Left to right: Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje and Ann Arbor downtown development authority board members Leah Gunn and Nader Nassif. (Photos by the writer.)

The difference will be covered from the existing fund balance. The use of fund balance, in the current year and in the coming year, was planned as part of the construction of a new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, and a new contract with the city of Ann Arbor, ratified in May of 2011. The contract, under which the DDA manages the city’s public parking system, pays the city of Ann Arbor 17% of gross revenues from the parking system.

At the end of FY 2013, the DDA expects to have a total fund balance of $4.38 million, or an amount equal to about 18.2% of expenses.

In its other main business item, the board authorized a budget of $100,000 for its Connecting William Street project, which it’s undertaking at the direction of the Ann Arbor city council. The council passed a resolution on April 4, 2011 that gave the DDA direction to explore alternative uses of city-owned parcels – currently used for surface parking – in a limited area of downtown. The area is bounded by Ashley, Division, Liberty and William streets.

Parcels included in the area are: the Kline’s lot (on Ashley, north of William), Palio’s lot (at Main & William), the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure, the old Y lot (Fifth & William), and the top of the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is nearing completion.

Of the budgeted amount, $65,000 will come from a community challenge grant awarded recently as part of a larger $3 million grant awarded to Washtenaw County by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The remaining $35,000 will be made up by DDA cash (no more than $20,000) and DDA in-kind contributions of staff time.

Toward the end of Wednesday’s meeting, the board also entertained some discussion about parking meter bags. The bags placed over on-street parking meters to designate the spots as unusable, so that streets are free of parked cars for construction projects or special events. The meter bag discussion came in the context of a request on behalf of FestiFools and conveyed by mayor John Hieftje, who sits on the DDA board. The request was to waive fees ordinarily associated with the meter bag placement for the April 1 FestiFools parade in downtown Ann Arbor.

One possible approach includes the creation of a parking meter puppet.

FY 2013 Budget

At its March 7 meeting, the board was asked to approve its fiscal year 2013 budget. Across all funds, the budget shows anticipated expenses revenues of $22,097,956 against $24,101,692 in expenditures – for an excess of expenditures over revenues of $2,003,736. The difference will be covered from the existing fund balance.

The shortfall was planned. It’s in the context of construction of a new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, and a new contract with the city of Ann Arbor, ratified in May of 2011, under which the DDA manages the city’s public parking system. That contract pays the city of Ann Arbor 17% of gross revenues from the parking system, which are budgeted in FY 2103 at $18.1 million. The 17% translates to a ballpark figure of $3 million.

Factoring in coverage of this year’s (FY 2012) use of fund balance and FY 2013′s planned use of $2 million, the DDA will have a total fund balance of $4.38 million at the end of FY 2013, or an amount equal to about 18.2% of expenses. [.pdf of FY 2013 budget]

FY 2013 Budget: Deliberations

John Splitt reviewed the budget for the board, relying on the combined fund summary. [.pdf of FY 2013 DDA budget documents]

By way of background, the DDA’s accounting system includes four funds: the TIF (tax increment finance) fund, the housing fund, the parking fund and the parking maintenance fund. The TIF fund receives revenue from the taxes that are “captured” in the tax increment finance district defined in downtown Ann Arbor. The DDA receives taxes on the increment between the baseline value of property and the value of property after new construction. The DDA does not capture increases in value due to inflation. The housing fund receives revenue through transfers from the TIF fund.

The parking fund receives revenues from Ann Arbor’s public parking system, which the DDA manages under contract with the city. The contract, which was renewed in May 2011, calls for the city of Ann Arbor to receive 17% of gross parking revenues. The DDA contracts for day-to-day operations of the parking system with Republic Parking. The parking maintenance fund receives revenue through transfers from the parking fund.

Highlights of Splitt’s budget review included TIF income of $3,957,012. On the expense side, salaries and fringe benefits paid out of the TIF fund are basically split evenly, he explained, between the TIF and parking funds. That comes to roughly $152,000 for salaries and $95,000 for fringe benefits from each fund. [The DDA has four full-time employees– an executive director, a deputy director, a planning and research specialist, and a management assistant.]

Administrative expenses – $157,119 for the TIF fund and $90,292 for the parking fund – were described by Splitt as all the “office costs.” The professional services of $155,000 for the TIF fund and $85,500 for the parking fund will pay for architects, attorneys and consultants. Holiday lights and sidewalk repairs are budgeted for $130,000 of the TIF fund – it’s something the DDA does every year, Splitt noted. Another TIF fund line item is $508,000, which is an annual amount that the DDA pays toward the bond payments for the city of Ann Arbor’s new police/court building. The budget also includes $100,000 for the DDA’s energy grant program.

Another TIF fund line item for $200,000 – labeled “capital costs” – was described by Splitt as including sidewalk ramp installation for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Of the $3,081,896 in bond payments to be made out of the TIF fund, $2.25 million is for the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue, due for completion sometime this spring.

