From left: Democrat Evan Pratt and Republican Eric Scheie at the Oct. 8 candidate forum for the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner. (Photos by the writer.)

Scheie, who ran for Ward 4 Ann Arbor city council last year but was defeated by incumbent Marcia Higgins, is concerned that environmentalists have prioritized water over people. He said he’s against water pollution, but thinks that in some cases the government goes too far in over-regulating. He also took issue with the approach of current water resources commissioner Janis Bobrin, saying he’d heard “horror stories” from some farmers who think there’s a plot to push them off their land.

In contrast, Pratt has worked closely with Bobrin and he highlighted her endorsement of his candidacy. He stressed his experience in working on public infrastructure projects as a civil/environmental engineer, as well as his work with the Huron River Watershed Council, the Ann Arbor planning commission and other local entities.

Both candidates have more information on their websites. Scheie’s site includes a description of his philosophy, including a reminder of the position’s origins as drain commissioner. Pratt’s site includes a list of supporters, which he also highlighted during his opening statement. Scheie and Pratt also supplied brief answers to five questions about their background and approach to the job for the League of Women Voters Vote 411 website.

The water resources commissioner is an elected position with a four-year term. Bobrin has served in that role since first being elected in 1988. She was instrumental in broadening the focus of the job – as well as its title – from drains to water resources. Bobrin decided not to run for re-election this year. She endorsed Pratt in both the Aug. 7 primary, when he defeated fellow Democrat Harry Bentz, as well as in the Nov. 6 general election against Scheie, who did not face a Republican primary challenger.

The Oct. 8 candidate forum was held at the studios of Community Television Network, and will be available online via CTN’s video-on-demand service. It was the first of three forums on Monday evening. Others covered the races for county treasurer and county clerk/register of deeds. The full schedule of candidate forums this week is on the league’s website. The forums are broadcast live on CTN’s Channel 19 starting at 7 p.m.

Information on local elections can be found on the Washtenaw County clerk’s elections division website. To see a sample ballot for your precinct, visit the Secretary of State’s website. The league’s Vote411.org website also includes a range of information on national, state and local candidates and ballot issues, and a “build my ballot” feature.

Opening Statements

Each candidate was given one minute to make an opening statement.

Pratt: He explained that the water resources commissioner is responsible for over 500 county drains, stormwater management systems, flood control systems and lake-level management systems. He directed viewers to his campaign website for more information, and to look at his list of supporters to see if there’s someone they know and trust on the list. He said he stands for running a fair and transparent office operation, as well as a lean, financially prudent organization focused on water resources management. He cited his experience leveraging taxpayer money, saying that he’s assisted the current water resources commissioner in obtaining over $17 million in grants.

Scheie: The original purpose of the drain commissioner – the original title for this job – was to put people first and get rid of water, he said. Maybe that was going too far, he noted. There are now additional responsibilities, but he thinks the office now goes too far in putting water first. He’s seen a lot of extravagant projects. One example is Malletts Creek, which used to have a nice forest where he walked his dogs. It’s been clear cut and now has stagnant water in pools, he said – the water isn’t flowing well. Scheie also cited problems with the stormwater management project at West Park in Ann Arbor. These are examples of things he’d like to look at, he said. You have to consider the budget and everyone, not just water, he concluded.

Job Responsibilities

Explain the primary duties of the county water resources commissioner.

Pratt: As laid out in the drain code [Public Act 40 of 1956] the job duties are to deal with water quality and quantity, Pratt said. That’s one reason why the position’s title has been changed to water resources commissioner. He said when he’s talked to people about flooding problems, or when he’s investigated water quality or quantity issues, it comes down to two things. It’s like what Walt Kelly said, Pratt noted: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Most people say there was a problem on their property when they bought it, or that someone else did something and caused the problem. Most flooding and water quality problems are caused by human interaction with the existing environment. So it’s not really true that it’s a choice between water and people, Pratt said. You need to see what the water’s doing first, before you develop and build things, because there’s definitely going to be an impact.

