Fireworks are a go in Traverse City for the Fourth of July after city commissioners Monday approved a permit for the TC Boom Boom Club to put on the event. Commissioners will receive an update in mid-June on local health metrics to ensure the city is still on track to safely host large gatherings, with an option to cancel the fireworks if state mandates or health trends warrant. Commissioners Monday also agreed to appeal a recent court ruling requiring a public vote on FishPass and approved contracts for a nearly $5 million project to fix three city bridges this summer.

Fireworks
Commissioners voted 6-1 Monday to approve TC Boom Boom Club’s permit application to hold Fourth of July fireworks, with Commissioner Ashlea Walter opposed. Walter expressed concern about potentially having tens of thousands of people from different areas of the country crowded into city parks and beaches, especially given the unknowns of where state mandates and health metrics will be at that time. Commissioner Roger Putman also worried about the impact of the fireworks on combat veterans, but said he would vote to support the permit this year to allow the community to have a celebratory event coming out of the pandemic.

Traverse City Fire Department Chief Jim Tuller told commissioners he felt comfortable with the proposed safety protocols for the event, which will include hand-washing and hand-sanitizing stations and park signage encouraging social distancing and masking. “I think we’ve got a solid plan,” he said. Commissioner Brian McGillivary expressed skepticism those mandates would be actually followed by fireworks attendees. “That’s not going to happen…people will crowd, and there will not be any six-foot spacing,” he said. However, Tuller – who has the authority to cancel the permit if needed for public safety reasons – said staff would additionally monitor state restrictions on gatherings and consult with health officials on statistics including vaccination rates leading up to the fireworks. Commissioners will receive an update in June regarding those numbers.

TC Boom Boom Club President Tim Hinkley noted his organization has been responsible for making the Traverse City fireworks happen since 2011, with private individuals and businesses now contributing 90 percent of funding and municipalities only 10 percent. He said public safety was at the forefront of the club’s planning efforts. “We’re not interested in operating in a situation where we’re going to hurt people…we really pledge to do our absolute best to make sure the general public is well aware of the issues involved,” he said. At the suggestion of some commissioners, Hinkley said he’d recommend to his board that promotional safety language leading up to the fireworks also include a message encouraging the public to get vaccinated. City Clerk Benjamin Marentette said the National Cherry Festival – which will also be taking place during the Fourth of July – would likely be another strong partner in that messaging, with the festival planning to host a tent all week offering on-site vaccinations.

FishPass Appeal
City commissioners unanimously agreed Monday to appeal a recent decision by Judge Thomas Power that the city is required to go to a public vote before the planned $19.3 million FishPass project can be built at the Union Street Dam property. Power ruled that a research laboratory planned as part of the project is not a city park use, and thus the city must obtain a three-fifths majority approval of voters to move forward under the city charter.

The commission vote means the case will now be appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Commissioners also approved a resolution of support to seek assistance from the Michigan Municipal League (MML) Legal Defense Fund for the case. City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht explained that the MML will consider a city request to potentially file an amicus curiae brief as part of the appeal. Such a brief is filed by someone who isn’t a direct party to the case, but can share additional arguments or relevant information with an appellate court when the court’s decision could have a wide-ranging impact.

Bridge Contract
Three downtown bridge repairs are ready to move ahead after commissioners approved contracts for the nearly $5 million project Monday. Bids for the project came in 60 percent higher than original estimates, with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) now kicking in $3.9 million and the city contributing $1.1 million to repair the East Eighth Street, Cass Street, and Park Street bridges. Repairs on the Cass and Park bridges are planned to start in June – with work concluding in October for Park Street and November for Cass Street – while the East Eighth Street bridge will be under construction from July through November. City staff said a separate project to replace the West Front Street bridge is expected to go out to bid through MDOT this summer, with work beginning this fall and continuing through summer 2022.

Also at Monday’s meeting…
> Commissioners held a public hearing on the city’s proposed 2021-22 budget – which is scheduled to be officially adopted on June 7 – as well as a public hearing on an application the city plans to make to the state for up to $27.5 million in low-interest loans for city wastewater repair projects. City Director of Municipal Utilities Art Krueger noted that applying for loan funding doesn’t commit the city to completing all the projects or to making repairs on specific timelines, but rather outlines a potential range of projects the city could tackle in the next five years. Final project prioritization and timing for loans will be determined with input from the city commission at a future date, depending on how much loan funding is approved by the state. The city must submit its application by June 1, with potential project funding to be awarded after October 1.

In another fiscal agenda item, commissioners agreed to use excess funds in the city’s general fund balance to provide city matches for possible upcoming American Rescue Plan Act or federal infrastructure grants. The city has a policy to keep its fund balance between 15 and 20 percent, a range designed to protect the city’s financial stability while ensuring taxpayer dollars aren’t being hoarded but instead spent to benefit the public. The fund balance is projected to be at 25 percent at the end of this fiscal year, allowing the city to allocate excess dollars – in this case for possible grant matches – in order to spend down the balance.