Arbor Update

Local

Ann Arbor Family Days, March 8-9

Posted by Juliew on 8. March 2008

Feeling gloomy? Waiting for spring?

Check out the Ann Arbor Family Days cultural events this weekend!

826 Michigan, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts, Main Street Area Association, Ann Arbor Youth Chorale, Dance Gallery Studio, U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies, U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History, U-M Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, U-M Museum of Art, and the U-M Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments have banded together to provide a weekend of free or relatively low-cost entertainment for community members of all ages. The schedule of events is here.

Oh, and in case you missed it: the A&W drive-in in Dexter, Dairy Queens around the area, and Dominicks are now open for business. So spring really isn’t far behind.

Local

Not an Employee? You're not alone

Posted by Nancy Shore on 7. March 2008

“Long ago, we brought you all this fire.
Do not imagine we are still chained to that rock.
Now we are everywhere, and independent.
But not alone.”

So goes the opening lines of the Not an Employee website.

According to the website Not an Employee was created for the following reasons:

“One day the we sat down and decided that we didn’t want to be “contractors” anymore. We’re not trying to get permanent jobs at the places we work. We collaborate with companies, we bring value to companies, we enjoy the money from companies, but we don’t want the shackles and cubicles of companies.”

There’s more, but I’ll let you read that yourself

Not an Employee LLC is based in Ann Arbor, MI and they want to hear from you.

So, are you Not an Employee, too?

Comment [14]

Local

University Village Public Meetings

Posted by Juliew on 5. March 2008

From a press release on the city web site and other e-mail:
The much discussed University Village is a proposed 421-unit residential and retail “green” urban mixed-use development on 1.61 acres at the corner of South University and South Forest Avenues (where the Village Corner and Bagel Factory are currently).

University Village Town Hall Meeting, Wednesday March 5
The University Village-Ann Arbor LLC development team, led by Ronald Hughes and Daniel Ketelaar, will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting to present and discuss all aspects of the project on Wednesday, March 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the MITC Conference Center, 1000 Oakbrook Drive, Ann Arbor (behind Howard Cooper off State Street, just north of Eisenhower). Reservations are not necessary. Refreshments will be served. Please direct inquiries to spokeswoman Tracy Koe Wick at tracy.wick at kirkwoodgroup dot com.

University Village Brownfield Community Forum, Thursday March 6
A public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 6 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Burns Park Elementary School auditorium (1414 Wells Street, Ann Arbor). The purpose of the meeting is to explain and discuss the brownfield component of the University Village site plan. The project developers will explain environmental challenges posed by the site, remediation, proposed tax capture, and other topics specific to brownfield activities on this site, and answer questions about the preliminary brownfield proposal.Public input is desired on the brownfield component before an application is submitted to the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. For more information, please call Jill Thacher, City Planner, at 734.994.2797.

Comment [13]

Local

The New Jefferson Market and Cakery!

Posted by Juliew on 3. March 2008

Thanks to the eagle-eyed man on the totter for this information!

Jefferson Market has been purchased from Jean Henry by a husband and wife couple from Saline. The wife runs an established wedding cake business called Bake Shop Wedding Cakes in Saline.

They hope to re-open at the beginning of April 2008. They will have many of the same items that the former Jefferson Market used to have, including sandwiches.

Comment [18]

City Council

City Council: Living Wage

Posted by Juliew on 3. March 2008

Monday, March 3 at 7:00 pm.
City Council Agenda

Highlights:

• Ordinance to amend sections of the living wage requirements so that non-profit organizations who furnish services under contract to the City or receive financial assistance under a grant program administered by the City would not be subject to the living wage requirement unless the contract amount or grant award exceeds $40,000 in a 12-month period.

• Resolution to have City Council consider some changes to the compost pickup amendments from February 4.

• Resolution to create Ad-hoc Golf Advisory Committee.

• Approval of a greenbelt purchase with Webster Township.

• Resolution to Transfer Delinquent Sidewalk Improvement Charges to the 2008 City Tax Roll (postponed since October).

Comment [4]

Local

Allen’s Creek Stormwater Improvement Workshop

Posted by Juliew on 2. March 2008

March 3, 2008
7:00-9:00 PM
Bach Elementary School Cafeteria

The fifth in a series of public workshops concerning stormwater management in Allen’s Creek will be this Monday, March 3.

