By Clark Natalie

As the city of Harris faces a change in leadership, the options concerning a facility plan for the waste water treatment plant continue to progress. One option would be to connect the south end of the city to wastewater treatment at North Branch.

Harris City Engineer Chuck Schwartz, speaking at the Nov. 4 council meeting, said he provided the city of North Branch with population growth estimates and a map where this growth may occur.

The population growth was a rough estimate, based on a 20 year growth plan.

The option of connecting to North Branch may be less expensive than putting a lift station in to connect the southern area to the existing Harris system, a system which also has to be upgraded.

The Council will have to wait until North Branch responds with either a willingness to connect all or part of Harris and what the cost would be. It was pointed out that a facility plan has a deadline of March 2005.

In a related item, the Highland Villas representative attended the meeting and asked for an extension in signing their development agreement. The request had originally come through Attorney Kevin Shoeberg, but because the development agreement was acted on by the council, Shoeberg did not feel he had authority to change it without council action.

Highland Villas is requesting to pay for 11 waste water units now, but not sign the development agreement until next spring. Once the development agreement is signed, Highland Villas will have 12 months to provide the funds for other items included in the agreement, such as park land dedication. The developers said if the agreement is signed now, and construction did not begin until spring, it would restrict their ability to generate income to fund these costs.

The Council agreed to this change. The cost of the waste water units will be $38,000 and the development will not begin with a projected date of June 2005.

During public comments, Marlys Cleveland asked about the 2 a.m. closing times on the liquor licenses. The licenses did not indicated that this was a temporary closing time. The council pointed out that Big Daddyís license shows a 2 a.m. closing time, the same as Heartbreakers. This was done because there was not Sunday liquor in Harris and it allowed them to compete. The 2 a.m. closing will be reviewed next February.
Shoeberg asked the Council for permission to investigate how best to implement Sunday liquor in Harris. After looking at how other local governmental agencies have implemented theirs, the council can then decide on the application procedure and what the fees will be.
Fire Chief John Pelant asked for approval a new firefighter, 21-year-old Nathan John Mitchell. Because he lives five minutes from the fire hall, he will be a good candidate for day time calls. The council approved his application, pending a physical.

Pelant also said the fire department had raised $10,000 from the Fall Festival. The funds will be used to purchase for a thermal imaging camera. The fire department asked the city to fund any shortage in the cost of the camera until the departmentís next fund raiser. The council approved this request, along with a note of thanks to Boulder Creek Stone for the generous aid in this fund raiser.

Maintenance supervisor Mike Kriz reported that there were three bids to replace the three hydrants that needed restoration. They were from Gustaf-sons, Roseau, and Industrial Utilities. They ranged from $3,300 per hydrant to over $7,000 per hydrant. The board approved the bid from Gustaf-sons, at the low price, with the understanding this is a firm price and quote, not an estimate. Timing of hydrant replacement depends on the weather. Kriz will discuss with the fire department which hydrant should be done first, should any need to be delayed until spring.

Don Kennen attended the meeting to address his water access problems. Kennen had paid for water bills that had been assessed to his property, even though he had no water access and no water connection. It was decided to provide water by going underneath the road, as has been done in the past with other properties. It was agreed that the funds that Kennen had paid would be used to offset this cost, or the cost of the water access charge. Kennen was satisfied with this response and commended the mayor and council for bringing to a close an issue that has gone on for so long. Kennen will be given a signed copy of the minutes, showing this action with specific dollar amounts.

Mayor Richard Hanson brought up a reoccurring problem with ATVs and the cemetery. With the ATVs running close to the cemetery, the ruts are so close to the stone monuments that it borders on desecration, he felt. Hanson will have a meeting with Carla Waletzko, who is the president of the local chapter of ATV riders. He will try to include a representative from the Sheriffís department and highway department so an alternative route can be worked out.

Tim Langelsy was granted a variance to locate a garage closer than 100 feet to his property line. His property has a gas line easement which restricts where structures can be located. The variance was granted. The garage will be 30í x 50.í

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