Upcoming Events In recognition of the completion of the trails and our many donors, we are holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting for each trail section on June 19th beginning at 9:30am at the south end of Hoyt Trail at the hill, then 9:45am at the Kosequat Park Connector Trail behind Bay Bluffs Care Facility, and ending at 10am on the Little Traverse Wheelway at the Wequetonsing Boardwalk. On June 13th, 6pm at the Harbor Springs Airport, HARBOR, Inc. will host a “Jump for Trails” fundraising event with proceeds to support the community trails and our Safe Routes to School Program. Bill Dohm, Little Traverse Township Supervisor, is turning 70 and would like to celebrate with a sky diving adventure in support of the Harbor Springs non-motorized trail system. Please acknowledge this momentous occasion with a donation to support the trails through an on-line donation at www.harborinc.org or phone in your pledge by calling HARBOR, Inc. at 231-526-5060. Please join Top of Michigan Trails Council prior to the event at 5:15 pm at Little Traverse Township Park (intersection of M-119 and Pleasantview Road) to see the unveiling of the new wayfinding signage for the Little Traverse Wheelway! On June 29th, 9am-noon at the Harbor Springs City Hall parking lot, HARBOR, Inc. will partner with the Harbor Springs Police and Fire Departments, Harbor Springs SK8 Park, Emmet County Sheriff, Kiwanis Club of Harbor Springs Key Club, and Touring Gear to offer a Harbor Springs Community Bicycle Rodeo for kids up to age 14. The rodeo will offer bicycle and helmet inspections, bicycle safety skills and information, and bicycle registration. Food will be provided. Trail Construction is Complete!! Construction began in the summer of 2012 on three trail sections in and around Harbor Springs. We are pleased that all of the trail sections were completed in 2012, and we are now ready to open the trails this spring and celebrate with the community!
A ¾ mile section of the Little Traverse Wheelway to Harbor Springs including a 500’ boardwalk was constructed, completing the Little Traverse Wheelway to Harbor Springs.
Hoyt Trail is a nearly one mile trail on the west side of Hoyt Road. The sidewalk portion of the trail starts from an existing sidewalk just north of Lake Street to the Harbor Springs City limits at Pete’s Run where a 10 foot wide trail begins extending to just north of Quick Road at Forest Way in the Forest Ridge Development.
A 300' connector trail located through the wooded area behind the Bay Bluffs facility was constructed over an existing dirt path. The trail connects a trail-head area in Kosequat Park with the Little Traverse Wheelway and provided necessary wayfinding signage.
The completion of these projects represents the culmination of many years of collaboration, planning, fundraising, and negotiations. We graciously thank our many donors, government entities, organizations, and community supporters that have made these trails a reality.
HARBOR, Inc. Community Technology Action Plan Complete Facilitating the expansion of reliable, affordable high speed internet to residents, businesses, and visitors to the HARBOR, Inc. service area that are currently unserved or underserved is a long-time initiative of HARBOR, Inc. A small subcommittee has been meeting over the past few years to work on the initiative, and most recently has been working with a larger, regional Broadband Team to facilitate the process through the Connect Michigan Community Engagement Program. The Community Technology Action Plan is now available at http://harborinc.org/downloads/harbor_inc_mi_technology_plan_final.pdf. In moving forward with the many goals and recommendations outlined in the Plan, HARBOR, Inc. will implement some of the initiatives including, but not limited to:
A FREE “Online Business Tools” class will be offered on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at the Harbor Springs Library from 9 am to 11 am. Attendees will hear a brief overview of why businesses should use social media, and learn how they can get started using Facebook, Twitter and Google+. For more information, please see press release here or email Rachel at rachel@harborinc.org .
In addition, a broadband survey was mailed in July 2012 to approximately 6300 addresses, comprising all of the property owners/residents in the HARBOR, Inc. service area with the exception of the City of Harbor Springs. The survey gauges area resident's current service needs, interest in high speed Internet service, and willingness to pay for services. Our intent is to attract more service providers to the unserved and under-served area by identifying the potential customer base. The results may also be accessed on our website at Survey Results shown here .
HARBOR, Inc gathers Community Input for Pool Issue HARBOR, Inc. was asked by Harbor Springs Public Schools to assess public sentiment regarding a possible alternative source of funding for the pool at the high school. HARBOR, Inc., assigned the task to a working group made up of HARBOR, Inc.'s executive director, two board members, two community volunteers, with one alternate and a staff person from MSU Extension. The working group convened three focus groups and conducted two surveys. The project was conducted on a largely volunteer basis and no school funds were expended. A random telephone survey of people who had voted in the November 2010 general election indicated the following: - The pool is very important to the community;
- Half of those contacted support the creation of a recreation authority with the power to levy a millage; another quarter want to know more about the concept;
- 60 percent of respondents said they would vote for a small millage;
- Respondents would prefer that a third party run the recreation authority;
- Respondents said the recreation authority should include other recreation activities in addition to the pool.
Similar (but not identical) results were obtained from a survey of attendees at a high school band concert in December. The results of the surveys and focus groups are fully disclosed on our website and elsewhere. HARBOR, Inc. offers its findings in good faith to the Board of Education but does not attempt to represent itself as a market research firm. HARBOR, Inc. offers no guidance as to how the information should be used and makes no recommendation regarding a possible ballot proposal. Readers are cautioned that the survey samples were small in size resulting in relatively large margins of error. The full Harbor Springs pool community input report is available at: cover page community input report Appendix 5 Appendix 7 Appendix 9
Projects and Programs Page
HARBOR, Inc. has a webpage that has information on projects and programs of the organization. You can view that page on-line at: www.harborinc.org/programsprojects.asp Calendar of Events
Check out the Weekly List of Meetings and Events.
The Monthly Calendar of Events can also be viewed on-line. Publications 2010 Annual Report 2009 Annual Report 2008 Annual Report 2007 Annual Report Spring 2006 newsletter Spring 2005 newsletter Fall 2004 newsletter 2005 Annual Report HARBOR, Inc website photography by Preston McGregor
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