Archive for May, 2011

Hour Detroit magazine’s May issue includes a profile of 826michigan, a writing and tutoring nonprofit that also has a quirky retail shop in downtown Ann Arbor. The article quotes Jim Ottaviani, a volunteer tutor: “I came across it via walking down Liberty Street. I like the fact that it’s a trick because it’s a lot of fun. People like surprises. Once you’re behind the curtain, it’s an open environment where students and tutors learn together and do so in a pretty relaxed, non-judgmental, friendly atmosphere.” [Source]

On the morning of May 3, 2011, Kirsten Ingrid Ault submitted nominating petitions to the Ann Arbor city clerk’s office as a candidate in the Democratic primary election for the Ward 3 city council seat in which Stephen Kunselman currently serves. Ault is the executive director of the nonprofit Think Local First – she goes by her middle name, Ingrid.

As of 10:30 a.m., the city clerk’s office had not had a chance to validate the signatures submitted by Ault – May 3 is election day, and staff in the clerk’s office are occupied with election-related tasks. [The one item on Ann Arbor ballots is a Washtenaw Intermediate School District millage to support special education. Polls are open until ... [Full Story]

Washtenaw County apportionment commission meeting (April 28, 2011): Two potential redistricting plans – one increasing the number of districts for the Washtenaw County board of commissioners from 11 to 12, another cutting the number to nine – were presented at a public meeting last Thursday. It’s another step toward completing the once-every-10-year redistricting process, based on changes in census data.

The plans were submitted by three members of the five-member apportionment commission. The 9-district plan was proposed by county prosecuting attorney Brian Mackie, a Democrat. It would reduce the number of Ann Arbor districts from four to three, and put two current commissioners – Republican Alicia Ping of District 3, who lives in Saline, and Democrat Wes Prater of District 4, a York Township resident – in the same district.

The 12-district plan – which creates a new district for Scio Township – was proposed by county clerk Larry Kestenbaum, a Democrat who chairs the apportionment commission, and Mark Boonstra, a commission member and chair of the Washtenaw Republican Party. In this plan, Ann Arbor would retain its four seats on the county board.

The apportionment commission discussed the plans but did not vote. Two additional meetings are scheduled: on Wednesday, May 4 at 5 p.m. and on Wednesday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the lower-level conference room at 200 N. Main St., Ann Arbor. By law, the commission has until June 6 to approve a redistricting plan. Other commission members are county treasurer Catherine McClary, and the chair of the county Democratic Party, Cleveland Chandler.

About a dozen people attended Thursday’s meeting, and many of them spoke during the time allowed for public commentary. Kestenbaum began the meeting by noting that there was no American flag in the room, so they could skip the Pledge of Allegiance. [Full Story]

At its May 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved a contract extension with William Wheeler for oversight of the municipal center construction project. In March 2010, the council had voted to continue Wheeler’s services as the municipal center project manager – Wheeler is a former city of Ann Arbor employee.

The contract language stipulated that it would expire when Wheeler hit a maximum compensation of $126,000 or by April 30, 2011. The council approved a contract extension of 60 days, with no increase in the cap on total compensation.

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

At its May 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved several interagency agreements on use of technology with: (1) Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority; (2) Washtenaw County for data storage services; and (3) Washtenaw County for backup services.

The AATA board had discussed the AATA collaboration at its April 21 meeting. The data storage services to be provided by the county will cost $73,632 for four years. The backup services to be provided by the county will entail an annual service cost of $102,607 for four years.

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]

For fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1, 2011, the Ann Arbor city council voted unanimously at its May 2, 2011 meeting to postpone $1,159,029 in support for nonprofits that provide human services in the city. The amount reflects a 9% reduction from FY 2011. The council hopes to identify a way to make up that gap between now and its next meeting, when it approves the fiscal year 2012 budget.

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

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 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council voted to set a public hearing on the granting of a tax abatement to Sakti3, a University of Michigan battery technology spinoff from the University of Michigan. Sakti3 is led by UM professor Ann Marie Sastry. The public hearing will be held as a part of the city council’s June 6, 2011 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.

Sakti3 is requesting an abatement on $200,000 of real property improvements (electrical construction work) and $2.2 million of personal property (battery cycling equipment, thermal chambers, machine shop equipment, server system).

If granted, the abatement would reduce Sakti3′s annual tax bill for the new improvements by about $17,000 for each year of the abatement. According to city staff, the new real and personal property investments would generate about $22,500 in property taxes each year.

Previously, the council voted on March 21 to set a public hearing on the establishment of the industrial development district under which Sakti3 is applying for an abatement. And on April 4, the city council approved the establishment of the district.

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 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council voted to approve the site plan and development agreement, as well as the brownfield redevelopment plan, for the Packard Square development, located at the site of the former Georgetown Mall. The development would include 230 apartment units, 23,790 square feet of retail space, 454 parking spaces and stormwater detention facilities.

