Summary
This packet supports the Leelanau Township Board's July 15, 2026 meeting and includes department reports, financial statements, draft minutes from the June 9, 2026 regular meeting, and materials on a contested attainable-housing RFP for 824 N. Warren Street. At the June 9 meeting the Board approved the FY26-27 budget amendments, a check register of $1,686,787.34 (Trustee Schwind dissenting), the Airport Ordinance (with an October review), and HVAC/furnace replacement not to exceed $11,500 through Hearst Mechanical. The packet also carries draft ballot language for two November 3, 2026 millage proposals and extensive, competing developer submissions and committee recommendations for the Warren Street housing site.
Public Comments
At the June 9 meeting, public comment was given by Gerald Schatz, Dan Toole, Sawyer Scott, and Allen Danzell; the minutes do not record their specific concerns. Later in the same meeting, additional public comment was heard from Hugh Cook, Doug Whitley, and Jessica Wilson, again without recorded detail or Board response.
Affordable Housing Initiatives
Leelanau Township issued an RFP for attainable housing on roughly 3.5 acres of the 824 N. Warren Street parcel, targeting households at 50%-120% AMI. Three developers responded: Allen Edwin Homes (24-36 units, for-sale prices $325,000-$375,000 plus rentals); LC Consultants II/MHT Housing/Peninsula Housing (40 units - a 20-unit LIHTC multifamily building plus 20 single-family homes; proposed land price $100,000-$125,000); and Homestretch Nonprofit Housing (26 townhomes targeting 40%-60% AMI, land purchase at $1.00 with a 50-year deed restriction, total project cost roughly $7.3 million with a stated funding gap near $2.4 million). This is a topic with visible disagreement among reviewers: Allen Edwin Homes was formally removed from active consideration by the review committee (per a July 1, 2026 evaluation brief), and multiple individual recommendations - from Trustee Elizabeth Schwind, committee member Ann Marie Mitchell, Housing North's Joshua Mills, and Goodwill's Nora Dunlop - favored Homestretch over LC Consultants, citing lower density (7.4 vs. the Township's 12-unit/acre target), no zoning variance requirement, village-scale design, and flexibility on AMI mix, while acknowledging LC Consultants' higher purchase price and Homestretch's dependence on grant fundraising with a 1.5-3 year timeline. No final Board vote on developer selection is recorded in this packet.
Parks and Recreation Matters
The Parks & Rec Committee (6/17/26) welcomed new member Dan Tompkins. At Braman Hill, selective tree removal for bike-trail views is planned, with Tom Mayhew investigating excavator rental; $2,500 remains from last year's budget plus up to $5,000 more this year for the single-track trail. The Committee noted the Board's passage of the Woolsey ordinance, concern that an October review may come too soon to evaluate it, and a successful recent fundraiser at Dune Bird. Christmas Cove was flagged for needing an additional bathroom/changing room. For the 5-year Parks Plan, the Committee discussed an online survey (with demographic questions and separate youth/adult needs); Dan Tompkins and Dan Toole will develop a mailed postcard with a QR code.
Infrastructure Projects
The Woolsey Memorial Airport Terminal roof requires replacement: options are a membrane system (~$24,000-$44,920 in 2026 dollars) or a historically accurate standing-seam metal roof (~$84,000-$102,000), the latter preferred by SWAT! and Parks & Rec; Hallmark Construction has already completed related concrete repairs (~$35,000). Communication tower rental generates $55,167 in budgeted revenue, and a future agenda item concerns leasing Braman Hill land to cell tower companies. A separate AT&T field-testing report documents significant packet loss (up to 98.9%) and latency problems across 14 tested locations in northern Leelanau County, submitted as evidence of poor cellular service.
Other Business
The Board approved minutes for multiple prior meetings (March 19 special-meeting minutes failed 1-4 and will return); appointed members to the Parks & Rec Committee and Planning Commission; adopted Fire Department Policy 1.49 on health/physical exams; approved the Braman Bolt race (Aug. 8) and the Lions Fly-In (Aug. 1) and paragliders event (Aug. 5-9) at Woolsey Airport; approved the 2025 PA 660 audit corrective action plan (Trustee Schwind dissenting); and withdrew a proposed $5,000 crushed-asphalt expenditure for Braman Hill after the motion failed.
Financial Summary
FY26-27 amended budget totals $3,962,281 in estimated revenues against $4,309,109.43 in appropriations, a net deficit of $346,828.43. The Board approved the check register for April 2025-March 2026 at $1,686,787.34 (Schwind dissenting), the April-June 10, 2026 register at $243,271.06, and the unpaid check run of $29,531.94, all unanimous except as noted. MTA dues of $7,764.14 were approved, and a $6,000 Leelanau Township Community Foundation grant for a Veterans plaque/brochure was accepted. Draft resolutions propose a 0.30-mill Local Roads millage (2026-2031, est. $186,902 in year one) and a 0.50-mill Parks and Facilities millage (2026-2031, est. $311,503 in year one) for the November 3, 2026 ballot. The 2026 Tax Rate Request (L-4029) lists Township taxable value at $647,910,499.
Action Items
Outstanding items include: Board decision on selecting a housing developer for 824 N. Warren Street, a matter with documented disagreement among reviewers favoring Homestretch over LC Consultants; reconsideration of the failed March 19 special-meeting minutes; a pending decision on airport terminal roofing material; future agenda items on a Braman Hill cell-tower lease and Township health insurance policy; finalizing millage ballot language for the November 3, 2026 election; Woolsey roof repair; the Airport Ordinance's scheduled October 2026 public review; an MTT tribunal hearing set for August 4; and agricultural parcel inspections scheduled for July with the county appraiser.