Mayor John Hieftje (standing) and interim city administrator Tom Crawford before the start of the city council's June 6 meeting.

For road users who head to the polls on Nov. 8, possibly the most important issue on the agenda was a brief presentation from the city’s project management manager, Homayoon Pirooz, on the city’s street repair tax, which would reach the end of its current five-year life this year, if not renewed by voters. The city council will convene a working session on June 13 to look at the issue in more detail.

Also related to infrastructure was the council’s initial action on setting rates for utilities (water, sewer, stormwater), voting unanimously to send the rate increases on to a second and final vote with a public hearing. The rate increases range from 3-4% more than customers are currently paying. All new and amended city ordinances require two votes by the council at separate meetings.

The council also approved an $800,000 agreement with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation for the initial, right-of-way portion of the East Stadium bridges replacement project. Construction on that public project is due to start later this fall.

For another public project, the council voted to add a previously budgeted $1.09 million to the construction manager contract for the new municipal center at Fifth and Huron.

In an action designed eventually to reduce employee benefits costs, the council passed a resolution – brought forward by its budget committee – that directs the city administrator to craft an ordinance revision that would alter the way non-union employee benefits are structured. What’s planned is a change from three to five years for the final average compensation (FAC) calculation, and a change from five to 10 years for vesting. In addition, retirees would receive an access-only health care benefit.

The city’s newest non-union employee is Chuck Hubbard, whose appointment as the new fire chief was approved by the city council on Monday night. Hubbard was previously assistant chief, which, unlike the chief’s job, is a union position. Hubbard has 25 years of fire protection experience, all of it in Ann Arbor.

Expected to begin construction this year – in late summer – is a private development on the First and Washington lot currently owned by the city. On that lot, Village Green is planning to build a 9-story, 99-foot-tall building featuring 156 dwelling units and a 244-space parking deck on the first two stories. After much discussion, the council approved a $100,000 reduction in the purchase price – from $3.3 million to $3.2 million – that Village Green will pay for the First and Washington parcel. The price break came in the context of water management and a decision to use a full “bathtub”-type design for the foundation. The unanimous vote came after two councilmembers had already left the meeting (which pushed nearly to midnight), but it seemed at one point to hang in the balance, with two of the remaining nine councilmembers expressing reservations. Because the resolution involved land purchase, it needed eight votes to pass.

Village Green’s project, a planned unit development (PUD) approved over two years ago, was not required to undergo the mandatory process of design review that is now part of the city’s code. The council gave final approval to that design review process on Monday night. The new ordinance sets up a seven-member design review board (DRB) to provide developers with feedback on their projects’ conformance to the design guidelines. While the DRB process is required, conformance with the recommendations of that body is voluntary.

Also receiving approval at first reading was a revision to the landscaping ordinance. Fuller Road Station also drew comment from the public and the council.

Final action on medical marijuana zoning and licensing is not expected until the council’s June 20 meeting. Council deliberations on medical marijuana will be covered in Part 2 of The Chronicle’s meeting report.

Ann Arbor Street Millage Renewal Planned

The council received a brief presentation setting out a timeline for renewing the city’s street repair millage, which is currently authorized through 2011 at a level of 2 mills, but is levied at 1.9944 due to the Headlee cap. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s state equalized value, or SEV. Renewal of the millage would need voter approval on Nov. 8, 2011.

As part of the council’s budget retreat discussion in January 2011, councilmembers briefly discussed the idea of folding the city’s sidewalk replacement program – for which property owners now pay directly – into the activities funded by the street repair millage.

And at a budget work session in late February, public services area administrator Sue McCormick outlined how funds received through the METRO Act, which are currently used for administration of the sidewalk replacement program, could be used to close out the 5-year cycle for the current program. Then in future years, the METRO funds could be used for other work in the right-of-way. METRO funds are paid to the city under state statute for use of the right-of-way by telecommunications companies.

The street reconstruction millage is listed as CITY STREETS on tax bills.

The short briefing that the council received on Monday was given by Homayoon Pirooz, who heads up the city’s project management department. He described how the millage actually has 27 years of history, dating back to 1984, when it was first approved. Over the years, the funds collected under the local street millage have generated an additional $67 million in matching grants.

The street repair millage has criteria attached to the use of funds, Pirooz explained: The street repair millage is for resurfacing and reconstruction of streets – it’s not for filling potholes. [The city has two other funds it uses for that kind of maintenance work, including snow removal – the Major Street and Local Street funds, which receive money from the state of Michigan through vehicle weight and gas taxes.]

One of the new ideas for the street repair millage when it’s put before the voters again, Pirooz said, is to include sidewalk repairs as part of the criteria. If the public is in favor of that, he said, the city would like to apply the same approach as it does to roads. Namely, the millage would not be used for winter maintenance, but rather for replacing existing sidewalks.

Pirooz sketched a timeline for the public discussion on the street repair millage – including the possibility of increasing it to 2.125 mills to accommodate the sidewalk replacement program. That timeline would include two public meetings in June, a city council work session on June 13, and an online survey. At the council’s July 18 meeting, they’d hear a report on the public engagement, and the city council would give direction on how to proceed. At the council’s Aug. 4 meeting, it could then approve the ballot language, which needs to be submitted to the city clerk’s office by Aug. 16.

Mayor John Hieftje noted that there’s now an opportunity to release money in the street repair fund that the city thought it might have to use to replace the East Stadium bridges. With receipt of a $13.9 million TIGER II federal grant, the city can spend more of the balance in the street repair fund on road repair.

Utility Rate Increases Get Initial OK

On the council’s agenda was a resolution to approve changes in rates for drinking water, sanitary sewer and stormwater facilities. In terms of revenue generated to the city, the rate increases are expected to generate 3.36% more for drinking water ($664,993), 4% more for the sanitary sewer ($829,481), and 3.35% more for stormwater ($176,915).

Because the rates are part of a city ordinance, the changes must receive a second approval from the city council, after a public hearing.

According to the city, the rate increases are needed to maintain debt service coverage and to maintain funding for required capital improvements.

The city’s drinking water charges are based on a “unit” of 100 cubic feet – 748 gallons. Charges for residential customers are divided into tiers, based on usage. For example, the first seven units of water for residential customers are charged $1.23 per unit. The new residential rate for the first seven units would be $1.27.

The city’s stormwater rates are based on the amount of impervious area on a parcel, and are billed quarterly. For example, the lowest tier – for impervious area less than 2,187 square feet – is currently charged $12.84 per quarter. Under the new rate structure, that would increase to $13.24. [.pdf of complete utility rate changes as proposed]

At the council’s Monday meeting, mayor John Hieftje asked public services area administrator Sue McCormick to comment on a study last year showing that Ann Arbor had some of the lowest rates in the state. Ann Arbor’s average increase of 3.2% compares favorably with the regional average of 9% increase this year, McCormick reported.

Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) questioned McCormick’s numbers, saying it looked like McCormick was relying on comparative data taken exclusively from communities served by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). He asked that, when the council votes on the rate increases at its next meeting, councilmembers be provided with additional comparative data.

McCormick said she’d bring comparative data on other communities to the next meeting, before the final vote. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) asked that McCormick bring the actual rates together with percentage increases.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to give initial approval to the utilities rate increases.

East Stadium Bridges

In front of the council for its consideration was authorization of an $800,000 agreement with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) for the right-of-way acquisition phase of the East Stadium bridge reconstruction project. Previously, at its April 4 meeting, the council had accepted easements from the University of Michigan for the right-of-way phase.

To be reimbursed for those easements – from federal TIGER funds that the city has been awarded for the project – the council needed to authorize the agreement with MDOT. MDOT acts as the conduit through which the city receives federal funds.

In August, the city council will be presented with a similar city-state agreement – for the construction phase of the project.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the agreement with MDOT.

Retiree Benefits Change

On Monday, the council considered a resolution directing its city administrator and city attorney to begin work on an amendment to the city’s retirement benefits package for new non-union employee hires.

