City Council Meeting - 2022-09-19

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs City Council Meeting — September 19, 2022 • Council approved the consent agenda and heard extensive public comment on several issues. Residents offered opposing views on Holy Childhood church bells: some urged the city to preserve the bells as part of Harbor Springs tradition, while others asked for less volume, frequency, or later morning ringing. A Hillside Apartments petition with 34 signatures supported retaining the bells. • Council moved forward on information-gathering for a proposed electrical substation. Staff will analyze the Deer Park/City Hall area, Lake Road, and a possible private-property option. The work will compare costs and screening approaches, including vegetation and a building. Staff will also make the existing electrical study easier to access online, and council discussed having the engineer return at a future meeting. • Public speakers questioned the need, location, visual effects, environmental effects, and financing of the substation. Staff said the system needs to serve the center of electrical demand and that expanding the Clayton Road substation would require several million dollars in main-line upgrades while retaining voltage-drop and reliability concerns. • The boardwalk replacement fundraiser has raised $145,000 toward a $600,000 goal. Staff said this is not enough to bid the work now. A prior bid for the viewing platform alone came in at $150,000, versus an expected $50,000. Staff said continued fundraising is needed to avoid a longer closure. • Council directed staff and parks personnel to continue their process on proposed reinstallation of playground equipment at Zorn Park. The Planning Commission had requested more detail and visuals. Speakers disagreed over whether the equipment should return, whether the proposed location would disrupt park activities and views, and whether other locations should be evaluated. The DPW director said an eastern alternative would conflict with major sewer and stormwater infrastructure. • Council approved student representatives for the Planning Commission, Tree Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Board, and DDA. It also appointed Sarah McLean to Parks and Recreation and Sarah Eschelbrenner to the DDA. Council named John Leo as its representative to the new noise-control committee and selected three public members. Worth watching: • Staff’s substation site, cost, and screening analysis, plus public access to the prior electrical study. • Whether boardwalk fundraising reaches a level sufficient for bidding and construction scheduling. • The next steps on the Zorn Park playground proposal after Planning Commission feedback. Upcoming: Fall Fest is October 1; fall brush and leaf cleanup begins October 3; a city tree-planting volunteer event is scheduled for October 8 at 11 AM; and the Planning Commission is scheduled to revisit the playground matter October 20. Why it matters: Council actions set up further review of major infrastructure and park decisions while public concern remains high over neighborhood character, public space, and project costs.

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