By Clark Natalie

With the Wastewater Treatment Facility coming closer to being a reality, the city of Harris this week placed a moratorium on residential subdivisions in Section 29.

This section is the area around the interchange on I-35. The council expressed concern as to the development that would go there and felt that how the land was used was valuable to the future of Harris. The moratorium will give the council six months to study the area and consider and implement new regulations for that area.

Two housing developments came before the council Monday night. Rodney Larson and Kurt Naumann presented a concept plan for their Hill Creek Estates, a combination of residential units and townhouses. A total of 122 units are planned. This project has been delayed because the developers and the city have been dealing with the railroad and the neighbors to gain access.

Two proposals are in place, one on Ginger Ave. the other on Gates. Depending on what they are able to work out, either one will work. The city is going to go back to the railroad to make a proposal to purchase the necessary land to use Ginger Ave.

Mayor Rick Smisson said according to the city attorney, a public hearing will have to be held to change the area from commercial to residential. The developers stressed that this project has stalled long enough and it is necessary for them to move forward. Smisson asked why after this long, was so urgent to have action now. The developers explained that this winter will be spent in arranging financing, planning and marketing. They also noted that much of the work with the city was done last spring and they have the documentation from that meeting.

This was confirmed by city clerk Kim Hugger. Smisspon said the attorney had expressed concern that last spring the area had been zoned into a classification that did not exist and now needs to be corrected. A review of the spring meeting will be conducted by the attorney and city planner.

Richard Long presented a problem he encountered trying to maximize the use of his land in Harris. He started with a 60-acre parcel and sold off two 20-acre parcels. He now wants to subdivide the last piece into four 5 -acre parcels. The county would like Long to deed a strip of land, presently designated as roadway easement, to the county. The county would allow Long to include this area in his total when developing the 5-acre parcels. But Harrisí ordinance states that the area for the 5-acre parcels ìexclude right of wayî. If Long works with the county to grant them the land for easement, he will be short of the necessary acreage to make four parcels.
City Engineer Chuck Schwartz said the present easement on the property is for roadway only. Should utilities be run in that area, an additional easement would have to be purchased. Long said that if the granting of the land to the county means that he can only get three parcels, the easement will be sold to the county. ìTheyíre not a charitable organization,î Schwartz said.

The council again referred this matter to the city attorney and city planner to see what can be worked out and still meet the Harris ordinances.

In another land issue, maintenance supervisor Mike Kriz brought forth a problem at the north end of the city, along 480th Street. When the interstate went through, many of the streets and roads in Harris dead ended along the corridor. At that time, nothing was done to the roads, so they were not abandoned and have stayed on the books as existing roads. The property owners along 480th Street now want to develop that area and are asking the city to bring their road back up to usable condition.

Kriz inspected the road and feels there is still a good base of gravel under the weeds. He felt that an addition of four inches of gravel and some work would bring the road up to usable condition. But that raises the problem of dead end. A cul-de-sac or hammer head was never installed. So the only way a truck or plow could exit would be to back down the road.

Kriz noted that although the development would be in Harris, the street in question borders Rushseba Township. He wondered if the township would be interested in helping bring the street into condition, since they would benefit from it in the future. The council is going to get direction from the city attorney as to the cityís obligation before they address the issue. Smisson said the city has a policy of treating everyone fairly and equally.

Harris Fire Chief of Operations Will Lacina brought forth equipment requests. As the new equipment van is getting completed, the fire department is asking for new extrication equipment to replace 18-year-old equipment the department presently uses. The cost will be $21,000 and will be added to the funding for the equipment truck.

The department also intends to obtain two additional vehicles and a tracker boat from the DNR. The two vehicles will be used by the chiefs to get to the fires ahead of the crews to access the situation. Lacina said that part of the insurance rating of the department is based on the response time. These vehicles will help in that area.

The tracker boat will provide water access for rescue. This boat is very maneuverable. A firefighter has already been designated to go through the training necessary to meet guidelines.

The cost of the vehicles through the DNR should come to around $3,500, including the work needed to have them painted to be identifiable as fire department vehicles.

Lacina also noted that the fire department will hold elections for those offices not filled by the city council this Thursday, Nov. 17. The department is also looking at creating an additional chief and commander position.

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