The Ann Arbor city council’s first meeting of the fiscal year is also the next-to-last one before the Aug. 5, 2014 primary elections for city council and mayor.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber includes Braille.

A month before the dog days actually begin, the council will be considering as part of its July 7 agenda a resolution that would pay Washtenaw County $135,570 for animal control services. The county in turn contracts with the Humane Society of Huron Valley for those services. This is a new arrangement, based on recommendations from a 2012 county task force. The idea is that local governments in the county with their own dog licensing programs, which generate revenue through licensing, should shoulder part of the cost of the county’s animal control contract. Ann Arbor has its own dog licensing program.

The July 7 agenda is heavy with items related to infrastructure. Three special assessments for the construction of new sidewalks are on the agenda for final approval: Stone School Road, Barton Drive and Scio Church Road. And the council will be considering approval of contracts for street repair associated with utilities work, the replacement of a clarifier at the drinking water treatment plan, the replacement of liners for the swimming pools at Buhr and Fuller parks, and for monitoring work at the now-dormant Ann Arbor city landfill.

Several development items also appear on the July 7 agenda. The rezoning of three Ann Arbor Housing Commission (AAHC) properties will be given final consideration in connection with major renovations and improvements the commission is making to its inventory – at Baker Commons, Green/Baxter Court Apartments, and Maple Meadows. Initial approval for rezoning of another AAHC property is also on the council’s agenda: North Maple Estates.

In addition to the AAHC properties, the council will consider rezoning for parcels on Research Park Drive, in the southern part of the city, and a site plan for the expansion of Rudolf Steiner High School on the city’s north side.

The council will give initial consideration to changes in the ordinance that defines how city boards and commissions are appointed – changes that focus on the environmental commission. The changes involve clarifications of the nomination process and other housekeeping issues. The council will also consider confirmation of three appointments to the environmental commission: Allison Skinner, Benjamin Muth and Mark Clevey.

The summertime theme of the agenda is reflected in the approval of temporary outdoor sales and consumption of alcohol for several downtown businesses during the art fairs, which run from July 16-19. A permanent liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse also appears on the council’s agenda. The theme of transition from summer to fall is reflected on the council’s July 7 agenda in the set of street closing approvals, which include closings around the University of Michigan stadium for home football games.

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.

Animal (Dog) Control Services

The council will be considering a $135,570 agreement between the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County for animal control services.

Background to the city’s agreement includes a long process of discussions and negotiations between Washtenaw County and the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) – a conversation that began in 2011 when the amount of funding provided to HSHV was under scrutiny. A task force was appointed, and ultimately the county board of commissioners, at its Nov. 7, 2012 meeting, authorized contracting with HSHV for $500,000 a year for animal control services. [.pdf of contract between Washtenaw County and HSHV]

Recommended as a part of that task force report was for the county to pursue a cost-sharing arrangement with those municipalities in the county that collect licensing fees for animals. The city of Ann Arbor is one such municipality in the county. From the task force report:

Cost Sharing with Local Governments
Between 45 and 65 percent of the animals at the Humane Society come from jurisdictions with their own animal control ordinances or licensing programs. While the County would bear responsibility for stray dogs in those jurisdictions absent a controlling ordinance, it would also collect licensing fees from pet owners in those communities. The current system, however, drives costs to the County without providing direct revenues to offset them. The Task Force recommends that the County reach out to the communities whose ordinances either exceed the scope of the County animal control policy or that capture licensing fees, and develop a cost sharing agreement with those local governments to offset increases driven by local ordinance requirements. [.pdf of 2012 task force report]

Cited in the council’s July 7 resolution as the cost of public animal control countywide is $951,793. The assignment of $135,570 of that cost to the city of Ann Arbor is based on the proportion of dogs that come from Ann Arbor that are housed at HSHV, factoring in the $500,000 provided to the HSHV by Washtenaw County.

The city council’s approved FY 2015 budget had already included $105,000 for such animal control services. Increased dog licensing revenue is projected to fund the remaining $32,570, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council’s FY 2015 budget deliberations on May 19 , 2014 resulted in two amendments that affected funding for animal control services. One was an amendment that re-allocated $75,000 for a commercial sign inventory to animal control, including deer herd management. The other was an amendment that adjusted the revenue budget upwards to reflect an assumed 30% participation rate for dog licensing in the city – which would be a total of about $63,000. That’s $48,000 more than the actual amount up to now, with the idea being that a publicity campaign could increase participation in the licensing program. The additional revenue is to be put towards animal control.

Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments

At its July 7 meeting, the city council will consider the final vote on the special assessment of property owners to help pay for construction of three different sidewalks – on Stone School Road, Barton Drive and Scio Church Road.

The new sidewalk on Stone School Road will be on the west side of the road. This work will be done in conjunction with the Stone School Road reconstruction project from I-94 to Ellsworth Road. The total sidewalk project cost is roughly $128,500, of which about $55,000 will be special assessed. A public hearing on the special assessment will also take place at the council’s July 7 meeting.

The Barton Drive sidewalk project will extend eastward from Bandemer Park at Longshore Drive. The cost of the Barton Drive sidewalk has been calculated to be $80,606. Of that, about $36,000 will be paid from federal surface transportation funds. Of the remaining $44,606, the city’s general fund would pay $42,626, leaving just $1,980 to be paid through the special assessment.

For the Scio Church sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a federal surface transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the city’s general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626.

Infrastructure: Public Services Contracts

Several contracts appear on the council’s July 7 agenda that are related to infrastructure maintenance and repair. The council will be considering a $344,600 contract with Cadillac Asphalt LLC for repair of streets after water mains, storm and sanitary sewers are repaired. The city’s public services area does not have the equipment or the staff to perform these types of street repairs, which often involve the replacement of the concrete base or the concrete street surface, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council will also consider awarding a $175,000 contract to replace a clarifier drive in the drinking water treatment plant – to Titus Welding Company. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the drive to be replaced is original to the plant and was installed in 1965. It had an expected life of 30 years. It has begun to show signs of failure, included seizing, high vibration, and bearing failure. The drive has been assessed by the manufacturer and it has been determined that it is not cost-effective to repair, according to the memo.

The council will also consider a $205,055 contract with Renosys Corp. to install PVC pool liners at Buhr and Fuller pools. The city is switching to PVC from Marcite, which is, according to a staff memo, a “cementitous product that covers the pool shell creating a smooth and waterproof surface.” The new product has a smoother surface, and won’t require the yearly patching required due to harsh winters and wear and tear on the pool, according to the staff memo.

The council will consider a $80,836 contract amendment with Tetra Tech Inc. for environmental consulting services at the now-closed Ann Arbor landfill. That brings the total amount on the contract to $624,221. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, for several years the landfill has had a plume of 1-4 dioxane and vinyl chloride contamination offsite primarily in Southeast Area Park, northeast of the landfill. A slurry wall was constructed along most of the boundary of the landfill to eliminate groundwater passing through the landfill, and three purge wells were used to attempt to capture the offsite contamination.

Also on the July 7 agenda is a resolution for $125,000 contracts with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. and Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. for general civil engineering and surveying services. Those services include a range of activities, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution: design and management of capital improvement projects; private development construction plan review; private development utility and road construction inspection; traffic engineering; civil engineering design; construction inspection; drafting; and surveying.

Development

On the council’s agenda are a number of rezoning requests and site plans associated with new development in the city.

Development: Research Park Drive – Rezoning, Recreation

On the city council’s July 7 agenda for initial consideration is the rezoning of six sites along Research Park Drive – from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district). Related to that rezoning, the council will be asked to give initial approval to amendments to the city’s zoning code to allow outdoor recreation as a special exception use in the ORL zoning district.

The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites.

A proposed area plan – which is less detailed than a site plan – includes an indoor-outdoor tennis facility on one of the lots. It also includes five two-story buildings that could accommodate office, research, and limited industrial uses on the remaining lots, each with their own parking lot and access point to Research Park Drive.

Prior to construction, the project must go through the city’s site plan approval process, which might require a traffic impact study.

Only the initial rezoning and the amendment allowing recreation as a special exception use will be in front of the council at its July 7 meeting. The planning commission recommended support of both actions at its June 3, 2014 meeting.

Aerial view showing Research Park Drive parcels.

Area plan for four sites in a proposed development on Research Park Drive. The image is oriented with east at the top.

Development: Rudolf Steiner Site Plan

On the July 7 city council agenda is the approval of a site plan for the expansion of the Rudolf Steiner High School. The private school is located at 2230 Pontiac Trail, north of Brookside. The planning commission had recommended approval of the site plan at its June 3, 2014 meeting.

The project – estimated to cost $2.5 million – involves building a one-story, 19,780-square-foot addition to the existing classroom building. The structure will include a 9,990-square-foot gym, with the remaining 9,790 square feet used for classrooms and storage.

According to the staff memo, an existing Quonset hut on the east side of the site will be removed, as will a 48-inch white oak tree immediately east of the proposed addition. The school will be required to plant 12 trees for mitigation. In addition, 17 new trees will be planted as part of the project.

Parking will be increased by 31 spaces to accommodate special events and discourage parking in nearby neighborhoods, according to the staff memo. A total of 32 bicycle parking spaces will be provided near the north entry to the new addition. No additional enrollment beyond the previously approved 120 students is proposed. The school has operated at that location since 2002.

Site plan for Rudolf Steiner High School expansion. The yellow section is the existing building. The white section indicates the proposed addition.

At their June 3 meeting, planning commissioners approved a special exception use for the project. That’s required under Chapter 55 of the city’s zoning code because the site is zoned R1D (single family dwelling). Private schools are allowed within that zoning district, if granted a special exception use. The planning commission has discretion to grant a special exception use, which does not require additional city council approval.

Development: AAHC Rezoning Final Approvals

On the council’s agenda for July 7 is the final approval to the rezoning of three Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties that have been given initial approval by the city council. The planning commission had recommended the rezonings at its May 6, 2014 meeting. Initial city council action came at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

The current PL (public land) zoning for some of the properties is a vestige of the AAHC properties’ status as city-owned land. The city council approved the transfer of deeds to the AAHC at its June 2, 2013 meeting. The three sites given initial rezoning approval on June 2, 2014 are part of the housing commission’s major initiative to upgrade the city’s public housing units by seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Rezoning is in progress for the following public housing sites, two of which are currently zoned as public land:

• Baker Commons: Rezone public land to D2 (downtown interface). The 0.94-acre lot is located at 106 Packard Street, at the intersection with South Main, in Ward 5. It includes a 64-unit apartment building.
• Green/Baxter Court Apartments: Rezone public land to R4A (multi-family dwelling district). The 2-acre site is located at 1701-1747 Green Road and contains 23 apartments in four buildings and a community center. It’s in Ward 2.
• Maple Meadows: Currently zoned R1C (single-family dwelling district), the recommendation is to rezone it as R4B (multi-family dwelling district). The site is 3.4 acres at 800-890 South Maple Road and contains 29 apartments in five buildings and a community center. It’s located in Ward 5.

At the planning commission’s May 6 meeting, AAHC director Jennifer Hall explained that PL zoning doesn’t allow housing to be built on a parcel. As AAHC seeks private funding to rehab its properties, it needs to ensure if a building burns down, for example, it could be rebuilt. In general that’s why the rezoning is being requested. It’s also being requested to align the zoning with the current uses of the property. She stressed that the highest priority properties to be rezoned are Baker Commons, Green/Baxter and Maple Meadows, because investors have already been found to renovate those sites.

For these three sites, planning commissioners also voted to waive the area plan requirements for the AAHC rezoning petitions, because no new construction is proposed and surveys of the improvements have been provided.

For additional background on the AAHC process of renovating its properties, see Chronicle coverage: “Public Housing Conversion Takes Next Step.”

Development: AAHC – Appointment

Also at its July 7 meeting, the council will be asked to confirm the appointment of Audrey Wojtkowiak to the board of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, to fill the vacancy of Christopher Geer. Wojtkowiak’s nomination was made at the council’s June 16 meeting. She’s controller for the Consolidation Center at Detroit Diesel.

Development: AAHC – North Maple Rezoning

On the council’s July 7 agenda is initial consideration of rezoning that’s necessary for a renovation project to be undertaken by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission for a site on North Maple.

Aerial view of North Maple Estates site, outlined in green.

The council will be asked to give initial approval to rezoning the 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road – from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district).

The planning commission had recommended the rezoning at its June 17, 2014 meeting after postponing it on June 3, 2014.

The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report]

The site plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. The project would include a playground, community building and 73 parking spaces. According to a staff memo, the buildings would be located along a T-shaped driveway that connects to North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue. The drive extends northward toward Vine Court but does not connect with that street. There would be a new connection to Dexter Avenue through the remaining, undeveloped length of Seybold Drive.

The project will require the city to vacate a portion of the right-of-way for Seybold Drive. The surrounding land is owned by the housing commission, so if the right-of-way vacation is approved, the land would become part of the housing commission property.

The site plan will not be in front of the city council on July 7. Only the initial rezoning approval and a resolution of intent to vacate right-of-way for Seybold Drive appear on the agenda. That resolution of intent sets a public hearing for Aug. 18, 2014 – the same council meeting when a vote will be taken on the vacation’s approval. The rezoning will also need a second vote of approval from the council at a future meeting.

Planning staff noted three issues that need to be resolved before the project gets approval from city council:

The parcel containing two duplex buildings also owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission in the northeast corner of the site must be combined with the subject site, forming a single parcel as a requirement for issuance of any permits.

The legal description and comparison chart data must be confirmed to include the duplex parcel.

The northern-most parking stall, nearest the connection to Vine Court, must be relocated outside of the minimum front setback area.

According to the staff memo, after the planning commission’s June 3 meeting the city’s traffic engineer reviewed the proposed new connection from Seybold Drive onto Dexter Avenue, and concluded that sight distances from all approaches are acceptable. He suggested that the pavement markings on Dexter should be refreshed.

The reconstruction of North Maple Estates is part of an ongoing effort by the housing commission to upgrade the city’s housing stock for low-income residents. At the planning commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall had made a presentation about the initiative, which includes seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Environmental Commission

The city’s environmental commission appears in two different agenda items – one that amends the city ordinance establishing the commission, and another that nominates additional members to the commission.

Environmental Commission: Ordinance Change

The council will be giving initial consideration to a change to the city ordinance that regulates how appointments are made to the environmental commission (EC). The EC is one of the few boards or commission in the city for which the mayor does not make nominations. The more familiar procedure – for most boards and commissions – includes a mayoral nomination at one council meeting, followed by the confirmation vote of the council at a subsequent meeting.

In the past, the council has mimicked this procedure for the EC by having some councilmember put a resolution on the agenda appointing a member to the EC, and then postponing the resolution until the next meeting. The ordinance revisions clarify that the nominations put forward by the council as a body to the EC are to be made by the two councilmembers who serve as the council’s representatives to the EC.

Besides two slots for council representatives, the EC includes positions for members of the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission. The ordinance revision that the council will be considering on July 7 makes clear that those groups make their appointments to the EC without further city council approval. This specific revision comes after the planning commission had selected Kirk Westphal from its membership to serve on the EC earlier this year, and some councilmembers voted against his confirmation, when the council was asked to confirm his selection two months ago. For background on that vote, see “Hutton, Westphal Reappointed to EC.”

The staff memo summarizes the changes to the ordinance regulating appointments to boards and commissions as follows:

• clarifies that the councilmembers currently serving on the environmental commission nominate persons for “at-large” appointments, which are then approved by council resolution;
• clarifies that the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission each designate a representative to the environmental commission without council approval and for a one-year term;
• clarifies that the 3-year terms should be equally staggered;
• removes references to the Leslie Science Center Advisory Board, which no longer exists;
• requires the city administrator or the designated support staff of the environmental commission to notify council of vacancies – previously this was delegated to the clerk’s office, which does not always have immediate knowledge of vacancies;
• contains a few minor, non-substantive corrections and clarifications.

If the council gives the ordinance amendment initial approval on July 7, it would still need a second and final vote at a subsequent meeting, in order to be enacted.

Environmental Commission: Appointments

Also on the agenda are confirmation of three nominations to the EC, which were announced at the council’s June 16, 2014 meeting: Allison Skinner, Benjamin Muth and Mark Clevey.

Clevey is the representative to the EC selected by the energy commission, so this confirmation will not follow the ordinance amendment for which the council will be asked to give initial approval on July 7.

Liquor

At its July 7 meeting, the city council will be considering two items related to serving alcohol. One is an item that would allow several downtown businesses to serve alcohol outdoors during the Ann Arbor art fairs, to be held July 16-19 this year:
Knight’s Restaurant (600 E. Liberty St.), Michigan Theater (603 E. Liberty St.), Neopapalis (500 E. William St.), Cottage Inn (508-512 E. William St.), New York Pizza Depot (605 E. William St.), Ashley’s Restaurant (338 S. State St.), Red Hawk Bar & Grill (316 S. State St.), and Pizza House (618 Church).

The second item is a downtown development liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The council approved the site plan for Ruth’s Chris – to be located on Fourth Avenue between William and Liberty – at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

Street Closings

The consent agenda includes approvals of street closings for special events, which provide a window into what’s happening in the coming weeks. Events with street closings on the July 7 city council agenda include:

• Electric Bolt 8K Run/Walk (July 27, 2014): Various streets from 6-10 a.m.
• Cleats and Beats (Aug. 1, 2014): These street closures would be on S. Main from E. William to Huron, on Liberty from S. Ashley to S. Fourth, and on Washington from S. Ashley to the alley by the parking structure. This is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau. It appears to be a different event than the Eats, Beats and Cleats event for which the council unanimously rejected a street closure request last year. That was proposed to take place in a South University neighborhood with a lot of student housing.
• Relevent Sports International Champions Cup Soccer Game (Aug. 2, 2014). Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of the game.
• University of Michigan football games (2014 Season): Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of each home football game.
• Dancing in the Streets (Aug. 31, 2014): S. Main between Huron and Liberty, and Washington between S. Ashley and the alley on E. Washington toward S. Fourth Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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3:56 p.m. People who are signed up for public commentary reserved time are now listed on the agenda. Three people are signed up to talk about U.S.-Israel foreign policy: Mozhgan Savabiehsfahani, Blaine Coleman and Henry Herskovitz. Jeff Hayner is signed up to talk about the Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment. Kermit Schlansker is signed up to call for stopping construction of houses. Changming Fan is signed up to talk about the local development finance authority and job creation. Carolyn Grawi is signed up to talk about the Research Park Drive rezoning item. And Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about electing Mark Schauer for governor, affordable housing, human rights and transportation.

4:20 p.m. The staff responses to councilmember questions about agenda items are now available [.pdf of July 7, 2014 staff written responses to council questions]

7:04 p.m. Council chambers are filling up with councilmembers and audience.

7:08 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance. And we’re off.

7:09 p.m. Roll call of council. All councilmembers are present and correct.

7:09 p.m. Approval of agenda.

7:09 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the agenda without amendment.

7:09 p.m. Communications from the city administrator.

7:10 p.m. City administrator Steve Powers is calling the council’s attention to a communication attached to the agenda – notifying the council that the city could become a direct grantee of the federal CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program). But the city could continue its participation through the Urban County, of which it is a member. Powers’ communication indicates that unless he is instructed otherwise, the city will continue its participation with the Urban County. [July 7, 2014 memo from Powers]

7:11 p.m. Powers is also noting that there are several street closings on the agenda. He observes that the books for FY 2014 will be closed and he’ll have a report on that soon.

7:11 p.m. INT-1 Volunteer of the Month. The proclamation honors Peter and Mary Fales as volunteers at the annual “Mayor’s Green Fair.” They have staffed the information booth and barricades and helped with set up and the tearing down of the event. Mary Fales is assistant city attorney with the city.

7:13 p.m. Public commentary. 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.]

Three people are signed up to talk about US-Israel foreign policy: Mozhgan Savabiehsfahani, Blaine Coleman and Henry Herskovitz. Jeff Hayner is signed up to talk about the Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment. Kermit Schlansker is signed up to call for stopping construction of houses. Changming Fan is signed up to talk about the local development finance authority and job creation. And Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about electing Mark Schauer for governor, affordable housing, human rights and transportation.

7:16 p.m. Thomas Partridge introduces himself as a recent candidate for the Michigan legislature. He calls it a critically important election year. He calls on everyone to work on behalf of Democrat Mark Schauer’s candidacy for governor. Relevant issues include expanding affordable housing, human rights and access to transportation, he says. It’s important to work beyond current plans to expand affordable housing, Partridge says. He says he’s speaking on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society. The council has addressed the material infrastructure needs of the city, while overlooking the kind of issues he’s talking about tonight, he says.

7:21 p.m. Blaine Coleman says he was here a year and a half ago when Israel was bombing Gaza. He’d asked Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) to spearhead a resolution asking for a boycott Israel. Now he was back a year and a half later and Israel was bombing Gaza again, and he was asking again for a symbolic resolution boycotting Israel. He refers to the beating of school children. [By way of background, here's a link to video posted by The Guardian, which reports the video was broadcast on a Palestinian TV station as showing the beating of Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15-year-old Floridian, who was visiting Israel.] [video] This boy was on the front page of the New York Times, Coleman says. He asks the council to pay for the boy’s airfare from Florida to come talk to the Ann Arbor city council.

7:24 p.m. Jeff Hayner allows that the issue that Coleman had talked about is emotional, whereas he was going to be talking about things paid for with taxes. Hayner is addressing the question of cost associated with the Barton Drive sidewalk construction. Some of the more precise figures are described in a comment Hayer wrote online here: [link] He’s comparing the costs to national costs in other cities. It seems like too much money, he says.

7:28 p.m. Mozhgan Savabiehsfahani is also addressing the beating of the Floridian schoolboy. She’s also talking about other children who have been beaten up “on your watch.” She’s been coming to the Ann Arbor city council for 10 years, she says, telling the council that they need to act, and she’s seen no effect. “How many more dead bodies can you handle?” she asks. She tells them that they’re trying to make history, but “You ain’t gonna make no history, if you say nothing in the face of this kind of brutality,” she tells them. “You support this with your silence,” she says. She calls the bus stop slogans here in Ann Arbor – “Our Way of Life” – phony. She and Coleman are holding signs showing photographs of the beaten boy’s face. She tells the council they’re looking at her like she’s some kind of five-headed dragon. Boycotting Israel is their duty, she concludes.

7:30 p.m. Kermit Schlansker is educating the council on total U.S. energy consumption: 97 quads of energy. One quad is an enormous number, he says. Long-term remedies will depend on lifestyle changes or else hardships. Houses take more energy to heat and more energy for transportation to them, he says. Stand-alone houses are the enemy of the planet, he says. We’re facing a dire long-term problem, he says. Every house that is built will need to be torn down to make way for something more important, he says.

7:34 p.m. Henry Herskovitz reminds the council that he’d told them last month how Israel had attacked the U.S.S. Liberty. Tonight he’s addressing the council on the topic of the Lavon Affair, which was a 1954 operation conducted by Israeli military intelligence that involved recruiting Egyptian Jews to strike U.S. and British civilian targets, which were then planned to be blamed on Muslim extremists. [Wikipedia link on Lavon Affair] Herskovitz traces the Lavon Affair to the policies of Eisenhower and Nasser. Lavon was an official who was forced to resign. Herskovitz quotes Malcom X, saying that the American public has been “bamboozled” on the issue of Israel.

7:37 p.m. Changming Fan introduces himself as president of TiniLite Inc. He thanks everyone, especially the council, for creating a model of volunteerism. He’s talking about the LDFA. He laments the lack of mention of jobs and manufacturing. He calls the leader of Ann Arbor SPARK a good salesperson. “Do something!” he shouts.

7:39 p.m. Carolyn Grawi is director of advocacy and education at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living, which is located on Research Park Drive. She’s addressing the zoning changes that are proposed on tonight’s agenda. She wants the council to make sure that the city’s infrastructure is brought up to speed, in terms of access, whenever there’s development. She’s advocating for sidewalks on Research Park Drive. She points out that the public bus only goes one way, because there’s no stop light to facilitate a left turn. As this area develops and grows, the city needs to pay attention to issues of access, she says.

7:40 p.m. Communications from the council. This is the first of two 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.

7:42 p.m. Jane Lumm is alerting the council to a memo she’d sent to her colleagues about a proposed charter amendment. [link] She also announces a citizens’ participation meeting July 10 at 7 p.m. at the Plymouth Road Holiday Inn on a 500-unit Toll Brothers development on the west side of Nixon and Dhu Varren.

7:43 p.m. Sabra Briere also notes that the same development mentioned by Lumm will be discussed at the planning commission’s work session tomorrow at 7 p.m. here at city hall.

7:45 p.m. Mike Anglin says that many of the city’s documents includes a mention of “health, safety and welfare” but it’s often forgotten. He compliments the planning commission for invoking that notion in delaying the Glendale development at its last meeting on July 1, 2014. Until you can show that you won’t get flooding, no development should take place, Anglin says. He’s comparing the inconvenience to developers with the right to health, safety and welfare for citizens.

7:47 p.m. Margie Teall asks the rules committee to review the idea of “tabling.” She was disturbed at how the tabling motion was used at the council’s last meeting. Because a tabling motion is not subject to debate, it prevented a full discussion. She did not think the motion was used properly. So she is asking the rules committee to review the issue so that meetings could be more cooperative.

7:48 p.m. Communications from the mayor. Mayor Hieftje is welcoming the students from Skyline and Huron high schools.

7:48 p.m. MC-1 Appointments. The council is being asked to confirm the appointment of Audrey Wojtkowiak to the board of the Ann Arbor housing commission, filling vacancy left by Christopher Geer’s resignation.

7:48 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the appointment of Audrey Wojtkowiak to the AAHC board.

7:48 p.m. MC-2 Nominations. Being nominated tonight to the airport advisory commission is Theresa Whiting, replacing John Sullivan. And being nominated as a reappointment to the energy commission is Shoshannah Lenski. Votes on those nominations will take place at the council’s next meeting.

7:51 p.m. Hieftje is now giving an update on the alarming growth of people who are using the Delonis Center, the homeless shelter, who are not from Washtenaw County. That figure is up to 40%, he says. In this coming winter, it might reach 50%, and we might need to turn people away, he says. He’d met with the leadership of the homeless shelter, Ellen Schulmeister, and the city’s lobbyist in Lansing, Kirk Profit. The issue is that other organizations outside the county are sending people to Ann Arbor’s homeless shelter – and they have apparently declined the shelter’s request to call ahead to alert the shelter that they are sending people here.

7:51 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 there are five public hearings scheduled. The first three hearings are on the rezoning of properties owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission to be consistent with the AAHC’s renovation plans for its housing stock. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – Rezoning Final Approvals above.]

The fourth public hearing is on the confirmation of the special assessment for a sidewalk construction project on Stone School Road. [For additional background, see Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments above.] And the fifth hearing is on the site plan for an expansion of the Rudolf Steiner High School. [For additional background, see Development: Rudolf Steiner Site Plan above.]

7:53 p.m. PH-1 Green/Baxter rezoning. Thomas Partridge asks that all similar rezoning requests and site plan approvals be sent back and redrafted to include language that the land to be rezoned have significant access to people needing affordable housing on the land.

7:57 p.m. Jeff Hayner says that whenever land is rezoned from public land, there does need to be some extra concern. It needs to serve a public purpose, he says. He cautions against the possibility that the land could eventually serve a commercial purpose. He says that some people are salivating over the possibility of developing the Baker Commons property for commercial purposes.

7:57 p.m. That’s in for PH-1.

7:59 p.m. PH-2 Baker Commons rezoning. Thomas Partridge says there’s no justification for changing the zoning of Baker Commons. He calls for protections to ensure that the land continues to be used for affordable housing purposes. Ann Arbor is supposed to be a leader for human rights, he says, so this protection should be a part of every rezoning proposal that comes before the city council.

8:00 p.m. That’s it for PH-2.

8:03 p.m. PH-3 Maple Meadows rezoning. The previous two hearings concerned properties that are being rezoned from public land to a residential zoning, Thomas Partridge says. This one is not zoned as public land. He’s calling for affordable housing protections.

8:04 p.m. Hieftje is pointing out that all three properties are operated by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission.

8:05 p.m. PH-4 Stone School Road special assessment roll. Three representatives of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are addressing the council about the amount of the special assessment they’ve been assigned. They’re asking for some kind of waiver, given the nonprofit status of their organization. They’re asking for help and guidance. Hieftje tells them that city staff will provide them with options.

8:06 p.m. Jeff Hayner is telling the council that the cost for this project is twice the national average.

8:08 p.m. PH-5 Rudolf Steiner High School site plan. Jeff Hayner jokes that he’s not trying to usurp Partridge’s record of speaking turns. What “bums out” the neighborhood about this project is the loss of a 48-inch oak tree, he says. They’re planting 12 four-inch trees as remediation, which is good, he says. It would be nice to just move the tree, he says, like the University of Michigan is doing in a similar situation.

8:09 p.m. That’s it for PH-5.

8:09 p.m. Approval of minutes.

8:09 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the minutes of its previous meeting.

8:09 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: Traffic Calming on Wells Street ($23,920).
• CA-2: Approve purchase order to Cogsdale Corporation for annual software maintenance.
• CA-3: Approve street closings and special event provisions for Relevent Sports International Champions Cup Soccer Game (Aug. 2, 2014). Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of the game.
• CA-4: Approve street closures for University of Michigan football games for University of Michigan football games (2014 Season): Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of each home football game.
• CA-5: Approve street closings for Dancing in the Streets (Aug. 31, 2014): S. Main between Huron and Liberty, and Washington between S. Ashley and the alley on E. Washington toward S. Fourth Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• CA-6: Approve street closings for the Electric Bolt 8K Run/Walk (July 27, 2014): Various streets from 6-10 a.m.
• CA-7: Approve Street closings for Cleats and Beats (Aug. 1, 2014): These street closures would be on S. Main from E. William to Huron, on Liberty from S. Ashley to S. Fourth, and on Washington from S. Ashley to the alley by the parking structure. This is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau. It appears to be a different event than the Eats, Beats and Cleats event for which the council unanimously rejected a street closure request last year. That was proposed to take place in a South University neighborhood with a lot of student housing.

8:09 p.m. Councilmembers can opt to select out any items for separate consideration. Briere pulls out CA-1 and CA-4.

8:10 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the consent agenda with the exception of CA-1 and CA-4.

8:11 p.m. CA-1 Traffic Calming on Wells Street. Briere is highlighting the mixture of different solutions – traffic humps and crosswalks. She says it’s unfortunate that the petition did not extend all the way to Burns Park Elementary. Taylor thanks staff for working with residents – with respect to how the percent of residents voting for the petition was to be calculated.

8:12 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved CA-1.

8:15 p.m. CA-4 Approve street closures for University of Michigan football games for the 2014 season. Anglin is questioning why the time period for different lanes is different – three hours versus one hour.

8:15 p.m. Police chief John Seto is explaining the logic of the three-hour closure. He reviews how the original proposal back in 2013 was for three hours for both lanes. The reduction to one hour on one lane was a kind of compromise. Seto says that based on last year’s experience, the appropriate length of time was actually three hours.

8:18 p.m. Anglin is asking if the public was asked about their feeling. Seto said he had walked the neighborhoods, and reminds the council that he’d provided a report back to the council on how things had gone. He also notes that a public meeting was held last week with neighbors. Hieftje says that he’d read a report about that public meeting, and asks Seto to summarize. Seto reports that 8-10 residents had attended. The main concern was post-game traffic, he says. It’s important to educate people to the fact that Main Street is open after the game, he says. There will be more signs and more traffic cones, he says.

8:19 p.m. Seto also notes that there was a complaint about helicopter noise.

8:20 p.m. Petersen asks what the impact had been last year on the front-lawn parking businesses that residents operate. Seto says that issue wasn’t raised at this most recent public meeting. He reported that for those parking lots near Main Street, there’d been some impact. Deeper into the neighborhoods there was less impact. They’d also incorporated suggestions for improvement of signage and messaging boards.

8:22 p.m. Hieftje says that the point is to make the game safe for 110,000 people and Seto is going out of his way to work with one or two residents. Eaton thanks Seto for his work with residents. He’d attended the public meeting, though he’d arrived late. But he’d continued opposing the closing of the streets, because he didn’t see a real security risk. He complimented Seto, however, on the way he worked with residents.

8:23 p.m. Briere says it’s not about security, but rather about controlling traffic and she’d be opposing it.

8:24 p.m. Teall says the idea that the council would second-guess the advice of Homeland Security is scary. She’ll vote for it. Kunselman also says that he’ll vote for it. Inside the stadium and looking out on Main Street, he’d seen a billboard truck inching along – and he’d remarked to his wife: “That could have been it.” We need to minimize the possibility that something horrible could happen, he says.

Taylor says he respects professionals and professionalism. The city has been told on a number of occasions that this is a good step to take. There’s an impact to neighborhoods, but it is mitigated by AAPD. He didn’t see a rationale for voting against it. The threat is easy to articulate and imagine and the cost benefit on this is plain, he says. Briere asks for an amendment to enforce a one-hour closure after the game – if this is indeed about security.

8:29 p.m. Lumm asks for Seto’s view of keeping Main Street closed for an hour after the game. Seto says that was considered last year. It would be difficult tactically to do that. Getting people out of the stadium as quickly as possible would reduce risk, he says. Once people get onto the streets, it’s difficult to get them off the streets. [This is what happened at the Winter Classic.]

8:30 p.m. Seto says that closing the street for an hour after the game would give the AAPD “significant challenges.” Lumm thanks Seto, saying it’s a clear explanation.

8:32 p.m. Kailasapathy allows she’s not a football fan. She wonders if it really takes more than an hour for the foot traffic to disburse. Seto: “It depends.” He’s now explaining various scenarios. Teall takes back a statement about traffic management, saying it is about traffic management and making the stadium area as secure as possible.

8:33 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved CA-4 over the dissent of Briere, Kailasapathy and Eaton.

8:33 p.m. B-1 (AAHC) Rezoning of 2.42 Acres from PL (Public Land District) to R4A (Multiple-Family Dwelling District), Green/Baxter Court Apartments. This and each of the next two items is for final approval of rezoning of Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties. Initial approval by the city council for this and the next two rezoning items came at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

The current PL (public land) zoning for some of the properties is a vestige of the AAHC properties’ status as city-owned land. The city council approved the transfer of deeds to the AAHC at its June 2, 2013 meeting. The three sites given initial rezoning approval on June 2, 2014 are part of the housing commission’s major initiative to upgrade the city’s public housing units by seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – Rezoning Final Approvals above.]

