Mary Lou Zombory from the Harmony Historical Society presented the Harmony Historical Signage project to the city council at their July 11 meeting and informed them of the progress made thus far. The project involves placing 11 double post pedestals in various locations around town with historical information on each one. Verbal consent has been received from all owners of property that signs are slated to be installed on. Zombory assured the council that they are currently working on putting formal written agreements together as well.
Four of the signs will be placed in a MnDOT right of way, and so the Historical Society will be sending the signs to MnDOT for approval before installing them.
“It will be a wonderful walking tour of Harmony,” Zombory expressed. “There’s so much history in Harmony, and people don’t realize it.”
The historical society has worked hard to ensure that all of the information posted on the signs is correct, using old newspapers and other resources to verify. Ida Sorenson, a Harmony resident from the 1800s, kept very detailed journals and records of everything happening around town and those have been invaluable to the society as they do their research.
The historical signage project received a $10,000 grant for funding, and the Harmony Community Foundation has agreed to cover any costs over that amount. The council thanked the historical society for their hard work and dedication to preserving the history of Harmony.
“I was wondering if something is ever going to be done about this,” Harmony resident Gene Johnson asked the council. A property adjacent to his own has been sitting empty for some time now and the yard is overgrown and unkempt. He’s caught local kids in the house smoking and has also noticed raccoons living in the backyard. Due to standing water on the property, it’s a breeding ground for mosquitoes. “It’s affecting the value of my home,” Johnson said about the state of the property.
Johnson pointed out that the city has an ordinance in place that says that if grass gets over 18 inches tall, the city will mow it and bill the property owner. However, in this case, the property is in the foreclosure process, which makes it a little more tricky. If the city mows the lawn, they will more than likely not be paid for it. “Are you comfortable with the city basically eating the cost?” City Administrator Jerome Illg asked the council.
“Yes, because it has to be done,” Councilmember Lynn Mensink said, to which the rest of the council and Mayor Steve Donney concurred. Mayor Donney asked Maintenance Director Chris Johnson if the city had mowed the lawn at all this year and was informed that they had not.
Councilmember Kyle Morem recommended that Johnson call the police if he saw teenagers on the property again. “It would help if someone could secure the back door, because that’s where the kids are going in,” Johnson asked. However, because the property does not belong to the city that’s not something they’re able to do.
Mayor Donney assured Johnson that the problem would be taken care of. “We are going to get something done about it,” he said.
Another resident, Chris Johnson also lodged a complaint about a property next to his that has large piles of dirt in the yard, and hasn’t been kept up at all this year. “It’s an eyesore,” he said. As his was the first complaint the city received about that specific property, a letter will be sent to the owner before taking further action.
The council appointed Jim Strozyk to finish up Harold Berge’s term on the Planning and Zoning Board, which expires on December 31 of this year.
The council reviewed bids for the project based engineer recommendation and developer approval for the Hammel House Development project. The development agreement was approved.
“It’s been a pretty hectic month on the maintenance crew with Brian (Johnson) retiring,” Maintenance Director Chris Johnson said. “You just don’t replace someone who’s been there 35 years.”
Brian Michel was hired to fill the maintenance worker position in June. Chris felt that things were going well so far with that. “I think Brian Michel will work out okay,” he said.
The city has been allowing semi trucks to park in the industrial park for some time now, but due to a new business being built there, will have to begin enforcing the ordinance prohibiting them from doing so. “Out of respect for the drivers, we need to make them aware of it as soon as possible,” Illg noted. Mayor Donney suggested posting signs informing them of the ordinance. The council will consider the matter further before making a decision at a future council meeting.
Several applicants were interviewed for the city’s temporary summer employee position. Odean Miller was hired for up to 40 hours a week.
So far, the Harmony Public Library has raised $2,000 for the patio outside of the library, which falls short of the $5,000 they need. The library received a matching grant for up to $5,000 from SELCO and will need all of it to complete the patio.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on August 8 at 7 p.m.
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