The transfer of $943,005 in Percent for Art money back to its funds of origin was made possible by an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance given final approval by the council on Feb. 18.

The $943,005 total is an amount that defunds the art project at Argo Cascades, but keeps funding for the Coleman Jewett memorial and for a project called Canoe Imagine Art. The art projects at East Stadium bridges and at the Kingsley & First rain garden would also retain their funding. Because the resolution involves a transfer of funds, it required eight votes on the 11-member council to be approved. The vote on the question was 10-1 with Margie Teall (Ward 4) dissenting.

The former Percent for Art funding mechanism required 1% of all capital fund project budgets to be set aside for public art. A new approach to public art was established on June 3, 2013, when the council eliminated the Percent for Art mechanism from the ordinance. The new approach entails including city-funded art when it’s designed as an integral part of a capital project, with council approval. Art projects also could be funded through a combination of private and public money.

So the second resolution approved by the council focused exclusively on the transition to the new public art program. The resolution directed the city administrator to ask the staff to develop a transition plan to be presented to the council by Oct. 6, 2014. The resolution also prohibits initiating additional projects using pooled Percent for Art funds, and directs the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for FY 2015 and FY 2016.

An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator, drawn from the general fund. FY 2015 runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Because it did not transfer any funds, the resolution on establishing a timeline and a budget did not require more than a simple six-vote majority. Dissenting on the vote were: Mike Anglin (Ward 5), Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Jack Eaton (Ward 4).

The third resolution approved by the council on March 3 was one that extended the contract for the city’s part-time public art administrator by six months, appropriating $18,500 for that purpose – drawn from Percent for Art money. The item first appeared on the council’s Jan. 21 agenda, but the council postponed that vote until Feb. 3, when it was subsequently defeated. On Feb. 18 it was then brought back for reconsideration, but immediately postponed until March 3. The item, which required eight votes for approval, succeeded on a unanimous vote.

The council’s actions were based in part on a recommendation made by a council committee and attached to the council’s agenda as a report/communication about a year ago, for the council’s March 18, 2013 meeting. [.pdf of council committee's public art findings and recommendations]

The five councilmembers serving on that committee included Margie Teall (Ward 4), as well as all of those who have declared their intention to participate in the 2014 Democratic mayoral primary race: Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3).

The recommendations include a three-year time frame for review of the program:

Recommendation: The staff should review the successful implementation of any changes in the ordinance after 36 months. This timing is based on the task force’s awareness that capital improvements may take longer than two years to move from inception to completion.

The recommendations also addressed the issue of administrative support:

Recommendation: a professionally trained public art administrator can provide this level of support, but needs to be employed more than 50% of the time. The Public Art Task Force agrees that the program would benefit from the services of a trained administrator, either as a contract employee or a direct hire.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Back on the council’s March 3 agenda will be two resolutions – or possibly just one – that would make such a fund transfer. Also back on March 3 will be a resolution extending the part-time public art administrator’s contract for six months and appropriating $18,500 for that purpose.

The council’s actions on Feb. 18 began with final approval to an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance. That amendment allowed the council to transfer money accumulated through the now demised Percent for Art program back to the funds from which that money was drawn. Those funds include street millage funds, sanitary sewer funds, stormwater funds and the like. That ordinance amendment passed on a 10-0 vote. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) was absent from the 11-member council. The council had given initial approval to the ordinance amendment at its Feb. 3, 2014 meeting.

Any actual transfer of funds, however, required separate council action, with support from an eight-vote majority. Two different resolutions had been placed on the agenda addressing a fund transfer of money out of the public art fund. The first was sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), joined by Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), and Mike Anglin (Ward 5), and the second by Sabra Briere (Ward 1). The council ultimately postponed action on both resolutions.

The council flipped the order of the resolution at the start of the meeting, when the agenda was approved. So Briere’s resolution was considered first. A key difference between the two resolutions was the amount to be transferred: Lumm’s resolution specified a $819,005 transfer while Briere’s specified $957,140. The increased amount in Briere’s proposal was based on canceling a stalled public art project at Argo Cascades.

At the start of the council’s Feb. 18 meeting, the balance of unassigned funds accrued in the Percent for Art fund was $839,507. An additional $535,853 was earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary] A breakdown of the amounts that could be returned – and the funds of origin for the money – is covered here: [Art budget summary]

Another key element from Briere’s resolution was based on the council’s June 3, 2013 action to eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism, which also included a provision for a new approach to a public art program. The Percent for Art funding mechanism required 1% of all capital fund project budgets to be set aside for public art. The new approach enacted by the council last year can include city-funded art when it’s designed as an integral part of a capital project, as well as projects funded through a combination of private and public money.

So the resolution put forward by Briere included an instruction to the city administrator to direct city staff to develop a transition plan to be implemented by staff and the public art commission. It directed that plan to be presented to the council in about a year – before March 2, 2015. Briere’s resolution also directed the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. [An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator, drawn from the general fund. FY 2015 runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.]

Lumm and Kailasapathy felt the direction to establish a budget was too vague and they were not prepared to support the resolution on that basis.

When the roll call vote on postponement was taken,  Margie Teall (Ward 4) hesitated for several seconds before casting the final and deciding vote for postponement of Briere’s resolution to the council’s March 3 meeting. The other five votes for postponement were from Briere, Sally Petersen (Ward 1), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), and mayor John Hieftje.  In Taylor’s absence neither resolution had a realistic chance of meeting the eight-vote requirement for approval.

Those in favor of postponing Briere’s resolution instead of seeing it be defeated were unwilling to support Lumm’s resolution because it did not provide a clear plan or a path for transition to the new public art program. As councilmembers recognized that Lumm’s resolution did not have adequate support to pass, they voted unanimously to postpone it until March 3. That ended the debate on a comparatively calm tone, after featuring some sharp exchanges between Briere and Lumm.

The two councilmembers had been at odds earlier in the meeting over an affordable housing resolution (which was ultimately postponed) – which Lumm had not wanted placed on the agenda until March 3. Indications were that a single public art resolution might be crafted for the March 3 meeting, instead of putting both forward again. That drew some interest from Kunselman, who had stated early in deliberations that he would be voting against both resolutions. He floated the idea that if a single resolution were brought forward, he might lend it his support. Kunselman’s view of the matter was that establishing a budget for a transition and transferring funds  was best addressed as part of the annual budget process. The council adopts the next year’s fiscal budget at its second meeting in May.

In its final public art-related action on Feb. 18, the council reconsidered a resolution defeated at its Feb. 3 meeting – to extend the contract for the part-time public art administrator by six months and to appropriate funds to cover that $18,500 contract. The result of that council vote on Feb. 3 was that public art administrator Aaron Seagraves could not be paid. The council’s unanimous vote on Feb. 18 was to postpone the question until March 3.

The reconsideration of the contract extension at the Feb. 18 meeting was the result of political bargaining. That reconsideration had originally been based on whether there would be a successful vote to transfer Percent for Art money back to its funds of origin. But based on the way the debate on the two resolutions evolved, Eaton made a motion for reconsideration near the end of the meeting – with the understanding that would be immediately postponed.

The art administrator’s contract was first considered at the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 meeting, but was postponed in the context of a political horse trade – support for the administrator’s contract being contingent on beginning a process to transfer money accumulated under Percent for Art in previous years, back to the money’s funds of origin.

The Feb. 18 meeting also featured public commentary in support of public art funding from several speakers, including Margaret Parker, former chair of the Ann Arbor public art commission, and Bob Miller, the commission’s current chair. Parker referred to “negative city councilmembers” who say no to everything. Directing her comments at some councilmembers who say they’re in favor of public art, Parker asked, “Who can believe you?” Miller told councilmembers that the commission represents the council’s goals and direction. Another speaker, Dave Olson, read aloud from a statement that has been circulated in the arts community and that was signed by about 25 people advocating for a  sustainable art program.

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

The council’s Feb. 18, 2014 agenda is highlighted by public art policy issues leftover from its previous meeting, as well as several items related to acquiring various pieces of basic equipment – from a garbage truck to a wood chipper.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber, installed in the summer of 2013, includes Braille.

The possible acquisition of land is also on the agenda, in the form of a resolution postponed from an earlier meeting. The resolution would exercise the city’s right of first refusal to purchase the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property on South State Street. This process began when the University of Michigan offered to buy the property. An item authorizing the $12.8 million purchase is on the Feb. 20 UM board of regents agenda, based on the assumption that the city won’t exercise its right of first refusal earlier in the week.

In other action, the council will consider an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance for a second and final vote on Feb. 18, having given initial approval to the item on Feb. 3. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years. The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. To be approved, the ordinance change will need a six-vote majority on the 11-member council. The enactment of an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor, but a veto can be overridden by an eight-vote majority.

Dependent on the public art ordinance amendment are two competing resolutions that would return money from the public art fund to the funds from which that money was drawn. That includes funds like the sanitary sewer fund and the street millage fund. Based on the Feb. 3 council deliberations, the debate on such a resolution would likely center on the amount to be returned to funds of origin, not the question of returning at least some of the money. And that point of possible disagreement is reflected in the amounts specified in the two resolutions. A resolution sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) would transfer $819,005 back to the funds of origin.

A resolution added later to the agenda is sponsored by Sabra Briere (Ward 1). Briere’s proposal would eliminate funding for the stalled Argo Cascades art project and would return $957,140 to the funds of origin. Briere’s resolution also directs the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. [An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator.]

Either of the two proposed resolutions related to public art funds would require eight votes to pass.

Also expected back from the Feb. 3 agenda is a resolution that was defeated at that meeting – to extend the contract for the part-time public art administrator by six months and to appropriate funds to cover that $18,500 contract. It would need eight votes to pass. The result of the Feb. 3 council vote was that public art administrator Aaron Seagraves cannot currently be paid. The contract is supposed to be back on Feb. 18 for reconsideration – as part of the political bargain among councilmembers on the overall question of how the Percent for Art money that accumulated in the public art fund will be handled.

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda also features several pieces of equipment essential to core services. One of those core services is the repair of water main breaks, which have increased in frequency in recent weeks as the ground moves due to deeper and deeper penetration of frost. The council will be asked to approve the $441,535 purchase of a combination sewer truck, which is outfitted with a vacuum device – often used to control water in an excavation during the repair of a water main break. Also deployed when repairing water main breaks is a hydraulic excavator. So the council will be asked to approve the purchase of one for $176,472. Both of those authorizations are replacements of existing city equipment.

The council will also be asked to approve the purchase of a new garbage truck for $93,800. The purchase of two vans for a total of $50,320 is also on the council’s Feb. 18 agenda. The vans will be used by the parks and recreation staff to shuttle passengers when they start a river trip at one of the cities liveries on the Huron River. Rounding out equipment purchases is a $83,208 wood chipper.

Another piece of equipment shows up on the agenda in the form of a grant application the council is being asked to approve. The $334,140 grant application is being made to the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – to acquire a mobile training facility to train firefighters. The 48-foot-long unit will allow live fire and tactical simulations.

In addition to the Edwards Brothers deal, several other real estate matters are on the Feb. 18 agenda. The council will be asked to approve the acquisition of development rights for two properties, using funds from the greenbelt millage. The first is a 24-acre parcel just north of the Huron River in Scio Township. The city of Ann Arbor will be contributing $25,200 to the total $84,000 cost of purchasing development rights, with the township contributing the difference. The second greenbelt property on the agenda is a 64-acre property on Zeeb Road, also in Scio Township. For that deal, the city is contributing $39,000 to the total purchase price of $130,335.

Related to land use, council will also be asked to give final approval to the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street – to C1 (local business district). The property houses Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky.

On the consent agenda is a contract with MDOT for reimbursement to the city for a portion of the cost to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at three locations: on Geddes Road at Gallup Park; Fuller Road 400 feet east of Cedar Bend Drive; and on South University Avenue at Tappan Avenue. The city’s cost for the $47,971 project would be $14,179.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items for the Feb. 18 meeting, which was shifted to Tuesday because of the Presidents Day holiday on Monday. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Tuesday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network.

The Chronicle will be filing live updates from city council chambers during the meeting, published in this article below the preview material. Click here to skip the preview section and go directly to the live updates. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Public Art

Four items related to public art are expected to be handled at the Feb. 18 council meeting: (1) a final vote on an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance; (2) two resolutions enabled by that change, which would transfer money out of the city’s public art fund back to the funds from which the money was drawn; and (3) a resolution extending by six months the contract for the city’s part-time public art administrator and appropriating funds to cover the $18,500 contract extension.

Public Art: Ordinance Amendment

Having given initial approval to an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance at its Feb. 3, 2014 meeting, the council is considering the item for a second and final vote on Feb. 18. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years.

The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. To be approved, the ordinance change will need a six-vote majority on the 11-member council. The enactment of an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor, but a veto can be overridden by an eight-vote majority.

This ordinance revision reprises a previous effort to amend the public art ordinance to allow the transfer of money accumulated during previous years of the Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin. That unsuccessful effort came eight months ago at the council’s June 3, 2013 meeting. At that meeting, the council did eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism from the public art ordinance, and also allowed the most recent year’s accumulation of money to be returned to the funds of origin. The council also returned that most recent year’s worth of funding – $326,464.

The former Percent for Art program required 1% of all capital fund project budgets to be set aside for public art. As a part of the June 3 ordinance change, the council replaced the Percent for Art funding program with a new approach that would allow city staff, working with the public art commission, to identify capital projects suitable for “baking in” art. In addition to city funding of art designed to be an integral part of a specific capital improvement project, the approach envisioned general donations to a public art fund, and public art projects paid for with a combination of public and private funds.

The balance of unassigned funds accrued in the Percent for Art fund as of Jan. 14, 2014 is $839,507. An additional $535,853 is earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary]

Any actual transfer of money would require separate council action.

Public Art: Resolution on Return to Funds of Origin

Dependent on the public art ordinance amendment are two items now on the Feb. 18 agenda. Both are resolutions that would return money from the public art fund to the funds from which the money was drawn. That includes funds like the sanitary sewer fund and the street millage fund. Under the city charter, resolutions like this require eight votes on the 11-member council.

Based on the Feb. 3 council deliberations, the debate on such a resolution would likely center on the amount to be returned to funds of origin, not the question of returning at least some of the money. That’s already reflected in the two competing resolutions. The first is sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), joined by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1). Lumm’s resolution would transfer $819,005, which would leave $20,500 – which is the total amount needed to fund an extension of the public art administrator’s contract and some additional administrative costs. It would also leave funds for three projects in the works at the following locations : East Stadium bridges, Argo Cascades, and the Kingsley & First rain garden.

A breakdown of the amounts that could be returned – and the funds to which that money would be returned – is covered here: [Art budget summary]

A second resolution transferring money from the public art fund to its funds of origin has now been added to the agenda as well. The second resolution is sponsored by Sabra Briere (Ward 1), and escalates the one initiated by Lumm. Briere’s resolution eliminates funding for the Argo Cascades art project – because the committee making the final selection between two artists has not been able to come to a consensus to move forward with either one of them. So Briere’s resolution would return $957,140, compared to the $819,005 called for in the proposal originally put on the agenda by Lumm.

The $138,135 difference in total amounts for the resolutions falls $5,000 short of the $143,134 cost of the Argo Cascades art project. That’s because Briere’s resolution allows $5,000 of funds to remain for a memorial to Coleman Jewett. The public art commission authorized $5,000 in Percent for Art funds for the project roughly five months ago, at its Sept. 25, 2013 meeting. Jewett was a long-time local educator who died in January 2013. After he retired, he made furniture that he sold at the Ann Arbor farmers market. A private foundation has committed $5,000 to create a memorial at the market, in the form of a bronze replica of one of Jewett’s Adirondack chairs. The current proposal, at a total cost of $15,000 is to create an artwork that includes  two such chairs. The $5,000 from the city plus the match from a private donor leaves a  $5,000 gap to be covered in private fundraising.

Briere’s resolution also calls for the city administrator to direct city staff to develop a transition plan to be implemented by staff and the public art commission, and for that plan to be presented to the council in about a year – before March 2, 2015. Briere’s resolution also calls for no additional projects to be initiated using funds set aside under the former Percent for Art program.

A further highlight of Briere’s resolution is direction to the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. [An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator.]

The need for continued funding for arts administration is based on the new approach to the public art program established by the city council in June 2013. That new approach can include city-funded art when it’s designed as an integral part of a capital project, as well as projects funded through a combination of private and public money.

If the issue of the amount to be returned isn’t settled on Feb. 18 and the resolution does not pass in any form, another option would be to take up the question in the context of the annual budget resolution, which is considered at the council’s second meeting in May every year. Under the city charter, the budget resolution as a whole requires seven votes to be approved. But amendments to the budget resolution are subject only to the six-vote majority requirement.

On Feb. 10, the city released a list of budget requests made by department heads for the next fiscal year. And $80,000 from the general fund has been requested to fund a transition from the now defunct Percent for Art funding mechanism to the new public art program. The $80,000 would include compensation for a full-time art administrator for a year. In the meantime, the council will likely again consider a six-month extension of the part-time administrator’s contract at its Feb. 18 meeting.

Public Art: Resolution to Extend Public Art Administrator’s Contract

Also expected back from the Feb. 3 is a resolution that was defeated at that meeting – to extend the contract for the part-time public art administrator by six months and to appropriate funds to cover that $18,500 contract. The result of the Feb. 3 council vote was that public art administrator Aaron Seagraves cannot currently be paid.

The contract will likely be taken up on Feb. 18 for reconsideration – as part of the political bargain among councilmembers on the overall question of how the Percent for Art money that accumulated in the public art fund will be handled. The art administrator’s contract was first considered at the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 meeting, but was postponed in the context of a political horse trade – support for the administrator’s contract being contingent on beginning a process to transfer money accumulated under Percent for Art in previous years, back to the money’s funds of origin.

The conversation between mayor John Hieftje and Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table toward the end of the Feb. 3 meeting indicated that Eaton would be bringing the item back for reconsideration on Feb. 18, provided that public art money was returned to its funds of origin. Only someone who voted on the prevailing side on Feb. 3 could bring back the item for reconsideration. Those councilmembers include Eaton, Lumm, Kailasapathy and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

Equipment

The Feb. 18 agenda is relatively heavy on items related to acquiring basic equipment: a combination sewer truck, a hydraulic excavator, a garbage truck, two vans, a wood chipper, and a firefighter training unit.

Equipment: Water Main Breaks

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda features several pieces of equipment essential to core services. One of those core services is repair of water main breaks, which have increased in frequency in recent weeks as the ground moves due to deeper and deeper penetration of frost.

Here’s a sampling of recent water main breaks – from alerts the city of Ann Arbor has sent out:

• Jan. 15: West Madison between Fourth and Fifth
• Jan. 22: Devonshire between Washtenaw and Melrose
• Jan. 28: S. Industrial between Jewett and Eisenhower
• Jan. 28: Yost between Washtenaw and Parkwood
• Jan. 31: Pontiac Trail at Brookside
• Feb. 5: Washtenaw east of Brockman
• Feb. 11: Pauline between Seventh and Stadium

The council will be asked to approve the $441,535 purchase of a combination sewer truck, which is outfitted with a vacuum device – often used to control water in an excavation during the repair of a water main break.

City of Ann Arbor water main breaks by year. It’s not unusual to have several water main breaks in a given year. (Data from city of Ann Arbor financial records, chart by The Chronicle)

Also deployed when repairing water main breaks is a hydraulic excavator. The council will be asked to approve the purchase of this type of equipment for $176,472. Both of those authorizations are replacements of existing city equipment.

In more detail, according to the memo accompanying the resolution, the combination sewer truck is to be procured from Jack Doheny Supplies Inc. It will replace a 2005 truck with 6,685 hours of use. Over the last two years, the truck had broken down and needed repairs 63 times – taking it out of service anywhere from fours hours to more than two weeks each time.

When that truck is unavailable to do water main break repairs, a similar truck used for stormwater system maintenance is re-tasked for water main breaks. But that poses a challenge to keep up with the scheduled preventive maintenance of the stormwater system. And failure to meet the cleaning schedule puts the system at risk for clogging and backing up into structures.

On the hydraulic excavator, the staff memo explains that the John Deere model 135G hydraulic excavator to be purchased will replace a 2002 mini excavator. The primary use for that excavator is for water main repair.

The new hydraulic excavator will be able to dig down to 19 feet, which is 7 feet deeper than the 2002 mini excavator. So the larger water mains, which are typically deeper and older, will be reachable.

The mini excavator has been in service over 5,350 hours of use and half its total repair costs have accumulated in the last 3.5 years. The old excavator will be sold at the next city auction.

Equipment: Garbage Truck

The council will also be asked to approve the purchase of a new garbage truck for $93,800 from Bell Equipment Company, in Lake Orion, Michigan. It’s a smaller truck – with a 6-yard capacity. It will be used for garbage collection in the city parks, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The new truck will replace a 2002 model with over 14,500 hours of operation. According to the staff memo, in the last three years, 57% of all time spent maintaining the vehicle has been spent on breakdowns while only 14% has been for preventive maintenance. In that three-year period, the cost of breakdown repairs has been more than $78,000, which is more than half of the 13-year lifetime total of $141,480.

Equipment: Vans

The purchase of two vans – from Red Holman GMC in Oakland County, for a total of $50,320 – is also on the council’s Feb. 18 agenda. The vans will be used by the parks and recreation staff to shuttle passengers when they start a river trip at one of the cities liveries on the Huron River. The van purchase was recommended by the park advisory commission at its Jan. 28, 2014 meeting.

According to a parks staff memo, the city’s current fleet of seven 15-passenger vans was unable to keep up with the increasing shuttle transportation demands for Huron River trips in 2013, following the opening of Argo Cascades. More vans are needed to transport people on these trips, which start at the Argo livery and end at Gallup Park. One van in the fleet needs to be replaced. The van purchase would increase the total van fleet to eight.

Equipment: Wood Chipper

Rounding out equipment purchases is a $83,208 Bandit model 1990XP diesel engine-powered wood chipper. According to the staff memo, the new model will replace a 2002 wood chipper, which is used for tree removals, tree trimming and storm clean-ups. The unit is a whole-tree chipper – it will process up to 21-inch diameter logs.

The chipper to be replaced has been in service for 11 years. It has 4,100 hours of use and 35% of its total repair cost ($74,600) has accrued in the last 2.5 years. The old chipper will be sold at the next city auction.

Equipment: Firefighting Simulator

Another piece of equipment shows up on the agenda in the form of a grant application the council is being asked to approve. The $334,140 grant application is being made to the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – to acquire a mobile training facility to train firefighters. The 48-foot-long unit will allow live fire and tactical simulations. The kind of unit that the grant money, if awarded, would allow the city to purchase is comparable to this: [.pdf of brochure for training unit]

Land

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda features several land and land use items: two greenbelt properties; a green streets policy; a zoning issue; and the possible exercise of the city’s right of first refusal on the Edwards Brothers Mallow property on South State Street.

Land: Greenbelt

The council will be asked to approve the acquisition of development rights for two properties, using funds from the city’s open space and parkland preservation millage. The first is a 24-acre parcel just north of the Huron River in Scio Township. The city of Ann Arbor, through its greenbelt program, will be contributing $25,200 to the total $84,000 cost of purchasing development rights, with the township contributing the difference. The deal was recommended by the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission at its Jan. 2, 2014 meeting.

Property owned by Thomas E. and Eleanor S. Moore in Scio Township. The Moores applied to the Scio Township Land Preservation program. The city is partnering with the township on the deal.

The second greenbelt property on the agenda is a 64-acre property on Zeeb Road, also in Scio Township. For that deal, the city is contributing $39,000 to the total purchase price of $130,335. The city’s greenbelt advisory commission recommended moving ahead with this deal at its Nov. 7, 2013 meeting.

Property owned by Maria E. White in Scio Township. White applied to the Scio Township Land Preservation program and the city of Ann Arbor is partnering with the township on the issue.

Land: Green Streets

On the council’s agenda is a policy item related to land: infiltration standards to be followed whenever a city street is reconstructed. The “green streets” policy initiative came at the direction of the city council in a July 2, 2012 resolution.

Land: Hofmann Rezoning

Related to land use, council will be asked to give final approval to the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street – to C1 (local business district). The property houses Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky. The council gave initial approval to the zoning at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting.

The two parcels in question – just south of Stimson and the Produce Station – are owned by Stefan Hofmann. The site at 1645 S. State is used for storage. In addition to housing Biercamp, the parcel at 1643 S. State also includes an auto repair shop and furniture manufacturer, which is primarily a woodworking shop.

The zoning for these parcels, which were annexed into the city from Ann Arbor Township in 2011, has previously been considered by the planning commission and the city council. That was when Biercamp owners Walt Hansen and Hannah Cheadle wanted to zone the property C3 (fringe commercial district), so their business could sell a wider variety of merchandise, including products not made on site.

When the property was annexed into the city from the township, the site had been zoned by the township for light industrial. The closest equivalent in the city’s zoning code was M-1 (limited industrial zoning). The city’s master plan – prior to the adoption of the South State Street corridor plan – called for light industrial zoning in that area, but M-1 zoning would only allow for retail space to occupy 20% of the building’s floor area, to sell products made on-site.

At its Sept. 8, 2011 meeting, the planning commission unanimously recommended denial of that C3 zoning request, based on the proposed zoning being inconsistent with the city’s master plan. The request was then made directly to the city council, which also denied the request at a meeting on Feb. 21, 2012.

At the time, planning commissioners also were advocating for a broader study of the State Street corridor. That study was subsequently completed, and on July 15, 2013, the city council adopted the South State Street corridor plan as an amendment to the master plan’s land use element.

According to a staff memo, the adoption of the corridor plan into the city’s master plan prompted city planning staff to initiate the current zoning request. The C1 zoning is consistent with recommendations in the master plan, which calls for a mixed-use neighborhood retail center in that area to serve the Yost and Burns Park neighborhoods.

C1 is a more restrictive type of zoning than C3, primarily related to limits on the size of a business. No drive-thru restaurants are allowed in C1 districts, and there’s an 8,000-square-foot limit on the size of a business, for example. There is no restriction in either C1 or C3 that limits the products sold to those that are made on-site.

The city’s planning commission recommended C1 zoning for these parcels at its Dec. 17, 2013 meeting.

