Grand Traverse County commissioners hope to pursue a plan for installing security cameras throughout county buildings – a safety update that could allow staff to respond more quickly to threats and gather evidence if a crime occurs. County commissioners Wednesday also discussed plans for the future of the city-owned building at 520 West Front Street – home to county partner MSU Extension, which needs to find a new location – and developing a more proactive approach to maintaining county properties.

Security Cameras
After commissioners in August discussed wanting a comprehensive assessment showing where security cameras are needed in county buildings, staff presented an update to the board Wednesday. County Administrator Nate Alger said the county has historically “piecemealed” its approach to installing cameras. Cameras are primarily concentrated at the Governmental Center, Hall of Justice, Law Enforcement Center, Civic Center, Veterans Affairs, and Grand Traverse County Jail. The county’s IT team oversees most of those cameras, though not those located at the VA office or jail.

IT Director Cliff DuPuy noted that while state law requires retaining footage for at least 30 days, some locations are retaining it even longer – like the Civic Center (43 days) and Law Enforcement Center (54 days). County Commissioner TJ Andrews, an attorney, said the county should have a consistent policy for all locations and be purging footage as soon as legally possible to avoid unnecessary exposure to discovery in lawsuits and to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Alger confirmed that FOIA requests involving video footage can be time-consuming and tedious for staff since each moment must be reviewed for possible redactions.

DuPuy also expressed concern that the county lacks a consistent policy regulating who can access and review footage. Cameras are essentially placed – and footage reviewed – based on department and employee requests, he said, including staff reviewing parking lot footage to see when their food orders are being delivered. Because Central Dispatch is a 24/7 operation, that department monitors key cameras live, DuPuy said – though many cameras are used primarily to capture backup footage or for live use only when an incident occurs.

Emergency Management Coordinator Gregg Bird said the purpose of county security cameras is not surveillance but staff safety and evidence-gathering if a crime occurs. “It’s not about putting a camera in every office,” he said, explaining the goal is to focus cameras in open areas, lobbies, and common areas. Updating both security cameras and doors could allow staff at busy locations – like the Governmental Center and Health Department – to monitor parking lots and potentially see an incoming threat before it reaches the front door, pushing a button that quickly locks down the building.

Bird said county staff are meeting with community partners that also have robust security camera systems to learn more about their vendors and technology, including Traverse City Area Public Schools and Northwestern Michigan College. “We didn’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel,” he said. Staff will return in the coming months with a proposal including options for paying for countywide upgrades all at once or phasing them in over time.

Also at Wednesday’s commission meeting...
> Commissioners discussed the future of 520 West Front Street, a city-owned building that has hosted county departments including the Commission on Aging and MSU Extension under an agreement governing how the two entities share multiple facilities. The city recently notified the county of its desire to expand the Traverse City Fire Department into the West Front Street building. That prompted the Commission on Aging to relocate earlier this year into the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan building on Park Drive. MSU Extension, however, still needs to find a new home. The county is obligated to provide MSU Extension space somewhere under its agreement, Alger said.

The county and city are drafting an updated lease for their multiple shared buildings, according to Alger, with the latest version calling for MSU Extension to leave West Front by the end of 2026. Alger said he’s working with MSU Extension to identify possible new locations. Some commissioners Wednesday suggested renovating part of the cafeteria level of the Governmental Center for the new offices instead of paying long-term rent to an outside entity. Alger said that was a possibility, but noted that’d also have to be negotiated with the city since the city and county co-own the Governmental Center.

> County Director of Parks and Facilities John Chase gave commissioners an update on efforts to create a comprehensive asset management plan. The board has expressed a desire to have a long-term plan that identifies when capital improvements (like HVAC systems and roofs) have been installed, their estimated lifespans, and when they’ll need repairs or replacement. The county has roughly 1,200 items listed in its asset inventory – everything from building envelopes to mechanical and electrical systems to equipment – and is in the process of building out a list of preventative maintenance projects with the help of AI data analysis, Chase said.

Chase said the county has been in a “reactive” mode with assets – responding with repairs when things break versus proactively maintaining them – and needs to shift to a more strategic approach. That could include using a different budgeting strategy that separates annual maintenance and repair costs from capital improvement costs – the latter covering permanent upgrades to an asset to increase its value or capabilities. Alger said the county’s recently completed facilities master plan outlines millions of dollars in necessary improvements just to bring buildings up to basic modern operating standards. The county could potentially bond those improvements and get them done all at once so there’s a baseline for maintenance going forward, Alger said; otherwise projects would have to be phased out. The county jail is likely to be a significant area of focus: Commissioners had an extensive discussion with Sheriff Mike Shea Wednesday about inadequate jail conditions and the need – after decades of discussion – to create a concrete plan for addressing the facility.