Traverse City commissioners will discuss a potential property purchase for a West Front Street parking deck, funding for Brown Bridge Quiet Area improvements and the purchase of new snow groomers for Hickory Hills Ski Area tonight (Tuesday) at the Governmental Center.

Commissions will meet for a second joint closed session with Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members at 5pm to discuss purchasing property at 145 West Front Street for the future construction of a parking deck. Great Lakes Central Properties (formerly Federated Properties) owns the parcel. While the proposed contract terms have not been shared publicly, details of the deal could emerge as soon as tonight should commissioners decide to pursue the purchase, which would require coming out of closed session to vote on the agreement.

Commissioners will also consider a request from the Brown Bridge Quiet Area Advisory Committee to allocate $300,000 from the city's Brown Bridge Trust Parks Improvement Fund for improvements to the natural area. The proposal calls for the construction of two pedestrian bridges - one at the the site of the former bridge near the outlet of Grasshopper Creek, and one at the site of the historic Brown's Bridge, which no longer exists. Other improvements would include universal river access upgrade, fishing habitat and access improvement, trail upgrades, a historical display and overlook and navigation signage.

Commissioners have already committed $1.5 million from the Brown Bridge Trust Parks Improvement Fund to Hickory Hill upgrades. Any allocations from the fund must be met with matching dollars, which the designated groups are required to raise. While the fund was anticipated to capture $3 million over a five-year period from oil and gas royalties, City Manager Marty Colburn noted in a memo to commissioners that declining market valuations mean the fund is now only likely to generate $2.3 million in the five-year period. Should the Brown Bridge request be approved tonight, that project and Hickory Hills will account for $1.8 million, or nearly 80 percent, of those dollars.

Commissioners tonight will also consider spending nearly $500,000 for two new snow groomers at Hickory Hills Ski Area. Director of Public Services Dave Green wrote in a memo that "the maintenance costs for the existing groomers are increasing at an alarming rate, as well as the time they end up in the garage out of service. As the 'on the rack' time increases, the time to be out on the hill grooming decreases." Colburn also said he believes the existing groomers "have become too costly to maintain and have surpassed their life of service." As part of the purchase approval, commissioners are also asked to authorize a $10,000 storage contract for the groomers for the spring/summer 2016 season until a pole barn and maintenance building planned for the park can be constructed next fall.