Stewart Nelson

The buzz word on the topic of governmental efficiency is “regionalization”.  Regionalization is what happens when two or more units of government on various levels unite to offer services to their common constituents.  A good example is the City of Ann Arbor Fire Department or Police Department combining with the Pittsfield Police and Fire to offer safety services.   The cost savings obviously comes from not having to duplicate service and overhead expenses to produce the service.    Virtually every department in the City has a counterpart at the County  except for one department.  OCD, the Office of Community Development for the City and their counterpart at the County combined to form Washtenaw Urban County with other cities in the county to cooperate on Federal Community Block Grants.

Today I also meet with the new Community Development Director, Mary Jo Callan.  Mary Jo is a delightful  young professional that has the Herculean  task of coordinating the services that the neediest residents of our our community need.  Mary Jo was formerly the Executive Director of Ozone House and bring a  wealth of experience and determination to the job.   As the combined department is still getting acquainted and working out the logistical problems of combining into one governmental agency, the jury is still out on determining the impact and cost savings on the delivery of services.  I applaud their effort and spirit of cooperation that they have all demonstrated to overcome the inevitable “turf wars” and “we don’t do it that way” mentality.  I am certain that all departments will look to the OCD as a template of the 21st Century model governmental agency.

I toured the Robert J. Delonis Center today and walked away amazed at what 300 motivated volunteers and a passionate and committed staff can accomplish.  I have always been struck by the phrase “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”.  You can take that one step further at our shelter and say “a life is a terrible thing to waste”.   Ellen Schulmeister the Executive Director of the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County understands that concept better than almost anyone else in the county.  The Delonis Center assists almost 1100 homeless residents of the County each year.   Ellen is the “spark plug” that keeps the engine running at the Center on a minimal budget.  Ellen’s creativity and resourcefulness has restored order from the  chaos that dominated the old center.  Ellen and her staff and volunteers provide medical attention, addiction counseling, job assistance, and other necessary services to help support some of the almost 3000 people a year that become homeless in Washtenaw County annually.

I was stunned to learn that almost 50 people have to sleep in plastic chairs each night because there are not enough beds in the spaces that the shelter can provide.  While less than perfect, it does provide warmth and shelter for additional homeless on our cold winter nights.  They also provide them with food, showers and a free laundromat to wash their clothes.   There is even a safe temporary storage locker for people to store meager possessions that used to be hidden in stairwells and alleys.

My take away from the shelter is that these types of facilities can be integrated into our downtown areas with minimal impact on the surrounding community.  It is a first step that clearly demonstrates the business case that preventing and mitigating the effects of homelessness is the most humane and also the least expensive way for us as a community to deal with this difficult social problem.   Not every homeless person is a candidate for the Center but for those that want to try to resume a productive life we need to reach out and offer them a way out of the hopelessness.

Last night I had the privilege of sitting in on an executive board meeting of the Orchard Hills Maplewood Homeowner’s Association, OHMHA.  We have 5 0r 6 active homeowner’s associations in Ward 2.  These organizations are a great way for a candidate to reach into a specific neighborhood and uncover the key issues affecting the residents of the area.  I was pleased to learn that OHMHA is going to have a candidate fair in June or July that will give me an opportunity to meet many of the neighbors and help get my message across to the voters of this NE Ann Arbor neighborhood.  They also have an Ice Cream Social planned for June 6th that I hope I can get time to attend briefly.

( http://www.ohmha.org/map.jpg)

This NE Ann Arbor area was devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer over the past five years.  The association has been very active in getting replacement trees planted by helping to raise funds and organize work sessions to get replacement trees into the ground.  The association has also worked to coordinate the replacement of footer drains by the City,  repair side walks and study possible ways to restore Thurston Pond.

I  am continually amazed at the creativity, energy and passion these groups possess to tackle problems that fall “under the radar scope” or are ignored by the City that affect quality of life in their neighborhoods.  They can accomplish more in a weekend than most government agencies can get done in a month.  Our City Administration needs to recognize the work provided by these associations and empower them to get the job done or they should get out of the way.

