Stories indexed with the term ‘special meeting’

The Ann Arbor District Library board has called a special meeting for Tuesday, July 29 at 6:30 p.m. The agenda includes an item on the elevator replacement for the downtown library. The special meeting will be held in the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

The board recently took action at its regular July meeting – on July 21, 2014 – related to the downtown public elevator, which has been out of commission since this spring. The board authorized a $93,598 contract with Schindler Elevator Corp. to repair the elevator. Leaks had developed in the hydraulic piston, causing it to fail a weight test.

The July 21 resolution designated $57,988 for elevator repair, plus $35,610 for “well drilling (after-drill) of … [Full Story]

The special session on Feb. 10 that had been called for the Ann Arbor city council – to convene a closed session and to consider the purchase of the Edwards Brothers property on S. State Street – has been cancelled. According to a message sent out to councilmembers by the city clerk at 11:12 a.m., mayor John Hieftje has withdrawn his request to convene the special session.

The next opportunity to take up the Edwards Brothers item at a regular meeting will be at the council’s Feb. 18, 2014 meeting.  The council had postponed the question at its Feb. 3, 2014 meeting.

The question is whether to move ahead with the purchase of the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property on South State Street. The … [Full Story]

The deadline to apply for an appointment to an Ann Arbor pedestrian safety task force has been extended until Dec. 16, 2013. Appointments are now scheduled to take place at the council’s Jan. 6, 2014 meeting. [.pdf of standard city board and commission task force application]

Action to extend the deadline took place at a special meeting of the city council at 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9. The initial purpose of the special meeting was to hold a closed session on written attorney-client privileged communication and land acquisition. The item extending the task force deadline was added later.

The council voted to establish the pedestrian safety task force on Nov. 18, 2013. The pedestrian safety task force would … [Full Story]

A special meeting of the Ann Arbor city council will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 in the council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron St. The special meeting is being called for the purpose of holding a closed session under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. In the call for a special meeting, two exceptions to the OMA are cited as the purposes for holding the closed session: discussion of attorney-client privileged communication, and discussion of land acquisition issues.

The land acquisition component of the closed session likely relates to the pending sale of the Edwards Brothers property on South State Street to the University of Michigan for $12.8 million, which was announced in a press release … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority has called a special board meeting for Tuesday, July 23 at 4 p.m. at the agency’s main office on 2700 South Industrial Highway in Ann Arbor.

The board previously did not have a meeting scheduled for the month of July. But at the board’s June 20, 2013 meeting, CEO Michael Ford indicated that one might be convened, to handle some routine items as well as next steps related to the addition of Ypsilanti to the AAATA. The board had voted on June 20 to ratify changes to the articles of incorporation of the authority, which added the city of Ypsilanti as a member.

No agenda for the special July 23 meeting has been released.

The Ann Arbor city council has called a special session for March 11, 2013 starting at 6 p.m. in city council chambers at 301 E. Huron St.

The purpose of the special meeting is to go into closed session to discuss written attorney-client privileged communication. One possibility for the topic the council will cover in the closed session relates to a possible moratorium on site plan review for D1-zoned areas of the downtown, which the council has considered but postponed at its two most recent meetings.

The council already had a budget work session scheduled for the same time. So the budget work session will start at 7 p.m. instead.

The Ann Arbor city clerk’s office has announced a special session of the city council – for Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 starting at 6 p.m., in the usual meeting place in the city council chambers, located on the 2nd Floor of city hall at 301 E. Huron.

The purpose of the special meeting is to hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations strategy under the Michigan Open Meetings Act.

A budget working session had already been scheduled for the same time. That working session is now scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The council is looking towards the latter part of May, when the fiscal year 2014 budget needs to be finalized.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board will hold a special meeting on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 at 4 p.m. at the AATA headquarters at 2700 S. Industrial Highway.

