested that the resolution be tabled, alluding to the “prism through which everything is looked at this time of year.” DDA board members went along with that suggestion.

The prism to which Clark alluded is a political one. Clark is running an independent campaign for the Ward 5 city council seat currently held by Democrat Carsten Hohnke. Hohnke has positioned himself as a champion of the skating community’s efforts to construct a skateboarding facility at Veterans Memorial Park, which is in Ward 5.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the newest member of the board, former Washtenaw County administrator Bob Guenzel, and the member he replaced, Jennifer S. Hall, were acknowledged by chair Joan Lowenstein – but neither was present. The board passed a resolution of appreciation for Hall’s service, and Lowenstein welcomed Guenzel “in absentia.”

Other business at Wednesday’s meeting included the usual updates from the board’s committees. Notable from the transportation committee was an effort to collaborate with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to enhance bus service between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. And from the partnerships committee came a summary of a presentation they’d received from the chief of police – there’s a difference between being statistically safe and the perception of safety.

Downtown Development of City-Owned Property

Roger Hewitt gave the update from the DDA’s “mutually beneficial” committee, which is renegotiating the agreement under which the DDA manages the city’s parking system. He noted that the committee had been meeting every other week – that’s more frequently than the originally planned once-a-month schedule. He said they’d come up with a matrix of parking issues and had identified various complications that would be involved in the DDA’s possible participation in the enforcement of parking regulations. One of those issues is getting access to records of prior infractions, Hewitt said. Hewitt was complimentary of the efforts of DDA executive director Susan Pollay.

Hewitt also noted that Pollay had created an outline for the DDA’s possible involvement in the development process for city-owned surface lots, which was circulated at the previous week’s committee meeting and was included in the board’s meeting packet for that day. The role of the DDA in downtown development is a key element of the term sheet guiding the committee discussions.

The issue had been discussed by the board’s executive committee, Hewitt said. By way of background, the executive committee of the DDA board is defined in the body’s bylaws as follows:

Article V – Executive Committee: The officers of the Board, including Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Recording Secretary shall constitute the executive committee. The last former Chair shall be a non-voting member and the Executive Director shall be a non-voting ex officio member of this committee.

Based on the results of the July annual meeting elections, the current executive committee consists of chair Joan Lowenstein, vice chair Gary Boren, treasurer Roger Hewitt, secretary Russ Collins and former chair John Splitt, along with non-voting member Susan Pollay.

Hewitt reported a desire to have a board retreat to guide how the “mutually beneficial” committee should proceed. Lowenstein called the idea of a retreat a good one, because there might be some ideas that have shifted since those discussions started.

Newcombe Clark asked if it might be reasonable to have the members of the city council’s “mutually beneficial” committee give a status report on the discussions from their point of view. Clark noted that if the reporting on the meetings has been accurate, then there has not been a lot of feedback from councilmembers.

Russ Collins, who serves on the DDA’s “mutually beneficial” committee, said that asking for that kind of feedback was reasonable. He noted that the committee had learned a lot about the bureaucratic and legal issues involved that would make the DDA’s enforcement of parking regulations difficult.

Responding to Clark, Collins allowed that yes, the DDA did need to focus on what the DDA wanted, but that if it’s impossible to get it, then that needed to be recognized. Collins emphasized that the committee had learned a great deal, characterizing the discussions as “productive, but frustrating.”

Clark expressed some frustration by saying, “What we want is irrelevant, because they have what they want.” He was alluding to the fact that the DDA in May had already agreed to pay the city an extra $2 million in FY 2010-11, which was not required by the original parking agreement.

Hewitt indicated that the next meeting of the city and DDA committees would take place on Sept. 13 at 8:30 a.m. – he would not be able to attend. Other members of the DDA’s committee are Gary Boren, Russ Collins and Sandi Smith.

Expected at that meeting is the more fully articulated, detailed plan for the DDA’s role in the development of downtown city lots.

