Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board members Roger Hewitt (left) and Keith Orr. They're examining a Girl Scout badge created for assisting in the Downtown Blooms event. The car on the wall in the background is a mockup of the planned wayfinding system for the levels of the new underground parking structure, anticipated to open by mid-July. (Photos by the writer.)

One of those structures farther west of the campus is the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue, which is nearing completion. The garage, which the DDA is currently calling the “Library Lane” parking structure, is now expected to open by the time the art fairs begin, which this year fall on July 18–21. South Fifth Avenue between Liberty and William is expected to re-open by Memorial Day.

A characterization of that timing as “on schedule” was disputed during public commentary by Ali Ramlawi, owner of the Jerusalem Garden restaurant. Jerusalem Garden is adjacent to the construction site. Ramlawi noted that the structure was originally due to be completed by August 2011.

The future use of the top of the underground garage was the subject of public commentary from advocates who’d like to see it used as a green plaza. That suggestion was met with remarks from mayor John Hieftje, who sits on the DDA board, with a description of his expectation that three major parcels would soon be incorporated into the city’s park system – 721 N. Main, 415 W. Washington, and the MichCon property (located between the Amtrak rail station and the Huron River near the Broadway bridges). Hieftje’s point was that the additional financial burden for the maintenance of those parcels as parks might impact the city’s ability to add a downtown green plaza to the park system.

Requests for better information about the parking system and suggestions for disseminating information about the availability of open parking spaces were topics of additional public commentary.

Although it was not an action item, the board discussed a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy]

The committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. If the project moves forward, the 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF (tax increment finance) revenue to the DDA. If adopted as it’s currently worded in the draft, the formula in the policy would translate into up to $625,000 of support for 618 S. Main.

The board also received updates on the third-quarter financial statements for the DDA, as well as an update on the Connection William Street planning project. 

The DDA manages the city’s public parking system under a contract with the city of Ann Arbor that ensures the city receives 17% of the gross parking revenues, which amounts to around $3 million annually.

So parking is typically a topic at DDA board meetings that receives a great deal of time and attention. The May 2, 2012 meeting was no different. The construction of the new parking garage on South Fifth Avenue was highlighted at the meeting in three ways: (1) public comment on future planning for the top of the underground parking garage from advocates of a public park to be constructed there; (2) a resolution to help foster usage of the new garage through differential pricing; and (3) and the regular update on construction progress.

Parking Structure Park

A request for proposals (RFP) process that could have led to the selection of a development project on the top of the underground parking structure was terminated by the Ann Arbor city council on April 4, 2011. The structure includes reinforced footings designed to support future development on the site.

Parking Structure Park: Public Comment – Library Green

Will Hathaway told the board that he was speaking on behalf of group of Ann Arborites advocating for a downtown public park – a Library Green on the Library Lot. He allowed that there are other competing views for the future of the Library Lot. He also allowed that there are also concerns about the possible impact of public open space in the downtown.

He reviewed the site plan for the top of the parking structure, given the absence of any future development on the top of the lot. The design includes 40 parking spaces, he said.

The red rectangle outlines the area where Hathaway and the Library Green advocates would like to see a public park/plaza constructed, instead of using all the available area for surface parking. (Image links to higher resolution .pdf file)

Hathaway then reviewed the configuration of the spaces that are currently planned for the top of the structure. He suggested that a public plaza be created now and proposed a configuration that would leave 18 parking spaces, but would allow for a plaza too.

He invited the DDA board to think about an interactive water feature or an ice rink or a piece of public art like The Cube as elements of the plaza. He reported that he’d been on a tour of the underground garage, which is nearing completion, and he allowed that in some ways it’s architecturally beautiful.

But it needs a better “crown,” Hathaway said, than a surface parking lot.

Eric Lipson introduced himself as a resident of Ann Arbor and former city planning commissioner. He told the board he was also wearing the hat of a Library Green advocate. He explained that as general manager of the Inter-Cooperative Council, he was also representing a stakeholder in the Connecting William Street project. The ICC houses 600 members, and its headquarters is located on East William Street, within the area of study for that project.

Lipson reminded the DDA board of the Calthorpe process that the community had engaged in around 2005. He described it as an extensive process that had included a series of design charettes. One of the ideas that had emerged was the need for a public plaza, or a “town square.” The Calthorpe report mentions a town square over a dozen times, Lipson said, and depicts such a square on the Library Lot.

Lipson called it a perfect time to revisit the question of what to put on top of the underground structure. He told the board it was doing an excellent job on the Connecting William Street project. The DDA’s planning and research specialist, Amber Miller, and executive director Susan Pollay were doing a good job, he said. The speaker series that Concentrate is sponsoring as a part of that is very useful, he said.

Right now the plan for the top of the Library Lot is for it to be a surface parking lot [until some other possible future use is identified]. But surface parking lots are anathema to active downtowns, he said. He encouraged the DDA board to put something on the site that is not a surface parking lot. He acknowledged the concern about crime and panhandlers, but characterized that as a broader issue. The community shouldn’t sacrifice the idea of a plaza because of the issue of the homeless. He said that as he moved through downtown Ann Arbor walking along the sidewalks, he was approached more and more by panhandlers – but no one is suggesting we abolish sidewalks.

Ray Detter, during his report from the downtown citizens advisory council (CAC), said that Lipson and Hathaway had spoken to the advisory council at its meeting the night before. Detter said the CAC agreed with them that a plaza space should be part of the plan. But he said that a plaza space has always been part of the plan. The CAC agreed there should be a clear-cut process for using Library Lane when it was finished. [Library Lane is the mid-block cut-through from Division Street to Fifth Avenue just north of the current location of the downtown district library.] Detter said the CAC had affirmed a long-held commitment to tax-producing private development on top of the parking garage. The CAC has always believed that whatever goes on the top of the parking garage should benefit the library, Detter concluded.

Parking Structure Park: Board Response – Three Other Parks

Responding to the remarks of Library Green advocates about the perceived problem of panhandling as an argument against additional open space in the downtown, mayor John Hieftje noted that panhandling had been the focus of a task force that had done some work on the issue. He mentioned that people would start seeing posters appear that give suggestions for ways to help without giving money to a panhandler.

[By way of background, the city of Ann Arbor previously staffed a downtown beat patrol, which many officers chose to cover by bicycle. With the reduction of the police officer force, that specific patrol assignment has been reduced to the point of elimination. Many people have contended that there's an increased panhandling and other nuisance-type crimes in downtown Ann Arbor and that it can be attributed to the elimination of the downtown beat patrol.]

So in connection with panhandling, Hieftje then took the occasion to point out that later in May, the city council would be likely to approve a budget that does not cut 9 police officers as had been planned last year, but would add one, for a net gain of 10. He also pointed out that some additional personnel would be added as part of a recruitment program.

[In May 2011, the city council approved a budget that eliminated six police officer positions, with a plan to eliminate nine additional positions this year. So compared to 2010 budgeted levels for sworn officers, preserving the nine positions and adding one leaves Ann Arbor police officer staffing at five fewer for next year. That doesn't include the proposed recruitment program, which calls for potential new hires to the department to work under the direction of sworn officers.]

