County begins to divvy up ARPA funds

Dec. 20—TRAVERSE CITY — Proposals from Michael's Place and Generations Ahead received unanimous recommendations for funding from Grand Traverse County's $18.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act money.

The two proposals scored high and were supported by all six commissioners, who ranked their top 25 proposals for Monday's special meeting. Final approval of all recommendations made Monday could come at Wednesday's regular commission meeting.

Commissioners want to have funding in place by the end of the year as three commissioners are leaving — Ron Clous, Betsy Coffia and Bryce Hundley — and there will be five new faces on the board in January.

A $325,000 proposal by Michael's Place will expand services to grieving children, families and students; a $108,000 proposal from Generations Ahead will expand services to hard-to-reach teen moms and dads and those who need mental health counseling, especially for generational trauma.

The board opted at a work session last week to name their top proposals and see if they could reach some common ground. The unscientific survey was done anonymously, with results compiled by Tim Dempsey of Public Sector Consultants, who was hired last year to guide the county through the process of divvying up ARPA funds.

But commissioners said some of the results didn't add up right. One commissioner did not take the survey; Clous said he didn't see it in his email, although county Administrator Nate Alger said it was sent to all commissioners. Commissioner Darryl V. Nelson said he was not familiar with all the proposals that didn't make his top 25 list.

Commissioners will take the survey again, with the results compiled for Wednesday's meeting.

The county received 109 proposals that were scored by PSC based on whether they met criteria by both the U.S. Department of Treasury and by an ARPA advisory committee made up of community leaders.

The proposals were then ranked by the committee into three tiers — with 17 top projects, totaling $22 million, recommended to the county board, which will make all final decisions on how the money is spent and whether projects will be fully or partially funded.

Another recommendation approved on a vote of 6 to 1, with Hundley voting "no," was one that would set aside $5 million for mental health infrastructure.

The board stopped short of earmarking the money for the Grand Traverse County Mental Wellness Center, which would be a crisis intervention center for all ages, act as a diversion center for people who might otherwise fill up jails and emergency rooms, and have short-term residential beds for children and adults.

The proposal asked for $5 million of what is estimated to be a $10 million project.

Hundley and Coffia said they would rather that the money be specifically set aside for this project.

"This particular wellness center is the thing and we need to figure out how to make it happen," Hundley said.

But county commission board Chairman Rob Hentschel said the center's business plan is in flux and there may be Medicaid dollars available for the building.

Nelson said he didn't want to tie the hands of future board members on how to spend the money. "We all want this mental wellness center, but the cake's not ready for the oven," he said.

Clous suggested an empty portion of the county-owned Pavilions could be used for the wellness center, a move that would save money. "If we put $5 million toward that project, they'll spend $5 million," he said.

Kate Dahlstrom, a mental health advocate who has become the face of the project, said this is a huge undertaking for commissioners and she understands where they are coming from. Until last week, the center did not have a sponsoring agency, but Seth Johnson from United Way recently said the agency would back the project.

A business plan is in place, but changes are being made, Dahlstrom said. The idea to use part of the Pavilions is a good one to do a start-up of much-needed services for children, but the available space is not big enough for the center, she said. There is county-owned land next to the building that could be used as a site for the center, which plans show is about 16,000 square feet.

Hundley made a motion to approve all five workforce housing projects, totaling about $7.3 million, recommended by the committee. Workforce housing has long been a top priority in the county and, for $7.3 million, more than $100 million in projects could be jumpstarted, he said.

Coffia said the projects serve a range of people, from those who are homeless, those who are low income and those middle-income people who can't compete in the housing market.

The proposal was turned down on a vote of 5 to 2, with Hundley and Coffia voting in favor.

Other recommendations included holding back $5 million of ARPA money for county projects, such as a remodel of the county jail and upgrades to parks.

The Treasury Department allowed counties to use a standard $10 million deduction for losses of revenue during the COVID pandemic. The county lost about $2.3 million in projected revenue, although not actual revenue, but opted several months ago to take the standard deduction.

Board members originally wanted to hold back $3 million, but Commissioner Brad Jewett said it wasn't enough. All citizens will benefit from improvements to the county, he said.

Jewett's recommendation was approved 5 to 2, with Hundley and Coffia voting "no."