Board of Education - Regular Meeting

I'm Dana Denha and you're watching FYI. The Bryant neighborhood is getting closer to a greener tomorrow. Back in March, crews were hard at work drilling a test well before the real geothermal heating and cooling work can begin.

As part of our work to design and install a district geothermal system in Ann Arbor in the Bryant neighborhood, one of the core components of a system is the well field. It is a series of pipes that go into the ground. They have water with a little bit of food grid glycol inside of them, and that's what exchanges the heat between the ground and the system to provide healthy, reliable heating and cooling to the neighborhood. So what they're doing is they are drilling one of the wells that would be used in the final system and essentially they are checking all the things that are under the ground that we can't see on our end. So they'll be going down about 500 feet, just like we'll be doing with the final installation, and they're checking things like the geology, they're checking things like the temperature, the water table, and all that kind of stuff. What we're able to do at the end is re-level the field, so not only do you get a nice heating and cooling battery that can provide, again, clean, reliable heating and cooling to the neighborhood, you also get a new and improved park as a result of the work that happened here.

For more on Ann Arbor's sustainability goals and work happening throughout the community, visit A20.org. Stay tuned, and we'll be back with more in exactly 30 seconds. Habitat for Humanity here on Valley worked with numerous volunteers to assist homeowners with landscaping, exterior revitalization, and overall neighborhood beautification, creating a strong sense of community pride.

Habitat for Humanity is doing a Rock the Block event here in West Willow.

We have over 100 volunteers from local businesses and corporations here to help us rock the block. We'll be completing some minor repairs to homeowner-occupied homes here in West Willow neighborhood and completing beautification projects to some partner sites. We really find that investing in a community over time can make an incredible impact. So not only do we complete these beautification projects in the West Willow neighborhood, but we've also built and renovated a lot of homes through our home ownership program and completed critical repairs through our home improvement program.

I myself and a lot of people on my block We are elderly and disabled, so it's really hard for us to get out in our yard and clean it up and do repairs.

I just had a hip replaced. So I've been kind of supervisor today, but they've been here and doing amazing stuff. The hedges in front of the house have been pretty much overgrown almost to the roofline, and I had a rock flower garden that was far too big, so they helped me reduce the size of that into something more manageable. They've helped trim out a lot of brush and scrub that needed to go, and they have been wonderful helpers today. I love the stuff that Habitat does involving corporations and involving companies and involving groups of people and volunteers, because all of the work here today was done by volunteers.

It's honestly surreal that this many people are willing to come and help complete strangers.

More Habitat Rock the Block events will take place throughout the year. For more info on volunteering and the work being done in Ypsilanti neighborhoods, visit h4h.org slash rock the block. The warm spring breeze has blown in, leaving many of us ready to get outside and barbecue or maybe roast some marshmallows on an open flame. Learn more about grilling and fire pits in Ann Arbor in this month's City Roundup in 60.

Hi, my name is Mike Kennedy. I'm the fire chief for the Ann Arbor Fire Department. Here today to talk about fire safety. We have a lot of information on the city website, a2gov.org slash fire, for both grilling safety along with outdoor fireplace safety. For grilling safety, we recommend keeping grills at least 10 feet away from a structure. If you have hot coals, never throw them into the trash. That can cause a fire. And for outdoor fire safety, you can't have campfires in the city of Ann Arbor. They have to be 25 feet from a structure. You are also allowed to have portable fireplaces. Those have to be 15 feet from a structure. Need to make sure that they're attended at all times and they're completely extinguished before you leave. There's some additional guidance and requirements that are available on the city website. Please go there, check it out. If you have any other questions, please let us know. We're happy to answer.

Ann Arbor is a destination for unique cuisines from all over the world. From sit-down restaurants to delectable drinks, the city offers one-of-a-kind dining experiences for all ages, individuals, groups, and families. One way to enjoy a great number of these delicacies is the Taste of Ann Arbor, a yearly event that offers small plates for visitors to travel from one exceptional dining experience to the next. Joining me is Ashley Schaefer, Executive Director of the Main Street Area Association, here to give us all the delectable morsels on the 2026 Taste of Ann Arbor. Welcome back to the show, Ashley.

Yes, thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here and talk about taste.

