Archive for February, 2013

The Ann Arbor Public School board has voted to approve the purchase of 35 mobile sound field amplification systems through REMC, a regional purchasing consortium. The total cost will be $27,405 – just over the limit of $22,865 requiring board approval.

The new equipment will replace systems purchased as part of the 2004 Comprehensive School Improvement Program, which are now failing to maintain their battery charges.

The vote by the AAPS board of trustees took place at the Feb. 13, 2013 meeting. The board had been briefed on the sound systems at its Dec. 19, 2012 meeting.

This brief was filed from the board room of the Ann Arbor District Library in downtown Ann Arbor at Fifth and William. A more detailed report … [Full Story]

Writing on her blog, photographer Alli McWhinney profiles Sweet Heather Anne, an Ann Arbor cake maker with a shop on Main Street. Photos include shots of Heather Anne Leavitt working in the kitchen. In a Q&A, Leavitt talks about her own favorites: “My favorite cake is our almond olive oil cake with blood orange curd and citrus praline buttercream. It was inspired the blood oranges that I fell in love with in Italy. The curd is the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and I love the delicate texture of the cake. I’m also incredibly partial to our mexican shortbread cookies. I sneak more of those than anything else ;).” [Source]

Ann Arbor planning commission meeting (Feb. 5, 2013): The contentious debate about zoning for the north side of East Huron Street – which had appeared to be settled with the 2009 A2D2 (Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown) zoning project – emerged again as the planning commission deliberated the proposed 413 E. Huron development this month.

Following a lengthy discussion and public hearing that drew 33 speakers, commissioners voted 5-3 to recommend approval of the site plan and development agreement for the residential project at the northeast corner of Huron and Division. However, because a recommendation of approval for site plans requires at least six votes, the project will be forwarded to city council with a technical denial.

Voting against the project were Sabra Briere, Ken Clein and Wendy Woods. Voting to recommend the project were Diane Giannola, Bonnie Bona, Tony Derezinski, Kirk Westphal and Eleanore Adenekan. Eric Mahler was absent.

The action at the commission’s Feb. 5 meeting followed an earlier decision on Jan. 15, 2013 to postpone a recommendation, pending input from the Michigan Dept. of Transportation. That meeting also included an extensive public hearing.

The proposal calls for a 14-story, 271,855-square-foot apartment building with 533 bedrooms, marketed primarily to university students. The parcel is zoned D1 – the highest allowable density in the city. The northern edge of the site is adjacent to the Old Fourth Ward Historic District, including historic single-family homes along North Division.

Most speakers during the public hearing were harshly critical of the project, as were most planning commissioners – even those who eventually voted to recommend approval. Diane Giannola, describing herself as a very “design tolerant” person, said that even for her, the building’s design isn’t attractive. Clein, a commissioner who is a principal with Quinn Evans Architects, noted that the building’s design has been dubbed “Death Star Moderne” for its dark, looming style.

Many of the objections related to the design’s insensitivity to the adjacent neighborhood. However, Scott Reed – one of the few speakers who supported the project – argued that if context is an issue, then the context of the surrounding neighborhood should be changed. “Bulldoze it if you have to,” he said. Also supporting the project was Adam Lowenstein – owner of BTB Burrito, Good Time Charley’s and LIVE – who said that downtown business owners welcome the influx of new residents.

Several planning commissioners advocated for starting a review of the A2D2 zoning and of the city’s design review process – echoing the sentiments of several speakers at the public hearing, too. Although the city council had directed such a review to occur one year after the new zoning and design guidelines were approved in 2009, there have been few projects completed during that time and a review has not yet taken place. The planning commission and staff are expected to take up the issue.

At the end of the Feb. 5 meeting, commissioners dealt with another project, voting to postpone action on a proposal to build 19 single-family houses on Hideaway Lane off Traver Road – near the city’s Leslie Park Golf Course. Commissioners were following a staff recommendation that cited the need to resolve several outstanding issues. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission meeting (Feb. 7, 2013): At their first meeting of 2013 – because the January session had been canceled – commissioners formally thanked individuals who’d made an extra effort on end-of-year land deals for the greenbelt program.

