The City of Traverse City has revealed more details on an approximately $1.6 million state grant just awarded for a solar and battery storage project at the wastewater treatment plant, which could reduce the city’s annual CO2e emissions by 300 metric tons. City commissioners will also get an update on another wastewater project – a pilot project to monitor COVID-19 breakouts and variants in different locations around Traverse City – at their meeting tonight (Monday), where they’ll also consider firms to lead the city manager search process and going into closed session to discuss multiple topics.

Wastewater Projects
The City of Traverse City has been awarded a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) Low
Carbon Infrastructure Enhancement & Development Grant for $1,685,479 for a clean energy project at the wastewater treatment plant. The goal is to install solar arrays on the rooftops of various buildings at the plant. Battery storage, or battery energy storage systems (BESS), are “devices that enable energy from renewables, such as solar, to be stored and then released when the power is needed most and are becoming essential in expediting the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy,” according to the city.

The city plant uses approximately 5,048 MWh of electricity annually, based on an analysis of monthly electric bills. The total cost is about $411,525 for a unit cost of $0.082/kWh. According to the city, the solar installation would produce about 510MWh per year of electricity, or about 10 percent of the plant’s annual consumption. The city says the solar project would reduce the plant’s electricity costs by approximately $41,000 annually, or at least $1.025 million over a 25-year lifespan. The project is anticipated to reduce CO2e Emissions by 300 metric tons annually.

“We are excited to have been awarded this significant grant toward this solar project and incorporate the use of battery storage for clean and green energy,” says Director of Municipal Utilities Art Krueger. “The utilization of a city property, such as the wastewater treatment plant, is a perfect way to continue our renewable energy goals.” Traverse City Light & Power Executive Director Brandie Ekren says the project is an “inspiring opportunity to apply and observe the performance of clean innovative strategies and technologies,” noting that “pairing energy storage with renewable generation” allows the city to receive the benefits of solar energy even when the sun isn’t shining.

The total budget for the plant project is $1,921,245. The city still needs to identify $235,765 in funding to complete the project. Interim City Manager Nate Geinzer recently told commissioners he plans to return in the future with options to close the funding gap, which could include using unallocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds or pursuing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grants.

City commissioners will get an update tonight on another wastewater project – a research project to test wastewater at different locations across the city for the presence (or absence) of COVID-19. Traverse City is one of several communities across Michigan that’s been participating in the project, testing high-population sites – like Munson, the Pavilions, Clinch Park, the Grand Traverse County Jail, NMC, and Cherry Capital Airport – since 2021 for the presence and quantity of different COVID variants.

Maggie Petersen, a researcher with city testing contractor Great Lakes Environmental Center, will attend tonight’s commission meeting to provide a short presentation and project update. According to presentation materials, wastewater surveillance can “supplement individual testing and can help direct resources in a time and cost-effective manner.” Petersen noted that Traverse City wastewater test results and locally reported case counts mirrored each other up until 2022, when the figures started to diverge – likely due to “declining testing, at-home testing, immunizations, and decreased virulence.” Traverse City has seen “much lower numbers of detections and severity across all (testing) sites” in 2023 compared to 2022, with the XBB variant – which now accounts for more than 97 percent of cases nationally – dominating TC cases this year. Funding has been dedicated for continued testing through July 2024, according to the presentation materials.

City Manager Search
Commissioners tonight will consider approving a recommendation from an ad hoc committee to interview three firms to lead the search process for a new city manager. The ad hoc committee – consisting of Commissioners Mi Stanley, Mark Wilson, and Linda Koebert – reviewed 12 proposals from firms that applied to a city request-for-proposals (RFP). The committee is recommending inviting three of those firms – Amy Cell Talent, GovHR USA, and Walsh Municipal Services LLC – to interview with commissioners on June 19 before choosing a company to lead the hiring search.

Walsh Municipal Services LLC is the lowest bidder at $14,900, followed by Amy Cell Talent at $19,500 and GovHR USA at $24,500. Geinzer is serving as interim manager following the departure of former City Manager Marty Colburn until a new manager is selected, a process that could take several months to complete.

Closed Session
Commissioners could go into closed session tonight to discuss two separate topics. The first is a performance review of City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht. Evaluations are permitted to be conducted in closed session if requested by the individual being evaluated. Commissioners could also go into closed session to discuss a potential property acquisition and related attorney-client memo from Trible-Laucht, both of which are also permitted topics for closed session under state law. The property to be discussed has not yet been publicly disclosed. However, any action commissioners might take to approve or proceed with an actual real estate deal would need to occur in public session.

Photo Credit: Jacobs (operating firm for Traverse City's wastewater treatment plant)