Grand Traverse County commissioners will consider approving bonds for the $3.5 million construction of a new senior services facility, establishing a pension stabilization trust, revisiting the possible sale of Keystone Road property, and restructuring the county’s economic development board at their 5:30pm meeting Wednesday at the Governmental Center.

PACE Center
A long-planned $3.5 million reconstruction of the former county health department building at 2325 N. Garfield Road (pictured) could bring a one-stop senior services center to Traverse City if county commissioners authorize bonds for the project Wednesday.

Grand Traverse Pavilions is planning to renovate the two-story, 18,000 square-foot building to bring a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center to Traverse City. PACE – a Medicare/Medicaid program for individuals 55 and older who are nursing-home eligible – aims to keep elderly residents independent and living in their own homes instead of facilities by providing coordinated access to resources for all their medical and social needs under one roof.

Traverse City’s PACE center will have a primary care clinic, day room with cafeteria, activity spaces and lounge, full rehabilitation gym for physical and occupational therapy, two day centers capable of hosting up to 120 participants/enrollees, an interdisciplinary team room for care planning, private care rooms, and outdoor spaces. Transportation is provided to and from the facility for eligible residents, who do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses if they are both Medicare and Medicaid eligible and use services approved by their care team.

At a June 28 meeting, some county commissioners expressed interest in using the Pavilions’ bond request for PACE as leverage to renegotiate the Pavilions’ lease for the building. The current lease calls for below-market payments of just over $31,000 annually. The Pavilions’ lease is in place through 2033, but commissioners questioned whether the agreement could be opened up for renegotiation because of the bonding request. Following the meeting, Pavilions Administrator and CEO Kory Hansen wrote County Administrator Tom Menzel that the organization had “no interest in being bullied by questionable strong-armed tactics to change the terms of the agreement” and that he believed “the sale of the bonds should be a separate stand-alone issue based on the merits of the commissioners’ desire to be an aide in the development to bring PACE services to our community’s vulnerable seniors.”

If commissioners denied the bond request, Hansen said, the Pavilions would pursue other funding mechanisms – still maintaining its existing lease agreement with the county – and/or ask the county to reimburse the Pavilions for several hundred thousand dollars’ in repairs it made to the county-owned building in recent years. Menzel tells The Ticker he agrees with Hansen that the lease should be kept the same and the bonds approved by commissioners.

“We should put this issue behind us and move forward with making the PACE project come to fruition,” Menzel says. 

Menzel says he would like commissioners in the future to consider approving a bonding policy that outlines a clear process for reviewing and approving bonds and selecting bond providers – a process he says now isn’t always “fair, consistent and transparent.”

Pension Trust
Commissioners will consider establishing a pension stabilization trust outside of the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS) and investing funds from the recent sale of Whitewater Township property into the fund. Menzel is asking commissioners to establish the fund – which would focus on treasury bills, fixed assets and other low-risk investments – to help protect the county against market volatility for future pension payments. “It’s very conservative, so you limit your chances of losing the money you put in there,” he says.

Because the county’s retirement debt is split between pension costs (87 percent) and retiree healthcare costs (or OPEB – 13 percent), Menzel is recommending dividing the Whitewater Township proceeds towards those liabilities accordingly. Under the proposal, $210,430 of the property proceeds would go into the new pension stabilization trust, while $30,122 would go toward OPEB costs. “We’re attempting to be balanced in our approach,” Menzel says.

Keystone Property
Commissioners are set to revisit the potential sale of 30 acres of property on Keystone Road after Parks and Recreation commissioners voted to block the sale in June.

Parks and Recreation commissioners rescinded their support of the sale after expressing concerns the property wasn't fetching an attractive market price and would be better utilized as a future county recreational site. County commissioners, however, can override Parks and Recreation’s decision with a simply majority vote. Commissioners Bob Johnson, Dan Lathrop and Ron Clous asked that the item be put on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting. The board will discuss the sale, as well as confer with legal counsel about ensuring Parks and Recreation can’t block future property sales, according to Menzel.

EDC Board
Finally, commissioners will consider restructuring the county’s economic development board to include more representation from the City of Traverse City and Cherry Capital Airport. Under the proposal, the EDC board would expand from nine to 11 members and include one county commissioner, one city commissioner, the county administrator, the city manager, and seven members at large from the public – three of which would be recommended by city commissioners and four by county commissioners.

“The intent is to make sure all governmental entities are in sync and alignment as we move forward on economic development issues, so we’re all working together to make things happen,” says Menzel. “It’s all geared around creating jobs in this community.”