8:37 p.m. Briere asks for AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall to come to the podium. She asks Hall to explain how the AAHC properties are protected for continued use as affordable housing, given their rezoning. Hall is reciting the history of the city’s ownership of the properties – but the land was transferred to the AAHC. The “cleanest” way to go about this was to rezone the property consistent with what is already there. The funders who are providing financial support for the AAHC renovations require that the zoning be appropriate. The underlying use for the property is determined by HUD, she says. So their use will continue as affordable housing, Hall says.

8:41 p.m. Kailasapathy asks how long HUD requires the use to be for affordable housing. Hall is explaining the different kinds of documents. The agreements are in 20-year increments. Kailasapathy wants to make sure the use is for affordable housing in perpetuity. Hall gives three “stopgaps” against other uses: HUD, the AAHC board, and the Ann Arbor city council, which appoints the AAHC board.

8:41 p.m. Anglin wants to dive into B-2. Hieftje asks him to wait.

8:41 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give final approval to the rezoning of Green/Baxter Court Apartments.

8:41 p.m. B-2 (AAHC) Rezoning of 0.94 Acre from PL (Public Land District) to D2 (Downtown Interface District), Baker Commons. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – Rezoning Final Approvals above.]

8:45 p.m. Anglin asks why the zoning that was selected for the property was D-2. He’s concerned that it would be perceived as “advantageous” to people who might want to acquire and develop the property. Planning manager Wendy Rampson explains that Baker Commons has about 112% FAR and D-2 allows 200%. So there’s more capacity there, she says. Anglin says that people in need should be kept closer to downtown – jobs and transportation. Eaton gets clarification that the overlay district is the First Street character district.

8:45 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give final approval for the Baker Commons rezoning.

8:45 p.m. B-3 (AAHC) Rezoning of 3.3 Acres from R1C (Single Family Dwelling District) to R4B (Multiple-Family Dwelling District), Maple Meadows. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – Rezoning Final Approvals above.]

8:46 p.m. Anglin asks Hall to describe meetings with the public. Hall says that there were not meetings with the public about these three sites. The required legal notifications were mailed out, she explains.

8:46 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give final approval to the Maple Meadows rezoning.

8:46 p.m. Recess. We’re in recess.

8:59 p.m. We’re back.

9:00 p.m. Hieftje ventures the council can get through the rest of the agenda fairly quickly if they keep moving.

9:01 p.m. C-1 (AAHC) Rezoning of 4.8 Acres from R1C (Single Family Dwelling District) to R4B (Multiple Family Dwelling District), North Maple Road. This item is similar to the first three rezoning actions for Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties – but this is the initial consideration by the city council. The planning commission had recommended the rezoning at its June 17, 2014 meeting after postponing it on June 3, 2014. The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report] The site plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – North Maple Rezoning above.]

9:01 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval to the North Maple Road rezoning.

9:01 p.m. C-2 Rezoning of 16.6 Acres from RE (Research Dwelling District) to ORL (Office/Research/Limited Industrial Dwelling District). The council is being asked to give initial consideration to the rezoning of six sites along Research Park Drive – from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district). Related to that rezoning, in the next item, the council will be asked to give initial approval to amendments to the city’s zoning code to allow outdoor recreation as a special exception use in the ORL zoning district. The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites. [For additional background, see Development: Research Park Drive – Rezoning, Recreation above.]

9:03 p.m. Lumm notes that this is for rezoning of undeveloped sites. The natural features analysis and traffic impact analysis will be addressed when site plans are approved, she says. Warpehoski asks for an update on the ZORO (Zoning Ordinance Reorganization) process. City attorney Stephen Postema says that assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald can email an update to all of council.

9:03 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval of the Research Park rezoning.

9:03 p.m. C-3 Amend zoning to allow outdoor places of recreation in the Office/Research/Limited Industrial (ORL) Zoning District [For additional background, see Development: Research Park Drive – Rezoning, Recreation above.]

9:03 p.m. Briere says that on the assumption that both of the items related to Research Park Drive come back at the next meeting, she wants the order flipped.

9:04 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval of the zoning amendment that would allow places of recreation in the ORL zoning district.

9:04 p.m. C-4 Amend Section 1:237 of Chapter 8 (Organization of Boards and Commissions). The council is being asked to give initial approval to a change to the ordinance on city boards and commissions. Among the changes is an amendment that makes clear that the city planning commission, energy commission and park advisory commissions make their appointments to the environmental commission without further city council approval needed. [For additional background, see Environmental Commission: Ordinance Change above.]

9:05 p.m. Briere is noting that it’s in front of the council as a first reading item. She thinks that it will clarify the ordinance.

9:05 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval to the change to the city ordinance on boards and commissions. For final enactment, the council will need to take a second vote at its next meeting.

9:05 p.m. DC-1 Appoint new members to the city of Ann Arbor environmental commission. The council is being asked to confirm three nominations to the EC, which were announced at the council’s June 16, 2014 meeting: Allison Skinner, Benjamin Muth and Mark Clevey.

9:05 p.m. Based on the staff written responses to councilmember questions, Mark Clevey’s name won’t be put forward tonight, because he is the selection by the energy commission to represent the energy commission on the EC. Once enacted, the energy commission appointment to EC (like that of other boards and commissions to the EC) would be for a one-year term. So his confirmation is being held until the ordinance revision is complete.

9:06 p.m. Briere says that because the ordinance is being amended, Clevey’s name is, in fact, being eliminated from consideration tonight.

9:06 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the appointments of Allison Skinner and Benjamin Muth to the environmental commission.

9:06 p.m. DC-2 Recommend approval of issuance of a downtown development district liquor license to RCAA Developments LLC (Ruth’s Chris Steak House). The council is being asked to approve a downtown development liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The council approved the site plan for Ruth’s Chris – to be located on Fourth Avenue between William and Liberty – at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

9:07 p.m. Lumm, who chairs the liquor license review committee, is explaining the ins and outs of the 2006 statute that allows award of downtown development liquor licenses. The minimum investment is $75,000, but Ruth’s Chris is investing millions of dollars, she says.

9:09 p.m. Anglin, who also serves on the liquor license review committee, cautions against bringing in corporate entities – as other smaller entities without the deeper pockets to make this kind of investment would be pushed out. Hiefjte tells Anglin that it’s a tough problem.

9:10 p.m. Kunselman says it wasn’t that long ago when Kresge and Borders were downtown, so he’s offering a little different perspective. Whether new businesses are corporate or local, he wants them to provide jobs and places for residents to go and shop. He says he kind of misses the McDonald’s that was over on Maynard.

9:10 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to recommend the award of a special downtown development liquor license to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

9:10 p.m. DC-3 Approve temporary outdoor sales, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages during the 2014 Ann Arbor Art Fair. This resolution would allow several downtown businesses to serve alcohol outdoors during the Ann Arbor art fairs, to be held July 16-19 this year: Knight’s Restaurant (600 E. Liberty St.), Michigan Theater (603 E. Liberty St.), Neopapalis (500 E. William St.), Cottage Inn (508-512 E. William St.), New York Pizza Depot (605 E. William St.), Ashley’s Restaurant (338 S. State St.), Red Hawk Bar & Grill (316 S. State St.), and Pizza House (618 Church).

9:13 p.m. Lumm notes that the liquor license review committee had recommended this item for approval. Lumm says that city clerk Jackie Beaudry and assistant city attorney Mary Fales had been very nimble in dealing with a change by theMichigan Liquor Control Commission that required a 10-day review. This is the last day on which the council can approve this item, she says.

9:13 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve outdoor liquor for several downtown businesses during the art fairs this year.

9:13 p.m. DC-4 Call public hearing on issuance of bonds by the Economic Development Corporation. This resolution sets a public hearing for Aug. 7, 2014 on the issuance of re-funding bonds by the city’s Economic Development Corporation that were originally issued to finance and refinance capital improvements for the benefit of Glacier Hills Inc. – a series in the amount of $23,245,000, of which $15,440,000 is presently outstanding and another series of bonds in the amount of $9,875,000, of which $4,545,000 is outstanding. The issuance of the re-funding bonds will not encumber the city in any way, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

9:16 p.m. Lumm says she’s happy to co-sponsor this with Petersen. Lumm is reviewing the background of the re-funding of the bonds.

9:16 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the setting of a hearing on the issuance of bonds by the EDC.

9:16 p.m. DB-1 Approve the Rudolf Steiner High School building addition site plan. The private school is located at 2230 Pontiac Trail, north of Brookside. The project – estimated to cost $2.5 million – involves building a one-story, 19,780-square-foot addition to the existing classroom building. The structure will include a 9,990-square-foot gym, with the remaining 9,790 square feet used for classrooms and storage. [For additional background, see Development: Rudolf Steiner Site Plan above.]

9:16 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Rudolf Steiner High School site plan.

9:16 p.m. DS-1 Confirm the Scio Church sidewalk special assessment roll. This is the first of three assessment rolls the council is being asked to approve tonight for sidewalk projects. [For additional background, see Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments above.]

9:19 p.m. Briere asks public services area administrator Craig Hupy about Hayner’s concerns – expressed during public comment – that the costs are too high. Hupy notes that the projects have not yet been bid and the numbers are just estimates. City engineer Nick Hutchinson also explains that there’s various curb and gutter and tree work that’s required in addition to the sidewalks. The reason that sidewalks don’t exist in these locations is that they’re challenging locations to install sidewalks, Hutchinson says.

9:21 p.m. Anglin asks about the 10% contingency that is built into contracts. He notes there were problems with the Madison Street reconstruction on the performance of the contractor. He wants specifications spelled out to contractors. The Madison job was left dormant for two months, he said, and that’s the reason it didn’t get done before winter. He ventures that the city should consider using a single-source contractor instead of taking the low bid.

9:23 p.m. Hupy says the 10% contingency can be adjusted up or down depending on the job. There are penalties for non-performance, he says. Hupy says that the city does impose penalties, even though you don’t hear about it. On the question of single-source contractors, assistant city attorney Abigail Elias quotes the one-word answer that a former city staffer, Bill Wheeler, gave regarding single source contracting for public works projects: “No.”

9:23 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to confirm the Scio Church sidewalk special assessment roll.

9:24 p.m. DS-2 Confirm the Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment roll. [For additional background, see Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments above.]

9:24 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment roll.

9:24 p.m. DS-3 Confirm the Stone School Road sidewalk special assessment roll. [For additional background, see Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments above.]

9:24 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Stone School Road sidewalk special assessment roll.

9:24 p.m. DS-4 Authorize a contract with Cadillac Asphalt LLC for the water utilities street repair program ($344,600/year). The contract covers repair of streets after water mains, storm and sanitary sewers are repaired.

9:24 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Cadillac Asphalt LLC.

9:24 p.m. DS-5 Authorize contract with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. for $125,000; and Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. for $125,000 for general civil engineering and surveying services. The contracts cover general civil engineering and surveying services. Those services include a range of activities, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution: design and management of capital improvement projects; private development construction plan review; private development utility and road construction inspection; traffic engineering; civil engineering design; construction inspection; drafting; and surveying.

9:25 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contracts with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. and Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc.

9:25 p.m. DS-6 Award contract for replacement of clarifier drive at the drinking water treatment plant to Titus Welding Company ($175,000). According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the clarifier drive to be replaced is original to the plant and was installed in 1965. It had an expected life of 30 years. It has begun to show signs of failure, included seizing, high vibration, and bearing failure. The drive has been assessed by the manufacturer and it has been determined that it is not cost-effective to repair, according to the memo.

9:25 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Titus Welding Company.

9:25 p.m. DS-7 Approve Amendment No. 2 to the contract with Tetra Tech Inc. for environmental consulting services at the Ann Arbor Landfill ($80,835). This contract amendment brings the total amount on the contract to $624,221. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, for several years the landfill has had a plume of 1-4 dioxane and vinyl chloride contamination offsite primarily in Southeast Area Park, northeast of the landfill. A slurry wall was constructed along most of the boundary of the landfill to eliminate groundwater passing through the landfill, and three purge wells were used to attempt to capture the offsite contamination.

9:27 p.m. Lumm expresses concern about the amendments and the growing cost. But with this issue, she ventures there’s not a lot that can be done about it – the city has to do what MDEQ says, she says.

9:27 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Tetra Tech Inc.

9:27 p.m. DS-8 Approve a contract with Renosys Corporation to install PVC pool liners at Buhr and Fuller pools ($205,055). The city is switching to PVC pool lines from Marcite, which is, according to a staff memo, a “cementitous product that covers the pool shell creating a smooth and waterproof surface.” The new product has a smoother surface, and won’t require the yearly patching required due to harsh winters and wear and tear on the pool, according to the staff memo.

9:28 p.m. Hieftje says he’s visited both pools in the last few weeks and he’d enjoyed his swims, and the people there seemed to be enjoying themselves.

9:28 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Renosys Corporation.

9:28 p.m. DS-9 Notice the intent to vacate two segments of Seybold Drive adjacent to the proposed Ann Arbor Housing Commission North Maple Road Development. This notice of vacation is related to the rezoning and renovation of Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties at North Maple Estates. [For additional background, see Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – North Maple Rezoning above.]

9:28 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give notice of intent to vacate two segments of Seybold Drive.

9:28 p.m. DS-10 Approve agreement between city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County for animal control services ($135,570). Background to the city’s agreement includes a long process of discussions and negotiations between Washtenaw County and the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) – a conversation that began in 2011 when the amount of funding provided to HSHV was under scrutiny. A task force was appointed, and ultimately the county board of commissioners, at its Nov. 7, 2012 meeting, authorized contracting with HSHV for $500,000 a year for animal control services. [.pdf of contract between Washtenaw County and HSHV]

Cited in the council’s July 7 resolution as the cost of public animal control countywide is $951,793. The assignment of $135,570 of that cost to the city of Ann Arbor is based on the proportion of dogs that come from Ann Arbor that are housed at HSHV, factoring in the $500,000 provided to the HSHV by Washtenaw County.

9:31 p.m. Lumm has some questions. She is pleased that efforts are underway to improve compliance with dog licensing. Powers says that planning is underway. After the August primary, the clerk will be helping to implement the initiative. Lumm reports that she’d called the clerk’s office number and received the recorded message. She asks that the message provide a menu option for dog licenses.

Responding to another query from Lumm, Powers says that the deer management report will be completed at the end of the month as specified in the council’s resolution.

9:33 p.m. Lumm says she gets a lot of questions from constituents, including: How do you get rid of a dead deer carcass. Lumm thanks Powers for his work with Washtenaw County and the HSHV. For many years, the city has not paid for animal control services, Lumm says. That placed an unfair burden on HSHV, she adds. We’re still not quite all the way there as far as reimbursing HSHV, she says. The resolution designates HSHV as the animal shelter under Chapter 107 of the city code, she notes.

9:33 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Washtenaw County for animal control services.

9:35 p.m. Communications from the council. Kailaspathy alerts the council to a communication from the human rights commission. It concerns the same-sex marriages that were solemnized in Michigan – and it calls on Gov. Rick Snyder and attorney general Bill Schuette to cease their appeal of the federal court decision.

9:37 p.m. Teall is reminding councilmembers of the start of Huron River Day. She also says on July 9 there’s an emergency preparedness exercise at Michigan Stadium. There will be a lot of public safety personnel on site, she says.

9:41 p.m. Warpehoski notes that Lumm had shared her proposed amendment to the charter earlier in the meeting. He thanks Lumm for that effort. He says he fears that the mayoral election will be decided by less than a majority of voters. He’s working with the city attorney on a California-style blanket open primary. He’s not sure if it will be ready for this year, but if not he’ll look at it for 2016. The proposal deals with the possibility of the winner having less than a majority mandate, and would move the decision to an election with higher turnout. A possible downside, he explains, is that it could heighten the impact of money in elections. He’s also exploring the possibility of shifting to four-year election cycles. He’s not sure if it will be ready, but he wanted to follow Lumm’s example of alerting people to what he was working on.

9:42 p.m. Hieftje refers to state-level encouragement to communities that have elections every year to move them so that they are only every two years.

9:44 p.m. Lumm is happy to hear Warpehoski’s report of the work he’s doing. She ventures that a lot of people will want to provide some input into that question. She wants the question of non-partisan elections to be addressed. “This is absolutely something we should look at,” she says.

9:45 p.m. Briere says she wants to encourage people to consider not just the office of councilmember, but also for mayor as they think about this issue.

9:46 p.m. Kunselman says he’s taken the Ward 3 seat twice with less than 50% of the vote. He’s now asking about the DDA ambassador program. He wants to know if the DDA is going to use TIF (tax increment finance) or parking revenues for that program.

9:46 p.m. Clerk’s report.

9:46 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to accept the clerk’s report.

9:46 p.m. Public commentary. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

9:48 p.m. Kai Petainen is at the podium. He asks the council to send the minutes from a March LDFA meeting back to the LDFA board because they indicate that he’d been a client of the business accelerator. He says he wasn’t.

9:50 p.m. Ed Vielmetti says that he’s noticed while riding his bicycle around town there’s a lot of bike lanes that are poorly marked. He’s not sure what the process is for reporting the erosion of striping. He asks that a city traffic engineer review the intersection at Hill and Packard. There was a left-turn lane created for the East Stadium bridges project, that might not be needed any longer, he says.

9:50 p.m. Thomas Partridge asks for the council to provide leadership to oversee the work of contractors in the city.

9:56 p.m. Jeff Hayner asks that as the Barton Drive sidewalk project gets done, some type of traffic control is considered. He’s commenting on the charter amendments that councilmembers have talked about. He asks councilmembers to consider the timing of elections when millages are passed, noting that the recent transit millage was passed with roughly 12% participation.

9:56 p.m. Closed session. The council has voted to go into closed session to discuss land acquisition, pending litigation and attorney-client written communication.

10:27 p.m. We’re back.

10:28 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 July 7, 2014 meeting agenda.

A month before the dog days actually begin, the council will be considering as part of its July 7 agenda a resolution that would pay Washtenaw County $135,570 for animal control services. The county in turn contracts with the Humane Society of Huron Valley for those services. This is a new arrangement, based on recommendations from a 2012 county task force. The idea is that local governments in the county with their own dog licensing programs, which generate revenue through licensing, should shoulder part of the cost of the county’s animal control contract. Ann Arbor has its own dog licensing program.

The July 7 agenda is heavy with items related to infrastructure. Three special assessments for the construction of new sidewalks are on the agenda for final approval: Stone School Road, Barton Drive and Scio Church Road. And the council will be considering approval of contracts for street repair associated with utilities work, the replacement of a clarifier at the drinking water treatment plan, the replacement of liners for the swimming pools at Buhr and Fuller parks, and for monitoring work at the now-dormant Ann Arbor city landfill.

Several development items also appear on the July 7 agenda. The rezoning of three Ann Arbor Housing Commission (AAHC) properties will be given final consideration in connection with major renovations and improvements the commission is making to its inventory – at Baker Commons, Green/Baxter Court Apartments, and Maple Meadows. Initial approval for rezoning of another AAHC property is also on the council’s agenda: North Maple Estates.

In addition to the AAHC properties, the council will consider rezoning for parcels on Research Park Drive, in the southern part of the city, and a site plan for the expansion of Rudolf Steiner High School on the city’s north side.

The council will give initial consideration to changes in the ordinance that defines how city boards and commissions are appointed – changes that focus on the environmental commission. The changes involve clarifications of the nomination process and other housekeeping issues. The council will also consider confirmation of three appointments to the environmental commission: Allison Skinner, Benjamin Muth and Mark Clevey.

The summertime theme of the agenda is reflected in the approval of temporary outdoor sales and consumption of alcohol for several downtown businesses during the art fairs, which run from July 16-19. A permanent liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse also appears on the council’s agenda. The theme of transition from summer to fall is reflected on the council’s July 7 agenda in the set of street closing approvals, which include closings around the University of Michigan stadium for home football games.

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.

Animal (Dog) Control Services

The council will be considering a $135,570 agreement between the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County for animal control services.

Background to the city’s agreement includes a long process of discussions and negotiations between Washtenaw County and the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) – a conversation that began in 2011 when the amount of funding provided to HSHV was under scrutiny. A task force was appointed, and ultimately the county board of commissioners, at its Nov. 7, 2012 meeting, authorized contracting with HSHV for $500,000 a year for animal control services. [.pdf of contract between Washtenaw County and HSHV]

Recommended as a part of that task force report was for the county to pursue a cost-sharing arrangement with those municipalities in the county that collect licensing fees for animals. The city of Ann Arbor is one such municipality in the county. From the task force report:

Cost Sharing with Local Governments
Between 45 and 65 percent of the animals at the Humane Society come from jurisdictions with their own animal control ordinances or licensing programs. While the County would bear responsibility for stray dogs in those jurisdictions absent a controlling ordinance, it would also collect licensing fees from pet owners in those communities. The current system, however, drives costs to the County without providing direct revenues to offset them. The Task Force recommends that the County reach out to the communities whose ordinances either exceed the scope of the County animal control policy or that capture licensing fees, and develop a cost sharing agreement with those local governments to offset increases driven by local ordinance requirements. [.pdf of 2012 task force report]

Cited in the council’s July 7 resolution as the cost of public animal control countywide is $951,793. The assignment of $135,570 of that cost to the city of Ann Arbor is based on the proportion of dogs that come from Ann Arbor that are housed at HSHV, factoring in the $500,000 provided to the HSHV by Washtenaw County.

The city council’s approved FY 2015 budget had already included $105,000 for such animal control services. Increased dog licensing revenue is projected to fund the remaining $32,570, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council’s FY 2015 budget deliberations on May 19 , 2014 resulted in two amendments that affected funding for animal control services. One was an amendment that re-allocated $75,000 for a commercial sign inventory to animal control, including deer herd management. The other was an amendment that adjusted the revenue budget upwards to reflect an assumed 30% participation rate for dog licensing in the city – which would be a total of about $63,000. That’s $48,000 more than the actual amount up to now, with the idea being that a publicity campaign could increase participation in the licensing program. The additional revenue is to be put towards animal control.

Infrastructure: Sidewalk Special Assessments

At its July 7 meeting, the city council will consider the final vote on the special assessment of property owners to help pay for construction of three different sidewalks – on Stone School Road, Barton Drive and Scio Church Road.

The new sidewalk on Stone School Road will be on the west side of the road. This work will be done in conjunction with the Stone School Road reconstruction project from I-94 to Ellsworth Road. The total sidewalk project cost is roughly $128,500, of which about $55,000 will be special assessed. A public hearing on the special assessment will also take place at the council’s July 7 meeting.

The Barton Drive sidewalk project will extend eastward from Bandemer Park at Longshore Drive. The cost of the Barton Drive sidewalk has been calculated to be $80,606. Of that, about $36,000 will be paid from federal surface transportation funds. Of the remaining $44,606, the city’s general fund would pay $42,626, leaving just $1,980 to be paid through the special assessment.

For the Scio Church sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a federal surface transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the city’s general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626.

Infrastructure: Public Services Contracts

Several contracts appear on the council’s July 7 agenda that are related to infrastructure maintenance and repair. The council will be considering a $344,600 contract with Cadillac Asphalt LLC for repair of streets after water mains, storm and sanitary sewers are repaired. The city’s public services area does not have the equipment or the staff to perform these types of street repairs, which often involve the replacement of the concrete base or the concrete street surface, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution.

The city council will also consider awarding a $175,000 contract to replace a clarifier drive in the drinking water treatment plant – to Titus Welding Company. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the drive to be replaced is original to the plant and was installed in 1965. It had an expected life of 30 years. It has begun to show signs of failure, included seizing, high vibration, and bearing failure. The drive has been assessed by the manufacturer and it has been determined that it is not cost-effective to repair, according to the memo.

The council will also consider a $205,055 contract with Renosys Corp. to install PVC pool liners at Buhr and Fuller pools. The city is switching to PVC from Marcite, which is, according to a staff memo, a “cementitous product that covers the pool shell creating a smooth and waterproof surface.” The new product has a smoother surface, and won’t require the yearly patching required due to harsh winters and wear and tear on the pool, according to the staff memo.

The council will consider a $80,836 contract amendment with Tetra Tech Inc. for environmental consulting services at the now-closed Ann Arbor landfill. That brings the total amount on the contract to $624,221. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, for several years the landfill has had a plume of 1-4 dioxane and vinyl chloride contamination offsite primarily in Southeast Area Park, northeast of the landfill. A slurry wall was constructed along most of the boundary of the landfill to eliminate groundwater passing through the landfill, and three purge wells were used to attempt to capture the offsite contamination.

Also on the July 7 agenda is a resolution for $125,000 contracts with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. and Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber Inc. for general civil engineering and surveying services. Those services include a range of activities, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution: design and management of capital improvement projects; private development construction plan review; private development utility and road construction inspection; traffic engineering; civil engineering design; construction inspection; drafting; and surveying.

Development

On the council’s agenda are a number of rezoning requests and site plans associated with new development in the city.

Development: Research Park Drive – Rezoning, Recreation

On the city council’s July 7 agenda for initial consideration is the rezoning of six sites along Research Park Drive – from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district). Related to that rezoning, the council will be asked to give initial approval to amendments to the city’s zoning code to allow outdoor recreation as a special exception use in the ORL zoning district.

The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites.

A proposed area plan – which is less detailed than a site plan – includes an indoor-outdoor tennis facility on one of the lots. It also includes five two-story buildings that could accommodate office, research, and limited industrial uses on the remaining lots, each with their own parking lot and access point to Research Park Drive.

Prior to construction, the project must go through the city’s site plan approval process, which might require a traffic impact study.

Only the initial rezoning and the amendment allowing recreation as a special exception use will be in front of the council at its July 7 meeting. The planning commission recommended support of both actions at its June 3, 2014 meeting.

Aerial view showing Research Park Drive parcels.

Area plan for four sites in a proposed development on Research Park Drive. The image is oriented with east at the top.

Development: Rudolf Steiner Site Plan

On the July 7 city council agenda is the approval of a site plan for the expansion of the Rudolf Steiner High School. The private school is located at 2230 Pontiac Trail, north of Brookside. The planning commission had recommended approval of the site plan at its June 3, 2014 meeting.

The project – estimated to cost $2.5 million – involves building a one-story, 19,780-square-foot addition to the existing classroom building. The structure will include a 9,990-square-foot gym, with the remaining 9,790 square feet used for classrooms and storage.

According to the staff memo, an existing Quonset hut on the east side of the site will be removed, as will a 48-inch white oak tree immediately east of the proposed addition. The school will be required to plant 12 trees for mitigation. In addition, 17 new trees will be planted as part of the project.

Parking will be increased by 31 spaces to accommodate special events and discourage parking in nearby neighborhoods, according to the staff memo. A total of 32 bicycle parking spaces will be provided near the north entry to the new addition. No additional enrollment beyond the previously approved 120 students is proposed. The school has operated at that location since 2002.

Site plan for Rudolf Steiner High School expansion. The yellow section is the existing building. The white section indicates the proposed addition.

At their June 3 meeting, planning commissioners approved a special exception use for the project. That’s required under Chapter 55 of the city’s zoning code because the site is zoned R1D (single family dwelling). Private schools are allowed within that zoning district, if granted a special exception use. The planning commission has discretion to grant a special exception use, which does not require additional city council approval.

Development: AAHC Rezoning Final Approval

On the council’s agenda for July 7 is the final approval to the rezoning of three Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties that have been given initial approval by the city council. The planning commission had recommended the rezonings at its May 6, 2014 meeting. Initial city council action came at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

The current PL (public land) zoning for some of the properties is a vestige of the AAHC properties’ status as city-owned land. The city council approved the transfer of deeds to the AAHC at its June 2, 2013 meeting. The three sites given initial rezoning approval on June 2, 2014 are part of the housing commission’s major initiative to upgrade the city’s public housing units by seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Rezoning is in progress for the following public housing sites, two of which are currently zoned as public land:

• Baker Commons: Rezone public land to D2 (downtown interface). The 0.94-acre lot is located at 106 Packard Street, at the intersection with South Main, in Ward 5. It includes a 64-unit apartment building.
• Green/Baxter Court Apartments: Rezone public land to R4A (multi-family dwelling district). The 2-acre site is located at 1701-1747 Green Road and contains 23 apartments in four buildings and a community center. It’s in Ward 2.
• Maple Meadows: Currently zoned R1C (single-family dwelling district), the recommendation is to rezone it as R4B (multi-family dwelling district). The site is 3.4 acres at 800-890 South Maple Road and contains 29 apartments in five buildings and a community center. It’s located in Ward 5.

At the planning commission’s May 6 meeting, AAHC director Jennifer Hall explained that PL zoning doesn’t allow housing to be built on a parcel. As AAHC seeks private funding to rehab its properties, it needs to ensure if a building burns down, for example, it could be rebuilt. In general that’s why the rezoning is being requested. It’s also being requested to align the zoning with the current uses of the property. She stressed that the highest priority properties to be rezoned are Baker Commons, Green/Baxter and Maple Meadows, because investors have already been found to renovate those sites.

For these three sites, planning commissioners also voted to waive the area plan requirements for the AAHC rezoning petitions, because no new construction is proposed and surveys of the improvements have been provided.

For additional background on the AAHC process of renovating its properties, see Chronicle coverage: “Public Housing Conversion Takes Next Step.”

Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – Appointment

Also at its July 7 meeting, the council will be asked to confirm the appointment of Audrey Wojtkowiak to the board of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, to fill the vacancy of Christopher Geer. Wojtkowiak’s nomination was made at the council’s June 16 meeting. She’s controller for the Consolidation Center at Detroit Diesel.

Development: Ann Arbor Housing Commission – North Maple Rezoning

On the council’s July 7 agenda is initial consideration of rezoning that’s necessary for a renovation project to be undertaken by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission for a site on North Maple.

Aerial view of North Maple Estates site, outlined in green.

The council will be asked to give initial approval to rezoning the 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road – from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district).

The planning commission had recommended the rezoning at its June 17, 2014 meeting after postponing it on June 3, 2014.

The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report]

The site plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. The project would include a playground, community building and 73 parking spaces. According to a staff memo, the buildings would be located along a T-shaped driveway that connects to North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue. The drive extends northward toward Vine Court but does not connect with that street. There would be a new connection to Dexter Avenue through the remaining, undeveloped length of Seybold Drive.

The project will require the city to vacate a portion of the right-of-way for Seybold Drive. The surrounding land is owned by the housing commission, so if the right-of-way vacation is approved, the land would become part of the housing commission property.

The site plan will not be in front of the city council on July 7. Only the initial rezoning approval and a resolution of intent to vacate right-of-way for Seybold Drive appear on the agenda. That resolution of intent sets a public hearing for Aug. 18, 2014 – the same council meeting when a vote will be taken on the vacation’s approval. The rezoning will also need a second vote of approval from the council at a future meeting.

Planning staff noted three issues that need to be resolved before the project gets approval from city council:

The parcel containing two duplex buildings also owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission in the northeast corner of the site must be combined with the subject site, forming a single parcel as a requirement for issuance of any permits.

The legal description and comparison chart data must be confirmed to include the duplex parcel.

The northern-most parking stall, nearest the connection to Vine Court, must be relocated outside of the minimum front setback area.

According to the staff memo, after the planning commission’s June 3 meeting the city’s traffic engineer reviewed the proposed new connection from Seybold Drive onto Dexter Avenue, and concluded that sight distances from all approaches are acceptable. He suggested that the pavement markings on Dexter should be refreshed.

The reconstruction of North Maple Estates is part of an ongoing effort by the housing commission to upgrade the city’s housing stock for low-income residents. At the planning commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall had made a presentation about the initiative, which includes seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Environmental Commission

The city’s environmental commission appears in two different agenda items – one that amends the city ordinance establishing the commission, and another that nominates additional members to the commission.

Environmental Commission: Ordinance Change

The council will be giving initial consideration to a change to the city ordinance that regulates how appointments are made to the environmental commission (EC). The EC is one of the few boards or commission in the city for which the mayor does not make nominations. The more familiar procedure – for most boards and commissions – includes a mayoral nomination at one council meeting, followed by the confirmation vote of the council at a subsequent meeting.

In the past, the council has mimicked this procedure for the EC by having some councilmember put a resolution on the agenda appointing a member to the EC, and then postponing the resolution until the next meeting. The ordinance revisions clarify that the nominations put forward by the council as a body to the EC are to be made by the two councilmembers who serve as the council’s representatives to the EC.

Besides two slots for council representatives, the EC includes positions for members of the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission. The ordinance revision that the council will be considering on July 7 makes clear that those groups make their appointments to the EC without further city council approval. This specific revision comes after the planning commission had selected Kirk Westphal from its membership to serve on the EC earlier this year, and some councilmembers voted against his confirmation, when the council was asked to confirm his selection two months ago. For background on that vote, see “Hutton, Westphal Reappointed to EC.”

The staff memo summarizes the changes to the ordinance regulating appointments to boards and commissions as follows:

• clarifies that the councilmembers currently serving on the environmental commission nominate persons for “at-large” appointments, which are then approved by council resolution;
• clarifies that the planning commission, park advisory commission, and energy commission each designate a representative to the environmental commission without council approval and for a one-year term;
• clarifies that the 3-year terms should be equally staggered;
• removes references to the Leslie Science Center Advisory Board, which no longer exists;
• requires the city administrator or the designated support staff of the environmental commission to notify council of vacancies – previously this was delegated to the clerk’s office, which does not always have immediate knowledge of vacancies;
• contains a few minor, non-substantive corrections and clarifications.

If the council gives the ordinance amendment initial approval on July 7, it would still need a second and final vote at a subsequent meeting, in order to be enacted.

Environmental Commission: Appointments

Also on the agenda are confirmation of three nominations to the EC, which were announced at the council’s June 16, 2014 meeting: Allison Skinner, Benjamin Muth and Mark Clevey.

Clevey is the representative to the EC selected by the energy commission, so this confirmation will not follow the ordinance amendment for which the council will be asked to give initial approval on July 7.

Liquor

At its July 7 meeting, the city council will be considering two items related to serving alcohol. One is an item that would allow several downtown businesses to serve alcohol outdoors during the Ann Arbor art fairs, to be held July 16-19 this year:
Knight’s Restaurant (600 E. Liberty St.), Michigan Theater (603 E. Liberty St.), Neopapalis (500 E. William St.), Cottage Inn (508-512 E. William St.), New York Pizza Depot (605 E. William St.), Ashley’s Restaurant (338 S. State St.), Red Hawk Bar & Grill (316 S. State St.), and Pizza House (618 Church).