During council deliberations on Jan. 21, Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) noted that the staff memo gave the historical perspective, but he hadn’t been sure if the proposal met Biercamp’s needs. Warpehoski told other councilmembers that the Biercamp owners are supportive of the C-1 zoning.

Land: Edwards Brothers Malloy Property

A resolution postponed from the council’s Feb. 3 meeting would approve the city’s exercise of its right of first refusal on the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property. The University of Michigan has offered $12.8 million for the land, and a resolution to authorize that purchase is on the Feb. 20 agenda of the UM board of regents. A UM staff memo notes that the site is “strategically located next to the Donald R. Shepherd Women’s Gymnastic Center, Varsity Tennis Center, and Bahna Wrestling Center and contiguous to other University of Michigan property…”

The council had on Feb. 3 postponed the item “to our next meeting” – which at that time was scheduled for Feb. 18. But subsequently a special meeting was called for Feb. 10 to consider the question. That special meeting was then cancelled.

The Feb. 18 resolution would approve the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriate necessary funds, and direct the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right. The agenda item contained no other background information.

At its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information about the Edwards Brothers land. The due date for that gathering of information was specified in the council’s resolution as Jan. 30 – the same day that the land-purchase item was added to the Feb. 3 agenda.

At its meeting on Jan. 21, 2014, the council approved without discussion a $25,550 contract with Atwell LLC for environmental site assessment services on the property. That assessment included a survey of asbestos-containing materials.

The pending sale of the property to UM was announced in a Nov. 27, 2013 press release. The business – a fourth-generation Ann Arbor publishing and printing firm – had signaled its intent to put the property on the market in late July.

The city’s right of first refusal on the property was a condition of a tax abatement granted by the city council three years ago, on Jan. 18, 2011. Purchase by the university would remove the property from the tax rolls. Washtenaw County records show the taxable value of the property at just over $3 million. In 2013, Edwards Brothers paid a total of $182,213 in real property taxes, not all of which is the city’s levy. The total city levy of 16.45 mills on $3 million of taxable value works out to about $50,000.

According to the tax abatement agreement, the event triggering the city’s 60-day right-of-first-refusal window is a formal notification to the city by Edwards Brothers, which was made on Nov. 27, 2013. The council will still be within the 60-day window when it votes at its Feb. 18 meeting.

The resolution the council will be taking up on Feb. 18 requires an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council – because the resolution changes the city budget and involves a purchase of real estate.

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons

On the Feb. 18 consent agenda is  a contract with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation for reimbursement to the city for a portion of the cost to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at three locations: on Geddes Road at Gallup Park; Fuller Road 400 feet east of Cedar Bend Drive; and on South University Avenue at Tappan Avenue. The city’s cost for the $47,971 project would be $14,179.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, part of the rationale for the choice of locations is “a history of pedestrian crashes that made them candidates for safety grant funding.” Responding to an emailed request from The Chronicle, city engineer Patrick Cawley provided the following accident history for the locations:

• Fuller Road (2) on May 13, 2009 and Feb. 11, 2010.
• S. University (3) on Feb. 7, 2006, Nov. 24, 2007, and Sept. 8, 2008.
• Geddes (1 involving a bicyclist) on Feb. 9, 2008.

Road Salt

Also on the agenda is a resolution to approve purchase of additional ice-control salt. Based on the $47,200 amount to be appropriated, and the $36.23 price per ton, the council will be authorizing the purchase of roughly 1,300 tons of additional salt.

A city staff estimate provided to The Chronicle puts the amount of salt used so far this season – through early February – at about 6,600 tons. That’s roughly at least as much or more than has been used in each of the previous five winter seasons. If the city uses all of the additional salt to be purchased – bringing this season’s total to about 7,900 tons – that would approach the maximum amount of salt used by the city over the last seven seasons. In the 2007-2008 season, the city of Ann Arbor used 8,500 tons of salt on its roads.

Ice-control salt usage in the city of Ann Arbor by year. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor. Chart by The Chronicle.)

According to a staff memo accompanying the resolution, the city’s snowplow equipment uses “electronically calibrated spreader controls” to keep the amount of salt used to the minimum amount that is still consistent with traffic safety. The price the city is paying for the salt to be authorized on Feb. 18 is established through a state of Michigan’s MIDEAL program. According to the staff memo, the cost for purchasing additional material on the open market would be about $140, or nearly four times as much as under the MIDEAL program.

3:37 p.m. City staff responses to city councilmember questions are now available: [Feb. 18, 2014 responses to agenda questions]

4:09 p.m. Additional information on the Edwards Brothers land sale is now available: [Edwards Brothers Chart][Additional Offer for Edwards Brothers 2-18-14][Memo to Council]

4:53 p.m. From the due diligence memo: “The analysis shows that there is a possible negative impact in every scenario, except where the benefit of the taxes to all taxing jurisdictions is taken into account. Also, we note that if the City is unable to recoup the $4.5 million of General Fund balance that is assumed will be used to finance the acquisition of the site, the General Fund balance would fall to the 9% to 10% of expenditure range from the existing 14% to 15% range.” Indications are that the council will have two resolutions to choose from – one waiving the right of first refusal and another exercising it.

6:38 p.m. Pre-meeting activity. The scheduled meeting start is 7 p.m. Most evenings the actual starting time is between 7:10 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Chambers are relatively quiet. Four members of the audience have arrived. No councilmembers or staff are in chambers.

7:04 p.m. Nearly everyone is here. We’re settling in.

7:09 Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance. And we’re off.

7:10 p.m. Roll call of council. All councilmembers except for Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) are present and correct.

7:11 p.m. Approval of agenda. Jack Eaton wants DC-2 (the return of Percent for Art funds and timeline, sponsored by Sabra Briere) to be heard before DC-1 (return uncommitted public art funds, sponsored by Eaton, Jane Lumm, Sumi Kailasapathy and Mike Anglin). Briere wants DC-3 (a resolution to recommend the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s request for an allocation from the Ann Arbor Affordable Housing Trust Fund) until just after the consent agenda.

7:11 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved its agenda as amended.

7:12 p.m. Communications from the city administrator. City administrator Steve Powers is highlighting the street closures on the consent agenda that are signs of spring – street closures for art fair and the Ann Arbor marathon.

7:13 p.m. Powers encourages people to help clear out storm drains as the snow melts. The frost is down to about four feet, he says. A hard rain would be problematic. The city released a map of all catch basin locations today.

7:13 p.m. Public commentary reserved time This portion of the meeting offers 10 three-minute slots that can be reserved in advance. Preference is given to speakers who want to address the council on an agenda item. [Public commentary general time, with no sign-up required in advance, is offered at the end of the meeting.]

Tonight’s lineup for reserved time speaking includes four people speaking on public art topics: Margaret Parker (former Ann Arbor public art commission chair), Bob Miller (current AAPAC chair), Dave Olson and Mary Underwood.

Rita Loch-Caruso is signed up to talk about the green streets policy. And Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about a more racially and politically just Michigan.

7:17 p.m. Margaret Parker is now at the podium. She introduces herself as co-owner of Downtown Home & Garden. She recalls her longtime service on the public art commission. The set-aside from sanitary sewer and stormwater funds was originally meant to convey the city’s pride in those systems. She refers to “negative city councilmembers” who say no to everything. To some councilmembers that say they’re for public art, she asks, “Who can believe you?” She tells the councilmembers that as an “act of good faith” the funds should be left in place. She ventures that transferring the money out would allow Ann Arbor to grab the headlines as a “reactionary art-phobic city” that destroyed its public art program.

7:19 p.m. Bob Miller introduces himself as the current chair of the public art commission. “We represent your goals and direction,” he says. Two projects are jeopardized by the process, he says: Canoe Imagine Art and the Coleman Jewett memorial chair. Both projects now have matching funds that are at risk, Miller says. Those projects are important to AAPAC, he says. He says that he’s proud of the work done at the wastewater treatment plant. Those who work at those various facilities are proud of their work and public art can celebrate their work, he says.

7:23 p.m. Dave Olson tells the council he lives in Water Hill near Fountain Street. He’s reading aloud from a statement that has been circulated in the arts community. It describes people as “alarmed” at council’s recent actions. Failing to fund a transition is one significant criticism in the statement. He and others are advocating for a real sustainable art program. The statement is signed by roughly 25 people, all of whom support the statement, he says. He tells the council their actions have alienated the arts community. He doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to work together.

7:26 p.m. Rita Loch-Caruso is addressing the council as a member of the water committee of the environmental commission. She’s supporting the green streets policy that’s on the agenda. The policy will improve water quality as well as help control runoff, she says. Why focus on streets? She tells the council that streets make up 26% of total impervious surface area in the city, but contribute 54% of stormwater runoff. The requirements in the policy are consistent with the city’s stormwater permit as well as with new county rules that are pending. She calls it a forward-thinking policy. She thanks the other members of the committee and various city staff.

7:29 p.m. Thomas Partridge introduces himself as a recent candidate for various public offices. He calls on the council to create a more racially and politically just society in Michigan. He calls for expanding affordable housing in the city. Partridge says the public art issue should be postponed to give time for cooler heads to come forward to solve this problem.

7:33 p.m. Mary Underwood says that she’s a member of the arts community, but asks that some of the money be returned to the funds of origin. She points to the reduction in city staff levels and the resulting reduction in services. She recalls in a earlier era getting excellent service regarding a dying maple tree. She laments the loss of other employees over the years in the context of the part-time public art administrator’s position.

7:35 p.m. Communications from council. This is the first of three slots on the agenda for council communications. It’s a time when councilmembers can report out from boards, commissions and task forces on which they serve. They can also alert their colleagues to proposals they might be bringing forward in the near future.

7:36 p.m. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) is talking about an article published in The Ann Arbor Observer. He’s reading aloud a paragraph from the original article about the filing of TIF (tax increment financing) reports by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. Kunselman then reads the correction to the December 2013 article. But Kunselman is contending that the correction is also mistaken. So Kunselman wrote an email to city administrator Steve Powers about the issue. [Kunselman is pointing out the history that the DDA did not submit some TIF annual reports before 2011. He is referring at least in part to the DDA annual reports for 2003, 2008, 2009 recorded in Legistar as filed in 2011. Kunselman asks that Powers correct the public record. Powers says that he'd be happy to share his statement with anyone who'd like it.

7:39 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) is announcing a neighborhood meeting for the Barton Drive sidewalk and Northside traffic calming project. It's on Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Northside Elementary School, 912 Barton Drive. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) says she has good news to share: a $250,000 contribution from the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor to fund a universal access playground at Gallup Park.

7:41 p.m. Mike Anglin (Ward 5) is raising the issue of special assessments for construction of sidewalks, to help low-income residents. It's something we should think about as a community, he says.

7:43 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) is talking about the number of broken water mains. She relates how Kunselman was out walking his dog and had seen a water main break; Kunselman had called 911, she says. She asks what people are supposed to do.

7:46 p.m. City administrator Steve Powers calls public services area administrator Craig Hupy to the podium: 994-2840 is the number to call for a water main issues, he says. It's hard to tell sometimes the difference between puddling and an actual leak, he says. But if there's water spurting up, then that's probably a break.

7:46 p.m. Eaton says that on Feb. 14, the city attorney had circulated a confidential memo on property assessments, which Eaton would be asking the council to waive privilege on at its next meeting. Following up on Hupy's information, Eaton mentions that ArborWiki has a handy page with all the emergency numbers.

7:46 p.m. Mayor John Hieftje calls for the city to come together to clear the walks as the weather thaws.

7:47 p.m. Nominations. Being nominated by mayor John Hieftje tonight to serve on the local officers compensation commission (LOCC) is Jason Morgan. For background on this group, see: "What Do We Pay Ann Arbor's Mayor?" The council will vote on the confirmation at its next meeting. Morgan is director of government relations at Washtenaw Community College.

7:49 p.m. Kunselman raised his hand on this, but wasn't called on. Now he's called on. He's asking about the start of the term on the LOCC appointment, which is October 2014. Hieftje allows that it's odd. But it's a matter of getting all the appointments back to their proper timing, he says.

7:49 p.m. Public hearings. All the public hearings are grouped together during this section of the meeting. Action on the related items comes later in the meeting. Two public hearings are on the agenda: (1) the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street; and (2) the amendment of the public art ordinance.

The zoning item would give final approval to the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street – to C1 (local business district). The property houses Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky. [For additional background, see Land: Hofmann Rezoning above.] The public art ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years. The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. [For additional background, see Public Art above.]

7:49 p.m. PH-1 Hofmann zoning. Thomas Partridge is calling for rezoning to be approved only if access is provided to all members of the community to the property.

7:52 p.m. That’s all for this public hearing.

7:55 p.m. PH-2 Amend public art ordinance. Thomas Partridge notes that the public art issue has been coming before the council repeatedly and has been a divisive topic. Why? he asks. Public art is a treasure. Why can’t the mayor and council initiate a “cease fire,” a “detente” by postponing the question tonight. That would allow cooler heads to prevail, he says. Why does there have to be an art commission just for Ann Arbor? Why isn’t there a Washtenaw County or region-wide public art commission?

7:56 p.m. And that’s it for this public hearing.

7:56 p.m. Minutes. Outcome: The council has approved the minutes from its previous meeting.

7:56 p.m. Consent agenda. This is a group of items that are deemed to be routine and are voted on “all in one go.” Contracts for less than $100,000 can be placed on the consent agenda. This meeting’s consent agenda includes:

• CA-1 Transfer responsibility for billing of water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater service from the public services area to the city treasurer. The city code explicitly allows for this: “Billing for water service, sanitary sewer service, and stormwater service shall be the responsibility of the Public Services Area of the City, but the Council may, by resolution, transfer such responsibility to the City Treasurer.”
• CA-2 Approve a purchase order for AutoDesk engineering design and drafting software licensing status upgrade ($24,431). This is an update. From the staff memo: “Environmental and infrastructure management planning issues and the upkeep of critical City infrastructure is improved through use of engineering design and drafting software.”
• CA-3 Revise and approve board of review guidelines for poverty exemptions. From the staff memo, maximum income levels range from $19,500 for one person to $54,500 for eight people.
• CA-4 Approve street closings for Ann Arbor Marathon. The marathon takes place March 30, 2014. The map of street closings is here: [.pdf of map of street closings]
• CA-5 Approve street closings for 2014 Ann Arbor art fairs. The fairs take place from July 15 through July 20. The map of street closures is here: [.pdf of map of art fairs street closings]
• CA-6 Approve purchase of one 6-yard rear loading garbage truck ($93,800). The 6-yard capacity truck would be purchased from Bell Equipment Company, in Lake Orion, Michigan. It will be used for garbage collection in the city parks, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution. [For additional background, see Equipment: Garbage Truck above.]
• CA-7 Approve purchase of a wood chipper ($83,208). The chipper is a Bandit model 1990XP diesel engine-powered wood chipper. According to the staff memo, the new model will replace a 2002 wood chipper, which is used for tree removals, tree trimming and storm clean-ups. [For additional background, see Equipment: Wood Chipper above.]
• CA-8 Approve purchase of two 15-passenger vans ($50,320). The vans will be used by the parks and recreation department to shuttle passengers when they start a river trip at one of the cities liveries on the Huron River. [For additional background, see Equipment: Vans above.]
• CA-9 Approve agreement with the MDOT for installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons ($47,971). This is a contract with MDOT for reimbursement to the city for a portion of the cost to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at three locations: on Geddes Road at Gallup Park; Fuller Road 400 feet east of Cedar Bend Drive; and on South University Avenue at Tappan Avenue. The city’s cost for the $47,971 project would be $14,179. Part of the rationale for the choice of locations is “a history of pedestrian crashes that made them candidates for safety grant funding.” [For additional background, see Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons above.]

7:57 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the consent agenda, without pulling out any of them for separate consideration.

7:57 p.m. DC-3 Recommend Ann Arbor Housing Commission request. Background to this resolution includes a city council decision made on Dec. 16, 2003 to allocate the full net proceeds of the pending sale of the former Y lot to the affordable housing trust fund. That amount is almost $1.4 million. Background also includes an Ann Arbor housing conversion initiative to convert its properties to ownership through a private-public partnership – with a goal of putting those properties on a financially stable foundation for the longer term.

For the shorter term, that AAHC initiative requires investment in capital repairs. The AAHC has asked the city and the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to contribute $600,000 each to the shorter-term effort. At a meeting of the DDA partnerships committee on Feb. 12, the request was reportedly met with a somewhat lukewarm reception, as DDA board members were interested in possibly making a contribution in installments. The DDA is also keen to see its contribution matched by the city. The resolution on the council agenda directs the city administrator to prepare a budget amendment for the allocation of $600,000 from the affordable housing trust fund for the first phase of the Ann Arbor housing commission’s plan and to place that resolution on the agenda when the city receives the proceeds of the old Y lot sale.

7:59 p.m. Briere is reviewing the content of the resolution, which comes as a result of an Ann Arbor housing & human services advisory board resolution approved last week. It does not change the budget, but directs the city administrator to prepare a budget amendment when the old Y lot is sold. Briere says that AAHAC does not need the money in their hands but needs to know that the money can be in their hands by the end of March.

8:01 p.m. Briere notes that it’s a notional approval.

8:01 p.m. Eaton moves for postponement. Lumm offers her take on the result of the HHSAB meeting. She’s concerned about the process. She and Briere both attended the HHSAB meeting. She felt the HHSAB board’s consensus was that it wasn’t essential that the item be on the council’s agenda tonight.

8:03 p.m. Lumm also objects to the fact that the item was placed on the agenda after close of business on Friday. Margie Teall (Ward 4) says she sees no reason why the item has to be postponed. If the council moves ahead on this, that will ensure that the DDA also moves ahead, she says.

8:06 p.m. Hieftje asks Teall as liaison to the AAHAC about the RAD conversion. It’s an urgent project, he says. Hieftje says that the agenda item was actually in on time. Lumm disputes that. Hieftje notes that it’s actually possible to add an item at any time. He says it doesn’t actually do anything but is still important. Lumm says that everything that Hieftje wants to happen can happen at the next meeting, on March 3. Lumm appeals to the notion of good behavior by councilmembers towards each other.

8:07 p.m. Briere says that she and Lumm had a different understanding of the outcome of the HHSAB meeting. She says that Lumm had missed the fact that Briere had indicated she was going to bring the resolution forward. Briere reviews the exact timing of her submission of the item. She allows that Lumm is correct that it isn’t an emergency. She notes that the council had a long three-day weekend to review it.

8:08 p.m. Eaton calls it a simple request for courtesy. It would establish the respect that councilmembers talked about earlier in the year.

8:11 p.m. Teall calls the mission of the AAHAC is much more important than the fact that someone got their toes stepped on. Kunselman recalls that he had thought he submitted an item by 5 p.m. on the Fuller Road MOU (memorandum of understanding) but hadn’t and so he had agreed to postpone out of courtesy. Kunselman raises the question of whether the council is posturing for the DDA. He’s concerned that the DDA will only be able to contribute to Miller Manor and Baker Commons. So that might be a reason for the DDA to vote first on the issue. Is the DDA going to wait for the council? asks Kunselman.

8:13 p.m. Powers tells Kunselman that the DDA as a whole board does not yet have a position. Kunselman ventures that Powers could get clarification about what the DDA’s position is – because Powers sits on the DDA board. He asks Powers to convey to the other DDA board members that he doesn’t think it’s suitable for the DDA to hold the AAHC hostage.

8:14 p.m. Briere reviews how the whole DDA board doesn’t meet until March 5. The council meets on March 3. Briere reviews how she’d asked Lumm to co-sponsor this resolution.

8:16 p.m. Warpehoski asks Jennifer Hall, executive director of the AAHC, to the podium. She tells Warpehoski that he’s put her in the middle of a ping pong match. She stresses that she’s focused on getting the rehabilitation project done. She reviews Phase 1. About $1 million from the federal Home Loan Bank that AAHC had hoped to get did not materialize, she says. They were placed on an alternate list. About the DDA and the city, she says, “I don’t really care who goes first.”

8:18 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted postpone the item. Voting for postponement were Kailasapathy, Petersen, Lumm, Kunselman, Eaton, and Anglin.

8:18 p.m. B-1 Hofmann zoning. This change would zone two parcels totaling 0.6 acres from an unzoned status to C1 (local business district). The council gave initial approval to the zoning at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting. The C1 zoning does not include any restriction that limits the products sold to those that are made on-site. And that’s something the owners of Biercamp had tried to achieve with a previous zoning request that had ultimately been denied by the council.

8:18 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve the zoning of the Hofmann property as C1.

8:18 p.m. B-2 Amend public art ordinance. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years. The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. To be approved, the ordinance change will need a six-vote majority on the 11-member council. The enactment of an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor, but a veto can be overridden by an eight-vote majority. [For additional background, see Public Art above.]

8:19 p.m. Lumm reviews the content of the ordinance. She stresses that the ordinance change does not actually return any funds. A separate action will be required, she notes.

8:22 p.m. Kunselman says, “Boy this is a tough one.” Back on June 3, 2013, he had voted against changing the ordinance. At this point he’s willing to amend the ordinance. But he cautions that he’ll probably be voting against both of the other resolutions about returning funds. He feels that the discussion should probably happen in the context of the annual budget resolution in May. He won’t vote for either resolution, he says.

8:24 p.m. Eaton says that at an earlier meeting he’d proposed a compromise involving the art administrator: If public art money is returned, and the mayor assures he won’t veto the ordinance, then he’d bring back the art administrator’s contract for reconsideration. Otherwise not. He doesn’t want to surprise anyone, he says.

8:24 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted unanimously to give final approval to the public art ordinance amendment, allowing the return of Percent for Art money to its funds of origin.

8:25 p.m. DC-2 Return $957,140 from public art fund to funds of origin and establish timeline. This resolution would cancel the art project at Argo Cascades, resulting in a return of a total of $957,140 from the public art fund to the funds of origin. This resolution is sponsored by Sabra Briere (Ward 1).

As a part of the council’s elimination of the Percent for Art funding mechanism last year, it established a new approach to funding public art, based on integrating public art into some selected city capital projects and pursuing a mix of private-public funding for other projects. Briere’s resolution also calls for the city administrator to direct city staff to develop a transition plan to the new program – to be implemented by staff and the public art commission and for that plan to be presented to the council in about a year – before March 2, 2015.

Briere’s resolution also calls for no additional projects to be initiated using funds set aside under the Percent for Art program. A further highlight of Briere’s resolution is direction to the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. [An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator.]

8:26 p.m. Note that the council flipped the two resolutions on the agenda. Briere is now describing the rationale for her resolution.

8:28 p.m. Returning funds without committing to funding administration of the new public art program amounted to a “pocket veto,” Briere says, which she did not want to pursue. She felt that the Argo Cascades would not be able to be finished in the timeframe of the transition – given that it has stalled. That’s why her resolution does not leave funds for that project. If the council is going to move forward with a new art program, then the council needs a plan to move forward.

8:29 p.m. Petersen says that not returning the funds is a barrier to creating the kind of public art program that the community wants. She now proposes two amendments.

8:31 p.m. Petersen suggests that the report on the plan be due on Oct. 6, 2014 instead of March 2, 2015. Six months is a reasonable amount of time, she says. Briere and Kailasapathy are OK with that. Petersen’s amendment is accepted as friendly.

8:32 p.m. Petersen also wants to fund the Canoe Imagine Art project, which means that the total amount to be returned is $936,140. That’s also accepted as friendly.

8:34 p.m. Hupy is explaining the cost of the Canoe Imagine Art project – at the request of Warpehoski. There’s a $21,000 match requirement, Hupy says. The original plan was to raise $11,000 of that through fundraising. But the full amount could be provided by the city, Hupy says, if that’s what the council wants. Briere wants the city contribution to be just $10,000.

8:35 p.m. Hieftje calls it a worthy project. He doesn’t want to risk the match and wants to leave it as $21,000. Petersen also wants to leave it at $21,000.

8:36 p.m. Lumm allows that it’s unusual to have two competing resolutions. She supports the elements that overlap between the two resolutions. But she has a problem with establishing a budget for FY 2015 and 2016. It’s too vague. Where would the money come from? she asks.

8:38 p.m. Lumm says it’s clear that the council has different views on which projects should continue. “Keeping it simple is a good principle,” she says. Briere’s resolution is trying to do too much at once, Lumm says, offering a little something for everyone.

8:39 p.m. Kailasapathy identifies her problem with the resolution: establishing a budget for public art administration for FY 2015 and 2016. She has not come to terms with the nature of the priority for public art, she says. There are other competing needs for public services. She calls the resolution “open ended.” She says there’s a “public art fatigue” in the community.

8:41 p.m. Anglin alludes to private collaboration. He won’t support this resolution.

8:42 p.m. Warpehoski reviews the two points of Eaton’s bargain: return of the money and the funding of the part-time public art administrator. A third item on Warpehoski’s agenda is a good transition to the new public art program. He wants all three parts as part of a compromise.

8:44 p.m. During the public hearing on the ordinance, Warpehoski says that Partridge observed that public art has divided the community. Warpehoski notes that the regular annual budget process requires only six votes for amendment.

8:45 p.m. Petersen says that the ordinance revision approved in 2013 calls out a 2-3 year transition. Yes, the transition will take money, she says. Approval of the funds isn’t being requested, only a plan, Petersen adds.

8:47 p.m. Lumm says she doesn’t support the concept of a full-time public art administrator. She says she really doesn’t know what it means to establish a budget for FY 2015 and 2016. How much? Where will it come from? she asks. It’s way too vague, she says, with way too many unknowns. Drip by drip by drip, money is being spent, Lumm says. So she doesn’t want to wait until the regular budget process.

8:50 p.m. Kunselman says he won’t vote for either resolution. The issue can be left to the city administrator to put in the budget proposal for FY 2015, he indicates. The resolution directs Powers to do something that he needs to do anyway. As far as the money in the public art fund, FY 2014 is already appropriated, Kunselman notes. If there’s an emergency, then the council now has the ability to transfer money. He says it’s difficult to maintain the commitment to the transition when he’s being badgered by the members of the public art community. They say they don’t trust the council, Kunselman adds, but he doesn’t trust some of them. Still, it’s important to stay committed to the transition, he says. He points out that it will be difficult without a staff person between now and July when the new fiscal year begins.

