City Council Meeting

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs City Council Meeting — June 1, 2026 • Council approved the agenda as amended and approved the consent agenda. The amended agenda separated discussion of a proposed planning-related moratorium from discussion of requests for proposals (RFPs). • Council did not adopt a proposed moratorium on development activity. The discussion indicated the intended pause would apply to receipt of new applications in the central business district for projects over 30 feet and/or over two stories, rather than to issuance of permits. Members said the draft language, scope, dates and legal rationale needed city-attorney review before a vote. The issue arose after a proposed project described as including six apartments or condominiums, 12 garages and two storefronts. • Council approved one-time $4,550 bonuses for Nick and Tina for work assisting with city-manager responsibilities. It also approved a 2% salary increase for Becky and Patty. The recorded roll-call vote on the compensation motion was unanimous. • Maggie Claus was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Board. Staff reported she was the only applicant received after the vacancy was posted on the city website and Facebook page. • Council discussed a revised agreement involving replacement cedar trees at the Sears/Zoll Street beach area. The discussed revisions included use of Vash North LLC, replacement of five to eight cedars, removal of an irrigation requirement, transfer of the contractor's warranty to the city, and city removal of existing fencing and posts before July 1. The transcript reflects agreement on revisions but does not clearly record a formal vote. • Staff will bring back information to help establish an RFP policy for contracted services, including a list of existing service relationships and sample policy materials. Council members discussed applying a consistent approach to consultants and considering backup legal coverage. Worth watching: • Whether the city attorney can produce legally reviewed moratorium language and whether council calls a special meeting to consider it. • Whether the city develops an RFP policy defining which contracted services are periodically reviewed and who participates in selection. • Follow-through on the event-application scam investigation and planned redaction of contact details from future public packets. Upcoming: Staff will contact the city attorney about revised moratorium language and will compile RFP-policy information for a future meeting. Why it matters: The meeting centered on how Harbor Springs manages downtown-scale development, city contracting, and public-property administration.

Agenda items

• Housing Ready Package response letterpending
• Call to Order / Pledge / Roll Callpending
• Public Commentpending
• Site-review moratorium discussionpending
• Planning consultant RFPpending
• Consent Agendapending
• 289 E Main development follow-uppending
• Council Commentspending

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