Image from the city/county flood map website showing the 721 N. Main parcel. The blue area is floodway. The green area is floodplain. Two of the three buildings on the parcel are in the floodway. They could be demolished with a FEMA grant described by mayor John Hieftje. Acceptance of the grant from FEMA would require a deed restriction against development in the floodway. (Image links to floodway mapping tool.)

Continuing his remarks on panhandlers, Hieftje noted that most of them are not homeless.

Hieftje then pitched a framework for discussing the future of the top of the underground parking garage – which Library Green advocates are suggesting should become a public park. Hieftje contended that it should be considered in the context of other significant anticipated additions to the city park system.

Hieftje indicated that the city council’s May 7 meeting would include a presentation about a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for demolition of buildings on the city-owned 721 N. Main property.

By way of additional background, Jerry Hancock, the city’s floodplain manager, provided some explanation about the grant, which has been awarded but still awaits some steps on the city’s part. One of those steps is updating the city’s All-Hazard Plan, which had expired, delaying the award of the grant by FEMA.

From The Chronicle’s March 5, 2012 city council meeting report:

Hancock responded by saying there’s only one other site on which the city has moved forward with FEMA applications: 721 N. Main St., a city-owned property.

The city had received approval of a grant to remove two storage structures in the floodway on the 721 N. Main site, but that grant has been delayed because the city’s All-Hazard Plan has expired. The city’s emergency manager, along with the city attorney’s office, is updating that, Hancock explained. Once that All-Hazard Plan is complete, the city will be able to move ahead with that grant. However, no other sites besides the two storage structures at 721 N. Main have been identified for FEMA applications, Hancock said.

At the DDA board meeting on May 2, Hieftje also said there was a real push being made to get the area across Main Street from the 721 N. Main property cleaned up – it’s the site of Avalon Housing‘s Near North affordable housing project, which currently has several vacant houses on it. Hieftje indicated that the city would be pursuing a state Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to make the 721 N. Main site the first of the greenway parks. It would have a linkage across Main Street under the railroad tracks to the countywide Border-to-Border Trail, he said. City staff would be investing time in planning for that, he said. Washtenaw County [parks and recreation], Hieftje reported, had agreed tentatively to participate in the project by making a match for the Natural Resources Trust Fund grant.

[Hieftje appears to have somewhat overstated the currently expected level of participation by the county's park and recreation program. In a phone interview, Bob Tetens – director of Washtenaw County parks and recreation – told The Chronicle that there was not anything yet on the table in front of the parks and recreation commission. 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 Connecting Communities grant program – a $600,000 annual program over five years, for a total of $3 million. Tetens also said that a project that's already partly funded through another source (like the state's Natural Resources Trust Fund) would enhance a project's application. However, there are more applications for various projects every year than Washtenaw County parks and recreation can fund through the Connecting Communities program, Tetens said.]

Hieftje characterized the land at 721 N. Main as something that the city needs to do something with – because the city doesn’t want to contribute to blight. [The property was previously the city's fleet maintenance yard, but was closed when the Wheeler Service Center opened in 2007.] He also reported that he’d been working with community members on the city-owned 415 W. Washington property. He said that not much progress has been made because of the condition of the old building. By council resolution, he said, that parcel will be a greenway park. [The council resolutions to which Hieftje is referring don't appear to commit the entire parcel to becoming a greenway park.]

Environmental cleanup work is being done on the MichCon property, located between the Amtrak rail station and the Huron River, near the Broadway bridges. Hieftje stated he hoped that would also become a park – across from the new whitewater features to be constructed in connection with the Argo Dam bypass, now called the Argo Cascades.

So as people start to think about adding parks, he said, people need to think about how to maintain them. According to the park advisory commission, Hieftje said, the city is at the limit of being able to maintain parks. Because the city already owns the 721 N. Main site, and because the MichCon property is one the city has wanted for 40 years to be cleaned up and added to the park system, those would be “first in line,” he stated. The capacity to care for another park will stretched, Hieftje said. He recommended to people who are working on the Library Green to take that into account: How will we maintain the park? Also, Hieftje invited Library Green advocates to think about how that fit into the competing interests of three large new parks that will need planning, development and maintenance.

Hieftje also said that he’d be recommending to the park advisory commission that they take up the issue of how to re-design Liberty Plaza [at Division and Liberty streets] so that it becomes a more active center and not something that people avoid. It’s fortunate that First Martin cares for the park, Hieftje said. [First Martin is an Ann Arbor firm that owns the building adjacent to Liberty Plaza.]

Picking up on Hieftje’s comments, Sandi Smith noted that the Connecting William Street committee members would have the future of the top of the underground parking garage on their radar as well, and noted that Liberty Plaza is within the boundary of the study area. Trying to maintain and activate two parks within the same block seems to be a difficult chore, she said.

Responding to Hieftje’s comments during the second opportunity for public comment at the end of the meeting, Jerusalem Garden owner Ali Ramlawi suggested that one idea of funding the maintenance for a public park plaza on top of the parking garage would be to take a fraction of a percent of the parking revenues collected from the structure.

Parking Demand Management

Parking demand management is basically a strategy of differential pricing – higher for higher demand areas and lower for lower demand areas – to try to optimize the available parking spaces in the system. At an April 9, 2012 city council work session, Ward 1 city councilmember Sabra Briere had asked DDA board member Roger Hewitt when residents could expect to see demand-management strategies implemented. At that work session, Hewitt had been presenting the DDA annual budget to the council.

Parking Demand Management: Resolution on Permits

At their May 2 meeting, the DDA board considered a resolution authorizing its operations committee (aka bricks & money and transportation committee) to use demand-management strategies to price monthly parking permits in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The goal of adjusting monthly parking permit rates is to expand campus-area parking to structures other than those immediately adjacent to the University of Michigan campus. In broad strokes, “demand-management strategies” means pricing the most desirable parking options higher than those that are less desirable.

The move comes as the opening of the new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, offering around 700 total spaces, is set to open by the start of the Ann Arbor art fairs, which this year run from July 18-21. Monthly permits for some of the spaces will be offered at the new structure, which will add to the five public parking structures where permits are available: Ann & Ashley, Forest Avenue, Fourth & William, Liberty Square (Tally Hall), and Maynard.

Under a demand-management strategy, prices of monthly permits at the underground parking structure are likely to be lower than at other structures.

The Ps denote parking structures offering monthly permit parking. (Image links to Google map.)

Hewitt noted that the DDA has been focusing on the completion of the new underground parking garage and has not had time to pay as much attention to parking demand-management initiatives.

As the DDA gets closer to opening the new underground garage, Hewitt said, the idea is to look at carrots and sticks for evening out the usage in the system. Rather than forcing people to move their permits from structures in high demand to those that are in lower demand, the idea is to offer incentives. There’s a number of ideas to relieve the pressure on the structures closest to campus – Forest, Maynard and Liberty Square. The idea is to move those folks into the new underground structure or the Fourth & William structure, he said.

The resolution authorized the operations committee to use parking demand management to alter rates to even out the demand in the system, he said.

