Mouat to Lead DDA Board

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In a vote taken at the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s annual meeting held on July 2, 2014, just after its regular monthly meeting, the DDA board elected John Mouat to serve as chair of the board for the next year. The selection of Mouat as chair was made in accordance with the custom of the DDA board over the last several years – to elect the vice chair from the preceding year as chair.

Mouat is a partner in the downtown firm of Mitchell & Mouat Architects.

Other officers elected by the board included Roger Hewitt as vice chair, Rishi Narayan as treasurer, and Keith Orr as secretary. Outgoing chair Sandi Smith was thanked for her service. She presided over the annual meeting until the end, as Mouat’s term began at the conclusion of the meeting.

In other business at the annual meeting, the board dissolved its two existing committees – partnerships/economic development/communications and operations, replacing them with a total of four different committees: (1) marketing, (2) partnerships/economic development, (3) finance, and (4) operations (parking/transportation/construction).

The committees are “board committees” as defined in the DDA’s bylaws:

Committee members shall be members of the Board, any board member may serve on any committee of the Board. The Chair of the Board shall appoint the members and select the chair of the Board committees and will solicit volunteers to chair the standing committees. The committees may be terminated by vote of the Board. At the annual meeting, the committees will be evaluated and reappointed or dissolved.

The four new committees have the following membership:

  • Marketing committee: Al McWilliams (chair), Rishi Narayan and Sandi Smith.
  • Partnerships/economic development committee: Joan Lowenstein and Al McWilliams (co-chairs),  Bob Guenzel, John Mouat, Rishi Narayan, Keith Orr, Sandi Smith, John Splitt. Listed as “committee participants” of the partnerships/economic development committee on the agenda are: Ken Clein (city planning commission); Jane Lumm and Margie Teall (Ann Arbor city council); Charles Griffith (Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority); and Jason Morgan (Washtenaw Community College).
  • Finance committee: Rishi Narayan (chair), Bob Guenzel, Roger Hewitt, John Splitt and Keith Orr.
  • Operations (parking/transportation/construction) committee: John Splitt (chair), Bob Guenzel, Roger Hewitt, Joan Lowenstein, Rishi Narayan, Keith Orr.

The committee chairs were appointed by outgoing DDA board chair Sandi Smith. Committee members were selected on a volunteer basis. Two board members – Cyndi Clark and Russ Collins – were absent, and will likely be joining one or more of the committees.

This brief was filed from the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA board holds its meetings.