Archive for April, 2010

Though they share oversight for portions of the same millage, the city’s park and greenbelt advisory commissions had never officially met – until last week.

Scott Rosencrans, center, is chair of the city's park advisory commission, but will be stepping down from PAC when his term ends this month. At Rosencrans' right is developer Peter Allen, a member of the greenbelt advisory commission. In the background is Peg Kohring of The Conservation Fund, which manages the land acquisition millage for the parks and greenbelt.

As members arrived at the Ann Arbor Senior Center, where their joint meeting was held on April 6, some knew each other, but many others needed to introduce themselves. Among them were an attorney, a farmer, an ecologist, a teacher, a carpenter, a developer, a research scientist, a landscape architect – and many avid users of the local parks.

Scott Rosencrans, chair of the park advisory commission, told the group he thought it was important to strengthen communication between the two commissions, given the overlap in their strategic goals. And even though he’s stepping down from PAC when his term ends later this month, “hopefully you’ll pursue that,” he said.

At last week’s meeting, commission members got overviews of the parks and greenbelt programs from staff of The Conservation Fund, which manages the greenbelt and parks acquisition programs. In some ways, the meeting was a mini-tutorial for each group on the activities of the other, and an informal discussion about some ways to partner in the future.

There was also some frustration about what they couldn’t discuss. Typically, PAC’s land acquisition committee – a committee of the entire PAC membership – and the greenbelt commission spend much of their meetings in closed sessions, to discuss negotiations with landowners. But because each group needed a six-member quorum required by the Open Meetings Act to enter a joint closed session – and only five members of GAC attended – all of the meeting remained public. There was one property in particular that some commissioners and staff wanted to discuss in private, but couldn’t. About their inability to undertake that discussion, Peg Kohring of The Conservation Fund said, “It’s killing me!” [Full Story]

Head north on Hewitt Road from Washtenaw Avenue, past Eastern Michigan’s Rynearson Stadium to the edge of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital campus. Off to the right is a plot of land that the health provider is now returning to a previous use – farming.

Hank Beekley with his team of draft horses – a Belgian and a Shire – disks the field. The hospital building is visible in the background. The view is roughly to the northwest. (Photos by the writer.)

The centerpiece of the current effort is a 30 x 96-foot hoop house, which began construction on Monday. It will be joined by a second hoop house later in the summer, and plans call for a dozen of the structures to be built in the coming years.

The vegetables grown on the plot will be used in the hospital cafeteria and patient meals, and sold at a farmers market, with excess donated to Food Gatherers.

On Monday and again on Wednesday this week, Hank Beekley and his team of draft horses helped with the effort to transform about an acre of St. Joseph’s 356-acre campus in Superior Township to productive farming.

Tuesday was an off day for the horses – wet conditions were the key factor. But Beekley himself was there on Tuesday, along with other volunteers and St. Joseph’s staff to help build the first hoop house, which was already off to a good start based on Monday’s work. [Full Story]

The Tea Party is planning a “Rally on the Diag” Tax Day protest on April 15 from 7-9 p.m. on the UM campus, with speakers to include “conservative firebrand” Thayrone X. From the Michigan Activists calendar listing: “The first 1,000 attendees of the rally receive a free copy of the Pocket Constitution and Declaration of Independence. … Bring your enthusiastic patriotism! Bring a G-rated protest sign!” [Source]

An article in the Charlevoix Courier reports that city officials there are starting to charge for parking in one of their downtown lots. The article quotes Tony Duerr, who owns Pine River Books, a shop in that part of town: “I spent 20 years in downtown Ann Arbor where the parking is a nightmare, so parking around here seems pretty easy in comparison.” [Source]

Last year a local Ann Arbor attorney, Zachary V. Moen, apprenticed himself to Ann Arbor master violin maker Gregg Alf. And now, under Alf’s direction, Moen has completed two violins.

Zachary Moen looks on as master violin maker Gregg Alf gives Moen's copy of the Ole Bull del Gesù a final inspection. (Photos by the writer.)

On Monday afternoon at Alf’s Prospect Street studio in Ann Arbor’s Burns Park, Moen and Alf allowed The Chronicle to bear witness to the first sound check of Moen’s second violin. It’s a copy of a famous instrument made by Joseph Guarnerius del Gesù (1698-1744), and played by Norwegian violinist Ole Bornemann Bull (1810-1880) – the Ole Bull del Gesù.

After coaxing the first notes out of the violin, the verdict from Alf on his apprentice’s work: “It’s an incredible D!”

