Traverse City commissioners reviewed preliminary design plans Monday night for a proposed $5.4 million pier in downtown Traverse City and granted consulting firm SmithGroup JJR permission to move forward with creating final design and construction documents for the structure.

The city has a $232,000 Great Lakes Fisheries Trust Grant to fund all three design phases for the pier project – which could have a total price tag of nearly $9 million once surrounding beach and public infrastructure improvements are factored in – with commissioners required to grant approval after each phase to proceed to the next. While some commissioners Monday night questioned the community’s level of commitment to the pier and said they’d like to have more public input sessions to evaluate how serious interest is in actually building the structure, they voted to let SmithGroup JJR finish their already-funded design work and to seek a $5,000 grant from Rotary Charities to evaluate funding opportunities for the pier.

“I’d like to see this through at least the feasibility of financing phase to see what we can and can’t do,” said Commissioner Barbara Budros. “To stop now would seem ridiculous to me.” Agreed Commissioner Jim Carruthers: “(The process) isn’t committing us to build the pier. It’s just letting us (evaluate) ways to do it in the future.”

Commissioners granted SmithGroup JJR a deadline extension from June 1 to August 14 to complete final design documents due to needed marine work that was delayed this spring because of ice cover on Grand Traverse Bay.