At the April 9 Harmony City Council meeting, the consent agenda was approved and included the minutes of the March 12 meeting, the claims and March checks, the cash in CD, and cash balances as well as a Good Neighbor Agreement with MiEnergy in preparation for their upcoming resiliency electric grid project. The agreement will ensure that community collaboration is prioritized throughout the project.
Mike Bubany from David Drown and Associates was present at the meeting to discuss the bond recommendations for the 2024 street project. He recommended that the city obtain a rating which would then open more bonding opportunities with lower interest rates as long as the city received a rating of A or A+. Bubany said that he didn’t see any reason that it would receive a lower rating than that. The council agreed that it would be wise to do so. Resolution 24-03 was passed allowing Bubany to solicit bids for the project bonds. He will review the bids on the morning of May 14 and present his recommendation at the council meeting that evening.
The Harmony Ambulance PERA account was recently audited. As a result, the service will be required to adjust its PERA contribution to 15%. The council approved resolution 24-05 approving an on-call stipend increase from $1.50 an hour to $2.00 per hour, which will help to retain current volunteers and hopefully be an incentive in recruiting new volunteers as well.
Ordinance 139 regarding lodging tax was revised by the council. All lodging facilities except for the municipal campgrounds will be required to pay a lodging tax of 3%, except for those renting or leasing for a continuous period of 30 days or more. The ordinance originally had a monthly tax payment schedule, but was amended to require a yearly payment if the total monthly gross income is $1,000 or less, a quarterly payment if the monthly income is $1,001 to $5,000, and a monthly payment if the monthly income is $5,001 or more. The revisions will also allow the city to examine records to verify accuracy. The proposed ordinance amendments were approved.
The right of entry authorization to complete the alleyway project was approved.
A noise permit application from the Conservation Club for the dates of July 3-5 as well as a liquor license application for July 3-6 were approved
Brian Michel had some information for the council about a company called Safe Step that would be available to conduct sidewalk surveys to ensure pedestrian safety and ADA compliance. The council approved a motion to have Safe Step survey the sidewalks on both sides of Main Street from Highway 52 to 1st St. SE along with Center Street one block out on either side of Main Street.
The total cost for the fourth of July fireworks will come to $10,300, a significant increase from last year’s cost. The council approved the purchase. The fire department will hold a raffle to offset costs and donations will be applied to the purchase.
The citywide cleanup day is scheduled for June 8. Richard’s Sanitation and Southern Minnesota Recycling will both be in Harmony for the event.
The kitchen oven and stove in the community center needs to be replaced. As the Lions Club uses it heavily for a variety of events, the group is willing to purchase it if the city agrees to remove the old one and take care of the installation. The purchase was approved pending approval of the Lions Club.
The EDA will host a stateline bike trail groundbreaking ceremony on May 3 at 3 p.m. followed by a reception until 5 p.m.
Ruckers basketball league starts on May 12, and the splash pad should open on Memorial Day if the weather cooperates.
A question was raised recently about the city boundaries, as the three maps available don’t match. City Clerk Sam Grabau is working to reconcile the maps using information from the state, old city minutes, and more. She will update the council on the project as it moves along.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on May 14 at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply