The council’s action, on March 17, 2014 came after approving 18 replacement vehicles on March 3 and several pieces of basic equipment on Feb. 18.

The two Clark C30 forklifts will be used at the city’s materials recovery facility (MRF) and cost a total of $55,268. The forklifts will replace two that are currently being rented at a cost of $12,000 a year. The city is calculating that the purchase cost will be covered by savings in rental costs in 2.3 years.

The police detective vehicle – a Chevrolet Impala – will be purchased from Berger Chevrolet in Oakland County for $26,750. The car will replace a vehicle that in the next year will have reached an 80,000-mile limit specified in the city’s labor contract.

The resolution approving a two-year golf cart lease with Pifer Inc. had been recommended by the city’s park advisory commission recommended the action on golf carts at its Feb. 25, 2014 meeting. The agreement increases the original number of 65 leased carts by 34 carts, for a total of 99 carts. The city leases golf carts from Pifer for the Huron Hills and Leslie Park golf courses.

The lease amendment is two years, for an amount not to exceed $50,340 over the length of the lease amendment term. Funding for FY 2014 will come from the parks and recreation services general fund and will be in the proposed budget for FY 2015, according to a staff memo. In FY 2013, the city generated about $225,000 in revenue from golf cart rentals.

The council’s resolution on golf carts also approved the sale of 32 city-owned golf carts to Pifer for $50,340.

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

Three parcels received discussion at the council's May 7 meeting, from south to north: 415 W. Washington, 721 N. Main, the MichCon property. (Image links to higher resolution file)

In connection with different agenda items, the council discussed the future of three major parcels within the city, two of which are city-owned: 415 W. Washington and 721 N. Main, and the MichCon site near Broadway bridges.

First the council heard an update on the possible future of the city-owned 415 W. Washington property, located across from the Ann Arbor YMCA, which opened in 2005. The Y replaced the old Ann Arbor Technology Center, which had been the home of the 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios, along with independent artists and musicians, who rented space at the center. It burned in the course of a 2003 demolition.

The 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios went on to re-locate in Detroit. The group has some experience re-purposing buildings as space for artists, recently hosting a fundraiser for an additional property it has acquired – the 3rd Police Precinct in southwest Detroit. Artists can rent literal jail cells there as work space.

On Feb. 1, 2010, the Ann Arbor city council had established a task force – consisting of greenway advocates and members of the arts community – to explore the future use of the 415 W. Washington property. The Ann Arbor Arts Alliance was the group identified to represent the arts community interests.

Now, the 555 group appears ready to take responsibility for the arts portion of planning for the site. That’s the portion that entails re-using the existing building on the site, which is located in the Old West Side historic district. Carl Goines, a representative of 555, addressed the council on Monday night. Goines had co-founded the group 10 years ago in the tech center.

Goines described how an investment of around $45,000 is needed for surveying and environmental analysis of the 415 W. Washington site. That investment would be required whether the building is preserved or demolished, he said. Mayor John Hieftje indicated in his comments at the meeting that he’d be willing to give the group perhaps a year to establish a viable way to re-purpose the building, but also indicated an eagerness eventually to apply to the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for a grant to develop the entire parcel as a park. If the 555 group could not find a way to rehabilitate the structure within a reasonable time, Hieftje indicated a willingness to pursue the option of asking the city’s historic district commission for permission to demolish the structure.

The other city-owned parcel discussed by the council was 721 N. Main, former site of a city maintenance yard.  That came in connection with a council resolution to establish a task force to study the North Main corridor, and deliver a report in a year’s time, by July 31, 2013. Earlier than that, by the end of 2012, the task force is supposed to provide a recommendation on the use of 721 N. Main.

The city has an already-approved grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for demolition of two buildings on the site – but not the main building. The 721 N. Main parcel will also likely be part of a Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application by the city in the spring of 2013.

The task force is also supposed to provide a recommendation on the future use of the MichCon property, between the Amtrak station and the Huron River. MichCon is currently undertaking an environmental cleanup of the land, and the standard to which MichCon remediates the parcel will depend on its intended future use. Hieftje has been clear about his preference – that the city acquire the land for a park. A possible source of funds the city could use for acquisition of such a park would be money generated by the open space and parkland preservation millage.

By administrative policy, a third of the revenue from that millage is overseen by the land acquisition committee of the city’s park advisory commission. The council confirmed a new appointment to that commission at Monday’s meeting – Ingrid Ault, who replaces the term-limited Gwen Nystuen. The other two-thirds of the millage revenues – for preservation of land outside the city as a greenbelt – is administered by the greenbelt advisory commission. And notice of two upcoming reappointments to that body was also on the agenda – for Catherine Riseng and Peter Allen.

Allen is a real estate developer, who might have alternatives in mind for MichCon’s property that include more than just a park.

415 W. Washington

On the council’s agenda under the “introductions” section was an item updating the status of the city-owned 415 W. Washington site. For the council, the most recent historical touchstone was their Feb. 1, 2010 resolution establishing a task force consisting of Allen Creek greenway advocates and representatives of the arts community to work together to explore uses of the site. Chronicle coverage of that council meeting: ”Council Restarts 415 W. Washington Process.”

But the history of the planning for the site dates back more than just two years.

415 W. Washington: More Context – Current Use

Currently, the part of the parcel not occupied by buildings is used for surface parking in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The lot offers 161 spaces, and generated $160,274 for 49,818 hourly patrons for the first nine months of fiscal year 2012 – that is, through March 31.

Based on the first three quarters of FY 2012, the annual revenue from 415 W. Washington’s parking lot can be estimated at $214,000 annually. The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority operates the public parking system under contract with the city of Ann Arbor – a contract that stipulates 17% of gross parking revenues be paid directly to the city. So currently, the surface parking lot at 415 W. Washington could be estimated to provide about $36,000 annually to the city of Ann Arbor.

415 W. Washington: More Context – Future Use

A 2007 city of Ann Arbor greenway task force’s report included the following alternative recommendations for 415 W. Washington: (a) open space and a community art park; (b) a community building; and (c) new housing and additional open space. The (b) alternative mentioned the arts community specifically, but was not limited to that nonprofit sector. From the report:

Another rationale for maintaining the current structure has been provided by a variety of artists, artist organizations and other non-profit entities such as Kiwanis, many of which have expressed a desire to maintain the building for use by their respective organizations.

The city then issued an RFP (request for proposals) for the site. The RFP included a range of site objectives, but did not specify any one of the three recommended greenway task force alternatives for the site. The RFP site objectives, in excerpted form, are these:

1. Beneficial use of the site. … Preference will be given to proposals that incorporate a use (or uses) that provides a publicly available service to the community, for instance, building space that may be used for public meetings and civic or cultural events. Additional consideration will be given for the development of dwelling units affordable to downtown workers earning between 60% and 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. Public greenway linkage. The floodway portion of the site should be reserved in some manner as open space for the Allen Creek Greenway. … The proposal should include provisions for long-term maintenance of the public elements by the applicant.
3. Flood risk mitigation. A successful proposal will employ the best management practices identified in the City of Ann Arbor Flood Mitigation Plan. …
4. Environmental benefits. The development proposal should incorporate to the greatest extent possible environmentally sensitive design and energy efficiency features that follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Preference will be given to proposals that reuse or rehabilitate existing structures, consistent with historic district standards. …
5. Historic preservation. The project design must respect the historic character of the surrounding neighborhood and comply with the Old West Side historic district regulations. …
6. Financial return. The proposal must provide a positive financial return to the City. …

The three proposals received by the city, in severely abbreviated form, were as follows:

Old West Side Design Group: This proposal called for construction of a 3-story artist loft and live/work building totaling 24-36 units with above grade-level parking. The building, which would contain a minimum of 5-8 affordable units, would be located south of the main building on land currently occupied by garage structures. It would be designed for a LEED Silver rating or higher. A 24-unit residential condominium and commercial building is proposed on the adjacent 318 W. Liberty, to be developed under a separate site plan by members of the OWSDG proposal team.

Morningside: Construction of a new five-story, 52-unit condominium building with 48 parking spaces on the grade level under the building. Second floor residences are proposed for artist live/work space. Units would be priced in the mid-$200,000 range. The building, which would be designed for LEED Gold certification, would be located south of the main building on land currently occupied by garage structures.

Ann Arbor Art Center: Renovation of the 415 W. Washington building and garages into a community arts facility, to be owned by the Art Center. The Art Center would occupy approximately 13,000 square feet and rent or lease the remaining space to art groups and individuals.

Membership on the RFP review committee was as follows: Christine Brummer (Old West Side Association), Chris Easthope (now 15th District Court judge and then Ward 5 city council member), Sue McCormick (then director of public services with the city of Ann Arbor), John Mouat (then as now, an Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member), and Scott Rosencrans (then a member of the city’s park advisory commission).

After meeting seven times from May to December 2008 to review and evaluate the proposals, the RFP committee offered praise for all three proposals but did not designate any one of the three a recommended choice. From the committee report:

Notwithstanding these positive elements, the Committee finds that no single proposal is able to satisfy all of the site objectives and requirements of the RFP on its own merits. This evaluation is described in the findings below, followed by recommendations for the next steps in the site redevelopment process.

The RFP committee then kicked the process back to council by asking councilmembers to refine the RFP and allow opportunity until mid-March 2009 for revision to the proposals. From the report:

City council should further clarify its vision for the intended uses of the site and revise the site objectives in the RFP accordingly. The Committee recommends that city council include the following elements in its vision for the site:

• A publicly-owned greenway along the existing floodway.
• Renovation of the 415 W. Washington office building for an arts and/or civic use.
• Removal of the garages behind the office building.
• Construction of a new multi-family or live-work residential building at the southwest corner of the site.
• Pedestrian and vehicle connections to both Liberty and Washington streets.

City council should provide each of the three proposers an opportunity to amend their proposal to respond to the revised site objectives and to provide for collaboration between the parties. The charge of the advisory committee should be extended to review the amended proposals and make its recommendation to city council by March 16, 2009.

The city council did not act in the fashion described by the RFP review committee.

