Title
Resolution to Accept the Donation of The Douglas D. Crary Trust Property Located at 1805 Washtenaw Avenue for a Neighborhood Park, Appropriate Funds in the Amount of $25,000.00 to Cover Closing and Due Diligence Costs, and Name the Park “Crary Park” (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and action is a resolution to accept the donation of the Douglas D. Crary Trust property, located at 1805 Washtenaw Avenue into the City’s park system. The site is approximately 1.3 acres in size. Douglas Crary’s heirs would like to donate the vacant parcel to the City to be used as a park for sledding and other recreational purposes. Neighborhood children currently use the hill on the property for sledding in the winter. The site will be used only for recreational purposes, and no playground equipment will be developed on the site.
Douglas Crary served on Ann Arbor Planning Commission and served two terms on the Ann Arbor City Council. The landowners have requested that the park be named “Crary Park” and the Park Advisory Commission does not have any objection to name the park after the owners.
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment has been completed on the property. A limited Phase II Environmental Site Assessment was completed and soils on the site were identified as having high levels of arsenic. Excavation of the contaminated soils will be removed at the landowner’s expense and the area will be refilled with clean soils and stabilized with re-seeding and mulch. The City will pay for the preparation of the reports to comply with DEQ requirements.
Staff met with the neighbors who are very supportive to have the parcel be part of the City’s park system. Conversations have begun to have the neighbors work with the City’s Adopt-A-Park Program or to donate an unspecified amount of funding to offset the City’s costs for maintenance. A generous donation has already been made by Carl Cohen in the amount of $12,000.00 to begin an endowment for par...
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