Traverse City Loses Two Longtime Department Leaders to Retirement This Spring

Two of Traverse City's most tenured department leaders are heading for the door within weeks of each other, leaving the city to restructure key positions just as the warm-weather construction season ramps up.

City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht announced she is leaving her position, with a 90-day notice required under her contract putting her final day in June. Trible-Laucht has served as city attorney since 2011. During her tenure, she "successfully represented the city in appellate matters, with 100 percent of those cases decided unanimously in the city's favor."

She has served as president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys and the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association, and as a board member of the Michigan Municipal League Legal Defense Fund. While serving Northern Michigan, she helped bring sessions of the Michigan Supreme Court to the region to allow high school students to observe the judicial process.

Mayor Amy Shamroe and City Manager Benjamin Marentette both reflected on the departure. "I am saddened to see the resignation of Lauren Trible-Laucht, and deeply grateful for the years she has dedicated to the city," Shamroe said. "She has been a steadfast and trusted city attorney, bringing a sharp legal mind and unwavering commitment to public service." Marentette praised her appellate record directly, saying her "magnificent skill as an attorney is unequivocally demonstrated by her winning every case unanimously on appeal in higher courts."

Trible-Laucht said, "Over the next 90 days, I am committed to working with the city manager and staff to ensure a smooth transition." The city commission will consider next steps regarding the position at a future meeting, with a date to be determined.

Director of Public Services Frank Dituri also announced his retirement, stepping down from his position effective April 17. He will continue to assist the city on a part-time basis after he retires, specifically with FishPass. The Boardman River fish-sorting research project at the Union Street Dam has been among the most high-profile initiatives Dituri championed during his tenure. Dituri said he was glad to remain connected: "I got to be involved in a lot of really great projects, and I still get to be involved in one that's near and dear to my heart," referring to FishPass.

Dituri said he was proud of efforts to cultivate a "more sustainable culture for the city and its residents" in programs ranging from the use of Beet Heet as a salt alternative to helping launch a city composting program.

The city will not backfill his role directly. City Manager Marentette confirmed the DPS director position will not be replaced; instead, the city's parks, streets, and fleet management departments will all report to the deputy city manager, and the full-time equivalent position vacated by Dituri will be reassigned as a new position in the communications division under Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Colleen Paveglio.

The dual departures land at a busy moment for city operations. Traverse City Fire Chief Jim Tuller is also set to retire in April, and Marentette has made a conditional offer of employment to a candidate to become the new fire chief of the Traverse City Fire Department. Streets Superintendent Chris Weber, who oversees one of the departments now shifting to deputy city manager oversight, was separately named the city's 2025 Employee of the Year.