City Council Meeting - 2023-12-04

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs City Council Meeting — December 4, 2023 • Council approved the consent agenda, following minor corrections to the meeting minutes. The transcript does not identify the specific bills or other consent items beyond the minutes and bills. • Council reviewed the proposed 2024 budget as an initial draft. Staff said the budget will need corrections, including recording playground-donation expenses that will be split between 2023 and 2024. Staff said this would reduce currently projected surplus, capital-improvement reserves and unfunded-liability allocations. The public hearing is scheduled for the next meeting. • Council members asked to revisit how Little Traverse and West Traverse townships contribute to city park costs. Staff said the townships contribute about $27,000 while the city bears most park operating costs; determining where park users live remains difficult. A possible QR-code survey at the skate park was mentioned as one sampling tool. • Members also raised utility-bill postage costs and asked staff to explore stronger promotion of existing paperless billing. Staff confirmed customers can choose emailed bills without paper copies. Staff also recommended removing inactive budget accounts that have remained at zero for years. • The 2024-29 Capital Improvements Plan was introduced for review. Planning Commission recommendations included addressing uneven pavement at State Street and Bluff Drive and incorporating housing-related projects. Staff said the State Street condition has existed for about 20 years and is not currently failing or dangerous, but a full infrastructure replacement would be costly. A shorter-term resurfacing option could be evaluated. • Council committed $10,000 per year for 2024 and 2025 to Housing North’s Housing Ready Director position. Speakers said the position coordinates regional housing work and projects in Emmet County. The commitment was described as contingent on council approval of the budget. • Council approved an agreement allowing an identification sign for the Little Traverse Bay Bands tribal housing complex on Second Street to extend slightly into city right-of-way airspace. Staff said the sign would be well away from the road and would not interfere with current operations; the city retains the right to require removal for safety or infrastructure purposes. Worth watching: • Budget corrections, park-cost sharing, paperless billing promotion and obsolete accounts remain for follow-through before budget adoption. • Council may consider a community survey about interest in replacing the eastern boardwalk; the project is in the CIP but not in the proposed 2024 budget. • The scope, cost and timing of a State Street pavement fix remain unresolved. Upcoming: A public hearing and presentations on the proposed 2024 budget and CIP are planned for December 11; final budget/CIP action is planned for December 18, when board and commission appointments are also expected. Why it matters: The meeting set near-term housing funding while shaping how the city will prioritize reserves, infrastructure, parks and capital projects in 2024.

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