The purpose of the special meeting is related to a pending lawsuit against the AATA – for refusing to allow an anti-Israeli advertisement to be placed on the sides of its buses. Based on the timeline set forth in a recent court order, the board’s meeting will likely include a closed session to evaluate the previously rejected advertisement under the terms of a newly revised advertising policy. The board adopted the revised ad policy in late November. By Jan. 4, the day after the special meeting, the AATA must notify the plaintiff in … [Full Story]

The city of Ann Arbor has announced that a special session of the city council, scheduled for 4 p.m. today (Dec. 10) in the fourth floor jury room of the Justice Center, instead will take place in the regular second floor city council chambers inside city hall. The purpose of the special session is to consider a resolution asking Gov. Rick Snyder to veto recently passed regional transit legislation and send it back to the legislature for amendment – to exclude Washtenaw County from the four-county regional transit authority, which also includes the counties of Macomb, Wayne and Oakland, and the city of Detroit.

The change of location was motivated by a desire to make the meeting more accessible to … [Full Story]

A special meeting of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board has been called for Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 starting at 4 p.m. at the AATA headquarters, 2700 S. Industrial Highway. The meeting, which was announced via email on Nov. 21, did not have an agenda set until Nov. 28. The agenda includes a closed session and an item that would revise the AATA’s advertising policy. [.pdf of board packet, including revised advertising policy]

The board’s meeting comes in the context of a legal case that’s pending against the AATA for refusing to run an advertisement on the sides of its buses that states, “Boycott ‘Israel.’” The initial substantive ruling in the case went against the AATA, when the judge … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority special board meeting (Oct. 2, 2012): As expected, the AATA board voted unanimously, with all seven members present, to request that the Washtenaw County clerk file articles of incorporation for a new transit authority, established under Act 196 of 1986 and called The Washtenaw Ride.

Based on discussion at the board’s Sept. 27 meeting, it was the AATA’s expectation that the articles would be filed as soon as Oct. 3, and the wording of the AATA’s resolution indicated that the filing should take place “immediately.”

And according to Washtenaw County clerk staff, that’s what happened. Representatives of the AATA were authorized as couriers by the clerk, and they conveyed the physical documents to Lansing.

Letters that included a notice of intent to file had been sent on Sept. 27 to every jurisdiction, and to every elected official in the county.

At the Oct. 2 meeting, board chair Charles Griffith and former chair Jesse Bernstein expressed thanks to staff and community members who’ve worked over the last two years to get the process to this point. The basic theme of most of the remarks was in the spirit of the long journey ahead.

The long journey begins with the entity that’s created by the filing – which will initially have no assets, staff, or ability to operate transportation service in the county. A 15-member board composition for the new authority is already reflected in the membership of the board of the pre-incorporated board (called the U196 board), which has been meeting already for a year. Some of those board members attended the Oct. 2 meeting – David Read (North Middle District), Bob Mester (West District), Bill Lavery (South Middle District) and David Phillips (Northeast District).

Districts that include multiple jurisdictions appoint their representatives under inter-local agreements made under Act 7. In the case of the city of Ann Arbor, the appointments to the new transit authority need to be made through the city council’s confirmation of mayoral nominations.

To make the transition from the AATA to The Washtenaw Ride, under terms of a four-party agreement, voters would need to approve a funding source adequate to pay for the proposed expanded service plan. The four-party agreement is between the AATA, the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, and Washtenaw County.

The five-year service plan for expanded service includes: (1) countywide demand-responsive services and feeder services; (2) express bus services and local transit hub services; (3) local community connectors and local community circulators; (4) park-and-ride intercept lots; and (5) urban bus network enhancements. For Ann Arbor, the program includes increased bus frequencies on key corridors, increased operating hours, and more services on weekends. According to a Sept. 5 press release from the AATA, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti will get a 56% increase in service hours compared to current levels.

The AATA has indicated that a possible funding scenario is to ask voters in Washtenaw County to fund the new transit authority with a property tax of 0.584 mills – in an election that could come as early as May 2013. For a house worth $200,000, with a state-equalized value of $100,000, an 0.584 mill transit tax would cost that property owner about $58 per year. For an Ann Arbor resident with a $200,000 house, adding the 0.584 mill tax to the existing city transit tax of roughly 2 mills works out to a transportation tax burden of about $258 a year.

Also under the four-party agreement, the two cities’ transit taxes would become part of The Washtenaw Ride’s funding.

