Beth Milligan

Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg announced Friday that after "thoroughly reviewing" body cam footage and an investigative report from the Michigan State Police, she found the fatal shooting of Traverse City man Darnell Wilson by police officers in March to be justified. No officers are expected to be charged in the shooting.

Traverse City commissioners will tackle a packed agenda Monday that includes repairs to the North Union Street Bridge, a sidewalk infill project on Garfield Avenue, a process for replacing outgoing City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht, and a $1.2 million payment to the city’s pension provider to get the city better funded on its retirement debt, among several other topics.

South Airport Road remains closed as officials continue to evaluate the structure's safety, the Grand Traverse County Road Commission announced Sunday. GTCRC also said that temporary traffic lights are expected to be installed "soon" on both ends of Hartman Road to help with detour traffic resulting from part of Beitner Road being down.

Traverse City commissioners are set to discuss two tenant proposals for the city-owned Carnegie Building on Sixth Street from Crooked Tree Arts Center and Traverse Area District Library tonight (Monday). However, a “tremendous amount of feedback” has prompted city and library staff to propose a new approach: co-locating the two entities in the building, according to City Manager Benjamin Marentette. Crooked Tree staff, meanwhile, have expressed significant concerns about the proposal and are asking commissioners to continue the request-for-proposals (RFP) process as designed.

South Airport Road reopened to traffic Monday afternoon following a successful review by state bridge inspectors and a team of engineers from the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC). The road commission also announced that a traffic light will be installed on Cass Road on the east side of Hartman Road Tuesday morning at 5am. Another light is planned on Hartman/US-31 but will take more time to design and install.

Peninsula Township will start boardwalk construction in the hemlock wing of Pelizzari Natural Area this week, with completion planned for early June.

At a marathon four-hour meeting Monday, Traverse City commissioners approved applying to the state for nearly $27 million in funding to tackle a variety of sewer system and plant repairs over the next five years. Commissioners also directed staff to negotiate with both Crooked Tree Arts Center and Traverse Area District Library to see if a joint occupancy agreement can be reached for the Carnegie Building and agreed to hire a firm instead of an individual to replace outgoing City Attorney Lauran Trible-Laucht for the near future, among other items.

Grand Traverse County Clerk Bonnie Scheele has announced her retirement effective June 19.

Traverse City planning commissioners voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve a new Tommy’s Express Car Wash to go in at the corner of East Front Street and Garfield Avenue on the Cuppa Joe and former Burger King properties. Multiple commissioners said they were “reluctantly” approving the plans since car washes are an allowed use by right, leaving the board with little recourse to reject the proposal. Planning commissioners are now expediting an update to zoning rules that would require a special land use permit for car washes and gas stations going forward, giving the city more say over such projects in the future.

Tom’s Food Market is planning a significant redevelopment of its Fourteenth Street property, aiming to create a “market village” anchored by the grocery store with four new tenants in the former Rite Aid space and two new outlot buildings with multiple restaurant and/or retail tenants. The Ticker has an exclusive first look at the company’s plans, plus other business news from around the region.