The second item is a downtown development liquor license for Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The council approved the site plan for Ruth’s Chris – to be located on Fourth Avenue between William and Liberty – at its June 2, 2014 meeting.

Street Closings

The consent agenda includes approvals of street closings for special events, which provide a window into what’s happening in the coming weeks. Events with street closings on the July 7 city council agenda include:

• Electric Bolt 8K Run/Walk (July 27, 2014): Various streets from 6-10 a.m.
• Cleats and Beats (Aug. 1, 2014): These street closures would be on S. Main from E. William to Huron, on Liberty from S. Ashley to S. Fourth, and on Washington from S. Ashley to the alley by the parking structure. This is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau. It appears to be a different event than the Eats, Beats and Cleats event for which the council unanimously rejected a street closure request last year. That was proposed to take place in a South University neighborhood with a lot of student housing.
• Relevent Sports International Champions Cup Soccer Game (Aug. 2, 2014). Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of the game.
• University of Michigan football games (2014 Season): Various streets around Michigan Stadium for three hours prior to the start of each home football game.
• Dancing in the Streets (Aug. 31, 2014): S. Main between Huron and Liberty, and Washington between S. Ashley and the alley on E. Washington toward S. Fourth Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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As part of a road reconstruction project for Stone School Road, the city is planning to install a sidewalk on the west side of the road. And to fund the sidewalk construction, part of the cost will come from a special assessment of property owners. The extent of the project on Stone School Road runs from I-94 to Ellsworth Road. Construction is planned during the 2014 and 2015 construction seasons.

Action came at the council’s June 2, 2014 meeting.

The project is being funded in part through a federal surface transportation grant, which can pay about 80% of construction costs, but not engineering, testing or inspection costs. The total project cost is roughly $128,500, of which about $55,000 will be special assessed.

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

Results on the outcome on many individual agenda items can be found published as separate briefs in the Civic News Ticker section of the website. A summary of the FY 2015 budget deliberations will be available here, when its is published: [link]

The council’s second meeting in May is specified in the city charter as the occasion for the council to adopt the city administrator’s proposed budget with any amendments. If the council does not take action by its second meeting in May, the city administrator’s proposed budget is adopted by default. The Chronicle has previously reported a preview of some possible budget amendments: [here].

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber includes Braille.

The council’s May 19 meeting agenda includes more than just the adoption of the budget.

Related to the setting of the annual budget are items like setting fees associated with the public services area (for example, site plan review) and the community services area (for example, farmers market stall fees), as well as rate increases for water, sewer and stormwater utilities.

Also related to the budget – and not just for this next year – is an agenda item that will revise the city’s policies for contributions to the city’s pension system and retiree health care. In broad strokes, those revisions are meant to accelerate contributions during a strong economy and maintain contributions at least at the level of the actuary-recommended amount during weaker economies.

Another budget-related item on the May 19 agenda is one related to the social infrastructure of the community – allocation of general fund money to nonprofits that provide human services. The city approaches this allocation through a process that is coordinated with Washtenaw County, the United Way, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and other partners. The total amount allocated for the operation of programs is about $4.3 million. The city of Ann Arbor’s general fund contribution is about $1.2 million, which is the same amount that has been contributed for the last several years.

Related to human services support is an agenda item that would accept a $113,154 planning grant from the Michigan Supreme Court to establish a specialized mental health court.

Along with social infrastructure, the council will also be asked to approve an allocation that includes utilities infrastructure, to address the needs that resulted from the harsh winter. The resolution that the council will consider would allocate money from the fund balance reserves from three sources: $1.7 million from the major street fund, $638,000 from the local street fund, and $666,000 from the water fund. Those amounts include $461,171 from the state of Michigan.

The council will also be asked to approve money for building new physical infrastructure – about $2.6 million for the reconstruction of a segment of Pontiac Trail. The segment stretches north of Skydale Drive to just south of the bridge over M-14/US-23. The street reconstruction project also includes water mains, sanitary sewer, and construction of new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail, and installation of bike lanes.

Special assessments to pay for three other sidewalk projects also appear on the council’s agenda in various stages of the special assessment process. Those future projects are located on Barton Drive, Scio Church Road, and Newport Road.

The council will be asked to approve the city’s application for federal funding to support the acquisition of development rights in Superior Township for two pieces of property on either side of Vreeland Road. The properties are near other parcels already protected as part of the city’s greenbelt initiative.

The city council will also vote on the confirmation of two appointments: Katherine Hollins to the city’s environmental commission; and Bob White, as a reappointment to his fourth term on the city’s historic district commission.

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.

Fees and Rates

On the council’s agenda are rate increases for utilities (water, sewer and stormwater) as well as fee increases for the public services and community services area.

Fees and Rates: Water, Sewer, Stormwater

Water rates are proposed to increase across all tiers of consumption. For the first 7 “units” of water, the charge is proposed to increase from $1.35 to $1.40. For the next 21 units, the charge is proposed to increase from $2.85 to $2.96 per unit. And for the 17 units after that, the increase is proposed to be from $4.88 to $5.08. A unit is 100 cubic feet, which is 748 gallons.

Sewer rates would increase from $3.65 to $3.85 per unit. And stormwater fees would increase for all tiers of impervious service. For the middle tier – for more than 2,187 square feet but less than or equal to 4,175 square feet – on a quarterly basis, the increase would be from $24.85 to $26.32.

According to the staff memo accompanying this item, the recommended rate changes in water, sewer, and stormwater would increase revenues to the water, sewer, and stormwater funds by $765,119, $1,171,931 and $410,235 respectively. The reason given for the rate increases is to cover maintenance and debt payments, and to maintain funding for capital improvement requirements. The city calculates the impact to be an additional $6.25 per quarter or $24.98 per year for an average consumer, which is a net increase of 4.2%.

Water consumption for a typical single family is assumed at 19 units per quarter.

History of city of Ann Arbor water rates. The city converted to a tiered system 10 years ago in 2004, based on usage. The 2015 amount is proposed.

The utility rates are part of a city ordinance. So the council will be considering initial approval at its May 19 meeting, with final approval to come at its first meeting in June – on June 2.

Fees and Rates: Community and Public Services Area

Fee increases in the community services area and the public services area will be considered by the council at its May 19 meeting.

For community services, increases are being proposed for stall fees at the Ann Arbor public market (farmers market). Currently, the basic annual fee for rental of a stall is $300. It’s proposed to be increased to $450 – a 50% increase.

If approved by the council, the fee increase would be projected to generate $26,000 in additional revenue. However, this additional revenue has not been assumed in the proposed FY 2015 budget.

According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, “market fees were last increased in 2009 and have not kept pace with the overall increase of annual operating costs during this same time period.” A comparative analysis of Ann Arbor’s fees also showed that Ann Arbor’s fees are well below those of comparable markets.

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, including three in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, excluding those in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

In the public services area, fees for a variety of services are being considered – for such items as site plan review, soil and sedimentation control. According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, the increases consider labor, material and supplies, equipment, and overhead cost and are aimed at full cost recovery. The increases are generally in the range of 1% to 5%.

Pension and VEBA Funding Policy

The council will be considering policies for making contributions to the pension and retiree health care plan that is supposed to ensure that the plans are eventually fully funded. The policy would set the funding at the higher of two different figures: (1) the Actuarial Required Contribution (ARC) rate; or (2) the existing level of contributions adjusted for the change in general fund revenues. That would have an impact of establishing a minimum increase in funding of 2% per year.

The operative language in the policy is:

If the General Fund revenues are projected to increase less than 2%, the city’s contribution shall increase 2%; thereby establishing a minimum increase of 2% per year.

Social Infrastructure

The council’s agenda includes two items that can be characterized as funding social infrastructure: the annual general fund allocations to nonprofits that provide human services; and the acceptance of a planning grant for the 15th District Court to establish a mental health court.

Social Infrastructure: Coordinated Funding

The council will be asked at its May 19 meeting to approve funding allocations to nonprofits as part of a coordinated funding approach for human services, in partnership with several other local funders.

The city is one of the original five partners in the coordinated funding approach. Other partners include Washtenaw County, United Way of Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Urban County, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. It began as a pilot program in 2010.

This year, 105 applications were submitted by 50 local organizations totaling $8,732,389 in requested funding, according to a staff memo. A review committee recommended that 57 programs receive a total of $4,321,494 in available funding. Of that amount, the city is providing $1,244,629.

FY 15       Funding Source                                        
$1,244,629  City of Ann Arbor General Fund                    
$1,760,708  United Way of Washtenaw County                    
$1,015,000  Washtenaw County's General Fund                   
$  274,907  Washtenaw Urban County CDBG funds                 
$   26,250  Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation senior funds 
========== 
$4,321,494  TOTAL

-

The coordinated funding process has three parts: planning/coordination, program operations, and capacity-building. The approach targets six priority areas, and identifies lead agencies for each area: (1) housing and homelessness – Washtenaw Housing Alliance; (2) aging – Blueprint for Aging; (3) school-aged youth – Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth; (4) children birth to six – Success by Six; (5) health – Washtenaw Health Plan; and (6) hunger relief – Food Gatherers.

In 2012, TCC Group – a consulting firm based in Philadelphia – was hired to evaluate the process. As a result of that review, several changes were recommended and later authorized by the city council at its Nov. 7, 2013 and by the Washtenaw County board on Nov. 6, 2013. One of those changes is that funding would not necessarily be allocated to the six priority areas based on the proportion of funding allocated in the past. Instead, allocations among the six priority areas would be based on identified community-level outcomes, the strategies that align with them, and how each are prioritized. An additional change would broaden the pre-screening process so that smaller nonprofits could be accommodated.

Funding for this cycle will start on July 1, 2014. In addition, the RNR Foundation – a family foundation that funded TCC Group’s evaluation of the coordinated funding approach – will now be an additional funder in this process.

The RNR Foundation funding will go toward the planning/coordination and capacity building components of the effort, so their funding is not listed among the items in the program operating component.

Here’s a breakdown of how the program operating component of the city of Ann Arbor’s share will be allocated:

   
   FY 2015  Agency
   $20,000  Barrier Busters 
   $30,000  Peace Neighborhood Center
   $35,069  Ozone House Inc.
   $54,168  Domestic Violence Project Inc. dba SafeHouse Center
   $56,396  UM Regents (Community Dental Center, Housing Bureau for Seniors)
   $85,500  Avalon Housing 
   $90,786  Child Care Network
  $102,156  Food Gatherers
  $115,558  The Salvation Army of Washtenaw County
  $122,095  Washtenaw Community Health Organization
  $160,761  Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
  $164,660  Community Action Network
  $207,480  Legal Services of South Central Michigan
$1,244,629  Grand Total

-

That compares with the current fiscal year as follows:

 
  FY 2014   Agency
   $4,561   HIV/AIDS Resource Center     
  $12,772   Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy     
  $14,282   Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan     
  $17,139   Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County
  $19,835   Barrier Busters     
  $23,719   UM Regents - Ann Arbor Meals on Wheels     
  $27,369   The Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan     
  $63,419   Home of New Vision
  $91,645   Interfaith Hospitality Network of Washtenaw County     
  $94,490   Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw     
  $95,171   Food Gatherers     
 $104,944   Community Action Network
 $109,851   Perry Nursery School of Ann Arbor     
 $142,851   Avalon Housing Inc.     
 $177,052   Services of South Central Michigan
 $245,529   Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
$1,244,629  Grand Total

-

The coordinated funding approach sometimes results in the same programs being funded – but by different funders. This year, the city of Ann Arbor is funding a program for Peace Neighborhood Center; last year Washtenaw County provided funding ($19,995) for Peace Neighborhood Center. And last year, the city of Ann Arbor funded a University of Michigan meals-on-wheels program; this year, United Way is funding that program.

Recipients of funds in one year are not guaranteed funding the following year. An example of that is the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, which received $27,369 from the city of Ann Arbor last year for a mental health program, but is not receiving funds as part of the coordinated funding program this year.

Social Infrastructure: Mental Health Court

The council is being asked to approve the receipt of a planning grant of $113,154 from the Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to fund the planning for a mental health court program.

According to the staff memo accompanying the item, mental health courts are problem-solving courts “that focus on therapeutic treatment for offenders with mental illnesses whose crimes are a result of their mental illness.”

The memo continues:

Eligible defendants are diverted into judicially supervised, community-based treatment to address the underlying problems. The program uses a team approach to address the participant’s needs for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment while also linking the participant with ancillary services such as education, housing, job skills or other individualized assistance. The goal is to assist participants in bettering their lives while also benefiting the community by reducing jail time, recidivism rates, and court docket congestion.

The 15th District Court already operates several specialized courts – a sobriety court, a homeless court, veterans court and domestic violence court. The mental health court would be operated in addition to those other specialized courts.

For background on the 15th District Court’s specialized “problem-solving” courts from last year’s Chronicle reporting, see: “Round 1 FY 2014: 15th District Court.”

Physical Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure appears on the council’s May 19 agenda in several forms: an allocation of money to deal with damage to systems from the harsh winter; a Pontiac Trail street reconstruction project; and several sidewalk projects.

Physical Infrastructure: Winter Damage

The council will be asked to approve an allocation that includes utilities infrastructure, to address the needs that resulted from the severe winter weather.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, compared to last year there was a 36% increase in water main breaks and a 950% increase of broken water services. Compared to the previous two years winters, the 2013-14 winter had 272% more snow and a 450% increase in required plowing. That meant additional use of materials like ice-control salt, sand, cold-patch, pipe, repair clamps and fittings – in addition to higher-than-anticipated work hours and overtime, and increased equipment costs.

The resolution the council will consider would allocate money from the fund balance reserves from three sources: $1.7 million from the major street fund, $638,000 from the local street fund, and $666,000 from the water fund. Those amounts include $461,171 from the state of Michigan.

The work will include frozen service line repairs, pavement marking, and road surface repair. The work is not anticipated to be completed until well after June 30, 2014 – the end of the current fiscal year.

At a May 12 city council work session, public services area administrator Craig Hupy presented the council with some data on the age of the city’s piping system, saying that for the water pipes, those that were constructed in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s are more problematic than those built before and after that period. Still, he indicated that the city’s breakage rate was considered low for a system that is as old as Ann Arbor’s.

Ann Arbor Sanitary Sewer System by Year of Construction. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor, chart by The Chronicle)

Ann Arbor Water System by Year of Construction. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor, chart by The Chronicle)

City of Ann Arbor Water Main Breaks by Year. (Data from city of Ann Arbor Comprehensive Annual Financial Report)

Physical Infrastructure: Pontiac Trail

The council will consider two resolutions in connection with a street reconstruction project on Pontiac Trail.

The first is a $2,605,190 contract with Evergreen Civil LLC for construction of the project. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the project includes reconstruction of Pontiac Trail beginning north of Skydale Drive to south of the bridge over M-14/US-23. The project also includes extending water mains and sewer pipes, as well as construction of new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail, and installation of bike lanes. The memo also indicates the project will include stormwater infiltration trenches, edge drains, and the addition of a small section of curb and gutter. The project is expected to begin in June of 2014 and be completed by fall of 2014.

The other contract to be considered by the council in connection with the Pontiac Trail project is $46,879 for Professional Services Industries Inc. for materials testing.

Responding to a query from The Chronicle, city project manager Nick Hutchinson indicated that the council would be presented at its June 16 meeting with the next in a series of resolutions on special assessment to help fund the sidewalk portion of the Pontiac Trail project. The council had voted at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting to direct the city administrator to prepare plans, specifications and a cost estimate for the Pontiac Trail sidewalk project. The special assessment process requires the setting of an assessment roll and the holding of a public hearing before a special assessment can be imposed.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks

Three other sidewalk projects that are further along in the special assessment process than Pontiac Trail are also on the council’s May 19 agenda: Barton Road, Scio Church and Newport Road.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Newport Road

A public hearing on the Newport Road sidewalk special assessment, which started on May 5, will continue at the council’s May 19 meeting. For the sidewalk segment on Newport Road, the council had approved at its April 21, 2014 meeting a resolution directing the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The council took action to set the public hearing on the Newport Road special assessment for May 5.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized.

However, several residents spoke at the May 5 public hearing, opposing the special assessment.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Scio Church

Again on the city council’s May 19 agenda are resolutions to set the assessment roll and set a public hearing (to be held June 16) for the special assessment of a Scio Church Road sidewalk. Action on the Scio Church sidewalk project special assessment had been postponed at the council’s April 21, 2014 meeting until May 19.

For this sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a federal surface transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the city’s general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626. It was the size of the total amount of special assessment that led to the postponement. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) argued at the April 21 meeting that the amount to be assessed was not worth the staff time to follow all the bureaucratic procedures involved in implementing the special assessment. He also called for 80% of any sidewalk project to be funded through non-special assessed funds.

Purple indicates stretches of Scio Church Road where no sidewalk exists.

Physical Infrastructure Sidewalks – Barton Road

On the city council’s May 19 agenda are resolutions to set the assessment roll and a public hearing (to be held on June 16) for the special assessment of a Barton Drive sidewalk. The sidewalk to be special assessed was part of an approval given at the council’s April 21 meeting: The council approved $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church Road sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive.

The cost of the Barton Drive sidewalk has been calculated to be $80,606. Of that, about $36,000 will be paid from federal surface transportation funds. Of the remaining $44,606, the city’s general fund would pay $42,626, leaving just $1,980 to be paid through the special assessment.

Location of proposed Barton Drive sidewalk.

By way of additional background, approval of the design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church Road stretches of new sidewalk had been approved by the city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting.

And at its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council had approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive. Even earlier – at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting – the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work. The design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk drew on the previously authorized funding.

The preliminary planning budget of $15,000 for the Newport Road sidewalk gap was approved over a year ago by the council at its Jan. 23, 2013 meeting.

Greenbelt

At its May 19 meeting, the city council will be asked to consider approval of application to the federal Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) program to protect 260 acres of farmland located in Superior Township. The ALE program now includes what was previously known as the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP).

The farm parcels consist of property on either side of Vreeland Road, which is currently in agriculture production. Additional properties under the same ownership, adjacent to the farmland parcels, are also being considered for inclusion in the city’s greenbelt program, and the Vreeland Road properties are near other properties already protected as part of the greenbelt – the Meyer Preserve, the Jack R. Smiley Preserve and the Schultz conservation easement. Cherry Hill Nature Preserve is located just north of the property. [.jpg of greenbelt properties as of May 2014]

Here’s a dynamic map of properties outside the city already protected under the city’s greenbelt program. A 30-year open space and parkland preservation millage, which voters approved in 2003, funds both the greenbelt program as well as land acquisition for city parks. The border indicates the area where greenbelt funds can be spent to protect properties.

Appointments

The city council will also vote on the confirmation of two appointments: Katherine Hollins to the city’s environmental commission; and Bob White, as a reappointment for his fourth term on the city’s historic district commission.

Hollins is a staffer with the Great Lakes Commission. She’s being appointed because David Stead’s lengthy service on the commission – dating from 2000, when the commission was established – had generated opposition among some councilmembers. Nominations to the environmental commission are made by the council as a whole, not by the mayor. In offering the substitute nomination, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) indicated in an email to other councilmembers that “David Stead has decided that his life is busy enough he cannot do justice to serving on the commission.”

White was appointed to the historic district commission for his first three-year term in 2005.

4:39 p.m. The staff’s written responses to councilmember questions about agenda items are now available: [.pdf of May 19, 2014 agenda responses]

4:55 p.m. The final versions of possible budget amendments are now available. [.pdf of possible amendments to FY 2015 budget]

6:53 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.

6:54 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Jane Lumm (Ward 2) have arrived. City administrator Steve Powers is also here.

6:56 p.m. McKinley CEO Al Berriz is in attendance. Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Paul Krutko is also here – as he’s signed up to address the council during public commentary. One possible budget amendment is to eliminate $75,000 of annual funding for SPARK in favor of allocating that sum to human services. Skip Simms from SPARK is also here.

6:57 p.m. Eaton is quizzing high school students who are here to satisfy a class requirement. He lobs a softball: Do we live in a democracy or under a dictatorship?

6:58 p.m. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) has now arrived.

6:58 p.m. Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) is also here, talking to people in the audience.

7:02 p.m. Remaining councilmembers are filtering in. Not yet spotted are Margie Teall (Ward 4) and Sabra Briere (Ward 1).

7:13 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance.

7:13 p.m. Roll call of council. All councilmembers are present and correct.

7:14 p.m. Approval of agenda.

7:16 p.m. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) wants to move the LDFA budget amendment to the start of the amendment sequence. Teall moves DS-12 after DS-2. DS-12 is the human services allocation.

7:16 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve its agenda.

7:17 p.m. Communications from the city administrator. City administrator Steve Powers notes that on Memorial Day there will be no garbage pickup. That’s also the day the city pools open.

7:17 p.m. INT-1 Volunteer of Month: First Martin. First Martin Corp is being recognized for the work it did on the roundabout garden at Huron Parkway and Nixon. First Martin also maintains Liberty Plaza downtown and Wheeler Park on Depot Street.

7:17 p.m. Public commentary. 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.]

Eight people are signed up to speak on the issue of the FY 2015 city budget: Ray Gholston, Greg Pratt, Zoltan Jung, James Billingslea, Marc Bleckmann, Diane Kreger, Paul Krutko, and Tim Marshall. Alan Haber is signed up as an alternate to talk about the budget. Kermit Schlansker is signed up to talk about global warming and poverty. And Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about the critical need for increased funding for human services and supporting Mark Schauer’s candidacy for governor of Michigan.

7:20 p.m. Thomas Partridge introduces himself as a Ward 5 resident and a recent candidate for various public offices. He’s here to talk about the critical need for affordable housing and affordable transportation. The city has come up with a formula for dividing up money for human services, which is very complicated, he says. Overall there’s not a high enough regard for human services, affordable housing and transportation, education or health services for the most vulnerable residents of the city. He tells the council they need to go back and come up with a better formula to support expanded funding for human services.

7:23 p.m. Ray Gholston introduces himself as a local human rights activist. He thanks the council for its concern and consideration of a resolution that would support a warming center. He says the Delonis Center has been doing a good job for over a decade, but they should not have to shoulder the burden alone.

7:26 p.m. Greg Pratt says he’s excited about Amendment 15, which would mean a $75,000 jump in human services funding. He’s supporting that. There’s been a glut of “corporate” welfare, he says. He allows that subsequent speakers might have a different perspective. But it’s important to have a stream of funds that support those who need it. He also supports Amendment 9, which he describes as “seed money.”

7:28 p.m. Zoltan Jung lives on Barton Drive. He’s talking about traffic calming. He puts it in the context of livability. Many residents have seen their livability decrease due to speeders and reckless drivers. He lives on Northside Avenue where kids can’t play on the street, because people use it as a cut-through. Traffic calming isn’t an end unto itself, he says. On Wells Street, the measures aren’t integrated into the Burns Park Elementary situation, he says. If you put a bump somewhere, that can just displace the problem. So traffic calming can’t be done in isolation.

7:31 p.m. James Billingslea is a Ward 1 resident. He’s speaking on behalf of bicyclists and pedestrians, who use his street. Cars have lost control on nine occasions, he says. His neighbor Joyce had nine cars wind up on her yard in a two-month period this winter, he says. At 25 mph, it takes 23 seconds to go down the entire street. They have to be constantly vigilant. Simply deploying more police officers or deploying traffic calming solutions is not going to solve the problem, he says. Cars are currently designed to help cars travel quickly, he says, not for the benefit of the community.

7:34 p.m. Marc Bleckmann lives on Northside Avenue. His kids attend Northside Elementary, which is a 10-minute walk to the school. But unfortunately that walk can be dangerous. He says that commuters “fly down the hypotenuse” of Northside Avenue when they use it as a cut-through. It’s one of many dangerous pedestrian situations, he says. He calls on the council to improve the livability of Ann Arbor by addressing this kind of problem.

7:35 p.m. Diane Kreger hopes it’s not redundant for the council to hear again from a resident of Northside Avenue. But she supports the budget amendment that would put more money toward traffic calming. [The amendment would reduce public art administration from $80,000 to $40,000 and allocate $40,000 to traffic calming.] She calls for effective traffic calming measures.

7:38 p.m. Paul Krutko is CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. He discourages the council from passing Amendment 1 and Amendment 15. He points to the partnership among various municipalities that supports SPARK. Last year, the council’s support resulted in $21 million worth of projects and created 752 jobs, he says. He points to the re-occupancy of the former Borders building in downtown Ann Arbor, he says. He’s proud of the business development work SPARK has done, he says.

7:39 p.m. Tim Marshall is not here.

7:41 p.m. Kermit Schlansker says that the conservative’s cure for poverty is to ignore it. The liberal’s solution is to get someone else to pay for it, he says. Neither is a good solution. He calls for land to be made available to poor people so that they can grow their own food. He calls for multi-purpose clusters of people. In the fall, city people should go out and help with the harvest, he says. He describes how the poor can eventually pay off their debt and own their own land. Land should belong to people who till it, not those who mow it, he says.

7:45 p.m. Alan Haber says he’s here to provide his usual alternative view. He’s going to be away for much of the summer, so he won’t be here to remind the council about the importance of the community. It’s important to have a human resource, he says. He feels like he’s not been getting through to the council. Haber is talking about the works of Peter Linebaugh. He wants the council to have a conversation about what a community commons is. It’s not just about the money, it’s about the human part, he says.

7:45 p.m. Communications from the council.

7:47 p.m. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) thanks the city attorney’s office for issuing cease-and-desist letters to Uber and Lyft. There’s a meeting of the taxicab board this Thursday at 8:30 a.m., he says. He offers his condolences to the family that lost one of their own in a fire on Shady Lane last week.

7:48 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) highlights the fact that there are three vacancies on the environmental commission. She encourages people to apply. She also says that housing and human services advisory board also has some vacancies.

7:48 p.m. MC-1 appointments. The council is being asked to confirm the re-appointment of Bob White to the historic district commission for a fourth three-year term.

7:48 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to confirm Bob White’s re-appointment to the historic district commission.

7:48 p.m. MC-2 nominations Larry Eiler is being nominated to the Economic Development Corporation, replacing Daniel Blakemore. Andy Baker-White and Amanda Carlisle are being nominated to the housing and human services advisory board. A vote on their confirmations will come at the council’s next meeting.

7:48 p.m. Public Hearings. All the public hearings are grouped together during this section of the meeting. Any action on the related items comes later in the meeting. There’s no action item associated with tonight’s only public hearing – on a special assessment to be levied to help pay for the a sidewalk along Newport Road. This public hearing is being continued from the council’s previous meeting, when several property owners spoke against it. [For background, see Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Newport Road above.]

7:50 p.m. PH-1 Newport Road sidewalk special assessment. Eric Preisner is a resident of Ward 1, representing the Riverwood subdivision homeowners association. As a group, they’re in support of the proposal. The affirmative vote was 75% in favor, he says.

7:55 p.m. Thomas Partridge says there should be consideration given to some of the property owners, including a church that will be special assessed, he says. Those who have special hardships or circumstances should not be pressed into a one-size-fits-all special assessment, he says.

7:55 p.m. A resident who spoke last time asks to speak. His question is going to be handled by public services area administrator Craig Hupy away from the podium.

7:55 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 Approve contract for construction materials testing with Professional Services Industries Inc. for the Pontiac Trail improvements project ($46,879). [For background, see Physical Infrastructure: Pontiac Trail above.]
• CA-2 Street Closing: N. Fourth Avenue and E. Ann Street for the 19th Annual African-American Downtown Festival (Friday, June 6, 2014 to Saturday, June 7, 2014).
• CA-3 Approve April 24, 2014 recommendations of the board of insurance administration.

7:55 p.m. CA-1 Approve contract for construction materials testing with Professional Services Industries Inc. for the Pontiac Trail improvements project ($46,879).

7:56 p.m. Briere says she’s gotten a lot of questions about whether the city monitors the quality of the materials used for street improvement project. This resolution shows that the city does monitor material quality, she says.

7:57 p.m. Outcome: The council has completed its approval of the consent agenda.

7:57 p.m. C-1 Amend Sections 2:63, 2:64, and 2:69 of Chapter 29 (Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Rates). These are the annual rate increases for water, sewer and stormwater. [For background, see Fees and Rates: Water, Sewer, Stormwater above.]

7:59 p.m. Lumm says that the utility rates aren’t something that the council discusses a lot. These increases will increase city revenues by a total of $2.3 million, so it’s worth talking about, she says. There are significant capital needs, she says. She’s comfortable that the increases are needed, she says. Based on her experience on the board of insurance review, it’s clear that the city’s utility infrastructure is aging, she says. This kind of rate increase has been imposed in recent years in an attempt to level out the needed increases, she says.

7:59 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval to the increases in utility rates.

7:59 p.m. DC-1 Environmental commission appointment. This resolution would appoint Katherine Hollins to the environmental commission. Hollins is a staffer with the Great Lakes Commission.

8:00 p.m. Briere says she has little to add except that Hollins would begin her service on June 1.

8:00 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to appoint Hollins to the environmental commission.

8:00 p.m. DC-2 Authorization to join amicus brief in Deboer v Snyder and Schuette. This resolution follows on a resolution approved at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting to ask that Gov. Rick Snyder and attorney general Bill Schuette not appeal the ruling of judge Bernard Friedman on the Deboer et al v Richard Snyder et al case – that the Michigan statute on marriage impermissibly discriminates against same-sex couples in violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. This resolution authorizes adding the city of Ann Arbor to a list of municipalities supporting an amicus brief, as the case now is being heard before the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

8:02 p.m. Taylor reminds the public of the council’s previous resolution urging the dropping of the appeal. He says that it’s not surprising that Snyder and Schuette have gone ahead with the appeal. Even though the city is not a litigant, it’s common that parties who will be affected by a decision will weigh in with an amicus brief, he says.

8:02 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted unanimously to authorize adding Ann Arbor to a list of municipalities supporting the finding that Michigan’s definition of marriage discriminates impermissibly against same-sex couples.

8:02 p.m. DC-3 Remove funding in CIP for city hall reskin. This resolution would recommend to the planning commission that the six-year capital improvement plan for FY 2017 and FY 2018 be revised to remove the $4.4 million that is included for the city hall re-skinning project. The planning commission is the body that approves the CIP. The council has budgetary discretion to fund projects in the CIP or not.

8:03 p.m. By way of background, the “reskin” would eliminate the stairstepped shape of the Larcom Building by dropping the exterior straight down from the top floor, thereby adding square footage to the lower stories.

8:04 p.m. Lumm is arguing that the reskin “might be nice” but that there are other more pressing capital needs.

8:06 p.m. Petersen characterizes the project as mostly cosmetic, although there are some energy efficiency components. She wants to retain those aspects of the project. Lumm says that the kind of amendment that Petersen is indicating isn’t possible because the amounts aren’t known. Hieftje says that this isn’t timely and that there’s a lot on tonight’s agenda. He thinks it should be postponed.

8:09 p.m. Briere notes that the resolution asks the planning commission to remove funding, which it’s not empowered to do. Teall moves for postponement until June 2.

Lumm is arguing for her proposal to remove the reskinning. Kunselman supports the postponement. He characterizes the CIP as a “wish list” and notes that the council controls the funding. He’s not worried about the fact that the reskinning project is in the CIP. The planning commission is putting the CIP together based on its statutory responsibilities, he says.

8:10 p.m. Kunselman says he’s willing to postpone it, but asking the planning commission to remove it doesn’t really do much.

8:10 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the item on the city hall reskinning until June 2.

8:10 p.m. Opposition to oil drilling. This resolution would oppose the oil exploration and drilling proposed by West Bay Exploration under MDEQ permit application #AI40053. The drilling would not take place inside the city limits, as the city is empowered by the state to prohibit drilling, which it does through the city code. However, the location in Scio Township is within two miles from the city limits and less than a mile from the Huron River, which is the source of the majority of the city’s drinking water.

The state zoning enabling act, as revised in 2006, deprives townships and counties of the ability to regulate drilling. Opposition to the drilling is grounded in concerns about the impact on the drinking water supply of the city, especially in the context of a 1,4 dioxane plume in the area of the proposed drilling activity.

In addition to expressing opposition to the proposed drilling in the shorter term and in the future, the text of the resolution requests that the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality require an environmental impact assessment, including impacts to surrounding natural resources and public health, before making a decision. Further, the resolution calls on state legislators to revise the state’s zoning enabling act to provide townships and counties with the power to regulate drilling activity.

8:11 p.m. Warpehoski, the resolution’s sponsor, is providing the context of this item. He has consulted with community activists and notes that city administrator Steve Powers has sent a letter to the MDEQ. He’s reviewing the specific content of the resolution.

8:13 p.m. Warpehoski notes that the city has language in its city code prohibiting drilling, but townships don’t have the power to enact such a prohibition. He says he considered putting off the resolution, given the full agenda tonight, but the time constraints of the permitting process were fairly tight, he said. Taylor offers remarks in support of the resolution.

8:13 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted approve the resolution in opposition to drilling.

8:13 p.m. DB-1 Approve grant applications for USDA support for purchase of development rights (PDR). This resolution would approve application to the federal Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) program to protect 260 acres of farmland located in Superior Township. The ALE program now includes what was previously known as the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP). The farm parcels consist of property on either side of Vreeland Road, which is currently in agriculture production. [For background, see Greenbelt above.]

8:15 p.m. Taylor, who serves on the greenbelt advisory commission, is describing the content of the resolution. He says it’s a very useful and important source of funds to help leverage the city’s greenbelt dollars. Lumm asks that a map be provided – which it turns out was added late. Lumm asks if the city anticipates other funding sources besides the federal grant and city greenbelt funds. Community services area administrator Sumedh Bahl says that Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation and Superior Township might contribute funds.

8:15 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the grant application to the USDA program for purchase of development rights in connection with the city’s greenbelt program and properties in Superior Township.

8:15 p.m. DS-1 Scio Church sidewalk special assessment resolution No. 2 ($1,626.00). This resolution would direct the preparation of the special assessment roll. [For background, see Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Scio Church above.]

8:17 p.m. Kunselman says this had been postponed so that the city attorney could provide some clarification on equity issues. He’s willing to support this, but says it’s foolish to be special assessing that small an amount. City attorney Stephen Postema says that that analysis was provided to the council. He says the de minimus issue Kunselman had asked about is not a recognized method of dealing with an exception.

