Two projects narrowly vetoed by Traverse City commissioners in previous votes this year came back before the board Monday – with the downtown TART Trail extension approved this time but a state-funded demolition and abatement project on State and Pine streets rejected once again.

Both projects involve funding agreements that require five affirmative votes from commissioners to pass. In April, commissioners voted 4-2 in support of a contract with Team Elmer’s to complete the downtown TART Trail extension this year in conjunction with the reconstruction of Grandview Parkway and East Front Street. That motion was one vote short of the support needed, with commissioner Mark Wilson absent and Commissioners Tim Werner and Jackie Anderson opposed.

On Monday, Werner and Anderson once again opposed the project – but Wilson was present to give the final affirmative vote needed to pass the Elmer’s contract in a 5-2 vote. The city – in partnership with TART Trails and the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA), with additional funding from the state – plans to complete three segments of work to improve the downtown TART Trail this year. Planned improvements include:  

> Sunset Park to Senior Center: Connecting public properties with an improved trail on the north side of US-31, including new 10-foot multi-use and 6-foot pedestrian facilities at Sunset Park and NMC's Hagerty Center, transitioning to 12-foot multi-use at the Senior Center

> Clinch Park to Murchie Bridge: Reconstructing the asphalt TART Trail on the north side of Grandview Parkway between Clinch Park and 200 feet east of the Park Street/Grandview intersection with separated 10-foot cycle/multi-use and 10-foot pedestrian facilities

> Division to Hall Street: Trail construction along the southern portion of Grandview Parkway with new 10-foot multi-use path between Division Street and the existing 8-foot sidewalk at Harbor View Centre (across from the volleyball courts)

This year’s construction represents the first of multiple potential phases of work that could eventually happen along the downtown TART Trail. Commissioners agreed in March to sole-source the first phase since Team Elmer’s is already reconstructing East Front Street/Grandview Parkway. Using Team Elmer’s will increase construction efficiencies and speed up the project timeline, according to city and consultant engineers, noting that timing is critical so that trail and road work can happen simultaneously instead of having an additional closure in the future for trail work.

The total project cost – including Team Elmer’s construction bid of $1,073,469.05, a $100,925 construction management agreement with Progressive AE, and $68,503.95 for contingencies – is $1,242,898. Funding sources include a state Revitalization and Placemaking Program grant ($500,000/40 percent), the City of Traverse City ($421,449/34 percent), TC DDA ($200,000/16 percent), and TART Trails ($121,449/10 percent). 

In voting 'no' again on the contract, Anderson said she still had concerns about the project, including a lack of trail lighting and converting city green space along the trail route into asphalt. Anderson said she viewed funding the project now as a “multi-phase commitment” to future work without any certainty about how additional segments would be funded. Werner cited multiple safety concerns about the project, notably a lack of adequate guardrail to protect cyclists from Grandview Parkway traffic. “I think we can do better,” Werner said.

However, multiple other commissioners said tackling projects in phases is typically how work gets done in the city, from street paving to sidewalk construction. Giving up half a million dollars in state funding that could improve the TART Trail now – even if the design isn’t perfect – to hold out for a theoretical ideal project in the future wasn’t a recipe for success, most commissioners agreed. “I think this is a good project, and I think it's a good addition to our city,” said Mayor Amy Shamroe.

While the TART Trail project passed Monday, commissioners failed to come up with one extra vote needed to reverse a decision on using part of a $900,000 state grant for demolition and cleanup work on several properties on State and Pine streets. The DDA received the grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for work on four sites: 115 Pine Street (formerly Master Dry Cleaners), 126 West State Street (formerly the Paulos/Buchan property), 122 West State Street (formerly RSF Holdings), and 120 West State Street (formerly RSF Holdings).

The first part of project work calls for asbestos abatement and removal of the existing buildings from the sites. Those contracts are for $129,424 with Taplin Enterprises for abatement and $111,500 with Pitsch Companies for demolition, for total costs of $240,924. Once the buildings are removed, workers will be able to begin testing the soil underneath them for anticipated remediation and environmental cleanup – with the rest of EGLE’s grant funding applicable to those costs.

The properties were once anticipated to be the site of a third future downtown parking deck. However, the latest version of the DDA’s new TIF plan has eliminated that project. The city-owned sites could still be used for any number of purposes in the future, from housing to parking to park space, staff said. Cleaning them up now on the state’s dime will make the properties more valuable by eliminating contamination – a liability likely to compound over time – and readying them for future use, staff said.

However, Commissioners Werner, Anderson, and Heather Shaw – who opposed the project in February – once again opposed moving ahead with demolition and cleanup work Monday. Shaw said there was “no plan” for the properties now and worried about creating a giant vacant lot on the corner of State and Pine that would be an eyesore downtown. Werner pointed out that some of the buildings on the site are newer than others and could have the potential to be repurposed instead of demolished. He questioned whether there was “urgency” to move forward with demolition now given that the city still has two more years to spend its grant funding.

City Manager Liz Vogel cautioned that the consequences of not addressing the contaminated properties will only grow “more acute” as time goes on, and that funds won’t stretch as far in the future given rising construction and labor costs. She also worried about the city losing its standing with granting authorities like EGLE by refusing to use awarded funding. However, the commission’s 4-3 vote Moday failed to gain the five affirmative votes needed to move forward with the contracts, leaving it open for future commission discussion on whether and when to utilize the grant funding.