City Council Meeting - 2020-12-07

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs City Council Meeting — December 7, 2020 ATTENDEES: Mayor Matt Bugera; council members Jon Cox, Jon Leal, Nancy Rondell, and Al Daika. • Council approved the November 16 open-session minutes with a correction to Al Daika’s name, approved the November 16 closed-session minutes, and approved bills. No citizen comments were received before the city-manager agenda. • Council adopted a resolution honoring Dave Irish, founder of Irish Boat Shop, following his recent death. The city manager said Irish had served as both mayor and a council member. The resolution was corrected to remove an incorrect address that was the Boat Shop’s address rather than Irish’s. • In a major parks policy decision, council voted to allow only local nonprofits connected to the Harbor Springs area to operate events in city park areas. The discussion arose from Blue Ribbon Events LLC’s requests for May and August 2021 art events. Council members raised concerns that nonlocal for-profit use could monopolize public parks. The city manager said the Blue Ribbon review would not continue under the new policy direction. • Staff said it will return with additional work on private events, event applications, first-come/first-served scheduling, deadlines, and possible fees to cover city costs. Private events were not decided at this meeting. • Council received an update on proposed downtown tree grates. The DDA recommended rebidding a larger tree-base project without underground electrical work; the project could include concrete replacement, tree work and grates. Final direction was deferred for budget and capital-improvement-plan discussion. • Council approved the boulder-focused landscaping plan for the Main Street/Zoll Street spillway area, with sidewalk expansion and site furnishings held back for now. It also approved a Skydive Harbor Springs lease assignment; a $1,500 contribution to Emmet County’s aerial GIS update; Sperling Trucking and Excavating for the West Third Street undercut project; and Northern Excavating for Bay Street water/sewer improvements. Worth watching: • Staff must develop clearer rules for private events, nonprofit eligibility, park-event scheduling and possible cost recovery. • Council must decide the 2021 budget and final bidding direction for the tree-grate project. • The transcript ends after council entered closed session on possible real-property acquisition; no public outcome is shown. Upcoming: Budget/CIP discussion was scheduled for December 14, with budget adoption and anticipated tree-grate bidding direction discussed for December 21. Why it matters: The meeting set a new limit on who may use city parks for events while committing the city to several near-term street, utility, mapping and public-space investments.

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