At their July 9 meeting, the Harmony City Council once again discussed the possibility of charging a lot fee based on utility base charges to residents who own a buildable lot in town. The city’s base charge for utility services with no usage is $58.84 a month which comes to a total of just over $700 a year. City Administrator Jerome Illg put together a list of 37 buildable lots that currently have utility services stubbed around Harmony after Mayor Donney first opened the discussion at June’s council meeting. Council member Debbie Swenson voiced her disapproval of the fee, calling the idea ridiculous. “The city paid for the infrastructure and now we’re not getting a return on that,” Mayor Donney responded. “All the other taxpayers are paying more because those people have properties that they are choosing not to do anything with.” Council member Lynn Mensink noted that she views those empty lots as lawn space. “We’re basically saying, you can have that lawn, but you’re going to have to pay $60 a month to have it,” she said.
Harmony resident Mark Scheevel was against the lot fee as well. “Look how many years there’s been real estate taxes that have been paid,” he said. Mayor Donney pointed out that the City of Harmony paid for the infrastructure for the lots and charging a fee would help recoup those costs. “That infrastructure has been paid many times over,” Scheevel said.
Swenson felt that charging a lot fee would discourage people from building new homes in Harmony. Mayor Donney disagreed. “They have no incentive to build on it (the empty lots),” he said.
Mayor Donney noted that several councilors have already informed him of their opposition to the fees, meaning that the matter will most likely be denied when the council does vote on it at a later meeting. He thanked the public for their input. “Your points are well taken,” he said.
The utility committee reviewed the city’s winter parking ordinance. They are currently researching various notification options during snow emergencies to inform Harmony’s residents. Fillmore County deputies have been taking part in the discussion as well. The committee should have more information for the council to consider at the August meeting.
The utility committee will also be making a decision soon about when to send letters to homeowners about lawns that need to be mowed. They are considering having a city worker make a trip around town once in the spring and again in the fall to review yards and make a list of residents who need reminders about mowing. “We can’t pick and choose which property to send letters to,” Webber said, adding that this would make the ordinance more uniformly enforced. In between those two review times, homes that are reported by residents would also receive a warning.
The Park Board recently selected options for playground equipment to be installed at the community center and are waiting to hear back from the vendor on pricing. A proposal should be ready to submit to the board for approval soon. Mayor Donney asked if options for fundraising to help cover the costs have been discussed and was assured that they are looking into it.
The Park Board has received positive feedback has been received from the community about the new Freenotes Harmony Park instruments and the new basketball courts.
The Library Board decided to go with Loffler for the library’s new copier as it was less expensive than the other vendors. SELCO also uses Loffler for their services and has been happy with them. The board recently hired Julie Little to work at the library.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on August 13 at 7 p.m.
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