Two vie for Long Lake Township seat
Oct. 22—TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse County commissioner, who also serves on the Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority board, is being challenged by a community member involved in creating a mental health center in the county.
Pamela Harris Kaiser is facing Penny Morris, who is in her first term on the county board, in the Nov. 8 election for the District 9 seat. The borders of that district will change Jan. 1 to represent just Long Lake Township.
District 4, which Morris now represents, also includes the western portion of Green Lake Township.
Kaiser said she has a powerful ability to listen, see different perspectives and analyze possible outcomes. "It's an approach I take with every decision I make," she said.
Morris calls herself a relationship builder, a quality she says serves her well as a commissioner. "I understand that, in order to accomplish our goals, we need to respect each other, we need to find things that we can agree on and work on those things together," she said.
The county board voted in May to leave Northern Lakes, a six-county agency, and establish its own authority. But, the board recently opted to work with leaders from the other counties to rewrite an enabling agreement that established the agency in 2003.
Their goal is to improve mental health services for Grand Traverse County residents, even if that costs more money. However, some commissioners have made it clear that the county could still part ways with Northern Lakes.
At the time they made the decision to leave the agency, county board members did not know how difficult it would be to create a new CMH, Kaiser said. "I think they realized that you can't simply scuttle a system because it has problems," she said.
Northern Lakes needs new leadership, Kaiser said, and everyone involved should listen to the needs of the community from clients, care providers, law enforcement, jail administrators, students and children.
There also needs to be a facility that has short-term residential beds for those who need it, especially young people, Kaiser said. She is on a committee, along several community members and agencies, that is working toward that goal.
"Students and children are vastly underserved," Kaiser said. "We desperately need beds for children in mental health crisis."
Morris said that, right now, the county is putting in the work to find the answer to the crisis.
"We have to explore all the avenues," Morris said, adding that she would prefer to rebuild the enabling agreement and keep the six counties together.
At a listening session hosted in September by the county and consultant Sarah Bannon, representatives from agencies that serve people with mental health issues, substance use disorder and developmental disabilities gave their input on services they say have gaps and are siloed.
"The answer will be found in the work we've done with all the consumers, providers and stakeholders," Morris said.
When it comes to the housing crisis, Kaiser said zoning laws need to change to allow for more multi-unit housing, noting that zoning is handled at the township level.
Single-family homes that were built after World War II are now too expensive for most people, she said. "I would like to see homes built that have apartments in them," Kaiser said. "Half the homes in my area only have people in them part of the year."
Morris said that the county has a lot of resources available to address the housing crisis, including Land Bank and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority property.
She said she communicates regularly with the Long Lake Township planning commission and supervisor about infrastructure projects that can shape development there.
"This isn't something I can accomplish on my own, but I can be part of the conversation and, hopefully, part of the solution," Morris said.