8:52 p.m. Briere says she felt it was a logical step to discuss how to create a plan and a funding strategy for that plan at the same time that funds are being returned. She wants the city administrator to tell the council how much the transition is going to cost. Responding to Kunselman’s characterization of her resolution as micromanaging, Briere says she saw it as “reaffirming.”

8:53 p.m. Briere appreciates Kunselman’s view that it’s really a budget process discussion. But her concern is that the council is once again leaving AAPAC with uncertainly about what the city council is doing. Giving clear guidance is what the council is supposed to, she says.

8:54 p.m. Hieftje floats the idea of postponement. That motion is on the floor now.

8:55 p.m. Lumm doesn’t want to postpone. Hieftje reiterates that he wants to review the work of the council’s committee on public art from last year. It doesn’t do any harm to postpone, he says.

8:57 p.m. Eaton says the harm is that it puts the compromise in jeopardy, regarding the contract extension for the public art administrator. Eaton says he doesn’t think this resolution has the votes to pass. Hieftje says that the other one doesn’t have the votes to pass, either. Hieftje says that he can’t imagine public art in Ann Arbor without a public art administrator.

9:00 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone this resolution. Teall hesitated for several seconds before casting the final and deciding vote in the roll call. Voting for it besides Teall were Briere, Petersen, Kunselman, Warpehoski, and Hieftje.

9:01 p.m. DC-1 Return $819,005 from public art fund to funds of origin. This resolution would return $819,005 from the public art fund to the funds from which that money was drawn. That includes funds like the sanitary sewer fund and the street millage fund. This resolution is sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5). It requires eight votes on the 11-member council t pass. [For additional background, see Public Art above.]

9:02 p.m. Lumm is now reviewing the details of her resolution. The rationale for returning the funds is compelling, she says. She wants a “clean break.” It’s especially true when significant dollars are at stake, she says.

9:04 p.m. Eaton says that in addition to Lumm’s points, this approach sends an important message to the public art commission. It recognizes that the three projects have been approved. He doesn’t want AAPAC to get the message (as they would with Briere’s resolution) that if they don’t spend the money, then they lose it. He wants AAPAC to be “selective.”

9:07 p.m. Briere says that over a year ago, she and Lumm had come with different proposals about what to do if the public art millage failed. Lumm’s had been defeated, and Briere had withdrawn hers, she says. Instead, a council committee had been established. So she wants to postpone this. She ventures that it doesn’t have eight votes to pass. In an ideal world, she and Eaton and Kailasapathy and Lumm would iron out some differences. She hopes that some agreement could be reached before the next meeting.

9:08 p.m. Lumm says, “My breath is taken away.” She refers to Briere’s comments as a “lecture about an ideal world.” Lumm tells Briere a lot can be accomplished if people work together and that she wishes Briere had taken the opportunity to do that.

9:11 p.m. Kunselman is reviewing the specific ordinance language. He wants to make sure the city administrator could set up the FY 2105 budget with the money moved back to the funds of origin. City attorney Stephen Postema isn’t sure of the answer to Kunselman’s question. Kunselman says he supports postponement.

9:13 p.m. Hieftje is asking Hupy about the matching grant that the Canoe Imagine Art needs. The state seems to need a commitment from the city on that sooner rather than later.

9:16 p.m. Hieftje seems to be floating the idea of funding the Canoe Imagine Art from the money earmarked for the Argo Cascades project. He asks for a friendly amendment that would fund the Canoe Imagine Art project. Briere also wants $5,000 for the Coleman Jewett memorial chair.

9:16 p.m. Eaton says there’s no time pressure on the Jewett project.

9:19 p.m. Kunselman says: “I’m getting really confused.” If the council does nothing, then the money is there available to AAPAC. They might not have a public administrator to assist them, yet they’d have some assistance. Some back and forth between Hieftje and Kunselman ensues. Hieftje says he’s trying to save the part-time administrator’s contract as a part of the compromise.

9:19 p.m. Lumm says that she’ll support the $5,000 for the Jewett memorial.

9:20 p.m. Briere says she’s not sure there’s enough affirmative votes to pass it. Her own bias it to “postpone the thing” and work out the details. She won’t withdraw the motion to postpone.

9:21 p.m. Kunselman says if it’s postponed and a single resolution comes back, then he’d reconsider his position and possibly vote to support it.

9:23 p.m. Eaton tells Hieftje that if this is postponed, then he’ll move for reconsideration, as long as no one yells “Shame on you!” at him. This was an allusion to Warpehoski’s outburst at the Feb. 3 meeting, following the council’s rejection of a contract extension for the public art administrator.

9:23 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted unanimously to postpone this resolution as well.

9:24 p.m. Recess. We are now in recess.

9:39 p.m. Here’s the email to Kunselman from Powers, backing Kunselman’s position that the DDA didn’t file its TIF annual reports in a timely way: [.pdf of Feb. 17, 2014 Powers email] We’re still in recess. Several conversational pods. WEMU is interviewing everyone in sight.

9:41 p.m. We’re back.

9:41 p.m. DB-1 Adopt Green Streets stormwater guidelines. This resolution sets infiltration standards to be followed whenever a city street is reconstructed. The “green streets” policy initiative came at the direction of the city council in a July 2, 2012 resolution.

9:43 p.m. Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) says he’s glad to see this on the agenda. He’s complimentary of the work the environmental commission and its water committee did. The council had provided general policy guidance, he says, but the commission and its committee had done the work that lets the council takes this step.

9:46 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) asks Craig Hupy to come to the podium. She asks for construction cost premiums. Hupy indicates the policy is to look at each site and to look at the toolbox of options that are available. It may or may not be expensive, he says.

9:48 p.m. Hupy clarifies that the city is moving away from using porous pavement. Given 400 miles of standard pavement, he ventured that it was unlikely that a few blocks of porous pavement would be treated with its particular maintenance needs. The strategy is now to put a rock bed under the roadway. The expectation is for the water to drain through it. Briere asks how deep. They’re about 10-12 feet comes the answer from Jen Lawson in the audience. Lawson is the city’s water resources manager.

9:50 p.m. Kunselman ventures that this policy reflects what the city has already been doing. Hupy confirms that. Kunselman asks if the policy will allow the city to qualify for grants. Hupy says the city has received grants before having a policy. The grant availability, however, is diminishing, just as the city is adopting a formal policy.

9:51 p.m. Anglin says thank you to the staff. People have worked on this for at least 10 years, he says. He cites the Carusos specifically. It’s about flood control, he says. Anglin says he’s supportive of buying land to detain water.

9:52 p.m. Hupy invites Jen Lawson to stand up to be acknowledged. She gets a quick round of applause.

9:52 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to adopt Green Streets guidelines.

[Ed. note: In the original live update file, the descriptions of DB-2 and DB-3 below were erroneously flipped.] 

9:52 p.m. DB-2 Development rights on the White property. This resolution would approve expenditure of money from the city’s greenbelt program to help acquire development rights on a 64-acre property on Zeeb Road, in Scio Township. For this deal, the city is contributing $39,000 to the total purchase price of $130,335, with the township contributing the remainder. [For additional background, see Land: Greenbelt above.]

9:53 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve expenditure of greenbelt funds to acquire development rights on the Moore White property.

9:53 p.m. DB-3 Development rights on Moore property. This resolution would approve expenditure of money from the city’s greenbelt program to help acquire development rights on a 24-acre parcel just north of the Huron River in Scio Township. The city of Ann Arbor will be contributing $25,200 to the total $84,000 cost of purchasing development rights, with the township contributing the difference. [For additional background, see Land: Greenbelt above.]

9:54 p.m. Lumm says she’ll support this. Scio Township is paying 70% of the price. She says that this is consistent with the greenbelt guidelines, so she’ll support it.

9:55 p.m. Kunselman says he won’t support this. It’s isolated from other greenbelt properties, he says. It’s just providing open space for people who live in Loch Alpine.

9:56 p.m. Outcome: Outcome: The council has voted 8-2 to approve expenditure of greenbelt funds to acquire development rights on the White Moore property. Dissenting were Kunselman and Kailasapathy.

9:56 p.m. DS-1 Approve Blue Cross Blue Shield renewal contracts. This resolution renews the city’s contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for the current calendar year, from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 to provide health care coverage to city employees, their eligible dependents, retirees, and their eligible dependents. The amount indicated in the resolution is $1,437,042.

9:56 p.m. Lumm says the city has a good strategy on stop-loss.

9:56 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract extension with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

9:56 p.m. DS-2 Apply for firefighter training facility grant. This resolution would approve a $334,140 grant application to the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – to acquire a mobile training facility to train firefighters. The 48-foot-long unit will allow live fire and tactical simulations. The kind of unit that the grant money, if awarded, would allow the city to purchase is comparable to this: [.pdf of brochure for training unit] [For additional background, see Equipment: Firefighting Simulator above.]

9:57 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the grant application to purchase a mobile firefighter training facility.

9:57 p.m. DS-3 Purchase road salt. The resolution would authorize the purchase of an additional $47,200 worth of road salt.

9:58 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the road salt purchase.

9:58 p.m. DS-4 Purchase sewer truck. The council is being asked to approve the $441,535 purchase of a combination sewer truck, which is outfitted with a vacuum device – often used to control water in an excavation during the repair of a water main break. [For additional background, see Equipment: Water Main Breaks above.]

10:01 p.m. “This is really exciting because this is a big piece of equipment!” says Kunselman. Hupy says that his wife describes the truck as looking “like an elephant going down the road.” Kunselman says this is the kind of truck that was used to repair a water main break in his neighborhood. The equipment provides for worker safety, Kunselman says. “Vactors make the best pumps out there,” Hupy says.

10:01 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the purchase of a sewer truck.

10:01 p.m. DS-5 Approve purchase of hydraulic excavator. The council is being asked to approve the purchase a hydraulic excavator for $176,472. The equipment is used for repairing water main breaks. [For additional background, see Equipment: Water Main Breaks above.]

10:03 p.m. Lumm wants to know if it’s worth $68,000 more. Hupy says it speeds up being able to do the repair when the water main is deep. If you’re one of the folks doing the work, it might have a different value, he says.

10:04 p.m. Briere asks if the city is retaining an excavator that digs shallower. Yes, explains Hupy.

10:04 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the purchase of a hydraulic excavator.

10:05 p.m. DS-6 Right of first refusal on Edwards Brothers property. This resolution was postponed from the council’s Feb. 3 meeting. It would approve the city’s exercise of its right of first refusal on the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property. The University of Michigan has offered $12.8 million for the land. [For additional background, see Land: Edwards Brothers Malloy Property above.]

10:06 p.m. Lumm makes a motion to go into closed session under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. The council votes to do so, over dissent from Kunselman.

10:06 p.m. Closed session. We’re in closed session under the OMA exception for land acquisition.

10:21 p.m. Only seven in the audience here in chambers. Planning manager Wendy Rampson is chatting with community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl.

10:29 p.m. We’re back.

10:31 p.m. The council is now in open session again.

10:31 p.m. Lumm moves to postpone the Edwards Brothers item until a special session on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.

10:32 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the vote on the city’s right of first refusal on the Edwards Brothers property until a special session on Feb. 24

10:34 p.m. Communications from council. Kunselman is talking about Mary Beth Doyle Park. He’s happy that the asphalt paths will have snow cleared. He appreciates city staff’s work with the Washtenaw County water resources office to ensure that the paths can be treated.

10:36 p.m. Kunselman also announces his intent to bring forward a repeal to the contribution in lieu (CIL) ordinance for parking requirements. [That allows developers to satisfy on-site parking requirements by purchasing monthly permits in the public parking system.] And he says he’ll bring forward an amendment to the city’s crosswalk ordinance to make it consistent with the wording of mayor John Hieftje’s veto. [That involves insertion of a requirement for motorists to stop, if they "can do so safely."] He calls the Edwards Brothers question “speculative development.” He ventures that it would be prudent for the council to engage in a conversation about that regarding the Library Lane site. He’s trying to do his part by learning more about the Build America Bonds used to construct the Library Lane underground parking garage. He wants to review the “as built” documents for the structure. He says that he wants to handle the property above the Library Lane structure in a way that’s similar to the way the council handled the old Y lot – by hiring a broker and putting the air rights up for sale.

10:40 p.m. Reconsideration of public art administrator’s contract. Eaton moves to re-open the agenda. The council approves the agenda amendment to include the resolution on the public art administrator’s contract that was defeated on Feb. 3. Eaton moves the resolution’s reconsideration. The council then agrees to postpone.

10:41 p.m. Outcome: The council postpones this until March 3, 2014.

10:42 p.m. Communications from the city attorney. City attorney Stephen Postema gets clarification about whether the council wants a closed session to be part of the Feb. 24 special meeting agenda. That is what the council wants.

10:43 p.m. Clerk’s report. Kailasapathy asks about a note from the state tax commission about tribunals. CFO Tom Crawford says there will be follow-up from the city administrator.

10:43 p.m. Public commentary general time. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

10:45 p.m. Thomas Partridge says he was up almost all night last night due to a landscaping company’s snow removal activity. Snow removal is important, he says, but it’s not being done responsibly. Giant piles of salt-laden snow and ice are at the shopping centers, he says. Partridge wants the council to establish an ordinance regulating snow removal.

10:46 p.m. Kai Petainen is now at the podium, and he says “I’m not here to complain.” He’s from Sault Ste. Marie he says, and the city has done a great job with snow removal.

10:48 p.m. Ed Vielmetti tells the council he attended the last building board of appeals meeting and says it’s good to see progress, even if it’s slow. He also raises issues about late filing of meeting minutes from various boards and commissions. He says he doesn’t know what reasonable expectations might be for meeting minutes, but thinks it’d be useful for the city administrator to set appropriate expectations.

10:50 p.m. Margie Teall (Ward 4) is responding to Partridge’s complaint about noise during snow removal. She allows it’s a problem. She mentions the noise ordinance and suggests that a call to the police desk would result in action.

10:50 p.m. Adjournment. We are now adjourned. That’s all from the hard benches.

A sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chambers gives instructions for post-meeting clean-up.

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Screenshot of Legistar – the city of Ann Arbor’s online agenda management system. Image links to the Feb. 18, 2014 meeting agenda.

The possible acquisition of land is also on the agenda, in the form of a resolution postponed from an earlier meeting. The resolution would exercise the city’s right of first refusal to purchase the Edwards Brothers Malloy property on South State Street.

The meeting is shifted to Tuesday because of the Presidents Day holiday on Monday.

Having given initial approval to an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance at its Feb. 3 meeting, the council will consider the item for a second and final vote on Feb. 18. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years. The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. To be approved, the ordinance change will need a six-vote majority on the 11-member council. The enactment of an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor, but a veto can be overridden by an eight-vote majority.

Dependent on the public art ordinance amendment is a resolution that would return $819,005 from the public art fund to the funds from which that money was drawn. That includes funds like the sanitary sewer fund and the street millage fund. That kind of  resolution is typically analyzed as needing an eight-vote majority to pass, but it’s not yet indicated as an “eight-voter” on the online agenda. [Updated 1 p.m. Friday: It's now recorded as needing eight votes.] Based on the Feb. 3 council deliberations, the debate on such a resolution would likely center on the amount to be returned to funds of origin, not the question of returning at least some of the money.

Also expected back from the Feb. 3 agenda is a resolution that was defeated at that meeting – to extend the contract for the part-time public art administrator by six months and to appropriate funds to cover that $18,500 contract. It would need eight votes to pass.  The result of that council vote was that public art administrator Aaron Seagraves cannot currently be paid. The contract is supposed be back  on Feb. 18 for reconsideration – as part of the political bargain among councilmembers on the overall question of how the Percent for Art money that accumulated in the public art fund will be handled.

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda also features several pieces of equipment essential to core services. One of those core services is the repair of water main breaks, which have increased in frequency in recent weeks as the ground moves due to deeper and deeper penetration of frost. The council will be asked to approve the $441,535 purchase of a combination sewer truck, which is outfitted with a vacuum device – often used to control water in an excavation during the repair of a water main break. Also deployed when repairing water main breaks is a hydraulic excavator. So the council will be asked to approve the purchase of one for $176,472. Both of those authorizations are replacements of existing city equipment.

The council will also be asked to approve the purchase of a new garbage truck for $93,800. The purchase of two vans for a total of $50,320 is also on the council’s Feb. 18 agenda. The vans will be used by the parks and recreation department to shuttle passengers when they start a river trip at one of the cities liveries on the Huron River. Rounding out equipment purchases is a $83,208 wood chipper.

Another piece of equipment shows up on the agenda in the form of a grant application the council is being asked to approve. The $334,140 grant application is being made to the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – to acquire a mobile training facility to train firefighters. The 48-foot-long unit will allow live fire and tactical simulations.

In real estate matters, the council will be asked to approve the acquisition of development rights for two properties, using funds from the greenbelt millage. The first is a 24-acre parcel just north of the Huron River in Scio Township. The city of Ann Arbor will be contributing $25,200 to the total $84,000 cost of purchasing development rights, with the township contributing the difference. The second greenbelt property on the agenda is a 64-acre property on Zeeb Road, also in Scio Township. For that deal, the city is contributing $39,000 to the total purchase price of $130,335.

Related to land use, council will also be asked to give final approval to the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street – to C1 (local business district). The property houses Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky.

A bit south of Biercamp on State Street is the topic of the most significant land acquisition matter on the Feb. 18 agenda. A resolution postponed from the council’s Feb. 3 meeting would approve the city’s exercise of its right of first refusal on the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property. The University of Michigan has offered $12.8 million for the land.

On the consent agenda is a contract with MDOT for reimbursement to the city for a portion of the cost to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at three locations: on Geddes Road at Gallup Park; Fuller Road 400 feet east of Cedar Bend Drive; and on South University Avenue at Tappan Avenue. The city’s cost for the $47,971 project would be $14,179.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Tuesday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

Public Art

Three items related to public art are expected to be handled at the Feb. 18, 2014 council meeting: (1) a final vote on an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance; (2) a resolution enabled by that change, which would transfer money out of the city’s public art fund back to the funds from which the money was drawn; and (3) a resolution extending by six months the contract for the city’s part-time public art administrator and appropriating funds to cover the $18,500 contract extension.

Public Art: Ordinance Amendment

Having given initial approval to an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance at its Feb. 3, 2014 meeting, the council will consider the item for a second and final vote on Feb. 18. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to transfer money that accumulated in the public art fund through the (now demised) Percent for Art funding mechanism in previous years.

The money would be transferred back to the funds from which it was originally drawn – but that transfer would require a separate council action. To be approved, the ordinance change will need a six-vote majority on the 11-member council. The enactment of an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor, but a veto can be overridden by an eight-vote majority.

This ordinance revision reprises a previous effort to amend the public art ordinance to allow the transfer of money accumulated during previous years of the Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin. That unsuccessful effort came eight months ago at the council’s June 3, 2013 meeting. At that meeting, the council did eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism from the public art ordinance, and also allowed the most recent year’s accumulation of money to be returned to the funds of origin. The council also returned that most recent year’s worth of funding – $326,464.

The demised Percent for Art program required 1% of all capital fund project budgets to be set aside for public art. As a part of the June 3  ordinance change, the council replaced the Percent for Art funding program with a new approach that would allow city staff, working with the public art commission, to identify capital projects suitable for “baking in” art. In addition to city funding of art designed to be an integral part of a specific capital improvement project, the approach envisioned  general donations to a public art fund, and public art projects paid for with a combination of public and private funds.

The current balance of unassigned funds accrued in the Percent for Art fund as of Jan. 14, 2014 is $839,507. An additional $535,853 is earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary]

Any actual transfer of money would require separate council action.

Public Art: Resolution on Return to Funds of Origin

Dependent on the public art ordinance amendment is an item that’s on the Feb. 18 agenda – a resolution that would return about $819,005 from the public art fund to the funds from which it was drawn. That includes funds like the sanitary sewer fund and the street millage fund. That kind of resolution is typically analyzed as meeting a charter requirement for an eight-vote majority to pass. However, as of mid-morning on Feb. 14, the item was not flagged in the online agenda as an “eight-voter.” Responding to an inquiry from The Chronicle, the city clerk’s office was checking into the question of how many votes are required. [Updated 1 p.m. Friday: The online agenda has been updated to reflect the eight-vote requirement.]

Based on the Feb. 3 council deliberations, the debate on such a resolution would likely center on the amount to be returned to funds of origin, not the question of returning at least some of the money. Returning $819,005 in funding would leave $20,500 – which is the total amount needed to fund an extension of the public art administrator’s contract and some additional administrative costs.

A breakdown of the amounts that could be returned – and the funds to which that money would be returned – is covered here: [Art budget summary]

If the issue of the amount to be returned isn’t settled on Feb. 18 and the resolution does not pass in any form, another option would be to take up the question in the context of the annual budget resolution, which is considered at the council’s second meeting in May every year. Under the city charter, the budget resolution as a whole requires seven votes to be approved. But amendments to the budget resolution are subject only to the six-vote majority requirement.

On Feb. 10, the city released a list  of budget requests made by department heads for the next fiscal year. And  $80,000 from the general fund has been requested to fund a transition  from the now defunct Percent for Art funding mechanism to the new public art program. The $80,000 would include compensation for a full-time art administrator for a year. In the meantime the council will likely again consider a six-month extension of the part-time administrator’s contract at its Feb. 18 meeting.

Updated 9 p.m. Friday: The wrangling over the amount of public art money to be returned has already begun. A second resolution transferring money from the public art fund to its funds of origin has now been added to the agenda. The second resolution is sponsored by Sabra Briere (Ward 1), and escalates the one sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1). Briere’s resolution eliminates funding for the Argo Cascades art project – because the committee making the final selection between two artists has not been able to come to a consensus to move forward with one of them. So Briere’s resolution would return $957,140, compared to the $819,005 called for in the proposal originally put on the agenda by Lumm.

Briere’s resolution also calls for the city administrator to direct city staff to develop a transition plan to be implemented by staff and the public art commission and for that plan to be presented to the council in about a year – before March 2, 2015. Briere’s resolution also calls for no additional projects to be initiated using funds set aside under the Percent for Art program.

A further highlight of Briere’s resolution is direction to the city administrator to establish a budget for public art administration for both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. [An initial list of requests from department heads for FY 2015, released by the city on Feb. 10, shows an $80,000 request for arts administration, which includes funds for a full-time art administrator.]

The need for continued funding for arts administration is based on the new approach to the public art program established by the city council in June 2013. That new approach can include city-funded art when it’s designed as an integral part of a capital project, as well as projects funded through a combination of private and public money.

Public Art: Resolution to Extend Public Art Administrator’s Contract

Also expected back from the Feb. 3 is a resolution that was defeated at that meeting – to extend the contract for the part-time public art administrator by six months and to appropriate funds to cover that $18,500 contract. The result of that council vote was that public art administrator Aaron Seagraves cannot currently be paid.

The contract will likely be taken up on Feb. 18 for reconsideration – as part of the political bargain among councilmembers on the overall question of how the Percent for Art money that accumulated in the public art fund will be handled. The art administrator’s contract was first considered at the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 meeting, but was postponed in the context of a political horse trade – support for the administrator’s contract being contingent on beginning a process to transfer money accumulated under Percent for Art in previous years, back to the money’s funds of origin.

The conversation between mayor John Hieftje and Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table toward the end of the Feb. 3 meeting indicated that Eaton would be bringing the item back for reconsideration on Feb. 18, provided that public art money was returned to its funds of origin.

Equipment

The Feb. 18 agenda is relatively heavy on items related to acquiring basic equipment: a combination sewer truck, a hydraulic excavator, a garbage truck, two vans, a wood chipper, and a firefighter training unit.

Equipment: Water Main Breaks

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda features several pieces of equipment essential to core services. One of those core services is repair of water main breaks, which have increased in frequency in recent weeks as the ground moves due to deeper and deeper penetration of frost.

Here’s a sampling of recent water main breaks – from alerts the city of Ann Arbor has sent out:

• Jan. 15: West Madison between Fourth and Fifth
• Jan. 22: Devonshire between Washtenaw and Melrose
• Jan. 28: S. Industrial between Jewett and Eisenhower
• Jan. 28: Yost between Washtenaw and Parkwood
• Jan. 31: Pontiac Trail at Brookside
• Feb. 5: Washtenaw east of Brockman
• Feb. 11: Pauline between Seventh and Stadium

The council will be asked to approve the $441,535 purchase of a combination sewer truck, which is outfitted with a vacuum device – often used to control water in an excavation during the repair of a water main break.

City of Ann Arbor water main breaks by year. It’s not unusual to have several water main breaks in a given year. (Data from city of Ann Arbor financial records, chart by The Chronicle)

Also deployed when repairing water main breaks is a hydraulic excavator. The council will be asked to approve the purchase of this type of equipment for $176,472. Both of those authorizations are replacements of existing city equipment.

In more detail, according to the memo accompanying the resolution, the combination sewer truck is to be procured from Jack Doheny Supplies Inc. It will replace a 2005 truck with 6,685 hours of use. Over the last two years, the truck had broken down and needed repairs 63 times – taking it out of service anywhere from fours hours to more than two weeks each time.

When that truck is unavailable do to water main break repairs, a similar truck used for stormwater system maintenance is re-tasked for water main breaks. But that poses a challenge to keep up with the scheduled preventive maintenance of the stormwater system. And failure to meet the cleaning schedule puts the system at risk for clogging and backing up into structures.

On the hydraulic excavator, the staff memo explains that the John Deere model 135G hydraulic excavator to be purchased will replace a 2002 mini excavator. The primary use for that excavator is for water main repair.

The new hydraulic excavator will be able to dig down to 19 feet, which is 7 feet deeper than the 2002 mini excavator. So the larger water mains, which are typically deeper and older, will be reachable.

The mini excavator has been in service over 5,350 hours of use and half its total repair costs have accumulated in the last 3.5 years. The old excavator will be sold at the next city auction.

Equipment: Garbage Truck

The council will also be asked to approve the purchase of a new garbage truck for $93,800 from Bell Equipment Company, in Lake Orion, Michigan. It’s a smaller truck – with a 6-yard capacity. It will be used for garbage collection in the city parks, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The new truck will replace a 2002 model with over 14,500 hours of operation. According to the staff memo, in the last three years, 57% of all time spent maintaining the vehicle has been spent on breakdowns while only 14% has been for preventive maintenance. In that three-year period, the cost of breakdown repairs has been more than $78,000, which is more than half of the 13-year lifetime total of $141,480.