For the housing fund, Splitt highlighted the two $400,000 line items (for a total of $800,000) that would be spent on Avalon Housing’s Near North project on North Main Street, and Village Green’s City Apartments project at First and Washington. In addition to support for the affordable housing units that are part of the City Apartments project, the DDA is financing the construction of the first two floors of the development, which will contain a public parking deck. The deck will be owned by the city of Ann Arbor.

Splitt said he didn’t know how likely it would be that those grants would need to be paid during the FY 2013 year, but it’s not impossible, he said, so the items are being included in the budget. [Neither project has begun construction, but the City Apartments project is poised to begin, with construction equipment on site.]

For the parking fund, the revenue estimate for FY 2013 is $18,104,916. That’s based on essentially flat growth but some additional usage, Splitt said – perhaps 1/4 or 1/3 usage of the new underground parking garage, set to open this spring. There will also be a parking rate increase set to take effect in September, he said, so the budget factors in 10 months worth of that rate increase. He characterized it as a “reasonable and conservative” estimate.

Out of parking revenue, it’s anticipated that the contract with Republic Parking will cost $6,298,423. The 17% of gross to be paid to the city of Ann Arbor is estimated to be $3,139,795. Also paid out of the parking fund is a $500,000 transfer to the parking maintenance fund and $590,060 to support alternative transportation in the form of the go!pass program.

A capital cost for the parking fund of $1,588,235 was described as a downpayment for parking at the First and Washington development. Bond payments from the parking fund total $3,613,759 across all the various parking structures, Splitt said. Of that amount, $700,000 is for the First and Washington structure. It’s not clear whether that amount will need to be paid in this budget year, he said.

For the parking maintenance fund, Splitt pointed to the $1,696,350 estimated expense, an amount derived from an estimate of the DDA’s parking structure engineering consultant, Carl Walker. The structures are in such outstanding condition, Splitt said, that it’s not anticipated that all the money would be spent, but it would be budgeted nonetheless.

Summarizing across all funds, Splitt said, the DDA is spending roughly $2 million more than its anticipated revenues. Estimated balances for each of the funds at the end of the year are: TIF – $2.9 million; housing – $0.3 million; parking – $0.735 million; and parking maintenance – $0.465 million. That leaves a total fund balance of $4.387 million at the end of FY 2013, Splitt concluded.

Russ Collins commented that FY 2013 is the “nadir” of the projected financial picture. He was alluding to the fact that the DDA anticipated tight budgets for a certain period, in the wake of the new parking garage construction and the new parking contract with the city of Ann Arbor, but after that the DDA would be in less of a financial crunch.

Sandi Smith sought some clarification of the arithmetic for the fund balances – the numbers included in the budget sheet show existing fund balances from June 30, 2011, but did not show the use of fund balance for the current fiscal year, FY 2012.

Newcombe Clark noted that there are conservative “hedges” built into the budget – the need to pay out $800,000 from the housing fund and the estimate of usage for the new parking deck. He wanted to know if the operations committee had thoughts about how to proceed if the scenarios underlying those hedges did not materialize in a year or so. Would the advice be to pursue additional projects or to let that accumulate to the fund balance? Splitt indicated that he felt it would be better to hold on to the reserves at this point, until the DDA is very comfortable with its reserve level.

Mayor John Hieftje asked if the forecasted TIF revenues included new projects that were anticipated being built within the DDA district, which would increase the amount of tax captured by the DDA. Joe Morehouse, deputy director of the DDA, explained that the DDA uses a standard 2% increase per year projection for forecasting. Once taxes begin to be captured after a project is complete, they’re added in to the total.

Hieftje said he felt it’s important to say that the use of fund balance that the DDA is making this year has been planned for a long time. Splitt concurred, saying that the money the DDA is using from its reserves is what it expected to use.

Outcome: The DDA board voted unanimously to approve its FY 2013 budget.

Downtown Parcel Planning Budget

The board was asked to establish a budget of $100,000 for its Connecting William Street project, which it’s undertaking at the direction of the Ann Arbor city council.

Downtown Parcel Planning: Background

The council passed a resolution on April 4, 2011 that gave the DDA direction to explore alternative uses of city-owned parcels – currently used for surface parking – in a limited area of downtown. The area is bounded by Ashley, Division, Liberty and William streets.

Parcels included in the area are: the Kline’s lot (on Ashley, north of William), Palio’s lot (Main & William), the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure, the old Y lot (Fifth & William), and the top of the South Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is nearing completion.

Of the budgeted amount, $65,000 will come from a community challenge grant awarded recently as part of a larger $3 million grant awarded to Washtenaw County by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The remaining $35,000 will be made up by DDA cash (no more than $20,000) and DDA in-kind contributions of staff time.

The committee that has been shepherding the project along since the summer of 2011 recently released an online survey to solicit initial community feedback.

Downtown Parcel Planning: Deliberations

Joan Lowenstein reported on the Connecting William Street project, saying it’s pretty much on schedule. The survey has 1,500 responses so far. With the passage of the resolution, the project could move to its next phrase, to look at the land use and economics.