I went to the last (hopefully) public hearing on the replacement of 100 units of affordable housing on the former YMCA site. Despite the best efforts of a very talented advisory board, and a motivated group at the Office of Community Development, OCD, the City embarrassingly has not been able to arrive at a permanent solution and home for the most needy segment of our population. In December 2004, the City Council issued a resolution for the sale and redevelopment of the former YMCA site. The Housing and Human Services Advisory Board, HHSAB, will be recommending to the City Council that the former YMCA site be redeveloped with 100 units of affordable housing targeted at individuals with incomes below 50% of the Average Monthly Income, AMI. Graciously, the board has conceded that a different site in the City would be acceptable if the City or Washtenaw County identifies that site and secures the property for the development.

It will be four years in December when the need was identified and the former residents are scattered to the wind. Despite strong evidence that it is cheaper to provide proper services to these individuals than it is to use the police, emergency rooms, pan handling and bridges to take care of their needs and we continue to pay significant amounts a year in interest on the YMCA site even though the building is no longer there. How much longer will it take to make good on the City’s promise to provide for those less fortunate than us?

After weeks of working my way to the top, I finally got a chance to meet with the person that controls the money! Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t actually see any “money”, we just talked about it. All kidding aside, Tom Crawford the Chief Financial Officer and I had an hour discussion today about the budgetary and financial reporting process that keeps our budget balanced and the cash flowing. I consider myself to have a strong financial and accounting background but Tom was able to hold up to my intense, pressure filled Q&A session! Must be the Wharton education! Actually the nuances of public accounting make it quite different from private accounting so I have a lot to learn. Tom has been very patient with me as I grapple with the complexity of the budget. Thanks Tom.

I continue to discover that whomever is assembling the professional team that is piloting the City must know what they are doing as once again I walked away with the opinion that Tom Crawford is the right man for the CFO job. I have had some well publicized disagreements with the senior staff in the past but most of the disagreement has been the result of the lack of transparency rather than substance. When allowed to sit down and talk about the issues person to person we almost always find some common ground. I am convinced that if everyone first looked for the common ground in all their relationships, the world would be a better place.

Today the Campaign Trail lead deep into the heart of Larcom Building where they used to keep St Larcom’s bones on display. The relics have been displaced (to who knows where?) by an air conditioned Dell server farm with more switches than Lombard Street in San Francisco. In charge of the operation is Daniel Rainey, Director of Information Technology. What a breath of fresh air Dan brings to the City. In 45 minutes he used the phrase “customer service orientation” at least 10 times and I really feel he means it. This is not the same type of an IT organization that brought us the Y2K problem and I suspect a big reason why is the IT Director,  Dan Rainey.

Several things were very apparent about Dan Rainey that most IT guys seem to lack; one, he spoke plain English and two, he recognizes that technology is there to serve the users that use it and not the other way around. I also got the sense that Not Invented Here, NIH, attitudes are left at the secure door. All this means that our IT infrastructure is in very capable hands. I was impressed that Dan understands the value of collaborating with the County and is actively working on key projects where we overlap needs…which is about everywhere. As taxpayers we can look forward to getting more return on our IT investments as long as Dan is Director.

Yesterday the campaign trail took me to the Drinking Water Treatment Plant on Sunset Rd. As a youth growing up on Robin Rd. (till age 11) not too far from the plant I remember trying unsuccessfully to get nearer to the large round tanks that pulled me closer like steel to a magnet. To tell you the truth, I am not sure what I would have done if had succeeded in penetrating the Cyclone Fence with barb wire on top? For sure there are no fish in the tanks.

My orientation and tour was conducted by Sumedh Bahl, the Plant Manager. If I was getting ready to draft an all-star team for a new treatment plant, Sumedh would be my first draft pick. Sumedh was a virtual “fountain” of knowledge on the intricacies of keeping our water safe. Sort of like getting a drink of water from a fire hydrant as I got more than I expected. Did you know that 85% of our water comes from the Huron River? This sends home the point about when you wash your car we need to insure it doesn’t go down the storm drains.

Another tid bit…Sumedh and his staff are also in charge of the three damns and also the 2 large storage tanks we can see covered by the fancy artwork on Plymouth Rd and also on Washtenaw. There are also four remote pumping stations that they are responsible for. All this so that when we turn on our tap, clean water appears. My new resolution is to turn the water off when I am brushing my teeth. We all need to do our part.