Newcombe Clark questioned why there was an explicit mention of “two blocks west” in one of the “whereas” clauses. Hewitt assured him that the intent was to explore parking demand management for monthly permits throughout the system, without any particular boundary.

Outcome: The DDA board unanimously approved the resolution authorizing the operations committee to use parking demand management strategies to alter monthly parking permit rates.

Parking Demand Management: DDA-City Contract

The  Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority manages Ann Arbor’s public parking system under contract with the city. The DDA has the unilateral ability to set parking rates. To implement an increase, the DDA is required under the contract to complete a series of steps designed to ensure adequate notice and public input before implementation of a rate increase. From the contract [emphasis]:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, DDA shall not implement any increase in the Municipal Parking System’s hours of meter operation or parking rates intended to persist for more than three (3) months without first: (i) announcing, and providing written communication regarding, the details of such increase at a meeting of the DDA Board; (ii) providing all members of the public an opportunity to speak in a manner similar to a public hearing before the DDA Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting on the subject of the proposed increase (“Public Hearing”); and (iii) postponing any vote on the proposed increase until at least the regularly scheduled meeting of the DDA Board after the Public Hearing

The changes to the monthly permit system, which Hewitt characterized as “incentives,” do not appear to involve rate increases, but perhaps only decreases. So the various steps outlined in that contract clause would not apply.

Parking Demand Management: Public Comment

Edward Vielmetti addressed the board during the second opportunity for public commentary, and focused on the topic of demand management pricing. He ventured that sometimes people don’t have much of a choice as to where they can park and they pay whatever price they have to pay – because they don’t know much about what their alternatives are.

In addition to improved communication about availability of spaces, Vielmetti asked for better communication about information on the parking system performance – as opposed to simple pronouncements about the parking system being at full capacity.

Vielmetti also addressed the board at the start of the meeting on the topic of relatively low-tech ways to get parking space availability information to people who need it – people who are looking for a place to park.

He shared an experience he had visiting Toledo to watch the Toledo Mud Hens play. It’s usually easy to find a place to park, he said, and if the lots near the stadium are full, there are usually other lots that are easy enough to find. But on the occasion of the visit he described to the DDA board, the Detroit Tigers were playing, and all the lots were filled up. So he had to navigate using his wits and found the farmer’s market, which offered free parking.

Part of the challenge of parking in an unfamiliar place, he said, is not knowing the lay of the land. You have to figure out if the place you want to park is legal, and you might not know if the structure you know exists is already full. He said that what was fascinating about Toledo was not any kind of fancy smart phone application that anyone had running, but rather a sign at the border that advised people to tune their radios to AM 1640. That’s a station that tells you how much traffic was on the roads to get to the stadium, or to get to downtown Toledo from the Michigan border.

The radio station, Vielmetti said, would give estimated travel times to different places, on a constant loop. Every few minutes the information would be updated. It’s a low-power AM station that you can only hear in Toledo, he said. He suggested that setting up such a station would be within the means of any municipality or a public body like the DDA, and the radio station could tell people a little bit about what they need to do in the downtown. The DDA already has realtime parking information available, so potentially that information could be broadcast every three minutes and listeners could hear something like “All the lots have spaces available,” or if the Fourth and Washington structure is full, then it could advise people to use the underground garage.

Vielmetti said he wanted to revisit the realtime parking information issue that he’d raised with the DDA back in 2009. This time around, he said, he didn’t want to look at “fancy things” that only people with fancy phones could use, but something that people could tune into from their car radio.

Parking Demand Management: Parking Report

A report of the monthly parking figures are a standard part of every DDA board meeting. Generally, the message conveyed by Roger Hewitt is that revenues are up in excess of the rate increase, which he interprets as an indicator that demand for parking is increasing.

For the past few months, The Chronicle has charted out revenues and hourly patrons in the system as reflected in the DDA’s monthly reports over the last couple of years. Hourly patrons don’t include people who park at on-street meters, but rather those who pay hourly at a parking structure – as opposed to parking there using a monthly permit.

Ann Arbor public parking system revenue through March 31, 2012. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Ann Arbor public parking system hourly patrons (in structures) through March 31, 2012. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Parking Garage Construction

At its monthly meetings, the DDA board typically receives a report on the progress toward completion of the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue. It will offer around 700 spaces underground. The surface lot that existed there previously offered 192 spaces.

Parking Garage Construction – Public Comment

Ali Ramlawi introduced himself as the owner of the Jerusalem Garden and a resident of Ward 5 – but he allowed that board members already knew who he was. [Ramlawi has addressed the board previously to raise essentially the same issues he did at the May 2 meeting.]

He described the construction of the underground parking structure as stretching now into its fourth calendar year, but was not yet complete. [The ceremonial groundbreaking took place in October 2009.] He reviewed some of the issues he’s raised before – loss of income, disruption in deliveries, forced evacuation [due to the emergence of a sinkhole]. He questioned how the construction contract was awarded to the Christman Company and contended that the choice of subcontractors by Christman had raised some eyebrows. He contended that the original contract with Christman had no penalties for being late and no reward for finishing on time. No one is held accountable, he complained. With the powers and budget the DDA board members have, they need to do a better job of awarding contacts, he said. If this were the private sector, he contended, someone would have been fired. Where are the penalties for the lateness? he asked.

He told the board that when they have the ceremonial opening celebration he would not be around for it because he didn’t want to “puke over [himself].”

Parking Garage Construction – Board Report

John Splitt gave the update on the construction of the underground garage. Work continues on the mechanicals. The most exciting part of things, he said, is that the backfilling on the plaza level is going along nicely and the waterproofing is almost complete. Backfilling on the “bridge” section, which will allow the re-opening of South Fifth Avenue, is almost complete, he said. Curbs are beginning to be formed on South Fifth Avenue. It’s on schedule to reopen by the end of May, and it’s anticipated that the underground garage will be open by the time that the art fairs start, he said. The fairs run from July 18-21 this year.

During the second opportunity for public commentary near the end of the meeting, Ali Ramlawi objected to Splitt’s use of the phrase “on schedule to open,” saying that the project is a year behind schedule. He contended that saying it was on schedule undermined the DDA’s credibility.

Following up on Splitt’s construction summary, Newcombe Clark asked that the depiction of the Lincoln Continental on the meeting room’s wall be explained, so that people did not think the DDA was getting into the sponsorship business. Splitt explained that it’s part of the underground garage wayfinding system – which will use both colors and four different automobiles to identify floors. The car is a mockup of a wayfinding sign.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft

The DDA board considered a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy] The board was not expected to act on the policy, and did not vote.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft: Background

The DDA’s partnerships committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. The 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF (tax increment finance) revenue to the DDA.

Ketelaar is asking that the DDA pledge 80% of its TIF capture money for six years – about $1.3 million – to support certain aspects of the project in connection with the state’s Community Revitalization Program. The CRP is the successor to the brownfield and historic preservation tax credit programs. In order to approve the tax credit, the state would like to see a commensurate commitment from local units – and Ketelaar is proposing that it take the form of the DDA’s support.

At the April 11, 2012 DDA partnerships committee meeting, one of the points that resonated strongest with some board members in favor of supporting the 618 S. Main project was the ability of the contribution to leverage state money that would otherwise not be invested in Ann Arbor. The amount of money from the state that could be leveraged is in the range of $3 million.