Newcombe Clark wanted to know if the $100,000 figure was matched to proposals from consultants. He was concerned that when the $100,000 figure is put out there, suddenly the cost of consulting becomes $100,000. Lowenstein indicated that the consultant had been selected already. [The consultant identified is SmithGroupJJR.] She noted that the DDA cash amount is “not to exceed” $20,000.

Amber Miller, planning and research specialist with the DDA, explained that the project budget was the same one used in the application that the DDA had made in coordination with Washtenaw County for a community challenge grant awarded by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

Clark noted that the resolution the board was being asked to consider authorized negotiation of the consultant contract at the committee chair level:

RESOLVED, The DDA Partnerships/Economic Development Committee Chairs are authorized to negotiate and approve contracts relating to this project including a grant contract with the County and the selection of consultants as needed.

Clark wanted to know if the consulting contract had been signed – no, he was told. Clark offered a “friendly set of eyes” to look at the contract before it’s signed, which seemed amenable to Lowenstein and other board members.

Earlier in the meeting, during his report from the Downtown Citizens Advisory Council, Ray Detter said that the CAC always respects and supports careful community planning. So at the CAC meeting the previous evening, he reported that members had participated in the Connecting William Street survey. The CAC had been joined by Skyline High School students who were satisfying a course requirement – in connection with the survey, they’d made a plea for more stuff for young people in the downtown.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the Connecting William Street project budget.

Parking

Parking is common topic for every DDA board meeting, even if there is no board business requiring a vote on it.

Parking: Monthly Numbers

In Roger Hewitt’s absence, John Splitt gave commentary on monthly parking numbers. Comparing January 2012 to January 2011, Splitt noted that revenue-wise it was a good month this year – up 17% [$1,358,935 in January 2012 compared to January 2011 at $1,161,632]. Splitt attributed the change to a rate increase and outstanding weather. He hoped for the same kind of results for February.

Not discussed by the board was the performance of the parking system measured by the number of hourly patrons – it was also up compared to a year ago. In January 2011 the parking system had 169,653 hourly patrons, compared to 179,037 this year, an increase of about 5.5%. Systemwide there were about the same number of spaces available, 6,918 in January 2011 compared to 6,895 in January 2012. [.pdf of January 2012 monthly parking report]

Ann Arbor public parking system hourly patrons. (Image links to larger file.)

Ann Arbor public parking system revenues. (Image links to larger file.)

Parking: Underground Garage Construction Update

Splitt said his report on the new underground parking garage would be much like it had been for the last two months, because it’s winter. Work is being done inside the deck on mechanical systems and lighting. Walls are being poured, he said, inside the structure. He expected that wall pours would be done at the end of March. They’re shooting to get South Fifth Avenue re-opened by the end of May, but hopefully it will be open before that, he said.

Newcombe Clark asked if there might be staging potential for the art fair (July 18-21) on top of the deck? Splitt said that if work stays on schedule, the surface work might be complete by the time of the art fairs. He also indicated that the garage might be opened in phases, with the first couple of levels opened before the lower levels.

During his report from the Downtown Citizens Advisory Council, Ray Detter said he’d visited the lower floors of the new underground parking garage under construction, and it could only be described as “awesome.”

Communications, Committee Reports

The board’s meeting included the usual range of reports from its standing committees and the Downtown Citizens Advisory Council.

Comm/Comm: FestiFools – Parking Meter Puppet?

At the end of the meeting, during the time for other DDA business, mayor John Hieftje told the board that FestiFools is facing a dilemma. [Festifools is an annual street festival in downtown Ann Arbor – this year held on Sunday, April 1 – involving very large puppets. The event has expanded to include FoolMoon, a procession of luminaries, which takes place this year on Friday, March 30. Workshops to create luminaries are being held every Sunday in March from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Workantile (118 S. Main Street).]

Hieftje described the event as an innovative, quirky and fun project and they were hoping that the DDA could waive a $1,000 parking meter bag fee associated with closing streets.

Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, was asked for clarification of the meter bag fees. [The fee per meter was raised from $15 to $20 effective Feb. 1, 2012.] She explained that the parking rate increases authorized in January 2012 also made other changes to meter bag fees. Now, what’s required is a reimbursement of actual costs incurred (from Republic Parking) to place the meter bags on Sundays and holidays. After the meeting, Pollay told The Chronicle that Republic Parking’s labor contract with its workers requires a minimum call-out time of four hours.

From the set of parking policy changes authorized by the DDA board in January 2012, for February implementation:

Meter bag requests for Sundays and Holidays will incur a fee for meter bag installation fee of $160 for up to 100 bags and $320 for more than 100 bags.

What’s different this year compared to last year, Pollay told Hieftje, is the reimbursement of actual costs on Sundays and holidays – FestiFools falls on a Sunday. Hieftje asked that one of the DDA board committees talk about waiving the fee.

