Hello neighbors!
Welcome to my Ann Arbor City Council newsletter, where you can connect with primary sources to understand the work of your local government. My goal is to provide clear explanations of all the issues your elected representatives will be discussing at their next meeting and alert you to local policy and decisions that have been assigned to unelected Mayoral appointees.
This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it’s worth remembering just how emphatically he pushed back on powerful institutions in order to assert the interests of justice and fairness. He challenged people in power: loudly raising awareness, shaming those who deserved to be shamed, and building a coalition.
Years ago, I read a remarkable book about Thurgood Marshall, called Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Marshall led the NAACP in litigating cases of discrimination. His triumphs in court established many civil rights that we would eventually take for granted. That book is a timely read: even when our institutions seem most hostile, there are windows of opportunity to break through.
This week, City Council considers a fairly short regular agenda, with just four items: an ordinance amendment related to procurement, a legal settlement to sell part of a City alley, a resolution to issue bonds to fund a new fire station, and a resolution directing the City Administrator to negotiate a “transaction” of public property in the City Charter. I have written about the proposed transaction in my “Additional Thoughts” section below.
A2Council Update Video
After every City Council meeting I send out an “A2Council Update” newsletter, which includes a summary video. Here is my A2Council Update video from the Council meeting of January 6, 2025:
A $50,000 “SNAFU”
On January 8, 2025, Ryan Stanton of MLive reported on a $50,000 payment made to former Council Member Zachary Ackerman. He referred to it as a “hiring snafu.”
The snafu unfolded like this: Last fall, Ackerman applied for a job as “Director of Housing and Economic Development” with the City’s Housing Commission. His plan was to continue living in California and travel to Ann Arbor one week a month. Based on conversations with City staff, he believed that he had the job on those terms and gave notice to his then-employer. He was later informed that such an arrangement would violate City policy and he could not be hired. The City gave him a legal settlement of $50,000 based on the misunderstanding.
Not reported by MLive: I filed a FOIA request about this payment two days before Christmas, after my husband happened to find it in the City’s A2OpenBook financial system. Also before Christmas, I reached out to Stanton and asked if he knew anything about the payment; he did not.
Since leaving political office, I have mostly written about local politics in the third person, from the perspective of an outside observer (albeit with relevant experience as a former insider). Much of what I’ve written below is in the first person – I believe it could be instructive for outsiders who are curious to learn more about the work of their local government.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS POST
https://a2elnel.com/post/a-50000-snafu/
In Case You Missed It…
On my YouTube channel, you can find recordings of public meetings that are open to attend live (online or in-person) but are not made available by the City to view later. Please reach out if you have suggestions about public meetings that should be recorded. Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you would like to be alerted to new content as it gets added.
https://www.youtube.com/@a2elnel
Council Administration Committee: January 14, 2025
This is a recording I made of a Zoom audio meeting held on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 by the Ann Arbor Council Administration Committee. Video was not made available.
https://a2council.com/council-administration-committee-january-14-2025/
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Agenda
Below is my summary of issues on the City Council Agenda this week, with links to more information about each of them. If you have comments about any of these issues, you can email all of Council at CityCouncil@a2gov.org
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting
Tuesday January 21, 2025 7:00PM
Ann Arbor City Hall (2nd Floor)
301 E Huron St, Ann Arbor 48104
The full agenda (including a link to the latest published PDF agenda, and instructions for dialing into the meeting) is on the A2Gov Legistar website:
https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1251573&GUID=28DB4A9E-664D-4003-9DA1-3D274F40D5C3
City Council meetings are broadcast live by CTN on Comcast (channel 16) and AT&T (channel 99) and online at a2gov.org/watchCTN
Meetings are also streamed live on the CTN YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ctnannarbor
How to reserve public comment
People that wish to comment at a City Council meeting must sign up with the City Clerk’s office in advance. Speakers are allotted 3 minutes, with the first 15 speakers allowed to speak in a 45 minute session near the beginning of the meeting. Remaining speakers will speak at the end of the Council meeting. Public comment can be made either in person or remotely via phone/Zoom audio.
