Civic News Ticker

A $135,570 agreement on animal control services – between the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County – has been approved by the Ann Arbor city council. Action came at the council’s July 7, 2014 meeting.

Background to the city’s agreement includes a long process of discussions and negotiations between Washtenaw County and the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) – a conversation that began in 2011 when the amount of funding provided to HSHV was under scrutiny. A task force was appointed, and ultimately the county board of commissioners, at its Nov. 7, 2012 meeting, authorized contracting with HSHV for $500,000 a year for animal control services. [.pdf of contract between Washtenaw County and HSHV]

Recommended as part of that task force report was for the county to pursue a cost-sharing arrangement with those municipalities in the county that collect licensing fees for animals. The city of Ann Arbor is one such municipality in the county. From the task force report:

Cost Sharing with Local Governments
Between 45 and 65 percent of the animals at the Humane Society come from jurisdictions with their own animal control ordinances or licensing programs. While the County would bear responsibility for stray dogs in those jurisdictions absent a controlling ordinance, it would also collect licensing fees from pet owners in those communities. The current system, however, drives costs to the County without providing direct revenues to offset them. The Task Force recommends that the County reach out to the communities whose ordinances either exceed the scope of the County animal control policy or that capture licensing fees, and develop a cost sharing agreement with those local governments to offset increases driven by local ordinance requirements. [.pdf of 2012 task force report]

The council’s July 7 resolution cites the cost of public animal control countywide as $951,793. The assignment of $135,570 of that cost to the city of Ann Arbor is based on the proportion of dogs that come from Ann Arbor that are housed at HSHV, factoring in the $500,000 provided to the HSHV by Washtenaw County.

The city council’s approved FY 2015 budget had already included $105,000 for such animal control services. Increased dog licensing revenue is projected to fund the remaining $32,570, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council’s FY 2015 budget deliberations on May 19 , 2014 resulted in two amendments that affected funding for animal control services. One was an amendment that re-allocated $75,000 for a commercial sign inventory to animal control, including deer herd management. The other was an amendment that adjusted the revenue budget upwards to reflect an assumed 30% participation rate for dog licensing in the city – which would be a total of about $63,000. That’s $48,000 more than the actual amount up to now, with the idea being that a publicity campaign could increase participation in the licensing program. The additional revenue is to be put toward animal control services.

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

Several infrastructure items received approval at the Ann Arbor city council’s July 7, 2014 meeting – related to sidewalk special assessment rolls, pool liners, and street repair.

Receiving final approval were special assessments of property owners to help pay for construction of three different sidewalks – on Stone School Road, Barton Drive and Scio Church Road.

The new sidewalk on Stone School Road will be on the west side of the road. This work will be done in conjunction with the Stone School Road reconstruction project from I-94 to Ellsworth Road. The total sidewalk project cost is roughly $128,500, of which about $55,000 will be special assessed. A public hearing on the special assessment took place at the council’s July 7 meeting. Three representatives of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which owns property on Stone School Road, addressed the council about the amount of the special assessment they’ve been assigned. They asked for some kind of waiver, given the nonprofit status of their organization. Mayor John Hieftje indicated that city staff would provide them with options.

The Barton Drive sidewalk project will extend eastward from Bandemer Park at Longshore Drive. The cost of the Barton Drive sidewalk has been calculated to be $80,606. Of that, about $36,000 will be paid from federal surface transportation funds. Of the remaining $44,606, the city’s general fund would pay $42,626, leaving just $1,980 to be paid through the special assessment.

For the Scio Church sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a federal surface transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the city’s general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626.

Several other contracts appeared on the council’s July 7 agenda that were related to infrastructure maintenance and repair. The council approved a $344,600 contract with Cadillac Asphalt LLC for repair of streets after water mains, storm and sanitary sewers are repaired. The city’s public services area does not have the equipment or the staff to perform these types of street repairs, which often involve the replacement of the concrete base or the concrete street surface, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council also awarded a $175,000 contract to replace a clarifier drive in the drinking water treatment plant – to Titus Welding Company. According to a staff memo, the drive to be replaced is original to the plant and was installed in 1965. It had an expected life of 30 years. It has begun to show signs of failure, included seizing, high vibration, and bearing failure. The drive has been assessed by the manufacturer and it has been determined that it is not cost-effective to repair, according to the memo.

Also approved by the council was a $205,055 contract with Renosys Corp. to install PVC pool liners at Buhr and Fuller pools. The city is switching to PVC from Marcite, which is, according to a staff memo, a “cementitous product that covers the pool shell creating a smooth and waterproof surface.” The new product has a smoother surface, and won’t require the yearly patching required due to harsh winters and wear and tear on the pool, according to the staff memo.

Also approved at the July 7 meeting was a $80,836 contract amendment with Tetra Tech Inc. for environmental consulting services at the now-closed Ann Arbor landfill. That brings the total amount on the contract to $624,221. According to a staff memo, for several years the landfill has had a plume of 1-4 dioxane and vinyl chloride contamination offsite primarily in Southeast Area Park, northeast of the landfill. A slurry wall was constructed along most of the boundary of the landfill to eliminate groundwater passing through the landfill, and three purge wells were used to attempt to capture the offsite contamination.

And finally, the council passed a resolution approving $125,000 contracts with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. and Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. for general civil engineering and surveying services. Those services include a range of activities, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution: design and management of capital improvement projects; private development construction plan review; private development utility and road construction inspection; traffic engineering; civil engineering design; construction inspection; drafting; and surveying.

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

Two items related to serving alcohol received action at the Ann Arbor city council’s July 7, 2014 meeting.

First, the council passed a resolution that will allow several downtown businesses to serve alcohol outdoors during the Ann Arbor art fairs, to be held July 16-19 this year:

• Knight’s Restaurant (600 E. Liberty St.)
• Michigan Theater (603 E. Liberty St.)
• Neopapalis (500 E. William St.)
• Cottage Inn (508-512 E. William St.)
• New York Pizza Depot (605 E. William St.)
• Ashley’s Restaurant (338 S. State St.)
• Red Hawk Bar & Grill (316 S. State St.)
• Pizza House (618 Church)

The second alcohol-related item approved by the council on July 7 was a recommendation for a downtown development liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The council approved the site plan for Ruth’s Chris – to be located on Fourth Avenue between William and Liberty – at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

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

A site plan for the expansion of the Rudolf Steiner High School – a private school located at 2230 Pontiac Trail, north of Brookside – has been approved by the Ann Arbor city council at its July 7, 2014 meeting. The planning commission had recommended approval of the site plan at its June 3, 2014 meeting.

The project – estimated to cost $2.5 million – involves building a one-story, 19,780-square-foot addition to the existing classroom building. The structure will include a 9,990-square-foot gym, with the remaining 9,790 square feet used for classrooms and storage.

According to the staff memo, an existing Quonset hut on the east side of the site will be removed, as will a 48-inch white oak tree immediately east of the proposed addition. The school will be required to plant 12 trees for mitigation. In addition, 17 new trees will be planted as part of the project.

