Celebrating Earth Day in Chelsea, Michigan

Today is Earth Day. Did you know that? The only reason I did is because my second grader informed me of it this morning, with her never-faltering enthusiasm for any and all holidays. (Hey Mommy! Today is Secretary's Day!)

So far, I have celebrated in style by mailing back my used printer cartridges to HP and sorting my recycle bins. Exciting, huh? All in all, we are pretty good about recycling and saving energy in our house. We make an effort to be environmentally conscious, and are motivated by cost savings. In the Chelsea city limits, residents pay for trash pickup by purchasing orange garbage bags at a cost of $2.50 each. Throwing away as little as possible each week saves us money. With four people and a dog, we use one trash bag per week, with few exceptions. I find this system quite fair — those who have throw away more trash pay more money.

I an also grateful to my frugal husband for his insistence on shutting off lights that aren't needed. I grew up in a house that had lights on in every room after a certain time of day. I thought of it as friendly and welcoming ...still do, honestly. But I didn't pay the bills back then or give much thought to future generations (heck, I *was* the future generation! LOL).

Other "green" initiatives on our part? Unplug things that don't need to be plugged in; switch to lower energy light bulbs as the current ones wear out; and walk or bike instead of driving whenever possible. This is much easier now that both kids can ride a bike!

Chelsea Earth Day Events
Don't worry, if you didn't know today was Earth Day, you have a few days to catch up. Earth Day is being celebrated in Chelsea this weekend with numerous numerous educational and fun events:

• Upcoming Earth Day events in Chelsea
• Learn more about Chelsea Earth Day 2008
  

Speaking of traffic.. and gas prices, too

Talking about traffic and parking in Chelsea can provide many hours of entertainment -- er, that is if you are the sort of person who enjoys heated discussions. And the traffic, gas prices and road conditions in the rest of the state of Michigan are just as fun (I should use "air quotes" on the word fun, shouldn't I?) Kidding aside, ours are small complaints in a town that honestly doesn't have much to complain about in the whole scheme of things.

Michigan Road Construction Updates
Today, I read a press release from the State of Michigan that announced an updated area of their website which provides construction updates, maps, links to gas prices and more. The updates seems fairly useful and user-friendly. And honestly, this seems like a pretty good use of our tax dollars (for once). Here is the link:

• www.michigan.gov/drive

Chelsea to Ann Arbor Commuter Bus Begins May 15
AATA is starting a new commuter bus from Chelsea to Ann Arbor on May 15. Rides will start in Chelsea at the Arctic Coliseum, and end in various places in downtown Ann Arbor.

• About the AATA express bus service from Chelsea
• Commuter express map and schedule (link to PDF on AATA website) - On a personal note, the absence of any convenient way to get to the Briarwood/State St. area is a bummer.
  

According to the website: "The service will be made available to commuters on a prepaid, monthly basis. AATA’s board of directors has set an introductory monthly fare of $125." Unlike the regular pay-as-you-go AATA routes, a limited number of monthly tickets will be available, which reserves your seat for that time period.

Is this a cost savings?
According to the Ann Arbor News article about the A2-Chelsea route, here are some calculations for commuting from Chelsea to Ann Arbor:

• [From the A2 News]
  Commuter bus from Chelsea: Monthly pass $125; cost at 21.25 days per month: $5.88.
  Private vehicle from Chelsea: Gas and vehicle costs @ 50.5 cents per mile* x 32 miles: $16.16. Daily parking cost at $125 per month** at 21.25 days per month: $5.88. Total daily cost: $22.04.
  (Notes: *Internal Revenue Service business mileage allowance for 2008.**Cost of monthly parking permit in a city of Ann Arbor parking structure.)"

For our family, these numbers don't compute. For one thing, hubbie works in the State Street area and doesn't pay for parking. For another thing, even with the best intentions, there are going to be days when the bus isn't practical. Such as those when there are late meetings, doctors appointments or kids' soccer games. My estimate is that the bus would be useful more like 15 days a month. So, for us, a much "greener" and economical option is to share a ride with a neighbor once or twice a week. There is a 20% savings right there.

I'm curious what other Ann Arbor commuters who live in Chelsea think about this bus service, and how well it will be used. What do you think?

Federal Screw Works is hot topic at Planning Commission Meeting

Last night, the Planning Commission meeting included a public hearing for the rezoning of the Federal Screw Works property. Developer Rene Papo of Magellan Properties presented his revised site plan which includes 2-story buildings, with businesses on the lower level, and residential on the upper level. The meeting was attended by many local residents and business owners, including myself.