Instead, the city council eventually moved ahead with its Feb. 1, 2010 resolution on the 415 W. Washington site. That resolution could be fairly described as taking the concept from the Ann Arbor Art Center’s RFP response and starting a community-based process to explore its realization.

The resolution language referred explicitly to an “innovative process of community collaboration to explore a greenway park and arts center.”

415 W. Washington: Update on  Process – 2011

The Greenway Arts Committee established to engage in the “innovative process” included: mayor John Hieftje, Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5), Margie Teall (Ward 4), Christine Schopieray (the mayor’s administrative assistant) on behalf of the city council; Joe O’Neal and Jonathan Bulkley for the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy; and Tamara Real, Susan Froelich and David Esau for The Arts Alliance.

A year ago, at its April 4, 2011 meeting, the council received an update on the process. Esau of the Arts Alliance gave the presentation for the group. Highlights of the work included a report on focus groups conducted with artists. The committee also had made site visits to The Russell in Detroit, the Park Trades Center in Kalamazoo, and the Box Factory in St. Joseph.

At that time, the committee had secured a donation that had allowed a grant writer to be hired, to help submit applications for several grants, but none had yet been secured, Esau reported. He said the next step would be to raise $100,000 for additional studies on the old buildings located at the site, which are protected by the Old West Side historic district.

415 W. Washington: Update on  Process – 2012

At the council’s most recent meeting on May 7, 2012, Esau’s update was less sanguine about his own group’s involvement.

He characterized the group as having completed the work for the skills that are relevant to the Arts Alliance. The group had wanted to see a combination of different kind of spaces for artists and had generated preliminary layouts for the building. The result of that work suggested the building could house the activities that the Arts Alliance would like it to house, and that it could operate on a break-even basis. What was needed was a more sophisticated and detailed revenue/expense analysis, he said.

Funding for grant writing had been arranged, Esau said. However, most foundations offering grants are limited in their scope, he said. Foundations offering grants often are not interested in funding bricks-and-mortar capital projects, especially not early-stage projects like the 415 W. Washington project. The group wound up applying for just one grant, and it turned out that for that grant as well, the kind of capital project the Ann Arbor group had in mind was not a good fit, even though that was not evident from the grant criteria. The balance of the money that had been donated to the group for grant-writing activity has been returned to the donor at the request of the donor, Esau reported.

For the greenway portion of the project, Esau indicated that it would be included as part of the city’s grant application to Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund. [That same entity is funding part of the Ann Arbor skatepark and the renovations to the city's boat facilities at Gallup Park.]

Esau told the council that if the city is serious about redevelopment of the building, there is money that needs to be spent now. Some of that money would be needed anyway – even if the building is demolished. The Arts Alliance still believes a shared arts facility has potential and could be beneficial. However, as supportive as the Arts Alliance is of the concept, that organization can’t continue to do work on the project without compensation. All their work thus far has been pro bono. He noted that a different arts group has emerged that has more experience in adapting existing structures and is interested in participating.

With that, Esau handed over the presentation to Carl Goines, executive director of 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios. Goines sketched out the mission and history of the group, as it was founded in the Technology Center, where the Ann Arbor Y now stands, across the street from the 415 W. Washington site.

Vision of 415 W. Washington as complementary spaces with a greenway and space for contemporary artists. The bottom image is an aerial view of the existing site, looking north. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Goines described three locations in Detroit that 555 currently operates, including the former 3rd police precinct building, with around 7,000 square feet, including jail cells. Goines said 555 was interested in working with greenway advocates to create complementary spaces – the greenway portion of the parcel and a building with space for artists.

The first steps that Goines said need to be taken are: hazardous materials assessment ($5,200); Phase 2/3 environmental assessments ($20,000); topographic and boundary survey ($6,200); structural condition survey ($3,000 to $5,000); and architectural/structural as-built survey ($8,000).

So the estimated total for survey work, he said, is $45,000 – but he had an understanding that the first three items were already in the city’s budget. It’s work that would need to be done, whether the building is demolished or rehabilitated, he said. [In subsequent remarks, community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl described the need to have environmental closure on the site, in order to be able to apply for a grant from Michigan's Natural Resources Trust Fund.]

After those first steps, Goines said, the next steps would be: developing a hazardous materials abatement plan; doing a structural feasibility analysis; doing a more detailed analysis of programming and design feasibility; performing a site and environmental feasibility analysis; doing a cost analysis; forming partnerships; and fundraising.

415 W. Washington: Council Deliberations

Mayor John Hieftje had introduced some of the history of the site before Esau and Goines addressed the council. When they concluded their remarks, Hieftje noted that 415 W. Washington is a city-owned site. The city needs to do something with it. He characterized it as a magnet for graffiti. Because it’s in the Old West Side historic district, the city can’t simply remove the building. The city would need to petition the city’s historic district commission, Hieftje said. He hoped that a proposal could be brought forward working with people who’ve done a similar project before – the 555 group.

However, Hieftje cautioned that if something couldn’t be brought forward in a year, the task force would have to come back and say they haven’t been able to bring something forward, and a decision would need to be made at that time. A year from now, Hieftje remarked, the building won’t be in better shape than it is now. He echoed the remarks of Esau and Goines in noting that the expenditures they’d identified would need to be made anyway before tearing down the building.

Sumedh Bahl, community services area administrator, explained that the annual deadline for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant applications is in April. Bahl reported that staff had looked at 415 W. Washington as the subject of a possible grant application, but had concluded there are a number of elements not yet in place – for example, “environmental closure” on the site.

At the city park advisory commission meeting on Jan. 2, 2102, Colin Smith – the city’s manager of parks and recreation – had responded to a question from commissioner Gwen Nystuen about the possibility of moving ahead with development of a greenway park at 415 W. Washington. He noted the issue with the historic district as well as the need to master plan a greenway as items that would need to be addressed before a trust fund grant application could be made. From The Chronicle’s meeting coverage:

Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation manager, noted that a council resolution was passed on Aug. 4, 2011 expressing general support for the idea of a greenway. There have been conversations, he said, about applying for a grant from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund, to turn the 415 W. Washington site into a park. The city staff is looking into that. The process would be similar to the way that the trust fund application for the skatepark had been handled, Smith explained. Staff would first come to PAC for a recommendation to apply. That recommendation would be forwarded to city council, which would need to approve the application.

Smith noted that one issue for the 415 W. Washington property is that it’s located in a historic district – the Old West Side. So in addition to PAC, the city would need a recommendation from the historic district commission too, he said.

Finally, Smith reminded commissioners that the parks, recreation and open space (PROS) plan, which PAC approved, recommends that the first action should be development of a master plan to guide the creation of a greenway. That point bears consideration, he said.

415 W. Washington: What about 721 N. Main?

At the council’s May 7 meeting, Bahl explained that because the city could not move quickly with a trust fund grant application for 415 W. Washington, staff were instead considering the city-owned 721 N. Main as a grant application. To apply to the trust fund, he explained, there would need to be environmental closure on the site, a budget and a plan. Even for 721 N. Main, he said, it’d be an aggressive time schedule, but he felt the city could manage it. All the planning work would need to be done by Jan. 1, 2013, he said, to have the application ready for the April 2013 deadline. It would need to be reviewed by the park advisory commission and the environmental commission. Also, community meetings would need to be held and a community consensus achieved.

The introduction of the topic of the 721 N. Main property led to some confusion among councilmembers: Was the city considering applying for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants for 721 N. Main or 415 W. Washington, or possibly both?

Back and forth between Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Hieftje, and Bahl established that the city would plan to try for an application on 721 N. Main in April 2013, and for 415 W. Washington the following year, in April 2014. Hieftje said that city staff say they won’t have the capacity to do both at the same time.

Hieftje also indicated there’s a problem with the environmental conditions at 415 W. Washington. The city thinks it can meet the environmental standard at 721 N. Main. Hieftje also indicated that there’s some concern on the part of the city’s lobbyist in Lansing that the Natural Resources Trust Fund might not be as flush in coming years as it has been. In addition, Hieftje said, the Greenway Conservancy needs to have a park established as a part of the Allen Creek greenway so they can point to it, which will facilitate fundraising for additional acquisitions.

Lumm agreed that both properties are key parcels. She ventured that many members of the city council would like to assist with the planning effort for the greenway, and noted that it involved asking city staff to invest the time to master plan the greenway. Bahl said that planning exercise would be a two-year effort.

In his remarks on the 415 W. Washington presentation, Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) noted the relationship between the two parcels, saying a lot things are coming together at the same time. The 721 N. Main property is within the area of the North Main corridor task force, he said, which was an item later on the council’s agenda.

Outcome: The council did not have a voting item on its agenda related to 415 W. Washington.

North Main/Huron River Task Force

The council considered a resolution establishing a task force to study the corridor along North Main Street and the Huron River.

The scope of the task force is described in one of the “Resolved” clauses:

RESOLVED, This task force’s efforts should develop a vision to create/complete/enhance pedestrian and bike connection from downtown to Bandemer and Huron River Drive, increase public access to the river-side amenities of existing parks in the North Main-Huron River corridor, ease traffic congestion at Main and Depot at certain times of a day and recommend use of MichCon property at Broadway; …

The task force is supposed to submit a report on its vision more than a year from now, on July 31, 2013. The membership of the task force is described as follows:

RESOLVED, That the task force will include one member of the park advisory commission, one member of planning commission, one resident representing Water Hill, one resident representing the North Central, one resident from Old Fourth Ward and one resident representing Broadway/Pontiac neighborhood, two business and property owners from the affected area, and one member of Huron River Watershed Council;

North Main/Huron River Task Force: 721 N. Main

In addition to the MichCon property, the resolution establishing the North Main/Huron River task force explicitly mentions another parcel – 721 N. Main.

RESOLVED, This task force’s efforts should result in a recommendation to council for the best use of 721 N. Main as part of the Allen Creek Greenway trails by Dec. 31, 2012;

So there are two deadlines for the task force – an outcome that was decided only after confusion and much conversation by the council during its May 7 deliberations. The earliest deadline is for a recommendation on the 721 N. Main property – by the end of 2012. The later deadline, for the overall report, is not until 2013, on July 31.