Parking will be increased by 31 spaces to accommodate special events and discourage parking in nearby neighborhoods, according to the staff memo. A total of 32 bicycle parking spaces will be provided near the north entry to the new addition. No additional enrollment beyond the previously approved 120 students is proposed. The school has operated at that location since 2002.

Only one person – Jeff Hayner – spoke during a public hearing on the project at the council’s July 7 meeting. He indicated that neighbors were disappointed that the project would include the loss of a 48-inch oak tree, to make room for the expansion.

At their June 3 meeting, planning commissioners had approved a special exception use for the project. That’s required under Chapter 55 of the city’s zoning code because the site is zoned R1D (single family dwelling). Private schools are allowed within that zoning district, if granted a special exception use. The planning commission has discretion to grant a special exception use, which does not require additional city council approval.

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

Two actions related to the Ann Arbor environmental commission (EC) were taken by the city council at its July 7, 2014 meeting.

Given initial approval by the council was an amendment to the city ordinance establishing the commission. In other business, the council confirmed the appointment of additional members to the commission: Allison Skinner and Benjamin Muth. Those nominations had been announced at the council’s June 16, 2014 meeting.

The ordinance change relates in part to the way that nominations to the EC are made. The EC is one of the few boards or commissions in the city for which the mayor does not make nominations. The more familiar procedure – for most boards and commissions – includes a mayoral nomination at one council meeting, followed by the confirmation vote of the council at a subsequent meeting.

In the past, the council has mimicked this procedure for the EC by having some councilmember put a resolution on the agenda appointing a member to the EC, and then postponing the resolution until the next meeting. The ordinance revisions include clarification that the nominations put forward by the council as a body to the EC are to be made by the two councilmembers who serve as the council’s representatives to the EC.

Besides two slots for council representatives, the EC includes positions for members of the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission. The ordinance revision to which the council gave initial approval on July 7 makes clear that those groups make their appointments to the EC without further city council approval. This specific revision comes after the planning commission had selected Kirk Westphal from its membership to serve on the EC earlier this year. Some councilmembers voted against his confirmation, when the council was asked to confirm his selection two months ago. For background on that vote, see “Hutton, Westphal Reappointed to EC.”

The staff memo summarizes the changes to the ordinance regulating appointments to boards and commissions as follows:

• clarifies that the councilmembers currently serving on the environmental commission nominate persons for “at-large” appointments, which are then approved by council resolution;
• clarifies that the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission each designate a representative to the environmental commission without council approval and for a one-year term;
• clarifies that the 3-year terms should be equally staggered;
• removes references to the Leslie Science Center Advisory Board, which no longer exists;
• requires the city administrator or the designated support staff of the environmental commission to notify council of vacancies – previously this was delegated to the clerk’s office, which does not always have immediate knowledge of vacancies;
• contains a few minor, non-substantive corrections and clarifications.

The ordinance amendment will still need a second and final vote at a subsequent meeting, in order to be enacted.

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

Final approval to the rezoning of three Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties, and initial approval for rezoning of a fourth property, has been given by the Ann Arbor city council.

The planning commission had recommended the three rezonings at its May 6, 2014 meeting. Initial city council action came on June 2, 2014. And final action by the council came at its July 7, 2014 meeting.

The current PL (public land) zoning for some of the properties is a vestige of the AAHC properties’ status as city-owned land. The city council approved the transfer of deeds to the AAHC at its June 2, 2013 meeting. The three sites given final rezoning approval on July 7 are part of the housing commission’s major initiative to upgrade the city’s public housing units by seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Final approval for rezoning was given for the following three sites, two of which are currently zoned as public land:

• Baker Commons: Rezone public land to D2 (downtown interface). The 0.94-acre lot is located at 106 Packard Street, at the intersection with South Main, in Ward 5. It includes a 64-unit apartment building.
• Green/Baxter Court Apartments: Rezone public land to R4A (multi-family dwelling district). The 2-acre site is located at 1701-1747 Green Road and contains 23 apartments in four buildings and a community center. It’s in Ward 2.
• Maple Meadows: Currently zoned R1C (single-family dwelling district), the recommendation is to rezone it as R4B (multi-family dwelling district). The site is 3.4 acres at 800-890 South Maple Road and contains 29 apartments in five buildings and a community center. It’s located in Ward 5.

AAHC director Jennifer Hall has explained that PL zoning doesn’t allow housing to be built on a parcel. As AAHC seeks private funding to rehab its properties, it needs to ensure if a building burns down, for example, it could be rebuilt. In general that’s why the rezoning is being requested. It’s also being requested to align the zoning with the current uses of the property. The highest priority properties to be rezoned are Baker Commons, Green/Baxter and Maple Meadows, because investors have already been found to renovate those sites.

For these three sites, planning commissioners also voted to waive the area plan requirements for the AAHC rezoning petitions, because no new construction is proposed and surveys of the improvements have been provided.

For additional background on the AAHC process of renovating its properties, see Chronicle coverage: “Public Housing Conversion Takes Next Step.”

In a related action on July 7, the council gave initial approval for rezoning an AAHC site on North Maple.

The rezoning is for a 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road – from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district).

The planning commission had recommended the rezoning at its June 17, 2014 meeting after postponing it on June 3, 2014.

The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report]

The site plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. The project would include a playground, community building and 73 parking spaces. According to a staff memo, the buildings would be located along a T-shaped driveway that connects to North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue. The drive extends northward toward Vine Court but does not connect with that street. There would be a new connection to Dexter Avenue through the remaining, undeveloped length of Seybold Drive.

The project will require the city to vacate a portion of the right-of-way for Seybold Drive. The surrounding land is owned by the housing commission, so if the right-of-way vacation is approved, the land would become part of the housing commission property.

The site plan was not in front of the city council on July 7. Only the initial rezoning approval and a resolution of intent to vacate right-of-way for Seybold Drive appeared on the agenda. That resolution of intent set a public hearing for Aug. 18, 2014 – the same council meeting when a vote will be taken on the vacation’s approval. The rezoning will also need a second vote of approval from the council at a future meeting.

Planning staff noted three issues that need to be resolved before the project gets approval from city council:

The parcel containing two duplex buildings also owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission in the northeast corner of the site must be combined with the subject site, forming a single parcel as a requirement for issuance of any permits.

The legal description and comparison chart data must be confirmed to include the duplex parcel.

The northern-most parking stall, nearest the connection to Vine Court, must be relocated outside of the minimum front setback area.

According to the staff memo, after the planning commission’s June 3 meeting, the city’s traffic engineer reviewed the proposed new connection from Seybold Drive onto Dexter Avenue, and concluded that sight distances from all approaches are acceptable. He suggested that the pavement markings on Dexter should be refreshed.

The reconstruction of North Maple Estates is also part of the ongoing effort by the housing commission to upgrade the city’s housing stock for low-income residents. At the planning commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall had made a presentation about the initiative, which includes seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Also at its July 7 meeting, the council confirmed the appointment of Audrey Wojtkowiak to the board of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, to fill the vacancy left by Christopher Geer. Wojtkowiak’s nomination was made at the council’s June 16 meeting. She’s controller for the Consolidation Center at Detroit Diesel.