8:20 p.m. Lumm says that even though it’s a small amount, the city needs to be consistent and the rules need to be followed. She doesn’t know what to do about situations where a federal grant is available for some cases and not others. Eaton says that the legal analysis was actually that there’s no case law that’s on point. He says that the houses that haven’t had a sidewalk for some time wouldn’t suffer a detriment. The whole neighborhood is getting a benefit, and the three properties that are being special assessed would not get a special benefit, he says.

8:20 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to direct preparation of the assessment roll for the Scio Church sidewalk project, over the lone dissent of Eaton.

8:20 p.m. DS-2 Scio Church sidewalk special assessment resolution No. 3 (set public hearing). This resolution would set the public hearing on the Scio Church sidewalk special assessment for June 16, 2014.

8:20 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to set a public hearing on the Scio Church sidewalk special assessment for June 16, 2014.

8:21 p.m. DS-12 Approve FY 2015 and FY 2016 allocations to non-profit entities for human services ($1,244,629). This year, 105 applications were submitted by 50 local organizations totaling $8,732,389 in requested funding, according to a staff memo. A review committee recommended that 57 programs receive a total of $4,321,494 in available funding. Of that amount, the city is providing $1,244,629. [For background, see Social Infrastructure: Coordinated Funding above.]

8:23 p.m. Lumm is thanking staff and everyone who worked so hard on this. There’s a very robust and through process in place to ensures that money flows to those in most need. Teall says it’s a very complex process and not everybody will end up happy. Mary Jo Callan and Andrea Plevek – staff with the county’s office of community and economic development – are at the podium to describe the process of coordinated funding.

8:24 p.m. Callan is noting that there was a little less funding this year, with a lot more requests for a lot more money.

8:25 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the human services allocations made through the coordinated funding process.

8:25 p.m. DS-3 Award contract to Evergreen LLC for Pontiac Trail Improvements Project ($2,605,190). According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the project includes reconstruction of Pontiac Trail beginning north of Skydale Drive to south of the bridge over M-14/US-23. The project also includes extending water mains and sewer pipes, as well as construction of new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail, and installation of bike lanes. The memo also indicates the project will include stormwater infiltration trenches, edge drains, and the addition of a small section of curb and gutter. The project is expected to begin in June of 2014 and be completed by fall of 2014. [For background, see Physical Infrastructure: Pontiac Trail above.]

8:26 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to award the contract to Evergreen LLC for the Pontiac Trail improvement project.

8:26 p.m. DS-4 Appropriate funds from major street ($1,700,000), local street ($638,000), and water funds ($666,000) to address severe winter expenses and damage. This resolution would allocate money needed to pay for added expenses resulting from the severe winter. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, compared to last year there was a 36% increase in water main breaks and a 950% increase of broken water services.

Compared to the previous two years winters, the 2013-14 winter had 272% more snow and a 450% increase in required plowing. That meant additional use of materials like ice-control salt, sand, cold-patch, pipe, repair clamps and fittings – in addition to higher-than-anticipated work hours and overtime, and increased equipment costs. The resolution the council will consider would allocate money from the fund balance reserves from three sources: $1.7 million from the major street fund, $638,000 from the local street fund, and $666,000 from the water fund. Those amounts include $461,171 from the state of Michigan. [For background, see Physical Infrastructure: Winter Damage above.]

8:29 p.m. Briere says that her understanding is that this money comes from fund balance. City administrator Steve Powers tells Briere that over $400,000 came from the state of Michigan through an emergency appropriation. Craig Hupy says that there were more than 100 water main breaks but that still puts Ann Arbor in the better half of municipalities. Lumm says that the council knew this was coming but didn’t know what the price tag would be.

8:31 p.m. Kunselman says he appreciates the description of the water main breaks as “average” but he wants to know about the geographic distribution of those breaks. He wants to know if the breaks were in the areas where the mains were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Hupy says that analysis hasn’t been done. Kunselman says he wants to see the geographic distribution of the breaks.

8:32 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to allocate the additional funds from various sources to cover the expenses associated with the severe winter.

8:32 p.m. DS-5 Approve mental health court planning grant contract ($113,154). The council is being asked to approve the receipt of a planning grant of $113,154 from the Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to fund the planning for a mental health court program. According to the staff memo accompanying the item, mental health courts are problem-solving courts “that focus on therapeutic treatment for offenders with mental illnesses whose crimes are a result of their mental illness.” The 15th District Court already operates several specialized courts – a sobriety court, a homeless court, veterans court and domestic violence court. The mental health court would be operated in addition to those other specialized courts.

8:33 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to accept the planning grant for a mental health court.

8:33 p.m. DS-6 Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment resolution No. 2 ($1,980). This resolution would set the special assessment roll for the Barton Drive sidewalk project. [For background, see Physical Infrastructure Sidewalks – Barton Road above.]

8:37 p.m. Briere wants to note that much of the cost is being borne by the city and federal government, but there’s a small assessment for owners on Barton Drive. This is something that people in the Northside neighborhood have been demanding for a long time, she says. Kunselman says he’s appreciative of the fact that the city and federal funds are covering much of the cost. The resulting amount of the special assessment is very small and it’s just a couple of parcels that are carrying the burden for a greater community benefit, he says. For the next meeting, he’ll be requesting that the city come back and pay for the Barton and the Scio Church special assessments.

8:37 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to direct the setting of the assessment roll for the Barton Drive sidewalk project.

8:37 p.m. DS-7 Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment resolution No. 3 (set a public hearing). This resolution would set the public hearing on the Barton Drive sidewalk special assessment for June 16, 2014.

8:38 p.m. Briere makes two points. She’d like to have a longer discussion about whether it’s rational for the city to special assess individual property owners for a larger community benefit. She also asks that the wording be corrected to fix a copy-paste error.

8:38 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to set a public hearing on the Baron Drive sidewalk special assessment for June 16, 2014.

8:38 p.m. DS-8 Adopt revised funding policies for pension and VEBA. The council will be considering policies for making contributions to the pension and retiree health care plan that are supposed to ensure that the plans are eventually fully funded. The policy would set the funding at the higher of two different figures: (1) the Actuarial Required Contribution (ARC) rate; or (2) the existing level of contributions adjusted for the change in general fund revenues. That would have an impact of establishing a minimum increase in funding of 2% per year.

8:39 p.m. Lumm is reviewing the content of the resolution and how the minimum contribution is 2%. She says she supports this resolution 110%.

8:40 p.m. Kailasapathy notes that there’s about $100 million in unfunded pension liability and about $160 million in unfunded VEBA. So this is an important resolution, she says.

8:40 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to adopt the revised funding policies for the pension and VEBA plans.

8:40 p.m. DS-9 Approve FY 2015 fee adjustments for public services area. These are the fees in the areas of project management, systems planning, field operations and customer service.

8:41 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the fee adjustments for the public services area.

8:41 p.m. DS-10 Approve FY 2015 fee adjustments for community services area. The proposed increase this year involves raising farmers market fees. [For background, see Fees and Rates: Community and Public Services Area above.]

8:43 p.m. Lumm focuses on the increases for the stall rental at the farmers market. She’s concerned about the impact on vendors. She calls the staff analysis of the comparative rates at other markets very helpful. She says that the process was followed correctly. She’ll support this, but still has some concerns, she says.

8:43 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the fee adjustments for the community services area.

8:43 p.m. Recess.

8:50 p.m. Here’s a number list of possible amendments the council will consider when the meeting resumes. [.pdf of possible FY 2015 budget amendments]

8:55 p.m. Jane Lumm is passing out Keebler cheese and crackers to colleagues during the break.

8:58 p.m. We’re back.

8:58 p.m. DS-11 Adopt FY 2015 city budget. For background on the budget and possible amendments, see: “Budget Debate Preview: Cops, Leaves.” For final versions of possible amendments to the budget – numbered in a way that councilmembers will likely reference during tonight’s deliberations – see: [.pdf of possible FY 2015 budget amendments]

9:01 p.m. Budget amendment: LDFA, Ann Arbor SPARK. This proposal would eliminate some increases in the budget of the local development finance authority (LDFA) – of $30,000 in incubator operating expense, $20,000 in direct staffing expense, and a $75,000 increase to Ann Arbor SPARK’s marketing plan. So the resolution would decrease the expenditure by $165,379 to the prior year’s level of $1,814,892. The unspent funds would instead be reserved for “future infrastructure improvements.” (Kailasapathy, Eaton, Anglin)

9:03 p.m. Kailasapathy is reviewing how the LDFA funding has increased as a result of the TIF (tax increment finance) capture. She says that SPARK has had a 70% increase in funding from the LDFA in the last few years.

9:04 p.m. For Kailasapathy, government is all about sharing, she says. When there’s additional windfall revenue, that should be shared, she says.

9:05 p.m. The money should be used for community-based development like high-speed telecommunications. She’s only asking that the budget be capped at $1.814 million, with the rest to be used for infrastructure that will benefit the community, including startups. She’s not taking all their money away, she says.

9:07 p.m. Eaton will support this. Setting aside some of the new TIF capture is consistent with the LDFA foundational documents, which highlight the possibility of adding infrastructure – in the form of high-speed fiber connections. If we want downtown to be a high-tech center, he says, it’s something that could be aimed for. This could be a good start, he says.

9:09 p.m. Petersen says she feels like this budget amendment misses the point. The revenue should be going up, if the LDFA is doing its job. The reason why the LDFA is getting more is because they are giving more, she says. With respect to the fund balance, it’s an incremental increase of $415,000, and the LDFA had decided only $165,000 would go to SPARK and the rest would go to the LDFA fund balance. If there’s a specific recommendation the council wants to make, she’d like to see that as a separate resolution.

9:10 p.m. Anglin notes that earlier in the meeting, utility fees went up for residents. The LDFA is being asked to support infrastructure improvements, he says.

9:12 p.m. Taylor says SPARK is an entity we’re fortunate to have, and SPARK does good things for entrepreneurs and growth. He doesn’t believe the proposal is wise and thinks that SPARK should be given as many resources that they can be legally provided to continue their work.

9:14 p.m. Hieftje gets clarification from Petersen that she’d like a resolution from the city council simply recommending that the LDFA pursue a high-speed fiber network. Petersen indicates that the LDFA board has not gotten to that level of granularity. High-speed fiber is one option, she says. She would love to see a resolution from the council directing the use of fund balance for high-speed fiber. [Petersen serves as the council representative to the LDFA board.]

9:15 p.m. Lumm thinks that the direction Petersen is talking about could be incorporated into this amendment. Lumm notes that the economic collaborative task force, which Petersen led, recommends investment in a high-speed fiber network.

9:15 p.m. Lumm is working on a possible revision to the amendment.

9:17 p.m. Eaton says that the language Lumm is trying to add is already in the last resolved clause – so he doesn’t think Lumm’s revision is necessary. Briere asks for someone from the LDFA to come forward.

9:20 p.m. Carrie Leahy, the chair of the LDFA board, and former councilmember Stephen Rapundalo, who’s a member of the LDFA board, are at the podium to field questions. They’re describing how the LDFA relies on SPARK to provide required reporting, that could be driven by the extension of the LDFA (by 5 or 15 years). SPARK had asked for additional marketing funding to market the message of the LDFA to the community.

9:21 p.m. Rapundalo says that the additional money is in response to growing demand. They’ve heard that the message is not getting out enough throughout the entrepreneurial community what the LDFA has to offer.

9:23 p.m. Rapundalo says the LDFA has considered infrastructure needs nearly every year. When the city was applying for the Google Fiber initiative, LDFA had promised $250,000 if the city had been awarded the Google grant. There has not been much demand for the infrastructure, he says, but rather on the programming side.

9:26 p.m. CFO Tom Crawford is clarifying that what the council can do is affect the bottom line of the budget, but not the individual expenditures. Briere ventures that about 60% of the “windfall” is already being reserved in the fund balance. Rapundalo says the board has been judicious over the years. He says that the LDFA has not always acceded to SPARK’s requests.

9:29 p.m. Eaton asks if there have been any infrastructure projects over the years. Rapundalo points to the possibility that the LDFA entertained with the Google Fiber initiative. He also characterizes incubator space as infrastructure, but Eaton appears not to accept that as “infrastructure” in the sense that it’s meant in the LDFA foundational documents.

9:31 p.m. Lumm is returning to the topic of the economic collaborative task force and the inclusion of high-speed fiber in the final report of that group.

9:32 p.m. Hieftje says that the council should follow Petersen’s suggestion to pass a resolution at the next meeting to ask the LDFA to work on a high-speed fiber network.

9:33 p.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on the LDFA by a 5-6 vote. Voting for it were Eaton, Kailasapathy, Kunselman, Lumm, and Anglin.

9:35 p.m. Budget amendment: Human Services, SPARK. This proposal would eliminate the city general fund allocation of $75,000 to Ann Arbor SPARK and put that money toward human services. (Kailasapathy, Eaton, Anglin)

9:35 p.m. Eaton is arguing for this amendment, saying that the $75,000 is a pittance compared to the amount SPARK receives from the LDFA. He also points to increased funding SPARK has received from the county – through Act 88.

9:37 p.m. Kailasapathy is contrasting this amendment with a different one on the list that would form a warming center from money drawn from the affordable housing trust fund. She calls Briere’s approach a status quo approach – taking money from a needy population and giving it to a different needy population. So she prefers that this amendment on SPARK pass. She appeals to councilmembers to support this because it’s not a big amount for SPARK but is a big deal for a population that needs to be taken care of.

9:38 p.m. Anglin says that back in 2008, many nonprofits disappeared. SPARK should share some of what they have for those who are less fortunate, he says. Economic development goes with social development, he says.

9:42 p.m. Petersen has invited Tim Marshall – chair of SPARK’s board and CEO of the Bank of Ann Arbor – to the podium to explain the difference between the LDFA funding of SPARK and the city’s funding of SPARK. The difference, he says, is that the LDFA is funded through the state. That’s the entrepreneurial side. The $75,000 goes for attraction and retention, he says. Attraction and retention requires skilled people, he says. You can’t say that SPARK should lose on the general fund contribution because it won on the LDFA side. He claims that the return on the investment is about one job for every $100 of investment.

9:44 p.m. Petersen says that the $75,000 is the only line item in the budget that is solely dedicated to economic development, and given that the council has said that’s a priority, she doesn’t know why the council would eliminate that funding. She’s now reviewing what the scope of services is that SPARK provides.

9:46 p.m. Petersen says that the council has gotten 752 new jobs for its $75,000. SPARK does not just share the wealth, it creates wealth, Petersen says. When SPARK helps to occupy empty buildings, that increases the value of the property and that increases revenue to the city, Petersen says.

9:48 p.m. Prompted by Lumm, Marshall is explaining the difference between the city’s general fund contribution to SPARK and the LDFA funding of SPARK.

9:55 p.m. Kunselman goes back to the $250,000 that comes from the county, which Eaton had mentioned. Marshall acknowledges that contribution and calls it a wonderful private-public collaboration. He says there are about 35-40 private companies, including his own Bank of Ann Arbor, that contribute to SPARK.

SPARK CEO Paul Krutko says that Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Ypsilanti, Superior Township and Ypsilanti Township all make contributions. Kunselman asks about expansion to other areas – to Livingston County. With all the contributors, how does the city of Ann Arbor know that Ann Arbor is priority one? Marshall says that you have to look at the report card every year. Are there winners and losers every year? Kunselman asks. Krutko says that it’s a regional issue – the boundaries are not important, he says. This region is in competition with the rest of the world, he says.

9:55 p.m. Eaton asks if SPARK has ever had an independent audit of its jobs claims.

9:59 p.m. No, says Krutko. But SPARK has had independent audits of it finances. Eaton says he’s troubled that SPARK only recently provided those financial audits. Why is it so hard to get information from SPARK – on finances or on audited jobs figures? Eaton asks. Krutko says that this region has outperformed every other region in the country.

10:00 p.m. Kailasapathy asks for the amounts that the other municipalities contribute. Krutko doesn’t have that information, but can get it to Kailasapathy later. She comes back with: “We vote today!”

10:04 p.m. Krutko is describing SPARK’s approach as creative – because it combines entrepreneurial support, with retention and attraction, and marketing. Petersen is now describing the activity of the economic development collaborative task force. That task force is done and the next step is to form a policy group, she says.

10:06 p.m. Kunselman suggests reducing the amount to $50,000, so that $25,000 would be available for human services. That’s the amendment that’s on the floor. Kunselman says he’s not an expert on economic development, but he’s a keen observer of his surroundings. He ventures that most of the growth in jobs is simply backfilling existing space. Most of the activity is driven by the University of Michigan, Kunselman says.

10:07 p.m. Kunselman is willing to support SPARK’s retention efforts and recognizes the importance of being a good partner. He appreciates the county’s contribution.

10:11 p.m. Petersen responds to Kunselman’s remark about backfilling commercial properties. When that happens outside the DDA district, that incremental revenue goes to the general fund. Kunselman responds by saying that’s a broad statement. When a commercial building becomes vacant, the taxes are not automatically decreased, he points out. To say that the development that backfills property space adds to taxable value isn’t necessarily true, Kunselman says. He ventures that the real property tax for the Borders property downtown did not decrease when it went vacant.

10:14 p.m. Taylor calls this an unwise proposal. The city needs to make sure that the city is supportive of SPARK. The city should not freeload, he says. To pull money out is penny-wise and pound-foolish. Warpehoski notes that it’s the Red Queen dilemma – the city needs to run as fast as it can just to stay in place. He shares some of Eaton’s concerns about SPARK’s transparency. For the $75,000, Warpehoski feels like it’s a worthwhile investment. So he’ll oppose the amendment.

10:17 p.m. Briere says that this particular amendment is emblematic about why she doesn’t like to defund one thing to fund another thing. She notes that the discussion so far has not focused at all on the need to increase funding for human services – because it’s focused only on SPARK. If human services is a value, that’s what the council should be talking about. She’d spoken to Kailasapathy about the need to have additional money for human services. The way the resolution reads now, she says, is that it would put $25,000 toward a warming center. That would not work, she says.

10:20 p.m. Briere says she can see a lot of positive impacts. She can’t attribute it all to SPARK, but she feels like SPARK plays a role in that. She feels like the human services part was like a poker chip, and that the real intent was to defund SPARK. Teall agrees that it’s all about defunding SPARK and not about human services. She’s frustrated that councilmembers don’t see the connection between the increased economic activity and the ability of the city to fund those things it wants to fund. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” she says. She also has an issue with the idea that Ann Arbor is competing with other communities and ventures that Kunselman has a very strong competitive nature.

10:23 p.m. Hieftje pleads with the council to move to a vote, saying that at this rate we’ll be here until breakfast. Lumm wants another turn. She says no one would be against economic development. Lumm wonders how much of the economic development SPARK is responsible for.

10:25 p.m. Eaton says it’s not an effort to defund SPARK, pointing out that SPARK is going to receive a lot of money. He points out that SPARK will still get the $50,000 from the general fund (as revised by Kunselman) and Ann Arbor residents pay the county’s Act 88 tax as well, he points out.

10:26 p.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on SPARK by a 5-6 vote. Voting for it were Eaton, Kailasapathy, Kunselman, Lumm, and Anglin.

10:27 p.m. Budget amendment: Police staffing – decrease. This proposal would increase the number of sworn officers by two officers instead of three, with the savings allocated to human services for the purpose of drug treatment and prevention. (Chuck Warpehoski)

10:29 p.m. Warpehoski is recounting his conversation with Jim Balmer of Dawn Farms on the topic of opiate abuse. He’s relating a vignette about someone he knows who sought treatment and had no resources in the city to which he could appeal.

10:30 p.m. Teall asks for Mary Jo Callan, director of community & economic development for the county and city, to approach the podium. Teall wants Callan to talk about how the funds could be allocated for treatment. Callan indicates there’s definitely a need.

10:35 p.m. Eaton wants to know how many people could be housed with $95,000. Callan says that the money might also be used for staff. The AADL and PORT don’t have the staff to deal with all the people who are in need. So one option would be to have a robust presence at the library. One possibility is temporary housing in the form of hotel rooms as a bridge to something more permanent. Callan allows that $95,000 will not solve the problem. It could pay for some staffing and some treatment, and some hotel nights. It would need to be leveraged with other resources, she says.

10:37 p.m. Briere says that, for example, an additional $20,000 for Catholic Social Services could make a big impact – like it could for any of the human services nonprofits.

10:38 p.m. Lumm tells Callan she has huge respect and admiration for her. But she won’t support this amendment. She’s reviewing what the impact would be.

10:39 p.m. This amendment is 180 degrees opposite of the direction the city should be going, Lumm says.

10:41 p.m. Kunselman asks Callan how many people are seeking heroin addiction treatment voluntarily versus through a court order. Callan doesn’t know, but can get that information. Kunselman says he won’t support this resolution. He says that it’s naive to think that people will seek treatment just because someone is there at the library to do outreach.

10:43 p.m. Petersen says she’s struggling to support this. Substance abuse and mental health issues are important, but she’s reluctant to reduce the number of police officers to fund it.

10:45 p.m. Kailasapathy says there’s $235,000 in the fund balance that can be used for treatment and education. She allows that it’s campaign season again and as she talks to people at doors, they don’t talk about crime. They talk about other issues, like trucks speeding down their streets causing their foundations to rattle.

10:45 p.m. It’s hard to make these kinds of choices, Kailasapathy says. But she won’t support taking money from the “underfunded police.” She’s really sorry, though.

10:47 p.m. Teall says she’s going to address Petersen’s concerns. This amendment is going to help the police, she says. It will fund someone to do outreach work that a police officer can’t do, she says.

10:48 p.m. There’s need for outreach on a level that a beat cop can’t do, Teall says. There’s such a need in the community, she adds, and crime is down.

10:50 p.m. Eaton says his recollection was that police chief Seto’s request for additional police officers was not based on the increase in heroin cases. It was based on a broad community need for various kinds of community engagement, he says.

10:51 p.m. Hieftje pleads that the council move to a vote, saying that no one will say anything new on this topic.

10:52 p.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on 2-9 vote. Voting for it were Warpehoski and Teall.

10:53 p.m. The council has suspended its rule on starting closed sessions before 11 p.m.

10:53 p.m. We’re now in recess.

10:58 p.m. Mayor Hieftje has been ill and his voice is not particularly strong tonight.

11:00 p.m. Hieftje is rounding people up.

11:00 p.m. We’re back.

11:01 p.m. Budget amendment: Community-facing climate action programs. Money for “community-facing” climate action programs would come in part from $50,000 allocated for the Ellsworth Road corridor study. (Taylor, Teall, Hieftje, Warpehoski)

11:03 p.m. Taylor says that Ann Arbor has an ambitious long-range climate action plan. It’s a present and immediate necessity. The energy commission has identified this as a need. The city administrator had been queried how much it would take to get things off the ground: about $125,000. We can’t stop climate change with action in Ann Arbor, Taylor says, but the city must do its part. This is a step in that direction, he says.

11:06 p.m. Briere says that she thinks she knows what “community-facing” means, but asks Taylor to explain that. He says that much of the effort to date has been inward facing towards the city itself and its own buildings and vehicles. This would involve talking to residents and business owners, he says. Kunselman ventures that this would involve hiring a contractor. Powers indicates that’s right: It would involve going out for an RFP (request for proposals) to specify deliverables.

Kunselman says he’s not interested in hiring a consultant at this time. Lumm also indicates that she’s not supporting this, either. She indicates that it basically amounts to an additional position of some fashion.

11:07 p.m. Kailasapathy echoes Lumm’s sentiments – that she’ll support a different amendment, to hire an additional forester. She talks about “consultant fatigue.” She allows that global warming is real, and trees are a good solution to reducing greenhouse gases.

11:08 p.m. Anglin also indicates that he’d rather support something that involves trees – in our immediate environment.

11:12 p.m. Eaton also says he’d prefer to support the amendment on adding a forester. Hieftje says that the climate action program would be far more than what a forester would do. He points to the PACE program, which might have an impact on multifamily housing energy efficiency. This amendment could make a big difference, Hieftje says.

11:14 p.m. Briere asks if additional support is anticipated to be needed next year, or if by next fiscal year it would be self-supporting. He figures that nobody expects the forester position to become self-supporting. Powers says the goal of the climate action programs would be that they’d be self-supporting.

11:15 p.m. Eaton asks what this amendment actually does. Taylor says that there’s no reference to the FTE in the resolution. It’s not to hire an FTE. It’s anticipated that it would be a contractor.

11:19 p.m. Eaton asks if the city would start charging fees to make the program self-supporting. Powers says that he doesn’t have that level of detail tonight. Taylor ventures that there would be grant funding. In the future, if the economic climate improves, he hopes to be able to transition from a contractor to an FTE.

11:19 p.m. Hieftje asks that it move to a vote.

11:19 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment on 6-5 vote. Voting for it were Warpehoski, Teall, Petersen, Briere, Taylor and Hieftje.

11:20 p.m. Teall floats the idea of recessing the meeting until Tuesday, splitting the meeting into two parts. Brief discussion ensues but councilmembers decide they’ll push through the rest of the amendments.

11:21 p.m. Budget amendment: Police staffing – increase. This proposal would increase the number of sworn police officers by five officers instead of an increase of three proposed by the city administrator. Funding would come in part from a reduction in the 15th District Court budget. The resolution would also reiterate a previous request made last year that the DDA fund three downtown beat cops. (Lumm, Eaton, Kailasapathy, Anglin)

11:21 p.m. Lumm is reviewing her reasons for wanting to increase the number of police officers by more than the three that the proposed budget calls for.

11:24 p.m. Lumm is arguing that the 15th District Court has not been as fiscally responsible as other departments. She’s proposing to fund a portion of the increased cost through a reduction in the court’s budget. She’s also anticipating additional money from the state through state shared revenue.

11:24 p.m. Hieftje is commenting on the idea of comparing the size of police departments in the 1980s and 1990s to current levels. He points to the 55 sworn officers that the University of Michigan now employs that did not previously exist.

11:27 p.m. Police departments were built up to respond in the past to increased levels of crime, he says. But now those levels have decreased. When police officer time is measured, Hieftje points out, they do have a lot of time available for proactive policing. He doesn’t want to put the budget under strain based on revenues that have not yet materialized. He returns to the point of decreasing crime numbers. He doesn’t understand why the goal would be to have a police force at the same level that the city did in a previous era.

11:29 p.m. Eaton says the city is fortunate to have police chief John Seto. Seto is not telling the council that the city has a crime problem, Eaton says. Seto has said the additional three officers are a “good start” toward accomplishing what Seto wants to do in terms of traffic enforcement and community engagement. Adding three officers does not take staffing levels back to the levels of the 1990s or even 2009, Eaton says. It’s an incremental step in the right direction.

11:32 p.m. Teall says she didn’t hear Seto say there were more police officers needed, but rather it was true that more could always be done. She won’t support this. Taylor says he won’t support this amendment, either. He’ll support the additional three police officers, but he rejects the idea that failing to support an additional two officers means a lack of priority on public safety. He points out that after pass-throughs, 57% of the city’s general fund goes to public safety.

11:35 p.m. Taylor is referring to an email from chief judge Libby Hines that rejected the idea that the 15th District Court was not a good steward of public money. The court administrator, Shryl Samborn, is at the podium. She’s talking about the ways the 15th District Court has reduced costs. More police officers means more citations, which would require more court clerks, she points out.

11:38 p.m. Lumm is responding to the court’s cost cutting, tracing the 7% and 9% and 4% general fund increases the court has shown. The court had authorized significant pay increases well above what other city employees had received, she says. Responding to the idea that UM officers should be factored into the equation, Lumm says the UM officers don’t see their job as policing the broader community. “They are not our backup,” she says.

11:41 p.m. Kunselman says that as much as he’d like to support it, he won’t support it. It’s important to work within the city administrator’s budget as much as possible. He’s not confident that the recurring revenues will actually be there, so he feels a little “queasy” about adding police officers. He says he had proposed no amendments, because he was very happy with the city administrator’s budget – because Powers had listened to the council about what it wanted to see.

11:44 p.m. Anglin says that there will be more police required as more people use public transportation. Warpehoski tries to move the council to a vote.

11:45 p.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on 4-7 vote. Voting for it were Lumm, Eaton, Anglin and Kailasapathy.

11:48 p.m. Budget amendment: Compost/leaf program – restore. This proposal would restore loose leaf collection in the fall and holiday tree pickup in the winter. This would require roughly $406,000 in capital investment and $319,500 in recurring expenses from the millage-supported solid waste fund. (Lumm, Eaton, Kailasapathy, Anglin)

11:48 p.m. Lumm notes that she’s brought forward this amendment the last two years and allows that people might be wondering: When will she give up? She says that she’d give up if she did not hear continually from residents that this is a service that they really use and expect the city to provide. She’s reciting the standard arguments in favor.

Petersen says that as much as she’d like to support this, she thinks that the city should not go back to the old way of doing things, because it was too inefficient. That’s not an appropriate way to restore the service. She mentions vacuum trucks as a possibility.

11:49 p.m. Hieftje says that leaves don’t come down on schedule. Cities across the state have moved away from the old way, he says. The current approach using containers is not perfect but it does work ok, he says.

11:53 p.m. Briere won’t support this restoration of fall leaf collection. She’s advocated for year-round composting because she thinks there are some years when leaves need to be set out after the first of December. Briere is recycling familiar arguments.

11:55 p.m. Lumm is arguing environmental points.

11:56 p.m. Lumm is using the Ann Arbor Newshawks in support of her argument for loose collection. She describes following a truck on its collection route.

11:58 p.m. Warpehoski raises a point of order on the length of Lumm’s speaking time.

12:00 a.m. Kunselman says he won’t support this. He’s not sure the solid waste fund reserve won’t be needed in the future. The last thing he wants to see is the solid waste millage go up. He doesn’t want to tinker with the city administrator’s budget.

12:01 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on 4-7 vote. Voting for it were Lumm, Eaton, Anglin and Kailasapathy.

12:01 a.m. Budget amendment: Retirement plan. This proposal directs the city administrator to develop a revised retirement plan design for new hires that “includes a defined contribution element and results in lower costs to the city.” The new plan design would be presented to the council by Dec. 31, 2014, with the intent that the revised plan would be applied to all employees hired after Dec. 31, 2015. (Lumm, Kailasapathy)

12:02 a.m. Lumm is describing what this resolution does. She allows that she’s brought this up previously. But she laments the lack of progress. So she wants the council to give some direction that it supports this approach.

12:04 a.m. Kailasapathy is explaining the problem with defined benefit plans is that demographics have changed – life expectancy has increased.

12:08 a.m. Warpehoski says he’s voting against the resolution, but doesn’t want that vote to be understood as being against defined contribution plans. He says that the right venue for this kind of thing is negotiated at the table as labor contracts are developed. Lumm responds by saying it’s not a collective bargaining strategy. Nothing has happened in two years, she says. She says the council should provide direction as a council.

12:08 a.m. Teall says she doesn’t support this and so she’s not going to vote to it.

12:10 a.m. Warpehoski references a staff memo that supports his contention that this would impede the city’s general labor strategy. Staff had expressed their concerns about this approach. He’s chaffing under the implication from Lumm that he had not read the resolution, noting that he did read it.

12:13 a.m. Petersen and Powers are discussing how the council best should supply direction on this topic. They’re discussing closed sessions versus open sessions. Anglin says this doesn’t even seem like a budget amendment. It’s more like a general direction.

12:13 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on 3-8 vote. Voting for it were Lumm, Eaton, and Kailasapathy.

12:13 a.m. Policy direction: This proposal would not alter the budget but would ask the city administrator to “study alternatives to increase street funding and present to Council by Sept. 30, 2014 a report outlining options, their financial impact, and the pros and cons of each.” (Lumm, Eaton, Kailasapathy, Anglin)

12:16 a.m. Lumm is reviewing the content of the resolution.

12:16 a.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment on a unanimous vote. This prompts an “Oh, my god!” from Lumm.

12:16 a.m. Budget amendment: Animal control. The proposal would eliminate funding for an inventory of commercial signs in favor of animal control for the Human Society of Huron Valley and for deer herd management costs. (Petersen, Kailasapathy, Eaton, Anglin)

12:18 a.m. Petersen recites the content of the resolution. Lumm says she’ll support this amendment as a short-term solution. She’s prepared another amendment involving dog licenses that is meant to address the long-term issue.

12:18 a.m. Kunselman is getting clarification about the total amount that would wind up allocated for animal control – about $100,000.

12:22 a.m. Warpehoski says that when the city was dealing with the digital billboard ordinance, having an inventory of signs was noted as something that was important. So he’s torn about this amendment. Powers is explaining that the sign inventory is important and that’s why it’s in the budget. He can’t say exactly how urgent the work might be. Can it be deferred? Yes, says Powers. Warpehoski says he’ll support the amendment this year, but does want to see the inventory done.

Kunselman draws out the fact that the $75,000 would have been spent on a consultant. He’s not interested in supporting consultants.

12:24 a.m. Petersen, Lumm and Kunselman are doing some wordsmithing about what HSHV will be doing.

12:30 a.m. Hieftje wants to move along to a vote.

12:30 a.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment on a unanimous vote.

12:31 a.m. Budget amendment: Warming center. This proposal would allocate $100,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to provide assistance for a warming center. (Lumm, Briere)

12:33 a.m. Briere says that she can find past uses of the affordable housing fund that are consistent with this one. This does not cover 100% of the anticipated cost, but she wants to bring it forward now instead of waiting until October, because it’s possible to anticipate that there will be a winter.

12:34 a.m. Kunselman asks if the source of the funds is all general fund money. Briere explains that there were general fund transfers as well as proceeds from the sale of the former Y lot.

12:37 a.m. Kunselman says he’s not comfortable using money from an affordable housing fund. He’d support a general fund expenditure for that purpose. But he doesn’t think it’s wise to raid the fund for purposes other than providing affordable housing. Eaton says he’s also voting against it. When the council voted to put the net proceeds of the Y lot into the affordable housing fund, he’d been concerned that there weren’t clear criteria for use of the affordable housing trust fund. He calls for development of guidelines for use of funds from the affordable housing trust fund. He’s voting against this.

12:38 a.m. Hieftje says he’s torn on this. He’s concerned about the demand for warming shelter services for people who are not from Washtenaw County. The city needs to work with its partners to figure out how to continue to provide services to people from Washtenaw County. It’s premature to make a decision tonight, he says, because it should be based on a strategy worked out with partners.

12:39 a.m. Lumm is supporting this, and notes that Briere has worked with Mary Jo Callan and Ellen Schulmeister, executive director of the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. There’s a need for additional capacity for a warming center.

