Oct 19th Meeting Notes

Written By Claire Small

WELCOME NOTES:

  • A special welcome back to the neighborhood for Maggie Brandt!

  • We are finally listed as a neighborhood association on the city’s website.

EVENTS:

  • There are many upcoming events this month happening locally! Specifically, fun Halloween-themed events children and adults can participate in. Here are the events happening this month.

BUSINESS UPDATES:

  • Downtown Library released this update on MLive but renovation completion is still TBD. They will be doing the bookmobile every Friday on Michigan Ave and you can still do pickups.

  • Downtown businesses are closing due to low foot traffic, pandemic, and downtown construction impacts. (Go Ice Cream, Unicorn Supply). The DDA is working on supporting these businesses and is focused on getting more folks downtown and in Depot Town.

  • Call to Action: for all those who have the means or can change their purchase behavior to be local vs. Amazon, please shop downtown. Our businesses need us more than ever and when they suffer, our neighborhood is impacted as well.

  • NEW businesses to explore downtown:

SPECIAL GUEST:

Annie Somerville, County Commissioner, of our district and Ypsilanti, spoke about overall County updates. Here are some highlights below:

Homelessness:

  • This year our county saw the highest number of evictions and the cost of living rising with inflation (at a national level) is having an impact on our communities.

  • Washtenaw County has been hoteling families throughout the summer and that funding has continued through the Fall due to high demand.

  • The Freight House is opening again as a day warming center for the Winter.

  • Avalon Housing is working with the city to open a location in place of the burnt-down apartment building on 204 N Washington. The official timing for opening is TBD.

  • How can you help at a local level?

    • SOS Community Services: A local Ypsi-based organization specializing in supporting the unhoused. You can donate money or volunteer to donate your time. Learn more here

County programs:

  • The Weatherization Assistance Program provides free weatherization services to qualified Washtenaw County residents.

    • This means FREE…

      • Air sealing work such as foaming gaps and holes in attics and foundations

      • Fresh air bath fan

      • Insulation of attics, walls, and crawlspaces

      • Replacements or repairs of inefficient furnaces, hot water heaters, and refrigerators

      • Window repairs

We ran out of time to cover the speed bumps on S. Adams so will roll that over to the next meeting. In the meantime, we will send out an agenda for the next meeting, closer to the date, and take more diligent notes for those who cannot make it.

See you around the neighborhood!

Claire Small
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