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

After a federal judge ruled earlier this year that eligibility requirements for elected officers in the city of Ann Arbor’s charter are not legally enforceable, the Ann Arbor city council will now start considering putting a charter amendment in front of voters for the Nov. 4, 2014 election.

The current charter language imposes one-year durational requirements on voter registration in the city and residency in the ward that a potential councilmember would like to represent. For mayor, the current requirement is simply a one-year durational requirement for voter registration in the city. That one year is calculated from the time an elected official takes office. The new requirements, which would need to be approved in a general voter referendum, would impose a voter registration requirement at the time paperwork is submitted to qualify for the ballot.

For example, a potential candidate for the city council  would need to be a registered voter in the ward they seek to represent at the time they submit their qualifying signatures to the city clerk. And a potential candidate for mayor would need to be a registered voter in the city at the time they submit their qualifying signatures to the city clerk. With paperwork for partisan primaries due in April – for November elections – the new requirements would translate practically speaking to something similar to a six-and-a-half-month durational requirement. For independent candidates, that timeframe would be closer to three and a half months. [.pdf of draft charter amendment for Nov. 4, 2014 ballot]

The resolution to place a charter amendment in front of voters had originally been intended for initial presentation at the council’s July 7, 2014 meeting, but was not ready by then. Instead, the council will take up the question at its July 14 21 meeting. According to information provided on the Michigan Secretary of State’s website, the council would have until Aug. 12, 2014 to meet the deadline for placing a question on the ballot. Before the deadline, the council has one additional meeting after July 21 – on Aug. 7.

On the council, Jane Lumm (Ward 2) has worked with city attorney staff to move the question forward.

Bryan Kelly has submitted petitions to qualify on the ballot as a candidate for mayor of Ann Arbor in the Nov. 4, 2014 general election. According to city clerk’s staff, Kelly submitted signatures on July 7. They have not yet been validated.

As a candidate not affiliated with a political party (i.e., an independent candidate), he has until July 17 to collect at least 50 valid signatures from each of the city’s five wards. Kelly took the petitions out on June 3, 2014.

Kelly is the only potential candidate so far who could oppose the winner of the Aug. 5 Democratic primary, which features four sitting city councilmembers: Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman. No Republicans took out nominating petitions.

Updated July 9: According to the city clerk’s office, an insufficient number of valid signatures was submitted by Kelly and he will need to submit supplemental signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.

Updated July 15: According to the city clerk’s office, as of 9 a.m. this morning, Kelly had achieved enough signatures in Wards 1, 4 and 5, but staff were still processing supplemental signatures from Wards 2 and 3.

Ann Arbor city administrator Steve Powers has indicated that he’s selected CBRE to assist the city with the marketing and sale of the Library Lane parcel. That announcement came in an email sent to councilmembers on July 1, 2014. The site is located north of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, between South Fifth Avenue and Division.

Direction from the city council to Powers – to engage a broker for the development rights on top of the Library Lane underground parking parking garage – initially came at the council’s March 17, 2014 meeting. That was an 8-1 vote, with dissent from Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1). Absent was Sally Petersen (Ward 2). Margie Teall (Ward 4) departed late in the meeting but before the vote.

However, the resolution was reconsidered at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting – with the same outcome, but a different vote tally. The vote on April 7 was 7-4, with dissent from Kailasapathy, Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), and Mike Anglin (Ward 5). Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), who’d sponsored the resolution, nonetheless asked the council to reconsider it. He made it clear that he was bringing back the resolution for reconsideration to highlight why he had wanted the property listed for sale: He wanted definitive answers on the question of how many of the Library Lane structure parking spaces could be dedicated for private use – while still meeting the restrictions of the Build America Bonds used to finance the structure.

A partial answer to some of Kunselman’s questions came when the council voted on March 17, 2014 to waive attorney-client privilege on a memo written by outside bond counsel. [.pdf of Aug. 9, 2012 Dykema memo]

Other recent council action on Library Lane includes a resolution to allocate 50% of the proceeds of the sale of the development rights to the city’s affordable housing trust fund. That resolution was approved at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting. Also on April 7, the council re-settled a previously decided issue, and passed a resolution that would reserve a 12,000-square-foot portion of the Library Lane surface for an urban plaza/park.

The message from the city administrator announcing the selection of CBRE cites the broker’s extensive experience in community engagement and clients that include cities, counties, universities and states. CBRE’s international, national, and regional experience is also cited in the administrator’s message. Next steps will include city staff working with CBRE  on development of  the community engagement plan, competitive disposition process, and marketing of the property, Powers wrote.

This is the second time in the past year that the city has hired a broker to explore the sale of city-owned property. A year ago, Powers selected Colliers International and local broker Jim Chaconas to handle the possible sale of the former YMCA lot, located at the corner of Fifth and William in downtown Ann Arbor – near the Library Lane site. On Nov. 18, 2013, the city council approved the sale of that site – a parcel north of William Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues – to Dennis Dahlmann for $5.25 million. Of that sale, the city council voted to deposit $1.4 million into the city of Ann Arbor’s affordable housing trust fund.

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.

Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, was given a 5% raise by the DDA board at its July 2, 2014 meeting. Following a closed session for “a periodic personnel evaluation,” the board emerged after about 15 minutes and voted to increase her salary from $109,119 to $114,570.

The increase, which was recommended by the board’s executive committee, takes effect as of July 1, 2014. Before going into closed session, board member Keith Orr noted that the review was being conducted in closed session at Pollay’s request.

In describing the rational for the raise, Roger Hewitt noted that in 8 of the past 10 years, Pollay received no raise because of the difficult economy. Her position as a city employee is in the Level 2 category, which has a salary range from $95,000 to $157,000. Several board members indicated a desire to move Pollay toward the midpoint of that range over the next few years. Sandi Smith characterized it as “catch up” to compensate for the years when Pollay didn’t get a raise.

Casting the sole vote against the 5% increase was city administrator Steve Powers, who said he’d be more comfortable with a 3% raise, and hoped there would be a more robust evaluation process in the future.

The resolution regarding the increase states that “a number of important DDA projects were undertaken in FY 2014 under Ms. Pollay’s leadership, including opening the new First and Washington parking structure, creating a Street Framework planning initiative in partnership with the City, and working with the City Council to approve amendments to the DDA ordinance.”

The resolution also states that board members provided reviews of Pollay’s work in FY 2014, and the reviews “noted how effectively she works with the DDA Board to support board member involvement and effectiveness, how effectively DDA programs and projects are managed, and that Ms. Pollay serves as a vital resource for downtown stakeholders, and the community at large…”

Pollay has served as the DDA’s executive director since 1996.

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

Grants for two projects have been approved by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board – one an extension for a previous grant to the 618 S. Main Street project, and the other a new grant, to the 116-120 W. Huron Street project. Action came at the board’s first monthly meeting of the 2015 fiscal year, on July 2, 2014.

