Election Matters - Please Vote!

## The Brief - **City Council:** Monday, November 3, at 12 p.m. Earlier in the day due to the election on the next day. Check here for the agenda when available: City Website, Zoom Meeting, You Tube

- **Planning Commission: **Public Hearing for zoning is Thursday, November 13th. They will continue discussions on the proposed draft zoning code, in preparation for future submission to the City Council. Zoom Meeting, You Tube

- **Parks and Recreation:** Tuesday, November 11th.

- **The DDA and ZBA:** meet on Wednesday, November 12th.

- The schedules, agendas, and information can be found here: Meeting Calendar.

- The City Council must vote with a simple majority (3 of 5) to make the zoning law. The Planning Commission recommends zoning updates to the City Council. A planning consultant writes the code based on the Planning Commission's direction. The new members of the City Council elected on November 4th will decide the final zoning.

## Harbor Springs Election: The Issues That Matter Most As Harbor Springs prepares for the upcoming election, we have an opportunity to focus on the issues that shape our town’s future, not just who sits on the City Council, but how we work together to solve problems and plan ahead.

From utilities and infrastructure to communication and zoning, the choices we make this fall will determine how Harbor Springs grows, governs, and stays true to Harbor Springs. We have an opportunity to drive the hard work of governing on the most pressing matters before us. Many of these things are at work. Focusing on these issues helps the community set priorities.

### 1. Utilities & Infrastructure **Why It Matters:** Harbor Springs runs its own electric utility, a rare strength for a small town. But that independence comes with major responsibilities: an aging substation, wastewater nearing capacity, and competing demands for limited capital funds. The next City Council will need to balance investment, maintenance, and affordability while protecting the reliability that residents and businesses depend on.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Prioritize essentials: **Focus first on critical upgrades, the substation, wastewater expansion, and electric reliability, before funding new amenities like parks and facilities.

- **Grid Reliability: **Increased renewables on the grid are creating some reliability issues that likely require increased investment in backup generation.

- **Plan transparently: **Publish a five-year infrastructure roadmap with clear timelines, costs, and funding sources.

- **Protect utility reserves:** Limit General Fund transfers to ensure Electric and Water funds remain strong enough for emergencies.

- **Coordinate regionally: **Work with neighboring townships on wastewater and renewable energy planning to share costs and capacity.

*Strong utilities are the quiet foundation of a resilient Harbor Springs and the clearest test of whether city government is focused on essentials first.*

### 2. Ice Storm & Winter Resilience Planning **Why It Matters:** The March 2025 ice storm showed both the strength and the fragility of Harbor Springs. Power lines and trees fell, communication failed, and some homes in town were dark for nearly a week. City staff and neighbors worked tirelessly, but the event revealed clear gaps in backup power, emergency communication, and preparedness. These are fixable. The city’s small size and local control are advantages if we act before the next storm. Start now to check off this list and add your ideas.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Strengthen and establish redundant communications systems:** Equip key city sites with satellite internet, designate an emergency AM/FM partner, and promote Smart911 and BeAlert signups on every bill.

- **Upgrade emergency power:** Audit backup generators at critical facilities and invest in permanent warming centers with reliable heat and communication. Consider a backup microgrid to keep Ace Hardware, IGA, gas pumps, and warming stations operational.

- **Powe Lines:** bury power lines.

- **Support residents: **Launch a fall safety booth with generator demos, distribute a short backup-power guide, and offer on-bill financing for safe transfer switches.

- **Plan and practice: **Conduct a winter “tabletop drill” with City staff, utilities, schools, and volunteers to test coordination and identify gaps before winter.

- Utilize text messages and NOAA Weather Radio alerts for broader emergency notifications.

- **Worst Case Communications: **Equip key city personnel (e.g., City Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief, DPW Director) with satellite phones or other grid-independent communication devices for inter-departmental coordination in the case we also lose cellular services

- **Emergency Internet: **Implement Satellite Internet (e.g., Starlink) at key facilities (like City Hall or the Emergency Operations Center) to maintain essential internet connectivity for coordination and public information when terrestrial services fail.

- Establish physical bulletin boards at key locations (City Hall, Library, Post Office) for posting updates when digital communication fails.

- Create pre-scripted emergency messages for various scenarios (power outage, boil water advisory, shelter locations, etc.).

- Develop a clear protocol for disseminating information through all available channels, including low-tech options such as runners or designated neighborhood contacts, if necessary.

*A small investment now — in communication, coordination, and safety will make the next storm shorter, safer, and far less costly for everyone. * For more information on weather preparedness, please read Bing Howensteins’ letter on the Letters Tab on www.weloveharborsprings.org *

### 3. Affordability in Housing **Why It Matters:** Everyone agrees Harbor Springs needs more attainable housing for local workers and families. The challenge is how to achieve it without losing what makes our town livable. Recent zoning proposals promote density, ADUs, and taller mixed-use buildings, as a path to affordability. But higher density doesn’t automatically mean lower costs. In a one-square-mile resort town, those changes can just as easily drive up land values, strain utilities, and erase green space without creating homes teachers or city staff can actually afford.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Target affordability, not density: **Require housing initiatives to include price or income targets, not just more units.

