By Clark Natalie

In preparation of meeting the funding requirements on the Water Treatment Plant and the Waste Water Treatment Facility, the Harris City Council approved a Utility Fee Ordinance Monday night, June 12.

In being approved for funding, the city must provide a copy of its ordinance showing that fees are in place to recoup the funds to repay the funding. Harrisí utility ordinance was outdated and did not have all the provisions.

A public hearing was held before the council meeting where City Planner Dean Johnson, of Resource Strategies Corporation, explained the new ordinance and itís impact on Harrisí residents. The ordinance not only allows for the collection of fees based on the consumption of water and the production of waste, but also for connection fees and area fees.

A connection fee is charged to new customers when they hook up to and begin to use the system. A separate fee is charged to hook up to the water system and to the wastewater system. Area fees are based on the size of the property on a per acre charge.

Johnson said there is no increase in the charge for water usage.

The connection charge and area charges will only affect new customers.

The connection charges and area charges will be used to pay for future capital improvements, such as a new water tower, extension of pipes, etc. The usage fees will pay for the operation and maintenance of the existing system. Johnson stressed there was no impact on existing users.

Connection charges and area charges are based on Residential Equivalent Units (REU). Each type of commercial business is assigned an REU based on an estimate of how much of an impact it will have on usage. The REU assigned to each business is based on a table being used by the Met Council.

Provisions were made in the ordinance for stormwater management and street lighting. No fees or charges were in these areas, but were included for future use. Stormwater management fees would be charged for future capital improvements, such as cleaning of rural ditches and settling ponds and maintenance of existing system.

One area that did need clarification upon final adoption was a water conservation fee. A $1 per gallon fee will be charged to customers who use in excess of 40,000 gallons of water each quarter.

Later in the meeting, the council reviewed and approved the bids for construction of the Water Treatment Plant (WTP). Five of the bids were presented and ranged from a high of $1.587 million to a low of $1.410 million. City Engineer Charles Schwartz also went over options that could be added. One was for an aeration of the water. The cost to be added now is $52,000. To remove existing controls and update the system at a later date would double or triple the cost.

The council approved the low bid of Municipal Builders, Inc at $1,410,800.20, but also approved the automatic controls at an additional $52,000. It was noted that Bonestroo has done work with Municipal Builders and has confidence they have the ability and capability to complete the contract.

The council also approved a professional services contract with Bonestroo for the construction of the WTP. This will put an engineer at the site during construction. It is separate from their general engineering contract. Mayor Rick Smisson explained that this had been requested at the beginning of the projects so the city could monitor actual costs better. Going forward, the engineering firm is paid on a contract basis instead of a percentage of the actual cost. It will give the engineering firm an incentive to keep the actual costs down.

In other business, the council:

ï Gave authority to the mayor to negotiate the hiring of a temporary seasonal worker. The contract with Northland Landscaping to mow the public areas of Harris ran into some problems. It was decided to terminate the contract with Northland and hire a worker to take over the job for the summer.

ï Approved the purchase of lime for the ball field at a cost of about $5,000 to get the field back into playing condition. The additional cost of replacing the lights was deferred.

ï During public comment, heard from three people. Lisa Jorgenson asked when she could expect an answer to questions submitted months ago. She also asked if it was true that former clerk, Kim Hugger, had been asked to come back and train the newly hired temporary clerk on the city computer system. Jorgenson also requested clarification of the acting clerk/treasurer position. Councilwoman Kathy Olson had said at a meeting that she was not the clerk/treasurer and was not interested in the position, but yet the notices that had been received identified her as the acting clerk/treasurer. The last question Jorgenson had concerned the cityís loans. Jorgenson had contacted the State Auditor and was told that the City can not have loans.

John Perron asked what the actual cost per household will be for the new Water Treatment Plant and Waste Water Treatment Facility. The Cityís consultant had indicated between $12,000 to $25,000 per household, but gave no actual cost.

Carla Waletzko asked when she would get the public data she had requested on April 12 on the 425th development, Liberty Run. Waletzko was been billed by the city attorney for production of this information, but had received no documents. Waletzko also asked why it is taking months to get information that has been requested.

ï Approved on-sale liquor licenses and 2 a.m. closing licenses for Big Daddyís and Heartbreakers. It also approved an off-sale license for Harris Liquor Store.

ï Approved a contract for administrative services, from May to Aug.11 for 15 to 30 hours a week at a rate of $35/hour. A contract for accounting for the same period, with 25-35 hours each week at a rate of $25/hour was also approved. It was noted that these are contracts and no overtime will be paid, nor benefits.