The Huron Street project is receiving a $390,000 grant. It’s an extended-stay hotel, which will be built by First Martin Corp. at the intersection of Huron and Ashley streets. The new building will be an 88,570-square-foot structure with a ground-floor restaurant or retail space. The extended-stay hotel will occupy the upper five levels and will be be operated by Marriott. The city council gave approval to the site plan at its June 16, 2014 meeting.

The $390,000 breaks down like this:

$340,000 New 12” water main on Ashley Street, and related hardscape 
$ 10,000 Sidewalk enhancements on Ashley Street 
$ 40,000 Right-of-way landscape maintenance (20-year commitment) 

$390,000 TOTAL

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The $390,000 amount is to be distributed over three years – $100,000 (Year 1); $145,000 (Year 2); and $145,000 (Year 3).

The maximum amount that can be awarded to a project under the DDA grant policy – adopted by the DDA board at its June 2, 2014 meeting – is 25% of the tax increment capture due to the project that the DDA receives for the first 10 years after the project is built. That amount is about $390,000, according to First Martin Corp. based on an annual figure of $156,515. But the DDA’s resolution indicates the figure has not yet been verified by the city assessor. Grants are not awarded until after the taxes are paid.

Mike Martin and Darren McKinnon attended the meeting and gave a brief presentation about the project.

The 618 S. Main project is an apartment complex that Dan Ketelaar’s Urban Group Development Co. intends to market to young professionals. The 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles.

The original $650,000 grant to the 618 S. Main Street project was approved by the DDA board at its June 6, 2012 meeting, a week before the city council gave its approval to the project on June 18, 2012.

The $650,000 total breaks down as follows:

 $85,000 Streetscape costs (sidewalk adjacent to project on Mosley/Main)
$384,500 Streetscape costs (sidewalk on west side of Main north of project)
$100,000 Rain garden to infiltrate stormwater, rather than detain and release
$ 80,500 Upsizing the water main under Ashley Street to a 12” pipe

$650,000 TOTAL

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That total is to be disbursed over four years in the following amounts: $100,000, $225,000, $225,000, and $175,000. None of the money is to be awarded before the taxes are paid each year. The DDA will use the tax increment finance capture from the project to make the grant payments.

Without an extension of the grant, it would expire automatically. The length of the extension, to receive all construction permits and to complete the project, is one year. The project has been delayed by the harsh winter.

The vote on the 618 S. Main grant was unanimous. Al McWilliams abstained on the vote for the First Martin project, but did not indicate why.

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

Tree maintenance and sidewalk repairs in downtown Ann Arbor will get $100,000 of support from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority as a result of board action taken at its July 2, 2014 meeting.

The work will include repairs like displaced bricks and uneven sidewalk flags, as well as pruning of trees.

The money to pay for the work will be drawn from tax increment finance (TIF) revenue, which the DDA is authorized to capture under state statue.

The project was recommended by the DDA’s operations committee. The board vote was unanimous.

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

A $10.5 million expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive is moving forward, following a recommendation of approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission at its July 1, 2014 meeting. Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of rezoning and a site plan for the project.

The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit. According to a staff report, the additional space will accommodate offices, a special events auditorium and “organ procurement suites.” The nonprofit’s website states that the Gift of Life is Michigan’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery program.

The proposal includes a request to rezone the properties from office (O) and research (RE) to office/research/limited industrial (ORL). The parcel at 3161 Research Park Drive is currently zoned O. The parcel at 3169 Research Park is zoned RE. The plan is to combine those lots before the city issues building permits.

The project would reduce the four existing curb cuts to Research Park Drive to three, connecting one of the loop driveways to an existing driveway at the east end of the site. A parking lot at the back of the site will be expanded by 38 parking spaces. Two alternate vehicle fueling stations are proposed in parking spaces near the main entry, with the driveway at the center of the site providing access for ambulances. A new shipping and receiving facility will be located on the northeast corner of the site.

With a recommendation of approval, the rezoning, site plan and development agreement will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

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

A plan to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house on Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place has received a recommendation of approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission.

The fraternity plans to demolish the existing 4,990-square-foot house at 1705 Hill St. – at the northwest corner of Hill and Oxford – and replace it with a 12,760-square-foot structure on three levels, including a basement. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager.

The house is now on the northwest corner of the site, and a curbcut for the driveway is located at the intersection of Hill and Oxford. The proposal calls for building the new house closer to the southeast corner of the lot, with a parking lot on the west side and a new curbcut onto Hill – away from the intersection. [.pdf of staff report]

The minimum parking requirement is for seven spaces, but the plan calls for 16 spaces on the parking lot. There will be a shed with spaces for 20 bikes, and another four bike spaces in the back yard.

The project is expected to cost $2.2 million.

The fraternity declined to make a recommended voluntary parks contribution of $3,100 to the city. A statement from the fraternity gives their rationale for that decision: ”While we can see the merit of such a donation for a large, new development that may bring additional residents to the city, we feel that this is not fitting in our situation. The Delta Chi Building Association has owned this property continuously since 1947, and during that time has consistently paid our property taxes and special millage assessments designated for Parks and Recreation. During our 67 years of ownership, we believe that we have contributed much more than the contribution suggested to support the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation system.”

No one spoke during the public hearing for this project, but a fraternity representative fielded questions about the decision not to make the voluntary parks contribution. Commissioners Wendy Woods and Bonnie Bona expressed skepticism that fraternity members didn’t use city parks, and asked that the request be reconsidered.

In two separate votes, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of a site plan and granted a special exception use for the project. A special exception use is required because the property is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling district and student dwelling district). Fraternities are only allowed in R2B districts if granted special exception use by the planning commission. No additional city council approval is required for that.

The site plan does require city council approval.

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

A plan to build 12 new condos on Ann Arbor’s west side has again been postponed by city planning commissioners. The vote to postpone, taken at the commission’s July 1, 2014 meeting, was unanimous.

The project at 312 Glendale, south of Jackson Avenue, had been previously postponed a year ago at the planning commission’s July 16, 2013 meeting. That meeting had drawn about an hour of commentary from residents who raised concerns about the project, including increased flooding, the lack of pedestrian access, increased traffic and the loss of landmark trees. The site, owned by Jeffrey Starman, includes a former orchard.

The project has been scaled back since then – but still drew considerably opposition. The plan now calls for six duplexes, each with two two-bedroom condos. (The original proposal had been for eight duplexes.) Based on the size of the parcel and the site’s zoning, up to 39 units would be allowed by right.

Each unit would include two garage parking spaces, with 12 additional surface spaces on the site. That’s double the number of spaces required by zoning.

Sixteen of the 23 landmark trees would be removed, and 103 new trees would be planted. The developer also agreed to make a voluntary $7,440 contribution to the city’s parks system. A public sidewalk would be built along Glendale. There would also be pedestrian connection between two buildings on the site, connecting the drive and the new public sidewalk on Glendale. Another sidewalk connection would be built between the end of the east/west portion of the drive and the Hillside Terrace property to the west.

Regarding stormwater management, the development agreement requires that the developer pay for disconnecting three footing drains from residences in the nearby neighborhood. On the site itself, the proposal called for stormwater facilities to be located on either side of the entrance driveway – an underground basin on the north, and a surface detention pond on the south. The intent is for any stormwater runoff to be captured within the site, and not to affect the surrounding neighborhood.