Library Lot RFP Review Committee

If the DDA takes on a more active role in the development of city-owned land downtown, and if a suggestion from Ward 5 councilmember Carsten Hohnke is acted on, the Library Lot could be a parcel on which the DDA eventually leads the development process. Hohnke’s suggestion, made at a Democratic primary election forum, was that consideration of the Library Lot be restarted as a blank slate, with no preconceptions. An underground parking garage is currently under construction on the parcel, and a city-led committee is handling the review of proposals that were submitted for the lot last year. [Chronicle coverage: "Hotel/Conference Center Proposals Go Forward"]

At Wednesday’s DDA board meeting, John Splitt reported out from the committee that’s reviewing proposals for development of the parcel above the underground parking garage – he represents the DDA on the committee, which includes city staff as well as councilmembers Margie Teall and Stephen Rapundalo. Rapundalo chairs that committee.

Splitt gave essentially the same kind of update on the committee that Rapundalo has given his city council colleagues at recent meetings. The committee has not met in about four months, Splitt said. A consultant [Roxbury Group] has been hired and is doing due diligence on the two proposals that are still under consideration. The consultant’s meetings with the proposers should be concluded in time for the committee to meet sometime towards the end of September, Splitt said.

Skatepark Support

As chair of the operations committee, Roger Hewitt described to the board a resolution that Newcombe Clark had brought to that committee the previous week that allocated $50,000 of funds “to be used as matching funds for new public or private dollars raised in support of skate facilities and resources to be located and invested in the DDA District or within radial proximity of the DDA District.”

Skatepark: Tabling the Resolution

Hewitt said he didn’t feel the operations committee was the proper committee to review the proposal and said there were a number of problems with it. He thus stated that he did not want to move the resolution, but invited Clark to do so if he wanted to do so.

The proposed skatepark location in Veterans Memorial Park (yellow push pin) is 1.3 miles from the DDA boundary (shown in red.) (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Clark moved the resolution, but in the same breath indicated he was open to the idea of tabling it – Gary Boren and others clarified that the first step was to actually move the resolution. After establishing that the resolution had actually been moved and seconded, Clark described how he was approached by the skatepark supporters – as other DDA board members had been – about possible support from the DDA for their efforts.

Those efforts include a location at Veterans Memorial Park, Clark said, and so he and others were “stretching” to find a way to directly support  their efforts. [The "stretching" to which Clark alluded is a function of the city park's location, which is at the corner of Maple and Dexter-Ann Arbor roads, across from the new Aldi's. That's roughly 1.3 miles away from the DDA tax district boundary.]

Clark noted that the skatepark had gained support from Washtenaw County, the city of Ann Arbor, all the merchant associations, the Neutral Zone teen center – “all of our regularly supported friends and neighbors here,” said Clark. They all recognized how giving skaters a proper facility would help make the downtown safe take some of the burden off of downtown infrastructure. So he said he’d come up with the resolution as a way to support the effort with a relatively small amount of money.

But Clark noted that subsequently, he’d understood that there is “a prism that everything is looked through this time of the year,” and that he understood reservations that people might have.

Outcome: The board voted to table the resolution – with two audible votes against tabling from Sandi Smith and John Splitt – and the suggestion to the partnerships committee to take up the issue.

Skatepark: Political Prism

The political prism to which Clark alluded includes the fact that Clark is running an independent campaign for the Ward 5 city council seat currently held by Democrat Carsten Hohnke. Hohnke has positioned himself as a champion of the Ann Arbor Skatepark’s efforts to construct a skateboarding facility at Veterans Memorial Park, partly through his drafting of a letter from city councilmembers encouraging the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission to support the skatepark with a $400,000 matching grant. And Hohnke is endorsed by Trevor Staples, who is chair of the board of directors of Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark. The race for the Ward 5 seat is a three-way contest between Hohnke, Clark and John Floyd, who is the Republican nominee.