Did you know that May 4 to 10 is National Drinking Water Week? I certainly would have missed that one if I hadn’t taken time to actually visit with Sumedh and explore the City web site. If you are curious, the City Web site has more information.

http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/water_treatment/Pages/DrinkingWaterWeek.aspx

Monday I got the VIP tour of the W.R. Wheeler Service Center on Stone School Road. I had the privilege of being escorted by the most friendly and passionate person in the building Karla Henderson. I told Karla her smile could “light up” a room. We are truly fortunate to have capable managers like Karla that worry constantly about the infinite problems that can and do develop in the maize of streets, copper cable, fiber cable, concrete pipes and other “stuff” that keep our City functioning efficiently. Thanks Karla for a great job!

The high point of the tour was a demonstration by the smartest technician you have never heard of, Kevin Braun. Kevin is the computer genius behind the programmable traffic signals that populate our City. You really need to see how this operates. Kevin could make your commute home 10 minutes shorter if he wanted to. If you get a chance to see this in operation, do yourself a favor and go. It is well worth the time.

There has been a lot of controversy about the cost of the Wheeler Center but if you take the time to go out and meet the staff and watch the operation, you will see it is the type of investment we need to make to keep our City running smoothly and efficiently. This building is one we truly can be proud of, not because it makes a flashy statement of how important Ann Arbor is, but because it shows to the world that we are willing to invest in ourselves. If we won’t invest in our City, why would a potential business want to invest here?

Last night I attended the State of the City message delivered by Mayor John Hieftje and City Administrator Roger Fraser. Mayor Hieftje eloquently described the various awards the City has received in the past year. Mr. Fraser reviewed budget numbers for last year and for the coming fiscal year that starts in July. I will not bore you with the accounting detail, but according to our Administrator we can look forward to a balanced budget again for FY2009.

During the presentation, Mr. Fraser and the Mayor fielded numerous questions. Listening to their responses, I was amazed at their dexterity in avoiding controversy by giving answers to questions that were not asked instead of answers to those that were. I am sure I will never be able to develop that skill, so if that is what you are looking for in a city council member, I am not your guy!

Many of the questions centered on how the City council could just vote to spend $47,000,000 on the police-court without feeling any responsibility to “put the question” to the voters. Several answers were offered by the Mayor and Administrator:

1. As we are not going out for a millage, we do not need to have voter approval.
2. We live in a system of representative democracy, whereby we delegate to our elected officials the authority and responsibility to make the tough decisions for us.

The reality is that answers are correct but for some other question.  The only answer to the question posed by the group was that they did not look for voter support because they knew it would not pass!  Our City Administrator also understands that the only issues that stand a chance to pass muster with the cash strapped Ann Arbor voters are warm fuzzy issues like public safety, green initiatives, retiree healthcare plans for City workers, parks and public transportation.  If tapping the City piggy bank for a $20M down payment leaves us short of funds in the future, it will be put back to the voters disguised as an item off the warm and fuzzy list. 

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my friends exploring the storm sewers on Scio Church Road. (I am sure some of you reading this know where they are.) I lived on Weldon Blvd so after a short walk we could spend a half day spelunking on a warm summer afternoon and fantasize about “giant ants” living and breeding just around the next bend of the large concrete jungle.  All that was before kids could actually slay imaginary creatures with “real blood spilled” right in the comfort of their own room on a computer screen.  I must admit that after 1965 I spent more time above ground than below and now the memories of that underground maize of concrete tubes has faded into black and white.  Sometimes I wonder if the ants are still there.

I am sure that if you are like me you don’t really think about how our drinking, storm and waste water are distributed about the city until something goes wrong.  We are fortunate that the things we take for granted are in very professional hands.  Last week I spent an hour with the brains behind the Waste Treatment Plant and this week I met with their boss, Sue McCormick.  Sue refers to her organization as “Infrastructure R Us”.  Sue McCormick is one of the most professional public sector top level managers I have ever met. Once again I am impressed with the technical expertise and depth and breadth of knowledge that we have on staff.  Earl Kenzie, P.E. our Waste Treatment Manager, and his right hand man, Mike Amicangelo, Senior Utility Engineer at the Treatment Center personify the theory that “good people make up for bad equipment every day”!  We are lucky to have them working for us as the equipment they are using was made in 1936 and not updated until 1974!  I don’t need to tell you what happens when what they work on stops working! 

Next stop on the campaign trail is the Wheeler Center with Karla Henderson.