- **Use partnerships, not blanket rezoning:** Work with regional nonprofits, employers, and investors (summertime residents) to create workforce housing where it fits, such as above the Bluff or near existing infrastructure.

- **Preserve neighborhood character: **Limiting planned developments to areas that can handle added parking, traffic, and utilities.

- **Keep ADUs for year-round residents: **Allow accessory units by special land use, but tie approval to owner occupancy and prohibit short-term rentals. Allow mid-term rentals and long-term rentals.

- **Ask for data first: **address, plan and complete housing, infrastructure, and traffic studies before adopting code changes advertised as “affordable.” Ask this be done first!

*Harbor Springs can grow thoughtfully by adding the right kinds of homes in the right places without turning density into a false promise of affordability.*

### 4. Year-Round Residency Growth **Why It Matters:** Harbor Springs depends on a strong year-round population to sustain its schools, local businesses, and civic life. Homes can sit dark through the winter, and each year it may be harder for working families to live here full-time. The question isn’t whether Harbor Springs grows, it’s how we ensure that growth supports and allows a community to stay constant and that’s alive in every season.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Encourage full-time residency: **Offer property tax or utility incentives for converting seasonal homes or short-term rentals into mid or long-term rentals.

- **Support local families: **Prioritize and work to subsidize child care access, school partnerships, and winter community programming that make living here year-round realistic and rewarding.

- **Strengthen local employment ties: **Work with employers and housing nonprofits to match workforce housing options to real job needs.

- **Attract seasonal residents: **More seasonal residents are staying longer, some now here six, eight, or even ten months a year. Gather the real data on residency months. Explore ways to help them make Harbor Springs home year-round.

- **Maintain livability: **Keep sidewalks, services, and recreation amenities accessible and active beyond summer.

- Acknowledge that Harbor Springs is not a 60 day resort. The ski areas bring thousands of visitors to our area all winter long. If ignored, all those visitors will ignore the downtown. Make wintertime work for our shops, restaurants, and grocery stores.

*A vibrant, year-round Harbor Springs doesn’t require major expansion, just intentional policies that keep homes occupied, families rooted, and the community engaged all twelve months of the year.*

### 5. Budget & Financial Responsibility **Why It Matters:** Harbor Springs has a small tax base but big expectations. Spending on parks, consultants, and new amenities has increased, even as sidewalks, boardwalks, and utilities continue to age. Recent projects, like the new Harbor Master building or the sidewalk to the train and boat displays at Shay Park, raise a broader question: how should the city balance huge investments that attract visitors with those that serve the people who live here year-round?

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Put residents first:** Prioritize funding for services, infrastructure, and facilities that directly benefit residents and property owners before spending on tourism-oriented projects.

- **Require public review: **Make DDA, Tree Board, and Parks and Recreation projects subject to open community input, and reduction in spending by transparent cost-benefit discussions before approval.

- **Publish clear reporting: **Release quarterly budget summaries showing spending by category and how utility transfers support the General Fund.

- **Protect core funds: **Cap how much can be drawn from Electric and Water reserves to preserve long-term maintenance capacity.

- **Adopt priority-based budgeting: **Rank every major project by its impact on safety, community use, and fiscal sustainability — not just aesthetics or visitor appeal.

*Fiscal responsibility isn’t only about balance sheets; it’s about focus and fairness. Harbor Springs should invest first in what strengthens daily life for residents, while keeping tourism as a welcome complement, not the primary goal. *

### 6. Zoning for Future Growth **Why It Matters:** Harbor Springs has come a long way. Over the past two years, residents, planners, and city leaders have spent countless hours reviewing, debating, and refining the city’s zoning framework. The repeal of Ordinance #439 and the open-house discussions that followed brought more people into the conversation than ever before. That’s progress. We now have the chance to shape a code that reflects both the lessons learned and the values we share, preserving what makes Harbor Springs special while planning responsibly for the future.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Build on the progress: **Keep the collaborative spirit going by inviting continued public input before final adoption of the new zoning code.

- **Align zoning with the Master Plan: **Ensure the 2026 Master Plan update and the zoning code move forward together, is guided by shared goals and clear priorities.

- **Protect neighborhood character:** Maintain design standards, building heights, and density limits that fit Harbor Springs’ small-town scale.

- **Stay transparent: **Publish clear, side-by-side comparisons showing what’s changing and why, so everyone can see how the code evolves. Put all sub-committee meetings on Zoom, with minutes.

- **Incremental Change: **Avoid big changes. Simplify the workload for volunteers and improve engagement by pursuing many small projects rather than one large, complex change.

