jns131

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 2:22 p.m.

So if this Ann Arbor council had met with the Ypsi township bulldog attorney and had it checked out then none of this would have happened. As it stands, Ann Arbor has no clue how to get organized when it comes to tearing down homes and buildings. Ann Arbor? Next time? Ask Ypsilanti Township. We know how to get the job done right the first time.

genetracy

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:25 p.m.

Once again, the arrogance of an Ann Arbor politician shines through.

Dirty Mouth

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:50 p.m.

Mayor Heftje, how could you let this happen on your watch? Don't you have resources to help you keep tabs on the progress (or lack thereof) with the MSHDA? I find this whole mess very odd? Also, the projected costs of nearly 1 million dollars to tear down these homes seems a bit excessive given, that in Detroit, an entire city block and be reduced to rubble for that price. All in all, I firmly believe we're not getting the full story here and that's a shame because I thought your administration prided itself on transparency?

YouSaidWhat?

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:55 a.m.

Sounds like Mayor Hieftje told a Hefty whopper to cover up for his own shortcomings. No surprise the Mayor has never made a mistake.

Jon Saalberg

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 11:36 a.m.

But when the next parking garage/deck/monstrosity is proposed (and there will be another parking garage built - it's inevitable), the mayor will be all over that project. The city's signs should really be changed so they have icons of parking garages, not trees, on them. That seems to be the new symbol of Ann Arbor. And our new city motto: "Never enough parking garages."

Here

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 7:08 a.m.

First Hieftje tries to point at the state, but that was false on its face. So Powers steps up the plate and blames...his staff? A2 staff decided to walk away from the state money AND decided to not get the work done in a timely fashion using some other fund? Really? Perhaps next we will get a "mistakes were made" statement that completely obscures the responsibility?

Jay Thomas

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 5:19 a.m.

Someone said the north main houses are a ghetto scene worthy of Detroit. Well, now we also have the same excuse making Detroit is famous for! Money we were entitled to... poof!!

Tru2Blu76

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:37 a.m.

March 15th deadline - counting from what date?? I know one person directly involved in the Main St. properties. He started talking about this LAST SUMMER. His comment then was that there were a number of disputes going on and nothing was getting done, while he and other parties were waiting to put money into new housing. I have an idea: let the people who were responsible for getting this job done on time pay for the whole thing. Nothing like "having a personal stake" in a project to spur action. :-) I think that should apply across the board, to all working in government, not just the leaders (but definitely including "our" leaders).

Vince Caruso

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:26 a.m.

This is yet another example of our city (including the DDA) and county government is working at cross purposes to the stated mission of our city and county government. The original plan was to take down these houses and build condo's. That developer got cold feet and our city leaders pushed to have low income housing take it's place, helping out the first developer. The houses with about 30 units of affordable housing are now gone. The fact that it was in the Allen's Creek floodplain didn't seem to bother our city leaders. Like the homeless shelter, it also wanted to be in the floodplain it has cause a lot of problems. That first homeless shelter plan was also scrapped for the same reason (shown to be illegal, in the floodway) costing close to $1M and many months delay. The new floodplain maps came out and showed the new Avalon design in the new floodway, like the shelter, the plans had to be scrapped as it would have been illegal. The fact that these New maps are very loosely calibrated and, I would say unreliable, was discussed by staff and watershed activists. Why do we keep trying to put the disadvantaged in dangerous areas of the city, floodplain and floodway. Again we say a simple meaningful watershed study (it is in the CIP for many years now) by the city and county would avert many of these problems and keep people out of harms way, and save us lots of money. Now isn't that the true role of government? If you don't want to do the job step aside and let people who do. Government is here to do what individual citizens can't. Hopefully the our city has taken a turn away from these old 'Bad Ways' with changes on council. Hopefully more changes to come.

Jaime

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 1:18 a.m.

just more incompetence from city hall.

GetRealA2

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 : 12:36 a.m.