To sign up for public comment, please go to or call the City Clerk’s Office at 734-794-6140 on the day of the meeting between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. At 4:00 PM, all speakers that have signed up are randomly ordered in “priority groups”. After 4:00 PM, speakers are added to the end of the applicable priority group in the order received. No new speakers will be added to the list after 5:00 PM. For more information, visit the City Clerk’s webpage about electronic meetings, section “City Council Public Commentary Time”
https://www.a2gov.org/departments/city-clerk/Pages/Virtual-Meetings-.aspx
Questions to the Agenda
In preparation for a Council meeting, Council members can ask questions of staff about scheduled agenda items. Questions must be submitted by noon on the Wednesday before a Council Meeting, and answers are returned the next day (Thursday) by 5pm.
AC-1 (25-0122) Agenda Response Memo and eComments – January 21, 2025
This agenda item has a PDF attachment with all questions raised by Council Members, and the answers provided by staff.
No Council Members asked questions this week
Communications from the Mayor
MC-1 (24-2155) Appointments – Confirmations
These appointments from the Mayor were presented at the previous meeting, and will therefore be voted on at this Council meeting.
- Rachel Jacobson – Transportation Commission
- April Conway – Transportation Commission
MC-2 (25-0127) Appointments and Nominations for January 21, 2025
These appointments from the Mayor are being presented at this meeting, and will therefore be voted on at the next Council meeting.
- John Splitt – Downtown Development Area Resident Consultancy Council
- Joseph Arcure – Downtown Development Area Resident Consultancy Council
Consent Agenda
Below is the list of items included on the Consent Agenda. If no one on Council specifically requests that an item be pulled for discussion, the whole of this list will be approved in a single vote.
CA-1 (25-0043) Resolution to Approve Street Closings for the Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K Run/Walk – Sunday, March 9, 2025
CA-2 (25-0059) Resolution Authorizing Summary Publication of Ordinance 24-31 – An Ordinance to Amend Sections 5.22, 5.26, 5.28, 5.29, 5.30 and 5.37 of Chapter 55 (Unified Development Code) of Title V of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor (Fences, Reimbursements, Public and Private Utilities)
CA-3 (25-0001) Resolution to Accept a Grant from the Water Research Foundation ($150,000.00), Approve a Project Funding Agreement with the Water Research Foundation ($480,429.00), Approve a Research Agreement with the University of Michigan ($250,000.00) and Appropriate $450,000.00 from the Water System Fund Balance for Research at the Water Treatment Plant (8 Votes Required)
CA-4 (25-0010) Resolution to Approve Amendment Number 2 to the Legal Services Agreement with Rosati, Schultz, Joppich & Amtsbuechler, PC Relative to City Projects Requiring the Acquisition of Easements or Other Property Interests (Amendment 2 $150,000.00; Total $450,000.00)
CA-5 (25-0034) Resolution to Appoint Jordan Roberts as the City of Ann Arbor Public Services Area Administrator
Public Hearings
Anyone wanting to comment on these issues may speak for 3 minutes, without having specifically reserved time. Issues subject to public hearing will also be up for a vote by Council later in the meeting.
There are no public hearings on the agenda
Ordinances – Second Reading
In order to amend the city code, Council must vote to approve the change, via ordinance, at two Council meetings. The following proposed ordinances were approved at a previous Council meeting, and are also subject to a public hearing as listed above.
There are no ordinance second readings on the agenda.
Ordinances – First Reading
In order to amend the city code, Council must vote to approve the change, via ordinance, at two Council meetings. The following proposed ordinances are being introduced for “first reading”. If approved, the ordinance will be voted on at a subsequent Council meeting (“second reading”), where it will also be subject to a public hearing.
C-1 (25-0022) An Ordinance to Amend Section 1:324.5 of Chapter 14 (Purchasing, Contracting and Selling Procedure) of Title I of the City Code of Ordinances
Amendments to the City’s “Best value” procurement ordinance will remove requirements to submit materials in bidding documents and instead link to information on company websites. A requirement to demonstrate “quality control” is removed because staff report that this measure does not reveal a difference between bidders. Bidders will no longer have to provide evidence of paid leave policy, or explanation of “sustainable” materials or practices. A staff memo explains that the terms of construction jobs dictate specific materials and protocols that would apply to all bids (i.e. there are not “sustainable” alternatives).
Motions and Resolutions
The following agenda items are motions and resolutions, which are approved or rejected in a single meeting. Agenda items marked “DC” are proposed by Council members, items marked “DB” are proposed by City boards and commissions, items marked “DS” are proposed by City staff.