During the workshop, five possible projects will be outlined:

1. Farmer’s Market: Green roof; underground storage for treatment and infiltration; stormwater reuse.
2. Pioneer High: Underground storage for treatment and infiltration; porous pavement; rain gardens.
3. Stadium Boulevard project: Rain gardens, underground storage, water treatment devices.
4. Dexter – Ann Arbor Road projects: Rain gardens, underground storage, water treatment devices.
5. Miller Road projects: Rain gardens, underground storage, water treatment devices.

For more information, see the following web site.

Business

What draws people to Ann Arbor

Posted by Chuck Warpehoski on 1. March 2008

Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

When the Ann Arbor Conventions and Visitors Bureau ask Equation Research to ask folks how to attract visitors, the answer was “good value, a relaxed atmosphere, friendliness and safety.” (source ).

Hmm, not funky spirit, local shops, cultural offerings, and a greenway?

How do you think Ann Arbor should position and market itself?

Comment [14]

Transportation

Streetcars in Ann Arbor's Future?

Posted by Nancy Shore on 24. February 2008

This Sunday’s Ann Arbor News has a front page article on the possibility of a streetcar system in Ann Arbor.

According to the article, one vision is that this streetcar would bring people from Plymouth Road, State Street, Washtenaw and Jackson Ave into the downtown area.

According to Eli Cooper, the City’s Transportation Manager, travel time on these streetcars from the outskirts of town to the core would take about 20 minutes or less.

A challenge to the whole streetcar idea is that it will cost perhaps around $50 million dollars. The question is, where will that money come from?

Something else the article alludes to but doesn’t talk much about is the Alternatives Analysis. This Analysis, which will study what type of transportation option would be best for the City of Ann Arbor should be conducted sometime this year.

It is my understanding that this Analysis, which the article refers to as “paying a consultant to see whether a streetcar system could work here . . .” is actually to see which kind of option makes the most sense for Ann Arbor. In addition to a streetcar scenario, there are options such as Bus Rapid Transit.

The website for the City’s Transportation Plan (which is being updated) says the following about the future transportation options in Ann Arbor:

Some of the alternatives that are being studied are streetcars, bus rapid transit, changes to existing bus service, impacts that land use have on transportation, using technology to improve existing roadways, and intersection improvements.

The nice thing about the Transportation Plan is that it is looking at both land use as well as transportation, which makes sense since, as the article points out, development can often be spurred by building a transportation infrastructure.

In the next several months there will be opportunities for the public to provide feedback on the City’s Transportation Plan. I will do my best to post that info here and/or on the getDowntown blog .

So a lot is afoot in the realm of public transportation in Ann Arbor. The biggest questions are, what will it look like and how will we pay for it?

Comment [37]

City Council

City Council: President's Day Golfing Special

Posted by Juliew on 19. February 2008

Tuesday, February 19 (one day later due to President’s Day holiday) at 7:00 pm.
City Council Agenda

Highlights:

• Rezoning of portions of Lower Burns Park neighborhood from R4C (Multiple-Family Dwelling District) to R1D.

• Reconsideration of approval of liquor license for golf course .

• Resolution to approve Golf Course Deficit Elimination Plan as of June 30, 2007 (response to letter from the State) (added after newspaper deadline).

• Resolution to reduce fees at the city’s golf courses effective for the 2008 golf season and increase the senior citizen qualification age (added after newspaper deadline).

• Resolution to approve review of Central Area Plan.

• Request for proposals for 415 W. Washington Street.

Comment [60]

Local

Panel Discussion: From the Farm to Your Fork

Posted by Juliew on 18. February 2008

Why Local Food Can Make Us Healthier, Happier and More Secure

Monday, February 18, 7:00-8:30pm

Ann Arbor Downtown Library, Multi-Purpose Room

A joint program from Slow Food Huron Valley and the Ann Arbor District Library:

Food is powerful! We need to eat every single day and the choices that we make determine how our world is used. Among the most powerful things we can do to create a secure community and a healthy family is to eat and buy locally grown and produced food.

This event spotlights perspectives from luminaries in our own food community. Featuring local farmers Annie Elder and Paul Bantle, Chef Alex Young (chef and co-owner of Zingerman’s Roadhouse), dietician and Farm-to-School Coordinator Ruth Blackburn, and UM research scientist Dr. Catherine Badgley. Along with a big-picture description of how the food system currently works, the panelists will highlight ways in which our vibrant local food system sustains us.

This event is one in a series of events leading up to the HomeGrown Festival celebrating local, sustainable food on September 13, 2008. Make this your year to get involved!

This program is cosponsored by Slow Food Huron Valley, an organization that identifies culinary artisans and local producers who engage in sustainable agriculture and are committed to the viability of the land.

Comment [19]