A resolution of recognition was presented to Mary Fales, senior assistant attorney for the city of Ann Arbor; Matt Keir, vice president of Liberty Title; Rosanne Bloomer, a lending officer for Greenstone Farm Credit Services – and wife of GAC commissioner Tom Bloomer; and Ginny Trocchio of The Conservation Fund, who provides staff support for the greenbelt program.

GAC chair Dan Ezekiel praised their work, noting that certain factors – including a change in tax law – had added pressure to complete the deals before Dec. 31. The transactions protected a total of about 320 acres in Webster, Salem and Superior townships.

Trocchio also reported that the purchase of development rights for part of the Donald Drake farm – 124 acres of farmland in Lodi Township – had closed earlier this year, making it the first deal of 2013. More than 4,200 acres have now been protected under the greenbelt program, she noted.

Another topic highlighted at the Feb. 7 meeting was the need to recruit new members for the commission. Liz Rother resigned earlier this year, though her term runs through June 30, 2014. Ezekiel also pointed out that he and two other commissioners – Laura Rubin and Tom Bloomer – will be leaving the commission this summer, when their terms expire. All three are term-limited. He urged members of the public to consider applying.

The meeting ended with commissioners voting to approve recommendations for additional land preservation deals. Two of those items – seeking approval to apply for grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) – are now on the agenda for the Ann Arbor city council’s Feb. 19, 2013 meeting. The properties are both in Lodi Township: (1) another part of the Drake farm – 72 acres along Waters Road; and (2) the Carol Schumacher farm – about 100 acres along Pleasant Lake Road. [Full Story]

AndrewH324 has posted on Flickr a stunning photo of the “canopy” formed by the crows roosting in the tree tops on the University of Michigan campus. [Source]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (Feb. 4, 2013): Two significant land use items were included in the council’s agenda, but councilmembers moved ahead on just one of them. A request to zone a recently annexed piece of property as R3 (townhouse district) prompted long deliberations by the council, and ultimately a referral of the item back to the planning commission for further review.

Dependent on the R3 zoning is Summit Townhomes – a proposed project for the 2081 E. Ellsworth Road site, located in the southern part of the city just east of Stone School Road. The townhouse project’s site plan is expected to come before the council for approval later this month. The planning commission has already recommended that the Summit Townhomes project be approved, and previously recommended the R3 zoning. The council itself had already given the zoning its initial approval at a previous meeting.

But during the public hearing about the zoning on Feb. 4, the council heard from several people who spoke against the zoning and the project, reprising many of the same objections that had been raised more than seven months ago at the June 19, 2012 meeting of the planning commission. Concerns included overcrowding and congestion in the area, and a lack of adequate city services. Also weighing in with general support for zoning that fits with the desires of residents was Washtenaw County commissioner Andy LaBarre, who represents the county district where the site is located.

Another item related to future land use was council action to authorize the distribution of the draft South State Street corridor plan to neighboring jurisdictions and other stakeholders, such as the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. After a mandated comment period, the city planning commission will have the opportunity to make revisions to the plan, before the commission and the city council make a decision to adopt it.

A major infrastructure study, with a roughly $1 million budget, was also authorized by the council – to give the city a clearer understanding of how flows behave in the sanitary sewer system, especially during rainy periods. The study is prompted by a desire to measure the impact of a footing drain disconnection program that the city has implemented for over a decade. In the last year, the program has generated strong protest from the Glen Leven neighborhood. The footing drain disconnection program was created in part to remedy the backup of raw sewage in basements during heavy rains.

The city council also authorized revisions to two existing technology agreements. One was an agreement between the city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to act as a purchasing consortium. The modification to the agreement will allow other participants to be added to the consortium in a streamlined way. The second agreement was the extension of a contract with the city of Chelsea to provide various IT services.

The council put off a decision on issuing bonds to support energy improvements for its property assessed clean energy (PACE) program. The item had been added late to the agenda, and several councilmembers had questions they wanted answered before voting on it.

Although the agenda itself was light, several significant communications were included, either as written attachments or conveyed verbally. The written reports attached to the agenda included a revised auditor’s letter and a report on how the street resurfacing millage money was spent during the 2012 season.

Conveyed verbally was a report from the council’s budget committee chair, Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), who alerted councilmembers that on Feb. 11 and Feb. 25 the council would hold budget work sessions starting at 6 p.m., with each meeting consisting of two 2-hour sessions with a break.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), chair of the city’s taxicab board, called for enforcement of the city ordinance that is meant to prevent the operation of “rogue limousines” – in the context of a reported sexual assault of a University of Michigan student by the driver of either a taxicab or limousine.

