Bob Galardi was elected chair of the budget & finance committee for the Ann Arbor park advisory commission at PAC’s May 21, 2013 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

Jerry Hancock, the city’s stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator, described the project, which is being paid for out of the city’s stormwater utility fund – not the parks and recreation budget. It will involve regrading the perimeter of the park in the fall, then putting in native plants next spring. Soil excavated to create the rain gardens will be used to elevate the park’s central lawn area, which often has standing water following heavy rains. The work will be done prior to improvements planned for the park’s playground next year.

Later in the meeting, commissioners voted to recommend awarding a contract for roof replacement at the Mack indoor pool, located within the Ann Arbor Open school near the corner of Miller and Brooks. The recommendation is to select Pranam GlobalTech Inc., which put in the low bid of $193,000. A 10% construction contingency brings the project’s budget to $212,300, with a portion of that amount to be paid for by the public schools.

Also recommended was using $8,280 from the public market fund to upgrade a surface parking lot – known as the “sand lot” – on the Fourth Avenue side of the farmers market. The paving is viewed as a short-term solution, pending longer-term improvements expected at the market in a few years.

Commissioners also elected Bob Galardi as chair of PAC’s budget & finance committee. He replaces Tim Doyle as committee chair, following the end of Doyle’s term on PAC earlier this month. Jen Geer – Doyle’s replacement on PAC – was confirmed by the city council the previous evening but did not attend PAC’s May 21 meeting. Geer has worked with Galardi and councilmember Christopher Taylor – an ex-officio member of PAC – in another capacity, in the performing arts. Most recently, she was executive producer for the Ann Arbor in Concert production of Ragtime, performed at Michigan Theater on May 18. Both Taylor and Galardi were lead performers in that show.

Updates during PAC’s May 21 meeting covered a range of topics, including news that bids for construction of the new skatepark came in a little higher than anticipated. Parks staff and skatepark designer Wally Hollyday will be reviewing the bids to see what options are available. Parks and recreation manager Colin Smith reported that at PAC’s June 18 meeting, commissioners will be presented with a resolution to award a construction contract, as well as an agreement between the city and the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark related to operating the skatepark.

Other updates from Smith included the fact that parks staff is gearing up for Memorial Day weekend, with the opening of the city’s outdoor pools. He also highlighted the completed renovations of ball fields at Veterans Memorial Park, West Park and Southeast Area Park, and improvements made at Liberty Plaza. In addition to removing some bushes there, he said, “we also removed all sorts of things that were in the bushes, which are no longer there – and I’m glad they’re not.”

Other brief reports were given regarding work of PAC’s dog park and downtown park subcommittees, and public forums for the North Main-Huron River task force. Public commentary focused on input from the Library Green Conservancy, which is advocating for a park or public space atop the city’s Library Lane parking structure.

Arbor Oaks Rain Garden

Jerry Hancock, the city’s stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator, was on hand to brief commissioners about a project to build rain gardens in Arbor Oaks Park. The park is located in the Bryant neighborhood, near the Bryant/Pattengill elementary schools east of Stone School Road and north of Ellsworth. The park is near the city’s Bryant Community Center, which is operated by the nonprofit Community Action Network (CAN) under contract with the city.

From left: Parks and recreation manager Colin Smith and Jerry Hancock, the city’s stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator.

Hancock said he got involved with the neighborhood in 2007, when CAN invited city staff to come and talk with residents about drainage problems in that area. [For some background on this issue, see Chronicle coverage: "Bryant Neighbors Dig into Drainage" and "Water Main Project Set for Bryant Area."]

Houses in the neighborhood are mostly built on clay with crawl spaces. There’s very little topography for water to drain, Hancock said, so water tends to pool under the houses.

University of Michigan students got involved too, he noted. They surveyed the neighborhood about problems with drainage and flooding. The results revealed certain areas where the problems were clustered, including the area around Arbor Oaks Park. Most of the homes that are located there reported flooding on their land adjacent to the park. [UM student Mark Zheng produced a 7-minute video on these issues that's posted on YouTube: "Bryant Drainage and Flooding Remediation – Taming the Water."]

The students came up with a concept plan about how to solve some of the problems through a variety of approaches. CAN has done a lot of work in the area, Hancock said – for example, uncovering catch basins that were covered with two or three feet of soil. CAN also got a grant from Washtenaw County to regrade some of the back yards and install storm sewers.

The area around the park, Hancock said, seemed to lend itself to putting in rain gardens, and to lower the grade a little to accommodate the drainage from adjacent properties. For the past few years, the city has partnered with Washtenaw County’s office of the water resources commissioner to do projects funded by the state’s revolving loan fund. These low-interest loans are used to fund stormwater management projects. For “green” projects, the state also offers a 50% loan forgiveness program. “So we have been chasing this money more aggressively than most communities,” Hancock said.

Residents had reported that the lawn area in the center of the park stays wet too long after a storm, and isn’t useable for much of the year. So in addition to lowering the grade around the park’s perimeter for the rain gardens, the soil from that regrading can be used to raise the grade in the center lawn area, to make it more useable, Hancock said.

After bidding out the project, the city hired InSite Design to do design work for $53,000, subcontracting with Anderson Engineering to do the survey work. Erie Construction, which did five other large rain gardens for the city last summer, had the low bid of $158,000 for building the rain gardens. Residents are aware of the project, he said, and so far the city hasn’t received any complaints about the plans.

Construction would start the day after Labor Day, Hancock said. Access through the park to the school will be maintained during construction. The regrading will be done this fall, with plantings done next spring. It’s expected that the work will be finished in early June of 2014. The contractor will be responsible for maintenance on the rain gardens for one year.

Arbor Oaks Rain Garden: Commission Discussion

Alan Jackson asked about the funding source. Jerry Hancock replied that it would be funded from the city’s stormwater fund, not from the parks and recreation budget.

Jackson also wondered what the city’s liability is for flooding and drainage problems in people’s homes. Hancock replied that the drainage issues in that neighborhood are primarily on private property. In this case, the city has the opportunity to help the neighborhood. “It’s not necessarily our responsibility, but we have the funding mechanism and capability to do it, so we’re just trying to help this community out,” he said.

Map showing location of Arbor Oaks Park.

In response to another question from Jackson, Hancock said that the majority of the rain garden-related work will take place around the park’s perimeter in lawn areas, and won’t affect the playground area and basketball court. No structures will be removed and no sidewalks will be relocated. A few trees will be relocated, and additional trees will be planted.

Because of the regrading, the rain gardens will accept water from surrounding properties, Hancock explained. The root structures of native plants in the rain gardens are 1-3 feet deep and break up the soil so that water infiltration can occur more easily. There would only be ponding water for a very short period after a rainfall, he said, before it infiltrates. The area also has catch basins as part of its existing stormwater management system.

Christopher Taylor said it’s his recollection that maintenance periods are typically longer than one year. Some contracts have been up to three years, Hancock replied. But because of the funding constraints of using the state revolving loan fund, the contract had to be set up this way.

Taylor also noted that there’s been some concern about the park’s utilization. He asked Hancock to talk about outreach efforts, and about how the project might improve the park’s usability. Regarding outreach, Hancock reported that CAN holds monthly meetings for residents. A couple of years ago, the city planned to do road repairs and water main replacement in the neighborhood. City staff attended meetings to explain the work, and based on feedback, additional elements were added to the project. The city got a county grant to do some additional work, using fiber-optic cameras on private storm sewers to find out why water isn’t draining. That’s when they discovered catch basins that were buried in back yards, among other things.

The usability of the park’s center area has been cited by residents in the past, Hancock said, and this rain garden project is a good opportunity to improve that situation. It also helps the project’s budget, he said, because it eliminates the expense of hauling off soil from the site.

Most of the other rain gardens in the city have been built in areas where the soils are more porous, Hancock noted. In the Bryant neighborhood, the soil is poorer, with more clay, so the project will include bringing in topsoil. He added that the city is also willing to tackle the project because of its success with native plants and rain gardens in other areas. Staff are confident that it will work in locations with less porous soil, too, like Arbor Oaks.

Julie Grand confirmed with Hancock that efforts have been made to reach all residents who live adjacent to the park. CAN has sent out notices at various points in the overall project so far, Hancock said. Parks and recreation manager Colin Smith said he thought that notices regarding construction should come directly from the city and county, rather than CAN. He wanted to make sure the mailing list is complete.

Grand said that once people understand what’s happening, they’ll be excited. It’s just the shock of seeing workers show up that might be an issue, she said.

Grand also asked how this project fits with plans for giving the Arbor Oaks Park playground a significant overhaul. Smith replied that the playground project will begin in 2014, after the rain garden is completed.

Outcome: This was not a voting item.

Farmers Market Parking

Plans for an upgrade to a surface parking lot at the Ann Arbor farmers market was on PAC’s May 21 agenda for consideration. The work would be paid for with $8,280 from the market fund balance.

The cordoned-off “sand lot” parking area at the Ann Arbor farmers market, with an entrance off of Fourth Avenue.

Known as the “sand lot,” it’s located on the Fourth Avenue side of the market, where a house was demolished several years ago. Jeff Straw, deputy manager of parks and recreation, said it has been used as a makeshift area for vendors, but has deteriorated over time.

The Ann Arbor public market advisory commission had recommended the work and appropriation at its April 18, 2013 meeting. According to a staff memo, the work would include “saw cutting and stripping the asphalt, grading the existing aggregate, and adding 3 inches of asphalt mix.” It’s a short-term approach intended to make the lot more useable until longer-term improvements at the market are determined.

The project is already underway so that it can be completed before the market’s busy season. Because of that, it will be paid for initially out of proceeds from the parks maintenance and capital improvement millage, to be reimbursed from the market fund balance. The total market fund balance as of Feb. 28, 2013 was $684,145.

The public market – located in Kerrytown, north of Catherine between Fourth and Fifth avenues – is part of the city’s parks and recreation unit, but operates as an enterprise fund. That means the intent is for the operation to be self-sufficient, without support from the city’s general fund. The market manager is Sarah DeWitt.

Farmers Market Parking: Commission Discussion

Alan Jackson asked about the materials that would be used. Jeff Straw confirmed that the lot would be paved with asphalt. Parks and recreation manager Colin Smith noted that although the lot is known informally as the “sand lot,” it’s actually built from a variety of materials, including asphalt that’s “in various states of decomposition.” To call it a sand lot is somewhat misleading, he added. “It’s not some place where you’d be playing volleyball, let’s put it that way.”

Christopher Taylor asked whether any consideration was given to using a porous surface. Straw replied that this is viewed as a 2-4 year solution, so from a cost perspective, it made more sense not to use more expensive porous pavement. The entire market area will be considered for improvements in a few years.

Jackson wondered what ideas are being considered for the broader market improvements. Straw listed several possibilities, including additional enclosures that could be used during the winter, as well as a gazebo-type building, more seating, and a way to create better flow for customers and vendors.

Outcome: PAC unanimously recommended approval of the project. It will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

New Roof at Mack Pool

On PAC’s May 21 agenda was a resolution regarding roof replacement for the city of Ann Arbor’s Mack indoor pool, located within the Ann Arbor Open school near the corner of Miller and Brooks. Staff had recommended awarding a contract to Pranam GlobalTech Inc. for $193,000 to cover the roof replacement and painting refurbishment. A 10% construction contingency brings the project’s budget to $212,300.

Pranam provided the lowest of two bids. The other bidder was Wm. Molnar Roofing Co. Inc., which bid $271,319 for the work. Pranam was previously selected to replace the roof at Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena. The contract for that project was approved by the city council at its May 20, 2013 meeting.

Park advisory commissioner Graydon Krapohl.

According to parks staff, the existing roof from the early 1990s was expected to last just 15 years. There are leaks and rusted steel lintels and joists, which need to be replaced. The project also includes removing rust and painting the pool ceiling and joists.

Funding for the project is available from two sources: (1) $186,088 from the fund balance of the parks maintenance and capital improvements millage; and (2) $26,212 from the Ann Arbor Public Schools, which pays annually into a capital facilities escrow account earmarked for Mack Pool.

Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, described the timeframe for the project as relatively tight. Because Mack Pool is jointly used by AAPS and the parks system, the work needs to be completed this summer, while school is out of session. The timing is intended to avoid a “complete kerfuffle” in the fall, he said. The pool is not open during the summer months.

Smith also highlighted the fact that AAPS will be contributing to pay for the project. A few years ago when the city considered closing Mack Pool, a city task force was formed to explore options. There had been a lot of discussion about how the schools could contribute to operating expenses and future capital expenses, Smith said. As a result, AAPS is making annual payments into a capital escrow fund to be spent on projects like this. The schools have paid about $13,000 for each of the past two years, so this project will be using that revenue as part of its funding source.

New Roof at Mack Pool: Commission Discussion

Graydon Krapohl asked how many weeks the project would take. Jeff Straw, deputy manager for parks and recreation, estimated the work would take 6-8 weeks to complete, depending on weather.

Ingrid Ault questioned part of the resolution stating that eight votes were required: Did that refer to PAC or the city council? [Only seven PAC members were present at the May 21 meeting.] Smith confirmed that the eight-vote requirement related to the city council.

Outcome: PAC unanimously recommended awarding the Mack Pool roof replacement contract to Pranam GlobalTech. It will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

Galardi Chosen as Budget Chair

Tim Doyle, whose term ended on May 17, had served as chair of PAC’s budget & finance committee. On May 21, PAC chair Julie Grand nominated Bob Galardi to replace Doyle in that role. Doyle had not sought reappointment to PAC.

Galardi has served on that committee since soon after being appointed to PAC in July of 2012. His term as committee chair will run until PAC’s September meeting, when the commission elects all officers.

Jen Geer – Doyle’s replacement on PAC – was confirmed by the city council the previous evening but did not attend PAC’s May 21 meeting. Grand said she’d called Geer in the morning to report that the council had acted, but Geer was not able to attend on such short notice.

Geer has worked with Galardi and councilmember Christopher Taylor – an ex-officio member of PAC – in another capacity, in the performing arts. Most recently, she was executive producer for the Ann Arbor in Concert production of Ragtime, performed at Michigan Theater on May 18. Both Taylor and Galardi were lead singers/actors in that show. Geer is also on the board of the Burns Park Players, a nonprofit in which Taylor and Galardi are also involved.

In nominating Galardi, Grand said she hoped the work wouldn’t be too strenuous, because the city’s budget for the coming fiscal year – beginning July 1 – had just been set. She confirmed with parks and recreation manager Colin Smith that in a mid-term election of this kind, PAC’s bylaws stipulate that a two-thirds majority approval is needed – or at least five votes.

Outcome: Galardi was unanimously elected chair of PAC’s budget & finance committee.

Communications & Commentary

There were several opportunities for communications from staff or commissioners during the April 16 meeting, as well as time for public commentary.

Communications & Commentary: Manager’s Report

Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, provided several updates. He noted that the city’s outdoor pools are opening on Memorial Day weekend, which is traditionally the kick-off date for the summer season. Staff is being trained and everything is on track for the opening, he said.

Julie Grand, chair of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission.

The newly renovated softball fields are being completed on time and games are expected to start on May 31. He suggested that commissioners check out the fields at Veterans Memorial Park, West Park and Southeast Area Park, saying that the difference is like “night and day.”

The farmers market is now open on Wednesdays for the season, he noted, and the Wednesday night market will resume on June 5.

Last week, the city received bids for construction of the skatepark at the northwest corner of Veterans Memorial Park. The bids came in a little higher than anticipated, Smith said, so they’ll be reviewing the bids to see what options are available. At PAC’s June 18 meeting, Smith said, the commission will be presented with a resolution to award the construction contract, as well as an agreement between the city and the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, related to operating the skatepark. Smith said he’s been working with Trevor Staples of FAAS on the agreement. He characterized it as quite simple, compared to the original memorandum of intent.

Work is underway at the Gallup canoe livery, which will re-open on May 25. Construction started about six weeks ago, Smith said, but will be put on hold from Memorial Day weekend until after Labor Day. “You can certainly see a change – it looks really nice,” he said.

Summer day camp numbers are higher than they’ve been for several years, Smith reported, adding that it is encouraging news. Also, the Ann Arbor senior center was recently awarded a $4,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Kiwanis for a cultural arts & education lecture series.

Smith also highlighted the May 18 Adopt-A-Park program kickoff, which was well-attended, as well as work at Liberty Plaza as a part of the downtown Ann Arbor Blooms Day event. He said First Martin, which owns the building adjacent to Liberty Plaza, has been a great partner in maintaining and sprucing up the plaza. Smith said in addition to removing some bushes, “we also removed all sorts of things that were in the bushes, which are no longer there and I’m glad they’re not.”

Communications & Commentary: City Council Update

Christopher Taylor is one of two city councilmembers who serve as ex-officio non-voting members of PAC. He reported that on the previous night – May 20, 2013 – the council had passed the city’s budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1. He noted that the amendments made to the budget resulted in an extra $22,977 coming to the parks and recreation budget, because of the “parks fairness” resolution. “So your job is slightly easier,” he said.

By policy, the general fund allocations to parks and recreation must not suffer any decrease beyond what other areas in the general fund do. So amendments to the other parts of the budget can have implications for adherence to this policy. At the end of all the amendments, financial services staff provided the council with an adjustment that needed to be made to the parks budget as an additional budget amendment, in order to comply with the policy.

Taylor also noted that the council confirmed the appointment of Jen Geer to PAC.

Communications & Commentary: Dog Park

Karen Levin reported that the dog park subcommittee met recently and went to look at possible sites for a new dog park – at Veterans Memorial Park, Wurster Park and Buhr Park. The next meeting is set for May 31, when they’ll talk about these options as well as a survey for the public to give feedback.

By way of background, two locations for a new centrally-located dog park were explored at West Park, but ultimately rejected because of protests from nearby residents as well as the New Hope Baptist Church, which is located across the street from the park.

More recently, at their May 14, 2013 meeting, the Washtenaw County parks & recreation commissioners mentioned Ann Arbor’s difficulty in finding a new dog park location. In that context, county parks commissioners discussed their desire to add another off-leash dog park in addition to Swift Run, which the county operates in partnership with the city of Ann Arbor. Some commissioners want to include a water element where dogs could play. Jan Anschuetz put it this way: “We’ve done so much to provide water recreation for people – now let’s do it for the dogs.”

Communications & Commentary: North Main-Huron River Task Force

Julie Grand reported that the city’s North Main-Huron River Vision task force would hold a public forum the following night, on May 22, to present some initial ideas and get feedback from residents about possible changes along that corridor.

Larry Baird and Gwen Nystuen at the May 22, 2013 public forum for the North Main-Huron River corridor project, held at the Ann Arbor Community Center.

[About 75 people attended that meeting, which was held at the Ann Arbor Community Center. Grand was among the task force members who made a presentation to the gathering.]

A similar public forum will be held on Wednesday, May 29 at city hall, 301 E. Huron, from 5-7 p.m. The task force then will incorporate the feedback into recommendations that will be presented to the community on Wednesday, June 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Community Center, 625 N. Main.

After that, the task force will meet again to finalize their recommendations – on Wednesday, June 19 from 5-7 p.m. at the NEW Center, 1100 N. Main. The final recommendations will be sent to the city council for consideration.

Grand also pointed out that more information is online at the task force website and A2 Open City Hall, where residents can provide feedback by responding to open-ended questions.

Communications & Commentary: Library Green

During public commentary at PAC’s May 21 meeting, Gwen Nystuen, a former park commissioner, spoke on behalf of the Library Green Conservancy. Referring to PAC’s downtown park subcommittee, she said the conservancy members realize how difficult the subcommittee’s work is and they want to help in any way they can. Last July, “on I think the hottest day of the year,” she joked, the conservancy sponsored the Imagine A Park event. It included a temporary patch of grass, a solar fountain, free lemonade and ice water, food from nearby restaurants, musicians, and a chess table. Earthen Jar in particular was helpful providing water, she said. “You wouldn’t believe, would you, that in a $55 million structure, there’s not a faucet on top of that garage.”

Nystuen reported that people attending the event generated a list of ideas for things that you could do if a park were in place at that location. The ideas were gathered from 154 surveys that included a checklist of possible activities, she said. The top five responses were:

• See water flowing or get a drink of water (115 responses)
• Safe place for children to play and parents to meet (113 responses)
• Gardens (107 responses)
• Picnic space (99 responses)
• Public art (98 responses)

Library Green members don’t want to say what should be in this urban park, Nystuen said, but they do think that the Library Lane site is the most central location. At the least, she noted, there should be a drinking fountain there. She wanted PAC to know that the Library Green is continuing to gather information, and that they appreciated the work that PAC was doing regarding downtown parks.

Communications & Commentary: Downtown Park Subcommittee

Ingrid Ault, chair of PAC’s downtown park subcommittee, reported that committee members have been meeting with various groups to get input on the issue of downtown parks. She noted that information being gathered by the committee is posted on its website.

City staff, members of the Ann Arbor downtown park subcommittee and others during a walking tour of downtown parks and plazas. This stop is on the second floor “green roof” at city hall. Clockwise from bottom left: Julie Grand, Amy Kuras, Wendy Rampson, Karen Levin, Alan Jackson, Colin Smith, Ingrid Ault, Stewart Gordon, Alice Ralph.

[In recent weeks, the committee has met with representatives of the Library Green Conservancy; with Ann Arbor District Library director Josie Parker and AADL board president Prue Rosenthal; and with members of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, including Joe O'Neal, Alice Ralph and Jonathan Bulkley. PAC member Bob Galardi is president of the greenway conservancy's board.]

Ault noted that during the committee’s most recent meeting, on May 14, the group had gone on a walking tour of downtown parks, plazas and other relevant areas. They looked at places that were considered successful public gathering spaces, as well as city-owned sites that are part of the Connecting William Street study.

[The tour, which The Chronicle attended, included the second-floor green roof at city hall – which is accessible to the public and includes picnic tables – as well as Sculpture Plaza at Fourth & Catherine. Also visited were the five city-owned parcels that were the focus of Connecting William Street: the Kline lot (on the east side of Ashley, north of William); the lot next to Palio restaurant (northeast corner of Main & William); the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure; the former YMCA lot (on William between Fourth and Fifth); and the top of the Library Lane underground parking garage on South Fifth, north of the downtown library.]

The committee’s next meeting is on Tuesday, May 28 at 5 p.m. in the south conference room of city hall, 301 E. Huron. These meetings are open to the public.

Present: Ingrid Ault, Tim Berla, Bob Galardi, Julie Grand, Alan Jackson, Graydon Krapohl, Karen Levin, and councilmembers Mike Anglin and Christopher Taylor (ex-officio). Also Colin Smith, city parks and recreation manager.

Absent: Missy Stults.

Next PAC meeting: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 4 p.m. in the city hall second-floor council chambers, 301 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. PAC’s land acquisition committee meets on Tuesday, June 4 at 4 p.m. [Check Chronicle event listing to confirm date]

Next downtown park subcommittee meeting: Tuesday, May 28 from 5-6:30 p.m. at city hall’s first floor south conference room. More information about that group is on the subcommittee’s website.

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Erica Briggs is ending her term on the Ann Arbor planning commission at the end of June, and is not seeking reappointment. At the June 5 meeting, she lobbied unsuccessfully to postpone a DTE Energy project, arguing that the community needs a broader discussion about whether providing unlimited energy fits the city’s long-term goals of energy reduction.

The estimated $10 million project by DTE to build a new electrical substation was met with caution by commissioner Erica Briggs, who urged her colleagues to postpone the proposal. DTE is building the substation to meet increased energy demands in the city.

The project – called the Buckler substation – had previously been discussed at the commission’s May 15, 2012 meeting, which Briggs did not attend. When the item came up again at the June 5 meeting, she argued that a broader conversation about the community’s energy needs is needed. It’s a rare opportunity for that, she noted, given that projects like this don’t occur frequently – the last Ann Arbor substation was built in the 1960s. She used an analogy to transportation: If a proposal came in to widen all the roads in the community, that idea wouldn’t automatically move forward – because people would stop to discuss whether this is what they want for the city. The DTE project will essentially widen the energy capacity for the city, she said, at a time when the community is talking about the need to reduce its energy use.

As examples, Briggs noted that the city is moving forward with sustainability goals, as well as with a climate action plan. Later in the meeting, the commission unanimously recommended approval of 16 sustainability goals, including three that relate to climate and energy. One of the goals calls for the city to “reduce energy consumption and eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions in our community.”

Briggs made a motion to postpone the substation proposal, but it died for lack of a second as none of the other commissioners at the meeting were supportive of another postponement. A possible ally on the issue – commissioner Bonnie Bona, who works for the nonprofit Clean Energy Coalition – did not attend the June 5 meeting. The project was approved on a 5-1 vote, with Briggs dissenting and three commissioners absent. It does not require further approval by city council.

Another proposal that had been postponed from an earlier meeting in May – Maple Cove Apartments & Village development – was taken up again on June 5. The two apartment buildings and seven single-family homes are proposed at 1649 N. Maple, north of Miller Road between North Maple and Calvin Street on the city’s west side. Safety concerns over two planned entrances off of North Maple had caused the previous postponement, but planning staff reported that the entrances conform to city code.

Two residents of Calvin Street spoke during a public hearing, both of them objecting to the project. Several commissioners also expressed disappointment in the project, as they had at earlier meetings. But they noted that because it conforms to the city’s ordinances, they had no choice but to approve it. Briggs said it pointed to the need to reexamine some problems in the city code that led to this situation. The commission’s unanimous recommendation of approval will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

The vote on a project located near Maple Cove – a proposed Speedway gas station at the northeast corner of Maple and Miller – was postponed by commissioners. City planning staff had recommended postponement, to allow the owner to make requested revisions in a landscaping plan and traffic impact statement.

Two other requests were approved, both related to rezoning of land acquired by the city: (1) two parcels for an expansion of the Bluffs Nature Area, and (2) a site adjacent to the Bryant Community Center. In both cases, commissioners recommended that city council rezone the sites to PL (public land).

DTE Buckler Substation

Following a postponement by the planning commission at its May 15, 2012 meeting, the site plan for a new DTE Buckler electrical substation at 984 Broadway near Canal Street was on the agenda again for the June 5 meeting.

The project entails building the substation in the utility company’s Ann Arbor service center – to provide an increase in electrical power to the downtown area due to increased demand for electricity. The project will include two 15.5-foot tall electrical transformers and related electrical equipment on raised concrete pads, and a new power delivery center (PDC) – a 630-square-foot, 12.5-foot tall steel structure. A new six-foot tall perimeter chain link fence will be built, with one foot of barbed wire and a concrete block retaining wall. The source of power will be transmitted through underground sub-transmission cables in an existing manhole and conduit system.

Because of floodplain issues, DTE has proposed to build raised transformer pads by bringing in 800 cubic yards of fill. To mitigate that impact to the floodplain, DTE plans to remove 1,155 cubic yards of earth on the MichCon site at 841 Broadway. [MichCon is a DTE subsidiary.] The proposal also calls for removing a building on the MichCon site, which will give the company an additional 55 cubic yards of  ”floodplain mitigation credit.” The proposal for that MichCon portion of the project received unanimous approval by planning commissioners at their May 15, 2012 meeting.

