City Commissioners to Consider Eighth Street PILOT, Budget Approval, Paramedic Program

Traverse City commissioners will tackle a busy agenda tonight (Monday) that includes potentially approving a tax break for workforce housing within the Commongrounds Cooperative building on Eighth Street, supporting a partnership between the Traverse City Fire Department and West Shore Community College for paramedic training, and approving the city’s 2026-27 budget, among other items.

PILOT/Eighth Street
Commissioners will consider approving a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement with Nest Community Partners for 16 workforce apartments in the Commongrounds Cooperative building on Eighth Street (pictured). Instead of normal property taxes, a developer under a PILOT agreement pays a defined percentage of net shelter rents to the local municipality. The PILOT agreement remains in place for a certain number of years. In this case, the four percent agreement for the Eighth Street apartments is proposed to be in place for 35 years.

The units will be targeted toward singles, seniors, and families, according to the application. The 16 units under the PILOT would include eight studios, four one-bedrooms, three two-bedrooms, and one four-bedroom. Twelve of the units would be reserved for residents earning between 60 and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The remaining four would be for residents earning 100 percent AMI. There are four other units in the building that will remain for market-rate or short-term rental use; those units are not covered by the PILOT and are “intended to subsidize the workforce housing units,” the application states.

The nonprofit Nest Community Partners – led by Kate Redman, who also helped spearhead the Commongrounds Cooperative project – is purchasing the apartments (which already exist in the building) with the goal of shifting the “income distribution of the units…to better serve low and moderate-income households,” according to the application. A memo from City Assessor Amy Robbins states that monthly gross rents for studios will be $945-$1,550; one-bedroom units will be $1,112-$1,950; two-bedroom units will be $1,594-$1,780; and the 4-bedroom unit will be $2,462 – with the ability to sublease individual bedrooms.

“Gross rents are to be protected and ensure the housing will remain affordable long-term,” Robbins wrote. She noted that the project received an 18.17 out of 20 possible points on the city’s scoring matrix for PILOTs, “indicating an excellent project.” The project also aligns with the city’s Strategic Action Plan, Robbins wrote, “by creatively helping to tackle the housing issues, addressing housing affordability to low-income residents, and bringing back year-round populations in core neighborhoods.”

Paramedic Program
Commissioners tonight will consider supporting a partnership between the Traverse City Fire Department and West Shore Community College for paramedic training. According to a presentation from TCFD EMS Administrator Kathryn Dunklow, the department has four on-staff licensed EMTs and a requirement to obtain a paramedic’s license within three years. A history of uncertainty for local paramedic course availability and the cost involved in traveling to other communities for training prompted TCFD to contact West Shore about making TCFD a paramedic training site.

West Shore would be responsible for administering the program, including fulfilling accreditation, staff, and training equipment needs. TCFD would provide the program space, with a $13,249 course fee covering all classes required for paramedic certification. The 11-month program would first start this August and end next July, offering a combination of online learning and in-person instruction once a week, plus clinicals in different settings. From there, a new program could start each fall and take up to 12 students, with grant opportunities available for tuition and enrollment open to all agencies.

Dunklow wrote that the program can “benefit EMS as a whole for our region,” including partnerships with local hospitals and EMS agencies. TCFD will benefit from a “guaranteed future paramedic program,” “work-life balance for students,” cost savings and recruitment opportunities, and professional development for staff, she wrote. Former TCFD Chief Jim Tuller told commissioners in January that staffing shortages – including for trained paramedics – were responsible for delays in TCFD becoming the city’s primary ambulance provider.

City Budget
Commissioners will vote tonight to approve the city’s 2026-27 budget, as well as the Traverse City Light & Power and TC Downtown Development Authority budgets. The city’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, with commissioners required to adopt the new budget by June 1 under the city charter.

The budget reflects $126 million in expenditures across all funds, with the largest expense being personnel at over $30 million. Spending is “organized around two broad categories of investment: core services and strategic investments,” according to a staff memo. Core services represent key municipal functions that help maintain operations, public safety, infrastructure, and compliance, while strategic investments are projects that help advance the city’s Strategic Action Plan.

Strategic investments total roughly $42 million, though staff noted there is “significant overlap between the two categories” as many core services align with strategic goals. For example, the budget includes intersection and sidewalk improvements (both an infrastructure and urban design initiative), wastewater modernization (both an infrastructure and environmental project), and Hickory Hills mountain bike trail and East Side Social District improvements (investments in city sites that also contribute to placemaking and neighborhood character). One percent of the city’s general fund will be allocated to complete street projects, while another one percent will go toward homelessness and housing initiatives.

Traverse City Light & Power’s budget includes a five percent rate increase, with slight water and sewer rate increases also planned. Commissioners are expected to approve a contract tonight for just under $100,000 with Raftelis Financial Consultants for a comprehensive water and sewer rate study that will update the city’s rate structure – which has been “largely unchanged for approximately 25 years,” according to City Manager Benjamin Marentette – and “ensure rates are equitable and financially sustainable for both retail and wholesale customers.” The city is expected to soon renegotiate its wholesale rates with surrounding townships that use city water, with the study to support those discussions.