Scheie: Saying he wasn’t speaking of Pratt, Scheie said there are a lot of people in the environmentalist movement who think that people are the enemy of nature. The current water resources commissioner has a reputation, he said. He’s talked to farmers and landowners who really feel threatened. One man told him that a drain hadn’t been maintained – it hadn’t been cleared since 1937 – and it has turned the land into unusable wetlands “and now he’s in trouble.” The office needs to be more considerate of people who’ve been here a while, Scheie said. They’re not going to be able to turn Ann Arbor into what it originally was, but sometimes he wonders if that’s the philosophy of some of the environmentalists. He hoped that’s not Pratt’s philosophy.

Experience

What professional experiences led to your run for water resources commissioner, and what was the most significant in preparing you for this office?

Scheie: He said he’s a licensed attorney in California – he’s not practicing in Michigan. He’s been a local volunteer. He was a police review commissioner for the city of Berkeley, so he has administrative experience in government, though not elected experience. When he was running for a seat on the Ann Arbor city council, “water kept coming up in a strange way.” [Scheie ran in Ward 4 against incumbent Marcia Higgins in November 2011, but lost.] People were up in arms about the city’s footing drain disconnect program, he said. That’s a major issue now, and it’s a question of drainage. As another example, County Farm Park is one of his favorite parks, he said, but he watched it become defoliated [because of the Malletts Creek restoration project]. These things have led him to look critically at what’s going on, and that’s why he’s running.

Pratt: He’s spent 25 years of his professional career working in water resources and other public infrastructure work. It’s been interesting to learn how government processes work, he said, and to understand how people need to have a say in projects that impact them. He’s also served on the Huron River Watershed Council, and gained understanding of why it’s important to protect natural resources. Certainly there can be situations where a drain hasn’t been cleaned out, he said, but sometimes trees grow into drains – and if you want a drain cleared, you sometimes have to cut down trees so the water can flow. That’s probably the reason why trees were cut down in County Farm Park, he said. Pratt says he brings 25 years of construction experience on public projects. That will help him manage the fine line between helping people and damaging the environment.

Values, Beliefs

What values or beliefs do you hold that would influence your conduct as water resources commissioner, or impact the choices you’d make on behalf of the office?

Pratt: It’s critical to be fair, open and honest in these projects that are being considered. Projects done under the drain code are different from work done on streets, sewers or water mains, he said. The water resources commissioner is not involved unless people have a problem and want to get the office involved. Landowners have to make a petition, and there’s a specific process to involve those landowners in the decisions that are made, he said. The people who live in an area know a lot about what’s going on there, he said, and it’s important to listen to them. That value or belief would guide him the most, Pratt said. From the financial or fiscal side, he said, it’s cheaper to dig a ditch than to lay a pipe, and the ditch is more environmentally sound. So in simple terms, it pays to be environmentally aware.

Eric Scheie, Republican candidate for Washtenaw County water resources commissioner.

Scheie: Philosophically, he said, he’s not comfortable with the idea of central authoritarian figures telling people what to do. That’s why he as a problem with top-down micromanagement telling people that they can’t do certain things or farm certain land.

The stories that farmers have told him have horrified him, Scheie said. The state Dept. of Environmental Quality has told farmers that any drain at all – even tile in a drainage ditch – is a navigable waterway.  He said he’s as much against water pollution as anyone else. He grew up in Philadelphia, where there was real water pollution with industrial waste. It’s a much cleaner situation here, he said, and he’d like to keep it clean. But he doesn’t like the idea of ordinary roof runoff being treated as pollution – he thinks it’s going a little too far. “We do have a city here,” he said.

Neighboring Communities

Since water resources are affected by policies of surrounding communities, what are your plans for working with neighboring communities?

Scheie: He’d like to become as informed as possible – and he said he suspects that Pratt is a bit more informed about these issues. The water resources commissioner does interact with Ann Arbor a lot, he noted, although Ann Arbor has its own policies. The water resources commissioner doesn’t have a lot of power beyond what’s allowed by state statute, he said, which is to maintain the drains and keep them running, as well as to manage soil erosion and sediment control. But other than contacting people for input, the office doesn’t really have a lot of say-so in the rest of the state, he said. It’s a big job here, so he’d keep focused on that, though he said he’d also try to do as much outreach as possible within the limitations of the office.

