Flag Pole Letter to City Council PDF
May 2, 2025
The Honorable Mayor Tom Graham
City Councilperson Jaime Melke
City Councilperson Kathy Motschall
City Councilperson Wendy Reeve
City Councilperson Michael Behrmann
160 Zoll Street
Harbor Springs, MI 49740
Dear Mr. Mayor, and City Council Members,
First, thank you each for your dedication to your job as a Council members. Your thoughtful questions and attention to details make it clear you have the town’s best interests at heart. With just five members on the City Council, each vote carries significant weight, and your roles have been invaluable.
Regarding the Flagpole:
While the Club’s wish to commemorate its 50th anniversary is understandable this flagpole project is not ready to be approved by City Council. The location is a step too far—and one we believe the Council must firmly reject.
It reflects a broader push to ‘enhance or beautify,’ modernize, and alter Harbor Springs in ways many residents do not prefer—and have not approved.
There are far more suitable locations within the city—and even within Zorn Park—such as near the Zorn Beach sign, the WWI Memorial, the parking lot/bathrooms, or the alley near the yellow house. Any of these would allow the Garden Club to achieve its goals without breaking up the park’s most valuable open space. That open lawn is essential for sunbathing, picnicking, playing catch or Frisbee, and enjoying the beach, without worrying about trampling a flower bed or navigating around new sidewalks and paved areas.
The proposal also reflects an inconsistent and, seemingly at times arbitrary application of ADA standards: strict where unnecessary and overlooked where genuinely needed. There is no justification for adding an extensive ornamental garden and concrete structure in the middle of limited parkland, which would trigger mandated ADA buildouts, such as concrete paths to the flagpole, that are unnecessary and have not been sought by residents. The current setup has served the community well for decades. Notably, the marble monument at the base of the flagpole, intended long ago for further commemoration, sits blank to this day.
Additionally, while the Garden Club’s offer is presented as a donation, no specific dollar amount or terms have been disclosed. If this is to be treated as a true donation, the Council should require a formal agreement detailing full responsibilities—including funding, maintenance, irrigation, edging, long-term bed upkeep, and scope—before any further consideration.
This well-intentioned proposal is neither well-conceived nor aligned with real needs of our waterfront. More pressing priorities—such as upgrading the restroom facilities—will deliver far greater benefits to residents and visitors alike.
The most recent sizable donation to Zorn Park was made with the explicit intention of preserving open space by relocating the playground to its original beach location. What message does the City send to current and future donors if it fails to honor the clearly stated intentions behind such gifts?
Perhaps most important is honoring the intent of Emily Meier, who, along with her husband Henry, gifted the land for the park to the city in 1933. After the drowning of a local boy, Mrs. Meier was determined to provide a safe public beach for children and families. She rejected offers to sell the property to private buyers in favor of gifting it to the city. Her vision was clear: maintaining open, public bathing and recreation space.
As reported in the Emmet County Graphic on August 31, 1933: “Council Purchases 173 Feet of Property on West Side of Harbor from Allen Brothers at a cost of $3500. The city this week acquired 233 feet of water frontage on the west side of the harbor to be used as a public bathing beach. Mrs. Henry M. Meier made an outright gift to the city of 60 feet of this frontage expressly “to be used always as a public bathing beach, particularly for children.” Mrs. Meier’s gift was made on the provision that the city would buy the former Allen property and that the entire site would be converted into a public bathing beach. When the council closed the contract Tuesday morning at a special meeting with the Allen brothers, Mrs. Meier immediately deeded her property”.
Encroaching on the park with a paved, purely ornamental garden—further shrinking the precious beach and recreation area—directly contradicts the spirit and specific goals of Emily Meier’s gift.
We respectfully urge you to vote to preserve Harbor Springs’ precious green space, reject this proposal, and return it to the Garden Club with instructions to identify a more appropriate and welcomed location. This is an opportunity to reaffirm the city’s century-long tradition of preservation, protection, and responsible stewardship.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and leadership.
Sincerely,
Janie Jenkins, on behalf of We Love Harbor Springs.org
441 2nd Street, Harbor Springs, MI. 49740
CC: Jim Ramer
Harbor Springs Garden Club to celebrate 50th anniversary with new Zorn garden
The Petoskey News-Review – May 7, 2025
Karly Graham
HARBOR SPRINGS
- Harbor Springs City Council approved a donated flower garden around the flagpole in Zorn Park.
