Arbor Update

City Council

City Council: City Place PUD

Posted by Juliew on 5. January 2009

Monday, January 5 at 7:00 pm.
Agenda

Highlights:

• 415 W. Washington Proposal Review Committee recommendations
• Resolutions to approve City Place rezoning, PUD site plan, and development agreement
• Resolution to accept the Commercial Recycling Implementation Recommendations (added after newspaper deadline)

Comment [4]

Local Media

Arborweb gets a makeover

Posted by Nancy Shore on 31. December 2008

For those of you who like the print version of the Ann Arbor Observer but wished the articles were also online, wish no longer.

Arborweb.com, the Observer’s online presence has recently been updated to include some of the articles in the current edition, a food blog by Bix Engels, the Ann Arbor Crime Map, and even an RSS Feed (scroll down to the bottom of the site to see a link to it).

Now it will be even easier for us at Arbor Update to reference an Observer article on this site. Good or bad? You decide.

Comment [16]

Business

Bello Vino and Kitchen Port Closed for Business

Posted by Nancy Shore on 30. December 2008

The Ann Arbor Chronicle and Ann Arbor News recently reported that Bello Vino Marketplace at the Plymouth Road Mall is closing.

In the comments section of the Ann Arbor Chronicle article on Bello Vino, it was also noted that Kitchen Port will be closing its doors.

On their respective websites, both stores cite the economic downturn as a reason for their closing.

Perhaps this is a good time to think about shopping locally.

Comment [8]

Politics

City Income Tax?

Posted by Matt Hampel on 19. December 2008

Leigh Greden issued a call for thoughts about a city income tax in the thread about the recent Pfizer purchase. His charge:

… The income tax issue is fascinating. I expressed support for one five years ago because: (1) About 60,000 people commute to the City every day, and they use our roads, but pay nothing in taxes; (2) The income tax would result in the elimination of the City’s 6+ mill general operating property tax millage, which means that some (or maybe all) of the new income tax paid by homeowners would be offset by a dramatic reduction in property taxes; and (3) The income tax exemption could be set high enough to mitigate the impact on low-income renters who wouldn’t benefit from the property tax reduction.

I would be very interested in hearing what people think about an income tax.

Comment [194] • Read More »

Will the UM buy the Pfizer site?

Posted by Chuck Warpehoski on 18. December 2008

The Ann Arbor News reports that the University of Michigan is expected to announce plans to buy the Pfizer site for $108 million.

Upside: The UM anticipates it will bring 2,000 jobs over the next decade.
Downside: Unlike Pfizer, the UM doesn’t pay property taxes. According to the News:

Pfizer is Ann Arbor’s largest taxpayer. Pfizer paid $14.1 million in taxes last year, just under $4 million of which went to the city of Ann Arbor.

(Thanks to David Cahill for the tip on this story)

Comment [11]

Transportation

Status Report: A2D2 Parking and Transportation

Posted by Nancy Shore on 18. December 2008

The City of Ann Arbor recently posted a status report regarding the implementation of A2D2 parking and transportation recommendations.

For those who don’t know, A2D2 is Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown, which is the product of many years that is working to guide the development of downtown Ann Arbor. More info about A2D2 is here

Among the initiatives taken up by the City the DDA and the getDowntown Program:

Zipcar: The DDA and getDowntown are working to bring 4 Zipcars to downtown Ann Arbor. My hope is that the contract is signed for this by the end of the year and we have cars on the ground within 1 to 2 months of that signed contract.

Parking: There are now reserved spaces for carpools and vanpools in downtown parking structures and the DDA is working on plans for an underground parking structure on the Library Lot.

Transit: Service hours for the Link were extended to 11pm. They don’t say this, but it should also be noted that a Night Ride Shuttle and a2Chelsea Express were also launched.

Non-Motorized: The DDA has refurbished bike lockers downtown, added moped and motorcycle parking , and approved plans for the Fifth and Division improvements.

Wayfinding: Wayfinding signage is underway downtown.

Lead by Example: The City of Ann Arbor is working with getDowntown on a customized sustainable commuting program for City Employees.

On the Horizon: Plans for a Park and Ride Lot at Plymouth and US-23, installation of parking pay stations, and an express bus from Brighton to Ann Arbor

Comment [1]

AACF: Big Money for Big Ideas

Posted by Nancy Shore on 17. December 2008

The Ann Arbor Community Foundation is offering as much as $200,000 for a big idea:

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation is seeking big ideas to dramatically improve the quality of life in Washtenaw County, and will award a total of $200,000 to the best one to four proposals it receives. Proposals should be made for between $50,000 and $200,000 in Community Foundation support.

Deadline for proposals is February 4, 2009

Read all about it here

Comment [6]

Technology

Hosting provider for many local nonprofits evicted; story developing

Posted by Matt Hampel on 16. December 2008

Internet Applications and Solutions (IAS), a local hosting provider, has been evicted for “chronic non-payment of rent” (source: Chronicle, full article hopefully coming soon)

A poster on the A2B3 mailing list writes:

IAS.net, our neighbor, was evicted yesterday. They were previously evicted back in July, but this time it appears it’s for good. There’s office furniture, computers, printers, etc. littering the street by our building, being scavenged over by passers-by.

IAS hosted http://theride.org, among many other sites.

Comment [8]

Transportation

Transportation funding in the hands of lame ducks

Posted by Murph on 16. December 2008

Everyone from getDowntown to the Grand Rapids Press Editorial Board to the Michigan Municipal League are urging action on a package of bills before Michigan’s lame duck legislature. The bills would provide for an increase in State transportation funding, which could in turn leverage increased Federal funding. (Without the bills, we will apparently see a decrease in Federal funding.) One such call to action is as follows:

A three-year effort to increase transportation investment in Michigan all comes down to a single day— this Thursday, the final day of debate for the lame duck session.

Policymakers are considering a transportation investment plan that would provide an additional investment of $1.5 billion per year. In short, the legislation would get rid of the state’s per gallon gas and diesel tax and replace them with a percentage tax based on the wholesale price of fuel. The funding package would also adjust vehicle registration fees and close various loopholes. (The bill numbers are House Bills 4577, 6749, 6750 and 6752.)

Your help is needed!

Legislators often tell us that they never hear from constituents regarding this issue. This is your chance. We strongly urge you and all your employees to call your legislators beginning today through Thursday and ask for their support for the transportation investment plan. Go to: http://mi-ita.com/legislative_contact.asp to find your representative and senator.) Tell them how important jobs and the economy are to our state.

Ask to speak to your elected official directly. If they are not available or you get a voicemail, leave them a message encouraging their support. Feel free to make a follow up call again on Thursday to ask how your legislator is going to vote.

The Legislature must not put off action until next year—they MUST act on Thursday.

Please contact Mike Nystrom at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or Keith Ledbetter at keithledbetter@mi-ita.com or call the MITA office at 517-347-8336 with any questions or comments.

Comment [20]

City Council

City Council: Graffiti Gone Wild

Posted by Juliew on 15. December 2008

Monday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Agenda

Highlights:

• Graffiti ordinance amendment
• “Germantown” historic district
• Notice of intent to issue $9 million in bonds to fund the parking structure part of the First and Washington development proposal

Comment [18]