Archive for August, 2009

Participants in the Cinema & Yoga fundraiser for the 48th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival take part in a sample class at the Ann Arbor School of Yoga. (Photo by the writer.)

Laurie Blakeney inhales, and so do the group of people sitting on the floor in front of her. She exhales, humming, “Ommm….”

After her voice trails off, the group in front of her does the same in a synchronized echo: “Ommm…”

The sound fills the high-ceilinged space, imbuing the atmosphere with something relaxing, spiritual. Filmable, even.

Blakeney, an instructor and owner of the Ann Arbor School of Yoga, is leading a sample class as part of a fundraiser for the 48th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival. The Chronicle dropped by for the Aug. 14 Cinema & Yoga event, which included a screening of films from last year’s festival after the yoga. It’s an example of something that the festival’s director, Donald Harrison, says they’re working hard to do: Finding creative, diverse ways to bring in money. [Full Story]

In a recent report on a special meeting of the DDA board, we mis-characterized what it is that Stauder, Barch & Associates, Inc. does.  They are a bond advisor and financial consultant. We note the mistake here and have corrected it in the original article.

The Detroit Free Press reports on the aftermath of the Community Foundation Challenge, an online matching-gift fundraiser by the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan that encountered serious technical difficulties. Local arts groups are still awaiting word how how much they’ll receive from the effort. The article quotes Sara Billmann of the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, who says that online follow-ups are key: “If people are comfortable giving online, then they don’t want to receive five direct mail solicitations and feel like their $25 gift went into postage asking for more money.” [Source]

Downtown Development Authority board meeting (Aug. 19, 2009): As expected, the DDA board approved spending $226,000 to replace 6-inch water mains with 12-inch pipes, and authorized hiring The Christman Company for $40,000 worth of construction management services – which are for now limited to the pre-construction phase of the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage.

The same day, the city of Ann Arbor delivered the roughly $49 million worth of bonds that had previously been sold to pay for the project, and received the funds. In response to the obvious Chronicle question, the city’s CFO, Tom Crawford told The Chronicle over the phone, “Yes, we have the money.” So far, then, the lawsuit that was filed last week by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, has not had a material effect on the forward progress of the underground parking garage project.

Wednesday’s special meeting of the DDA board – called to consider authorization of expenditures on water mains and to hire a pre-construction manager – was also John Splitt’s first opportunity to chair  a meeting since his somewhat controversial July 1 election as board president.

As Splitt caught sight of his place at the board table, he observed cheerfully, “It’s not pink!” [Full Story]

This is one of nine black willow trees in West Park slated for removal as part of a planned park renovation. The historic bandshell, seen in the background, will stay. (Photo by the writer.)

The Chronicle last heard an update on improvements planned for West Park about a year ago, at a community meeting led by Amy Kuras, a landscape architect with the city. Kuras was also on hand at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ann Arbor Park Advisory Commission – this time, to report that the project is being fast-tracked in hopes of getting federal stimulus funding.

In addition to being briefed on West Park, PAC commissioners got an update on the Ann Arbor Skatepark project. Trevor Staples, chair of the Skatepark Action Committee, reported on fundraising progress and said he’d be back at a later date to ask for financial support from the city. He also gave some details on an Oct. 18 design workshop that will be open to the public.

And Scott Rosencrans won an election – more on all of this after the break. [Full Story]

Crain’s Detroit Business reports that state House Speaker Andy Dillon has appointed a bipartisan committee to look at his proposal to revamp Michigan’s public employee health care administration. The committee will be chaired by state Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Chelsea. [Source]

Writing on the Ypsilanti Vegan Potluck blog, George Tait reports that The Rocket, a toy store on Michigan Avenue, “just unveiled their new piece of Ypsilanti citch: The Ypsilanti Mug! I picked one up yesterday before it hit the shelves on my way to potluck. I’m the first and proud owner (I’m not affiliated with the Rocket, I just think they’re rad).” The post also includes info about the Alternative Baking Company and an upcoming potluck at Gallup Park. [Source]

The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository has now launched.

