Civic News Ticker

Voters in Ann Arbor’s Precinct 1-7 will cast their ballots in two upcoming elections – May 6, 2014 and Aug. 5 2014 – at the Northwood Community Center, which is the polling location for Precinct 2-1. The move is needed because the University of Michigan’s Pierpont Commons will be unavailable due to renovations being undertaken at that facility.

City council action authorizing the relocation of Precinct 1-7 for the August primaries came at its March 17, 2014 meeting. On Aug. 5, the two precincts will operate separately, even though they will be located in the same place.

For the May 6, 2014 transit millage election, the precincts will operate as a consolidated precinct at the Northwood Community Center. The city election commission – which consists of the city clerk, the city attorney, and the public safety administrator – has the authority to consolidate the operation of precincts. The rationale for the consolidation for the May 6 election is described in the staff memo accompanying the resolution as anticipated low turnout in largely student districts. The city election commission made the decision to consolidate the precincts at its Feb. 26, 2014 meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

The closing of Ann Arbor streets for special events requires approval from the city council. So city council action on street closings can provide a window into upcoming special events in Ann Arbor. They’re grouped together on the council’s consent agenda, so they are not mentioned explicitly at council meetings unless a councilmember pulls out an event for separate consideration.

At its March 17, 2014 meeting, the council approved street closings for seven different events that will take place over the next three months.

• Saturday, March 29, 2014: Sixth Annual Box Cart Race/Soap Box Derby. The event is sponsored by Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Ann Arbor Active Against ALS to honor the legacy of their fraternity brother, Lou Gehrig, and to raise money for ALS research. All proceeds from the event will be donated to ALS research. Streets to be closed: South University from Oxford to Walnut; Linden from South University to Geddes.
  

  Map of street closings for Sixth Annual Soap Box Derby.

• Thursday, April 10, 2014: SpringFest. The sponsor, the University of Michigan-MUSIC Matters organization, is presenting a day of festivities to be capped off with a MUSIC Matters concert. The festivities will feature an assortment of student groups from the innovation, arts, sustainability, music and social justice communities on campus. Speakers will begin the program at 1 p.m. with live music featuring students and other local Ann Arbor talent to begin at 2:30 p.m. Streets to be closed: North University Street between Thayer and Fletcher Streets.
  

  Map of street closings for SpringFest.

• Sunday, May 4, 2014: Burns Park Run. Streets to be closed: Several streets in the Burns Park neighborhood.
  

  Map of street closures associated with the Burns Park Run.

• Monday, May 5, 2014: Ann Arbor Cinco de Mayo Party. The event is sponsored by Tios Restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Streets to be closed: Liberty Street between Thompson and Division.
  

  Map of street closures associated with Cinco de Mayo.

• Saturday, June 1, 2014: Live on Washington. This is a youth-curated outdoor arts festival, featuring performances on a stage as well as more “interactive street art” like break dancing, puppetry, and mural art. It’s sponsored by the Neutral Zone. Streets to be closed: Washington Street between Fifth Avenue and Division.
  

  Map of street closures associated with Live on Washington.

• Sunday, June 1, 2014: Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. The Dexter-Ann Arbor race is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Track Club. Streets to be closed: Several downtown streets and surface parking lots.
  

  Map of downtown street closings for Dexter-Ann Arbor Run.

• Friday, June 14, 2014: Mayor’s Green Fair.
  

  Map of street closings for Mayor’s Green Fair.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall located at 301 E. Huron.

Updated March 14, 2014: According to local attorney Tom Wieder, who is representing Dascola in the matter, court cases dating from the early 1970s struck down a section of the city charter cited by the city clerk in determining Dascola was ineligible. More details are appended at the end of this news brief. A longer treatment can be found here: “Dascola to Assert Right to Run in Ward 3“

Although he previously announced his intention to compete in the Ward 3 Democratic primary election to be held on Aug. 5, 2014, Bob Dascola is not eligible to compete in this year’s race, according to the Ann Arbor city clerk’s office. Dascola is owner of Dascola Barbers on State Street.

Dascola took out petitions on March 12, but was subsequently informed by the clerk’s office that he was not eligible to represent Ward 3. According to city clerk Jacqueline Beaudry, Dascola did not meet the city charter requirement that a candidate for city council be a registered voter of the city and a resident of the ward to be represented for at least a year preceding election. From the city charter:

Except as otherwise provided in this charter, a person is eligible to hold a City office if the person has been a registered elector of the City, or of territory annexed to the City or both, and, in the case of a Council Member, a resident of the ward from which elected, for at least one year immediately preceding election or appointment.

The only eligible candidate so far to take out petitions to run in the Ward 3 Democratic primary is Julie Grand, who also competed in the August 2013 primary. Incumbent Stephen Kunselman received more votes than Grand in that race. Kunselman is not up for re-election in 2014, but is running for mayor, along with three other councilmembers: Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2) and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3). Because he cannot simultaneously run for mayor and run to retain his Ward 3 seat on the council, Taylor’s decision to run for mayor leaves that seat open.

Petitions for the partisan primary in August 2014 must be turned in by April 22. For councilmembers, 100 signatures are required from their ward. For mayor, the requirement is for 50 signatures from each of the city’s five wards, for a total of 250 signatures.

Updated: According to local attorney Tom Wieder, who is representing Dascola in the matter, court cases dating from the early 1970s struck down the section of the city charter cited by the city clerk in determining Dascola was ineligible. 

The city clerk’s office issued petitions to Dascola on March 12. But subsequently, Dascola was notified that he did not meet the charter’s residency requirement. However, the actual criterion on which his ineligibility appears to have been determined was not the one-year residency requirement, but rather the charter’s one-year voter registration requirement. Reached by phone late Friday, Dascola told The Chronicle he registered to vote in the city on Jan. 15, 2014. 

The ruling for one case cited by Wieder in a phone interview with The Chronicle was handed down on Dec. 30, 1972 1971 from U.S. District Court judge Lawrence Gubow, according to Ann Arbor News coverage at the time. It earned the headline, “Year-In-Ward Rule For Council Voided.” However, the coverage from the News indicates that only the residency requirement was ruled unconstitutional – not the voter registration requirement:

Judge Gubow ruled only on the one-year residency requirement, and did not rule unconstitutional the charter language requiring that a person be a registered voter for at least a year before assuming elective office. [City attorney Jerold] Lax said persons seeking elective office will have to have the one year of voter registration, stating that he asked Judge Gubow specifically if his ruling went beyond the residency requirement. The answer was “no.”

Several court rulings on eligibility to vote and hold office were handed down nationwide in that general timeframe – after the 1971 enactment of the 26th amendment to the U.S. constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

Dascola told The Chronicle that he did not plan to start collecting signatures until the issue had been clarified.

At their March 5, 2014 meeting, Washtenaw County commissioners scheduled a public hearing for March 19 to give input for the Washtenaw Urban County 2014-15 action plan. The hearing, set to start at 6:30 p.m. at the county boardroom in downtown Ann Arbor, is intended to solicit feedback about proposed projects and programs that the county intends to implement with federal funding – through community development block grant (CDBG), HOME and emergency shelter grant programs – from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. [.pdf of action plan]

The Urban County is a consortium of Washtenaw County and 18 local municipalities that receive federal funding for low-income neighborhoods. Members include the cities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Saline, and 15 townships. “Urban County” is a designation of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), identifying a county with more than 200,000 people. With that designation, individual governments within the Urban County can become members, entitling them to an allotment of funding through a variety of HUD programs. The Urban County is supported by the staff of Washtenaw County’s office of community & economic development (OCED).

Two HUD programs – the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership – are the primary funding sources for Urban County projects.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Applications are being accepted to fill the seat on the Washtenaw County road commission board left vacant by the recent death of long-time road commissioner Fred Veigel. The appointment process was announced by county board chair Yousef Rabhi at the board’s March 5, 2014. The deadline for submitting applications is Sunday, March 16. Rabhi hopes to make a nomination at the board’s March 19 meeting.

The appointment would be to fill the remainder of Veigel’s term, through Dec. 31, 2014. Applications can be submitted to Peter Simms of the Washtenaw County clerk’s office at simmsp@ewashtenaw.org.