Equipment: Vans

The purchase of two vans – from Red Holman GMC in Oakland County, for a total of $50,320 – is also on the council’s Feb. 18 agenda. The vans will be used by the parks and recreation department to shuttle passengers when they start a river trip at one of the cities liveries on the Huron River. The van purchase was recommended by the park advisory commission at its Jan. 28, 2014 meeting.

According to a parks staff memo, the city’s current fleet of seven 15-passenger vans was unable to keep up with the increasing shuttle transportation demands for Huron River trips in 2013, following the opening of Argo Cascades. More vans are needed to transport people on these trips, which start at the Argo livery and end at Gallup Park. One van in the fleet needs to be replaced. The van purchase would increase the total van fleet to eight.

Equipment: Wood Chipper

Rounding out equipment purchases is a $83,208 Bandit model 1990XP diesel engine-powered wood chipper. According to the staff memo, the new model will replace a 2002 wood chipper, which is used for tree removals, tree trimming and storm clean-ups. The unit is a whole-tree chipper – it will process up to 21-inch diameter logs.

The chipper to be replaced has been in service for 11 years. It has 4,100 hours of use and 35% of its total repair cost ($74,600) has accrued in the last 2.5 years. The old chipper will be sold at the next city auction.

Equipment: Firefighting Simulator

Another piece of equipment shows up on the agenda in the form of a grant application the council is being asked to approve. The $334,140 grant application is being made to the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – to acquire a mobile training facility to train firefighters. The 48-foot-long unit will allow live fire and tactical simulations. The kind of unit that the grant money, if awarded, would allow the city to purchase is comparable to this: [.pdf of brochure for training unit]

Land

The council’s Feb. 18 agenda features several land and land use items: two greenbelt properties; a green streets policy; a zoning issue; and the possible exercise of the city’s right of first refusal on the Edwards Brothers Mallow property on South State Street.

Land: Greenbelt

The council will be asked to approve the acquisition of development rights for two properties, using funds from the city’s open space and parkland preservation millage. The first is a 24-acre parcel just north of the Huron River in Scio Township. The city of Ann Arbor, through its greenbelt program, will be contributing $25,200 to the total $84,000 cost of purchasing development rights, with the township contributing the difference. The deal was recommended by the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission at its Jan. 2, 2014 meeting.

Property owned by Thomas E. and Eleanor S. Moore in Scio Township. The Moores applied to the Scio Township Land Preservation program. The city is partnering with the township on the deal.

The second greenbelt property on the agenda is a 64-acre property on Zeeb Road, also in Scio Township. For that deal, the city is contributing $39,000 to the total purchase price of $130,335. The city’s greenbelt advisory commission recommended moving ahead with this deal at its Nov. 7, 2013 meeting.

Property owned by Maria E. White in Scio Township. White applied to the Scio Township Land Preservation program and the city of Ann Arbor is partnering with the township on the issue.

Land: Green Streets

On the council’s agenda is a policy item related to land: infiltration standards to be followed whenever a city street is reconstructed. The “green streets” policy initiative came at the direction of the city council in a July 2, 2012 resolution.

Land: Hofmann Rezoning

Related to land use, council will also be asked to give final approval to the zoning of the Hofmann property on South State Street – to C1 (local business district). The property houses Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky. The council gave initial approval to the zoning at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting.

The two parcels in question – just south of Stimson and the Produce Station – are owned by Stefan Hofmann. The site at 1645 S. State is used for storage. In addition to housing Biercamp, the parcel at 1643 S. State also includes an auto repair shop and furniture manufacturer, which is primarily a woodworking shop.

The zoning for these parcels, which were annexed into the city from Ann Arbor township in 2011, has previously been considered by the planning commission and the city council. That was when Biercamp owners Walt Hansen and Hannah Cheadle wanted to zone the property C3 (fringe commercial district), so their business could sell a wider variety of merchandise, including products not made on site.

When the property was annexed into the city from the township, the site had been zoned by the township for light industrial. The closest equivalent in the city’s zoning code was M-1 (limited industrial zoning). The city’s master plan – prior to the adoption of the South State Street corridor plan – called for light industrial zoning in that area, but M-1 zoning would only allow for retail space to occupy 20% of the building’s floor area, to sell products made on-site.

At its Sept. 8, 2011 meeting, the planning commission unanimously recommended denial of that C3 zoning request, based on the proposed zoning being inconsistent with the city’s master plan. The request was then made directly to the city council, which also denied the request at a meeting on Feb. 21, 2012.

At the time, planning commissioners also were advocating for a broader study of the State Street corridor. That study was subsequently completed, and on July 15, 2013, the city council adopted the South State Street corridor plan as an amendment to the master plan’s land use element.

According to a staff memo, the adoption of the corridor plan into the city’s master plan prompted city planning staff to initiate the current zoning request. The C1 zoning is consistent with recommendations in the master plan, which calls for a mixed-use neighborhood retail center in that area to serve the Yost and Burns Park neighborhoods.

C1 is a more restrictive type of zoning than C3, primarily related to limits on the size of a business. No drive-thru restaurants are allowed in C1 districts, and there’s an 8,000-square-foot limit on the size of a business, for example. There is no restriction in either C1 or C3 that limits the products sold to those that are made on-site.

The city’s planning commission recommended C1 zoning for these parcels at its Dec. 17, 2013 meeting.

During deliberations on Jan. 21, Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) noted that the staff memo gave the historical perspective, but he hadn’t been sure if the proposal met Biercamp’s needs. Warpehoski told other councilmembers that the Biercamp owners are supportive of the C-1 zoning.

Land: Edwards Brothers Malloy Property

A resolution postponed from the council’s Feb. 3 meeting would approve the city’s exercise of its right of first refusal on the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property. The University of Michigan has offered $12.8 million for the land.

The council had on Feb. 3 postponed the item “to our next meeting” – which was scheduled for Feb. 18. But subsequently a special meeting was called for Feb. 10 to consider the question. That special meeting was then cancelled.

The resolution would approve the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriate necessary funds, and direct the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right. The agenda item contained no other background information.

At its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information about the Edwards Brothers land. The due date for that gathering of information was specified in the council’s resolution as Jan. 30 – the same day that the land-purchase item was added to the Feb. 3 agenda.

At its following meeting, on Jan. 21, 2014, the council approved without discussion a $25,550 contract with Atwell LLC for environmental site assessment services on the property. That assessment included a survey of asbestos-containing materials.

The pending sale of the property to UM was announced in a Nov. 27, 2013 press release. The business – a fourth-generation Ann Arbor publishing and printing firm – had signaled its intent to put the property on the market in late July.

The city’s right of first refusal on the property was a condition of a tax abatement granted by the city council three years ago, on Jan. 18, 2011. Purchase by the university would remove the property from the tax rolls. Washtenaw County records show the taxable value of the property at just over $3 million. In 2013, Edwards Brothers paid a total of $182,213 in real property taxes, not all of which is the city’s levy. The total city levy of 16.45 mills on $3 million of taxable value works out to about $50,000.

According to the tax abatement agreement, the event triggering the city’s 60-day right-of-first-refusal window is a formal notification to the city by Edwards Brothers, which was made on Nov. 27, 2013. The council will still be within the 60-day window when it votes at its Feb. 18 meeting.

The resolution the council will be taking up again on Feb. 18 requires an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council – because the resolution changes the city budget and involves a purchase of real estate.

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons

On the Feb. 18 consent agenda is  a contract with MDOT for reimbursement to the city for a portion of the cost to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at three locations: on Geddes Road at Gallup Park; Fuller Road 400 feet east of Cedar Bend Drive; and on South University Avenue at Tappan Avenue. The city’s cost for the $47,971 project would be $14,179.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, part of the rationale for the choice of locations is “a history of pedestrian crashes that made them candidates for safety grant funding.” Responding to an emailed request from The Chronicle, city engineer Patrick Cawley provided the following accident history for the locations:

• Fuller Road (2) on May 13, 2009 and Feb. 11, 2010.
• S. University (3) on Feb. 7, 2006, Nov. 24, 2007, and Sept. 8, 2008.
• Geddes (1 involving a bicyclist) on Feb. 9, 2008.

Road Salt

Also on the agenda is a resolution to approve purchase of additional ice-control salt. Based on the $47,200 amount to be appropriated, and the $36.23 price per ton, the council will be authorizing the purchase of roughly 1,300 tons of additional salt.

A city staff estimate provided to The Chronicle puts the amount of salt used so far this season – through early February – at about 6,600 tons. That’s roughly at least as much or more than has been used in each of the previous five winter seasons. If the city uses all of the additional salt to be purchased – bringing this season’s total to about 7,900 tons – that would approach the maximum amount of salt used by the city over the last seven seasons. In the 2007-2008 season, the city of Ann Arbor used 8,500 tons of salt on its roads.

Ice-control salt usage in the city of Ann Arbor by year. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor. Chart by The Chronicle.)

According to a staff memo accompanying the resolution, the city’s snowplow equipment uses “electronically calibrated spreader controls” to keep the amount of salt used to the minimum amount that is still consistent with traffic safety. The price the city is paying for the salt to be authorized on Feb. 18 is established through a state of Michigan’s MIDEAL program. According to the staff memo, the cost for purchasing additional material on the open market would be about $140, or nearly four times as much as under the MIDEAL program.

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Margie Teall (Ward 4) cast the sole vote of dissent on the ordinance amendment.

In other action related to public art, the council rejected approval of a six-month contract extension for Ann Arbor’s part-time public art administrator, Aaron Seagraves. The proposed extension was through June 30, 2014. That move came after a failed motion to postpone. The immediate result of the vote is that Seagraves can’t be paid – the same result that would have come from postponement. It prompted an outburst of “Shame on you!” from Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), telling those who’d voted against the contract extension that they’d thrown Seagraves out of a job.

Voting to postpone action on the extension of the public art administrator’s contract were Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and mayor John Hieftje. Voting against postponement were Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Christopher Taylor (Ward 3), Margie Teall (Ward 4), and Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5). Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) was absent and the vote on postponement failed 5-5.

The vote on the contract extension itself got support from Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Christopher Taylor (Ward 3), Margie Teall (Ward 4), Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) and mayor John Hieftje. Voting against the extension were Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), and Mike Anglin (Ward 5). The 6-4 tally fell short of the eight-vote majority it needed.

The ordinance amendment will need a second and final vote – at the council’s Feb. 18 meeting – to be enacted. A transfer of the money out of the public art fund would require a separate council action. The ballpark amount that Jane Lumm described at the meeting as wanting to return was about $840,000.

Budget actions – to allocate money for the public art administrator’s salary or to transfer money out of the public art fund back to its funds of origin – require an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council. The requirement of an eight-vote majority for either budget action played a role in the parliamentary dynamic leading to the rejection of the administrator’s contract. The contract could be brought back for reconsideration at the council’s Feb. 18 meeting – something discussed at the end of the Feb. 3 meeting.

By way of additional background, the public art fund has a current balance of $839,507 available for public art, as of Jan. 14, 2014. An additional $535,853 is earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary]

The money in question accumulated in the years after the city council enacted a public art ordinance in late 2007, setting up a Percent for Art program as a funding mechanism. For each of the city’s capital projects, 1% of the budget – up to a cap of $250,000 – was set aside for public art. The Ann Arbor public art commission oversaw the expenditures. However, the approach proved controversial. At its June 3, 2013 meeting, the city council changed the ordinance to eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism. That ordinance change came after a public art millage was defeated by voters in the November 2012 election.

The council debate at that June 3, 2013 meeting included wrangling about what to do with the public art fund balance, with Jane Lumm (Ward 2) arguing unsuccessfully that $845,029 should be returned to the funds of origin. The council voted to return only the money that had accrued to the fund in the most recent budget year – $326,464.

Lumm wound up withdrawing her proposal at that meeting – because the council had declined at that same meeting to amend the ordinance in a way that allowed the return of public art money that had accrued in previous years. The amendment given initial approval by the council at its Feb. 3, 2014 meeting is essentially the ordinance amendment that Lumm had wanted the council to enact eight months ago. If the council gives final approval to the amendment, it will provide the council with an opportunity to make transfers out of the public art fund – but that would require separate action by the council.

In the other Feb. 3 action related to public art, the council rejected the six-month contract extension for the city’s part-time public art administrator, Aaron Seagraves – through June 30, 2014. Seagraves is contracted to work an average of 20 hours a week. The money for the extension was to have been appropriated from the public art fund balance. Before the final vote at the Feb. 3 meeting, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) proposed an amendment that would have changed the source of funding from the public art fund to the general fund. But that amendment failed.

The need for a public art administrator is based on projects still in the works, leftover from the Percent for Art program, as well as the new public art program established by the council. When councilmembers ended the Percent for Art program eight months ago, they replaced it with a new approach – where city staff and the public art commission will work to determine whether specific capital improvements should have enhanced design features “baked in” to the projects. Those features can include enhanced architectural work or specific public art. The funding for any of the enhanced features would be included in the project’s budget and incorporated into the RFP (request for proposals) process for the capital project. [See recent Chronicle coverage of the public art commission: "Commission Works on Public Art Planning"]

The contract extension had previously been on the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda, but had been postponed at that meeting.

The vote on the contract at the Jan. 21 meeting took place in the context of a political horse trade offered by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table. Eaton indicated on that occasion that he’d support the public art administrator’s contract extension – but only if the council would move at the same time toward returning as-yet-unallocated money set aside during the now defunct Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin. The vote had a credible possibility of failing because of the eight-vote majority requirement.

The bid to postpone the contract extension at the Feb. 3 meeting could be analyzed as an attempt to take out a political “insurance policy” by councilmembers who want to return public art money to its funds of origin. Specifically, support for the contract extension would be withheld unless other councilmembers supported the return of public art money to its funds of origin. The customary ordering of the agenda, however, would work against the ability of councilmembers to use the administrator’s contract as an “insurance policy” – if the matter had been postponed. Had the contract been postponed until the Feb. 18 meeting, the customary ordering would have been: (1) second reading of public art ordinance; (2) public art administrator’s contract (unfinished business); and (3) return of public art money to the funds of origin (new business).

The dynamic that could now be set up at the Feb. 18 meeting is this: A vote to return money from the public art fund to its funds of origin might be rewarded by a subsequent move to reconsider the funding of the contract extension.

At the conclusion of the Feb. 3 meeting, during communications time, Hieftje queried Eaton about his intentions, and Eaton clarified it was his intent to bring back the contract extension for reconsideration at the Feb. 18 meeting. Briere noted that in the meantime, Seagraves might elect not to continue working for the city.

Details on council deliberations for both the public art ordinance amendment and the contract extension are included in The Chronicle’s live updates from the Feb. 3 meeting. Several supporters of public art funding spoke during public commentary on Feb. 3, including Bob Miller, chair of the city’s public art commission.

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

The most significant item on the council’s Feb. 3, 2014 agenda is listed last – a resolution that would authorize the city administrator to exercise the city’s right of first refusal to purchase the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers property on South State Street. The council could adjust the order of the items at the start of the meeting.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber, installed in the summer of 2013, includes Braille.

Two new ordinances will also be given initial consideration at the Ann Arbor city council’s Feb. 3 meeting. One involves public art – which relates to leftover business from the council’s previous meeting. The second proposed new local law involves prohibitions against smoking in some public places.

Background on the possible acquisition of the Edwards Brothers property includes the fact that the University of Michigan has made an offer to Edwards Brothers to purchase the property for $12.8 million. But the city has a right of first refusal on the property as a condition of a tax abatement granted by the city council three years ago, on Jan. 18, 2011.

The resolution on tonight’s agenda approves the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriates necessary funds, and directs the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right.

This effort began at the council’s Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, when councilmembers had directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information about the Edwards Brothers land. The due date for that gathering of information was specified in the council’s resolution as Jan. 30.

Public art is actually the topic of two separate items on the council’s agenda. One is a contract extension for the city’s part-time public art administrator, which had been on the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda, but was postponed at that meeting.

The postponement took place in the context of a political horse trade offered by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table on Jan. 21. Eaton indicated he’d support the public art administrator’s contract extension at the council’s subsequent meeting – but only if the council would move toward returning as-yet-unallocated money set aside during the now defunct Percent for Art program to its funds of origin (e.g., sanitary sewer fund, street millage fund etc.).

Both elements of the horse trade are scheduled for the Feb. 3 meeting. The move toward returning money out of the public art fund takes the form of initial consideration of an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance. The ordinance amendment, sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), would allow the council to return money accumulated under the city’s former Percent for Art program to the funds from which that money was drawn. The ordinance change would need a second and final council vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. Any transfer of public art money would require separate council action after the potential ordinance change.

Also getting initial consideration on Feb. 3 will be a new ordinance that would prohibit smoking in specific outdoor public areas. Made punishable through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of any city-owned building. The ordinance amendment would also authorize the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking.

In another item on its Feb. 3 agenda, the council will consider approval of a $398,703 contract plus a $40,000 contingency with Hubbell Roth & Clark Inc. to reconstruct Geddes Avenue from Huntington to Huron Parkway. The project, which includes five components, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015 and may continue through 2016. The five components of the project are: reconstruction of Geddes, sanitary sewer on Geddes, sanitary sewer on Dover Place and Riverview, storm sewer on Geddes, and water main on Dover Place and Riverview.

Also on the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is a proposed expansion for Germain Motors – an auto dealership on South State Street, formerly Howard Cooper Imports.

The council will also consider setting a hearing date for one establishments that could potentially be recommended for non-renewal of its liquor licenses for non-payment of taxes: Banfield’s Bar & Grill.  Also originally on the list were  The Arena,  and Café Zola, but as of Monday morning, Feb. 3 they’d been removed. Those three businesses were also subject to the same scrutiny last year, and all eventually paid their taxes without having their licenses revoked.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Monday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

The Chronicle will be filing live updates from city council chambers during the meeting, published in this article below the preview material. Click here to skip the preview section and go directly to the live updates. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Edwards Brothers Land

The council will consider moving ahead with the purchase of the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property at 2500-2550 S. State St. The University of Michigan has made an offer to Edwards Brothers to purchase the property for $12.8 million, but the city has a right of first refusal on the property.

The resolution approves the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriates necessary funds, and directs the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right. As of the morning of Monday, Feb. 3, the online agenda item contained no other background information.

Reached by phone late Friday afternoon, city administrator Steve Powers told The Chronicle that he and other staff would be working over the weekend to finalize the information that the council would be provided before being asked to consider the possible purchase of the land. That includes the financing mechanism, source of funds, types of scenarios for the city eventually to shed ownership of the land, results of an environmental review, and possible zoning revisions to enhance property value. Powers allowed that the council might not be ready to vote at its Feb. 3 meeting, but confirmed that the council’s next regular meeting on Feb. 18 would still fall within the 60-day window of opportunity for action.

At its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information about the Edwards Brothers land. The due date for that gathering of information was specified in the council’s resolution as Jan. 30 – the same day that the land-purchase item was added to the Feb. 3 agenda.

At its following meeting, on Jan. 21, 2014, the council approved without discussion a $25,550 contract with Atwell LLC for environmental site assessment services on the property. That assessment included a survey of asbestos-containing materials.

By way of background, the pending sale of the property to UM was announced in a Nov. 27, 2013 press release. The business – a fourth-generation Ann Arbor publishing and printing firm – had signaled its intent to put the property on the market in late July.

The city’s right of first refusal on the property was a condition of a tax abatement granted by the city council three years ago, on Jan. 18, 2011. Purchase by the university would remove the property from the tax rolls. Washtenaw County records show the taxable value of the property at just over $3 million. In 2013, Edwards Brothers paid a total of $182,213 in real property taxes, not all of which is the city’s levy. The total city levy of 16.45 mills on $3 million of taxable value works out to about $50,000.

According to the tax abatement agreement, the event triggering the city’s 60-day right-of-first-refusal window is a formal notification to the city by Edwards Brothers, which was made on Nov. 27, 2013. If the council were to delay voting on the item until its Feb. 18 meeting, it would still be within that 60-day window.

The Feb. 3 agenda item requires an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council – because the resolution will change the city budget and involves a purchase of real estate. At least one councilmember will not be present for the Feb. 3 meeting. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) will be attending a professional conference of the Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA). He works in the University of Michigan’s energy office as Planet Blue energy conservation liaison.

Public Art

Two items related to public art appear on the council’s Feb. 3 agenda. One item is a contract extension for the city’s part-time public art administrator, Aaron Seagraves. The extension had been on the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda, but was postponed at that meeting.

The postponement took place in the context of a political horse trade offered by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table on Jan. 21. Eaton indicated he’d support the public art administrator’s contract extension at the council’s subsequent meeting on Feb. 3 – but only if the council would move toward returning as-yet-unallocated money set aside during the now defunct Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin (e.g., sanitary sewer fund, street millage fund etc.).

Both elements of the horse trade are on the Feb. 3 agenda. The move toward returning money out of the public art fund takes the form of an amendment to the city’s ordinance on public art.

Public Art: Part-time Administrator’s Contract Extension

The council will be asked again to consider a six-month extension for Ann Arbor public art administrator Aaron Seagraves – through June 30, 2014. The council will be asked to allocate $18,500 to cover the added term.

The budget expenditure for Seagraves’ contract will need support from at least an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council. That’s why some councilmembers’ dissatisfaction with the current $839,507 in unallocated money in the public art fund posed a credible possibility of a failed vote at the Jan. 21 meeting.

The proposal to postpone the vote on the contract extension came from Jack Eaton (Ward 4), who wanted to delay until the council’s next meeting, by which time a clear plan could be crafted to return the Percent for Art money to its funds of origin. The only dissenting vote on postponement at the Jan. 21 meeting came from Margie Teall (Ward 4). [Details of the council's deliberations are reported in The Chronicle's live updates from the Jan. 21 meeting.]

Seagraves is contracted to work an average of 20 hours a week.

By way of background, the city council enacted a public art ordinance in late 2007, setting up a Percent for Art program as a funding mechanism. For each of the city’s capital projects, 1% of the budget – up to a cap of $250,000 – was set aside for public art. The Ann Arbor public art commission oversaw the expenditures. However, the approach proved controversial and the city council changed the ordinance to eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism at its June 3, 2013 meeting. That ordinance change came after a failed public art millage that was put before voters in the November 2012 election.

Under the new approach, city staff will work to determine whether a specific capital improvement should have enhanced design features “baked in” to the project – either enhanced architectural work or specific public art. The funding for any of the enhanced features would be included in the project’s budget and incorporated into the RFP (request for proposals) process for the capital project.

The funds accrued to the public art fund during the time of the Percent for Art program are still subject to the same legal constraints – which require a thematic link between the original source of the funds (e.g., the street millage) and the piece of art to be funded.

A budget summary provided by Seagraves in response to a Chronicle emailed query shows a current balance of $839,507 in available funds for public art, as of Jan. 14, 2014. An additional $535,853 is earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary]

The council debate at its June 3, 2013 meeting included wrangling about what to do with that fund balance, with Jane Lumm (Ward 2) arguing unsuccessfully that $845,029 should be returned to the funds of origin. The council voted to return only the money that had accrued to the fund in the most recent budget year – $326,464.

At their most recent meeting on Jan. 29, 2014, public art commissioners expressed concern over possible council actions on Feb. 3. “We’re volunteers trying to do things we’re passionate about, but there’s never any certainty about things,” Nick Zagar said at that Jan. 29 meeting. He noted that if the city eliminates the public art administrator’s position, “everything I’m sure will grind to a dramatic halt.” It’s hard to want to invest a lot of energy into the program, he added, given that commissioners don’t really have a clear direction about the program’s future.

Public Art: Ordinance Revision

At the June 3, 2013 meeting, the council did not ultimately vote on Lumm’s proposal to return Percent for Art money from earlier years to its funds of origin. That’s because the council rejected her proposal to amend the public art ordinance to allow that transfer to take place.

So Lumm’s ordinance proposal for the Feb. 3, 2014 meeting reprises the previous effort to amend the ordinance to allow the transfer of money accumulated during previous years of the Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin.

If the council votes to approve the ordinance on Feb. 3, it would still require a second vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. And any transfer of money would require a separate council action supported by an eight-vote majority.

Outdoor Smoking

On the council’s Feb. 3 agenda for initial consideration is a new ordinance that would prohibit smoking in specific outdoor public areas. Made punishable through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems any city-owned building.

The ordinance amendment also authorizes the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking, and to increase the distance from entrances to city buildings where outdoor smoking is prohibited.

Where no signs are posted noting the smoking prohibition, a citation could be issued only if someone doesn’t stop smoking immediately when asked to stop.

An existing county ordinance already prohibits smoking near entrances, windows and ventilation systems, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution – but the county’s ordinance can be enforced only by the county health department. The memo further notes that the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act does not regulate outdoor smoking.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) is listed as the sponsor of the ordinance change on the city’s Legistar system. At the council’s Oct. 21, 2013 meeting, he had announced his intent to bring forward a proposed ordinance regulating outdoor smoking, and reported at that time he’d been working with city parks staff on the issue.

Geddes Avenue Reconstruction: 2015

The council will consider approval of a $398,703 contract plus a $40,000 contingency with Hubbell Roth & Clark Inc. to reconstruct Geddes Avenue from Huntington to Huron Parkway.

The portion of Geddes to be reconstructed is indicated in yellow. Parcels currently lacking sanitary sewer service are indicated in red.

The project, which includes five components, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015 and may continue through 2016. The five components of the project are: reconstruction of Geddes, sanitary sewer on Geddes, sanitary sewer on Dover Place and Riverview, storm sewer on Geddes, and water main on Dover Place and Riverview. [.pdf of map showing parcels currently lacking sanitary sewer service]

The components of the project, which the city is calling collectively the Geddes Avenue Improvements Project, could also include corrections of slope sloughing, and the construction of non-motorized improvements within the project limits.

The scope of the actual project is supposed to stem in part from public participation. So part of the contract with HRC includes a “robust public engagement process” to include the adjacent residents, various interest groups, and the public at large.

Germain Motors Site Plan

On the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is a proposed expansion for Germain Motors – an auto dealership on South State Street, formerly Howard Cooper Imports.

The site plan was recommended for approval by Ann Arbor planning commissioners at their Dec. 17, 2013 meeting. The item had previously been postponed by commissioners on Nov. 19, 2013.