For non-violinists: That doesn’t translate to D-plus as a letter grade … D is the name of the second string from the left. [Full Story]

The UM News & Information site has posted a podcast with Paul Green, research professor in the human factors division at the UM Transportation Research Institute. Green discusses the idea of a ban on texting while driving. At a March 1, 2010 Ann Arbor city council meeting, Green spoke about issues related to a proposed city ordinance that would ban cell phone use, including texting. That ordinance has since been tabled. [Source]

Scott Bonney, left, of Neumann/Smith Architects, talks with Newcombe Clark, a partner in The Moravian development. Neumann/Smith is the architect for both The Moravian and Zaragon Place 2. At right is Tim Stout of O'Neal Construction.

Monday afternoon’s public forum for Zaragon Place 2 – a proposed 14-story apartment building at the southeast corner of Thompson and William, next to Cottage Inn – was held by the developer and his team to comply with the city’s citizen participation ordinance.

But among those attending the two-hour open house at the Michigan Union were developers for both The Moravian and Heritage Row – two residential projects that have been vigorously opposed by some residents in the city’s near-south side.

There are significant differences among the three projects, but some connections as well, especially among the project teams. And all are at different stages of the process: plans for Zaragon Place 2 haven’t yet been submitted to the city’s planning department, while Heritage Row has been recommended by the planning commission and is expected to come before the city council in May. Meanwhile, in a grueling April 5 city council meeting that lasted well past 1 a.m., The Moravian failed to get the eight votes it needed for approval. Nearly 90 people – both supporters and opponents – spoke during a 3.5-hour public commentary on the project.

Based on reactions at Monday’s open house for Zaragon Place 2, it seems unlikely this latest project will arouse similar passions. [Full Story]

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series written by Ann Arbor city staff on the environmental indicators used by the city of Ann Arbor in its State of Our Environment Report.

The State of Our Environment Report is developed by the city’s environmental commission and designed as a citizen’s reference tool on environmental issues and as an atlas of the management strategies underway that are intended to conserve and protect our environment. The newest version of the report is organized around 10 environmental goals developed by the environmental commission and adopted by the city council in 2007.

Phosphorus takes its place in the periodic table of elements with atomic number 15. Too much P is not good for the Huron River.

This installment focuses on phosphorus levels in our creeks and river. Adrienne Marino is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment and is an Environmental Programs Assistant with the city of Ann Arbor. Matthew Naud is the Environmental Coordinator at the city of Ann Arbor and can be reached at mnaud@a2gov.org.  Elizabeth Riggs with the Huron River Watershed Council and Molly Wade with the city of Ann Arbor provided additional input on the regulatory issues.

All installments of the series are available here: Environmental Indicator Series.

April showers will surely give way to May flowers and the start of lawn care season in southeast Michigan. As you tend to your lawn this spring and summer, you should know that your choices regarding lawn maintenance – especially fertilizer application – have large and measurable effects on the health of the Huron River and on the natural and human communities who depend on it.

How do we know this? The city of Ann Arbor’s ordinance regulating phosphorus-based lawn fertilizers took effect at the beginning of 2007. And sampling of Huron River phosphorus levels by University of Michigan scientists shows significant decreases in total phosphorus levels in 2008 and 2009. Huron River Watershed Council sampling of the creeksheds support these findings. [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor District Library has posted a digital copy of a 16-mm silent film produced in 1936 by staff of the Ann Arbor News, titled “Back Page: A Super Colossal Production.” From the AADL post: “Inspired by The Front Page (1931), this tongue-in-cheek feature chronicles a day in the life of the Display Advertising Department staff as they go about securing an ad from a local business in time for the paper’s daily run. 1936 marks the year the Ann Arbor News acquired its new printing press and completed the News building at 340 E. Huron – both of which feature prominently in the film.” [Source]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners working session (April 8, 2010): Two presentations at Thursday’s working session were tied to the community’s health: how federal stimulus dollars are being spent, and how former prisoners are being helped, with the goal of reducing repeat offenses.

Washtenaw County employment applications ask about felony convictions.

Mary King, coordinator of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative of Washtenaw County, told commissioners how the MPRI is attempting to reduce the county’s high prisoner recidivism rate – a problem dating back several years. She also urged them to consider eliminating a question on the county’s employment forms that asks about an applicant’s felony history. Such questions can be barriers to employment, she said, and the biggest cause of parole failure is lack of a job.

Leaders of two county departments – Mary Jo Callan of the Office of Community Development, and Patricia Denig of Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) – gave an update on how some of the county’s $22.69 million in federal stimulus funds are being spent. Those two departments alone have received $13.22 million for a wide range of programs, from job training to low-income housing. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (April 5, 2010) Part 2: The greatest part of the council’s meeting last week – covered in Part 1 of our report – was taken up with the public hearing and deliberations on The Moravian project, which failed to get the 8-vote super majority it needed for approval. However, the council handled other business besides The Moravian.