*Harbor Springs has already proven that when residents engage and listen to each other, real progress happens. With the same steady participation and respect we’ve shown this past year, we can finish the job and leave a zoning code that truly reflects the community’s voice and vision.*

### 7. Communication & Transparency **Why It Matters:** Many of Harbor Springs’ debates, from light poles to zoning, share a common theme: residents often learn about decisions after they’re made. When communication breaks down or meetings move behind closed doors, trust erodes. The Open Meetings Act exists to ensure residents can observe their government in action, and it must be followed fully and consistently.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Meet people where they are: **Update City Hall’s Zoom setup so residents can reliably join meetings remotely, especially parents making dinner, working late, or at kids’ soccer games who still want to listen in.

- **100%: **Set a goal to get 100% of citizens and property owners on some form of electronic communication. Go beyond state-mandated minimum notice requirements.

- **Notify property owners directly:** Mail notices when zoning, construction, or tax-related changes affect nearby properties.

- **Strictly uphold the Open Meetings Act:** Limit closed sessions to situations clearly allowed by law, and provide public summaries afterward.

- **Communicate early: **Share draft proposals, budgets, and meeting materials well in advance and in plain language.

- **Keep information accessible:** Maintain an easy-to-navigate website with recordings, summaries, and updates in one place.

- **Make decisions efficiently: **Establish timelines for Council follow-up so issues don’t stall for months without resolution.

*Transparency isn’t an obstacle to good government; it’s the foundation of it. When residents are notified, can tune in easily, and see decisions made in the open, Harbor Springs becomes a stronger, more connected community.*

### 8. City Administration & the City Manager **Why It Matters:** Good government runs on clarity, professionalism, and accountability. Harbor Springs’ small staff manages an unusually wide range of responsibilities—utilities, zoning, finance, HR, and public events. Yet in recent years the City has faced lawsuits, staff turnover, and communication gaps that erode public trust. The City Manager’s contract expires in spring 2026, giving the next Council a chance to evaluate not just one individual but the systems, culture, and professional standards that guide City Hall. A transparent review process, paired with strong HR practices and clear expectations, ensures the City operates effectively, fairly, and without political bias.

**Possible Solutions:**

- **Reconsider the Role: **A large fraction of the City budget is spent on utilities and infrastructure. Consider if we have the right balance of skills for this city.

- **Establish clear performance goals:** Conduct a formal annual evaluation of the City Manager tied to defined metrics, budget accuracy, project delivery, staff retention, and responsiveness to residents. Including NPS score for city services.

- **Reinforce professionalism and neutrality:** Adopt firm standards prohibiting City staff, including the Manager, from engaging in partisan or political debates while acting in an official capacity. City communications should focus solely on public service and policy implementation.

- **Prioritize professional development:** Require ongoing training for all department heads and senior staff in municipal management, HR law, finance, ethics, and customer service. Encourage certification, similar ot Chief Kyles’ efforts.

- **Modernize HR and risk management:** Review policies for consistent hiring, discipline, and evaluations; ensure workplace training in ethics, safety, and inclusion. Maintain regular after-action reviews following City events or incidents.

- **Strengthen project and financial management:** Require every major initiative, utility upgrades, zoning reforms, and park improvements to have a clear scope, budget, schedule, and public reporting process. Maintain an open list of unresolved issues from public hearings and citizen comments.

- **Plan ahead for 2026:** Begin a structured performance review by mid-2025 so the Council can make an informed, timely decision on renewal or recruitment, ensuring continuity of operations.

*Professional development, political neutrality, and measurable accountability are the hallmarks of a modern city government. By investing in its people and holding leadership to clear, non-partisan standards, Harbor Springs can maintain public trust and ensure that City Hall reflects the community’s best values: competence, fairness, and respect for all residents.*

### Looking Ahead Harbor Springs has already shown what happens when people get involved: problems turn into progress. From utilities to housing to communication, these issues are solvable when residents, staff, and elected officials work side by side.

The next City Council will inherit a community that’s engaged, informed, and ready to help. Let’s keep building on that momentum, steady, transparent, and neighbor to neighbor, to ensure Harbor Springs remains a place defined by care, not conflict, and by connection, not division.

### Choosing Leadership That Moves Us Forward Every election tests whether we keep building on progress or return to the habits that held us back: indecision, conflict, and closed doors. Harbor Springs has spent the past year rebuilding trust, improving communication, and finding common ground. That work isn’t finished.

Harbor Springs has worked hard this past year to rebuild trust, open communication, and restore accountability. That progress is fragile, and it depends on who we elect next. This election isn’t about personalities; it’s about performance. We’ve seen what happens when leadership divides us or is dismissive of collective public input. We can’t afford more of that.

This fall’s election isn’t about any one person; it’s about whether our city continues to plan thoughtfully, listen openly, and govern with civility and purpose. Progress in a small town doesn’t come from loud voices; it comes from steady, thoughtful leadership and citizens who care enough to keep Harbor Springs moving forward — not going back.