DTE Energy Buckler substation site plan. (Links to larger image)

The project also needs a variance to the 15-foot conflicting land use buffer requirements along the east side property line, adjacent to Riverside Park. DTE requested a variance that would allow 33 trees and 38 shrubs to be planted along the far western side of Riverside Park instead of on DTE property. The city’s park advisory commission recommended approval of that variance at its Feb. 28, 2012 meeting.

Planning staff had previously requested a postponement to resolve some outstanding issues with the site plan, which were addressed by the June 5 meeting.

The June 5 approval came with several contingencies, however: (1) obtaining variances from the city’s zoning board of appeals for the conflicting land use buffer and storm water detention requirements; (2) obtaining a Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) permit for work within the floodplain, prior to issuance of building permits; (3) relocating a fire hydrant and construction of its associated water main, prior to the issuance of building permits; (4) completing the required footing drain disconnects, prior to final inspection approval; and (5) executing the contract for water main easements, prior to final inspection approval.

DTE Buckler Substation: Public Hearing

Only one person spoke during the public hearing. Mike Witkowski, DTE planning engineer for Washtenaw County, thanked the planning staff and said he wanted to reiterate the critical nature of this project. As he’d done at the May 15 meeting, he noted that from 2009 to 2011, summer peak loads were up 12% for the Ann Arbor area, and 17% for the mile radius around the nearby Argo substation, located across Broadway at the intersection with Swift. Without this project, there is an increased risk of brownouts or blackouts, he said. DTE has already upgraded its infrastructure somewhat to combat that, but the new substation would allow the company to serve new businesses and address future demand.

Witkowski thanked the staff and commission for getting the project back on the agenda. The company needs to order a $500,000 piece of equipment soon, he said, in order to ensure delivery by January or February of 2013. If that window is missed, they’d likely have to wait until April of 2013 to install it, and that puts DTE’s ability to serve next summer’s loads at risk.

DTE Buckler Substation: Commission Discussion

Erica Briggs started off by saying she’d missed the May 15 meeting, but she had watched it on video and had noted that one big question hadn’t been raised. “Brace yourself,” she added – it’s a little radical.

Briggs expressed concern that the commission hadn’t done its due diligence with respect to looking at the city’s long-term energy needs. It’s great that DTE is trying to be proactive in meeting its customers’ energy demands, she said, but the community of Ann Arbor has a different agenda. The last time that a substation was built in Ann Arbor was in the 1960s, she observed, so these discussions don’t arise frequently.

The city is moving forward with sustainability goals, Briggs noted, as well as with a climate action plan. [Later in the meeting, the commission unanimously recommended approval of 16 sustainability goals, including three that relate to climate and energy. One of the goals calls for the city to "reduce energy consumption and eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions in our community." .pdf of sustainability goals]

Briggs drew an analogy to road expansion – if someone proposed to widen all of the roads in Ann Arbor, people would see the need to take a step back and have a broader discussion about that, she said. There are parallels to energy use. One way to limit the community’s energy consumption it so limit the supply of energy, she said. Briggs added that she realized it’s not entirely in the city’s control. But she’d recommend postponing action on this project in order to have a broader conversation, even though they ultimately might arrive at the same conclusion.

She also asked whether there had been discussions along these lines that she might not be aware of, regarding future energy needs.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson replied that there have been discussions about greenhouse gas emissions, and DTE has been at the table with the city’s energy commission and others on that issue. The electrical grid for the downtown area has been discussed for more than a decade, she said, regarding the city’s growing energy needs to support downtown density. The energy commission has understood that this project would be moving forward, Rampson said, and while she didn’t know the details of that discussion, no one told DTE “don’t do this.”

The climate action plan will look at reducing energy use and using cleaner energy, Rampson said, but she hadn’t heard any discussion about limiting energy availability. Rampson noted that planning commissioner Bonnie Bona serves on the climate action plan task force – but Bona did not attend the commission’s June 5 meeting. A draft of the climate action plan will be coming to planning commissioners in the fall, Rampson said.

Briggs said she recognized that she was asking to postpone a $10 million investment in Ann Arbor’s energy infrastructure. But if the goal is to significantly reduce the amount of energy that the community is using, this is a tool to do that, she said. It concerned her that they hadn’t talked about it, and she wondered what other commissioners thought.

From left: DTE staff Mike Witkowski and Paul Ganz.

Tony Derezinski told Briggs that she’d made some good points regarding future planning, but the problem is that this project is in front of them today. He said he heard her angst. He recalled that when the mayor of Tübingen, Germany, had visited Ann Arbor last year as part of a delegation from that city – one of Ann Arbor’s sister cities – energy use had been one of the topics they discussed.

But this DTE project has a timeframe that’s very urgent, Derezinski said. He agreed that this issue should be discussed, and said he hoped to do it at an appropriate time.

Eric Mahler felt that DTE had laid out its needs, but he asked whether the company’s representatives could talk about its renewable energy efforts. He agreed with Briggs to some extent. On the one hand, there’s a sense of pride because Ann Arbor’s economy is growing again. On the other hand, there are concerns about future energy use.

Paul Ganz, DTE’s regional manager, described the situation as a convergence of two issues. One is the distribution grid’s needs, which are entirely separate from green energy needs. The Argo substation has grown to its maximum capacity, he said, and now DTE is trying to fill a 26 megawatt “hole” that has grown in the middle of the area that the substation serves – from hotels, restaurants, and other developments, and the University of Michigan medical center, to some extent. That is driving the need for a new substation. Projects that have previously been approved by the planning commission are adding to that energy demand. The company is responding to that need with an $8-10 million investment, he said.

That’s separate, Ganz added, from DTE’s goal of generating 10% of its energy from renewable sources by 2015, or from its $4 billion investment in wind farms.

Briggs said that obviously there’s a need for green energy, but the other question is about the amount of energy that the community uses. That’s an issue of sustainability. The problem with delaying a conversation on this topic is that there hasn’t been an opportunity like this since the 1960s, and it might be another 40 years before another opportunity arises, she said. ”This is our opportunity, so I don’t want to let that pass by and rubber stamp something because a large piece of equipment needs to be purchased.”

Briggs again used a road analogy. In communities that don’t have a lot of traffic congestion, there’s no need to talk about alternative transportation – it’s not an issue. In Ann Arbor, people talk about alternative transportation because they don’t want to build another expensive parking structure. The same thing is happening with the city’s energy infrastructure, she said, and the community needs to think about that. Maybe a few blackouts will make people recognize that they have a responsibility to do something about it.

Acknowledging that she didn’t sense much support around the table, Briggs made a motion to postpone.

Outcome: No one seconded the motion to postpone, so it died without moving to a vote.

Wendy Woods said she understood what Briggs was saying. Some discussions are taking place at the energy commission, she noted. Woods suggested that for future projects, perhaps the planning staff memo can include a paragraph indicating how much energy would be required for each project. Her understanding was that the energy from the new Buckler substation is already half “used up” from pent-up demand. She pointed to the needs of the University of Michigan as another factor.

Mike Witkowski of DTE clarified that UM serves about 90-95% of its energy needs from its own system. The Kellogg Eye Center, for example, is served by the university’s power facilities.

Outcome: The project was approved on a 5-1 vote, with dissent from Erica Briggs. Three commissioners – Bonnie Bona, Evan Pratt and Kirk Westphal – were absent. The project does not require additional approval from the city council.

Sustainability Goals

The planning commission was asked to recommend that a set of 16 sustainability goals be incorporated into the city’s master plan.

The sustainability goals are in four categories: resource management; land use and access; climate and energy; and community. The goals were culled from more than 200 already found in existing city planning documents, as part of a project that began in early 2011. It’s been funded by a Home Depot Foundation grant. [.pdf of sustainability goals]

This work by city staff was initially guided by volunteers who serve on four city advisory commissions: park, planning, energy and environmental. Members from those groups met at a joint working session in late September of 2011. Since then, the city’s housing commission and housing and human services commission have been added to the conversation. A series of panel discussions on each category topic was held earlier this year, as was a public forum to solicit input.

Additional background on the Ann Arbor sustainability initiative is on the city’s website. See also Chronicle coverage: “Building a Sustainable Ann Arbor,” “Sustaining Ann Arbor’s Environmental Quality,” “Land Use, Transit Factor Into Sustainability,“ and “Final Forum: What Sustains Community?”

Jamie Kidwell, who has served as the staff point person for this project, reported that four other commissions have already recommended approval of the goals. The housing commission will vote on a recommendation later this month. If approved, these relatively general goals would be fleshed out with more detailed objectives and action items.

No one spoke during a public hearing on the goals.

Sustainability Goals: Commission Discussion

Tony Derezinski said he regretted that Bonnie Bona wasn’t at the meeting – because this was a challenge that she had taken on over the past few years, he noted, and she accomplished what she set out to do. [Bona served as chair of the planning commission when the sustainability effort began.]

Evan Pratt thanked planning manager Wendy Rampson and Matt Naud, the city’s environmental coordinator, for taking the initiative to apply for the Home Depot Foundation grant, which provided $95,000 to pay for staff support of the project. He also pointed to the city council’s role, saying that councilmembers see this as a visionary document.

Outcome: The commission voted unanimously to recommend that the 16 sustainability goals be incorporated into the city’s master plan. The recommendation will be forwarded to city council.

Maple Cove

For the third time, the planning commission considered a site plan for the Maple Cove Apartments & Village development. The project is located on 2.96 acres at 1649 N. Maple, north of Miller Road between North Maple and Calvin Street on the city’s west side.

The plan calls for combining two sites – 1649 N. Maple and 1718 Calvin – and demolishing an existing single-family home and detached garages there. Two 3-story apartment buildings would be built with a 64-space parking lot and eight bike spaces. The project also includes building a private street to serve seven new single-family houses near Calvin Street, but with an entrance off of North Maple. The apartment complex would have a separate entrance, also off of North Maple.

The project has a somewhat unusual history. Planning commissioners originally approved it at their March 20, 2012 meeting. But that vote was rescinded because Scio Township residents on Calvin Street had not been included in an original public notice mailed out for the commission’s March meeting.

Several residents attended the commission’s May 1, 2012 meeting to protest the development. Although there were no changes to the plan in the interim period between March 20 and May 1, commissioners voted to postpone action to get more information from the traffic engineer about whether the proposed two separate entrances to the property created a health, safety and welfare hazard.

According to city planning staff at the June 5 meeting, the city’s traffic engineer raised some concerns, but he subsequently confirmed that the site plan – with two entrances off of North Maple – does conform to city code.

In giving the planning staff’s report, planning manager Wendy Rampson said that if the two entrances cause problems in the future, then the traffic engineer could decide to close one of the entrances. But it can’t be pre-assumed that the two entrances will cause a problem, she said.

Maple Cove: Public Hearing

Two residents of Calvin Street spoke during a public hearing on the Maple Cove project, both expressing concerns about its impact on their neighborhood. Other residents had spoken against the project at previous planning commission meetings on March 20 and May 1.

Several representatives of the owner  – Muayad Kasham of Dynasty Enterprises – attended the June 5 meeting, but did not address the commission.

The entrance to Calvin Street, a private road off of Miller Road just west of North Maple.

Minda Hart had emailed commissioners before the meeting. [.pdf of Hart's email] At the hearing, she began by saying she was dismayed by this project. Obviously the planning commission intended to approve it, she said, but why wasn’t there any planning or attempt to address concerns of residents on the street? It’s a very rural street, not like any other street in the area, she said. [Calvin Street is a private dirt road, with one entrance/exit off of Miller Road, just west of North Maple.] Hart said she’s lived there for 18 years, and some people have lived there for as long as 47 years – the street’s residents are not transient.

Hart said she learned about the Maple Cove project from one of her neighbors – there had been no warning that it was happening, she said. When she had taken courses on planning at the University of Cincinnati years ago, Hart said she’d learned that people are important in the planning process. But it seems like the Ann Arbor planning commission isn’t taking residents of Calvin Street into consideration.

Noting that there are many trees along the street, Hart said it seems the developer will be taking down a lot of large trees, and that’s upsetting to her. When a project had been proposed for the same site several years ago, it had been for an office building, she said, and nobody had objected to that. Now, it’s for a high density apartment building, when there’s already a lot of vacant housing in Ann Arbor, she said. The additional traffic will be touch-and-go, down a street that’s traveled by students going to Skyline High School. Traffic will increase on Miller too, she said, and it’s already difficult to turn out of Calvin onto Miller.

Another resident of Calvin Street, Cheryl Shavalia Brown, noted that she had spoken to commissioners at a previous meeting. She wanted the developer to be aware that Calvin Street was private, and that there would be no construction traffic allowed on the street. She said she’d be outside with her notebook and camera, and would contact the police if anyone trespassed. She’d be keeping a close eye on things. Brown also said that residents would appreciate some kind of fencing along the property line that backs up to Calvin Street.

Maple Cove: Commission Discussion

Erica Briggs pointed out to the owner – Muayad Kasham of Dynasty Enterprises – that there’s been a lot of disapproval about the project, and that’s a shame. It points to the need for better planning. Perhaps there are some issues that couldn’t be resolved, like the project’s density. But she felt the smaller issues could have been worked out. It’s a shame that there’s already animosity in the neighborhood, Briggs said, even before construction has started. She suggested that the developer sit down with the neighbors and work on some of these smaller issues.

Briggs also felt it was a “failing on our part” not to properly educate residents about the implications of the previous zoning change, which later allowed for this residential project to take place. Neighbors had supported the office project, but hadn’t been aware that the rezoning would permit for residential development too. Going forward, it would be good to educate residents about the full spectrum of zoning issues, she said.

