A public hearing was held at the beginning of the October 8 Harmony City Council meeting. Over 30 Harmony residents were present. City Engineer Brett Grabau reviewed the areas of improvement within the project and the specifications of each one before opening up for questions. The nine areas include 1st Avenue from Center Street to the dead end at 6th Street, 3rd Street from Main Avenue to the dead end at 7th Avenue, the Halverson and Hahn additions, 4th Avenue SE, the Well House #1 alley, the Methodist Church/municipal parking lot, Garden Road, the fire hall parking lot, and the visitor center parking lot. Some areas will need a full reconstruct while others will only need a mill and overlay. “As a part of the project, we do anticipate removing all sidewalks,” Grabau stated. The sidewalks will not be replaced. The estimated project costs will come to $1,949,567.88 with $623,264.65 in assessed costs, leaving a total cost to the city of $1,326,303.23. Grabau noted that the costs can and probably will change during the course of project. The final project cost assessments will be discussed at the assessment hearing scheduled for November, 2020.
Questions from those present were addressed by Grabau and the council and included concerns over how trees will be affected, why certain streets are being included in the project, if school bus routes will need to be changed, and why the city charges 1% interest over the bonded rate for residents who pay their assessments over time. “This stuff isn’t going to get any cheaper, and we just have to move forward,” Council member Debbie Swenson remarked. Mayor Steve Donney agreed. “We’ll take things into consideration,” he added.
The public hearing was closed and the regular meeting opened. The council reviewed the 2020 street and utility project proposal as well as the contract for design services with Stantec Engineering. The contract was approved and the council began a discussion of the project. “I think 1.9 million bucks is too much at one time,” council member Tony Webber stated. “I would feel better if we would whittle it down a little bit.” He suggested paring the project down from nine areas to four or five, recommending that the city only include areas one, two, three, and four. Mayor Donney felt that due to the current low interest rates and the fact that the work will need to be done in the near future anyway, it would be best to do it now. A motion was passed approving the project with all nine areas except the eighth area which consisted of resurfacing Garden Road.
The visitor center and the wastewater treatment plant will both have roof repairs done as preventative maintenance.
The EDA and loan committee both reviewed an application for a $25,000 revolving loan and recommended that the council approve it. The loan will be used to help renovate a building on Main Street which has been sitting vacant for many years. The council approved the loan. The EDA is considering the purchase of 8.2 acres of property adjacent to the Industrial Park. The cost would come out of EDA funds. The council approved the purchase.
The next Harmony city council meeting will be held on November 12 at 7 p.m.
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