A post on Hyperallergic describes the background for “State of Exception,” an art exhibit at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities Gallery. The work, on display through March 12, includes artifacts collected as part of the Undocumented Migration Project, and explores issues related to illegal immigration. [Source]
The Ann Arbor city council unanimously voted to postpone a resolution that would have enacted a six-month moratorium on the acceptance of new site plans for downtown Ann Arbor. The action took place at the council’s March 4, 2013 meeting following a closed session. Although the council heard extensive public commentary on the issue, councilmembers did not deliberate before voting to postpone the resolution until their March 18 meeting.
Ann Arbor zoning. Darker red areas are zoned D1. Lighter brownish … [Full Story]
Several revisions to a city ordinance governing the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) were postponed by the city council at its March 4, 2013 meeting. Some of the proposed revisions would have an impact of several million dollars over the next two decades, affecting several jurisdictions besides Ann Arbor. The postponement was until the council’s March 18 meeting.
Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority tax increment finance district is shown in blue.
Among the revisions to Chapter 7 that are being considered by the council … [Full Story]
Two buildings on the city-owned 721 N. Main property near downtown Ann Arbor will now be demolished, using $87,704 in funds granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
721 N. Main site showing the two buildings to be demolished, which are located in the floodway.
The unanimous vote to accept the funds came at the council’s March 4, 2013 meeting. The 721 N. Main site is a former city maintenance yard, and is part of a … [Full Story]
In six separate resolutions, the Ann Arbor city voted at its March 4, 2013 meeting to authorize the purchase of 44 new vehicles, with a total cost of $928,499. The vehicles include police patrol cars (7), 15-passenger vans (3), 4×4 pickup trucks (6) and compact cars (6), as well as several other vehicle types, used in different city service units.
The city’s vehicles are managed through the fleet services fund, not by each individual service unit. Replacement of a vehicle is determined through a scoring system that includes age, miles/hours of service, type of service, reliability (measured by number of repair work orders), maintenance cost, and supervisor review.
The supervisor’s rating is weighted so that vehicles that have been in service for a … [Full Story]
On a 10-1 vote of the Ann Arbor city council, the purchase of a parcel located on the west side of the Bluffs Nature Area has been approved. The cost of the roughly 0.357-acre piece of vacant land located at 1240 Orkney – with a current SEV (state equalized value) of $49,200 – was $115,000. [SEV is based on 50% of market value.] Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) cast the lone dissenting vote.
Map showing a parcel on Orkney approved for acquisition by the city – the narrow parcel that’s highlighted in yellow.
The parcel is located … [Full Story]
Three energy-related items were acted on by the Ann Arbor city council at its March 4, 2013 meeting. The council authorized expanded use of its energy fund to support community energy efficiency programs – not just programs to improve municipal energy efficiency. The resolution effecting the change to the fund’s use limits its use for community programs to 20% of the existing fund balance. That balance, according to environmental coordinator Matt Naud, stands at around $400,000. The kind of support the energy fund is intended to provide includes establishing future loan loss reserve funds, providing low-interest loans, and buying down interest rates.
A second energy-related item approved by the council on March 4 was a resolution to prepare the city’s infrastructure … [Full Story]
The site plan for a large townhome development at the northwest corner of West Liberty and South Maple has received approval from the Ann Arbor city council. The council vote came at its March 4, 2013 meeting. The project had previously received a unanimous recommendation of approval from the city planning commission at the Dec. 18, 2012 meeting of that body.
Site of the Blue Heron Pond development at the intersection of West Liberty and South Maple … [Full Story]
A residential building at 515 N. Fifth Ave., between Kingsley and Beakes on the west side of North Fifth, has received approval for its site plan from the Ann Arbor city council. The project is a three-story, 8,404-square-foot building with four two-bedroom units: two condominiums and two apartments. The unanimous vote came at the council’s March 4, 2013 meeting. The project had received a unanimous recommendation for approval from the city planning commission at that body’s Jan. 3, 2013 meeting.
Aerial view showing the location of 515 N. Fifth, outlined … [Full Story]
A 14-story apartment building at 624 Church St. will be built now that the Ann Arbor city council has given the site plan unanimous approval. The site plan approval for the project came at the council’s March 4, 2013 meeting. The planning commission had given the project a unanimous recommendation of approval at its Jan. 15, 2013 meeting.
Image from the planning commission’s meeting packet shows the front facade of the 624 Church proposal, in relation to an adjacent house.
The action came … [Full Story]
The city of Ann Arbor has taken a step toward putting the former YMCA parcel up for sale. The roughly 0.8 acre parcel at the corner of Fifth and William in downtown Ann Arbor is currently used as a surface parking lot in the city’s public parking system. The city purchased the property nearly 10 years ago, in 2003. At its March 4, 2013 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council voted to direct the city administrator to prepare an RFP (request for proposals) for brokerage services to sell the lot.
