By Clark Natalie

A public hearing was held prior to the Harris City Council meeting Monday, Nov. 19, which resulted in the passing of a resolution and by-laws to establish an Economic Development Authority (EDA). The purpose of which is to foster economic growth in the city. This can be with financial help or with development of areas of Harris to entice businesses to move to Harris.

The EDA will have a five-member board of directors, one member must be a member of the city council. Although a budget of $5,000 was included in the 2008 city budget, all expenditures must be approved by the city council. The resolution and by-laws give the EDA authority to sell bonds and levy taxes, but both of those actions must also be approved by the council. Plans for development and redevelopment are also subject to council approval.

No mention was made as to how the board members will be selected or which council member will sit on the board.

Charitable gambling

Jeff Henderson, president of the North Branch Area Hockey Association (NBAHA) went over the requirements that could be established on non-profit organizations conducting charitable gambling within the city, should the city pass ordinances including all of the authority granted by the state to regulate charitable gambling Henderson explained where the NBAHA had donated their gambling money. That included more than just the Hockey Association and school district, but also the North Branch library, Girl Scout Troop 881, North Branch music boosters.

NBAHA was just replaced as the charitable gambling vendor at Big Daddy's in Harris by an organization called CHOPS. CHOPS is based out of Anoka and their application was reviewed and approved by the council at a special meeting on Oct. 17. One of the items presented at that meeting was that the city of Harris will receive 5 percent of the net profits generated by CHOPS at Big Daddy's. Henderson pointed out that although he did not have figures on the dollar amount of charitable gambling generated at Big Daddy's, of the five locations NBAHA has, Big Daddy's was consistently in the top two income producers on a monthly basis. And that 100 percent of the income generated by the gambling stays in the community.

The council explained that although they must approve all charitable gambling vendors, it can not dictate which non-profit can go into an organization that can have charitable gambling. As long as the non-profit meets the requirements set by the state, there would have to be extenuating circumstances before the application could be denied.

City Attorney Peter Grundhoefer told the council that should they choose to amend their present ordinance, the council could direct what percentage of proceeds must stay in the community, although it can not direct where the funds go.

Fire department issues

Fire Chief Will Lacina, reported that the department had received a grant for $121,00 which will be used for equipment. Turnout gear for the firefighters was top on the list and quotes were being obtained. The department also received a $5,000 matching fund grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Lacina had two potential firefighters to present to the council to be approved. Lacina said that Chris Sokol and Daniel Cleveland had been attending some of the meetings and training sessions. Councilman John Pelant asked how much the two could participate in the training. Until approved by the council, the men were not members of the fire department, and should an accident occur, they would not be covered under the insurance. After a discussion, Grundhoefer said that an amendment could be added to the fire department regulations that could establish a classification for potential members training with the department so they would be covered under insurance.

Lacina also asked about the attendance policy that had been set last year. The policy states that if a firefighter misses three consecutive drills or more than 25 percent of the emergency calls, they would be dropped as members. Lacina said although the figures were not complete, about 10 members would be affected. Some of the members have been with the department for a long time. When the older members joined, it was to fight fires. Not all of the older members are part of the First Responders, and do not wish to become First Responders. Many of the emergency calls are First Responder calls. Lacina pointed out that those who have not reached the 25 percent cut off have made it to most of the fire calls. There are also members who have made many of the First Responder calls, but few of the fire calls. The council agreed that the policy was to eliminate those members who no longer were attending on a regular basis, not those who actively participate. Lacina will develop a list of who will be affected and review it with the Human Resources Committee to present to the council for necessary action, if needed.

In other business:

• Bids were taken on the ditching project along Gladstone Ave. The ditch needs to be redug so the water drains correctly and no longer ponds. The bid was awarded to Gustafsons for $1,614, provided the bid included the extension of the culverts.

• Gustafsons will also be repairing the fire hydrant located by the Post Office. This hydrant does not have a shut-off valve. So to repair it, all of the water in Harris will have to be shut off during the process. Maintenance Supervisor Mike Kriz said that it could take anywhere from a couple hours to a whole day. Kriz will let City Clerk Jennifer Wothe know which day this will happen so notices can be mailed to the residents of Harris on the city water system.

• Grundhoefer said that a special meeting should be held to review the City Code update. Because it has been decades since some ordinances had been passed, 71 comments have been made that require action. Grundhoefer said that some of the items will be relatively easy to correct, each item should be reviewed and acted on. Approximately two to three hours will be required to go through all of the items. Grundhoefer wanted to set up a special meeting rather than bog down a regular council meeting.

Upcoming meetings. Dec.10 is the regularly scheduled council Meeting. Dec. 5 is the Truth in Taxation meeting, with continuation on Dec. 11, if needed. Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. will be a review of the ordinances. The Nov. 26 regular meeting was cancelled.