Pratt: This question applies to three levels, he said – drainage, water quality, and pooling resources. The last category includes things like sharing equipment for cleaning, mowing and tree-cutting – whatever can be done to minimize the cost. Many public works departments already work together on this, he said. Regarding water quality, the current water resources commissioner is involved in the Middle Huron initiative, which focuses on pollution in the section of the Huron River where the MDEQ has found that E.coli is above legally allowable limits and substantial work needs to be done to cut that. There are other orders from the MDEQ that are being worked on as well, he said.

Future Challenges

What challenges are facing the office in the next two years, and what are your priorities for managing them?

Pratt: It’s the same challenge that all agencies have been facing for five or six years, he said – how to manage increasing responsibility with declining budgets. He said he’s given presentations on this topic in Michigan, Tennessee and Ohio. There’s a lot of work to do – not just footing drain issues, but other flooding problems too – but there hasn’t been money to solve them. So dealing with those fiduciary issues is the main thing, he said. That’s why it’s useful to have his experience bringing grants to projects that qualify for grants. It’s an important skill, he said – taking a project that’s needed and that people want, and shaping it into something that fits into a grant mold. He’s worked with a number of communities that have taken this approach.

Scheie: It’s a big enough job just to manage and take care of the drains, he said. With the additional responsibility of soil erosion and sediment control, it’s probably twice as big. He said he’s visited the website of the water resources commissioner and there’s more about the issue of soil erosion and sediment control than about drains. What bothers him is that the county has fewer resources. While the drainage systems tend to pay for themselves – because the drain commissioner has the power to impose taxes for such projects – some of these other projects, like Malletts Creek and West Park, are very expensive multi-million dollar projects, he said. Scheie said he’d want to look at how much of that is needed, and whether there are diminishing returns. He realizes that Malletts Creek has some problems, like a deficiency of macroinvertebrates, but how far do you go? Do you want to make a pristine stream? Scheie said he didn’t think it’s ever going to be pristine again.

Allen Creek Greenway

What are your thoughts and preferences for the Allen Creek greenway?

Scheie: He’s visited one of the city of Ann Arbor properties where the road commission was previously located and where there’s now a big surface parking lot [415 W. Washington]. He doesn’t think anyone objects to that property being turned into something else – because right now it’s an eyesore. If the voters like the plan, he’s all for it – this is a democracy, he said. But he’d be very wary about the cost. Sometimes you get into complex mistakes that have to be dug up and redone, he said. People in Ann Arbor are fed up with traffic associated with endless construction projects, he said. And a lot of people are upset about the character of Ann Arbor being altered by tall buildings and other things. As far as creating a nice park, he said he doesn’t have a problem with that, but he’d want to look at the money involved very carefully.

Pratt: It’s a two-fold issue, he said. Some people think more about Allen Creek, but others think more about non-motorized transportation. He defined the corridor as running from where the creek flows to the Huron River just downstream from Argo Pond, up to the area around Michigan Stadium. He said he’s met with people who serve on the Allen Creek Conservancy board and talked to them about their vision. He thinks they’re open to the idea that the project could be a number of different things. It’s hard to say that he’s for one thing or another, because there isn’t a specific proposal yet. It would be great if there’s a cost-effective way to restore Allen Creek and to include a greenway. It’s fairly common to have a low-lying flooding area used for non-motorized transportation. The city of Austin, Texas does a great job of that, he said.

Long-Term Vision

What’s your long-term vision for this office? What projects would you like to start now for the next 10-20 years?

Evan Pratt, Democratic candidate for Washtenaw County water resources commissioner.