At its March 15 meeting, the Ann Arbor city planning commission had unanimously recommended approval of the Packard Square site plan. [Chronicle coverage: "Packard Square, Fraternity Site Plan OK'd"]

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 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council again postponed two local laws on medical marijuana, one on zoning and another on licensing. Both laws had previously received initial approval, but after approving several amendments to both proposed laws, the council decided to postpone them to its June 6 meeting.

The medical marijuana zoning ordinance received its initial approval by the council at its Oct. 18, 2010 meeting. The delay since the initial Oct. 18, 2010 zoning vote stems from the city of Ann Arbor’s strategy in legislating zoning and licensing of medical marijuana businesses – that strategy has been to bring both licensing and zoning before the city council at the same time for a final vote.

The context for development of zoning regulations was set at the council’s Aug. 5, 2010 meeting, when councilmembers voted to impose a moratorium on the use of property in the city for medical marijuana dispensaries or cultivation facilities. The council also directed the city’s planning commission to develop zoning regulations for medical marijuana businesses.

Subsequently, the city attorney’s office also began working on a licensing system. The council undertook several amendments to the licensing proposal at four of its meetings over the last three months: on Jan. 3, Feb. 7,  March 7 and March 21. The council finally gave its first initial approval to the licensing proposal at its March 21 meeting.

At the May 2 meeting, the most significant amendment to the licensing proposal was to eliminate cultivation facilities from licensing requirements. [.pdf of Michigan Medical Marijuana Act]

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]

An April 21, 2011 Civic News Ticker and an April 26, 2011 article about the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority’s release of its draft transportation master plan included an incorrect date for an upcoming meeting. The final public meeting to discuss the plan will be held on May 17 – not May 27 – at Saline City Hall, 100 N. Harris St. in Saline. We note the error here, and have corrected the original article and Civic News Ticker.

At its May 2, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board delayed voting on the new parking contract under which the DDA would continue to operate the city’s public parking system.

An issue identified by the city of Ann Arbor late Friday raised questions about whether some of the tax increment financing (TIF) revenue captured since 2002 by the DDA should, in fact, be returned to the taxing authorities from which it was collected. So the board wanted additional time to clarify the issue before voting on the contract.

Added information after original publication: [At issue is the proper interpretation of the following paragraph of the city's ordinance establishing the DDA: "If the captured assessed valuation derived from new construction, and increase in value of property newly constructed or existing property improved subsequent thereto, grows at a rate faster than that anticipated in the tax increment plan, at least 50% of such additional amounts shall be divided among the taxing units in relation to their proportion of the current tax levies. If the captured assessed valuation derived from new construction grows at a rate of over twice that anticipated in the plan, all of such excess amounts over twice that anticipated shall be divided among the taxing units. Only after approval of the governmental units may these restrictions be removed."] [.pdf of Ann Arbor city ordinance establishing DDA]

The resolution to ratify the contract with the city was tabled by the board, and board members recognized that it would likely be necessary to convene a special meeting of the board, given the city’s need to approve its budget on May 16. [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Column: Ann Arbor Parking – Share THIS!"]

This brief was filed from the DDA offices at 150 S. Fifth Ave., where the board meets. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the Tuesday, May 3 elections. Some school districts – though not Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti – will be electing school board candidates. Voters in several communities will also be asked to weigh in on ballot proposals – here’s a list of those. There is only one proposal on the ballot in Ann Arbor: the special education millage renewal, which is being sought countywide. Not sure where to vote? The county clerk’s office has a list of polling locations, by municipality. The Ann Arbor city clerk’s office includes a map of precincts, with the location of polling places for each precinct.

The Michigan Daily reports that a group of students from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business who are studying in Washington, D.C. were among the first to arrive at the White House Sunday night to celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. From the report: “Even before Obama made the official announcement, Business seniors Ifat Ribon, Karen Zelby and Mariya Pojidaev rushed out of their hotel room shortly after turning on the news. ‘We went literally sprinting down toward the White House,’ Zelby said. Pojidaev said when they got there around 11:30 p.m., a small group of University of Michigan students were gathered at the gates before thousands of people flooded the area.” [Source]

Editor’s note: The monthly milestone column, which appears on the second day of each month – the anniversary of The Ann Arbor Chronicle’s launch – is an opportunity for either the publisher or the editor of The Chronicle to touch base with readers on topics related to this publication. It’s also a time that we highlight, with gratitude, our local advertisers, and ask readers to consider subscribing voluntarily to The Chronicle to support our work.

Writing on Damn Arbor, a blog maintained by a half-dozen self-described “grad students, townies, and derelicts,” Quinn Davis wondered recently: “So. If a citizen gasps during a city council meeting but no one reads about it, what’s the point?”

