Traverse City commissioners delayed making a decision Monday night on whether to sell 20 feet of city property to a downtown developer, questioning the proposed price of the deal. Developer Tom McIntyre of the new Washington Place project and City Manager Marty Colburn had proposed the $92,000 transaction as a solution to help provide parking access to McIntyre’s development in place of a contentious curb cut onto Washington Street.

Noting that the deal would cost the city 10 public parking spaces, and that McIntyre had valued parking spaces for his own development at $40,000, Mayor Michael Estes questioned why the city would sell such spots at a “huge discount” of essentially $9,000 each. “I don’t see a problem with the city selling some space…but it’s the price tag we pay,” Estes said. “It’s just an equity question.”

Commissioner Tim Werner also asked whether the city might not fetch a higher price for the strip of land due to “opportunity costs,” and recommended studying the issue further. Commissioner Jeanine Easterday agreed. “Let’s take another two weeks and work on it, because this project has changed regularly," she said. The commission directed Colburn to sit down with McIntyre to renegotiate the deal and bring an amended proposal back at an upcoming board meeting.

Commissioners Monday also approved a request for approval from the City Opera House to construct a canopy over the organization’s Front Street entrance. Construction and maintenance costs for the proposed marquee would be paid for by the Opera House, which also secured the approval of the TC Historic District Commission and State Historic Preservation Office for the project.

Board members also signed off on a $55,000 upgrade to the city’s parking system, and approved a proposed usage policy and rental fee schedule for the city-owned Carnegie Building.