By Clark Natalie

New Mayor Rick Smisson opened the first 2005 meeting of the Harris City Council promptly at 7:00 p.m., and began with a full agenda. Smisson had been sworn in earlier in a ceremony at his home.

During the mayorís report, Smisson passed out a list of expectations for the Harris city employees that will be adhered to, both by the employees, but also the council and any contractors that do business with the City.

Smisson said he had a talk with the city employees to set these guidelines. He wanted to quell any rumors that had been running rampant that the entire staff would be replaced. Smisson said that was not the case and that everything was on the table. What was best and most efficient for the city is what would be done, he said.

The city would continue to look for ways to function cheaper but mainly better. The city needs to be run more like a business, not a bureaucracy, he said. In the future, the meetings will be timed, so that at the beginning of each meeting, those attending will know how long it will go. Those making presentations will be required to estimate how long their presentation will take. A timer will be kept. At the end of the allotted time, the presentation will end.

Also, a form that visitors can complete to rate how the city is performing will be available. This form will be mailed to a separate mail box that the mayor will have access to.

The input from this form will be used to rate the city. The list of expectations were approved by motion by the city council. The list will be passed on to the planning commission and the fire department members.

Sunday licenses approved after much discussion
Both Heartbreakers and Big Daddyís had applied for a license to sell liquor on Sunday. Each establishment had a problem in meeting the requirements. Heartbreakers had been informed that their license application would not be approved, because state statue requires a full kitchen. A representative/owner had attended the meeting, and had questions as to the kitchen requirement. Because of the pizza and other food items that were served, the state required them to have a ìfood handlerísî license. If they didnít serve food from a kitchen, how could they qualify for the license? Councilwoman Kathy Olson indicated that in her discussions with the League of Minnesota Cities, it was conveyed that ìa pizza oven does not cut itî and a full kitchen was required. The Council had passed the Harris ordinance to comply with the state statute. Heartbreakers owner indicated that since application, he had been visiting various bars on Sunday which served liquor and did not have a full kitchen. The councilís response was that they were not knowledgeable of what laws those bars were operating under, but in Harris, the ordinance will comply with the recently enacted Sunday liquor statue, which requires a full kitchen.

Big Daddyís problem arose when the fire chief and building inspector questioned whether the structure had been sufficiently repaired after the fire. Neither the fire chief or inspector had done a walk through in the building to verify it meets building code or fire code. The Council indicated that when the liquor license had been issued, the state fire inspector had signed off, along with the State Health Department, with the improvements to the building. Neither of the documents were readily available at the meeting. Harris Fire Chief John Pelant, said he would like to inspect the building but did not feel he had authority to arbitrarily demand an inspection on any business in Harris.
In the discussion that followed, it was suggested that in the future to obtain a liquor license in Harris, one of the requirements be an annual inspection by either the fire chief or building inspector. This would be discussed after the present issue was resolved.

Councilman Dan Walton proposed a motion to approve both Sunday liquor license applications, each with a requirement to be fulfilled prior to issuance. Heartbreakers must provide certification that their kitchen meets the requirements of a full kitchen under the state statue. Big Daddyís must provide documentation that the State fire inspector and State health inspector signed off on the improvements that had been done, or allow the Harris fire chief and Harris building inspector to inspect the improvements that had been done. This motion was passed by the council.

Fire department budget
Earlier in the meeting Pelant, had given the council a proposed budget for the fire department. A statement from the budget was read at the meeting, indicating that the list of equipment the department was requesting was not a wish list, but equipment that was needed. It was noted that one of the pumpers was purchased used and is 20 years old. Their newest pumper is 14 years old. The fire department has had to make do with what they have, and the fire chief feels this is affecting the efficiency and safety of the department. An example he used was the equipment truck. This truck has been modified to make do. The maximum speed it can travel to a fire is 45 miles an hour. The council indicated they would review the request of the fire department and propose a long range plan to obtain what the department needed in the future.

Another issue brought up was the flowers that were purchased for the funeral of a 33-year veteran of the department. Pelant asked if the City would pay for those, or were the members of the department required to cover this cost, individually. City Clerk Kim Hugger said the accountant/auditor Dennis Oberloh of Oberloh & Associates had indicated in the past there is no provision for this type of cost to be covered in state law. To expense this item would not be legal. Members of the council suggested a ìSlush Fundî be set up to cover such expenses, but no indication of how it would be created was given.

Rodney Larson and Kurt Naumann came before the council requesting direction on a concept plan for property in the city of Harris for senior housing, both for sale and rental. They wanted to make sure the city was interested in the project before they continued, and what steps should be taken to get it approved. The property presently is not zoned to allow this type of operation, and were not going to pursue unless they had direction from the city that they would help make the plan work.

The senior housing project would be phased in three stages. The first would be the sale of individual units, and ending with the construction of a three story high rise rental unit. Councilman Buisman said one of the problems which may be encountered was even though this may be designed for sale to seniors, if the sales lagged, the units may be sold to other individuals. Nelson and Naumann said although it would be designed for seniors, they can not legally not sell to a purchaser, based on the buyerís age. But because of the amenities, such as a nursing staff on call, checking on residents on a regular basis, it may not appeal to buyers, other than seniors.

The council was interested in the project, but were aware of the problems that can arise. The city does not want to be drawn into a discrimination suit, should a prospective buyer be denied because of age. A specific development agreement would be drawn to prevent this. Also, the City presently has limited sewer connections available. Rather than have the project spent the funds on locating and operating an on-site sewer, it may be beneficial to both parties to have those funds go into the City sewer operation. Also, Pelant, indicated if the rental property is three stories high, the Fire Department would be required to have a ladder truck on hand.

The Council indicated their willingness to pursue this project, but before Nelson and Naumann should proceed, the city needs to finalize its ordinances. The ordinances should be drafted to meet not only this need, but future needs of other projects.

Chuck Schwartz, of Bonestroo, gave his report. He indicated that the wastewater project was on track, but there would be a number of meetings with North Branch that would be required in February. Rather than have the whole council meet each time, it was decided to have Councilmen Doug Chafee and Walton attend the meetings and report back to the council.

Annual designations
The annual designations were approved with the omission was city attorney. Harris is in the process of advertising for this position and the requirements have been posted in a number of publications, and at other sources. The council will review the different proposals and make a decision at a later date.

Also, the Cambridge Star had been designated as the official paper of the city, because it is delivered to everyone each week. It was unknown as to whether any investigation had been done into the difference in cost per column inch. The Post Review submitted a bid for the legal publications, the Star did not.

Mayor Rick Smisson and Councilman Doug Chafee were sworn in prior to the first Harris City Council meeting. They were sworn in at a reception at Smissonís home on Monday, Jan. 3 by a notary public. Prior to the ceremony, the League of Minnesota Cities was contacted to make sure this was in compliance with ordinances. It was determined that as long as they were the only two council members in attendance, there was no problem.

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