Grand Traverse County commissioners are considering committing $400,000 – $200,000 annually for the next two years – to support Safe Harbor's expansion into a year-round shelter and are nearing potential approval of a new septic ordinance that would require inspections when properties within 300 feet of water are sold or transferred.

Safe Harbor
Safe Harbor is closing in on its targeted $1.1 million budget to be able to expand to year-round shelter operations starting in May – and is seeking Grand Traverse County’s help to close the gap with a $200,000 funding commitment for the next two years.

Representatives from Safe Harbor and other community organizations presented the request to county commissioners at their most recent meeting. Instead of Safe Harbor’s current truncated season of October 15-April 30, the nonprofit hopes to continue operations from May 1 to October 14 with targeted hours of 8pm to 9am – though final hours could still be tweaked, Board Chair Pat Livingston said. Safe Harbor would offer the same guest services it does for individuals experiencing homelessness in the summer months as the winter months, Livingston said, except for evening meals since other community meal options are available during the summer.

Year-round expansion will require hiring an operations director and increasing staff hours, including for two Safe Harbor staff members to work with volunteers in the evenings and two staff members to stay overnight. Safe Harbor’s costs for human resources support are also expected to increase. Some county commissioners asked whether more volunteers could be used to decrease staffing costs. While Safe Harbor has an estimated network of nearly 2,200 volunteers, having staff on-site with expertise in working with individuals experiencing homelessness is a necessity for safety, representatives said.

Of the projected $1.1 million annual budget for a year-round shelter, almost half – $500,000 – will come from seasonal donor support. Another private donor has provided a leadership gift of $150,000, while the City of Traverse City committed $125,000 (among several other funding allocations the city has made recently to both Safe Harbor and other homelessness initiatives). Munson Healthcare and the Oleson Foundation both committed $50,000, leaving a funding gap of $225,000. Grand Traverse County could cover the bulk of that with a $200,000 commitment for the next two years, with Safe Harbor representatives saying they were confident they could secure the rest.

Commissioners were in a study session and so didn’t vote on the funding allocation, but are expected to do so at their February 5 meeting. Safe Harbor spokesman Joshua Brandt tells The Ticker the organization does not yet have an anticipated date of when it will appear on a city agenda to amend its special land use permit (SLUP) for year-round operations, adding Safe Harbor is “focusing on securing the necessary additional funding needed to operate year-round before engaging in the SLUP amendment process.” The organization is expected to need to move quickly once funding is secured in order to complete the SLUP process in time for a May launch.

Safe Harbor has sought two-year funding commitments from project partners whenever possible, Brandt said, as the year-round expansion is proposed for now as a “two-year pilot.” The goal of Safe Harbor’s expansion is to help alleviate pressure at the Pines homeless encampment off Eleventh Street. Community leaders have also formed a task force to explore other long-term solutions for addressing chronic homelessness, such as expanding permanent supportive housing.

Septic Ordinance
County commissioners could soon vote to adopt a new septic ordinance that could require septic system inspections when certain properties are sold or transferred. Grand Traverse County Deputy Health Officer Mike Lahey presented the first full draft of the ordinance to commissioners, which would apply to properties within 300 feet of surface water (measured from the closest part of the dwelling to the surface water).

Other counties including Leelanau and Benzie already have rules requiring septic inspections tied to real estate transactions, but Grand Traverse County does not. An ad hoc committee of county commissioners met with staff and local representatives – including various township officials as well as stakeholders like realtor groups and The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay – in recent months to create the draft ordinance.

The group originally considered requiring inspections whenever properties within 500 feet of surface water are sold or transferred. However, they dropped that requirement to 300 feet to address the highest risk parcels – those closest to the water, where failed septic systems could cause the most pollution damage – and to allow the health department to start with a manageable amount of annual inspections and scale up, according to Lahey.

Going to 500 feet would have required more than 600 inspections annually, but a 250-foot distance was estimated to generate 200-500 required annual inspections. Setting the rules at 300 feet, therefore, represented a “good compromise,” Lahey said. The county plans to work with third-party inspectors to implement the program, which also outlines penalties for violations and an appeals process for property owners. A date has not yet been set for commissioners to adopt the new ordinance, but Lahey said the law requires publicly posting notice 10 days prior to a meeting to allow the board to discuss its official adoption and 20 days in advance of the new regulations actually being adopted.