Under the amendment, for new hires after July 1, 2011, the final average contribution (FAC) for the pension system would be based on the last five years of service, instead of the last three. Further, employees would be vested after 10 years instead of five, and 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.

Christoper Taylor (Ward 3) introduced the resolution to his council colleagues, saying it came through the council’s budget committee that met earlier that day. It has resulted from the hard work of Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), he said. After reviewing the content of the resolution, he stated that the city’s potential financial exposure due to retireee health care is significant, and the resolution was a beginning of the reform.

Taylor asked interim city administrator Tom Crawford if an estimate had been calculated for the savings that would be realized. Crawford told him that no estimate had been generated yet – staff would need to do additional research. Crawford said it’d be 5-7 years before the city sees savings. The nature of the change is long-term, he said, so it’s unlikly to save money in short term.

Taylor asked Crawford to explain what an “access-only” benefit plan is.

[As the phrase suggests, what the retiree gets is access to health care coverage (and only that). Here, "access" means the ability to purchase health coverage as part of the same group to which active city employees belong. The access to insurance as a part of that group allows retirees to purchase health care more economically than they could as individuals.] In his remarks Crawford emphasized that retirees would be able to use money the city sets aside, as well as their own money, to purchase that health care.

Mayor John Hieftje appeared interested in heading off criticism that this kind of reform should have been done years ago, by noting that the city has not hired that many people in the last few years. Given that so few people have been hired, he concluded, the council was acting in a timely fashion.

Stephen Kunselman noted that the city would be hiring at least one person soon – a city administrator. Kunselman wondered whether the benefits policy is intended to be in place before the administrator is hired. Crawford noted that the ordinance would require two readings before the council.

Kunselman wondered about the change in the vesting period from 5 to 10 years. He asked what the vesting period was back in the Neal Berlin days – 10 years seems extreme. [Neal Berlin is a former city administrator, who preceded Roger Fraser.] What about seven years? Kunselman said he wouldn’t necessarily expect a new city administrator to last 10 years. He wouldn’t want to hinder the city’s ability to make a hire.

Crawford told Kunselman that the last major change was when Neal Berlin was city administrator – the vesting period was changed from 10 to 5 years. So the resolution would direct the preparation of an ordinance to restore what was in place previously. City staff could take direction from the council’s labor committee on preparation of the ordinance, Crawford said.

Hieftje said there was a myth that Neal Berlin had received an extraordinarily generous severance deal. In fact, Hieftje said, Berlin had paid $140,000 in order to receive a $26,000-per-year pension. That meant he had to wait six years before getting a return on that, Hieftje said.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to direct staff to begin drafting an ordinance to change the benefits program for non-union employees. The resolution also indicated a goal to include union employees in a similar benefits program.

Ann Arbor Fire Chief

In front of the council for its consideration was authorization to appoint a new fire chief: Chuck Hubbard. Hubbard is an internal hire, who previously served as an assistant chief. His 25 years of experience in fire protection, coming up through the ranks, has all been in Ann Arbor.

Barnett Jones, head of public safety and chief of police, introduced Hubbard to the council with his recommendation. Jones has been serving as interim fire chief since the resignation of Dominick Lanza from that position earlier this year, after a bit less than a year on the job. Lanza had been an external hire.

Hubbard made some brief remarks by way of introducing himself.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the appointment.

Police Promotional Assessments

Items included on the consent agenda, which are normally moved together and voted on as a group, can be pulled out for separate consideration by any councilmember. It’s not uncommon for at least one item to be pulled out for that kind of separate consideration. On Monday, Sandi Smith (Ward 1) asked that an item be pulled out that approved a $35,830 contract with Industrial Organizational Solutions Inc. to conduct promotional assessment of Ann Arbor police department officers for ranks of sergeant and lieutenant.

Chief of police Barnett Jones explained that the item is related to layoffs and retirements – it helps create a clear path for promotions. It’s been a long time since sergeants and lieutents have taken exams, he said. While the department is faced with layoffs now, it will also be experiencing some retirements in the future – around 16-17 by 2013, he said. Some of those who are retiring will be sergeants and lieutenants. The department will need supervisors at those ranks to replace the retirees. He could not simply promote people as he passed people walking down the hall, Jones said. This will be one of the most imporatnt promotional teams in the history of the city. The assessment will contain a written part and and oral interview.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the contract for promotional assessment of police officers.

Landscaping Ordinance Gets Initial OK

On Monday the council was asked to consider initial approval to a revision of the city’s landscaping ordinance. The revision is intended to: (1) improve the appearance of vehicular use areas; (2) revise buffer requirements between conflicting land uses; (3) reduce negative impacts of stormwater runoff; (4) improve pedestrian movement within a development site; and (5) preserve existing significant vegetation.

Those benefits are meant to be achieved through several text amendments to the ordinance, which include: adding definitions for “bioretention” and “native or prairie plantings”; allowing the width of landscape buffers to vary; modifying requirements for interior landscape islands; prohibiting use of invasive species for required landscaping; and increasing fines for violation.

The city’s planning commision had given the ordinance change a unanimous recommendation at its March 1, 2011 meeting.

All city ordinances require a first and a second reading in front of the city council, after a public hearing, before final enactment. The landscape ordinance will need a second vote before its approval is final.

Outcome: The council voted without discussion to give the landscape ordinance change an initial approval.

Downtown Design Guidelines

In front of the council for its consideration was final approval to an amendment of its land use control ordinance that will establish design guidelines for new projects in downtown Ann Arbor, and set up a seven-member design review board (DRB) to provide developers with feedback on their projects’ conformance to the design guidelines. It’s the final piece of the A2D2 rezoning initiative.

Review by the DRB will come before a developer’s meeting with nearby residents for each project – which is already required as part of the citizen participation ordinance. While the DRB process is required, conformance with the recommendations of that body is voluntary.

The city council had previously approved the design guideline review program at its Feb. 7, 2011 meeting. The city planning commission unanimously recommended the change to the city’s ordinance at its April 5, 2011 meeting. [Previous Chronicle coverage, which includes a detailed timeline of the design guidelines work, dating back to a work group formed in 2006: "Ann Arbor Hotel First to Get Design Review?"]

Downtown Design Guidelines: Public Hearing

Thomas Partridge told the council they should use the word “democratic” with a big and a small “D” when considering these items. Too often, he said, an anti-democratic viewpoint is taken. He called on the council to advance the cause of using undeveloped land for mixed-use, including affordable housing. He noted there’d been no new housing cooperatives in the last 30-40 years.

Ray Detter thanked the council for their previous support of the A2D2 rezoning process and urged their support of the design guidelines. He told them he was speaking both as chair of the downtown citizens advisory council and as a member of the design guideline review committee. He reviewed some of the more recent history of the review committee. A group of citizens had formed in late 2009. In February 2010 the council had supported the formation of a design guidelines task force. Then in January 2011, members of task force had presented the outcome of their 34 weekly meetings at a city council working session.

James D’Amour told the council it was exciting to be present when the design guidelines are finally going to be approved. He’d served on the planning commission five years ago when talk about this started, he said. He urged councilmembers to support the proposal.

Downtown Design Guidelines: Council Deliberations

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) said she thought Detter had summed it up well, and urged her council colleagues to pass it. Mayor  John Hieftje thanked the people who did the work, including Higgins, for seeing it through.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the new downtown design guidelines. The council also received nominations from the mayor for the membership of the design review board, which the council can confirm at its next meeting, on June 20: Tamara Burns, Paul Fontaine, Chester B. Hill, Mary Jukari, Bill Kinley, Richard Mitchell, Geoffrey M. Perkins.

First & Washington Purchase Price

Councilmembers were asked at Monday’s meeting to approve a revision to the purchase option agreement with Village Green on the city-owned First and Washington site, where the developer plans to build a 9-story, 99-foot-tall building with 156 dwelling units. That revision reduces the price from $3.3 million to $3.2 million.

