Sand in the Gears

Hi there! I've got a bit of a cold. Part of the crud that has been going around.

As the plow trucks made the rounds this weekend, I got to thinking that combating the snow takes a lot of both salt and sand. Which creates a crud all their own.

So, with the caveat that this sinus pressure has made me a bit salty, let's talk a bit about sand.

Sand is a weird thing. For any who have tried to run in it, you know how much work and effort it takes. It is anything but quick. And we all know how irritating it can be when trapped in a swimsuit.

On a positive note, there is nothing quite like the feeling of sand under your feet on a warm summer day. In the winter it can give some much-needed traction. For millennia it has been used in concrete to provide strength to what is otherwise just water.

While the Bible famously warns against using it for a home's foundation, most of our town (including our house) is built on top of sand.

Residents and visitors alike know it wouldn't be summer in Harbor without sand tracked through the house. And it wouldn't be winter without sand caked under our wheel wells.

We come by our connection to sand...well...naturally.

Which is a long way to get to my point (as usual).

Lots of folks want a say in how our city operates. And everyone is absolutely entitled to share their own opinions. We can learn a lot by listening to one another. But some of the loudest voices don't have an address in town.

It would be like me going to every single Petoskey City Council meeting to tell them how they should run their city. I don't live there. I visit. I shop and eat there. I enjoy time there. Heck my wife owns a business there. But I don't pay property taxes there. I don't vote there. Frankly, I don't think they would care much about what I wanted them to do with their zoning code. Nor should they.

Some have spent a great deal of time telling those of us who live here what we should and shouldn't do. But beyond holding court in meetings, where resident volunteers are trying to do their best, you won't find them grilling hotdogs at Ice Fest.

So, what's the point? While this winter's Town Halls and Open Houses have gone incredibly well, there are a small handful of folks who seem intent on throwing sand in the gears of progress.

We listened and adjusted and accommodated. We have chased down explanations, made efforts in good faith, and many have worked themselves sick trying to do what is right. And still they throw sand.

This Friday is the last scheduled Open House listening session to gather initial input on the zoning code. It is from noon-1pm over at Holy Childhood. There were 10 of these meetings. They were productive, meaningful, earnest and helpful.

The Planning Commission was asked to be open to suggestions and listen. They have. They were asked to hold meetings outside of City Hall and make them available online. They did that. They held steady even when the sands were constantly shifting. I am simultaneously confident that I won't agree with every decision they make during the rewrite and also that they are doing their best for our city.

They can be very proud of the lengths they have gone to build consensus and find a common path.

As we come to the end of this stage of the process, I suggest we gather up the sand that has been thrown and use it build something strong that will withstand the test of time.