Posted 4/18/01
Harris Park board revived
By Danielle Strenke
With the support of Mayor Richard Hanson, past members of the Harris park board have agreed to work at re-establishing the board.
Ever since taking the office Jan. 1, Mayor Hanson has been urging previous park board members to come back on board and start up the organization once again.
The entire five member board had resigned in 1999, due to what they described as ìbad termsî with the past council and mayor. The board had not been meeting regularly last year either, as most of the new members also resigned.
Hanson wanted to assure those past members that they would be coming back with the full support and cooperation of the Harris City Council.
Some of the past board members were present at the councilís meeting Monday, April 16, and wanted to be assured that the council understood they are volunteers on the board.
The council discussed several legal issues involved with the park board with city attorney Barry Blomquist.
He told them the rules and regulations governing the park board should be set before the group begins meeting again. ìItís best to establish an ordinance listing their limits and expectations,î he said.
The council agreed to work on establishing that ordinance for final approval at its next meeting.
Park board members also asked about what their budget would be for this year. They told the council the budget for 1999 was $4,500, which had been cut from $6,500 the previous year.
ìI would say that $4,500 mark could be the starting point, but that doesnít mean we canít be flexible,î Hanson said.
ìI think there was a certain amount set aside for mowing and a certain amount set aside for construction.î The council also discussed the need to establish a set number of members to the board, and setting them up in staggered two and three-year terms. The previous board worked together for 11 years, but with no formal term limits.
ìThe number could vary, but I would say it should be an odd number,î councilor David Christianson said.
The council decided on using the wording that the board would consist of either five or seven members, knowing that finding members to serve on a volunteer board may not always be easy.
Board members also informed the council that they had roughly $3,700 in their account when the members had resigned. The money was separate from the park board budget, and was raised through fundraisers. They asked where the money was now.
ìThatís a million dollar question,î Hanson said, telling them the money is probably in the cityís general fund.
The park board will most likely begin meeting informally before the council has adopted an ordinance for the group.
PC members reappointed
Two members of the planning commission were reappointed by Mayor Hanson, with approval by the council Monday night. Henry Gregoire and Larry Nelson, whose terms had expired in December, were reappointed to their positions on the commission. Gregoire was reappointed to a three-year term; Nelson to a two-year term, both retroactive to Jan. 1.
There was also an issue of whether a council member serving on the planning commission was a conflict of interest. Currently, Councilor Wayne Buisman serves on the commission. The ordinance states that one of the members of the planning commission will be a city council member. ìIt is clearly not a conflict of interest,î Blomquist said.
Fire department issues
Fire Chief John Pelant discussed providing fire protection for portions of Sunrise Township and Fish Lake Township. The fire department has been providing protection for Sunrise for many years, but Pelant said after he spoke with the township recently, he discovered the protection has been coming to them for free.
ìWe couldnít find a contract, and the township couldnít find a copy either,î Pelant said. ìBut the last bill they received from Harris for fire protection was in 1998.î
That bill in 1998 was for $4,790. The township budgeted for $5,000 in fire protection for both 1999 and 2000, but never received a bill. ìSo weíre out about $10,000, and we canít force them to pay it, can we?î Pelant asked.
Blomquist told him they would be able to recover that money easily if they could locate the contract. Pelant said the contract should be decided on quickly, as Fish Lake Township has approached the department to provide its fire protection. ìWe need to have a contract in place with Sunrise so we know the formula on which to base a contract with Fish Lake,î he said.
He also asked whether the city hydrants would be flushed this month, as decided on by the council. Hanson told him it was scheduled for all of next week, and they would be notifying residents through mailed cards.
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