The planning commission’s recommendation of approval of the project’s site plan was subject to variances for modifications related to parking lot and landscaping requirements. Those variances were considered and approved by the city’s zoning board of appeals on Jan. 22. Planning commissioners also approved landscape modifications that would reduce the requirement – outlined in Chapter 62 of the city code – for depressed landscape islands within the site.

The planning staff had supported a recommendation of approval on Dec. 17, noting that the owner had addressed several issues that had previously raised concerns. Changes from the plan presented on Nov. 19 include:

• Adding 5,027 square feet of porous pavers to be installed in the expanded vehicle display areas along State Street and Oakbrook Drive.
• Adding eight new depressed landscape islands to the parking storage areas in the back of the site. The changes mean a loss of about 24 parking spaces.
• Changing the landscape modification request. The original request had included reducing the number of required trees to be planted on site by eight. The owner now plans to plant all of the required trees.

The project’s architect also explored the possibility of adding a “green” (vegetated) roof, but ultimately determined that it wasn’t feasible without making significant changes to the existing buildings. The question of whether the architect had considered a green roof to help with stormwater management was raised on Nov. 19.

Other parts of the proposed project, which is located in Ward 4, were unchanged. It calls for a 4,877-square-foot addition to the Volkswagen building on the northern portion of the State Street frontage, bringing the total square footage to 18,722 for that structure. A 6,429-square-foot addition is proposed for the Porsche/Audi building, in the center of the site, which would create a total building size of 31,097 square feet. The site’s third building, housing the Honda dealership on the southern part of the property, would remain at 36,101 square feet.

Also, the owner – Steve Germain, who attended the Nov. 19 planning commission meeting with several members of the project team – would like to add 248 parking spaces, bringing the total number of spaces to 1,039. The new spaces would be in three locations: (1) along the southern half of the South State Street frontage; (2) along the Oakbrook Drive frontage; and (3) in the rear car storage lots. The proposal would require three variances from Chapter 59 (off-street parking) in order to allow tandem parking, to reduce the aisle widths, and to exceed the maximum percentage (30%) of allowable small car parking spaces. Those are the variances granted by the ZBA at its Jan. 22 meeting.

The total expansion is estimated to cost $5.5 million.

Liquor Licenses: Possible Non-Renewal

On the council’s agenda is a resolution setting a hearing date for one establishments that could potentially be recommended for non-renewal of its liquor licenses for non-payment of taxes: Banfield’s Bar & Grill.  Also originally on the list were  The Arena,  and Café Zola, but as of Monday morning, Feb. 3  those two businesses had been removed. Those three businesses were also subject to the same scrutiny last year, and all eventually paid their taxes without having their licenses revoked. The date of the hearing would be Feb. 25 at 9 a.m.

The council’s resolution would also appoint Jane Lumm (Ward 2) as the hearing officer. Lumm serves on the council’s liquor license review committee, along with Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1).

Lumm served as the hearing officer for this kind of proceeding in 2013 as well. Also on that occasion, Banfield’s Bar & Grill, Café Zola and The Arena were on the hearing list. However, by the time of the hearing, Café Zola had resolved its issue. And at the hearing itself, Banfield’s Bar & Grill made an arrangement to resolve its outstanding issue.

Only the hearing on The Arena ultimately resulted in a city council recommendation to the state liquor control commission not to renew a license. Subsequently, The Arena did pay its taxes, and the council withdrew its objection to a license renewal for The Arena.

Planning Commission Bylaws

Again on the city council’s agenda is the approval of changes to the planning commission’s bylaws. The changes relate to the order of agenda items, and the length of time required for special accommodations, such as sign language interpreters. The change would require additional lead time so that special accommodations, including a sign language interpreter, can be made for people with disabilities, when requested at least two business days in advance of a meeting. The current bylaws specify just a one-day advance request.

The planning commission had given approval to changes in its bylaws about six months ago – at its July 16, 2013 meeting.

The bylaws changes were considered but postponed twice by the city council last year – first at the council’s Nov. 7, 2013 meeting, then at the Dec. 16, 2013 meeting. [.pdf of planning commission bylaws changes]

The council had held off voting to approve the bylaws changes as the planning commission has considered further revisions to its bylaws – related to the number of times someone can speak during a public hearing, and whether city councilmembers are allowed to address the planning commission during the commission’s meetings.

At a regular meeting of the planning commission, the additional revisions were discussed most recently on Nov. 6, 2013. The additional changes were also discussed at a working session on Jan. 7.

Appointments to City Boards, Commissions

Several nominations to city boards and commissions were made at the council’s previous meeting on Jan. 21. Confirmation votes will be taken at the council’s Feb. 3 meeting.

Jim Simpson was nominated to fill the vacancy of Malverne Winborne on the public art commission. Winborne’s term ended on Dec. 31, 2013.

Daniel Lee was nominated to serve out the rest of Marta Manildi’s term on the Ann Arbor housing commission. Manildi’s term ends this spring, but she said she’d step down early if someone could be appointed.

Paige Morrison was nominated to serve out the rest of Jennifer Geer’s term on the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. Geer has resigned.

And Peter Woolf was nominated to fill the vacancy of Lindsey-Jean Hard on the public market advisory commission.

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda is a group of items that are deemed to be routine and are voted on “all in one go.” Contracts for less than $100,000 can be placed on the consent agenda. Here are some highlights from the Feb. 3 consent agenda.

Consent Agenda: Chelsea Tech Agreement

The council is being asked to approve an amendment to the renewal agreement for information technology services between the city of Ann Arbor and city of Chelsea. The contract is being amended to match fiscal years – by extending it an extra five months for a total of 17 months and $80,499.

The contract covers support for the help desk, management of the city’s website, server hosting, data backup and recovery, overseeing IT contractors, project management, and representing the city of Chelsea in regional technology efforts and meetings.

Consent Agenda: Street Closings

The council will be asked to approve street closings for FoolMoon (April 4, 2014) and FestiFools (April 6, 2014).

Consent Agenda: Firehouse Subs Grant

The council will be asked to approve a resolution accepting a grant of $25,736 from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation Corporation. The money will be used to buy 11 automatic external defibrillator units for use by the fire department.

It was the fire department that applied for the grant to replace existing equipment. No local matching funds are required.

2:10 p.m. An update to the agenda noted above is that Cafe Zola and The Arena are now off the list of liquor licenses up for hearings on possible non-renewal recommendations. The only remaining establishment is Banfield’s Bar & Grill.

No background information is yet attached to the online agenda item on the possible Edwards Brothers land acquisition.

3:43 p.m. Names of people signed up for the 10 slots for public commentary reserved time at the start of the meeting are now added to the agenda. Five people are signed up to talk about the public art ordinance: Bob Miller (chair of the public art commission); Susan Froelich; Shoshana Hurand; Lily Au; and David Olson.

Four people are signed up to advocate for the homeless community: Seth Best (in connection with the outdoor smoking ordinance); and Chris McKewan, Joel Reinstein, and Tracy Williams (all on the topic of camp evictions). Steve Carnes is also signed up to talk about camp evictions in an alternate slot.

Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about public transportation and expanding the geographic area of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

The second alternate slot is filled by James D’Amour, who is is signed up to thank the council for its support of the climate change action plan.

It appears no one will be speaking during public commentary reserved time on the potential Edwards Brothers land acquisition.

4:13 p.m. Supplemental documents for tonight’s meeting have now been distributed to councilmembers. However, the Edwards Brothers land acquisition does not appear to be covered. Three documents relate to the public art ordinance. A fourth document is the set of staff responses to council questions on agenda items. [List of Art Projects ] [Art Project Schedule ] [Art Budget Summary] [Staff Responses to Council Questions about Feb. 3, 2014 agenda items.]

4:42 p.m. It’s worth noting that the list of public art projects, as well as the councilmember questions, point to a possible focus during deliberations on what projects actually have funds committed to them. The proposed ordinance amendment would allow return of money to the funds of origin only if it’s not already committed to a project. But the return of funds is not a question that will be before the council tonight. Tonight is just a question of initial approval of the ordinance amendment that would allow the council to make such a transfer. That transfer would need to take place in a separate action. There could be some interest on the council in making that action a part of the FY 2015 budget approval process that culminates at the council’s second meeting in May.

6:14 p.m. Pre-meeting activity. The scheduled meeting start is 7 p.m. Most evenings the actual starting time is between 7:10 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Yellow stacks of printed agendas are here, and the CTN technician has installed mics for all the councilmembers and at the public speaking podium. A man named Bill has already arrived to stand in support of those who’ll be speaking on behalf of the homeless community.

6:28 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) is the first councilmember to arrive. Four people are now here in chambers who’ll be supporting advocates for the homeless community.

6:38 p.m. Eaton is introduced by Caleb Poirier to a group of homeless community advocates now numbering about 18 people. Poirer tells them that Eaton has been kind to them in print about the group’s goals. Eaton quips that the meeting could last a week to 10 days. He ventures the council will burn a lot of time talking about art and will probably go into closed session to discuss the Edwards Brothers property.

6:45 p.m. Eaton is still the only councilmember who has arrived in chambers.

6:47 p.m. Mayor John Hieftje has now arrived. So has city administrator Steve Powers. Chair of the public art commission Bob Miller has arrived. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) has arrived.

6:54 p.m. Mike Anglin (Ward 5) has arrived. John Kotarski, vice chair of the public art commission, is here. Several students are getting signatures attesting that they’ve completed their attendance requirement for a class.

6:58 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) has arrived.

7:01 p.m. Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) have now arrived.

7:03 p.m. Margie Teall (Ward 4) has arrived, as has Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1).

7:07 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) has now arrived, so except for Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), who’s expected to be absent, all councilmembers have arrived. They’re not all seated and ready to start, however.

7:08 p.m. And we’re off.

7:09 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance. Only Kunselman is absent – because he’s attending a work-related conference in Dallas. Anglin was away from the table for the opening roll call.

7:10 p.m. Approval of agenda.

7:10 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the agenda.

7:11 p.m. Communications from the city administrator. City administrator Steve Powers has introduced public services area administrator Craig Hupy. Hupy describes the wet snow as tough to plow. Both the pre- and mid-season salt purchase have been made. End of February or early March, he cautions that the city will need to make an additional salt purchase, so the council will be asked to approve that.

7:13 p.m. Powers asks Hupy about the high frequency of water main breaks. It’s been an extraordinarily cold winter, he says – it’s what would be expected. Thirty-plus years of data suggests that water main breaks are commensurate with the cold weather. As the ground freezes, it moves, Hupy says, and that causes breaks.

7:13 p.m. Mayor John Hieftje asks about the condition of city sidewalks, given the freezing rain. Hupy says they have a machine that they use, but it takes time.

7:18 p.m. Mary Jo Callan, director of Washtenaw County’s office of community & economic development, is updating the council on the city and county response to the weather with respect to human services. She explains that they’re in communication with all the relevant human services agencies. At least 10 warming centers and 40 local nonprofits are a part of the mix, she says. They’re doing better at communication, she says. All the emergency shelters are full, she says. They’re over capacity. The Delonis Center, she says, had a January average of 165 a night, including more than 65 in the warming center. They’re continuing with the policy of not having weather amnesty on days like today, for example. Food Gatherers is providing meals. The county’s Project Outreach Team (PORT) is continuing to do outreach and engagement to people in tents, she says. PORT is housing 19 people in 15 hotel rooms around the community.

7:19 p.m. Callan says that she’s coordinating with the Ann Arbor police about how to deal with campers. “It’s a hideous winter,” she says. “But we all know there’s going to be a winter next year.”

7:19 p.m. INT-1 Proclamation honoring EMU’s Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. The fraternity is being recognized for service in the city’s GIVE 365 Volunteer Program at several recreation facilities and parks assisting with special events like the Trick or Treat Paddle and Buhr Blitz Day.

7:21 p.m. Public commentary reserved time. This portion of the meeting offers 10 three-minute slots that can be reserved in advance. Preference is given to speakers who want to address the council on an agenda item. [Public commentary general time, with no sign-up required in advance, is offered at the end of the meeting.]

Five people are signed up to talk about the public art ordinance: Bob Miller (chair of the public art commission); Susan Froelich; Shoshana Hurand; Lily Au; and David Olson.

Four people are signed up to advocate for the homeless community: Seth Best (in connection with the outdoor smoking ordinance); and Chris McKewan, Joel Reinstein, Tracy Williams (all on the topic of camp evictions). Steve Carnes is also signed up to talk about camp evictions in an alternate slot.

Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about public transportation and expanding the geographic area of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The second alternate slot is filled by James D’Amour, who is is signed up to thank the council for its support of the climate change action plan.

7:22 p.m. Thomas Partridge was signed up to speak, but isn’t here.

7:25 p.m. Bob Miller says he’s passed out a document that quotes Gov. Rick Snyder, saying that art “is integral to economic development.” The occasion was a state leadership award for the arts. Miller is now quoting from the patron who commissioned the “Spirit of Ann Arbor” on a building on Liberty Street – John Carver. Miller says that finding a sustainable funding model would satisfy critics and proponents. He’s describing the new program that the council put in place. He calls for viable transition from the old Percent for Art program to the new program.

7:27 p.m. Seth Best says he’s not there as a member of Camp Take Notice, but as a smoker. He’s concerned about the proposed $50 fine. He’s poor, he says, and can barely afford the cigarettes he buys. The ordinance will target the poor, he cautions. He allows that it might not be the healthiest for him, but speaks about the culture associated with smoking. The rituals associated with smoking provide a mechanism for getting to know people and making new friends, he says.

7:30 p.m. Susan Froelich says she’s a native Ann Arborite with a degree in the history of art from University of Michigan. She’s ticking through her public service in the area of art. She heard that the council had been discussing transferring money from the public art fund to its funds of origin. She stresses that it’s important to leave already-committed funds in the public art fund and to fund a full-time public art administrator.

7:33 p.m. Shoshana Hurand asks councilmembers: “Do you want to live in a remarkable city?” She introduces herself as a social worker but also an art administrator. She explains the work of an art administrator. She urges the council to retain the public art administrator position. She’s concerned that returning the money from the public art fund would lead to no investment in public art. She cautions against allowing Ann Arbor to be an unremarkable city.

7:36 p.m. Lily Au reads aloud the city’s mission statement. She compares art to food. “You cannot serve me art work,” she says, using props from a bag. She asks people to stand who support money going to help feed people and keep them warm. About 30 people stand.

7:40 p.m. David Olson tells the council that he grew up in Ann Arbor. Art has added a sense of community and quality of life to Ann Arbor, he says. He expresses strong support for the idea that funds remaining in the public art fund be spent on art. He ticks through several events that indicate the community supports the arts. [Such events are not eligible to be funded through the funds accumulated through the Percent for Art program.] He thanks those who’ve supported the public art program, saying the criticism has been harsh. It’s difficult work, he says, but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done. He calls for supporting smaller, temporary art installations or participatory projects. Instead of giving up because the job is difficult, he calls for re-imagining the art program.

7:42 p.m. Chris McKewan is speaking for “Troll Village” and asks people to stand in support. Most of the center section of the audience is standing. He says the residents of Troll Village are human beings. He describes wandering the streets after being kicked out of a shelter. He asks the council to show the kindness he’d experienced on the streets to those residents of Troll Village.

7:44 p.m. Joel Reinstein is also speaking about the homeless camp evictions. He’s happy the evictions were not carried out. Those residents are human beings who deserve the same respect as the entrepreneurs funded by Ann Arbor SPARK. The overcrowded Delonis Center is not cutting it, he says. He calls for no more evictions.

7:46 p.m. Tracy Williams tells the councilmembers they’ll continue to see the group – because they’re not going away. He’s sent the council an email because the public speaking time is limited. He thanks Jason and Jim who have worked to stop the eviction of Troll Village. He calls for keeping a warming center open not just in the coldest weather.

7:47 p.m. Partridge and Hieftje are engaged in a back-and-forth over his speaking turn that he missed. Hieftje says that he’s not going to let Partridge speak, saying that he’s sure that Partridge will find an opportunity to speak sometime during the meeting.

7:49 p.m. James D’Amour is thanking the council for their support of the climate action plan. He’s come from a demonstration at the federal building protesting the Keystone pipeline.

7:52 p.m. Communications from council. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) commends the police department for the way that they’ve handled the issue of the campers down by the river. Eviction was a matter of life and death, he says. Rather than just evicting them, they worked with PORT, essentially as social workers, to deal with the sensitive issue.

7:54 p.m. Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) cautions against seeing things like a cyclops – through one eye. If he only sees the good work through one eye, he misses the continuing need, he says. As long as there’s an economy that treats people like throwaway people, we’ll see crises like the city saw last month, he says. He calls for doing adequate emergency prevention work. The money has to come from somewhere, he says. He doesn’t have the answers. He appreciates the work that everyone is doing.

7:57 p.m. Hieftje says that no one has been turned away from the Delonis Center this winter. In the area known as Troll Village, he says that the city received complaints about camping in Riverside Park. That had resulted in an eviction notice being placed there – but not under the bridge. Having some place to go is very important, he says. Ann Arbor spends a greater percentage of its budget on human services than any other Michigan city, he says. He feels bad for residents in other Michigan cities. He criticizes state and federal governments for not doing what they should.

7:58 p.m. MC-1 Confirmation of nominations. The council is being asked to confirm four nominations that were made at the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 meeting. Jim Simpson was nominated to fill the vacancy of Malverne Winborne on the public art commission. Winborne’s term ended on Dec. 31, 2013. Daniel Lee was nominated to serve out the rest of Marta Manildi’s term on the Ann Arbor housing commission. Manildi’s term ends this spring, but she said she’d step down early if someone could be appointed. Paige Morrison was nominated to serve out the rest of Jennifer Geer’s term on the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. Geer has resigned. And Peter Woolf was nominated to fill the vacancy of Lindsey-Jean Hard on the public market advisory commission.

7:58 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve all the nominations.

7:59 p.m. Hieftje is now saying that there’s no money in the public art fund that can be used on human services.

7:59 p.m. Public hearings. All the public hearings are grouped together during this section of the meeting. Action on the related items comes later in the meeting. Tonight only one public hearing is scheduled – about the Germain Motors site plan.

8:02 p.m. PH-1 Germain Motors site plan. Thomas Partridge says he’s there to advance the notion that Ann Arbor needs a mayor who is responsive to citizens. He allows that Germain Motors is a prominent business, but says that it’s outside the downtown development authority area. He calls for an expansion of the DDA district.

8:02 p.m. Minutes of previous meeting.

8:02 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the minutes of the previous meeting.

8:03 p.m. Consent agenda. This is a group of items that are deemed to be routine and are voted on “all in one go.” Contracts for less than $100,000 can be placed on the consent agenda. This meeting’s consent agenda includes:

• CA-1 Fuller Pool Boiler Replacement. The contract to replace the boiler is with Altech Mechanical Service LLC ($66,544).
• CA-2 Shared 800Mhz Simulcast System. The resolution to authorize a purchase order with Washtenaw County is for the city of Ann Arbor’s portion for maintenance of the shared 800 MHz Simulcast System ($36,500).
• CA-3 Chelsea Services Agreement. The resolution approves the renewal agreement for Information Technology Services between the city of Ann Arbor and the city of Chelsea ($80,499).
• CA-4 Firehouse Sub Grant Acceptance. The resolution accepts a grant from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation Corporation. The money will pay for defibrillators ($25,736).
• CA-5 FoolMoon. The resolution will authorize street closings for FoolMoon on Friday, April 4, 2014.
• CA-6 FestiFools. The resolution will authorize street closings for the FestiFools parade on Sunday, April 6, 2014.
• CA-7 Insurance Board Minutes. The resolution accepts the board of insurance administration minutes of Jan. 23, 2014.

8:04 p.m. CA-7 Insurance board minutes. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) reports that the insurance board had accepted all the recommendations for revisions to the insurance policies. City treasurer Matt Horning is in attendance to answer any questions. No questions are asked.

8:05 p.m. Outcome: The council has now approved the whole consent agenda.

8:05 p.m. C-1 Public art ordinance. This ordinance revision reprises a previous effort to amend the public art ordinance to allow the transfer of money accumulated during previous years of the Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin. That unsuccessful effort came eight months ago at the council’s June 3, 2013 meeting. At that meeting, the council did eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism from the public art ordinance, and also allowed the most recent year’s accumulation of money to be returned to the funds of origin. The council also returned that most recent year’s worth of funding – $326,464.

What’s up for initial approval tonight is an ordinance revision to allow the return of the money accumulated in previous years. The current balance of unassigned funds accrued in the Percent for Art fund as of Jan. 14, 2014 is $839,507. If the council votes to give initial approval to the ordinance change tonight, it would still require a second vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. And any transfer of money would require a separate council action. [For additional background, see Public Art above.]

8:08 p.m. Lumm thanks Karen Lancaster and others for their work. She thanks her cosponsors. Lumm is describing what the ordinance would do. It would not in itself return art money to other funds. But she says that on second reading it’s her intent to bring forth a resolution that would return that money. She ticks through about $840,000 that she says should be returned. A breakdown of the maximum amount that could be returned to which funds is covered here: [Art Budget Summary]

8:10 p.m. Sumi Kailaspathy (Ward 1) picks up on David Olson’s remarks during public commentary and notes that his vision of a public art program is not fundable through the money in the public art fund – because of the thematic link that’s required to the funds of origin. She says Olson’s ideas were very good. This ordinance amendment does not say that Ann Arbor doesn’t want art, she says.

8:13 p.m. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) says he’ll vote in favor of the amendment at first reading. Things have been very quiet, he says, after the direction from the council to develop a transition from the old program to the new one. His expectation is that the transition will be funded. He didn’t think all the money in the fund would be necessary, but expected that those projects currently “in the pipeline” would also be funded. He includes art at Arbor Oaks Park, the Jewett Memorial, Canoe Imagine Art and the PowerArt project in those projects. He says that the way the ordinance has moved forward has caused turmoil on the art commission. He wishes there had been more collaboration.

8:16 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) recalls the work of the city council committee that had come up with a recommendation about a revision to the public art ordinance. We should be talking about how to fund public art, she says. The council had not thought through the fact that a transition needs deadlines and goals. She agrees with Lumm that the ordinance should be changed, but says that she also agrees with Taylor that we need a better plan. She says she’ll be offering an alternative at the next council meeting.

8:18 p.m. Mike Anglin (Ward 5) recounts the origins of the program and how concerns were raised about the legal basis for the program and the amount of money that started to accumulate. He says that the council is not giving up on public art, but it’s important to remember the history of how the program arrived at this point. He ventures that if the city had faced a lawsuit on the legality of the program, the city probably would have lost. This is not a war on public art, he says.

8:20 p.m. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) says that this ordinance amendment does not diminish the commitment to public art, but rather reaffirms the city’s commitment to basic services by returning public art money to its funds of origin. She agrees with David Olson’s remarks during public commentary that Ann Arbor needs to move away from monumental art as its basic approach to public art.

8:23 p.m. Margie Teall (Ward 4) says she’s disappointed – as she’s not sure why this issue has arisen at this point. The recommendation had been to use public art money to fund a transition under direction from a full-time public art administrator. Taking away that funding doesn’t make sense to her. She calls the ordinance change a slap in the face of public art. It boggles her mind, she says. Using the “baked-in” approach, she cautions, inherently leads to monumental art. The private sector needs a public partner to dance with, she says. Teall is describing an NPR report she heard about Art Prize in Grand Rapids. She won’t support the ordinance amendment.

8:26 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) thanks Lumm for bringing forward the ordinance amendment. He reviews how the funds are restricted – saying they can’t be used to transition or for general administration. His problem is that the source of the funds drives decision-making under the Percent for Art approach. He says we should set out a method of administering those works in progress. He says the funding for the transition could be found in the FY 2015 budget process.

Lumm is echoing Eaton’s sentiments. “We need to make a clean break,” she says. The ordinance amendment would allow the council to head in that direction, she says.

8:28 p.m. Lumm cites a staff memo from May 2013 to support the idea that you can’t use Percent for Art money for general art administration.

8:33 p.m. Warpehoski notes that Lily Au had asked why the council is funding art instead of feeding people. Right now the answer is easy, he says: We can’t use that money, because it’s not general fund money. If we switch to a different approach, he says, the council might have to answer Au’s question, because it might create a situation where general fund money is stretched between art and feeding people. Reading The Chronicle’s coverage of the last public art commission meeting, he says that it’s clear that the council has tasked the commission with a lot of work. Warpehoski will support the ordinance change, but says that he doesn’t think that all of the $840,000 should be returned. He also wants something more specific than a vague allusion to funding the transition from the general fund.

8:34 p.m. Hieftje is reading from a Forbes article recounting the history of public art in America. He says it’s always been a great weakness of Ann Arbor’s public art program that it carries with it constraints on how the money is spent.

8:36 p.m. Hieftje laments the fact that Ann Arbor does not have four billionaires like Grand Rapids. He says he thinks that to generate private investment, the city will have to provide matching funds. He also says that the city will need a full-time art administrator to address fundraising.

8:39 p.m. Hieftje says it was a mistake in establishing the Percent for Art program to not provide enough staff support. He says that the private donor for a proposed project at the wastewater treatment plan had withdrawn. [That partner was the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum.] He talks about the beauty in taking wastewater and turning it into clean water that can be returned to the Huron River. Hieftje stresses that it’s not legal to restrict funding just to local artists – as long as it involves public money.

8:40 p.m. Briere is commenting on the role of private and public funding. It’s important for the city to partner with a nonprofit that can accept tax-deductible donations from the private sector.

8:41 p.m. Teall calls everyone’s attention to the timeline for projects. It takes a long time for projects like these to get done, she says.

8:44 p.m. Taylor reiterates Eaton’s point that the transition be funded through the FY 2015 budget process. He expects to see that budget proposal from the city administrator, he says. Taylor ventures that donations to the city would also be tax deductible, contradicting Briere’s remark. He cites IRS publication 526. Lumm and Taylor engage in back-and-forth on what Taylor said about priorities.

8:45 p.m. Petersen is trying to bring the council back to the point of the ordinance, which is not how to fund a transition between programs.

8:45 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval to the amended public art ordinance. Teall was the sole dissenting vote.

8:45 p.m. C-2 Outdoor smoking ordinance. The council is giving initial consideration to a new ordinance that would prohibit smoking in specific outdoor public areas. Made punishable through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems any city-owned building. The ordinance amendment also authorizes the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking, and to increase the distance from entrances to city buildings where outdoor smoking is prohibited. [For additional background, see Outdoor Smoking above.]