He said, she said; left hand, right hand. Surely Pelosi, Reid, Stabenow, Levin, Warren, Dingell, et al. could've gotten it done by now!

Paul Wiener

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 11:54 p.m.

Didn't the town just re-elect this joke?

Mike

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 11:47 p.m.

He did find the time to renegotiate the AFSME contract for the next 4 1/2 years though....................

Gill

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 11:31 p.m.

Soooo, people are complaining about why does the taxpayer have to foot the bill. Wasn't the MSHDA grant also taxpayer money from the State level?

DannnyA

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 11:05 p.m.

JHieftje@a2gov.org

Brad

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:43 p.m.

The silence of comments from council is sort of deafening, eh?

outdoor6709

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:42 p.m.

The problem is Bobby Fergeson was busy on other priorities.

Goofus

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:37 p.m.

Meanwhile, High-Rise Hiefjte tones and tunes his fiddle....

Carole

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:21 p.m.

And, he runs our city. Hmmmmmm.

Huron74

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:12 p.m.

Wow. You'd think from the comments here that the Mayor and his crew are about to get a hard rebuke from the electorate for yet another fiasco. You'd never guess that Heiftje routinely gets 15% or more margins of victory every time he's run would you? People scoff at the criticisms of our archaic single party rule style of governance and lack of term limits every time I write about them here and elsewhere, and yet look what happens? Go figure? It really is pointless to vote in Ann Arbor city elections.

motorcycleminer

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 10:07 p.m.

Same crap that surrounded the old greek church ..total bungling incompetence on the part of prince john and his yes men...only art and their petty projects get the fast lane her in OZ.. everything else is shoved under the table ..now I know why they ( in cahoots with his minions @ the dda ) built the " bomb shelter " its for bs overflow from 5th ave...

golfer

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 9:33 p.m.

nice play guys

David Cahill

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 9:14 p.m.

This failure to act when funding was promised is one of the worst examples of simple nonfeasance I can recall. It shows the operation of the "rat's *ss" rule: Nobody gave a rat's *ss.

HB11

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 9:04 p.m.

"They told us we needed to get the houses down by March 15, and a check was coming," Hieftje said. "Since then, we've had very little communication with them. They're not getting back to us." Hieftje, you just made yourself and the city look like fools.

cibachrome

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 9:04 p.m.

Can't the fire department help out with htis situation?

javajolt1

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:58 p.m.

In a 'real world' private sector job, a debacle of this magnitude would have resulted in the immediate dismissal of the individual responsible. Add to this the disingenuous (and that word is charitable) reassignment of blame to others and/or failure of the leader to take responsibility and, uh, LEAD, and you have DOUBLE the grounds for dismissal. This City government and the cronyism that drives it smells an awful lot like Kwame and his buddies. The question is: why do we stand for it?

Arboriginal

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:55 p.m.

The dog ate the work order!

kittylady

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:44 p.m.

"Hieftje said if the issue doesn't get resolved soon, the city will just go ahead with demolishing the houses using its own money." Doesn't that really mean that instead of using the federal funds, the city will "just gopahead" use the residents money it collected in taxes and fees that could have been used for something else? How sad is that. But I guess it's easy to spend other peoples money without a thought.

annarboral

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:38 p.m.

It sure is wonderful to have all those highly paid adminstrators. Maybe we should fire one and then tear down the houses with the savings. The good news is that the savings would occur every year into the future!

Ryan J. Stanton

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:35 p.m.

Just added this to the story: City Administrator Steve Powers said the city did not overlook the March 15 deadline. He said staff made a judgment call that the demolition work would not be completed by the NSP deadline. "I have asked staff for a recommendation on using MSHDA funds or the city's dangerous building fund," Powers wrote in an email on Monday.

Jojo B

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:34 p.m.

Thanks to annarbor.com for reporting this. We need investigative journalism to keep the local government on its toes.

A2anon

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:29 p.m.