Keith Orr commented that often when the DDA does nice things, it doesn’t get recognition for that. He suggested that the Sunday actual cost fee be waived in exchange for FestiFools creating a parking meter puppet, or a meter-bag puppet.

DDA board member Keith Orr suggested that the DDA's fee waiver for FestiFools be tied to the creation of a parking meter puppet.

Sandi Smith weighed in on the importance of not doing something retroactively – it needs to be addressed now. She allowed that FestiFools is a great event. But she noted that there are more and more events downtown, and she noted that the DDA would get similar requests from other organizations. She pointed out that there’s a community events fund, which the city of Ann Arbor administers. It sounds simple and like a no-brainer to waive the fee for FestiFools, she said, but she had concerns about making a judgment for one event and not another.

Newcombe Clark followed up on Smith’s point by noting that the board heard a lot of “You’re not doing enough!” but this would create another opportunity for people to say, “Why not me?” He weighed in against waiving the fee in the absence of a policy.

Leah Gunn made a formal motion, which she would subsequently withdraw, that the DDA waive the $320 Sunday fee in exchange for a puppet in the parade. Hieftje said he supported that motion, but would like to go further than just the $320 and to waive all the meter bag fees, saying that the event is still really just getting started. He said the issue had come up quickly and caught FestiFools by surprise.

Clark suggested that it would be a better approach for now to have Pollay handle it within her discretion as executive director. John Mouat also indicated he was concerned about any approach that sets precedent for piecemeal solutions. Gunn was amenable to having Pollay handle the issue and withdrew her motion. Russ Collins weighed in supporting that approach, saying he would have suggested simply amending Gunn’s motion to provide direction to Pollay to handle the issue administratively.

Comm/Comm: LED Lights

Ted Williams and Jaspreet Sawhney of Falcon Innovations Inc. both attended the March 7 meeting, although it was Williams who gave a presentation to the board during public commentary.

Ted Williams of Falcon Innovations Inc. showed the DDA board an example of the kind of LED light bars his company manufactures.

The pair had previously paid the board a visit back on July 6, 2011 to introduce board members to their company’s LED lighting technology, which is sold under the brand name BLUECOLT. Williams showed them an LED light bar, which he described as revolutionizing lighting for many different applications. He showed the board slides of interior lighting applications, and illuminated exterior signs including some for Domino’s Pizza and the University of Michigan block M (at Glick Field House).

The main idea that Williams wanted to get across to the board regarded potential applications to lighting in parking structures. In most typical parking structure lighting applications, Williams explained, the light is up in the rafters and bounces around, which wastes energy – because the light is trapped there, and it’s not near the surface that needs to be lit.

Another issue specific to parking structures, Williams explained, is that typically large chunks of light are spaced out every 30 feet or so – that can cause alternating dark spots and glare for drivers. The concept that Williams showed the board would use light bars mounted under the beams of the parking structure, which would use “little bits of light spread out evenly.”

From a slide presented by Falcon Industries Inc. to the DDA board, illustrating an under-beam placement of LED light bars in a parking structure.

Williams told the board he’d be attending the third in the series of sustainability forums to be held at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, starting at 7 p.m. on March 8. The forum will cover Ann Arbor’s climate action plan, climate impacts, renewable and alternative energy, energy efficiency and conservation.

After Williams’ presentation, board member Newcombe Clark asked Williams if he’d been in touch with DDA executive director Susan Pollay. Williams indicated that he’d been in touch, partly as a result of the previous visit to the board.

Mayor John Hieftje wanted to know if the LED lights manufactured by Falcon could be dimmed – yes, he was told.

Comm/Comm: 1320 S. University

During his report from the Downtown Citizens Advisory Council, Ray Detter said he was pleased that the planning department and the planning commission had recommended denial [on Feb. 7, 2012] of the owner’s request to rezone the property at 1320 S. University from D2 to D1. However, he continued, he was disappointed that the owners of the property have nevertheless submitted a proposal to the city council that the property be rezoned. Detter described that upcoming vote [probably in April] as a test for the city council.

Comm/Comm: DishFish

Joel Verdun addressed the board during public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, pitching DishFish, which he described as a fundraising coupon and community currency. The free coupons cost businesses no money, he said, and the coupons go back into circulation. He said he’d like to work with the DDA’s economic development and partnership committee to put the DDA logo on the coupons.

Present: Nader Nassif, Newcombe Clark, Bob Guenzel, John Hieftje, John Splitt, Sandi Smith, Leah Gunn, Russ Collins, Keith Orr, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat.

Absent: Roger Hewitt.

Next board meeting: Noon on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. [confirm date]

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A moon's-eye view of luminary-makers at the March 6, 2011 FoolMoon workshop, held at the Workantile Exchange in downtown Ann Arbor. FestiFools asked Jimmie Thompson (former Michigan Artist of the Year) to direct the workshops.