The break on the price is related to the “bathtub” design for the foundation of a 244-space parking deck, which makes up the first two stories of the development. The site of the development is near Allen Creek, and some kind of design strategy is required in order to deal with the possibility of water entering the parking structure. Rather than use a hybrid design that would entail pumping water out of the structure and into the city’s stormwater system on an ongoing basis, Village Green wants to use a complete bathtub-type design that will cost around $250,000. The city’s price break is a portion of that cost.

The parking deck is being developed in cooperation with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, which has pledged to make payments on around $9 million worth of bonds, after the structure is completed and has been issued a permit for occupancy.

The timeline put in place on Aug. 5, 2010 – when the city council most recently approved an extension of Village Green’s option to purchase the First and Washington city-owned parcel – called for Village Green to purchase the land by June 1, 2011. However, that deadline was subject to an extension of 90 days by the city administrator – an option which interim administrator Tom Crawford exercised. That sets a new deadline of Aug. 30, 2011 for purchase of the parcel. Proceeds from the sale of the land are part of the city’s financing plan for the new municipal center at Fifth and Huron, which is currently in the final stages of construction.

First & Washington Purchase Price: Council Deliberations

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) led off council deliberations by saying that it appeared the council was being asked to reduce the purchase price by $100,000 due to construction issues related to high water. Alluding to the arrangement the DDA has to support the project, he asked why the DDA would not increase that support, instead of having the city reduce the purchase price.

Kunselman then said he wanted to take the opportunity to talk about the DDA. That organization’s 2009-2010 annual report included some telling numbers, he said. The report indicates over $18 million in annual revenue against expenditures of $22 million. Of those expenditures, $5 million is for debt service. The outstanding bond debt is $140 million – of that, $81 million is principle and $59 million interest. The report shows zero dollars in bond reserve. Kunselman noted that the number of jobs created is recorded as “n/a.”

Kunselman asked why the city is “bailing the DDA out for $100,000.” The issue that’s been identified (the bathtub design) is not a property issue, he continued, but rather a construction issue. Kunselman said he was having a difficult time voting for the resolution, but he did not want to see the resolution fail. But he noted that the resolution required eight votes for approval and two councilmembers had left the table.

[Margie Teall (Ward 4) and Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) had left. It was after 11 p.m. Higgins' hoarse voice during the meeting indicated she was under the weather. Votes on real estate transactions are required by the city charter to be ratified by an eight-vote city council majority.]

Interim city administrator Tom Crawford told Kunselman that the logic used in not involving the DDA on the price agreement was that it’s a city-owned asset. He noted that it’s possible to design the foundation without the full bathtub deign. But Crawford noted that the city and Village Green have worked with the DDA to use lessons learned from the current construction on the South Fifth Avenue underground parking structure. It’s the city’s decision to mitigate the risk with respect to flooding, and it’s a city decision to move forward with the bathtub design. The full bathtub design guarantees as close as you can that in the future, no pumping of water into the city’s stormwater system would be required, he said.

The agreement to reduce the price could have been set up to include the DDA, Crawford said, but the city did not structure it that way. That approach would have made it a tri-party agreement. The approach the city took – to amend the agreement between the city and Village Green – seemed the most approprate way, Crawford concluded.

Kunselman then asked Crawford to explain how the $100,000 would be made up – proceeds from the parcel were supposed to go into the building fund for the new municipal center. Crawford clarified that the original purchase price was $3.3 million and the amount designated for the building fund was $3.0 million. There’d always been a $300,000 excess, he said, so the price break of $100,000 would not compromise the funding of the municipal center.

Mike Anglin (Ward 5) expressed some frustration at the length of time the Village Green project had been in the works, saying it had been going on about five years now. Didn’t we already know, he asked, that the location had water issues? Anglin wanted to know if the developer was willing to move forward. Crawford indicated that Village Green was in fact moving forward, actively spending money on design. Anglin questioned why the city was putting itself at risk with respect to the Pall Gelman dioxane plume – the plume was mentioned in a staff memo about the Village Green project.

Crawford explained that the plume is actually a far distance away, and the reason it’s discussed in the memo is that the city is looking at the very long term. By having a full-bathtub foundation design, there’ll be no requirement to do any pumping of water, so the risk is mitigated of pumping water that’s polluted with dioxane – that would require onsite treatment before pumping. The bathtub design is an attempt to protect the city from every possible eventuality, Crawford said.

Anglin questioned whether adequate hydrological studies had been done. Crawford addressed Anglin’s remark a bit later, noting that the city had relied on Carl Walker, the DDA’s engineering consultant on parking structures, for geotechnical analysis. There’d been a host of consultants, he said, and a substantial amount of work done. That work was what had triggered the need for a 90-day extension.

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) drew out the fact that the bathtub design will cost $250,000, with Village Green picking up $150,000 of the cost and the city effectively picking up $100,000. She noted that a year ago, when the purchase option extension granted, nothing was getting built in the Midwest at all. The First and Washington project is a chance to get “another private crane in the air.” The council needs to support this, she concluded.

Mayor John Hieftje stated that using a pumping strategy would be much more of a problem. The full bathtub design offers the greatest amount of security.

Kunselman said he was still not convinced that selling the land should somehow result in an agreement about construction design. He came back to the point about DDA involvement. He felt the price reduction should be expressed in a three-way agreement.

Crawford responded to Kunselman by saying the city attorney’s office advised that this was a good way to proceed. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) weighed in by saying that Ann Arbor would own the parking deck for the next 75 years [the expected life of the deck]. The city has a chance now to guarantee that they don’t have a problem, at a cost of $100,000, he said. Taylor supported that.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) confirmed with Crawford that the developer currently has no obligation to pursue a full bathtub design. With Anglin and Kunselman having expressed their dissatisfaction, Hieftje recognized that if they both voted no, that would leave the agreement one vote short of the eight-vote majority it needed. Hieftje stated he would feel okay postponing it. Hieftje then filled some time with some general remarks about the structure, and Anglin followed up with an indication that what he wanted was to make sure the homework was done on it. Hieftje then called for the vote, which wound up being unanimous.

Outcome: The council voted 9-0 to approve the amendment to the purchase price from $3.3 million to $3.2 million.

Municipal Center

At Monday’s meeting, the council considered a $1,091,211 revision to the contract with Clark Construction Co., which is doing the construction on the new municipal center at Fifth and Huron, which houses the 15th District Court and the police department. Of that total, $693,327 is for security elements and $397,884 is for audio/visual.

Mike Anglin (Ward 5) said the revision brings the building’s total cost to $39 million. Interim city administrator Tom Crawford explained that the increase was for upgrades to the security of the building. He noted that the amount is not an increase to the budget of the entire project, but rather a recognition that implementation of the security measures is best done by the onsite construction manager.

Anglin wanted to know why the money is coming out of the city’s general fund. Crawford explained that the court is a general fund entity. Anglin asked why the funding for security was not part of the bonding process, saying he would rather have security outside the building [i.e, police officers on patrol] than inside the building. Crawford indicated that the expenditure is a one-time cost. The idea of how security in the building would be delivered was a conversation that had unfolded over time, Crawford said, and this was determined to be the most cost-effective. The fact remains that it’s coming from the general fund, Anglin grumbled.

Sue McCormick, the city’s public services area administrator, told the council that they’d previously decided they wanted to make these decisions about security later and had decided not to make decisions about installation of furniture and fixtures until later. It had been an early and deliberate discussion of the city council, she said.

Outcome: The council voted to approve the contract amendment, with dissent from Anglin.

Wireless for City Hall

Also pulled out of the consent agenda by Sandi Smith (Ward 1) was an item that authorized a $64,571 contract with Sentinel Technologies to equip the public areas and conference rooms of the city hall, the new municipal center and the Wheeler Service Center with wireless internet access – both secure and for public use.

Smith was curious about why the city used the middle bidder, instead of the lowest. She wanted to know why the city was using a non-Michigan bidder, who was not the lowest bid. Dan Rainey, head of IT for the city, explained that the low bid did not include the cost of recurring maintenance.

Outcome: The council voted unanimously to approve the contract with Sentinel Technologies.

