Annandale police will be back at full strength soon when a fifth full-time officer joins the force. The city council voted Monday, Aug. 4, to hire Kurt Kowarsch effective Monday, Aug. 18. The city had left the position vacant since early in the year with the idea of saving the $30,000 salary to help make up for cutbacks in state aid. Police tried using part-time officers to fill the gap, Police Chief Jeff Herr told the council, but there was no continuity in completing cases. “We’ve struggled,” he said. Council member Jim LaTour said he had met with the police. “They’re stressed.” Herr said Kowarsch has been working for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office boat and water division. The new officer will undergo training when he reports for duty, he said. He will join Herr, officers Clark Stein and Nancy Engfer and school resource officer Shawn Boyer in the department’s full-time ranks. Annandale also employs three part-time police officers. The city needed a waiver from the U.S. Justice Department to leave the position open because the agreement under which the city and school district received a grant for the school officer required there be no personnel reduction. It hadn’t received an answer to its waiver request, but city administrator Mary Degiovanni said in a memo to the council that if the waiver comes through the city will still receive the savings from not filling the position for several months. If it’s turned down, the city will check whether it needs to repay any money for the time it was operating at reduced force. In light of lower cutbacks adopted by the state, the city thinks it can return to 1998 force levels and still be in a good position for the 2004 budget, the memo said. Council member Bill McNellis said he thinks Gov. Tim Pawlenty will make further cuts this year through an unallotment. Mayor Marian “Sam” Harmoning disagreed, but Degiovanni said she believes there’s a chance of an unallotment in 2004. In other action, the council: – Took no action on information from the League of Minnesota Cities dealing with the state’s new conceal and carry handgun law, which doesn’t give cities authority to prohibit guns on city property. Herr said he had no problem with draft policies from the league that would ban city employees from carrying firearms on the job and request volunteers not to carry them. But Fire Chief Chris Strand said the city would be looking for trouble if it adopted them. – Rescheduled the September council meeting to Tuesday, Sept. 2, because Labor Day falls on the regular Monday meeting date. – Accepted the low bid of 4.32 percent interest from United Bankers Bank of Bloomington on the refunding of bonds issued in 1996. Rebecca Kurz of financial consultant Ehlers & Associates said the interest was higher than expected but rates had taken a huge jump on Friday, Aug. 1. The refunding saved the city about $20,000 instead of the $26,000 estimated earlier. – Adopted a Housing Incentive Program to provide grants up to $10,000 for owners of housing that’s beyond repair to encourage demolition and rebuilding. – Voted to renew the city’s contract with the Wright County Assessor for two years at an increased fee of $10 per parcel in 2004 and $10.50 in 2005 after a presentation from assessor Greg Kramber, who apologized for the raise and said his costs have been soaring. – Voted to buy computer software from Civic Systems LLC of Madison Wis., so the city can do its own payroll but wasn’t happy with the $7,500 pricetag. LaTour said in an interview later the software companies have the buyer over a barrel. Software like Quickbooks can be bought cheaply from another company, but it won’t link up with the existing system, so the user has to buy from the same manufacturer, he said. – Approved selling a parcel of land in the Annandale Business Park for $1 to Annandale Business Campus, owned by Jim DiOrio of Buffalo, for construction of a business incubator building. The three-phase building will total 30,000 square feet. – Authorized public works director Joe Haller to check with property owners near the old water tower site behind Arenson’s Snyder Pharmacy to see if they’re interested in swapping land the city could use for parking in exchange for the tower site.