Kunselman also called for a number of revisions to the city ordinance that establishes the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, including stricter regulations on membership of the board, but more significantly a limitation on the way the DDA’s tax increment finance (TIF) capture is calculated. [Full Story]

Writing on Eclectablog, Chris Savage summarizes the Feb. 9, 2013 meeting of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party, which included appearances by Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer as well as his opponent in the upcoming election for chair of the party, Lon Johnson. “The event was extremely well-run by Ann Arbor Dems chair Mike Henry and in the overflow crowd of around 250 people was nearly every elected official from the Ann Arbor area. It was, without question, the biggest political event in Washtenaw County since the election last November.” [Source]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (Feb. 6, 2013): The meeting of the full DDA board reprised much of the same content of the operations committee meeting two weeks earlier, which focused on the organization’s budgets for the next two fiscal years. The board voted to approve budgets for FY 2014 and FY 2015.

For FY 2014, the DDA budget calls for $23.1 million in expenditures against $23.4 million in revenues. That would add about $300,000 to the total fund balance reserve, which is projected to end FY 2014 fiscal at around $5.5 million. The surplus from FY 2014 would be used in the FY 2015 budget, which calls for $23.8 million in expenditures against $23.5 in revenues, leaving the DDA with about $5.2 million in total fund balance reserve at the end of FY 2015. Reserve amounts indicated in the budget are about $800,000 more than the “true fund balance” – because the money lent to the DDA by Republic Parking for installation of new equipment is recorded as revenue.

Some of the larger categories of expenses in the $23.1 million expense budget for FY 2014, which is similar to FY 2015, are: payments to Republic Parking for operating the public parking system ($6.5 million); bond payments and interest ($6.6 million); payments to the city of Ann Arbor ($3 million in parking revenue and $500,000 for the police/courts facility); capital costs ($2 million); administration ($800,000); and alternative transportation ($615,000).

The alternative transportation allocation would fall a bit short of covering this year’s $623,662 request from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to support the getDowntown program, which includes a subsidy to cover the cost of rides taken with the go!pass. That compares with $553,488 granted by the DDA last year to support getDowntown. A presentation made previously to the operations committee – by Michael Ford, CEO of the AATA, and Nancy Shore, director of the getDowntown program – was also given to the full board at the Feb. 6 meeting. The presentation highlighted the fact that 31% of go!pass riders get on the bus east of US-23.

Money in the budget labeled “discretionary” could cover the gap between AATA’s request and the amount in the budget slated for alternative transportation. That money is one of a number of “placeholder” items included in the budget – like $250,000 for a possible arrangement with the city of Ann Arbor for additional police patrols in the downtown. Another $300,000 could be used for a range of capital projects – from sidewalk improvements for patio dining in the State Street area, to streetscape improvements for William Street, to alley improvements near the Bell Tower Hotel.

The board did not discuss remarks made earlier in the week by Ward 3 city councilmember Stephen Kunselman, who at the council’s Feb. 4 meeting called for a number of changes to the city’s DDA ordinance. If enacted, the changes could have a significant impact on the DDA’s revenue from its tax increment finance (TIF) budget. Of the DDA’s roughly $23 million revenue budget, about $4 million comes from TIF capture, with the remainder coming from the public parking system.

The DDA board meeting featured public commentary from Alan Haber, a self-described “agitator” for a public park on top of the Library Lane underground parking garage, and a briefing from Ray Detter, chair of the downtown citizens advisory council, on the status of the 413 E. Huron project. The previous evening, that proposed residential project had failed to achieve the six votes it needed for a planning commission recommendation of approval. The project is still expected to be brought to the city council for consideration, possibly on March 18.

The board was also presented with this year’s edition of the DDA’s “State of the Downtown” report, which summarizes a number of statistics about the DDA district. [Full Story]

The University of Michigan Alumni Association posts a short YouTube video of snow scenes around the Ann Arbor campus, including a closeup of a snow-covered but undaunted squirrel. [Source]

Congratulations! You not only survived that annual orgy of conspicuous consumption called the Super Bowl, you also survived the two weeks of endless stories without news that lead up to the big day.

