By Clark Natalie

At the July 23 Harris City Council meeting, firefighter Tim Stanzek filled in for Fire Chief Will Lacina and made a presentation on a fire safety program to be presented to area school children.

The program is through the National Safety Council and targets children from preschool to 5th grade. When the fire department goes into area schools and makes presentations each child is given a book on fire safety. The firemen also explain all of their gear, and show the children what the firefighters will look like during a fire so they will not be afraid of them.

Fire basics are taught including "Stop, Drop and Roll" and setting up an evacuation plan.

Also speaking about the program was Don Simons, the safety officer of the North Branch Fire Department. Simons said the NB department has been involved in this program for quite some time. Initially it started out with preschoolers to 4th graders. They now go up to 5th graders and also make a presentation to high schoolers.

The high school presentation involves a mock auto crash. In addition to the fire department and police departments, the ambulance and coroner are involved. A helicopter also arrives. The object is to help the students make the right choice the first time and show what can happen with drinking and driving.

The members of the Harris Fire Department donated $461 to fund this program. The Fire Relief Association matched those funds bringing the total to $922. The council agreed to donate an additional $500, which will provide $1,422 to help get the program started.

In other business, the council:

• Directed City Clerk Jennifer Wothe to apply for a Help America Vote Act grant (HAVA) through the Secretary of State's office. This grant, which consists of funds supplied by the federal government, is to help with improvements to make polling places more accessible to the handicap and to make it easier to vote. This is not a matching grant, all of the funds will come through the grant. Wothe and City Building Inspector Steve Thorp are working on designs and different approaches.

• Learned that Richard Hill has decided not to stay on as part-time treasurer with the city. The position will be posted and the closing date for applications will be three weeks after it is advertised. Hill helped compose the ad. He will also stay on with the city through the interview process and also help in training the new treasurer. Hill expects to stay with the city through September to make sure the transition goes smoothly.

• Scheduled two workshops to start the 2008 budget process: Aug. 6, at 6:30 p.m. and, if needed, a second workshop Aug. 20, 6:30 p.m.

• Learned that the company that won the bid to install radio read water meters, Hydro Meters, said the bid they supplied did not include installation. This left the city with two options: sue Hydro Meters for breach of contract or re-let the bids to the next highest bidder.

Mayor Rick Smisson said there was a message at his home from Hydro Meters, but he didn't know what it was about. Since it was not known if Hydro Meters would honor their original bid, it was decided to table action until the next meeting.

• Learned from Don Cardinal of the Harris Park Board that School House Park is a mess. He wants to make sure the contractor working on the water treatment plant will restore the area. Sod needs to be laid over the mud areas before winter, he said. Cardinal noted that two trees, which were purchased three to four years ago at the cost of $435 each, were taken out. He said the contractor needs to replace them. Because they were not doing well, the contractor may think they had already died. Also, a tree was removed by the fire station.

• Adopted the Emergency Protection Fire Service ordinance which will allow for billing of fire calls. This also includes provisions for charging for prank calls, which will not be billed to the homeowner, but to the person who made the call. Also, there will not be a charge for a call to a First Responder, for residents of the city of Harris.

• Approved a charitable gambling license for Big Daddy's for the North Branch Hockey Association.