The public hearing on this project at the July 1 meeting drew 22 speakers – the project’s architect, and 21 residents who were opposed to the development. Issues that were raised were similar to those expressed a year ago, and included concerns about increased flooding and other stormwater problems, dangers of the proposed detention pond, increased traffic, and a loss of landmark tress and green space.

It was the detention pond that drew most concern from commissioners. Wendy Woods said the potential danger it posed would prevent her from supporting the project. Ken Clein questioned the contention of the architect, Scott Bowers, that the pond had been mandated by the office of the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner. Clein and other commissioners asked planning staff to get more information from the water resources commissioner about whether there are other options to handle all of the site’s water detention – such as additional underground systems.

The water resources commissioner is Evan Pratt, who formerly served on the Ann Arbor planning commission.

A year ago, both Ward 5 city council representatives attended the planning commission meeting when this project was brought forward, and one of them – Chuck Warpehoski – was among the speakers at that public hearing. He was cut off at that meeting by commissioner Diane Giannola, who cited the commission’s bylaws: “A member of the City Council shall not be heard before the Commission as a petitioner, representative of a petitioner or as a party interested in a petition during the Council member’s term of office.” Warpehoski, who’d been unaware of that rule, stepped away from the podium.

That incident prompted additional discussion of that section of the bylaws, which were ultimately revised in an attempt to clarify the ability of councilmembers to address the commission. The planning commission approved a bylaws revision at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting. The changes also require city council approval. However, the city attorney’s office is still reviewing the revisions and they have not yet been forwarded to the council.

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

After being postponed by Ann Arbor planning commissioners in May, a site plan for new condominiums on West Liberty Street has received a unanimous recommendation of approval from commissioners. The action took place at their July 1, 2014 meeting.

The proposal from developer Alex de Parry is to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. Each condo would have its own two-car tandem garage for a total of 14 parking spaces, although no parking is required.

The lot, on the north side of Liberty, is east of the historic Peter Brehme house at 326 W. Liberty and located in the Old West Side historic district. The historic district commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the project on March 13, 2014. It’s located in Ward 5 and is zoned D2 (downtown interface).

The project would require two footing drain disconnects or the equivalent mitigation, according to a planning staff report. [.pdf of staff report]

In May, De Parry was told that the existing six-inch water main in West Liberty Street would need to be upsized to a 12-inch water main. The city staff told him that the six-inch main wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the additional development, in particular the building’s fire-suppression system. That was the reason for postponement at the planning commission’s May 20, 2014 meeting.

At that time, De Parry told commissioners that the development team had just been informed about the issue, and they were analyzing the budget impact and alternatives that they might pursue.

The current agreement, recommended by commissioners on July 1, is for De Parry to pay for installation of an eight-inch water main, rather than the 12-inch water main.

During the public hearing on July 1, four people spoke – three of them with concerns about the project. Those concerns dealt with the fact that a small portion of the site’s corner lies within the flood plain, as well as a general objection to high-end development in the downtown core. One woman also criticized the aesthetics and height of the project. The project’s architect, Brad Moore, responded to concerns about the flood plain by saying that none of the building is within the flood plain. The garages are out of the flood plain, and the living space is located above the garages, he noted.

The project will now be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

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

The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, which had closed its doors in mid-June, is planning to re-open later this week.

According to former executive director Kimberli Cumming, the first priority will be to resume services to existing clients. The center provides affordable personal counseling, job coaching and divorce support, among other services.

On June 12, the board of the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit emailed a message to supporters announcing that the center would be closed. From the email: ”The loss of grant support for the types of services we offer has led the Board of The Women’s Center to decide to close the doors. Although our women-focused approach and support for emotional and economic well-being are unique and very much needed in this region, the economic reality of our current grant funding – and future prospects – make it impossible to continue operations.” The email stated that the board would be working with the center’s academic partners “to ensure that clients will continue to receive uninterrupted counseling services through the interns that they have been seeing at The Women’s Center.” [.pdf of June 12 email]

Board members at the time included: Cindy Straub, Claire Hogikyan, Sarah Williams, Lori Bestervelt, Elise Buggs, Jennifer Cornell, Sharon Ragland-Keys, and Jackie Jenkins.

Since the announcement, supporters have been working to figure out a way to fund and resume services. As of the afternoon of July 1, that June 12 message was still posted on the center’s website. Cumming indicated that more details will be posted on the website soon, as well as on the center’s Facebook page.

Cumming, who earlier this year took a job as director of executive transition services & associate teams with the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, emailed this statement to The Chronicle:

The Board and long-standing supporters have been working with client services staff on a transition plan with a new a new business model that balances earned-revenue now possible from the ACA with an ongoing commitment to those not covered by insurance. The newly constituted Board will include two Board leaders who will continue on, its (now-former) clinical staff, The Center’s founding Board Chair, and its long-term executive director [Cumming]. The team supporting the re-launch includes devoted volunteers representing clinical/client-services expertise, business planning, and philanthropy.

The Women’s Center was founded in 1977 as a nonprofit called Soundings: A Center for Women. It later merged with other nonprofits and became HelpSource, then in 2000 restructured to form The Women’s Center of America. In 2006, the nonprofit was renamed The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan to reflect a regional focus. Then in 2011, the center honored Jean Ledwith King’s advocacy for gender equity by becoming The Jean Ledwith King Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan.

In the Aug. 5 Democratic primary elections for Ann Arbor city council, a possible disagreement might be emerging over how to count absentee ballots that were incorrectly printed for the Ward 3 race. Appearing correctly on the printed ballots were Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen. However, Bob Dascola – who had filed a successful lawsuit against the city in order to be a candidate – was mistakenly left off the ballots.

The incorrectly printed ballots were sent out to about 400 absentee voters last week. But on Monday, June 30, replacement ballots and a letter of instructions were sent, telling voters about the printing error. Voters who have not yet voted were told in the city’s letter that they should destroy the previous ballot and vote with the replacement ballot. Voters who have already sent in their absentee ballots were told in the letter to “please vote and return this replacement ballot in the enclosed envelope.”

Last Friday, the Michigan Dept. of State had indicated that if someone mails in only the incorrect ballot, then their Ward 3 vote on the incorrect ballot should not be counted. Their votes in other races, however, should be counted. [.pdf of June 27, 2014 email from Michigan Dept. of State] But by Monday, June 30, the Michigan Dept. of State had reached a different conclusion. That new conclusion was this: If a voter submits only an incorrect ballot, then their vote in the Ward 3 race will count. [.pdf of June 30, 2014 email from the Michigan Dept. of State]

The letter sent by the city of Ann Arbor to voters who received replacement ballots does not appear to take a position on the question of whether a Ward 3 vote will be counted if it is submitted only on an incorrect ballot. [.pdf of June 30, 2014 city of Ann Arbor letter template]

Meanwhile, Dascola’s attorney, Tom Wieder, told The Chronicle in a telephone interview Monday that “if we do not receive an affirmative assurance that those ballots will not be counted, then we’ll be back in federal court.” Wieder was the attorney who litigated the successful lawsuit that Dascola brought against the city, in order to be allowed on the ballot in the first place. The federal court found the city charter’s eligibility requirements to be unenforceable.

