Harris council addresses fees

By Barbara Brown
The Harris City Council had a busy agenda for its meeting July 2.
Building official Steve Thorp discussed building codes. He said state law requires cities to use the most current codes available and recommended using the self-perpetuating building codes.
However, Thorp told the council, those codes do not include a fee schedule, so the council would have to adopt one.
City Attorney Kevin Shoeberg advised the council to consider actual costs when developing the fee schedule.
The issue will be revisited at the councilís July 17 meeting.
Fire Chief John Pelant updated council members on fire department activities.
He said the fire department received an application from North Branch resident Bo Harris to become a volunteer firefighter.
The council accepted the application contingent on Harris passing a physical.
Pelant also told the council that the fire hall needs an additional exhaust fan. He said he had received a bid from Air Mechanical but that bid did not include wiring. Pelant told the council he would seek another bid.
Pelant told the council that by 2006 the state will require all emergency personnel radios to have an 800 megahertz system.
He said if Harris does not implement the system, the county dispatch center would not be able to contact the fire department for emergencies.
He said the estimated cost of the system is about $1,800 per radio plus $40 per month rental for airspace.
The issue will be discussed again at a later meeting.
Resident Jayson Pearo asked the council for a one-time lot split.
Mayor Richard Hanson talked about the Chisago County Public Works requirement for the Pearo property of 60 feet of road right-of-way dedicated to the county, removal of one existing driveway entrance, use culvert and aprons from the removed entrance for a new driveway and remove all brush to clear sight distance around a curve in the road.
The cityís planning commission recommended approval to the council contingent upon the purchase of an additional two acres.
The council approved the lot split subject to county and planning commission requirements.
The council also approved a one-time lot split for Kelsey Gustafson of a 20-acre lot that would become two 10-acre plots.
Jenny Johnson asked the council for permission to expand her recycling centerís hours, which the council approved.
The new hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Johnson also asked permission to host a farmerís market at the recycling center site.
Shoeberg told her she would have to apply for a separate permit through the planning commission.
The council tabled a request from Joe Carchedi for final plat approval on a development in Harris.
The council wants to review information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Chisago County Environmental Services office before making a final decision, especially when it comes to the road design.
City engineer Chuck Schwartz updated the council on water and sewer issues. The council allowed his firm to seek grants to pay for rip rap and dredging of inlet pipes for the ponds.
Schwartz also told the council that letters were sent to water system users asking for volunteers for a wastewater committee. So far, only one response had been received, Schwartz said.
Attorney Shoeberg brought up an annual contribution the council makes to the American Legion in Harris to maintain grounds.
He questioned whether that donation conflicts with any law or standard about spending public money.
Resident Ken Holmstrom told the council that the agreement had been made years ago to pay for utilities and mow the grass and the city could use the Legion Hall whenever needed for meetings.
Shoeberg said the council needs more information on the validity of the agreement. The issue will be discussed July 17.
Also at the meeting, the council:
ï Planned to discuss charging $2.50 per month to people who request copies of the city council meeting minutes. The city apparently spends about $400 per month mailing the minutes.
ï Agreed to ask the county commissions to investigate installing a no-passing zone on County Road 9 in Harris. Because the road is the countyís jurisdiction, the city could not install the zone, but can advocate for it.

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