Pratt: He said he’d like to work on a program more than a specific project – a program that would lead toward his children not having to stay out of the Huron River for 48 hours after it rains, which is the current situation. You’re not supposed to have full body contact during that period, because of what’s in the river. The situation is better than it was, he said. He’s seen photos from the 1950s and ’60s. There were tanneries in the area near the area where DTE now operates. Cleanup is happening there now, and you can see oozing black tar coming out. He’d love to see that site cleaned up, and a mix of uses there – parkland as well as a nice place where he could go have dinner with his family. He wants to do things that enhance the river so that people won’t turn their back on it. In a totally different category, he said, he’d like to help out farmers with their agricultural drainage fields, which relates to an entire different set of needs.

Scheie: It matters what the local community wants, not what he would want. There are a lot of arguments, especially in Ann Arbor, over things like the removal of the Argo Dam. He’d like to see some effort to have community consensus so that people don’t feel that projects are rammed down their throats. A lot of people feel that way now, he said. A project starts and people start asking questions about why it’s happening. He’s like to see projects like this brought to a vote, perhaps by amending the city charter in Ann Arbor and looking at what the whole county thinks. There’s too much acrimony, he said, and he’d like to try to reduce that.

Open-Ended Question

What question wasn’t asked tonight that you’d like to address?

Scheie: He said he hasn’t really talked about some of the horror stories he’s heard from farmers. The further you get outside of Ann Arbor, you get the picture that it’s really scary. Some farmers think there’s a plot to push them off their land, he said, to take their land away inch by inch – by restricting what can be done on the land. One thing that bothers him is that you have to go through the water resources commissioner just to get a building permit for almost any exterior work. That doesn’t seem right, he said. There’s too much government, and he’d like to have some discussion of that.

Pratt: He would liked to have been asked what people are talking to him about. In general, people are telling him that they don’t want water pushed their way. A lot of times when someone wants to fill in a low-lying area or put something on their land, they aren’t thinking about the fact that water gets stored there. If you fill a low-lying area where water gets stored, that becomes someone else’s problem. That’s why there’s a drain commissioner, he said, dating back to 1847. He said he explains to people that the drain code is set up not to push anything onto people, but to offer people the opportunity to have at least five landowners petition the drain commissioner to help them fix a problem that they can’t solve themselves.

Closing Statements

Each candidate had the opportunity to make a two-minute closing statement.

Scheie: He thanked the league for hosting this forum – it’s good for Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. He’s running for an office that most people he talks to have never even heard of. He points out to them that this office has more power than the governor, in terms of the ability to impose taxes unilaterally. When there’s a drain put in, the office has the statutory power to levy taxes. A lot of people don’t think about these things. He’s concerned that there’s too much emphasis on putting water first. He said he goes swimming in the Huron River and cares about water quality. But in a populated area, you have to balance things. That’s why he’s running. Things have gone too far in the direction of over-regulation.

Pratt: He also thanked the league and the viewers. It’s not just the water resources commissioner, but many others who work hard to help out people. Water is our most precious resource, he said, and he’d like to continue a career of protecting this valuable resource for his young children and everyone else in Washtenaw County. He noted that the retiring water resources commissioner, Janis Bobrin, has worked hard to improve water quality and address flooding issues, and she supports him. Pratt read a quote from her stating that he’s the most qualified candidate.

He’s a licensed engineer in Michigan and a graduate of MIT’s civil engineering program. He cited his community experience relative to water resources, including nine years on the Huron River Watershed Council, eight years on the Ann Arbor planning commission, and service on the Washtenaw County planning advisory board. He said he also brings experience as a treasurer for “two relevant nonprofits and a $20 million private corporation.” That gives him a proven record of success in financial oversight for multimillion-dollar budgets and projects, he said. Pratt asked voters to consider these qualifications when they go into the voting booth on Nov. 6. People shouldn’t have to pay for something that they don’t need or want, he said. He’s committed to protecting water resources, listening to people, and finding that right balance between a project’s benefit and cost.

