Joint Recreational Authority

Please Click Here to View the 2010 Joint Recreational Authority Report 

The City of Traverse City and Garfield Township Recreational Authority is a body created under the Recreational Authorities Act of 2000, which permits two or more municipal bodies to form a joint authority for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, operating, maintaining or improving public parks, a public recreation center, a public auditorium, a public conference center a public museum, or a public historic farm.

In 2004, Garfield Township and Traverse City voters approved a ballot measure to create a joint recreational authority for the express purpose of acquiring and improving three properties:

• The former Smith-Barney Building in Traverse City,
• Hickory Meadows in Garfield Township, and
• The Historic Barns at the Grand Traverse Commons in Garfield Township.

That same ballot measure also approved a .10 mill millage to provide the financing for the purchase and improvement of these properties. The capital projects were financed through a 20-year General Obligation Bond, after which the Recreational Authority will dissolve and the parks dedicated to the City and Township for public use in perpetuity.

To date, the former Smith-Barney Building has been demolished and replaced with the Open Space in downtown Traverse City, which has been landscaped to transition with the rest of the public land on the bay. A management plan for Hickory Meadows has been developed and trailways improved there to maintain the park as a natural area for passive recreation. Significant structural stabilization efforts have been completed at the Barns, and public planning efforts are underway there to determine the future of the property.

For additional information, please visit the Brainstorming the Barns website.