Further, the project points to problems in the city’s zoning code, Briggs said, as well as Chapter 47 of the city code, which relates to streets and sidewalks. She hoped the commission’s ordinance review committee would look into it.

There are a lot of problems with the Maple Cove project, Briggs concluded, ”but I don’t see a way around [approving] it.”

Tony Derezinski said he agreed with Briggs. He also pointed to the caveat that planning manager Wendy Rampson had mentioned – that if a traffic problem emerges, it can be addressed. There were many other issues that had been raised in a heartfelt way, he said. He noted that the developer had sent the commission a letter, pledging to make sure the project complied with all of the city’s ordinances. If the project meets the city’s requirements, it can move ahead, Derezinski said. So because it conforms to city code, Derezinski said he’d support it.

Perhaps some of the city’s ordinances do need a review, he said – that is happening with the R4C/R2A zoning. [An advisory committee has been reviewing the R4C/R2A residential zoning districts. See Chronicle coverage: "Planning Group Weighs R4C/R2A Report."] Derezinski reported that he had visited the Maple Cove site and walked around the property – “I did not trespass on Calvin,” he quipped. The site could use some improvement, and this project does that, he said. It’s hard to predict what might happen in 10 or 12 years. You make your best judgment, he said, and right now, the project complies with the city’s ordinances.

Wendy Woods said she still had concerns about the two entrances/exits onto North Maple, but she understood that the developer could move forward with this site plan. Even so, she encouraged him to reconsider. This project would likely move forward for city council approval, she said, and it would help to compromise, even just a little. Like Derezinski, Woods pointed to Kasham’s letter, noting that he says he cares about Ann Arbor. From the letter:

We want you to know that the developers are a team of siblings, all born and raised in the great city of Ann Arbor and are end products of the Ann Arbor Public School system. My family and I have a strong vested interest in the community, as we too are longstanding members of Ann Arbor. We have made a commitment to remain in this great community to raise our families and invest in it.

We want you to be reassured that we are working very hard to ensure that this project serves in the best interest of the community while addressing the market needs for both single family and apartment living space. We have selected a team of local and reputable civil engineers and architects to work on this project in an effort to ensure best methods/techniques and advancements are utilized to facilitate the plans of the project. [.pdf of entire letter]

Woods noted that Kasham might have additional opportunities to look at this project, and she hoped he would. In the long-run, she concluded, compromise works better than holding a stick.

From left: Senior assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald and Eric Mahler, chair of the Ann Arbor planning commission.

Eleanore Adenekan said she would support the project too – the city’s competent planning staff has recommended approval, she noted, and the owner is in compliance with the law. But she was disappointed that the project had been considered three times, and the owner hasn’t changed the project, cooperated, or responded to the neighbors’ complaints.

Eric Mahler was the final commissioner to weigh in, saying he remained dismayed over the lack of a sidewalk along the private drive leading from North Maple to the single-family homes. The developer dropped the ball on that important safety feature.

But Mahler took issue with criticism that had been levied against the planning staff and commission during the public hearing. There had been three meetings with opportunities for public input, he noted. The planning staff had taken into account everything that was said, and Mahler said he was proud of what they’d done. The project is not what it could be, he concluded, “but it is what it is.”

Outcome: The commission’s vote was unanimous, with six of the nine commissioners present. Absent were Bonnie Bona, Evan Pratt and Kirk Westphal, The commission’s recommendation will now be forwarded to the Ann Arbor city council for its consideration.

Speedway Gas Station

An agenda item for a project just south of Maple Cove was a site plan for a Speedway gas station at 1300 N. Maple. The project is located at the 1.39-acre site on the northeast corner of Miller and North Maple roads. The proposal also included a request to rezone a portion of the site from PL (public land) to C3 (fringe commercial).

Site of a proposed Speedway gas station at the northeast corner of Maple and Miller.

The plan calls for demolishing an existing 1,500-square-foot vacant service station building, which was built in the 1950s, and constructing a new 3,968-square-foot, single-story gas station and convenience store with five pumps. The gasoline pumps will be covered by a 28-foot by 121-foot canopy. Fourteen parking spaces will be provided next to the convenience store, and six bicycle hoops will be located on the south side of the building, adjacent to a sidewalk leading to Miller.

According to a staff report, underground storage tanks have been removed and an environmental analysis of the site is underway. If any environmental contamination is found, the owner will be required to remediate the site to meet requirements of the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality.

The rezoning relates to a previous site plan that was approved in 1972 but never built. That plan provided a 30-foot dedicated public easement along the eastern and northern sides of the site, intended as a greenway for the adjacent Garden Homes neighborhood. However, even though the strip was zoned as public land, it remained in private ownership. The easement for public access will remain, despite the rezoning.

The planning staff recommended postponing action on the site plan and rezoning, to allow more time for the owner to address issues related to landscaping and the traffic engineer review.

One person representing Speedway – Kevin Foley of Grand Rapids – spoke briefly during a public hearing on the item. He introduced himself and said he was available for questions.

Speedway Gas Station: Commission Discussion

Tony Derezinski said he felt obligated to ask a question of Kevin Foley, since Foley had traveled all the way from Grand Rapids to attend the meeting. Derezinski asked if there are any time constraints related to the project.

Foley replied that it’s budgeted for this year, and the company would like to start in early September and finish before winter weather hits. But to get everything in place to everyone’s satisfaction, he acknowledged that it sometimes takes many months.

Derezinski asked if Foley saw any insurmountable problems in getting the requested revisions to the landscaping plan and traffic impact statement. No, Foley said. He hoped that the outstanding issues could be resolves so that the proposal would be placed on the planning commission’s June 19 agenda.

With that, Derezinski made a motion to postpone.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to postpone action on the Speedway site plan, based on the planning staff’s recommendation.

Rezoning for Bluffs Nature Area

On the June 5 agenda was an item recommending the rezoning of two parcels that were recently acquired for expansion of the Bluffs Nature Area at 1099 N. Main St., north of Sunset Road.

The entrance to the Elks lodge on Sunset. The drive leads to a parking lot behind the lodge, with access to a trailhead to the Bluffs Nature Area.

A 1.12-acre parcel to the north of the Bluffs – connecting the existing parkland to Huron View Boulevard – is currently zoned O (office), and had been donated to the city by a nursing home near that site. A 0.57-acre addition to the south connects the existing parkland to Sunset Road and is currently zoned R4C (multiple-family dwelling). It had been purchased by the city from the Elks lodge, using funds from the open space and parkland preservation millage. Both parcels were recommended to be rezoned as PL (public land).

Alexis DiLeo, the city planner who gave a staff report on this item, told commissioners that the parcels make the nature area more accessible. Though there is frontage onto North Main, there’s no easy access there for pedestrians or cyclists.

No one spoke during a public hearing on the rezoning.

Rezoning for Bluffs Nature Area: Commission Discussion

Diane Giannola asked if access was immediately available through the parcels. DiLeo replied that the deeds have already been transferred to the city – the city owns the property. She wasn’t sure about the long-range plans for these entrances, in terms of signs and additional infrastructure. That will be handled by the city’s parks staff.

Giannola observed that there aren’t many access points to this nature area. Is there a path that can be accessed from these new parcels?

The parcel near the Elks lodge has a trailhead adjacent to a parking lot. There had previously been an informal arrangement with the lodge that people could use the parking lot to access the trail, DiLeo said. Erica Briggs indicated that people can access a trail from the north parcel as well, off of Huron View Boulevard. Briggs said she’s glad to see the property rezoned, and called the nature area a “hidden park in our community.” She hoped that it now could become better known.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to rezone the parcels for Bluffs Nature Area. The recommendation will now be forwarded to the Ann Arbor city council for its consideration.

Rezoning for Bryant Community Center

Commissioners were asked to recommend rezoning of an 0.2-acre site at 5 W. Eden Court from R1C (single-family dwelling) to PL (public land). No one spoke at a public hearing on the proposal.

This land was recently purchased by the city for $82,500 using funds from the city’s open space and parkland preservation millage – a purchase approved by the Ann Arbor city council at its Sept. 6, 2011 meeting. The site is located next to the city’s Bryant Community Center in the Arbor Oaks neighborhood off of Stone School Road, north of Ellsworth.

During her staff report, city planner Alexis DiLeo said the property contains a single-family home that will be used by the community center to expand its operations. Eventually, the center would like to renovate the interior and build an addition to connect the two buildings, she said. The center is managed under contract with the nonprofit Community Action Network.

Outcome: With no discussion, commissioners unanimously voted to recommend rezoning of the property. The recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for its consideration.

Present: Eleanore Adenekan, Erica Briggs, Tony Derezinski, Diane Giannola, Eric Mahler, Evan Pratt (arriving at 8:10 p.m.), Wendy Woods.

Absent: Bonnie Bona, Kirk Westphal.

Next regular meeting: The planning commission next meets on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the second-floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

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This land was recently purchased for $82,500 using funds from the city’s open space and parkland preservation millage – a purchase approved by the Ann Arbor city council at its Sept. 6, 2011 meeting. It’s located next to the city’s Bryant Community Center.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for its consideration.

This brief was filed from the second-floor council chambers of city hall at 301 E. Huron, where planning commission meetings are held. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Jonathan Bulkley gently shushes his granddaughter as mayor John Hieftje reads aloud a proclamation honoring him. Bulkley is a long-time University of Michigan professor and board member of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy. (Photo by the writer.)

However, considerable public commentary at the council’s Tuesday meeting – held a day later than usual due to the Labor Day holiday – was connected to appointments to the city’s medical marijuana licensing board. Advocates for access to medical marijuana tied their remarks to that agenda item, though none of the speakers had any apparent issue with the proposed constitution of the board. Instead, they expressed concerned that a recent court of appeals ruling makes the legality of certain dispensary operations uncertain.

On the council’s side, the unusual focus on appointments came during the usually perfunctory vote on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority appointments. That vote was drawn out by a request from Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) to separate out the three appointments for separate roll-call votes. The votes on the reappointment of John Mouat and the new appointment of Nader Nassiff were unanimous. But Kunselman wanted to cast a lone vote of opposition against the reappointment of Joan Lowenstein to the board.

The other non-unanimous vote of the evening came on the reconstruction of a pedestrian bridge over Malletts Creek in the Lansdowne neighborhood. Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) asked his colleagues to indulge him in a two-week postponement on that project, so that he could achieve a clearer understanding of the public-private character of the project and its potential legal liabilities. His colleagues, who indicated they were already familiar with the longstanding issue of the bridge, were disinclined to grant the postponement. So Derezinski voted against the $120,000 project, which will be paid out of the city’s major street fund.

In other street fund expenditures, the city council approved a roughly $550,000 increase in the amount of its contract with Barrett Paving Materials Inc. to undertake additional street repair projects in the 2011 construction season. Progress on the scheduled projects had been sufficiently rapid that it was possible to add the additional work.

Land purchase and lease was the topic of three items on the agenda. In one, the city authorized a $100/month month-to-month lease of part of the city-owned 415 W. Washington building to the Kiwanis Club for storage for the club’s warehouse sale. The council also approved the use of $82,500 from the city’s open space and parkland preservation millage to purchase an Eden Court parcel located next to the Bryant Community Center. And the council held a closed session under the exemption in the Open Meetings Act that allows for such a session for the purpose of land acquisition.

In other business, councilmembers gave initial approval to a change in the city’s pension ordinance, approved the allocation of some money already budgeted for human services, and OK’d the allocation of community events funding.

In his communications time, Kunselman foreshadowed an upcoming issue for the council – the relationship between the street millage and the public art program. First Kunselman offered to fill the slot as council liaison to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. Derezinski had stepped out of that role in order to serve on the city’s public art commission. At Tuesday’s meeting, Kunselman also reiterated his position that the city’s public art program takes money from dedicated millages in a way that is not legal. In response to his comments, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) encouraged Kunselman to take the action he felt was appropriate to rectify that situation.

Among the proclamations made at the start of the meeting was one honoring Jonathan Bulkley for his service to the University of Michigan, the state of Michigan and the nation. Bulkley had addressed the council at its Aug. 4, 2011 meeting in support of the council’s resolution on the greenway – he’s a board member of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy.

Med Marijuana Board Appointments

On the council’s agenda was a resolution to confirm appointments to the city’s medical marijuana licensing board: Patricia O’Rorke, James Kenyon, John McKenna Rosevear – all members of the public – and Sabra Briere (Ward 1) from the city council. The fifth member of the board, who is required to be a physician under the city’s medical marijuana licensing board bylaws, has not yet been nominated.

Medical marijuana was the topic of public commentary from a half dozen speakers at the start of the meeting.

The Ann Arbor city council gave final approval to its medical marijuana licensing and zoning ordinances at its June 20, 2011 meeting.

At the city planning commission’s meeting on Sept. 8, Wendy Rampson – head of the city’s planning staff – indicated that applicants for licenses are welcome to submit information to the city in connection with license applications, but staff have ceased their review activity pending further direction.

The pause in activity and the concern from members of the public at Tuesday’s council meeting were prompted by a recent court of appeals ruling that has been interpreted by some to mean that dispensaries are not legal. [.pdf of the McQueen case ruling]

Medical Marijuana: Public Commentary

Shelly Smith introduced herself as a Washtenaw County resident for several years. She said the McQueen case ruling was not good for the city or for Michigan. First, if the decision is upheld, then on top of the many who are unemployed already, you would have to add 100 more in the immediate area plus five empty buildings and, she estimated, $30,000 in lost rent.

Second, it’s a decision that goes against democratic principles – the majority of citizens voted to have safe, legal access to powerful natural medicine. Third, it restricts access for patients who have chronic pain. It’s the first time in years they’ve had access to a quality of life that is not too expensive, she said.

