A snow truck was last purchased for the City of Harmony in 2009 with the plan to upgrade every 10 years. As that time is just about up, the building and maintenance crew asked permission at the May 8 Harmony City Council meeting to purchase a 2019 International 7400 SBA snow truck for $166,199 before trade-in value. Board member Kyle Morem pointed out that money has been set aside each year in preparation for a new snow truck since the original one was purchased and so the funds are available and earmarked. “We always strive to keep them (trade-ins) in that 10-year mark to avoid maintenance issues,” City Administrator Jerome Illg added. The council approved the purchase.
The council approved a modification to the city’s animal ordinance to allow chickens in industrial areas with a permit. They also reviewed the fee structure for permits and approved a liquor license fee structure change as well as the addition of a permit for chickens. The chicken permits will be $25 for one year or $50 for two.
An off-sale liquor license application was approved for Pam’s Corner Convenience. Harmony Liquor also submitted an application, but as they are delinquent on utilities, it was unable to be approved due to city ordinances. Illg will contact the owners to inform them that the utilities will need to be paid in full by June 1 or the license application cannot be approved at the June council meeting either.
The council reviewed three bids for seal coating on some of the city streets. The bids each included a base bid using bituminous material and FA-2 aggregate and a more costly alternative bid using bituminous material and 1/8” class A-trap rock. It was pointed out that the city streets that were done during the last seal coating used the materials from the alternative bid and have held up very well. A motion was made and approved to accept the alternative bid from Pearson Brothers in the amount of $51,834.00.
Council member Lynn Mensink gave the EDA report. The Harmony Visitor Center has reopened for the season. The EDA is planning a meeting to set goals for the group to work on in the coming months. They recently released a new postcard promoting Harmony that is being sold in various places around town. It was noted that the Harmony trail extension has been listed on the capital budget, which is promising. “We’re very optimistic that it will continue to work its way through the capital,” Illg said. “We’ve cleared a major hurdle…but it’s not a done deal by any means.”
Mayor Steve Donney did a live interview on the radio station WCCO on May 7 to discuss the housing rebate program in Harmony. In the life of the program, the EDA has granted five rebates for the city, and it has received national attention.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on June 12 at 7 p.m.
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