The 721 N. Main parcel is west of Main Street. The main building on the site is oriented north-south, visible just north of the blue-shaded area (the FEMA floodway) and inside the green area (the FEMA floodplain). The FEMA grant for demolition of buildings does not include the main building. (Links to higher resolution image.)

Council deliberations on the 721 N. Main portion of the task force resolution had already begun in the context of the presentation on 415 W. Washington. At that point in the council meeting, it was already established that the 721 N. Main property would be put ahead of 415 W. Washington for consideration of a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund application. It’s the trust fund’s April 2013 application deadline that pushed the council to give the task force a Dec. 31, 2012 deadline for a recommendation on 721 N. Main.

Some of the additional background on 721 N. Main, reviewed by community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl, included the fact that the city has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to demolish two of the buildings – those in the floodway. The main building is in the floodplain, not the floodway, and is not included in the FEMA grant. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) asked if there was any intent to save the main building. Bahl said he didn’t know right now, but the FEMA grant is for the demolition of the other two buildings.

The receipt of the FEMA grant is contingent on getting the city’s All-Hazard Plan updated, Bahl explained. It had lapsed, and FEMA requires an updated plan before the grant award can be made. [The city recently hired a new emergency management director, Rick Norman, who was introduced to the council at its Feb. 21, 2012 meeting. Updating the plan will be one of Norman's priorities.]

As funding sources for development of 721 N. Main as a greenway park, Hieftje gave another possibility in addition to the FEMA grant and the possible Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. Hieftje reported that he also had had a fruitful conversation with Washtenaw County parks and recreation on possible funding from that group. [The Washtenaw County parks and recreation commission operates with its own dedicated millage funds.] No formal agreement exists, Hieftje allowed, but the group was happy to see an application for funds go forward.

By way of additional background, Bob Tetens – director of Washtenaw County parks and recreation – told The Chronicle in a recent phone interview that there was not anything yet in front of the parks and recreation commission related to 721 N. Main. He indicated that there’d been conversations with the city about the project, and that the idea of connecting the 721 N. Main property would be a good fit with the county parks and recreation Connecting Communities grant program – a $600,000 annual program over five years, for a total of $3 million. Tetens also said that a project already partly funded through another source (like the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund) would enhance that project’s application for a Connecting Communities grant. However, there are more applications for various projects every year than Washtenaw County parks and recreation can fund through the program, Tetens said.

Excerpt from the city's 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

At the council’s May 7 meeting, Bahl said that Ann Arbor will work with Washtenaw County parks and recreation as the project moves along. Hieftje also described the possibility of a tunnel under the railroad track that could connect the 721 N. Main side of the railroad tracks to the Border-to-Border Trail. [The two borders to which the trail's name refers are the eastern and western edges of Washtenaw County.]

The city’s 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, which is currently being updated by the city, shows a non-motorized trail underpass for the railroad tracks that would essentially extend a shared-use path from Fifth Avenue at Depot Street under the tracks across the MichCon property, where it could eventually connect with the Border-to-Border trail. [.pdf of map from 2007 Non-Motorized Transportation Plan]

Hieftje commented that he’s hopeful about a railroad underpass, because the Michigan Dept. of Transportation would be soon be acquiring the tracks from Norfolk Southern Railway. Railroad are notorious for being difficult to work with, he said. Hieftje felt that MDOT should be easier to work with than Norfolk Southern.

Bahl responded to Hieftje’s speculation by saying that MDOT might be easier to work with than the Norfolk Southern, but said that working with MDOT is no piece of cake. Bahl’s sentiments were consistent with those expressed by city staff on a March 16, 2012 staff-led tour of the area around the MichCon site and the Broadway bridges. Responding to residents who ventured that MDOT would be easier to work with, city engineer Michael Nearing and city transportation program manager Eli Cooper were both keen to stress that MDOT would not be easy to work with on railroad issues.

North Main/Huron River Task Force: Council Deliberations

Sandi Smith (Ward 1) led off the deliberations on the task force resolution. She co-sponsored it with her wardmate, Sabra Briere. She highlighted the fact that it’s meant to be a collaborative effort to look at the North Main corridor along the Huron River. She noted that access to Bandemer Park was difficult – for pedestrians, bicyclists and cars. None of it is being done very well currently, she said. So people use the illegal cut-throughs across the railroad tracks.

The city has given up maintaining a fence there, because it was destroyed so many times, she said. But across the railroad tracks is the only way into Bandemer, unless you go up North Main and cross the tracks at the at-grade crossing. Almost everyone takes the illegal shortcut, she noted. The city is investing a lot of resources in that general area. The Argo Cascades bypass around the Argo Dam has doubled or tripled the number of visitors to the area. People are flocking to it, she said. A connection between 721 N. Main and Bandemer will serve the greenway very well, she said. Getting to the Huron River from that side of the railroad tracks needs to be addressed, she said.

In his remarks, made later in the deliberations, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) noted that Smith had served on the Allen Creek greenway task force that had produced the 2007 report. It had a lot of technical detail that’s very deep, he noted. The participation of the greenway conservancy would be an asset, he said.

Tony Derezinski (Ward 2) said the task force effort ties in with efforts that had been discussed two years ago. He noted that he and Smith had walked the area to see what the North Main entrance into the city looks like. He said he’d support the resolution as an idea whose time has come.

Briere noted the difference between the work of the task force and the work that city staff would do. She observed that members of the task force are individual citizens, not staff members. She continued by saying she is partial to the resolution language that says the task force will conduct a series of workshops and would work with independent professionals – to help everyone listen to ideas they might not think of inside the box they live in. She stressed that the task force membership includes people who have a real stake in the area. She also stressed that anyone who wanted to attend the task force meetings would be welcome to do so.

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) indicated she supported the resolution. But she wanted to know how the work would be funded. Briere indicated the task force would have access to one staff member – Sumedh Bahl. Most of the work would be done by people who don’t get paid. So Higgins ventured that the independent professionals the task force was supposed to consult with would be volunteers – yes, said Briere.

A lengthy discussion then ensued about the work that the task force would do on 721 N. Main, compared with the staff work that would be done specifically in connection with preparing to meet the April 2013 application deadline for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) and Sandi Smith (Ward 1) before the May 7 council meeting.

Bahl indicated that the initially proposed deadline for the task force recommendation on 721 N. Main (which had been March 31, 2013) would be much too late to make a difference for the April grant application. That deadline was revised to Dec. 31, 2012.

Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) expressed some concern that even that earlier deadline would not give city staff enough time to prepare the grant application. Bahl assured Taylor that the site plan that would be produced in connection with the grant application would be only at the conceptual level, indicating that the deadline would be achievable.

Hieftje stressed that the best thing from the point of view of pushing a greenway forward is to get the funding for 721 N. Main, so that the first of a series of greenway parks could be established. That would be the best approach to establishing 415 W. Washington as part of an Allen Creek greenway, he said.

Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) thanked Briere and Smith for developing the resolution and bringing it forward. He counted it as significant progress since the greenway task force had submitted its report. He also noted that progress had been made on the First and William lot. Hohnke felt that progress was now being made on the other two city-owned parcels [identified by greenway advocates as three key parcels for an Allen Creek greenway.] Hohnke noted that part of the challenge of the First and William site is environmental remediation.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved establishing the task force to develop a vision for North Main/Huron River. Appointments to the task force could come as soon as the next council meeting on May 21.

Appointments to Open-Space-Related Bodies

In addition to eventual appointments to the North Main/Huron River task force, at its May 7 meeting the council considered appointments to two park-related bodies of the city: the park advisory commission, and the greenbelt advisory commission.

Appointments: Park Advisory Commission

The council considered the nomination of Ingrid Ault to the city’s park advisory commission (PAC). Ault – executive director of the nonprofit Think Local First – replaces Gwen Nystuen, who served two three-year terms on the commission starting in 2006. Service on the commission is limited to six continuous years at a time – but an additional appointment can be made after a three-year pause.

During the council’s opportunity to deliberate on the appointment, Jane Lumm (Ward 2) spoke at length in praise of Nystuen’s service to the city on PAC.

Outcome: The council unanimously approved Ault’s nomination to the city’s park advisory commission.

Appointments: Greenbelt Advisory Commission

A parliamentary snafu was associated with the nomination for re-appointment of two members of the city’s greenbelt advisory commission (GAC), which is charged with overseeing a portion of the proceeds from the open space and parkland preservation millage. By administrative policy, two-thirds of the millage proceeds are invested in land preservation outside the city – GAC makes recommendations to city council for those investments. The other third of the money is overseen by the land acquisition committee of PAC, which also acts in an advisory capacity to city council.

The re-appointment of Catherine Riseng and Peter Allen to GAC was on the agenda as a voting item, but was supposed to be a communication. The council agreed informally to postpone the vote until its following meeting, on May 21. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) raised the corresponding point of order – the council should actually vote on the postponement as a matter of form, which the council then did.

Outcome: The council unanimously postponed the reappointment of Riseng and Allen to GAC.

MichCon Site

Also a part of the North Main/Huron River task force scope of work is the MichCon site, bounded roughly by the railroad tracks next to the Amtrak station on the west, the Huron River on the east, and Broadway bridges on the south.

MichCon, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, is currently engaged in the environmental cleanup of contamination that’s related to the site’s history as a coal gasification plant. The cleanup plan for the strip of land alongside the river was presented to the city council recently, as well as to the city’s park advisory commission. [For a more detailed look at that plan, see Chronicle coverage of the March 20, 2012 park advisory commission meeting.]

At an April 10, 2012 public hearing held at Cobblestone Farm, Shayne Wiesemann, a senior environmental engineer with DTE Energy, spoke to The Chronicle about the cleanup. He explained that the cleanup of the area next to the river was the subject of the hearing, not the cleanup for the entire site. While the standards for remediating the riverside strip had essentially been determined, that was not the case for the entire site.

The cleanup standard that DTE Energy would meet for the entire site would depend on its eventual planned use by a future owner, Wiesemann said. He indicated that the MichCon leadership is interested in selling the property – but does not have an immediate sense of urgency to dispose of the land. He indicated that something like a five-year time frame would be appropriate to think about.

"Broadway Mills" – a University of Michigan student project. This rendering is oriented with south at the top of the image. (Image links to large .pdf of class project.)

