First order on Harrisí 2001 calendar is to get clerk hired

Posted 1/10/01

First order on Harrisí 2001 calendar is to get clerk hired

By Danielle Strenke

Newly elected Mayor Richard Hanson and councilmember Wayne Buisman were sworn in at the organizational meeting of the Harris City Council, Wednesday, Jan. 3.

Acting Mayor and councilmember David Christianson conducted the swearing in ceremony before the meeting.

One of the first orders of business was to extend the application deadline for city clerk. Former city clerk Bonnie Swanson resigned in December, leaving the council with the task of finding temporary office help to answer phones at city hall.

Originally, the council had set a Jan. 2 deadline for accepting applications. Christianson wanted to extend the deadline indefinitely.

ěI think we should talk to a lot of people to make sure we get a highly qualified person, with good credentials, and pay them a little more to make sure we get good help,î he said.

ěHow many applicants do we have now?,î asked Mayor Hanson. He was told that the city had received seven applicants thus far.

Other councilmembers thought they should look closely at the applicants they already have, and begin the interview process without closing the application deadline.

ěWeíve got seven applicants now, I say set up an interview time and see if we have someone we think can do the job,î councilmember Lyle Holmstrom said. ěSeven applicants is a good starting point,î councilmember Dan Walton added.

The council tentatively set interview times for this week.

Monte Brumbaugh, who handles the cityís accounts with US Bank/Piper Jaffray, discussed general account information with the council. He told the council that the bank offers $25 million insurance on every account.

ěWe had a bank failure here in town, and we had a considerable amount of money in the bank,î councilmember Christianson said. ěWe didnít lose any money, but we did wonder how secure it was.î

Brumbaugh said that the bank purchases CDs for the city from different banks all over the world, so the risk is negligible.

Harris Fire Chief John Pelant talked with the council and mayor about the status of the departmentís vehicles. ěDo you have a priority of what would be needed first?,î Mayor Hanson asked.

ěOur priority would be the pumper, which is 10 years old,î Pelant said.

He told the council that the department's grass rig is actually a DNR vehicle, so they would be looking into purchasing one. ěWe have been way below our budget for 6-7 years, but I donít know where we are at for this year. I have been asking for the budget for three months, but I havenít seen it,î Pelant said.

As part of its organizational meeting, the council set its annual designations. Meetings will remain the first and third Mondays of each month, excluding legal holidays, at 7 p.m. in the Harris Municipal building. Other meetings set include Planning Commission, second and fourth Tuesdays, and Park Board, third Tuesdays, except for some winter months when no meeting is held.

The Post-Review was again designated at the cityís official newspaper.

Councilmember Christianson nominated Buisman as the councilís representative on the Planning Commission, and as its liaison to the Park Board.

After discussion, the council increased mileage reimbursement from 29 cents/mile, to 31.5 cents/mile.

In other business, the council:

ď Established a regular schedule for flushing the city hydrants twice a year- once in April, and once in October.

ď Was notified that the final draft of the cityís subdivision ordinance was completed, and would be brought for final approval.

ď Heard that Lindberg Ekola would be interviewing possible candidates for the internship that is available with the city.