Grand Traverse County commissioners Wednesday will follow up on several key recent discussions, including a planned expansion of the LaFranier Road campus, potential new county septic rules, and a new board overseeing a joint regional recycling program between Grand Traverse, Benzie, and Leelanau counties.

Cunningham-Limp, the firm hired to serve as project manager overseeing the design and construction of the county’s LaFranier Road campus expansion, will present an update Wednesday. The county is eyeing an estimated $11-$16 million project 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. 

According to a progress report, the firm has completed facility tours of eight different county sites and held multiple meetings with the team for Project Alpha – the nickname for the expansion. Cunningham-Limp has also issued a request-for-proposals (RFP) for architectural services, with five firms expected to respond: PIA, Environment Architects, Integrated Architecture, TowerPinkster, and Hobbs+Black Architects. An RFP is also going out for civil engineering services.

Under its $285,500 contract, Cunningham-Limp will serve as the owner’s representative and project manager for all aspects of the expansion. The firm will provide design options that include energy-efficient and sustainable components, as well as recommendations on the size and layout of buildings and cost estimates. County staff previously shared a timeline that showed preliminary design could take place this fall, followed by final design in early 2025. Bonding and construction could then potentially start next year, putting the LaFranier campus expansion on track for a late 2026 completion. That timeline is contingent on county commission approval and decisions on how to fund the project, including possible bonding.

Commissioners Wednesday are also expected to discuss the possibility of introducing a point-of-sale ordinance in Grand Traverse County for septic systems. Grand Traverse County Deputy Health Officer Mike Lahey and Environmental Health Director Brent Wheat will be in attendance and discuss what a possible ordinance could look like and answer commission questions. Michigan is the only state lacking a statewide septic code, but that could change under pending legislation that would require regular inspections and create an inspection database and certification system. County commissioners in July discussed getting out ahead of those possible legislative changes with a county ordinance.

Other counties surrounding Grand Traverse County – such as Benzie, Kalkaska, Manistee, and Leelanau – already have codes requiring septic inspections when a property is either sold or transferred. Long Lake Township has a similar ordinance. County commissioners expressed interest in considering that approach and asked staff to bring forward options for implementing a point-of-sale inspection program.  Commissioner Scott Sieffert noted such a program would be “almost self-funding” and minimize costs to taxpayers, since it would be built into the process for home sales. The county is home to approximately 25,000 septic systems, according to Lahey.

Finally, commissioners Wednesday will approve the proposed members of a new regional materials management plan (MMP) committee. Every county in Michigan is required to develop an MMP to address its waste and recycling streams as with the goal of raising Michigan’s recycling rate to 30 percent by 2029 (it was at 21 percent last year). Funding incentives are available for counties to team up and collaborate on their plans.

Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Benzie counties are forming a regional MMP. The planning committee overseeing the program must include elected officials and representatives from area waste, recycling, business, and environmental groups. The proposed tri-county board is recommended to have reps from the counties and City of Traverse City as well as groups like SEEDS, Bay Area Recycling, Networks Northwest, Northern Disposal, GFL, and Waste Management. Lydia Gulow, Grand Traverse County's resource recovery director, is also recommended to be appointed by the board as the Designated Planning Agency (DPA). That role serves as the primary government resource for developing and administering the MMP.