Mayor John Hieftje and others have spoken about their desire to see the land acquired by the city and become a park. One possible source of funds for acquisition of at least part of the parcel by the city would be the open space and parkland preservation millage. That purchase would need to be recommended by the park advisory commission’s land acquisition committee.

For Peter Allen, who serves on the greenbelt advisory commission in the slot designated for a real estate developer, the vision of the MichCon property is more than just a park. [Allen's service on GAC would not allow him to have say in the expenditure of open space and parkland preservation millage dollars on the MichCon property, which lies inside the city.]

In a recent phone interview with The Chronicle, Allen described how the “buildable” portion of the property is closer to the Broadway bridges, and that he could imagine the parcel as including parkland as well as developed property. He highlighted in particular the possibility of including a performing arts venue at the location.

NoMo – a University of Michigan student project. The view is from the east with the Broadway bridges in the foreground. (Image links to large .pdf of class project.)

Allen teaches a course in urban planning as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan. Two and a half years ago, The Chronicle reported on a class assignment that Allen gave students to look at the potential development of various sites around Ann Arbor. Two groups of students took on the challenge of evaluating the MichCon property as developable land.

The two projects were called Broadway Mills and NoMo. Both proposals include construction of buildings on the eastern part of the parcel, leaving the western portion as open space.

NoMo proposed a mix of retail (ground floor), office (middle) and residential uses (top). Broadway Mills also included a mix of retail and residential uses, and specifically called for a small amphitheater and a seasonal ice rink. A space the project team dubbed “Depot Plaza” – located roughly where the current Amtrak station is located – would be “a family-oriented space, with a splash fountain, climbable sculptures, and a playground.”

Outcome: The council did not have a voting item on its agenda regarding the MichCon property.

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

Absent: Margie Teall.

Next council meeting: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 301 E. Huron. [confirm date]

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Examples from the set of fee increases include an increase in daily swimming pool admission fees for adults from $4 to $5, and for youth and seniors from $3.50 to $4. The increase in daily swimming pool admission fees is expected to generate an additional $40,000 in revenue for the city.

Alcohol permit fees for residents would be increased from $12 to $25, which is expected to increase revenue by $4,925.

Fees are also proposed for new activities that previously did not exist. Among the new fees would be one for renting inner tubes. The city does not currently rent them out, but expects to be able to do some business with the tubes in connection with the construction of the Argo Dam bypass channel – which is projected to be completed at the end of this season. It would cost $10 to rent a tube. The city is projecting 1,000 such rentals for April-June 2012, for an additional $10,000 in revenue for the FY 2012 budget.

Another fee for a new activity would be for the pilot night market program on Wednesday evenings – the stall charge would be $20, which is expected to generate $10,000 for the city. [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Idea for Night Farmers Market Floated"]

This brief was filed from the Washtenaw County boardroom at 220 N. Main St. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]

Blobs inside the squarish boundaries represent properties or development rights acquired with greenbelt millage funds. The darker squarish area is the original area where millage funds could be spent. The lighter strips to the east, south, and west were added in 2007. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Though not included explicitly in the millage language, the city approaches the administration of the millage as a one-third/two-thirds split between a portion for parks and a portion for the greenbelt program. So as part of the financial review, commissioners also looked at current fund balances as analyzed based on the one-third/two-third split between parks and greenbelt projects. Noting that the greenbelt fund balance might be on track to be drawn down before the parks portion is exhausted, commissioners seemed to agree that now is a good time to begin mulling what should happen if that scenario played out. The group discussed holding a joint meeting between the park and greenbelt advisory commissions – their last joint session was held in April 2010.

Also discussed on Wednesday was the scheduling of a first meeting of a commission subcommittee that will look at the question of changing greenbelt boundaries. The boundaries define the region where land or development rights on land might be acquired by the greenbelt program. Any change to those boundaries would ultimately require approval from the Ann Arbor city council.

Millage, Bonds

In 2003, Ann Arbor voters passed a 30-year 0.5 mill tax for land acquisition – called the open space and parkland preservation millage. On the summer tax bill, the line item appears as CITY PARK ACQ. The millage and the programs it supports are managed with support from staff of The Conservation Fund, Ginny Trocchio and Peg Kohring. Though not stipulated in the legal terms of the millage, the city’s policy has been to allocate one-third of the millage for parks land acquisition and two-thirds for the city’s greenbelt program.

To get money upfront for land acquisition, the city took out a $20 million bond in fiscal year 2006. That bond is being being paid back with revenue from the millage. Debt service on that bond so far in FY 2011 year has amounted to $815,288.

Bonds: Down to Zero

The city keeps separate track of the greenbelt fund balances in several ways. One way is to track separately: (1) total fund balances due to accumulated unspent millage revenues; and (2) total fund balances due to proceeds from the $20 million bond issuance.

During the greenbelt advisory commission’s discussion of the financial presentation given by Trocchio, commissioner Mike Garfield called attention to the line in the spreadsheet indicating a total overall fund balance of $11,741,975. Also indicated on the sheet was the fact that all $11,741,975 is due to the separate fund balance in (1). Mike Garfield asked if that meant that the commission had spent down the bond proceeds to zero – yes, answered Trocchio. That was the “first pot of money that we wanted to spend down,” she said. Now the millage revenue is getting spent down, which has also been accruing, she explained. Garfield appeared satisfied: “Good!”

Trocchio’s spreadsheet shows that the bond proceeds fund balance in FY 2008 was $9.6 million, and that it was spent down to $6.9 million the following year, and further to $3.3 million FY 2010.

Millage: Contrast Between GAC and PAC

Another way the finances are tracked for the greenbelt and open space millage relates to the policy of allocating one-third for parks land acquisition and two-thirds for the city’s greenbelt program. This one-third/two-thirds division is reflected in the two different public bodies that make recommendations on use of the funds: the park advisory commission (PAC) for one-third of the money, and the greenbelt advisory commission (GAC) for the other two-thirds.

Jennifer S. Hall and Dan Ezekiel, chair and vice chair of Ann Arbor's greenbelt advisory commission.

Trocchio provided as part of her presentation an analysis of the millage finances, along this one-third/two-thirds division for PAC- and GAC-related money. Commission chair Jennifer S. Hall noticed that the GAC-related fund balances had been spent down steadily – from $12.4 million in FY 2008 to $7.4 million in the current fiscal year. In contrast, the PAC-related fund balance in FY 2008 was $4.4 million, and has remained relatively steady through the current fiscal year.

So Hall asked Carsten Hohnke, who serves as the city council representative to GAC, if the city council had had any dialogue about what to do if GAC-related money were exhausted with PAC-related money still available. Hohnke indicated that there was no conversation about that currently, but said it would be useful to begin that conversation with the park advisory commission.

Hall said she felt it would be wise to have the discussion before a great disparity arises between the GAC-related fund balance and the PAC-related fund balance. Garfield reminded his colleagues that the two-thirds/one-third split is not a legal division. [It's not part of the millage language.] It’s simply a working understanding, he said, so having a dialogue makes sense.

A consensus seemed to emerge among commissioners that it would be useful to have a joint GAC-PAC meeting to go over the money question – along the lines of a joint meeting the two bodies had convened on April 6, 2010. Ezekiel recalled that last year only five GAC members were able to attend the joint meeting, which meant that GAC could not go into closed session, which would have been useful on that occasion. [GAC meetings often include closed sessions to discuss land acquisition; PAC handles most of its land acquisition discussions during closed sessions at the meetings of its land acquisition committee (LAC), which includes all PAC members. Discussions of land acquisition are one of the legitimate reasons for a public body to meet in a closed session under the Michigan Open Meetings Act.]

On Wednesday, GAC commissioners expressed an interest in ensuring that a scheduled date for a joint meeting would accommodate as many commissioners as possible. Laura Rubin, for example, said she thought the proposed April 5, 2011 date fell during the Ann Arbor public schools break, and she could not commit to being there on that day.

Details of Financial Picture

Trocchio walked commissioners through the most recent numbers as of Dec. 31, 2010, which marks the midway point through the fiscal year. Millage proceeds to date stand at $2,175,804. [That is comparable to the entire year's collection of millage funds last year and in previous years. In FY 2010, for example, $2,262,001 was collected. Of the two tax bills that property owners receive, the greenbelt tax appears only on the summer tax bills. So the current figure is likely to be very close to the final tally.]

Trocchio noted that the investment income for FY 2010 now reflected a corrected number: $492,576. In response to a commissioner question, she said that the previous number – from unaudited financial statements – had been around $130,000.

[The issue had arisen at the commission's Sept. 8, 2010 meeting, when commissioners had expressed concern about the unaudited figure of $130,011 for investment income for FY 2010. They'd received an explanation from city treasurer Matthew Horning at their Nov. 10, 2010 meeting:

Regarding concerns over investment income, Horning said the good news is the amount reported to GAC in September was an unaudited figure – the final number will be much higher, at about $492,000. To explain the difference, Horning said that at the end of the year, the city does a reclassification entry, required by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). This mark-to-market accounting requires that the city record the actual market value of its investments at the end of the fiscal year – that is, what the value of their investments would be, if liquidated. If it’s worth greater or less than the book value of the investments, you have to record that difference, Horning said.

At the end of the last fiscal year – on June 30, 2010 – the city made a mark-to-market entry of about $362,000 for greenbelt investment income. That figure isn’t reflected in the financial statement that had been presented to the commission, Horning said. So the total investment income is actually about $492,000, he said.

The FY 2010 investment income presented by Trocchio on Wednesday showed $492,576. That's still a decrease from $815,261 the previous year.]

The investment income to date in FY 2011, Trocchio said, is $88,148 and that will be corrected in the same way last year’s figure was adjusted.

Ginny Trocchio gave the mid-year financial update to the greenbelt advisory commission, which met on the seventh floor of the City Center building.

Federal grant reimbursements stand at $1,235,183  she said. Since Dec. 31, 2010, an additional $675,000 worth of federal grants had been received for the Honke and Whitney properties that had been closed on. The grant reimbursements, together with investment income and millage proceeds, showed a combined net income of $3,499,134.