The road commission is overseen by a three-member board that’s appointed by the county board. The two current commissioners are Doug Fuller and Barb Fuller, who are not related. The organization manages the maintenance and repair of about 1,650 miles of roads in the county that are outside of cities and villages, including about 770 miles of gravel roads. The organization employs 115 full-time staff, down from 156 in 2004. [.pdf of 2013-2014 road commission budget] [.xls of all road commission projects 2014-2018] [.pdf list of unfunded projects 2014-2018]

The organization of the road commission has been the focus of a county board subcommittee that recently made a recommendation not to absorb the road commission’s operations into the county government. For more background, see Chronicle coverage: “No Major Change Likely for Road Commission.”

Veigel, who also served on the county parks & recreation commission as a representative of the road commission board, died on March 2. Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, March 8 from noon to 4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m., and on Sunday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. at Nie Funeral Home on Liberty Road, just west of Wagner Road. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday, March 10 at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 3109 Scio Church Road.

At the March 5 county board meeting, commissioners passed a resolution honoring Veigel for his work. [.pdf of resolution]

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Washtenaw County commissioners have given initial approval to a proposal to hire a contract position that would support budget-related work for the county board and administration. The vote came at the board’s March 5, 2014 meeting, with a final vote expected on March 19. The item had been originally considered, but postponed, at the board’s meeting on Feb. 5, 2014. The vote on March 5 was 7-1, over dissent from Dan Smith (R-District 2). Rolland Sizemore Jr. was absent.

This process started on Nov. 20, 2013 meeting, when commissioners gave direction to county administrator Verna McDaniel to research and recommend staffing options that would support the board’s community investment priorities. As part of adopting a four-year budget, the board set up a new strategic model to help it determine where the county’s resources should go. The board set goals as well as outcomes that are intended to measure how those goals are being achieved.

The priority areas for investment that were approved by the board in 2013 are: (1) ensure community safety net through health and human services, inclusive of public safety; (2) increase economic opportunity and workforce development; (3) ensure mobility and civic infrastructure for county residents; (4) reduce environmental impact; and (5) ensure internal labor force sustainability and effectiveness.

The dollar amount for this position wasn’t included in the resolution, which stated that “compensation shall not exceed the scope of the Administrator’s authority.” The administrator has discretion to spend up to $50,000 on professional services contracts, and up to $100,000 for any proposed goods, services, new construction or renovation. [.pdf of staff memo and resolution] A four-page job description had been included in the Feb. 5 board packet. The person would report to the county administrator in terms of daily operations. [.pdf of job description] [.pdf of scope of services]

The issue was debated at some length during the board’s Jan. 22, 2014 meeting, when commissioner Ronnie Peterson (D-District 6) questioned the process for hiring this kind of staff support. On Feb. 5, several commissioners expressed concern about spending money on this position and wanted more details about funding and duties, which led to the postponement. There was no discussion of this item on March 5.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Washtenaw County commissioners have given initial approval to authorize the acceptance of $444,215 from the federal homeland security grant program, to fund projects and positions in the county sheriff’s office for a period from Sept. 1, 2013 through May 31, 2015. The action came at the county board’s March 5, 2014 meeting. A final vote is expected on March 19.

According to a staff memo, each project was reviewed and recommended by Washtenaw County’s homeland security task force. Major allocations include $117,983 for the Washtenaw County Technical Rescue Team; $107,704 for Washtenaw County Sheriff Emergency Services; and $90,000 to continue funding an existing crime analyst position in the sheriff’s office. The position is dedicated to the Detroit/Southeast Michigan Fusion Center, which coordinates crime analysis efforts and regional information sharing. [.pdf of staff memo]

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board has voted to submit its budget for fiscal year 2015 to the city of Ann Arbor. DDA board action came at the board’s March 5, 2014 meeting.

The budget shows $19.3 million in revenues from the public parking system and $4.8 million in tax increment finance capture. Overall, it shows $24,237,186 in revenues against $26,531,972 in expenses. The use of fund balance to cover the difference leaves the DDA with an estimated fund balance at the end of FY 2015 of about $3.3 million. FY 2015 runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. [FY 2015 DDA budget breakdown]

The expense include $353,344 in salaries and $245,894 in fringe benefits for four staff members, $7,075,571  in payments  to Republic Parking for management of the public parking system, and $2.1 million for parking facility maintenance. Accounting for $3.19 million of the expenses is a payment made to the city of Ann Arbor, equal to 17% of the gross revenues to the public parking system.

The budget also includes $676,000 for support of the getDowntown program, as well as $300,000 in discretionary spending from parking revenues. Included in the budget is a $200,000 grant to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission – as part of a $600,000 request from AAHAC to support improvements to Baker Commons and Miller Manor. Based on board discussion at the March 5 meeting, the DDA is looking to meet that grant request in $200,000 payments over three years.

The budget also includes $449,500 for a down payment on a possible elevator replacement at the southwest corner of the parking structure at Fourth & William, as well as possible debt payments on that project. The project is estimated to cost on the order of $3 million, depending on whether it’s eventually approved by the board and the scope and staging of the improvements (which could include exterior cladding, awnings, and electronic real-time information signs for bus arrivals). Very preliminary drawings were provided to the DDA’s operations committee at its Feb. 26 meeting. That preliminary work was authorized by the DDA board at its Jan. 8, 2014 meeting. The team from Carl Walker Inc. will follow up with more detailed drawings and cost estimates for various options.

In taking the step first to submit the budget for approval by the city council, the DDA board is this year following the state’s enabling legislation for downtown development authorities: “Before the budget may be adopted by the board, it shall be approved by the governing body of the municipality.” In this case, the governing body is the Ann Arbor city council.

This is the first time in several years that the statutory procedure has been followed from the start. Last year, the DDA board first voted at its Feb. 6, 2013 meeting to adopt its FY 2014 budget (for the current fiscal year). That came in advance of the city council’s approval on May 20, 2013 of the city’s FY 2014 budget, which includes the DDA as a component unit

The pattern followed last year – adoption by the DDA board of its budget in advance of the city council’s approval – had been the prevailing custom for several years. But the council decided at its May 20, 2013 meeting to revise the DDA’s budget in a way that made it significantly different from the one the DDA board had approved three months earlier. In addition to recognizing an additional $568,000 in tax increment finance revenue (TIF), the council’s action transferred an additional $300,000 from the DDA’s TIF fund to the DDA’s housing fund.

Then at the DDA board’s June 5, 2013 meeting, a vote was taken to re-adopt the FY 2014 budget that had been approved by the city council.

The council’s $300,000 transfer from the TIF fund into the housing fund was echoed in the revision the council made on Nov. 18, 2013 last year to the local law regulating the Ann Arbor DDA. The following passage was added:

Tax increment financing seed funds for the Housing Fund shall be budgeted effective tax year 2016 at an amount no less than $300,000. Every year thereafter the minimum amount budgeted shall be adjusted at the same rate of increase as the increase in the total TIF capture. …

The 2016 tax year corresponds to the 2017 fiscal year. So the $300,000 figure is not required by law for another two years. At the March 5, 2014 board meeting, however, the budget was amended to add $100,000 to the housing fund expenditure line, at the request of board member Bob Guenzel. He’s long championed the cause of affordable housing and wanted to give the board some additional flexibility to spend additional money on that area, without making a mid-year budget change. Such a mid-year change would, based on remarks at the  meeting, require city council approval.

In addition to the $200,000 grant to the AAHC, other housing fund expenditures for FY 2015 include $75,000 for a housing needs assessment.

This brief was filed from the Ann Arbor DDA offices located at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

In the context of an approaching May 6, 2014 transit millage ballot question, the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority has approved a resolution that pledges to work toward increasing the DDA’s support for transportation programs.

The 0.7 mill tax was placed on a May 6 ballot by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board on Feb. 20, 2014. The tax would be levied by the AAATA only if it wins a majority of support among voters across its three member jurisdictions: the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.

The DDA board resolution comes in part as a response to the fact that the DDA will be capturing a portion of the new millage under its tax increment finance (TIF) funding mechanism. The ballot language itself highlights DDA tax capture among other TIF authority capture:

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT MILLAGE

To improve public bus, van, and paratransit services – including expanded service hours, routes, destinations, and services for seniors and people who have disabilities – shall the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority levy a new annual tax of 0.7 mills ($0.70 per $1000 of taxable value) on all taxable property within the City of Ann Arbor, the City of Ypsilanti, and the Charter Township of Ypsilanti for the years 2014-2018 inclusive? The estimate of revenue if this millage is approved is $4,368,847.00 for 2014. This revenue will be disbursed to the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority and, as required by law, a portion may be subject to capture by the downtown development authorities of the Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, and the local development finance authority of the Charter Township of Ypsilanti.

