Traverse City commissioners approved a $2.57 million contract with Elmer’s Crane and Dozer Monday for construction work on several key city streets, sidewalks, and parking lots starting this fall and continuing into next year – including Maple Street, Twelfth Street, Eastern Avenue, Railroad Avenue, parking lots G and C, and multiple Eighth Street intersections. Commissioners also voted Monday to interview six candidates out of 13 recommended by a consulting firm for the position of city manager on September 7.

Road Paving Projects
Several road and sidewalk projects will take place this fall and next spring across Traverse City after commissioners approved a contract with Elmer’s Crane and Dozer for $2,577,831.26 Monday. The contract will be covered out of a combination of road commission millage funds, capital projects funds, parking funds, and TC Downtown Development Authority (DDA) TIF funds.

Under the contract, Elmer’s Crane and Dozer will focus first this fall on reconstructing the intersections of Eighth and Cass streets and Eighth and Union streets. Those intersections, which will be covered by TIF dollars, will serve as part of a key detour route on Eighth Street next year while Grandview Parkway/East Front Street is under construction. The crumbling intersections – which DDA board members recently agreed pose safety and mobility challenges for pedestrians – will be reconstructed to more closely resemble the intersections seen at State/Union and State/Cass.

If Elmer’s can finish the two intersections quickly enough this fall, crews could turn to other projects covered by the contract still this year – otherwise they will wait until spring. Those projects include pavement preservation work – which uses cold milling and resurfacing with hot mix asphalt to extend the life of city streets – on Maple Street between Sixth Street and Griffin Street, Twelfth Street between Division Street and Union Street, and Eastern Avenue between M-37 and the eastern terminus of the city water plant/low pump station (work areas pictured, map). Work on Maple Street will include replacing the concrete intersections with hot mix asphalt and reconstructing the brick intersection at Eighth Street.

Referencing past discussions by commissioners about the need for improved sidewalks on Eastern Avenue – particularly on the south side of the street between M-37/Peninsula Drive and Milliken Drive – City Commissioner Tim Werner asked whether sidewalk work could be included with the paving project since Eastern Avenue will see a major surge in traffic next year as a Grandview Parkway detour route. City engineering staff said that was their goal, noting that survey work was underway in the area of the planned sidewalks and that they hope to bring an amendment to the contract to commissioners for approval before spring to include sidewalk work in the corridor.

Other work covered by the Elmer’s contract will include removing the poor concrete pavement and placing a hot mix asphalt street on the portion of Railroad Avenue between Station Street and Woodmere Avenue. That will include constructing a narrow 20-foot width pavement surface and adding a stormwater infiltration system “below frost line for year-round effectiveness,” according to City Engineer Tim Lodge. Railroad Avenue is also a crucial part of the detour route for Grandview Parkway next year and will undergo improvements at several intersections in preparation for increased traffic in 2024.

Other contracted improvements will include repairs to the sidewalk along State Street at Lot G – next to Mode’s Bum Steer – and pavement repairs in Lot C, located next to Traverse Connect along the Boardman River. The DDA initially also hoped this year to reconstruct and repave Lot B – the farmers market lot bordered by Grandview Parkway, Cass Street, and the Boardman River – and repair the neighboring Lot T, but those project bids came in significantly over budget. DDA CEO Jean Derenzy tells The Ticker those projects will now likely be slated for 2025.

City Manager Interviews
Commissioners went into closed session Monday to discuss candidates for the position of city manager, coming back into public session to vote to choose six candidates to interview on September 7 out of 13 recommended for consideration by consulting firm Amy Cell Talent. Candidates are allowed to request confidentiality – and commissioners are allowed to discuss candidates in closed session – up until the interview stage under the Open Meetings Act. Interviews and hiring deliberations must be conducted in public, however.

Commissioners voted in June to hire Amy Cell Talent to lead a national search process for a new city manager to succeed former Manager Marty Colburn, who abruptly parted ways with the city this spring. The posted job description for the position seeks an “innovator, strong communicator, exceptional project manager, change agent, teambuilder, and strategic leader who can work effectively with the city commission, talented staff, and engaged community to chart the vision for this exceptional community and to put in place the strategies and tactics to achieve the community-embraced vision.”

The job description notes that the next city manager will have to address “key issues that are facing the city,” including developing a long-term strategic plan, balancing resident and tourist needs, leading staff succession planning, modernizing city operations, and navigating infrastructure, housing, homelessness, and climate change issues. A bachelor’s degree in public administration or a related field is required, while a master’s degree is preferred. The compensation rate is listed at $160,000-$190,000.

Selected candidates will be contacted within the next 48-72 hours to be invited to the September 7 interviews, with the names of those who accept interviews to be released by the end of this week. After first-round interviews, commissioners will decide next steps including potentially inviting back finalists for additional interviews and/or selecting a hire (in a worst-case scenario, the commission could also extend or restart the search process if commissioners aren’t satisfied with the candidates interviewed).

That timeline could potentially put the city on track to hire a new city manager within the next month. Nate Geinzer is currently serving as interim manager under a contract good through November 1. If a permanent city manager hasn’t been hired by November 1, Geinzer’s agreement will continue on a month-to-month basis.