I still don't understand why the developer who owns this property and let it get into this state is not responsible. Why are the taxpayers footing this???

Jack Gladney

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:26 p.m.

Just imagine the Monday morning conversation that would occur in the private sector: Supervisor: Bad news sir. We lost the $96 grand contract on the Main Street project. The Boss: What the hell do you mean we lost it? Who's handing the account? Supervisor: John Hieftje, sir. He said he had it all set to go and that we were just waiting on the payment. Turns out the customer says the contract was to be paid on completion of the job and they never heard back from him so they moved forward on another project without us. The Boss: Where is Hieftje now? Supervisor: He's not in yet sir. But wait. It gets worse. Turns out he lost the $20,000 contract on the Felch project back in November as well because he was sitting on it and didn't tell us. And I'm not sure if he has other cases like this. ...You finish the story from here... (and you KNOW how it would end)

Martha Cojelona Gratis

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:23 p.m.

"Hieftje said if the issue doesn't get resolved soon, the city will just go ahead with demolishing the houses using its own money." Then why even go through the 'competitive process' and apply for the grant to begin with if all it would do is tie down that much money we wouldn't use for that much time.. only to use our own taxpayer's money in the end?

Doug

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:17 p.m.

Mayor, No big deal! What's a $100,000 here or there.

Vivienne Armentrout

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:14 p.m.

I never like to blame city staff. They are usually just carrying out orders. However, it would be instructive to know what city departments were tasked with this problem. We no longer have a Community Development department and it is my impression that the Housing or Building Department that used to deal with substandard housing is gone or has been merged into something else. It might help to know which department is working on this because it would highlight perspectives and conflicting task assignments. Obviously, the Mayor is not going to be doing these things personally. How about some good reporting from that perspective?

Top Cat

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 8:10 p.m.

Why doesn't the Mayor just redesignate them as public art. Problem solved!

pbehjatnia

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:56 p.m.

y'all voted for hieftje & co. now, enjoy the ride.

Lizzy Alfs

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.

Six of the houses were labeled as dangerous buildings in November. From a story I wrote: "Notices posted on the six houses in November detailed the issues with the properties. Among the citations: neglect, vandalism, damaged foundation, roof damage, no windows, no doors, stripped siding, dilapidated porches, vacant more than four years, rear porch collapsing, roof severely compromised, disintegrating foundation, open to vermin infiltration, fire and water damage, and disintegrating block chimney." http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/ann-arbor-officials-row-of-blighted-houses-along-north-main-street-must-be-demolished/ My question is: how long can those structures stay standing once those notices are posted? Probably a question for the city's building inspector.

Ricebrnr

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:53 p.m.

Jeez using these as training for PD/SWAT for breeching and dynamic entry and then after for FD for collapse or fire training would of got these buildings most of the way to demolished FOR FREE!!!! Oh but wait, that's right not enough PD or FD. They're too busy keeping up with what they have let alone take advantage of training opportunities. Double thanks your "honor"

Craig Lounsbury

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:51 p.m.

"NSP1 funds are not advanced, but instead are reimbursed on an invoice basis," she said, adding the city would not have received a check prior to the work actually taking place." A.) If the mayor didn't know that he is incompetent. The honorable thing to do is resign . B.) If the mayor did know that and lied the honorable thing to do is resign. while I may be guilty of a bit of hyperbole it is unacceptable to be that bungling and incompetent.

Arboriginal

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:49 p.m.

Hee Haw!

Andrew Kerr

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:49 p.m.

The reason this didn't occur is confusing. Was the city dragging its feet, or was it "The problem was that the city's procured contractor could not actually complete the demolitions within the NSP1 expenditure timeframe of March 15". If the city had given the go-ahead and the contractor failed to meet their end of the bargain, a new contractor should have been found, and/or the current one fined or at least never relied on again.

B. Jean

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:46 p.m.