Mark Passerini told the council that the controversial court decision had forced tens of thousands of patients statewide back to a state of limbo. The intent of the Medical Marijuana Act, he said, was to afford patients safe access. Experience has shown that it’s unrealistic for patients to have to rely on a sole caregiver for their medicine. It takes a seasoned cultivator four months to grow one plant – four months during which that patient might have to do without their medicine. Most caregivers are also not willing to bear the expense or gain the expertise to make edibles, tinctures or topicals – those are all different means of delivering medicine to patients. What if their caregiver is out of town? What if there’s a power outage and the crop fails?

Are the 100,000 patients in Michigan just flat out of luck? he asked. The Medical Marijuana Act should not be regarded as something that was short-lived, but rather something that is a model for the future.

He noted some recent headlines from across the country. At the end of July, in Seattle the mayor and city council enacted a measure to regulate the existing 70 storefront medical marijuana dispensaries. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that explicitly acknowledged the legality of local cannabis distribution centers. Colorado has licensed over 700 dispensaries. The New Jersey governor said that he was moving ahead with the state’s medical cannabis program, despite threats from federal authorities. A bill in Illinois is expected to pass in the next six months, which specifically calls for a dispensary in each of Delaware’s 59 senate districts. Lansing mayor Virg Bernero called the McQueen ruling “a terrible setback” and said that the court subverted the will of the people, Passerini reported.

Cocaine is a schedule 2 drug but marijuana is a schedule 1 drug alongside heroin, PCP and meth. That classification – as a drug that has no medicinal value – contradicts countless studies and research, 16 different state laws and the medical professional, Passerini said. It also contradicts a U.S. patent for the medicinal qualities of cannibis, he said: patent number 6630507. Passerini asked the council to continue with the licensing process and not to take any steps backwards.

Koos Eisenberg told the council she’s been an Ann Arbor taxpayer since 1995. And since April she has been a medical marijuana patient. Having medical marijuana dispensaries in Ann Arbor is important to her based on three concepts, she said: (1) security and safety, (2) education, and (3) alternatives to caregivers.

The additional security offered by dispensaries includes the fact that they’re covered by cameras. Only patients are allowed into the facility. The product is tested for quality, and she does not have to be a part of the “drug culture.” With respect to education, she said she’d learned about different strains of medical marijuana that are appropriate for her medical needs. She’d learned about options like “vaporizing,” which are safer for her lungs. Ann Arbor dispensaries also give her a chance to meet and talk with other patients. She has easier access to dispensaries than to her caregiver, she said. Her caregiver has been robbed. She expressed the hope that a just, safe and advantageous solution could be found for everybody.

Francesca Loria told the council about a conversation she’d had with friend who is a University of Michigan doctor. Her friend had acknowledged the benefits of cannabis in connection with glaucoma and cancer, she said. But the conversation made her realize there was a deep-seated prejudice against medical marijuana for other purposes. Her physician friend would not prescribe it, Loria reported, and would instead opt for prescription drugs for pain. Why would you need a prescription, when there’s a plant? she asked. She quoted statistics on the number of deaths annually due to prescription drugs and alcohol, but contended that the number of deaths caused by marijuana is zero. There are countless stories about people who’ve been helped by a plant, she said.

Dori Edwards introduced herself as a retired Waldorf instructor, who’d moved to Ann Arbor 15 years ago. It was the only place in Michigan that reflected her liberal ideals, she said. She appreciated the fact that the city of Ann Arbor was going to help. After the McQueen ruling, her Treecity Health Collective shut its doors. She had to turn away patients in wheelchairs and walkers. She had to say “I can’t give you any medicine.” One patient told her he would have to drive to Detroit, where he used to get it. She applauded council for taking a stand. She told the council that Treecity’s policies are within the law and that Treecity tries to regulate product so that it’s clean. She thanked the mayor for the speed with which he’d appointed the licensing board.

Chuck Ream reported that his medical marijuana business had been robbed by masked men with guns. He said his employees would have called the police, but the robbers were themselves police. He described the police as “thugs, pure and simple” who were trying to protect their jobs. Ream blamed much of the activity on the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice grants, which he said need to be eliminated. He told the council that no warrant was shown and no charges were filed. But the police stole the license application that he was preparing to submit to the city, he said. The council should defend the city charter or resign, he said. He then quoted from the city charter:

(d) No Ann Arbor police officer, or his or her agent, shall complain of the possession, control, use, giving away, or sale of marijuana or cannabis to any other authority except the Ann Arbor city attorney; and the city attorney shall not refer any said complaint to any other authority for prosecution. (e) No Ann Arbor police officer, or his or her agent, shall complain and the city attorney shall not refer for prosecution any complaint, of the possession, control, use, giving away, sale or cultivation of marijuana or cannabis upon proof that the defendant is recommended by a physician, practitioner or other qualified health professional to use or provide the marijuana or cannabis for medical treatment. (Amended by election of November 2, 2004

Ream attributed the raid on his business to a call from a “crazy lady” to the police, who had referred her to LAWNET [the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team]. But that should not be possible, he said, based on the city charter. The officer at the raid said it was due to two people who had expired registry cards – if that was the case, they should have been given a ticket, he said. Ream told the council that slavery is gone, women can vote, children can go to school instead of working in a factory – it would soon be the case that access to medical marijuana will be seen the same way. The mayor needs to get back on board and not make any more damaging statements, Ream said. It’s now time to implement what the voters said they wanted.

Medical Marijuana Licensing Board: Council Deliberations

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) sought input from city attorney Stephen Postema. Postema described the city’s ordinance as allowing dispensaries when they are compliant with state law. However, in his remarks Postema indicated the unlikelihood that a dispensary could be compliant with the state law. He cited the McQueen decision as well as the county prosecutor’s press release, which explained that the prosecutor’s office would rely on that ruling in determining whether to prosecute.

Councilmembers Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Tony Derezinski (Ward 2).

However, Postema said that whether the council should appoint a board is a policy issue for the council to decide.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) said he thought the Medical Marijuana Act would continue to be around and would continue to be interpreted, so it’s appropriate to have that advisory board. Postema indicated that he felt the Supreme Court was unlikely to change the law. But he stressed that the courts are not the last word in our legal system. He ventured that the the law might be changed through the legislature or a citizen’s initiative.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) noted that the city’s ordinance does not deal with different business models for dispensaries. What the court of appeals had ruled out, she said, was patient-to-patient sales. Ann Arbor’s ordinance requires people to follow state law. It’s not something that will go away, she said.

Briere indicated that she felt the council should obey its own ordinance by appointing the licensing board. Whether anyone can legally be granted a license is a separate issue. The licensing board doesn’t act except through the council, she said. Mayor John Hieftje said he was in favor of going ahead with the appointment of the board.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to appoint four members of the medical marijuana licensing board.

Communications: Housing, Art, Street Millage

Some of the council communications were related, though they came at different times during the meeting.

During the initial communications slot on the agenda, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) noted that the mayor had asked for volunteers to replace Tony Derezinski (Ward 3) as the council’s liaison to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. As a former housing commission liaison, Kunselman said he’d be willing to step up and serve.

By way of background, Derezinski had agreed to serve on the city’s public art commission as a replacement for Jeff Meyers, who resigned this summer. But in order to take on that responsibility, Derezinski said, he needed to step down as housing commission liaison.

From Sabra Briere (Ward 1) came the heads-up that in two weeks she hoped to bring a resolution of intent for how the city expects to account for and spend the money from the street millage, which the city is asking the voters to renew at the Nov. 8 general election. [One possibility is that such a resolution of intent might exclude the street millage revenues from use by the city's Percent for Art program.]

During his council communications slot at the end of the meeting, Kunselman addressed the question of the city’s Percent for Art program. He observed that city staff had been quoted in the media about the legality of the city’s funding methodology for the program. [One percent of all capital improvement projects is set aside to be spent on public art, capped at $250,000 per project. That includes projects paid for with dedicated millage funds like the street millage and the parks and capital improvements millage.]

Kunselman acknowledged that Briere had indicated she’d be bringing forward a resolution of intent for how the street millage money would be spent, if voters where to re-approve it in November.

Kunselman said the state law indicates a need to have a clear statement on how a dedicated millage will be spent. He dismissed any explanations that had been given to justify the spending, based on states other than Michigan.

He noted that within Michigan, Tuscola County had offered the following explanation in a document posted on its website:

The Board of Commissioners does not have the legal authority to remove funds from the special purpose millage accounts for any purpose other than what the voters in Tuscola County approved the funds to be spent on. Simply put the Board of Commissioners can not reallocate funds from one account to another.

Kunselman noted that he’s said it time and time again: The city’s public art program illegally takes money from millages, because the program doesn’t serve the purpose of the millages.

Despite comments city staff, Kunselman said, there is no policy. Until the community gets an opinion from the city attorney as required by the city charter, he said, he would continue to say it’s illegal. Tuscola County has put its view in writing to give their voters confidence, Kunselman said.

Following Kunselman’s remarks, Briere encouraged him to take appropriate action to get his concerns addressed.

DDA Appointments

On the agenda was a resolution to reappoint Joan Lowenstein and John Mouat to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board and to appoint Nader Nassif.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and mayor John Hieftje before the Sept. 6 meeting.

When the reappointments came before the council, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) asked that the vote on their confirmations be split.

The vote on Nassif was not deliberated.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to appoint Nader Nassif to the DDA board.

For Lowenstein, Sandi Smith (Ward 1), who also serves on the DDA board, said that everyone is very familiar with Lowenstein through her previous service on the city council and planning commission. She described Lowenstein as thoughtful and generous with her time. Smith said she was eager to have Lowenstein serve another four years. Mayor John Hieftje, who also serves on the DDA board, said that Lowenstein really digs into things and does a great job. He said Lowenstein was an excellent chair last year. Kunselman did not comment.

Outcome: The council voted to reappoint Joan Lowenstein to the DDA board, with dissent from Kunselman.

For John Mouat, Smith described how she had enjoyed working with Mouat over the last four years. He’d taken over the chairmanship of a new committee – the transportation committee. She described his skill set as an architect of municipal buildings as valuable for the DDA board. She concluded that she highly supported Mouat as a member of the DDA board. Hieftje echoed Smith’s sentiments. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) drew out the fact that some of the appointments to the DDA board have certain criteria – some positions are reserved for those who work for a downtown business, for example. From the state statue Act 197 of 1975:

Not less than a majority of the members shall be persons having an interest in property located in the downtown district or officers, members, trustees, principals, or employees of a legal entity having an interest in property located in the downtown district. Not less than 1 of the members shall be a resident of the downtown district, if the downtown district has 100 or more persons residing within it.

Hieftje noted that Nassif had a law office downtown, so he was not an at-large appointment.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to reappoint John Mouat to the DDA board.

Lansdowne Pedestrian Bridge

Before the council for its consideration was approval of a $120,000 change to its fiscal year 2012 budget to include an expenditure from its major street fund to reconstruct the pedestrian bridge in the Lansdowne neighborhood. The bridge, located in Ward 4, connects Morehead and Delaware drives.

Councilmembers Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) and Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2).

The bridge has been a topic of neighborhood concern dating back at least to the 2010 Ward 4 Democratic primary race between Margie Teall and Jack Eaton, a race won by the incumbent Teall. The neighborhood association owns the structures under the bridge (a “weir” or short dam-like structure), while the city owns the bridge itself. Based on remarks from a candidate forum from that year, the pedestrian bridge has now been out of service for about three years.

The resolution altering the major street fund budget was sponsored by Ward 4 councilmembers Teall and Marcia Higgins.

Lansdowne Pedestrian Bridge: Council Deliberations

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) wanted more information to come forward before voting. He noted that there were private-public issues as well as a potential liability issue for the city. He said he would like the council’s indulgence to wait another two weeks. So he moved to postpone the issue. The motion nearly died for lack of a second, but Sandi Smith (Ward 1) finally raised her hand.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) asked how a two-week delay would affect construction timing. Sue McCormick, the city’s public services area administrator, explained that the project would start next spring or summer, so a two-week delay would not have a negative impact. Higgins said the issue has been worked on for 12 years and the issues are known. [The bridge is in her ward, and she faces a general election challenge from Republican Eric Scheie.]

Derezinski countered Higgins by saying that if it had taken 12 years, the two additional weeks was not too much to ask. Mayor John Hieftje said he’d had an opportunity to learn about the issue and did not feel the need to postpone. He called it unfortunate that there’s not more information in the staff memo.

Outcome on postponement: The motion to postpone failed, with only Derezinski supporting it.

Outcome: The council voted to approve the Lansdowne bridge project over Derezinski’s dissent.

Additional Allocation for Street Repair

The council was asked to approve a $550,040 increase to the contract with Barrett Paving Materials Inc. – the contractor that handles street repair work for the city. The money will be spent on additional work that can now be done because, according to the city, the 2011 street repair work is ahead of schedule.

The proposed additional work will be done on: (1) the outbound lane of Miller Avenue between Seventh Street and Chapin; (2) on North Division Street between Ann and Detroit streets; and (3) on Oxford Street between Hill Street and South University Avenue.

The work on Oxford Street could start either during the 2011 construction season or in 2012, depending on how talks go with the University of Michigan about the university’s contribution to the project.

Part of the approval authorized by the city council included $80,000 worth of crack-sealing work to be done yet this year on several different streets.

The city’s original contract with Barrett Paving Materials Inc. was for $3,710,953.

At the council’s meeting, Liz Rolla, senior project manager with the city, reviewed the streets and the repair activities that are planned to be done with the additional funds. She noted that some of the additional work had already been done – on Spring Street. She suggested that some councilmembers might remember the gnomes and flamingos that had been placed by neighbors on a particularly bad stretch of pavement.