Fuller Road Station

The proposed Fuller Road Station – a large parking structure, bus depot and possible train station that the city plans to build in partnership with the University of Michigan, near UM’s medical campus – drew considerable public and council commentary, although the council did not have any business to vote on that specifically referenced the project.

James D’Amour expressed various concerns. He responded to a contention of the mayor’s to the effect that Fuller Road Station would result in the city getting some open space back. What are we getting? he asked. D’Amour contended that current facilities for trains are adequate. If it’s so important, D’Amour said, we should come clean with the fact that it will be located on public parkland.

D’Amour also noted the public art commission’s annual plan, attached to the council’s agenda as a communication item, included proposed art for Fuller Road Station. He asked that the language be removed. He added that the city did not need murals on Huron Parkway, as described in the public art plan.

Barbara Bach told the council that the Fuller Road Station project is getting in the way of a discussion of rail transportation and about public park preservation. She then read aloud the sentiments of Tom Whitaker, who left a comment on an Ann Arbor Chronicle article about a recent meeting of the city’s park advisory commission.

As proposed, Bach said, Fuller Road Station is a huge warehouse for cars on parkland. She said that the city should work on getting cars out of the river valley and begin to talk about rail service.

Nancy Shiffler introduced herself as the current chair of the Huron Valley group of the Sierra Club. She said that the parcel where the Fuller Road Station is planned is used as parkland, appears on maps as parkland, and is included in the parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan as parkland. The city’s designation of the parcel as public land is used in the applications to the federal government for grant funding, but there’s no mention of its park designation.

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation requires a more extenstive environmental study for parkland, she said. The redefinition of allowable uses for public land, approved by the council, allows public land to be used as a transportation center. As councilmembers, they should think about the use of parkland, as they anticipate putting the parks maintenance and capital improvements millage before the voters in 2012, Shiffler concluded.

George Gaston told the council he was there to speak in defense of Fuller Park. It’s been a city park for more than 50 years, he said. The 1993 accord struck with the university for use of the parcel as a parking lot was a temporary agreement – it was never intended to be a permanent lot, he said.

In a draft of environmental assessment for selection of the site, he said, 15 sites had been considered. Of those, three were eliminated because they’re city parks. The University of Michigan’s Mitchell Field was considered, but rejected because it’s a recreational area. Gaston said he could see why the university wants a project with free land and a prime location. But if the university is truly interested, he said, then let the university become a stakeholder. Mitchell Field would offer better access to Fuller Road. He contended that there are too many connections between town and gown for it to be an untainted vote. He contended that everything had been decided a year and a half ago. It’s taken too much effort to put together a ribbon of parks along the Huron River to lose that now, he said.

Mike Anglin (Ward 5) called on his council colleagues to watch a recording of the May 17 park advisory commission meeting. Eli Cooper, transportation program manager for the city, had given a presentation on Fuller Road Station, Anglin said. Members of PAC were restrained but confused, Anglin said. [Anglin serves as one of two ex-officio representatives from the city council to PAC.] They thought they were going to have a train station, Anglin said. But now it’s looking like a parking structure more than anything else.

When the council voted to change the allowable uses for public land to include transportation facilities, that moved parks to another category, Anglin said. He said he did not think it sounds like the city’s share of the funding would be coming forward [roughly $10 million]. He stated that the city doesn’t need a large train station for a town this size – it just has one track.

At a time when the city is laying off police officers, $10 million for this project in unconscionable, he said. Anglin said he’s personally not excited by parking structures. The project has momentum behind it, but no funding, he said. There are no guarantees of a train coming to Ann Arbor, but there is a guarantee of a large structure. It’s such a pretty area, Anglin said, they should consider whether they should do that.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) anticipated mayor John Hieftje’s reaction to Anglin’s comments [Hieftje has pushed hard for the project] by telling the mayor that she knew he had a lot of thoughts about Fuller Road Station. But she thought the council should have a working session, so that councilmembers can become more knowledgable about the issue.

Hieftje indicated that he would look into adding something to the calendar. He then went on to describe how he and Briere had attended a press conference in Detroit recently when $196 million in federal rail funding had been awarded to projects in southeast Michigan. U.S. senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin were there, he said. Levin had called out Fuller Road Station as a good idea. Gov. Rick Snyder had also talked positively about rail transportation, he said.

Responding to Anglin’s contention that there is only one track, Hieftje noted that two tracks will be installed at Fuller Road Station. The design of the station has changed, he said, and will now put the train station inside the other building. But as far as the basic site selection, no other location is as ideal as the Fuller Road site – it has 24,000 people a day going to the university’s hospital. He then thanked Anglin for his previous vote in support of Fuller Road Station.

Communications and Comment

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

Comm/Comm: Volunteer of the Month

Karen Moore was recognized as volunteer of the month for her work in connection with downtown parks, in particular for Ann Arbor Downtown Blooms Day.

Comm/Comm: Affordable Housing

Forest Hills Housing Co-op received a mayoral proclamation for its role in providing affordable housing for the last 40 years.

Comm/Comm: Environmental Commission Nomination

Most nominations for the city’s various boards and commissions are made by the mayor. One of the exceptions is the environmental commission (EC), for which the council makes the nomination.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) announced that a nomination for a three-year EC term was being placed before the council that evening and that it would be before the council as a resolution at the following meeting. Margie Teall (Ward 4), who sits with Hohnke as the city council’s representatives to the EC, prompted Hohnke to name the nomination, which he did: Jamie Woolard.

Comm/Comm: Municipal Center

Margie Teal (Ward 4) reported that the building committee reviewed construction of the new building at Fifth and Huron, and the renovation of the existing city hall building. They concluded that the project is on time and under budget.

Comm/Comm: Argo Bypass Channel

Interim city administrator Tom Crawford gave an update on progress for the construction of the Argo bypass channel. An application for a permit has been submitted to the state. The city is waiting for that permit to be issued before earthwork can begin. There’s no way to know when the permit will be issued, he said, but city staff is estimating six weeks. The contractor will go ahead and begin to mobilize in preparation to start the earthwork.

Comm/Comm: Rain

Crawford reported that cleanup continues in the area of Plymouth Road, where the railroad embankment collapsed after heavy rains at the end of May. The city received 87 reports of sewer backups in basements in areas where the system was stressed. Some residents were given vouchers for cleanup, he said. The affected areas were the neighborhood Packard & Stadium, and Hill & Division. The city is considering creating two new areas for the city’s footing drain disconnect program – adding to the five existing areas – and accelerating the program.

Comm/Comm: Historic District Awards

At the start of the meeting, the city’s historic district commission presented its annual awards to property owners. A complete listing of the awards is available in the city’s press release.

Comm/Comm: Ward 5 City Council Race

Henry Herskovitz introduced himself as a Ward 5 resident, saying that it’s a matter of public record that Neal Elyakin is running for city council in that ward. Herskovitz told the council it’s his understanding that if elected, councilmembers must promise to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Elyakin, he said, had chosen to fly a national flag in front of his home that is not the U.S. flag, but rather one from a country that 44 years ago on Wednesday (June 8) had killed 34 Americans. [Hersovitz was referring to an attack on the USS Liberty in 1967.] Herskovitz said that he supported Elyakin’s right to fly the Israeli flag, and his right to run for a seat on the city council, but wondered to which country Elyakin owed his allegiance. Elyakin should state his loyalty and allegiances clearly, Herskovitz said.

Comm/Comm: JFK, Dems, Mackinac

Thomas Partridge reminded the council that it was the 50th anniversary of numerous historic events in the first year of John F. Kennedy’s administration, like the test ban treaty and the beginning of work on the civil rights act. He said he wanted to remind everyone of the progress made beginning in 1961, and the need to keep up the struggle. He opposed the attitude of those who left southeast Michigan and traveled to the recent Mackinac Policy Conference – that was nothing but a right-wing Republican convention, he said. He called on voters to recall Gov. Rick Snyder.

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

Next council meeting: June 20, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the second-floor council chambers at 301 E. Huron. [confirm date]

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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]

Dominick Lanza is sworn in as the city of Ann Arbor’s new fire chief. (Photos by the writer.)