Meanwhile, all three candidates are campaigning for support from Ward 3 voters.

Julie Grand, who fell about 60 votes short of Stephen Kunselman’s total in the Ward 3 primary last year, told The Chronicle in a telephone interview that she’s been knocking doors and hearing some of the same themes that she heard from residents last time around, along with some new topics. Infrastructure issues like roads and pipes were on voters’ minds last year, but this year possibly more so – because of the unusually harsh winter. New this year is a sentiment she’s heard from some voters, who’ve volunteered that they might be willing to pay an additional road tax to address the condition of streets.

Regarding other topics, Grand is starting to hear some voters mention the idea of a city income tax. Affordable housing is also a familiar topic in southeast Ann Arbor, she said, and she’s heard interest and concerns from residents about the potential for affordable housing at Washtenaw County’s former juvenile center on Platt Road. The Burton Commons project, near US-23, is also a point of discussion, she said, especially for the immediate neighbors.

Dascola is hearing some of the same sentiments from voters as Grand: “I can tell you this, the big one is: ‘Fix the roads!’” Some voters want the loose leaf collection service in the fall restored, he reported, and residents generally feel like some basic city services have gone away. He’s heard from some voters that they want their taxes lowered and they’re sick of the city wasting money on “stupid things like studies that aren’t needed.” He’s also heard from some voters that they’re upset about the high-rises that are getting “thrown up” in the downtown area. Dascola said he’d spoken to an older resident who’d lived in Ann Arbor his whole life and didn’t like it any more – but he was too old to move away.

Like Dascola and Grand, McMullen is hearing a lot about the condition of roads: “Every other door, it’s the roads,” he reported. Out in the ward farther away from downtown, he said, voters have expressed the sentiment that the city doesn’t pay attention to them. The farther you get from downtown, he said, the more basic concerns become – about power outages and the adequacy of snow plowing. In Upper Burns Park, he’d heard some interest in traffic calming measures, McMullen reported. In student areas, a worry that’s expressed is high rents. In near-student areas, he said, the worry is about students – trash left on lawns and the like. He’s also heard from some voters that they think the University of Michigan should pay taxes.

There is no incumbent in this race. The current Ward 3 councilmember who holds the seat, Christopher Taylor, is running for mayor instead. There are no Republicans contesting the seat. Independent candidates have until July 17 to file petitions for the Nov. 4 general election.

The three Democratic candidates are expected to participate in League of Women Voters forum on Tuesday, July 8 from 9-9:30 p.m. at the Community Television Network studios on South Industrial. The forum will be broadcast live on CTN Channel 19 and available on-demand at the CTN website.

After winning a federal lawsuit to secure the right to be placed on the Ward 3 Ann Arbor city council Democratic primary ballot, Bob Dascola’s name was inadvertently omitted from the first wave of absentee ballots sent out to voters. The Washtenaw County clerk’s office was alerted to the problem on the morning of June 27, 2014.

Ed Golembiewski, chief deputy county clerk and elections director, spoke with The Chronicle by phone and said that corrected ballots were currently being printed and would be provided to the city clerk’s office by noon on Monday, June 30 for mailing. The exact wording of the letter to voters accompanying the corrected ballots was being worked out by the county and city clerk’s offices. Updated at 5 p.m.: According to a followup email and interview with Golembiewski, the language in the letters will be based on a template that will be provided by the state Bureau of Elections. Roughly 400 ballots are being reprinted and re-mailed, Golembiewski said.

Dascola’s name will appear on the corrected ballot, along with those of Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen. In-person voting for the primary will take place on Aug. 5.

Golembiewski indicated that if a voter has already mailed in an incorrect ballot and subsequently mails in the corrected ballot, then their vote on the corrected ballot will be the one that is counted. Clerk’s staff is still reviewing how the scenario will be evaluated if a voter mails in only an incorrect ballot – marked with a vote for Grand or McMullen, or with a write-in vote for Dascola.  Updated at 5 p.m.: According to a followup email and interview with Golembiewski, the state of Michigan’s Bureau of Elections has indicated that if someone mails in only the incorrect ballot, then their Ward 3 vote on the incorrect ballot should not be counted. Their votes in other races, however, should be counted. [.pdf of email from Michigan Dept. of State confirming procedures for handling this situation]

Golembiewski estimated the ballpark cost of reprinting the ballots at around $3,000. Updated at 5 p.m.: According to a followup interview with Golembiewski, the county’s third-party ballot programmer, Government Business Systems (GBS), has expressed some openness to helping to pay for the cost of reprinting ballots. All ballots for Ward 3 will need to be reprinted, including those that were to be used for in-person voting on Election Day.

Golembiewski noted that there’s “a ton of proofing” that goes into checking the ballots. The omission of Dascola’s name stemmed from an extended chain of events that ultimately resulted in the incorrect ballots being sent out.

Dascola’s name was initially not included in the information provided to the county’s third-party ballot programmer – Government Business Systems (GBS). But when a federal court ruling was made last month on May 20, 2014, that the city charter’s eligibility requirements were not enforceable, the new Ward 3 candidate slate – including Dascola – was provided to GBS. Proofs of the ballots were then sent to the county clerk and the city clerk as well as to the candidates. Those proofs included Dascola’s name – so the ballots survived those checks.

Then, a change to the ballots was requested by the city of Ypsilanti – to remove city council races from Ypsilanti ballots where there was not a contested race. This is a city charter provision – that when there’s not more than one candidate for a primary race, it’s not included on the ballot. But instead of removing the Ypsilanti council races, GBS removed the city of Ann Arbor council races. The proofing process identified that error. But in restoring the Ann Arbor city council races to the ballot, GBS reverted to the initial slate – which did not include Dascola’s name.

At that point, Golembiewski said, the mistake was missed – by him and by the county election commission, which consists of the county clerk (Larry Kestenbaum), county treasurer (Catherine McClary) and the chief probate judge (Darlene O’Brien). A resident who received the incorrect ballot identified the error.

When the clerk’s office was notified on the morning of June 27, Golembiewski said he immediately focused on getting the mistake corrected.

At its June 26, 2014 meeting, the Ann Arbor taxicab board will be considering a draft ordinance that would deregulate rates in the taxicab industry, as well as a draft ordinance  that would require all livery drivers for hire – including those who work for Uber and Lyft – to register with the city.

These issues have been discussed at the two previous monthly meetings of the taxicab board, on April 23, 2014 and May 22, 2014. The June 26 meeting has a scheduled start of 8:30 a.m. from the city council work room on the second floor of city hall. After the live broadcast, the Mixlr player below will be replaced with a link to the recorded .mp3 audio file.

[.mp3 of June 26, 2014 Ann Arbor Taxicab Board meeting]

Updated: The board did not act on the two draft ordinance revisions, except to ask that staff undertake some amendments for further consideration by the board at its next meeting, on July 24, 2014.