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Republican candidate for Ward 4 city council Eric Scheie, before the League of Women Voters forum on Oct. 5. On Scheie's website, he gives the pronunciation of his name, which is pronounced "Shay." During small talk among LWV members before the start of the meeting, they drew upon a character familiar from American history to help remind themselves of the pronunciation: "It's 'Shay' as in Shay's Rebellion." (Photo by the writer.)

This report focuses on the forum for candidates in Ward 4, where Republican Eric Scheie is challenging Democratic incumbent Marcia Higgins. A replay of the forum is available via Community Television Network’s video on demand service. [Ward 4 CTN coverage]

Higgins did not attend the forum, sending her regrets in a written statement, which was read aloud: “I’m confirming that I will not be in attendance tomorrow evening due to a family commitment on Oct. 5. I appreciate the league’s focus on debating the issues and time spent on bringing debate to the public. Thank you for the invitation to participate.” The LWV indicated that holding the forum without Higgins would be consistent with its “empty chair” policy.

Higgins began her city council career as a Republican, first winning election to the council in 1999. She changed parties to become a Democrat in 2005. Many observers believe it’s not possible to be elected to the council as a Republican in Ann Arbor’s current political climate.

At the LWV forum, Scheie explicitly addressed the issue of party membership, saying that he was running as a Republican precisely because of the lack of opposition politics in Ann Arbor – “Republican” has become a dirty word in Ann Arbor, he said.

The council is an 11-member body, with two representatives from each ward, plus the mayor. All members of the council, including the mayor, serve two-year terms. In a given year, one of the two council seats for each ward is up for election. In even-numbered years, the position of mayor is also up for election.

This year, the general election falls on Nov. 8. Readers who are unsure where to vote can type their address into the My Property page of the city of Ann Arbor’s website to get that information. A map of city ward boundaries is also online.

Scheie responded to LWV questions on the street/sidewalk repair millage, the proposed Fuller Road Station, high-rise buildings, human services and public art.

Opening statement

Scheie had a minute to give an opening statement.

Scheie said he’d lived in Ann Arbor for three years. The reason he’s running is that the biggest problem he thinks the city faces is a lack of opposition. Overwhelmingly, he said, city council measures are unanimously or nearly unanimously approved. He wants to see diversity in government, he said. He described himself as a reluctant candidate.

The reason he’s running as a Republican is that he’s discovered that in Ann Arbor, “Republican” is a dirty word. He said that going door-to-door, he’s had people practically chase him off their porch. One woman looked him in the eye and told him she didn’t think Republicans should be running for office in Ann Arbor. So that’s why he’s running, he said. He also noted that there are a number of issues in Ward 4 that are of particular concern – the East Stadium Boulevard bridges, potholes, sump pumps and Georgetown Mall.

Street Repair Millage

Question: Proposal 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot requests up to 2.0 mills for street and bridge reconstruction. Proposal 2 allows an additional 0.125 mills for sidewalk repair outside the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority TIF district. Please explain the mechanics of the two proposals’ interdependent passage. Tell voters in your ward how you plan to vote.

Street Repair Millage: Background

At its Aug. 4, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved language for the Nov. 8 ballot that would renew the street and bridge reconstruction millage, at a rate of 2.0 mills. It was last approved by voters in November 2006 for five years beginning in 2007 and ending in 2011. A tax rate of 1 mill is equivalent to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

As a separate proposal on the ballot, voters will be asked if they support an additional 0.125 mill to pay for sidewalk repair. Up to now, sidewalk repair has been the responsibility of property owners.

The ballot language for the street repair millage will read:

Shall the Charter be amended to authorize a tax up to 2 mills for street and bridge reconstruction for 2012 through 2016 to replace the previously authorized tax up to 2 mills for street reconstruction for 2007 through 2011, which will raise in the first year of levy the estimated revenue of $9,091,000?