Part 1 of this report will not include single-stream recycling. Part 2 of the meeting report will focus on that issue, and will be somewhat delayed, in order to increase the possibility that an information request from the city for relevant data can be included in that article. [In this, we thus take a dual-stream approach.]

Aside from the single-stream recycling issue, the council addressed a range of other disparate topics.

The council undertook a wholesale replacement of the housing commission board, a move that will see the return to city service of recently-departed community services area administrator, Jayne Miller. She’s one of the new appointees to the housing commission board.

The council also approved a resolution urging Google to select Ann Arbor as a site for a fiber optic network. Accompanying that resolution was a public hearing during which seven people – two from Ypsilanti – spoke in support of the city’s bid, which also enjoys the support of the University of Michigan.

The city’s new fire chief, Dominick Lanza, was sworn in, though his start date comes a few days in the future – March 22, 2010.

Payment of $55,000 was authorized for a recently completed environmental study connected with a proposed runway extension at the Ann Arbor municipal airport – a study that came in for sharp critique during public commentary. The council recently deleted the runway extension from its capital improvements plan.

The council approved an estimated total expenditure of $54,700 from its alternative transportation capital improvements fund as part of an agreement with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation that will make various improvements to about 9.8 miles worth of non-motorized facilities – bike lanes and signs. The agreement is necessary in order to qualify for $250,000 worth of federal stimulus money for the project, which has been awarded to the city.

In other – more motorized – business, the council postponed consideration of a possible ban on cell phone use while driving in the city. The ban would also apply to bicycling.

Still, cell phone use while driving will be impossible on several different city streets in the near future. The city council approved a raft of street closings for some of the city’s annual events.

Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving

The possible postponement of consideration on the cell phone ban was fairly well-publicized, and only two people spoke at the hearing – both of them against the measure.

Mayor John Hieftje announced at the start of the public hearing that consideration of the ordinance would likely be postponed and told everyone that the public hearing would be continued to the meeting when the council considered the ordinance for a vote. Because it would be the same public hearing, the mayor said, people who spoke that night would not be allowed to speak at the subsequent meeting.

Cell Phone Ban: Public Hearing

One city resident told the council that he did not understand why the local city council was debating the issue, given that there were laws pending in the state legislature that were meant to address the same issue. Why there should be a 6-square-mile difference [an allusion to the city of Ann Arbor's rough geographic area] did not make any sense to him, he said. He pointed out that there are already state laws in place against distracted driving that were simply not enforced. He told the council that based on his review of some of the studies that had been provided to the council, he found the results to be inconclusive.

The resident contended that even Paul Green of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute – who had indicated in one of the reports that some restrictions on cell phone use were applicable – was not in favor of a blanket ban. [Green had appeared at the last meeting of the council to offer some expert analysis of the issue.] The speaker pointed to research gaps and characterized the various meta-analyses as “all over the map.” He allowed that there was a moderate impact on driving from cell phone use, but contended that the results were really all over the place.

From the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, Nancy Jo Merdzinski spoke against the measure on behalf of the board. First, she said that the issue was more appropriately addressed at the state level to ensure uniformity. Second, she said that a local ordinance prohibiting cell phone use while driving would be perceived as unfriendly and unwelcoming. Finally, the board felt it would have a negative impact on economic development, she said.

Cell Phone Ban: Council Deliberations

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) led off discussion by saying that the conversation stimulated by the proposed ordinance had now focused on the data – there was a great deal of data, he said. He stated that it was his view that a little more time to review the data would be useful, and moved to postpone the resolution.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) inquired whether there would be substantive changes in the ordinance when it eventually came back before the council. Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) indicated to Higgins that the modifications were being undertaken by the city attorney’s office, and they had to do with two-way radios. The ordinance language already accommodated amateur radio operators, he explained, and there was an interest in making sure that city workers and Ann Arbor Transportation Authority workers would also be accommodated.

Stephen Rapundalo uses a hands-free phone (in his right ear), but plugs in his laptop for power at the start of the council meeting.

Rapundalo stated that he did not want to have to take the resolution back to an additional first reading. [The resolution has already been returned to a first reading one time, so what Rapundalo is hoping to avoid is the need to hear the resolution as a first reading for the third time.] Rapundalo said that the revisions were not going to change the substance of the ordinance.

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) responded to a point that had been made during the public commentary about legislation that was currently pending at the state level. Derezinski acknowledged that there was a state-level legislation pending, but contending that none of that legislation is preemptive – it does not preclude a local municipality from authorizing its own ordinance. He also pointed out that other communities in Michigan have already enacted such ordinances.

[Senate Bill 468 contains a clause that allows local municipalities to pass and enforce ordinances on cell phones and driving, but only if those ordinances are substantially the same as SB 468: "(4) This section supersedes all local ordinances regulating the use of a communication device while operating a motor vehicle in motion on a highway or street, except that a unit of local government may adopt an ordinance or enforce an existing ordinance substantially corresponding to this section." ]

Outcome: The postponement of the ban on cell phone use while driving was unanimously approved, with dissent from Higgins.

Google Fiber

Several people spoke at the public hearing on the council’s resolution urging Google to select Ann Arbor as a test site for a fiber-optic network. The deadline for community applications is March 26. Two of the speakers at the hearing, who all expressed support for selection of Ann Arbor is a test location, were from Ypsilanti, a city directly east of Ann Arbor.

Google Fiber: Public Hearing

Steve Pierce introduced himself as a resident of Ypsilanti and co-founder of Wireless Ypsi. He told the council that he was excited that Ann Arbor was making a proposal and characterized it as good for the region. Pierce said that we need to change the way we look at telecommunications policy. He congratulated councilmembers and the staff members who had worked on the proposal.

Washtenaw Community College’s chief information officer, Amin Ladha, applauded the city’s effort, especially in the current condition that Michigan is in. He said Google’s fiber network would encourage business investment and development. He told them that Washtenaw Community College would support the effort, because it was in the interest of the community.

Wes Vivian introduced himself as a decades-long telecommunications consultant, and told the council that for the last 15-20 years it’s been clear that either the telephone companies will migrate to fiber-optic networks or face domination by cable television companies. That process has begun, he said – AT&T has installed fiber in many communities.

Wes Vivian told the council they needed to start thinking about how to implement a fiber-optic network, even if Google did not select Ann Arbor as a test site.

If Google “coughs up the money” that’s great, Vivian said, but we need to find a way to implement this anyway – even if Google decides not select Ann Arbor as a test site. Fiber, he said, was part of the necessary infrastructure of a city – like a street. It wasn’t necessary to provide a system, he said, but just a hole in the ground or a hole in the air.

Dominic Serra of the Southfield firm Internet 123 told the council that they may have heard about his company’s connection with 20/20 Communications in a newspaper story over the weekend. He told them that Internet 123 owned around 750 miles of fiber network in Michigan, and that they were supporting Ann Arbor’s proposal to Google. He told them that if there’s anything they can do, Internet 123 was at the city’s disposal – they are 100% behind the effort.

Brian Robb told the council that he was speaking for himself, not as an Ypsilanti city council member – he supported the Google fiber effort. He told them he would be bringing a resolution before the Ypsilanti city council reflecting that.

Amy Mah told the council that she was really excited about this plan, as were friends of hers who did not live in Ann Arbor.

Chris Leeder, a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan School of Information, told the council that there was a great deal of excitement among UM students and in his department in particular.

Google Fiber: Council Deliberations

Before the council was a resolution that urged Google to choose Ann Arbor as a location for a test of a fiber-optic system that would include fiber to the home (FTTH) – offered to residents at a competitive rate.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) gave background on the request for information that Google had issued, describing the data capacity of the fiber-optic system as one gigabit per second, or roughly 100 times as fast as the typical currently-available Internet service. The proposal that the city was putting together, Taylor said, was a joint effort between the city of Ann Arbor and University of Michigan. The partnership was intended to make Ann Arbor’s response as strong and as powerful as it can be.