12:41 a.m. Warpehoski says he’ll support the amendment, but with the same reservations that others have expressed. His understanding, however, is that allocations from the affordable housing trust fund need a recommendation from the housing & human services advisory board (HHSAB). Briere says that it’s legitimate for the council to take this action without the HHSAB recommendation. She believes that HHSAB would support it.

12:43 a.m. Taylor says that much of our services go to folks “who are not of us,” which leads to a slippery slope of not being able to serve the “local homeless.”

12:48 a.m. Taylor says that this is an issue that’s more complicated than what can be solved tonight.

12:48 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on a 5-6 vote. Voting for it were Kailasapathy, Briere, Petersen, Lumm, and Warpehoski.

12:48 a.m. Recess. We’re now in recess.

12:55 a.m. Teall is sitting in the mayor’s seat. Not clear if she’s going to take over for Hieftje when we resume. She’s fortifying herself with peanut M&Ms.

12:55 a.m. “Come on folks, let’s go!” says Teall.

12:56 a.m. Teall says we’re on schedule to be out by 4:15 a.m.

12:56 a.m. Budget amendment: 415 W. Washington demolition – pedestrian safety. This proposal would use some of the $300,000 in the general fund budget that’s designated for demolition of the city-owned 415 W. Washington property to fund the pedestrian safety and access task force. (Briere, Warpehoski)

12:59 a.m. Briere says that the pedestrian task force would be funded in two ways – from the $75,000 set aside for a sidewalk gap elimination study and from part of the $300,000 set aside for the 415 W. Washington demolition. Powers confirms that Briere’s description of the way that project management staff are paid is accurate – in that they’re paid by project.

1:00 a.m. Eaton expresses puzzlement, saying he thought this pedestrian safety task force funding had been in front of the council and they’d postponed it, and that staff had identified all the required funding.

1:05 a.m. Craig Hupy, public services area administrator, is at the podium fielding questions from Kailasapathy. The $77,320 in the resolution is for the consultant on the pedestrian safety task force. Warpehoski reviews the history of how the consultant was selected. The task force is eager to have a positive impact on the community, he says. Current staff don’t have capacity to provide the task force support, he says. The task force has participated in the selection of the consultant (The Greenway Collaborative), he says.

1:05 a.m. Lumm is now commenting on the amendment. She’s reviewing how the funding works.

1:06 a.m. Mayor John Hieftje has departed the meeting, and Teall has been presiding over the meeting as mayor pro tem since returning from recess.

1:09 a.m. Kunselman says it seems like the council is picking on the 415 W. Washington demolition funds, when it’s been put of for several years. Powers says that there would need additional preparatory work to make an application to the historic district commission for the demolition.

1:11 a.m. “The building needs to come down,” Kunselman says. “This building is not going to be saved,” because it’s going to cost too much. In the meantime, it’s a blight in the neighborhood, across from the new Y building. It needs to be torn down and the city has been dragging its feet, he says. Now the council is stalling that effort, so he won’t support it.

1:12 a.m. Kailasapathy asks if the amendment can be split into two parts so that the $75,000 portion could be dragged forward from last year’s budget.

1:15 a.m. Briere says that the pedestrian task force was established through a unanimous vote of the council and now there’s an obligation to fund it. She’s continuing to argue by saying it’s important not to just give it lip service.

1:16 a.m. Teall agrees with Briere, saying the council has to support task forces that it establishes.

1:19 a.m. Kailasapathy cautions that she did not vote to sign a blank check when she voted for the establishment of the task force.

1:19 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment. [We are tentatively recording this as a 5-5 vote. Hieftje has left the meeting.]

1:20 a.m. Budget amendment: Compost/leaf program – extend. This proposal would extend the curbside compostables pickup from seasonal to year-round so that food waste could be kept out of the garbage stream year-round, at an increased annual cost of $300,000. (Briere)

1:21 a.m. Briere is arguing for her proposal.

1:25 a.m. Petersen and Lumm question whether a reduction in tipping fees would actually be realized. Lumm says that if the city is going to spend $300,000 a year from the solid waste fund, it should be to pick up loose leaves.

1:25 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on a 3-7 vote. It got support from Taylor, Teall and Briere.

1:25 a.m. Budget amendment: Art administration, traffic calming efforts. The proposal is to reduce the amount allocated in the recommended budget for transitional costs associated with the public art program from $80,000 to $40,000. The $40,000 in savings would be used for traffic calming projects in neighborhoods, including but not limited to speed bumps. (Eaton, Kailasapathy, Anglin)

1:28 a.m. Kailasapathy says she’d like to dedicate all $80,000 to traffic calming, but she acknowledges that some councilmembers wanted to fund a transition for art. She’s hearing from her constituents that they want to see traffic calming but not transitional art administration funding. The art administrator can be hired for $40,000 and put efforts into private fund raising, she says.

1:29 a.m. Briere says that last year when she put forward additional money for traffic calming, she had been able to identify exactly what projects would be funded. This proposal is more conceptual, she says. She’d be more comfortable with it if it were more precise.

1:32 a.m. Briere questions whether this amendment is about adding money to traffic calming or “because it looks good.”

1:32 a.m. Lumm is supporting this.

1:35 a.m. Outcome: The council has rejected this amendment on a 4-6 vote. It got support from Kailasapathy, Lumm, Eaton, and Anglin.

1:35 a.m. Budget amendment: Streets – Alt Transportation. The proposal would, for this year, bump the Act 51 allocation for alternative transportation from 2.5% to 5% – which translates to $180,000. The amendment would ask the city administrator to provide information that would help the council determine the appropriate percentage to allocate to alternative transportation. (Briere)

1:36 a.m. Briere had to be encouraged to bring this forward by Eaton, after she said she thought the council was by now going to split 5-5 on everything else (because Hieftje is no longer here). She summarizes why she wants to increase alternative transportation funding.

1:39 a.m. Lumm says she won’t support this because it draws down the general fund. Other councilmembers correct her.

1:39 a.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment over the dissent of Kunselman.

1:40 a.m. Budget amendment: 415 W. Washington demolition. This proposal would simply eliminate general fund support for demolition of the city-owned buildings at 415 W. Washington. (Kailasapathy, Lumm, Eaton, Anglin)

1:42 a.m. Kailasapathy says that she had proposed this in response to CFO Tom Crawford’s cautionary remarks from the May 12 work session about the level of the general fund reserves. She says that the money for demolition could be found in the parks maintenance and capital improvements millage, if the property is added to the PROS plan.

1:45 a.m. Briere talks about the amount of process that would need to be engaged in before deciding that it would become a park. She didn’t think it was realistic to demolish the building before the spring of next year. Lumm says this “hits pause” on the demolition of 415 W. Washington to see if alternatives to the general fund can be found to pay for it.

1:48 a.m. Lumm is noting that the open space preservation millage might be a source of funds. Kunselman says he doesn’t support using parks money for a general fund type building. The building needs to come down, he says. It might not come down until next spring, but the money needs to be appropriated at this meeting. The building is an eyesore and is not in any way historic, he says. He won’t support the amendment. He’ll encourage the staff to move ahead in the coming months on getting the building torn down.

1:50 a.m. Anglin is talking about the costs that would be involved in preserving the building. Artists had talked about possibly using it as an art center. It had been studied, he says, and he doesn’t know where the idea came from to demolish the building. The council had not yet heard from the historic district commission, he says.

1:54 a.m. Anglin says there’s an opportunity in this building to make the art community feel welcome. Teall also questions where the idea came from to demolish the building. Briere says that the council had directed the study of the feasibility of preserving the building and the final report had come back. The result of that report was a conclusion that it would take about $3 million to stabilize the building and another $3 million to renovate it. That’s where the notion of demolishing the building came from.

1:54 a.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment over the dissent of Kunselman, Taylor and Warpehoski.

1:55 a.m. Budget amendment: Dog licenses. This proposal would encourage educational and enforcement efforts to increase the 7% compliance rate for dog licenses, which currently generates $15,000 in revenue. The resolution states that Ann Arbor is home to 30,000 dogs and that a 50% license compliance rate would result in $105,000 in revenue. But the resolution targets a 30% compliance rate for the shorter term, which would bring in a total of about $63,000. The resolution alters the revenue budget to reflect that amount. The resolution indicates that at least a portion of the additional $48,000 would go toward payment for animal services provided to the city by the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

1:57 a.m. Lumm characterizes this as an effort to identify a recurring source of revenue for animal control. “We have a lot of dogs in Ann Arbor,” she says. It’s thought that Ann Arbor is home to about 30,000 dogs, she says. A 50% compliance rate would generate about $120,000 annually, she says. Currently the compliance rate is only about 7%, she says.

2:01 a.m. Teall asks about increased enforcement and how that would be done. Powers indicated that it would initially be a matter of raising awareness of the requirement. Only about 2,000 dogs are licensed in Ann Arbor. One of the benefits of having a license for your dog is being able to use the city’s dog parks.

2:02 a.m. Briere has no problem with the idea of focusing on enforcement, but is uncomfortable with making it a budget amendment, because it might assume revenues that might not materialize.

2:03 a.m. Briere wonders if it might be possible not to include such a “confident” allocation.

2:05 a.m. Powers says he’ll likely be bringing an agreement between the county and the city that would be the conduit by which HSHV would be paid. Briere says the 30% compliance rate seems ambitious. Petersen asks about a dog census to help compliance. Powers indicates there’s a statutory requirement for a dog census.

2:06 a.m. Warpehoski wants to vote.

2:07 a.m. Lumm reports that she’s talked to the director of the HSHV, and HSHV sees this as a baby step. She says having 23% greater compliance does not set the bar too high. It’s good for pets and pet owners, she says.

2:09 a.m. Taylor says he’d observed that the council was talking about police officers enforcing dog licenses, when previously some councilmembers had objected to the idea of police officers enforcing an outdoor smoking ordinance. Taylor doesn’t object to either kind of enforcement.

2:11 a.m. Kunselman asks police chief Seto if an animal control officer is needed. Kunselman says there’ve been problems in his neighborhood. Seto notes that every police officer is authorized as an animal control officer. That service is probably not provided as well as when there was a dedicated animal control officer, he says. He notes that the city now works with the county on animal control.

2:12 a.m. Outcome: The council has unanimously approved this amendment.

2:12 a.m. Budget amendment: Parks fairness. This is a standard amendment every year to ensure that the parks budget is increased to match any increase in general fund expenditures in other areas.

2:14 a.m. The parks budget needs to be increased by $23,577 as a result of the budget amendments that were previously approved.

2:15 a.m. Teall says she has reservations about it as a practical matter, but wants to go ahead and vote.

2:15 a.m. Outcome: The council has approved this amendment over the sole dissent from Teall.

2:16 a.m. The council is now on the main question of the FY 2015 budget.

2:17 a.m. Lumm says that she didn’t support last year’s budget because it didn’t make progress toward public safety as an area of priority. But this year’s budget does that with the addition of three police officers, she says. So she’s supporting the budget.

2:17 a.m. Outcome: The council has voted unanimously to adopt the FY 2015 budget as amended.

2:18 a.m. Clerk’s report of communications, petitions and referrals. Outcome: The council has voted to accept the clerk’s report.

2:18 a.m. Public comment. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

2:24 a.m. Seth Best is addressing the council. He thanks Anglin for mentioning Camp Take Notice. He invites people to drop by 3501 Stone School Road to visit. He was disappointed with the outcome on the warming center resolution. He was also troubled about the distinction between county residents and non-county residents with respect to the provision of services. He reminds the council of the inscription from the Statue of Liberty.

2:24 a.m. Kai Petainen says he’s not upset about the SPARK amendments, but he’s kind of annoyed by SPARK. They’d shown up to the meeting without answers to the council’s questions, he says. His complaint is about how SPARK treated the council and the public. They weren’t prepared for tonight’s meeting, he says, and thereby demonstrated arrogance and ignorance. He said he doubted that if SPARK didn’t get the $75,000 it would cause companies to leave town.

2:24 a.m. Closed session. Outcome: The council has voted to go into closed session to consider pending litigation.

2:32 a.m. They’re back in open session.

2:32 a.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 May 19, 2014 meeting agenda.

A preview of some possible budget amendments will be reported separately.

The council’s May 19, 2014 meeting agenda includes more than just the adoption of the budget.

Related to the setting of the annual budget are items like setting fees associated with the public services area (for example, site plan review) and the community services area (for example, farmers market stall fees), as well as rate increases for water, sewer and stormwater utilities.

Also related to the budget – and not just for this next year – is an agenda item that will revise the city’s policies for contributions to the city’s pension system and retiree health care. In broad strokes, those revisions are meant to accelerate contributions during a strong economy and maintain contributions at least at the level of the actuary-recommended amount during weaker economies.

Another budget-related item on the May 19 agenda is one related to the social infrastructure of the community – allocation of general fund money to nonprofits that provide human services. The city approaches this allocation through a process that is coordinated with Washtenaw County, the United Way, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and other partners. The total amount allocated for operation of programs is about $4.3 million. The city of Ann Arbor’s general fund contribution is about $1.2 million, which is the same amount that has been contributed for the last several years.

Related to human services support is an agenda item that would accept a $113,154 planning grant from the Michigan Supreme Court to establish a specialized mental health court.

Along with social infrastructure, the council will also be asked to approve an allocation that includes utilities infrastructure, to address the needs that resulted from the harsh winter. The resolution the council will consider would allocate money from the fund balance reserves from three sources: $1.7 million from the major street fund, $638,000 from the local street fund, and $666,000 from the water fund. Those amounts include $461,171 from the state of Michigan.

The council will also be asked to approve money for building new physical infrastructure – about $2.6 million for the reconstruction of a segment of Pontiac Trail. The segment stretches north of Skydale Drive to just south of the bridge over M-14/US-23. The street reconstruction project also includes water mains, sanitary sewer, and construction of new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail, and installation of bike lanes.

Special assessments to pay for three other sidewalk projects also appear on the council’s agenda in various stages of the special assessment process. Those future projects are located on Barton Drive, Scio Church Road, and Newport Road.

The council will be asked to approve the city’s application for federal funding to support the acquisition of development rights in Superior Township for two pieces of property on either side of Vreeland Road. The properties are near other parcels already protected as part of the city’s greenbelt initiative.

The city council will also vote on the confirmation of two appointments: Katherine Hollins to the city’s environmental commission; and Bob White, as a reappointment to his fourth term on the city’s historic district commission.

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.

Fees and Rates

On the council’s agenda are rate increases for utilities (water, sewer and stormwater) as well as fee increases for the public services and community services area.

Fees and Rates: Water, Sewer, Stormwater

Water rates are proposed to increase across all tiers of consumption. For the first 7 “units” of water, the charge is proposed to increase from $1.35 to $1.40. For the next 21 units, the charge is proposed to increase from $2.85 to $2.96 per unit. And for the 17 units after that, the increase is proposed to be from $4.88 to $5.08. A unit is 100 cubic feet, which is 748 gallons.

Sewer rates would increase from $3.65 to $3.85 per unit. And stormwater fees would increase for all tiers of impervious service. For the middle tier – for more than 2,187 square feet but less than or equal to 4,175 square feet – on a quarterly basis, the increase would be from $24.85 to $26.32.

According to the staff memo accompanying this item, the recommended rate changes in water, sewer, and stormwater would increase revenues to the water, sewer, and stormwater funds by $765,119, $1,171,931 and $410,235 respectively. The reason given for the rate increases is to cover maintenance and debt payments, and to maintain funding for capital improvement requirements. The city calculates the impact to be an additional $6.25 per quarter or $24.98 per year for an average consumer, which is a net increase of 4.2%.

Water consumption for a typical single family is assumed at 19 units per quarter.

History of city of Ann Arbor water rates. The city converted to a tiered system 10 years ago in 2004, based on usage. The 2015 amount is proposed.

The utility rates are part of a city ordinance. So the council will be considering initial approval at its May 19 meeting, with final approval to come at its first meeting in June – on June 2.

Fees and Rates: Community and Public Services Area

Fee increases in the community services area and the public services area will be considered by the council at its May 19 meeting.

For community services, increases are being proposed for stall fees at the Ann Arbor public market (farmers market). Currently, the basic annual fee for rental of a stall is $300. It’s proposed to be increased to $450 – a 50% increase.

If approved by the council, the fee increase would be projected to generate $26,000 in additional revenue. However, this additional revenue has not been assumed in the proposed FY 2015 budget.

According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, “market fees were last increased in 2009 and have not kept pace with the overall increase of annual operating costs during this same time period.” A comparative analysis of Ann Arbor’s fees also showed that Ann Arbor’s fees are well below those of comparable markets.

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, including three in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, excluding those in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

In the public services area, fees for a variety of services are being considered – for such items as site plan review, soil and sedimentation control. According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, the increases consider labor, material and supplies, equipment, and overhead cost and are aimed at full cost recovery. The increases are generally in the range of 1% to 5%.

Pension and VEBA Funding Policy

The council will be considering policies for making contributions to the pension and retiree health care plan that is supposed to ensure that the plans are eventually fully funded. The policy would set the funding at the higher of two different figures: (1) the Actuarial Required Contribution (ARC) rate; or (2) the existing level of contributions adjusted for the change in general fund revenues. That would have an impact of establishing a minimum increase in funding of 2% per year.

The operative language in the policy is:

If the General Fund revenues are projected to increase less than 2%, the city’s contribution shall increase 2%; thereby establishing a minimum increase of 2% per year.

Social Infrastructure

The council’s agenda includes two items that can be characterized as funding social infrastructure: the annual general fund allocations to nonprofits that provide human services; and the acceptance of a planning grant for the 15th District Court to establish a mental health court.

Social Infrastructure: Coordinated Funding

The council will be asked at its May 19 meeting to approve funding allocations to nonprofits as part of a coordinated funding approach for human services, in partnership with several other local funders.

The city is one of the original five partners in the coordinated funding approach. Other partners include Washtenaw County, United Way of Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Urban County, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. It began as a pilot program in 2010.

This year, 105 applications were submitted by 50 local organizations totaling $8,732,389 in requested funding, according to a staff memo. A review committee recommended that 57 programs receive a total of $4,321,494 in available funding. Of that amount, the city is providing $1,244,629.

FY 15       Funding Source                                        
$1,244,629  City of Ann Arbor General Fund                    
$1,760,708  United Way of Washtenaw County                    
$1,015,000  Washtenaw County's General Fund                   
$  274,907  Washtenaw Urban County CDBG funds                 
$   26,250  Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation senior funds 
========== 
$4,321,494  TOTAL

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The coordinated funding process has three parts: planning/coordination, program operations, and capacity-building. The approach targets six priority areas, and identifies lead agencies for each area: (1) housing and homelessness – Washtenaw Housing Alliance; (2) aging – Blueprint for Aging; (3) school-aged youth – Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth; (4) children birth to six – Success by Six; (5) health – Washtenaw Health Plan; and (6) hunger relief – Food Gatherers.

In 2012, TCC Group – a consulting firm based in Philadelphia – was hired to evaluate the process. As a result of that review, several changes were recommended and later authorized by the city council at its Nov. 7, 2013 and by the Washtenaw County board on Nov. 6, 2013. One of those changes is that funding would not necessarily be allocated to the six priority areas based on the proportion of funding allocated in the past. Instead, allocations among the six priority areas would be based on identified community-level outcomes, the strategies that align with them, and how each are prioritized. An additional change would broaden the pre-screening process so that smaller nonprofits could be accommodated.

Funding for this cycle will start on July 1, 2014. In addition, the RNR Foundation – a family foundation that funded TCC Group’s evaluation of the coordinated funding approach – will now be an additional funder in this process.

The RNR Foundation funding will go toward the planning/coordination and capacity building components of the effort, so their funding is not listed among the items in the  program operating component.

Here’s a breakdown of how the program operating component of the city of Ann Arbor’s share will be allocated:

   
   FY 2015  Agency
   $20,000  Barrier Busters 
   $30,000  Peace Neighborhood Center
   $35,069  Ozone House Inc.
   $54,168  Domestic Violence Project Inc. dba SafeHouse Center
   $56,396  UM Regents (Community Dental Center, Housing Bureau for Seniors)
   $85,500  Avalon Housing 
   $90,786  Child Care Network
  $102,156  Food Gatherers
  $115,558  The Salvation Army of Washtenaw County
  $122,095  Washtenaw Community Health Organization
  $160,761  Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
  $164,660  Community Action Network
  $207,480  Legal Services of South Central Michigan
$1,244,629  Grand Total

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That compares with the current fiscal year as follows:

 
  FY 2014   Agency
   $4,561   HIV/AIDS Resource Center     
  $12,772   Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy     
  $14,282   Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan     
  $17,139   Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County
  $19,835   Barrier Busters     
  $23,719   UM Regents - Ann Arbor Meals on Wheels     
  $27,369   The Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan     
  $63,419   Home of New Vision
  $91,645   Interfaith Hospitality Network of Washtenaw County     
  $94,490   Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw     
  $95,171   Food Gatherers     
 $104,944   Community Action Network
 $109,851   Perry Nursery School of Ann Arbor     
 $142,851   Avalon Housing Inc.     
 $177,052   Services of South Central Michigan
 $245,529   Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
$1,244,629  Grand Total

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The coordinated funding approach sometimes results in the same programs being funded – but by different funders. This year, the city of Ann Arbor is funding a program for Peace Neighborhood Center; last year Washtenaw County provided funding ($19,995) for Peace Neighborhood Center. And last year, the city of Ann Arbor funded a University of Michigan meals-on-wheels program; this year, United Way is funding that program.

Recipients of funds in one year are not guaranteed funding the following year. An example of that is the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, which received $27,369 from the city of Ann Arbor last year for a mental health program, but is not receiving funds as part of the coordinated funding program this year.

Social Infrastructure: Mental Health Court

The council is being asked to approve the receipt of a planning grant of $113,154 from the Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to fund the planning for a mental health court program.

According to the staff memo accompanying the item, mental health courts are problem-solving courts “that focus on therapeutic treatment for offenders with mental illnesses whose crimes are a result of their mental illness.”

The memo continues:

Eligible defendants are diverted into judicially supervised, community-based treatment to address the underlying problems. The program uses a team approach to address the participant’s needs for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment while also linking the participant with ancillary services such as education, housing, job skills or other individualized assistance. The goal is to assist participants in bettering their lives while also benefiting the community by reducing jail time, recidivism rates, and court docket congestion.

The 15th District Court already operates several specialized courts – a sobriety court, a homeless court, veterans court and domestic violence court. The mental health court would be operated in addition to those other specialized courts.

For background on the 15th District Court’s specialized “problem-solving” courts from last year’s Chronicle reporting, see: “Round 1 FY 2014: 15th District Court.”

Physical Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure appears on the council’s May 19 agenda in several forms: an allocation of money to deal with damage to systems from the harsh winter; a Pontiac Trail street reconstruction project; and several sidewalk projects.

Physical Infrastructure: Winter Damage

The council will be asked to approve an allocation that includes utilities infrastructure, to address the needs that resulted from the severe winter weather.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, compared to last year there was a 36% increase in water main breaks and a 950% increase of broken water services. Compared to the previous two years winters, the 2013-14 winter had 272% more snow and a 450% increase in required plowing. That meant additional use of materials like ice-control salt, sand, cold-patch, pipe, repair clamps and fittings – in addition to higher-than-anticipated work hours and overtime, and increased equipment costs.

The resolution the council will consider would allocate money from the fund balance reserves from three sources: $1.7 million from the major street fund, $638,000 from the local street fund, and $666,000 from the water fund. Those amounts include $461,171 from the state of Michigan.

The work will include frozen service line repairs, pavement marking, and road surface repair. The work is not anticipated to be completed until well after June 30, 2014 – the end of the current fiscal year.

At a May 12 city council work session, public services area administrator Craig Hupy presented the council with some data on the age of the city’s piping system, saying that for the water pipes, those that were constructed in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s are more problematic than those built before and after that period. Still, he indicated that the city’s breakage rate was considered low for a system that is as old as Ann Arbor’s.

Ann Arbor Sanitary Sewer System by Year of Construction. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor, chart by The Chronicle)

Ann Arbor Water System by Year of Construction. (Data from the city of Ann Arbor, chart by The Chronicle)

City of Ann Arbor Water Main Breaks by Year. (Data from city of Ann Arbor Comprehensive Annual Financial Report)

Physical Infrastructure: Pontiac Trail

The council will consider two resolutions in connection with a street reconstruction project on Pontiac Trail.

The first is a $2,605,190 contract with Evergreen Civil LLC for construction of the project. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the project includes reconstruction of Pontiac Trail beginning north of Skydale Drive to south of the bridge over M-14/US-23. The project also includes extending water mains and sewer pipes, as well as construction of new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail, and installation of bike lanes. The memo also indicates the project will include stormwater infiltration trenches, edge drains, and the addition of a small section of curb and gutter. The project is expected to begin in June of 2014 and be completed by fall of 2014.

The other contract to be considered by the council in connection with the Pontiac Trail project is $46,879 for Professional Services Industries Inc. for materials testing.

Responding to a query from The Chronicle, city project manager Nick Hutchinson indicated that the council would be presented at its June 16 meeting with the next in a series of resolutions on special assessment to help fund the sidewalk portion of the Pontiac Trail project. The council had voted at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting to direct the city administrator to prepare plans, specifications and a cost estimate for the Pontiac Trail sidewalk project. The special assessment process requires the setting of an assessment roll and the holding of a public hearing before a special assessment can be imposed.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks

Three other sidewalk projects that are further along in the special assessment process than Pontiac Trail are also on the council’s May 19 agenda: Barton Road, Scio Church and Newport Road.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Newport Road

A public hearing on the Newport Road sidewalk special assessment, which started on May 5, will continue at the council’s May 19 meeting. For the sidewalk segment on Newport Road, the council had approved at its April 21, 2014 meeting a resolution directing the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The council took action to set the public hearing on the Newport Road special assessment for May 5.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized.

However, several residents spoke at the May 5 public hearing, opposing the special assessment.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Physical Infrastructure: Sidewalks – Scio Church

Again on the city council’s May 19 agenda are resolutions to set the assessment roll and set a public hearing (to be held June 16) for the special assessment of a Scio Church Road sidewalk. Action on the Scio Church sidewalk project special assessment had been postponed at the council’s April 21, 2014 meeting until May 19.

For this sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a federal surface transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the city’s general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626. It was the size of the total amount of special assessment that led to the postponement. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) argued at the April 21 meeting that the amount to be assessed was not worth the staff time to follow all the bureaucratic procedures involved in implementing the special assessment. He also called for 80% of any sidewalk project to be funded through non-special assessed funds.

Purple indicates stretches of Scio Church Road where no sidewalk exists.

Physical Infrastructure Sidewalks – Barton Road

On the city council’s May 19 agenda are resolutions to set the assessment roll and a public hearing (to be held on June 16) for the special assessment of a Barton Drive sidewalk. The sidewalk to be special assessed was part of an approval given at the council’s April 21 meeting: The council approved $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church Road sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive.

The cost of the Barton Drive sidewalk has been calculated to be $80,606. Of that, about $36,000 will be paid from federal surface transportation funds. Of the remaining $44,606, the city’s general fund would pay $42,626, leaving just $1,980 to be paid through the special assessment.

Location of proposed Barton Drive sidewalk.

By way of additional background, approval of the design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church Road stretches of new sidewalk had been approved by the city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting.

And at its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council had approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive. Even earlier – at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting – the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work. The design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk drew on the previously authorized funding.

The preliminary planning budget of $15,000 for the Newport Road sidewalk gap was approved over a year ago by the council at its Jan. 23, 2013 meeting.

Greenbelt

At its May 19 meeting, the city council will be asked to consider approval of application to the federal Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) program to protect 260 acres of farmland located in Superior Township. The ALE program now includes what was previously known as the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP).

The farm parcels consist of property on either side of Vreeland Road, which is currently in agriculture production. Additional properties under the same ownership, adjacent to the farmland parcels, are also being considered for inclusion in the city’s greenbelt program, and the Vreeland Road properties are near other properties already protected as part of the greenbelt – the Meyer Preserve, the Jack R. Smiley Preserve and the Schultz conservation easement. Cherry Hill Nature Preserve is located just north of the property. [.jpg of greenbelt properties as of May 2014]

Here’s a dynamic map of properties outside the city already protected under the city’s greenbelt program. A 30-year open space and parkland preservation millage, which voters approved in 2003, funds both the greenbelt program as well as land acquisition for city parks. The border indicates the area where greenbelt funds can be spent to protect properties.

Appointments

The city council will also vote on the confirmation of two appointments: Katherine Hollins to the city’s environmental commission; and Bob White, as a reappointment for his fourth term on the city’s historic district commission.

Hollins is a staffer with the Great Lakes Commission. She’s being appointed because David Stead’s lengthy service on the commission – dating from 2000, when the commission was established – had generated opposition among some councilmembers. Nominations to the environmental commission are made by the council as a whole, not by the mayor. In offering the substitute nomination, Sabra Briere (Ward 1) indicated in an email to other councilmembers that “David Stead has decided that his life is busy enough he cannot do justice to serving on the commission.”

White was appointed to the historic district commission for his first three-year term in 2005.

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The Ann Arbor city council’s voting agenda for its May 5, 2014 meeting is relatively light, but features some significant public hearings and a potentially controversial contract related to footing drain disconnections.

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

One public hearing will be held on the FY 2015 budget. The 2015 fiscal year starts on July 1, 2014. City administrator Steve Powers presented his proposed budget to the council at its previous meeting, on April 21. The council will take up possible amendments and vote on the adoption of the budget at its following meeting, on May 19.

Separate budget-related public hearings on May 5 will be held on fee increases in the community services area and the public services area. Notable is the proposed increase in the fees for stalls at the farmers market. The annual fee for one stall will increase from $300 to $450.

A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. It has continued in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation program, which requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs. The purpose is to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.

The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.

Also on the agenda are two contracts for general construction inspection work, each for $100,000, with Stantec Inc. and Perimeter Inc.

Three parks will be getting upgrades to play equipment if the council approves a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.

Mowing and snow clearance in city parks in the future be handled with two mower/snow-broom combination units, if the council approves the purchase from Spartan Distributors for $101,000.

Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda.

First, the council will consider giving initial approval to a change in the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. In addition to providing a definition, the ordinance revision would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts. Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.

Second, the council will consider giving initial approval to a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford. The request, supported by the city’s planning staff, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). The building is notable because it was originally designed in 1940 by architect George Brigham, who used it as his home and architectural studio.

And third, the council will consider final approval for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.

Sidewalks are again on the agenda in the form of a public hearing on the proposed Newport Road special assessment, which is supposed to help fund a stretch of sidewalk north of Wines Elementary School. And the council will consider the acceptance of an easement for a sidewalk at 2300 Traverwood Drive.

The council will also consider a routine item this time of year – transferring delinquent water utility, board-up, clean-up, vacant property inspection, housing inspection fees, and fire inspection invoices to the city tax roll for July 2014. The council will also be asked to approve the denial of claims against the city by the board of insurance administration.

Management of the deer population will receive some attention in the form a resolution on the May 5 agenda that directs the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The administrator will be asked to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.

Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were reappointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. However, the intention at the May 5 meeting is to substitute the original resolution with one that does not include Stead. In addition, a separate item has been added, after initial publication of the agenda, to nominate and appoint Katherine Hollins to the EC.

Street closings on the agenda include: East Washington for the Ann Arbor Book Festival on June 21; East Liberty for Sonic Lunch on Aug. 21; and several neighborhood streets for the 2014 Glacier Area Homeowners Association Annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26.

An item added to the agenda on May 2 is a resolution that would remove any reference to felony convictions on city job applications.

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.

Public Hearings

On the May 5 agenda are two public hearings related to the upcoming 2015 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2014: the proposed FY 2015 budget; and proposed fee changes in the community services area – for the farmers market.

Public Hearing: FY 2015 Budget

Though the budget’s public hearing is on May 5, council action to adopt that budget, with any amendments, will come at the council’s second meeting of the month, on May 19. Ann Arbor city administrator Steve Powers’ proposed general fund budget for fiscal year 2015, which starts on July 1, 2014, approaches $100 million. [.pdf of FY 2015 budget detailed breakdown]

Left: Tree stumps (black) and vacant sites (gray). Right: Maples (purple), crabapples (red) and oaks (blue). Maps by The Chronicle from the city’s 2009 tree inventory. The city administrator’s proposed FY 2015 budget includes a one-time $1 million expense to address the backlog in pruning and removal of trees that are dead or in poor condition.

Funded as part of the proposed FY 2015 budget are five new full-time employees, four of them in public safety: one additional firefighter; three additional police officers; and an additional rental housing inspection position. The additional police positions will bring the total number of sworn officers in the city of Ann Arbor to 122.

The proposed budget also includes a one-time expense of $1 million to address a backlog in critical pruning and removal of trees that are in the public right of way. The allocation comes in the context of the development of an urban forestry management plan.

The $1 million one-time expense for street trees brings the total of non-recurring expenses in the FY 2015 general fund budget to about $2.8 million. Other one-time expenses budgeted for FY 2015 are: $80,000 to cover transitional costs for art administration; $606,000 for repairs and maintenance of the city’s hydroelectric dams; $100,000 for consultants to assist with completing the downtown zoning amendments and sign inventory; $300,000 for demolition of city-owned buildings at 415 W. Washington; $200,000 for corridor studies; and $209,000 in operational support for the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s (AAHC) transition to a rental assistance demonstration program.

The housing commission also accounts for the bulk of a $13.8 million (17%) increase in general fund recurring expenditures compared to last year. That’s due to an accounting change that recognizes 22 AAHC employees as city employees. By recognizing revenue and expenses for AAHC employee compensation through the general fund, the AAHC can avoid the negative impact of a new accounting rule. The GASB 68 rule requires unfunded pension fund liabilities to be recorded in the financial statements for proprietary funds (like the AAHC) but not for governmental funds like the general fund.

Also included in the FY 2015 budget proposal is about $3,000 for a pilot program for closed captioning of public meeting broadcasts on the Community Television Network. According to city of Ann Arbor communications manager Lisa Wondrash, the cable commission recommended approval of the money at its Feb. 25 meeting, and she notified the commission on disability issues about the pilot on April 16. The pilot will begin with meetings of the city’s commission on disability issues, with a goal of testing out a closed captioning system this July.

The $98.1 million of general fund expenditures in FY 2015 will include $95.3 million in recurring expenditures and $2.8 million in one-time expenses.

When the general fund is added in with the rest of the city’s budget – the street fund, water fund, sewer fund, parking fund, and the like – the total expenses proposed for FY 2015 come to $334,434,101.