In a post on the Friends of the Skatepark website, Staples wrote about Clark’s resolution:

I feel that it’s important we point out that the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark was approached by Newcombe Clark with the resolution for DDA funding that he wanted to bring for a vote before the DDA. The Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark declined to support the resolution because we could not figure out how the dollars could be used for the skatepark, unless the skatepark was moved. This is not an option.

Skatepark: Location, Location, Location

The location issue cited by Staples in his post involves where the DDA can make its investments. When the Ann Arbor DDA was renewed in 2003, the plan included explicit provision for expenditure of funds outside the DDA tax district [emphasis added].

[page 9] In an effort to accomplish its mission, it is understood that the DDA may elect to participate in important projects outside the DDA District.

[page 24] The funds allocated by the DDA are intended to strengthen the downtown area and attract new private investments. This Plan recognizes that solutions to downtown problems (for example, traffic, access, and parking problems) may best be developed by spending funds outside the DDA district. Similarly, this Plan recognizes that a key to the future vitality of the downtown is stable and successful near downtown neighborhoods.

However, the Veterans Memorial Park location is 1.3 miles away from the DDA boundary. While the DDA board has no general policy on the distances beyond the DDA boundary, it does have a specific distance policy related to affordable housing. The DDA’s affordable housing policy is to support housing projects up to 1/4 mile away from the DDA boundary. This policy was affirmed at the board’s March 4, 2009 meeting. Those deliberations will likely be remembered as much for the 1/4 mile distance as for board members’ “channeling” former board member Dave DeVarti, who consistently championed the cause of affordable housing.

While the source of the skatepark support was proposed to be taken from a grant previously allocated to the Washtenaw-Livingston Rail (WALLY) project, those WALLY funds ultimately came from the DDA’s parking revenues. Those dollars enjoy somewhat more geographic flexibility, because they are not collected under the tax increment financing of the DDA district, but rather from parking fees. Although there’s somewhat more geographic flexibility, the DDA’s policy on investing parking revenues has been to look at the parking system as part of a “transportation system” and to fund transportation-related projects. For example, the DDA uses parking revenues to fund go!pass bus passes for downtown workers.

While skateboards do have wheels, it’s not straightforward to analyze a skatepark facility at Veterans Memorial Park as a transportation project.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Ray Fullerton expressed some puzzlement at the skatepark resolution, asking for some clarification as to whether the support would be for the proposed Veterans Memorial Park facility or for some additional second location. Board members don’t typically engage in interactions with the public during their speaking turns, but Clark told Fullerton that “as written” the money could not be spent on the proposed Veterans Memorial Park facility.

After the meeting, Clark told The Chronicle it’s possible that the DDA’s partnerships committee might amend the resolution’s wording – which currently reads “skate facilities and resources” – so that it’s simply skate resources that are located in the district. In that case a resource like, for example, signage pointing people down Dexter-Ann Arbor Road to the skatepark could conceivably be located in the district, but still support the Veterans Memorial Park location.

Policing the Downtown

How the downtown gets policed was a topic that received discussion at a couple of different points during the meeting.

Policing: Funding Source

The source of the funds identified for Clark’s resolution in support of the skatepark is an as-yet unspent grant for the Washtenaw Livingston Rail (WALLY) project, which has an uncertain future. [At a recent Ann Arbor Transportation Authority retreat, the AATA board identified WALLY as a project they'd like to see start hitting some milestones for achievement.]

Clark has previously identified the unspent WALLY allocation as a funding source for a different initiative – restoration of downtown police patrols. At the May 5, 2010 DDA board meeting, the board remanded a resolution to its partnerships committee on the subject. From previous Chronicle reporting:

At the May 5 DDA board meeting, the board remanded a resolution to the partnerships committee on reserving of funds for a possible contract with the city to provide downtown beat cops. The resolution had been brought to the board by Newcombe Clark via its operations committee.

