The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Christy Kienast, The Quill
The La Harpe City Council met on Monday, August 13, 2012 at the La Harpe City Hall.
Attorney Bobi James brought to the attention of the board a concern about the city building owned by Dan Gillett, by two of her clients.
Her clients say that they are concerned for the safety of their tenants in their building because the Gillett building is in disrepair.
It has broken windows and crumbling brick in the front on Main Street.
They claim there is also a mold smell coming from the building. Gillett acknowledged that his building is in disrepair and needs fixed.
There is electricity on in the front of the building, but not in the back where the roof has fallen in.
Gillett will fix the crumbling bricks and board up the windows on the building to the best of his ability, he said.
City Attorney Kurt Dittmer, Attorney Bobi James, her clients and Gillett will discuss the matter at a meeting at a later date.
A letter to all of the building owners on Main Street was sent in June of 2011 asking them to fix their buildings that are in disrepair.
While several building owners have approached the council, and fixed their problems, others have not. It is the responsibility of the building owner to fix their buildings.
Ordinance options are being explored on this matter.
The council approved a motion to purchase the piece of property behind the city shed (the fenced in lot) owned by Larry Housewright in accordance to the changes on the closing sheet.
City Attorney Dittmer is also working on a towing ordinance for the city. He will have this prepared for the next council meeting.
In response to several complaints in town, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to cut and trim the trees on their property so people can walk down the sidewalks and see thru the intersections.
The Department of Natural Resources will be in town for three days this week (Monday-Wednesday) to tell residents how much water is in the reservoir. City employees Tim Graves and Daniel Carpenter said although residents have cut their water usage down significantly, it is not enough.
In two weeks we will be where we were in 1988. Right now, we are two months ahead of where we were in 1988. Graves implemented a ban on all outdoor water usage. One thought was to use your dishwater to water your outside plants.
Youngsters have been gathering out at the Y again, but with permission from La Harpe Police Department on a trial basis. They must clean up after themselves and throw their trash away. They did request a trash can, which was taken out on Monday afternoon.
Mayor Brown says there is a Transportation Summit Meeting in Macomb on August 22 that he will be attending. The city received a letter from WIRC stating that we are still in the hunt for the sewer and water grant and they are still working on the housing grant.
Mayor Brown and Councilman Darryl Kraft expressed their committee's gratitude for all of the businesses and people who helped with 14th Annual La Harpe Classic Car Show Reunion. There were just over 300 cars and 13 states were represented at this years' show.
All council members were present except Alderman Brian Lovell. Present at the meeting were city employees David Little, Willo and Daniel Carpenter, Police Chief Justin Livingston, City Attorney Kurt Dittmer, Attorney Bobi James, Chuck Cecil, Christy Kienast, Doug Endres and Dan Gillett.
The minutes for July were approved with corrections and the treasurer's report was approved.before the meeting was adjourned.