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Thursday, November 25, 2010 • HERITAGE NEWSPAPERS/WESTERN REGION
Quantum Signal moves into former school By Steven Howard Heritage Newspapers
The sale of Union School by Saline Area Schools to an Ann Arbor-based technology company was finalized Nov. 5. “It closed officially on (that) Friday,” Saline Schools Superintendent Scot Graden said just after contracts were signed. The transaction will move Quantum Signal, an advanced technology and research and development firm, entirely to Saline, bringing approximately 35 employees along with it. The building’s sale was approved by the Board of Education in July for $425,000, and was officially sold to Aztarac Holdings LLC, which represented Quantum Signal. Graden said school staff spent the weekend prior to the closing completing the moving process. Though in July the school district originally considered continuing to house a portion of its servers at Union and paying a rental fee to Quantum Signal for the privilege, Graden said other arrangements have been made. “We decided to try to take the opportunity to try to get the existing servers up to speed,” he said, citing two new locations for the hardware, which
will add a preventive element if one were to go down. “They will be split between Harvest and the high school.” Though Graden said the district will be utilizing “30 percent less servers going forward,” he suggests it likely won’t be a concern for several reasons. “One is the new servers we got,” he said, citing their efficiency and also indicating the school district will simply optimize what it already has in place. Another external, Internetbased option has alleviated some of the school district’s storage issues, Graden said. “We’re able to store a lot on Google apps now,” he said. “We are putting more things in the ‘cloud.’” Graden said school district officials are happy to finally have the sale completed, as it will be good for the district, as well as the downtown neighborhood surrounding the building. “We’re glad it’s done,” he said, noting the building has been largely unused and vacant for several months. Quantum Signal’s move means more commerce downtown, Graden said. “We want to get 30 or 40 people downtown, buying coffee and eating dinner,” he said. The benefit to the school
district comes given the total elimination of maintenance and upkeep on the site, including snow plowing, grass cutting and general care of the facility. “We estimated about $80,000 in savings,” Graden said. Quantum Signal’s cChief operating officer and co-founder, Mitch Rohde, said he and his colleagues made the move to the Union building over the weekend, and they were officially up and running as of Monday. “We’re starting up this morning and just trying to unpack,” he said, indicating it will take the company a little while to reassemble itself in its new location. “Right now we’re just boxes in hallways,” he said. Rohde said the move was just slightly behind schedule because of some initial building-related concerns that turned out not to be. “We had to do a lot of due diligence on the environmental end,” he said, citing worries that underground gas tanks used for heating, and dating from the mid-20th century were left there. However, it turned out to be a non-issue as the tanks were determined not to be present after inspection, and the sale was finalized, Rohde said. Rohde said the timing of the
move worked out in their favor because of the unseasonably warm temperatures. “I was happy we had such good weather over the weekend,” he said, citing a general notion among staff that they wanted to get things going as soon as possible. “We had some folks that were here until midnight on Friday and I was there again until midnight (or) 1 a.m. again on Saturday.” When initially considering purchasing Union School, Rohde said the fact that the building was once an academic facility was a big selling point for him, as he and his colleagues like the educational aesthetic and history of the place. Being so close to dining and shopping in downtown Saline was also a compelling aspect, he said. “Everybody’s super excited to be here,” Rohde said. As for how the building will be used, and the company laid out within, Rohde said he cannot be too specific because of the nature of the work they do. “We do work where there’s security issues,” he said. The Quantum Signal website lists company contracts with the U.S. Army, Air Force and National Institute of Standards and Technology, among others. As for putting up some
The former Union School is the new home of Ann Arbor-based Quantum Signal, an advanced technology and research and devlopment firm. The Saline Area School Board of Education approved the building’s sale in July for $425, 000 to Aztarac Holdings LLC, which represented Quantum Signal. sort of sign to indicate that Quantum Signal is now occupying the Union building, Rohde said the company will take its time given those who do business with them will know where to find the office. “It’s a fairly low priority item for us,” he said, noting that he doesn’t want to put up a temporary sign and have to replace it. “If we’re going to invest in something and spend some money, we want to do it right.” According to the Saline Area Schools website, Union was
originally opened in 1930 to serve the community as a kindergarten through 12th-grade educational institution. “The building has a rich history in Saline and has had many roles throughout the years,” the site states. For more information on the building’s new occupant, Quantum Signal, visit www. quantumsignal.com. Staff Writer Steven Howard can be reached at 429-7380 or showard@heritage.com. Follow his blog at http://heritageweststaffblog.blogspot.com.
