LAHARPE — To give away: land.
LaHarpe City Council members, eager to see undeveloped plots of land near the city’s park filled with houses, agreed Wednesday that anybody willing to build there could have the properties free of charge.
The idea came from council member Harry Lee Jr., who noted the city had invested in extending utilities to the lots directly north of the park.
The utilities were placed a few years back, along with a new sewer lift station, when the city offered land to USD 257 for its building trades classes.
Two building trades homes were built before the school district shifted its focus to Iola for the foreseeable future.
That left LaHarpe with the potential for four more homes, but no takers.
“We really need to get more people in there,” Lee said.
The city will offer the land free of charge, as well as waive the cost to hook into the utilities, provided the landowner meets the city’s other building incentive requirements.
“There is an investment they would have to make,” Mayor Cynthia Carr said.
For example, a person could not just use the property for a mobile home.
For more information, contact City Hall at (620) 496-2241.
TAXES WILL go up slightly for LaHarpe property owners in 2011.
Council members approved the city’s $989,000 spending plan for 2011, which will be supported in part by an ad valorem tax levy of about 54 mills, up about 2.3 mills from this year.
The mill levy may be altered slightly once the city knows its final assessed valuation, currently projected at $1.5 million.
Thus a single mill, equivalent to a tenth of a cent, will generate about $1,500 in property taxes — $81,466 in all.
At 54 mills, the owner of a $75,000 home would pay about $466 annually — an increase of about $20 from this year — in property taxes to the city, not counting taxes to support USD 257, the county or Allen County Community College.
IN A related budget matter, council members approved a 2-cents per kilowatt hour increase for electric customers.
At issue is a recent increase in the amount the city must pay Westar for electricity sold to LaHarpe customers.
Before Wednesday, the city received 9 cents for every kilowatt hour sold, while paying Westar 7 cents per kilowatt.
The 2-cent margin was not enough for the city to maintain its electrical system, Lee said.
City Clerk Kim Bradford said she needed to put pen to paper to determine how much electric bills will increase because customers also pay other charges on top of electricity consumed.
Council members will next take a closer look at the city’s sewer rates at a special meeting Aug. 26.
The council said they know the sewer system must have improvements, but the city does not have enough money in its sewer funds to pay for such a venture.
A NEW “drop box” library is nearly ready to open at City Hall.
The library will feature several crates that open to reveal hundreds of books that can be checked out to the public. The boxes will be changed periodically to allow residents access to a larger number of reading materials.
Volunteers are being organized to staff the library when it is open. Hours of operation were not set.
MIKE PERES, who formerly served on the City Council, was appointed to a seat vacated by Cynthia Carr when she was appointed mayor in July to replace the retiring Lloyd Wayne Turner.