The WorkEx workshops run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – they are free, and are open to all. If you’d like some help in creating your lantern, here’s a video that gives some guidance. Alternatively, FoolMoon Luminary Sculpture Kits are being sold at several local stores. The kits cost $20, contain all the materials needed to make a koi-shaped lantern, and are available at these Ann Arbor businesses: Downtown Home and Garden, Peaceable Kingdom, Acme Mercantile, Ace Barnes Hardware, B-Green, Yourist Studio Gallery, Found, and Trillium Realty.

On Sunday, March 6, local photographer Myra Klarman captured the action at the WorkEx. See anyone you know?

A family with their octopus luminary wireframe in progress.

Rick Cronn holds his wireframe of a giant head.

Elaine Reed covers her bird wireframe with a layer of tape.

Don Watts begins to assemble his wireframe.

Glueing tissue paper onto a luminary.

Kit Eagal at work on a giant fish.

Meryl Waldo shows off the FoolMoon Luminary Sculpture Kit (she is also the spokesmodel featured on the package). Several retailers in the Ann Arbor area are selling the kits for $20 and giving the proceeds back to FestiFools.

Workantile Exchange community manager Trek Glowacki works with a group on their luminary.

Debra Golden shapes wire for her fish luminary.

Ben and Anna Clingenpeel work together to assemble their wireframe.

Genia Service, Gary Service, Tom McMurtrie, and Garnet Bernier team up to build a Mario Mushroom luminary.

UM students throwing Holi Powder at each other. "We aim not to eat the powder."

FestiKites last Sunday afternoon had been billed as a chance to come fly your own handmade kite at Palmer Field as a pre-FestiFools activity. The brisk temperatures, with a gray cloud ceiling threatening rain and little wind, meant that the sky was not exactly colored with kites.

But there were plenty of bright colors at ground level. On the edge of the field, University of Michigan students with the Hindu Students Council were flinging brightly colored powder at each other in a belated celebration of the Holi Festival, which is held at the end of the winter season.

Surabhi Pandit, president of the Hindu Students Council, said she hadn’t participated in a Holi Festival celebration until she came to UM, but had done so the last three years through HSC.   One organizer of FestiKites is Matthew Shlian, who teaches a UM course called “Paper Engineering and the Popup” through the Lloyd Hall Scholars program. He reported that before The Chronicle arrived, his students had tested out their creations that they’d made for his class. While there was some kite-flying activity that we were able to observe, it mostly was summed up by Timothy Corvidae – who was there with son, Ansel – who said that they’d achieved kite-making success, but kite-flying success had been more tenuous.

Michael Flynn and Matthew Shlian fooling around with kites on Sunday at Palmer Field.

Among those we witnessed actually getting a kite off the ground was Michael Flynn, who had also popped up – like one of Shlian’s books – earlier in The Chronicle’s weekend travels. Even though he achieved modest success with his kite, what he’d really wanted to do was mount a miniature wireless camera on a kite, and let it fly higher than the other kites, and then capture images of people’s creations riding the air currents – from above. The plan foundered on the calm conditions.

Benjamin Teague had brought a kite, but based on the wind conditions, said he didn’t even need to try to know that it wouldn’t fly.  Teague said he had some experience building ceramic kites, as well as ceramic boomerangs and airplanes. You get only one chance, he said. If a ceramic kite crashes, it shatters. He cited Yasuaki Ninomiya’s book “White Wings: Excellent Paper Airplanes,” as piquing his interest in gliding objects.

Michael Flynn displays the wireless camera (in hand) and monitor (on the ground) he'd intended to send aloft.

Michael Flynn and Benjamin Teague frame the celebrants of the Holi Festival.

Patrick Haggood waits for his wife to return with the cross-bar to the kite, which they had inadvertently left at home.

Matthew Shlian, co-chair of FestiKites.

The Chronicle's favorite FestiFool puppet. What can we say ... we like watches and clocks. Look at our logo.

From 4-5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, as the skies achieved a spitting sprinkle, but did not ever achieve a steady rain, the puppets of FestiFools cavorted at street-light level for the crowd that was several people deep along Main Street.

We were there to look at the puppets, but without even trying, we saw any number of people that Chronicle readers might recognize, just standing in one spot at Main and Liberty.

Among the folks we spotted included Bonnie Bona and Kirk Westphal (both on the city planning commission), Linda Diane Feldt (Stopped.Watched. correspondent, who filed this report from late in the afternoon), Edward Vielmetti (a2b3 organizer), Steve Bean (environmental commission), Matt Naud (environmental coordinator for the city), Margaret Smith (with the Huron River Watershed Council), Sarah Kaufmann (fiber artist, who’d just finished her shift at Downtown Home and Garden) and Mike Myers (local photographer).

Myers had a camera along, and he wasn’t alone.  The visual appeal of  giant puppets meant that plenty of photographers were patrolling the sidewalks, documenting this third annual edition of FestiFools.

While some onlookers might have had difficulty identifying a favorite puppet, The Chronicle was partial to the clock face.

FestiFools photog. This guy knew what he was doing, whatever the crown might make you think.

Mike Bergren, assistant field services manager for the city of Ann Arbor, assures city council that there'll be enough salt on hand, even if it snows again.

