Archive for May, 2011

The Detroit News reports on some recent economic forecasts for the state, noting that one of the more optimistic outlooks was provided by University of Michigan economist George Fulton: “Our view is that Michigan is in the early stages of a sustained recovery supported by improvements in the national economy and in the post-bankruptcy domestic auto industry. We see the addition of another 114,600 jobs over the following two calendar years. These would be the best three years for the state economy since 2000.” [Source]

Crain’s Detroit Business reports that Catherine Lord, director of the University of Michigan’s Autism and Communication Disorders Center, will be leaving to accept a position in New York. In light of her resignation, UM has decided to close the autism center. Colleen Allen, director of the Autism Alliance of Michigan, laments Lord’s leaving: “Michigan is already deplete of high-quality services for children with autism, and with this news, we are losing yet one more.” [Source]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council did not act on the fiscal year 2012 budget that had been proposed by then-city administrator Roger Fraser just before he left that position to take a post as a deputy treasurer for the state of Michigan. The budget as proposed included $77,900,405 in general fund revenues and tapped the reserves for a total of $1,022,136.

At their May 16 meeting, councilmembers chose to recess the meeting until 7 p.m. on Monday, May 23, 2011 because of uncertainty about the status of a new parking agreement with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The decision to recess the meeting and continue it a week later is driven by a city charter requirement that the council adopt its budget no later than the second meeting in May, which began May 16. When the meeting resumes on May 23, it will be considered to be the same meeting.

Expected amendments to the budget when the council takes it up on May 23 include: (1) use of $90,000 in general fund reserves to add to the parks allocation; (2) use of $85,600 in general fund reserves to add to human services funding; (3) use of a nominal amount of general fund reserves to cover the cost of an additional primary election (as proposed, the FY 2012 budget anticipated primaries in only two of the city’s five wards); and (4) elimination of a proposed fee for three-times-weekly trash pickup in the downtown area.

Before the meeting no budget amendments were anticipated that would change the proposed cuts in public safety positions – 13 in police services and seven in fire protection services. However, at the meeting, mayor John Hieftje hinted that some, but not all, of the cuts in police and fire might be avoided.

The city of Ann Arbor’s total budget, including all of its funds (major street fund, parks millage, water fund, sewer fund, etc.) stands at $312,182,605 for FY 2012.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council tabled a resolution to allocate $1,159,029 in funding to nonprofits in the city that provide human services. The decision to table the human services funding was based on the council’s intention, announced by mayor John Hieftje at the start of the meeting, not to act on the fiscal year 2012 budget that night, but rather to recess the meeting and continue it on Monday, May 23.

It’s expected that when the budget resolution is considered on May 23, an amendment will be proposed to draw $85,600 from the city’s general fund reserve to increase the human services allocation. That budget amendment is expected to be proposed by Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Marcia Higgins (Ward 4).

The original $1,159,029 amount to be allocated reflected a 9% reduction from FY 2011 human services funding levels. The council had postponed consideration of the human services allocation at its May 2, 2011 meeting in order to explore ways of “finding another dime.”

The city’s support for human services is allocated in coordination with other entities: the United Way of Washtenaw County ($1,677,000), Washtenaw County ($1,015,000) and the Washtenaw Urban County ($363,154).

Councilmembers were inclined to delay action on all budget-related issues, given their plan to delay action on the FY 2012 budget, which was achieved through a recess of the meeting until Monday, May 23. When the meeting continues at that time, the resolution on human services funding can be taken off the table for deliberation and a vote.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council tabled a $208,984 contract with AECOM for a study of its water distribution system. The money for the study, which dates from a 2007 request for proposals (RFP), was allocated in the fiscal year 2011 budget of the city’s water fund. The level of service (LOS) study to be done by AECOM will recommend a sustainable level of service for the city’s water distribution system, and determine how much investment it would take to achieve that level. The study would also help the city decide, for example, which water mains should be replaced first.

The item was tabled for essentially two reasons. First, councilmembers expressed concern about the general issue of using consultants to communicate with residents, instead of relying on city staff. Second, councilmembers had concerns about the cost of the study, and they were inclined to delay action on all budget-related issues, given their plan to delay action on the FY 2012 budget, which was achieved through a recess of the meeting until Monday, May 23. When the meeting continues at that time, the water distribution system study can be taken off the table for deliberation and a vote.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved an addition to its neighborhood stabilization program (NSP) budget and a corresponding expenditure to pay for the demolition of three houses as site preparation for the Near North affordable housing project on North Main.

