Jun. 26—4:29 P.M. UPDATE: Source of bomb threat

TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse County officials evacuated the Governmental Center campus in downtown Traverse City on Wednesday afternoon after receiving a bomb threat.

The bomb threat was called into the county’s 911 central dispatch center, according to Traverse City Police Chief Matt Richmond.

County Administrator Nate Alger announced the emergency measure at about 2:30 p.m. by text to all employees on the multi-building campus.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have asked non-essential personnel to leave the buildings,” Alger wrote.

Several minutes later, county and city employees were seen standing outside the main building at 400 Boardman Ave. while police vehicles blocked most access points.

By 3 p.m., Alger updated staff that: “After further investigation, we do not believe the threat is credible and it appears law enforcement has the situation in hand. However … we are going to have a sweep of the building. This will take some time.”

Employees who took their personal items when departing the building were told to leave for the day. Those who exited without personal belongings were cautioned not to enter the campus buildings until the sweeps are completed.

The bomb threat was directed against the county, not the city per se, according to Traverse City Manager Liz Vogel.

“We just happen to share the Governmental Center (with the county),” she said.

City Commissioner Tim Werner said he found out about the threat when he arrived at the Governmental Center for a 2:30 p.m. meeting. He was supposed to meet Vogel to discuss ongoing efforts to restore city and county networks following a June 12 cyberattack.

As Werner arrived, he saw people leaving the building, and heard from one of them that they were leaving because of a bomb scare.

Werner said he and Vogel then held their meeting under a tree. When he left at around 3 p.m., city and county employees were still waiting on a nearby sidewalk, and the Michigan State Police had arrived on the scene.