About the work on Oxford Street, Rolla noted that it was paved as a residential street, but now has bus traffic. The University of Michigan had agreed to contribute to the project in proportion to its street frontage.

Rolla noted that crack sealing can give a street another 3-5 or up to an additional 7 years of life.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the additional money for street repair.

Lease of 415 W. Washington to Kiwanis

On the agenda was a resolution to approve a month-to-month lease with The Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor Foundation Inc., effective Sept. 7, 2011 for the bay of the 415 W. Washington building. That building is just down the street from the Kiwanis building at the southwest corner of First and Washington, where the club’s resale shop is located.

The Kiwanis Club needs the additional space for its warehouse sale. The club will pay a rental rate of $100 per month during the life of their tenancy.

A hint that some kind of agreement between the city and Kiwanis could be in the works came at the council’s Aug. 15 meeting, when Kiwanis board member Kathy Griswold mentioned the possibility during her public commentary.

At that time, Griswold had indicated that although nothing had been promised, it was possible that the city might be able to provide an alternate location for the Kiwanis Club’s warehouse sale, previously held at Airport Boulevard Building #837.

The 415 W. Washington building and land parcel are the focus of a renewed effort by the city, begun in February 2010, to redevelop the land. The effort includes city staff, councilmembers and advocates for the arts and for the Allen Creek greenway. The council received an update on that effort earlier this year. The group involved in trying to redevelop the land had identified funds that had allowed the hiring of a grant writer, and it was hoped that $100,000 could be found to support further studies.

During the brief deliberations, Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) complimented the staff in their work to make the lease happen. Mayor John Hieftje said he was happy that Kiwanis would be able to use the space. He described it as a raw space, that works for storage. Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) echoed what Hohnke said, describing Kiwanis as a wonderful organization, which is evident to people who see the work they do at the weekly rummage sale on a Saturday morning, he said.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the lease of 415 W. Washington to Kiwanis.

Acquisition of Eden Court Property

The council was asked to appropriate $82,500 from its open space and parkland preservation millage to acquire the property at 5 W. Eden Court. The Eden Court property is immediately adjacent to the city’s Bryant Community Center, located in a neighborhood south of I-94 and east of Stone School Road.

The 2011 taxes on the property were estimated at $1,400, which would be eliminated from the city’s tax base, once the property becomes public land. The parcel could be used to expand the community center’s programming services. It could also be used in other ways in support of the city’s park and recreation system.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) asked Joan Doughty of the Community Action Network (CAN) to answer some questions about the Bryant Community Center. In 2008, the nonprofit CAN took over the community center, Doughty said. She described how CAN has outgrown the space – they have to use shifts for the after-school program. Older kids arrive first, have a snack and do homework, then go home. Younger kids then arrive, have their snack and do homework, and then the older kids return. There’s no room for an office and or food distribution, she said.

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) said she supported the center, but was concerned when the city removed affordable housing and did not add to its stock. Smith wanted to know if there was enough space on the existing site to add to the facility. Doughty said there was not room. Doughty acknowledged that yes, it’s hard to lose affordable housing. She described how the person who is moving out is happy to be leaving because of the drainage issue in the neighborhood – he’s not too happy to be living there. The loss of one housing unit means the ability to serve additional people, she said.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) noted that the proposal before the council was a purchase of property, but to make it functional, additional funds would be needed. Where would that money come from? Sumedh Bahl, community services area administrator, explained that federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds would be used.

Kunselman then asked Mary Jo Callan, head of the city/county office of community development, about building additional affordable housing. In the neighborhood, he said, Habitat for Humanity has built one house and rehabbed one. He asked if the city could acquire tax-foreclosed property from the county and turn it over to Habitat for Humanity. Callan acknowledged that yes, that’s a model used in other communities. So Kunselman said he wanted to bring that to the attention of his council colleagues: The city has first dibs on tax-foreclosed property, and the city would be seeing some more of these situations. So he’d be looking for their support for that.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) asked Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) if the purchase had been reviewed by the park advisory commission. [The purchase is being made out of the open space preservation millage, which has two components – land outside the city and parkland inside the city. Hohnke serves on the greenbelt advisory commission, which handles open space preservation outside the city. Taylor is one of two council representatives to the park advisory commission. PAC has a land acquisition committee that handles open space preservation millage recommendations inside the city.]

Taylor said he didn’t recollect if there was a conversation at PAC – if there was, it wasn’t a big discussion. Bahl confirmed that it had been reviewed by PAC.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) drew out the fact that the amount of impervious surface on the parcel would remain the same – there would be no increase.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the Eden Court purchase.

Human Services Allocations

The council was asked to allocate the additional $85,600 for human services it had previously approved as part its 2012 fiscal year budget in May 2011. The nonprofit entities receiving additional funding through the increased allocation were already slated for support – it was a matter of distributing the additional funds.

Both in terms of percentage increase and total dollar amount, Legal Services of South Central Michigan received the largest increase in support for its program to prevent evictions. The program was allocated an additional $55,816, bringing its total to $157,055. [Google spreadsheet breaking down additional allocations]

The additional funds were allocated in a way that most programs received a 2.7% increase compared to the amount they’d previously been allocated. The staff memo accompanying the resolution acknowledges the apparent proportional discrepancy, explaining that it “reflects a redistribution in which funder is funding the contract. Some contractors have funding from more than one funder and some funders have funding from just one funder. But the total allocation for each agency is the amount that all funders agreed upon based on the evaluation score, and the fund distribution formula.”

Human Services Allocations: Public Comment

Lily Au began with complimentary words for The Ann Arbor Chronicle but quipped that its editor, Dave Askins, was not her friend – he had not friended her on Facebook. She addressed the issue of coordinated distribution of human services funding – an approach whereby the city, the county, the Urban County, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and Washtenaw United Way together work to allocate funding to different nonprofit organizations.

Au noted that the human services funding goes through the city/county community development office, which she said charges administrative costs that are too high. She contended that most Ann Arbor residents don’t know about the coordinated approach – the city council had approved it without much discussion. She pointed to a possible conflict between AnnArbor.com’s coverage of the issue and the fact that its vice president [Laurel Champion] serves on the board of directors of the United Way.

Au criticized the United Way expenditures on pension and retirement. A new expense item this year for United Way is called “functional expenses,” which Au contended is related to the coordinated funding.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously without discussion to allocate the additional money as recommended.

Pension Ordinance Change

Before the council for its consideration was initial approval to an ordinance change that increases the city’s pension vesting period for non-union employees hired after July 1, 2011 – from five years to 10 years. It also changes the final average compensation computation so that it’s based on the the last five years of employment, not the last three years.

The preparation of the ordinance change came at the direction of the city council, which passed a resolution at its June 6, 2011 meeting asking the city administrator to bring forward ordinance revisions that for non-union employees would change health care benefits and aspects of the city’s pension plan.

Specifically, the June 6 resolution pointed to ordinance revisions that would base the final average contribution (FAC) for the pension system on the last five years of service, instead of the last three. Further, employees would be vested in the pension plan after 10 years instead of five. Finally, all new non-union hires would be provided with an access-only style health care plan, with the opportunity to buy into whatever plan active employees enjoy.

At its Aug. 4, 2011 meeting, the council gave final approval to an ordinance change that addressed the health care provision from the June 6 resolution. That ordinance change distinguishes between “subsidized retirees” and “non-subsidized retirees.” A non-subsidized retiree is someone who is hired or re-employed into a non-union position with the city on or after July 1, 2011. In their retirement, non-subsidized retirees will have access to health care they can pay for themselves, but it will not be subsidized by the city.

The ordinance change that was given initial approval at the council’s Sept. 6 meeting addresses the retirement plan portion of the June 6 resolution. All ordinance changes require approval by the council at two separate meetings, in addition to a public hearing on the change before the final vote.

The city expects that when it reaches a point when all non-union employees have been hired under the revised pension plan, the city’s costs will be $230,000 less than they would be under the current plan.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously without discussion to give initial approval to the change in its retirement ordinance.

Community Events Funding

The council was asked to authorize the allocation of $43,378 to various groups in support of events they sponsor. The largest grant was to the Ann Arbor Summer Festival – for $25,000. Most of the rest of the grants were for $1,000 to cover the city’s costs for placement of street barricades.

Awardees included the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arbor Brewing Company, the University of Michigan’s Alice Lloyd Scholars Program, and the Main Street Area Association, among others. [Google spreadsheet of awards]

The council committee recommending the award amounts consists of Sandi Smith (Ward 1) and Margie Teall (Ward 4).

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) thanked Smith and Teall for taking on the task and doing a great job.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the community events disbursements.

Gallup Boat Access Study

Another request before council related to a $7,500 grant agreement with the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources (MDNR) to perform a preliminary engineering study for Gallup Park boating access site improvements. The Gallup Park boating dock does not meet current standards for barrier-free access, pedestrian/vehicle access, and parking.

The money will be spent out of the 2012 fiscal year park maintenance and capital improvements millage budget. The city council had applied for the grant from MDNR on March 21, 2011.

During the brief deliberations, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) noted that the city had applied to the state for the boat launch access improvements at the same time as it applied for a grant for Gallup Park generally and for a skatepark. She asked for an update on those grants. Community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl told Briere that “the letter is in the mail,” he’s been told. [By that he did not mean that approval was imminent, but that a notification about whether the grants had been approved would be forthcoming.]

Mayor John Hieftje remarked that in conjunction with the new Argo Dam bypass channel, it means there will be a lot of new opportunities for boating.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to authorize the grant.

Federal Grant for Crime Mapping

Councilmembers were asked for authorization to use $27,996 for crime-mapping work, if the money is awarded by the U.S. Dept. of Justice through an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant.

The funding would be used to create a specific, geospatial crime-mapping dashboard – a Law Enforcement Information Dashboard (LEID). According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the LEID would be shared with the CLEMIS consortium (Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System), which includes multiple law enforcement agencies in the region.

During the public hearing on the grant award, Thomas Partridge applauded the efforts of the city to apply for and receive the grant. He suggested that instead, the funds could be going to “drug courts.” He described the amount of money as small compared to the problem of illegal drugs.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously without discussion to authorize the grant application.

Cleaning Contract

On the agenda was a resolution to authorize a $580,680 cleaning contract with Kristel Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at the city’s municipal center, Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, the Ann Arbor Senior Center and various smaller locations.

At a budget retreat in early 2011, public services area administrator Sue McCormick had brought up the topic of the frequency of cleaning:

The increases include restoration of janitorial services from three days per week to a five-day service. That move from five-day service down to three-day service, McCormick said, proved to be the “worst thing we could have done.” Exacerbating the issue is the age of the building, and there’s ongoing construction adjacent to the building, plus the fact that more people will be returning to work there. So next year’s budget proposes five-day service – an additional expense of $33,500 per year. In the new municipal center, McCormick said, a three-day-a-week janitor service would be a “recipe for decline” in the new building.

The contract with Kristel called for a 5-day-a-week cleaning schedule for the municipal building.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Sandi Smith (Ward 1) wanted to understand what factored into the frequency of cleaning: Does it depend on the number of public visitors or the number of people who work there? What what are the problems with a 3-day schedule? Alluding to the fact that the city had dropped down to a 3-day schedule from a 5-day schedule, mayor John Hieftje suggested that it would be appropriate to ask if the city is spending more for cleaning now than three years ago. Interim city administrator Tom Crawford said “fruit flies and critters like that” were an example of some problems with the 3-day schedule.

After hearing that there was no particular urgency to getting the contract approved, Smith moved for a postponement.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to postpone the cleaning contract.

Communications and Comment

Every city council agenda contains multiple slots for city councilmembers and the city administrator to give updates or make announcements about important issues that are coming before the council. And every meeting typically includes public commentary on subjects not necessarily on the agenda.

At the top of the brick column is a new wireless network router that now offers the public wireless access to the Internet. It was not noted during the meeting, but after installation of the hardware a few weeks ago, the wireless service was turned on last week and was used by The Chronicle to report its Civic News Ticker items during the meeting.

Comm/Comm: Video Surveillance

During her communications time, Sandi Smith (Ward 1) told her colleagues that on Sept. 19 she expected that a proposed ordinance would be before them that would regulate video surveillance. [Smith has previously updated the council on that ordinance.] She described how the ordinance specifies that security cameras can’t be in residential neighborhoods. It doesn’t affect whether security cameras can be in locations like parking structures, she said. If it’s not on the Sept. 19 meeting agenda, it could be expected after that.

Comm/Comm: PAC report on Fuller Road Station

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) is one of two ex officio council representatives to the city’s park advisory commission. He reported that at its last meeting, the commission had a discussion about Fuller Road Station and the Border to Border trail. PAC had passed a resolution that identifies a number of items, including the fact that trail improvements should be prioritized over bicycle amenities within the station. PAC is also interested in ensuring that the non-motorized trail system be a jointly funded enterprise by university, city and county. [Chronicle report of the PAC meeting: "Action on Argo Headrace, Trails Near Fuller"]

Comm/Comm: Fuller Road  Station

Libby Hunter delivered her public commentary in the form of a song, as has become her habit over the last two years. The lyrics, sung to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer,” featured the refrains “lie, la, lie” directed pointedly at mayor John Hieftje. The subject of her complaint was the proposed Fuller Road Station: “Tell me please Mayor Hieftje / Is it true what we’ve been told / That you gave away our park / For a pocketful of nothing / Empty promises.”