The transition would potentially not take place at all, if a majority of voters don’t approve it. Under the terms of the four-party agreement, a voter-approved funding source for the expanded services must be identified by the end of 2014.

Washtenaw County’s role is limited to the filing of the articles of incorporation for the new transit authority. The act of incorporation will include by default all jurisdictions in Washtenaw County. However, filing of the articles opens a 30-day window for jurisdictions to opt out of the arrangement. That can be accomplished through a vote of a jurisdiction’s governing body.

Michael Ford, AATA’s CEO, said at the Oct. 2 meeting that he hoped to schedule the first meeting of The Washtenaw Ride’s board for Oct. 11.  Although it’s a fair assumption that the current AATA board members will be nominated by mayor John Hieftje to serve as Ann Arbor’s representatives to the new transit authority, there’s no council meeting scheduled between now and Oct. 11 when the council could vote to make those appointments official.  [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor District Library board has set a special meeting for Monday, Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. The only resolution on the agenda is an item to approve the title for a Nov. 6 ballot proposal: “Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Building Proposal.” The language for the ballot proposal itself was authorized at a special meeting on July 30, but did not include a title. See Chronicle coverage: “Library Bond Moves Toward Nov. 6 Ballot.”

The proposal is asking voters to authorize $65 million in bonds to build a new downtown library. At its July 16, 2012 regular meeting, the AADL board had voted to move forward on this 30-year bond initiative, and set the special meeting on … [Full Story]

At a special meeting convened at 8 a.m. on Feb. 21, University of Michigan regents voted 6-2 to formally oppose Senate Bill 971, which would make explicit that graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) are not entitled to collective bargaining rights under Michigan’s Act 336 of 1947.

Opposing the resolution were the board’s two Republican regents, Andrea Fischer Newman and Andrew Richner. The meeting was held via conference call. None of the regents – nor UM president Mary Sue Coleman, who chaired the proceedings – were physically in the boardroom at the Fleming administration building, though several staff and members of the media attended to listen in to the call.

The bill, which was introduced on Feb. 15 by state Senate majority leader Randy … [Full Story]

A special meeting of the University of Michigan board of regents has been called for Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 8 a.m. to consider the need for emergency action as permitted by regents bylaw 1.01, according to UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald. No information was given regarding the topic of the action.

The bylaw states: ”Emergency action may be taken by the board between meetings if and when any matter arises which, in the opinion of the president, or any three members of the board, requires official action by the board prior to the next meeting. An affirmative vote by telephone, email, or facsimile from five members is required for action.”

The meeting is open to the public in the boardroom of the Fleming administration building, … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education special meeting (Feb. 18, 2012): The AAPS school board approved an administrative recommendation to move to a district-wide all-day kindergarten program at a special meeting on Saturday afternoon.

The weekend meeting was scheduled when it became apparent at the board’s Feb. 15 committee-of-the-whole meeting that all trustees were in full support of the recommendation. The board wanted to be able to begin telling families about the change sooner. The board does not typically take action at committee meetings, even if a quorum is present. That’s why a special meeting was called for the vote to take place.

All-day kindergarten for all AAPS students will replace the matrix of district kindergarten choices currently offered, which includes the following options: half-day morning; half-day afternoon; all-day; extended-day (morning kindergarten, followed by afternoon childcare with the same teacher and an aide); and “K Care” (childcare through AAPS Rec & Ed to complement half-day kindergarten). Currently, the options available at each school are different, can change each year, and can cost extra.

The board’s vote means that next year, all AAPS kindergarten students will participate in a full-day program at no additional cost to families. [Full Story]

A special meeting of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners has been called for Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. to discuss proposed labor agreements. Commissioners voted to set the meeting at their regular board meeting on Sept. 7.

Earlier in the meeting, commissioners had approved the second of two agreements with the Michigan Nurses Association. In total, 15 union agreements are being negotiated as part of the 2012 and 2013 budget cycle.