The second Ann Arbor Marathon has received approval of the necessary street closings for the 26.2 looping course through Ann Arbor.
Course map of the 2013 Ann Arbor Marathon. Image links to marathon website.
The approval came on a unanimous vote of the city council at its March 4, 2013 meeting. Last year’s race, held on June 17, 2012, drew harsh criticism – as some residents were surprised to have their morning routes to church cut off and their Father’s Day plans disrupted.
As part … [Full Story]
Golden Chef building at Maple Village is history. [photo]
Ann Arbor public art commission meeting (Feb. 27, 2013): Much of this month’s public art commission meeting was spent discussing the work of a city council committee that’s developing recommendations for changes to Ann Arbor’s public art program.
From left: Marsha Chamberlin, chair of the Ann Arbor public art commission, and Deb Gosselin, who handles the city’s capital improvements plan (CIP). Gosselin attended AAPAC’s Feb. 27 meeting to talk about the CIP process, which the commission is using as a planning tool for future public art projects. (Photos by the writer.)
Sabra Briere, who’s one of five city councilmembers on the committee, updated AAPAC on possible revisions to the city’s public art ordinance, as well as more general recommendations that are being prepared for the full council. Those proposed changes are likely to include eliminating the Percent for Art funding mechanism, creating a structure to solicit private donations and grants to support public art, directing staff to “bake in” artwork and architectural enhancements as part of overall city capital projects, and providing more administrative support – perhaps by contracting out those services.
AAPAC members had questions about the possible new approach, including questions about the commission’s own role. Briere advised them to continue working on existing projects that are funded through the Percent for Art approach, but noted that they should focus on future opportunities that don’t rely on Percent for Art funds.
The council committee continues to meet, and will eventually deliver recommendations and draft ordinance changes to the full council. This Chronicle report includes highlights from the committee’s most recent meeting on March 1. The committee next meets on March 15, before the council’s March 18 meeting. A moratorium on spending unallocated Percent for Art dollars expires on April 1.
In other action at AAPAC’s February meeting, commissioners heard from Jason Frenzel, stewardship coordinator for the Huron River Watershed Council, about a project that would raise awareness of how the city’s stormdrain system connects to the river. The project is proposed in two stages, starting with a chalk art contest at the June 14 Green Fair, during which artists would draw images and messaging around stormdrains on Main Street.
Commissioners also discussed how to move forward with a proposed memorial to Coleman Jewett – a bronze Adirondack chair at the Ann Arbor farmers market. A private donor has already committed $5,000 to the memorial, but details are still being worked out about how to manage the project. AAPAC chair Marsha Chamberlin indicated that she might call a special meeting in early March for commissioners to act on the proposal, which hasn’t formally been accepted by AAPAC. Update: The special meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, March 7 at 4:30 p.m. in the fifth-floor conference room at city hall, 301 E. Huron.
Other project updates were made via a written report from Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator. The report stated that a task force has selected four artists as finalists for artwork on the East Stadium bridges, and they have been invited to an April 1 site visit/open house. The finalists are: Volkan Alkanoglu, based in Atlanta, Georgia; Sheila Klein of Bow, Washington; Rebar Group of San Francisco; and Catherine Widgery of Cambridge, Mass. The project has a budget of $400,000.
Only four commissioners attended the Feb. 27 meeting, and when one commissioner left early, the meeting was adjourned for lack of a quorum – before all agenda items were addressed. In part because of attendance issues, officer elections – which AAPAC bylaws state should happen in January – have not yet occurred. Ballots were mailed to commissioners last week, and results will be announced at AAPAC’s March 27 meeting. It’s expected that vice chair Malverne Winborne will be elected chair.
And although it was not discussed at the meeting, Cathy Gendron resigned from AAPAC in late February. She had been reappointed to AAPAC at the city council’s Jan. 7, 2013 meeting for a term through Jan. 20, 2016, but had not attended the commission’s January or February meetings.
Responding to a Chronicle query, Gendron stated in an email that she had agreed to stay on the commission through March, but would be unable to attend AAPAC meetings and decided to resign. ”It’s time for someone else to take my place.” There are now three vacancies on the nine-member commission. [Full Story]
The city of Ann Arbor has mailed out its 2013 property assessment and taxable value notification letters, and has posted a fact sheet explaining how those calculations are made. The website includes two examples, and an explanation of the appeals process. [Source]
The Ann Arbor city council’s March 4, 2013 agenda includes a proposed change to the city ordinance (Chapter 7) governing the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. I think most of those ordinance amendments have considerable merit, and warrant the council’s consideration. But it’s possible that the amendments themselves won’t receive their due consideration, because they’ll be dismissed as politically motivated.
Ann Arbor DDA tax increment finance (TIF) capture: Actual valuation (green line) of the increment compared to projected valuation in the DDA TIF plan (blue bars correspond to one of three estimates – pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic).