Comm/Comm: New City Admin – Thank You to Crawford

During his communications, mayor John Hieftje noted that the new city administrator, Steve Powers, would be arriving soon. [Powers starts the job on Sept. 15.] Meetings are being set up for Powers with all councilmembers, the mayor said. Hieftje thanked Tom Crawford for his service as interim administrator. Crawford is the city’s chief financial officer, and has served as interim administrator over the last four months since the departure of Roger Fraser.

Comm/Comm: Proclamations

At the start of the meeting, several proclamations were made. One honored the Thunderbolts, a ball team that has helped maintain the city’s Southeast Area park. Alan Tanabe accepted the proclamation given by mayor John Hieftje.

Hieftje also declared September as Hunger Action Month.

Hieftje presented Nick Shannon with a proclamation acknowledging Shannon’s winning a 2011 All-America City Youth Award.

Jonathan Bulkley, a long-time professor with the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment, was also on hand to receive a proclamation for his service to the University of Michigan, the state of Michigan and the nation. Bulkley had addressed the council at its Aug. 4, 2011 meeting in support of the council’s resolution on the greenway. He serves on the board of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy. His granddaughter Nina accompanied him at the podium.

Comm/Comm: Remembering 9/11

Thomas Partridge introduced himself as a Washtenaw County and city of Ann Arbor Democrat, an advocate for the most vulnerable residents. He told the council it’s a serious week when the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 falls. So he called on the mayor and council to honor victims and families of that tragedy. He asked them not to raise funds to create memorials, but to honor the people who gave their lives, not in vain, but in full purpose of furthering the American economy.

Partridge said that the council should honor them by calling on people of all political persuasions and all faiths including Islamic, Christian and Jewish religions – all major and not-so-major faiths – to honor a commitment by resolving conflicts with non-violence.

Partridge concluded quickly by asking councilmembers to support the recall of Gov. Rick Snyder. He asked them to fully fund affordable housing, transportation, health care, and education.

Present: Stephen Rapundalo, Margie Teall, Sabra Briere, Sandi Smith, Tony Derezinski, Stephen Kunselman, Marcia Higgins, John Hieftje, Christopher Taylor, Carsten Hohnke.

Absent: Mike Anglin

Next council meeting: Sept. 19, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 301 E. Huron. [confirm date]

The 2011 taxes on the property were estimated at $1,400, which would be eliminated from the city’s tax base, once the property becomes public land. The parcel could be used to expand the community center’s programming services. It could also be used in other ways in support of the city’s park and recreation system.

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]

Jerry Hancock, Ann Arbor's stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator, explains how soil composition in the Bryant neighborhood factors in the area's water problems. (Photos by the writer.)

A major project to replace water mains and resurface roads in the Bryant neighborhood will get under way this spring, part of a broader plan to address the area’s chronic drainage problems and other issues.

At a Jan. 14 neighborhood meeting, Ann Arbor city staff gave an overview of the project, which included an historical look at the subdivision off  Stone School Road, just south of I-94.

The meeting at the Bryant Community Center – organized by the nonprofit Community Action Network and attended by residents, city and county elected officials and staff, among others – is the latest in a series of efforts to deal with a wide range of challenges to one of the city’s predominantly low-income neighborhoods.

At the end of Thursday’s two-hour session, a question raised by one of the residents – “Is there a happy ending to all of this?” – might best be summarized by the answer, “It depends.”

Water Mains, Roads

Anne Warrow, a civil engineer and project manager for the city of Ann Arbor, presented details of the $1.1 million water main replacement, set to begin in mid-May. Over the past few years, more than 25 water main breaks have been reported in the subdivision of 259 homes, built between 1969-71. The city plans to replace 9,000 feet of corroding cast-iron pipe with polyethylene-encased ductile iron pipe. Typical projects are smaller, in the 4,000-foot range, Warrow said. [Link to map showing water main breaks and location of planned water main replacement.]

The new water mains will run along Champagne, the primary street through the subdivision, from Stone School Road to Shadowood Drive, as well as in most of the small courts off of Champagne. Mains will also be replaced on Hemlock and its small courts. Only four courts off of Champagne – Santa Rosa, Blain, Jay Lee and Burlingame – won’t be receiving replacement water mains, Warrow said, because existing mains aren’t causing problems there.

In addition, four new fire hydrants will be installed in Metroview, Faust, Trowbridge and West Eden courts, on the north side of the subdivision. Warrow said a general rule of thumb is to have hydrants no more than 250 feet apart, and there are currently no hydrants in those courts.

The city expects to pay for the water main replacements with low-interest loans, Warrow said. The project will be funded from the drinking water revolving fund, administered by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The loans will be repaid out of the city’s water utilities fund.

Funding for the second part of the project – street resurfacing, estimated at about $3 million – would come from the city’s street reconstruction millage. However, it’s unclear how much funding will be available from the millage. That question hinges on whether the city is successful in getting federal funding to replace the East Stadium bridges. If the city doesn’t get a federal grant that it has applied for, then millage funds will be used for the bridges and other street projects will be postponed. Depending on how this plays out, street resurfacing in the Bryant neighborhood could happen in phases, Warrow said.

Anne Warrow, a civil engineer and project manager for the city of Ann Arbor, explains how water mains will be replaced in the Bryant neighborhood, starting this spring.

To prepare for the entire project, city staff took soil borings throughout the area, including 32 on road surfaces and another 25 in unpaved spots, boring down as deep as 20 feet. The findings were consistent throughout, Warrow said – the soil is primarily silty clay, with some sand.

That news wasn’t a surprise to residents, confirming what they already suspected. It also means that one of the strategies they’d considered to help manage drainage problems – installing French drains to funnel water away from the houses – wouldn’t be effective, because clay soil takes so long to absorb water runoff.

During the entire project, on-street parking will be limited, Warrow said, though residents will have access to their homes throughout construction. Roads will be dug up to put in the new pipes, then the trenches will be backfilled with stones. Workers will pressure-test the new water main, and flush it to test the quality of the water, making sure it’s clean. The testing phase will take a couple of weeks, she said. Then they’ll do the final tie-in, transferring each home’s water connection to the new main.

Residents won’t be without water except for a short period during the tie-in to their homes, Warrow said. However, she added, “the unforeseen may occur.” One of the risks is potential breaks in the old water main as the new one is being constructed, she said.

As part of the project, the public storm sewer system in the neighborhood will be cleaned. However, Warrow acknowledged that many of the drainage problems experienced in the area were caused by issues with the subdivision’s private drainage system, which hooks into the city’s storm sewer system. Those private systems won’t be part of the upcoming project.

Another challenge is that the land is virtually flat – a 1% slope on most properties doesn’t allow water to drain well.

An Historical View

Why isn’t there more of a slope on these lots? “That’s how it was designed, unfortunately,” Jerry Hancock told the group on Thursday. Hancock is the city’s stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator, and gave a presentation that included an historical look at the neighborhood to explain why water problems exist.

He first showed an aerial photo of the area taken in 1947, before it was developed. The west portion was an orchard, the eastern section appeared to be lightly wooded. To the south was a gravel pit. The next aerial photo, taken in 1960, showed only one major change: a wide east-west stretch of I-94 now appeared in the photo. The interstate was built just north of the land that would later become the Arbor Oaks subdivision, known as the Bryant neighborhood.

Hancock then pulled out yet another map showing pre-development soil compositions. One theory to explain the neighborhood’s chronic water problems is that the development had been built on wetlands, but Hancock said that doesn’t appear to be the case. Pre-development, there were a range of soil types recorded, from sandy loam to silty clay loam – more variety than was indicated when the city recently took soil samples. The fact that most of the soil in the neighborhood now is silty clay supports the theory that when the subdivision was constructed, soil from one section was spread throughout the entire area by construction workers.

Looking at these and other maps, Hancock said some things stand out. The land is essentially flat, and the lots weren’t graded so that water would drain away from the houses. In many cases, the crawl spaces are below grade, he said. There’s also a high water table on the east side of the neighborhood, which contributes to water problems. Given all of this, Hancock said it’s not surprising to see a high number of houses with mold and drainage problems.

For some of the homes located on the northern edge of the subdivision, it might be possible to redirect water toward culverts running along the I-94 expressway, Hancock said. However, he cautioned that it would only address a few lots: “It’s not going to solve everyone’s problem.”

City vs. Homeowner Responsibility

One of the themes that emerged from Thursday’s meeting was the distinction between what the city can do, and what remains the homeowner’s responsibility.

Several residents brought up the issue of drains on the individual lots, which were intended to feed into the city’s storm sewer system. Over the years, those drains – many located in backyards – have become covered or clogged. In some cases, city staff said it’s unclear if the drains shown on the developer’s proposed site plan ever got built.

Don Wakefield, a resident of the Bryant neighborhood, said problems with the drains in many backyards contribute to the area's flooding problems.

Molly Wade, the city’s water quality manager, said that over the next few weeks workers would be coming into the neighborhood and cleaning the city’s storm water and sewer systems. As part of that work, they’d also be running a camera through the city’s pipes to get a better idea about the condition of the system, she said.

Resident Don Wakefield said part of the issue is that there aren’t sufficient openings into the city’s system to be able to identify where problems are occurring. He said the drain in his backyard isn’t working, but there’s no manhole opening on the street to allow him to get access to the pipes on his property.

Paul Cartman, a resident who also owns several rental properties in the neighborhood, asked about the possibility of the city putting in edge drains as part of its water main and road resurfacing project. It was an issue he raised at a previous neighborhood meeting as well. [See Chronicle coverage: "Bryant Neighbors Dig Into Drainage"]

Anne Warrow, a city project manager, said that because most homes in the neighborhood don’t have footing drains, which are designed to divert water away from a house’s foundation, installing edge drains wouldn’t have a significant impact on the drainage problems.

Other Options: Homeowner Rehab

Also at Thursday’s meeting were representatives from the Office of Community Development, a joint city/county department that offers a variety of services to low-income residents. Jon Van Eck, an OCD housing rehab specialist, described a housing rehabilitation program for owner-occupied homes of families earning 80% or less of the area median income – or about $56,000 for a family of four.

Every house has different needs, he said, and priority is given to remedy health and environmental issues, like mold, lead paint and asbestos. The federally funded program provides up to $25,000 per house in a deferred low-interest loan – after taking care of higher-priority items, they also address water issues if sufficient funds remain, he said.

Strategies to deal with flooding in crawl spaces or standing water on a property might include installing footing drains, sealing the crawl space walls, diverting gutters away from the house, and putting in humidistats to monitor moisture, among other things. “We fight the water in multiple ways,” Van Eck said.

Another option to get help for the neighborhood might come from the University of Michigan. Krista Trout-Edwards from the county treasurer’s office told residents at Thursday’s meeting that the county was hoping to interest graduate students at the UM School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) in taking on the neighborhood as a master’s degree project. SNRE professor Joan Nassauer, who has taken an interest in the neighborhood and made a presentation to residents this summer about ways to deal with the area’s drainage issues, would be involved as well, Trout-Edwards said. If students are interested, they’d begin planning their year-long project this spring.

Susan Baskett, a Bryant resident who’s also a board member for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, said the best time to do community outreach would be in the spring, when people are more likely to be outside. They don’t answer their doors to strangers in the winter, she said. Derrick Miller, director of the Bryant Community Center, said the spring would also be a good time for students to see the kinds of water issues that need to be addressed.

A Community Effort

Janis Bobrin, Washtenaw County’s water resources commissioner, attended the Bryant neighborhood meeting and said she was impressed with the city’s efforts to deal with the water problem. Drainage issues aren’t just endemic to Ann Arbor, she said: “This is not an uncommon problem countywide.”

The advantage that Bryant residents have is their strength as a community, she added. Usually, when the county is called in to deal with drainage problems on individual properties, people might not even know their neighbors. Taking a broader, community-wide approach is important, she said.

Derrick Miller, director of the Bryant Community Center, and Joan Doughty, executive director of Community Action Network. CAN has a contract with the city to provide support services to Bryant and other low-income neighborhoods. In addition to addressing water issues, other projects include a Buy Bryant business directory, work with Habitat for Humanity to rehab houses in the area, and possibly a workshop for residents on how to start a business.

Joan Doughty, executive director of the nonprofit Community Action Network, asked what other solutions the neighborhood might be able to take collectively. CAN has a contract with the city to provide support services to the Bryant neighborhood and other low-income communities, and has been facilitating the effort to tackle water-related problems. A survey of residents showed that this is a major concern.

Jon Van Eck of the city/county Office of Community Development suggested that if several adjacent properties built a rain garden on a portion of their lots, that might address some common water problems.

Baskett told the group that she was discouraged by the meeting, asking “Is there a happy ending to all of this?” Paul Cartman joked that they’d at least been served free bagels.

Resident Judy Gardner, who’s also a CAN board member, said her main concern is for residents who don’t have the wherewithal to take advantage of some of the help being offered. Outreach was important, she said.

Jennifer Hall, housing program coordinator for the Office of Community Development, cautioned that not everyone can be helped immediately, and that some people would remain unhappy. “This is going to require more talking and more effort,” Hall said. “We’re not going to solve everything today.”

But John Ramirez, an agent with Real Estate One, said he felt positive about the progress they’d made. “I see a whole slew of solutions here,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from where we started.”

Neighbors gather at the Bryant Community Center to hear Joan Nassauer, a University of Michigan professor, talk about water drainage issues. (Photo by the writer.)

On The Chronicle’s first trip to the Bryant Community Center in December 2008, elected officials, the heads of local nonprofits, city and county staff outnumbered residents at a meeting for the southeast Ann Arbor neighborhood. The reverse was true last Thursday evening, when a room full of neighbors filled every seat, gathering to discuss the challenges they share.

Bryant is one of the few clusters of affordable housing in Ann Arbor. It’s also been hit hard by the mortgage crisis – a foreclosed property in the neighborhood at 2 Faust Court, vacant and boarded up, has been targeted as one of the first acquisitions for the county’s new land bank.