City council meeting (March 17, 2009) The “tomfoolery” that the headline indicates is nothing more than a play on words: Tom Wall expressed appreciation on behalf of All Star Hot Dogs; separately, Shoshana Hurand made a presentation about the upcoming FestiFools parade. City council’s Monday meeting also featured a brief performance on harmonica by Peter “Madcat” Ruth and a puppet-head of vast proportions resembling Mayor John Hiefte [photo after the break].

But woven into the mix was less lighthearted fare: People’s Food Co-op Board elections, protection for migratory birds, appointments to a zoning advisory committee, potholes, the vehicle fleet and road salt. Council authorized an expenditure that Mike Bergren, assistant field operations manager with the city of Ann Arbor, said was estimated to get us at least through the rest of the winter – saying it was possible that there’d be ice storms in April.

Road Salt

City council had before it a resolution to approve a $46,560 purchase from Morton International Inc. for road salt. Mike Bergren, assistant field services manager for the city of Ann Arbor, was called to the podium to explain the purchase. [Bergren's name will be familiar to Chronicle readers as the city staffer who called a street sweeper in for clean-up of a concrete spill.] Councilmember Sabra Briere said that she hoped the purchase didn’t mean any more cold weather was expected. Bergren allowed that there could be ice storms through April and it was still March, so the purchase was meant to get the city through the rest of the winter season. If it wasn’t used, it’d be on hand for next year, he said.

Councilmember Leigh Greden said he always had to ask a question about salt, because there’s always reports of other communities running out or paying extra-high prices. From Bergren, Greden elicited the fact that the purchase was being made under the state’s bid participation and they’d gotten a price of $38 per ton. [Editorial aside: Here's an easy real-life math story problem for readers with school-age kids: How many tons of salt did the city purchase?] Bergren said that they were topping off their bid allotment.

Mayor Hieftje noted that last year was the snowiest on record and wanted to know how this most recent winter was stacking up. Bergren said that this winter was ahead of last year’s mark by 23 inches.

This led Hieftje to inquire about potholes: “When can we anticipate potholes getting fixed?” In discussion with Bergren, it emerged that the obstacle to systematic fixing of potholes was that there’s still a lot of groundwater present right now, and that with overnight freezing, the repairs don’t last very long. [cf.  pothole section below]

Outcome: Council passed unanimously the resolution to purchase road salt.

Potholes

During communications from council, Greden apologized about the pothole situation that a speaker during public comment time had raised. He stressed that residents could provide essential assistance with the effort of identifying locations of potholes by calling 99-HOLES. He said he’d tested it out and it works. Asked after the meeting for clarification, Greden said that by “works” he meant that he’d called, left a recorded description of a pothole in the area of Stadium Boulevard and Packard, and that it’d subsequently been patched. His attention had been drawn to the pothole when he drove over it.

The public commentary to which Greden had alluded addressed potholes plus other infrastructure issues.

Barbara Bergman [Note that this is not the same Barbara Bergman who serves on the county's board of commissioners.]: The Michigan economy is the  worst in country, Bergman said, and the roads are the also the worst. She reported driving down Stadium Boulevard near St. Francis when she hit a pothole filled with water. She said she managed to continue to Trader Joe’s, whereupon she noticed she’d lost her hubcap and bent the wheel. When she went back to retrieve her hubcap, she couldn’t find it among seven other hubcaps.

Her second point was to invite council to  imagine what it’s going to be like on the Stadium bridge over State Street on a football Saturday. [The bridge's traffic has been reduced from two lanes each direction to one-lane each direction due to concerns about a beam.] We need to fix both sides of the bridge so that there’s two lanes, she said, and  the University of Michigan should help pay for it. Bergman’s third point was that the city of Ann Arbor was contemplating laying off police officers. She contrasted those possible layoffs with the fact that there’s money to pay for  a “waterfall in front of city hall” and and $77,000  for a “foreign sculptor” to design it.  [The design cost for the stormwater art to be created by Herbert Dreiseitl is $77,000, with the project itself expected to cost around $700,000.] After ticking through the names of around a half dozen art schools in Michigan, Bergman concluded that there could be Michigan artists who are qualified to undertake such a project.

Vehicle Fleet

There were multiple resolutions authorizing the purchase of vehicles for the city’s fleet. Councilmember Margie Teall asked on behalf of a constituent whether bids from local dealerships were solicited. [Dealerships from which the vehicles are to be purchased are in Macomb County, Oakland County, and Lansing]. Answer:  The State of Michigan puts out bids and the city of Ann Arbor makes purchases off the state bids – locally, Varsity Ford participates in the bidding process.

Councilmember Sandi Smith elicited a clarification from Sue McCormick, director of public services for the city,  about the maintenance records for the vehicles. All maintenance, McCormick said, is now being done by fleet services. Many parts of the ciy’s organization had previously had “mini-fleets,” she said. But the individual departments didn’t depreciate their vehicles, or reserve for their replacement cost. Now, all new purchases are added to the general fleet, she said, which did appropriate depreciation and reserving, and would incrementally result in all city vehicles being a part of the general fleet. But to do it all in one go would be cost-prohibitive, she said.

