Council meets at city hall March 10

HARRINGTON – The March 10 regular council meeting was held at city hall with the full council present: Stephen Hardy, Justin Slack, Peter Davenport, David Buddrius and Levi Schenk. In addition, Mayor Nathan Luck led the meeting with City Clerk Janice Cepeda and engineer Andy Tom present. It was unclear from the YouTube video whether the identified visitors were present at city hall or if they were attending by Zoom: Cherie MacClellan, Chris Meats, Joe Armand, Denisa Holling, Scott McGowan and Jesse Silhan. Several items were added to the published agenda.

Mayor Luck turned the meeting over to Andy Tom to discuss the Community Development Block Grant application for the wastewater treatment plant. He summarized the options before the city, including costs and to Harrington qualifying for hardship eligibility for the grant. There were 140 applicants and Harrington finished third in the state due to its environmental and financial needs. Some of the statistics included in his information were that the preconstruction part of the project will be $80,000 to $100,000 for which the city’s liability would be $40,000 to $50,000 in the form of a loan with an interest rate of 0.5 percent over 20 years. This is a 1.3 million dollar project, with the city only responsible for the loan amount. The prognosis was that if the city did all the things it was supposed to do, it would save money in the long run. Some of the issues he discussed included sludge, swirl concentrators being pulled out, aeration systems being put in, potential leaks of liners, removal of one complete lagoon and elimination of the need for a Vactor truck.

The council voted to proceed with the application. A year after construction is when payments will start. Construction is slated for completion in 2022.

Mayor Luck then provided a brief overview of current issues: the sidewalk by the hotel has been fixed, work has begun on the roof to Memorial Hall, delays have been encountered in the repair of the street light and he had meetings with AWC and Schenk and Buddrius.

Discussion was held regarding the US Bank Resolution for the Investment Pool and that the bank required another document to authorize moving the money from the bank to the state pool. Slack tried to alleviate confusion by stating that Mike Cronrath, the city treasurer, recommends the move and is comfortable with it. The resolution passed.

Brief discussions were held regarding the US Bank Resolution for the Investment Pool, Regional Transportation Policy Organization (Quadco), the 2021 Budget Amendment with the issue of inactive accounts (both commercial and private dwellings), US Bank Credit Card Usage (minimal usage until a policy is written) and Junk Vehicle Ordinance update (recurring theme of enforcement).

Luck announced that Charlie Kruger had submitted his resignation, and his last day of work will be March 24. Luck expressed appreciation for Kruger's time and effort on behalf of the city.

Citizens continue to complain about speeding vehicles coming into town at the cemetery. It was suggested that Harrington needs a police presence near the cemetery rather than parked at city hall.

Councilman Davenport wanted the railroad crossing to have painted stripes, and Luck replied that the state is responsible. McGowan informed council that the city’s backhoe has a blown head gasket.

There were no public comments.

A public hearing will be held March 17 at 6 p.m.