The millage program expenditures to date in this fiscal year total $6,665,645, with $5,682,035 going towards greenbelt projects and $983,609 going towards park projects.

Commission chair Jennifer Hall pointed out that of the roughly $5.6 million that had been spent, almost $2 million was reimbursed with federal grants.

Total administrative expenditures, reported Trocchio, stand at $66,358 year-to-date. Administration costs include staff time for Trocchio and other Conservation Fund staff, as well as personnel and IT costs from the city. The cost of all projects, plus debt service and administrative costs, bring total expenditures so far in FY 2011 to $7,547,290. The net change to the fund balance is negative: $4,048,156.

Commissioner Laura Rubin drew out the fact that the mid-year numbers for some categories of expenditures and revenues made sense to measure against a 50% benchmark, while others did not. She asked if the $7 million expenditures so far meant that potentially for the whole year they could be looking at $14 million in expenditures. Trocchio replied that at year’s end last year, they’d had a lot of closings. This year she anticipated perhaps two additional closings before the end of the fiscal year and then perhaps one at the end of the calendar year.

As far as expenses lining up with the mid-point of the year, Carsten Hohnke noted that administrative expenses appeared to be tracking at or below the annual run rate for those types of expenses. Last year for the entire year, there were $178,892 worth of administrative expenses, compared to a mid-year number of $66,358 for this year. Later in the presentation, Trocchio showed how the administrative costs over the life of the millage – which are limited by ordinance to be no greater than 6% of revenues – are now tracking well under that number. Starting in FY 2005, those percentages each year have trended as follows: FY05, 7.6%; FY06, 5.1%; FY07, 2.0%; FY08, 3.8%; FY09, 4.3%; FY10, 3.5%; and so far in FY11, 0.9%.

As Trocchio worked her way through the details of each greenbelt property, which included endowments, Hall and Ezekiel both indicated they felt it was very important that these endowments be kept up to date. There’s now a separate line item for the open space endowment fund balance, which currently stands at $390,000.

Boundary Issue

At its Nov. 10, 2010 meeting GAC had established a subcommittee to consider the question of whether to recommend an expansion of the greenbelt boundary – the area where the greenbelt millage can be used to acquire land or development rights to land. Since the millage was approved by voters in 2003, the boundary has been previously expanded on one occasion, in August 2007. [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Time to Change the Greenbelt Boundary?"]

GAC vice chair Dan Ezekiel, who’s leading the committee, was keen to stress at Wednesday’s meeting that GAC did not have the authority to expand the boundaries. That power rests with the city council. The issue came up at Wednesday’s meeting only in the context of a brief conversation about the scheduling of the subcommittee’s first meeting, which has not yet taken place. They’d planned to meeting the following day, Feb. 10, at 4:30 p.m. But Catherine Riseng told her colleagues that although she’d previously been available at that time, her schedule had changed.

Commission chair Jennifer Hall suggested that because this would be the first meeting, it might be good to go ahead and meet with the members who were available – “to get the ball rolling.” Ezekiel asked Riseng if she’d be willing to provide some input via email. Peg Kohring, of The Conservation Fund, told commissioners that it would not be an easy conversation.

When it became apparent that some of the communication about the meeting and the materials related to it had been sent only to a subset of commissioners, Hall asked that communication about future meetings be addressed to all commissioners. Riseng ventured that she thought the subcommittee was, in any case, a committee of the whole. Hall responded by saying she thought it was a committee of the all-who-are-willing.

Present: Dan Ezekiel, Mike Garfield, Jennifer S. Hall, Carsten Hohnke, Catherine Riseng, Laura Rubin, Gil Omenn

Absent: Peter Allen, Tom Bloomer

Next meeting: Wednesday, March 9 at 4:30 p.m. at the Washtenaw County administration building, 220 N. Main, Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

The question of whether to remove or repair the dam has been debated for more than three years, with several hearings and public meetings. Now, the issue could be decided within the next month or so. The city’s Environmental Commission is expected to vote on its own recommendation at its May 28 meeting, with Ann Arbor’s city council ultimately deciding the issue, perhaps as early as June.

Most of the 15 people who spoke during PAC’s public comment time on Tuesday were in support of keeping Argo Dam, and some of those supporters – but not all – were part of the city’s rowing community. Many teams use Argo Pond for training, and say it’s by far the best place to practice that sport locally. Because rowers have been vocal advocates for keeping the dam, there was sensitivity on the part of some speakers as well as during deliberations amongst commissioners not to portray the dam as a rowers-vs.-everyone-else issue.

Public Comment: Summary

John Satarino began the public comment portion of the meeting by stating that he assumed the dam would stay, but he wanted PAC to consider the impact that rowers have on the ability of passive users, such as hikers, cyclists and picnickers, to enjoy Argo Pond. The bullhorns used during training and the motors to power the coach’s boats cut down on the enjoyment of non-rowers. The amount of activity on Argo Pond is butting up against nature, he said, and he’s worried about water quality and park quality.

Cedric Richner spoke in support of removing the dam, reiterating many of the points he made in a recent letter to the editor in the Ann Arbor News. Maintenance of the dam is costly, he said, while removing it would bring in more revenues for the city’s canoe livery because it would be more attractive to canoeists and kayakers who would no longer have to portage around the dam. He noted that just down the road, the village of Dexter successfully removed the Mill Pond Dam, following nationwide trends.

Paul Cousins, one of the main advocates behind removing the Mill Pond Dam, is also chair of the Huron River Watershed Council, which has pushed for the Argo Dam removal. Removing the dam in Dexter has been good for the creek, he told PAC. Fish have moved upstream, kayakers are now shooting the rapids that have been formed, and an entire new park system is being created. Cousins urged the commission to “do the right thing” and remove the dam.

Laura Rubin, Huron River Watershed Council’s executive director, said that taking out the dam would significantly improve the river. The dam is failing, she said – a point she made in an op/ed piece published in the Ann Arbor News earlier this month. She said when talking about the dam, you need to include all its parts, and some of those parts – such as the toe drains – are in serious disrepair. The choice is taking out the dam or replacing a huge part of it.

Some people who spoke in support of keeping the dam accused the Huron River Watershed Council of misrepresenting the condition of the dam. Mark Breeding, who described himself as a tree hugger, said the nonprofit’s rhetoric had become hysterical. Michele Macke took issue with the argument that removing the dam would restore the river to its natural state. That’s not possible, she said, since there are dams on either side of that stretch of river – at Barton and Geddes. ”I teach logic in high school. This is not a logical argument.”

Sarah Rampton, who brought to the podium some schematic maps of the dam, said she’d talked to Joe O’Neal, who designed the dam when it was rebuilt in the 1970s. Though the toe drains are failing, she said, there are ways to address that in the short-term that can be done cheaply and quickly. That will buy some time to come up with other alternatives.

Lisa Psarouthakis said that other parks have maintenance like cutting the grass or painting lines on the baseball field. Argo Pond is a rowers’ field, she said. It needs maintenance, just like other fields. The toe drains and embankment need to be fixed, but the city shouldn’t flush a jewel like Argo Pond downstream.

Mike Anthony, an engineer with the University of Michigan and member of the National Electric Code committee, urged PAC to explore the availability of homeland security funds for hydropower, as part of a countywide power security program. He said the issue of emergency regional power security should be part of the discussion about Argo Dam.

Rich Griffith, head coach of the Ann Arbor Pioneer crew team, said he’d already spoken at other meetings about the reasons to keep Argo Dam. Instead, this time he wanted to talk about some of the accomplishments of the rowing teams. Among them, last weekend the women’s varsity eight team and the men’s varsity four team won state championships against 19 other schools. He said the rowers have been quietly making Ann Arbor proud, and are a hidden gem.

Griffith concluded by saying, ”I am on the Argo impoundment nearly every day for half the year. It is my office. It is where I earn my living … I have tremendous respect for it. I know its birds, its fish, its critters. I can tell you where the swans nest, where the herons perch, where the vegetation and stumps lurk, and where the fish like to jump. It is not dying, or in need of rescue. It simply is what it is, a fine and beautiful impoundment, enjoyed and respected by man and nature alike.”

PAC Deliberations

Linda Berauer, PAC’s chair, said this was the single most difficult decision she’s faced on the more than five years that she’s served on the commission. She noted that they’d done a lot of homework on the issue, citing a recent joint public hearing with the city’s Environmental Commission as well as a PAC working session devoted to the topic. [More information about the multi-year process of evaluating Argo, including the final report of the Huron River Impoundment Management Plan (HRIMP), is on the city's State of Our Environment website.]

Several commissioners had questions for staff, which were fielded primarily by Matt Naud, the city’s environmental coordinator.

Sam Offen followed up on Mike Anthony’s remarks made during the public comment session. Offen wanted Naud to comment on the homeland security issues raised by Anthony, and whether funding would be available to provide hydroelectric power from the dam. Naud said the National Electric Code is being modified to require that municipalities be able to run on backup power for 72 hours. He said Consumers Energy estimated that hydropower from Argo could generate about $100,000 in revenues per year, but at that rate it would take 40 years to recoup the cost of building a power-generator on Argo. Naud said he wouldn’t recommend keeping Argo Dam simply because of hydropower, but that if they voted to keep the dam, they could explore the use of hyrdopower.

Berauer said she was interested in comments by the speaker (Rampton) who suggested they could buy time by making some cheap, quick repairs. That was appealing because it would allow them time to gather more information and data, Berauer said. But was the suggestion of closing the millrace practical, she asked, and what would that do to canoe portage? The short answer: It’s doable, but costly, and would require extending the portage about five times its current length.

Commissioner Gwen Nystuen asked for clarification about what would happen if the toe drains aren’t repaired. Naud said the 60 drains are a way for water to get out of the embankment. When they get clogged, the embankment could get saturated, creating erodible surfaces. It becomes a hazard when that eventually causes the dam to erode, too.

Berauer said she’d received an email from someone claiming that Argo Dam mitigated flooding, and she didn’t believe that was the case. Naud confirmed that it was not – the dams aren’t for flood control.

Commissioner John Lawter asked what would happen to the Argo canoe livery if the dam was removed. Cheryl Saam, supervisor for the liveries, said they’d consider putting a livery just below Barton Dam, and because the river stretch would be longer with some rapids, they’d anticipate an increase in use and revenues.