At the May 12 partnerships committee meeting, Clark said he was content not to press the resolution forward unless there was an attempt to grab the funds for some other purpose. The funds in Clark’s resolution on beat cops would be reallocated in monthly $60,000 increments from the WALLY north-south commuter train project, between Washtenaw and Livingston counties. There is a total of $335,000 reserved in the DDA budget for WALLY.

Policing: Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council Report

Ray Detter, who chairs the Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council, reported on that body’s regular meeting, which takes place on the Tuesday evening before the DDA’s first-Wednesday monthly board meeting. The existence of the CAC as a body is stipulated in the state enabling legislation for downtown development authorities.

Detter reported that the previous night’s meeting had included chief of police Barnett Jones, deputy chief John Seto and Ward 1 city councilmember Sabra Briere. He said they’d spent two hours discussing crime, panhandling and the challenges of police in the downtown area, as well as throughout the rest of the city. The discussion had been prompted, Detter said, by the expressed concern of downtown residents about petty street crime and aggressive panhandling being on the rise. Some people are attributing this increase, he said, to the reduction in sidewalk police presence.

One of the CAC members is president of the Sloan Plaza Condominium Association, Detter said, and he’d reported five separate security issues in a one-month period – twice a homeless person had stolen items out of the lobby, a smash-and-grab break-in, as well as homeless people sleeping behind the building.

Detter indicated chief Jones had observed that some of the homeless population are homeless “because they choose to be.” There’s an increase in people sleeping on the street, in parks, under bridges, Detter continued, and Liberty Plaza – an urban park at the corner of Liberty and Division – has become a problem once again.

Detter said that the CAC admired the ability of the police department to cope with the problems of crime in the city. He noted that while crime statistics are going down, arrests are going up. The police force has been reduced from 216 down to 124, he said, and they need help to solve this city-wide problem.

Detter said that Briere had indicated she’d be bringing a resolution to the city council at its Sept. 20 meeting to re-establish a panhandling task force. Detter alluded to the work done from 2001-03 by a previous task force, which had prompted a revision to the city’s panhandling ordinance. The ordinance revision had been due in part to the efforts of Joan Lowenstein, Detter said, who was then a member of the city council.

Detter stated that now we need action again.

The city’s “panhandling ordinance” is not known by that label in the city code. It’s a part of Chapter 108 on disorderly conduct and is covered in the section on solicitation:

9:70. Solicitation.
Except as otherwise provided in Chapters 79 and 81 of this Code, it shall be unlawful for any person to solicit the immediate payment of money or goods from another person, whether or not in exchange for goods, services, or other consideration, under any of the following circumstances:
1. On private property, except as otherwise permitted by Chapters 79 and 81, unless the solicitor has permission from the owner or occupant;
2. In any public transportation vehicle or public transportation facility;
3. In any public parking structure and within 12 feet of any entrance or exit to any public parking structure;
4. From a person who is in any vehicle on the street;
5. By obstructing the free passage of pedestrian or vehicle traffic;
6. Within 12 feet of a bank or automated teller machine;
7. By moving to within 2 feet of the person solicited, unless that person has indicated that he/she wishes to be solicited;
8. By following and continuing to solicit a person who walks away from the solicitor;
9. By knowingly making a false or misleading representation in the course of a solicitation;
10. In a manner that appears likely to cause a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities to feel intimidated, threatened or harassed;
11. Within 12 feet of the entrance to or exit from the Nickels Arcade, located between State Street and Maynard Street; the Galleria, located between S. University and the Forest Street parking structure; and the Pratt Building, located between Main Street and the Ashley parking lot; or
12. From a person who is a patron at any outdoor cafe or restaurant.

Policing the Downtown: Partnerships Committee Report

Russ Collins reported that the partnerships committee had invited chief of police Barnett Jones and deputy chief John Seto to make a presentation to the committee on the status of policing in the city. Collins noted that there’s a difference between the perception and the statistics of safety. With respect to statistics, Collins said, Ann Arbor is very safe. And from the point of view of perception, he continued, Ann Arbor is also perceived as essentially safe. But he allowed that “young people can act enthusiastically.”