Under Ketelaar’s proposal, taxes on the property would still need to be paid. In other words, the DDA would not simply waive its tax capture on the property. The 618 S. Main project would be reimbursed for a portion of those taxes it would normally owe. In the draft policy, that’s reflected in the following passage: “The DDA will not forgo its TIF capture from a project; the DDA may elect to provide a grant to a project utilizing its funds, or it may elect to provide all or some of its support using such in-kind elements as access to parking for contractors or construction staging.”

The maximum amount of a possible grant described in the draft policy is “calculated by estimating 25% of the total TIF captured by a project over ten years.” In the case of the 618 S. Main project, that amounts to .25*(10*$250,000) = $625,000. That’s about half what the 618 S. Main project is requesting.

The DDA board has heard about the proposal on several occasions – first at the full board meeting on Feb. 1, 2012, and at four subsequent DDA partnerships committee meetings. DDA board members are cautious about the precedent that such a pledge might set, and the appropriateness of the DDA’s role at this early stage in the project. (Ketelaar has not yet acquired the land.) At the March 28 partnerships committee meeting, DDA board member Newcombe Clark expressed concern that, depending on the precise role defined for the DDA’s participation, the DDA could effectively be artificially inflating land values.

“Brownfield” Policy Draft: Board Discussion

Sandi Smith introduced the draft policy. Looking at the 618 S. Main project caused the partnerships committee to take a really hard look at the reasons why the DDA would participate in the project at all, some or a lot, she said. The committee felt that it was struggling with the idea of creating a precedent. So the committee wanted to make a strong policy statement that the DDA would be able to honor for the 618 S. Main project, as well as for projects that came after it.

She walked the board through some of the highlights of the draft policy. She said she was looking for board-wide feedback for further work by the partnerships committee.

Roger Hewitt said that a lot of his concerns were addressed by the draft policy – about the subjectivity of picking projects. He liked the idea of getting rid of as much subjectivity as possible. The idea of a state match was good, he said, as well as the idea that the only costs to be reimbursed would be public infrastructure, not parts of the development itself. He also wanted to make sure that the DDA would not be paying out more than the DDA would receive in TIF capture.

Smith assured Hewitt that nothing would be paid until the taxes have been paid. The DDA would never be in a position of being ahead of the taxes it had received. Hewitt said his concern was that the amount of the grant could become a larger percentage of the TIF, if the value of the project actually went down. He wanted some way to protect against that. Keith Orr suggested some kind of clause that states that while the grant amount would be based on the estimated value of the TIF capture, the payout would be capped by the actual value.

Russ Collins noted that the scenario that Hewitt was describing involved possibly paying out more than anticipated, but not more than the DDA was capturing. John Splitt noted that there could be flexibility to pay out sooner than the actual TIF capture was received, so that’s where the issue could arise – if it were paid out on a schedule sooner than the 10 years.

Splitt wondered if 25% was enough to make a difference in the project. Bob Guenzel clarified that “enough” meant whether it was enough to actually provide the matching leverage for state funds. Smith responded by saying that for past projects, the Liberty Lofts project [a residential development at Liberty and First] had been the most significant one – and that had amounted to 17% of the TIF over 10 years. Taking all that into account, she wondered if 25% was too high or too low.

Keith Orr agreed with the idea of making it as objective as possible and focusing on public infrastructure.

Newcombe Clark said he was happy that the DDA has continued to be creative even when the organization doesn’t have a lot of money. He appreciated the patience of Ketelaar, watching the “sausage making.” Clark said he’d enjoyed the process. Maybe the DDA didn’t make everyone happy or didn’t get it right the first time, he said – that’s always possible. He knew it was not perfect, but he felt that as a group the DDA board could pick it back up and shine it up some more. He said he’d had the fear that for a few years there’d be nothing the DDA would be able to do [because of diminished financial capacity] and he’d been proven wrong.

Collins quipped that he found Clark’s positive and optimistic attitude completely inappropriate, which drew laughs around the table. On a more serious note, Collins said that the DDA had structured itself as an organization that tends to assets. That causes a certain amount of fiscal conservatism. The draft brownfield policy, therefore, is very conservative, he said. But by being conservative, the DDA could miss the chance to be a stimulus to other private investment, which is the core of the DDA’s mission, he said. That’s the constant tension a DDA has, he ventured.

Clark suggested that based on past experience, once the DDA creates policies, it lays down the rules of engagement, and then people will line up with proposals. Collins continued with his friendly ribbing of Clark, saying that Clark’s unmitigated optimism was completely out of character.

During his report from the downtown citizens advisory council (CAC), Ray Detter congratulated the DDA on the formulation of the draft policy. He said the CAC supports the project and is confident the DDA is developing a consistent policy that will be fair to everyone.

Outcome: The draft policy was not before the board for a vote. It will be subjected to further discussion by the partnerships committee.

Third Quarter Financials

Roger Hewitt reviewed the financial statements for third quarter, through March 31, 2012. The DDA’s accounting system includes four funds: the TIF (tax increment finance) fund, which gets its revenue from tax capture; the parking fund, which receives revenue from the public parking system; the parking maintenance fund, which gets revenue through transfers from the parking fund; and the housing fund, which gets revenue through transfers from the TIF fund. [.pdf of DDA  financial picture through March 31, 2012]

The tax increment finance (TIF) income is anticipated to be $200,000 below budgeted – $3.7 million instead of $3.9 million, Hewitt reported. The drop, he said, is primarily due to changes in personal property, not changes to real property. Personal property depreciates quickly, he said. Operating expenses will be about $250,000 below budget, primarily from less use of consultants and lower administrative expenses. Only about $45,000 in capital expenses are shown so far, he said, but he anticipated that number would be right around $1 million at the end of the fiscal year.

That figure will come from the Fifth and Division streetscape improvements project and a portion of the “Library Lane” parking structure. Overall, he said, the DDA had budgeted for around a $1.5 million use of fund balance. Now, said Hewitt, it looks like it would be around $1.44 million of fund reserves that would need to be used. Hewitt pointed out that the use of fund balance was planned, and the natural consequence of accruing capital funds to pay for major construction projects and then using the money.

Revenue for the public parking system is anticipated to be around $17 million, or about $800,000 more than anticipated. The rate increases had been budgeted into the anticipated revenue, he said, so he attributed the additional revenue to increased demand. He stated that the DDA continues to see strong growth in demand for parking. It’s fortunate that the “Library Lane” parking structure is coming on line when it is, because the system is at capacity, he said, at least in the campus area and at the Ann Ashley parking structure.

Direct operating expenses are expected to be $800,000 less than expected. That has to do with the fact that Republic Parking – the DDA’s contractor for day-to-day parking operations – is doing a good job at belt-tightening and is efficient in its operations, Hewitt said. He commended Art Lowe, Republic Parking manager, and his staff for keeping costs in line. Overall, it looks like the parking fund will be around $1 million to the positive.