Following questions for the staff, the commission considered two resolutions:

1. a resolution put forward by David Barrett and Gwen Nystuen, which resolved to accept the proposals in the Huron River Impoundment Management Plan report and “accept the course of action for Argo dam that retains Argo Dam and Argo Pond with the repair of the toe drains in the embankment below the dam with BMP flow controls, and appropriate design of the water supply to the headrace, and plan to create a water bypass or suitable portage for canoes and kayaks.”
2. a resolution by Brigit Macomber and Scott Rosencrans, which “concurs with the findings of the HRIMP report in every other respect” but which, noting that the report did not make a specific recommendation regarding the dam, called for its removal.

Barrett said Argo Dam is not failing – the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) wants the city to repair the toe drains. The environmental case for removal of the dam was not commensurate with the cost, he said. And he noted that just because one constituency (the rowing community) had been quite vocal, that doesn’t mean they’re the only group that benefits from Argo Pond. There’s a larger group that supports the current environment of the pond, too, he said.

Nystuen said they keep getting new information and additional questions that need to be answered, including some related to the impact of sedimentation, vegetation and fisheries. Removing the dam would be costly, she added, at a time when the budget is tight.

Lawter said he knows that people complain about the rowers, but he finds that kind of activity on the pond energizing. How many cities can claim to have something like that so close to their downtown?

Commissioner Julie Grand said she struggled with this issue, but ultimately came down on the side of keeping the dam in place.

The resolution drafted by Macomber and Rosencrans stated that removal of the dam would improve the natural habitat and overall ecology of that stretch of Huron River. It also stated that before the dam could be removed, alternatives for the rowing community would need to be found.

Macomber agreed that it was a difficult decision. She said she’s a daily or weekly visitor to Argo, where she walks, bikes and kayaks. It’s a beautiful area, but a natural river would be equally beautiful. Another factor is the issue of creating a safe passage across the railroad tracks at the north end of Bandemer Park. Right now, an option that’s too expensive to pursue is to build an underground passage. But if the dam is removed, the water level would drop so that a boardwalk could be built under the train tressel, similar to one at Barton Dam  – and it would be significantly less expensive to build.

Commissioner Tim Berla began his comments by saying he hoped everyone could remember that they all cared about the Huron River, no matter which side they were on in this debate. The people who want to keep the dam are not anti-environmental, just as the people who want to remove the dam aren’t anti-rowing. Well, he conceded, maybe some of them are – but not all. He said if rowing weren’t involved, it would be an easy decision for him – take the dam out. He cited three issues: recreation, environment and money. For recreation, it was better to leave the dam in because of the rowers. However, it would be better for the environment if the dam were removed. That left the financial issue – and it would be more expensive over the next 20 years to leave the dam in than to remove it now.

Berauer said she was very attached to Argo Pond, and that this had been a difficult decision. After one of the meetings on this issue, she’d driven out to Dexter to see how the area looked after the Mill Pond Dam had been removed. She expected to see “dreadful mudflats,” she said, but the area was beautiful. She said it’s important to recognize that they support the rowing community, but that she’d been convinced there were other options for them. She thought the idea of having whitewater in town was cool, and that they’d heard from staff that canoeing would be enhanced by the dam’s removal. Overall, recreational activities with or without the dam would be roughly equivalent.

Offen said he’d be comfortable with either decision, and that he was disappointed with the HRIMP committee because they didn’t make a recommendation about Argo Dam. He thought that after studying the issue for two years, they should have come to a definite conclusion. He said he wasn’t convinced that taking the dam out would make much of a difference, so he planned to vote for the option that would do the least harm, which meant leaving things as is. Another factor: they were coming at it from the perspective of parks and recreation, which tipped the balance toward keeping the dam.

As commissioners stated their positions, it became clear that the resolution to keep the dam had enough votes to pass. There was some discussion about whether to postpone the vote for two weeks, giving PAC members time to craft a document incorporating elements from both resolutions. They could then vote during the June 2 meeting of PAC’s land acquisition committee, which is a group consisting of all members of the commission. Christopher Taylor, who’s one of city council’s ex-officio representatives to PAC, pointed out that all voting members were at the current meeting, which might not be the case in two weeks and which could therefore affect the outcome of the vote.

As the meeting approached the three-hour mark, Grand – saying that her husband was out of town and she needed to get home to her kids – made a motion to vote on the “dam-in” resolution [.pdf draft resolution adopted by PAC]. Macomber offered an amendment extracted from the dam-out resolution [.pdf draft resolution recommending dam removal]. The amendment, which was unanimously approved, states:

Whereas, Argo Pond is difficult for non-rowers to use when the rowing crews are practicing or racing due to marine right of way rules given the rowers the right of way through the majority of the non weed invested waters on the pond, and

Whereas the rowing clubs have multiple boats that require megaphone use for coaching, the sound of which carries across the Pond and into surrounding neighborhoods, and

Whereas the rowing clubs use gasoline motored launches to coach crew boats which are known to regularly violate the “no wake” impoundment rule,

Resolved that the Park Advisory Commission recommends that as long as there are rowing clubs using impoundments within the city’s purview for their activities that the new River Stewardship Committee, as proposed in the HRIMP recommendations, formulate an appropriate fee structure, shared use plan and schedule, and set a deadline for all megaphone use to be phased out. Such a body should also work to formulate a coaching strategy that will not entail violations of the “no wake” impoundment rule.

The amended resolution was then passed on a 5-4 roll call vote. Voting in favor: Barrett, Grand, Lawter, Offen and Nystuen. Voting against: Berauer, Berla, Macomber and Rosencrans.

Berauer, Macomber and Rosencrans plan to draft a “minority opinion” to submit to council, outlining their rationale for wanting to remove the dam.

Casey Dewar, an intern with Leslie Science & Nature Center, was one of many who showed up to support funding for that nonprofit. Backers of the Ann Arbor Senior Center and Mack Pool also spoke to the Park Advisory Commission in support of funding.

After hearing more than two dozen people speak to defend three city-funded facilities facing cuts, the Ann Arbor Park Advisory Commission passed a resolution recommending that Mack Pool be closed earlier than proposed by city staff, and that the city use those savings to restore funding to the Leslie Science & Nature Center. PAC also is recommending a task force be formed to look at funding options for the Ann Arbor Senior Center, which the city has proposed closing permanently on July 1, 2010.

PAC will send its recommendation to city council, which in May will make the final decisions about what areas to cut in order to balance its budget.

Many of the speakers at PAC’s Tuesday afternoon meeting were passionate about the value of the places they supported, and some told poignant stories about how the Ann Arbor Senior Center, Mack Pool or Leslie Science Center touched their lives. We’ll start our report with a summary of those comments.

Ann Arbor Senior Center

City staff have proposed permanently closing the Ann Arbor Senior Center on July 1, 2010 to save $141,000 for the fiscal year 2011 budget.  The savings originally reported by city staff was $141,000, but in response to query from The Chronicle, community services director for the city, Jayne Miller, indicated that for fiscal year 2010, proposed expenses  are $189,862 and the revenue is forecast at $38,180 – projecting a $151,682 cost to the general fund. The center is located on Baldwin Avenue on the southeast edge of Burns Park.

Joel Levitt said he’s been an Ann Arbor taxpayer for 37 years, and that he and his wife play bridge at the senior center because they don’t play well enough to play anywhere else. There’s another reason he likes the center: “While usually I feel old, at the senior center I feel young.” He said it’s his understanding that over the years, many of the communal places in Ann Arbor, where people could gather and socialize, have been closed, and he hoped that wouldn’t happen to the center. Though many of his neighbors are out of work and can’t pay more taxes, he believes there are also many that could pay more. He suggested putting something on the city’s tax bills that would allow people to make contributions for specific uses, like the senior center. “So thanks,” Levitt concluded, “and I hope you’ll accept our energy and our money.” He received a round of applause.

Gilbert Cross, noting that despite his British accent he’d lived in Ann Arbor since 1966, said he was part of a group that was working on a plan which they call, “rather grandly,” a sustainability program for the center. They want to work over the next nine months to create a sustainable future for the center, he said. That would include cost reductions, doing market research on other senior centers, and asking residents locally what they’d like to see at the center. Referring to Levitt’s proposal, Cross said he’d been informed that some Ann Arbor residents would be willing to pay more taxes. “I would want to contact them,” he said.

Many residents came to speak during public comment at the April 21 Park Advisory Commission. Due to construction at city hall, the meeting was held at the county administration building.

Bob Snyder spoke about how the center provides a focal point for his life. As a widower and retiree, he said what makes his life interesting is going to the senior center two or three days a week for lunch, and spending an hour every afternoon reading the Ann Arbor News. “I look ahead and they’re both gone – the future looks pretty bleak.” He said the seniors he knows aren’t poor, and that he knows they’d support the center financially. Meals there, he said, are ridiculously cheap and obviously subsidized – “We joke about it!” – and he said many would be willing to pay more. The meals are well-balanced and nutritious, unlike the ones he eats by himself at home in front of the TV, which he described as “typical teenager food.” Better than the meals, he said, is the socializing he does at the center. Snyder said he occasionally goes to the senior center in Pittsfield Township, which charges dues. He wouldn’t hesitate to pay dues for the Ann Arbor center, he said. “I think a lot of other people would too.”

Al Gallup, who’s on the board for the senior center, said they’d been working on a plan to enrich the center’s programs, until two weeks ago when they learned that support was being wiped out. Now, they’re changing their approach, but he said it probably wasn’t possible for them to raise the entire $141,000 that’s being cut. He said that the center was a service, in the same way that the city’s parks were a service. He suggested that the city set a goal for fundraising, which would help focus efforts to raise money for the center.

Harlan Gilmore noted that as the population ages, more people will be needing a place like the senior center. Emily Kennedy made the point that AARP named Ann Arbor the No. 1 place to retire, and amenities like the senior center contribute to that. Several people said that the center was not just a collection of programs, but rather a community, a place where they feel welcome and at home.