DC-1 (25-0095) Resolution to Authorize Settlement of City of Ann Arbor v 201 N Fourth et al., Washtenaw County Circuit Court Case No. 24-000444-CH
By resolution, City Council will authorize settlement of City of Ann Arbor v 201 N Fourth et al. Staff summary of this item is limited: a public City alley is the subject of litigation and neighboring property owners ask that a portion of it be transferred. The city will sell a portion of the public alley to adjacent property owners to settle the dispute. No details are included in the agenda item: neither the estimated sale price nor the specific location of this alley.
DC-2 (25-0126) Resolution to Authorize the City Administrator to Engage the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) in Discussions Regarding the Potential Development Including Housing on a Portion of the Center of the City Parcel Known as Library Lane Parking Lot
By resolution, City Council directs the City Administrator to negotiate with the Ann Arbor District Library regarding use of the Library Lane Lot, next to the downtown branch of the library. In a memo attached to the January 6, 2025 agenda, the City Administrator communicated that:
I wish to inform you that I have been talking with the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) regarding the potential development of the Center of the City. They are interested in discussing with me the conditions that would need to be present for the City to consider pursuing a transaction on that site.
…
The one thing I can say with certainty is that the AADL interest is in earnest.
https://a2gov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13655610&GUID=4D0D425B-3612-4677-8D25-BB50019FFD44
A directive to pursue a “transaction” would violate City Charter language adopted by a public vote in 2018:
The City-owned public land bounded by Fifth Avenue, and William, Division and Liberty Streets shall be retained in public ownership, in perpetuity, and developed as an urban central park and civic center commons known as the “Center of the City.”
For more explanation, see my “Additional Thoughts” section below.
DS-1 (25-0068) Resolution Authorizing Publication of Notice of Intent to Issue Capital Improvement Bonds to Fund the Replacement of Fire Station No. 4 (Not to Exceed $12,000,000.00) (6 Votes Roll Call)
By resolution, City Council will direct the issuance of up to $12,000,000 in Capital Improvement bonds, to support the construction of Fire Station No. 4 on Huron Parkway. The new fire station will be net-zero, through geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, and an architectural design that encourages energy efficiency. It will also have gender-neutral bathrooms.
Additional Thoughts…
I also published this on my website:
https://a2elnel.com/post/election-denial-and-the-center-of-the-city/
Election Denial and the Center of the City
At the January 21, 2025 meeting, City Council will take a first step in undoing a City Charter amendment. A resolution directs the City Administrator to engage in discussion with the Ann Arbor District Library about development of the Library Lane Parking lot. This lot is currently the designated location for a civic commons and urban park called “Center of the City.” The establishment and development of Center of the City was approved by voters and adopted as part of our City Charter in 2018.
DC-2 (25-0126) Resolution to Authorize the City Administrator to Engage the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) in Discussions Regarding the Potential Development Including Housing on a Portion of the Center of the City Parcel Known as Library Lane Parking Lot
THE LIBRARY
A summary of this week’s resolution includes this explanation, referring to the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL):
AADL has expressed a vision for their current downtown library property located at 343 S. Fifth Avenue, which extends to possibly including the Library Lane Parking Lot.
In November 2024, the AADL hosted a public engagement meeting to discuss a rezoning of the downtown library property. The library did not record this meeting, but my son and I attended and filmed it. The video is available on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/nZHO4AUcADM and at https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-downtown-library-rezoning-request-public-meeting-november-19-2024/
The meeting was led by library director, Eli Neiburger, who answered questions. In response to pointed questions about collaboration with and coordination with Center of the City, Neiburger said:
“I would be happy to have the conversation if anything happens on that side by the time we’re starting this project.”
(timestamp 26:52)
From the library director’s perspective, the validity of the City Charter appears to depend on how quickly it is implemented.
When asked about the possibility of a “land swap” related to Center of the City, i.e. locating a new library on top of the reinforced parking garage and re-locating the Center of the City to where the library now sits, Neiburger said this:
“That’s an interesting idea. The library doesn’t typically make plans for other people’s property. We’re not in control of that. And the charter language doesn’t seem to allow that sort of usage. So I think those are two significant issues
…
One of the challenges is that a library full of books is actually heavier than 10 or 15 stories of apartments, and that the structural system that’s already in the ground there may not be able to hold the stacks, but that’s engineering stuff. That was just something that we heard at that point. I don’t have hard data on that. So it’s an interesting idea. We’re open to it. But at this point, we’re focused on this property that we’re in control of and seeking the rezoning of that site.”