Parking maintenance has received around $2 million, he said, which is right where the DDA anticipated being. The DDA has not spent money on maintenance that it would have ordinarily done, but the DDA is so far ahead on preventive maintenance that it was able to scale back without any concern about the structural integrity or long-term durability of the structures, he said. So parking structure maintenance has been conservative. There’s been about $1.6 million less spent on maintenance than what had been budgeted. That money will be there for future years as needed, Hewitt said.

The only income into the housing fund was due to interest. About $500,000 had been budgeted for Avalon Housing’s Near North project, but that project has not gone forward. The $500,000 is not due to be paid until Avalon has a certificate of occupancy, and that shows as under budget on the expense side for the housing fund.

Summarizing the financial picture in terms of fund balances, Hewitt gave the following round figures: TIF fund – $6.5 million; housing fund – $1 million; parking fund – $2 million; and parking maintenance – $1.8 million. Total fund balance is $11,444,000, he said. That will certainly be drawn lower as the Fifth and Division streetscape and the “Library Lane” parking structure projects are paid off, he said, but the DDA still has adequate cash.

Communications, Committee Reports

The board’s meeting included a usual range of miscellaneous reports from its standing committees and the downtown citizens advisory council, as well as public commentary. To the extent that significant issues are not already included in the other parts of the meeting report, we include them here.

Comm/Comm: Connecting William Street

Joan Lowenstein gave an update on the Connecting William Street project – an effort the DDA is making under the direction of the city council to find alternate uses for city-owned parcels currently used for surface parking. Lowenstein said that the DDA’s leadership and outreach committee is continuing and increasing efforts to bring different “scenarios” to the public. The scenarios won’t be exact building drawings, but there would be more detail in them, she said. In mid- to late June there’d be something concrete to bring to the public.

Focus group meetings will continue in an effort to shape scenarios. A meeting with members of the city’s park advisory commission had taken place. On May 16, the committee would hear the market analysis findings that will shape the scenarios, based on survey feedback and the market analysis. Throughout the month of June, the committee was moving ahead to have something to show people and get feedback.

The next event in the Concentrate speaker series, focusing on land-use economics, will take place on May 17 at 5 p.m. at Conor O’Neill’s, Lowenstein said.

Comm/Comm: Commuter Challenge

Nancy Shore, director of the getDowntown program, gave the board a brief update on the Commuter Challenge, which getDowntown sponsors annually during the month of May.

Comm/Comm: Girl Scouts

Girl Scout badge design for "Spring Blooms" park cleanup day. The DDA is camouflaged into the design.

Board members were given a Girl Scout badge that’s been created in connection with the parks cleanup day, Spring Blooms. Girl Scouts can earn the badge by participating in the event, DDA executive director Susan Pollay said.

Pollay noted that the DDA name was hidden within the badge design.

This year, the event falls on Saturday, May 19. The assembly point is Liberty Plaza at Division and Liberty. Said Pollay: “We will go forth and clean up the downtown!”

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

Absent: John Mouat, Leah Gunn.

Next board meeting: Noon on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. [confirm date]

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Left to right: DDA board chair Joan Lowenstein, and board members Gary Boren and Roger Hewitt. (Photo by the writer.)

Another main topic of discussion was transportation, which came in the context of recent transportation committee talks with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The discussion with AATA dealt with the possible return of a downtown circulator service [formerly The LINK] and improved service to Ypsilanti, as well as an initial study of bicyclist habits in the downtown area. Related to bicyclists, the board heard from one downtown merchant during public commentary about dissatisfaction with the “art” bicycle hoops, as one example of the DDA’s lack of success in considering the end user in some of its decisions.

The board also mulled over a possible restructuring of its committee structure – currently the board has a transportation committee, a partnerships committee, an operations committee, and a capital improvements committee.

Restructuring those committees is being considered in the context of the possibility that the DDA could begin to take a more active role in development of city-owned surface parking lots downtown. That more active role is one possible outcome of the ongoing city-DDA discussions about the parking agreement under which the DDA operates the city’s parking system. The new structure under discussion would add an economic development and communications committee, while merging the operations and capital improvements committees.

Shelter Association Grant

During the time allotted for public commentary, Diane Neering of The Shelter Association of Washtenaw County told the board that she was available to answer any questions about the grant that the board would be considering.

The grant is for $218,050 to be awarded from the DDA’s housing fund to The Shelter Association of Washtenaw County for improvements at the Delonis Center on Huron Street. By board policy, the DDA housing fund receives an annual $100,000 transfer from TIF. The money awarded to the shelter will pay for new washers and dryers, lockers and chairs, an emergency generator, energy conservation measures, medical equipment and software. The recommendation to award the grant came from the DDA’s partnerships committee, which discussed the issue at its last meeting.

At the partnerships committee meeting, the consensus reached by members was that they should proceed with the recommendation for the $218,050 worth of improvements, while holding in abeyance the approval of more than $113,210 for installation of solar panels and for computer hardware at the shelter.

Committee members had concerns about the length of the payback period for the solar panels, which appeared to be much longer than the kind of payback on investments the DDA is familiar with in connection with its energy saving grant program. That’s a program to help fund energy audits for downtown property owners, as well as various energy improvements. In his update on the energy saving grant program at Wednesday’s meeting, Russ Collins summarized the program as 64 energy audits completed, with another 27 underway. He said 21 buildings having implemented improvements as part of the second phase of the program. The average payback on those improvements, Collins said, is 3.1 years.

During deliberations on the grant, mayor John Hieftje noted that the grant was in keeping with past practice, and noted that the DDA had awarded additional money to the shelter last year to allow the purchase of additional beds to add spaces to the shelter’s warming center.

Joan Lowenstein stressed that the money being allocated was to fund infrastructure improvements, not operations. In response to a question from DDA board member Bob Guenzel, about whether Washtenaw County had been apprised of the grant request, Ellen Schulmeister, executive director of the shelter association, rose to the podium and told Guenzel that the county had been consulted. Lowenstein quipped that “You can take the boy outta the county, but you can’t take the county outta the boy” – an allusion to Guenzel’s longtime service, until earlier this year, as Washtenaw County administrator.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the grant for the shelter for $218,050 worth of improvements.

Economic Development

The theme of economic development serves to tie together three separate meeting items.

Economic Development: Library Lot

Part of every DDA meeting includes a report from DDA board members who are representing the DDA on other task forces and committees.

At Wednesday’s meeting, John Splitt told told the board that the Library Lot RFP review committee had not met since the last board meeting. At the September DDA board meeting, Splitt had reported that the committee had not met since the spring, but that the recent hire of a consultant meant that the two proposals were still being considered – out of six that were submitted. From September’s Chronicle meeting report:

[Carsten] Hohnke’s suggestion, made at a Democratic primary election forum, was that consideration of the Library Lot be restarted as a blank slate, with no preconceptions. An underground parking garage is currently under construction on the parcel, and a city-led committee is handling the review of proposals that were submitted for the lot last year. [Chronicle coverage: "Hotel/Conference Center Proposals Go Forward"]

At Wednesday’s DDA board meeting, John Splitt reported out from the committee that’s reviewing proposals for development of the parcel above the underground parking garage – he represents the DDA on the committee, which includes city staff as well as councilmembers Margie Teall and Stephen Rapundalo. Rapundalo chairs that committee.