The addition to the NSP budget came from a reimbursement. The owner of a house paid back NSP money to the city, previously expended to demolish the owner’s property. That reimbursement amounted to $24,135. NSP funds come originally from federal grants allocated through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

In addition, city staff identified an NSP homeowner acquisition and rehabilitation project that was completed under budget by $11,750. Combined, the additional revenue to the NSP budget and the savings on the rehabilitation project amount to $35,885. Of that amount, $33,292 will be used to pay for the demolition of 718, 722, and 724 N. Main St., with the remaining $2,593 going to administration costs in the office of community development. The money will be allocated to the nonprofit Avalon Housing, which is developing the Near North project with Three Oaks.

The city council originally approved rezoning for the project – a four-story, 39-unit mixed use residential building on a 1.19-acre site – on Sept. 21, 2009

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized the purchase two large vehicles – an Elgin street sweeper ($273,300) and a combination sewer truck ($398,806).

The staff memo accompanying the request for the sweeper states: “The sweeper being replaced has been in service ten years and has 5,960 hours of use. Over the last two years, this unit has been taken to Fleet Service for maintenance and repairs 87 times of which 33% have been for breakdowns. The total cost of all repairs over the same time frame have exceeded $113,250.”

About the combination sewer truck: “This truck will replace a 2004 unit with 8060 hours of use. Over the last two years, this unit has been taken to Fleet Service for maintenance and repairs 53 times of which 58% have been for breakdowns. These breakdowns have taken the unit out of service from as little as four hours to as long as two weeks.”

The council had postponed the purchases from its May 2, 2011 meeting with a request for additional information about the vehicles.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council adopted a revision to the 2006 administrative policy that governs the use of the city’s parks capital improvements and maintenance millage, including how spending from the city’s general fund should support Ann Arbor’s parks.

A key point to the revision includes an additional provision that “for the purpose of this resolution all funds other than the Millage which are used to support Parks and Recreation system activities shall be considered the same as City’s General Fund support.” The proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 calls for using money from the METRO Act fund and the city’s stormwater fund to pay for certain parks operations, which the city would like to count as general fund support.

The new provision in the policy helps the city’s planned budget for FY 2012 conform with another administrative policy requirement – that the amount of general fund parks support not decrease any more than other parts of the general fund.

A further amendment would have changed the standard of general fund support from one that is based on hard dollars to one that is based on service levels, with FY 2011 as a baseline: “… [T]he General Fund budget supporting the Parks and Recreation system for that year may be reduced by a higher percentage than the average percentage reduction of the total City General Fund budget as long as the FY11 level of service within Parks and Recreation system is not materially reduced.”

That second amendment would have helped the city conform with the policy this year, because the proposed FY 2012 budget called for spending $90,000 less on parks than would otherwise be required if the administrative police were left unamended. The city contends that the $90,000 reduction in expenditures is due to increased efficiency and would not affect service standards.  [Chronicle coverage: "Council to Get Reminder of Parks Promise"]

However, that second amendment was stricken by the proposer of the resolution, Christopher Taylor (Ward 3), who said he wanted to use the delay in the passage of the budget to find a way to make up the $90,000 differential – that would allow the city’s budget to conform with the policy without changing it.

The city council also revised the 2006 administrative policy during the FY 2010 budget cycle, so that millage funding for the natural area preservation program would not automatically increase by 3% every year.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council held a public hearing and subsequently approved an increase in the allowable fare for cabs operating in the city. The rate increase affects only the mileage component of fares, which were last approved on May 19, 2008.

The mileage increase from $2.25/mile to $2.50/mile had been requested by several taxicab companies in light of rising fuel prices, which are currently just over $4/gallon. The city’s taxicab board has indicated that with this increase, it does not anticipate considering another rate change until the gas prices are over $5/gallon for at least two consecutive months. The board had voted to recommend the change at its April 28, 2011 meeting.

Members of the taxicab board include the city’s CFO Tom Crawford, and William Clock, an officer with the Ann Arbor police department, as non-voting members. [The city's ordinance actually requires that the city's CFO and the chief of police serve as non-voting members.] The five voting members are Stephen Kunselman (representative to the board from the city council) as well as Barbara Krick, C. Robert Snyder, Tom Oldakowski and Timothy Hull.

