LAHARPE ? Back when LaHarpe still had a school, and more businesses around town, it made sense for the community to have the number of stop signs it does.
But now, with the school long since closed, and only a handful of businesses still in existence, City Councilman David Lee asked Wednesday if the city could rethink the number of stop signs.
?I wonder if we could take some time and just think about what makes sense for the city,? Lee said Wednesday, noting some signs could be replaced with yield signs if necessary.
And intersections with no sign at all are still controlled, City Attorney Fred Works added, because motorists still have to yield the right of way to motorists to their right.
Council members agreed to consider the matter. With a new police chief expected soon ? a special meeting was planned for next Tuesday to interview candidates ? additional input would be welcomed.
RAINY WEATHER has dampened the pace of LaHarpe?s ongoing electric upgrade project, and the possibility exists crews may be called down once again for hurricane relief in the Southeastern states, but the project remains on track to be complete by the end of the year.
Eric Hethcoat of BG Consultants, the firm in charge of overseeing the upgrade, offered his monthly update.
?We?re still on track, although stranger things have happened,? he warned.
To ensure the project?s completion in a timely manner, work crews may begin working longer shifts, more days a week.
Previously, most worked four 12-hour days. That may soon be bumped to five 12-hour shifts, plus Saturdays, Hethcoat said.
COUNCIL members scheduled a hearing for their Nov. 14 meeting, at which time they are expected to formally renew the city?s neighborhood revitalization incentive package, which offers property tax rebates to residents who increase the value of their properties through renovations or new construction.
With that in mind, Works encouraged the Council to approach Allen County officials about having a designated countywide property inspector.
Few communities LaHarpe?s size can afford to have a fully qualified inspector to oversee construction projects.
Council members also approved a new ordinance regulating manufactured homes after Works clarified language detailing that each structure must be affixed to a permanent foundation. The new ordinance regulates the size, age and composition of such structures, including mobile homes.
THE COUNCIL tabled a decision on who to hire after receiving multiple bids to mow unkempt properties in 2019 so members could look further at the type of equipment each bidder would use.
Also tabled was further talk on whether the city needs to update its haying ordinance, which allows owners of large parcels of property to let the grass, pastureland or other crops grow, as long as it?s hayed and bailed properly.
Of the dozen or so property owners who have haying permits, two or three do not follow proper protocol, Council members were told.
?We have the winter to think about it,? Mayor Mae Crowell said.