The Chapter 7 amendments are being proposed by Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), who’s been joined by Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) in sponsoring them. Kailasapathy’s co-sponsorship might help only incrementally to buffer the proposal against criticism that they’re motivated by Kunselman’s personal political aspirations.
On that theory, Kunselman is proposing revisions to Chapter 7 in an effort to raise his profile – in anticipation of a possible mayoral candidacy in 2014, and to shore up support for his Ward 3 re-election campaign his year. Given that he took out petitions for the 2013 Democratic primary on Nov. 3, 2012 – before the Nov. 6 general election – and collected signatures outside the polls, it’s pretty clear that he’s eager to seek re-election to his council seat. And last time around, in 2011, he campaigned as much against the DDA as he did against either of his two opponents. Kunselman is quoted in the February 2013 issue of the Ann Arbor Observer saying that if mayor John Hieftje runs for re-election next year, he’ll run against Hieftje.
However, on the theory that these proposed amendments are all about Stephen Kunselman and not about good public policy, I figure it’s also reasonable to toss in another possibility. Perhaps Kunselman is trying to raise his profile enough to win local blog Damn Arbor’s current poll as “most attractive councilmember.” The poll includes Kunselman as one of just four nominated councilmembers. It’s not clear to me if the voting is meant to include sartorial choices, but if it does, Kunselman could objectively be considered a natty dresser.
All kidding aside, it would be easy and convenient to dismiss the Chapter 7 amendments as a political ploy, and save the work of understanding some gnarly tax calculations. [You'll have a head start on this if you've read my previous column on the issue: "Tax Capture is a Varsity Sport."]
But I think at least some of the proposed changes to Chapter 7 have considerable merit, independent of Kunselman’s political ambitions. Millions of dollars are at stake. As councilmembers give this proposal initial consideration on March 4, I hope they focus on the tax-related amendments. [Full Story]
The Detroit Free Press reports on local participants in the National Day of Unplugging, which begins at sundown on Friday, March 1. The article quotes Davy Rothbart of Ann Arbor: “For me, unplugging for the day is a way to remember how I interacted with the world before I had my smartphone stapled to my jawbone.” [Source]
Realtor Rob Ewing has posted a 10-minute promotional video – “Discover Ann Arbor” – featuring scenes of local parks, the University of Michigan campus, downtown restaurants, and arts & cultural venues, as the backdrop to interviews about Ann Arbor with local community leaders, including David Canter, Ken Fischer, Susan Pollay, and several others. [Source]
Ann Arbor park advisory commission meeting (Feb. 26, 2013): An item generating the most discussion at this month’s PAC meeting related to two potential locations for a new fenced-in dog park: about 2 acres in and near South Maple Park, on the city’s west side off of West Liberty; and a roughly 1-acre section of West Park, on a knoll in the south-central area.
Aerial map showing a possible location – the purple trapezoid outline – for a dog park in West Park. The image is oriented with south at the top. North Seventh Street runs on the right side of this image, on the west side of the park. (Map by city staff, included in the park advisory commission’s meeting packet.)
No action was taken, and a PAC committee will continue to evaluate these options with parks staff before making a formal recommendation to the full commission. The previously recommended site – at a different location within West Park, near the parking lot off Chapin Street – was ultimately not presented to the city council, following protests from the nearby New Hope Baptist Church.
Another PAC committee, focused on developing recommendations for a possible downtown park, gave only a brief update. Its next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5. However, commissioners heard from four people during public commentary who advocated for a new park atop the city’s Library Lane underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue. Part of the commentary covered a proposal to build a temporary ice-skating rink on that site.
Commissioners also recommended approval of several contracts totaling over $180,000. The contracts cover landscaping work at multiple locations, golf cart leases, custodial work at Cobblestone Farm, renovations at Esch Park, and rental of an overflow parking lot for the Argo canoe livery. The landscaping work is being funded through a donation from the Henrietta Feldman Trust.
And in his monthly report, parks and recreation manager Colin Smith informed commissioners about a strategy the city is pursuing to deal with invasive aquatic plants – primarily Eurasian watermilfoil – at Geddes Pond. [Full Story]
John U. Bacon
A few years ago – okay, a bunch of years ago – I bit on a bet I never should have touched.
I was writing for the Detroit News, and a top minor league hockey team called the Detroit Vipers played at the Palace. So, I got to thinking: just how big is the gap, really, between the pros, and beer league players like me?
Good question. And even better if I didn’t try to answer it. But, being the hard-hitting investigative journalist that I am, I had to go down to the Palace and find out. Bad idea.
I called the Vipers, and they said, sure, come on down to practice. Now, I couldn’t hear them laughing themselves silly when they hung up – but I bet they were. I should’ve known I was biting off more than I could throw up. [Full Story]
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