Kirk Westphal addressed the city council as a private citizen on the issue of the cell phone ordinance – he serves on the city’s planning commission. He encouraged councilmembers to pursue the ordinance. (Photos by the writer.)

Among that business was a proposed local ordinance banning cell phone use while driving or bicycling. The council decided not to repeat a postponement to a particular date for its consideration of the cell phone ban. Instead, the council tabled the ordinance. Tabling means that the ordinance can be brought back for consideration by the council, but by council rule it will die unless it is brought back within six months.

The council’s business included an item that would have reconsidered its recent decision to replace the entire Ann Arbor housing commission board. The motion for reconsideration was voted down, with no support, not even from its two sponsors – Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5). Kunselman cited the late hour as part of the reason for his lack of enthusiasm for pursuing the matter. Two people had spoken during public commentary on the issue, including one of the ousted board members.

Also receiving brief discussion was a possible council rule on email that the council must consider publicly at its next meeting under terms of a recent lawsuit settlement. Two proclamations were also made, one to declare April as Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month and the other as part of a recent move by the council to honor parks volunteers once a month. [Full Story]

On his blog 2020 Science, Andrew Maynard describes his recent move to Ann Arbor (to direct the UM Risk Science Center). His experience at UM has been positive, he writes: “But I must admit that there is an interesting dynamic here that is quite different to that in D.C. It seems – from first impressions at least – that academics are adept at jockeying for position within a complex intersection of groups and factions, and demonstrate a skill that would put a pack of wolves to shame. In political terms, it’s a little like trading the grand spectacle and backroom maneuvering of D.C. for bare-knuckle fighting – more Fight Club than Mr. Smith Goes To Washington!” [Source]

Editor’s note: The previous installment of Laura Bien’s local history column was a walking tour of the southern half of Highland Cemetery. This installment takes readers through the northern half.

The Scovill-Jarvis graves provide a good example of a trio of hand iconography.

Arguably the most beautiful spot in Washtenaw County, Highland Cemetery offers an outstanding chance to examine 19th-century grave symbols. The following self-guided 2-hour tour, available as a .pdf, highlights a range of some of the northern half of the cemetery’s most interesting symbols. Numbers in the text correspond to the map.

Visitors can reach the cemetery by traveling down Washtenaw to its terminus on Huron. Turn left on Huron and right on Cross Street through Depot Town. At the remains of the Thompson Building at River, turn left. You will pass Forest Avenue and the ornate brick Swain home on the northeast corner of Forest and River. Continue down River; Highland Cemetery is a quarter mile down on the left.

Inside the main gates, open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. until April 30 and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. from May 1 to Sept. 30, a small parking lot appears on the right. Park here and walk west to Starkweather Chapel at the end of the main driveway.

On the north (right) side of the chapel, three paths diverge. Take the middle path. A few steps down on the left is the grave of Maria Towler (1) with this barely legible poem: [Full Story]

The Washtenaw Voice, Washtenaw Community College’s student newspaper, reports that WCC president Larry Whitworth plans to investigate the $4,023 dinner tab from last month’s two-day trustee retreat at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel in Detroit. The bill included nearly $600 for wine. “The food was good; the service was good, but I think they overcharged us and this is something I will watch very, very carefully in the future. … I think there were implications that somehow the trustees were arranging this to have a big whoop, and that isn’t, in fact, that case.” The restaurant disputes the claim that WCC was overcharged. The total cost for the retreat was nearly $10,000. [Source]

In the New York Times, an essay by UM law professor Susan Crawford looks at a recent federal appeals court ruling on “net neutrality.” The court ruled that the FCC lacks legal authority to bar Comcast from blocking certain uses of its Internet access services. Crawford writes: “This decision has become a rip-the-Band-Aid-off moment for the regulatory agency, forcing it to reconsider its effort to impose ‘network neutrality’ by requiring that Internet access providers treat all content equally. It also puts a substantial roadblock in the path of the commission’s National Broadband Plan, which proposes to spend billions of dollars to help provide Internet access, rather than phone access, for people in rural areas.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Ford’s Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti Township has been picked as a site to assemble hybrid battery packs. The article quotes a letter sent to employees on March 30, stating that Ford and UAW leaders also are “actively seeking new profitable business to bring to the plant because … some of the existing products are not competitive and are losing money.” [Source]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting (April 7, 2010): Wednesday’s meeting was filled with reports and presentations, but there was no discussion on the largest action item: Approval of 39 additional positions to staff the expanded jail. A final vote on the changes will be made at the board’s April 21 meeting.

Mary Kerr, president of the Ann Arbor Convention & Visitors Bureau, talks with Rolland Sizemore Jr., chair of the county board of commissioners, before Wednesday's meeting of the board. (Photos by the writer.)

Commissioners heard from leaders of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti convention and visitors bureaus, who explained how they’ve been using revenue from a hike in the county’s accommodation tax, which raised $3.039 million in 2009.

That tax also came up during a report by the county treasurer, Catherine McClary. Collections have been more difficult because of the economy, she said, but all hotels are up to date on their payments. Five bed & breakfasts in the county are not. McClary’s report also included updates on the county’s investments and foreclosures, and a preview of a proposal for dog licenses.

Two other financial reports were given during Wednesday’s meeting, by interim finance director Pete Collinson and Mark Kettner of Rehmann Robson, who performs the county’s financial audits. The county was also presented with an award for its 2008 financial report – it has received the same award for 19 consecutive years, given by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Another presentation marked a transition, as the county handed over leadership for a literacy coalition it had spearheaded. Now, the campaign to end illiteracy will be handled by a community group. Read about it below. [Full Story]

A post on Ron’s Random Musings from Ann Arbor reviews Performance Network‘s current production of “Little Shop of Horrors”: “Director Carla Milarch keeps the production very true to it’s Off-Broadway roots, and infuses this production with an energy that is palpable; a creepiness factor that reminds you that this is campy horror; and an adult sense of humor that has been missing in most watered-down productions over the years (including the movie and the recent Broadway revival). But the show doesn’t stop there – the creative use of Naz Edwards as a living, breathing Audrey II brings a spirit to the show that I have not seen in others.” [Source]

Writing on his blog War Inside My Head, Sky Soldier – who hails from the Ann Arbor area – ticks off some things he’s been able to do while stationed in Iraq,  and the Ann Arbor Skatepark gets a mention: “Drinking Chai tea with the local sheik and all the village elders or handing out Ann Arbor skate park shirts to the local kids, heck I even got to ride a donkey with all my gear on. I camped out on top of a mountain and manned a checkpoint in the middle of the desert.”

The New York Times reports that Alan Greenspan is being criticized for comments he made about Ned Gramlich, the late UM economist and former member of the Federal Reserve board of governors. Gramlich issued early warnings about subprime mortgages, but now Greenspan appears to be laying some of the blame for the lending crisis on Gramlich, who died in 2007. The article quotes Paul Courant, UM dean of libraries: “If Greenspan were as honorable and loyal as Gramlich, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, because Greenspan wouldn’t have raised the point in the way he did in the hearing the other day.” [Source]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (April 7, 2010): At its regular Wednesday meeting, the full board of the DDA endorsed a draft of the parking report it has been asked to submit to the city council by April 19, when the council next meets. Before it’s sent to the city council, the report will possibly undergo some minor tweaking at the DDA’s partnerships committee meeting next Wednesday, April 14.

David Olson, vice president of Granger Construction Co., delivered a letter to the DDA board during public commentary, which questioned the way concrete bids were handled for the DDA's underground parking garage. The garage is currently under construction along Fifth Avenue. (Photos by the writer.)

Though not addressed by the board as business items, two areas of controversy emerged during public commentary.

One involves the award of a bid as part of the DDA’s construction of the underground parking garage along Fifth Avenue. The contract for construction management for the entire project was awarded to The Christman Co. However, under the terms of the contract, Christman must bid out various components of the project, like the concrete work – even though Christman has the capability of doing that work itself.

The low bid for the concrete work was submitted by Granger Construction Co., at $21.5 million. But Christman awarded the contract to Christman Constructors Inc., which had submitted a bid of $22 million. Christman’s selection as construction manager of the project had been finalized at the DDA board’s Nov. 4, 2009 meeting with a guaranteed maximum price of $44,381,573. Representatives of Christman and Granger aired their differing points of view on the concrete bid at Wednesday’s meeting, with DDA board chair John Splitt concluding that he was satisfied the process had been fair.

The other point of controversy arising during public commentary is the probable $2 million payment this year by the DDA to the city of Ann Arbor – which it has no obligation to make under its current parking agreement with the city. The city’s budget book for FY 2011, released on Monday, does not factor in a payment from the DDA. Instead, it shows a $1.5 million shortfall for the year. The DDA’s parking report to the city council hints at the possibility that the DDA would take responsibility for the ticketing of parking violations. That change in enforcement could be included in the renegotiation of the parking agreement.

Other business transacted by the board on Wednesday included a resolution calling on the city council to revise its sign ordinance so that downtown merchants could use sandwich board signs legally. A recent attempt to revise the ordinance by the council was voted down at its Feb. 16, 2010 meeting. [Full Story]