Grand Traverse County commissioners tonight (Wednesday) will discuss how best to use 27 acres of county-owned land on LaFranier Road, including the potential future construction of a new jail and regional morgue. At the 5:30pm study session, commissioners will also get an update on the effort to complete the Boardman Lake Trail – a project that received a boost in grant funding this month and could begin construction as early as next fall.

LaFranier Road Property
Commissioners will revisit long-running discussions about building a new county jail as part of a larger look at how to use 27 acres of property on LaFranier Road.

The county purchased the property in 2000 with the goal of eventually building a new jail and providing a “one-stop” shop for public service needs. Only two buildings are currently in use on the sprawling parcel, including the county’s public services and health services facilities. A conceptual rendering created by architectural firm Ray Kendra (pictured) shows room for at least four more buildings on the property, including a multi-story, 38-000 square-foot office building, a new 145,000 square-foot jail/law enforcement center, a 25,000 single-story building, and an expansion of the health department.

According to County Interim Deputy Administrator Jean Derenzy, at least two more potential uses for the property have been identified in addition to a new county jail, including a regional morgue and a potential partnership with Community Mental Health (CMH). CMH – currently located on Hall Street in a 41,500 square-foot building – has approached the county about building a new 56,000 square-foot facility on the county’s LaFranier Road property.

“They’re looking for a possible new location, so we want to look at the synergies between the health department and CMH and whether it makes sense to locate CMH there,” says Derenzy. “It does make sense for them to be on that side of town because of their service area, and some of the clients we serve at the health department also have services at CMH.”

There is enough space on the property for all of the identified uses, with CMH offering a potential revenue source for the county in paying to use the property. However, Derenzy says commissioners need to discuss the “long-term vision” for the property and identify what other needs – if any – the county may have in the future before committing to projects that will tie up the land. “We should be looking at this property holistically in terms of county and government services, as well as (outside) services that tie into what we provide,” Derenzy says.

Discussions about building a new county jail have circulated among commissioners for years, with overcrowding and maintenance challenges plaguing the existing jail on Washington Street. The conceptual rendering for the LaFranier Road property details a 300-bed jail – almost twice the capacity of the existing facility. Whenever the current jail exceeds its inmate capacity for an extended period of time, the county has to pay to board inmates in a neighboring county’s jail or else reduce the jail population through early release of inmates. But while there is room on LaFranier for a new facility, “considerable study needs to be completed to determine design, staffing, etc., for such a jail expansion,” according to a memo from Derenzy and County Administrator Vicki Uppal.

Commissioners will also discuss the possibility of locating a regional morgue and medical examiner office on the LaFranier property. A contract with Western Michigan University covers medical examiner services for Grand Traverse County now, but officials have discussed exploring a long-term solution of creating a regional medical examiner officer and hiring a forensic pathologist, allowing autopsies to be performed locally instead of downstate. A subcommittee of commissioners is set to study the option further, with Derenzy and Uppal noting “the siting of a morgue could be placed on county-owned property” on LaFranier.

Boardman Lake Trail
Plans to complete the final missing 1.5-mile segment of the Boardman Lake Trail received a major boost last week after the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund approved a $600,000 grant for project construction, with Rotary Charities announcing another $75,000 for the project Tuesday.

Commissioners will discuss the trail loop tonight, including updates on two new components to the design plans. In addition to the trail design unveiled last fall for completing the gap in the loop between Fourteenth Street and Medalie Park – engineering plans for which are now being completed by Prein & Newhof – two additional elements have been added to the project. They include an off-road trail providing a direct connection between the trail, NMC’s University Center and the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) station on Cass Street, and making improvements to Medalie Park that will establish the park as an official trailhead for the Boardman Lake Trail. Garfield Township is providing $20,000 to covering the engineering costs for the Cass Road connection, while Grand Traverse County and TART Trails will cover the engineering costs for the Medalie Park upgrades ($15,000 and nearly $75,000, respectively).

Improvements to Medalie Park will include building a second bridge to connect the park to the east side of the existing Boardman Lake Trail, expanded parking, upgraded bathrooms, and a public kayak launch. At their Thursday meeting, county Parks and Recreation members will also discuss adopting a business plan for Medalie Park to better accommodate and capture revenue from the increased traffic expected at the property with the completion of the trail, including increasing safety and security at the park, marketing kayak and pavilion rentals, implementing a tree management plan, and making electrical upgrades. Commissioners will also consider changing the park’s name to one “that better reflects its designation as a trailhead, its uses and location,” according to the board’s meeting packet.

Costs to complete the Boardman Lake Trail have been estimated at $5.5 million. A majority of construction costs – $3.6 million – will be covered by city, county and state brownfield funds, while Garfield Township has pledged $800,000 and TART Trails has committed to raising $400,000 in private funds. Officials hope to use grants to cover the rest, with at least $893,231 in public grant applications still under review or planned to be submitted. Construction could start as early as next fall, with the project planned to be completed in 2019.