Resident urges county to keep marijuana-tax and liquor‑tax funds for mental‑health services, citing gaps in regional beds and outpatient care

At the meeting’s first public comment period, Kate Dahlstrom of Long Lake Township urged Grand Traverse County commissioners to prioritize long‑term mental‑health resources beyond crisis‑center services.

Dahlstrom reviewed a continuum of mental‑health care that runs from outpatient services to intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalization (PHP), residential recovery and inpatient psychiatric beds. She said the region’s current resources are insufficient — citing an estimate that Northern Michigan’s 21 counties have about 50 adult inpatient beds while state guidance indicates the region should have roughly 120 — and stressed there are no inpatient psychiatric beds for youth across those counties.

Dahlstrom also asked the board not to use marijuana‑tax monies for unrelated facility development and argued that the money could instead fund peer‑support specialists and social workers. “The crisis center is great, but it is not the end all be all,” she said. “We need more funding for all these other levels of mental health care.”

Board response: Commissioners thanked and acknowledged the packet of materials Dahlstrom provided. Staff indicated they would receive an electronic copy of the materials and follow up as needed.

Note on sourcing: Dahlstrom made several numeric claims about bed counts and historic tax receipts (she said Grand Traverse County had received $20,000,000 from the 4% liquor/convention facility tax since 1986 and cited recent annual liquor tax receipts). Those are claims made to the board and were not verified during the meeting; any reuse should confirm the figures with county finance or state sources.