Hull has filed nominating petitions to contest the city council Democratic primary in Ward 2 against incumbent Stephen Rapundalo. Kunselman will be running for re-election in the Ward 3 Democratic primary.

Crawford, who is also interim city administrator, had announced the public hearing on the taxicab fare increase at the city council’s May 2, 2011 meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council gave initial approval to an amendment of its land use control ordinance that will establish design guidelines for new projects in downtown Ann Arbor, as well as a seven-member design review board (DRB) to provide developers with feedback on their projects’ conformance to the design guidelines.

All city of Ann Arbor ordinances require approval at an initial first reading before the council, a public hearing, and final approval at a meeting following the initial approval.

The timing of project review by the DRB will come before a meeting with nearby residents – which is already required as part of the citizen participation ordinance. While the DRB process is required, conformance with the recommendations of that body is voluntary.

The city council had previously approved the design guideline review program at its Feb. 7, 2011 meeting. The city planning commission unanimously recommended the change to the city’s ordinance at its April 5, 2011 meeting. [Previous Chronicle coverage, which includes a detailed timeline of the design guidelines work, dating back to a work group formed in 2006: "Ann Arbor Hotel First to Get Design Review?"]

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board voted on a resolution to begin videotaping its meetings for broadcast. Nancy Kaplan, the board’s newest member, proposed the idea at their April 25, 2011 meeting. At that same meeting, AADL staff told the board that limited resources and quality control issues were the reasons why they hadn’t chosen to videotape the meetings to date.

Only Kaplan and Barbara Murphy voted in favor of the resolution. It was defeated by a 2-4 vote, with trustees Rebecca Head, Jan Barney Newman, Margaret Leary and Prue Rosenthal voting against it. Ed Surovell was absent.

This brief was filed from the AADL board meeting at the downtown library on South Fifth Avenue. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board unanimously approved a one-year extension on the space agreement with the nonprofit Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, which operates a used bookstore in the lower level of AADL’s downtown branch. Proceeds from the store – $100,000 this year alone – benefit the library. The previous agreement, originally signed in 2009, was set to expire on May 18. [.pdf file of FAADL space use agreement]

This brief was filed from the AADL board meeting at the downtown library on South Fifth Avenue. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

At its May 16, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board unanimously approved its 2011-12 budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2011. Though the board is allowed to levy up to 1.92 mills, the $12.034 million budget is based on tax revenues from a 1.55 mill levy, which the board authorized in a separate vote. [In 2009, the board had lowered its millage rate from 1.92 mills to the current rate of 1.55 mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s state equalized value, or SEV.] No one spoke during a public hearing on the proposed budget.

Major expenditures include $5.684 million for salaries and wages, $1.51 million for employee benefits and $1.85 million for … [Full Story]

On Monday, May 16, Ann Arbor city clerk Jackie Beaudry said that Marwan Issa will be a candidate in the Ward 3 city council Democratic primary on Aug. 2. As of last Tuesday, Issa had submitted only 94 valid signatures of the 100 that are needed to qualify on the ballot.

However, that total was based on a city clerk staff decision to disallow a sheet of 20 signatures submitted by Issa. Beaudry reversed that decision after discussing the issue with assistant city attorney Mary Fales and Issa himself.

The deadline for submitting nominating petitions was Tuesday, May 10, at 4 p.m. With that deadline minutes away, members of Issa’s family – standing at the window of the city clerk’s second floor … [Full Story]

Residence hall rates at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus will increase 3% this fall if approved by the UM board of regents at their May 19, 2011 meeting, to be held at UM’s Dearborn campus. [.pdf of proposed rate increases] The proposed rate increase for Northwood Community Apartments – housing primarily for graduate students and families on UM’s north campus in Ann Arbor – will be 1% for the 2011-12 academic year, if approved.

A staff memo accompanying the proposal indicates that the 3% increase for residence halls is divided into two components: 1% for increased operating costs; and 2% for residence hall renovations. Room and board costs for a single residence hall room would increase from … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County board of commissioners working session (May 5, 2011): Continuing a debate that began at their regular board meeting the previous day, county commissioners spent part of their most recent working session getting more information about a brownfield proposal for the Packard Square project in Ann Arbor.

