Both this site, and the folks over at WLHS, received a request from the Chair of the Planning Commission to post a letter seeking your ideas! Thank you for taking the time to read Bill's request and give some thought to the Commission's questions:

"From: Bill Mulder, Chair – City of Harbor Springs Planning Commission

Subject: Ideas Requested

The Harbor Springs Planning Commission continued its hard work last week. First, I want to recognize and applaud the way in which these conversations are taking place. The members of the Commission are thoughtful, courteous, and open to suggestions.

Last week's meeting was a perfect example of what happens when you are willing to say out loud, "Maybe there are some things we could do better."

The meeting was the start of a conversation about the actual zoning districts. The group walked through each of the 17 current zones and asked if it was needed.

THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT, FRIENDS. PLEASE READ AND GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT. (Thank you!)

In 2024, there were 36 new Harbor Springs voters who attested they live most the year in Harbor Springs for purposes of voting but did not claim their address here as their primary residence for taxes.

Twenty-seven of our new voters are known renters. They are eligible to vote but not to claim any tax benefit on their residence.

The remaining 48 new registered voters took the Primary Resident Exemption (PRE). Those voters swore under penalty of perjury on both their voting and tax forms that they were Harbor Springs residents a greater part of the year.

Some of you might be asking: "Why is Nubbins digging up all this voting stuff now? Things seem to be calm and going well! Why stir things up?" If you are asking that question, trust me, so am I.

My answer is, I don't trust that we won't slip back into the contention and acrimony we experienced last year as folks come back for the summer.

Despite our best efforts to be inclusive and listen to the concerns of residents, property owners and neighbors from the Townships, there may be some who will disregard the thoughtful process we have engaged in and demand we start over again. Rather than respect the common ground we have found, some will repeat the idea that they were not directly consulted despite multiple invitations to engage.

The 2024 presidential race brought new voters to the rolls. Last fall’s zoning issue also brought new voters who changed their registration from elsewhere to Harbor Springs. As I have said, I am not sure there is anything definitely illegal about that, but it is hard to deny it shifted some of the local election dynamics.

The question I have been asking is, “was it right” to attest you were a “resident” of Harbor Springs a majority of the year for voting purposes, but also say you were a resident somewhere else for most of the year for tax purposes.

The front page of yesterday's Harbor Light Newspaper pointed out another place where "gaming" the voter registration system could impact our community.

We are all entitled by our Constitution to request a trial by a jury of our peers (should we ever find ourselves accused of a crime). Juries are summoned from among the pool of registered voters of a community. It is how the judge seats a jury that reflects a defendant's peers.

Buckle up-if you've been waiting for a fiery post, here it is! When I am about to post something confrontational, I run it by Sara for advice. She read the draft of this post and told me I was pulling my punches and I should say what I mean clearly.

She's right. So, here it goes (This Ole Ram is about to get lots of hate mail):

Last year Harbor Springs saw a 10% increase in registered voters. In a town of 1241, that is a lot.

All of those new voters had to certify they were residents of Harbor Springs. The state of Michigan (Act 116 of 1954) says your "residence" for voting is: "the place at which the person resides the greater part of the time."

Today’s City Council meeting was this afternoon. Three items were voted on-all approved unanimously (in what may be a first).

1. The Council approved a resurfacing contract (which was below estimates) for Pine and parts of Arbor Streets. Work will begin in mid-August (5-0).

2. The Council accepted the donation of the Garden Club’s 50th Anniversary garden in tribute to our veterans around the flagpole at Zorn Park (5-0!)

3. The Council approved a resolution of appreciation and thanks to our City employees for going above and beyond during the ice storm. Jamie Melke was the sponsor of the thoughtful gesture (5-0).

Hi there! When I started this effort, I thought if I could get 348 followers it could make a difference to the conversation we are having in Harbor Springs. The goal was set with admittedly petty reasoning. I used 348 because it was the number of residents who signed the zoning repeal petition last summer.

We’ve passed the 348 mark. I want to say, "Thank you."

This Saturday is Opening Day for the Harbor Springs Little League. The warm sun this afternoon sure makes it feel like baseball weather. There is a phrase often used in baseball practice: "Trust the Process." In my line of work, we use "respect the process." The intent is the same. One should focus attention on the steps not on the outcome.

The idea is to deal with what is right in front of you. Young players are unlikely hit a home run if their approach is focused on hitting a home run. Heck, seasoned players won't do much better. By paying attention to the mechanics of putting the ball in play each have a far better chance of success.

