By Clark Natalie

Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivard and County Commissioner Mike Robinson attended the Harris City Council meeting this week to discuss problems and offer help from the county. The public comment portion of the meeting brought out many of the issues Rivard already had intended to discuss.

Irene Trent asked what either the city or county can do concerning her neighborís collection of junk cars. Trent lives on Gladstone and her neighbor has eight cars that do not run behind their barn, plus many more cars parked in the front. The Trents have been trying to sell their house, and at least three potential buyers have passed because of the cars, she said. The council said they had discussed the situation with Deputy Shane Carroll who had visited the property many times. Carroll suggested the council revise its nuisance ordinance to specify action that can be enforced. Sheriff Rivard said Carroll is a good officer and is strict on enforcement of ordinances and issuing citations.

The council said when the revised ordinance is passed the property in question will be dealt with.
Rivard then discussed the issues the Sheriffís department mostly deals with in Harris. He said most calls are about speeding mostly on county roads 10 and 9. The sheriffís department has two speed trailers, and although they are effective, they are not the solution. The deputies that work this area are trying to write more tickets to get people to slow down, Rivard said.

On the subject of four-wheelers, John Milke of Falcon Avenue said they have torn the road up so bad that cars drive onto his property to avoid the hazards created by the four-wheelers. Rivard said deputies are doing what they can, but must catch them in the act.

Meth continues to be a problem, Rivard said. Surprisingly the number of meth labs have dropped even though the use is up. Rivard thought the drop in labs had to do with the legislature increasing the charge to a level 5 felony. Also, farmers have become more knowledgeable and are locking up their anhydrous, he said.

Both Rivard and Robinson discussed the area around Heartbreakers and the number of complaints from constituents. Robinson suggested more deputies in the area to chase away those causing problems.

Rivard said if there are problems, the people need to call the dispatcher. If they wish to remain anonymous, they can. If a complaint is made, someone will respond, he said. The council said that in discussions with Heartbreakers, the owners said a lot of the problems were with their customers actions after hours and in their parking lot when the bar is not open.

Rivard again stressed the need to report any problems, ìYou have to take a stand.î Rivard said the deputies will go door to door in the area if they have to.

Wastewater update
City Engineer Chuck Schwartz gave an update on the progress with the wastewater treatment facility. North Branch has responded with a rate and cost to hook up to their facility. It had come in higher than expected. North Branch had proposed using the same rates, trunk fees and availability rates as their present customers.

This would mean that all existing customers of the Harris system would have to pay a Sewer Access Connection fee and there would be a trunk fee which would increase 3-4 percent each year.

Schwartz said the pipe being run to connect to North Branch would be approximately one mile. If extend an additional 0.5 mile, they could hook up directly to the North Branch facility which would eliminate the use of trunk lines. Although this would eliminate the trunk fee, Schwartz was not sure if North Branch would be acceptable to this idea.

The estimated cost proposed by North Branch has made the construction of a facility by Harris more desirable. Schwartz has been in contact with Aquicare concerning their proposal for a continuous discharge system which would require constant monitoring.
Although this would increase the operating costs, when compared to North Branch over the 20-year period, by year 13, the difference would even out, according to Schwartz.

The Council instructed Schwartz to go back to North Branch to see if the costs were negotiable. Schwartz said the two parties are about a million dollars apart, but that he would go back to North Branch staff to see what can be done. Schwartz also said he will have an answer from Aquicare before the next meeting as to what the cost would be for their proposal.

In other action,
ï Greg James came back to the council to find out what action, if any, had been taken concerning the traffic on Harder Ave. He thanked Kriz for putting up the ìSchool Bus Stopî sign, but had seen no further action. The road is in such disrepair, that every time a truck speeds by, a cloud of dust is so bad, it makes it difficult to see. Councilman Doug Chafee said after the last time James had been to the council, Chafee had discussed the situation with Ed Brown of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Brown said the first thing to do was get signage up on the road, then request a speed study. But this speed study could cause problems. If it is done on Harder Ave, other residents could request a study in their area and Harris has many problem areas. The city would have to pay for the cost of these studies, including additional deputies to monitor the speed. Brown also said the speed on the road dictates the limit that will be put on it. The limit is now 55, and if the traffic is traveling at that rate, it may stay at that rate, even thought the residents want it lower. As far as the dust, Kriz said the city put four inches of gravel on that road in 2003. Calcium chloride was not put on the road because it was not be available until the end of August which is too late in the season to do much good.

The question of required attendance at council meetings came up. Councilman Walton has missed at least three meetings in a row. There was a question as to what is required of a council member. Commissioner Robinson said it was his understanding that an elected official can not be removed, but a temporary replacement can be appointed till the official returns. Mayor Smisson said this was not what the council proposed, and that he would visit with Walton to see what his intentions are.

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