City administrator Roger Fraser asked McCormick to talk about efforts that had been made to minimize the numbers of vehicles in the fleet. She responded by describing a fleet alternatives analysis that had been undertaken by 25 different staff members on three different work teams: (i) a technical innovation team, (ii) a team that examined type/size appropriateness for the application, and (iii) a team that examined operational policy and uses.

Outcome: The vehicle purchases were approved unanimously.

Migratory Birds

In the introductions section to the meeting, council heard a presentation from the The Washtenaw Audubon Society on the challenges faced by migratory birds at night. Part of that presentation showed how a major path of north-south migration runs over the Ann Arbor region. Navigation at night for such birds is based on cues from the stars and the moon, which leads birds to be confused when they’re confronted with lighted taller buildings. Collisions with glass windows is the factor accounting for the highest mortality rate among migratory birds, around twice that of the second leading cause of death, which is feral cats.

As part of the effort to reduce the hazard from lighted tall buildings, the Safe Passage Great Lakes Days calls for communities to reduce lighting as much as possible March 15 to May 31 and August 15 to October 31  between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

In the brief council deliberations on the subject, Carsten Hohnke pointed out  that Ann Arbor had over 50 structures taller than four stories, and that the Safe Passage Great Lakes Days program was thus important to the community.

Hohnke responded to a request from The Chronicle for any compiled information that might have underpinned his remark at the council meeting by providing a tall building inventory. The inventory was mentioned at planning commission’s last meeting, and is not merely a listing of buildings. It gives the height in stories, feet, zoning, floor area ratio (FAR), and tower diagonal for each structure – concepts important for the A2D2 zoning process. [A meeting dedicated exclusively to public commentary on the subject is scheduled for March 23.]

Outcome: Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting Safe Passage Great Lakes Days.

Zoning: Area, Height, Placement

The topic of zoning also arose in the form of the appointment of the AHP (area height and placement) Advisory Committee. Outside of the downtown area, zoning for non-residential properties is also receiving a second look. The committee will begin the process of working with staff to educate the entire community on density, height, and setback in areas outside the downtown. Community services director Jayne Miller sketched out a basic timeline that had the committee working in April, neighborhood meetings in May, community-wide meetings in June, and by the end of the summer a recommendation would be brought back.

AHP Committee

• City Council Representative (1): Marcia Higgins
• Planning Commission Representative (1): Wendy Woods
• Technical Advisory Committee member (1): Kyle Mazurek
• Representatives from each Ward of the City (1 representative per ward)
  1st Ward Representative: Michael Hammer
  2nd Ward Representative: Jan Newman
  3rd Ward Representative: Eric Meaves
  4th Ward Representative: Diane Giannola
  5th Ward Representative: Marc Rueter
• Commercial Association Representatives (3)
  Bill Bob Martel
  Bill Milliken
  Tommy York

Public Commentary

Henry Herskovitz: Herskovitz noted that the day marked the sixth anniversary of the death in Rafah of Rachel Corrie, an American citizen, who on March 16, 2003 was crushed by bulldozer (manufactured in the U.S.) driven by a soldier-driver with the Israeli military. Herskovitz described her death as a “murder.” He said that although the case had been  ruled by the Israeli military as an “accident,” the incident had provoked criticism by human rights groups. Herskovitz said that Israel had “celebrated” the anniversary by shooting an American peace activist three days ago: Tristan Anderson, who like Rachel was working with the International Solidarity Movement in Ni’lin, which is in Palestine.  Anderson had been hit in the forehead by a high-velocity teargas canister, said Herskovitz, and is now in critical condition.

Herskovitz said that councilmembers might wonder, “What can I as a city councilperson do about this?” The first part of his  answer was to look to the city’s human rights commission, and to ask the commission to reinstate their 2003 resolution, which called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

The second part of his answer was for councilmembers to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign by becoming members of the People’s Food Co-op, and then voting for him in his candidacy for a seat on the co-op’s board. He said that his campaign for the seat was based on the complete boycott of goods imported from Israel.

Tom Wall: Wall announced that he was there to thank the mayor and councilmembers. [A change to vending regulations had been reconsidered to accommodate Wall's All Star Hot Dog stand, at Pauline and South Main streets, which brings together people with disabilities to work on a hot dog stand that operates on UM football Saturdays to raise funds for families in need.]

Wall had with him from the start of the evening Robby, who works at the hot dog stand. After Wall had begun his remarks, Luke and Andrew arrived, joining Wall at the podium. When Wall spotted them, he stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed: “You guys came!!” Wall explained that Andrew inspects the hot dogs and that Luke is the DJ at the stand.  Wall was there to distribute All Star Hot Dog T-shirts. He teased councilmember Mike Anglin, saying, “You might need a small, I don’t know.” When the 3-minute timer beeped, Wall attempted to negotiate with Mayor Hieftje an impromptu speaking slot for Luke. The outcome of that negotiation was that Luke did not get a slot measured in minutes but in words – two of them: Hot. Dog.

