It’s a problem that just about every city deals with, and Harmony is no exception. So-called “flushable” wipes are clogging up the two lift station pumps and causing backups in the sewer system. The pumps are back up and working again, but City Maintenance Director Chris Johnson doesn’t know how long that will last. “It causes a mess,” he said. The flushable wipes clog the pumps and slow them down, so during high flow times such as the heavy rains the city experienced recently, more basements are likely to flood.
The city council discussed the issue at their September 13 meeting. City Administrator Jerome Illg spoke to the city engineer and determined that the current pumps were redone in 2004 and are nearing the end of their functional lifespan. The impellers on the south lift station are already worn down.
Illg and Johnson were able to find information on a pump with a different impeller that would keep the flushable wipes from clogging the system. The total cost to replace the pumps at both lift stations would be $50,000. Council woman Debbie Swenson asked if there is a way to educate citizens about the damage that flushable wipes cause. While measures can be taken to do so, the current pumps still need to be replaced at a cost of $50,000 to the taxpayers because of the flushable wipes. A motion to put the new pumps in both lift stations was approved with Swenson opposed.
The council voted to extend the Wastewater Treatment Plant project completion date from the end of June to the end of November. The extension is due to the installation of the new grit pump. The grit pump has been installed and the maintenance crew has been running it. There were some issues with it not priming properly, but it’s now working the way it should.
The new Harmony well has not been running properly. A well maintenance worker spent close to a month trying to solve the problem and last week, determined that the well was failing because of a burnt computer board. The new board was installed on September 12, but it stopped working again. Johnson thinks that the voltages may need to be adjusted.
The Harmony Fire Department received two grass rig bids and asked the council to approve the sale.
The personnel committee met to discuss switching to alternating shifts for the maintenance staff. They currently work from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. The committee proposed alternating the shift start times from 6-8 a.m. so that coverage would continue through 4:30 p.m. each day. There have been times where maintenance staff was needed, but they were already gone for the day. The change would also allow for cross-training opportunities. Johnson pointed out that, although he was under the impression he was on the personnel committee, he didn’t know about the meeting. He was also opposed to the alternating shifts. “We’ve been doing it this way for almost 25 years and have only seen a handful of times that we’ve had trouble,” he noted. Illg did not believe that Johnson was still on the committee.
Johnson spoke to his union representative about the shift change, who agreed with him that it is not warranted. “I just don’t understand it at all. Brian and Terry feel the same way. I think it’s just another way to micromanage the maintenance department, and I don’t see any merit in it at all,” Johnson expressed.
“We were just trying to get closer to regular business hours,” Swenson, who is also a member of the personnel committee, pointed out. She recommended tabling the matter until it could be looked into further and more information could be obtained on the current members of the personnel committee. The motion was approved.
The council approved two EDA loans.
The park board will be holding a meeting soon to discuss and review the 2016 summer rec program and determine if any changes need to be made to next year’s program.
The Harmony Public Library will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary with an open house on September 26 from 5-7 p.m.
On October 2, a concert sponsored by the Arts Board and the Greenfield Lutheran Church will be held. Harmony native Rebecca Wilt and her husband Mark Clodfelter will be performing as Covalence.
Fillmore Central asked the council to approve their proposed no parking zone along County Road 44 in front of the high school’s new parking lot. The council approved the request.
The council passed an ordinance opting out of “granny pods.”
The next Harmony city council meeting will be held on October 11 at 7 pm
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