Leslie Science & Nature Center

Formerly a city program, Leslie Science & Nature Center spun off as an independent nonprofit in 2007, though it still partners with the city and receives city funding. (An item on Tuesday’s PAC agenda included approval of a revised partnership agreement between the city and the center.) For fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1, 2009, city staff proposed eliminating all city financial support for the center, which would have amounted to $31,500. However, the new agreement approved by PAC on Tuesday, to be sent to council for final approval, recommends city funding at $28,350 in fiscal 2010, and $25,515 in fiscal 2011.

Susan Hutton, development director at the Leslie Science & Nature Center, was one of several who wore T-shirts to show their support of the center.

Jeff Basch, a board member for the center, turned to the people who’d come to the meeting and asked those who supported Leslie Science Center to stand – more than a dozen people did. (Later in the meeting, a supporter of the senior center asked everyone who was a senior or who had aging parents to stand – that group was, not surprisingly, somewhat larger.) Basch said he was an environmental entrepreneur who started a wind energy firm (a startup called Accio Energy), and that he had moved here because of special places in Ann Arbor like the Leslie Science Center, where his 5- and 7-year-old children attend camp and special activities. He asked that the city look at making fair and equitable changes, but not abandon the center.

Michael Adams was one of two students who talked about their experiences at the center. A junior at Huron High School, Adams said he started as a camper in elementary school and learned how to get along with people who weren’t necessarily his friends. Over the years he attended leadership camp, became a junior counselor and then a counselor. Volunteer opportunities at the center teach kids how to be more involved in the community, he said, and to be better citizens. That might lead him to someday sit in their seats, he told commissioners, as a leader deciding the fate of places like Leslie Science Center. Another student, Ryan Shea, said he’d been going to the center since he was five. It was fun, he said, but he also learned about the environment, stewardship and responsibility – he wanted others to have the same experience.

Lisa Brush, a board member, said that not so long ago, Leslie Science Center was in the same position as the senior center, in terms of its financial dependence on the city. They realized they didn’t want to come to the city each year for money, and since they’ve spun off, they’d done a fabulous job of transitioning, she said. “Two years into it might be a little early to cut us all the way off,” she concluded.

Andy Buchsbaum, director of the Great Lakes Regional Center for the National Wildlfe Federation in Ann Arbor, is also a board member for the Leslie Science Center. He said it was unusual for the NWF to sign on as a formal partner with a local entity like the center, but that they shared the same mission and passion for educating youth about the environment. When they partnered with the center, they had counted on support from the city for a reasonable period of time, he said. Without appropriate funding, programs would have to be cut, which in turn would decrease revenues even more and create a dangerous spiral. He urged the commission to restore funding.

Mack Pool

Mack Pool is a venue for the general public and organized groups, such as master swimming and the Dawn Ducks, which swims weekdays from 7:15-8:15 a.m. The city’s proposed budget would close the pool during the summer months this year, then close it permanently in the summer of 2010 or turn it over to the Ann Arbor Public Schools, which would save the city $59,000.

Several members of the Dawn Ducks spoke, including Malloria Miller, who wore a blue Dawn Ducks sweatshirt and said it was her first time speaking at a forum like this. She said swimming helps her deal with diabetes, and is a great social outlet as well. She said her doctor told her it was good for her.

Anne Remley said her husband suffers from terrible back pain and can only find relief when swimming. She thanked PAC for all they do “to keep us ducks afloat.” Nancy Livermore said she’d been swimming with the Ducks for 20 years, enjoying the camaraderie of other swimmers. She praised an earlier speaker who had talked about the many areas of Ann Arbor that are nourishing and supportive, and said that the Dawn Ducks is a microcosm of that.

Bethany Williston spoke on behalf of the master swimmers who use Mack, and said that there’s no other pool in Ann Arbor that will serve the needs of this group. She said the University of Michigan doesn’t allow any kind of organized swim at its pools by community groups, and in fact breaks up groups that take over more than one lane. Swimming is a life-long sport, she said, and Mack serves many ages well.

Commission deliberations

Prior to the public commentary, Colin Smith, the city’s parks and recreation services manager, gave a report on the city’s overall budget, as well as the impact of proposed cuts and revenue increases on the parks budget. [See previous Chronicle coverage of the city's budget: the April 13 council working session, April 14 town hall meeting, and the April 20 council meeting.] Among the changes for parks include an increase in shelter fees and plans to eliminate contracted services for mowing.

Before discussing the budget, PAC members also approved a detailed, revised agreement between the city and Leslie Science Center. [The full text of the agreement is in the commission packet.] Smith said the main points were 1) extending the terms of the agreement from 10 to 20 years, and 2) providing opportunities for sponsorships, which he said was important in cultivating the center’s donor base. Sam Offen, a commissioner who is also on the board of Leslie Science Center, said the board was in full support of the new agreement. PAC unanimously approved the agreement, which will now be forwarded to city council.

Left to right: Park Advisory Commission members Julie Grand, Scott Rosencrans and Linda Berauer, PAC's chair.

PAC also approved several fee increases as well as new fees and programs. They include:

• Increasing shelter fees by 10%. For example, an all-day weekend or holiday rental of a shelter for residents would cost $137, up from $125.
• Setting weekend rates for shelter rental fees on Fridays. That day currently is billed at weekday rates. The change is in line with policies for county parks and metroparks, Smith said.
• Starting a two-week water polo camp at Buhr Park Pool ($65 for residents) and a teen camp at Argo Park ($210 for residents).
• Increasing rent for Farmers Market stalls by 20%. Renting one stall for the year would go from $250 to $300, for example. Smith noted that the last fee increase was in 2004, and rates are still lower than other markets in the area.

PAC member Brigit Macomber, who leads the group’s budget & finance committee, presented a draft resolution addressing fiscal year 2010 only, which begins July 1, 2009. (The budget for FY 2011 is characterized as a “plan” at this point.) She said that overall, the committee’s reaction to the 2010 budget was the same as the people who spoke at public commentary. They wanted to see funding for Leslie Science Center reinstated, at least in part. They felt that since the senior center wasn’t slated to close until FY2011, there was still time to work on a solution to that.

Macomber asked about alternatives to Mack Pool. Dan McGuire, Mack Pool facility supervisor, told PAC that when the pool was closed in 2002 for renovations, they were able to find other pools within the city for the various groups that swam at Mack, and he was confident they could do the same again. He noted that there were some differences – the Dawn Ducks, for example, previously relocated to the old YMCA pool. That might not be an option at the new Y, he said. Smith noted that the Y has scholarships for people who can’t pay dues, and that it has a policy of not turning people away if they can’t pay. Bethany Williston, who teaches the masters swimmers and who’d spoken during public commentary, said they had relocated in 2002 to UM’s Canham pool, but that she didn’t think that was an option anymore.

Smith said he’d been to both Mack Pool and the senior center to talk to people there about the proposed changes. He said they are working to accommodate Mack Pool users, and that there’s already both an advisory board and a neighborhood group working on long-term plans for the senior center. Commissioner Tim Berla said he thought the city should get out of the pool business, but that the senior center and Leslie Science Center were different – in those cases, the facilities are important.

The commissioners had an extended discussion about mowing in the parks. Macomber asked why changes to the mowing cycle weren’t among the list of budget recommendations. Smith said that they’d heard from the public that shorter mowing cycles were important, and that’s why it wasn’t included. Matt Warba of field operations told PAC that they now mowed on a 14-day cycle, compared to a 28- to 30-day cycle prior to passage of the parks millage in 2006.

Karla Henderson, manager of park operations, said that they’d actually put everything on the table – including the mowing cycle – but when they took their list of possible cuts to the city council’s budget & labor committee, certain things were immediately removed from consideration by that group. Extending the mowing cycle was one of those, she said, saying council members cited the commitment the city had made to the community when asking for the parks millage. [The budget & labor committee includes council members Leigh Greden, Marcia Higgins, Stephen Rapundalo, Margie Teall and mayor John Hieftje.]

Linda Berauer, PAC’s chair, said the economic situation was quite different now, and that the public might feel differently too. Warba said they have some flexibility in their seasonal workers, and would save about $65,000 if they eliminated those jobs – but if the parks aren’t mowed fairly frequently, they’ll look start to look unsightly, he said.

Left to right: Park Advisory Commission members Tim Berla, John Lawter and Brigit Macomber.

Commissioner John Lawter proposed that they decrease the number of mowing hours by taking some sections of the park out of the mowing cycle completely, such as steep hillsides and swampy areas. There was a bit of back-and-forth with Warba about this, with Warba contending they’d already done this to a significant degree, and Lawter saying he didn’t think they’d looked at it hard enough.

Smith said that last year, he didn’t receive a single call from the public complaining about the condition of the grass in city parks. He said there’s a huge value in the 14-day cycle, and noted that weather can play a factor as well – if it’s dry, like last year, they could probably mow a little less often. But a wet summer would cause grass to grow more quickly. It’s unpredictable, he said.

Warba cited security issues if the grass and weeds got too tall, and said they’d also had issues with people dumping trash in areas that were unmowed. Lawter said he wasn’t proposing that they never mow, but that they find areas to mow only a couple of times a year, while using resources to mow more frequently the areas that are used by the public, like fields for playing soccer. Lawter said he was actually supporting Warba regarding the shorter mowing cycle, but he thought they could save money by eliminating part of the sections to be mowed. Warba joked that it was a small victory, but he’d take it.

In discussions of the draft budget resolution, the commissioners agreed to delete a clause that called for more clarity about what could and could not be funded from the parks millage. They generally agreed it was worth discussing, but that it didn’t fit well into this resolution. Macomber said the language of the millage was, in hindsight, too vague and that it “opened a barn door” in terms of what can be funded by the millage, versus what is paid for out of the general fund. Berla said those accounting issues were important, but that he wouldn’t support the resolution if that clause were included, because it wasn’t the right place for it.

In discussing the resolution’s clause to close Mack Pool on July 1, Berla said he was concerned that it didn’t give them time to find alternatives or discuss the situation with Ann Arbor Public Schools. Scott Rosencrans said he understood why people were attached to the pool, noting that it was difficult when this kind of quality-of-life issue was on the table. However, he said that he thought there was adequate remedy to address the users of Mack Pool if it were closed, while he didn’t see a similar remedy for Leslie Science Center.