Living on Main St.
As you may know, I live on Main St. It's a great location and we love being in the heart of the city, walking downtown, having local stores nearby and easy access to the highway. Most of the time, I am able to simply pull out of my driveway like a normal person and am on my way. But there are times when traffic is heavy and it takes a good 5 minutes or so before I can pull out. Traffic gets backed up all the way from the railroad tracks downtown to past Pierce Park (near Old US 12). After living here for a number of years, I have this system down pat and know which times of day I need to allow extra time for this.

One of the proposed tenants for this new development is a drive-thru bank. As I not-so-patiently waited to pulled out of my driveway this afternoon to pick up my daughter from school, it made me sick to think how hellish Main St. will be if there is a continuous line of cars waiting to turn in or out of the bank. Besides, aren't we trying to promote Chelsea as a walkable community?

Part of the charm of Chelsea is the historic homes on Main St. on the approach to downtown. Visitors and passersby have daydreams of the people living in those cute little houses strolling to the cute little downtown to mail a letter or stop for ice cream. Well, that daydream is a reality for residents that live on Main, Pierce, Lincoln, Congdon, Summit, etc. A drive-thru bank will be dangerous to pedestrians, and make the already very congested traffic on Main St. a nightmarish inconvenience for residents and visitors. And what about the emergency traffic headed to Chelsea Community Hospital, whose entrance is across the street from the FSW location?

Other tenants of the proposed site might include a restaurant, office and medical buildings and residential apartments. Magellan also developed the "Chelsea Courtyard" strip mall where Blockbuster, Divine Java, the Dollar Store and others are located, as well as Dexter's new Busch's and surrounding stores. Here is their current plan for the FSW site:

• Magellan's Planned Development for 500 S. Main

The Historical Preservation Part of It
As you have undoubtedly read in the paper, there is a group in Chelsea who are strongly urging the city planning commission and the developers to save part of the FSW building. The Federal Screw Works has fascinating story spanning nearly 100 years. If you'd like to read more about it, you might want to check out Federal Screw Works page on ArborWiki.

When most people think of the building, they see the large factory that has FEDERAL SCREW WORKS on the front. Well, that's not what the preservationists are talking about. It's the painted brick building on the north side of the property that the Citizens for FSW are trying to save, along with another small brick building that faces Congdon St. near the Chelsea Center for the Arts.

From what I could tell at the meeting last night, it does not sound like the developers are open to the idea of saving this building. That is a shame, and for what it's worth, I strongly believe that extra time or costs on their part would come back to them 3-fold in new business gained from publicity and community good will. Wouldn't every small town want a developer who could preserve some of our history and character AND provide a great new place?

My Thoughts
The most important thing to me is that this new space fits in well with the residential community. This is not the place for a strip mall or office building park. This area has historic homes filled with families who have lived here for generations, or moved here because we fell in love with the town. Our property values, our summer strolls downtown, our daily commutes and our every day well being pretty much depend on what goes into this new development.

If you live or work on Main St. or anywhere near downtown, or even if you ever drive on Main St., or visit businesses or organizations near that area (Faith In Action, Chelsea Center for the Arts, Chelsea Community Hospital, Cottage Inn Pizza, etc.) these decisions will affect you. Not to sound like an alarmist, but if you have an opinion on this subject, now is the time to speak up.

We don't have the authority to make decisions about the FSW development, but we do have the ability to communicate with the Planning Commission -- and they make the decisions. The Planning Commission's next meeting is a working session, but the public can attend. If you want your voice to be hear, I suggest contacting a member of the PC or writing a letter for their consideration, and then attend the next meeting to see what happens.

Links:

• City of Chelsea Planning Commission - you can browse agendas and meeting minutes from past sessions, as well as learn more about the members and meeting schedule.
• City of Chelsea Planning Commission Meeting Minutes for 4/15 (not yet available)
• Federal Screw Works on ArborWiki
• Magellan Properties proposed site plan for 500 S. Main St.
  

Is it safe to come out yet?

Now that is it mid-April, do you think it's safe put away the fleece blankets (2 layers, if you must know) and emerge from behind my computer?

I sure hope so because it's the dawn of soccer season, ballet recitals, softball, t-ball, swim lessons, last days of school, year end parties and who knows what else. For some crazy reason, when my children were babies I thought I'd have more time to "spare" when they got to be school age. Silly me! These days, it seems I get about an hour and half of time between picking someone up, dropping someone off somewhere, when I can manage my business, run errands, clean the house, feed the kids and try to keep some semblance of sanity.

So, if I'm conspicuously gone from blogging this spring, look for me somewhere on the sidelines in the 8 and under sporting events in town.

In the meantime, keep an eye on the events calendar on Things To Do In Chelsea. As always, there is plenty to keep you away from your computer, too. :)