(timestamp 21:45)
These remarks are confusing, given the resolution on this week’s Council agenda. Two months ago, the library director publicly stated that City Charter language would not allow its use as a library and that they were not in control of it. He dismissed the idea of a land swap for structural reasons though they “don’t have hard data on that.” His statement that the library was “focused on this property that we’re in control of” appears to have been misleading at best and dishonest at worst.
BACKGROUND
I was elected to City Council in 2018, on the same ballot that included the charter amendment that created Center of the City; it was referred to as “Prop A” during that election season. I did not endorse or support a position on Prop A, but others took strong positions. City Council members endorsed by Mayor Christopher Tayler were aggressively in opposition to it. When Prop A succeeded, the concept of “Center of the City” was added to the City Charter and became law.
Around this time, supporters of (and donors to) the Mayor began a coordinated campaign of misinformation, insisting that Center of the City was about “preserving a parking lot” and that its supporters had rejected any need for support outside of private donations.
From 2018-2020, Mayor Taylor led a minority of Council Members who – when asked to implement Center of the City – would defiantly state “not one penny!” At the time, I was stunned to see how people elected by our democratic systems were so aggressive in rejecting a law that was approved by the same democratic systems. Democracy counts all of the time, not just some of the time.
Ultimately, the question of public funding was moot.
From 2018-2020, a new majority of City Council (not allied with the Mayor) had much bigger concerns: intervention to cleanup the Gelman Plume pollution, public funding for sidewalks, response to COVID, preservation of housing supply through regulation of short-term-rentals, commitments for affordable housing on City property, and public funding for that affordable housing. Our work on affordable housing led to a millage (approved by voters in 2020) and the projects that are currently being planned and built on City-owned land, e.g. Dunbar Tower at Catherine Street.
PRIVATE DONORS / CITY SUPPORT
Since 2018, community boosters have led activities and small improvements on the Center of the City: planting gardens, hosting events, and most recently installing murals. However, these efforts received no funding from the City.
According to MLive, Prop A in 2018 was a “grassroots effort” collecting thousands of signatures across the City. Opposition to Prop A was funded by a “handful of large donors” including Linh Song, a realtors PAC from Lansing, and Core Spaces, a private developer who wanted the parcel.
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2018/10/donations_fuel_campaigns_for_a.html
In 2020, the talking points against City implementation of the Center of the City gained a loud voice: Linh Song, a newly elected Council Member and philanthropist who (together with her husband) gifted $25,000 to support the development of a City skate park in 2011.
From 2020-2024, the philanthropist/Council Member regularly offered the skate park as proof that no City resources should be invested in the development of Center of the City. In public meetings of City Council, Song would insist: the downtown urban park – now part of the City Charter – should receive no City support because it should rely on private donors, like the skate park.
SKATE PARK
Since 2018, no City resources have been used to directly implement the 2018 charter amendment for the Center of the City. City staff have supported meetings of task forces and committees, but reports and recommendations have led nowhere. There has been no official acknowledgement of the Center of the City as part of our City Charter. The City Parks Advisory Commission did not add it to the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) plan.
The case of the skate park is very very different.
A Concentrate article (2009) explains how the Ann Arbor skate park that now exists at Veterans Park was actually the third attempt, after two failed efforts:
…if this perfect storm of advocacy was necessary to get Ann Arbor on board, how does this reflect on the city’s notion that it’s a hotbed for innovative urban ideas? In a more perfect skate-friendly world, the city would put its money where its mouth is and invest in the project. Instead, the City Council and Park Advisory Commission (PAC) have made a cautiously modest commitment – providing park planning expertise from city employees and a future site at Veterans Memorial Park.
https://www.secondwavemedia.com/concentrate/features/skateparkannarbor0057.aspx
The skate park benefited from significant City support, in both resources and written commitments. The project was granted a location: City park property on Jackson Road (Veterans Park). This led to a partnership with the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. More importantly: the skate park benefitted from written acknowledgement that it existed and the City was involved. In 2008, City Council approved a Memorandum of Intent (MOI). This was key for fundraising. The MOI was proof that the skate park was partnered with the City. General language from that MOI:
“Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee wish to state their intent regarding how the parties will work together toward completion of the Facility, and to specify a preliminary outline of any and all future agreements between the parties regarding the Facility.”
