Snow, ice, and change

Hey there! Both our Harbor and now the Bay are frozen nearly all the way to the open water. I drove up toward Otis and you can even see ice out on the Lake. First time in a bit that we've had that much ice.

I was thinking about our ice last night when I was running our daughter up to last night's Pre-Festival concert at the High School. (The kids sounded great).

Our little town is a completely different place in the winter. The outlines and elements are the same, but the colors and the feeling are completely different.

It is good to remember how lucky we are to get to see our hometown in all four seasons. (I will try my best to remember that the next time I go out to shovel). But there is something about seeing a place as it changes.

For those who live most of the year in other places, it may be hard to imagine Harbor Springs beyond perfect sunny summer days. Some are disconnected from the snow and ice of our winter town.

That disconnect is a bit like some of the conversation in letters, online and in Town Halls about our zoning code rewrite project.

A few folks are continuing to talk about the zoning issue as if nothing has changed.

Tons has already changed and more will change in the weeks to come. I think they are having the fight they want to have, but it's not one that reflects the reality of what is happening here in town.

There are so many who have participated in person and online during the listening sessions set up by the Planning Commission. The vast majority have come with concrete ideas about what needs changed, concerns, and genuine praise for those who are listening to them.

There are a handful who have not attended the meetings, who have not Zoomed in from afar, who have not signed up for meeting notices and never looked at the letter mailed to their homes who are still fighting the fight of last summer. To a tiny group, for whom this seems to be a hobby, there has been no progress.

But, we aren't having the same conversations we were last summer. We have made real progress this winter. Things are not settled by a long shot, but we are definitely in a far different place.

That, my friends, is the cold, hard and icy truth. And it is pretty darn beautiful.

On that note, who is ready for Ice Fest weekend? Let's do this! I am on hot dog duty Saturday afternoon. Hope to see you out there!