Comments on: Art Commission Sets Deadline for Dreiseitl

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:16:41 +0000

Re: [11] and the gardens, planters around the parking lots.

It’s Republic Parking that does that.

By: suswhit

suswhit — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:14:13 +0000

I agree on a garden there. Absolutely a more beautiful and interesting addition to the new building.

Whoever is doing the gardens and planters around the parking lots is exceptional. They are each unique and amazingly vigorous.

By: Jack F.

Jack F. — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:00:33 +0000

The AAPAC should have the same thing happen to it that occured with the Housing Board–everyone on the committee should be fired, and a new board reestablished with members and leaderhip more in tune with financial and artistic realities of our city. The Giant German Urinal Art saga has made Ann Arbor a laughing stock and to entrust any further tax dollars to this group makes no sense.

By: Fred Zimmerman

Fred Zimmerman — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:32:28 +0000

Fran Wright @8 We could get a heckuva nice garden for a fraction of $700,000.

By: Fran Wright

Fran Wright — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:21:19 +0000

I suppose Mr. Driesetl has been paid. Has he been paid only the 77 grand or the whole seven hundred and thirty seven thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars? If it is the smaller amount, I would recommend chalking it up to a business loss and moving on to find some local person who is capable, interested, and available to create a piece or pieces for the building. The former perennial garden facing Huron Street was spectacular during the entire gardening season. Why not go back to a garden, considering a water feature is going to be turned off six months of the year anyway?
I thought this addition was for police, judges, criminals and jury members. Will these taxpayer funded pieces of art be available for viewing by taxpayers not on trial or on a jury?

By: ROB

ROB — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:19:34 +0000

The funding for this is a skimming scam that would make a “70′s Vegas mob boss green with envy! The most compelling reason I have ever seen to totally revamp the city’s entire budget process – which has clearly become a kind of pork barrel for special interests and cronies of the mayor!

By: Fred Zimmerman

Fred Zimmerman — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:02:44 +0000

Boondoggle.

By: mr dairy

mr dairy — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:10:45 +0000

I am not denigrating the need for local support for the arts (whatever that means) and the development of a coherent vision of what public art means to Ann Arbor, but as an appointed committee, the AAPAC as public service is a disaster as it is currently structured. Their insulated decision making is typical Ann Arbor “Arts Community” as opposed to Ann Arbor’s community of artists. Furthermore, the AAPAC is symptomatic of the bureaucratic style that has come to dominate City Hall in the last decade.

I figured the AAPAC was a sham committee was when they decided to put a fountain in front of a new public building, which must have taken all of five minutes of debate. The appointees were serving the appointers in exchange for money and influence. The money came the self serving appointers by simply voting to assess a percent of the costs and by having the ability to tap into other loosely connected city “funds” like Storm Water. The influence came from the appointment to a committee that has the platform to define what public art is and means to Ann Arbor. This slightly reeks of a little local political, cultural and social back scratching. Tragically, (because I believe that Ann Arbor desperately needs a coherent vision of what Ann Arbor and “the arts” is about in this new day) all this occurs while bridges crumbled, bonds and “air rights” were sold and long term public debt was incurred.

It is my informed opinion that the suggestion for considering Driesetl came from City Hall staff, not the AAPAC. It would be great if someone would take a deeper look into the operations of Systems Planning inside City Hall under Sue McCormick’s leadership. How much influence does city staff have over city politics? Sometimes the connection seems a little too cozy.

When, under what circumstances, by and to whom in the bureaucracy was Driesetl’s name suggested to the newly formed AAPAC with their newly acquired funding source?

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:47:06 +0000

Ms. Teall was a major supporter on the project ‘task force’ (as covered in this article) and came out to vote yes on a day she supposedly had the flu, but was too sick later in the evening to show up for her council meeting (where homelessness funding was on the agenda). Then of course, she voted yes for the project later as a member of council, and as far as I know, has never apologized for either vote or the way this entire fiasco was handled. Perhaps she’s ready to now?

By: Mark Koroi

Mark Koroi — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:16:16 +0000

The Dreiseitl Project is a huge waste of taxpayers’ monies when the city has far more pressing needs to address.

It is correct that Margie Teall has been an enthusiastic supporter of funding this project.