Andy Bunge spoke at the April 10 Harmony City Council meeting to express his appreciation for the residential home construction rebate available in Harmony. “As a builder and a local developer, I just want to thank the City of Harmony and the EDA for their boldness in continuing the housing incentive,” he said. Bunge recently purchased a property in Harmony with the intent to build a four-plex on the site after tearing down the existing structure. With the rebate program, he was able to receive a check for $12,000, which almost covered the demolition costs. Bunge pointed out that with the taxes that will be paid for the four-plex unit, the city will recoup that check within 3 ½ to 4 years. “I have received many pleasant compliments from people in Harmony for cleaning up that property,” he stated. He hopes to be able to continue to work with the city of Harmony in the future to build new homes in Harmony.
Tom Olinger from Abdo, Eick & Meyers gave the 2017 audit report to the council. “Overall the audit went really well,” he said. There were no Minnesota legal compliance findings, disagreements, or difficulties found during the audit. Olinger also noted that the fund balance is currently sitting at 142.3%, which is a healthy balance. He recommended continuing to be careful to plan future projects appropriately. The council approved the audit as presented.
Fillmore County Assessor Cindy Blagsvedt presented the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization review. There were no visitors present to appeal the value of their property and the board of appeal was closed at 7:30 pm.
Ralph Beastrom, treasurer for the Harmony Historical Society, updated the council on the Harmony grain elevator restoration project. A $10,000 grant was received to get it started, but the society is looking at long-term fund raising goals. It was estimated that around $100,000 will be needed just to get the outside and entrance presentable and will not cover the interior work that also needs to be done. An eight member community-wide committee has been formed and positive feedback regarding the restoration has been received from various people around town. The Historical Society would like to keep the City of Harmony as involved as possible with the project. “We think as a group that it’s important for the city to be involved,” Beastrom noted. “We want to do it right, and we want the city’s input.” The society is hoping to be able to obtain the property from current owner Jeff Soma, who has expressed an interest in donating it, and then donate it to the city so it would fall under the city’s umbrella of insurance. “We’re a little nervous going ahead without your direction,” Beastrom said to the council, adding that he was hoping to get some direction as to how involved the City of Harmony desired to be in the project.
City Administrator Jerome Illg agreed that the city should be involved, but noted that a formal agreement would need to be drafted to ensure that everything goes the way it’s supposed to. A motion was made and approved to accept the donation of the property after a survey is done, conditional on getting a development agreement signed at the same time.
Beastrom also informed the council that all nine historical signs have been received and will be installed around town as soon as the weather permits. Walking tour brochures will be available at the Visitors Center and an unveiling ceremony is being planned for May.
Andrew Kingsley from Harmony Gardens and Floral asked permission from the council to raise chickens on his commercial property in town. He was able to get signatures granting permission from most of his adjacent neighbors. The chickens would be contained at all times on the property and housed in portable chicken coops called “chicken tractors.” No roosters would be kept with the chickens.
The city ordinance does not currently allow farm animals to be raised within city limits. The council discussed changing the ordinance to allow them with a conditional use permit. City Attorney Greg Schieber agreed to draft a revision to the current ordinance for the council to review at their next meeting. Kingsley thanked the council for their consideration.
The council reviewed the quotes received for the Hahn utility extension project. A bid from TLC Excavating, Inc was approved in the amount of $33,200.00. Joe Hahn will be paying for the project.
The council had voted to remove the limit on the number of off-sale liquor licenses that could be issued out of the ordinance, allowing them to approve as many of those licenses as they would like. They also discussed
increasing the off-sale license fee from $100 to $240. A public hearing was set for May 8 during the next city council meeting to discuss the fee increase before making a decision.
Maintenance Director Chris Johnson informed the council that the two sample fridge units for water samples will need to replaced soon. One stopped working, but was able to be repaired. About a week later, the second unit died as well and is in need of a new compressor. Kingsley’s Mercantile is searching for a replacement compressor, but in the meantime, the fridge is out of commission. New units would cost between $4,000 and $5,000 apiece. He asked if the council would prefer to replace both units or keep on paying for repair costs. Mayor Steve Donney suggested allowing one or two more repairs and then re-evaluating the situation. The rest of the council agreed with the suggestion.
Johnson had asked about replacing the city’s snow plow at a previous meeting, which would be a significant cost. Illg assured the council that money is set aside each year to pay for a new truck so the funds are available and earmarked for that purpose. Johnson will obtain quotes to present to the council before a decision is made.
The council approved trading in the city’s tractor for a new one. They decided not to replace the skidloader at this time.
Well #3 is the only one of the three city wells which has chlorine scales to monitor chlorine usage. The maintenance workers currently have to estimate the levels at the other wells. The council approved a motion to purchase and install chlorine scales at the other two wells.
The Harmony Public Library recently received a payment of $993.42 from SELCO as payment for Harmony’s books that were sent to other libraries through the SELCO system. Librarian Stephanie Silvers will be using that money to increase the library’s e-book selection.
The meeting was adjourned. The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on May 8 at 7 p.m.
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