ANN ARBOR, MI - When her next-door neighbors on Ardmoor Avenue went more than two years without finishing painting their garage door, Ann Arbor resident Elizabeth Nelson sent them a fake city notice, saying they were in violation of a city ordinance -- one that she made up.

Nelson, who is now running for City Council in the 4th Ward, then sent her neighbors another official-looking notice, reiterating that they were in violation and could face fines if they didn't paint their garage.

The notices were complete with the city seal and signed by a fictitious city employee, Bill Snyder of "Residential Ordinance Enforcement."

The Ann Arbor News obtained police reports documenting the incidents from 2006 under the Freedom of Information Act.

The fake notices, which Nelson acknowledges creating in 2006, were reported to police, though no charges were ever brought.

Nelson, who has a background as a teacher and lawyer, maintains she was just playing a practical joke on neighbors she considered her friends at the time.

"All I can say is people who know me understand this is the kind of silly thing I would do," the candidate said this week. "It became kind of a fun challenge to see how real I could make it look."

Her neighbors, Matt and Melina Adler, weren't amused and asked her to stop.

A police report from September 2006 indicates Melina Adler reached out to the city attorney's office about a suspicious letter she received in the mail. After the city determined it was a fake, the matter was passed along to the Ann Arbor Police Department.

Melina Adler told the city her neighbor had been playing jokes on her that she did not appreciate, the initial police report stated. Police noted the phone number in the first notice "comes back to a muffler shop."

The followup fake notice in October 2006 told the Adlers an inspection of their property was scheduled and, if they didn't address the "violation," fines would be assessed, starting at $20 per week and increasing to $75 per week. Attached was a fine schedule for violating the non-existent "Model Neighborhood Policy Board" ordinance, specifically "Ordinance 33, Chapter 9," stating that leaving home improvements in an unfinished state for more than two years was a code violation.

Nelson, who is trying to unseat Council Member Graydon Krapohl in the Aug. 7 Democratic primary, said it was just a joke and she thought her neighbors would get it. She maintains she wasn't actually trying to get her neighbors to paint their garage door as it didn't really bother her, though she acknowledges the notices looked pretty authentic.

Melina Adler said she didn't appreciate Nelson's joke.

"Falsifying letters from the city is a crime," she said. "I felt very uncomfortable about having received these letters from my neighbor."

Records show Melina Adler went to the AAPD to report the followup notice shortly after receiving it in October 2006, turning it over to police.

According to the AAPD incident report, which includes a copy of the followup notice, Melina Adler told police about the previous fake notice and said she believed Nelson was behind it.

She told police Nelson had played several "jokes" on her family, but she had never asked her to stop, the report states. She also told police she didn't want AAPD contacting Nelson for a statement but she would call back if she changed her mind, the report states.

Melina Adler then contacted Nelson and asked her to stop sending the letters. No charges were brought, but in a 2006 Ann Arbor News article about the incidents, which did not name Nelson, police advised that forging a city document is illegal and people can be prosecuted for doing so.

Nelson said she quickly contacted The Ann Arbor News and then police at the time to explain the notices were just a joke.

"Everyone on my street knew it was me as soon as they read the story," Nelson said, explaining she's known for being a jokester.

Krapohl, one of Mayor Christopher Taylor's allies on the City Council who is defending his seat against Nelson, said he heard about the incidents a while back and he has no comment on it.

Nelson said she's stunned her neighbor went to police and reported her. She said she thought they were friends at the time.

"It was totally a joke," Nelson said of the notices, adding she was just trying to be funny and a phone number she included went to a lawnmower repair shop. "I thought they would get it."

Melina Adler said they weren't friends at the time of the notices and Nelson carried out another prank previously that she considered inappropriate.

When her husband was sick and didn't mow the lawn for a couple weeks, Melina Adler said, Nelson put picket signs in their yard, with messages such as "snakes crawl in tall grass."

Nelson acknowledges she did that, but again she thought she was playing a joke on friends. She said the signs were small, handwritten cartoons.

As for the garage door, Melina Adler acknowledges it was left for more than two years in an unfinished state in which it was two-toned because a damaged portion had been replaced and then never painted to match the rest. She said she had two young children, a job and other priorities, and repainting the garage door wasn't high on her list.

Not long after the notices, Nelson said the Adlers put a fake for-sale sign in their yard, and she took that to mean they were joking back.

Melina Adler said Nelson has the timing and context entirely wrong and that was actually an April Fool's Day joke on April 1. Along with the fake for-sale sign, she said, they put out a flyer saying they loved their home and neighborhood and weren't moving, "April Fools." She said that had nothing to do with Nelson and she never reciprocated Nelson's pranks.

Pat Wilson, another one of Nelson's neighbors, said she doesn't know much about the fake notices, but she does know Nelson well.

She said Nelson has been a positive presence in the neighborhood, bringing neighbors together by starting a book club and organizing block parties. She said Nelson also started a before-school drama club for students at Eberwhite Elementary School and worked at Trinity Lutheran Church, where she got to know a lot of neighbors.

Susan Van Wagenen, who lived across the street from Nelson and the Adlers in 2006, said she remembers mentioning to Nelson in passing that she wished the Adlers would finish painting their garage, though she said it wasn't a big deal. She said Nelson didn't tell her she was going to send fake city notices to the Adlers and she found out afterward.

"The whole thing was a joke. It was meant to be funny," Van Wagenen said, indicating she believes Nelson meant no harm. "I think it was blown out of proportion, but it was certainly nothing malicious. It was a total joke and the whole neighborhood knew it was a joke."