City of Harrison Gifted Special School Project Art

HARRISON – Members of the Harrison City Council were treated to a special surprise at their Oct. 2 meeting. Larson Elementary School teacher Heidi Hughes and her student Carter Aldrich presented Council with a mural/community banner created by Hughes’ students for a project designed to combine learning with art. The mural was a depiction of various elements of the Harrison community, with each element created by an individual student.

“At Larson Elementary, we have spent the first two months talking about our community and how it’s really important,” Hughes said. “So, I asked the kids to name what they felt were very important keystone parts of the community.”

She said that included the school, fire department, police department, the state park, a few of their favorite restaurants, and Family Fair which she said was “remarkably popular.” Another component was the football team, and the painting of the football field takes up a sizeable portion of the mural – that was Carter’s work.

Hughes said the kids had a good time with the project, with a lot of time spent talking about why each piece of the community was important. She said it was a good time to let the kids get to know their community, and it was decided there would be no better way to share what was learned than “with the people that help run the community the best.”

The piece was then presented to Council with the intention it be displayed at City Hall – a gift which Council eagerly accepted.

Once again there was discussion of the traffic congestion surrounding Larson Elementary and its effect on traffic safety on surrounding streets. A visitor specifically noted the inability of employees leaving Federal Broach to see traffic approaching from either direction. There was mention of the City having installed No Parking signs along the streets to address the problem, and the fact those signs are quite simply being ignored because law enforcement hasn’t been issuing tickets.

In his report, Fire Chief Chris Damvelt reported 295 runs year-to-date. He also said that $8,000-plus had been realized from the recent golf outing; that the fire hall interior had been repainted and the parking lot resealed. Damvelt also reported on his visit to Larson Elementary the previous week when the State Fire Marshall read to Larson Elementary students [see story in last week’s Cleaver]; and that from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 14 there would be a Touch a Truck event at 4X Adventure Land.

DPW Superintendent Sam Russell reported that a team effort by four crewmen had resulted in achieving the annual hydrant flushing in just one night rather than the usual two nights. He also said the leaf truck is up and running, and that the park would be winterized that week. Russell informed also about the EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) requirement that hazardous waterlines be identified, and that 5% of those be replaced annually. He said 89 lines had been hydro-excavated so far and that 44 of those were galvanized steel.

Code Enforcement Officer Mike Freeman reported things were “pretty smooth around town” although there were a couple “little things” that were getting taken care of.

Kathy Maharas, utilities clerk, changed her report up a bit by saying things in the water department were “fantastic.”

In his report, Justin Cavanaugh, city manager/clerk, provided an update on the easement on Lake Street which Council had voted not to maintain due to liability an inability to maintain. Due to the steep slope of that location and equipment limitations, the DPW crew was unable to tackle the job of concrete steps removal, but Cavanaugh said Gamble would remove it for $1,000. Cavanaugh also said he had calculated a feasibility study in response to a previous meeting request from a resident that the end of Second and Stone streets be paved. Cavanaugh said the cost for that would be $300,000 – something the City would not take on for the convenience of two houses.

Also touched on were the requirements of clerks in the upcoming 2024 elections, and how the new nine days of early voting would affect staffing at City Hall.

Lastly, he informed that he was honored to have been selected as one of the 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders Award winners [see story on page 1] in Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella and Osceola counties.

“I received three nominations from the community,” Cavanaugh said. “I just want to express my sincere Thank You to Council for hiring me to do a job that I enjoy, and to the City staff, the residents and community partners for making my job enjoyable.”

Under New Business, Council moved to:

-Approve MDOT Performance Resolution 2023-15

-Approve the 4X Adventure Land request for closure of Fair Lane Oct. 11 and 14 for Touch a Truck and Villains event.

-Approve the Zoning Board of Appeals By-Laws which were needed as best practice for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

© Clare County Cleaver