The Ann Arbor city clerk’s office has announced that the first wave of absentee ballots have been sent to voters who’ve requested them for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election.

Based on the dataset released by the city clerk’s office, the first wave included a total of 1,879 ballots. Among the city’s five wards, the largest number of ballots (599, or about 32%) was sent to Ward 2 voters. Ward 2 offers a closely-watched city council race  – for the seat that no incumbent is contesting. Sally Petersen, the current councilmember in that position, is running for mayor. Kirk Westphal and Nancy Kaplan are contesting the Democratic primary to fill that seat.

By ward, the smallest number of ballots in the first wave (160 or 8.5%) was sent to Ward 1 voters.

The total number of absentee ballots sent in the first wave two years ago (1,919), for the August 2012 primary, was roughly on par with this year.

Of the 1,879 ballots sent in this year’s first wave, 1,138 or 60% of them were also sent to voters in the August 2012 first wave.

An application to receive an absentee ballot can be downloaded from the city clerk’s website. [.pdf of absentee ballot application form] Completed applications can be mailed or hand delivered to the clerk’s office on the second floor of city hall, 301 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. The applications can also be scanned and emailed to cityclerk@a2gov.org.

In a press release emailed on June 20, 2014, Leon Bryson has announced that he will no longer be a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the Ward 5 city council primary on Aug. 5, 2014. Bryson had submitted the necessary 100 signatures to qualify for the ballot alongside incumbent Democrat Chuck Warpehoski, who is nearing the completion of his first two-year term on the council.

In his press release, Bryson writes: “As much as I wanted to represent you and our city, I have learned that I am not yet ready to take on this position. As I campaigned for office, it became clear to me that I needed to know more about city issues and local politics in order to serve residents in the most effective way.” Bryson also indicates in his press release that he’ll be returning monetary campaign contributions. He concludes his message with well wishes for Warpehoski: “I wish my opponent Councilmember Warpehoski the best, and hope that he serves the residents of the Fifth Ward and our city well.” [.pdf of Leon Bryson June 20, 2104 press release]

Bryson’s name will still appear on the Ward 5 primary ballot. Bryson’s announcement of his withdrawal came on the same day that the city clerk announced that the first wave of absentee ballots were being sent to those who had requested them. The deadline for withdrawing from the race in time to ensure that a candidate’s name does not appear on the ballot is three days after the deadline for submitting signatures – which was April 22 this year. If Bryson were to receive more votes than Warpehoski, he would still be declared the winner of the election.

The question of fees in the successful Bob Dascola election lawsuit against the city of Ann Arbor has been settled: The city of Ann Arbor will pay Dascola’s attorney, Tom Wieder, a total of $30,731.75. That total includes attorney fees in the amount of $30,306.25 – which is the result of 93.25 hours billed at an hourly rate of $325. The remainder of that total is $425.50 – costs for filings and document retrieval from the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system.

The settlement is reflected in a court document filed by the city of Ann Arbor on June 19, 2014.

That total reflects a reduction from a total of $37,725.50 that Wieder had sought in his motion for award of fees filed with the court on June 6, 2014. [.pdf of motion for fees and accompanying brief] That requested fee award had been based on the same number of hours (93.25) but at the higher rate of $400 per hour.  The argument for the hourly rate is based on various standards cited in the accompanying brief, which include the quality of the results obtained for the client, and the reasonableness of the rate based on Wieder’s experience, skill, and reputation.

The fees agreed to by Wieder and the city of Ann Arbor are to be paid by July 15, 2014.

The ruling of the federal court in Dascola’s lawsuit made on May 20, 2014 by judge Lawrence Zatkoff, was that the city charter eligibility requirements were not enforceable, which put Dascola on the Ward 3 city council Democratic primary ballot for Aug. 5, 2014. He joins Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen on the primary ballot.

The settlement of the fees to be awarded comes after city attorney Stephen Postema reportedly made an effort to convince city councilmembers to direct him to appeal the federal court decision. University of Michigan professor of law Richard Friedman wrote an email to mayor John Hieftje, urging the council to appeal the decision. Friedman felt that the ruling in the case would be overturned on appeal. [.pdf of June 12, 2014 email from Friedman to Hieftje] Hieftje passed the email along to councilmembers.

But a consensus for that direction to appeal the Zatkoff decision was apparently not achieved by the council during two recent closed meeting sessions on the topic – on June 2, 2014 and June 16, 2014.

The ruling from judge Zatkoff was sharply critical of the city’s legal position: “[The city of Ann Arbor has] provided absolutely no authority as to why this Court should simply abandon the basic principles of law that have formed the foundation of the United States legal structure for over two hundred years.”

This is a live broadcast of a candidate forum being held at Arrowwood Hills Cooperative Housing, located off Pontiac Trail, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, 2014.

Updated: The broadcast is now over. Here’s the audio file from the event: [.mp3 of Arrowwood candidate forum] Candidates who attended were Ward 1 council candidates Sumi Kailasapathy (incumbent) and Don Adams, as well as mayoral candidate Stephen Kunselman.

Invited have been Ward 1 city council Democratic primary candidates who will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot: incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams. Arrowwood is located in Ward 1.

Also invited are mayoral candidates in the Democratic primary: Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman.

Candidates for the Ann Arbor Public Schools board in the Nov. 4, 2014 general election have also been invited: Patricia Manley and Don Wilkerson.

The forum was announced not far in advance of its scheduling, so preliminary indications are that some candidates will not be able to attend.

The text box below the audio player is a way to provide live notes to listeners – for example, the current question that candidates are answering, who is currently talking, or other listener aids. It’s programmed to force the scroll continuously to the bottom of the text notes file – so that no manual scrolling or refreshing should be required.

 

The Chronicle’s intent is to make a recorded .mp3 file available after the live broadcast has concluded. Updated:  Here’s the audio file from the event: [.mp3 of Arrowwood candidate forum] Candidates who attended were Ward 1 council candidates Sumi Kailasapathy (incumbent) and Don Adams, as well as mayoral candidate Stephen Kunselman.

The board of the nonprofit Performance Network Theatre has voted to accept a restructuring plan led by John Manfredi, who will become PNT’s producing artistic director. The vote occurred at the board’s June 18, 2014 meeting, according to a press release issued by board president Ron Maurer on June 19. [.pdf of press release]

On May 22, the board had announced that it was suspending operations of the professional theater company after determining that the theater ”is not currently financially viable.” In early June, the board issued a letter stating that the theater did not have resources to pay its staff, actors and vendors in a timely manner, and to make debt payments.

Subsequently, a group of PNT supporters – including former staff – made a proposal to re-open the theater with a smaller staff, dramatically reduced budget, and plan for reaching financial solvency. That proposal was made to the board on June 18.

The June 19 press release from the board states: ”Due to the sensitive nature of negotiations with funders and investors, the sealed bid was delivered confidentially, along with other proposals, to the Board of Directors of the Performance Network Theatre. … In making this announcement Ron Maurer, President of the Board, indicated that there are a lot of hurdles facing the Theatre in the next several weeks. Manfredi and the Board will be working hard to honor commitments to Theatre patrons, donors and vendors. Maurer cautioned that it will take time, but that the Board believes the new production model being implemented is the best option to ensure the long-term sustainability of a professional theater in downtown Ann Arbor.”