The land bank actually dovetails with a widespread problem that affects nearly all residents, which was the focus of Thursday’s meeting: Inadequate drainage and the chronic pooling of water in crawl spaces, basements, yards and streets. Joan Nassauer, a University of Michigan professor of landscape architecture, has remediated sites with similar problems in Flint, Chicago, St. Paul and other areas. She was on hand Thursday to talk about what Bryant residents might do to address their drainage issues.

What a Land Bank Can Do

Nassauer began by noting that the land bank in Genesee County, where the city of Flint is located, is recognized nationally for its work, and includes more than 5,000 properties. Putting property into a land bank can be valuable because it buys time, she said. In fact, time and community care – having volunteers mow the lawns of foreclosed properties, for example – can be a positive substitute for market conditions. “You’ve gained value by using the time well,” Nassauer explained.

The house at 2 Faust Court in the Bryant neighborhood is a vacant, foreclosed property that's being considered for the county's new land bank. (Photo by the writer.)

Land banks are a way to take temporary ownership of tax- or mortgage-foreclosed properties, giving local officials more options to deal with blighted areas. Those options might include demolishing a structure, selling it for rehab to a nonprofit like Habitat for Humanity, or turning it into a community garden. Convinced of these benefits, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners authorized formation of a land bank at their July 8 meeting. [See previous Chronicle coverage.]

Property in a land bank might also be used to help remediate environmental problems. Other land banks, for example, have looked at how properties fit into a watershed – if low-lying land could be transformed into a rain garden to manage drainage and stormwater mitigation in an area, that might be the best use for it in a given neighborhood.

Resident Paul Cartman expressed concern about using foreclosed property for stormwater mitigation, saying he wouldn’t want to see affordable housing being sacrificed for that. In the case of 2 Faust Court, it’s not clear if that foreclosed property would even be suitable for addressing drainage problem – it’s on one of the higher elevations in the neighborhood. However, there are other possible options to deal with the neighborhood’s drainage problem, Nassauer said.

She outlined several other projects she’d been involved with in different cities, in which rain gardens and French drains had been used to manage water. While not exactly parallel to the situation at Bryant, they were potentially useful solutions that could be adapted for this neighborhood.

Why All the Water?

The Bryant neighborhood was originally a wetland – developers dealt with that by building drainage ditches (also known as swales) in many backyards. But over time, it’s likely that those ditches have been filled in and aren’t functioning as originally designed, Nassauer said. She asked residents attending Thursday’s meeting whether water problems have gotten worse in the last 5 to 10 years – her question was met with a chorus of “Yes!”

Mary Hinton described how she didn’t originally have a problem with water when she moved to the neighborhood about eight years ago, but over time the standing water got so bad that her driveway started sinking in. She called the city but said they weren’t responsive – until a garbage truck got stuck in front of her house.

To get a closer look at the neighborhood and its drainage issues, last week Nassauer took a walk around Bryant with county treasurer Catherine McClary, who has spearheaded the land bank project. McClary had attended the neighborhood’s December meeting, when the issue of drainage and flooding had been raised. [People attending that meeting also got a firsthand view of the problem – that morning, the roads in the neighborhood were covered with frozen water.] McClary knew that Nassauer had done work with the Genesee County land bank, and asked if the UM professor could lend her expertise locally as well.

On the walk-around, Nassauer was trying to get a sense of the area’s land contours. McClary had provided her with maps of the neighborhood’s soil composition and topography – based on those, Nassauer learned that the northeast corner had clay soil, which doesn’t absorb water well. In that area, you’d expect to find more flooding, she said. What surprised her was that there’s flooding throughout the neighborhood, not just in that section.

Nassauer said she learned from a resident at another neighborhood meeting held last week that when the area was first developed, soil from the northeast sector had been excavated and spread throughout other parts of Bryant, which accounts for the drainage problems. One solution is to punch holes through the clay so that the water can reach the sandy soil below, she said. “It’s like opening the stopper in a bathtub.”

She also noticed that the two streams flowing north out of the neighborhood, and eventually into the Huron River, go under I-94. It’s possible that the culverts carrying the water under I-94 are filled with sediment – if that’s the case, it could be contributing to the problem, she said.

Paul Cartman, a resident of the Bryant neighborhood. (Photo by the writer.)

Other Possible Fixes

Paul Cartman, one of the residents attending Thursday’s meeting, said he had talked to Mike Bergren, the city’s assistant field operations manager, and other city staff who’d told him that soil in the Bryant neighborhood was acidic, and had been eating away at the cast-iron water mains. He reported that the city was planning to replace the mains next summer, and said that while they were at it, they might be able to install edge drains along the roads, too.

Nassauer said that would be good news for the neighborhood, and that they should ask two questions of the city: 1) how would the city get the water in yards, basements and crawl spaces to flow toward the roads and into whatever drains might be installed, and 2) what can the city do to systematically deal with the condition of the backyard swales. It was her understanding that the city didn’t take responsibility for those, Nassauer said, but perhaps now was a good time to be looking at that issue.

Joan Doughty – executive director of the nonprofit Community Action Network (CAN), which has a city contract to manage Bryant Community Center and is facilitating improvements to the neighborhood – said that Jerry Hancock, the city’s stormwater and floodplain programs coordinator, had been at last week’s meeting and had spoken about the water main replacement as a possibility, not a certainty. However, she added that sometimes different departments within the city don’t communicate with each other, so it can be difficult to find out what’s really going on.

Her view was echoed by Susan Baskett, an Ann Arbor Public Schools trustee and Bryant resident, who said she’d had the same experience. She suggested enlisting city councilmembers from Ward 3 – Christopher Taylor and Leigh Greden – to be liaisons in getting information. Jean Carlberg, a former city councilmember for Ward 3, said it was certainly possible to get Jerry Hancock and  Mike Bergren to coordinate. She asked what it would take to get more information about the swales. Doughty said that the city had been ready to throw away old maps of the neighborhood that showed the original swales, but that one of the residents now had them.

Derrick Miller, director of the Bryant Community Center, said this issue highlighted the importance of the survey they were asking residents to complete. The results will be a key element in proving to the city that flooding is a problem. The four-question survey asks residents where and when flooding occurs, whether their homes have mold or mildew, or bubbling of painted areas, and whether anyone in their home has asthma, allergies or other respiratory issues.

To date, about 140 out of 263 households have completed the survey. CAN has tallied 125 of those surveys so far. Of those who answered the drainage-related question, 91% (90 households) experienced flooding in their yards and/or crawl spaces.

Forty-six survey respondents reported someone in their household suffered from asthma or other respiratory problems – that’s 41% of those who answered the question. That’s an incredibly high rate, Doughty noted, saying they plan to ask the county’s public health office to look into the situation.

Regarding the flood-related question, Cartman said that some people might not respond to the survey because of fear that by acknowledging the problem, they’d then be required to pay to fix it – something that not everyone can afford.

Getting feedback from the community about these issues will be an ongoing effort, Doughty said. ”This is a story that’s going to be continued over the next couple of months. We’ll continue this conversation.”

Joan Doughty, executive director of the Community Action Network (CAN), draws a winning raffle ticket from the basket held by Jerene Calhoun, a Bryant neighborhood resident who was leading Thursday's community meeting at Bryant Community Center. At left is Nadia Wong, a UM graduate student and intern with CAN. (Photo by the writer.)

No one violated the Bryant Community Center rules at a recent meeting there, though you could argue there was a bit of mild horseplay.

If you made a list of people who can get things done, you’d end up with one that looked a lot like the actual people attending a recent meeting at the Bryant Community Center. Two current city councilmembers and a former one. The county treasurer and chief deputy clerk. A school board member. A cop. Nonprofit leaders, city staff and residents.

They gathered on Thursday to talk about ways to improve this neighborhood on Ann Arbor’s southeast side, north of Ellsworth and east of Stone School Road. The effort is being led by the Community Action Network, a nonprofit group that provides support services to people in low-income neighborhoods. CAN was hired earlier this year to manage Bryant and Northside community centers, and also works with Hikone and Green Baxter Court neighborhoods. Joan Doughty, CAN’s executive director who organized the Dec. 11 meeting, told the group that her staff had done a needs assessment of the neighborhood and found that safety was the biggest concern for residents. She noted that the assessment was done around the time of the multiple break-ins in that area, which might have been a factor. (The police arrested three teens in April who were charged with those crimes.)

Joan Doughty, executive director of the Community Action Network, a nonprofit which manages Bryant Community Center.

The mortgage crisis is another major concern. The neighborhood has been a place where you could find some of the lowest-priced single-family homes in Ann Arbor. Many of these homeowners are in fragile financial circumstances, made worse by current economic conditions.

Catherine McClary, Washtenaw County treasurer, didn’t have specific data for the Bryant neighborhood, but gave an overview of the foreclosure situation countywide. in 2006, 703 properties were foreclosed for non-payment of mortgage (as opposed to non-payment of taxes, another type of foreclosure). Last year, that number rose to 1,151, and so far in 2008, there have been 1,300 mortgage foreclosures.

Tax delinquencies are typically a prelude to foreclosure, McClary said. Those, too, are on the rise – in Ann Arbor, they are up 43% this year compared to 2007. “I do think Ann Arbor’s not immune,” she said. McClary also highlighted some of the resources that are available for preventing both mortgage and tax foreclosures. The county is partnering with other local groups as part of this effort, including the Housing Bureau for Seniors, the Washtenaw County MSU Extension program, and Legal Services of South Central Michigan – all of those groups had representatives at Thursday’s meeting.

Jennifer L. Hall, housing manager for the city/county office of community development, described several programs with federal funding that are available for down payment assistance, rehab of single-family homes and infrastructure improvements, such as sidewalk repair. Since Bryant has a lot of low-income housing, Hall said the city would be focusing on that neighborhood.

Hall also mentioned that the city and county would be forming a land bank, and McClary elaborated on what that would entail. The land bank, which would be managed by the treasurer’s office, would identify condemned, blighted properties – that weren’t owner-occupied, she stressed – and demolish them to prepare for other uses, such as community gardens. When she stated that she didn’t think there was such a property in the Bryant neighborhood, several residents said, “Oh yeah, there’s one.”

At one point, Doughty observed that there seem to be a wealth of resources available, but a bit of a disconnect in getting those resources to the people who need them. She suggested that they compile a list of the resources mentioned during the meeting, and make it available for everyone in the group.

Derrick Jackson, Washtenaw County's chief deputy clerk, talked about the West Willow neighborhood revitalization project, which could be a model for similar efforts in the Bryant area.

Derrick Jackson, Washtenaw County’s chief deputy clerk, was on hand to tell the group about a project he’d been involved with in the West Willow neighborhood of Ypsilanti Township. He said that unlike this meeting, with community stakeholders at the table, the West Willow effort started with residents, including himself. “If you really want to get the word out,” he said, “it’s the neighbors.”

Jackson passed out copies of the West Willow Neighborhood Improvement Strategy, a 33-page document prepared by the consulting firm Hamilton Anderson of Detroit, based on work done by their community group. [5MB .pdf] The report gives an overview of the process used to develop the revitalization plan, a description of the neighborhood demographics, and lists of opportunities for making physical improvements to the area. There’s also an extremely detailed three-year action plan, which sets out steps to be taken by subcommittees on safety, housing/physical improvements, and parks and recreation.

Jackson said that after the neighbors had developed this plan, they then looked for resources to help them achieve their goals.

Judy Gardner, a resident of the Bryant neighborhood.

Judy Gardner, who lives in the Bryant neighborhood, said that getting residents engaged in some kind of community-wide project was a struggle. “That has been a huge barrier,” she said. She asked Jackson for advice, based on his West Willow experience.

Jackson said that West Willow had a couple of “opportunities” – referring to some high-profile crimes there – which motivated people to get involved. He suggested that for Bryant, concerns about foreclosures might serve a similar purpose. He also said that it sometimes takes a couple of people to just take action, then when others see that improvements are being made, they’ll join in.

Hall noted that almost everyone in the neighborhood has a drainage issue, and she suggested that addressing this problem might be a way to get residents involved. Houses were built on a wetland, and driving through the streets on Thursday proved that point – frozen water covered many stretches, making conditions hazardous.

PV Roby of the Homeplace Community Land Trust said that accessing adults through their children might work, too. She said that organizing outreach based by going cul-de-sac by cul-de-sac could be another approach.

Jackson said that one of the things they did at West Willow was to ask kids how they’d spend $20,000 for improving the neighborhood. Even though the question was theoretical, people got excited and started generating all sorts of ideas, he said. The concept resonated with several people at Thursday’s meeting, and some suggested that if the ideas were really good, they might even be able to come up with the $20,000.

Jennifer Hall with the city/county office of community development; Pat Simmons with First United Methodist Church; and Susan Baskett, a school board member and resident of the Bryant neighborhood.

Susan Baskett, a Bryant resident and board member for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, said that one possible first step would be to find someone from each of the neighborhood’s 17 cul-de-sacs and bring them together for a meeting. She said it would be helpful to have the list of Neighborhood Watch block captains from the police department, but they seemed reluctant to release that information. Leigh Greden, one of the two Ward 3 councilmembers who represent that neighborhood, said he could get the list for her.

As the meeting wrapped up, Doughty suggested they divide into two groups to tackle some of these issues: One led by McClary to focus on the foreclosure issue, and another led by Hall that addressed infrastructure. At the same time, they’d work on organizing a meeting of residents to get their input. The meeting adjourned with plans to reconvene in February.

From left: Councilmembers Christopher Taylor and Leigh Greden, who both represent Ward 3, and Damon Thompson from the city/county office of community development.