Tony VanDerworp, left, talks with Washtenaw County commissioners Conan Smith and Dan Smith before a May 5, 2011 working session. VanDerworp is director of the economic development & energy department, which manages the county's brownfield program.

The board had been asked at its May 4 meeting to give initial approval of a $1 million grant application and $1 million loan from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment, for brownfield cleanup at the proposed Packard Square development. The board was also asked to authorize designation of the county’s full faith and credit as a guarantee for any loan that might be awarded, up to $1 million.

It was that guarantee that raised concerns among some commissioners, who were uncomfortable putting the county potentially on the hook for a private developer – especially as the county faces a $17.5 million deficit over the next two years.

Also was a concern that the developer – Bloomfield Hills-based Harbor Companies – had not paid off back taxes owed on the site.

Commissioners discussed having county staff talk with representatives of the city of Ann Arbor, to ask whether the city would be willing to back the loan, rather than the county. The site plan and brownfield plan for Packard Square had been approved by the Ann Arbor city council on Monday, May 2.

Subsequent to the May 5 working session, the county board announced that it will hold a special working session on Tuesday, May 17 to continue discussion of the Packard Square project and a possible change to the county’s full faith and credit policy. That meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Washtenaw County administration building, 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor.

In addition, the Packard Square grant and loan application, along with the project’s brownfield plan, is on the agenda for initial approval at the board’s May 18 meeting. A public hearing on the brownfield plan is also scheduled that night. [Full Story]

At its regular partnerships committee meeting on May 11, 2011, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board began discussing how to implement the city council “parcel-by-parcel” resolution passed on April 4, 2011. That resolution gives the DDA responsibility for leading a process to explore alternative uses for downtown parcels: the Library Lot, old Y Lot, Palio Lot, Kline’s Lot and the Fourth and William parking structure.

Light pink areas are all city-owned land. The red outlined area is the DDA tax district. The green rectangle is the smaller area of focus for which the DDA has been given responsibility to lead a process to explore alternative uses of city-owned surface parking lots. The green rectangle is bounded by Ashley, Division, Liberty and William streets. (Links to higher resolution image. Map data is available on the city's website at a2gov.org/data)

The parcels are currently used as surface parking lots – except for the Library Lot, which is the construction site for an underground parking garage that, when completed, will offer around 640 parking spaces. It was previously a 192-space surface parking lot.

The committee meeting included a presentation on the city’s sewer system from Cresson Slotten, a manager with the city of Ann Arbor’s systems planning unit.  The agenda also included a conversation with Doug Kelbaugh, former dean of the University of Michigan’s college of architecture and urban planning, and Kit McCullough, who teaches at the school. The two are interested in helping facilitate the public process stipulated in the city council parcel-by-parcel resolution. Also interested in sharing information he’s gathering from downtown property owners is Peter Allen, a local developer who attended the partnerships meeting.

One major theme that emerged during the committee’s discussion is the idea that a public space can be successful if it is programmed, used and supported by the community, even if its design is lacking.

The parcel-by-parcel resolution was passed at the same meeting that the council voted to terminate the review process for proposals the city had solicited for use of the top of the underground parking structure.

The termination of that RFP review process came just before the council was supposed to consider formally signing a letter of intent to hammer out a development agreement for the finalist project – a hotel/conference center proposed by Valiant Partners. [Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor Council Focuses on Downtown"] [Full Story]

Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission meeting (May 11, 2011): Wednesday was the last regular meeting for two greenbelt commissioners – terms end on June 30 for chair Jennifer S. Hall and Gil Omenn, who were both active in efforts to launch the program. Both have reached the term limits for serving on GAC.

Jennifer S. Hall, chair of the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission, presided over her last regular meeting on May 11. Her term ends on June 30; GAC's June meeting will be a joint session with the city's park advisory commission.

Instead of holding their regular meetings in June, the greenbelt and park advisory commissions have scheduled a joint working session to discuss common goals and priorities – they last met jointly in April 2010.

Term limits were raised in another context during Wednesday’s meeting, when commissioners were asked to recommend that city council restate current GAC membership terms. Mary Fales of the city attorney’s office has been working on the revisions, after inconsistencies were discovered for current appointments. For example, a term for Ecology Center director Mike Garfield ended on June 30, 2009. Though he continued to serve, he was not officially reappointed to another three-year term until Sept. 21, 2010. Under the resolution recommended by GAC, all terms would end on June 30, over staggered years.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners got an update about Michigan budget-related legislation that would cut tax credits for farmers. They were also briefed by staff about changes to the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program – the city has received millions of dollars worth of FRPP grants over the years to offset the cost of development rights purchased in the greenbelt.