The ballot language for the sidewalk portion of the millage will read:

Shall the Charter be amended to authorize a tax increase of up to 0.125 mills for 2012 through 2016 in addition to the street and bridge resurfacing and reconstruction millage of 2 mills for 2012 through 2016, which 0.125 mills will raise in the first year of levy the estimated additional revenue of $563,000, to provide a total of up to 2.125 mills for sidewalk trip hazard repair in addition to street and bridge reconstruction and resurfacing? This Charter amendment shall not take effect unless the proposed Charter amendment to authorize the levy of a tax in 2012 through 2016 of up to 2 mills for the purpose of providing funds for the reconstruction and resurfacing of streets and bridges (Proposal 1) is approved.

The sidewalk repair portion of the millage would be levied only if the street repair millage were also approved by voters. But the levy of the street repair millage is not dependent on the authorization of the sidewalk repair millage.

If both millage proposals were to be approved by voters, the money would be collected under a single, combined millage – but accounting for reconstruction activity would be done separately for streets and sidewalks.

The separation of the question into two proposals can be explained in part by a summary of responses to the city’s online survey on the topic of slightly increasing the street repair millage to include sidewalk repairs. Sidewalk repairs have up to now been the responsibility of property owners. The survey reflects overwhelming sentiment from the 576 survey respondents (filtered for self-reported city residents) that it should be the city’s responsibility to repair the sidewalks.

The survey reflects some resistance to the idea that an increase in taxes is warranted, however. From the free-responses: “Stop wasting taxpayer money on parking structures, new city buildings, and public art. You are spending money like drunken sailors while we’re in the worst recession since the Great Depression.” Balanced against that are responses like this: “I strongly endorse the idea of the city taking responsibility for maintaining the sidewalks and am certainly willing to pay for it in the form of a millage in the amount cited in this survey.” [.pdf of survey response summary]

An amendment to the resolution approved by the council on Aug. 4 directs the city attorney to prepare a change to the city’s sidewalk ordinance relative to the obligation of property owners to maintain sidewalks adjacent to their property.

Street Repair Millage: Scheie

Scheie said he planned to vote no on both the street and sidewalk repair proposals. The city was not using the funds it had, he said. The city spends money on art – $750,000 for art in front of city hall, which was a project awarded to a German artist. He said he loved art and local artists, but the prioritization should be done differently.

As far as sidewalk repair, his understanding was that the city would do the repairs, and then the citizens paid the city for the repair. [Editor's note: That's one scenario that could unfold under the city's sidewalk repair program that it has run for the last five years. The city first inspects and marks problematic slabs, and notifies property owners. If property owners do not arrange to have the work done themselves, one option is to allow to the city to do the work – the owners would then be billed for it.] Scheie said people had complained to him that they had paid money and the repairs had not been done. He did not think at this point that the city could be trusted with the money it would collect under the millage.

Transportation

Question: The Fuller Road Station will require parkland for the purpose of providing a parking structure, which will be used primarily by the University of Michigan. For this the city will pay 22% of the initial cost. Down the road, how will the parking revenue be split? Who will pay the maintenance? Who will provide safety measures and protection? How do you personally feel about the project? What is the long-term vision for this station and the probable timeline?

Transportation: Fuller Road Background

The introduction of the Fuller Road Station concept to the public can be traced at least as far back as January 2009, when the city’s transportation program manager, Eli Cooper, presented a concept drawing at a meeting of neighbors at Northside Grill. At the time, the city was trying to encourage the University of Michigan to reconsider its plans to build parking structures on Wall Street.

The city’s strategy was to get the university to consider building its planned parking structures on the city-owned parking lot, just south of Fuller Road, near the intersection with East Medical Center Drive. It would allow the university to participate in the city’s hoped-for transit station at that location. The university has leased that parking lot from the city since 1993.

The transit station is envisioned as directly serving east-west commuter rail passengers. A day-trip demonstration service that was to launch in October 2010 never materialized. But an announcement earlier this year, that some federal support for high-speed rail track improvements would be forthcoming, has shored up hopes by many people in the community that the east-west rail connection could become a reality. That hope has been further strengthened by the recent acquisition of the track between Dearborn and Kalamazoo from Norfolk Southern by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation.

The council has already approved some expenditures directly related to the Fuller Road Station project. It voted unanimously on Aug. 17, 2009 to approve $213,984 of city funds for an environmental study and site assessment. Of that amount, $104,742 was appropriated from the economic development fund.

