Business owner proposes annexation

LAHARPE — With a notable dearth of available properties on which businesses could operate along U.S. 54 in LaHarpe, Ray Maloney has a possible solution.
Maloney owns farmland along a half mile stretch of the highway just north and east of LaHarpe.
He has spoken with “a couple or three” prospective businesses who might relocate to LaHarpe, but a few items would be needed first.
First of all, the land would need utility extensions, particularly water and sewer service, Maloney said.
That’s where the city comes in.
Maloney asked the Council to look into annexing a strip of his land along the way so utilities could be extended for the businesses to open.
Annexation can be cumbersome, City Attorney Chuck Apt noted, but this case would be different.
“If the property owner is willing to request annexation, it makes things a lot easier for us with how things are done,” Apt said.
Maloney would be.
He also wondered if the city could include the land in its business incentives (in which the city extends utilities at no cost to the business owners) or neighborhood revitalization plans (in which property owners are given tax abatements over a 10-year period.)
Council members noted several requirements are necessary before a business qualifies for any type of tax break, so they couldn’t promise an immediate response.
But they are intrigued, and promised to look further into the matter.
“These would be some pretty good businesses,” Maloney said. He did not identify the identities or types of businesses.
Maloney noted the Diebolt Lumber and Supply property would be up for auction in April. Perhaps the city could annex that area as well.
Such an annexation might be a bit trickier, Councilwoman Savannah Flory responded, because it’s further from the city, and several nearby homeowners may not be as willing to be incorporated into LaHarpe’s city limits.
However, the property does not have to be adjacent to current city limits in order to be annexed, Apt responded.
“The city boundaries aren’t squared away, anyway,” Carr said.
Then, it would be a matter of deciding whether the city would recoup the cost to extend utilities to the property through property or sales taxes.

CITY CLERK Michelle Altis has a suggestion that might curb the number of delinquent utility bill payers.
Altis proposed the Council consider listing due dates for utility bills the 20th of each month, and the shutoff date on the 28th.
Currently, bills are considered past due if they’re not paid by the 10th of each month. Shutoffs occur 10 days after delinquent notices are sent.
The benefits would be two-fold, Altis said.
First, it would give customers a few extra days to pay their bills without a 10 percent penalty, including those on fixed incomes. (Some Social Security recipients, for example, are paid the third Wednesday of each month.)
Secondly, it gives all customers a clearer picture on when their bills must be paid. With weekends affecting delinquency notices, due dates can range from the 20th to the 24th each month.
The different dates tends to lead to confusion, Altis said.
“This is just a suggestion,” she said.
The Council promised to consider the request.

OLD PLAYGROUND equipment outside City Hall will remain in place.
Council members declined a request from LaHarpe PRIDE members to move the equipment to LaHarpe City Park.
Carr noted liability issues with trying to reinstall old equipment.
“If we pulled it, it’s done,” she said, and could not be moved elsewhere.
Likewise, Councilman Diana Mullins said she heard from residents who prefer seeing their children play around City Hall than at the park, where older youths tend to congregate.