Powers presented the proposed budget to the city council at its April 21 meeting.

Public Hearing: FY 2015 Community Service Fees

At the May 5 council meeting, increases are being proposed for stall fees at the Ann Arbor public market (farmers market). Currently, the basic annual fee for rental of a stall is $300. It’s proposed to be increased to $450 – a 50% increase.

If approved by the council, the fee increase would be projected to generate $26,000 in additional revenue. However, this additional revenue has not been assumed in the proposed FY 2015 budget.

According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, “market fees were last increased in 2009 and have not kept pace with the overall increase of annual operating costs during this same time period.” A comparative analysis of Ann Arbor’s fees also showed that Ann Arbor’s fees are well below those of comparable markets.

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, including three in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, excluding those in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

FDD Contract

A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. Specifically, it was suspended in the Glen Leven and Morehead (Lansdowne neighborhood) areas. It was allowed to continue in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation (DOM) program. The DOM requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.

The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.

One indication that the item is expected to be scrutinized is the fact that in the last week of April, city administrator Steve Powers offered to set up meetings between staff and councilmembers to discuss the resolution. The resolution is perceived by some as an indicator that the sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) would have a forgone conclusion that the FDD should continue. However, at more than one meeting of the advisory committee that’s working on the study, staff and consultants have indicated that if the FDD were to continue at all, it would almost certainly not continue in its current form.

And the staff memo seems to anticipate possible questions by stressing that until the SSWWE is completed and a determination is made on the city’s approach to wet weather sanitary sewer flows, the services of CDM will be required in order to continue the existing FDD and DOM programs. It’s expected that this contract will cover services that are needed through January 2015.

This item on the agenda would approve the fourth contract extension of an original contract with CDM dating back to 2006. This amendment to the CDM contract includes: citizen support ($36,928); FDD citizens advisory committee meetings ($24,180); information management for sump pump monitors ($93,707); developer offset mitigation program support; ($95,213); and multi-family FDD implementation ($498,005).

The previous three iterations of the CDM contract totaled  about $3.6 million.

Since the FDD program’s start in 2001, about 1,834 footing drains have been disconnected through the city program and 848 footing drains have been disconnected through the developer offset mitigation program.

Figure 3. Animation of contrast between the pre-FDD configuration and the post-FDD configuration. (Original illustration from screenshots of YouTube video by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, modified by The Chronicle.)

Land Use

Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda: a revision to the drive-thru ordinance; a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority; and rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp.

Land Use: Initial Approval – Drive-Thrus

The council will consider giving initial approval of amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. The amendments would add a definition of a “drive-thru facility” to Chapter 55 of the city code. Currently, the term used throughout the code is “drive-in,” which is not explicitly defined in the code.

The proposed revisions define a drive-thru in this way: “Any building or structure, or portion thereof, that is constructed or operated for the purpose of providing goods or services to customers who remain in their vehicle during the course of the transaction.” The revisions also clarify that a drive-thru is an accessory use, not the principle use of the building. A project in which a drive-thru would be the principle use would not be allowed. Basic layout requirements would also be added to the ordinance.

In addition, the changes would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts.

Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.

When considering whether to grant a special exception use – which does not require additional city council approval – the planning commission considers these issues:

1. Is the location, size and character of the proposed use compatible with the principal uses of the district and adjacent districts? Is it consistent with the Master Plan? Is it consistent with the surrounding area? Will it have any detrimental effects to the use or value of surrounding area, or the natural environment?

2. Is the location, size, character, layout, access and traffic generated by the use hazardous or inconvenient or conflicting with the normal traffic of the neighborhood? Is off-street parking safe for pedestrians? Do the necessary vehicular turning movements block normal traffic flow? Are any additional public services or facilities needed by the use, and will they be detrimental to the community?

3. Is the maximum density and minimum required open space at least equal to the standards normally required by the Zoning Ordinance for the district?

The planning commission recommended the changes at its April 1, 2014 meeting. The proposed amendments were first reviewed by the commission’s ordinance revisions committee in 2007, but never moved forward to the full commission for consideration. The ORC most recently reviewed these changes in March of 2014. [.pdf of staff memo and proposed amendments]

This item would require a second vote by the council at a future meeting for final approval.

Land Use: Initial Approval – 515 Oxford (Delta Gamma)

The council will be asked to consider a rezoning request for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford.

Aerial view showing the location of 515 Oxford, south of Geddes and at the eastern end of South University.

The request, recommended by the planning commission at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). Most of the surrounding parcels are zoned R2B, although the site immediately to the north is also zoned R4A. Also nearby is public land (PL) where the University of Michigan’s Oxford Houses complex is located.

The two-story house at 515 Oxford includes two one-story wings. It is currently a rental property with three units – a studio apartment, one-bedroom apartment, and four-bedroom apartment – and a maximum occupancy of 8 people. One of the units is in a former garage.

The proposal for a renovation would accommodate a maximum of 20 residents, including a required resident manager.

The building is notable because it was originally designed in 1940 by architect George Brigham, who used it as his home and architectural studio. He designed over 40 houses in Ann Arbor, including many in Arbor Hills and Barton Hills between 1936 and 1958.

To be given final approval, this item would require a second and final vote at a future meeting of the council. According to city planning staff, the timeline for this project is coordinated so that a site plan will be on the same council agenda as the second reading of the rezoning request. The site plan was approved by planning commissioners on April 15, 2014.

Land Use: Stapp Nature Area

The council’s May 5 agenda includes a resolution giving final approval to rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.

Land donated by Bill Martin to the city of Ann Arbor indicated in red outline..

City staff recommended that the donated parcel be rezoned from R4D (multi-family dwelling) to PL (public land). The land reaches from Traverwood Drive to the Leslie Park golf course, south of Huron Parkway. Adding the land expands a corridor of natural areas and parkland. Stapp Nature Area, a 8.11-acre property with a mature native forest and small vernal pool, is adjacent to Tuebingen Park and has a connection to Leslie Woods.

The site is on the northern edge of a larger property that’s being developed by First Martin Corp. as Traverwood Apartments. That project received its final necessary approvals from the city council on Jan. 6, 2014.

First Martin has committed to creating a pedestrian access from the apartment complex to the nature area, which will be formalized with an access easement.

The city has a policy of rezoning city-owned land to PL (public land). This parcel will be differentiated as parkland by its inclusion in the city’s parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan, because it will become part of the Stapp Nature Area, which is already in the PROS plan.

This item was given initial approval at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting.

Parks

Two items related to parks appear on the agenda: a contract for upgrades to play equipment in three parks; and approval of the purchase of two combination mower/snow-brooms.

Parks: Play Equipment

On the council’s agenda is a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000 to improve facilities at three parks. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.

Arbor Oaks Park is located in Ward 3 in the southeast quadrant of the city. Image links to interactive map by the city of Ann Arbor.

Parks: Mowing/Snow-Removal

The council will be asked to approve the purchase of two 2014 Toro model 7210 commercial six-foot wide mower/snow broom combination units at $50,426 each for a total of $100,853.

The units have a mower deck that can be used in the summer months and can be converted in the winter into a tank-tread type unit with enclosed cab that accepts a rotating snow broom, a snow blower, or a plow blade.

The two Toros will replace two walk-behind mowers and three riding mowers.

Sidewalks

At the council’s May 5 meeting, a public hearing is being held on the proposed special assessment for sidewalk construction on Newport Road north of Wines Elementary School. The council voted at its previous meeting, on April 21, to direct the preparation of the roll and to set the public hearing.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746 – the entire cost of the project. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized. The work is planned to be coordinated with a road resurfacing project for Newport Road, from Sunset to just south of Bird Road.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Environmental Commission Appointments

Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were reappointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton.

However, the council will be considering a substitute resolution that will not include Stead. In an email to other councilmembers from Sabra Briere (Ward 1) on May 2, she indicated that she’d be offering the substitute resolution, saying, “David Stead has decided that his life is busy enough he cannot do justice to serving on the commission.” In addition, a separate item has been added to the agenda, to nominate and appoint Katherine Hollins to the EC. Hollins is a staffer with the Great Lakes Commission.

Postponement after initial appearance on the agenda is not unusual for appointments to the EC, because it allows the appointment to mimic the two-step nominate-confirm process for mayoral appointments. EC positions are nominated by the council as a whole. However, in the case of these appointments, Stead’s four previous terms on the commission would likely have been a point of friction for some councilmembers.

Stead was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 – after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000. And he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

David Stead, right, reads a resolution he proposed at an environmental commission meeting in 2009. The resolution, which was approved, recommended removing Argo Dam. At left is Margie Teall, a city councilmember who also sat on the environmental commission at the time.

There are no term limits for Ann Arbor city boards and commissions, except those highlighted in the city charter as having a six-year maximum. But several councilmembers have expressed concerns about the length of service by some members of some boards and commissions preventing a broader range of participation in local governance. Most recently, the issue arose in connection with the reappointment of Wayne Appleyard to the energy commission on Oct. 23, 2013. Also a factor in the 8-3 confirmation vote for Appleyard was his non-city residency.

Stead is vice president of Resource Recycling Systems. City council minutes show that the council has approved roughly $300,000 in contracts for consulting work by RRS for the city of Ann Arbor between 2007 and 2009.

Westphal is being put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of the planning commission, which voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, is contesting the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, is running for that same Ward 2 seat.

In 2013, mayor John Hieftje declined to nominate Jeff Hayner to serve on the public art commission, citing a policy against nominating candidates for city council to serve on city boards and commissions. Hayner ran for Ward 1 council against Sabra Briere that year – a race in which Briere prevailed.

Hutton was first appointed to the environmental commission in 2011 and is concluding her first three-year term.

Deer Herd Management

On the May 5 meeting agenda is a resolution that would direct the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The resolution also directs the administrator to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.

Other organizations named in the resolution as potential partners include the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, the University of Michigan, the Humane Society of Huron Valley, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division. A recent meeting of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission included a discussion of deer herd management.

Washtenaw County commissioner Andy LaBarre, who represents District 7 in Ann Arbor, has sent an email to the city council expressing his support for the resolution, and an indication that he will be putting forward a similar resolution for the county board of commissioners to consider. [.pdf of LaBarre's email]

One metric for deer as a nuisance is traffic accidents they cause. While the number of traffic crashes involving deer has shown a slight downward trend in Washtenaw County, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in the city of Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend.

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Washtenaw County has shown a slight downward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Deer-Vehicle Accidents in Washtenaw County by Year by Location (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, plotted and animated by The Chronicle at geocommons.com) Blue dots indicate the location of a deer-vehicle accident.

4:11 p.m. Staff responses to city councilmember questions on agenda items are now available. [May 5, 2014 staff responses to councilmember questions on agenda items.]

6:22 p.m. Council chambers are empty. Yellow agendas are printed out, stacked on the public speaking podium.

6:30 p.m. Thomas Partridge is first to arrive. He’s signed up to speak during public commentary reserved time – on the topic of affordable transportation. Based on his previous commentary, he’ll likely support tomorrow’s May 6 transit millage. Also signed up to speak is LuAnne Bullington, who will likely balance out the viewpoints expressed on the transit millage.

6:33 p.m. Alison arrives, who is taking photos for Sally Petersen’s mayoral campaign.

6:33 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.

6:37 p.m. Council chambers population is now at 4: The Chronicle, Thomas Partridge, Alison the photog, and a Huron High School student, who’s attending the meeting to satisfy a course requirement.

6:39 p.m. LuAnne Bullington has now arrived.

6:42 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) is the first councilmember to arrive.

6:53 p.m. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) have now arrived. City administrator Steve Powers is also now here. City attorney Stephen Postema and assistant city attorney Mary Fales are in council chambers.

6:54 p.m. Eaton is chatting with a constituent about the AAATA millage. Eaton is explaining that he’s neutral on the question, but he can see the arguments on both sides. He does wish that the AAATA would be run more efficiently, but also wants to see more service and hopes some middle ground can be found.

7:01 p.m. Remaining councilmembers are starting to filter in. Margie Teall (Ward 4), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) are still not here. Mayor John Hieftje has now arrived.

7:02 p.m. Ward 5 council candidate Leon Bryson has arrived.

7:06 p.m. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) is quizzing high school students here for class assignments about what ward they live in.

7:08 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance.

7:09 p.m. Roll call of council. All councilmembers are present and correct.

7:09 p.m. Approval of agenda.

7:09 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the agenda.

7:09 p.m. Communications from the city administrator.

7:11 p.m. Steve Powers reminds people that polls are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the AAATA transit millage proposal. He says there could be some noise tonight from the asbestos abatement one floor above the chambers. He notes that the Ann Arbor fire department is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

7:11 p.m. Public commentary. 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 is: Thomas Partridge (affordable transportation), Kermit Schlansker (bio mass energy), LuAnne Bullington (transportation), Frank Burdick (CDM Smith Michigan Inc. contract for FDD), and Ali Ajrouch (construction at Ann Arbor Saline Road and Eisenhower).

7:14 p.m. Thomas Partridge introduces himself as a Ward 5 resident and a recent candidate for various public offices. He’s endorsing the AAATA millage that will be voted on tomorrow, which will expand affordable transportation services and give greater opportunities for everyone in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. We need to save the planet starting here at home, he says. Unnecessary transportation burdens need to be taken off the road network and rush-hour gridlock needs to be relieved. It’s an economical and necessary millage, he says. When communities vote to expand transit services locally and tie into countywide and regionwide services, they expand economic opportunities for everyone.

7:17 p.m. Kermit Schlansker says that none of the criticism of biomass technology are valid – and it’s more important than solar or wind power. He’s talking about sequential biodigestion and extraction of fuel gas. The liquid output is pure enough to be piped into ponds, he says. The solids can be transported to fields where they can be spread on fields.

7:21 p.m. LuAnne Bullington is talking about the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), which was established in December 2012 in a lame duck session. She’s describing the four-county region – Macomb, Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw counties, plus the city of Detroit. She’s describing the possibility that an RTA millage could be placed on the ballot as soon as 18 months from now. She says that 85% of the funds raised in an RTA jurisdiction must be spent within the jurisdiction. She describes how the total transit millage for Ann Arbor taxpayers will be about 2.7 mills if the millage tomorrow passes. Any RTA millage would be added to that, she notes.

7:24 p.m. Frank Burdick introduces himself as a Ward 4 resident. He’s asking the council to vote no on the CDM Smith contract on footing drain disconnects. He says that CDM’s performance has not been acceptable. He notes that before this current extension of the contract, the previous contract has totaled about $3.6 million, so the $750,000 comes in addition to that. He’s discussing the history of how FDDs were chosen as an option for dealing with excessive flows in the sanitary sewer system. Stop studying and start funding real infrastructure improvements, he says.

7:25 p.m. Ali Ajrouch is not here.

7:25 p.m. Communications from council.

7:26 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) says there is information about an environmental commission appointee and her resume. She hopes that councilmembers will look over it, before the discussion is held on the matter at the next meeting.

7:27 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) announces that the housing and human services advisory board now has five vacancies. She invites interested people to contact the mayor’s office. [.pdf of application form]

7:29 p.m. Margie Teall (Ward 4) is talking about the State Street detour near Stimson. It’s not well-received by the neighbors, she says. It’s been difficult to get around today. She also has a question about the status of the Georgetown Mall site. It sure would be nice to know how that’s going to move forward, she says. She also announces that the final meeting on coordinated funding for human services has taken place. She’s thanking the volunteers who sifted through all the applications. It will be on the council’s next meeting agenda, she says.

7:33 p.m. Mike Anglin (Ward 5) is talking about the millage vote tomorrow. Increased ridership generates more federal funding, he notes. He’s thanking various people for the discussion that’s been going on for the last few years. He notes that after the countywide initiative, the city council had given direction to focus on a smaller area, just east of the city. He says he’s leaning more in the direction of supporting the millage, but notes that this will be added to the other tax that Ann Arbor is paying. He’s disappointed that Pittsfield Township did not pass a millage. He says the opponents of the millage had limited resources and it was difficult to take an adverse position when the tide is so strong in the other direction. Even those who are saying no to the millage do support the transportation system, he says.

7:35 p.m. Anglin says that in contrast with the city park system, the AAATA is not a lean organization. Ridership is what transportation is all about, he says. Tomorrow taxpayers will be asked to accept an increase for the next five years, he says. Trains are really expensive, he notes, and there are not partners who will pay for that. It’s something that we’ll always strive for but never reach, he says.

7:39 p.m. Kunselman alerts his colleagues to the entry of Uber into the Ann Arbor market. Uber uses a smart phone app to pair drivers with passengers, he says. The state of Michigan and the city of Detroit have sent a cease-and-desist order to Uber, he says, and if a council resolution is required for the city of Ann Arbor to issue a similar order, he’ll bring forward that resolution at the next council meeting. He’s reviewing the need for regulatory action, in the context of insurance issues. He notes that the taxicab board, on which he sits, at its last meeting asked the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance that would regulate all drivers for hire. He’s reading aloud some quotes form newspapers articles. [See Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor Taxi Board Reacts to Uber."]

7:40 p.m. Kunselman said Uber has not registered with MDOT as a limo carrier, which they’re required to do, he says. Uber ignores the law, he says, and the city should stand up to a company that ignores the law. He characterizes Uber’s “surge pricing” as gouging. He also mentions Lyft, with their moustache logos. He describes the situation as the Wild West when it comes to drivers for hire in Ann Arbor.

7:41 p.m. Lumm is alerting people to the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s promotion tomorrow – called Give Local – which will be matching contributions made that day to various nonprofits.

7:41 p.m. MC-1 Nominations. Robert White is being nominated for reappointment to the historic district commission. The vote on that appointment will take place at the next council meeting.

7:43 p.m. Hieftje is now responding to Anglin’s comments, saying that AAATA is efficient in terms of the cost per rider. He says that in Lansing, AAATA is held up as the best and most efficient transit agency in the state.

7:43 p.m. Hieftje is reviewing the broad range of support in the community for the millage.

7:43 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’s agenda features five public hearings.

• PH-1 Stapp rezoning. [For background, see Land Use: Stapp Nature Area above.]
• PH-2 Newport Road sidewalk special assessment notice. [For background, see Sidewalks above.]
• PH-3 FY 2015 public services fee adjustments.
• PH-4 FY 2015 community services fee adjustments. [For background, see Public Hearing: FY 2015 Community Service Fees above.]
• PH-5 FY 2015 city budget. [For background, see Public Hearing: FY 2015 Budget above.]

7:47 p.m. PH-1 Stapp rezoning. Thomas Partridge is supporting this rezoning, but asks that the ordinance be rewritten to require access to public transportation.

7:47 p.m. PH-2 Newport Road sidewalk special assessment notice. This hearing will remain open after today’s meeting, but speakers who speak today won’t be able to speak at the next meeting. [.pdf of assessment list]

7:49 p.m. An adjoining property owner is questioning how the assessment is being applied to parcels of different sizes.

7:52 p.m. Pete Warburton says he’s opposed to this special assessment. He questions whether the current sidewalk over the bridge meets ADA requirements. He says he’s surveyed some case law on special assessments. Through the 1900s and through the 1950s, the tax tribunals came up with a way to determine if it was fair. A special assessment must afford a special benefit, he says. He says that something that he sees as a benefit might not be seen as a benefit to someone else. Then in the 1980s, the Michigan Supreme Court had determined that the only benefit of any relevance is an increase in the property’s value. He doubts that his property will increase in value as a result of the sidewalk.

7:54 p.m. A representative of the Free Methodist Church is now addressing the council. The church had been told at the time that the church would not be assessed but the sidewalk would need to go through the property. They had agreed, she says, but it turns out that the church is going to be assessed. The church’s yearly budget is $3,200 and it has only about 10 member households, she says. She asks that the city assessor review the assessment for the church’s property.

7:55 p.m. Frank Burdick says that the city is special assessing residents when the city is paying for contracts with consultants like CDM. Money in the capital budget for the FDD contract should be spent on constructing sidewalks, he says.

7:56 p.m. A resident who lives on Springwood Court says the city should be repairing the roads and he was very much opposed to the special assessment.

7:58 p.m. Paul Conway says he’s president of the Riverwood Homeowners Association. He’s speaking in support of the assessment, but not necessarily of the amount. Among his group, those who were opposed cited the cost and the fear that Ann Arbor Public Schools would cease bus service to the area if a sidewalk is built.

7:59 p.m. PH-3 FY 2015 public services fee adjustments.

8:00 p.m. Thomas Partridge calls for additional scrutiny so that businesses are assessed fees on an equitable basis. The fees structure should be progressive, he says.

8:01 p.m. PH-4 FY 2015 community services fee adjustments.

8:02 p.m. No one speaks on this hearing.

8:02 p.m. PH-5 FY 2015 city budget.

8:04 p.m. Larry Deck is thanking the council for giving direction to the city administrator to develop a plan for implementing the city’s non-motorized transportation plan. He identifies three discontinuities in the Border-to-Border Trail that the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition would like to see prioritized. He’s looking forward to the June 2014 memo that the city administrator is due to present, he says.

8:06 p.m. Thomas Partridge is criticizing the council for passing along this budget without ameliorating the undue burdens that are placed on the least wealthy members of the community. He says that while the city takes pride in its parks, not enough is done for disabled people and senior citizens.

8:08 p.m. That’s it for this public hearing.

8:08 p.m. Approval of minutes.

8:08 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the minutes from its previous meeting.

8:08 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 Street Closing: East Washington for the Ann Arbor Book Festival on June 21.
• CA-2 Street Closing: East Liberty for Sonic Lunch on Aug. 21.
• CA-3 Street Closing: Several neighborhood streets for the 2014 Glacier Area Homeowners Association Annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26.
• CA-4 Approve March 27, 2014 recommendations of the Board of Insurance Administration.
• CA-5 Transfer delinquent fees to the July 2014 city tax roll.

8:08 p.m. Councilmembers can opt to select out any items for separate consideration. No one does.

8:08 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved all items on the consent agenda.

8:08 p.m. B-1 Stapp rezoning This item gives final approval to rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course. [For background, see Land Use: Stapp Nature Area above.]

8:10 p.m. Briere is responding to the accessibility issues that Partridge raised during the public hearing. Route #1 runs by the parcel, she says.

8:10 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give final approval to the Stapp rezoning.

8:10 p.m. C-1 515 Oxford Rezoning. The council is being asked to consider a rezoning request for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford. [For background, see Land Use: Initial Approval – 515 Oxford (Delta Gamma) above.]

8:12 p.m. Lumm notes that this item rezones the parcel to allow conversion of the house for use as an annex for the Delta Gamma sorority. There have been some concerns expressed by neighbors and preservationists, but most are in support, she says.

8:12 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give initial approval to the 515 Oxford rezoning.

8:12 p.m. C-2 Drive-thru amendments The council is being asked to consider giving initial approval of amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. The amendments would add a definition of a “drive-thru facility” to Chapter 55 of the city code. Currently, the term used throughout the code is “drive-in,” which is not explicitly defined in the code. [For background, see Land Use: Initial Approval – Drive-Thrus above.]

8:12 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to give initial approval to the changes to the drive-thru regulations in the zoning ordinance.

8:13 p.m. DC-1 Environmental Commission appointments. The council is being asked to confirm the reappointments of Kirk Westphal and Susan Hutton, but not David Stead, to the environmental commission. [For background, see Environmental Commission Appointments above.]

8:15 p.m. Stead has withdrawn his name from consideration, Briere says, because he’s found it increasingly difficult to find time to attend the meetings. So the resolution includes just Kirk Westphal and Susan Hutton. This means that there are three vacancies on the EC. So Briere invites people with a background in environmental sciences, chemistry, biology and the like to apply.

8:16 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to confirm the appointments of Kirk Westphal and Susan Hutton to the environmental commission over the dissent of Kunselman, Eaton, Anglin and Kailasapathy.

8:16 p.m. DC-2 Deer management options. This resolution would direct the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The resolution also directs the administrator report to back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan. [For background, see Deer Herd Management above.]

8:18 p.m. Lumm says an aerial survey had shown 76 deer per square mile – five times the optimal level. Lumm has received a large volume of communication in support of this resolution, she says. The time has come to address the problem. It’s just the first step and does not presuppose any particular solution, she says.

8:19 p.m. Lumm says she’s heard from Bob Grese, director of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, who’s interested in being involved. Lumm allows that any recommendation is likely to be met with an emotional response.

8:21 p.m. Petersen reiterates her support and thanks Lumm for doing the heavy lifting on this resolution. It’s an issue that Ward 2 residents have been dealing with for several years, she says. Culling and deer birth control are two options mentioned by Petersen.

8:23 p.m. Briere also thanks Lumm for her work. When she first was elected to council, she’d asked questions about records of deer-car accidents. She describes the increase in deer in her own yard. If there are places in the city where there are not deer now, “They’re coming!” she warns.

8:25 p.m. Kailasapathy says she’s definitely received a lot of email about this. The problem needs to be addressed, but she says, “We’re not Bambi killers.” Taylor says he hasn’t seen any deer in Ward 3, but will support the resolution. He highlights the fact that many partners are mentioned in the resolution, which is good because the problem likely exceeds city resources.

8:27 p.m. Kunselman is assuring everyone that there are deer in Ward 3. He says that birth control can’t be used, because the state of Michigan doesn’t allow it – because those drugs are not legal for human consumption. What we’ll be talking about, he says, is culling the herd, with archers in tree stands to avoid wayward arrows. Kunselman said that it would be a matter of hiring hunters to take action during hunting season and he’d be ready for that vote.

8:29 p.m. Warpehoski is attesting to deer in Ward 5. He says that his concern is the degradation of the natural habitat due to the overpopulation. He’s grateful that Lumm is leading the council into what will be a hard decision, and she’s not allowing the council to duck the issue. He ventures that Kunselman is probably right about the solution.

8:30 p.m. Eaton says he’s had a large buck with a big rack in his backyard. So there are also deer in Ward 4. He doesn’t know that they’re a nuisance, but says that there are just too many of them. Allowing deer to starve is not preferable to shooting them, he says. He’d learned a lot about urban deer from the emails, he says.

8:32 p.m. Lumm is adding more commentary and thanks her colleagues for their support.

8:32 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to direct the city administrator to develop a deer herd management program.

8:32 p.m. DC-3 Remove reference to felony convictions on city job applications. The intent of this resolution is to make sure that city job applicants who have past felony conviction will not be barred from employment by the city of Ann Arbor – unless the exclusion is “job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.” The resolution directs the revision of the city’s employment application to eliminate a requirement that applicants disclose past criminal records – except for police and fire department applicants. Criminal background checks will not be conducted until after an applicant is determined to be otherwise qualified for the position and has received a conditional offer of employment. This resolution is co-sponsored by Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Margie Teall (Ward 4).

8:36 p.m. Briere says that she’d attended county board of commissioner meetings on this topic and apologizes for not bringing it forward to the city council sooner. [The county board voted in August 2010 to eliminate the "felony box" from county job applications.] The idea is not to prevent staff from doing criminal background checks, but to constrain them from doing those checks until after an applicant is first considered for employment. She says she collaborated with Warpehoski and Eaton on the draft language as well as assistant city attorney Nancy Niemela on the issue.

8:37 p.m. The most difficult thing for a felon who has just been released from prison is to get that first job, she says. She asks her colleagues to support the change in policy. Warpehoski thanks Briere for doing the heavy lifting and Eaton for making valuable revisions to the resolution.

8:40 p.m. Warpehoski says that sometimes people check the box on felony convictions incorrectly because they do not understand that their conviction was a misdemeanor. WeROC and the city’s human rights commission and other organizations have worked on this issue, he says. The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, for which he serves as executive director, has also worked on it, he says.

8:42 p.m. Eaton says that his involvement in the resolution was inadvertent, as he’d happened on a conversation between Warpehoski and Teall and was allowed to join it. He points out that the first resolution goes beyond removing the box to state that it’s the city’s policy not to bar felons from employment. For certain jobs, the policy would still allow the city to take criminal past into consideration, he notes. “The best anti-crime program is a good job,” Eaton says.

8:42 p.m. Kailasapathy gives credit to the city’s human rights commission for working on the issue.

8:43 p.m. Petersen says by removing the felony box, the city could also be alleviating the homelessness problem.

8:43 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to remove any reference to felony convictions on city job applications.

8:43 p.m. DS-1 Approve contract extension with CDM for FDD program. The council is being asked to approve a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. [For background, see FDD Contract above.]

8:46 p.m. Eaton says that he doesn’t think the council should approve the contract. It’s a lot of money for short time, he says. The city’s FDD program has been haunted by quality problems, he says. He says that the collection lines from the output at the house out to the curb drains have been installed at too shallow a depth, which causes them to freeze during cold weather. Eaton says the council should wait until the sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation study recommendation is made, before going ahead with this resolution.

8:48 p.m. Eaton says there’s $24,000 for support of a citizens advisory committee that rarely meets. The greatest concern to Eaton is the funding of the developer offset mitigation program in the contract, which he says should be paid for solely by developers. If the council does not pass this resolution, the city staff would pick up the slack in overtime, he says, so he’s asking his colleagues to support him in voting no.

8:49 p.m. Kunselman asks Craig Hupy, public services area administrator, to the podium.

8:50 p.m. Hupy confirms for Kunselman that there’s no longer a consent order from the MDEQ requiring footing drain disconnections. Kunselman now wants a breakdown of how many of the FDDs were done under the consent order. “We’ve been still going at it, because of our city ordinance?” asks Kunselman. Yes, and the fact that there’s a wet weather issue in the sanitary system, Hupy says.

8:52 p.m. Kunselman ventures that it would make sense to wait for the outcome of the sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation study. Hupy says that the work in the contract does not include any new single-family disconnections. There is some multi-family work that is included, Hupy says.

8:53 p.m. Kunselman says he’ll support at least a postponement, at least until the study is done. It’s a little gung-ho of the city to proceed when there’s no longer a consent order in effect, he says. The developer offset program should be funded by developers, he says. There’s a lot of unknowns, it’s a big chunk of money, and he’s not ready to spend it yet.

8:55 p.m. Briere says that one of her concerns about the Walden Hills multi-family development is that she’s not sure there are actually any connected footing drains. City staffer Ann Warrow, who has joined Hupy at the podium, says that three of the buildings are confirmed as connected and the city is pretty sure there are eight others that are connected. Briere asks why the city has not already done these disconnections.

8:59 p.m. Hupy says that multi-family units can be fairly complex, explaining that it can be a building-by-building process.

8:59 p.m. Briere says that because the dollar amount is large and CDM is being asked to do so many different things, she’s not sure what CDM will reasonably be able to accomplish. Hupy says that the contract would let the work go forward as the work is identified. A lot of the cost is due to construction, he says. CDM would only be paid for construction work that is completed, Hupy says. Briere ventures that we’re talking about a contract for eight months, during which time not all the deliverables might be actually delivered.

9:05 p.m. Hupy and Briere are engaging in a back-and-forth on the options that developers have besides FDDs. Briere says she doesn’t understand why this contractor is needed for the information management aspect of the contract. Briere wonders if this were delayed, if the staff could bring back a contract that is divided up among the tasks so that the citizen support component could be extended but not the other elements.

9:07 p.m. Hupy tells Briere that a different resolution could be crafted after two weeks. Petersen moves to postpone until May 19, to give staff time to respond to the concerns about the quality of work. Hieftje asks if there’s a negative impact to postponing for two weeks. Hupy says the only potential problem would be on the developer offset mitigation program. Hieftje doesn’t want to consider this on the same night as the budget, so he wants to postpone for a month. That’s the motion currently on the floor.

9:09 p.m. Teall says that she doesn’t want to see the resolution changed that much when it comes back. She questions whether contentions about the quality of work done by CDM are valid. She describes a lot of “angry” emails she’s received, but she has heard alternate viewpoints. Hupy returns to the podium to say that there are currently developments that need developer offset mitigation.

9:10 p.m. Hupy is describing how the developer offset mitigation program works. The first step is to make sure that a candidate building has confirmed connected footing drains that need to be disconnected.

9:13 p.m. Hupy, in response to a question from Eaton, says he’s not sure why the developers are not required to pay for all the certifications and inspections. He’s not sure why it was set up that way. To change it now would be changing the rules of the game on the developers in the middle of the game. Petersen says she wants to hear the two sides of the story during the one-month postponement. Hupy has indicated that some work will continue using staff discretion to approve expenditures under $25,000.

9:14 p.m. Kunselman comes back to the consent order. He confirms that since the consent order has been lifted, the ordinance has not been substantially modified.

9:17 p.m. Kunselman wants to see the ordinance revised to be practical. That’s the point of the current sanitary sewer wet weather project recommendation, Hupy says. Hupy says that he’s working currently under the council direction in 2012 to “go forth” and continue DOM. This contract is the vehicle to do that, Hupy says.

9:20 p.m. Anglin is asking about the Walden Hills multi-family unit.

9:20 p.m. Warpehoski checks to see if there have been sanitary sewage backups in the affected areas downstream of Walden Hills. No, says Hupy. Warpehoski is content to see it postponed for a month. Eaton says that he’ll support postponement, but if it comes back in the neighborhood of the same amount, he thinks it should be bid out new.

9:21 p.m. Lumm supports postponement, saying that she has the same concerns about re-upping with the same vendor that Eaton expressed.

9:25 p.m. Taylor says he’ll support postponement. But he stresses that his understanding is that much of the amount is contingent upon completion of construction work. He wants to know how much has been passed through the contractor and how much has been retained by the contractor in the history of this contract.

9:25 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the contract with CDM for footing drain disconnection work until the council’s first meeting in June.

9:25 p.m. DS-2 Approve contract with Perimeter Engineering LLC ($100,000.00) and Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc. ($100,000). These contracts are for general construction inspection related services.

9:26 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve the contracts with Perimeter and Stantec for construction inspection services.

9:26 p.m. DS-3 Approve purchase of 2 mowers/snow brooms ($100,853). The council is being asked to approve the purchase of two 2014 Toro model 7210 commercial six-foot wide mower/snow broom combination units at $50,426 each for a total of $100,853.

9:26 p.m. Briere says no one wants to think about winter but these units will help the city clear the pathways in parks.

9:27 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the mower/snow broom purchases.

9:27 p.m. DS-4 Approve contract with Game Time for playground improvements at Arbor Oaks, Scheffler and North Main Parks ($131,700) Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table. [For background, see Parks: Play Equipment above.]

9:28 p.m. Taylor says that the park advisory commission is excited about the improvements to Arbor Oaks. Taylor serves on PAC as one of two council representatives.

9:28 p.m. Briere says that neighbors of North Main Park will be happy.