On Nov. 5, 2009, on separate votes, the council approved additional money for the environmental study and site assessment and to authorize a memorandum of understanding with the University of Michigan.

Controversy on the project includes the status of the land where the proposed Fuller Road Station would be located. It’s designated as parkland, but formally zoned as public land (PL). In the summer of 2010, the possible uses for land zoned as PL were altered by the council, on recommendation from the city planning commission, explicitly to include transportation facilities. Any long-term use agreement with the university is seen by many as tantamount to a sale of parkland. A sale should, per the city charter, be put to a voter referendum.

Recent developments have included an indication from mayor John Hieftje that a work session would be scheduled to update the council. When the city council subsequently added a July 11, 2011 work session to its calendar, it left the expectation that the topic of that session would be Fuller Road Station. However, that session did not include the proposed transit station on its agenda.

A letter from Hieftje sent to constituents in late July 2011 reviewed much of the information that was previously known, but appeared to introduce the possibility that the University of Michigan would provide construction costs for the city’s share of the parking structure up front, with the city’s portion of 22% to be repaid later.

Transportation: Scheie

Scheie said his understanding is that there’s a plan to put the Amtrak station on city parkland. He felt that should be put before voters. He noted that the city said it’s not bound by the city charter in this instance. For that kind of dramatic change in the use of parkland, he said, it should should be put before voters.

It’s also his understanding, said Scheie, that the rail traffic the station is supposed to serve is not yet there. It’s connected up to Detroit, he said, and what they’d be doing is putting in a station and hoping that trains eventually begin to run. That seemed foolish and short-sighted, he said. It’s also undemocratic, he added – people should have a right to vote on it.

High-Rise Buildings

Question: What is the current acceptable standard for building height in the central city? Do you know if the student enrollment has substantially increased or is there simply an appetite for luxury apartment living? Please speak to the occupancy rate in university dormitories, older housing and new units coming on the market. Do you think the numbers are working to fill the buildings?

High-Rise Buildings: Background

By way of background, the D-1 zoning for core downtown allows for buildings as tall as 180 feet. That was enacted as part of the city’s A2D2 (Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown) rezoning initiative. A2D2 was given final approval by the city council in November 2009. [See Chronicle coverage: "Downtown Planning Process Forges Ahead." For a timeline of the process, see also "Ann Arbor Hotel First to Get Design Review?"]

High-Rise Buildings: Scheie

Scheie said he did not think the numbers worked. He’d read there’s a substantial vacancy rate. And in spite of that, new high-rise buildings were being approved – for example, The Varsity Ann Arbor, which would stand 13 stories tall. He thought that was short-sighted. He described Ann Arbor as a small-scaled city of older homes.

Scheie did not think you could tear down older buildings and putting up a high-rise and expect that you can fill up the new building. He did not think that was going to happen – given the existing vacancy rate. Why would you want a high-rise? He wondered why developers would do that. What he’d read, he said, is that developers are in partnership with the city and there are tax advantages.

Human Services

Question: The proposed Washtenaw County budget includes major cuts in human services. The Delonis Center homeless shelter will suffer from this. Is the city prepared and able to make up the shortfall? If not, it would seem to exacerbate the problem of homelessness in the city, particularly downtown.

Human Services: Background

For background on the recently-proposed budget for Washtenaw County, see “Proposed County Budget Brings Cuts.”

The city’s support for human services is allocated in coordination with other entities: the United Way of Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County and the Washtenaw Urban County. For background on the coordinated funding approach, back when it was still in the planning stages: “Coordinated Funding for Nonprofits Planned.”

Human Services: Scheie

Scheie said nobody wants a problem with homelessness. Right where he lives, there are homeless people trying to squat, Scheie said. He’s called the police, but they say they’re understaffed. He said he’s very compassionate about that, but at the same time many of the homeless people in Ann Arbor are not from Ann Arbor. He said he would not want to see anyone denied services, particularly if it’s an Ann Arborite. Spending money on people who may come from other parts of the state needs to be looked at – with compassion, but also with an eye towards priorities, he concluded.