In 2009, the Ann Arbor News reported:
The skate park group aims to raise $1 million over the next two years, with 10 percent of that in the endowment.
https://www.mlive.com/opinion/ann-arbor/2009/02/editorial_skate_park_backers_s.html
In 2010, the Ann Arbor News reported on their progress, and financial support for the skate park from Washtenaw County:
All told, the skate park will cost between $800,000 and $1 million to build. The skate park committee scored a major coup when the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission dedicated up to $400,000 in matching funds to the project.
Including those matching funds, the committee has raised about $80,000 toward the total.
https://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-skatepark-unveils-final-design
As described in the article above (“Including those matching funds”): two years after the signing of a MOI with the City and one year after announcing plans to collect $900,000 (allowing for 10% endowment), the skate park committee had collected only $40,000 in private donations. This amounted to 4-5% of the estimated total needed to build the park. That is in addition to the property location gifted by the City. However, the City’s memorandum of intent with the skate park committee eventually led to additional money: hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants from private foundations.
CENTER OF THE CITY
In May 2023, without the benefit of any official recognition or signed memorandum, a committee promoting Center of the City had collected over $70,000 in private donations. Following the example of the skate park, they asked the City for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Like the MOI for the skate park, this MOU would have supported plans for design and future development as well as accelerated the collection of private and public donations.
What happened? In June 2023, City Council voted unanimously to dissolve the City committee tasked with discussing and planning the Center of the City.
The summary of this week’s resolution (January 21, 2025) includes this explanation:
“To date there have been various activations of the Center of the City, but they have been temporary in nature only and no sufficient private or public funding source has been secured to permanently develop and/or program the site.”
The concept of the Center of the City was approved by voters and is now part of the City Charter. However – unlike the skate park – it has received none of the City recognition needed to generate the private or public support that would facilitate its implementation. The resolution this week highlights the failure of elected leaders to uphold the City Charter.
ELECTION DENIAL
This past week, Pam Bondi (former Attorney General of Florida) was the subject of a Senate confirmation hearing. When questioned by Senator Hirono, Bondi refused to acknowledge that the 2020 presidential election was won by President Biden, stating instead that “Biden is president.” From that hearing:
“I can say Donald Trump won the 2024 Election. I may not like it, but I can say it. You cannot say who won the 2020 presidential election. It’s disturbing that you can’t give voice to that fact”
-Senator Mazie Hirono (D, Hawaii)
If confirmed, Pam Bondi will serve as Attorney General of the United States. We have seen nationally: people can find themselves in positions of power, whether or not they respect or uphold our democratic systems.
We have a problem in Ann Arbor: elected leaders who either do not understand or – more remarkably – feel they can ignore the fact that the City Charter defines law in the City of Ann Arbor.
In communications this weekend, Council Member Erica Briggs refers to the City Charter while dismissing the 2018 Charter Amendment as “controversial” and “narrowly approved.”
In 2018, a controversial amendment to the Ann Arbor City Charter (Section 1.4 to Chapter 1) was narrowly approved that required that all public parcels on the downtown block where the Ann Arbor District Library is located remain in public ownership in perpetuity and that they should be developed as an urban central park and civic center commons to be known as the “Center of the City.”
Like Bondi, she is able to name the City Charter (“Section 1.4 to Chapter 1”) but utterly refuses to acknowledge its legitimacy (“controversial” and “narrowly approved”). Brigg’s characterizations are meant to diminish the fact that an election result happened, and that the City Charter is law, approved in 2018 by over 26,000 City voters.
This is a problem.
Coincidentally, just this past week, I made a three minute video to help our community understand how law is established in the City of Ann Arbor, by both City Council and City voters. I created this video for a general audience, but it would appear that our elected leaders need it, too. In short: any changes to the City Charter require a public vote on a City ballot.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The City Charter amendment approved and adopted in 2018 was very specific:
The City-owned public land bounded by Fifth Avenue, and William, Division and Liberty Streets shall be retained in public ownership, in perpetuity, and developed as an urban central park and civic center commons known as the “Center of the City.”
The development of this land has been delayed intentionally, by the people in power who would have been responsible for implementing it.
Thousands of petition signatures and a city-wide public vote is what created “Center of the City.” As part of the City Charter, it became one of the laws elected leaders take an oath to uphold.
Elected representatives on City Council pass ordinances and control City budget. They can make these policy choices. That is our democratic system. However, City Council cannot unilaterally change the City Charter without a public vote.
Thank you for taking the time to be informed about our local government!
Elizabeth Nelson