The city of Ann Arbor’s financial staff are currently projecting the DDA’s TIF revenue for fiscal year 2015 to be about $4.8 million. Given the roughly 28 mills of tax on which the DDA captures taxes, that works out to a 0.7 mill equivalent of $120,000 (4,800,000/28)*0.7=120,000]. That’s consistent with the AAATA’s estimates of about $119,000 that would be captured from the 0.7 mill transit tax by the Ann Arbor DDA.

The DDA board’s resolution approved on March 5, 2014 included a single resolved clause, which was amended at the meeting to add the phrase “maintain or”:

Resolved, If the voters support approval of a new five-year transit millage, the DDA, which has been a long-time supporter of transit as a key strategy to meet its mission, will work to maintain or increase its support for transportation-related programs and projects.

The TIF revenue estimate of $4.8 million was part of a draft FY 2015 budget reviewed by the DDA operations committee at its Feb. 26 meeting and approved for submission to the city of Ann Arbor by the full board at its March 5 meeting.

That budget includes enough to cover a transportation funding request for the AAATA’s getDowntown program, which the board will consider at its April meeting. The bulk of DDA’s getDowntown funding supports the go!pass, a program in which downtown employers can participate to allow employees to take unlimited bus rides at no cost to the employee. Employers pay $10 per employee per year for the passes. An “all-in” clause requires employers to purchase go!passes for all employees.

The fares for rides taken with a go!pass are covered in smaller part by the employer payment and in larger part by an annual grant from the DDA. The total grant request this year reflects an 11% increase from last year:

                         FY 2014    FY 2015
getDowntown             $ 40,488   $ 43,000
go!pass                 $479,000   $529,000
Transportation Options  $ 91,174   $105,264
TOTAL                   $610,662   $677,264

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The board is expected to vote on the go!pass request at its April board meeting.

This brief was filed from the DDA boardroom at the DDA offices, located at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s public parking system contractor has again this year been awarded the full $50,000 amount of a discretionary management incentive. The vote came at the DDA board’s March 5, 2014 meeting.

Republic Parking’s contract with the Ann Arbor DDA covers just actual costs, but also includes a $200,000 annual management fee. Of the $200,000 management fee, $50,000 is awarded to Republic on a discretionary basis. [.pdf of DDA staff memo on Republic Parking management incentive]

It was last year, at the board’s March 6, 2013 meeting, when the DDA board decided for the first time in five years to award the full $50,000 of the incentive. The year before, at its Feb. 1, 2012 meeting, the board determined to award $45,000 of the discretionary amount. That matched the same figure awarded in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

The direct costs for Republic Parking budgeted by the DDA for FY 2014 – the current fiscal year ending June 30 – are $6,569,316 out of about $19,348,016 in budgeted gross revenue for the parking system.

Part of the difference this year leading to the recommendation to award the full $50,000 was improvement in bi-monthly customer surveys over the year:

2013
5-Excellent 42.8%
4 31.6%
3 13.3%
2 3.3%
1-Poor 2.8%
Non-Responsive 6.2%

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The staff memo on the incentive notes that the DDA’s independent inspector’s cleanliness rates were 92.3% for the entire system, compared to 91.71% for last year.

The Dec. 31, 2013 accounts receivable balance for parking permit accounts was $22,920. That’s 4.4% of the average monthly billing, which is below the DDA’s target of 5%.

The memo also notes that the dead ticket average was 1.75% for the year, which is an increase from last year’s 1.01%. The target maximum for that statistic is 1.75%.

A staff memo accompanying the resolution awarding the $50,000 incentive cited additional factors:

• Completion and opening of the First and Washington parking structure, including overseeing the installation of equipment, managing final construction-related maintenance, coordination of opening operations with the final construction in the garage.
• Modernization of the parking equipment at two parking facilities.
• Completion of a Library Lane parking structure office.
• Implementation of reservation parking for Art Fair and the 1st NHL Winter Classic.
• Outstanding success with the first time events of New Year’s Eve “Puck Drops Here” and NHL Winter Classic, despite the weather obstacles presented.
• Maintaining of the parking facilities during the past extreme weather, which included removing large amounts of snow from the facilities and from parking meter areas in sub zero temperatures.

The Ann Arbor DDA manages the city’s public parking system under contract with the city of Ann Arbor. The contract calls for 17% of gross parking revenues to be paid to the city of Ann Arbor.

This brief was filed from the Ann Arbor DDA offices located at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

A site plan to expand the existing Concordia University gym was recommended for approval by the Ann Arbor planning commission at its March 4, 2014 meeting. The plan also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River.

In a separate vote, planning commissioners granted a special exception use for the project. That’s required because the private university is located on a site zoned R1B (single-family residential district).

The site plan requires city council approval, but the special exception use does not.

The proposal call for a three-story, 34,391-square-foot addition to the current 22,021-square-foot gym that’s located on the west side of Concordia’s main campus. [.pdf of campus map] The addition will include men’s and women’s locker rooms, athletic office space, classrooms and an auxiliary gym. A second phase of the project entails constructing a single-story, 5,280-square-foot athletic training room.

The site plan is for a planned project, which allows variations in height and placement. The proposed addition would be 39 feet high – eight feet higher than the site’s zoning limit of 30 feet. The existing gym is about 33 feet high, measured at the midpoint of the roof.

Concordia is located in Ward 2. A letter from the university stated that a citizens participation meeting for the project was held on Dec. 10, 2013. The only resident who attended was Ward 2 councilmember Jane Lumm, who had no concerns about the project, according to the letter.

At the March 4 planning commission meeting, Curt Gielow – Concordia University Ann Arbor’s campus chief executive – spoke to commissioners during the project’s public hearing. He noted that the university had been struggling and was near bankruptcy before being absorbed by Concordia University Wisconsin last year. There are about 700 students now, but that enrollment needs to double in order for the university to be financially sustainable, Gielow said. So plans are in place to invest between $10 million to $20 million in the coming years on a variety of improvements.

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

A resolution that proposes to build an urban park on top of the Library Lane underground parking structure has been postponed until March 17, 2014 by the Ann Arbor city council. Postponement came at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting.

In arguing for postponement, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) said he wanted time to bring forward a companion resolution that would involve putting the development rights for the top of the Library Lane parking structure up for sale. He also indicated he wanted to discuss the issue with members of the Ann Arbor District Library board and explore the idea of building a new library building on top of the structure.

The resolution postponed by the council on March 3 includes a proposal to reserve about 10,000 square feet on the surface of the Library Lane structure for an urban park, to be “bounded by the Fifth Avenue sidewalk on the west, the Library Lane Street sidewalk to the south, the western entry to the central elevator to the east, and the southern curb of the service alley on the north.” [.pdf of proposed resolution] [.pdf of proposed site boundaries]

The proposal was also presented at the Feb. 25, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. The commission was not asked to act on it.

Sponsors of the resolution that appeared on the March 3 city council agenda were Jack Eaton (Ward 4), Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2), and Mike Anglin (Ward 5), who serves on PAC as an ex officio member.

The resolution calls for financial support as well as an allocation of staff time to design and create the park. The resolution asks PAC and the parks staff to prepare preliminary recommendations for the park’s design, to be presented at the council’s first meeting in October of 2014.

Other aspects of the proposal include:

• asking the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to prepare for an eventual transition from parking to non-parking on the surface of the Library Lane structure;
• asking the DDA to conduct a structural analysis of the Library Lane structure to determine if any modifications are needed to safely support design features, such as soil, plantings of various sizes, water features, a skating rink, a performance stage, and play equipment;
• asking that the city’s community services and parks staff work with DDA and the Ann Arbor District Library to facilitate public programming with activities including craft fairs, book fairs, food carts, and fine arts performances;
• asking the DDA to work with the city to explore possible above-ground private and/or public development of the remaining, build-able portion of the surface level north of the central elevator and above the central exit/entrance ramp.

The resolution specifies certain conditions for development rights on the remaining surface of Library Lane, including additional public open space and pedestrian access as features of any private development. The resolution also calls for close collaboration with neighboring properties and businesses, including the Ann Arbor District Library, First Martin Corp., the University of Michigan Credit Union, the Inter-Cooperative Council, and the businesses facing Fifth Avenue and Liberty Street.