Let’s say you’ve got some electronic government documents of some kind – documents that you think ought to get a wider readership.  You might be someone who has executed a Freedom of Information Act request. Or you might be a city councilmember who has an interesting staff report.

Whoever you are, if you’ve got docs, there’s now a place to store and share them with others: The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository.

Or let’s say you’re looking for some documents. Would you like to look at the drawings for the Stadium Boulevard bridge replacement project? Or maybe you’d like to see that Request for Proposals put out by the city of Ann Arbor for the Library Lot. Or maybe you’d like to see the old  income tax study commissioned by the city back in 1997. Maybe you’d like to look at the collected digital scans of doodles made on the back of napkins by city planning commissioners at a March 23, 1964 meeting with out-of-town developers.

You’re already in luck … except for that last item – The Chronicle is not aware that any such meeting took place. By “in luck,” we mean someone has already uploaded to AAAGDR the exact documents you’re seeking. [Full Story]

A Wall Street Journal looks at how college students are struggling as states and the federal government cut back scholarships and other funding for college. The article quotes Dylan Cinti of Ann Arbor, who’s attending UM because his first choice, the University of Chicago, didn’t provide financial aid. Says Cinti: “When I got into Chicago, I was really excited to go there. It had been my first-choice school since ninth grade. But I would feel kind of guilty being at Chicago knowing that my family is paying more than they could afford.” [Source]

In a recent column, we incorrectly represented the current practice by the city with respect to publication of city council agendas in the newspaper, as required by council rules. These agendas will continue to be published until such time as the council rules are changed. We note the mistake here and made the clarification in the original column.

The Lansing State Journal reports on a rally in Lansing Tuesday morning, urging state legislators not to cut tax incentives for the film industry. The article quotes Chris Rockwell, a 23-year-old Ann Arbor resident who attended the rally and who has worked on five films so far: “It’s really been a big thing for me to able to stay here and get work…I live in Michigan, I want to work in Michigan.” [Source]

The Ann Arbor District Library's Traverwood branch will be closed starting Thursday, Aug. 20 and reopening on Friday, Aug. 28. (Photo by the writer.)

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (Aug. 17, 2009): The Traverwood library branch will close Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. and remain closed until 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, the result of difficulties with a floor resealing project. It’s connected to a two-day closure earlier this month, when sealant incorrectly applied to the branch’s hardwood floors failed to dry.

Josie Parker, the library system’s director, announced the unanticipated closing at Monday night’s board meeting, but it was a different closing that stands to have a longer-term impact on the library: The recent closing of The Ann Arbor News. Parker and the board discussed plans by the owners of The News – Advance Publications – to give the library most of its archives. Though no formal agreement has been reached, the board authorized up to $63,000 to lease storage space for bound newspaper copies, newspaper clipping files and most photo negatives. Parker called the digitizing, organizing and use of the archives an exciting, major undertaking, with “huge implications” for the library.

At Monday’s meeting, Parker also told the board about a live webcast she’ll be making next week as part of an international library conference – a reflection of AADL’s growing reputation as a model for library programming and technology.

But of most immediate concern to library patrons will be the Traverwood closing, and that’s where we’ll start our report. [Full Story]

The word on the button is bigger than it appears.

At last Thursday night’s work session, city council members reached a consensus on a city income tax proposal. Their consensus was this: They did not want city staff to place on their Monday agenda an item that, if passed, would have put a city income tax question on November’s ballot.

So based on the agenda posted on the city of Ann Arbor website, and in light of the Sunday night caucus discussion among council members, it appeared there would not be any really substantive issues before that body at its Monday night meeting.

Yet council ended up voting on three substantive items – all introduced late in the day on Monday. One was a reconsideration of a historic district study committee resolution passed at the council’s previous meeting – it  amounts to a wording change. But it’s a wording change that has a material affect on what projects homeowners in the district can undertake on their properties during the study period. The original resolution at the previous council meeting had also been introduced late in the day, with no public discussion beforehand surrounding the resolution.

