Traverse City commissioners will tackle several issues related to using and maintaining city property Monday, including approving agreements with the National Cherry Festival for the 2026 and 2027 events, a contract to create a modern searchable database and online burial map for Oakwood Cemetery, and the creation of a new city facilities manager position to oversee all city properties.

National Cherry Festival
Commissioners will vote to approve updated agreements Monday for the National Cherry Festival (NCF) to host its 2026 and 2027 events. As with previous years, the festival will use multiple city parks, streets, and parking lots – with the city to begin charging NCF for the first time for lost parking revenues.

NCF typically appears before the city commission for contract renewal on a two-year basis. The proposed new agreement states the festival will pay the city 50 percent of its estimated lost parking revenue for 2026 and 75 percent for 2027. In 2028 and beyond – which will be covered by future agreements – that rate is expected to be 100 percent. NCF uses multiple city parking lots during festival week, including Lots B and T (Arnold Amusements, pictured), Lot RB next to the volleyball courts, and Lot C next to Traverse Connect. Those lots represent at least a few hundred parking spaces. Even with NCF charged a nonprofit rate, the parking fees are likely to total $10,000-$14,000 by 2028.

“It’s part of doing business,” says NCF Executive Director Kat Paye. “We will figure it out. I don’t know what option we have, because we need to use the parking lots. But we appreciate that they’re coming at it by not just hitting us all at once and easing into it (over the next few years).”

While NCF used to have a flat capped annual fee with the city to cover all festival expenses in the past, in more recent years it’s paid “for all city services directly associated with the festival,” according to the contract language. Those include costs like police, fire, street cleaning, and more. Costs can fluctuate annually, but typically average $80,000 to $100,000 per year, Paye says. NCF also incurs additional non-city expenses, such as with the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police.

The new agreement notes that NCF intends to use Rotary Square – on the corner of State and Union streets – as a ticketed VIP viewing area for festival parades. That area will also be used as a staging area for crews to televise the parades. Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Executive Director Harry Burkholder says NCF will also sign a separate agreement with the DDA to use that park space. A portion of Rotary Square will remain open for public use, Burkholder says.

Other planning is underway for the 2026 and 2027 festivals, including the air show. For this year, the air show – scheduled for June 28 and 29 from 1pm to 4pm – will include the F-22 Raptor demo team, F-35B Lightning II team, the A-10 Thunderbolt/Michigan Air National Guard, and US Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, in addition to civilian aerobatic performers like Rob Holland, Matt Younkin, and Bob Carlton. In 2026, NCF will roll out a new “nighttime extravaganza” show in addition to the daytime air shows featuring fireworks and pyrotechnics deployed from performing aircraft and choreographed to music. Next year will mark both America’s 250th birthday and NCF’s 100th anniversary, with Paye hinting that a “lot of nostalgia events” are on deck for 2026 to celebrate the milestone.

Finally, NCF has requested that the Blue Angels return in 2027 – but won’t know until December if Traverse City is selected as a destination. NCF and Northwest Regional Airport Authority (NRAA) officials have been navigating sometimes-turbulent waters over contract terms for the air show, which will need to be revisited for 2027 and beyond. “Our goal is always to have an air show,” Paye says. “It may not always be the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, but we always want to put on a great event.”

Cemetery Contract
City commissioners will vote to approve a not-to-exceed contract of $78,300 with the firm Wightman to create a modern searchable database with digitized cemetery records and an accurate digital map of burial sites for Oakwood Cemetery. The 65-acre historic site on Eighth Street – opened in 1861 – originally contained four cemeteries on the same property: the Catholic Cemetery, the City Cemetery, the Jewish Cemetery, and the Northern Michigan Asylum Cemetery, which is mostly unmarked, according to the city’s website.

A memo from Parks and Recreation Superintendent Michelle Hunt notes that the cemetery’s records “are currently kept on paper, using files and index cards. These outdated records are difficult to manage and at risk of loss.” Approximately 9,000 records have been integrated into the city’s BS&A Software, but approximately 20,000-30,000 entries still remain. The city worked with Wightman on a pilot project in the cemetery last year and is looking to expand the scope of work to include several additional phases in 2025 and 2026. In addition to allowing the public to easily access cemetery records and grave locations online, the project offers benefits including “preserving historical records, capturing the knowledge base of seasoned staff, providing a tool to consistently place and manage burials, and understanding the real-time picture of the cemetery’s capacity,” according to Wightman.

Facilities Director
Commissioners Monday will consider approving a recommendation from staff to create a full-time, non-unionized facilities manager position. The position would “play a critical role in overseeing the maintenance, operation, and overall upkeep of all city-owned properties,” according to HR Director Kristine Bosley. Facilities management is currently “spread across multiple departments and individuals, resulting in a lack of continuity and a fragmented approach to maintenance and oversight,” she says. 

City officials have cited a desire to take a more comprehensive look at city properties this year, including a review of city buildings, their physical condition, and their leases – including for high-profile locations like the Bijou by the Bay and Carnegie buildings. A new facilities manager could play an important role in those discussions. The position is proposed to have a salary ranging from $68,358 to $90,014.