County Commissioners Adopt Trail Millage, Housing Resolutions; Receive Update on Gov Center Repairs

Grand Traverse County commissioners adopted resolutions Wednesday to put a proposed trails millage on the November ballot and to support the work of the Housing and Homelessness Task Force. Commissioners also heard an update on Governmental Center repairs, which could cost up to $7.75 million.

Trail Millage
The first ever countywide trails millage will head to voters this fall for approval.

Commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to adopt a resolution to place the 0.3-mill levy on the November 3 ballot. Chair Scott Sieffert and Commissioner Rob Hentschel were opposed, while Commissioners Darryl Nelson and Fern Spence were absent. Both Hentschel and Sieffert said they didn’t see constituents in their district using the trail system and didn’t believe taxes should fund it. The millage would generate approximately $2.6 million annually and cost the owner of a property with a market value of $100,000 about $15 per year.

In a presentation to commissioners, TART Trails CEO Julie Clark cited the economic, health, and recreational value of trails. According to the presentation, 98 percent of surveyed county residents said they currently or want to participate in hiking and walking, while 74 percent of trail users supported having a recurring public funding program. Millage funds can be used toward construction, planning and engineering, capital replacement, property/right-of-way acquisition, maintenance, and program administration for trail projects across Grand Traverse County. Clark said those funds could be leveraged to secure even more grant funding and help move forward high-profile projects ranging from the Three Mile Trail to the Interlochen Community Art Trail.

The proposal calls for establishing a Trail Millage Coordinator – likely to be TART Trails – that would administer the program under a professional services agreement with the county. A community Trails Advisory Committee would develop funding recommendations, with county commissioners having final spending approval. While the millage was initially proposed to be 10 years, commissioners shortened that to 6 years before approving the language Wednesday. The shorter length will allow voters “to provide accountability on whether it’s working,” said Vice Chair TJ Andrews.

Housing Resolution
Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a resolution of support for the work of the Housing and Homelessness Task Force. The resolution also authorizes the development of an implantation plan for the Task Force’s recently completed strategic vision outlining eight key local housing recommendations.

The Housing and Homelessness Task Force – a group led by the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness, featuring city and county representatives and funding from a Rotary Charities grant – presented its recommendations in a joint meet to county and city commissioners in June. County commissioners in their resolution Wednesday agreed to work with the Task Force and other community partners to develop a “sustainable and comprehensive implantation plan” by the end of 2026 for those recommendations.

The resolution language, which was drafted by Nelson and worked on by multiple commissioners, carefully denotes that the county is not authorizing or committing to “any new expenditures, taxes, millage proposals, or ongoing financial obligations,” Andrews summarized. Any future requests that involve county funding or taxes, including a potential housing millage, will “require separate consideration and approval by the board through its normal public process,” the resolution states.

Governmental Center Repairs
Repairs to address structural and other issues at the Governmental Center could cost up to $7.75 million, contractor Pat Machin of Machin Engineering told commissioners this week.

The commission learned in June that the Governmental Center had “multiple areas of concern within the basement structural system and foundation components, including concrete deterioration, corrosion of embedded and exposed steel, moisture intrusion, cracking, spalling, and rust jacking,” according to County Deputy Director of Facilities Chris Comeaux. Commissioners gave the go-ahead to addressing the most urgent repairs, including bringing corroded beams back into compliance so they meet requirements for load-bearing capacities. Those repairs are going out to bid soon.

Addressing the longer-term issues, which Machin said would include upgrading major parts of the structure near its foundation on three sides, are estimated to cost between $6.75 and $7.75 million. “There are two key components of the costs above those required for structural portions,” he wrote in a memo. “Maintaining open and accessible operations of the building during construction and moving the primary electrical power systems from the interior of the basement to a code-compliant exterior location in a new structure. Together the two items represent approximately 45 percent of the total cost.”

Commissioners plan to consider those repairs as part of a larger discussion they’re having on the future of the Governmental Center and other county properties, a process being led by consultant Plante Moran Realpoint. County Administrator Nate Alger said Plante Moran Realpoint was aware of Machin’s repair estimates and planned to present a facilities report to commissioners in August or September. Alger also said he’s continuing negotiations with the City of Traverse City on how the bill for the most immediate repairs will be split between the two co-owners of the Governmental Center.