Economic Development Project Team - November 10, 2026

The City of Grand Rapids Economic Development Project Team meeting on November 10, 2026, reviewed Development Center inspection capacity and economic-development programs. Staff reported that most inspection divisions are completing inspections in about one to two days, while mechanical inspections face roughly a four-week wait because the division has operated at about 50% capacity. To manage the backlog, the City is using third-party inspection contracts at about $18,000 per month (just over $50,000 fiscal year to date), mutual aid from Kentwood ($4,300 fiscal year to date for 93 inspections), and overtime; 530 overtime hours costing about $23,000 were authorized in the prior calendar year. Recruitment, pay adjustments, and possible state rule changes to broaden the pool of eligible mechanical inspectors were also discussed. Commissioners suggested more public-facing information on timelines and exploring broader regional inspector-sharing arrangements. No procurement vote or contract award was reported.

Economic Development staff described increased brownfield and housing-related workload, corridor improvement authority capacity-building, and efforts to make developer reimbursements and application processing more predictable. The City has invested in 22 emerging-developer projects, and the program’s initial funding period closed in December 2025, though project support and reimbursements continue; developer reimbursements have exceeded $15 million since 2005. Staff are clarifying professional-service agreements and responsibilities with corridor improvement and brownfield authorities, and are developing a policy to clarify how other authorities’ tax captures may affect brownfield projects. The transcript ends during the Development Center review-timelines update; no motions or spending approvals are captured.