City officials in Harlan have discussed the possibility of conducting housing survey study in the city limits. In a city council meeting Tuesday, City Administrator Terry Cox reported he has been in contact with Foutch Brothers about the need for additional rental property in the city of Harlan. The study would be conducted by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council or SWIPCO.

Cox says the council has options the length and depth of the study. “If we did what the Foutch Brothers request, that would be a shorter one. If you want to take a whole city and more intensive that could take a few months. A SWIPCO representative needs to prepare it and will be hear on December 3rd or at an earlier meeting to explain it. We will have an option voting on one and doing the other.”

The cost of the study was not discussed. The item was tabled during the Harlan City Council Tuesday and will be brought back at the next meeting in December. In other business, the council approved to sell a portion of city owned property at 1901 Hawkeye Avenue to Iowa Western Community College. The segment of area is close to 2,200 square feet and was sold to the college for $238,260. The property will allow for additional expansion to the Harlan campus.

And, the Harlan City Council approved a couple of resolutions during their meeting. The first was to order bids for the 2014 Sewer Rehab project. The council will hold a public hearing and open bids at their second council meeting in December. The second resolution was to approve a temporary transfer of funds from the Harlan Municipal Electric Utility to the Harlan Communications Utility. Councilmember Kate Kohorst explained the transfer is a loan and electric utility rate payers will be receiving interest on the money. The transfer is not to exceed $422,548.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)