Every game, the pitchers and the batters need to learn quickly how an umpire is seeing the strike zone. The goal is that the zone is roughly the same for each game. Finding the edges a particular umpire is calling can mean the difference between winning or losing.

Players might complain about a strike zone, but if the umpire is consistent in the way they call the balls and strikes, that’s what matters. If the ump is consistent, both the pitcher and batter respect the zone and know what to expect. Consistency makes the system fair. Without it, the game breaks down.

Hi there and my sincere thanks.

I have wrestled with what to write after the last few weeks. It's been a heck of a roller coaster.

The sun feels different, perhaps we have finally turned the corner. But it is Northern Michigan, spring today...who knows about tomorrow.

I have been convinced, like the weather, our town has turned a corner. Like spring though, it’s hard to tell. The signs are all there. People, here in town, seem genuinely pleased (and rightly so) with the city's response to our ice storm. Locally, people have been acting like a community in the most genuine and fundamental sense of the word.

Last night, the Parks Board met at City Hall in what seemed like a return to normal. The work the City of Harbor Springs Parks & Recreation staff have done along with volunteers to clean up our parks since our last meeting has been far from normal. In fact, I'd call it downright heroic.

The main piece of action last night centered around another thoughtful group and their efforts to honor those who have served America in uniform.

To commemorate their 50 years of service to Harbor Springs, the Garden Club presented plans for a new garden to ring the flag pole at Zorn Park. The waterfront has long been the site of annual Memorial services for our community.

The overwhelming community support and kindness shown these last few weeks in and around Harbor Springs has been extraordinary. It may sound silly, but we should take a moment to be proud of ourselves.

This last year has been hard on our community. Maybe we needed to be pushed a bit to remember how much we need each other. It has also been a good reminder, that we sometimes need help from outside. For instance, today, there is a crew from Kent County (Grand Rapids) cleaning up M-119.

Over and over, what I have heard is an earnest hope that we have turned a corner--together.

You are AMAZING Harbor Springs! Since the call went out, just two days ago, you have answered in support of the Harbor Springs High School Robotics Team.

With donations big and small, you have donated nearly $10,000 to help the kids get to Houston to compete in the Robotics World Championships. WOW!

This last week, while we were all dealing with the ice storm and its aftermath, the Harbor Springs High School Baywatch Robotics Team was in Saginaw competing in the State competition.

We may have been without power here-but our team was bringing all the power moves against the best in Michigan. There are no school size divisions in robotics, so Harbor's team competed against all the biggest schools downstate. Driving their robot named "Riptide" our little team made it to the State semi-finals!

The team did so well, they qualified for the High School Robotics World Championship in Houston, Texas later this month! Talk about punching above their weight!

There has been a parade of utility and public works trucks roaring into town today. Gleaming bright green semi-trucks with skid loaders from our friends in Kent County, Michigan (Grand Rapids) led the way down Main Street followed by dozens of bucket trucks from nearly as many different utilities.

We hardy bunch in the north called for aid, and boy have our downstate friends answered! It is humbling, heartening, and inspiring. Someday we will return the favor, but for now they certainly have our sincere thanks.

Today, is the first day of SPRING! In true Northern Michigan fashion, the heavy snow and slick conditions early this morning closed school and added another day to Spring Break week!

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up-I will be enjoying some time with my family next week and not posting.

The last few weeks, we have focused on telling success stories of Harbor Springs. Particularly, we have been focused on our students.

Wow! Have you all responded!

Last week, the City Council received an update on the Shay locomotive the students at the Industrial Arts Institute in Onaway restoring. Built in 1907 by the Lima Locomotive and Machine Works in Ohio, the engine was invented by our own Ephraim Shay. The plan is that the restored locomotive will join his "Aha" boat in Shay Park later this spring. Given the amazing job the students in Onaway did on the boat, I can't wait to see the engine.

I was thinking about Ephraim Shay as I watched our championship winning Harbor High School robotics team this weekend. Most of those kids went through Shay Elementary. I wonder if his spirit of invention and innovation rubbed off on the team. Our town certainly has a long history of residents, like Shay and his son, finding solutions to complicated problems.

In perhaps the strongest robotics state in the country, with the Big Three motor companies all supporting the competition-the Harbor Springs Rams Robotics Team leaves the weekend as the 4th ranked team out of hundreds in the entire state!

Talk about punching above their weight. There are no divisions in robotics, so Harbor competes against schools 5x bigger, and yet…they are a top 5 team in the whole state of Michigan. And likely sitting in the top 25 in the country. AMAZING!