Traverse City commissioners unanimously passed resolutions of support Monday for an experimental fish passage project at the Union Street Dam and a design and plan to complete the Boardman Lake Trail.

The bi-directional fish passage project at the Union Street Dam – proposed by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission – will encourage movement of “native and desirable fishes” in the Boardman River while removing invasive species such as sea lampreys. One or more channels will be constructed that would allow native species to progress through the river, while at the same time testing out different methods of passing and removing unwanted species. The goal is to construct the experimental system at the dam in 2018-19, followed by annual surveys of species below and above the barrier for up to a decade to refine the design. Approximately $1 million in grant funding is available for the project.

Commissioners also officially approved a design for completing the final missing 1.5 mile trail segment of the Boardman Lake Trail. The new extension would hug the railroad corridor along Cass Road, loop around the Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) campus on Cass, and cut across the lake on a 12-foot wide boardwalk over to Logan's Landing. The proposed route ends with a bridge across the Boardman River from Logan's Landing to Medalie Park, completing the loop around the lake. While commissioners gave their conceptual support for moving forward with the project, construction details and funding sources for the estimated $5.3 million project still need to be determined.

Commissioners Tuesday also authorized new three-year union contracts with the city’s general municipal employees and TC Police Department sergeants, approved spending up to $15,000 to hire an outside law firm to fight a tax challenge from CVS on West Front Street, and voted to spend nearly $211,000 on screw pump repairs at the wastewater treatment plant.