He also said that there was a lot of support for the idea of having downtown police patrols, because the perception of safety can be even more important than the statistics of safety. Collins said that the relative leniency of the panhandling laws in the absence of policing meant that people’s perceptions didn’t necessarily match the statistical reality of safety.

Newcombe Clark noted that when the crime statistics are low, it might take only one or two “bad apples” to skew the numbers higher. At that, Collins quipped, “You’re not talking about Ray [Detter] specifically, though, right?” After the laughter quieted down, Clark continued by saying that a large number of incidents could be the work of one or two individuals.

The other point that Clark highlighted from the police department’s visit to the partnership’s committee CAC was that the police force is good statistically at catching all the perpetrators of major crimes quickly and efficiently – but they feel the pressure to be proactive. Summarizing what the two officers had presented at the meeting, Clark said that an armed robbery might or might not happen, depending on whether they knew there’d be police officers nearby.

The “slippage” at Liberty Plaza, Clark said, could be attributed to the fact that the people who are new to town don’t know the panhandling rule, and those who know it, know that there aren’t beat cops walking around regularly enforcing it. He said it did not undercut the argument for downtown patrols to observe that statistically the Ann Arbor police do a really good job, especially considering that they have 100 fewer officers than they had a few years ago. Clark concluded by saying he didn’t want to let the issue go, simply by saying “the stats are good.”

Collins agreed with Clark’s basic sentiment – we’d all like bicycle patrols and beat cops restored because that provides a very effective message to the citizens and to the “nefarious people.” Safety is not only a statistic, he said, but also a feeling.

Some Chronicle readers may have noticed bicycle-mounted Ann Arbor police officers along Fourth or Fifth Avenue near the Blake Transit Center. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority contracts for security at the bus station. It’s not part of a general downtown beat patrol.

DDA Finances: Bond Payments, Timelines, Parking Revenue

As part of the operations committee report, Roger Hewitt presented the final unaudited summaries and fund balance sheets for FY 2010, which ended June 30. A point raised by Newcombe Clark was an asterisk next to a line in the TIF Fund Income Statement for the line item indicating “bond payments” for $1,569,605. The footnote reads: “Includes $508,000 for the Police/Court Facility Grant.”

Clark asked that in the future, that amount be reflected instead in the line item for “Grants & Transfers.” The arrangement is that the DDA has committed to grant the city of Ann Arbor the funds to make part of the city’s bond payments for the new police/court facility [aka municipal center]. At the meeting, deputy DDA director Joe Morehouse indicated the duration of the grant to be 25 years.

Also as part of the operations committee report, Hewitt noted that the board packet included a detailed set of milestones, which Village Green – developer of the City Apartments project at First and Washington – needs to hit as part of the purchase option agreement. That agreement was extended by the city council at its Aug. 5 meeting. Clark picked up on the fact that the turnaround time for DDA activities and involvement were all relatively short – in many cases a day. He suggested that the DDA “politely ask” that it be kept in the loop on those matters.

The parking revenue report that is always a part of the operations committee report showed some decreases in monthly numbers, compared year over year. For example, the Maynard structure showed $10,361 less revenue in June 2010 compared to June 2009, with 4,398 fewer hourly patrons using the structure.

             JUNE 2010          JUNE 2009         2010 VS. 2009
          Hourly             Hourly               Hourly
        Revenues  Patrons  Revenues  Patrons    Revenues  Patrons
Maynard $151,538  43,826   $161,900  48,224    ($10,361)  (4,398)

-

A breakdown of art fair parking showed $218,230 in revenues compared to $244,180 for 2009 for a decrease of $25,950 – the weather had been terrible this year, with downpours and tornadoes in the area. Hewitt said that most of the monthly difference for July 2010 – which was $$33,975 or 2.55% less that July a year ago – could be accounted for by the decreased revenues during art fair. Hewitt suggested that the quarterly and annual reports gave a better feel for how things are going than the month-to-month reports.