The county hopes to see about $8 million in labor concessions for the two-year budget cycle, to help address a projected $17.5 million deficit. [There are 17 unions representing the county workforce. In January 2011, the county reached agreements with two other unions – the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) and ... [Full Story]

At a Wednesday, May 25, 2011 joint meeting of the “mutually beneficial” committees – one from the Ann Arbor city council and the other consisting of Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board members – committee members agreed on language that would serve to “underwrite” the DDA’s combined fund balances for the next five years. A special DDA board meeting has been set for Friday, May 27 to ratify the agreement.

The underwriting was a necessary condition of the DDA’s ratification of a new contract with the city, under which the DDA would continue to operate the city’s public parking system. At a special meeting last Friday, May 20, the full DDA board had approved a contract that would transfer 17% … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board has called a special meeting for noon Friday, May 20, 2011 at the DDA offices at 150 S. Fifth Ave. At the board’s May 2 meeting, it had put off voting on a new contract with the city of Ann Arbor under which the DDA manages the city’s public parking system.

The board had been expected to vote on the measure at that meeting, but postponed it amid questions about the administration of the city’s ordinance on distribution of DDA TIF capture. [Chronicle coverage: "DDA Delays Parking Vote Amid TIF Questions"]

The delay in settling the parking contract has led to a delay in the Ann Arbor city council’s willingness to approve its fiscal … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor public art commission special meeting (April 13, 2011): Because a March 11 special meeting did not conform with noticing requirements under the state’s Open Meetings Act, AAPAC held another special meeting on Wednesday to vote again on the selection of two sites for a new mural program.

At the March 11 meeting, which was covered by The Chronicle, AAPAC member Jeff Meyers had presented recommendations from a public mural task force he chairs. The two sites – a building at Allmendinger Park, and a retaining wall along Huron Parkway – will be the first for a pilot mural project spearheaded by Meyers.

At the previous special meeting, commissioners had held a lengthy discussion before voting to approve the sites. The meeting on Wednesday was far shorter, with Meyers giving a brief summary of the selection process. Two of the five members who attended Wednesday had not been present at the March 11 session, however, and they had some questions about the sites.

Meyers also reported that since March, city staff have advised him to make a presentation at the next meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission, since the sites are near or within city parks. Two public meetings – one for each site – will also be scheduled, to get input from residents. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council special meeting (April 11, 2011): This week the Ann Arbor city council held its second special meeting in the last two months, both in connection with the city’s planned East Stadium bridges replacement project. At the April 11 meeting, a provision common to three separate easements granted by the University of Michigan, and previously approved by the city council at its April 4 meeting, was deleted from those easement grants by request of the Federal Highway Administration and the Michigan Dept. of Transportation.

The easements are necessary for the city to proceed with its plan to replace the East Stadium bridges over State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks. The city has been awarded a total of $13.9 million in TIGER II federal grant funding to pay for the project, which has an estimated total cost of $23 million. Factoring in $2.87 million in state funds, that leaves the city of Ann Arbor’s share for the bridge replacement at $6.2 million. The federal funds require that at least 20% of the funding for the project come from non-federal sources.

Easements approved by the council include: a road right-of-way easement from the University of Michigan for $563,400; two utilities easements from UM totaling $426,650; and an unrecorded water utilities easement.

The deleted provision in the easements had provided for a relocation of facilities, but only if it were allowed by law and specifically approved by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation – otherwise, relocation was prohibited. Because relocation is prohibited by law in any case, MDOT took the view that the provision should not appear in the contract; hence, the change to the wording was requested. It is an administrative change, not a substantive one.

By holding a previous special meeting on March 16, 2011 to sign necessary documents, the council was able to get $800,000 of TIGER II federal funds formally “obligated” for the first right-of-way phase of the project. The remaining $13.1 million in TIGER II funds is expected to be obligated sometime in May. [Full Story]

At a special meeting of the Ann Arbor city council on April 11, a provision common to three separate easements granted by the University of Michigan, and previously approved by the city council at its April 4 meeting, was deleted from those easement grants by request of the Federal Highway Administration.

The easements are necessary for the city to proceed with its plan to replace the E. Stadium Bridges over State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks. The city has been awarded a total of $13.9 million in TIGER II federal grant funding to pay for the project.