And when the big game arrived, what was our reward? On the one day we actually look forward to watching TV ads, they were so bland and boring and just plain bad, we had no choice but to turn our attention to the actual football game.

Has it come to this?

But back to the point of the whole exercise: The Super Bowl ads.

To say a bunch of ads were disappointing is like complaining that your dentist’s routine cleaning is getting predictable. We usually don’t expect ads to do anything more than annoy us.

But with Super Bowl ads, all the hype raises our expectations, and all the money companies spend – a record four million dollars for a 30-second ad – only increases the pressure.

Trying to be funny is the one, surefire way to make sure you’re not. And, because the ads are so expensive, every executive at every company has got to throw in his two cents, which is trying to create comedy by committee. And that’s the second surefire way to be sure you ain’t funny. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city councilmembers Sally Petersen and Jane Lumm – who both represent Ward 2 – have launched a website for their constituents: A2Ward2.com. The site includes a link to a “resident satisfaction survey” powered by the Ann Arbor firm ForeSee Results. The 40-item survey covers a wide range of topics, asking for feedback on parks, garbage collection, recycling, infrastructure, taxes, the bus system, police, and several other issues. Three open-ended questions include this one: “If you could make one suggestion for your elected official to focus on during the next six months what would it be?” [Source] Not sure if you live in Ward 2? Here’s a link to … [Full Story]

On a 6-1 vote, Washtenaw County commissioners passed a resolution at their Feb. 6, 2013 meeting related to Michigan’s new right-to-work legislation – including direction to renegotiate union contracts. The resolution was brought forward by Andy LaBarre (D-District 7), one of three Ann Arbor commissioners on the nine-member board. [.pdf of LaBarre's resolution] Voting against the resolution was Dan Smith (R-District 2). Two commissioners – Ronnie Peterson (D-District 6) and Alicia Ping (R-District 3) – were absent.

In addition to condemning the right-to-work law and urging the state legislature to pass SB 95 and SB 96 – bills that would repeal the law – LaBarre’s resolution also “directs the county administrator and the director of human resources to engage in … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County commissioners have approved amendments to an interlocal agreement with the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office Community Alliance. The action took place at the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting. There was minimal discussion on this item.

The history of this partnership dates back to 2010. The county board voted initially to join the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office (SEMREO) – a separate entity from the SEMREO Community Alliance – at its March 17, 2010 meeting. At the time, SEMREO was a division of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, a Ferndale-based nonprofit that’s led by county commissioner Conan Smith. Smith abstained from the March 17, 2010 vote, following conflict-of-interest concerns raised by other commissioners. SEMREO later split off from the Michigan … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County commissioners have given initial authorization to the county treasurer to borrow up to $40 million against the amount of delinquent property taxes in all of the county’s 80 taxing jurisdictions. The unanimous vote took place at the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting, with a final vote expected on Feb. 20.

After March 1, taxing jurisdictions – including cities, townships, schools systems and libraries, among others – turn their delinquent taxes over to the county, and are reimbursed for that amount. The county treasurer then assumes responsibility for collecting these delinquent taxes. This is a standard procedure that’s conducted annually at this time of year. The borrowed funds are used for cash flow purposes, to fund operations for the first half … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County commissioners have given final authorization to apply for a $20,000 grant to fund expansion of an after-school program called “Telling It” in the West Willow and MacArthur Boulevard housing developments, low-income neighborhoods on the county’s east side. The vote came at the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting. Initial approval was received on Jan. 15, 2013. [.pdf of grant application]

According to a staff memo, the Telling It program focuses on developing creative writing and literacy skills for at-risk youth. It would support an effort to fight gang-related activity – specifically, the dozen or so “cliques” in the Ypsilanti/Willow Run area. The memo defines cliques as gangs “without by-laws, or a code of ethics, ultimately … [Full Story]

The Washtenaw County commissioner who is appointed to the Detroit Region Aerotropolis board will now be eligible to receive stipend payments. At the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting, commissioners voted to add the aerotropolis board to a list of groups for which stipends are paid.

Commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr. (D-District 5) was appointed to serve on the aerotropolis at the county board’s Jan. 16, 2013 meeting. He’ll receive an annual stipend of $100 for that work. Sizemore’s appointment on Jan. 16 came in the context of the annual county commissioner appointments made at the start of each year. [.pdf of 2013 appointments listing]

The original list of eligible boards, committees and commissions for which stipends are … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County commissioners gave initial approval to amend a three-way agreement with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority and the city of Ann Arbor, in a unanimous vote at the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting. The three-way accord – an interagency agreement for collaborative technology and services (IACTS) – is meant to provide a way to procure and maintain common technology platforms and services centrally.

The modification to the agreement allows for adding other entities into the agreement in a more streamlined way. It gives each founding member the ability to add new participants administratively, without modifying the agreement itself. The original IACTS was approved in May of 2011. [.pdf of IACTS amendment]

The Ann Arbor city council approved the … [Full Story]

The Washtenaw County board of commissioners has given initial approval to refinance debt for a sewer system in Lyndon and Sylvan townships, on the county’s west side. The action was taken at the board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting and is intended to save about $110,000 in interest payments. A final vote is expected on Feb. 20. [.pdf of bond resolution]

The resolution authorizes the sale of refunding bonds that would be used to pay the remaining principal on existing bonds that were sold in 2004. That year, the county sold $5.115 million in bonds to help the townships pay for the sewer. Of that amount, $2.225 million remains to be repaid. According to a staff memo, the project built sewers … [Full Story]

Funding for a drain project along Miller Avenue in Ann Arbor – in the Allen Creek drainage district – took a step toward being backed by Washtenaw County’s full faith and credit, following initial approval at the county board’s Feb. 6, 2013 meeting. A final vote is expected on Feb. 20.

The backing is for up to $1.58 million in bonds for the project, which will repaid through a special assessment against the city of Ann Arbor. The project is being handled by the office of the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner, led by Evan Pratt. It’s the first project brought forward by Pratt, who took office in January. Pratt attended the Feb. 6 meeting but did not formally address the … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor park advisory commission’s downtown parks subcommittee meeting (Feb. 5, 2013): Following up on an informal request from the city council, a subcommittee of Ann Arbor’s park advisory commission began work to develop recommendations on the need for downtown parks.

Much of the discussion on Feb. 5 involved setting a process for their work. As a first step, the group agreed to read background material from a variety of sources, including the city’s parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan, elements of the city’s master plan, and reports by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s Connecting William Street project.

They also discussed the possibility of hiring an outside consultant. The nonprofit Project for Public Spaces was cited as one option for a consultant.

Several commissioners stressed the need for strong public engagement, and they will likely ask for specific input from groups like Library Green, downtown merchant associations, the Ann Arbor District Library and others.

This meeting followed an extensive discussion at the Jan. 15, 2013 session of the full park advisory commission. [See Chronicle coverage: "Parks Group To Weigh In On Downtown Need."] And on Sept. 18 2012 PAC passed a resolution urging the council to seek additional evaluation on locations for a downtown park. That resolution came in the context of Connecting William Street, a DDA project undertaken at the request of the council to help guide the future use of five city-owned downtown properties.

The goal of this PAC subcommittee is to draft recommendations that the full commission can consider and approve, which could be delivered to the city council in about six months. Members include Ingrid Ault, who is serving as the subcommittee chair, PAC chair Julie Grand, Alan Jackson, and Karen Levin. However, any park commissioner can participate. So the Feb. 5 meeting was also attended by Tim Doyle, Bob Galardi, Graydon Krapohl and councilmember Mike Anglin, an ex-officio member of PAC.

The subcommittee’s next meeting is set for March 5 following the commission’s land acquisition committee meeting, which begins at 4 p.m. at city hall. The next meeting of the full park advisory commission is Tuesday, Feb. 26, also at 4 p.m. in the city hall’s council chambers. All of these meetings are open to the public and include opportunities for public commentary. [Full Story]

Budgets for the fiscal years 2014 and 2015 have been approved by the board of Ann Arbor’s downtown development authority. The DDA’s fiscal year is in sync with the city of Ann Arbor’s fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

For FY 2014, the DDA budget calls for $23.1 million in expenditures against $23.4 million in revenues. That would add about $300,000 to the total fund balance reserve, which is projected to end FY 2014 fiscal at around $5.5 million. The surplus from FY 2014 would be used in the FY 2015 budget, which calls for $23.8 million in expenditures against $23.5 in revenues, leaving the DDA with about $5.2 million in total fund balance reserve at the end of FY … [Full Story]