As a tax-paying 30 year resident home owner living just houses away from this dangerous blight, I am disgusted by the Mayor and City Councils ignorance, ineptitude, and blatant disregard of their responsibility in this fiasco. While our city council bent over backwards to seek grant funding, revise zoning, grant variances, extend deadlines and accommodate every whim of Three Oaks developers and Avalon (because they wanted to leave an affordable housing monument to their egos) they turned a deaf ear to neighborhood concerns. Meanwhile my neighborhood was being blighted by Three Oaks and Avalon resulting in the creation of a haven for crime. Just take a look at recent crime statistics here since the project began. Another tragic consequence of the city's inability to take action is, many of my neighbors no longer feel safe in their own homes due to the increase in break-ins and drug dealing in our parks. And now, our Mayor lies about yet another unfulfilled promise to demolish these dangerous homes and tries to blame it on the state so he can accommodate Three Oaks and Avalon. Oh but we must get federal funding for demo so the poor developers (blight creators) can escape their financial and moral responsibility for damaging the neighborhood, right Mr. Mayor? Well we know you "have the backs" of Three Oaks and Avalon, don't we Mr. Mayor? And all the while you twist the knife in the backs of my neighbors, (that you helped put there) you and our so-called city leaders continue to make promises you don't keep. I have an idea that may capture city council's attention so they can pretend they care. I would like to apply for a permit to place a huge billboard at the site of the blight on the way in to the city. It would read: "Welcome to Ann Arbor! This Gateway City Blight, is brought to you courtesy of Three Oaks Developers, Avalon, and the Mayor and City Council of Ann Arbor."

dancinginmysoul

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:41 p.m.

Lie to us again Mr. Mayor. We're pretty used to it.

Linda Peck

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:40 p.m.

What a shame. Money lost, houses still there, and no end in sight.

Alan Goldsmith

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.

Ryan, you just don't understand. It's not the Mayor's fault. Ever. For anything that goes wrong. Never his fault. Ever. The end. Lol.

G-Man

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.

Blame game...... Sounds like another prominent politician i know about...... Mayor Heftje.... Tear down this wall....er house...uh houses.....

TheDiagSquirrel

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:34 p.m.

Wow, what a shame. Hieftje takes credit for everything, and never can own up to his mistakes, which seem to increase more and more. A2 voters need to vote this guy out next election

Ricebrnr

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.

hmmm...in any other business (other than "high" finance) an employee costing the business that much money would be terminated with cause immediately, would they not? Not in Ann Arbor, the sheep throw more money at him to spend on frivolities while he tears down what's important!

SEC Fan

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:28 p.m.

So, Mr. Hieftje, how exactly was this fiasco the state's fault? You've been using these funds since 2009 and didn't know it was on a reimbursable basis??? Really? Really?

My2bits

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.

The developers or the bank should be responsible. However: The developers can't be billed because the property is in foreclosure. It is likely in a redemption period, and the bank won't be responsible until after the redemption period is over. If the city now demolishes the houses, there will be no reimbursement. Think the city will try to out wait the bank? The bank might not complete the foreclosure process to delay that even more.

Tom Joad

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:23 p.m.

Those structures look serviceable. If the goal is commercial redevelopment then why wasn't private money used to tear them down?

FrankOZ

Mon, Mar 25, 2013 : 7:23 p.m.

Mayor John Hieftje put the blame on MSHDA last week when asked why the houses weren't taken down by a March 15 deadline to qualify for demolition grant funding. "They told us we needed to get the houses down by March 15, and a check was coming," Hieftje said. "Since then, we've had very little communication with them. They're not getting back to us." Is he serious!!? The is the leader of our city?! If you have not heard from them, then you make frequent documented attempts to reach them by the deadline and then dispute their decision. Um, and reimburse means you pay up front and then MSHDA will pay you back. Will someone please step up to the plate for the next election? I don't care who it is at this point. Maybe someone who doesn't own a bicycle just for a little change.