DesignHub creates brochure for recreation center The Saline Recreation Center has a new membership brochure, produced by DesignHub Inc., the Salinebased creative services and marketing firm. The Saline Recreation Center, operated by the Saline Parks and Recreation Department, is located at 1866 Woodland Drive, just south of Textile Road. The department’s mission is to provide a variety
of recreational opportunities and promote health and wellness within the Saline community and surrounding areas. The new brochure, titled the “Fun & Fitness Guide,” details the recreation center’s programs, classes and equipment. The most popular sports, fitness and aquatic offerings are listed and described. The brochure is extensively illustrated with photos of the recreation
center is use by members and guests. A prospective recreation center member can fold out the brochure to see detailed floor plans of the facility, including the aquatic center, gymnasiums, racquetball court, cardio equipment room, aerobics studio, free weights area, locker rooms, and more. The center’s highlights are keyed to points on the floor plans.
There is also a map of the recreation center’s extensive outdoor facilities, including baseball and softball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer field, sand volleyball court, play structures, picnic grounds and nature area. The brochure outlines the center’s membership plans for 2011. These include individual, family, youth, senior, senior family and summer student
plans. Pricing for annual and monthly memberships are listed, along with discounted rates for Saline residents and daily admission fees. DesignHub proposed the brochure’s “Fun & Fitness Guide” concept, then wrote, designed, and produced the brochure, all to the review and approval of the recreation center’s director,
New City? New Home? Feeling a little lost?
Local resident named to post James W. Low, originally of Saline, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section. The Young Lawyers Section, composed of more than 10,000 members, is the oldest and largest section of the State Bar of Michigan. It is committed to providing activities of particular interest and value to young lawyers in Michigan, including service
to the profession and service to the community. Low is an attorney at Sullivan, Ward, Asher and Patton P.C. in the specialty litigation division. He represents doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases and represents lawyers in legal malpractice cases. He also represents corporate defendants in complex litigation. Low graduated from Saline
High School in 1993. He then graduated from Michigan State University in 1998 and earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2001. He is involved in numerous bar leadership activities, including serving a two-year term as Michigan’s district representative to the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, serving as chair-elect of
the Oakland County Bar Association New Lawyers Committee, and serving as a barrister in the American Inns of Court. Low has published numerous articles on professional liability and technology for the Defense Research Institute and has lectured on professional liability and bar leadership for the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section.
City to collect leaves through Dec. 3 The city of Saline’s loose leaf curbside collection program is going on now through Dec. 3. Leaves are scheduled to be collected, weather permitting, at the curb for residents living north of Michigan Avenue on Mondays and Tuesdays and for residents living south of Michigan Avenue on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesday is used as a catchup day or early collection day depending on the amount of leaves ready for collection. The Department of Public Works will utilize equipment to load leaves into trucks and deliver to nearby fields for composting.
Do’s and Don’ts ■ Do rake fallen leaves onto the area between the sidewalk and curb before 7:30 a.m. prior to your scheduled days of collection. ■ Do rake only leaves into leaf piles. ■ Do move your vehicle from
the street on your scheduled leaf collection day if you have leaves out to be collected. ■ Do keep nearby catch basin grates free of leaves. ■ Don’t rake leaves onto the street. ■ Don’t put tree brush, limbs, bushes, flowers, etc. into leaf piles. ■ Don’t rake leaves over catch basin grates. ■ Don’t park your car over piles of leaves. ■ Leaves are also picked up with your normal weekly curbside yard waste collection program. ■ Leaves and yard waste cannot be mixed with refuse and/or recyclables. ■ Leaves must be bagged in brown craft paper bags or placed in reusable containers identified with yard waste stickers and placed five feet from your refuse and recyclables. The weekly curbside yard waste collection program will continue through Saturday and will resume in April 2011.
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Carla Scruggs, and her professional staff. Goetzcraft Printers Inc. of Ann Arbor handled the initial press run, completing the brochure in time for distribution at the recreation center’s recent open house. Copies of the brochure can be obtained at the center or by calling the facility at 429-3502.
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November Monthly Specials Sunday’s
Monday’s
Sunday Brunch 12pm till 3pm Adults $9.99 young adults under 10 years old $4.99 Try our omelets made just the way you like it
Martini Monday’s 5pm till 7pm Martinis only $5.00 Monday night football from 9pm till 12am Beer and Burgers just $5.00 refills only $2.00
Tuesday’s
Thursday’s
Latin Jazz band from 6pm till 9pm Bring your dance partner and Salsa the night away.
Live Jazz band from 8pm till 11pm Ladies night 7pm till 10pm $3.00 drink specials Karaoke until 1am
Friday
Saturday’s
November 26th tired of shopping stop in from 10am till 2pm for $10 2 Beers 2 burgers 2 Drinks and 2 Sandwiches or 2 coffees/ Tea’s and 2 Desserts
Saturday’s now open at 11am for Football free appetizers watch your favorite team in front of one of our large TV’s
New Year’s Eve Party December 31st come join us $50 per person Included in ticket meal choice-Seafood, Filet Mignon, Pasta,Fish, bottle of Champagne, entertainment, party favors, cash Bar
$200 per couple includes Hotel at the Holiday Inn Express Belleville and transportation provided to and from the Bayou Grill