Splitt gave essentially the same kind of update on the committee that Rapundalo has given his city council colleagues at recent meetings. The committee has not met in about four months, Splitt said. A consultant [Roxbury Group] has been hired and is doing due diligence on the two proposals that are still under consideration. The consultant’s meetings with the proposers should be concluded in time for the committee to meet sometime towards the end of September, Splitt said.

Economic Development: City-DDA Mutually Beneficial Discussions

Roger Hewitt reported out from the ongoing conversations between the city and the DDA about the parking agreement under which the DDA manages the city’s parking system. Hewitt’s remarks were parallel to those of Ward 3 councilmember Christopher Taylor, at the council’s Oct. 4 meeting two days prior. Hewitt said that executive director Susan Pollay and the DDA’s legal counsel, Jerry Lax, would begin drafting amendments to the current parking agreement. There is general agreement on the idea of the DDA playing a more active role in the development of downtown city-owned parking lots, Hewitt said. Taylor’s remarks, as reported in The Chronicle:

At Monday’s council meeting, Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) who serves on the council’s committee that is engaged in the negotiations, gave an update on their status. He said the conversations have moved away from the idea of the DDA taking responsibility for enforcement of parking regulations to focus on reworking the language of the existing agreement and the idea that the DDA would become the implementation engine for development of city-owned surface parking lots in the downtown. He alerted his colleagues to the likelihood of a city council work session when the DDA would present their concept for implementation of DDA-led development.

On the DDA’s side, the idea of DDA-led development has increasingly included some notion of “economic development.” [Recent Chronicle coverage of the ongoing city-DDA negotiations: "DDA: Dogged Enough for Development?"] As the DDA prepares for the possibility of taking a more active role in the redevelopment of downtown Ann Arbor, the board has also begun to consider how to accommodate that role in its committee structure.

Economic Development: Committee Structure

Board chair Joan Lowenstein presented for initial discussion – not for any kind of final decision – a possible restructuring of the board’s committees. Currently the board has a transportation committee, a partnerships committee, an operations committee, and a capital improvements committee.

Out of the board’s retreat held last month came the idea of including an economic development committee in the mix. But Lowenstein drew an analogy to her household’s approach to purchases made at the Ann Arbor art fairs – if you buy something, something else has to go. So adding an economic development committee is intended to be offset by a merger of the operations and capital improvements committees.

There has also been recent discussion of adding a communications committee, so the idea is to charge the new committee with the responsibility of economic development as well as communications issues. The resulting committee configuration would be:

• merged operations/capital improvements committee: review financial statements; formulate budget; oversee parking operations; oversee parking agreement with the city; oversee construction.
• transportation committee: review getDowntown projects; personal transportation issues (bicycle parking, scooter parking, walkability); mass transit projects (coordination with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority).
• partnerships committee: oversee DDA projects involving other entities like the city of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan; housing fund expenditures; energy saving grant program; coordination with city council and the city’s planning commission.
• economic development/communications: background research for downtown redevelopment; inventory of city-owned sites; hiring of real estate experts and other consultants; facilitate process for development (public process and with the city council); assemble information on downtown’s assets for inclusion in promotional efforts of Ann Arbor SPARK.

Board member Russ Collins said the sketch of the committee structure Lowenstein had provided sounded reasonable. He cautioned that the committee structure needs to match the resources of staff. John Mouat stated that he was “thrilled” with it, and echoed Collins sentiment that there needs to be adequate staff support for that structure and it needs to be implemented step by step.

A merger of the capital improvements committee and the operations committee would mean that the chairs of the two committees – John Splitt and Roger Hewitt, respectively – would need to work something out. The idea of using co-chairs was discussed, which is parallel to the practice of the current partnerships committee, which is co-chaired by Sandi Smith and Russ Collins. Hewitt quipped that he’d like to name the merged committees the “bricks and money” committee.

In connection to the function of the communications committee, John Hieftje asked what the publicity efforts had been like for the “early bird special” parking deal on the very top of the Fourth and William parking deck. [After the meeting, Mark Lyons, general manager of Republic Parking, explained to The Chronicle that the rate for the deal is $5 if someone comes in before 9 a.m., with a departure between 3-6 p.m.] Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, indicated that the DDA had not increased publicity efforts for the deal, but rather was anticipating that the DDA would engage the city council more fully on the topic of parking strategies after submission of its parking report at the council’s April 19, 2010 meeting.

The conversation on the “early bird special” had actually begun during the report out from the operations committee, when Mouat had also inquired about how it had been publicized. Hewitt indicated that it was being promoted through the getDowntown program, and through handouts at the payment booths at other parking structures. Splitt quipped that the program was also being promoted by their board meeting, alluding to “the thousands of people who are watching this.” [The DDA board meetings are not broadcast live, but are taped and can be viewed online via CTN's video-on-demand service.]

In making the case for an economic development committee, Lowenstein said the idea had been reinforced for board members who had attended a recent International Downtown Association convention in Fort Worth.

IDA Convention

In past years, the DDA has budgeted $30,000 for attendance at the International Downtown Association convention. This year, it reduced the allocation to $15,000, by not funding attendance by city councilmembers or representatives of downtown merchant associations. Those who attended the conference in Fort Worth from Oct. 1-5, funded by the DDA, were executive director Susan Pollay and board members Gary Boren, Joan Lowenstein, Keith Orr and Sandi Smith. According to an email sent by Pollay in response to a Chronicle question, cost estimates per person, including conference fees, hotel, and flight were $2,400 each, for a total of $12,000.

Separately, the State Street Area Association paid to send a staff member and three SSAA board members to the IDA conferance: Tom Heywood, Bob Livingston, Rich Bellas and John Splitt. Splitt is a DDA board member, but his costs were covered by the SSAA, not the DDA.

Transportation

The conversation on transportation included discussion of partnerships with the AATA, as well as a study of bicyclist habits.

Transportation: AATA – Ypsi and The LINK

In his report out from the transportation committee, John Mouat said that the transportation committee had had conversations with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority on two specific initiatives.

The first is enhanced service between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. The AATA has developed a set of different service enhancements, ranging from more frequent service on existing routes, to express service that would reduce travel times on existing routes. Mouat described the challenge of enhancing service as “very complex.” What would the DDA be trying to accomplish – more frequent service, service on weekends, service later in the evening?

Mouat said that Ypsilanti Township has more residents who work in Ann Arbor than does the city of Ypsilanti – that has an impact on how you approach creating a hub, Mouat said. He also stressed that it was important to work with partners on the service enhancements – Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, and the University of Michigan. Mouat noted that UM is the AATA’s biggest customer.

Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, noted that the ridership on Route #4 between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti indicated that there is a clear demand – twice the demand on any other route. Mouat added that service enhancement between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti would be viewed by the AATA in the context of the countywide transit master plan it is currently developing.

Mayor John Hieftje noted that there is a ballot initiative on the city of Ypsilanti ballot on Nov. 2 for a millage to support transit. [The city of Ann Arbor has a transit tax levied at roughly 2 mills. Service to other communities is provided by AATA through purchase of service agreements (POSAs). Shortages in the city of Ypsilanti budget resulted in the AATA's use of federal money to make up the difference in what Ypsilanti paid and the cost of operating the service.] Hieftje expressed an interest in seeing transit speeded up for individuals between the two communities.