Closing Mack early would result in savings of $43,000 – about $15,000 more than Leslie Science Center needs for FY2010, Macomber said. Could that extra money be used to keep Mack open another month or two? Smith said he wouldn’t recommend it, since they’d have to drain the pool to close it for the summer, then refill it, then drain it again. Macomber then asked if it would be practical to keep it open through September. Dan McGuire said that in August, the main users were the Dawn Ducks, and that it wasn’t cost effective to do the chemical treatments, run the pump and heat it for so few users. (The pool is typically closed in August for maintenance.) Macomber suggested the additional funds might be used to subsidize memberships at the YMCA for people who are displaced from Mack.

PAC members agreed to insert this clause:

Resolved, that PAC recommends that staff will work with representatives of the displaced Mack Pool user groups, including the Dawn Ducks, Masters Swimmers, and Seniors, to find alternative swimming facilities for their activities.

Christopher Taylor, one of the council’s representatives on PAC, reiterated that the $43,000 saved by closing Mack will cover FY2010 for the Leslie Science Center, but not all of FY2011. Berauer asked how it would go over at council if they recommended funding the rest from the general fund reserve. Taylor said council would be looking for alternative recommendations.

Smith suggested directing his staff to look for an additional $10,000 in savings from the 2011 budget plan. A bit later, he said he realized where they could find those funds: If Mack closes on July 1, 2009, that will decrease the number of hours for a seasonal assistant supervisor, at a savings of about $12,000 for FY2010.

The clause related to closing Mack to fund Leslie Science Center reads:

Resolved, that PAC recommends that, for FY 2010 and FY 2011, the Leslie Science Nature Center (LSNC) be funded in the amount suggested in the “Amended and Restated Partnership Agreement Between the City of Ann Arbor and Leslie Science and Nature Center” dated May 4, 2009, in order to preserve the unique and critically important environmental education services to City residents and residents in surrounding areas. PAC recommends that this be paid for by closing the city-owned swimming pool at the Mack Open School at the beginning of FY 2010 (July 1, 2009) in consideration of the availability of swimming facilities in that general area that have the capacity to accommodate those residents who currently use Mack Pool for Parks and Recreation programs. PAC further recommends that the facility be offered to the Ann Arbor Public Schools for either purchase, lease, or, if feasible, a joint operations agreement, in order to allow the schools to continue to provide the swimming programs they currently offer at Mack Pool.

Finally, PAC heard from Pam Simmons, facility supervisor for the senior center, who said they had several vacant position on the center’s board, but that she expected there’d now be plenty of volunteers to fill those slots. A task force is also working on a five to 10-year strategic plan for the center, which is in its early stages. She said they were writing a grant that would fund a strategic planner to help with this process.

The clause related to the senior center reads:

Resolved that PAC recommends that a task force be formed, to include interested seniors in the community and members of the Senior Center Advisory Board, to study the impact of closing the Ann Arbor Senior Center in the second year of the budget; to document adequate alternative services, if any, for the approximately 500 seniors currently using the facility; and to develop a proposal for alternative funding sources to allow for the sustainability of the current Ann Arbor Senior Center. PAC requests that the task force submit its report to PAC by December 1, 2009 so that PAC may review and forward a recommendation to City Council by January 1, 2010, so that Council can advise park staff and users of the Senior Center of their final decision regarding the disposition of the Senior Center well before the proposed closing date of July 1, 2010.

Three and a half hours into its meeting, PAC approved the entire resolution as amended, with Berla dissenting.

Taylor told PAC members it was a solid recommendation that’s helpful to council. ”This is a funded mandate,” he said, “and that’s great.”

Ann Arbor Park Advisory Commission members present: Linda Berauer (chair), John Lawter (vice chair), Brigit Macomber, Samuel Offen, David Barrett, Scott Rosencrans, Julie Grand, Tim Berla (representing the Recreation Advisory Commission), Mike Anglin and Christopher Taylor (ex-officio members representing city council).

Park operations budget

Karla Henderson, manager of Parks & Recreation, had been invited to provide commissioners with more details about the budget for the city’s field operations unit, which includes upkeep of the Parks & Rec properties. Several commissioners had questions for her. Sam Offen expressed surprise at the line item dealing with vandalism – $117,416 for fiscal year 2007-08, which ended June 30, or 267% over budget. Henderson acknowledged that it could be hard to predict and expensive to clean up vandalized property, including graffiti and broken windows. She said someone with the tag CHU is particularly a problem, and that they’ve been sharing information with the police department to try to deal with it. They also frequently clean up after The Rock at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw, and the sidewalks around it. Some of the increased expenses – including vandalism cleanup and turf care – are responding to feedback they received before voters approved the most recent parks millage, Henderson said.

Commissioner Brigit Macomber asked if Henderson could provide a spreadsheet showing all the revenues and expenses related to the city’s athletic fields. She said that revenues and costs have been shifted between funds and departments, and that it has become confusing to keep track of what’s happening. Henderson said she could provide that information.

Park project updates

Amy Kuras of the city’s Parks & Recreation staff briefed commissioners on projects at Cobblestone Farm, Leslie Park Golf Course and Leslie Park. She reported several renovations at Cobblestone: 1) an awning was replaced with a wood-shingled pent roof, 2) the front door was replaced with one that allows more light into the hallway, 3) interior renovations were made, included refurbishing the kitchenette and the bridal changing room, and 4) a walkway, raingarden and landscaping have been added to the exterior. At Leslie Park Golf Course, changes on the interior include new indoor/outdoor furniture and plans to replace the carpet, while exterior projects include replacing some pedestrian bridges, repairing pathways, dredging the pond and putting up permanent restrooms to replace portable ones. The north and south playgrounds at Leslie Park are also being rehabbed, with new equipment and other upgrades.

Jeff Dehring, a city park planner, talked about major changes at Mary Beth Doyle Park. Over the past three years, the Washtenaw County Drain Commission has worked on changes to the pond there, an effort aimed at improving water quality and flood control along Malletts Creek, which runs through the 81.4-acre park. At the same time, the city has been working on several projects, including installing a new basketball court, moving the playground closer to the parking lot where it can be more visible, adding a gravel path that loops around the area, and reconfiguring an 18-hole disc golf course. (Find out more about the active local disc golf community here.)

Commissioners asked several questions about the project. Brigit Macomber wanted to know how garbage pickup would be handled along the disc golf course, noting that it had been a problem there and at Bandemer Park, where a 9-hole course is located. Access is an issue, Dehring said, since there’s no way for trash hauling equipment to get back into some areas. They’re planning to put more cans along pathways were the equipment is able to pick up the containers.

Park names

The commission quickly and unanimously approved name changes to three city-owned properties:

• 7.7 acres purchased from the Girl Scouts of Huron Valley, known as Camp Hilltop, was renamed Hilltop Nature Area. The land borders the Kuebler Langford Nature Area and is near Bird Hills Nature Area, on the city’s north side.
• 13.5 acres known as Narrow Gauge Woods and purchased from Narrow Gauge Holdings Inc. and Sondra Gunn was renamed Narrow Gauge Nature Area. It’s located off Green Road near King Elementary School.
• 2.25 acres adjacent to Eberwhite Woods, bought from the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was renamed Eberwhite Nature Area.

Bylaws and the city attorney’s office

The commission had planned to vote on some changes to the group’s bylaws at Tuesday’s meeting. Chair Linda Berauer characterized them as mostly minor cleanup, with one substantive change: Adding a budget officer position. Word that the commission was considering changes got the attention of the city attorney’s office and assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald spoke at the meeting, urging commissioners to postpone their vote until after his office had time to do a comprehensive review of PAC bylaws.

McDonald said that city council had asked the attorney’s office to review the bylaws for all of the city’s boards and commissions, with the goal of making them clearer and consistent across all groups. He said they had no intention of changing the function of the commission, but wanted to standardize language to “flatten that bumpy hill out as much as we can.”

What ensued was an animated discussion among commissioners and McDonald. Commissioner Sam Offen suggested voting to approve the bylaw changes at Tuesday’s meeting – then, attorneys could do the review, but with the newly altered bylaws in place. McDonald repeated his statement that the council had asked for a review, and that the commission serves at the pleasure of the council, in an advisory role. He expressed puzzlement at the situation. “There’s something I’m not understanding,” he said. “We’re here to assist you.”

It emerged that the last time the commission had tried to make similar changes to its bylaws some two years ago, they’d been told the same thing – wait until the city attorney’s office can do a review. That review never materialized. This was all news to McDonald, who said he could do the work on a priority basis and return a report within 30 to 45 days.

Berauer said that PAC realizes they serve at the pleasure of council. The question, she said, is how independently can they operate, in terms of their internal governance. If that’s taken away, she said, then “you’re kind of disempowering us.” She apologized to McDonald, saying she was sorry he’d stepped into the middle of a “rat’s nest,” and agreed to postpone the vote until PAC’s January meeting. Review or not, they plan to take a final vote on the changes at that meeting.

Skatepark

Though they didn’t speak during public comment, several people involved in the Ann Arbor Skatepark project – including lead organizer Trevor Staples – attended the meeting until commissioners acted on that agenda item. The item was a resolution to approve a memorandum of intent between the city and the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee, spelling out how the two entities would interact to design, fundraise and build the proposed skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park. It also laid out a fund agreement, essentially providing the framework for the skatepark committee to begin fundraising through the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. Kevin McDonald from the city attorney’s office said that when the skatepark committee forms a nonprofit, they’ll enter into a more formal agreement with the city outlining how they’ll pay for construction and ongoing maintenance. After receiving unanimous approval from the commission, chair Linda Berauer said, “Good luck, Trevor – you’ve done a great job so far.” The memorandum goes before city council at its Dec. 1 meeting.

Closed session

At 6:30, the commission went into closed session to discuss legal matters with Kevin McDonald from the city attorney’s office.

Present: Mike Anglin (ex-officio), David Barrett, Linda Berauer, Tim Berla, Julie Grand, John Lawter, Gwen Nystuen, Brigit Macomber, Samuel Offen, Scott Rosencrans, Christopher Taylor (ex-officio).

Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave.