Potential $11-$16 Million LaFranier Expansion On County's Agenda

Grand Traverse County commissioners will discuss a potential expansion of the county’s LaFranier Road campus today (Wednesday) – a project with an estimated cost range between $11 and $16 million that could include a new emergency operations center and home for Grand Traverse County 911 Central Dispatch and facilities management.

Commissioners directed staff in March to bring back information on a potential expansion – what could be the first step in implementing a new county facilities master plan. That plan, created by consulting firm TowerPinkster for the county and City of Traverse City, calls for a three-campus approach to consolidate services on LaFranier Road, Boardman Avenue, and Woodmere Avenue. It describes several major new construction and renovation projects recommended for the county over the next decade totaling almost $172 million on the low end and nearly $214 million on the high end. City projects total another $40 million to $51.5 million, approximately.

Commissioner Brad Jewett said starting with emergency operations, GT 911, and facilities management was a “no brainer,” noting a new 911 center is “badly needed” and could be funded in part by a $2.50 monthly surcharge for 911 services approved by voters in 2020. When seeking the increase, Central Dispatch publicly identified a move to new offices among the services the surcharge would potentially support. Jewett said the facilities management building at the Civic Center is also “dated very badly,” while a new emergency operations center would free up much-needed space for the health department.

As requested by commissioners, a team of county department heads – representing the three affected departments as well as county administration and finance – provided a written project analysis for board discussion. Staff said the proposal, which is being called “Project Alpha,” includes several of the key elements proposed in the TowerPinkster report. The facilities master plan outlines a Phase 1 and Phase 2 of improvements to the LaFranier Campus. Phase 1 in that plan includes a new three-story Public Services Building, expanded public and staff parking, and campus generators. Phase II calls for a combined 911 Center and Emergency Operations Center east of the Health Services Building and a new Facilities Workshop/Offices/County Storage Building further east.

Project Alpha includes portions of both phases, but not all the improvements recommended by TowerPinkster. Included is a 9,000-square-foot “secure building” hosting both the 911 and emergency services departments, plus a new radio tower. A backup power generator and concrete pad for the building, parking and drive improvements, and another 20,000-square-foot building to house the facilities management department – as well as vehicle, equipment, and materials storage – are also included in the expansion plan.

Some key differences between Project Alpha and the facilities master plan are “the parking, drive, and related improvements are not as extensive, the storage space has been scaled back to a smaller footprint with no animal control area, and there would only be one generator installed,” staff noted. The facilities building has also been scaled back – the facilities master plan shows a 53,000-square-foot building, more than twice the size of what’s proposed – but is “still of a such a size to meet future organizational storage needs, and it could also allow for the consolidation of storage such as the Commission on Aging equipment currently stored at the Keystone closed animal shelter site,” staff wrote.

That scaled-back approach would provide a more affordable option to begin construction. Staff said Project Alpha has an estimated price range between $11,286,045 and $15,836,425. “The projected costs are based on concepts,” staff noted. “The costs may increase if Project Alpha proceeds to the design and construction phase.” The department heads pointed out that Project Alpha’s cost estimates “are obviously less than completing relevant parts of Phase I and most of Phase II” in the facilities master plan. TowerPinkster’s estimate for the “completion of the relevant parts of Phase I and all of Phase II has an approximate budget of approximately $21.710 million to $30.461 million,” staff wrote.

Staff said there are two main financing options for financing Project Alpha. The first would be “the use of available cash within the general fund, the 911 surcharge fund, and other cash reserves and balances that are currently invested,” staff wrote. The second is for the county to issue bonds. That scenario “assumes that the bonds would have an interest rate of 4.5 percent, a 30-year amortization period, and be charged to the general fund as well as the dedicated millages and the 911 surcharge,” the report said.

Staff determined the county could afford to issue $20 million in bonds in that scenario. “The county can issue bonds in this amount and potentially a higher amount due to the county’s very good bond rating, continued growth in revenue, and high debt capacity,” staff wrote. The county currently only has two outstanding debt payments related to prior building projects, which were at the Hall of Justice and Health Services Building. “The Hall of Justice debt service annual payment of $580,000 ends in 2025, and the Health Services Building annual payment of $270,000 ends in 2033,” staff noted, meaning both debt payments will end within the next decade.

Staff presented a proposed project timeline if commissioners are interested in pursuing the LaFranier expansion. While only discussion is recommended today – not action – the schedule shows commissioners voting on Project Alpha in May. From there the plan would go to the Building Authority, followed by a request-for-proposals (RFP) issued for preliminary design in June. Preliminary design could be completed by fall, followed by a final design in early 2025. If bonds are issued, that could happen next spring, allowing construction to start in April 2025 – putting the LaFranier campus expansion on track for a potential late 2026 completion.

Whether the project could actually proceed that rapidly depends on commission feedback. Several commissioners in March said they weren’t opposed to gathering information and discussing an expansion, but expressed wariness about jumping immediately into construction on one project before holding a series of planned study sessions on the overall facilities master plan, which clocks in at nearly 500 pages. “I feel like we're leap-frogging over our own process that we set up...to fast track this one aspect of it without a fully vetted discussion,” Commissioner Ashlea Walter said at the time.