Myra shoots the mayor: Photographer Myra Klarman was on hand to take pictures of the presentation of her pictures to Mayor Hieftje ... by a giant puppet sculpted to look like Hieftje (see below).

Elizabeth Elling: Elling said she’d been living in Ann Arbor since 1964, but had never spoken at city council, but wished she had. She was there, she said, to speak on behalf of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy. She encouraged councilmembers to learn about and embrace the plans of the conservancy.

She said that even though some councilmembers knew about the conservancy, it’s somewhat of a secret. She cited the benefits of the greenway: a walking, biking, baby-strolling path that provides the opportunity for fewer cars; more space in the floodway and floodplain, which is the best way to accomodate flow of water; and it makes Ann Arbor greener and more liveable.

Richard Derrick: Derrick announced that he was going to describe a few things that made him “grumpy.” He said it was basically vandals that leave the downtown area very late, and walk up Detroit street north and cross the bridge where they live. He said they’d  knocked over the green posts that AT&T puts out.

He said they’d smashed one of the glass historic markers. He described how they’d torn off a downspout of the farmers market. He also described problems with graffiti, but said that he appreciated the efforts the council had made with respect to graffiti. [City council recently passed an anti-graffiti ordinance.]

Tom Partridge: For public commentary reserved time, Partridge introduced himself as a Washtenaw County Democrat and a former candidate for city council in Ward 1. He said he was there to speak on the need to overcome what could be viewed as historically-based, socioeconomic-based discrimination in transportation in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County and southeast Michigan. Partridge said that there was still no non-discriminatory transportation in Ann Arbor. He said that the AATA was led by civil rights attorney David Nacht, who was appointed by Hieftje, who had ties to Mary Sue Coleman through his teaching position with UM. He called on council to pass a resolution to stop the bus fare increases that are scheduled to be implemented.

Partridge also spoke during two public hearings on the rezoning of land parcels, criticizing the millions of dollars spent over the last 20 years that, he said, could have been better spent on affordable housing, transportation, education, health care.

At the end of the meeting during public commentary general time, Partridge returned to the topic of the fare increases that are being proposed by the AATA, saying that he opposed them. [AATA's board will consider a resolution at its March 18 board meeting on the fares.] [events calendar]

Miscellaneous

Liberty Bell Award Nomination: Laura Russello was honored for her nomination as the Washtenaw County Bar Association honors one local non-lawyer with the Liberty Bell award, for outstanding service in one or more of the following areas:

1. Promoting a better understanding of our Constitution and Bill of Rights;
2. Encouraging greater respect for law and the courts;
3. Stimulating a deeper sense of individual responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights;
4. Contributing to the effective functioning of our institutions of government; and
5. Fostering a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law.

Russello had appeared at the previous council meeting in her role as executive director of Michigan Peaceworks, asking council to support the Iraqi Water Project with its endorsement.

Mayor Hieftje receives a collection of FestiFools photographs.

Kiwanis Club 50th Anniversary: Council passed a resolution in recognition of the golden anniversary of the club, which meets Tuesdays at noon at Weber’s Inn.

FestiFools: Shoshana Hurand introduced a video about the concept of FestiFools (a town-gown collaboration), which will enjoy its third annual edition on April 5 this year.

Hurand stressed that it only lasted an hour (4-5 p.m.  on Main Street between Washington and William) so people needed to be there during that time.

One of the Foolish People appeared in council chambers wearing a gigantic puppet head resembling Mayor Hieftje and then presented the mayor with a collection of FestiFools photographs by photographer Myra Klarman.

Klarman was on hand to photograph the mayor receiving her collection of photographs.

Peter "Madcat" Ruth gave council meeting attendees a musical sampling on the occasion of a proclamation in honor of his 60th birthday.

Birthday of Peter “Madcat” Ruth: Council passed a resolution honoring the 60th birthday of Ruth, who is an internationally-acclaimed harmonica player. Ruth has lived in Ann Arbor for  38 years.

In his brief remarks, he said that he’d been encouraged by others to move to bigger cities like New York, but he liked Ann Arbor and it’d been a good place to raise his daughter. He then produced a harmonica and blew forth a few bars, which was met with appreciative applause all around.

Later, during public commentary, Peter Stark, who described himself as an organic farmer, musician, and consultant, described fond memories of playing music with Ruth.

Present: Sabra Briere, Sandi Smith, Stephen Rapundalo, Leigh Greden, Christopher Taylor, Margie Teall, Carsten Hohnke, Mike Anglin, John Hieftje

Absent: Tony Derezinski, Marcia Higgins

Next Council Meeting: Monday, April 6, 2009 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave.  Note: On Monday, March 23, at 7 p.m. in council chambers, there will be  a public comment session held on the single topic of the A2D2 downtown rezoning. [confirm date]