Activists have pushed for a public park or plaza on the top of the Library Lane underground parking structure for several years. Several members of the Library Green Conservancy – including former park commissioner Gwen Nystuen, and former Ann Arbor planning commissioner Eric Lipson – attended PAC’s Feb. 25 meeting. The presentation to PAC was made by  Will Hathaway, on behalf of the Library Green Conservancy.

PAC has explored the urban park issue more broadly, most formally with a downtown parks subcommittee created in 2012. The subcommittee presented a report at PAC’s Oct. 15, 2013 meeting that included general recommendations, with an emphasis on “placemaking” principles that include active use, visibility and safety. The most specific recommendation also called for developing a park or open space on top of the Library Lane structure. A park or open space at that location should exceed 5,000 square feet, according to the report, and connect to Library Lane, the small mid-block cut-through that runs north of the library between Fifth and Division. [.pdf of 21-page full subcommittee report]

The subcommittee’s report was accepted by the Ann Arbor city council on Nov. 7, 2013 over dissent from Anglin.

Hathaway’s presentation on Feb. 25 drew on recommendations from the PAC subcommittee, as well as from information in the DDA’s Connecting William Street study.

On Feb. 25, several park commissioners raised concerns, some of which focused on the process of bringing this resolution forward without specific direction from the council. Hathaway noted that the council resolution is intended to start the process, with council direction, to begin working with stakeholders, PAC, the public and others in the design and development of this park.

Several people spoke about the issue during public commentary on March 3, including the current PAC chair, Ingrid Ault, and former PAC chair Julie Grand. They highlighted the PAC recommendations on downtown parks, and urged the council to postpone action on the resolution. A report on deliberations during the March 3 council meeting is provided in The Chronicle’s live updates filed from council chambers.

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]

In three separate actions on public art policy, the Ann Arbor city council has: (1) directed the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for the next two years; (2) transferred money out of the public art fund; and (3) extended the contract for the city’s part-time public art administrator by six months. Action on those items came at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting.

The transfer of $943,005 in Percent for Art money back to its funds of origin was made possible by an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance given final approval by the council on Feb. 18.

The $943,005 total is an amount that defunds the art project at Argo Cascades, but keeps funding for the Coleman Jewett memorial and for a project called Canoe Imagine Art. The art projects at East Stadium bridges and at the Kingsley & First rain garden would also retain their funding. Because the resolution involves a transfer of funds, it required eight votes on the 11-member council to be approved. The vote on the question was 10-1 with Margie Teall (Ward 4) dissenting.

The former Percent for Art funding mechanism required 1% of all capital fund project budgets to be set aside for public art. A new approach to public art was established on June 3, 2013, when the council eliminated the Percent for Art mechanism from the ordinance. The new approach entails including city-funded art when it’s designed as an integral part of a capital project, with council approval. Art projects also could be funded through a combination of private and public money.

So the second resolution approved by the council focused exclusively on the transition to the new public art program. The resolution directed the city administrator to ask the staff to develop a transition plan to be presented to the council by Oct. 6, 2014. The resolution also prohibits initiating additional projects using pooled Percent for Art funds, and directs the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for FY 2015 and FY 2016.

An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator, drawn from the general fund. FY 2015 runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Because it did not transfer any funds, the resolution on establishing a timeline and a budget did not require more than a simple six-vote majority. Dissenting on the vote were: Mike Anglin (Ward 5), Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Jack Eaton (Ward 4).

The third resolution approved by the council on March 3 was one that extended the contract for the city’s part-time public art administrator by six months, appropriating $18,500 for that purpose – drawn from Percent for Art money. The item first appeared on the council’s Jan. 21 agenda, but the council postponed that vote until Feb. 3, when it was subsequently defeated. On Feb. 18 it was then brought back for reconsideration, but immediately postponed until March 3. The item, which required eight votes for approval, succeeded on a unanimous vote.

The council’s actions were based in part on a recommendation made by a council committee and attached to the council’s agenda as a report/communication about a year ago, for the council’s March 18, 2013 meeting. [.pdf of council committee's public art findings and recommendations]

The five councilmembers serving on that committee included Margie Teall (Ward 4), as well as all of those who have declared their intention to participate in the 2014 Democratic mayoral primary race: Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3).

The recommendations include a three-year time frame for review of the program:

Recommendation: The staff should review the successful implementation of any changes in the ordinance after 36 months. This timing is based on the task force’s awareness that capital improvements may take longer than two years to move from inception to completion.

The recommendations also addressed the issue of administrative support:

Recommendation: a professionally trained public art administrator can provide this level of support, but needs to be employed more than 50% of the time. The Public Art Task Force agrees that the program would benefit from the services of a trained administrator, either as a contract employee or a direct hire.

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]

A proposal to appropriate $197,250 to fund the work of a pedestrian safety and access task force has been postponed by the Ann Arbor city council. Action to postpone the resolution until April 7 came at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting.

In the meantime, the task force will likely be meeting before the resolution comes back to the council. Indications at the March 3 meeting were that the budget for the task force and the scope of work for staff and consultant support could change considerably.

The total amount proposed to be appropriated for the task force project budget is $197,250. That amount includes an “estimated $122,500” as the approximate cost of the anticipated city staff effort for the project. The total project budget includes $77,400 for a professional services agreement with Project Innovations Inc.

The funds are to be sourced in part from an allocation made during the May 20, 2013 budget deliberations, which appropriated $75,000 for a study to prioritize sidewalk gap elimination. The connection between sidewalk gaps and the task force’s work is based in part on one of the other resolved clauses establishing the task force: “… the task force will also address sidewalk gaps and create a tool for setting priorities for funding and filling those gaps; …”

The pedestrian safety and access task force was established through a council resolution passed on Nov. 18, 2013. Confirmed as members of the task force on Jan. 21, 2014 were: Vivienne Armentrout, Neal Elyakin, Linda Diane Feldt, Jim Rees, Anthony Pinnell, Sarah Pressprich Gryniewicz, Kenneth Clark, Scott Campbell, and Owen Jansson.

Another key resolved clause establishing the group’s scope of work includes the following: “… the task force will explore strategies to improve pedestrian safety and access within a framework of shared responsibility through community outreach and data collection, and will recommend to council improvements in the development and application of the Complete Streets model, using best practices, sound data and objective analysis.”

The responsibilities of the task force include delivery of a report a year from now – in February 2015.

The funding for the task force is in part to be used to pay for the $77,400 contract with Project Innovations Inc. to provide facilitator support to the task force.

According to a staff memo written in response to councilmember questions, the facilitator would assist with an anticipated 18 task force meetings, 24 resource group (staff) meetings, five stakeholder meetings and three public meetings. The facilitator would be “preparing materials and agendas; facilitating the meetings; summarizing the meetings; facilitating communication and discussions between, and among, the task force members and the resource group; and, developing materials for community outreach in addition to the actual public meetings, including content for press releases and web page publishing, and a community survey.”

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, a “team of staff members has identified Project Innovations, Inc. as a firm in the region that has demonstrated skill in task force facilitation and robust community engagement efforts, and is uniquely qualified with the capacity to facilitate the pedestrian safety and access task force’s rigorous work approach within the specified timeframe.” Based on the phrasing in the memo, the work appears not to have been put out to bid and Project Innovations was identified as a “sole source” provider.

Project Innovations is the same firm currently providing facilitation support to a citizens advisory committee that is attached to a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation study being conducted by the city.

The resolution establishing the task force does not explicitly charge the group with a review of the city’s crosswalk law. But the pedestrian safety task force was established in the same time frame as the council was considering an amendment to the city’s crosswalk law. The council ultimately voted to change the language of that law at its Dec. 2, 2013 meeting – so that motorists were required to concede the right-of-way only to pedestrians who had already entered the crosswalk.

That change was subsequently vetoed by mayor John Hieftje. Drawing on the phrasing used in Hieftje’s statement of veto, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) has indicated he intends to bring forward an amendment that would require motorists to stop at crosswalks for pedestrians only if “they can do so safely.” At the council’s Feb. 18, 2014 meeting, Kunselman announced he’d be pursuing such an amendment.

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]

The Ann Arbor city council has directed the city administrator to prepare for the council’s approval a budget resolution that would allocate $600,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to support the Ann Arbor housing commission’s plan to renovate its properties.

That allocation would be contingent on the closing of the sale of the former Y lot to Dennis Dahlmann, as the net proceeds of that sale are to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

Action on the question came at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting after postponement at the council’s Feb. 18 meeting.

The item was postponed on Feb. 18 only after the council’s two liaisons to the housing and human services advisory board – Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Jane Lumm (Ward 2) – had aired out conflicting perspectives on the importance of having the item on the agenda. Briere had placed the item on the Feb. 18 agenda. Lumm argued that the agenda placement had come late on Friday and that it was not necessary – for the housing commission’s purposes – to vote on the issue until March 3.

Politics between the city council and the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority are also a part of the mix, as the housing commission has made a $600,000 request of the DDA as well. DDA board members seem keen to see the city pledge its support to the housing commission before committing DDA funds. And some city councilmembers appear to want to secure the DDA’s commitment before voting to support the housing commission’s renovations with affordable housing trust fund dollars.

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]

Two city parks in Ann Arbor received action at the city council’s March 3, 2014 meeting – Clinton Park in the southern part of town and Gallup Park on the Huron River. For Clinton Park, the focus was new basketball and tennis courts. For Gallup Park, the council is looking to the state of Michigan to help fund a universal access playground. The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor has already pledged $250,000 toward the project. The city is applying for $300,000 from the state and would potentially add $100,000 of city funds, which would make a total project budget of $650,000.

At its March 3 meeting, the council acted on a $133,843 contract with Best Asphalt to rebuild the tennis and basketball courts at Clinton Park. The city’s park advisory commission had recommended the contract at its Feb. 25, 2014 meeting.

The park is located on the west side of Stone School Road, south of Eisenhower Parkway.

Including a 10% construction contingency, the project’s total budget is $147,227. Best Asphalt provided the lowest of five bids, according to a staff memo. The project will be funded with revenues from the park maintenance and capital improvement millage.

The council’s March 3 action on the proposed “universal access” playground at Gallup Park was to approve applying for a grant from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Grants Management (MDNRGM) to help fund the project. PAC had been briefed at its Jan. 28, 2014 on the proposal.

Representatives of Rotary Club attended that PAC meeting to convey the group’s $250,000 pledge. Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, told park commissioners that although there are about 80 playgrounds in Ann Arbor, none are universally accessible. It’s a “huge shortcoming” for the parks system, he said.

At the council’s meeting on March 3, Karen Kerry – president-elect of the Rotary Club – spoke during public commentary to describe the club’s role in this project. She noted that it will help commemorate the club’s 100th anniversary in 2016.

The exact location within Gallup Park hasn’t been determined, but the playground would be about 5,000 square feet and exceed the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The design and equipment is intended to create environments that can be used by all people, with features like ramps, color-contrasting structures, wider bridges and walkways, and playground equipment that makes it easier for people using wheelchairs.

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]

Approval of a design contract for two stretches of new sidewalk in two parts of the city – Barton Drive and Scio Church Road – has been approved by the Ann Arbor city council. Also approved at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting was a $30,000 budget allocation for the construction of a sidewalk as part of the Ann Arbor-Saline road reconstruction project.

As part of a contract to design urgent repairs to the sanitary sewer pipes and structures in Huron Street near the intersections of Glen Street and Zina Pitcher, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. was tapped to provide the designs for two sidewalk projects that could ultimately result in special assessments for adjoining property owners.

By way of background, its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive.

And at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work.

The contract with Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. – which includes $50,629 for the design of the two stretches of sidewalk – would draw on that previously authorized funding.

The council also approved a $30,000 general fund expenditure to pay for a new sidewalk along the east side of Ann Arbor-Saline Road from the westbound I-94 exit ramp to the north end of the I-94 bridge, and along the west side of Ann Arbor-Saline Road from Brookfield Drive to the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) park-and-ride commuter parking lot. The work is part of a more general road reconstruction project being handled by MDOT under an agreement between the city of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw County road commission, MDOT and Pittsfield Township. Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. also did  design work for this project.

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]

The purchase of 18 new vehicles from Signature Ford in Perry, Michigan was authorized by the Ann Arbor city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting. Most of the new vehicles are for use by the Ann Arbor police department. Total cost of the purchase is $457,393 and includes:

• one 2014 Ford F-150 four-wheel-drive pickup at $26,407.
• one 2014 Ford Escape four-wheel-drive at $24,050.
• four 2014 Ford Police Interceptors: Sedans at $24,601 each.
• nine 2014 Ford Police Interceptors: Utility at $26,298 each.
• two 2014 Ford Police Interceptors: Utility with rear-auxiliary air-conditioning for use as K-9 units at $26,846.
• one 2014 Ford F-150 two-wheel-drive pickup at $18,158.

The staff memo notes that the police vehicles to be purchased will replace vehicles that will have reached either the 80,000-mile or the six-year limit specified in the city’s labor contracts with the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association and the Ann Arbor Police Supervisors.

The memo further notes that the new sedans have less shoulder room than Crown Victorias. So the AAPD is finding it difficult to install the increased amount of equipment needed in police vehicles, while still maintaining adequate room for officers. That’s why more of the SUV pursuit-rate vehicles are being incorporated into the police department’s fleet.

The city’s non-police vehicles are subjected to a two-step process to determine replacement. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the first step scores a vehicle’s age, miles/hours of use, type of service, reliability, maintenance and repair cost. The second step is review of the vehicle repair history and general condition.

One non-police vehicle to be replaced through the purchase is a truck that has been in service for 7.6 years and has over 4,800 total hours of operation, averaging 0.23 repair work orders per month. The total cost of repairs has exceeded 60% of its purchase price.

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]

A local law regulating smoking in some outdoor locations has again been postponed by the Ann Arbor city council. The law would regulate smoking outside of public buildings and also potentially in areas of some city parks.

Council action to postpone the ordinance until April 7 came at the council’s March 3, 2014 meeting. The new ordinance had been also been postponed at the council’s Feb. 3 meeting.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), sponsor of the new proposed local law, had appeared before the city’s park advisory commission at its Feb. 25 meeting to brief commissioners on the proposal and solicit feedback.

Made punishable under the proposed ordinance through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems any city-owned building.

The ordinance would also authorize the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking, and to increase the distance from entrances to city buildings where outdoor smoking is prohibited.

Where no signs are posted noting the smoking prohibition, a citation could be issued only if someone doesn’t stop smoking immediately when asked to stop.

An existing Washtenaw County ordinance already prohibits smoking near entrances, windows and ventilation systems, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution – but the county’s ordinance can be enforced only by the county health department. The memo further notes that the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act does not regulate outdoor smoking.

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]

In a resolution passed at its March 3, 2014 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council called for higher funding levels of an existing state fire protection grant program.

The state grant program, which has historically varied in amount from year to year, was enacted to address the fire protection costs incurred by local municipalities that are home to state-owned institutions – like the University of Michigan. State law sets forth a formula to set funding levels for all Michigan municipalities where state-owned facilities are located. But the law also allows the legislature to fund only a percentage of the amount that results from the formula-based calculation.

The council’s March 3 resolution encourages Gov. Rick Snyder, state senator Rebekah Warren (D-District 18), and state representatives Jeff Irwin (D-District 53) and Adam Zemke (D-District 55) to explore creative ways to fund the state’s fire protection grant program for municipalities like Ann Arbor, which host state-owned facilities.

By way of additional background, state-owned institutions like the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor, do not generate property tax revenue, which is used to pay for fire protection, among other basic services.

UM does not operate its own fire protection service, but Ann Arbor’s fire station #5 is located on university property, for which the university does not charge rent, utilities, or maintenance costs. UM estimates the annual value of that arrangement to the city at about $230,000.

In general, however, the Michigan legislature recognizes that municipalities hosting state-owned facilities face a burden of providing fire protection for such facilities – without receiving property tax revenues to pay for that fire protection.

So the legislature enacted a law to award fire protection grants from the state of Michigan – which are dependent on an allocation from the state legislature each year. The allocation is governed by Act 289 of 1977. [.pdf of Act 289 of 1977] The statute sets forth a formula for a state fire protection grant to all municipalities that are home to state-owned facilities – a formula that attempts to fairly determine the funding allocated for fire protection grants in any given year. The fire protection grant formula is defined for any municipality in terms of the relative value of the state-owned property in the municipality.

More precisely, the percentage in the grant formula is the estimated state equalized value (SEV) of state-owned facilities, divided by the sum of that estimated value and the actual SEV of the other property in the community. For example, in Ann Arbor, the total SEV of property on which property tax is paid is roughly $5 billion. The estimated value of state-owned facilities (primarily the University of Michigan) is around $1 billion. So the percentage used in the state fire protection formula for Ann Arbor is about 16% [1/(1 + 5)].

The percentage in the formula is different for each municipality. That percentage is then multiplied by the actual expenditures made by a municipality for fire protection in the prior fiscal year.

The formula can be described as equitable among municipalities – because the grant amount depends in part on the relative value of state-owned facilities in a given municipality. All other things being equal, a city with a greater number of state-owned facilities receives more fire protection grant money than one with a small number of state-owned facilities. The formula can also be described as equitable to the state of Michigan, because the formula calibrates the state’s investment in a municipality’s fire protection to the level of funding that a local municipality itself is willing to provide.

The roughly $14.8 million in a provisional budget request from the Ann Arbor fire department for FY 2015 would translate to a state grant of roughly $2.3 million.

But the state statute explicitly provides for the possibility that the legislature can choose not to allocate funds sufficient to cover the amount in the formula [emphasis added]:

141.956 Prorating amount appropriated to each municipality.
Sec. 6. If the amount appropriated in a fiscal year is not sufficient to make the payments required by this act, the director shall prorate the amount appropriated to each municipality.

Since 1996, the legislature has funded the grants at amounts as low as 23% of the formula to as high as 68%. For the five-year period from 2007 through 2011, the legislature funded the same dollar amount of about $10.9 million statewide, but that translated into diminishing percentages over the five-year span. In the last three years, the program has been only 40-55% funded.

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]

Rolland Sizemore Jr., one of the longest-serving current members of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners, has announced that he’s not running for re-election in 2014. The Ypsilanti Township Democrat was elected to his first two-year term in November 2000 to represent District 5, for a term starting in January of 2001. The district covers southeast Washtenaw, including Augusta Township and much of Ypsilanti Township.

In an interview with The Chronicle on Feb. 26, Sizemore said he’d actually made the decision not to run again when he was elected in 2012. He said he’d wanted to continue to work on some projects during his current term, including the proposed recreation center for the eastern part of the county, to be located in Ypsilanti’s Water Street property. That project is being spearheaded by the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commission, on which Sizemore serves.

Sizemore also is the county board’s liaison to the Washtenaw County road commission and holds appointments to about a dozen other county boards, commissions and committees, including the community action board, the workforce development board, the Detroit Region Aerotropolis board, the River Raisin watershed council, and the county’s homeland security task force. He served as Washtenaw County board chair in 2009 and 2010.

During his tenure, Sizemore has been a vocal advocate for programs and services that support the county’s youth. He has worked with the Ypsilanti Regional Career Technical Center, which focuses on vocational training. Most recently, he’s been raising sponsorships – with companies like Farmer Underwood Trucking – for the center’s students to attend the upcoming AutoRama in Detroit. He also has prioritized projects related to jobs training, the county’s infrastructure, and affordable housing.

Sizemore said he intends to continue supporting programs for youth, and hopes to continue his service on the county’s parks & recreation commission. He also plans to pursue other projects, like his travel last November to Ecuador with a group that’s working to build clean water supplies for communities there.

Sizemore, 64, didn’t rule out seeking other elected office in the future, but not on the county board. Sizemore also said he doesn’t plan to support any candidates at this time for District 5. He said he does support the proposed 0.7 mill transit tax that will be put before voters on May 6. Ypsilanti Township became a member of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority last year, joining the cities of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

The only person who has publicly indicated an interest in the District 5 seat is Wilma Gold-Jones, a Democrat from Ypsilanti Township. She’s been attending board meetings for about a year, but hasn’t yet filed petitions for the August partisan primary. Gold-Jones serves on the board of Mentor2Youth, a nonprofit that provides programs for disadvantaged youth. She filed to create a campaign committee on Nov. 27, 2013.

The filing deadline for partisan candidates is April 22. For the office of county commissioner, candidates can file either 100 50 signatures from their district or pay a $100 fee to appear on the ballot.

The county board has nine seats. All commissioners serve two-year terms, and all seats are up for election in 2014. Commissioners elected in November will begin their new terms on Jan. 1, 2015.

As of Feb. 26, three candidates have filed petitions with the Washtenaw County clerk’s office to run for county commissioner in 2014, including two incumbents: Republican Dan Smith of District 2 and Democrat Kent Martinez-Kratz of District 1. Also running in District 1 is the third candidate to file – Republican Larry Murphy.

Sizemore and Ronnie Peterson (D-District 6) are the longest-serving current commissioners. Both were initially elected in November 2000, with their first terms beginning in January of 2001. Peterson’s district includes the city of Ypsilanti and small sections of Ypsilanti and Superior townships. Most other current commissioners were first elected in 2010 or 2012, with the exception of Conan Smith (D-District 9), who was elected to represent one of Ann Arbor’s districts in November 2004.

In addition to the three candidates who have formally filed, other candidates have indicated plans to run for county commissioner, including incumbents Democrats Andy LaBarre (D-District 7) and Yousef Rabhi (D-District 8), both of Ann Arbor. At the county board’s Jan. 22, 2014 meeting, Rabhi – the board’s current chair – restated his commitment to the county board, after considering but ultimately rejecting a bid for Ann Arbor mayor.

A proposal to build an urban park on top of the Library Lane underground parking structure was presented at the Feb. 25, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission.

The presentation by Will Hathaway, on behalf of the Library Green Conservancy, included a draft proposal of a resolution for the city council to reserve about 10,000 square feet on the surface of the Library Lane Structure for an urban park, to be “bounded by the Fifth Avenue sidewalk on the west, the Library Lane Street sidewalk to the south, the western entry to the central elevator to the east, and the southern curb of the service alley on the north.” [.pdf of proposed resolution] [.pdf of proposed site boundaries]

Hathaway said he’s been working with city councilmember Jack Eaton (Ward 4). Hathaway indicated that Eaton might be ready to bring the resolution to the council’s next meeting, on March 3.

The proposal also calls for financial support as well as an allocation of staff time to design and create the park. The proposed council resolution would ask PAC and the parks staff to prepare preliminary recommendations for the park’s design, to be presented at the council’s first meeting in October of 2014.

Other aspects of the proposal include:

• asking the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to prepare for an eventual transition from parking to non-parking on the surface of the Library Lane structure;
• asking the DDA to conduct a structural analysis of the Library Lane structure to determine if any modifications are needed to safely support design features, such as soil, plantings of various sizes, water features, a skating rink, a performance stage, and play equipment;
• asking that the city’s community services and parks staff work with DDA and the Ann Arbor District Library to facilitate public programming with activities including craft fairs, book fairs, food carts, and fine arts performances;
• asking the DDA to work with the city to explore possible above-ground private and/or public development of the remaining, build-able portion of the surface level north of the central elevator and above the central exit/entrance ramp.

The proposed resolution would would specify certain conditions for development rights on the remaining surface of Library Lane, including additional public open space and pedestrian access as features of any private development. The resolution also calls for close collaboration with neighboring properties and businesses, including the Ann Arbor District Library, First Martin Corp., the University of Michigan Credit Union, the Inter-Cooperative Council, and the businesses facing Fifth Avenue and Liberty Street.

Activists have pushed for a public park or plaza on the top of the Library Lane underground parking structure for several years. Several members of the Library Green Conservancy – including former park commissioner Gwen Nystuen, and former Ann Arbor planning commissioner Eric Lipson – attended PAC’s Feb. 25 meeting.

PAC has explored the urban park issue more broadly, most formally with a downtown parks subcommittee created in 2012. The subcommittee presented a report at PAC’s Oct. 15, 2013 meeting that included general recommendations, with an emphasis on “placemaking” principles that include active use, visibility and safety. The most specific recommendation also called for developing a park or open space on top of the Library Lane structure. A park or open space at that location should exceed 5,000 square feet, according to the report, and connect to Library Lane, the small mid-block cut-through that runs north of the library between Fifth and Division. [.pdf of 21-page full subcommittee report]

The subcommittee’s report was accepted by the Ann Arbor city council on Nov. 7, 2013 over dissent from councilmember Mike Anglin (Ward 5), who serves on PAC as an ex officio member.

