“Each year, it’s a struggle,” Harmony City Administrator Jerome Illg stated at the June 13 city council meeting. The liquor license renewals are due every year by May 1, but for a majority of the applicants, Illg does not receive all of the paperwork until sometime in June. “I still don’t have a certificate of insurance for one of them,” he said. “Another one just turned in the rest of their paperwork today,”
At each June city council meeting, the liquor license renewals are approved by the council pending completion of paperwork, but Illg is tired of having to make calls to get all of the information in by the state’s deadline of July 1. “I don’t feel like it’s my job to chase them down,” he pointed out. “To be honest and blunt, I think it’s irresponsible on the part of the license holder.”
“I know it’s been a recurring problem and it shouldn’t be,” Mayor Steve Donney agreed. He suggested a policy change that would address the issue next year so that it wouldn’t happen again. He recommended changing the deadline from May 1 to June 1. Starting next year, If all of the information needed for the license isn’t received by the time the agenda is set for the June meeting, the application would not be put on the consent agenda, but in regular business for discussion. The applicant would then need to attend the meeting to attain approval for the license from the council. Failure to attend would mean that they wouldn’t get their license. A $150 fee will be charged for late or incomplete applications as well. The council approved the policy changes starting in 2018.
The pending liquor license renewals were approved on condition that all information is completed and turned in by the end of June 2017.
The council approved Collen Dahle for a term on the Arts Board through December 31, 2019.
The Planning and Zoning Board recommended that the council approve the plat for the Hammel House Development and rezone it from agriculture to residential. The recommendation was approved.
The council reviewed the updated plans for Fillmore Central’s proposed storage and maintenance building. Originally, it was going to be built on the south side of the community center parking lot, but will now be built on the west side near the community gardens instead. The location of the proposed helipad has not changed. The new plans were submitted to and approved by Mayo One and Medlink to be sure that they would not affect the helipad. The council approved the updated plans.
The city owns two lots on the south end of the Harmony IGA parking lot. The grocery store is aware of the ownership and is amenable to purchasing the lots from the city. A survey will be completed first to preserve as much green space as possible. The council approved the sale.
Brian Michel was approved and hired as the new city maintenance worker with a start date of June 26.
Brian Johnson resigned his position as city maintenance director effective June 16. The council thanked Johnson for his 30+ years of service and wished him well with his retirement.
The EDA board has decided on a new logo for the City of Harmony and will be revealing it soon.
The Harmony Library Board hired Melissa Vander Plas as a substitute librarian to fill in as needed.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on July 11 at 7 p.m.
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