Public Art

Question: The city council is reconsidering the previously approved Percent for Art program, which sets aside 1% of each capital improvement project to be used for public art in the city. The process appears to be slow in producing art. Should it be reconsidered? Do you have suggestions for improvement?

Public Art: Background

At the city council’s Aug. 4, 2011 meeting, councilmembers voted to place ballot language before voters for a street repair and sidewalk repair millage. Before the meeting, some councilmembers had indicated they were prepared to modify the ballot language to make explicit that millage funds would not be subject to the public art ordinance. The ordinance, which establishes the Percent for Art program, stipulates that 1% of all capital improvement projects must be set aside to be spent on public art.

Mayor John Hieftje effectively preempted that conversation by nominating Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) as a replacement for Jeff Meyers on the public art commission and assuring the council that the question of public art could be taken up at the council’s Sept. 19, 2011 meeting.

However, at the Sept. 19 meeting a proposed revision to the public art ordinance, brought forward by Sabra Briere (Ward 1), was postponed until after a working session to be held on Nov. 14, after the election on Nov. 8.

The proposed revision would change the Percent for Art program by explicitly excluding sidewalk and street repair from projects that could be tapped to fund public art.

Some councilmembers had previously understood the public art ordinance already to exclude replacement of sidewalk slabs from its definition of capital improvement projects. But based on additional information from the city attorney’s office, the proposed ordinance revision was meant to spell that out explicitly.

On two previous occasions in the last two years (Dec. 21, 2009 and May 31, 2011), the council has considered but rejected a change to the public art ordinance that would have lowered the public art earmark from 1% to 0.5%. The city’s Percent for Art program was authorized by the council on Nov. 5, 2007. It is overseen by the city’s public art commission, with members nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the council.

The most recent regular Chronicle coverage of the city’s public art commission is “Art Commission Preps for Dreiseitl Dedication.”

Public Art: Scheie

Scheie said he loves art and he’s a patron of the arts. He’s learning how to weld, to create metal sculpture. He does like art, he said. However, he doesn’t particularly like the orange trees in West Park [which were the first project completed through the Percent for Art program].

Scheie’s problem with the public art ordinance is that it might possibly be illegal. It concerns public money, he said, that is supposed to go to other purposes like roads and bridges. People who are voting for millages for those purposes are not voting to pay for art. People should have the right to weigh in on that.

Basic services should come ahead of art, Scheie said. He is not against art, but the city’s approach is just not an appropriate way to fund it. Scheie rejected the defense of the public art program that the city is bound by the law to designate 1% of capital improvement projects to art – the city council passed that law and could rescind it, he said.

Closing statement

Scheie had two minutes to give a closing statement.

Scheie said he hadn’t had a chance to talk about the issues relevant to his ward. That included the East Stadium bridges project, which he described as dragging on forever. He said it’s more than a bridge project – the city is reconstructing a whole neighborhood. He described how some of the streets will be partly closed – people who live on Golden Avenue are very upset, he said, because of the closure of White Street. Scheie said that everybody is talking about potholes – it’s almost comical. Ann Arbor has the third worst roads in the state, he said.

There’s also a sump pump problem, Scheie said. He’d talked to several ward residents who said they’d never had a problem with basement flooding until the city forced them to get a sump pump. He described it as intrusive, busy-body government that people don’t like. [For background on the sanitary sewer disconnection program, see "DDA Preps Downtown Ann Arbor Process"]

People are also worried about the site that is the former location of the Georgetown Mall – he’s afraid it’s going to be another Broadway Village. Crime is increasing, Scheie contended, and police has been cut 35%. The city should focus on basic services, stop extravagant spending and end one-party rule.

We need opposition politics in this town, Scheie said. Republicans would never be the majority, he said, no matter what. Maybe the solution is not Republicans, maybe it’s independents like Jane Lumm, he said. But the city desperately needs some opposition.

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