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Meeting Details - 2007-09-26 00:16:25 In the first 3 years of operation, the DTCDC plans to raise money to fund snow and grass maintenance in the park, new events, and 1.8 million in capital improvements. The Jaycees will be turning over their role in events management to the DTCDC. Said Mr. Vosburg, "It's quite a hassle for them, and they don't make any money on it." EMU is heavily involved in the project via its college of health and human services, its marketing and communications department, EMU director of governmental affairs Freeman Hendrix, and a foundation whose name I didn't catch. EMU is willing to involve some parks projects in its various departments' curricula. WCC is also willing to involve its marketing and communications departments and its construction technology departments. Other supporters include the Ann Arbor Community Foundation, the Center for Michigan [?], Citizen's bank, Mueller Landworks, St. Joe's, LISC Michigan, and the Ypsi Chamber of Commerce, Area Community Fund, and Convention & Visitor's Bureau. Funds collected for the parks project thus far from: In mid to late October the city [?] will begin drafting its [annual?] Master Plan, which will include plans for the parks. In January, plans will begin for parks programming and capital improvements. Mr. Vosburg said that public input would be involved but did not specify how this would occur. The presentation winded up here, leading to audience Q&A. The audience consisted, so far as I could tell, of DTCDC and/or DTA members, two or three people from other agencies involved, Mr. Schreiber, and 4 members of the general public; no city council members were present. One audience member asked about new special events in light of the recent city moratorium against new special events. Mr. Vosburg indicated that this might be worked out by talks with the Special Event Commission and by [I think he said] involving current special-events-related people like Linda Hummel on the parks project's governing board. One audience member stressed that the DTCDC governing board contained people with expertise in the area of developing parks, county officials, and volunteers; the DTCDC is "just the funnel to get [the funds] where [they] need to go." Brian answered another audience question about maintenance to say the DTCDC may subcontract things like lawn mowing and snow plowing. There were some interesting remarks about possibly eventually involving Water Works Park in the parks plan. "It'll depend on dollars." More remarks followed about developing inter-park paths for walking and biking, including one on the Water Street site, all building on the "new disc golf course" [not sure where this is] and the Border to Border Trail [currently running from southern Ford Lake to I believe Stockbridge]. It was pointed out that Ypsi is perhaps the smallest city to involve a CDC in its operations, as Detroit does. Full-time staff will be hired by January. Information will be posted on the DTA website, or possibly on a separate one, for public perusal. A 9/25/07 quote from Mr. Vosburg: "There will be a link on the DTA website." ~~~END~~~ YPSIDIXIT REACTION: Overall, I could see that a lot of work has gone into this plan already. I tip my hat to the DTCDC. Good work! My main concern remains the heavy emphasis on health and fitness, as that may lead to the construction of fitness equipment that, in my opinion, would clutter the treasure that is the natural landscape of Riverside Park. I understand very well that health and fitness programs are good for securing funding, and funding for things like fixing the stage and lighting is important. However, you cannot legislate fitness. I think that fitness funding should go into fitness **programming**, not fitness **structures in the park.** In the interest of offering constructive ideas towards this end, here are my suggestions for adding fitness programming to Riverside Park that I think would be fun and interesting: "Wall Wednesdays": two Wednesdays a month, get the local National Guard (I think they are the owners of the popular Climbing Wall that appears at Heritage Fest) to mount its portable wall in the park and supervise kids climbing it. "Archery in the Park" twice a month for kids: I bet there's a school somewhere in the district with archery equipment in a locker somewhere. Round up a volunteer instructor to give ad hoc lessons and let kids practice with hay bales and targets. Give kids atlatl lessons, too: those are fun, in my experience. Participants get a discount coupon to Dunham's to get their own archery equipment to bring next time.
"Off-Leash Fridays": this could be done for free. Just declare Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. the special time when [the already common] Riverside Park off-leash dog fun time is officially sanctioned. No funds involved, and the [many] dog people feel validated and know they won't get hassled for letting dogs play off-leash. Dog owners currently hesitant to come to the park and let their dogs off-leash, since it is, strictly speaking, not allowed, would feel encouraged to come, meaning more people coming near the bars and cafes in Depot Town. "Last Saturday of the Month Extreme Challenge" for kids: have the National Guard or local Army unit once a month bring into Riverside Park its obstacle course basic training equipment [presuming they own same]: wooden climbing wall, rope wall, rope swing, tire course, &c. Have the Army/Nat'l Guard trainers help kids master the course and then have races. I have other ideas, too, which I'll keep suggesting in the hopes of contributing some constructive suggestions. I will end with the evening's highlight. Near the Q&A period, DTA prez Gary McKeever rose, slowly rotated towards the audience, and said, "I guess that that...Ypsi-Dippy...decided I don't know what a park is. I do recognize a park when I see one," adding, "It has dogs in it." Ypsidixit could barely suppress a smile as she studiously transcribed his comments on her steno pad. I was completely charmed by this all-too-apt nickname; indeed, I am dippy sometimes, like when I flew off the handle the first time I heard about the parks program from the Ann Arbor News story. If in doing so I injured Mr. McKeever's feelings, then I do regret that, and apologize. I don't know the gentleman, and I have no ill will towards him. I am very tickled by my new nickname, and thank him for it.
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