I first posed this question to city council in 2024.  If the timing was wrong then, it’s right now.  So, I pose it again to keep it in front of council and the public to encourage discussion about it.

I respectfully ask city council to consider taking steps to update Harbor Island’s Master Plan.  The current Master Plan is over 25 years old (1998) and sorely outdated.  There are many reasons it’s time to update.  Thank you.  Brent Clark

Remediation is Well Underway

Test wells and contamination data have been gathered.  Soon the boundaries of the contamination will be known.  The coal ash ponds are cleared and temporarily capped.  Visioning started in early 2024.  Townhalls and concepts have been shared with the public.  Remediation will be completed by 2027.  Funding to renew Harbor Island requires specific buildout details; it cannot be generalized.  HI’s website is packed full of facts and ideas.  https://www.renewharborisland.org/ .  Click and see.  More townhalls are planned for Fall 2025 to update the public on the remediation status.

A Buildout Framework is Needed

Like building a house, rebuilding Harbor Island we need a blueprint. You can’t focus on a kitchen, a bedroom, or a garage in isolation.  All the rooms need to coordinate in an overall design.  Or you get a hodge podge.  For Harbor Island that’s a Master Plan.  The old 1998 one cannot carry the day to renew and repurpose HI.  These are but a few of the questions HI needs answered.  It’s not too early to start.

Harbor Island has many Planning Questions

  1. What is the long-term purpose (vision) for HI?
  2. How will a HI Master Plan be developed?
  3. What are the puzzle pieces (elements) that end up there over short and long term?
  4. Should Harbor Island become an authority; Harbor Island Authority?
  5. What image do we want HI to have to the public?
  6. What will HI distinctives, destination factors be?  (e.g. Mackinaw Island, Drummond Island, Presque Isle, Beaver Island, Boblo Island, etc.)
  7. How do we want HI to be found/ reached / experienced; etc.?
  8. How far do we want HI’s reputation to reach? (i.e. W. Mich, Midwest, beyond, etc.)
  9. How will HI be connected (knitted together) with Tri-Cities, county?
  10. What themes should HI have? (e.g. recreational, educational, historical, boat launch, physical fitness course, ice skating, amphitheater, performance stage, etc)
  11. Where can we find similar projects for comparison / guidance?
  12. Where can we find best practices on how to proceed / how to end up?
  13. How do we engage the community before / during / after HI’s renewal journey?
  14. How do we define “community”? (stakeholders, users, donors, champions, etc.)
  15. How should HI be connected (physically & intellectually) to the city?  The museum?  The library?  The Tri-Cities?  The county?
  16. How can we tap into skill sets and expertise of museum, library, schools, universities, community, etc.?
  17. What are the physical (and virtual) touch points we want for HI?
  18. Should HI be virtually interactive with the public?  How to do?
  19. Could we engage our local historical society to develop the “history” of HI up to current?  Is it historically significant and should it be part of HI’s “life”?
  20. How do we engage public and private funding on HI elements?  (e.g. birding platforms, snowshoe trails, pet paths, walking paths, soccer fields, solar gardens, historical education markers, boat launches, farmer’s market, charter fishing, etc.)
  21. What utilities and services will HI have? (e.g. electric, water, sewer, bathrooms, area lighting, parking, paved roads, etc.)
  22. Will anything be unique to local demographics? (e.g. elderly, youth, skate park, preschool, sports, pets, veterans, special needs, etc.)
  23. How will ADA be factored in?
  24. Will HI draw any seasonal events? (e.g. winter / spring / summer / fall fest activities, etc.)
  25. Should HI be a year-round destination; or only seasonal?
  26. How will HI incorporate / enhance Linear Park; soccer fields, and should it?

Use a Holistic Approach for Renewal

To date, the townhalls have been “blue sky” surveys and concept renderings narrowly focused only on the Sims site and immediate surrounding area (the “western area”).  HI’s renewal needs to envelop the whole island, not just a small cleanup section.  It needs to be holistic in scope and focus.  Otherwise, HI will end up piecemeal, a patchwork of uncoordinated special interest projects.  An updated Master Plan will force the whole island included, and the whole community engaged on purpose and by design.

Funding Sources need Detailed Projects in Order to Open Their Purse Strings

Federal, state, and local funding decision makers will not pay for “blue sky” ideas.  They want (need) detailed, specific, well thought out projects.  Chasing money without it is a fools folly.  A waste of time and a risk to goodwill.  A hat in hand has only one first impression.  It needs to be a good one.  A Master Plan leads to well defined, credible projects.

The Public is Ready to Plan Ahead

In 2024 the public was ready to plan HI’s future.  Remediation was not far enough along to allow it.  Now, it is.  Let’s give the public a Master Plan to flesh out.  Let’s start assembling the puzzle pieces of our renewed Harbor Island.

Thank you.  Brent Clark