The press release describes Manfredi as the owner of Etico Productions LLC, a Michigan theatrical consulting and production company. Manfredi has served as education coordinator of the Creative Arts Center of North Oakland County; and as Managing Director of the Jewish Ensemble Theatre and The Theatre Ensemble at Meadow Brook Theatre.

Performance Network Theatre was founded in 1981 and is currently located in the ground floor of 120 E. Huron St., at the southwest corner of Huron and Fourth Avenue. The building also includes Courthouse Square senior apartments.

In recent years the theater has struggled financially. In April of 2009, the theater announced that it needed $40,000 or it would close – an appeal that resulted in a rush of donations.

Arrowwood Hills Cooperative Housing, located off Pontiac Trail, will be hosting a forum for candidates for local office starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, 2014.

Invited have been  Ward 1 city council Democratic primary candidates who will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot: incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams. Arrowwood is located in Ward 1.

Also invited are mayoral candidates in the Democratic primary: Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman.

Candidates for the Ann Arbor Public School Board in the Nov. 4, 2014 general election have also been invited: Patricia Manley and Don Wilkerson.

The format of the forum will include opportunities for the candidates to state their positions and to field questions from the audience.

A new drive-thru restaurant on Jackson Avenue – near the I-94 interchange – will be moving ahead, following action by the Ann Arbor planning commission at its June 17, 2014 meeting.

The commission recommended approval of a site plan for 2625 Jackson, on the southeast corner of Jackson and I-94, and just north of the Westgate Shopping Center. The plan calls for demolishing the existing one-story service station and auto repair shop and constructing a single building with a 1,820-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,220-square-foot retail center. The gas pump islands and canopy will be removed. The total project would cost an estimated $400,000. [.pdf of staff memo]

The restaurant’s single lane drive-thru would primarily be accessed from a proposed curbcut on Jackson Ave., with an exit through the Westgate Shopping Center Jackson Ave. entrance. An existing curbcut off Jackson to the east would be closed. The new curbcut has been approved by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation, and would prevent left turns onto Jackson. The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to four vehicles and would be screened to the north by the proposed building.

The site plan will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

In a separate vote, commissioners granted a special exception use for this project, which does not require additional city council approval. This is the first drive-thru proposal that’s come through the city’s approval process since the city council approved changes to the Chapter 55 zoning ordinance that regulates drive-thrus. That approval came at the council’s June 2, 2014 meeting.

The site is zoned C3 (fringe commercial district), which previously allowed drive-thrus without getting special permission from the planning commission. Now, such projects must meet the revised zoning standards and a special exception use is required. The new standards require that the drive-thru is not located between a public right-of-way and the main building, and that traffic circulation to enter and exit the facility does not interfere with general circulation on the site or with pedestrian circulation on and off the site.

Jim Chaconas, representing Westgate Shopping Center, told commissioners that the drive-thru would likely be either a coffee shop or fast-food restaurant.

The votes were unanimous, coming shortly after midnight with six of the nine commissioners present. Special exception use approval require six votes.

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

A proposed 78-unit apartment project on South State Street took another step forward, following action at the June 17, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor planning commission.

Commissioners recommended approval of a site plan, development agreement and rezoning for the State Street Village, a $10 million project put forward by Ann Arbor-based McKinley Inc. at 2221-2223 S. State St. The plan calls for constructing two 4-story apartment buildings at the rear of the site, totaling 112,262 square feet, with 38 units each. Another 2,027 square foot building – for a leasing office with two apartments above it – would be built on the front of the parcel, on South State.

The front part of the site is currently a surface parking lot, and is zoned O (office). The rear parcel – 4.5 acres – is vacant, and zoned M1 (limited industrial). Commissioners recommended rezoning that parcel to O (office). Residential developments are permitted in office-zoned areas. [.pdf of staff report]

The development will include 114 parking spaces in the rear of the site and 13 spaces for the front. Another 22 spaces in the surface parking lot will be shared by the existing office building just south of the site.

In addition, 44 covered bicycle spaces and 8 enclosed bicycle spaces will be provided near the entrances of the apartment buildings and 2 hoops will be placed near the entrance of the rental office building.

Instead of making a $48,360 requested donation to the city for parks, McKinley has proposed two 8×10-foot grilling patios with picnic tables and grills.

According to the staff memo, the footing drains of 18 homes, or flow equivalent to 71.91 gallons per minute, will need to be disconnected from the city’s sanitary sewer system to mitigate flow from this proposed development.

Commissioners spent about 30 minutes asking question and pressing McKinley to go beyond what the code requires in terms of pedestrian amenities, a reduction of impervious surfaces, and stormwater management. “We’re putting our aspirations on you,” Bonnie Bona told them. The vote, which came near midnight, was unanimous – with only six of nine commissioners present.

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

After being postponed at the Ann Arbor planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting, a proposal by the Ann Arbor housing commission to expand low-income housing on North Maple Road has been recommended for approval.

At its meeting on June 17, planning commissioners recommended rezoning a 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district). Commissioners also recommended a site plan and development agreement for the project – part of a major renovation effort by the Ann Arbor housing commission. The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report]

The plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms.

The project would include a playground, community building and 73 parking spaces. According to a staff memo, the buildings would be located along a T-shaped driveway that connects to North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue. The drive extends northward toward Vine Court but does not connect with that street. There would be a new connection to Dexter Avenue through the remaining, undeveloped length of Seybold Drive.

The project also requires the city to vacate a portion of the right-of-way for Seybold Drive. The surrounding land is owned by the housing commission, so if the right-of-way vacation is approved, the land would become part of the housing commission property. In a separate vote, the planning commission also recommended approving that request.

On June 3, several nearby residents had raised concerns about the project, including issues with security, impact on adjacent property, and traffic exiting onto Dexter Avenue. In addition, the planning staff had recommended postponement so that the housing commission staff could address some outstanding issues with the project. On June 17, the planning staff recommended approval and noted that housing commission staff and the project’s team had talked with residents after the June 3 meeting to address concerns. Five people spoke during the June 17 public hearing, either asking questions or expressing support.

Planning staff noted three issues that need to be resolved before the project gets approval from city council:

The parcel containing two duplex buildings also owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission in the northeast corner of the site must be combined with the subject site, forming a single parcel as a requirement for issuance of any permits.

The legal description and comparison chart data must be confirmed to include the duplex parcel.

The northern-most parking stall, nearest the connection to Vine Court, must be relocated outside of the minimum front setback area.

According to the staff memo, after June 3 the city’s traffic engineer reviewed the proposed new connection from Seybold Drive onto Dexter Avenue, and concluded that sight distances from all approaches are acceptable. He suggested that the pavement markings on Dexter should be refreshed.

The project will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

The reconstruction of North Maple Estates is part of an ongoing effort by the housing commission to upgrade the city’s housing stock for low-income residents. At the planning commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall had made a presentation about the initiative, which includes seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

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