Grand Traverse County commissioners Wednesday agreed to request a meeting with the Traverse City Commission to discuss the Boardman River Dam Project and define what amount of funding - if any - the city is willing to commit to the project. The county, city and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians approved a letter of understanding at the beginning of the dam removal undertaking agreeing to be partners in the intiative, but County Chairwoman Christine Maxbauer noted the document does not clearly delineate funding responsibilities.

"I don't believe the county board entered into this (agreement) with the understanding Grand Traverse County was going to fund this entire river restoration," Maxbauer said. Citing the estimated $7-8 million that still needs to be raised to complete the project, Maxbauer said the county was not obligated to remove the remaining dams if it couldn't secure funds to do so.

"We may as a board choose simply to fix the spillways...it's much less expensive," she said. "I'm not suggesting we do that; I'm suggesting we get some information that we can make an educated decision on. And part of that decision-making process is going to be hearing from the city commission, and whether or not the city is willing to truly partner with us financially."

Commissioner Alisa Kroupa voiced her frustration with past project-related meetings that only covered generic goals instead of detailed financial figures, and said she hoped the county-city meeting would address some "actual numbers" regarding dam removal funding. She also expressed interest in having the Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality weigh in. "I refuse to come to a meeting that's another unicorn and rainbow tap-dancing about river restoration," Kroupa said. "I don't want to hear about singing songs and holding hands anymore."  

County commissioners gave Maxbauer approval to contact Traverse City Manager Marty Colburn this week to set up the joint meeting with the city commission. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will also be invited to the session.