- ·The Harbor Springs Garden Club will fund and maintain the garden, which will serve as a veterans memorial garden.
- · Some residents expressed concerns about the loss of green space.
A bit more color will be coming to Zorn Park this spring, with the Harbor Springs City Council approving a donated flower garden during their meeting on Monday.
The council unanimously approved putting a circular garden around the flagpole at Zorn Park, which is intended to be used as a veterans memorial garden.
According to city code, the Department of Public Works would be responsible for the design and construction of the park garden, though it would be funded and maintained by the Harbor Springs Garden Club.
Members of the Harbor Springs Garden Club attended the May 5 council meeting to explain the project and their hopes for it.
Annie Patterson, vice president of the club, said the garden would be their 15th in the city. It would also help the club celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Patterson added that they are interested in bringing the garden to Zorn Park because it will serve as an opportunity to expand their footprint and have another garden available on the west side of the city. They are also hoping the garden will be an opportunity to honor local veterans, creating a formal gathering space around the flagpole at the park.
The goal is to offer a 15-foot radial design, including a 4-foot-wide walkway with a 2-foot-wide circumference around the flagpole. There would be evergreen plats along with annual flowers, allowing for consistent color from spring to fall. Additionally, Patterson said the plants will all be low-growing ones so as to not obstruct the view of the water.
There will be pavers around the garden flat to the ground.
Prior to council’s approval, multiple members of the community shared concerns about losing green space at Zorn Park.
Dana Mulder, chair of the parks board, said the board considers flowers to be green space and said they are in support of bringing more flowers to the park.
The Parks and Recreation Department is in the process of creating a master plan for each park in the city, and Zorn Park’s master plan has not yet been finished. Some residents asked that the garden wait until the master plan is complete before deciding whether or not to move forward with the project.
During public comment, Karin Offield said she wanted the city to remember the park was originally donated to be used as a children’s space.
According to a document on the City of Harbor Springs website, part of the land for lower Zorn Park was donated to the city by the Meier family, who spent summers on Harbor Point. An adjacent property was purchased by the city in 1933, totaling 233 feet of water frontage.
The idea for a new park started in 1909, bringing upper Zorn Park to life. After World War I, a new park memorial was dedicated honoring local men who died in the war.
DPW director Lucas VanderZee said there previously was a raised flower garden around the flagpole, which was originally donated in 2001. He said he doesn’t know when the flower garden went away, but that the wood holding the flower bed slowly deteriorated, and with it so did the small garden.
During public comment, Patrick Kenney said he’s a fan of flowers, but would like to see the space at the park preserved.
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t certainly look for another spot in the park,” he said. “I’m not opposed to having flowers in Zorn Park — I’m opposed to having flowers in Zorn Park where it takes away from the recreation of those that use the park. It seems counterintuitive to me that the garden club would want to encroach in any way upon the recreation area and the open space of the park. … To put it into the center area, the open space of the precious, small square footage of Lower Zorn where the mass amount of people recreate is counterintuitive. We’re taking away from a park, we’re not adding to it.”
Council member Wendy Reeves asked if the flagpole could be moved to provide a compromise.
Parks director Rachel Roon said they have discussed moving the flagpole, but it is not something the city would be able to do themselves and would require bringing in special equipment, which is why they did not explore the option further.
Mulder said the board may consider the option of moving the flagpole once the master plan is complete for the park. She added that the garden club was very open to moving the garden in the future if that seems to be a better option down the road.
Kiwanis, Zorn parks among top priorities for Harbor Springs parks and rec department
The Petoskey News-Review January 23, 2025
Karly Graham HARBOR SPRINGS
With a lineup of projects on the docket, it’s hard to figure out what should come first for the Harbor Springs Parks and Recreation Department.
During Monday’s city council meeting, Parks Director Rachel Roon asked council for guidance regarding what projects they would like to see prioritized in the coming years, so the department and board has a better idea of where to focus their fundraising efforts.
Things like updating the plumbing at the Zorn Park bathrooms, opening an outdoor building at Kiwanis Park, extending the Little Traverse Wheelway into downtown and more were in discussion.
Roon told the News-Review that in the next year to year and a half, Kiwanis Park will be offering accessible restrooms both indoors and outdoors. Right now, the building is locked unless it is rented out. The project will allow bathroom access for people using the sledding hill or disc golf course, for example….