City of Harmony

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Position Available: Summer Maintenance Worker for the City of Harmony

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The City of Harmony is accepting applications for one Summer Maintenance Worker until 4:00 PM, March 24, 2025.

This is a seasonal part-time position for up to 40 hours per week, with duties of grounds keeping and general maintenance activities for the months of May-September. Must be 16 years or older.

For application and further information contact:
City of Harmony, 225 Third Street SW,
P.O. Box 488, Harmony, MN 55939-0488.
(507) 886-8122
Email: cityoffice@harmonymn.gov

An equal opportunity employer

Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG): What you should know!

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The City of Harmony Wastewater Treatment Plant has observed a rise in FOG.
Read below to learn what FOG is, the issues it can cause, and how proper disposal can make a positive impact.

What is FOG?
FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) originates from meat fats used in cooking, food scraps, cooking oil, shortening, lard, butter, margarine, gravy, and various food products such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, sour cream, and other high-fat foods.

Problems From FOG:

  • Clogged drains or toilets in your home/business
  • Raw sewage overflowing into your home/business or the house next door, resulting unnecessary and expensive cleanup costs
  • Overflows of raw sewage into your local streets, parks, yards and streams
  • Potential contact with disease-causing organisms
  • Higher operating and maintenance costs, potentially resulting in higher sewer bills to you.

How to Correctly Dispose of FOG:

  • Never pour FOG into your sink or toilet
  • Don’t put food scraps down the drain
  • Pour and wipe grease from cooking pans into a can (coffee can works well)
  • Dispose of cooled grease and fats in the trash
  • Recycle all used fryer oils
  • Perform regular maintenance on your grease trap or interceptor (if you have one)

Per § 51.130, authorized City employees are permitted to enter properties for the purpose of inspection.

NOTICE of HEARING on PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS Harmony, Minnesota – STREET REHABILITATION

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the City Council of the City of Harmony, Minnesota, will meet at 7:00 p.m. on November 12, 2024 to consider, and possibly adopt, the proposed assessment for roadway improvements to the below streets. This meeting will be held in the Council Room of the Harmony Community Center, 225 3rd Ave SW Harmony, MN 55939.

Adoption of the proposed assessment may occur at the hearing.

  • 4th Street NE
  • 4th Street NW
  • Portions of 2nd Ave NE
  • Portions of 5th St NE
  • Main Street Alleyway between 1st St NE and Center St E

The total cost of the entire project is the sum of $1,794,528.18 of which $554,342.44 is the sum proposed to be assessed against the benefited properties for street improvements, which are those properties abutting the streets described above, all within the City of Harmony, Minnesota. The proposed assessment roll is on file for public inspection at the office of the City Clerk.  Written and oral objections will be considered at the above hearing.

No appeal may be taken as to the amount of any assessment adopted by the City Council at the above hearing unless a written objection is signed by the affected property owner and filed with the City Clerk prior to the assessment hearing or presented to the presiding officer at said hearing.  Any owner aggrieved by the adoption of any assessment adopted at the above hearing, may appeal to the District Court of Fillmore County, Minnesota, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 429.081, by serving a notice of appeal upon the Mayor or Clerk of the City of Harmony within thirty (30) days after the adoption of the assessment, and by filing such Notice and proof of such service with the Clerk of the District Court, Preston, Minnesota, within ten (10) days after said service upon the Mayor or City Clerk.

Property owners are further advised that Minnesota Statutes Sections 435.193 to 435.195 grant the City of Harmony the authority to enact an ordinance deferring payment on any assessment levied by the City against homestead property owned by a person of 65 years of age or older, or retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments.  These sections further provide for a procedure whereby any qualified homeowner may make application for deferral of payment of any such assessments.  A copy of Minnesota Statutes Section 435.193 to 435.195 is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for inspection by the public.

Dated this 22nd day of October, 2024.

Alissa Stelpflug
City Administrator/Clerk

Published in the Fillmore County Journal on October 28th and November 4th, 2024

Public Input Wanted as Fillmore County Updates Hazard Mitigation Plan

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FILLMORE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
September 4, 2024

Public Input Wanted as Fillmore County Updates Hazard Mitigation Plan

Fillmore County residents, community leaders, business owners, area agencies and organizations now have an opportunity to share how severe weather events impact their property and lives. There is also an opportunity to share their ideas on how to reduce local impacts in the future.

The Fillmore County Office of Emergency Management is working with U-Spatial at the University of Minnesota Duluth to update the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The plan assesses the natural hazards that pose risk to the county, such as tornadoes, straight line winds, ice storms, blizzards, wildfire, flooding, and extreme temperatures and identifies ways to minimize the damage of future events. As the county works to update the plan, it wants to hear from the public.

The Fillmore County HMP is a multi-jurisdictional plan that covers Fillmore County, including all cities and townships within the county. The Fillmore County HMP also incorporates the concerns and needs of school districts, watershed districts, and other related agencies, organizations, or businesses participating in the planning process. The plan will be updated by a planning team made up of representatives from county departments, local municipalities, and other key stakeholders. When completed, the plan will be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for approval.

“Hazard mitigation planning is a central part of our emergency management program,” said Don Kullot, Fillmore County Emergency Management Director. “Understanding the natural hazards that can cause serious impact to our communities and taking action to reduce or eliminate the impact of future disasters makes us more resilient. Hazard mitigation helps us to break the cycle of damage and repair caused by things like flooding, ice storms, and severe wind events that can damage property, stress economies, and threaten life safety in our county.”

Examples of hazard mitigation include:

  • Conducting public outreach on severe weather awareness and preparedness
  • Improving stormwater management systems to better handle high-rain events
  • Removing existing buildings from flood or erosion prone hazard areas
  • Increasing defensible space around homes in high-risk wildfire areas
  • Constructing tornado safe rooms in vulnerable areas such as mobile home parks
  • Burying overhead powerlines that may fail due to heavy snow, ice, or windstorms

Some mitigation activities may be eligible for future FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant funding.

Public input is an essential part of the plan update. As part of the planning process, Fillmore County is seeking feedback from residents and businesses to incorporate into the plan. Your input will be recorded and incorporated into the planning process:

  • What are the natural hazards you feel pose the greatest risk to your community?
  • Are there specific populations or assets in your community that you feel are more vulnerable to future storm events?
  • What concerns do you have, and what sorts of actions do you feel would help to reduce damages of future hazard events in your community or the county as a whole?

Your feedback is wanted. Comments, concerns, or questions regarding natural disasters and your ideas for mitigation projects should be submitted to Fillmore County Emergency Management by phone, email, or by posting a comment via a social media posting of this article.

There will be additional opportunities for public feedback throughout the planning process. A draft of the plan will be made available for public review prior to submission of the plan to the State of Minnesota. Future news releases will be shared with the media to notify the public of these opportunities.

The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) requires counties to update their plan every 5 years to maintain eligibility for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs.

Contact
Don Kullot
Fillmore County Emergency Management Director
507-765-2830
dkullot@co.fillmore.mn.us