One of the main criteria that Google will be using to choose a location, explained Taylor, was the ease and efficiency of implementation in their chosen test site. It was in that context, he said, that the council was offering their resolution. He pointed out that to the original sponsors of the resolution, four other councilmembers had asked to be added: Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Tony Derezinski (Ward 2), Mike Anglin (Ward 5), and Margie Teall (Ward 4). [The original sponsors were Taylor, Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sandi Smith (Ward 1), Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5), mayor John Hieftje and Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2).]

The part of the resolution that speaks to ease and efficiency of implementation is the following clause, which Taylor read aloud: “RESOLVED, That if so selected, the Ann Arbor City Council shall direct City Staff to take all lawful measures to expedite and accommodate the safe and efficient installation of the Google FTTH network;”

Taylor concluded his remarks by noting that the city’s response will stand on its own, but that Google is interested in the community response to the proposal, as well. He directed people to visit a2fiber.com where they can find information about nominating the city of Ann Arbor, becoming Facebook fans – there are more than 11,000 fans at this point– following the proposal on Twitter, and creating videos for YouTube.

Hohnke thanked Taylor for his work, as well as the city and university staff for preparing the application. He cited the effort as a good example of the city and the university working together. He said that Ann Arbor was well-positioned to make its proposal. He encouraged people to visit the a2fiber.com website at the currently “slow, crawling pace of 10 megabits per second.” Hieftje wrapped up remarks at the council table by noting that in his travels through the city, he’d noticed a great amount of excitement about the Google fiber initiative.

Outcome: The council unanimously passed the resolution urging Google to choose Ann Arbor as a test location for its fiber-optic network.

Housing Commission Board Replacement

Before the council was a wholesale replacement of the city’s housing commission board. Tony Derezinski (Ward 2), the council’s liaison to the housing commission board, reminded his colleagues of a January work session on the housing commission. He reminded them that the “marching orders” for the consultant who had been hired several months ago were to consider all options. [Chronicle coverage: "Housing Commission Reorganizes"]

That included everything from spinning off the housing commission entirely to developing an even closer relationship between the city and the housing commission. Over the last few months, Derezinski said, it had become clear that changes needed to be made at the level of leadership and governance. He allowed that an interim director had made a substantial difference at the level of managment, but that on the board there was a need for leadership and vision.

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) asked how the council could be sure that the new board would not also have difficulty with their decisions, the same way that the current board did. He also asked how much support the city was thinking of providing to the Ann Arbor housing commission.

City administrator Roger Fraser responded to Kunselman by reminding the council of the report that had been made to them in January 2010 – that had been a forecast of required financial support. The housing commission needed to think about ways to generate more money than they were getting from HUD, said Fraser, referring to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

The problem was that they were not imagining a future with anything except HUD dollars. The goal of the reconfiguration of the housing commission, he said, was to be able to position the commission to seek grants, in addition to HUD funding. That would require leadership on the board. The city would be asked for around $135,000 to carry the housing commission for one year while that transition took place.

Fraser then listed out the members of the newly constituted board that the council was being asked to appoint:

• Mark McDonald – a property manager for large multifamily residences who understood issues of maintenance and customer care;
• Jayne Miller – who spent the last two years of her service to the city of Ann Arbor as community services area administrator, investigating issues associated with the housing commission, and who had expressed an interest in finding a way to continue her connectedness to the board even after leaving employment with the city. [Miller now heads up the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority.]
• Marta Manildi – who has been on the board since last September and has not yet had an opportunity to have an impact.
• Deborah Gibson –  a resident commissioner currently on the board, who’ll be reappointed to a one-month term. They’ll be canvassing for a replacement.

Asked by Anglin whether the interim executive director, Marge Novak, would remain as a permanent executive director, Fraser indicated that this was one of the decisions that the housing commission board needs to make but has been unable to make.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the replacement of the housing commission board.

Fire Chief Appointment

The theme of fire department services was first introduced at the meeting by Mike Anglin (Ward 5), who reported a recent positive personal experience. He’d called 911 in connection with a medical emergency on behalf of a woman with shortness of breath. He reported that the fire department arrived within three minutes, followed by the rescue squad. “That’s what we pay for,” he said. Anglin cited that kind of fast 911 service is one of the benefits of living in a city, as opposed to out in the townships.

City clerk Jackie Beaudry gets some signatures from Dominick Lanza. She had just administered the oath of office to Lansza, the city’s new fire chief.

The fire chief was not present for the actual appointment – it was later explained that his belongings had arrived with the moving van from Tennessee right around the time the council meeting started. He was able to join the council for his swearing in later in the meeting.

In introducing Dominick Lanza, the newly-appointed fire chief, Fraser said he was delighted – “you don’t know how delighted” – that he was able to announce Lanza’s selection and appointment as fire chief. Lanza served for 33 years in the Fort Lauderdale area as a firefighter and as an assistant commander in an organization that was actually a part of the sheriff’s department. Since 2007, he has been retired in Tennessee, but retirement did not fit him very well. “If you’ll shake his hand, I’d really appreciate it,” Fraser said.

Outcome: Lanza was appointed by a unanimous council vote and sworn in as new fire chief for the city of Ann Arbor.

From the March 4, 2010 offer letter sent to Dominick Lanza, the terms of his employment are as follows:

1. Position – Fire Chief – Exempt Professional Position #403390, Level 2
2. Salary – $ 108,000/year, paid bi-weekly
3. Vehicle Allowance – $400/month
4. Cell Phone Stipend $83/month plus the Data standard plan at: $53/month
5. Date of Employment – March 22, 2010 (Tentative)
6. Medical Insurance & Other City Sponsored Benefit Plans: Your coverage under such plans will become effective on your date of hire. A benefits summary is included with this letter. A full explanation of benefits will be explained once you start your employment with the City.

Environmental Assessment on Runway Extension

Before the council was the authorization for payment of a $55,000 cost for an environmental assessment associated with a possible extension of the runway at the Ann Arbor municipal airport. The council recently deleted the runway extension from its capital improvements plan.

EA on Runway Extension: Public Commentary

During public commentary reserved time, Andrew McGill described an environmental assessment study – which  had been conducted in connection with a possible extension and shift of a runway at the Ann Arbor municipal airport –  as “deeply flawed.” He cautioned councilmembers that “you may want to actually hold your noses” in receiving the report, though he acknowledged that the study had been completed and that they needed to pay for it. He described the report as unprofessional, saying that it did not draw on any academic or environmental expertise and that it was not possible to extract correct conclusions made by the report from the data included in it. The consultant on the study, JJR, refused to contact the author of the major FAA study on bird strikes, contending it was “irrelevant,” McGill said.

In the study, McGill continued, there are 38 species of birds identified, but it does not mention any Canadian geese. He pointed out that there are goose-crossing signs in the immediate vicinity of the airport. He suggested that the reason for the omission was that the FAA becomes alarmed at any mention of Canadian geese in such a report. He reminded the council that it was a Canada goose that brought down Sully’s plane. [The reference is to Chesley Sullenberger – "Sully" – the pilot of the US Airways plane that crash-landed on the Hudson River over a year ago.] McGill asked the council to contemplate what they would do with the report now that they are paying for it. He suggested that they should simply throw it out.

EA on Runway Extension: Council Deliberations

Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) began council deliberations by asking the Ann Arbor municipal airport manager, Matt Kulhanek, if it was true, as McGill had contended, that there was no mention of geese, and if so, why not.

Kulhanek clarified that the list of 30 birds in the report were species of birds in the vicinity that were endangered. Christoper Taylor (Ward 3) confirmed with Kulhanek that the absence of geese in the report was because the report did not seek to characterize which birds were in the vicinity of the airport, but rather which birds that are endangered are in the vicinity of the airport.

Outcome: The authorization for the funds to pay for the study was passed unanimously.

Sewage Bonds

Before the council was an ordinance authorizing issuance and sale of sewage disposal system revenue bonds to the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority in the amount of $1.32 million. By way of background, there’s a difference between the city’s stormwater system – into which the street drains flow – and its sanitary sewer system, into which toilets flush.

