City Council Meeting - 2020-07-20

Detailed briefing

City Council Meeting — July 20, 2020 • Council adopted public-comment rules intended to keep meetings orderly while preserving public participation. The rules include a three-minute speaking limit, one opportunity to speak during a comment session, recognition by the mayor before speaking, name-and-address identification, and a process for submitting written material for the council packet. • Council approved the proposed Invitational at Harbor Springs fine-art event in Sherwood Park, 4-1. The organizer described COVID-19 measures including one-way pedestrian flow, signs, hand-sanitizing stations, wider booth spacing, and counting attendees. The event must follow current state mandates; city staff will work with the organizer on an attendance limit based on the usable event area. • Council approved an amendment related to Bear Creek Township’s need for additional sewer-treatment capacity. Harbor Springs does not have capacity to provide. The arrangement reallocates unused capacity from other participating communities, with Bear Creek’s debt payment increasing for the additional usage. • Council approved, 4-1, a waterfront resolution allowing alcohol consumption with a meal in the designated green space near the harbor. The city will use its existing sealed-container approach rather than pursue the state social-district open-container process. Discussion centered on expanding the designated area beyond the smaller section planned for shade sails and tables while keeping it limited to the waterfront green space. • Council supported a $1,000 donation to the Garden Club, noting its work beautifying city property. The city manager also reported that a recent storm caused West Bluff washout and reduced M-119 to one-way traffic under a temporary signal. City crews addressed downed lines, trees, flooding, and other damage; cleanup was expected to continue through the week. • Public commenters urged prompt professional review of West Bluff stability and drainage following the failure near Harrison Street. Speakers differed over whether thinning vegetation would help. Staff said a cutting moratorium remains in place and the Tree Board is developing a bluff-management plan prioritizing stability. Worth watching: • The city manager plans to return to council August 3 on bluff management after further legal research. • MDOT repair timing for the West Bluff/M-119 washout remained unknown. • The art-event attendance limit and final site layout still require staff coordination with the organizer. Upcoming: Candidate applications and petitions for the November 3 city council and mayor ballot are due tomorrow at 4 PM. Why it matters: The council acted on public-process rules and pandemic-era downtown activity while confronting an immediate bluff and road-safety issue.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.