This was the eighth regular Ann Arbor City Council meeting since Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency and stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meeting was held online via the Zoom application.

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary

POSTPONED TO SPECIAL SESSION: An Affordable Housing Millage (1.0 mills) would be added to the ballot in November 2020 to support the construction, maintenance, and acquisition of new affordable housing units for low-income individuals and families making less than 60% Ann Arbor Area Median Income, and for providing social services for the residents of such housing for 2021 through 2041. (Legistar)

• This was added to the agenda late, which did not allow time for City Council to submit written questions about it. At this meeting, the millage was amended in parts but delayed to a Special Session on July 27th to allow Council Members time to submit written questions and receive complete answers from Staff.
• A2ELNEL: Affordable Housing Millage Resolution
• https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/20-year-affordable-housing-tax-could-fundamentally-change-ann-arbor-mayor-says.html

APPROVED: Renewal of 2016 millage (1.0 mills) will be put on the November ballot in support of Street, Bridge, and Sidewalk repair. It may be used for resurfacing or reconstruction of existing paved City streets and bridges, pedestrian crosswalks, street crossings and corner ramps, and repair and/or replacement of sidewalks. The Downtown Development Authority will continue to fund sidewalk repairs in the DDA district. (Legistar) (Legistar)

APPROVED: A new millage (0.2 mills) will be put on the November 2020 ballot to cover the cost of constructing new sidewalks starting in 2021. Sidewalk assessments for individual property owners will be eliminated. This millage will not displace requirements for new developments to construct and pay for new sidewalks. (Legistar) (Legistar)

• https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/tax-proposal-on-november-ballot-would-help-fill-ann-arbors-sidewalk-gaps.html

APPROVED: The City of Ann Arbor commits to a 10-year services agreement (with two potential 3-year extensions) with Recycle Ann Arbor to rebuild our Material Recovery Facility and process recyclable materials locally (Legistar)

• https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/ann-arbor-to-reopen-citys-long-shuttered-recycling-plant-with-over-5m-in-upgrades.html

APPROVED (BACK TO FIRST READING): The hotel property at 3611-3621 Plymouth Road will be re-zoned to permit rebuilding of a hotel and the addition of a drive-through restaurant. This agenda item would have been approved at this meeting (“Second Reading”) but the zoning plan was changed to include a $75,000 contribution to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund, which moved it back to “First Reading.” The new “Second Reading” will be Aug 17th (Legistar)

• https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/new-hotel-restaurant-development-on-red-roof-plus-site-postponed.html

APPROVED: The City’s definition of “responsible bidder” on construction projects will include new requirements for reporting and documentation. Bids on projects in excess of $25,000 must now verify appropriate licensing for all contractors and sub-contractors, include information about what percentage of their workforce is local (Ann Arbor/Washtenaw), and documentation of pay rates/benefits, insurance coverage, references from the last five years as well as completed projects from the last five years. Additional requirements attach to bids on contracts in excess of $100,000 and $250,000. (Legistar)

A2ELNEL Voting Chart