8:47 p.m. Warpehoski announces he’ll be asking for postponement until the council’s first meeting in March, in part to allow time for feedback from the city’s park advisory commission. He allows that the language about the fine wasn’t clear. [.pdf of highlighted proposed ordinance] He says the idea is not to be punitive, but rather to provide clean air for people who want to enjoy city parks. He points out the existing county ordinance already prohibits smoking around doorways and windows.

8:49 p.m. The motion to postpone has not yet been made. Warpehoski wants to hear any questions. No one has any. He makes the motion to postpone the initial vote on the ordinance until March 3, 2014.

8:49 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the initial vote on the new outdoor smoking ordinance until its March 3, 2014 meeting.

8:49 p.m. DC-1 Set liquor hearings. This resolution would set hearings on a recommendation for non-renewal of liquor licenses for just one establishment in the city. The date of the hearing would be Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. The three businesses originally subject to the hearings were The Arena, Banfield’s Bar & Grill, and Café Zola. They were all potentially be recommended for non-renewal due to non-payment of personal property taxes.

But by Monday morning of the council meeting on Feb. 3, only Banfield’s Bar & Grill remained on the list. The council’s resolution would also appoint Jane Lumm (Ward 2) as the hearing officer. Lumm serves on the council’s liquor license review committee, along with Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1). [For additional background, see Liquor Licenses: Possible Non-Renewal above.]

8:50 p.m. Lumm is reviewing how the process works. She thanks staff for their work.

8:50 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to set the date and time of the hearing on liquor license non-renewal.

8:50 p.m. DB-1 Art administrator contract. The council is being asked again to consider a six-month extension for Ann Arbor public art administrator Aaron Seagraves – through June 30, 2014. The council will be asked to allocate $18,500 to cover the added term. It’s a 20-hour-a-week appointment. The budget expenditure for Seagraves’ contract will need support from at least an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council. The item was postponed from the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 meeting. [Details of the council's previous deliberations are reported in The Chronicle's live updates from the Jan. 21 meeting.] [For additional background, see Public Art above.]

8:52 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) allows that a concern had been raised about the appropriateness of funding Seagraves’ contract with Percent for Art money. He’s not working on transition work, she says. Still, she is willing to change the funding source from the public art fund to the general fund.

8:55 p.m. Lumm reads aloud the resolution as amended to draw the money from the general fund. Taylor says he likes the general fund the way it is and is content to fund the administrator’s contract extension from the public art fund. Warpehoski says he’d rather use the restricted funds instead of the general fund. The general fund should be only the last resort, he says. Taylor and Warpehoski won’t support Briere’s amendment. Hieftje says he’ll support funding the administrator’s contract out of Percent for Art money. He discounts the idea that there’s a legal problem using the money for administration.

8:57 p.m. Lumm wants to postpone, but Hieftje wants to handle the amendment first. Eaton questions the parliamentary principle cited by Hieftje. But they deal with the amendment.

8:58 p.m. Outcome: The amendment to draw the funds from the general fund fails with support only from Teall, Eaton, Briere and Lumm.

9:00 p.m. Lumm now moves to postpone the vote on the contract extension until the council’s Feb. 18 meeting. Briere asks Hupy if the postponement would affect the city’s ability to pay Seagraves between now and Feb. 18. Yes, he says. Briere asks a question that Hupy doesn’t understand.

9:03 p.m. Hupy clarifies that the council would be able to pay Seagraves under a scenario where the council returns money to the funds of origin. Briere says she sees no need to postpone. Hieftje alludes to the discussion at the last council meeting and says he also won’t support postponement. Eaton says that he supports postponement because he doesn’t think there are eight votes in support tonight. Hieftje responds: “I can accept that!”

9:04 p.m. Hupy and Lumm are talking about how the administrative funding works.

9:05 p.m. Hiefjte says that in light of Eaton’s remark, he’ll support postponement. Hupy clarifies that he will not be able to pay Seagraves if the resolution is postponed. Teall says: “That’s not right.”

9:06 p.m. Warpehoski asks what the impact would be on the progress of projects that Seagraves is working on. Hupy indicates there’d be a negative impact.

9:08 p.m. Taylor echoes Teall’s sentiments. This postponement would put the contractor out of work and he calls it “not proper.” He says that it’s unfortunate that this question of the contract is being linked to a different question about the larger issue.

9:10 p.m. Outcome on postponement: The postponement fails with Teall, Warpehoski, Briere, Petersen and Taylor voting against it.

9:12 p.m. Outcome on the main resolution: The council has rejected the six-month extension for the public art administrator’s contract. Voting against it were Anglin, Eaton, Kailasapathy, and Lumm, so it thus failed to achieve the eight votes it needed to pass.

9:13 p.m. Warpehoski raises his voice, expressing incredulity that those who opposed the contract did so. He tells them they’ve thrown Seagraves out of his job. He says “Shame on you!” to councilmembers who voted against the extension, and concludes his outburst with “I’m offended.” Eaton raises a point of order.

9:13 p.m. DB-2 Germain Motors site plan. The council is being asked to approve a proposed expansion for Germain Motors – an auto dealership on South State Street, formerly Howard Cooper Imports. The site plan was recommended for approval by Ann Arbor planning commissioners at their Dec. 17, 2013 meeting. [For additional background, see Germain Motors Site Plan above.]

9:13 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Germain Motors site plan.

9:14 p.m. DS-1 Planning commission bylaws. The council is being asked to approve a change to the planning commission’s bylaws. This was considered and postponed twice last year, as the planning commission has weighed additional changes to the bylaws. The planning commission is continuing to weigh those changes, which involve speaking turns and time during public hearings, and whether a city councilmember can address the commission.

The change in front of the council tonight relates to the order of agenda items, and the length of time required for special accommodations. The change would require additional lead time so that special accommodations, including a sign language interpreter, can be made for people with disabilities, when requested at least two business days in advance of a meeting. The current bylaws specify just a one-day advance request. If the council follows the previous pattern, this will be postponed. [For additional background, see Planning Commission Bylaws above.]

9:15 p.m. Eaton ventures that the rule on councilmembers addressing the planning commission is exactly reversed from what it should be: Councilmembers with a petition in front of the commission should be able to address the commission, he says.

9:15 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone consideration of the change to the planning commission’s bylaws until the first meeting in March.

9:15 p.m. DS-2 Geddes Avenue project. The council is being asked to consider approval of a $398,703 contract plus a $40,000 contingency with Hubbell Roth & Clark Inc. to reconstruct Geddes Avenue from Huntington to Huron Parkway. The project, which includes five components, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015 and may continue through 2016. The five components of the project are: reconstruction of Geddes, sanitary sewer on Geddes, sanitary sewer on Dover Place and Riverview, storm sewer on Geddes, and water main on Dover Place and Riverview. [For additional background, see Geddes Avenue Reconstruction: 2015 above.]

9:18 p.m. Lumm and Petersen are engaging Elizabeth Rolla and Craig Hupy in a discussion about the project – as it’s in Ward 2, which they represent.

9:19 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract to reconstruct Geddes Avenue.

9:20 p.m. DS-3 Edwards Brothers property. This resolution would authorize the city administrator to move ahead with the purchase of the 16.7-acre Edwards Brothers Malloy property on South State Street. The University of Michigan has made an offer to Edwards Brothers to purchase the property for $12.8 million, but the city has a right of first refusal.

Specifically, the resolution approves the exercise of the city’s right of first refusal, appropriates necessary funds, and directs the city administrator to notify Edward Brothers Malloy about the exercise of the city’s right. As of early afternoon on Friday, Jan. 31, the item contained no other background information. Reached by phone late Friday afternoon, city administrator Steve Powers told The Chronicle that he and other staff would be working over the weekend to finalize the information that the council would be provided before being asked to consider the possible purchase of the land. That includes the financing mechanism, source of funds, types of scenarios for the city eventually to shed ownership of the land, results of an environmental review, and possible zoning revisions to enhance property value.

However, the information still wasn’t made available by the start of Monday’s council meeting. Powers allowed that the council might not be ready to vote at its Feb. 3 meeting, but confirmed that the council’s next regular meeting on Feb. 18 would still fall within the 60-day window of opportunity for action. [For additional background, see Edwards Brothers Land above.]

9:21 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the question until after a closed session. [Proper motion here would have been to table.]

9:22 p.m. Closed session. Outcome: The council has voted to go into closed session to discuss land acquisition and written communication protected by attorney-client privilege.

10:15 p.m. Three conversational pods here in city council, as we wait for the council to conclude its closed session.

10:58 p.m. The council has emerged from the closed session.

11:00 p.m. The council is back in open session.

11:01 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone consideration of the Edwards Brothers land purchase until its next meeting.

11:02 p.m. Communications from council. Hieftje is querying Eaton about his intentions for next meeting on the public art administrator. Eaton indicates that he intends to bring it back for reconsideration.

11:03 p.m. Briere ventures that Seagraves might continue not to continue his employment. In the next two weeks he might choose not to be reliable or forgiving, she says. So the council is taking a risk, she says. No matter what the funding its, the city still needs a public art administrator, she says.

11:03 p.m. Clerk’s report of communications, petitions and referrals. Outcome: The council has received the clerk’s report of communications.

11:03 p.m. Public comment general time. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

11:07 p.m. Thomas Partridge is addressing the council. He’s talking about a trip by president Barack Obama to East Lansing. Partridge hopes he’ll extend the visit to Ann Arbor. He’s talking about income disparity between the top 1% and the rest of the population. He’s complaining about snow-removal contractors for the Walden Hills Apartments. They allow “mountains of snow” in excess of 30 feet high, he says.

11:09 p.m. Edward Vielmetti is now addressing the council. He points out to the council that the habit of some of the boards and commissions is to submit their minutes late –highlighting the LDFA (local development finance authority). The council should insist that minutes be submitted promptly. He also highlights the downtown citizens advisory council minutes. The most recent minutes show only two people attending the last meeting, but the minutes were submitted as if it was a regular meeting, he said.

11:13 p.m. John Floyd says this has been the best snow plowing he’s experienced in the last 15 years. He alludes to a remark quoted from Joan Lowenstein who apparently characterized Jack Eaton as being wrong 100% of the time. He engages in a humorful dialogue that concludes with his presentation of a broken watch to Eaton – which Eaton can wear and thus be right at least twice a day.

11:15 p.m. A speaker is addressing the council on behalf of Camp Misfit, reprising themes from the public commentary at the start of the meeting. Seth Best follows up with remarks supportive of the homeless community. He also reiterates his concerns about the proposed outdoor smoking regulations. He suggests community service as an option to the $50 fine.

11:18 p.m. Caleb Poirier thanks the council for the work they do. He allows that a lot of good work is being done for human services in this city. He cites the Delonis Center for their good work. He compliments the AAPD officers who delivered the eviction notices, saying that they were apologetic about the fact they had to deliver the notice. He said that the message his group had tried to bring was multi-faceted. He allowed that all of these things need work.

11:18 p.m. Adjournment. We are now adjourned. That’s all from the hard benches.

A sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chambers gives instructions for post-meeting clean-up.

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On Jan. 29, Kristin “KT” Tomey attended her first regular meeting of the Ann Arbor public art commission since being appointed by the city council on Jan. 6. (Photos by the writer.)

Some commissioners expressed frustration that they had insufficient information on which to base their evaluation. And after about two hours of discussion – using a scoring rubric with seven criteria – commissioners had evaluated only a few projects: artist-designed street access (manhole) covers, art for the Springwater subdivision, and art for the corridors of Main Street and Plymouth Road. Because there were still several other items on the agenda, they voted to postpone further evaluation of possible capital projects until their next meeting.

In other action, commissioners discussed and approved a draft annual public art plan that’s officially due to the city council on Feb. 1, for projects to be undertaken in the fiscal year that begins July 1. It includes projects that are underway – like artwork for East Stadium bridges and Argo Cascades – as well as a proposal to add some enhanced capital projects, like street access covers on resurfaced roads.

The draft annual plan had been prepared by Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator. Commissioners asked for some revisions and designated commissioner John Kotarski to work with Seagraves on a final version that will likely be presented to the council on Feb. 18. Kotarski praised the draft, saying “It has as much meat as anyone wants. It shows a lot of work. It shows an art commission that gets the message from an impatient city council.”

Commissioners also discussed a proposal from the Clean Energy Coalition to select and fund an artist who would help incorporate art into a new bike share program. They tabled action on this item, wanting additional information about the CEC’s expectations for funding.

This was AAPAC’s first regular meeting since Oct. 23, 2013, although they held a retreat in December and a planning session earlier in January. Throughout the evening, concerns were raised about the future of the public art program, in light of recent city council discussions. The council had postponed a requested six-month extension of Seagraves’ contract, and will be taking up that item on Feb. 3.

Also on the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance. The amendment would allow the council to return about $800,000 accumulated under the city’s former Percent for Art program to the funds from which that money was drawn, such as the street millage or sanitary sewer fund. It’s the latest in an ongoing transition for the city’s public art program – a transition that’s been unsettling for public art commissioners.

The Jan. 29 meeting marked another transition for AAPAC, which has seen considerable turnover during the past year. It was the first regular monthly meeting for the newest commissioner, Kristin “KT” Tomey, who was appointed by the city council on Jan. 6. And it was the last meeting for Malverne Winborne, whose term ended on Dec. 31. He did not seek reappointment, and was serving until the position was filled. His replacement, Jim Simpson, is expected to be confirmed in a vote at the city council’s Feb. 3 meeting.

Winborne has served as vice chair of AAPAC – but the group held new officer elections on Jan. 29. Bob Miller was re-elected to another one-year term as chair, and John Kotarski was elected vice chair. There were no competing nominations, and both votes were unanimous.

Noting that the Jan. 29 meeting had been especially challenging, Miller thanked commissioners for their work. “This is probably the most belabored meeting I think we’ve ever gone through, aside from maybe one of the retreats,” he said. “I’m tapped out.” He jokingly cajoled commissioners: “Please do come back.”

Miller also encouraged students to return, as about two dozen students from Skyline High School – and some parents – attended the Jan. 29 meeting. “It’s the most amount of people we’ve ever had at any of our meetings,” Miller noted. One student pointed out that they were all from the same government class, facing a Jan. 31 deadline to attend a public meeting.

Future of Public Art Program

At the beginning of the Jan. 29 meeting, commissioners voted to amend the agenda – over the dissent of John Kotarski – to add an item for discussion about the interaction between AAPAC and the city council.

Aaron Seagraves, the city’s part-time public art administrator.

Bob Miller, AAPAC’s chair, reviewed the current discussion that’s underway at city council. At their Jan. 21, 2014 meeting, councilmembers were asked to approve a six-month extension to the contract for the public art administrator – a part-time position held by Aaron Seagraves. Some councilmembers were concerned about the transition from the previous Percent for Art funding mechanism to the new approach, where public art will be “baked in” to the city’s capital projects or done with money that’s raised through other sources in the community. Also raised at that Jan. 21 city council meeting was the issue of as-yet-unallocated funding that remains from the Percent for Art program – about $800,000.

Ultimately, councilmembers postponed action on Seagraves’ contract extension – and that item is now on the Feb. 3 council agenda. The Feb. 3 agenda also includes initial consideration of an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance, sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2). The amendment would allow the council to return money accumulated under the city’s former Percent for Art program to the funds from which that money was drawn – such as the street millage or sanitary sewer fund. The ordinance change would need a second and final council vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. Any transfer of public art money would require separate council action after the potential ordinance change.

Miller noted that when the council made revisions to the public art ordinance to eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism at its June 3, 2013 meeting, the remaining funds had been intended to provide a transition for the program. [At that time, Lumm had also tried unsuccessfully to return the remaining Percent for Art money to its funds of origins, but she didn't get sufficient support on the council to make that change.]

Craig Hupy, the city’s public services area administrator who attended AAPAC’s Jan. 29 meeting, added that it’s within the council’s “political prerogative to revisit that decision, which is what they are doing now.” He noted that when the council made changes to the program, they made no provisions to pay for arts administration. That’s why the contract extensions for Seagraves – who reports to Hupy – have been made.

If the council decides to return the roughly $800,000 to its funds of origin, Hupy said, it means there won’t be funds available during this interim period for public art. The intent going forward to include public art funding as part of certain capital improvement projects, but those are longer-term efforts. The other funding approach is to partner with outside organizations and do fundraising from the community, but that hasn’t yet gotten off the ground in a significant way. [It's also an option for the council to allocate money from the general fund to cover the salary of a public art administrator salary, but that option has not yet been publicly floated by city councilmembers.]

Ann Arbor public art commissioner Nick Zagar.

Hupy said that if the council doesn’t approve the current contract extension, then staff will be asking for a budget appropriation during the fiscal 2015 budget process for public art administration. That fiscal year runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. The staff is currently developing that budget, which will be brought forward to the council in the spring. “I’m not giving you a whole lot of clarity,” Hupy added, “because this is a process that’s in council’s hands.”

Hupy noted that the city council task force that brought forward a proposal last summer to restructure the public art program had envisioned a three-year transition process. “So to think you’re going to whip this in one or two meetings – you’re not going to do it that quickly,” he told commissioners.

Miller added that it’s still “muddy” as to how AAPAC will be structured to do fundraising and partnerships with outside organizations. He noted that some projects – a Coleman Jewett memorial, and the Canoe Imagine Art project, for example – are already using this approach. “So we’ve been moving toward this new model,” Miller said, “but the council still hasn’t figured out how to house the commission in a structure that will allow for us to be fundraising.” He noted that commissioners shouldn’t be the the people who go out and raising money – they should be advising the city on how to select art projects.

Nick Zagar expressed concern about the current status of AAPAC. “We’re volunteers trying to do things we’re passionate about, but there’s never any certainty about things.” And if the city eliminates the public art administrator’s position, “everything I’m sure will grind to a dramatic halt,” Zagar said. It’s hard to want to invest a lot of energy into the program, he added, given that commissioners don’t really have a clear direction about the program’s future.

Miller agreed, and said those questions will have to be answered by the council on Feb. 3. “Public art has been a hot topic since it started,” he said. “It would be nice if [the public art program] had some consistency behind it, for sure.”

Selection of Capital Projects for Public Art

On Jan. 22, AAPAC met in a planning session focused on fine-tuning a criteria and scoring rubric for prioritizing capital projects that could possibly have a public art component. [.pdf of draft scoring rubric]

Craig Hupy, the city’s public services area administrator.

The rubric is modeled after a similar system that’s used by city staff to score and prioritize projects in the capital improvements plan (CIP). Commissioners had been briefed on the CIP process at their Oct. 23, 2013 meeting by Deb Gosselin, who oversees the CIP process.

The draft rubric includes seven categories, with scoring on a scale of 1-10: (1) distribution of art throughout the city; (2) locations of high use and high visibility; (3) placemaking; (4) integrated artwork (whether artwork can be integrated into a project or location); (5) partnerships; (6) funding; and (7) programming – whether a school or other organization could develop programs related to the artwork.

Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator, had selected 10 projects that are in the city’s current capital improvements plan (CIP) – three starting in fiscal 2015, and seven starting in fiscal 2016.

Those capital projects and possible public art enhancements proposed by Seagraves are:

• Annual street resurfacing (FY 2015): artist-designed street access covers (manhole covers) for the city’s water, sanitary sewer and stormwater systems.
• Sidewalk gaps (FY 2015): Sidewalk stamping.
• Mid-block street crossing improvements, pavement marking and sign replacement (FY 2015): Art to-be-determined for the streets.
• Six specific road projects (FY 2016): East Stadium Boulevard from Huchins to Kipke; Springwater subdivision (south of Packard, west of Platt); Main Street (non-motorized corridor); Plymouth Road (non-motorized corridor); Stone School Road improvements; Packard/Eisenhower, from Stone School to Platt. Artwork would be integrated into the projects.
• Ann Arbor Station (FY 2016): Art would be integrated into the project.

Seagraves noted that he focused on projects that could be included in the annual plan that AAPAC is required to submit to the city council in February. The intent is that the capital projects, when sent to the council for budgetary approval, would include funding for public art to be integrated into the work. He hoped that commissioners could reach a consensus score to prioritize these projects.

Ann Arbor public art commissioner Ashlee Arder.

Commissioners spent about two hours discussing only a few projects on this list: street access covers, art for the Springwater subdivision, and art for the corridors along Main Street and Plymouth Road.

Some commissioners expressed frustration at having to score these items without having a specific project proposal to evaluate. When Seagraves asked who would define the project at this point, John Kotarski suggested that Seagraves would do that, and it would then be evaluated by commissioners. Malverne Winborne agreed: “We need something to grasp on to, and we don’t have it.”

Seagraves noted that it would be difficult to predetermine the art projects – that would be the work of a task force, after AAPAC identifies a CIP project for enhancement. Craig Hupy, the city’s public services area administrator, explained that AAPAC at this point needs to rate the location or type of project and its suitability for art, rather than the specific artwork that might be part of a capital project.

Kotarski felt there was inadequate information to do the scoring. Bob Miller, AAPAC’s chair, directed Seagraves in the future to include photos of the locations, and some suggestions for possible art projects that might be appropriate. But Winborne expressed concern that this would be taking away from the artist’s creativity. “We’ve had long conversations about that,” he noted. “It seems like we’re sort of discounting that now, saying ‘We’ll do it.’” Winborne noted that there’s been turnover on AAPAC, so many of the current commissioners weren’t part of those previous discussions.

Ashlee Arder urged commissioners to focus on the information that they had, rather than on the information that wasn’t available yet. “We realize there are a lot of holes,” she said. Hupy reiterated the purpose of this process – to rate a site or capital project with regard to its potential for public art. Kotarski argued that without a concrete art project in mind, “it’s going to be very difficult for us to do that, in a meaningful way.”

There also was discussion at various points about definitions in the scoring criteria, and a consensus that the rubric needs to be tweaked. It emerged that some commissioners had different understandings of what the criteria meant.

At one point, to expedite the process, Kristin Tomey suggested eliminating some of the categories – like funding, for example, since all projects incorporated into a capital project would presumably receive funding from the city. She also suggested using walkability scores as part of the scoring, using the website Walk Score. It can help identify locations that are high use, she said. Three categories – distribution of art within the city, visibility, and placemaking – seemed like those that AAPAC should focus on, she added.

Miller suggested presenting the rubric to the city council, with notes indicating that there are certain aspects of the rubric that will be modified. Hupy supported that approach, saying it was understandable that there would be changes to the process, because this was the first time that AAPAC had done it.

Ann Arbor public art commissioner Devon Akmon.

Hupy told the commissioners that they are suffering from what happens to other groups that go through this process: It’s very difficult at first, but gets easier as they score more projects. “It’s a process of learning,” he said. Hupy noted that the council has asked for staff to report back about AAPAC’s selection process – the rubric that the commission has been developing to help prioritize capital projects that could possibly be enhanced with public art. “So the work you’ve been doing is following the transition as laid out in the ordinance.”

Hupy also offered to bring back more supporting materials for commissioners to help them evaluate capital projects, and pointed out that nothing is set in stone at this point – they can revisit their decisions.

Nick Zagar also requested maps showing the location of existing public art – including art on the University of Michigan campus – to make it easier to tell what neighborhoods or areas don’t have public art. Devon Akmon suggested putting that information online, as a resource for commissioners but also as a marketing tool for the public.

Tomey recommended standardizing the presentation of material to commissioners, so they could be sure they had the information they needed.

After nearly two hours, Akmon pointed out that the group hadn’t finished scoring the 10 CIP projects that Seagraves had brought forward – and they still had most of their agenda to move through, in addition to that. He suggested postponing discussion of the other CIP projects, and tackling only two or three per meeting. “It’s a little fatiguing,” he said, describing the effort as almost like urban planning, with public art as the next step.

Miller agreed, saying “we’ve been stifled by this process.”

Hupy noted that in refining this scoring rubric, it might make sense to focus on locations as a first step, then looking at a public art concept as a second step. There seemed to be some consensus about taking this approach.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to postpone further evaluation of the possible CIP projects that might be enhanced with public art. They’ll take up the task again at a future meeting.

Public Art Annual Plan

In the past, the public art annual plan was required to be submitted to the city council by April 1. But at AAPAC’s April 24, 2013 meeting, commissioners voted to recommend shifting that date to Feb. 1 – a move intended to allow the council to make budget decisions based on recommendations from AAPAC. Shifting the date of the annual plan was linked to a major restructuring of the city’s public art program, which is still underway. The city council subsequently made revisions to the public art ordinance – Chapter 24 of the city code – that included the Feb. 1 deadline for submitting the annual plan. From the city code:

(2) The oversight body shall:
…
(B) By February 1 of each year, submit to City Council a plan detailing potential projects and desirable goals to be pursued in the next fiscal year, including enhanced projects and any proposed expenditure of donated, grant, or other funds. The plan shall also include a recommendation as to which projects from the current Capital Improvements Plan are appropriate for designation as enhanced projects; …

On Jan. 29, Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator, presented a draft annual plan for fiscal 2015. He hoped AAPAC would approve that night, so that it could be forwarded to the city council. [.pdf of draft FY 2015 annual plan]

Ann Arbor public art commissioner John Kotarski.

John Kotarski characterized the draft as one of the best plans that AAPAC has ever created. It’s thorough, covering everything that the commission has done, and has a plan for moving forward, he said.

“It has as much meat as anyone wants,” Kotarski added. “It shows a lot of work. It shows an art commission that gets the message from an impatient city council.”

Bob Miller then asked about the wastewater treatment plant project that was included in the draft plan. “I don’t want to include it,” Kotarski replied, saying that the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum had withdrawn a proposal to partner on artwork at the new plant.