Easements approved by the council include: a road right-of-way easement from the University of Michigan for $563,400; two utilities easements from UM totaling $426,650; and an unrecorded water utilities easement.

The deleted provision in the easements had provided for a relocation of facilities, but only if it were allowed by law and specifically approved by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation – otherwise, relocation was prohibited. Because relocation is prohibited by law in any case, MDOT took the view that the provision should not appear in the contract; hence, the change to the wording was requested. It is an administrative change, not a substantive one.

By holding a previous special meeting on March 16, 2011 to sign necessary documents, the council was able to get $800,000 of the TIGER II federal funds formally “obligated” for the first right-of-way phase of the project.

This brief was filed from city council chambers. A somewhat more detailed account of the special meeting will follow: [link] [Full Story]

A special meeting of the Ann Arbor city council has been called on the topic of the East Stadium bridges project. The meeting is to be held on Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m. in city council chambers. The city council already has a work session scheduled at the same time and venue, when city administrator Roger Fraser will be presenting his proposed fiscal year 2012 budget to the council.

Reportedly, the purpose of this second special meeting for the bridge replacement project is to consider revised wording for at least one of the easements that the city council already approved at its April 4 meeting in connection with this project.

Easements approved by the council on that occasion were: a road right-of-way easement from the University of Michigan for $563,400; two utilities easements from UM totaling $426,650; and an unrecorded water utilities easement.

The city was able to get $800,000 in TIGER II federal funds formally “obligated” for the first right-of-way phase of the project. The city council held a previous special meeting on March 16, 2011 to sign the necessary agreement to get those funds obligated.

The approval of the easements at the April 4 meeting was supposed to allow the city to proceed with getting $13.1 million in TIGER II grant funds obligated. Those funds have already been awarded for the second phase of the bridge replacement project. A continuing federal budget resolution passed by the U.S. Congress – which would preserve the TIGER II funding – expired on April 8, threatening to shut down the entire federal government. Previous proposals by House Republicans have included cuts that would have eliminated the TIGER II funding. However, a last minute deal was struck to keep the federal government operating.

The council is acting with some urgency to get the funds obligated before the TIGER II program is eliminated – if, in fact, it were to be eliminated. One measure of that urgency was that on April 4, immediately after council approved the easements, a recess was called so that the documents could be signed and forwarded to the Michigan Dept. of Transportation. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council special meeting (March 16, 2011): At a special meeting that had been announced at a city council work session two days earlier, the Ann Arbor city council voted to authorize signing a contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation related to a $13.9 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II grant.

Announcement of the grant’s award to the city for the reconstruction of the East Stadium Boulevard bridges had come in October 2010. The bridge over State Street is in such poor condition that its southern two lanes were intentionally demolished in November 2009.

The council’s special session reflected an urgency to complete the contract. The council has a regular meeting scheduled next Monday, March 21 – just five calendar days after the special session – when the council could also have taken the necessary vote on the contract.

The urgency stemmed from the March 18 expiration of a continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 2. A CR is a mechanism for keeping the federal government operating, based on the previous fiscal year’s budget assumptions, until formal appropriations bills are passed by Congress. The federal budget procedure is essentially a two-step process in which the budget levels for each department are first set and signed into law, followed by appropriations bills that authorize spending the budgeted amounts.

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

Although the grant had previously been awarded, the funds are not secured until they are actually obligated, a process that includes various requirements – among them, signing the contract that the council authorized at its special session.

The council’s action enabled obligation of TIGER II funds only for the right-of-way phase of the project – which amounts to around $800,000. According to Congressman John Dingell’s office staff, they’d been informed by the Dept. of Transportation on March 15 that the $800,000 for the initial phase had just been obligated.

Based on the city of Ann Arbor’s timeline, obligation of the $13.1 million in TIGER II funds for the construction phase is expected in May. Construction on the project, which is estimated to cost a total of $23 million, is tentatively scheduled for October 2011.

A public information meeting on the status of the project is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Pioneer High School cafeteria. Pioneer is located at 601 W. Stadium – just down the street from the bridges. [Full Story]

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

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

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

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

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

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