Ann Arbor City Council met in Larcom City Hall Monday evening to discuss the possibility of using the library lane surface parking lot for food trucks and mobile vendors and acknowledge April as National Arab American Heritage Month. City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr. also proposed the budget for fiscal year 2024
Mayor Christopher Taylor began the meeting by officially recognizing April as National Arab American Heritage Month and highlighting the Arab American community in Ann Arbor.
“We are blessed in Ann Arbor to have people in our homes, people among us, people who comprise us from all over the world and (this diversity) makes us what we are,” Taylor said. “In that light, it is my great pleasure to honor Arab Americans here in our community through the proclamation of National Arab American Heritage Month.”
Taylor continued that it is incredibly important to celebrate how Arab Americans have contributed to American culture.
“Arab Americans have been making valuable contributions to every aspect of American society, in medicine, law, business, education, technology, military service and culture,” Taylor said. “Whereas Arab Americans join all Americans and the desire to see a peaceful and diverse society where every individual is treated equally and feels safe. Whereas the incredible contributions and heritage of Arab Americans have helped us build a better nation. And I’d like to add: a better city.”
Dohoney spoke on the proposed city budget for FY 2024. Dohoney said the city of Ann Arbor had almost $600 million in their all-funds budget, which encompasses all of the city’s budget, and almost $130 million in their general budget, which goes towards the community’s basic public needs and services.
Dohoney emphasized that he has faced pressure from the community to be frugal with the budget and went on to say what the city has prioritized spending money on for the upcoming fiscal year. The department, in support of Ann Arbor’s 200th birthday, plans on allocating $200,000 for the bicentennial project over the next two fiscal years. This project will include a bicentennial park under the legacy project A200.
“We propose to take what is currently Fuller Park, rename it to Bicentennial Park and place a number of new amenities within the park,” Dohoney said “This will not be accomplished in a single year. It will require investments from the city government. But there are also opportunities for sponsorships in order to make this vision (become) reality.”
Dohoney also proposed that part of the budget be put towards creating a physical election center to support voter safety and timely voting.
“If you think back to the last election, there were two narratives at play: the long lines that were experienced in Ann Arbor and across the country and the second narrative around voter integrity, the protection of the ballots and the protection of the count,” Dohoney said. “In order to address this, we are proposing to establish an election center (that) will be an actual physical location.”
The Council then opened the meeting to public comment, which largely focused on using the library lane surface parking lot for food trucks and mobile vendors.
U-M alum Dan Adams, who currently works on General Motors’ legal staff, expressed his opposition to this resolution. Adams referenced the proposal from the Council of Commons back in 2021 which asked that the library lot on 5th Ave. be changed into a public park, and has seen little to no advancement.
“The Council of Commons was created in 2020 to advise this body and help plan the creation of a public park on the library lot,” Adams said. “What it has become is a dysfunctional, deeply divided body that’s neither advising you nor effectively advancing that project.”
Adams said he believes approving this resolution would not actually advance the city’s long-term goals.
“Asking city staff to analyze whether food trucks are viable on the site … is the best option of bad options to activate a site that everyone understands to be undesirable,” Adams said. “This is something they proposed back in 2021.”
Ann Arbor resident Alex Lowe echoed Adams’ thoughts.
“(A resolution to approve vendors on the library lot is) a squandering of the city’s limited resources,” Lowe said.
At this meeting, the council members would not take a vote on the proposal for food trucks to park on the library parking lot, promising to take action in a future meeting.
Daily Staff Reporter Emma Swanson can be reached at emms@umich.edu.