Any rainwater that is directed into the sanitary sewer system through footing drains represents an unnecessary load on the sanitary system, because that water does not require treatment, but gets treated just the same. In the past, increased flow to the sanitary sewer during storms has resulted in the backup of sewage in homeowners’ basements. The city has a program in place to systematically disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewage system. [Background on the footing drain disconnect program: "Drain Disconnect Time For Homeowners"]

On Monday night, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) had three questions concerning the issuance of the bonds. First, he wondered whether it was reasonable to tap some of the $56 million in cash reserves in the sewer fund rather than to issue the bonds. Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer, pointed out that the bonds came with a special, low rate through a state revolving fund. It’s part of a program the city has for the drain disconnect program.

Sue McCormick, public services area administrator, pointed out that the city was undertaking an unprecedented capital project with the replacement of its wastewater treatment plant. The replacement of the solids-handling facility construction had a price tag of around $42 million, she said, and reconstructing half the liquids-handling facility amounted to another $70 million, she added.

While the cash balance in the sewer fund looked large, she said that was simply the result of reserving incrementally over the years for this major capital project. That balance had been achieved through incremental 3-4% rate increases. Prompted by Hieftje, McCormick confirmed that the original wastewater treatment plant had been built in the 1930s and that around $40 million had been saved towards the replacement project.

Anglin also had a question about whether bond fees would be assessed by the city. McCormick clarified that bond fees are not a project-allowable expense when the city bonds through state.

She also confirmed for Anglin that for this project, none of the funds would go to the city’s Percent for Art program.

City administrator Roger Fraser offered the further clarification that the bonds in question that night supported footing drain disconnection – not construction of the wastewater treatment plant – and that the nature of the work precludes any installation of art.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) asked how many footing drain disconnects had been performed so far. McCormick said she did not know off the top of her head but that she could get that information for Higgins.

In general terms, Higgins said the city had started work in the southwest part of the city and had completed much of that work, as well as some work in the northeast areas. And McCormick indicated that the city would continue on a priority basis with homes in the original five study areas where there had been basement backups of sewage. She said the city was not done yet.

Another point McCormick made was that the city was under a consent order from the state to remove a certain amount of stormwater flow from the sanitary sewer system. She also said it was a standing policy of the city council that if additional connections to the system were allowed for new construction, then that new construction was required to mitigate their peak load connection by 125% of the added load to the system. Finally, she said, the point of the footing drain disconnection program was to recover capacity and affordability to make sure that only the water that needed to be treated was actually treated.

Fraser added that the sewage system has a limit, but demand continues to grow. Considering the desire – at least in some minds in the community, he allowed – for the city to grow its population, it was important to maximize the capacity of the system. Part of maximizing the capacity includes removing water from the system that does not, in fact, need to be treated.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the authorization of the issuance of the sewage disposal system bonds.

Liquor License

The council approved issuance of a downtown development district liquor license for Tomukun Noodle Bar. Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2), who chairs the council’s liquor committee, noted that the city council had already approved the issuance of the license, but that a new reviewer at the MLCC did not care for some of the wording and that’s why it had been returned to the council. The wording issue had been addressed, said Rapundalo.

Outcome: The liquor license for Tomukun Noodle Bar was unanimously approved.

Golf Task Force

The council reappointed members of the city’s golf task force – Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2) indicated that March 1 had become the annual renewal date for the task force. This year there were some minor changes to the makeup of the task force, made in response to some neighborhood groups who had wanted a role on it, he reported. To that end, a spot for a resident neighbor had been added. One spot for someone with golf expertise had been reduced – that still left two people on the task force with familiarity with golf operations and with golf course design.

Asked by Mike Anglin (Ward 5) to clarify what the task force did, Rapundalo clarified that the task force looked at both of the city’s golf courses – Leslie Golf Course and Huron Hills Golf Course – and that their purview included both marketing as well as fee structures for the two courses. The overall goal of the task force was to try to reduce the amount of general fund support that the two courses required. The next meeting of the task force, Rapundalo indicated, would focus on the budget and in particular the possibility of a public-private partnership for the Huron Hills course.

Members of the golf task force will be Stephen Rapundalo (city councilmember), Julie Grand (park advisory commission member), Doug Davis (current commercial operations expert), Bill Newcomb (Ann Arbor citizen with demonstrated golf operations expertise), Ed Walsh (Ann Arbor citizen with demonstrated golf operations expertise), Steven Rodriguez (Ann Arbor citizen with group golf play experience), Barbara Jo Smith (at-large Ann Arbor golf courses patron), and John Stetz (Ann Arbor citizen and member of a neighborhood association adjoining a golf course).

Outcome: The council unanimously approved the renewed and new appointments to the golf task force.

As a part of his communications to the council, city administrator Roger Fraser, announced that the new parks and recreation activities guide has now been published. The Huron Hills Golf Course front seven holes opened last week and Leslie Golf Course is set to open on March 25.

Non-motorized System Expansion Project

The council had before it a proposal to authorize $54,700 from its alternative transportation capital improvements fund as part of an agreement with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation that will make various improvements to around 9.8 miles worth of non-motorized facilities – bike lanes and signs. The agreement is necessary in order to qualify for $250,000 worth of federal stimulus money for the project, which has been awarded to the city.

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) wanted to know where the process stood. Were construction drawings already done? Pat Cawley, with the city’s project management department, indicated that the bids had been opened last week. The project had begun life in 2007 as one that was not federally funded. When the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act stimulus funds became available, he said, the city was able to push it forward as a shovel-ready project.

Smith wanted to know if there were any opportunities for changes to the plans or for public engagement.

Cawley said there was some room for changes – given the three-year history of the project, some of the information on which the construction plans had been based could be out of date, and accommodation would need to be made. On public engagement, he said there had been a meeting back in 2007, and that now the city would focus on providing information to the community. He said that a suggestion from the Greenway Conservancy had been incorporated to include signage about the greenway along Ashley and First streets.

Outcome: The non-motorized improvements were unanimously approved.

Street Closures

The council authorized a number of street closures.

• March 20, 2010: A2A3 Box Cart Race/Soap Box Derby [S. University from Oxford to Walnut, and Linden from S. University to Geddes] [Chronicle coverage of last year's event: "Box Cars Zoom Down South University"]
• April 3, 2010: Monroe Street Fair [Monroe Street between Oakland and Tappan]
• April 8, 2010: Take Back The Night (Rally and March) S. University Ave. from Church Street to S. State Street; S. State Street from S. University Ave. to E. Madison Street; E. Madison Street from S. State Street to Thompson Street; Thompson Street from E. Madison Street to E. William Street; E. William Street from Thompson Street to S. Fourth Ave.; S. Fourth Ave. from E. William Street to E. Liberty Street; E. Liberty Street from S. Fourth Ave. to S. State Street; and S. State Street from E. Liberty Street to the UM Diag ]
• April 11, 2010: FestiFools [S. Main Street from William Street to Washington Street; and Liberty Street from Ashley Street to South Fourth Avenue] [Chronicle coverage of last year's event: "Favorite Fools"]
• May 2, 2010: Burns Park Run [Baldwin Avenue from Wells Street to Cambridge Road; Cambridge Road from Baldwin Avenue to Martin Place; Martin Place from Cambridge Road to Wells Street; Wells Street from Martin Place to Lincoln Avenue; Lincoln Avenue from Wells Street to Cambridge Road; Cambridge Road from Lincoln Avenue to S. Forest Avenue; S. Forest Avenue from Cambridge Road to Granger Avenue; Granger Avenue from S. Forest Avenue to Baldwin Avenue; Baldwin Avenue from Granger Avenue to Brooklyn Avenue; Brooklyn Avenue from Baldwin Avenue to Lincoln Avenue; Lincoln Avenue from Brooklyn Avenue to Shadford Road; Shadford Road from Lincoln Avenue to Woodside Road; Woodside Road from Shadford Road to Scottwood Avenue; Scottwood Avenue from Woodside Road to Norway Road; Norway Road from Scottwood Avenue to Ferdon Road; Ferdon Road from Norway Road to Wells Street; and Wells Street from Ferdon Road to Baldwin Avenue]
• June 4-5, 2010: Annual African-American Downtown Festival [East Ann Street from North Main Street to the Hands On Museum driveway near North Fifth Avenue (local traffic access maintained) and North Fourth Avenue from Catherine Street to East Huron Street]

Other Public Commentary

Several people spoke during public commentary at the meeting, either at the beginning of the meeting when time must be reserved in advance, or at the end of the meeting, when no reservation is necessary.

