Government

Work on Dexter’s Main Street Bridge wraps up

Just about all that is left to do on the Dexter's Main Street Bridge is fasten some handrails and put a bow on it. The village-that-wants-to-be-a-city will soon have a nice new shiny gift from the Washtenaw County Road Commission."Everybody seems happy with the way the bridge turned out," says Aaron Berkholz, construction superintendent with the Washtenaw County Road Commission. "It's much better than the dilapidated bridge that had been there."That bridge had fallen into such disrepair that even its pot holes had pot holes. More importantly, the 100-year-old dam beneath it had stopped functioning as it was intended. The road commission ripped out the dam last year, restoring the tributary of the Huron River to its original state of semi-fast rapids and making way for a new riverside park on the edge of downtown.Road Commission workers finished up the work this spring. Even grass is growing alongside the new bridge. They expect to wrap up the last detail or two of work in early July, provided the weather cooperates.The new $2.5 million bridge accommodates both motorized and non-motorized traffic. There are still two-lanes for cars, along with bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians.Source: Aaron Berkholz, construction superintendent with the Washtenaw County Road CommissionWriter: Jon Zemke

Parking rate increase at 415 W Washington helps staunch meter expansion

The money has to come from somewhere. That's the thinking behind a recent rate increase for parking on Ann Arbor's 415 W Washington parking lot.The City Council approved raising the rates on the lot earlier this month as way of boosting parking revenue and filling holes in budgets. Had the city left rates at that level on that lot, it would have seriously looked at expanding parking meters or other parking restrictions further into the neighborhoods that surround downtown as a way to increase revenue.Parking meters and other restrictions have been creeping into the general downtown area for years. For instance, parking meters travel north along First Street practically to West Kingsley Street into an area that has a sprinkling of businesses but is dominated by residential housing. Limiting parking to a few hours is also common place for on-street parking spots in the Old West Side neighborhood. An expansion of the downtown-area parking web might be in store anyway. The city is looking for proposals to redevelop the 415 W Washington lot. Dozens of parking spaces (read revenue generators) will disappear when a project for that property begins.Source: Wendy Rampson, city planner for Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor looks for developers for underground garage

Ann Arborites know what's going below the surface lot on Fifth Avenue next to the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Libraries – 677 parking spots. But what will go above it?That's a question that's starting to get asked around City Hall. Ann Arbor City Councilwoman Sandi Smith is preparing a motion to request qualifications for potential developers for the site, in time for the next City Council meeting. Think of it as a first step toward building something on top of the underground parking deck."The deck is generating a lot of interest in the community about what's going on top of it," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.Pollay says the perimeter of the large site could reach as high as 4-6 stories. The interior of the block could go as high as 18 stories and facilitate office, residential or hotel space or even a combination of those. "We're going to be ready to accommodate whatever might go there," Pollay says.The $38 million project is expected to break ground this fall. It will build three levels of parking underneath what is now a surface parking lot and Fifth Avenue. Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and Sandi Smith, city councilwoman for Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Dexter residents collect enough signatures to forward cityhood petition

Little two-stoplight Dexter is playing around with the idea of becoming a not-so-big city.Excerpt:Dexter residents have already collected enough signatures to move forward in their quest to turn the village into a city.Supporters of cityhood say they've gotten 140 signatures since the end of April, exceeding the 117 needed, and will forward the paperwork to the state Boundary Commission.Read the rest of the story here.

U-M’s CLOSUP studies smoke-free impact, plans for more studies

Smoking, or the lack there of, in restaurants and bars doesn't make or break a business in Michigan, according to the latest study from the University of Michigan.The study was conducted by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. It showed smoking bans have not negatively affected revenues of restaurants or bars. However, the impact is less clear at casinos. "These studies didn't show negative impacts on businesses," says Tamara Wilder, post doctoral research fellow at the Ford School of Public Policy. "Some actually showed positive impacts."The study researched how other states’ revenues were affected by the smoke-free legislation. Such legislation is currently being debated and passed in different forms in the state Legislature. Currently the state House has passed a ban with the exception of casinos and cigar bars. The state Senate passed an all encompassing ban last year.The center plans to release other studies on business taxes, transportation funding, corrections expenditures, economic development and college scholarships, and the individual health insurance market later this summer. The idea is focus on issues that will come to a boil in 2009-10."We tried to come up with things that were very timely," Wilder says.Source: Tamara Wilder, post doctoral research fellow at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor and Warren: A Tale of Two Economies

Ann Arbor is once again held up as the example of the direction that Michigan needs to point its economy.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's economy is the worst in the country, dragged down by its dependency on an ailing auto industry. But in a lab at Accio Energy in Ann Arbor, engineers Dawn White and David Carmein are driving in a different direction.They have built what they call an "aerovoltaic" device, a two-inch loop of piping that generates electricity -- without moving blades or turbines -- when air flows through it. The engineers' next step: linking a series of these loops into screens that they see eventually generating wind electricity where windmills are too big, dangerous or noisy to go.Innovative companies like Accio are common in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, where a highly educated population has created a burgeoning economy, and a street-corner conversation can develop into a company and create jobs.Michigan's economic future rests on making the state look more like Ann Arbor, and less like Warren, 50 miles to the northeast, where factory buildings and warehouses built on the riches of the Big Three auto makers bear signs saying they are "priced to sell." The latest blow came earlier this month, when Chrysler LLC shut down its two plants in Warren as part of its bankruptcy filing.Read the rest of the story here.

University of Michigan poised to reap windfall of research dollars

The University of Michigan's coffers are about to become very happy Barack Obama was elected president.Excerpt:The confluence of economic forces surrounding the University of Michigan's research and technology commercialization efforts makes for a paradoxical set of circumstances. Some U-M researchers are experiencing trouble securing capital for their startup efforts. But at the same time, U-M is by all accounts poised to reap a windfall of research dollars directly connected to President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package.Marvin Parnes, associate vice president of research for U-M, said administrative employees are working overtime processing all of U-M's funding requests."We are sending in enormous numbers of proposals for these funds," Parnes said.Read the rest of the story here.

Federal clean-up money targets Ypsilanti’s Water Street property

Ann Arbor native is at Obama’s side

One of Ann Arbor's best and brightest is standing side by side with President Obama.Excerpt:Washington -- Feel like chatting with President Barack Obama on the phone? Then Eugene Kang is your guy. The 25-year-old Ann Arbor native is also Obama's "special projects coordinator," putting together events like last month's White House regional health care forum in Dearborn. And his golf skills came in handy in December when he took to the links in Hawaii with the president. Although Kang lacks the policy clout of Asian-Americans serving in the Cabinet, his role in the Obama White House has made him something of a mini-celebrity in the Korean-American community. Kang shuttles between tasks for the president in the West Wing and organizing events in the political affairs shop in the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He sets up phone calls to everyone from a governor to a grassroots activist. Read the rest of the story here.