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Harris bar seeks 2 a.m. closingBy Danielle Strenke On Dec. 3, Harris City Attorney Kevin Shoeberg recommended scheduling a public hearing to consider the request of that establishment. ěThe council would have to pass an ordinance on this,î Shoeberg said. Harris residents have voted against allowing businesses serving liquor to do so on Sundays in two separate votes in recent years. The council authorized Shoeberg to schedule a public hearing in January. Residents in the platted area of Harris could see a decrease in their water and sewer bills sometime next year, following a recommendation from City Engineer Chuck Schwartz of Bonestroo and Associates. At its December meeting, Schwartz told the council that he would be reviewing current water and sewer rates for those residents following the results of an income survey conducted this spring. ěThe median income of those residents was less than the median income of the rest of the city,î Schwartz said. ěSo Iíd recommend raising the rates but not as much as originally proposed, based on affordability.î Schwartz told the council that he would come up with revised rates over the next couple of weeks and bring them back to the council at a meeting early in 2004. He also told the council that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is currently reviewing the results of water balancing tests done on Harrisís treatment pond. He said he would work to set up a meeting with representatives from the PCA and council after the review is completed. The council tabled a vote to approve Ginger Ave. in the Whispering Pines development and take it over as an official city road because of continuing concerns over the quality of the road. Two residents of the development told the council that the road has several cracks running the entire width of the road and it appears as though less than 3 percent of bituminous road was installed. They also told the council that the school transportation company will not allow its driver to come down the road to pick up children because of a narrow turnaround. Schwartz said that he has taken measurements of the turnaround and size of a school bus and completed calculations using a computer simulation. ěThe bus should have no problem turning around there,î he said. The issue, Shoeberg said, is that the city cannot locate a copy of the developerís agreement to determine road specifications for the road. Developer Dennis Gustafson has not produced a copy of the agreement either, Shoeberg said. The council authorized Schwartz to take a core sample of the road and speak with the transportation company to solve the issue. Because of the New Yearís Day holiday, the next regular meeting of the Harris City Council is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. ©ECM Post Review |