And I was actually going to ask you, because you've been with the Main Street Area Association for a little while now. I think last year you were a little newer, so you have a little more experience under your belt. If you want to plug anything else that's coming up or any events you're excited about that are happening this summer other than the Taste, feel free to tell us now.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, we're actually this is like our busiest season of planning and event, you know, promotion, I would say. But, you know, right now we're planning Taste of Ann Arbor, which is, you know, so very close, but then also A2 Summer Streets, which is the very next week. So that kicks off June 4th and that goes through September. We will be activating the streets with in-street dining. We'll have live music. We have different series coming on Sundays where we'll have a peer bar in the street. We'll also have story time with Literati again this year. And then our goal is to bring in a dance class on the very fourth Sunday of every month and have like a rotating dance. So you can come and learn some fun either salsa or line dancing or things like that. um but just lots of activations throughout the the summer and those warmer months and then we also have the rolling sculpture car show which is july 10th where last year we had 232 cars this year we're kind of on par to hit 250 which we're really excited about um it's just another great opportunity just to look at some old classics but also we've kind of teetered into some newer like newer models with modifications and things like that so it's just it there really is something for everyone And then the art fair, which is in July. And, you know, we kick off with Paint the Town the Tuesday before art fair and just go right into, you know, three full days of closed streets, art, dining and all of that fun stuff.

Yeah, everything you guys do is so fun. We were just talking before about I love the street closures. My kids, when the streets aren't closed, they're like, why can't we go on the street? And I'm like, stay away from the street right now. But we're getting back there. And I think that, to me, it's a motivator to go downtown more, which is exactly your goal, right?

It is, it is, you know, and we, it's a really tough season because there's a lot of construction this year. And, you know, I would just say like our local businesses are feeling it, you know, it is a little bit harder to navigate. It's harder to get downtown. So plan ahead, give yourself some extra time, but know that those businesses are waiting for you with giant smiles on their faces.

I bet it's interesting that you mentioned that because, you know, you know, Packard's closed in that spot right by where Bob Adari is. And I'm like thinking I actually kind of know those guys a little bit from going in there. And I'm like, man, they must be getting a lot of business hits right now. Like they're not making as much money because you can't drive down that strip. You can't even get in their parking lot at the moment. So, yeah, it is hard for businesses in this situation. And right now that downtown area is very construction filled.

Yeah.

It is. It is. And, you know, it will be that way in most areas through September, some areas till December. You know, we've been working with the city and the DDA to just try to identify ways to make things a little bit easier for people to navigate. And in July, that intersection of 4th and Liberty will actually be restored right before the car show through the end of the month. So they'll be it'll make it a little bit easier that month to navigate that area. But, you know, we're definitely trying our best to make sure that everyone knows that businesses are still open.

Well, tell us about the 2026 Taste of Ann Arbor. What should visitors expect? Because I know when I go, it is a very heavy event. There's a lot of people there.

Yes, yes. And I will say last year was my first year actually planning the event. I've been in my role for two years, so I learned a lot. I feel like there were a lot of areas of improvement and ways that we could really kind of change things this year. So one thing that you can do this year that you couldn't do last year is you can actually pre-purchase your tickets online. You can purchase those in bundles of 20 and you're just going to kind of skip like that transactional line where you can just go to our pickup table. You'll pick up your bundles. You'll get complimentary bamboo silverware, which is compliments of A20. And then you can just start tasting. We will have tickets for sale there as well. We sell those. They're $1 per ticket, or you can buy them in sheets of 20, which is what I would honestly recommend. Most people, if they're a single diner going for lunch, they're spending anywhere from 20 to 30 tickets just to kind of really taste everything that they want to. And then another thing that we're incorporating this year, which I'm super excited about, is we're working with A20 to pilot a reusable – yeah service wear so the boats and the cups that your taste and bites typically come in will come in these reusable containers and part of this is just to kind of eliminate a lot of that waste that we have had in the past and really you know, pilot an event at this scale to see if it's something that the city is able to kind of, you know, adopt for events moving forward. So we're really excited that they've decided to work with us and test it out for Taste of Ann Arbor because it is a very big event. There are a lot of people. We have about 33,000 people that visit our area within that day. And so kind of reducing the waste as much as we possibly can is really, you know, has been a goal prior to me starting. And, you know, It's something that can be pretty tough to accomplish, but A20 is working with Bold Reuse Products, and they reported to me yesterday that they ordered 24,000 pieces between cups and reusable serviceware boats for this particular event. And we have all but three of our participating businesses actually using these reusable serviceware dishes.

So will they give you it on the dish or will you carry the dish? How does it work?

Yeah, so you'll actually, the bites will be served in the dishes. And then throughout the entire footprint, we will have labeled canisters where you can put these reusable dishes and then recycling and trash. And then anything that's left over in those dishes, when that team collects them, will also scoop into compost. versus just, you know, trash to try and make sure that we're being as sustainable as possible. But there'll be like a sign on the dish too that says, you know, bold, reusable. So you'll know the difference between the two. So yeah, it is, it's definitely, you know, something new, but very exciting considering this event can create a lot of waste.