Hieftje also expressed his optimism about the future of east-west commuter rail. He gave essentially the same update he’d given at the city council’s meeting two days prior. From The Chronicle’s meeting report of the Oct. 4, 2010 city council meeting:

Hieftje expressed his optimism about the project eventually becoming a reality, based on the amount of money the federal government is investing in rail transportation through the ARRA stimulus program. At SEMCOG’s Oct. 28 meeting – to be held at 4:30 p.m. at the Henry Ford, Hieftje announced, the refurbished railcars to be used for the service will be on display. They’re double-decker stainless steel cars.An excursion service would be offered to Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day parade, as well as to the Big Chill, a hockey game at Michigan Stadium between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, scheduled for Dec. 11. Hieftje also mentioned the possibility of excursion trains scheduled for the Ann Arbor art fairs. He cautioned, though, that there would not suddenly be commuter rail service – it would be built layer by layer.

Mouat also reported that Roger Hewitt and Keith Orr had sketched out a concept for a fairly robust service for a reconstituted LINK – a circulator service that previously was operated in the downtown area. That service was funded in a collaboration between the DDA, the University of Michigan, and the AATA. [Chronicle readers may remember the purple vehicles that provided the service.] The robust concept sketched by Hewitt and Orr, Mouat said, included service at 5-minute intervals, 12 months a year, 18 hours a day, and the cost estimates that had come back from the AATA were equally robust. They are now thinking about what modifications to the concept could be made.

Transportation: Bicyclist Study

Mouat also reported out from a study done during the spring and fall of 2010 by a DDA intern on bicycle use in the downtown. Among the findings of that study:

Far more bikes were counted on hoops/racks than on other street features – 1,249 of 1, 565 bikes counted (80%).

When asked how much do you plan on spending today – the average response was $21.43.

When asked how often in the last month have you ridden your bike – 88% reported riding multiple times a week or daily downtown.

When asked why they use their bikes instead of another mode and why they choose bike parking locations – the majority of respondents reported convenience.

When asked how often do you ride on the sidewalks – 80% reported riding only sometimes (for example, when on the Diag), rarely, or never. Those who reported riding always or frequently cited fear of riding in the roads due to cars traveling at high speeds, poor bike lanes, and a lack of confidence in their own abilities.

Russ Collins took the occasion of Mouat’s report on the bicycling study to note that the DDA tried to approach things in a statistical way, not relying only on anecdotal reports. He noted that decisions are based not on the “whim of a board” but rather on data and research.

Collins was responding to some comments that came during public commentary that had criticized the “art” bike hoop initiative, among other DDA projects. Collins said he appreciated the speaker’s point of view, and it’s taken very seriously by the board. He concluded that it is not only the statistical or only the anecdotal reports that are important.

Critique of DDA Initiatives

During public commentary at the start of the meeting, Ali Ramlawi, the owner of Jerusalem Garden, gave the board his perspective as a downtown business owner and a Ward 5 resident of the city, on some of the DDA’s work. Noting the “civil engineering project” that was going on next to his restaurant – the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage – he said he felt a little slighted about the process. He told the board that he and many others he talks to are increasingly unhappy with the direction downtown Ann Arbor is going. He told the board he thought they had the best intentions, but that they were not always successful.

Ali Ramlawi, owner of Jerusalem Garden, leafs through his notes before addressing the DDA board.

As examples, Ramlawi gave the “art” bike hoops, saying that they are not practical. People lock their bikes to trees, poles, and sign posts, instead of the new bike hoops, he said. The new ePark stations are another example of an unsuccessful project, he said. He’s on the street, he said, and hears from hundreds of customers every day – the new ePark stations are confusing, he said. With the old meters, it was simple – you pop a few quarters in the meter, then go do what you need to do. Now there’s typically one person who’s never used the new stations before and you have to wait in line to use the station.

Ramlawi’s four minutes of speaking time expired as he was critiquing the new bump-out on the northwest corner of Liberty and Division streets. He reiterated his feeling that the board has the best intentions, but the result is not necessarily successful.

Ramlawi’s Jerusalem Garden was a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in August 2009 about the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is now under construction. That suit was settled without going to trial, with the city committing to the completion of an environmental study.

Operations: Parking

The main event for the operations committee report each month is typically the set of parking numbers. [.pdf of parking numbers extracted from the board's meeting packet] The board reviewed August 2010 compared to August 2009. System-wide this year for the month of August showed revenues of $1,142,086, compared with $1,155,723 last year, for a decrease of $13,638. The number of hourly patrons decreased to 178,940 from 188,373 for a drop of 9,433.

The fact that the Library Lot, with its 192 spaces, is not currently available for parking accounts for some of the decreases. The Fifth Avenue underground parking garage is currently under construction on that lot. Last August those spaces accounted for $37,741 in revenue and 20,780 hourly patrons.

Hewitt attributed the decrease in revenue from meter bags to the completion of construction on the university’s North Quad dormitory at Huron and State. Meter bags – which are literal bags placed over the heads of parking meters, preventing parking there – are commonly paid for in conjunction with construction projects, which need guaranteed open parking spaces for construction site deliveries and the like.

John Mouat inquired whether it is now possible to track usage of on-street meters by the length of stay and the hours they are in use, and Hewitt confirmed that is the case. Asked what percentage of ePark users paid with a credit card, Mark Lyons, general manager of Republic Parking, indicated it’s roughly 50% who pay with a credit card.

In response to a graph depicting increasing revenues for the parking system from just under $12 million in 2005 to more than $14 million in 2010, board member Gary Boren asked how much of the increase can be attributed to the rate increases compared to increased patronage. Hewitt replied that it’s important to note that the initial rate increases during that period for street parking were offset with decreases in the structure. In response to Boren’s question, Hewitt said if he had to guess he’d say it was 50-50 – half the revenue increase could be attributed to rate increases, and half to increased patronage.

Another graph included in the packet showed an increase in hourly patrons from 214,218 in 2008, to 392,412 in 2009, to 486,204 in 2010. Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, pointed out that this trend, together with the increased number of bus rides taken into the downtown by users of go!passes – a program that subsidizes bus rides for downtown workers – showed an overall increasing demand for people to be downtown.

Capital Improvements: Update on the Hole

John Splitt reported out from the capital improvements committee that the earth retention work for the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage is now complete. That means that the giant auger used for drilling the holes for the vertical steel is now offsite, he said. The “mass excavation” is now 85% complete, he reported. De-watering of the site has been “somewhat of an issue,” he said, but that’s being worked on with the city.

Splitt reported that 16 additional on-street parking spaces had now been created on Fifth Avenue in connection with the Fifth-Division streetscape improvement project. Construction work on that project would be complete for the season on Nov. 15, he said.

Downtown Citizens Advisory Council Report: Panhandling and Peace Corps

Ray Detter reported out for the Downtown Citizens Advisory Council. The group meets on the Tuesday evening before the monthly board meeting of the DDA, which falls on the first Wednesday of the month.

