Traverse City commissioners will vote tonight (Monday) to allocate nearly $300,000 to four local organizations to address housing and homelessness efforts – part of a larger federal allocation the city will receive totaling over $365,000 this year and an estimated $1.8 million over the next five years in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

Traverse City’s status as the seat of the region’s new metropolitan planning organization (MPO) means the city is now eligible to receive CDBG funding, which is intended to provide “decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities” for low and moderate-income groups, according to the federal government. City commissioners approved a plan in 2024 outlining their intended approach to spending CDBG dollars over the next five years. That plan calls for funding “to be split between addressing the community’s (1) housing needs through rental assistance, accessible and affordable housing, and aging in place; (2) the needs of unhoused populations through homeless shelter upgrades, homeless services and prevention; and program administration costs,” according to a memo from Deputy City Planner/Sustainability Coordinator Leslie Sickterman.

The city issued a request-for-proposals (RFP) in November for eligible nonprofits within the city limits to apply for CDBG funding. Staff are recommending funding four requests totaling $245,453. The largest allocation is for Safe Harbor at $99,941 to pave the overnight shelter’s parking lot and make other shelter improvements, including new dining chairs/tables and a power generator. The second allocation is $69,725 for Goodwill Northern Michigan’s East Bay Flats permanent supportive housing project. Funds would cover four new energy-efficient HVAC units for the complex and covered bike racks, which will help protect the bikes that serve as the main form of transportation for many tenants from the elements.

A third allocation for $65,787 is recommended for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing for improvements to a four-plex complex on Three Mile Road that houses formerly homeless individuals with mental illness diagnoses. Repairs would include installing a new high-efficiency boiler, a water heater, and roof upgrades. Finally, Central United Methodist Church is recommended to receive $10,000 for its day shelter, including tech upgrades, 16-bay phone-charging lockers, and a refrigerator.

The four requests are all considered capital improvement allocations. Commissioners will also consider granting another $50,000 to Central United Methodist Church as a service allocation for director/kitchen/janitorial/security staffing. Safe Harbor also sought staffing services support, but with funds limited and Traverse City already making a large funding allocation to Safe Harbor in December (plus a larger capital commitment in this round of CDBG funds), staff recommended funding the Central United Methodist Church request.

The final component of the city’s first CDBG budget is program administration. Two vendors are helping the city administer the program at a combined cost of $69,870: Wade Trim and the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan. In total, the city’s $365,323 in CDBG funding for year one will be distributed accordingly: $245,453 (67.2 percent) for capital expenditures, $50,000 (13.7 percent) for services, and $69,780 (19.1 percent) for program administration. Sickterman previously noted that while “the funding through CDBG is welcome,” it’s also “relatively small in relationship to the large housing-related issues facing the city. Ideally, the CDBG spending moving forward will be part of a big picture set of housing policies established by the city.”

Also at tonight’s city commission meeting...
> City commissioners will consider supporting a request from In Front Hospitality LLC for a development district liquor license for 115 East Front Street. As previously reported in The Ticker, Red Spire Brunch House owners Chad Hall and Joshua Anderson have purchased the former Green House Café building and are planning to open a new restaurant in the space. In addition to the liquor license for that space – which is a special license available to businesses in the DDA district and not capped by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission like other Class C licenses – Hall and Anderson are also seeking several permits that will allow them to sell alcohol at the Old Town Playhouse.

> City commissioners will hear an update on 2025 Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) road projects happening in the Traverse City area, including the $25.8 million rebuild of M-72 (Grandview Parkway) from Division Street in Traverse City and M-22 (Bay Shore Drive) to Cherry Bend Road in Elmwood Township, with a new roundabout planned at M-72/M-22. According to presentation materials, other projects will include a city-wide signal modernization project (at the US-31/Marketplace, US-31/Meijer, M-72/Bugai, and M-37/Eastern intersections), peat excavation work on two US-31 bridges from Reynolds Road to Sullivan Road ahead of an eight-mile highway rebuild in 2026, and overlay work on M-37 from M-113 to the county line road.

> Commissioners will consider approving a resolution of support to apply for a Pure Michigan Trail Town designation in partnership with TART Trails. The resolution was originally on a December meeting agenda but pulled for timing purposes. Communities must apply by January 15 each year to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for designation consideration. If selected, a community receives a DNR press release announcing the designation and is featured in Pure Michigan marketing and trail maps as a Trail Town. Communities also put up branded signage reflecting their official designation. The state’s website lists 16 current Trail Town communities, including Elk Rapids, Cadillac, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, Reed City, and Big Rapids in northern Michigan.

> Finally, Mayor Amy Shamroe will present a special tribute to Votruba Leather Company “for its long-standing commitment as an established business in the City of Traverse City.” The business – founded by Frank Votruba in 1874 after emigrating from Czechoslovakia – is celebrating 150 years in business. General Manager Brian Park is expected to accept the tribute.