Well, your volunteers better get ready. They're going to have to be telling people what trash receptacle to use.

Yes, yes. We will have a lot of signage too, which will hopefully help too.

But that's such an amazing idea because I know a lot of events in Ann Arbor try to be zero waste, which is not the easiest thing to do. You have to like tell people to bring their water bottles, pack a lunch, like use Tupperware and things like that. But like you can't tell people that for the taste of Ann Arbor, they're coming to eat lunch.

Yes. And, you know, I think the biggest thing is, you know, our businesses too, making sure that it's something that's adoptable for them and doesn't make that experience harder for them and the customer. And so really, you know, it's trying to make this as seamless as possible where we can. And we're not requiring that every business does this, but we are kind of asking what they do just because it will kind of point us in the right direction and saves them from having to purchase these materials themselves.

I like that compost angle, too, because I feel like a lot of times when you are at something, you're like, OK, well, there's recycling and there's trash, but there's nowhere to put my food waste, which we all are like adopters of in Ann Arbor. So it feels really weird to not be able to do it. So it's nice to have that option to not feel like you're like hurting Mother Earth or something.

Yes, and it's perfect because, you know, we're kicking off the, you know, A20 week, which is happening May 31st through June 6th. So this is kind of like a good little kickoff to that.

Oh, cool. Yeah. So you have, what, 24 restaurants this year? You want to plug some of those restaurants that are already there?

Yes. So we have 24 restaurants, some of those, you know, returning favorites, which I would say is Real Seafood, Ashley's with the lobster roll that is iconic. We also have Pretzel Bell, Connor O'Neill's with the fish and chips, Shalimar, which those tend to be one of like the crowd favorites every single year. Every time I count tickets or I get their ticket boxes back, they are so heavy. But, you know, welcoming them back. Washtenaw Dairy is another one. You know, if the day is warm like it has been historically, that's a nice cool treat to cool down. Slow's Barbecue is a new one that's joining us this year. So, you know, they just opened on Washington last at the end of last year. So we are super excited to have their team at Taste this year. along with some new ones. Zingerman's Roadhouse is joining us this year. So post-renovation for them, they're coming out to share some of their dishes. We also have Ho Chi, which is, they pop up at the farmer's market a lot. They have a little food cart, but they joined us last year for the first time. They're coming back. And the Graduate Hotel, Aventura, Mindo Chocolate, Blue Nile, Venology, you know, they're all going to be bringing, again, some of their signature dishes, but then some new favorites. And one thing to highlight is this year we've partnered with Fever Tree. They are a sponsor of the event and they're going to be working with Connor O'Neill's Venology and also the Grotto to offer a social district beverage. So you can get a social district beverage, walk within the social district. But that is an exclusive drink that you can like for taste that you can try during this event.

Oh, how fun. Signature cocktails. Why don't you tell me about the street closures? Is it the same as, you know, the summer streets closures for Taste of Ann Arbor?

It is actually a little bit bigger. So one thing that we learned last year is that this event is tight with our previous footprint. So after kind of reviewing the lines and how things were structured last year, we decided we need a little more space. There were a lot of folks who were jumping into lines and they didn't really know if they were in line for Aventura or if they were in line for Detroit Pizza Pub. So we are actually extending the footprint all the way down to Huron. It actually mirrors our rolling sculpture car show footprint. So it starts at East William, it goes down to Huron, and then we have Washington from Ashley to the alley. So you can actually still access that parking garage from 4th Ave. And then Liberty, we will actually have the street closed from Ashley to that alley as well. So the DDA is working on their 4th Ave project, so a portion of that block is closed, but we will have that up to the alley. So it is a much larger footprint, but our goal is to kind of give everyone the opportunity to spread out a little bit and not feel too crammed in.

So typically, how many tickets is like one plate? Because I will say the plates are not small. We say tasting like morsels or whatever, but it's so much more food than that.

Yeah. So, you know, most things start at two tickets and those are typically drinks and then it goes up to six. Now, if you're interested in like the lobster roll from Ashley's, that is six dollars. You know, it's a pretty decent sized bite. I would, you know, like you mentioned, they're a little bit bigger than a normal bite. um and then you're looking at things like paella from real seafood and aventura those range you know from four to five tickets um and you are you're getting like a boat um you know with like a scoop like a very nice scoop um of food and as someone who's attended the event and worked the event um you know i i typically have been able to get to like six or seven different places um and spending anywhere between 20 to 30 tickets um and that's like a nice nice decent lunch

I mean, you might not even want to eat dinner after that, honestly. It's like spending $30, you're going to feel pretty full. You'll probably have a dessert in there somewhere. You're going to feel full for sure. So what are a couple of the tastes that you're excited about? Is there any restaurant menu items that you'd like? You know, it's like picking your favorite child, right?

