Grand Traverse County commissioners will consider a funding request Wednesday from Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing to contribute $300,000 over the next two years for a new rental assistance program for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. Commissioners will also consider hiring a civil engineer firm for Project Alpha – the planned expansion of the county’s LaFranier Road campus – and discuss the status of the county’s various local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants.

Rental Assistance Program
After hearing a presentation in May on local homelessness issues, county commissioners Wednesday will consider a request from Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing (NMSH) – an organization dedicated to providing permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless individuals and families – to allocate $150,000 annually for the next two years for a new rental assistance program.

According to NMSH Executive Director Becca Binder, permanent supportive housing “has been instrumental in helping people transition out of homelessness, offering not only safe, stable housing but also a foundation to rebuild their lives. However, we continue to see a growing need for financial assistance to ensure housing stability and prevent recidivism into homelessness for the people currently being served, as well as expanded growth to continue housing our unsheltered population.”

The proposed new rental assistance program will “fill a crucial gap in the housing continuum,” according to Binder. Direct rental support will help individuals and families “exit homelessness and move into permanent housing,” she wrote in a memo to commissioners. The program will also provide wraparound services “such as case management, life skills training, employment support, and connections to health care and mental health resources. These services are critical in ensuring that participants not only remain housed but can thrive in their communities.”

NMSH would submit annual reports to the county commission outlining how funds have been allocated and sharing program metrics, according to the proposal. The request includes an option to renew in 2027-28 for another $150,000 county contribution “after successful demonstration of program implementation.” Binder noted that NMSH has about seven tenants annually – 10 percent of overall program participants – who “graduate from the program each year,” providing space for others to move into those permanent supportive housing slots. However, she noted that a shortfall in Michigan’s budget has forced a hold on housing choice vouchers, putting pressure on local agencies “to do more with less resources.”

That shortfall “is adding a burden to the flow of services and impacts the very limited permanent supportive housing capacity in our community,” Binder said. She said the county’s support – which could total either $300,000 or $450,000, depending on if commissioners ultimately partner for two or three years – “will allow us to provide essential services that ensure our county’s most vulnerable populations can remain housed, independent, and active members of our community.”

Grand Traverse County isn’t the only local municipality that’s been asked to step up its funding support to address homelessness issues. Traverse City commissioners in May approved a $360,000 contribution to support Goodwill Northern Michigan’s permanent supportive housing at East Bay Flats – a project the city also approved a tax break for last year – and allocated $40,000 annually for the next two years to support day shelter services at Jubilee House. City staff are also working with other local partners to address the homeless encampment at the Pines off Eleventh Street (pictured) and support Safe Harbor’s expansion to a year-round shelter.

Project Alpha
Commissioners Wednesday will vote to move forward with the next step in Project Alpha, the planned expansion of the county’s LaFranier Road campus. Following a request-for-proposals (RFP) process, commissioners will vote on hiring Monument Engineering Group Associates for $33,900 to provide civil engineering services for the project. The firm submitted the lowest of four bids to the RFP.

According to project manager Cunningham-Limp, other work underway on Project Alpha has including soliciting bids for environmental services and holding kickoff meetings with architectural firm Partners in Architecture (PIA). Upcoming work will include topographic survey preparations, a preliminary design package, and space/layout diagramming. The county is eyeing an estimated $11-$16 million campus expansion that will create a new combined emergency operations and 911/Central Dispatch center and centralized county storage facility on the property. The expansion could also include space to accommodate other departments to better consolidate operations on LaFranier. 

ARPA Grants
County commissioners will check in Wednesday on the status of various local grants the county has awarded out of its roughly $18 million American Rescue Plan ACT (ARPA) allocation. Local governments are required under federal guidelines to obligate their ARPA funds by the end of December, meaning they must have committed to where those dollars are going and have contracts in place to that effect. ARPA money must then all be spent on the designated projects by the end of 2026, with any unspent funds required to be returned to the federal government.

County commissioners worried earlier this fall that a lack of progress on some projects could be an in indicator that funds won’t ultimately be spent. They voted to have staff send a letter to all ARPA recipients who haven’t spent 100 percent of their funds, requesting a status update and a reaffirmation of their commitment to spend funds within the required timeframe. Commissioners will review those responses Wednesday. County Administrator Nate Alger says that “all have responded positively indicating their intention to complete their projects and use their remaining funds by the December 2026 deadline.”

Two entities asked for flexibility in reallocating some of their funds. Garfield Township hopes to move some of its ARPA dollars from one pipe project to another (shifting from a Cedar Run water main project to the Francisco sanitary sewer project). Munson Healthcare, meanwhile, hopes to move $500,000 allocated for building renovations (which it later received another grant to cover) to instead cover start-up costs for a planned psychiatric urgent care as part of the region’s new mental wellness center.