CAC: Panhandling

Detter told the board that the CAC was pleased with the re-establishment of the panhandling task force by the city council. [The council established the task force at its Sept. 20, 2010 meeting and added two additional members at its Oct. 4, 2010 meeting. The task force is charged with working for six months to identify cost-effective ways of enforcing the existing ordinance and of providing appropriate assistance to those who are panhandling.]

Detter said that the creation of the task force had already started discussion in the community. He noted that much of the issue involves perception, but pointed out that perception usually has an element of reality. He said that the task force would not be starting with the assumption that the solution is to have more police. He reported some discussion at the meeting of the possibility that the state law had changed with respect to panhandling and that it might be possible to ban it outright.

By way of background, Ann Arbor’s ordinance restricts locations – it’s not allowed near ATMs, for example – and the manner in which people can be approached:

9:70. Solicitation.
Except as otherwise provided in Chapters 79 and 81 of this Code, it shall be unlawful for any person to solicit the immediate payment of money or goods from another person, whether or not in exchange for goods, services, or other consideration, under any of the following circumstances:
1. On private property, except as otherwise permitted by Chapters 79 and 81, unless the solicitor has permission from the owner or occupant;
2. In any public transportation vehicle or public transportation facility;
3. In any public parking structure and within 12 feet of any entrance or exit to any public parking structure;
4. From a person who is in any vehicle on the street;
5. By obstructing the free passage of pedestrian or vehicle traffic;
6. Within 12 feet of a bank or automated teller machine;
7. By moving to within 2 feet of the person solicited, unless that person has indicated that he/she wishes to be solicited;
8. By following and continuing to solicit a person who walks away from the solicitor;
9. By knowingly making a false or misleading representation in the course of a solicitation;
10. In a manner that appears likely to cause a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities to feel intimidated, threatened or harassed;
11. Within 12 feet of the entrance to or exit from the Nickels Arcade, located between State Street and Maynard Street; the Galleria, located between S. University and the Forest Street parking structure; and the Pratt Building, located between Main Street and the Ashley parking lot; or
12. From a person who is a patron at any outdoor cafe or restaurant.

Before the start of the Thursday, Oct. 7 meeting of the Main Street Area Association, in conversation with The Chronicle, MSAA executive director Maura Thomson and Ward 2 city councilmember Tony Derezinski indicated they were looking at what other cities are doing with respect to panhandling. Derezinski said he didn’t think the state law had changed anywhere at the statutory level, but that perhaps there’d been new court cases that potentially had a bearing on the issue. He said that mayor John Hieftje had asked him to do some background research on the question – Dereziski’s professional background is in municipal law.

Thomson has gathered some other communities’ ordinances on panhandling: East Lansing, Petoskey, Birmingham, Royal Oak in Michigan, as well as Madison, Wisc. Excerpts from those ordinances:

[E. Lansing]
Sec. 26-52. Prohibited acts.
No person shall: …
(5) Beg in any public place.

[Petoskey]
Sec. 12-2. Begging.
Any person who wanders about and begs in the streets, or from house to house or sits, stands or takes a position in any place and begs from passerby, either by words gestures or by the exhibiting of a sign shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

[Birmingham]
74-2. Begging
It shall be unlawful for any person within the city to beg in a public place from passersby, either by words, gestures or by the exhibiting of a sign.

[Royal Oak]
§ 278-45 Loitering.
A person commits the offense of loitering if he or she:
A. Loiters, remains or wanders about in a public place for the purpose of begging;

[Madison, Wisc.]
H.12 MENACING OR AGGRESSIVE PANHANDLING PROHIBITED.
(4) In or near any thoroughfare or place open to the public, no person either individually or as part of a group shall procure or attempt to procure a handout from another in an aggressive or intimidating manner. Among the circumstances which may be considered in determining whether such purpose or behavior is manifested are the following: that such person is a known panhandler; that such person continues to beckon to, accost or follow or ask passer(s)-by for a handout after the passer(s)-by has failed to respond or has told the person “no”; that such person engages in a course of conduct or commits any act which harasses or intimidates the passer(s)-by: or that such person utilizes or attempts to utilize bodily gestures or physical contact to impede the path of any passer(s)-by, including but not limited to unwanted touching or blocking the path or impeding the free movement of the passer(s)-by. The violator’s conduct must be such as to demonstrate a specific intent to induce, solicit, or procure from another goods or money by aggressive or intimidating behavior. No arrest shall be made for a violation of this subsection unless the arresting officer first affords such person an opportunity to explain such conduct, and no one shall be convicted of violating this subsection if it appears at trial that the explanation given was true and disclosed a lawful purpose.

[A "known panhandler" is defined by the city code as: "a person who within one year previous to the date of arrest for violation of this section has been convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of any civil or criminal offense involving panhandling."]

In his remarks before the DDA board on Wednesday, Detter said that based on conversations with organizations responsible for meeting the needs of homeless people, and for providing food to those who need it, he didn’t think that anyone needed to go hungry in the community. Soliciting money on the street based on hunger, he concluded, is a misrepresentation. He concluded his remarks on the topic by saying, “We’re not out to get anybody.”

CAC: Peace Corps

Detter also called the board’s attention to an event on Oct. 14 at 10:30 a.m. – a 15-minute program in front of the University of Michigan Union to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a speech given by John F. Kennedy in the early morning hours of Oct. 14 in 1960. The speech is pointed to as outlining the basic concept behind the Peace Corps. [The university is also planning a 1 a.m. event, one at 2 a.m. as well as one at 11 a.m.] Detter noted that the event would be receiving national attention, and that Gov. Granholm would be in attendance.

The 10:30 event will be a dedication of the installation of a new historical street exhibit on the east side of State Street, across from the Michigan Union, commemorating Kennedy’s speech. Ann Arbor’s historical street exhibits are coordinated by Detter – new exhibits are installed on an ongoing basis. Some of the exhibits are affixed to building walls, while others are constructed of etched glass panels mounted between poles.

In a phone interview with The Chronicle a few days after the DDA board meeting, Detter estimated the cost of a single street exhibit at $15,000. He noted that the DDA had provided $30,000 several years ago to help get the program started and that the county had contributed around $6,000 in connection with one of the exhibits involving the county government – county commissioner Leah Gunn and then county administrator Bob Guenzel had been instrumental in that, Detter said.

Present: Gary Boren, Bob Guenzel, Roger Hewitt, John Hieftje, John Splitt, Leah Gunn, Russ Collins, Keith Orr, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat

Absent: Newcombe Clark, Sandi Smith

Next board meeting: Noon on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010, at the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301. [confirm date]

The guy who did that: Fred Posner.

He doesn’t work for the city of Ann Arbor, the Downtown Development Authority, or Republic Parking. To get a little insight into what led him to undertake such a project, and if you want the number to call, you’re going to have to read Fred’s Talk. [Here's documentation on how he accomplished the data-to-telephone part.]

Apologies for the illegible titles in the video. The whole thing lasts less than a minute, and is, I think, worth suffering through the awful titles.

[Read the Talk]

[Editor's note: HD is "Homeless Dave, a.k.a. Dave Askins, editor of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.]