Musical Interlude

During public commentary reserved time, Libby Hunter offered a song, as she has on several previous occasions. She suggested that it was a very old melody that some people might recognize. ["Blessed Assurance" composed by Phoebe P. Knapp, 1839-1908.] The lyrics were a critical comment on the process that the city uses to make spending decisions.

Main Street BIZ

Ed Shaffran appeared during public commentary reserved time as chair of the Main Street BIZ initiative to thank the council for their support. He reported that the vote among property owners in the proposed district had resulted in greater than 95% support. He told the council that it was their support that allowed the group to go forward with a proposal. He specifically thanked mayor John Hieftje, city clerk Jackie Beaudry, Kevin McDonald from the city attorney’s office, and city assessor David Petrak. Shaffran closed his remarks by summarizing the goal of the new business district: “We’re willing to tax ourselves to make downtown look better.”

Homelessness

Lily Au told the council that their resolutions that invested $245,000 to help low-income people find housing was a good step. [The resolutions were passed without comment from the council.] She alerted them to the fact that Camp Take Notice, which is a homeless tent city located near the intersection of Ann Arbor-Saline Road and I-94, had to rebuild the camp after a recent snowfall.

Au told the council that the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) had given the campers a warning that they needed to depart the premises within 30 days or they would be evicted. That was three weeks ago, she said. She said people often ask why those people don’t simply go to the Delonis Center. She told the council that there is not enough accommodation there. She also noted that the rotating warming shelter that is operated by the faith community would end at the end of March. She described a pattern that would repeat itself: the police would evict the campers, they would hide, and build again.

Palestine

Marcia Federbush criticized the council’s decision, made in December 2009, to appoint Neal Elyakin as a member of the city’s human rights commission. She cited Elyakin’s membership in the Friends of the Israeli Defense forces as incompatible to his membership on the city’s human rights commission. For the road commission, she allowed it would not be an issue, but for the human rights commission, which dealt specifically with these kind of issues, it was relevant. It was the Israeli Defense Forces, Federbush said, that had brought the massacre of 1,400 in Gaza a little over a year ago, using pilotless drones, and white phosphorus. About Elyakin, she contended that “When the world sees yellow, he insists it’s blue.”

Henry Herskovitz began his remarks by saying that he felt most people knew who he was and what he did: exercise his First Amendment rights by holding signs on public sidewalks. He told the council that he actually did not enjoy doing that. On the contrary, he rather disliked it. He did not like being out in the open exposed, even to the point that he did not like waiting for buses. The bus drivers can see him, but he cannot see them. He said that he had previously sworn that he would never do what he’d seen other peace activists do.

But that had changed 10 years ago when he had accompanied a friend on a trip to Iraq to help deliver medical textbooks. In the course of that trip he visited a hospital in Basra in southern Iraq. The hospitals, he reported, were in terrible condition – due to sanctions imposed at the time by the United States.

In the hospital, Herskovitz said, there was a “terrorist” – and he knew that the man was a “terrorist” because he matched the various portrayals that he had seen in mainstream media. Herskovitz said that he started to take pictures of the boy in a hospital bed next to the “terrorist” and that the “terrorist” was crying. Herskovitz said he realized then that the man was the dying boy’s father and that he was crying over the fact his dying son was being used as a photo opportunity. Herskovitz said he came back to Ann Arbor 10 years ago and picked up a sign.

Mid-Block Crosswalk

Kathy Griswold spoke, as she has on many previous occasions, about the issue of moving a crosswalk near King Elementary School from its mid-block location to a four-way stop intersection. She kidded the council, following up on the council discussion of endangered species of birds near the airport, by alluding to a duck and her ducklings hosted at the school – they might try to use the crosswalk mid-block and they should be protected. Switching to a more serious tone, Griswold told the council that she’d been using CTN video equipment to record activity at the crosswalk – after taking the CTN training to use the equipment.

Griswold said that at this point she was waiting for a response from the city to her request that a meeting be held. She described how she’d received a call from a neighbor, which she’d relay to the mayor, who’d handed off the issue to the ward’s two councilmembers, Tony Derezinski and Stephen Rapundalo. She described the situation as a “communications traffic circle.”

City Finances

Brad Mikus called the council’s attention to the pension fund report attached to their information packet. He called the $80 million loss on investments in the report “a big number.” He also called the council’s attention to the fact that according to the report, 10% of the funds are to be invested in alternative assets: hedge funds, timber, and high yield fixed income instruments. Focusing on the phrase “high yield fixed income instruments,” Mikus characterized them as “junk bonds.”

Mikus also called the council’s attention to a number of receivables that are over two years old, including one from SBC for around $100,000. That was money sitting there that could be collected, he suggested.

Council Communications and Updates

In her communications from council, Sandi Smith (Ward 1) suggested that the council look at the scheduling of their July 19 meeting and consider shifting it to July 20. The Townie Street party is scheduled for July 19, and she thought that many council members would like to attend.

Smith also alerted the community that the U.S. Census forms would be delivered in the next few days and she encouraged everyone to fill out the form. It was a secure process, she assured everyone.

Mayor John Hieftje reported that over the weekend he attended the funeral service of a former mayor of Ann Arbor – Sam Eldersfeld Eldersveld, who was mayor from 1957-1959. Hieftje described Eldersfeld as having built the University of Michigan political science department. At the St. Andrews service, Hieftje said, there were three former mayors and a lot of nice memorabilia from city history on display.

Stephen Rapundalo, during his communications, announced that on Friday at 9 a.m. Terumo‘s Ann Arbor campus would be having a dedication ceremony to celebrate the firm’s growth. He encouraged council members to attend, saying that Gov. Jennifer Granholm and representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. would be on hand.

City administrator Roger Fraser announced that at their April 19, 2010 city meeting, the council would be presented with the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011. However, at the first meeting in April they would receive a hard copy of the budget. At the April 12, 2010  work session, said Fraser, the content of the budget book would be walked through and representatives of Ann Arbor SPARK and the Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) would be on hand to answer any questions.

The board of review, Fraser said, has begun its work on tax assessment appeals. They have expanded the process to include two boards, he reminded the council, which can process appeals simultaneously. The additional capacity is needed to process the increased number of appeals.

Street sweeping, Fraser also announced, has resumed for the season. “It’s that time of year.”

As an update on the municipal center construction going on along Fifth Avenue just outside of city hall, Fraser reported that demolition in the basement of city hall resulted in some dust and smells in the building that affected first-floor workers, and that they had been temporarily relocated. The new elevator tower on the west side of the existing city hall building would begin soon, he reported. That would result in a squaring off of the upside-down-cake appearance of the building on that side. Fraser said that if Phase 2 of the renovation plan were to ever be implemented, at that time the men’s and women’s bathrooms would be renovated.

Fraser announced that the city has reduced its number of temporary workers to the point that it is no longer cost-effective to have Manpower administer that operation. This will be brought back in-house.

In response to a question from Sandi Smith (Ward 1), Fraser explained that some, but not all of the temporary workers would be brought on as city employees.

Present: Stephen Rapundalo, Mike Anglin, , Sandi Smith, Tony Derezinski, Stephen Kunselman, Marcia Higgins, John Hieftje, Christopher Taylor, Carsten Hohnke.

Absent: Margie Teall, Sabra Briere.

Mayor John Hieftje announced that councilmember Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Margie Teall (Ward 4) were absent due to the flu. Later Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) had to leave the meeting somewhat early to tend to a sick family.

Next council meeting: April 5, 2010 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]