9:29 p.m. Kunselman says that he’s going to talk about the park he used to play in as a kid – Scheffler Park. At that time, their play equipment was simply a big culvert, he says.

9:29 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract that will result in park improvements at North Main, Scheffler and Arbor Oaks parks.

9:29 p.m. DS-5 Accept a sidewalk easement at 2300 Traverwood Drive. This is a standard easement.

9:29 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to accept the sidewalk easement at 2300 Traverwood.

9:34 p.m. Communications from council. Kailasapathy is making clear that her no vote on the EC appointments was against Westphal, not Hutton. She had also talked to Westphal at the Democratic chili cook-off last weekend about the fact that she was going to vote against his appointment. She recounts the reason that Jeff Hayner was not appointed to the public art commission last year – because Hayner was running for Ward 1 council at that time. Kailasapathy feels the same principle should be applied to Westphal’s appointment. She characterized her conversation with Westphal as pleasant. Hieftje reads aloud the email that he sent to Hayner, which he stresses did not mention any concern about political advantage.

9:36 p.m. Briere says that in the future, appointments can be divided so that people can vote for or against individual appointments. Lumm now wants to reconsider the resolution so that Kailasapathy’s vote can be clarified.

9:37 p.m. The council has now reconsidered the EC appointments. Briere moves to divide the question. Now the council is considering Hutton’s nomination.

9:37 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted unanimously to confirm Hutton’s reappointment to the EC.

9:39 p.m. Now the council is considering Westphal’s appointment. Briere is explaining that the appointment is actually the planning commission’s appointment. It’s a pro forma step for the council to ratify the appointment from the planning commission. Briere says she would find it difficult to tell the planning commission who should represent it on the environmental commission. Eaton says for the sake of consistency on appointing council candidates to boards and commissions, he’ll vote no.

9:41 p.m. Teall says she’s not clear about why the council needs to ratify the appointment. She says it’s confusing to have a double process. There’s also a difference between a mayoral appointment [like Hayner's appointment to the public art commission] and a council appointment. Taylor is agreeing with Teall.

9:45 p.m. Taylor says that voting no is disrespectful to the planning commission to reject its choice of who the commission wants to represent it. Westphal will without a doubt do an excellent job, Taylor.

9:45 p.m. Kunselman wants to know why the council is even considering this. He puts the question to Briere. Briere says she’d asked Powers. Powers looks puzzled. Warpehoski reads aloud the EC bylaws, saying that they indicate this “Ann Arbor two step.” Kunselman makes the argument based on continuity: If Westphal is successful, then the EC will need a replacement.

9:47 p.m. Petersen says that this appointment is wrapped up in a general concern that appointments to boards and commissions are not as transparent as they should be. Voting against this doesn’t solve that problem, she says.

9:50 p.m. Briere is arguing for the appointment based on the fact that it’s the planning commission’s representative.

9:50 p.m. Teall points out that earlier in the meeting, the issue of vacancies on the EC was raised: “Beggars can’t be choosers,” she says.

9:52 p.m. Anglin says that this is an opportunity for the council to make a decision and those who want to vote against it can do so.

9:53 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to confirm Westphal’s appointment to the EC over dissent from Kunselman, Eaton, Anglin and Kailasapathy.

9:55 p.m. Warpehoski thanks the Water Hill neighborhood for its hospitality over the weekend for the Water Hill Music Fest. He asks for input on a statement by the city on the topic of potential future drilling west of town. He’ll be bringing forward a resolution on that.

9:57 p.m. Kunselman is alerting the council to the property at 3045 Springbrook, which caught on fire a year ago. He wants to know why the property has not come before the building board of appeals. He also notes that the property is still claiming the homestead exemption, even though no one lives there.

9:57 p.m. Clerk’s report. Outcome: The council has voted to receive the clerk’s report.

9:57 p.m. Public Comment. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

9:59 p.m. Thomas Partridge is complaining about noise caused by landscape contractors in the evenings.

10:01 p.m. Closed session. The council has voted to go into closed session to discuss pending litigation and written attorney-client privileged communications.

10:21 p.m. We’re back.

10:21 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 May 5, 2014 meeting agenda.

One public hearing will be held on the FY 2015 budget. The 2015 fiscal year starts on July 1, 2014. City administrator Steve Powers presented his proposed budget to the council at its previous meeting, on April 21. The council will take up possible amendments and vote on the adoption of the budget at its following meeting, on May 19.

A separate budget-related public hearing on May 5 will be held on fee increases in the community services area. Notable is the proposed increase in the fees for stalls at the farmers market. The annual fee for one stall will increase from $300 to $450.

A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. It has continued in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation program, which requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs. The purpose is to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.

The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.

Also on the agenda are two contracts for general construction inspection work, each for $100,000, with Stantec Inc. and Perimeter Inc.

Three parks will be getting upgrades to play equipment if the council approves a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.

Mowing and snow clearance in city parks in the future be handled with two mower/snow-broom combination units, if the council approves the purchase from Spartan Distributors for $101,000.

Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda.

First, the council will consider giving initial approval to a change in the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. In addition to providing a definition, the ordinance revision would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts. Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.

Second, the council will consider giving initial approval to a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford. The request, supported by the city’s planning staff, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing).

And third, the council will consider final approval for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.

Sidewalks are again on the agenda in the form of a public hearing on the proposed Newport Road special assessment, which is supposed to help fund a stretch of sidewalk north of Wines Elementary School. And the council will consider the acceptance of an easement for a sidewalk at 2300 Traverwood Drive.

The council will also consider a routine item this time of year – transferring delinquent water utility, board-up, clean-up, vacant property inspection, housing inspection fees, and fire inspection invoices to the city tax roll for July 2014. The council will also be asked to approve the denial of claims against the city by the board of insurance administration.

Management of the deer population will receive some attention in the form a resolution on the May 5 agenda that directs the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The administrator will be asked to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.

Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were re-appointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. However, the intention at the May 5 meeting is to substitute the original resolution with one that does not include Stead.

Street closings on the agenda include: East Washington for the Ann Arbor Book Festival on June 21; East Liberty for Sonic Lunch on Aug. 21; and several neighborhood streets for the 2014 Glacier Area Homeowners Association Annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26.

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 Hearings

On the May 5 agenda are two public hearings related to the upcoming 2015 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2014: the proposed FY 2015 budget; and proposed fee changes in the community services area – for the farmers market.

Public Hearing: FY 2015 Budget

Though the budget’s public hearing is on May 5, council action to adopt that budget, with any amendments, will come at the council’s second meeting of the month, on May 19. Ann Arbor city administrator Steve Powers’ proposed general fund budget for fiscal year 2015, which starts on July 1, 2014, approaches $100 million. [.pdf of FY 2015 budget detailed breakdown]

Left: Tree stumps (black) and vacant sites (gray). Right: Maples (purple), crabapples (red) and oaks (blue). Maps by The Chronicle from the city’s 2009 tree inventory. The city administrator’s proposed FY 2015 budget includes a one-time $1 million expense to address the backlog in pruning and removal of trees that are dead or in poor condition.

Funded as part of the proposed FY 2015 budget are five new full-time employees, four of them in public safety: one additional firefighter; three additional police officers; and an additional rental housing inspection position. The additional police positions will bring the total number of sworn officers in the city of Ann Arbor to 122.

The proposed budget also includes a one-time expense of $1 million to address a backlog in critical pruning and removal of trees that are in the public right of way. The allocation comes in the context of the development of an urban forestry management plan.

The $1 million one-time expense for street trees brings the total of non-recurring expenses in the FY 2015 general fund budget to about $2.8 million. Other one-time expenses budgeted for FY 2015 are: $80,000 to cover transitional costs for art administration; $606,000 for repairs and maintenance of the city’s hydroelectric dams; $100,000 for consultants to assist with completing the downtown zoning amendments and sign inventory; $300,000 for demolition of city-owned buildings at 415 W. Washington; $200,000 for corridor studies; and $209,000 in operational support for the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s (AAHC) transition to a rental assistance demonstration program.

The housing commission also accounts for the bulk of a $13.8 million (17%) increase in general fund recurring expenditures compared to last year. That’s due to an accounting change that recognizes 22 AAHC employees as city employees. By recognizing revenue and expenses for AAHC employee compensation through the general fund, the AAHC can avoid the negative impact of a new accounting rule. The GASB 68 rule requires unfunded pension fund liabilities to be recorded in the financial statements for proprietary funds (like the AAHC) but not for governmental funds like the general fund.

Also included in the FY 2015 budget proposal is about $3,000 for a pilot program for closed captioning of public meeting broadcasts on the Community Television Network. According to city of Ann Arbor communications manager Lisa Wondrash, the cable commission recommended approval of the money at its Feb. 25 meeting, and she notified the commission on disability issues about the pilot on April 16. The pilot will begin with meetings of the city’s commission on disability issues, with a goal of testing out a closed captioning system this July.

The $98.1 million of general fund expenditures in FY 2015 will include $95.3 million in recurring expenditures and $2.8 million in one-time expenses.

When the general fund is added in with the rest of the city’s budget – the street fund, water fund, sewer fund, parking fund, and the like – the total expenses proposed for FY 2015 come to $334,434,101.

Powers presented the proposed budget to the city council at its April 21 meeting.

Public Hearing: FY 2015 Community Service Fees

At the May 5 council meeting, increases are being proposed for stall fees at the Ann Arbor public market (farmers market). Currently, the basic annual fee for rental of a stall is $300. It’s proposed to be increased to $450 – a 50% increase.

If approved by the council, the fee increase would be projected to generate $26,000 in additional revenue. However, this additional revenue has not been assumed in the proposed FY 2015 budget.

According to the staff memo accompanying the agenda item, “market fees were last increased in 2009 and have not kept pace with the overall increase of annual operating costs during this same time period.” A comparative analysis of Ann Arbor’s fees also showed that Ann Arbor’s fees are well below those of comparable markets.

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, including three in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

Comparative chart of stall rental rates, excluding those in other states. Ann Arbor’s current rate is the leftmost blue bar. Ann Arbor’s proposed market stall rental rate is shown in green. The red horizontal line is the average. (Chart by The Chronicle with data from the city of Ann Arbor.)

FDD Contract

A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. Specifically, it was suspended in the Glen Leven and Morehead (Lansdowne neighborhood) areas. It was allowed to continue in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation (DOM) program. The DOM requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.

The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.

One indication that the item is expected to be scrutinized is the fact that in the last week of April, city administrator Steve Powers offered to set up meetings between staff and councilmembers to discuss the resolution. The resolution is perceived by some as an indicator that the sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) would have a forgone conclusion that the FDD should continue. However, at more than one meeting of the advisory committee that’s working on the study, staff and consultants have indicated that if the FDD were to continue at all, it would almost certainly not continue in its current form.

And the staff memo seems to anticipate possible questions by stressing that until the SSWWE is completed and a determination is made on the city’s approach to wet weather sanitary sewer flows, the services of CDM will be required in order to continue the existing FDD and DOM programs. It’s expected that this contract will cover services that are needed through January 2015.

This item on the agenda would approve the fourth contract extension of an original contract with CDM dating back to 2006. This amendment to the CDM contract includes: citizen support ($36,928); FDD citizens advisory committee meetings ($24,180); information management for sump pump monitors ($93,707); developer offset mitigation program support; ($95,213); and multi-family FDD implementation ($498,005).

Since the FDD program’s start in 2001, about 1,834 footing drains have been disconnected through the city program and 848 footing drains have been disconnected through the developer offset mitigation program.

Figure 3. Animation of contrast between the pre-FDD configuration and the post-FDD configuration. (Original illustration from screenshots of YouTube video by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, modified by The Chronicle.)

Land Use

Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda: a revision to the drive-thru ordinance; a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority; and rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp.

Land Use: Initial Approval – Drive-Thrus

The council will consider giving initial approval of amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. The amendments would add a definition of a “drive-thru facility” to Chapter 55 of the city code. Currently, the term used throughout the code is “drive-in,” which is not explicitly defined in the code.

The proposed revisions define a drive-thru in this way: “Any building or structure, or portion thereof, that is constructed or operated for the purpose of providing goods or services to customers who remain in their vehicle during the course of the transaction.” The revisions also clarify that a drive-thru is an accessory use, not the principle use of the building. A project in which a drive-thru would be the principle use would not be allowed. Basic layout requirements would also be added to the ordinance.

In addition, the changes would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts.

Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.

When considering whether to grant a special exception use – which does not require additional city council approval – the planning commission considers these issues:

1. Is the location, size and character of the proposed use compatible with the principal uses of the district and adjacent districts? Is it consistent with the Master Plan? Is it consistent with the surrounding area? Will it have any detrimental effects to the use or value of surrounding area, or the natural environment?

2. Is the location, size, character, layout, access and traffic generated by the use hazardous or inconvenient or conflicting with the normal traffic of the neighborhood? Is off-street parking safe for pedestrians? Do the necessary vehicular turning movements block normal traffic flow? Are any additional public services or facilities needed by the use, and will they be detrimental to the community?

3. Is the maximum density and minimum required open space at least equal to the standards normally required by the Zoning Ordinance for the district?

The planning commission recommended the changes at its April 1, 2014 meeting. The proposed amendments were first reviewed by the commission’s ordinance revisions committee in 2007, but never moved forward to the full commission for consideration. The ORC most recently reviewed these changes in March of 2014. [.pdf of staff memo and proposed amendments]

This item would require a second vote by the council at a future meeting for final approval.

Land Use: Initial Approval – 515 Oxford (Delta Gamma)

The council will be asked to consider a rezoning request for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford.

Aerial view showing the location of 515 Oxford, south of Geddes and at the eastern end of South University.

The request, recommended by the planning commission at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). Most of the surrounding parcels are zoned R2B, although the site immediately to the north is also zoned R4A. Also nearby is public land (PL) where the University of Michigan’s Oxford Houses complex is located.

The two-story house at 515 Oxford includes two one-story wings. It is currently a rental property with three units – a studio apartment, one-bedroom apartment, and four-bedroom apartment – and a maximum occupancy of 8 people. One of the units is in a former garage.

The proposal for a renovation would accommodate a maximum of 20 residents, including a required resident manager.

The building is notable because it was originally designed in 1940 by architect George Brigham, who used it as his home and architectural studio. He designed over 40 houses in Ann Arbor, including many in Arbor Hills and Barton Hills between 1936 and 1958.

To be given final approval, this item would require a second and final vote at a future meeting of the council. According to city planning staff, the timeline for this project is coordinated so that a site plan will be on the same council agenda as the second reading of the rezoning request. The site plan was approved by planning commissioners on April 15, 2014.

Land Use: Stapp Nature Area

The council’s May 5 agenda includes a resolution giving final approval to rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.

Land donated by Bill Martin to the city of Ann Arbor indicated in red outline..

City staff recommended that the donated parcel be rezoned from R4D (multi-family dwelling) to PL (public land). The land reaches from Traverwood Drive to the Leslie Park golf course, south of Huron Parkway. Adding the land expands a corridor of natural areas and parkland. Stapp Nature Area, a 8.11-acre property with a mature native forest and small vernal pool, is adjacent to Tuebingen Park and has a connection to Leslie Woods.

The site is on the northern edge of a larger property that’s being developed by First Martin Corp. as Traverwood Apartments. That project received its final necessary approvals from the city council on Jan. 6, 2014.

First Martin has committed to creating a pedestrian access from the apartment complex to the nature area, which will be formalized with an access easement.

The city has a policy of rezoning city-owned land to PL (public land). This parcel will be differentiated as parkland by its inclusion in the city’s parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan, because it will become part of the Stapp Nature Area, which is already in the PROS plan.

This item was given initial approval at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting.

Parks

Two items related to parks appear on the agenda: a contract for upgrades to play equipment in three parks; and approval of the purchase of two combination mower/snow-brooms.

Parks: Play Equipment

On the council’s agenda is a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000 to improve facilities at three parks. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.

Arbor Oaks Park is located in Ward 3 in the southeast quadrant of the city. Image links to interactive map by the city of Ann Arbor.

Parks: Mowing/Snow-Removal

The council will be asked to approve the purchase of two 2014 Toro model 7210 commercial six-foot wide mower/snow broom combination units at $50,426 each for a total of $100,853.

The units have a mower deck that can be used in the summer months and can be converted in the winter into a tank-tread type unit with enclosed cab that accepts a rotating snow broom, a snow blower, or a plow blade.

The two Toros will replace two walk-behind mowers and three riding mowers.

Sidewalks

At the council’s May 5 meeting, a public hearing is being held on the proposed special assessment for sidewalk construction on Newport Road north of Wines Elementary School. The council voted at its previous meeting, on April 21, to direct the preparation of the roll and to set the public hearing.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746 – the entire cost of the project. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized. The work is planned to be coordinated with a road resurfacing project for Newport Road, from Sunset to just south of Bird Road.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Environmental Commission Appointments

Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were re-appointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton.

However, the intention now is to substitute a resolution at the May 5 meeting that will not include Stead. In an email to other councilmembers from Sabra Briere (Ward 1) on May 2, she indicated that she’d be offering the substitute resolution, saying, “David Stead has decided that his life is busy enough he cannot do justice to serving on the commission.”

Postponement after initial appearance on the agenda is not unusual for appointments to the EC, because it allows the appointment to mimic the two-step nominate-confirm process for mayoral appointments. EC positions are nominated by the council as a whole. However, in the case of these appointments, Stead’s four previous terms on the commission would likely have been be a point of friction for some councilmembers.

Stead was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 – after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000. And he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

David Stead, right, reads a resolution he proposed at an environmental commission meeting in 2009. The resolution, which was approved, recommended removing Argo Dam. At left is Margie Teall, a city councilmember who also sat on the environmental commission at the time.

There are no term limits for Ann Arbor city boards and commissions, except those highlighted in the city charter as having a six-year maximum, but several councilmembers have expressed concerns about the length of service by some members of some boards and commissions preventing a broader range of participation in local governance. Most recently, the issue arose in connection with the re-appointment of Wayne Appleyard to the energy commission on Oct. 23, 2013. Also a factor in the 8-3 confirmation vote for Appleyard was his non-city residency.

Stead is vice president of Resource Recycling Systems. City council minutes show that the council has approved roughly $300,000 in contracts for consulting work by RRS for the city of Ann Arbor between 2007 and 2009.

Westphal is being put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of the planning commission, which voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, is contesting the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, is running for that same Ward 2 seat.

In 2013, mayor John Hieftje declined to nominate Jeff Hayner to serve on the public art commission, citing a policy against nominating candidates for city council to serve on city boards and commissions. Hayner ran for Ward 1 council against Sabra Briere that year – a race in which Briere prevailed.

Hutton was first appointed to the environmental commission in 2011 and is concluding her first three-year term.

Deer Herd Management

On the May 5 meeting agenda is a resolution that would direct the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The resolution also directs the administrator to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.

Other organizations named in the resolution as potential partners include the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, the University of Michigan, the Humane Society of Huron Valley, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division. A recent meeting of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission included a discussion of deer herd management.

Updated: Washtenaw County commissioner Andy LaBarre has sent an email to the city council expressing his support for the resolution, and an indication that he will be putting forward a similar resolution for the board of commissioners to consider. [.pdf of LaBarre's email]

One metric for deer as a nuisance is traffic accidents they cause. While the number of traffic crashes involving deer has shown a slight downward trend in Washtenaw County, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in the city of Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend.

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Washtenaw County has shown a slight downward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Deer-Vehicle Accidents in Washtenaw County by Year by Location (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, plotted and animated by The Chronicle at geocommons.com) Blue dots indicate the location of a deer-vehicle accident.

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The presentation of the city administrator’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2015, which starts July 1, 2014, is the main event of the Ann Arbor city council’s April 21 meeting. As the second council meeting of April, it’s the occasion specified in the city charter for that presentation.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber includes Braille.

At its April 21 meeting, however, the council won’t be voting on next year’s budget. Under the city charter, the council will need to adopt the budget by the time of its second regular meeting in May, which falls on May 19 this year. The Chronicle has covered the FY 2015 budget preview in a separate article.

Related to this year’s budget is an agenda item for April 21 that will transfer $600,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. The city administrator had been directed by the council to prepare the budget amendment at its March 3, 2014 meeting. The action was contingent on the final closing of the sale of the former Y lot. Net proceeds from that sale were roughly $1.4 million and were deposited into the affordable housing trust fund. The $600,000 will support AAHC’s efforts to make major capital improvements to its public housing properties.

The AAHC is featured in two other resolutions related to its plan of capital improvements, which include projects at North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry apartments. One resolution approves a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for those AAHC properties. A second resolution approves a 50% waiver of the site plan, zoning and street vacation fees for the North Maple Estates and Lower Platt projects.

Also on the April 21 agenda based on previous action by the council, at its April 7, 2014 meeting, is the second and final reading of a local ordinance that would regulate smoking in certain outdoor places. Those places include locations near entrances of buildings and potentially in parts of city parks at the discretion of the city administrator. A public hearing will precede the council’s vote on the outdoor smoking regulations.

Measured by the number of items on the agenda, sidewalks are a significant highlight. Sidewalk gaps on Scio Church Road and Newport Road have two resolutions each – related to the special assessments that will be imposed on property owners adjoining the stretches where sidewalks will be constructed. One resolution directs the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The other resolution sets a public hearing on the special assessment – for May 5, 2014 at the council’s regular meeting on that date.

The council will also be asked to approve $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. The Barton Drive sidewalk will also be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council at a future meeting.

Rounding out the council’s April 21 agenda are some land use items. The council will be asked to approve the site plan for an overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street. Another site plan the council will be asked to approve is for the expansion of an office building at 278-280 Collingwood on Ann Arbor’s west side. A third site plan on the April 21 agenda is for an expansion to the Concordia University gym, which also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River.

Also on the April 21 agenda are appointments to the environmental commission for David Stead, Kirk Westphal, and Susan Hutton. Appointments to this commission are different from most appointments to boards and commissions, in that the mayor does not nominate them. The appointments are under control of the council as a body.

The April 21 agenda includes the authorization for some street closings for upcoming events: NTI Block Party (July 30, 2014), Rolling Sculpture Car Show (July 11, 2014), and Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park (June 9 through July 9, 2014).

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.

Ann Arbor Housing Commission

Three resolutions on the April 21 agenda relate to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission: a $600,000 transfer from the city’s affordable housing fund to AAHC; approval of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for AAHC properties; and approval of a 50% waiver of fees for capital improvement projects to be undertaken by AAHC.

AAHC: $600,000 Transfer

At its March 3, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator to prepare a budget resolution that would allocate $600,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to support the AAHC’s plan to renovate its properties.

That allocation was to be contingent on the closing of the sale of the former Y lot to Dennis Dahlmann, as the net proceeds of that sale are to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The sale of the property closed on April 2.

So on the April 21 meeting agenda is the resolution the council had directed the city administrator to prepare.

AAHC: PILOT

The agenda also includes an item authorizing a payment in lieu of taxes for AAHC properties at North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry Apartments. The period for which property taxes are being waived – under Section 15(a) of the State Housing Development Authority Act and Chapter 19, Section 1:651 of Ann Arbor City Code – is 50 years. In lieu of taxes, a $1 service charge must be paid.

AAHC: 50% Waiver

For the North Maple and Lower Platt AAHC renovation projects, the city would ordinarily assess fees for site plan approval, zoning approval and street vacation. Those charges break down as follows, for a total of $22,705:

• North Maple: $8,995 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval; and $2,565 for street vacation
• Lower Platt: $8,295 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval

But under Chapter 55, Section 5:108 of Ann Arbor city code, those fees may be reduced by resolution of the city council by up to 50% of the specified fees – if the reduction is based on a finding that the development would provide affordable housing for lower-income households.

The item on the council’s April 21 agenda would reduce the fees by 50%.

Smoking

To be considered for final approval at the council’s April 21 meeting is a law regulating smoking in some outdoor locations. It was given initial approval by the council on April 7. The law would regulate smoking outside of public buildings and also potentially in areas of some city parks.

Made punishable under the proposed ordinance 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. Community service could be ordered instead of the payment of a fine.

The ordinance would also authorize 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.

A public hearing on the new ordinance will be held at the April 21 meeting.

The initial approval at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting came after it had been postponed on March 3, 2014, and before that on Feb. 3, 2014. The initial approval came over dissent from Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Jack Eaton (Ward 4). They cited concern that enforcement of the smoking law could distract from other policing duties and could have a disparate impact on the homeless population.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), sponsor of the proposed new local law, appeared before the city’s park advisory commission on Feb. 25, 2014 to brief commissioners on the proposal and solicit feedback.

An existing Washtenaw 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.

Ellen Rabinowitz, interim health officer for Washtenaw County, attended the April 7 meeting and spoke to councilmembers about the county’s experience. She supported the city ordinance, as did Cliff Douglas, director of the University of Michigan’s Tobacco Research Network. Douglas addressed the council during public commentary and answered questions later in the meeting.

Council deliberations from the initial approval of this item are included in The Chronicle’s live updates filed during the April 7 meeting.

Sidewalks

Sidewalk gaps on Scio Church Road and Newport Road have two resolutions each – related to the special assessments that will be imposed on property owners adjoining the stretches where sidewalks are to be constructed. One resolution directs the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The other resolution sets a public hearing on the special assessment – for May 5, 2014 at the council’s regular meeting on that date.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized.

For the Scio Church Road sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a Federal Surface Transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626.

The council will also be asked to approve $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. The Barton Drive sidewalk will also be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council at a future meeting.

Approval of the design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk was approved by the city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting.

By way of additional background, at its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive. And at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work. The design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk, drew on the previously authorized funding.

The preliminary planning budget of $15,000 for the Newport Road sidewalk gap was approved over a year ago by the council at its Jan. 23, 2013 meeting.

Location of proposed Barton Drive sidewalk.

Purple indicates stretches of Scio Church Road where no sidewalk exists.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Land Use

Three site plans appear on the council’s April 21 agenda: Concordia University’s proposed gym expansion; an expansion of an office building on Collingwood; and the overhaul of a Shell station on South State.

Land Use: Concordia University Gym Expansion

A site plan to expand the existing Concordia University gym is on the agenda for city council approval.

Aerial view of Concordia campus.

The plan also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River. The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 4, 2014 meeting.

Planning commissioners granted a special exception use for the project. That’s required because the private university is located on a site zoned R1B (single-family residential district). The site plan requires city council approval, but the special exception use does not.

The proposal calls for a three-story, 34,391-square-foot addition to the current 22,021-square-foot gym that was built in the early 1960s, located on the west side of Concordia’s main campus. [.pdf of campus map] The addition will include men’s and women’s locker rooms, athletic office space, classrooms and an auxiliary gym.

A second phase of the project entails constructing a single-story, 5,280-square-foot athletic training room. An existing gravel parking area west of the gym will be paved and landscaped, and another lot north of the gym along Geddes will get new landscaping and bioswales. A total of 92 new parking spaces will be created, mostly in the former gravel lot.

A new stormwater management system will be completed to address a 100-year storm event, including a detention pond with an outlet into a bioswale south of the developed area. The site plan is for a planned project, which allows variations in height and placement. The proposed addition would be 39 feet high. The site’s zoning has a height limit of 30 feet. The existing gym is about 33 feet high, measured at the midpoint of the roof.

Land Use: Collingwood Office Building

The council will be asked to approve a site plan that expands an office building at 278-280 Collingwood. The proposal received a recommendation of approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission at its March 18, 2014 meeting.

Aerial view indicating location of 278-280 Collingwood Drive.

The site plan calls for removing the existing second floor on the east side of the office building and constructing a 2,451-square-foot second floor over the entire building for office use.

A new staircase will be added at the southwest corner of the building. The second floor will overhang the first floor along the front of the building and along part of the north side. An existing curbcut on the north side of the property will be removed. The current 22 parking spaces on the site will be reduced to 17.

Planning commissioners approved modifications to the city’s landscaping requirements for this site. Total construction cost for this project is estimated at $300,000. The office building is located in Ward 4. Collingwood Drive is a street off of West Stadium Boulevard, just south of West Stadium’s convergence with South Maple Road. [.pdf of staff memo]

Land Use: Shell Station Overhaul

The council will be asked to approve the overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at 2991 S. State. The site is located at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street.

Aerial view of the site for a Shell station and drive-thru restaurant at the northeast corner of South State and East Eisenhower.

The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 18, 2014 meeting. The plan calls for demolishing the current one-story convenience store and car wash on this site, which total 2,435 square feet. In its place, the owner – Joseph Kafi of JAK Cubed LLC – would put up a single building with a 1,250-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,000-square-foot convenience store.

The existing gas pump island canopy will remain in place, and two pumps will be relocated to spots under the canopy. According to a staff memo, a single lane drive-thru would be primarily accessed from the existing East Eisenhower Parkway curb cut. Vehicles would move in an east-to-north direction before exiting onto either South State or East Eisenhower.

The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to nine vehicles and would be screened to the west by the proposed new building. A total of 22 parking spaces are proposed for the site, including eight that are located at the four gas pump islands. The project, located in Ward 4, is estimated to cost $800,000. The business is expected to remain open during construction. The existing convenience store will then be demolished after the new building is finished.

The specific restaurant to be located there is still being negotiated. [.pdf of staff report]

Environmental Commission Appointments

Also on the April 21 agenda are the appointments to the environmental commission for Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. All three would be re-appointments.

Westphal is being put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of that commission. The planning commission voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, is contesting the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, is running for that same Ward 2 seat.

In 2013, mayor John Hieftje declined to nominate Jeff Hayner to serve on the public art commission, citing a policy against nominating candidates for city council to serve on city boards and commissions. Hayner ran for Ward 1 council against Sabra Briere that year – a race in which Briere prevailed.

However, appointments to the environmental commission are different from most other appointments to boards and commissions – in that the mayor does not nominate them. The appointments are under control of the council as a body.

David Stead, right, reads a resolution he proposed at an environmental commission meeting in 2009. The resolution, which was approved, recommended removing Argo Dam. At left is Margie Teall, a city councilmember who also sat on the environmental commission at the time.

Past practice as been for the appointments to the environmental commission to mimic the typical two-step mayoral appointment process – with nomination at one meeting followed by confirmation at the next meeting. The council has customarily had the environmental commission appointments on its agenda for initial consideration and postponed a vote until the next meeting.

Stead was originally described in the agenda item as having served on the commission since 2007. That was subsequently corrected. City records in Legistar indicate he was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000. Based on Legistar records, he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

Stead is vice president of Resource Recycling Systems. City council minutes show that the council has approved roughly $300,000 in contracts for consulting work by RRS for the city of Ann Arbor between 2007 and 2009.

Hutton was first appointed to the environmental commission in 2011 and is concluding her first three-year term.

4:42 p.m. Now available in Legistar are the staff responses to councilmember questions about agenda items: Agenda Responses 4-21-14. Also available are the slides for the city administrator’s FY 2015 budget presentation.

5:36 p.m. Here’s the spreadsheet referenced in the agenda response items: .pdf of budgets for Phase 1 Ann Arbor Housing Commission Projects

6:10 p.m. Based on councilmember questions posed to staff, deliberations on the outdoor smoking regulations and the sidewalk special assessments could be drawn out. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) posed a series of questions asking about the cost of educational efforts and the cost of posting a no-smoking sign ($70 without a post and $120 with a post). And a question was posed on the use of federal surface transportation funds for one of the sidewalk special assessment projects but not for a previous project. (Both projects were eligible, but funds were not available for the Pontiac Trail project.) A question on the number of terms David Stead has already served on the environmental commission (4 terms) hints at a likely debate over his appointment.

6:13 p.m. Community Television Network tech has installed and tested microphones. Testing includes wiggling them back and forth, which generates a prodigious amount of static.

6:45 p.m. Channel 2, Detroit’s Fox News affiliate, is here to film the possible action on the outdoor smoking regulations. Cameraman is chatting with Cliff Douglas, director of the University of Michigan’s Tobacco Research Network.

6:57 p.m. Chambers are starting to fill with audience and councilmembers.

6:57 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.

7:06 p.m. We’re off.

7:07 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance.

7:07 p.m. Roll call of council. All councilmembers, except for Sabra Briere (Ward 1) are present and correct.

7:08 p.m. Mayor John Hieftje indicates that Briere will be arriving a bit later.

7:08 p.m. Approval of agenda The volunteer of the month proclamation is moved ahead of the budget presentation.

7:08 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the agenda.

7:09 p.m. INT-2 Volunteer of the Month. This proclamation honors Dorothy Hastings for her volunteer efforts to improve Cloverdale Park.

7:11 p.m. INT-1 City Administrator’s FY 2015 Budget Presentation. For background on the proposed budget see: “FY 2015 Budget Preview: Cops, Trees” [.pdf of April 21, 2014 pre-dated memo from Powers to city council]

7:13 p.m. Powers is reviewing the council’s priority areas. He’s reviewing the work sessions that were held earlier in the year. May 12 will be a work session on public safety and infrastructure.

7:14 p.m. Revenues are improving modestly, Powers says. Property taxes are up 2.4%.

7:15 p.m. State shared revenue from sales taxes is up 4%. Road funding from Act 51 is flat. City millages will remain unchanged from last year.

7:16 p.m. Pension contributions are up 10% and VEBA is up 2%.

7:17 p.m. Here again are the slides Powers is presenting: [.pdf of slides]

7:17 p.m. The budget reflects two major impacts, Powers says: impact of GASB 68 accounting standards; and $1 million for street tree maintenance.

7:18 p.m. Powers is reviewing the historical trend of the number of employees. Y axis on the chart starts at 500, so the trend is somewhat amplified.

7:19 p.m. Powers is reviewing the addition of three police officers and one firefighter. A rental housing inspector will also be added.

7:21 p.m. The $1 million for streets in the public right-of-way is based on the significant deferred maintenance that has accumulated. He’s now reviewing the difference between recurring and one-time revenues. Post-employment health insurance funding is tied to revenue growth, Powers says.

7:22 p.m. He’s about to wrap up, as it’s not meant to be an in-depth review. As much opportunity as councilmembers would like can be provided to go over the budget, he says.

7:22 p.m. Powers notes that this is the second year of a two-year planning cycle, even though the council adopts a budget every year.

7:24 p.m. Because it’s in the second year of a two-year plan, Powers doesn’t think this budget reflects a lot of substantial changes. Powers notes that amendments to the budget can be undertaken after the budget has been adopted to improve the ability of the staff to deliver on city goals.

7:24 p.m. Budget questions will receive answers on a weekly basis through next month when the council must adopt the budget. Powers is now done with his presentation.