Hathaway’s presentation on Feb. 25 drew on recommendations from the PAC subcommittee, as well as from information in the DDA’s Connecting William Street study. He characterized this draft resolution as an initial step, and likened the process to the one that led to the Ann Arbor skatepark being built at Veterans Memorial Park.

He also noted that some people involved in the Library Green Conservancy were disappointed that this proposal isn’t calling for a park on top of the entire Library Lane site. He indicated that the current draft resolution reflects some political reality, based on feedback from city staff and councilmembers.

Hathaway wasn’t asking for PAC to take any specific action on this proposal, but asked for feedback. Several commissioners raised concerns, some of it focused on the process of bringing this resolution forward without specific direction from the council. Hathaway noted that the draft resolution is intended to start the process, with council direction, to begin working with stakeholders, PAC, the public and others in the design and development of this park.

This brief was filed from the second-floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron St. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Moving ahead on a project that’s been in the works for about two years, Ann Arbor park advisory commissioners recommended approval of a $134,297 contract with Nagle Paving Co. to relocate and rebuild the tennis courts at Windemere Park. The action took place at PAC’s Feb. 25, 2014 meeting.

The action follows PAC’s approval on Jan. 28, 2014 of a revised new location for tennis courts at Windemere Park, on the city’s northeast side. The final location approved by PAC was one put forward at a public meeting earlier this year.

The new location for the tennis courts has been disputed among neighbors who live near Windemere Park, a nearly four-acre parcel north of Glazier Way between Green and Earhart roads. The tennis courts there have deteriorated, and the city has been looking at options for replacing them. Neighbors had originally advocated keeping the courts in the same location, but the soil there is unstable. Before the area was developed, the current location of the courts was a pond.

Nagle Paving was the lowest of five responsible bidders on the project, according to a staff memo. Including a 10% construction contingency, the entire project budget is $147,727. Funding will come from the FY 2014 park maintenance and capital improvement millage revenues. [.pdf of staff memo and resolution] [.pdf of cost comparison chart]

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

At its Feb. 25, 2014 meeting, the Ann Arbor park advisory commission recommended approving a $133,843.00 contract with Best Asphalt to rebuild the tennis and basketball courts at Clinton Park.

The park is located on the west side of Stone School Road, south of Eisenhower Parkway.

Including a 10% construction contingency, the project’s total budget is $147,227. Best Asphalt provided the lowest of five bids, according to a staff memo. The project will be funded with revenues from the park maintenance and capital improvement millage.

The project will require approval from the city council, which is expected to be on the March 3, 2014 agenda.

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

An amendment to a two-year golf cart lease with Pifer Inc. was recommended for approval at the Feb. 25, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. The agreement would increase the original number of 65 leased carts by 34 carts, for a total of 99 carts. The city leases golf carts from Pifer for the Huron Hills and Leslie Park golf courses.

The lease amendment would be for two years, for an amount not to exceed $50,340 over the length of the lease amendment term. Funding for FY 2014 would come from the parks and recreation services general fund and would be in the proposed budget for FY 2015, according to a staff memo. In FY 2013, the city generated about $225,000 in revenue from golf cart rentals.

The resolution passed by PAC on Feb. 25 also recommended the sale of 32 city-owned golf carts to Pifer for $50,340.

PAC had recommended the original lease a year ago, at its Feb. 26, 2013 meeting. The city council subsequently approved the agreement in March of 2013. The current amendment exercises the renewal option in that original deal, and establishes the qualities for new carts and trade-ins. The original terms remain in effect regarding sale price offered for acquiring the city’s old carts and the cost per new cart leased. [.pdf of staff memo and resolution]

The agreement will require approval from the city council.

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

At a special session on Monday night, Feb. 24, 2014, the Ann Arbor city council declined to exercise Ann Arbor’s right of first refusal on the purchase of a 16.7-acre property owned by Edwards Brothers Malloy. The council’s decision came four days after the University of Michigan’s board of regents had authorized proceeding with a purchase of the property for $12.8 million.

The site is located at 2500-2550 South State Street, immediately adjacent to existing UM athletic facilities. It’s assumed the university would use the land at least in part to support its athletic campus.

The resolution in front of the council, which needed an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council, was defeated on a 5-6 vote. It would have approved the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriated necessary funds, and directed the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right.

The vote came after a closed session lasting an hour and 40 minutes. The council then deliberated for about an hour and 10 minutes.

Some background information on the possible acquisition of the property by the city was released last week, on Feb. 18, the day of a regular council meeting. [Edwards Brothers chart][Additional offer for Edwards Brothers 2-18-14] [Feb. 18, 2018 memo to council]

Voting to exercise the right of first refusal were:  Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Margie Teall (Ward 4), and mayor John Hieftje.

Voting against exercising the right of first refusal were: Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Christopher Taylor (Ward 3), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

In their remarks, most councilmembers cited the overall risk to the general fund that remained in most scenarios that might play out. Those that voted in support of the resolution indicated that their understanding was that the University of Michigan would not be interested in collaborating on the future of the property, unless the city exercised its right of first refusal.

Most recently, the council had voted to postpone the question at its Feb. 18, 2014 meeting after a closed session that lasted about 25 minutes.

Before that, the council had on Feb. 3 postponed the item “to our next meeting” – which was scheduled for Feb. 18. But subsequently a special meeting was called for Feb. 10 to consider the question. That special meeting was then cancelled.

Earlier, at its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information about the Edwards Brothers land. The due date for that gathering of information was specified in the council’s resolution as Jan. 30 – the same day that the land-purchase item was added to the Feb. 3 agenda.

At its following meeting, on Jan. 21, 2014, the council approved without discussion a $25,550 contract with Atwell LLC for environmental site assessment services on the property. That assessment included a survey of asbestos-containing materials.

The pending sale of the property to UM was announced in a Nov. 27, 2013 press release. The business – a fourth-generation Ann Arbor publishing and printing firm – had signaled its intent to put the property on the market in late July.

An item authorizing the $12.8 million purchase was approved on Feb. 20, 2014 by the UM board of regents, so that the university could move ahead if the city did not exercise its right of first refusal.

The city’s right of first refusal on the property was a condition of a tax abatement granted by the city council three years ago, on Jan. 18, 2011. Purchase by the university would remove the property from the tax rolls. Washtenaw County records show the taxable value of the property at just over $3 million. In 2013, Edwards Brothers paid a total of $182,213 in real property taxes, not all of which is the city’s levy. The total city levy of 16.45 mills on $3 million of taxable value works out to about $50,000.

According to the tax abatement agreement, the event triggering the city’s right-of-first-refusal window of 60 business days is a formal notification to the city by Edwards Brothers, which was made on Nov. 27, 2013. According to a staff memo from city administrator Steve Powers, the city has until Feb. 26, 2014 to exercise its right of first refusal. If the city decides to exercise that right, it must close on the purchase by Feb. 28, 2014.

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]

Opposing a new 0.7 mill transportation tax is a committee that filed paperwork with the Washtenaw County clerk’s election division on Feb. 21, 2014. [.pdf of ballot committee paperwork]

The committee, which is called “Better Transit Now,” filed its paperwork the day after the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board voted to place the tax on the May 6, 2014 ballot. Listed on the paperwork as the treasurer of the group is Libby Hunter. The filing paperwork indicates that the group intends to seek a reporting waiver, which is for groups that don’t expect to spend more than $1,000.

Deciding the issue will be voters in the AAATA’s three-jurisdictional area: the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. [For Chronicle coverage, see: "Transit Vote for A2 and Ypsi: May 6, 2014"]

The 0.7 mill tax, which would be levied by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, is meant to fund a five-year plan of improvements to transportation service. The millage will appear on the May 6, 2014 ballot. One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value of property.

Voters in the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township will be asked in a May 6, 2014 election to approve a 0.7 mill tax to support additional public transportation service over the next five years. [.pdf of ballot question information from AAATA Feb. 20, 2014 board packet]

The AAATA board voted unanimously at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting to place the question on the ballot for voters to decide. The board’s vote had been anticipated for a few months.

It was preceded by public commentary from more than a dozen people in support of the decision, including state representative Jeff Irwin (D-53) and Ypsilanti mayor pro tem Lois Richardson. Representatives from Partners for Transit, which is a coalition coordinated by the Ecology Center, and the Washtenaw Regional Organizing Coalition (WeROC) spoke. Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living led supporters in a chant of, “More buses, more places, more often!”

