In a community that includes year-round and seasonal residents, as well as an increasing tourism market, how do you think about balancing economic drivers, natural resources, community well-being, and infrastructure needs? What concerns and opportunities do you see in our town’s unique makeup?

Because of my long association with the City, I am very cognizant of the various constituencies we represent. Over the years I have interfaced with many of the different factions, past and present, and been exposed to their varied reasons for being here and hopes and assumptions about the future of this town. This is why I'm so committed to the need for a universal "Master Plan". We need to address the hard questions. Firstly, do we really believe we can direct the future of this town, or are at the mercy of forces beyond our control that are going to drive the future of Harbor Springs? If the answer to that question is "No, we want to be in control", then we can go on to questions like "Do we want to be a Tourist town like Mackinaw City?, or "Do we want to be a historical museum town like Greenfield Village"? If our answer is, "Well no, we want to be a mixture of all these types of towns", then we should get objective and say "Okay, we want to be twenty percent Tourist, Fifty percent seasonal and investment, ten percent commercial and the rest residential. I know this sounds a bit clinical, but this is where a good and mutually supported Master Plan can radically assist us in dealing with specific questions relating to everything from Budgeting to Planning and Zoning.

Harbor Springs works best when we plan for the people who treat it as home. A 2026 study of downtown visitors shows why: the one-third who return again and again make about three-quarters of all visits. The other two-thirds come once a year. They are welcome, but the city pays for their restrooms, trash pickup, and parking in July, while our tax base barely moves and many of the jobs they support end in September. I believe we have to ask two questions of every major proposal. What does it add in February? What does it cost us in July? Then aim our downtown dollars at the off-season, when our shops and restaurants need people most.

As the question implies, balance.and proportion are important. City council does not determine the market forces that result in business decisions at a granular level, but does have a hand in creating an environment where people want to be. There are only so many places to put more cars, only so many seats in the restaurants, only so many cooks.

"The City" has powers and limitations as to what we can do. Best is to anticipate and adapt. For example, no one saw the web-based short-term rental issue coming until it arrived. Best practice is to seek balance, scale, proportionality. The bathwater is a problem, but the baby is the priority.

We can learn a lot from the experiences of other fine communities dealing with the same issues we face; maintaining balance between individual and community interests. I will seek wisdom wherever I can find it,

• I’ve mentioned this in a few other questions briefly…
• This topic will be forever changing from year to year. We’ve become a destination to visit from people all over the world. I think about 1/3 of the city is only year around residents. City continues to improve on its ability to handle the influx on seasonal visitors. Where I think the city could help itself is come up with a better way of charging for services from those who don’t live within the city. It’s not fair for the city residents to absorb all or much of the cost.