Harmony City Council Report: Board hears music event proposal

By News Team
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Fri, Aug 11th, 2006
Posted in Government

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Harmony - On August 8 Corey Scrabeck attended the Harmony City Council meeting to propose a music event that would be held within the city. "For the last couple of years I've been thinking about how to bring young people to town to have fun," stated Scrabeck. In August 2007 he would like to coordinate a battle-of-the bands type of music event. Younger bands from the area would be invited to participate and it would start on a Saturday morning and end Sunday afternoon. Scrabeck reported he had a location for the event but would need to request a temporary liquor license to be able to sell alcoholic beverages.

Mayor David Kingsley stated he would be behind the proposal but first the city would need to investigate if Scrabeck or a nonprofit would have to be the license's applicant. Scrabeck shared that the applicant for the liquor license is a critical factor due to liability and insurance costs. In his research, he learned that if the event were to only provide 3.2 beer, then a license can be provided to a person through the state. Attorney Richard Nethercut reported he believed it would have to be a nonprofit but he would check and report back to the council on what he found.

The discussion was tabled for future meetings when more information is available. In addition to this event, Scrabeck is also exploring bringing back the July fourth fire truck barrel competitions.

New Police Car

Sheriff Daryl Jenson spoke with the council regarding the purchase of a new police car and slight increases to the 2007 budget. Jenson stated he was there to request the council set aside money for a new police car in their next fiscal budget. In terms of police cars it is recommended to upgrade every four years. These vehicles drive a lot of hard miles; he's found that a car five years and older costs more due to maintenance and repair costs.

The last two police cars have been Chevys purchased in Spring Valley, at a cost of approximately $18,000. The cost will likely be slightly higher for the new model. Jenson feels Chevy does a nice job in equipping police cars, years ago the department switched from Ford cars due to price. The car will also need to be equipped with new lights, video system, radio, radar and cage that will be added to the cost of the car.

Council member Gerald Shuck asked if it were possible to purchase a slightly used vehicle that had low miles. Jenson replied that because the vehicle was special ordered that would not be possible. Police cars are built with a stronger frame, special lights, wiring and higher speed rating tires than other vehicles.

In addition, Jenson reported that the Harmony, Mabel, Canton budget would be slightly higher than last year. Harmony is responsible for a third of the total budget costs. This rise in costs is mainly due to salary and benefit increases. He stated that the police "have found the contract valuable and hopes the city feels the same."

Council members expressed that the contracts have been favorable; they also suggested that they receive quarterly reports to outline city vehicle stops and complaints. Jenson replied that such reports would be no problem to prepare. Concluding this discussion the council recommended to budget for a new police car based upon Jenson's follow-up with hard numbers. The police service budget will be examined during the council's budgetary discussions.

Community Center

Council member Shuck brought forth a proposal for improvements to the Harmony Community Center. He had discussed the project with Scrabeck Construction and developed an estimate for $9,400 to renovate about seven rooms within the community center. These renovations will hopefully make the community center's office space more rentable and energy efficient.

The entire renovation project would be completed in phases. The first phase would include the west side of the building, the second phase would include the city offices and gym and the third phase would include the east side of the building. Each office would have its own heating and cooling unit, a similar set up to what is found in a hotel.

Council member Linda Grover asked how the project would be funded. Shuck replied that the costs could be covered by cashing in a CD. Mayor Kingsley also reminded the council that the building also needs a $25,000 electrical upgrade that should be done prior to this renovation.

The council discussed the costs and contracts associated with improving the building. Three contracts would be required: electric, construction and plumbing. Law states that the city must go through a bidding process if the total bid is in excess of $50,000. Because the bidding process adds to the cost of the project the council looked at ways to keep the contracts separate therefore not required to request bids. Concluding the discussion the council recommended moving forward with the electrical upgrade and the first phase of the renovation project.

Other Business

In other business the council:

• Approved adding an informational tag to the city's commercial to highlight future housing incentives.

• Approved an ambulance rate increase to $9.50/mile and base rate of $500 to keep compliant with Medicaid guidelines.

• Elected judges for the next election.

• Approved EDA Board member appointment of Chris Skaalen through 12/31/08 to fill a board vacancy due to a resignation.

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