On September 6, the Minnesota House Bonding Committee made Harmony one of their stops on their bus tour of southeastern Minnesota to hear bonding pitches. About 20 House members made the trip and were able to tour Niagara Cave during their time in the Harmony area. They also discussed the proposed bike trail extension to the Iowa border. City Attorney Greg Schieber commented that the visit went very well. “It will still take our active efforts next spring to remind them about their stop here,” he added.
The Utility Committee presented their proposed utility rate increases to the Harmony City Council at their September 12 meeting. City Administrator Jerome Illg noted that the electric rates had not been modified since 2013. The council approved the new rates.
The solar interconnection fee and agreement was set at $650 to cover administrative fees, costs for connection, and installation of meters.
In the past two years, the city of Harmony has spent around $9,000 to hire Norby Tree Service to pick up leaves from residents’ yards in the fall and mulch them. Norby has offered their leaf vacuum equipment for purchase to Harmony for $8,500. The Utility Committee priced similar machines at $45,000 for new ones and approximately $32,000 for used ones. The one Norby is offering to the city only has 900 hours on it, which makes it a very good deal. Councilmember Debbie Swenson pointed out that owning the leaf vacuum equipment would allow for a more flexible use schedule. “I have gotten feedback that a lot of the residents appreciate that service,” Illg commented. The council approved the purchase. It was also noted that residents interested in the mulch are welcome to it.
The Utility Committee recommended that the council approve an electric loop project to connect the service on both ends of town. Currently, if a transformer goes out, the power outage extends to everyone down the line. Looping would allow the energy to be fed from either direction and would limit the outage to the single transformer. An engineer has already looked into the project. The council approved the project.
Illg updated the council on the helipad. Some of the material cut off of the roads during the street project was dumped at the site to be used for the helipad base. The school is also preparing to start construction on its shed near the helipad location. Illg anticipated that the efforts for both projects will be coordinated and will begin within the next several weeks.
City Maintenance Director Chris Johnson commented to the council that several members of the maintenance staff have been working hard all summer on beautifying and improving the city parks. “I think they’ve done a pretty good job,” Johnson noted. Among other projects, they have seal-coated the gazebo, greatly improving its appearance.
The Jam that the Arts Board hosted recently was a success with around 50 people attending.
Approximately $2,500 has been donated for the patio outside of the Harmony Public Library.
The council approved a resolution for the maximum amount for the 2018 levy. Illg noted that while the amount can be decreased later, it cannot be increased. The total tax capacity levies were set at $708,800.
The next Harmony City Council meeting will be held on October 10 at 7 p.m.
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