Grand Traverse County advances housing task force, trails millage ballot measure

Grand Traverse County commissioners advanced a housing and homelessness implementation plan and put a six-year, 0.3-mill trails levy on the Nov. 3 ballot in the same July 15 vote, tying two of the county’s most visible pressures to a single public calendar. The housing move keeps the county’s policy work aimed at employers and workers in a market with rising costs and limited inventory, while the trails proposal asks taxpayers to weigh a dedicated property-tax bill against trail access, upkeep and expansion.

The housing action builds on a June 22 joint meeting of the Traverse City Commission and Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners, where the Housing and Homelessness Task Force laid out its strategic vision for safety net services, emergency shelter and service, and housing solutions. The task force’s plan runs 100 pages and was developed over 15 months through more than 50 meetings with local stakeholders and community leaders, including five listening sessions with people experiencing homelessness. The task force says its mission is to ensure a coordinated, sustainable approach to prevent and end homelessness in Northwest Michigan.

The trails question now heads to voters with a clearer price tag and a narrower term than earlier versions of the idea. A July 14 report said the levy could raise about $2.6 million a year, money that would go to improvements and expansions of the TART Trails network, which covers close to 100 miles around the Grand Traverse region. For residents deciding whether to support it, the practical question is whether the county should lock in six years of dedicated trails funding now to improve the system many people use for commuting, recreation and daily movement around the area.

The board vote on the trails resolution was not unanimous. Ashlea Walter, Penny Morris, Lauren Flynn, Brian McAllister and board vice chair T.J. Andrews voted in favor, while board chair Scott Sieffert and Commissioner Rob Hentschel voted no. Grand Traverse County’s 2026 election calendar includes an Aug. 4 primary and the Nov. 3 general election, setting up a fall decision on the county’s trails network while the housing work continues through the task force structure.