Six other ongoing public art projects were listed in the draft plan:

• Completion of the public art project at East Stadium bridges. Artist Catherine Widgery was recommended by a selection panel, and is completing modifications to the original design. The final design will be brought forward for additional public input, and will need approval by AAPAC and then by the city council. Installation is expected in FY 2015. The project’s total budget is $400,000.
• Completion of public art at Argo Cascades. The selection panel has tabled proposals by the previous two finalists, and is reviewing other options for that site. No recommendation has yet been made to AAPAC. The total budget is set at $150,000.
• Public art at Arbor Oaks Park. This project is in partnership with Bryant Neighborhood Association and the nonprofit Community Action Network, which is under contract with the city to run the Bryant Community Center. It will involve participation of the neighborhood in the design and creation of the artwork. A grant application to help fund this project was submitted to the Southeast Michigan Community Foundation in November 2013. No city public art funds have been allocated, and additional funding is expected to be raised through community donations.
• Canoe Imagine Art. AAPAC has approved $10,000 in funding for this community art project – a temporary art display in downtown Ann Arbor using old canoes from the city that would be repurposed as public art. The installation is expected to take place in fiscal 2015 or 2016, depending on funding. The project also has received a $21,000 grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and organizers plan to raise additional funds from private donors.
• Coleman Jewett Memorial. A bronze replica of an Adirondack chair made by Coleman Jewett will be located at the Ann Arbor farmers market. Jewett was a long-time local educator who died in January of 2013. After he retired, he made furniture that he sold at the Ann Arbor farmers market. AAPAC has committed $5,000 to the project, which has a total project of $36,000. Other funds will be raised from private donations, including a contribution from the Old West Side Association.
• Graphics for Control Boxes. Called “PowerArt,” this project involves wrapping about 40 traffic signal boxes in the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority district with vinyl printed replicas of artwork. The initial pilot phase would focus on 14 boxes at a total cost of $41,000, to be split between the city and the DDA. AAPAC approved $20,500 for the first year as a pilot project. The project is being administered by the Arts Alliance in response to a DDA request.

In addition, Seagraves hoped to include some projects from the city’s capital improvements plan (CIP), which commissioners had discussed and started to evaluate earlier in the meeting. Kotarski suggested stating in the annual plan that AAPAC is working on a rubric and practicing the application of that rubric on potential projects – that it’s a work in progress.

Seagraves proposed including three projects from the FY 2015 CIP. Commissioners agreed, noting that there had been consensus on these projects during their earlier discussion:

• Annual street resurfacing (FY 2015): artist-designed street access covers (manhole covers) for the city’s water, sanitary sewer and stormwater systems.
• Sidewalk gaps (FY 2015): Sidewalk stamping.
• Mid-block street crossing improvements, pavement marking and sign replacement (FY 2015): Art to-be-determined for the streets.

Seagraves also recommended including dollar amounts to fund these projects – $60,000 for access covers and $60,000 for sidewalk stamping. Kotarski expressed concern that there wasn’t sufficient justification at this point for any particular amount. Seagraves said he’d research the cost so that he could include it in the plan.

Miller proposed that AAPAC approve the annual plan at that night’s meeting, contingent on revisions that Seagraves would make. Kristin Tomey asked whether commissioners could vote on the plan via email, after Seagraves made revisions. [The answer is no. Even if the public art commission were analyzed as a purely advisory body under the Michigan Open Meetings Act that would not allow the commission to ignore the OMA. That's because of a policy approved by the city council in 1991, which states that such groups are still expected to conform to the spirit of the OMA – to the best ability of that entity’s members. For more background on this issue, see "Column: A Reminder on Open Government."]

Malverne Winborne suggested that the commissioners approve the draft plan, then empower one commissioner to work with Seagraves on the final revisions. Miller asked Kotarski to take on that task.

Outcome: Commissioners approved the draft annual plan, and authorized John Kotarski to work with Aaron Seagraves in making final revisions.

The expectation at the Jan. 29 meeting was that the annual plan would be submitted to the council on Feb. 3. Responding to a follow-up query from The Chronicle on Jan. 30, Seagraves said that the plan will instead be on a future agenda, possibly on Feb. 18.

Bike Share Program

AAPAC was asked to consider a proposal from the Clean Energy Coalition to select an artist who would work to incorporate art into a new bike share program. [.pdf of CEC proposal]

The bike share program, with a planned launch in the summer of 2014, will include 14 stations and 125 bikes at locations in downtown Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus.

In part, the proposal states:

CEC seeks a local artist to join the bike share team and contribute to several areas of the Ann Arbor bike share project. Specifically, CEC proposes to work directly with the Art Commission to select a local artist to work on the program. The artist would fill an integral role within the planning and launch processes currently in motion. In addition to standard graphic design work for promotional purposes, the artist will have the opportunity to design a collection of maps to feature bike share stations and local elements. The artist would also participate in marketing meetings and other planning activities to ensure that art is a deliberate and consistent attribute of the bike share program.

The position will run from late winter through the summer launch of bike share. CEC hopes to embrace the city’s vibrant culture of artists and creativity to design a unique identity for the bike share program, and commissioning a local artist is the ideal way to build this brand. This position would likely require 10-15 hours per week to attend partner meetings and produce the desired materials. CEC requests that the Public Art Commission cover the cost of the artist’s time and materials needed to produce artwork for the program. CEC will offer office space, make connections to program partners, and serve in a project management role to provide as much guidance as needed.

Nick Zagar questioned whether AAPAC could select a local artist. Bob Miller replied that the call for artists is open to anyone, and it’s up to the task force to select an artist – local or not. Miller began to elaborate, saying, “Speaking candidly about that…” He was cut off by John Kotarski, who cautioned: “I wouldn’t speak candidly, because your candid comments might very well be published.”

Bob Miller, chair of the Ann Arbor public art commission.

Miller replied, saying “This is not something that’s secret. Dollar amounts sometimes dictate who gets involved.” [His point was that if a budget is low, it won't likely attract applicants from outside the area.] Kotarski noted that Craig Hupy, the city’s public services area administrator, had indicated it would be possible to select an artist as a “sole source provider” for a particular project. An open call for proposals, however, can’t be restricted geographically, he said. If AAPAC picked a single artist as a sole source provider, they’d have to explain why that particular artist has been selected. Kotarski said that Hupy had reviewed this process with the city attorney’s office too. [Hupy had left the meeting by this point.]

Zagar said it seemed like CEC was really looking for a graphic artist.

Commissioners also discussed where the funding might come from, if they pursued this project. In response to a suggestion from Miller, Kotarski expressed skepticism that the city council would allocate money from the city’s general fund. “Let’s bring it up at the next [council] meeting, when they’re sending the money back,” Kotarski quipped – a reference to the Feb. 3 council resolution that, if approved, would return remaining Percent for Art money to its original funding source.

Kotarski recommended that AAPAC endorse the project and help in any way they can, but without committing dollars to it.

Ashlee Arder noted that there were a lot of unanswered questions regarding the proposal, such as what kind of funding the CEC is requesting. She compared it to the much more detailed proposal that Deb Polich had provided for the PowerArt project. [.pdf of PowerArt proposal, made by Polich at AAPAC's Sept. 25, 2013 meeting.]

Miller said the commission would be hard-pressed to make a decision on this, without additional information. Kotarski added that AAPAC would be hard-pressed to spend any additional money at all, other than the projects that are in progress.

Kristin Tomey wondered about the process by which proposals like this are brought forward to AAPAC. Miller replied that in the past, most proposals haven’t provided the level of detail that AAPAC would like to see.

By way of background, the commission has previously developed a project intake form as a template for new projects. The project intake form is posted on AAPAC’s website. However, some commissioners have criticized the current process. The issue was debated at AAPAC’s Sept. 25, 2013 meeting. From The Chronicle’s report:

As he did during the Canoe Imagine Art discussion, John Kotarski said he’d like a more elaborate proposal for this and all projects that come to AAPAC for approval. He thought that the fundraising materials that [Marsha] Chamberlin had developed might serve that purpose.

Chamberlin pointed out that this project was approved about six months ago and has been discussed at virtually every meeting since then. “I just assumed people were up to speed on it,” she said.

Kotarski said his intent isn’t to get AAPAC up to speed. Rather, this kind of documentation will show the public that AAPAC was thorough in its work, before making decisions. He said he was critical of all the intake forms, and he’d emailed Aaron Seagraves with his comments. “I think our approach now is shoot, ready aim,” Kotarski said. “We are making decisions before we really, fully have a fleshed out concept and idea.” He’d like to change their approach, and said the Arts Alliance proposal [for PowerArt] provides a good model.

Chamberlin replied that the commission had developed the process of using project intake forms, so it should be a commission decision if they want to change that approach. These projects have been documented and presented to the commission at previous meetings, she noted.

Connie Brown felt that Kotarski was raising a broader issue, and she agreed that going forward, each project should have a more detailed packet of material. Bob Miller asked [Aaron] Seagraves to provide that type of packet in the future.

Chamberlin noted that this would dramatically change the process that AAPAC has developed. That process entails initial approval by AAPAC to move ahead on a project, followed by the formation of a task force to flesh out a more detailed proposal, on which AAPAC then votes.

After further discussion, commissioners reached consensus for Seagraves to compile more detailed proposals for AAPAC projects.

At the Jan. 29 meeting, Kotarski said he’d like to endorse the CEC bike share project, but that at this time AAPAC couldn’t commit any funding to it. Malverne Winborne reminded Kotarski about previous discussions that AAPAC has had about not endorsing projects. [The issue of endorsements arose when AAPAC was approached about endorsing a large Whirlydoodle installation. At AAPAC's July 25, 2012 meeting, Kotarski was unsuccessful in convincing other commissioners to support an endorsement policy for non-city-funded art projects. After a lengthy debate, AAPAC passed a resolution at that meeting stating that the commission would not make endorsements – and Kotarski cast the lone dissenting vote. There has been considerable turnover on the commission since that time.]

Winborne explained to new commissioners that there had been concern about “scope creep” at a time when AAPAC was trying to focus on moving forward with projects funded by the city’s Percent for Art program. Kotarski told Winborne that he’d take back his recommendation to endorse the bike share program.

Kotarski then moved to table the item until AAPAC received more information about the proposal.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to table the CEC bike share proposal.

Officer Elections

AAPAC’s bylaws call for the commission to hold officer elections for chair and vice chair in January, by secret ballot. From the bylaws:

Article VI Officers
Section 1. The officers of AAPAC shall be a Chair and Vice-Chair. The officers shall be elected by secret ballot each year from among the voting members of AAPAC. The officers shall be elected for a one-year term by a majority of the voting members currently serving on AAPAC. No member shall serve more than three (3) consecutive one-year terms in one office. The term of the officers shall run from the date of AAPAC’s regular meeting in January to the date of AAPAC’s regular meeting in January of the following year. [.pdf of AAPAC bylaws]

Bob Miller has served as chair for the past year, and offered to serve again. There were no other competing nominations.

Malverne Winborne attended his last meeting as an Ann Arbor public art commissioner on Jan. 29.

The current vice chair, Malverne Winborne, is stepping down from AAPAC. He did not seek reappointment after serving one three-year term, and the Jan. 29 meeting was his final one. John Kotarski was nominated as vice chair, and there were no competing nominations.

Votes were taken on slips of yellow paper and tallied by Winborne.

Outcome: Bob Miller and John Kotarski were unanimously elected as chair and vice chair of AAPAC.

At the city council’s Jan. 21 meeting, Jim Simpson was nominated to fill the vacancy of Winborne on the public art commission. Winborne’s term ended on Dec. 31, 2013. A confirmation vote on Simpson’s appointment is expected at the council’s Feb. 3 meeting.

Simpson works with the software firm Duo Security in Ann Arbor, and is affiliated with Baron Glassworks in Ypsilanti.

Commissioners present: Devon Akmon, Ashlee Arder, John Kotarski, Bob Miller, Kristin Tomey, Malverne Winborne, Nick Zagar. Also: Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator.

Absent: Connie Brown, Marsha Chamberlin.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in the basement conference room at city hall, 301 E. Huron St. [Check Chronicle events listing to confirm date]

The Chronicle relies in part on regular voluntary subscriptions to support our artful coverage of public entities like the Ann Arbor public art commission. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle.

Two new ordinances will be given initial consideration at the Ann Arbor city council’s Feb. 3, 2014 meeting. One involves public art – which relates to leftover business from the council’s previous meeting. The second proposed new local law involves prohibitions against smoking in some public places.

Screenshot of Legistar – the city of Ann Arbor’s online agenda management system. Image links to the Feb. 3, 2014 meeting agenda.

Public art is actually the topic of two separate items on the council’s agenda. One is a contract extension for the city’s part-time public art administrator, which had been on the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda, but was postponed at that meeting.

The postponement took place in the context of a political horse trade offered by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table on Jan. 21. Eaton indicated he’d support the public art administrator’s contract extension at the council’s subsequent meeting – but only if the council would move toward returning as-yet-unallocated money set aside during the now defunct Percent for Art program to its funds of origin (e.g., sanitary sewer fund, street millage fund etc.).

Both elements of the horse trade are scheduled for the Feb. 3 meeting. The move toward returning money out of the public art fund takes the form of initial consideration of an amendment to the city’s public art ordinance. The ordinance amendment, sponsored by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), would allow the council to return money accumulated under the city’s former Percent for Art program to the funds from which that money was drawn. The ordinance change would need a second and final council vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. Any transfer of public art money would require separate council action after the potential ordinance change.

A third public art item is expected to be on the agenda as an item of communication – the annual public art plan for fiscal 2015, which was approved by the Ann Arbor public art commission at its Jan. 29 meeting. It lists projects that are underway, as well as potential new projects for the coming year.

Also getting initial consideration on Feb. 3 will be a new ordinance that would prohibit smoking in specific outdoor public areas. Made punishable through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of any city-owned building. The ordinance amendment would also authorize the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking.

In another item on its Feb. 3 agenda, the council will consider approval of a $398,703 contract plus a $40,000 contingency with Hubbell Roth & Clark Inc. to reconstruct Geddes Avenue from Huntington to Huron Parkway. The project, which includes five components, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015 and may continue through 2016. The five components of the project are: reconstruction of Geddes, sanitary sewer on Geddes, sanitary sewer on Dover Place and Riverview, storm sewer on Geddes, and water main on Dover Place and Riverview.

Also on the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is a proposed expansion for Germain Motors – an auto dealership on South State Street, formerly Howard Cooper Imports.

The council will also consider setting a hearing date for three establishments that could potentially be recommended for non-renewal of their liquor licenses for non-payment of taxes: The Arena, Banfield’s Bar & Grill, and Café Zola. The three businesses were also subject to the same scrutiny last year, and all eventually paid their taxes without having their licenses revoked.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Monday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

Public Art

Two items related to public art appear on the council’s Feb. 3, 2014 agenda. One item is a contract extension for the city’s part-time public art administrator, Aaron Seagraves. The extension had been on the council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda, but was postponed at that meeting.

The postponement took place in the context of a political horse trade offered by Jack Eaton (Ward 4) at the council table on Jan. 21. Eaton indicated he’d support the public art administrator’s contract extension at the council’s subsequent meeting on Feb. 3 – but only if the council would move toward returning as-yet-unallocated money set aside during the now defunct Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin (e.g., sanitary sewer fund, street millage fund etc.).

Both elements of the horse trade are on the Feb. 3 agenda. The move toward returning money out of the public art fund takes the form of an amendment to the city’s ordinance on public art.

A third public art item is expected to be added to the Feb. 3 agenda as well, but simply as an item of communication – the annual public art plan for fiscal 2015, which the Ann Arbor public art commission approved at its Jan. 29 meeting.

Public Art: Part-time Administrator’s Contract Extension

The council will be asked again to consider a six-month extension for Ann Arbor public art administrator Aaron Seagraves – through June 30, 2014. The council will be asked to allocate $18,500 to cover the added term.

The budget expenditure for Seagraves’ contract will need support from at least an eight-vote majority on the 11-member council. That’s why some councilmembers’ dissatisfaction with the current $839,507 in unallocated money in the public art fund posed a credible possibility of a failed vote at the Jan. 21 meeting.

The proposal to postpone the vote on the contract extension came from Jack Eaton (Ward 4), who wanted to delay until the council’s next meeting, by which time a clear plan could be crafted to return the Percent for Art money to its funds of origin. The only dissenting vote on postponement at the Jan. 21 meeting came from Margie Teall (Ward 4). [Details of the council's deliberations are reported in The Chronicle's live updates from the Jan. 21 meeting.]

Seagraves is contracted to work an average of 20 hours a week.

By way of background, the city council enacted a public art ordinance in late 2007, setting up a Percent for Art program as a funding mechanism. For each of the city’s capital projects, 1% of the budget – up to a cap of $250,000 – was set aside for public art. The Ann Arbor public art commission oversaw the expenditures. However, the approach proved controversial and the city council changed the ordinance to eliminate the Percent for Art funding mechanism at its June 3, 2013 meeting. That ordinance change came after a failed public art millage that was put before voters in the November 2012 election.

Under the new approach, city staff will work to determine whether a specific capital improvement should have enhanced design features “baked in” to the project – either enhanced architectural work or specific public art. The funding for any of the enhanced features would be included in the project’s budget and incorporated into the RFP (request for proposals) process for the capital project.

The funds accrued to the public art fund during the time of the Percent for Art program are still subject to the same legal constraints – which require a thematic link between the original source of the funds (e.g., the street millage) and the piece of art to be funded.

A budget summary provided by Seagraves in response to a Chronicle emailed query shows a current balance of $839,507 in available funds for public art, as of Jan. 14, 2014. An additional $535,853 is earmarked for three projects that are underway: artwork at East Stadium bridges ($385,709), a rain garden at Kingsley and First ($7,009), and at Argo Cascades ($143,134). [.pdf of financial summary]

The council debate at its June 3, 2013 meeting included wrangling about what to do with that fund balance, with Jane Lumm (Ward 2) arguing unsuccessfully that $845,029 should be returned to the funds of origin. The council voted to return only the money that had accrued to the fund in the most recent budget year – $326,464.

Public Art: Ordinance Revision

At the June 3, 2013 meeting, the council did not ultimately vote on Lumm’s proposal to return Percent for Art money from earlier years to its funds of origin. That’s because the council rejected her proposal to amend the public art ordinance to allow that transfer to take place.

So Lumm’s ordinance proposal for the Feb. 3, 2014 meeting reprises the previous effort to amend the ordinance to allow the transfer of money accumulated during previous years of the Percent for Art program to the money’s funds of origin.

If the council votes to approve the ordinance on Feb. 3, it would still require a second vote at a subsequent meeting to be enacted. And any transfer of money would require a separate council action.

Outdoor Smoking

On the council’s Feb. 3 agenda for initial consideration is a new ordinance that would prohibit smoking in specific outdoor public areas. Made punishable through a $50 civil fine would be smoking within 20 feet of: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; and (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems any city-owned building.

The ordinance amendment also authorizes the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking, and to increase the distance from entrances to city buildings where outdoor smoking is prohibited.

Where no signs are posted noting the smoking prohibition, a citation could be issued only if someone doesn’t stop smoking immediately when asked to stop.

An existing county ordinance already prohibits smoking near entrances, windows and ventilation systems, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution – but the county’s ordinance can be enforced only by the county health department. The memo further notes that the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act does not regulate outdoor smoking.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) is listed as the sponsor of the ordinance change on the city’s Legistar system. At the council’s Oct. 21, 2013 meeting, he had announced his intent to bring forward a proposed ordinance regulating outdoor smoking, and reported at that time he’d been working with city parks staff on the issue.

Geddes Avenue Reconstruction: 2015

The council will consider approval of a $398,703 contract plus a $40,000 contingency with Hubbell Roth & Clark Inc. to reconstruct Geddes Avenue from Huntington to Huron Parkway.

The portion of Geddes to be reconstructed is indicated in yellow. Parcels currently lacking sanitary sewer service are indicated in red.

The project, which includes five components, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015 and may continue through 2016. The five components of the project are: reconstruction of Geddes, sanitary sewer on Geddes, sanitary sewer on Dover Place and Riverview, storm sewer on Geddes, and water main on Dover Place and Riverview. [.pdf of map showing parcels currently lacking sanitary sewer service]

The components of the project, which the city is calling collectively the Geddes Avenue Improvements Project, could also include corrections of slope sloughing, and the construction of non-motorized improvements within the project limits.

The scope of the actual project is supposed to stem in part from public participation. So part of the contract with HRC includes a “robust public engagement process” to include the adjacent residents, various interest groups, and the public at large.

Germain Motors Site Plan

On the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is a proposed expansion for Germain Motors – an auto dealership on South State Street, formerly Howard Cooper Imports.

The site plan was recommended for approval by Ann Arbor planning commissioners at their Dec. 17, 2013 meeting. The item had previously been postponed by commissioners on Nov. 19, 2013.

The planning commission’s recommendation of approval of the project’s site plan was subject to variances for modifications related to parking lot and landscaping requirements. Those variances were considered and approved by the city’s zoning board of appeals on Jan. 22. Planning commissioners also approved landscape modifications that would reduce the requirement – outlined in Chapter 62 of the city code – for depressed landscape islands within the site.

The planning staff had supported a recommendation of approval on Dec. 17, noting that the owner had addressed several issues that had previously raised concerns. Changes from the plan presented on Nov. 19 include:

• Adding 5,027 square feet of porous pavers to be installed in the expanded vehicle display areas along State Street and Oakbrook Drive.
• Adding eight new depressed landscape islands to the parking storage areas in the back of the site. The changes mean a loss of about 24 parking spaces.
• Changing the landscape modification request. The original request had included reducing the number of required trees to be planted on site by eight. The owner now plans to plant all of the required trees.

The project’s architect also explored the possibility of adding a “green” (vegetated) roof, but ultimately determined that it wasn’t feasible without making significant changes to the existing buildings. The question of whether the architect had considered a green roof to help with stormwater management was raised on Nov. 19.

Other parts of the proposed project, which is located in Ward 4, were unchanged. It calls for a 4,877-square-foot addition to the Volkswagen building on the northern portion of the State Street frontage, bringing the total square footage to 18,722 for that structure. A 6,429-square-foot addition is proposed for the Porsche/Audi building, in the center of the site, which would create a total building size of 31,097 square feet. The site’s third building, housing the Honda dealership on the southern part of the property, would remain at 36,101 square feet.

Also, the owner – Steve Germain, who attended the Nov. 19 planning commission meeting with several members of the project team – would like to add 248 parking spaces, bringing the total number of spaces to 1,039. The new spaces would be in three locations: (1) along the southern half of the South State Street frontage; (2) along the Oakbrook Drive frontage; and (3) in the rear car storage lots. The proposal would require three variances from Chapter 59 (off-street parking) in order to allow tandem parking, to reduce the aisle widths, and to exceed the maximum percentage (30%) of allowable small car parking spaces. Those are the variances granted by the ZBA at its Jan. 22 meeting.

The total expansion is estimated to cost $5.5 million.

Liquor Licenses: Possible Non-Renewal

On the council’s Feb. 3 agenda is a resolution that would set hearings on a recommendation for non-renewal of liquor licenses for three establishments in the city. The date of the hearing would be Feb. 25 at 9 a.m.

The three businesses subject to the hearings are The Arena, Banfield’s Bar & Grill, and Café Zola. They could all potentially be recommended for non-renewal due to non-payment of personal property taxes.

The council’s resolution would also appoint Jane Lumm (Ward 2) as the hearing officer. Lumm serves on the council’s liquor license review committee, along with Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1).

Lumm served as the hearing officer for this kind of proceeding in 2013 as well. Also on that occasion, Banfield’s Bar & Grill, Café Zola and The Arena were on the hearing list. However, by the time of the hearing, Café Zola had resolved its issue. And at the hearing itself, Banfield’s Bar & Grill made an arrangement to resolve its outstanding issue.

Only the hearing on The Arena ultimately resulted in a city council recommendation to the state liquor control commission not to renew a license. Subsequently, The Arena did pay its taxes, and the council withdrew its objection to a license renewal for The Arena.

Planning Commission Bylaws

Again on the city council’s agenda is the approval of a change to the planning commission’s bylaws. The changes related to the order of agenda items, and the length of time required for special accommodations, such as sign language interpreters. The change would require additional lead time so that special accommodations, including a sign language interpreter, can be made for people with disabilities, when requested at least two business days in advance of a meeting. The current bylaws specify just a one-day advance request.

The planning commission had given approval to changes in its bylaws about six months ago – at its July 16, 2013 meeting.

The bylaws changes were considered but postponed twice by the city council last year – first at the council’s Nov. 7, 2013 meeting, then at the Dec. 16, 2013 meeting. [.pdf of planning commission bylaws changes]

The council had held off voting to approve the bylaws changes as the planning commission has considered further revisions to its bylaws – related to the number of times someone can speak during a public hearing, and whether city councilmembers are allowed to address the planning commission during the commission’s meetings.

At a regular meeting of the planning commission, the additional revisions were discussed most recently on Nov. 6, 2013. The additional changes were also discussed at a working session on Jan. 7.

Appointments to City Boards, Commissions

Several nominations to city boards and commissions were made at the council’s previous meeting on Jan. 21. They’ll be voted on at the council’s Feb. 3 meeting.

Jim Simpson was nominated to fill the vacancy of Malverne Winborne on the public art commission. Winborne’s term ended on Dec. 31, 2013.

Daniel Lee was nominated to serve out the rest of Marta Manildi’s term on the Ann Arbor housing commission. Manildi’s term ends this spring, but she said she’d step down early if someone could be appointed.

Paige Morrison was nominated to serve out the rest of Jennifer Geer’s term on the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. Geer has resigned.

And Peter Woolf was nominated to fill the vacancy of Lindsey-Jean Hard on the public market advisory commission.

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda is a group of items that are deemed to be routine and are voted on “all in one go.” Contracts for less than $100,000 can be placed on the consent agenda. Here are some highlights from the Feb. 3 consent agenda.

Consent Agenda: Chelsea Tech Agreement

The council is being asked to approve an amendment to the renewal agreement for information technology services between the city of Ann Arbor and city of Chelsea. The contract is being amended to match fiscal years – by extending it an extra five months for a total of 17 months and $80,499.

The contract covers support for the help desk, management of the city’s website, server hosting, data backup and recovery, overseeing IT contractors, project management, and representing the city of Chelsea in regional technology efforts and meetings.

Consent Agenda: Street Closings

The council will be asked to approve street closings for FoolMoon (April 4, 2014) and FestiFools (April 6, 2014).

Consent Agenda: Firehouse Subs Grant

The council will be asked to approve a resolution accepting a grant of $25,736 from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation Corporation. The money will be used to buy 11 automatic external defibrillator units for use by the fire department.

It was the fire department that applied for the grant to replace existing equipment. No matching funds are required.

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Ann Arbor public art commissioners Marsha Chamberlin and Devon Akmon. Akmon is AAPAC’s newest member, and was attending his first commission meeting on Sept. 25. Chamberlin is the longest-serving commissioner. (Photos by the writer.)