Davis posed the rhetorical question in the context of an article she’d written for the Washtenaw Voice, a Washtenaw Community College publication she edits. About that article, her advisor ventured: “I worry that our readership may not be that interested enough to get through 800 words you have so far.”

Here at The Ann Arbor Chronicle, we would also worry about an 800-word article. We’d wonder what happened to the other 5,000 words.

Count that exaggeration as a rhetorical flourish.

In fact, since since June of last year, we’ve routinely published items shorter than 500 words. These  items are outcomes of individual public meeting votes and other civic events – they’re collected in a sidebar section we call the Civic News Ticker. Readers can view all those items in one go on the Civic News Ticker page. Readers who prefer to receive The Chronicle using an RSS feed reader can subscribe to just the Civic News Ticker items with this feed: Civic News Ticker Feed.

But back to the rhetorical question: What is the point of ever including details that most people might not ever read, in an article that tops 10,000 words?  [Full Story]

Ann Arbor public art commission meeting (April 27, 2011): Commissioners were taken aback at their April meeting when told by city staff that a mural program – one that’s been in the works for months – might need to be delayed.

At issue was the fact that the 2011 annual public art plan, which includes the mural pilot program, was never officially approved by Ann Arbor city council. Though the plan was approved last year by AAPAC and forwarded to city staff, it was never placed on council’s agenda.

Some commissioners questioned whether approval of the plan is needed, noting that the West Park public art project – which was also in the 2011 plan – moved ahead and was actually completed last fall. Ultimately, it appears the mural program can move forward with plans to hold public meetings regarding proposed sites in Allmendinger Park and along Huron Parkway, but no contracts can be signed with artists until the council approves the newest annual plan – for fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1. AAPAC approved that plan at the April 27 meeting.

In other business, the West Park art project was brought up again as a separate item of discussion – commissioners learned that the project had incurred $5,438 more in expenses than had been budgeted, because of unanticipated administrative costs.

The commission also got updates on: (1) the Herbert Dreiseitl water sculpture, which is expected to be installed in front of the municipal center in August; and (2) public art being planned for the proposed Fuller Road Station.

Commissioners also discussed promoting the annual Golden Paintbrush awards – nominations are being sought to recognize local contributions to public art. Nomination forms can be downloaded from AAPAC’s website, and are due May 30.

In its final action of the meeting, AAPAC elected Marsha Chamberlin as chair, though she did not attend the meeting. She has served as acting chair for several months, and had agreed to step into the permanent role. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor park advisory commission meeting (April 26, 2011): The park advisory commission (PAC) meeting on Tuesday lasted around three hours, and concluded with a budget-related resolution that reminds the Ann Arbor city council of an administrative policy on parks budgeting.

PAC chair Julie Grand lamented the short notice they had received about the proposed changes to the way parks programs will be supported in the fiscal year 2012 budget – which meant that the public had little opportunity to weigh in with PAC.

On May 2, the city council is holding its public hearing on the FY 2012 budget, which the council needs to approve at its May 16 meeting. The 2012 fiscal year begins July 1, 2011.

The city’s administrative policy on parks support dates back to a measure passed by the city council in October 2006, which reads in relevant part: “If future reductions are necessary in the City’s general fund budget, during any of the six years of this millage, beginning with Fiscal Year 2007-2008, the general fund budget supporting the parks and recreation system for that year will be reduced by a percentage no greater than the average percentage reduction of the total City general fund budget.”

The policy was seen as important to assure voters that once the 2006 millage was passed, millage money would not replace general fund support for parks.

But based on city staff calculations, the portion of the city’s general fund in the proposed FY 2012 budget that supports parks would fall short of the 2006 administrative policy standard by $90,000. And some park commissioners objected to the fact that some of the money previously drawn from the general fund to support parks will now be drawn from the METRO and stormwater funds.

The stormwater fund receives revenues paid through fees based on the amount of impervious surface on a property. The METRO fund receives revenues that the state requires telecommunications companies to pay municipalities for use of the right-of-way. For purposes of the administrative policy, the city is counting the METRO funds that are supporting parks as part of the general fund.

The resolution passed by PAC called on the city council to adhere to the prevailing administrative policy. A different resolution passed by PAC expressed the body’s support for the cost-savings measures in the parks and recreation programs included in the FY 2012 budget. Besides parks and recreation programs, park operations are supported by the general fund – in the public services area of the budget. The administrative policy discrepancy lies in the park operations budget.

In other budget-related business, the commission recommended fee increases and new program fees that had been suggested by city staff. Those increases will need final authorization by the city council.

The commission also received a presentation from the Ann Arbor public art commission on a program to create murals. One of the initial sites selected for mural installation is the restroom building at Allmendinger Park. [Full Story]