7:24 p.m. Public commentary. 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 Kermit Schlansker, Lou Glorie and Alan Haber.

7:28 p.m. Kermit Schlansker is talking about the importance of geometry in attaining sustainability. Big cities have less use of energy per capita than small towns, he says. Geometry is more important than solar or wind. But big cities can’t grow food, he says. Geometry is important in considering travel distances between the places where food is grown and where it’s consumed. People need to learn to use sewage for fertilizer. He describes burying people when they die and planting a fruit tree on top of them: “I’d rather become a useful apple”… than spend the energy on cremation, he says. If we don’t pay attention to the future there will be no future, he concludes.

7:32 p.m. Lou Glorie introduces herself as an Ann Arbor resident. She says that the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority millage request is being framed as a question about public transit and as a moral obligation. But there are legitimate reasons for opposing the millage, she says. She contends that the system is still difficult if not impossible to use, because of the downtown-centric system. The system only makes sense if one assumes that everyone wants to go downtown. Someone on North Maple might want to get to Briarwood, she says. It costs between $7,000 and $15,000 to maintain a car, but they have no other way to get around. The AAATA’s service model is more appropriate for those who live outside Ann Arbor than for residents. It’s not just okay to vote no, she says. It might be the only way to get the kind of transportation system for residents that we need.

7:35 p.m. Alan Haber is talking about his efforts to establish a public part on the top of the Library Lane underground parking structure. When he’d approached the Downtown Development Authority to ask how that land could be used for the public, the DDA had said that’s not their mission, because they focus on economic development, he says. He’s describing his unsuccessful effort to get the DDA to allow an Earth Day event on top of the Library Lane parking structure to take place this year. He calls for a public discussion of the maximum public use of the space. He’s got a list of people in this town who have a lot of money, he says.

7:35 p.m. Communications from council.

7:37 p.m. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) says that the three additional police officers are welcome, but he’s not yet clear about what their responsibilities will be. He holds the door open for amendments to the budget. He also reports that he’s asked Steve Powers to see if the city has resources to do targeted enforcement of additional community standards in campus areas. He’s looking forward to a report that’s due in May on meeting environmental goals.

7:38 p.m. Sally Petersen (Ward 2) announced there will be a meeting on the AAATA millage proposal on April 29 at 7 p.m. at the Earhardt Village club house.

7:41 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) is giving announcements related to Humane Society of Huron Valley animal control services. She says that the Humane Society has given the city invoices that have not yet been paid. She says a meeting has been scheduled to move the ball forward.

Lumm is now talking about the deer population. She calls for developing a strategy for dealing with the problem. She’ll be bringing forward a resolution concerning that. On the budget, she says she’s tried unsuccessfully to add police officers, so she’s glad to see that. She calls on the DDA to come forward with funding for downtown beat cops.

7:41 p.m. Briere has arrived.

7:45 p.m. Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) reports out on a public meeting on the Jackson Road reconstruction project. He’s talking with MDOT to find out how the pilot project for the lane striping (three lanes with the center lane a turn lane). He’s responding to Lou Glorie’s comments during public commentary. About the AAATA millage, he says that the new service plan includes some cross-town routes that are not part of the hub-and-spoke plan. He notes that because Ann Arbor is not laid out on a grid, it poses a challenge. He stresses the importance of frequency in providing adequate service. He points to proposed Route G as a connection that would help cross-town connections.

7:47 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) reminds people of the Friends of Dicken Woods fundraiser on April 24. The Friends have taken care of the nature area for 10 years and fund education programs at the neighboring elementary school: dickenwoods.org

7:48 p.m. MC-1 Confirmations. Several confirmations are on tonight’s agenda – of nominations that were made at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting:

• Airport Advisory Committee: Mary Karen McClellan (filling a vacancy, for a term ending May 30, 2016);
• Ann Arbor Housing Commission: Gwenyth Hayes (serving out rest of term for Gloria Black as a residents’ representative, through May 4, 2015) and Daniel Lee (re-appointment, for a term ending May 6, 2019);
• Design Review Board: Shannan Gibb-Randall (serving out rest of term for Mary Jucari, through May 30, 2015);
• Employees Retirement Systems Board of Trustees: Mark Heusel (re-appointment for a term through May 2, 2017);
• Public Market Advisory Commission: David Santacroce (re-appointment for a term through May 30, 2017).

7:49 p.m. Briere notes that Santacroce has celebrated the birth of his second child today. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) congratulates Santacroce, and gets clarification that Santacroce also serves on the park advisory commission.

7:50 p.m. Outcome: The appointments are all confirmed.

7:50 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. Four public hearings are scheduled: (1) Outdoor smoking ordinance [for additional background, see Smoking above]; (2) Concordia University gym expansion [for additional background, see Land Use: Concordia University Gym Expansion above]; (3) Collingwood office building expansion [for additional background, see Land Use: Collingwood Office Building above]; and (4) State Street Shell station site plan [for additional background, see Land Use: Shell Station Overhaul above].

7:50 p.m. PH-1 Outdoor Smoking Ordinance.

7:53 p.m. Leon Bryson, who’s running for Ward 5 council, is addressing the council. He’s speaking in support of the ordinance that is being proposed by Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) [against whom he's running]. There are two main components of this ordinance: places where smoking would be banned; and the enforcement. The 20-foot distance is reasonable, he says. The city administrator is given a great amount of authority to set areas for non-smoking in public parks. It’s not his expectation that the city administrator would ban smoking in all areas of all city parks. Based on the discussion at the last council meeting, Bryson does not think enforcement will be a problem. He does not expect that the ordinance will be enforced in a way that has a disparate impact on the homeless. He thanks Warpehoski for his work.

7:56 p.m. Jeff Hayner asks the council to modify the ordinance in light of another problem: chewing gum. It’s not a problem unique to Ann Arbor. In Great Britain, they spent $230 million on removal of chewing gum, he says. He suggests that we look to Singapore as a model, which restricted the trade and use of chewing gum. Smuggling fines can go up to $3,000 or a beating with a bamboo cane. So he asks for the ordinance to be modified to include a fine for littering of cigarette butts and a ban on chewing gum.

8:01 p.m. Seth Best rises to speak against the ordinance because he thinks it will have a disparate impact on the homeless, the poor and the LGBT community. He notes that it’s legal to purchase cigarettes. He says there are more important things to worry about that are more worthy of the council’s time. Going after smokers is a way to push those who are poor and the homeless further away. He thanks the council for modifying the original proposal to include community service instead of a fine.

8:02 p.m. Colin Yee is addressing the council as a graduate student in public health in support of the ordinance. As a student over the last six years, he’s noticed a decline in smokers as a result of a tobacco-free campus initiative. There’s less of a haze walking across the Diag, he says. The ordinance further reduces the social acceptability of smoking and will reduce the exposure of young people to second hand smoke. It’s time to walk the walk and show why we are the leaders and the best, he says.

8:05 p.m. Julie Grand, who’s running for Ward 3 council, speaks in support of the ordinance. She has passed out some best practices for health policy. This policy has to balance individual liberty with public good. The benefits outweigh the burden on individual liberty, she says. She’ll be able to point to a sign next to a swingset and ask someone to refrain from smoking. Do we want high school students to be standing at a bus stop near smokers, she asks? [Grand is a lecturer in public health at University of Michigan, Dearborn]. She points to the fact that enforcement of the ban in restaurants has not been problematic.

8:08 p.m. Cliff Douglas thanks the council for its 8-3 vote on first reading at its previous meeting. The support that the council is hearing tonight is typical of public sentiment, he says. These ordinances save lives, he says, as they keep smoke away from infants. These ordinances also reduce litter from cigarettes, he says. No-smoking rules will join other, familiar rules for public parks, like no alcohol, and no dogs offleash. He’s now reading a letter from the manager of the People’s Food Co-op who contend with smokers at Sculpture Plaza.

8:09 p.m. Channel 2 cameraman unhooks TV microphone from the podium.

8:09 p.m. PH-2 Concordia University gymnasium addition. No one speaks at this public hearing.

8:10 p.m. PH-3 278-280 Collingwood site plan. No one speaks at this public hearing.

8:10 p.m. PH-4 State Street Shell station/drive-thru. No one speaks at this public hearing.

8:10 p.m. Minutes of previous meeting. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

8:10 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 Approve a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the AAHC for North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry Apartments. [For additional background, see AAHC: PILOT above]
• CA-2 Approve AAHC site plan and zoning fee waiver request Maple and Platt. [For additional background, see AAHC: 50% Waiver above]
• CA-3 Award a Contract to DLZ Michigan, Inc. to design repairs to the wastewater treatment plant access bridge ($32,752).
• CA-4 Resolution No. 2: Newport sidewalk special assessment. [For additional background, see Sidewalks above]
• CA-5 Resolution No. 3: Establish a public hearing for the Newport sidewalk special assessment project
• CA-6 Approve an emergency increase to the Osburn Industries Purchase Order for Aggregate Materials ($36,750).
• CA-7 Approve street closing for the NTI Block Party: July 30, 2014.
• CA-8 Approve street closing for the 2014 Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park (June 9 through July 9, 2014).
• CA-9 Approve street closings for the 2014 Rolling Sculpture Car Show (Friday, July 11, 2014).

8:11 p.m. Councilmembers can opt to select out any items for separate consideration. Sabra Briere pulls out CA-1 and CA-2.

8:11 p.m. CA-1 Approve a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the AAHC for North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry Apartments.

8:13 p.m. Briere says she wanted to pull this out because it’s an example of every creative effort that the city can find to help the AAHC. She commends staff for being creative in solving the problem.

8:13 p.m. Outcome: The council approved CA-1.

8:13 p.m. CA-2 Approve AAHC site plan and zoning fee waiver request Maple and Platt. Briere says this is another example of creativity to help the AAHC.

8:13 p.m.  Outcome: The council approved CA-2.

8:14 p.m. Outcome: The council now completed its approval of all items on the consent agenda.

8:14 p.m. B-1 Outdoor Smoking Ordinance. This is the final approval of a new law regulating smoking in some outdoor locations. It was given initial approval by the council on April 7. The law would regulate smoking outside of public buildings and also potentially in areas of some city parks. Made punishable under the proposed ordinance 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. Community service could be ordered instead of the payment of a fine. The ordinance would also authorize 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. [For additional background, see Smoking above]

8:15 p.m. Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) is reviewing some amendments that have been made. The buffer around bus stops has been reduced to 10 feet, after consultation with AAATA. And the language describing the non-smoking zone around Blake Transit Center has been tweaked.

8:18 p.m. Warpehoski is addressing the argument based on disparate impact, saying that it’s a public health impact that can have a positive effect on lower-income populations. He reminds people that the fine is only levied if they fail to stop smoking when asked to do so by a police officer.

8:19 p.m. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) is proposing that the fine be reduced from $50 to $25. It’s greater than the marijuana possession fine of $25. He felt that smoking a cigarette should be on par with that. The amendment is accepted as friendly by Warpehoski.

8:21 p.m. Kunselman says he’s going to support the ordinance, thanking Warpehoski for bringing forward some very convincing speakers at the last council meeting. On a personal note, his stepdad passed away over the weekend – and he was a life-long smoker, so Kunselman felt there was nothing he could do except vote for the ordinance.

8:24 p.m. Jane Lumm (Ward 2) is reviewing the issue of police resources. She says that if the ordinance is self-enforcing, then she wonders why there needs to be police enforcement. Any time a police officer spends on this is time that could be spent on more important issues, she says. Lumm says she lives next to a large park and says she sometimes quips that it’s the city’s largest off-leash dog park – because the city doesn’t have the means to enforce that or many other issues. She doesn’t think the decision on areas for non-smoking in parks should be left to the city administrator. Lumm notes that she’s a staunch non-smoker – and you can ask her husband what happens when he lights up a cigar.

8:28 p.m. Jack Eaton (Ward 4) thanks Kunselman for the amendment. Not making it punitive is a step in the right direction. He’s against diverting police resources to a public health issue. These are issues that are best addressed through education, he says. This is fraught with potential for conflict – because a smoker who is asked to stop smoking by a civilian would know that a police officer could not possibly arrive soon enough to enforce the ordinance. Banning smoking, for example, in Sculpture Plaza, will simply move smokers to other locations. He ventures that the cost of placing signs will be greater than the cost that was given by the city administrator [$70 without a pole, $120 with a pole].

8:29 p.m. Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) says he’ll support the ordinance, because it’s reasonable, prudent and measured. It’s public health problem and an environmental problem, he says, that is being solved. This provides non-smokers with the tools to educate smokers, he says.

8:29 p.m. Taylor says this will help create a set of social norms that says that smoking is not acceptable in these locations.

8:31 p.m. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) said after Sunday night caucus the smoker’s corner was set up right next to the ventilation system on the Ann Street side of city hall. She also noticed the litter of cigarette butts. She appreciated the concern of councilmembers who were concerned that police would be required to run hither and yon to monitor smokers. Briere allows that Jane Lumm (Ward 2) is right that there are not enough resources to monitor other issues – like offleash dogs.

8:34 p.m. Briere is talking about problems with enforcing the leash laws. She says the penalty for this ordinance is small. Mothers don’t take their children to a park near her house until they spend time picking up cigarette butts, because they don’t want their children to eat cigarette butts. We should think about those people who want to use the city’s parks and feel like they’re being crowded out of the parks by smokers.

8:36 p.m. Margie Teall (Ward 4) says she’s supported this from the beginning. She thanks Warpehoski for putting a lot of time and thought into it. As Julie Grand suggested, Teall thinks it might help shift social norms.

8:39 p.m. Mayor John Hieftje says he will support this. He doesn’t have a concern about the policing of this –because 900 other communities aren’t finding their police forces are tied up dealing with smokers.

8:39 p.m. Mike Anglin (Ward 5) says that everything that can be said has already been said. He thanks Warpehoski for revising the punitive parts of the original proposal. When someone sits near him and is smoking, he has to move, Anglin says.

8:39 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to give the outdoor smoking ordinance final approval, over dissent from Eaton and Lumm.

8:39 p.m. DC-1 Environmental Commission appointments. Nominations to the environmental commission are the council’s privilege to make, not the mayor’s. On tonight’s agenda are three re-appointments: Kirk Westphal as the planning commission’s recommended appointment as that group’s representative on the environmental commission; David Stead, who’s served on the environmental commission since it was established in 2000; and Susan Hutton who’s completed her first three-year term. [For additional background, see Environmental Commission Appointments above]

8:40 p.m. Briere moves to postpone, as it’s customary to do so for EC appointments.

8:40 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone consideration of the EC appointments.

8:40 p.m. DB-1 Site Plan: Concordia University Gymnasium Addition This item approves a site plan for the expansion of the gym at Concordia University. The plan also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River. The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 4, 2014 meeting. [For additional background, see Land Use: Concordia University Gym Expansion above]

8:40 p.m. Lumm is reading aloud a description of the project.

8:41 p.m. Lumm thanks the CEO of Concordia for answering all her questions.

8:43 p.m. Petersen also thanks the CEO of Concordia.

8:43 p.m. Lumm is concurring with Petersen’s thanks. Lumm said that she’d heard from people who were interested in what was going on across the street from Concordia. Longer term, they’re thinking about building a football stadium. No site plan has been submitted to the city on that, she says.

8:43 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Concordia University gym expansion site plan.

8:43 p.m. DB-2 Site Plan: 278-280 Collingwood. This item approves a site plan that expands an office building at 278-280 Collingwood. The site plan calls for removing the existing second floor on the east side of the office building and constructing a 2,451-square-foot second floor over the entire building for office use. [For additional background, see Land Use: Collingwood Office Building above]

8:43 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve the Collingwood site plan.

8:43 p.m. DB-3 Site Plan: State Street Shell station/drive-thru restaurant. The council is being asked to approve the overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at 2991 S. State. The site is located at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street. [For additional background, see Land Use: Shell Station Overhaul above]

8:43 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Shell station site plan.

8:43 p.m. DS-1 Approve transfer of $600,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. At its March 3, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator to prepare a budget resolution that would allocate $600,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to support the AAHC’s plan to renovate its properties. That allocation was to be contingent on the closing of the sale of the former Y lot to Dennis Dahlmann, as the net proceeds of that sale are to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The sale of the property closed on April 2. So on tonight’s meeting agenda is the resolution the council had directed the city administrator to prepare.

8:44 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the $600,000 transfer.

8:44 p.m. DS-2 Accept easement for sanitary sewer. This would accept an easement for a sanitary sewer from Subaru Research and Development Inc. at 3995 Research Park Dr.

8:45 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve the easement.

8:45 p.m. DS-3 Approve agreement with Black and Veatch for the water treatment plant alternatives analysis project ($220,339). According to the staff memo accompanying this item, the goal of the water treatment plant alternatives analysis project is “to evaluate the need and feasibility for addressing several challenges facing the water treatment plant, including the replacement of the Plant 1 treatment basins.” The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) evaluates all public water system every three years. And the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act (Act 399) requires all public water systems to complete a master plan every so often. Included in the 2013 MDEQ evaluation and the city’s own 2006 master plan are recommendations that the treatment basins be modified or replaced. The memo describes the facilities as follows: “The basins were built in 1938, are inefficient, do not meet current recommended design standards, and have exceeded their useful life. These basins provide reliability on average days and capacity during peak demand periods.”

8:48 p.m. Anglin has asked public area administrator Craig Hupy to come to the podium to answer questions. Anglin says that it appears the scope of work will allow the staff to make some decisions. He asks if Hupy would be considering delivering water on the west side of the city for less money. No, says Hupy. This project would evaluate the options – from replacing in-kind at that location, to purchasing wholesale from elsewhere. Anglin wants to know the timeline. Hupy says the design process would come in FY 2017 with construction in FY 2018 or FY 2019. Anglin ventures that this project will have huge implications for the city.

8:48 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the agreement with Black and Veatch for the water treatment plant alternatives analysis project.

8:48 p.m. DS-4 Award contract to Evergreen Civil LLC ($616,806) for the Yellowstone water main replacement project. This project will replace the existing water main with about 1,700 feet of new 8-inch water main. The existing water main on Yellowstone Drive, bounded by Bluett Drive on both ends, had experienced frequent breaks and is in poor condition, according to the staff memo accompanying this resolution.

8:50 p.m. Lumm says that residents could not be happier. This main has had multiple breaks, she says. She’s happy the construction will start in May and be done in July. The public meeting at Clague Middle School was helpful, Lumm says. She calls it great customer service by the staff.

8:50 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to award the contract to Evergreen Civil LLC ($616,806) for the Yellowstone water main replacement project.

8:50 p.m. DS-5 Scio Church sidewalk: Approve the Scio Church and Barton sidewalks project appropriation of funds from the general fund ($177,100). The council is being asked to approve $177,100 of city funds for the construction of a Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. Like the Scio Church sidewalk project, the Barton Drive sidewalk will be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council at a future meeting. [For additional background, see Sidewalks above.]

8:54 p.m. Teall is thanking Peter Houk for his advocacy on the Scio Church sidewalk, which began several years ago. Eaton echoes Teall’s sentiments, saying that it will be an important addition. The link to the Pittsfield branch of the Ann Arbor District Library will be important, he says.

8:55 p.m. Kailasapathy says she and Briere had attended a lot of neighborhood meetings on this issue. Roads, traffic calming, and sidewalk gaps seem to be topics that are of great concern for residents, she says. So this is a very good move to help make the city’s parks more accessible to children.

8:57 p.m. Kunselman appreciates the financing that’s been used, and goes as far as to propose that the special assessments be eliminated. He wants to take that money out of the general fund and make it a city-funded project. Hieftje proposes a short recess to work out that language.

8:57 p.m. We are in recess.

9:08 p.m. We’re back.

9:09 p.m. Kunselman says that in the future he wants to make sure that 80% of the funding is provided through non-special assessed funds. But he’ll support this resolution at this time.

9:09 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the appropriation of funds from the general fund for the Scio Church and Barton Road sidewalk projects.

9:10 p.m. DS-6 Scio Church sidewalk: Resolution No. 2 Special Assessment ($1,626). This is the second in a series of resolutions necessary for a special assessment, directing the setting of the assessment roll. For the Scio Church Road sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a Federal Surface Transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the general fund and by a special assessment of just $1,626.

9:11 p.m. Kunselman asks that this be postponed. The amount to be special assessed isn’t worth the amount that will be special assessed, he says. Eaton seconds.

9:11 p.m. Hupy indicates that the second meeting in May would be a good meeting to which to postpone, because the Barton Drive special assessment could then be brought forward at the same time.

9:14 p.m. Hieftje says that he doesn’t want to set a precedent – given the number of people who have needed to pay a special assessment. Hieftje says he’ll support the postponement, but says that the issue needs a larger discussion. Kailasapathy notes that general funds are limited, and she’s afraid that a commitment to using general funds might stall the process of filling sidewalk gaps.

Briere says there’s an issue of legal equity. The council just earlier in the evening approved the special assessment for Newport’s sidewalk. She notes that property owners who weren’t legally required to contribute had stepped forward and volunteered. Those residents will feel that the city has really “offended” them if the city pays for other projects out of the general fund.

9:17 p.m. Lumm agrees with Briere and Kailasapathy. “If we do this here, we gotta do it citywide,” she says. The history of the way these improvements have been done needs to be recognized, Lumm says. Hieftje calls Hupy to the podium. He wants to know if the project would be delayed if this is postponed until the second meeting in May.

9:18 p.m. Kailasapathy ventures that there could be a de minimis rule that if the total amount is less than $1,000 then the city would pay.

9:20 p.m. Kunselman asks why the city is so gung ho about eliminating sidewalk gaps that have been there for decades. He calls it “ridiculous” that the city is setting up a special assessment for a little more than $1,000. In his neighborhood, there’d been a project that was originally planned to include sidewalks and the plan was to special assess 100% of the cost. The result was that no sidewalks accompanied the project, because neighbors objected.

9:20 p.m. Hieftje notes that everyone seems inclined to postpone.

9:21 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to postpone the setting of the assessment roll for the Scio Church sidewalk project until the second meeting in May.

9:21 p.m. DS-7 Scio Church sidewalk: Resolution No. 3 Set public hearing.  This is the third in a series of resolutions required for a special assessment. The public hearing is being set for May 5, 2014, the council’s first meeting in May.

9:21 p.m. Kunselman also wants to postpone this one.

9:21 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted postpone the setting of the public hearing on the Scio Church sidewalk project special assessment.

9:22 p.m. Communications from council. Lumm is asking that an LDFA issue come to the council at its next meeting, not May 19.

9:22 p.m. Clerk’s report of communications, petitions and referrals. Outcome: The council has approved the clerk’s report.

9:22 p.m. Public comment. There’s no requirement to sign up in advance for this slot for public commentary.

9:22 p.m. No one rises to speak.

9:22 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 April 21, 2014 meeting agenda.

At its April 21 meeting, however, the council won’t be voting on next year’s budget. Under the city charter, the council will need to adopt the budget by the time of its second regular meeting in May, which falls on May 19 this year. The Chronicle has covered the FY 2015 budget preview in a separate article.

Related to this year’s budget is an agenda item for April 21 that will transfer $600,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. The city administrator had been directed by the council to prepare the budget amendment at its March 3, 2014 meeting. The action was contingent on the final closing of the sale of the former Y lot – net proceeds of which were roughly $1.4 million and were deposited into the affordable housing trust fund. The $600,000 will support AAHC’s efforts to make major capital improvements to its public housing properties.

The AAHC is featured in two other resolutions related to its plan of capital improvements, which include projects at North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry apartments. One resolution approves a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for those AAHC properties. A second resolution approves a 50% waiver of the site plan, zoning and street vacation fees for the North Maple Estates and Lower Platt projects.

Also on the April 21 agenda based on previous action by the council, at its April 7, 2014 meeting, is the second and final reading of a local ordinance that would regulate smoking in certain outdoor places. Those places include locations near entrances of buildings and potentially in parts of city parks at the discretion of the city administrator. A public hearing will precede the council’s vote on the outdoor smoking regulations.

Measured by the number of items on the agenda, sidewalks are a significant highlight. Sidewalk gaps on Scio Church Road and Newport Road have two resolutions each – related to the special assessments that will be imposed on property owners adjoining the stretches where sidewalks will be constructed. One resolution directs the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The other resolution sets a public hearing on the special assessment – for May 5, 2014 at the council’s regular meeting on that date.

The council will also be asked to approve $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. The Barton Drive sidewalk will also be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council at a future meeting.

Related to sidewalks as part of the city’s non-motorized infrastructure will be a possible attachment to the council’s agenda from the city administrator that outlines his plan to “to fund, effect, and otherwise implement actionable near-term recommendations of the 2013 Update to the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.” The council gave direction to the city administrator at its Dec. 16, 2013 meeting to provide the report – as one of a series of updates.

Rounding out the council’s April 21 agenda are some land use items. The council will be asked to approve the site plan for an overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street. Another site plan the council will be asked to approve is for the expansion of an office building at 278-280 Collingwood on Ann Arbor’s west side. A third site plan on the April 21 agenda is for an expansion to the Concordia University gym, which also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River.

Also on the April 21 agenda are appointments to the environmental commission for David Stead, Kirk Westphal, and Susan Hutton. Appointments to this commission are different from most appointments to boards and commissions, in that the mayor does not nominate them. The appointments are under control of the council as a body.

The April 21 agenda also includes the authorization for some street closings for upcoming events: NTI Block Party (July 30, 2014), Rolling Sculpture Car Show (July 11, 2014), and Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park (June 9 through July 9, 2014).

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.

Ann Arbor Housing Commission

Three resolutions on the April 21 agenda relate to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission: a $600,000 transfer from the city’s affordable housing fund to AAHC; approval of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for AAHC properties; and approval of a 50% waiver of fees for capital improvement projects to be undertaken by AAHC.

AAHC: $600,000 Transfer

At its March 3, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator to prepare a budget resolution that would allocate $600,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to support the AAHC’s plan to renovate its properties.

That allocation would be contingent on the closing of the sale of the former Y lot to Dennis Dahlmann, as the net proceeds of that sale are to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The sale of the property closed on April 2.

So on the April 21 meeting agenda is the resolution the council had directed the city administrator to prepare.

AAHC: PILOT

The agenda also includes an item authorizing a payment in lieu of taxes for AAHC properties at North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry Apartments. The period for which property taxes are being waived – under Section 15(a) of the State Housing Development Authority Act and Chapter 19, Section 1:651 of Ann Arbor City Code – is 50 years. In lieu of taxes, a $1 service charge must be paid.

AAHC: 50% Waiver

For the North Maple and Lower Platt AAHC renovation projects, the city would ordinarily assess fees for site plan approval, zoning approval and street vacation. Those charges break down as follows, for a total of $22,705:

• North Maple: $8,995 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval; and $2,565 for street vacation
• Lower Platt: $8,295 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval

But under Chapter 55, Section 5:108 of Ann Arbor city code, those fees may be reduced by resolution of the city council by up to 50% of the specified fees – if the reduction is based on a finding that the development would provide affordable housing for lower-income households.

The item on the council’s April 21 agenda would reduce the fees by 50%.

Smoking

To be considered for final approval at the council’s April 21 meeting is a law regulating smoking in some outdoor locations. It was given initial approval by the council on April 7. The law would regulate smoking outside of public buildings and also potentially in areas of some city parks.

Made punishable under the proposed ordinance 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. Community service could be ordered instead of the payment of a fine.

The ordinance would also authorize 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.

A public hearing on the new ordinance will be held at the April 21 meeting.

The initial approval at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting came after it had been postponed on March 3, 2014, and before that on Feb. 3, 2014. The initial approval came over dissent from Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Jack Eaton (Ward 4). They cited concern that enforcement of the smoking law could distract from other policing duties and could have a disparate impact on the homeless population.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), sponsor of the proposed new local law, appeared before the city’s park advisory commission on Feb. 25, 2014 to brief commissioners on the proposal and solicit feedback.

An existing Washtenaw 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.

Ellen Rabinowitz, interim health officer for Washtenaw County, attended the April 7 meeting and spoke to councilmembers about the county’s experience. She supported the city ordinance, as did Cliff Douglas, director of the University of Michigan’s Tobacco Research Network. Douglas addressed the council during public commentary and answered questions later in the meeting.

Council deliberations on this item are included in The Chronicle’s live updates filed during the April 7 meeting.

Sidewalks

Sidewalk gaps on Scio Church Road and Newport Road have two resolutions each – related to the special assessments that will be imposed on property owners adjoining the stretches where sidewalks are to be constructed. One resolution directs the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The other resolution sets a public hearing on the special assessment – for May 5, 2014 at the council’s regular meeting on that date.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized.

For the Scio Church Road sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a Federal Surface Transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626.

The council will also be asked to approve $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. The Barton Drive sidewalk will also be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council at a future meeting.

Approval of the design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk was approved by the city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting.

By way of additional background, at its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive. And at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work. The design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk, drew on the previously authorized funding.

The preliminary planning budget of $15,000 for the Newport Road sidewalk gap was approved over a year ago by the council at its Jan. 23, 2013 meeting.

Location of proposed Barton Drive sidewalk.

Purple indicates stretches of Scio Church Road where no sidewalk exists.

Newport Road sidewalk stretch.

Non-Motorized Plan Implementation

As part of a resolution approved by the council at its Dec. 16, 2014 meeting, the city administrator is supposed to “report to city council by April 21, 2014, his plan to fund, effect, and otherwise implement actionable Near-term Recommendations of the 2013 Update to the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.” That item could eventually be attached to the council’s April 21 meeting agenda.

Land Use

Three site plans appear on the council’s April 21 agenda: Concordia University’s proposed gym expansion; an expansion of an office building on Collingwood; and the overhaul of a Shell station on South State.

Land Use: Concordia University Gym Expansion

A site plan to expand the existing Concordia University gym is on the agenda for city council approval.

Aerial view of Concordia campus.

The plan also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River. The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 4, 2014 meeting.

Planning commissioners granted a special exception use for the project. That’s required because the private university is located on a site zoned R1B (single-family residential district). The site plan requires city council approval, but the special exception use does not.

The proposal calls for a three-story, 34,391-square-foot addition to the current 22,021-square-foot gym that was built in the early 1960s, located on the west side of Concordia’s main campus. [.pdf of campus map] The addition will include men’s and women’s locker rooms, athletic office space, classrooms and an auxiliary gym.

A second phase of the project entails constructing a single-story, 5,280-square-foot athletic training room. An existing gravel parking area west of the gym will be paved and landscaped, and another lot north of the gym along Geddes will get new landscaping and bioswales. A total of 92 new parking spaces will be created, mostly in the former gravel lot.

A new stormwater management system will be completed to address a 100-year storm event, including a detention pond with an outlet into a bioswale south of the developed area. The site plan is for a planned project, which allows variations in height and placement. The proposed addition would be 39 feet high. The site’s zoning has a height limit of 30 feet. The existing gym is about 33 feet high, measured at the midpoint of the roof.

Land Use: Collingwood Office Building

The council will be asked to approve a site plan that expands an office building at 278-280 Collingwood. The proposal received a recommendation of approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission at its March 18, 2014 meeting.

Aerial view indicating location of 278-280 Collingwood Drive.

The site plan calls for removing the existing second floor on the east side of the office building and constructing a 2,451-square-foot second floor over the entire building for office use.

A new staircase will be added at the southwest corner of the building. The second floor will overhang the first floor along the front of the building and along part of the north side. An existing curbcut on the north side of the property will be removed. The current 22 parking spaces on the site will be reduced to 17.

Planning commissioners approved modifications to the city’s landscaping requirements for this site. Total construction cost for this project is estimated at $300,000. The office building is located in Ward 4. Collingwood Drive is a street off of West Stadium Boulevard, just south of West Stadium’s convergence with South Maple Road. [.pdf of staff memo]

Land Use: Shell Station Overhaul

The council will be asked to approve the overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at 2991 S. State. The site is located at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street.

Aerial view of the site for a Shell station and drive-thru restaurant at the northeast corner of South State and East Eisenhower.

The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 18, 2014 meeting. The plan calls for demolishing the current one-story convenience store and car wash on this site, which total 2,435 square feet. In its place, the owner – Joseph Kafi of JAK Cubed LLC – would put up a single building with a 1,250-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,000-square-foot convenience store.

The existing gas pump island canopy will remain in place, and two pumps will be relocated to spots under the canopy. According to a staff memo, a single lane drive-thru would be primarily accessed from the existing East Eisenhower Parkway curb cut. Vehicles would move in an east-to-north direction before exiting onto either South State or East Eisenhower.

The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to nine vehicles and would be screened to the west by the proposed new building. A total of 22 parking spaces are proposed for the site, including eight that are located at the four gas pump islands. The project, located in Ward 4, is estimated to cost $800,000. The business is expected to remain open during construction. The existing convenience store will then be demolished after the new building is finished.

The specific restaurant to be located there is still being negotiated. [.pdf of staff report]

Environmental Commission Appointments

Also on the April 21 agenda are the appointments to the environmental commission for Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. All three would be re-appointments.

Westphal is being put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of that commission. The planning commission voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, has taken out petitions to contest the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. He has until April 22 to file those petitions with the required 100 signatures. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, has already filed petitions to run for that same Ward 2 seat.

In 2013, mayor John Hieftje declined to nominate Jeff Hayner to serve on the public art commission, citing a policy against nominating candidates for city council to serve on city boards and commissions. Hayner ran for Ward 1 council against Sabra Briere that year – a race in which Briere prevailed.

However, appointments to the environmental commission are different from most other appointments to boards and commissions – in that the mayor does not nominate them. The appointments are under control of the council as a body.

David Stead, right, reads a resolution he proposed at an environmental commission meeting in 2009. The resolution, which was approved, recommended removing Argo Dam. At left is Margie Teall, a city councilmember who also sat on the environmental commission at the time.

Past practice as been for the appointments to the environmental commission to mimic the typical two-step mayoral appointment process – with nomination at one meeting followed by confirmation at the next meeting. The council has customarily had the environmental commission appointments on its agenda for initial consideration and postponed a vote until the next meeting.

Stead was originally described in the agenda item as having served on the commission since 2007. That was subsequently corrected. City records in Legistar indicate he was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000. Based on Legistar records, he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

Stead is vice president of Resource Recycling Systems. City council minutes show that the council has approved roughly $300,000 in contracts for consulting work by RRS for the city of Ann Arbor between 2007 and 2009.

Hutton was first appointed to the environmental commission in 2011 and is concluding her first three-year term.

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