The project would involve wrapping about 40 traffic signal boxes in the DDA district with vinyl printed replicas of artwork. The initial pilot phase would focus on 14 boxes at a total cost of $41,000, to be split between the city and the DDA. That cost includes a 30% administrative fee paid to the Arts Alliance, which is based in Ann Arbor. Another $80,000 would be needed for the final phases.

Deb Polich, executive director for the Arts Alliance, told commissioners that the DDA board is expected to vote on the project at its Oct. 2 meeting.

Commissioners were supportive of the project, but concerned about how to approach the funding, given constraints tied to the remaining Percent for Art funds. “I want to make sure we don’t step in something that we then get slapped for,” Marsha Chamberlin said.

Ultimately, commissioners unanimously voted to approve participating in the PowerArt project, contingent on the city’s legal review of potential funding sources.

AAPAC also authorized allocations for other projects that have been discussed for several months. They approved $10,000 for a community project called Canoe Imagine Art, and $5,000 for a Coleman Jewett memorial at the Ann Arbor farmers market. Both of these projects will rely on grants and private fundraising for the majority of their budgets.

Action on three other projects was tabled, as commissioners wanted more detailed proposals before allocating funds. Those projects were: (1) artwork for a roundabout at State & Ellsworth; (2) a community art project at Arbor Oaks Park, adjacent to Bryant Elementary School; and (3) a proposal for enhancing the fence along the south side of Scio Church Road, between Maple and Delaware.

These projects prompted some discussion about broader issues, included the process that AAPAC uses to vet proposals. Ashlee Arder, one of the newer commissioners, advocated for continuing to develop a more structured approach. “I do think we need to have a larger conversation or retreat about who we are and what we’re trying to do here,” she said.

The commission has been grappling with a transition to a new funding model for public art, after the city council voted to eliminate the previous Percent for Art mechanism this summer. That model set aside 1% of the budget for each of the city’s capital projects for public art – up to a cap of $250,000. Because that money was taken from restricted funds – such as millage funds for parks or street improvements –  a thematic link must exist between the funding source and the public art expenditure. About $840,000 in Percent for Art funds remain available for projects, but there will be no additional Percent for Art funding.

Instead, the city has adopted an approach in which city staff will work with AAPAC to determine whether a specific capital improvement should have enhanced design features “baked in” to the project – either enhanced architectural work or specific public art. The funding for any of the enhanced features would be included in the project’s budget and incorporated into the RFP (request for proposals) process for the capital project. There is also an increased focus on private fundraising and partnerships.

On Sept. 25, commissioners also received several updates from Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator. He reported that a reception is planned for Thursday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. to dedicate the hanging sculpture Radius, located in the Justice Center lobby next to city hall. Oregon artist Ed Carpenter is expected to attend.

And two finalists for artwork at Argo Cascades – Jann Rosen-Queralt of Maryland and Mags Harries & Lajos Heder of Cambridge, Mass. – will be coming to town on Oct. 17 to present their conceptual designs to the public. A task force will make a recommendation to AAPAC on which of the artists to select for the project.

The Sept. 25 meeting was the first one for AAPAC’s newest member, Devon Akmon. Appointed by the Ann Arbor city council on Sept. 3, 2013, Akmon is director of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn.

“PowerArt” Project

John Kotarski introduced a proposal by the Arts Alliance called “PowerArt.” [.pdf of PowerArt proposal] The city could be partnering with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority on this, he said. He introduced Deb Polich, executive director of the Arts Alliance, to provide more details.

Polich started by saying the Arts Alliance can’t take credit for this project, because it was proposed by the DDA, working with AAPAC chair Bob Miller. The DDA had asked the Arts Alliance to develop a proposal, she said.

The proposal calls for wrapping about 40 traffic signal boxes in the DDA district with vinyl printed replicas of artwork.

Deb Polich, executive director of the Arts Alliance, made a presentation to AAPAC about the proposed PowerArt project.

The city of Boise, Idaho was a case study for this project, Polich said. That city rolled out the project in phases, she noted, which heightened interest. Boise’s project also resulted in less graffiti on the signal boxes as well as in the surrounding area, she said.

The intent would be for the artists to retain the copyright to their work, she explained, and a licensing agreement would be negotiated to allow the Arts Alliance to use the work. It wouldn’t necessarily require an artist to create a new work, she noted – the image could be taken from an existing piece.

It’s also important to compensate the artists thoroughly, Polich said, so the payment proposed for the artist – $1,400 per box – is about twice the amount that the vendor would charge to make the vinyl replica and install it.

The proposal calls for three cycles, beginning with a pilot project. After review and evaluation, the project would move into the next two cycles over a three-year period. Beyond that, it’s possible that the project could be rolled out into other parts of the city, not just downtown.

Polich told commissioners that she’d made a presentation to the DDA’s operations committee earlier in the day, and that that committee plans to bring the proposal to the full board for a vote at its Oct. 2 meeting. [Polich's husband, Russ Collins, is a member of the DDA board.]

Depending on when the project is approved, the proposal lays out a six-month timeline for the pilot project. The pilot would be for 14 boxes in locations with high pedestrian traffic.

Regarding the budget, Polich noted that it includes $50 per box for maintenance, although she expects maintenance costs will be low, based on Boise’s experience. The licensing fee to artists would be $1,400 per box, with another $650 per box for printing and installation. The other major expense would be a 30% administrative fee for the Arts Alliance, which totals $9,100 for the pilot phase. Work would include negotiating licensing deals, marketing and other tasks. For later cycles, the administrative fee would be slightly lower, at 25% of the total cost.

The work would be selected by a jury, Polich said, which would include volunteers as well as people that she described as “fence sitters on the public art scene.” Engaging them in this kind of process might give them a different perspective on public art, she said. There would also be a crowd selection component for four of the boxes in the pilot phase, with artwork selected by an online vote of the public.

Polich noted that Ward 2 is the only one of the city’s five wards that isn’t part of the DDA district, but all other wards would be part of this project.

“PowerArt” Project: Commission Discussion

Bob Miller clarified that it’s not a city project, so AAPAC would just be deciding whether to provide financial support. Connie Brown wondered who would own the artwork, saying she’d like that to be clarified as the project moves forward.

Bob Miller, AAPAC chair.

Marsha Chamberlin noted that the commission has previously discussed whether to endorse projects, noting that the issue arose when AAPAC was approached about endorsing a “whirlydoodle” project. The commission had decided not to make endorsements. On one level, Chamberlin said, AAPAC could be viewed as endorsing this PowerArt project. “We just need to know that this is something to address,” she said.

Chamberlin said she loved this project. But given the constraints that the city attorney’s office has put on AAPAC, “are we OK with putting city money into this?” she asked. For example, she said, the city attorney’s office has told AAPAC that it can’t limit the artist solicitations to local residents – the call for proposals must be open to artists nationally. Polich indicated that the Arts Alliance would be willing to accommodate that, if necessary, although the original proposal called for seeking Washtenaw County artists.

Kotarski said that in his view, AAPAC is selecting a sole source vendor – the Arts Alliance. The alliance would be picking the artists, not the city, he said. So he didn’t think the same constraints that Chamberlin described would apply.

Miller joked that “the nuts and bolts all kind of fell out of the engine, as Aaron [Seagraves] and I started talking about this.” City funding for this project doesn’t work, Miller continued, because the Arts Alliance didn’t win this project on a competitive bid, as the city requires. No request for proposals was issued. So the city can fund specific parts of the project, he said, such as the vendor who actually wraps the signal boxes, because that vendor would be selected through a competitive bidding process.

But the other part of the project can’t be funded through remaining Percent for Art funds, he noted. Instead, he suggested using unencumbered funds being held by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Kotarski referenced a discussion that he and Miller had earlier in the day with Craig Hupy, the city’s public services area administrator. Hupy had indicated that it would be possible to fund the project with remaining Percent for Art street funds, Kotarski said, but Hupy had planned to check with the city attorney’s office about it.

Corrected after initial publication: Not an example of a vinyl-wrapped traffic box with artwork by David Spear. This image was included in the Arts Alliance proposal for the PowerArt project. This image was actually hand-painted by Spear.

Connie Brown clarified that the DDA is also a unit of the city. In that case, she said, she didn’t see why there are complications with the city funding the project, via AAPAC, while the DDA didn’t appear to have that same issue. Kotarski reiterated that Hupy didn’t think it should be a problem for the city to participate, but that Hupy wanted to doublecheck with the city attorney.

Brown didn’t think AAPAC should be put in a position to determine whether the funds could be used legally. She suggested that AAPAC could simply vote on the project, then let the city staff determine the appropriate funding sources.

Chamberlin said it’s a cool project, and AAPAC gains from having partners like the Arts Alliance and DDA. But given the delay of the Canoe Imagine Art and Coleman Jewett memorial projects – because of the time it takes for the city attorney’s office to review these projects – “I want to make sure we don’t step in something that we then get slapped for,” she said. She’d rather take the time to make sure it’s cleared with the city attorney’s staff, or to hear directly from Hupy that it’s fine to move ahead on this project.

Miller said he’d be comfortable with that approach.

Kotarski asked Polich if it would be a problem to table the proposal for a month until AAPAC’s Oct. meeting, in order to sort out the funding issue. That would be fine, Polich replied. “We’re ready to move whenever we need to move, but it’s not going to hurt us one way or another.”

Miller asked Seagraves to clarify with Hupy whether the project can be funded with remaining Percent for Art street funds.

Malverne Winborne made a motion to approve the PowerArt pilot project in partnership with the Ann Arbor DDA and the Arts Alliance, contingent on legal review regarding potential funding sources. Kotarski supported that approach, saying it would show the DDA that AAPAC is serious about the project.

Polich said the Arts Alliance has looked into this very thoroughly, but she recognizes that it’s still a proposal and there are a lot of moving parts. The alliance is willing to work with AAPAC and the DDA to make sure it all works smoothly, she said.

Kotarski hoped that the project could be limited to local artists, if at all possible.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to approve the PowerArt project, contingent on legal review of potential funding sources. The pilot project would entail a $20,500 contribution from both the city and the DDA.

Canoe Imagine Art

Marsha Chamberlin gave an update on a community project called Canoe Imagine Art. At a special meeting on March 7, 2013, AAPAC had voted to participate in the project, but did not commit to providing any funding at that time. On Sept. 25, Chamberlin brought forward a proposal for AAPAC to contribute $10,000. [.pdf of project intake form]

Canoe Imagine Art logo.

The project will use 30 old aluminum canoes from the city of Ann Arbor’s Argo canoe livery, which 10 artists and 20 community groups will turn into artwork that will be displayed throughout the downtown in 2014. Partners in the project include the Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), the Main Street Area Association (MSAA), the Arts Alliance, and the Huron River Watershed Council.

Chamberlin noted that AAPAC had “money in the bank” to fund this kind of project, and approving it would demonstrate the commission’s ability to mobilize and get things done, “because that’s certainly a criticism we’ve been subjected to,” she said. More importantly, Chamberlin added, this represents a large-scale, temporary type of project that many councilmembers have talked about wanting to see. The total budget will be about $100,000, including a lot of in-kind contributions. But organizers of the project also plan to apply for grant funding, she said, and it’s compelling to show that the project already has support from the community.

Connie Brown supported the project, describing it as a fun effort that involves partnerships with other community groups.

John Kotarski said he liked the project, but he wanted to see it presented as a more formal proposal, akin to the packet that had been prepared by the Arts Alliance for the PowerArt project. Chamberlin replied that she had previously provided a written proposal several months ago. [.pdf of canoe project memo presented in March 2013] She said she’d be happy to prepare an updated document, but organizers were applying for a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs that needed to be completed by Sept. 30.

Kotarski indicated that he understood the deadline, but hoped that Chamberlin could follow up with a proposal to AAPAC that used the Arts Alliance proposal as a model.

Brown noted that Kotarski was likely to make similar comments for all of the projects on the agenda. One-page intake forms had been prepared for each of the projects, but not more elaborate proposals. She wondered whether someone on the city staff – possibly public art administrator Aaron Seagraves – could assemble the kind of proposals that Kotarski wanted.

Chamberlin pointed out that several people on the commission were involved in the Canoe Imagine Art project, as were city staff, and she had thought that the previous material provided to AAPAC was sufficient. But she told Kotarski that she would help prepare a more detailed document, if that was what the commission wanted.

Seagraves noted that commissioners needed to discuss the source of funds for this $10,000. It could come from remaining Percent for Art pooled funds for parks, since some of the canoe art would be located in city parks. However, there is also about $10,000 in an account held by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, he said. It had been given by a private donor and intended for a project in 2001 that was never competed. In 2005, the money was made available for any public art project in downtown Ann Arbor, but it hasn’t yet been used.

If AAPAC decided to use these funds for the Canoe Imagine Art project, it would free up remaining Percent for Art parks funds for other projects, Seagraves said. The majority of the canoe art would be located along downtown streets, so Seagraves recommended using the community foundation funds.

Bob Miller indicated that other projects – like the PowerArt proposal – might make use of the foundation funds. He suggested voting to agree to spend $10,000 on this project, but not to identify a specific funding source at this time.

Seagraves said the commission could vote on a funding source at its October meeting.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to spend $10,000 on the Canoe Imagine Art project, with the specific source of funding to be determined later.

Coleman Jewett Memorial

Marsha Chamberlin also gave an update on the memorial for Coleman Jewett. [.pdf of Jewett memorial intake form]

At a special meeting on March 7, 2013, AAPAC had voted to accept developing the memorial for Coleman Jewett as an official AAPAC project. The original proposal was for a bronze Adirondack chair at the Ann Arbor farmers market. Jewett was a long-time local educator who died in January. After he retired, he made furniture that he sold at the Ann Arbor farmers market. A private foundation has committed $5,000 to create a memorial at the market, in the form of a bronze replica of one of Jewett’s Adirondack chairs.

From left: Public art administrator Aaron Seagraves and John Kotarski, a member of the Ann Arbor public art commission.

A memorandum of understanding has been negotiated between the Jewett family, the city, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, which will act as a fiduciary for fundraising. The plan now calls for two full-sized replicas in bronze, at an estimated cost of $15,000 each. Materials for fundraising have been developed, and about 300 personalized letters to potential donors will be sent out soon, Chamberlin said.

The donor who has indicated an intent to contribute $5,000 to the project had asked for a detailed proposal, Chamberlin said, adding that she had provided the proposal several weeks ago but hadn’t heard back from him. She recently learned that he’s out of the country, so the city still doesn’t have a formal commitment on those funds.

The total budget is estimated to be $30,000 to $35,000. Chamberlin proposed allocating $5,000 of AAPAC funds to help kick off the additional fundraising.

As he did during the Canoe Imagine Art discussion, John Kotarski said he’d like a more elaborate proposal for this and all projects that come to AAPAC for approval. He thought that the fundraising materials that Chamberlin had developed might serve that purpose.

Chamberlin pointed out that this project was approved about six months ago and has been discussed at virtually every meeting since then. “I just assumed people were up to speed on it,” she said.

Kotarski said his intent isn’t to get AAPAC up to speed. Rather, this kind of documentation will show the public that AAPAC was thorough in its work, before making decisions. He said he was critical of all the intake forms, and he’d emailed Aaron Seagraves with his comments. “I think our approach now is shoot, ready aim,” Kotarski said. “We are making decisions before we really, fully have a fleshed out concept and idea.” He’d like to change their approach, and said the Arts Alliance proposal provides a good model.

Chamberlin replied that the commission had developed the process of using project intake forms, so it should be a commission decision if they want to change that approach. These projects have been documented and presented to the commission at previous meetings, she noted.

Connie Brown felt that Kotarski was raising a broader issue, and she agreed that going forward, each project should have a more detailed packet of material. Bob Miller asked Seagraves to provide that type of packet in the future.

Chamberlin noted that this would dramatically change the process that AAPAC has developed. That process entails initial approval by AAPAC to move ahead on a project, followed by the formation of a task force to flesh out a more detailed proposal, on which AAPAC then votes.

After further discussion, commissioners reached consensus for Seagraves to compile more detailed proposals for AAPAC projects.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to allocate $5,000 from the remaining Percent for Art parks funds to the Coleman Jewett memorial.

Artwork in Arbor Oaks

At AAPAC’s June 26, 2013 meeting, commissioners approved setting up an exploratory task force for possible artwork in the Arbor Oaks Park, located in the Bryant neighborhood on the city’s southeast side. [.pdf of Arbor Oaks intake form] Task force members include public art commissioners Malverne Winborne and Nick Zagar; Derek Miller, deputy director of the nonprofit Community Action Network (CAN); and CAN board member David Jones, as well as local residents.

Ann Arbor public art commissioner Malverne Winborne.

Public art administrator Aaron Seagraves reported that the task force met on Sept. 5, although neither of the public art commissioners could attend. The task force reviewed some examples of projects in other communities, he said, and talked about the kind of artwork they’d like to see in the park, which is adjacent to Bryant Elementary School. The project is envisioned as more of a community arts project, Seagraves said, similar to the mosaic mural that was completed at Allmendinger Park last year. It would involve an artist working with community members to design and create the artwork.

The request is to allocate $5,000 to the project from remaining Percent for Art parks funds. The idea is to raise private funds in addition to the city’s funding.

Connie Brown raised a broader issue, asking how AAPAC should decide whether to fund only a portion of a project, or to provide all the funding. She noted that AAPAC had funded the entire project at Allmendinger, and her inclination for the Arbor Oaks project is to fund more than just a small portion of it.

Marsha Chamberlin characterized it as a larger planning question. She noted that this project is very different from Canoe Imagine Art, where corporations will be approached for fundraising. It might be more appropriate for the city to fully fund projects like the one in Arbor Oaks, she said, and for AAPAC to develop criteria for that – like neighborhood participation.

John Kotarski wondered what would happen if no money were raised, and only $5,000 had been allocated to the Arbor Oaks project. “Are we setting it up for failure?” he asked. He said he’d be more comfortable having more description of the project, and a better sense of the budget. He pointed out that the Allmendinger Park mural was totally funded by the city, at $12,000.

Brown noted that the previous projects AAPAC had voted on during the meeting – Canoe Imagine Art and the Coleman Jewett memorial – were very well developed. She said she’s in favor of the Arbor Oaks project, but wants to make sure it’s funded appropriately.

Chamberlin pointed out that AAPAC has already accepted this as a project.

Bob Miller said there’s value in crowdsourcing, to engage the community. It’s worth investigating how that might happen. He asked Seagraves to develop a more detailed proposal, before AAPAC allocated any funding.

Chamberlin moved to table action on the funding allocation.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to table the funding proposal.

Scio Church Street Fence

Aaron Seagraves presented a proposal for enhancing the fence along the south side of Scio Church Road, between Maple and Delaware, including the I-94 overpass. [.pdf of fence intake form] The city is planning for installation of sidewalks along that stretch and will also be installing a fence there as part of that project.

The city staff was planning to install a standard kind of chain link fence, but Craig Hupy – the city’s public services area administrator – thought there might be an opportunity for something more creative, if AAPAC wanted to explore that possibility. The construction work would likely occur next summer. The budget for the fence enhancement was recommended to be between $40,000 and $80,000 from the remaining Percent for Art street funds.

Public art commissioner Ashlee Arder.

When Bob Miller asked for a more detailed proposal, Malverne Winborne pointed out that these projects begin with the initial step of an intake form, which gives a very brief overview of the concept. Devon Akmon observed that it seems like a two-step process, with this initial step simply confirming whether AAPAC wants to move forward with a project.

Commissioners again discussed whether they needed more information at this point in the process, and how to vet projects before investing significant time in developing a fuller proposal. Aaron Seagraves offered to put together a more detailed proposal for AAPAC’s October meeting.

John Kotarski explained to Akmon, AAPAC’s newest member, that the funds for this project would come from the remaining Percent for Art funds, which won’t be replenished after they’re spent. In the future, the funding will come from partnerships, fundraising and any money that the city council allocates to “enhance” capital projects. He noted that the remaining Percent for Art funds must be spent on projects that are tied thematically or physically to the funds of origin. “It’s an entanglement that the council felt was too much, and [the Percent for Art approach was] dissolved,” he said. “We’re trying to reinvent a ship that’s left port, and it’s challenging.”

Ashlee Arder supported a more organized proposal process. That will help everyone conceptualize the projects, she said, and will force the person who’s bringing forward the project to think about everything that’s involved in it, in terms of time and resources. Everyone has ideas, but do they have the capacity to implement them? “I do think we need to have a larger conversation or retreat about who we are and what we’re trying to do here,” she said.

Akmon suggested defining the parameters of the types of information AAPAC needs, in order to make decisions about which projects to move forward. Miller said it sounds like the idea is to make a template for making a proposal, so everyone knows what’s expected. He asked Seagraves to develop such a template.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to table the Scio Church fence project.

Roundabout at State & Ellsworth

Artwork for the new roundabout at South State and Ellsworth had been initially approved in concept by AAPAC, but without a budget attached to it. Aaron Seagraves reported that the roundabout will be finished soon.

Bob Miller noted that action had been suspended on this project because AAPAC had wanted to tie it into the city’s South State Street corridor plan. He wasn’t sure about the status of that plan, and said that if it’s not moving forward, then AAPAC should go ahead and take action on artwork for the roundabout. [By way of background, both the planning commission and city council have approved the South State Street corridor plan to be added to the city's master plan. The council took that action on June 15, 2013.]

Seagraves reported that although the plan has been approved, many of the recommendations won’t be implemented for several years.

John Kotarski suggested tabling it until AAPAC can get more information. He asked Seagraves to provide a report with some options about how to proceed.

Outcome: Commissioners voted to table action on possible artwork for the State & Ellsworth roundabout.

Forest Avenue Plaza

An item on the Sept. 25 agenda requested that AAPAC reallocate the previously approved budget for public art at the city’s Forest Avenue Plaza, putting the funds back into pooled Percent for Art parks funds. The action would also remove its status as an AAPAC project.

AAPAC had previously accepted this as a project at its Aug. 22, 2012 meeting, allocating between $10,000 to $35,000. The intent had been to work with the city’s parks staff and the Ann Arbor DDA to improve the plaza, which is located next to the Forest Avenue parking structure near South University.

Bob Miller said there had been buy-in on this project and several meetings were held over the past year, but when Percent for Art funding was suspended, the parks staff moved ahead with renovations there without incorporating public art.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to remove the project and return the allocation to the pooled Percent for Art parks fund.

Project Updates

Several other projects were discussed briefly during the Sept. 25 meeting, by way of updates. Additional information was also included in a written report by Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator. [.pdf of Seagraves' report] These projects were either already in progress when the city council temporarily halted spending on public art late last year, or don’t use Percent for Art funds.

Here are some highlights.

Project Updates: Annual Planning

The city is beginning its update of the capital improvements plan (CIP). Deb Gosselin, who manages the CIP process, will attend AAPAC’s Oct. 23 meeting to talk about how the process works. Gosselin had previously attended AAPAC’s Feb. 27, 2013 session, when she gave an overview of the CIP process.

Seagraves noted that under the city’s new approach to funding public art, the CIP process will directly affect the planning for public art. Projects in the CIP are eligible for public art “enhancements,” if approved by the city council.

The CIP will also start the process for developing AAPAC’s annual plan for the next fiscal year, which is due Feb. 1, 2014.

Project Updates: Radius Reception

A reception is planned for Thursday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. to dedicate the hanging sculpture Radius, located in the Justice Center lobby next to city hall. Oregon artist Ed Carpenter is expected to attend.

Project Updates: Argo Cascades

Two finalists for artwork at Argo Cascades are Jann Rosen-Queralt of Maryland and Mags Harries & Lajos Heder of Cambridge, Mass. They will be coming to town on Oct. 17 to present their conceptual designs from noon to 2 p.m. at city hall. The presentations will be recorded by Community Television Network, and will include feedback from the task force.

Task force members are John Kotarski, Malverne Winborne, Cheryl Saam, Margaret Parker, Cathy Fleisher, Bonnie Greenspoon, Julie Grand, and Colin Smith. The project has a budget of $150,000.

Project Updates: East Stadium Bridges

In early August, Catherine Widgery of Cambridge, Mass. was recommended as the artist for public art on the East Stadium bridges in Ann Arbor. She was picked by a selection panel from four finalists who had submitted proposals for the project, which has a $400,000 total budget. [.pdf of Widgery's proposal]

Seagraves reported that the selection panel provided feedback to Widgery, who subsequently revised her proposal. Members of the panel are Wiltrud Simbuerger, Bob Miller, Nancy Leff, David Huntoon and Joss Kiely. A conference call with the artist was held on Sept. 6 with panel members to discuss the proposal. [.pdf of panel feedback]

The new design incorporates glass paneled louvers with tree images in three locations on and under the bridge, to connect the locations thematically.

John Kotarski reported that he and Bob Miller will be taking this latest design to some of the city’s boards and commissioners for feedback, before the task force makes a recommendation to AAPAC. They had done similar outreach before Widgery was selected as the artist for this project. The intent is to create community buy-in before a project is finalized. It would need final approval by the city council.

Project Updates: First & Kingsley Rain Garden

At their Aug. 28, 2013 meeting, commissioners had approved Joshua Wiener‘s schematic design for public art at a planned rain garden, to be located at the southeast corner of First & Kingsley. [.pdf of staff memo, including itemized budget] On Sept. 25, Seagraves reported that Wiener continues to finalize designs, for installation in the spring.

The Denver artist is working with landscapers to incorporate public art into a new rain garden at that location, which is in a floodplain. The project has a $27,000 budget, though the artist’s contract would be for $23,380.

Wiener visited Ann Arbor on July 15 to present his design to the public. His proposal is for sculptures showing the outlines of five fish. They’re small mouth bass, in different sizes, made of white epoxy-painted steel and pointed toward the Huron River. The largest sculpture will be just under 8 feet tall, 20 feet wide and about 5 feet deep. Two of the fish will be large enough to serve as benches.

Commissioners present: Devon Akmon, Ashlee Arder, Connie Brown, Marsha Chamberlin, John Kotarski, Bob Miller, Malverne Winborne, Nick Zagar. Also: Aaron Seagraves, the city’s public art administrator.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. in the basement conference room at city hall, 301 E. Huron St. [Check Chronicle events listing to confirm date]

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