Treatment Bed Funding, Parkway Medians, Road Salt on City Agenda

Traverse City commissioners will vote tonight (Monday) on allocating $100,000 to Addiction Treatment Services for two transitional beds, which will be dedicated for individuals who need temporary placement until they can get into longer-term treatment or housing. Commissioners will also discuss a proposal from Commissioner Tim Werner to limit the median width in the section of Grandview Parkway about to be reconstructed – though the state has indicated the design is final and won’t be changed – and discuss the purchase of road salt, a topic that has proved contentious at previous meetings.

Transitional Beds
Commissioners will vote to execute an agreement with Addiction Treatment Services to support two transitional beds at the P.I.E.R. (Promoting Integrated & Engaged Recovery) location on East Eighth Street.

According to a memo from Traverse City Police Department (TCPD) Chief Matt Richmond, the funds are already budgeted and will be covered by the city’s cannabis revenues. The beds will serve as a “temporary placement” for individuals “transitioning to their next level of care and/or permanent placement into treatment or housing,” Richmond explained. According to the agreement language, individuals using the transitional beds must be active participants in the TCPD's Quick Response Team (QRT) program or referred by law enforcement and have “aftercare plans and placement set up/scheduled prior to admission.”

Individuals using the transtional beds must be psychiatrically and medically stable and adhere to P.I.E.R. procedures and medication policies. One male and one female bed will be reserved for the transitional beds, though that can change based on need. Clients can generally stay for a maximum of seven days, with Addiction Treatment Services providing shelter, showers, food, laundry, on-site 24/7 supervision, and a “a safe, substance free, trauma-informed environment,” according to the agreement.

“As a member of the Addiction Treatment Services board of directors, I've seen firsthand the value and quality of services provided by this organization,” Richmond wrote. “This insight has provided me with even greater confidence in this recommendation (to support the transitional beds).”

Parkway Medians
City Commissioner Tim Werner has asked the commission to consider taking action tonight “that results in the new Parkway median being no more than six feet wide between Division Street and M-22.” That section of Grandview Parkway is set to be reconstructed starting in April as part of a corridor rebuild between Division Street and Cherry Bend Road, including a new roundabout at the M-22/M-72 intersection. The medians are slated to maintain their existing 12-foot width. Because of that width – and because trailway is being widened along the water on the north side of Grandview Parkway – the road is shifting closer to Bay Street, narrowing a strip of parkland on the corridor’s south side. Werner has been critical of that shift and previously sought to narrow or eliminate the medians to provide more green space on either side of the road, citing concerns from neighbors.

Commissioners discussed the median length previously at a tense September meeting. City department heads unanimously supported maintaining the width, citing reasons including calming traffic, creating enough space for healthy landscaping and trees in the medians, installing light poles, and providing a safe crossing refuge for pedestrians and cyclists. Staff said the five feet of land on Bay Street required by the road shift is not parkland nor used for recreational purposes, and that its loss will be offset by the creation of more trailway. City streets and parks staff also advocated for maintaining 12-foot medians to accommodate irrigation and mowing.

Notably, the medians are within Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT’s) right-of-way and jurisdiction. City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht told commissioners in September that design elements like median widths are MDOT’s call and that the commission had already given its approval to the project as a whole. Trible-Laucht confirmed this week to The Ticker that the median width remains up to MDOT, as did MDOT North Region Communications Specialist James Lake.

“All of that is taking place within MDOT right-of-way,” he says. “Our intention at this point is to proceed with the design that’s included and is under bid.” Lake says the final design “reflects a balancing of a lot of the comments we heard from the public and from city staff through our public involvement process leading up to this project.”

Work to bury utilities at the M-22/M-72 intersection ahead of the road reconstruction is set to start today (Monday) at 11am. M-72 will be closed for approximately four weeks for the utility work between M-22 and the Tom’s parking lot entrance (both entrances to Tom’s will remain open). Bay Street will also be closed from M-72 to Ramsdell, with several city and county detours in place around the intersection. A public open house on the overall corridor reconstruction project will be held February 11 from 4pm to 6pm at MDOT’s Traverse City Transportation Service Center at 2084 US-31 South.

Road Salt
Finally, city commissioners will vote tonight to approve the purchase of 500 tons of road salt for nearly $39,000. While purchasing road salt may seem like a straightforward municipal transaction, the topic has proven to be a contentious one over the years. Past commissions at times have even blocked salt purchases, expressing concerns the city was spending too much on salt and using too much on roads, damaging the environment.

City Director of Public Services Frank Dituri said in a memo that due to “significant snowfall and freeze-thaw cycles this winter,” the city anticipates depleting its current road salt inventory within the next few weeks. The city has used over 600 tons of salt since January 1 alone, Dituri wrote, with an inventory now dipping below 500 tons. Staff are seeking approval to buy another 500 tons, “which we estimate to be the minimum amount sufficient for the rest of the winter and spring season,” Dituri wrote.

City Manager Liz Vogel wrote to commissioners that the city is “intentional and conscientious in its use of salt and does not use it just because we have it, but simply when truly necessary.” She added: “We are now in a situation where we will soon run out of salt, which is not an acceptable situation given our role as a city to maintain public health, safety and welfare. Maintaining safe road conditions – which at times requires prudent use of salt – is at the center of our mandate to provide for public health, safety, and welfare.”