Like it's really, really hard. But I think I'm really excited to try Slow's barbecue. You know, they're bringing pulled pork sandwich. I just really like their food, but I'm excited to taste that. And then Washtenaw Dairy, I am always excited to try their flavors and floats because they always bring both options to Taste of Ann Arbor. And then last year I had hochi, which was outstanding. It's like an Asian fusion cuisine. And I'm really excited to try that again, just because it's not something that I can get, you know, every single night. I either have to go to the farmer's market, which is, you know, they're there once a week or kind of wait for taste. So I'm very excited to try that. And, you know, I kind of always end my, you know, taste experience at the end of the day with fish and chips from Connors and a beer. Yeah.

Well, I will say I always hit up Connors, too. But it's also a restaurant I love to frequent. I think it's great. I love Connors. Also, Chalamar. You mentioned both of those places, which, I mean, if you haven't had them, definitely have them at the Taste. They're both very delicious. But, yes, I agree. I love that chance. So I go to those places because they're like my haunts. I like to go to those places. But then I like that I can try these places that I'm, like, driving by or something. And I'm like, I've never been in there. I'm kind of curious. I don't know if I want to spend the money on a full meal because I'm – not sure, you know, kind of thing. So that's the cool thing about taste. And then you can have a new haunt. You can be like, this is my new restaurant. Yes, exactly.

Yes. It's always like fun to just see like everything that, you know, is available. But then I also really love to see who sells out first, because I feel like that's a testament to like how good the food is. And then if I haven't tried it before the end of the day, then I kind of have a little bit of like, you know, FOMO. I missed out on that. Yeah. Yeah. I do. I love to see because we had a few last year that sold out before the end of the event and I didn't get a chance to try them.

So the event is May 31st. What's the time frame and is it with the Ann Arbor Dexter Run too?

Yeah, so our event starts at 11 a.m. and it goes until 5 p.m. The Ann Arbor Dexter Run typically runs down Main Street and ends at Huron. So a lot of times there's like a break, you end the marathon, and then a lot of times they come right into Taste. purchase their tickets and start their bites. So they kind of line up one right after the other, just so, you know, people can kind of feel themselves after they're raised.

All right. Well, we're just about out of time. Do you want to tell people, obviously they know to come, but like why you think people should come and maybe any additional advice you'd give to people traveling down to the taste?

Yeah, you know, I think, honestly, Taste is a very unique event. I think that you were really able to kind of see all of the businesses that, you know, encompass our downtown. Not all of them, but a lot of them, a good variety. And you can kind of pick out your new favorite. You can make a day out of it with your family. And it really it's like a really good feel good event where you're supporting local businesses as well. And if you're coming from out of town, you know, it can be a little tricky to get through town right now with construction. But parking is available on like the corners out, like kind of bordering our closure. So there are surface lots and our parking lots and parking garages that you can use. And so just give yourself a little bit of extra time. Parking is free on Sundays. So take that into account where, you know, typically when you're coming downtown to go out to dinner, you're paying for parking where you don't have to on Sundays. So that is a huge perk. You can save those funds for those extra bites.

I almost forgot. Do you want to mention, I think there's DJ Rondon and maybe some activities before we go, if you want to mention any of that stuff.

Yeah, definitely. So we are going to have DJ Rondon. You probably have seen him at Summer Streets and our various other tailgating events. He's, you know, our main street DJ. We love to have him. um you know he'll be kind of setting the tone for the for the day making sure everyone you know is happy and having a good time and then the ann arbor district library will be there they'll be sharing some information about their summer reading program the summer games which is one of our all-time faves a20 will also be there sharing things about a20 week but also handing out that bamboo cutlery and that is complimentary with your ticket purchase online. And then we have Empowerize, which is, Empowerize Therapy is out of Brighton, but they are new to the area and they, you know, are a really great option for families in Ann Arbor who are looking for those services just right outside of town if they can't, you know, find them here in Ann Arbor. So we're super excited to have all of these tabling vendors, also the Alzheimer's Association, which comes every single year to share their message and their upcoming events. So it's going to be a really great time.

It always is. I can't wait. I love it. It's one of my favorite things to do in the summer. So thank you so much, Ashley, for telling us more about it.

Yes, I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to talk about it.

For more on this and other programs, visit a2gov.org slash CTN. Visit youtube.com slash CTN Ann Arbor to see all that we have to offer. Remember to like, subscribe, and ring that notification. Thanks for watching and tune in next time to FYI.

Thank you.