One speaker offered a counterpoint at the start of public commentary, asking the board to place the request on the November ballot instead of May. He stressed the fact that Ann Arbor voters have supported the AAATA up to this point, funding much of the capital investments.

If approved on May 6, the 0.7 mill tax would be levied for five years, from 2014 through 2018. Under Michigan’s Act 55 of 1963, that’s the longest period the AAATA could levy a millage, without asking voters again to renew it.

In his written report to the board in advance of the meeting, CEO Michael Ford called the vote to put the question before voters “one of the most important business decisions for the [AAATA] in decades.”

If approved, the millage would be the first ever levied by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. Existing dedicated transportation taxes, levied by the two cities and passed through to the AAATA, would remain in place. In Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA calculates the 0.7 mill levy to be commensurate with the level of service the township would receive as a result of transportation improvements. But the 0.7 mill levy would generate about twice as much as the amount paid by the township in its current purchase of service agreement (POSA). So Ypsilanti Township’s POSA amount would not be paid in addition to revenue from the 0.7 mill tax.

In separate action taken on Feb. 20, the AAATA board authorized a funding agreement with Ypsilanti Township governing that POSA. The agreement makes clear that if the 0.7 mill tax passes, then the township’s service, which would increase under the transportation improvement plan, would be paid by the 0.7 mill tax. [.pdf of AAATA agreement with Ypsilanti Township]

If approved by voters on May 6, the millage is supposed to pay for a set of service improvements over a period of five years. Those improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings, and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services. The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to the current service levels, which is a 44% increase.

If a millage is approved on May 6, those improvements that involve extending the hours of service later in the evening and the weekend could begin to be implemented by late 2014. However, increases in frequency along routes, which would require acquisition of additional buses, would take longer.

For Ann Arbor, the rate for the existing tax is 2.056 mills, which is expected to generate a little over $10 million by 2019, the fifth year of the transportation improvement plan. For the city of Ypsilanti, the rate for the existing transit millage is 0.9789, which is expected to generate about $314,000 in 2019. For the owner of an Ann Arbor house with a market value of $200,000 and taxable value of $100,000, a 0.7 mill tax translates into $70 annually, which would be paid in addition to the existing transit millage. If the millage were to pass, the total Ann Arbor transit tax paid on a taxable value of $100,000 would be about $270 a year.

If it’s approved by voters, the total amount of revenue expected to be generated by the 0.7 mill tax in 2014 is $4,368,847.

The recommendation to place the ballot authorization question on the board’s Feb. 20 agenda came in action taken by the planning and development committee at its Feb. 11 meeting. Voting unanimously at that meeting to recommend the ballot question to the full board on Feb. 20 were: Sue Gott, Larry Krieg, Eli Cooper and Eric Mahler.

The planning and development committee made its recommendation after receiving a presentation of results from a survey of registered voters in late 2013. The survey results show that 63% of those surveyed would definitely or probably support a millage.

The board also received input from a financial task force, which found that the 0.7 mill tax was adequate to fund the improvements. [.pdf of Feb. 5, 2014 financial task force finding] Members of that task force included Bob Guenzel (former Washtenaw County administrator), Mary Jo Callan (director of the Washtenaw County office of community and economic development), Norman Herbert (former treasurer of the University of Michigan), Paul Krutko (CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK), and Mark Perry (director of real estate services, Masco Corp.). Guenzel was invited to address the board at the Feb. 20 meeting, and he summarized some of the background of the task force’s work.

That task force finding was that the ridership estimates were reasonable. The finding cautioned that some uncertainty existed about the future of the personal property tax. The task force finding also recommends against the capture of a portion of the new millage by TIF (tax increment financing) authorities, like the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Ann Arbor’s local development finance authority (LDFA). It’s not clear whether it’s a legal option for the DDA not to capture a portion of that new tax. The AAATA estimates that annually about $119,000 of the new millage would be captured by the Ann Arbor DDA.

To be approved, a majority of voters in the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township would need to vote for the AAATA’s millage proposal. Those are the three jurisdictions that are members of the AAATA.

The city of Ann Arbor (pop. ~116,000), the city of Ypsilanti (pop. ~19,500) and Ypsilanti Township (pop. ~53,000) make up a bit more than half the population of Washtenaw County (pop. ~351,000).

In a separate resolution approved by the board at its Feb. 20 meeting, the board authorized CEO Michael Ford to spend up to $100,000 to cover the cost of holding the May election.

The ballot language the AAATA approved at its Feb. 20 meeting – which will be submitted to the Washtenaw County clerk’s office – differs from the language drafted and included in the board packet. The approved language explicitly highlights the capture of a portion of the millage by TIF authorities. The approved language also swaps in “seniors” for “the elderly”:

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT MILLAGE

To improve public bus, van, and paratransit services – including expanded service hours, routes, destinations, and services for seniors and people who have disabilities – shall the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority levy a new annual tax of 0.7 mills ($0.70 per $1000 of taxable value) on all taxable property within the City of Ann Arbor, the City of Ypsilanti, and the Charter Township of Ypsilanti for the years 2014-2018 inclusive? The estimate of revenue if this millage is approved is $ 4,368,847.00 for 2014. This revenue will be disbursed to the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority and, as required by law, a portion may be subject to capture by the downtown development authorities of the Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, and the local development finance authority of the Charter Township of Ypsilanti.

The ballot language is subject to requirements in Michigan’s General Property Tax Act.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how the roughly $4.3 million generated by the new AAATA millage would fit into the overall funding picture for AAATA services:

Revenue Source     Amount
State              $12,910,884
Federal            $4,507,490
Fares              $8,801,200
A2: 2.056          $10,980,259
A2: 0.70           $3,387,910
Ypsi C: 0.9789     $313,798
Ypsi C: 0.70       $202,730
Ypsi TWP: 0.70     $778,207
POSA               $1,087,344
Third Party        $1,204,196
Advertising        $375,000
TOTAL              $42,969,822

-

Here’s how that breakdown shapes up as a pie chart:

A significant portion of the added cost of providing service under the five-year improvement plan is planned to come from additional state operating assistance. While federal funding is expected to increase from about $4.1 million to about $4.5 million, state operating assistance is expected to increase from $8.5 million to $12.9 million.

Related to state operating assistance, an additional AAATA board action taken at its Feb. 20 meeting was approval of the annual resolution requesting state operating assistance. According to staff memos in the board’s information packet, the Michigan Dept. of Transportation instructed AAATA not to include assumptions of the five-year service improvement plan in this year’s application.

So this year’s application to the state for the AAATA’s portion of Act 51 money will include a budget as follows: estimated federal funds of $5,348,338, estimated state funds of $9,905,017, estimated local funds of $11,241,134, estimated fare box of $6,184,503, and estimated other funds of $647,288 – with total estimated expenses of $33,326,000. That application for state operating assistance could be amended, if the millage vote on May 6 succeeds.

The board of Michigan’s regional transit authority (RTA) voted on Feb. 17 not to ask voters for funding until 2016, which eliminates the possibility of two different transit millages on the ballot in the same year.

Information on the millage is available from the AAATA on a new website: therideyourway.org

This report was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., where the AAATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Marsh USA Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., the same insurance broker that’s consulted for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority for the last 10 years, has been awarded a new five-year contract. The contract, for up to $270,000 of consulting work, was authorized at the AAATA board’s Feb. 20, 2014 meeting.

Marsh USA will provide insurance brokerage services for general, automobile, workers’ compensation, property and public officials/employee liability insurances.

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., where the AAATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]

Unarmed security guard services for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s three properties will now be provided by DK Security. Those properties are the headquarters at 2700 S. Industrial Hwy., the Blake Transit Center, and the Ypsilanti Transit Center.

At its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting, the AAATA board authorized a one-year contract with DK Security for the work, with an option to extend the contract for four one-year periods.

The contract needs to conform with AAATA’s living wage policy, which mirrors that of the city of Ann Arbor. The policy currently requires vendors to pay a minimum wage of $13.96 per hour without providing health care benefits and $12.52 per hour when providing health care benefits.

The amount of the contract is not to exceed $270,400, which provides up to 14,299 hours (holidays included) of security coverage at a fixed-hourly rate.

The previous vendor, Advance Security, was one of 15 bidders for the work, but was not selected.

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., where the AAATA board holds its meetings.  A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]