Ginny Trocchio, support staff for the greenbelt program, told commissioners that June 16 is the date for a greenbelt celebration, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Braun farm in Ann Arbor Township, which was added to the greenbelt in 2010. The event will be open to the public, and will include a presentation to highlight the program’s accomplishments.

Dan Ezekiel, GAC’s vice chair, reported that the subcommittee he’s leading to look at possible changes in the greenbelt boundary will be making a proposal at the commission’s July 13 meeting.

And in its final action of the meeting, commissioners emerged from a closed session and voted to recommend that Ann Arbor city council make a $127,200 offer for the purchase of development rights on a property within the greenbelt. Before appearing on the city council’s agenda, details of these greenbelt acquisitions are not made public – parcels are identified only by their application number. [Full Story]

At its Feb. 7, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council offered a 90-day window during which developer Alex de Parry could resubmit his planned unit development (PUD) Heritage Row project with a reduction in the required submittal fees from around $5,000 to $2,000. The project has previously been rejected by the city council multiple times in different guises.

That 90-day window ended last Monday, May 9, without a resubmission by de Parry, according to city of Ann Arbor planning staff. The project could still be submitted to the city for review, but would not enjoy the fee reduction offered by the city council in February. A public engagement meeting, which is required by city ordinance for new projects, was … [Full Story]

The Detroit Free Press reports that the state is now expected to take in up to $690 million more in tax revenues next year than had been previously forecast. The article quotes state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who says the additional revenues “give us the opportunity to do for the first time this year what we said we wanted to do – invest in jobs.” Irwin proposes increasing spending on alternative energy, transportation infrastructure and public schools. [Source]

Swastika slippers made in Ypsilanti were once openly advertised in national magazines – including Collier’s and Cosmopolitan. In its day, the footwear didn’t cause outrage, or taint the city as sympathetic to Nazis – even though two other Ypsi companies made similar items. The fringed footwear pre-dated Hitler’s rise by around 20 years.

A 1910 model featured a prominent design.

The swastika slipper was made in the Indian Shoe Company’s little third-floor factory at 17-21 Cross Street, above the present-day Fantasy Attic costume store. In the high-ceilinged space full of light from large south-facing windows sat an array of shoemaking machines with tough leather-penetrating needles, operated by about a dozen women and a few men.

Benjamin Boyce managed the company, but soon moved on to become the bookkeeper for the Peninsular Paper mill. His lengthy December 12, 1956 Ypsilanti Daily Press obituary makes no mention of his involvement with the Indian Shoe Company. [Full Story]

Bill Reynolds, Washtenaw County’s deputy administrator who has been on paid medical leave since early April, is one of three finalists for a county administrator job in St. Croix County, Wisc., according to a report published Friday in the Hudson Star-Observer.

On Monday, May 9, Washtenaw County administrator Verna McDaniel announced that Reynolds had been on medical leave since April 8, and was expected to be out for at least the next few months. [See Chronicle report: "Deputy County Admin on Medical Leave"]

Reynolds has been on the job in Washtenaw County just under a year – the county board of commissioners approved his hire at their June 2010 meeting, and he started work on June 21, 2010, with a … [Full Story]

In an article about the May 11, 2011 meeting of the Washtenaw County apportionment commission, we inaccurately characterized the length of time that county treasurer Catherine McClary has been active in politics. She has been politically active since 1972. We note the error here, and have corrected the original article.

On the Ann Arbor-based Weather Underground’s Wunder Blog, Jeff Masters writes about the Old River Control Structure, a 50-year-old civil-engineering feat in Louisiana that harnesses the Mississippi River and that could be challenged in the coming days: “Flow rates of the Mississippi at the latitude of the Old River Control Structure are expected to exceed the all-time record on Saturday, giving the Old River Control Structure its greatest test since the flood of 1973. … This is a dangerous flood, and very high water levels are expected for many weeks. Unexpected flaws in the design of the Old River Control Structure may give it a few percent chance of failure under these sorts of unprecedented conditions.” [Source]