Changing of the Guard

At the start of the meeting, the board’s new chair, Joan Lowenstein, who was elected at the annual meeting held just after the regular board meeting in July, welcomed the board’s newest member, Bob Guenzel. Guenzel retired as Washtenaw County administrator earlier this year. Lowenstein indicated that Guenzel’s absence was due to a previously planned vacation, but she still welcomed him “in absentia,” quipping, “He doesn’t know about the whole hazing thing, yet.”

Guenzel is replacing Jennifer S. Hall. The board unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging her service, which is the usual pattern and practice of the board. Hall’s period of service included a turn as board chair from 2008-09. The resolution highlighted her commitment to open government:

Whereas, Jennifer Hall encouraged important changes to the DDA’s processes, meetings, and website to foster a strong sense of public openness, accountability and transparency;

That commitment emerged perhaps most publicly when it became clear this past spring that members of the DDA board and the city council had done significant work on re-negotiating the city-DDA parking agreement – work that took place out of public view and outside of the committee structure that both bodies had established to undertake that work.

At the May 5, 2010 DDA board meeting, when the DDA board voted to grant $2 million to the city as a unilateral amendment to the parking agreement, Hall gave a blistering critique of the way the discussions had been conducted out of public view, against the DDA’s commitment to openness and against the specific mandate she’d given – as chair at the time the DDA’s mutually beneficial committee was formed – that the discussions be open and transparent. [For Chronicle coverage of that meeting, see "DDA OKs $2 Million Over Strong Dissent."]

The resolution thanking Hall also highlighted some of the specific projects she’d worked on during her period of service:

Whereas, Jennifer Hall also encouraged a number of signature DDA projects and programs, including approval of the Fifth & Division pedestrian and bicycle improvements project, installation of in-street seasonal bicycle racks and expansion of DDA funding for the getDowntown program and go!passes;

After Lowenstein read the resolution aloud, the board approved it without comment.

Public Comment: Electric Cable

Paul Ganz – DTE Energy regional manager for the counties of Ingham, Jackson, Livingston and most of Washtenaw – told the board he was appearing before the board on a bit of a “whimsy.” In connection with the underground parking garage project along Fifth Avenue, he said, DTE had been working with Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, and Adrian Iraola of Park Avenue Consulting, who works with the DDA to help manage projects. [Various utilities have required relocation in connection with the project.]

Paul Ganz of DTE Energy presented board members with their own slice of history – a piece of an underground high-voltage cable that had been replaced as part of the construction of the underground parking garage the DDA is currently building on Fifth Avenue. DDA board member Leah Gunn is in the background.

To provide the board with a historical perspective, he distributed roughly hockey-puck-sized cross-sections of electrical cable, which he said was typical underground high-voltage electric cable – it had been installed 34 years ago, in May 1976.

Ganz noted that the copper wires are wrapped in lead to help protect them. Ordinarily, the cable is recycled, because the metal is valuable, he said. But he felt like it was worth sacrificing a foot or two of the cable, sliced up into pieces, so that board members could keep a piece of it on their desks as a memento. He concluded by thanking the DDA for their cooperation.

Board member John Mouat commented that he liked the “peace sign” that was formed by the insulation around the three separate clusters of copper wire that make up the cable.

Leah Gunn thanked Ganz, saying she’d add the cable slice to her concrete chunks from Fourth & Washington, and pieces of re-bar from First & Washington – a kind of “parking structure memorial.” Russ Collins also thanked DTE for the work involved in relocating the utilities, which had to be coordinated and timed in a crucial way.

Cross section of high-voltage undeground cable presented by Paul Ganz of DTE to DDA board members.

Present: Gary Boren, Newcombe Clark, Roger Hewitt, John Splitt, Sandi Smith, Leah Gunn, Russ Collins, Keith Orr, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat.

Absent: John Hieftje, Bob Guenzel.

Next board meeting: Noon on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010, at the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. [confirm date]