The Harmony City Council met with the Harmony EDA and Fillmore Central School Board before their regular city council meeting on March 12 for the annual special joint meeting.
EDA Coordinator Chris Giesen gave the highlights of the EDA’s progress over the past year. He noted that construction on the bike trail expansion will begin in 2020 thanks to the many volunteers who spent time traveling to St. Paul to talk to legislators about funding. The new distillery in Harmony should be opening in the next few weeks. The housing rebate program has brought several families to Harmony and has received national attention from various media outlets. The EDA had previously come up with five goals for Harmony for their Experience Harmony initiative and has checked everything off the list except for acquiring a dentist in Harmony. They are still working on that goal. This year, the EDA is creating a two-minute community video that will follow two to three families from Harmony throughout their day. “We’re not just listing the cool things about Harmony in this video, we’re showing them,” Giesen said. The EDA is teaming up with the Harmony Area Chamber of Commerce for the video which will be used for online marketing.
Fillmore Central Superintendent Richard Keith reviewed the upcoming renovations to the high school building. The office area will be moved to where the media center currently is on the first floor, which will make the entrance more secure. The media center will be moved to the second floor and will include additional space for students to gather to work on projects. The lunchroom will be renovated and streamlined as well to allow for better flow through the line. Construction will begin in early June of this year. The other big project that the district is undertaking is revamping the football field. A six-foot fence will be added to the perimeter of the field which will be moved 15-20 feet to the north and a building for concessions and bathrooms will be built. The bathrooms will be maintained by the City of Harmony and accessible to people using the park as well as attendees of the games. The work will be completed before the first football game of next year.
The school will be installing virtual trophy case kiosks to both the Preston and Harmony buildings over the summer. Photographing and cataloging the trophies will take a lot of time and work, but will be worth it.
At the close of the meeting, it was decided that it would be beneficial to continue holding the joint meetings between the council, school board, and EDA once a year.
The joint meeting was closed, and the regular Harmony City Council meeting opened. Council member Steve Sagen asked whether there were other options for snow removal such as additional equipment, as it is a big expense for the city. “It’s just a thought for the future maybe,” he said. Council member Lynn Mensink noted that she’s received several comments from Harmony residents about the buildup of ice and snow on the city streets. “We’re doing our best to keep the streets cleared,” Maintenance Director Chris Johnson said.
City Administrator Jerome Illg presented a proposal for new utility rates to the council, noting that the rates have not been modified since 2017. The council approved the new rates.
Mensink reported that the Harmony Lions Club will be donating more money to the Park Board for the new basketball hoop and are also interested in donating towards the musical park project.
The Swing into Spring event will be held on April 6 at the Community Center. The next Harmony City Council meeting will begin early for the audit presentation at 6:30 p.m. on April 9.
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