Breaking News!

The following announcements were distributed to the Friends mailing list on July 16 and July 20, 2004:

July 20, 2004

Dear Friends of Dicken Woods -

SUCCESS!

In case you didn't see it on cable access last night, City Council voted *unanimously* in support of the resolution. Even our previous opponents supported DW this time around.

-Tom Ivacko

July 16, 2004

Dear Friends of Dicken Woods -

Great news: City Council is scheduled to vote this Monday July 19th on a resolution in support of maintaining Dicken Woods solely as parkland.

You may recall the threat DW faced from the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), just as the city decided to preserve the land as open space. The AADL tried to outbid the city and purchase DW themselves, even though they were moving ahead with plans to build a branch library on Oak Valley Drive, behind the Ice Cube skating complex, barely a mile from DW.

There was then the potential threat that AADL would purchase DW, decide not to build a branch there, and later sell the land to another developer like Crosswinds. Just at the moment we felt we had saved DW, we suddenly faced the threat of going back to square one.

Even after the city's purchase of DW, there was still an open question of AADL purchasing part of the land for future development options.

Since that time AADL has informed the city that they are not interested in DW, and now an affirmative vote on this upcoming Council resolution would finally put the future of DW to rest: Dicken Woods would remain as parkland, free from the threat of future development.

Though an affirmative vote can't be guaranteed, we have received very strong support from Mayor John Hieftje as well as a number of Councilmembers. The resolution is co-sponsored by four of our strongest supporters on Council: Bob Johnson, Wendy Woods, Margie Teall, and Marcia Higgins. All four, in addition to Mayor Hieftje, spoke strongly on our behalf last fall when Council voted to purchase DW. We are of course extremely grateful for their efforts on our behalf.

The resolution (see below) is item D-3 on the Council agenda. We are not trying to arrange a large turnout, but if you are so motivated you can of course attend the Council session at City Hall, this Monday starting at 7pm. Alternatively, you can watch the discussion live on local cable access.

And one last note ... we still haven't completed our initial fundraising to make our $50,000 contritubion to the city's parkland acquisition fund, as we pledged. We hope the 2nd annual DW benefit concert at the Ark on Sunday August 29 will put us over the top. Please plan to purchase tickets and attend this great event! We'll be sending more news about it soon.

Best wishes,
Tom Ivacko
on behalf of the Steering Committee

Here's the Council Resolution text:

Whereas, The residents of the neighborhood surrounding Dicken Woods Park were strongly supportive of the use of the property for a City Park;

Whereas, The non-profit organization, "Friends of Dicken Woods", was established by interested residents in the area to support the park system designation of Dicken Woods Park as a neighborhood park; and

Whereas, The Friends of Dicken Woods have pledged a donation to the City in the amount of $50,000 to offset the millage funds expended in the acquisition of Dicken Woods Park on behalf of their neighborhood;

RESOLVED, That City Council expresses its appreciation for the support of the Friends of Dicken Woods for the expansion of the neighborhood park system;

RESOLVED, That City Council agrees to appropriate, when received, the donation from Friends of Dicken Woods to the Land Acquisition Fund;

RESOLVED, That City Council expresses its intent to maintain Dicken Woods Park solely as a neighborhood park and to enhance the park features consistent with its integration into the life of the neighborhood.

Sponsors:
Council Members Robert Johnson, Wendy Woods, Margie Teall, Marcia Higgins
Date: July 19, 2004