TRAVERSE CITY — Two weeks after an intensive study session, the Grand Traverse County Commission may vote on a proposal to allocate $200,000 per year for two years for year-round shelter operations at Safe Harbor.
The outcome of the vote will be determined at the board’s regular meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning in the Governmental Center.
Currently, about 80 percent of Safe Harbor’s estimated $1.1 million annual budget has been committed from a mix of other government, private and foundation sources, according to a group of stakeholders called the “Homeless Collective.”
The remaining $225,000 piece of the annual funding pie is now — primarily — in the hands of the county board, said advocates of the plan.
At stake
If the commission votes down the funding proposal, or a major portion of it, that action could undermine the overall plan for a year-round shelter because commitments for full funding must be in place before Traverse City government is willing to issue an expanded Special Land Use Permit, homeless advocates said at the board’s Jan. 22 study session.
Currently, Safe Harbor operates on a partial-year Special Land Use Permit from Oct. 15 to April 30, usually from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. The new proposal would expand that operation to 365 days per year with exact hours of operation yet to be determined.
In addition to providing year-round shelter, the group’s goal is to end homeless encampments at the Pines and prevent sprawl of encampments to other areas of the county, while helping homeless people transition to permanent supportive housing.
“It’s one thing to have a plan, but if we don’t have the support and funding to scale up to meet those needs, there’s not a lot of ‘meat’ in the plan,” said Ashley Halladay-Schmandt, director of the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness. “We need both things at the same time.”
Advocates of the Safe Harbor year-round plan say a year-round shelter is one part of a comprehensive homeless response system that will help eliminate long-term homelessness in the area.
Some residents of the neighborhood near Safe Harbor have expressed misgivings about launching year-round operations at the shelter at 517 Wellington St. because of public health and safety challenges.
For example, a group called the “Community Cares Coalition” floated an alternative option that would provide a year-round shelter in a different location, along with wrap-around services and possibly 24-hour-a-day operations.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
A number of high-profile community leaders have expressed support for year-round shelter operations at Safe Harbor, and many have written letters to the county commission on that topic, including: Traverse Connect, Goodwill Northern Michigan, Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness, Addiction Treatment Services, Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing, Addiction Treatment Services, Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh of the Catholic Diocese of Gaylord, Rotary Charities CEO Sakura Takano, and Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation President and CEO David Mengebier.
Others have committed money to the year-round shelter plan.
Traverse City commissioners pledged $125,000 per year for both 2025 and 2026. Munson Healthcare officials pledged $50,000 per year for two years, according to a Safe Harbor presentation.
The Oleson Foundation committed $50,000 for the first year. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians also pledged $50,000 for one year through its 2 percent grant program.
Seasonal shelter donors are expected to provide a total of $500,000 per year, while a “private donor leadership group” is expected to provide $150,000 for two years.
In recent years, the county board has been reluctant to commit funding for a homelessness initiative. Some commissioners expressed concerns about multi-year financial commitments that could turn into ongoing “entitlements.”
However, in November 2024, the board voted 5-2 to allocate $225,000 over two years for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing using cannabis tax money, with the option of another $125,000 for a third year.
At the Jan. 22 study session, Commissioner Rob Hentschel asked Safe Harbor board members if they had applied for federal grants to help fund a new year-round operation. They said they had not.
If the county board approves the funding request, it’s unclear what account they would use for that allocation. Possibilities include cannabis tax money, opioid lawsuit settlement funds or carve-outs from the county’s general fund.
Most of the general fund is already earmarked for other specific purposes in the 2025 budget.
Almost all of the ARPA money the county received during the pandemic has already been committed and must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
In other action
On Wednesday, the county board is expected to approve $67,000 to complete a retrofit of a building management system controller for the Hall of Justice.
It also will review a $32,000 request from the county health department for improved IT capacities in the public meeting space that serves as the primary training room at the health services building.
Commissioners will likely approve 10 appointments for the Central Dispatch 911 board of directors in 2025. In addition to county board member Fern Spence, the other members represent local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, EMS services and the Michigan State Police.
In keeping with previous years, the board is expected to proclaim February 2025 as “American Heart Month” and March 2025 as “American Red Cross Month.”