A second item introduced late Monday concerned a new transit center on Fuller Road. It entailed the authorization of around $200,000 – about half of that from the city’s economic development fund, which was originally established to pay for parking spaces that Google had demanded as a part of its decision to locate offices in downtown Ann Arbor.

And finally – even though councilmembers had decided at their work session they didn’t want to contemplate putting an income tax before the voters – they decided to put something else before the voters: a charter amendment that would give council the authority to decide how certain notifications are published.

The amendment would change current requirements that certain items are printed in a newspaper, instead allowing for a broader range of options, including online publications.

How could an online enthusiast like me, the editor of an online publication, be against this move? Easy. [Full Story]

In an article on the proposed city income tax, we reported incorrectly the amount of the general operation millage after the Headlee rollback from the authorized rate of 7.5%.  The correct amount of the millage rate after the Headlee rollback, taken from the authorized FY 2010 budget, is 6.1682%.  We note the error here and have corrected it in the original story.

Ann Arbor Public Art Commission (Aug. 11, 2009): The art commission made no decision at its monthly meeting on whether to recommend German artist Herbert Dreiseitl’s proposed art installations at the new municipal center, saying they need more details, including cost estimates. However, they debated another aspect of the center’s public art: Whether to put out a nationwide call for artists to compete for additional art installations there. Some commissioners spoke in favor of supporting local artists instead, and others were concerned about spending another $225,000 on municipal center art – in addition to nearly $800,000 budgeted for Dreiseitl’s work. [Full Story]

The USA Today reports on how tax credits are drawing moviemakers to Michigan. The article quotes Jim Burnstein, a screenwriter and UM professor who helped develop the state tax credit and who defends its use: “We have finally got the imagination of people in Michigan that there can be another industry here other than the auto industry. I say give it five years before you say we can’t do this.” [Source]

Writing on the blog of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, Noah Hall, the non-profit’s executive director lays out the nitty gritty of arguments for the lawsuit it has filed against the city of Ann Arbor: “The city council also ignored the city’s own policies and stated goals for reducing vehicle pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and totally failed to consider the vehicle miles and pollution that would be generated by the new parking structure.” [Source]

The crosswalk on Liberty Street, looking west at Crest. (Photo by the writer.)

Ann Arbor City Council Sunday caucus (Aug. 16, 2009): Sunday evening’s lightly attended city council caucus reflected a light agenda for Monday. But light as that agenda is, it had not been published in the newspaper – as one caucus attendee pointed out to the three councilmembers present: Mayor John Hieftje, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

Even though the agenda itself is dominated with items like perfunctory rezoning – pedestrian in the sense of “ordinary” –  there’s a presentation to be made at the start of the meeting by Sue McCormick, director of public services for the city, that should draw some community interest. She’ll be giving council an update on the East Stadium Bridge situation. The bridge needs to be repaired or replaced.

At caucus, then, residents and councilmembers were free to focus on some items not on Monday’s schedule. And one common theme cutting across two different resident concerns as well as council discussion were pedestrian issues – pedestrian in the sense of folks on foot.

In other brief discussion, councilmembers indicated, in response to a question, that they had not contemplated re-voting the issuance of bonds that would fund the underground parking garage. The legality of the council’s February vote authorizing the bonds has been challenged by a lawsuit filed last week, which contends that the council violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act on the evening it approved the bonds.

Also at caucus, councilmembers gave a public indication that they were contemplating possible council rules changes that would affect how email communications are handled during council meetings. [Full Story]

Can’t figure out how to ride the bus? This three-minute video (with fairly jerky camera work) shows you the basics of a ride on the AATA. [Source]

In case you missed it, Channel 7′s Spotlight on the News featured an interview last Sunday with Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, who’s running as a GOP candidate for governor. During the 18-minute interview with Chuck Stokes, the station’s editorial director, Snyder reveals why he’s running for governor, how he thinks the state can emerge from its economic crisis – and how many guns he owns. [Source]