Police calls, library parking and liquor licenses discussed at Rushford council meeting

By News Team
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Fri, Dec 13th, 2002
Posted in Features

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The December 9th Rushford City Council Meeting began with a discussion of outstanding bills for police services to Rushford Village. Calls for police assistance are received in Preston; the Sheriff�s Department then often calls on the City of Rushford police to respond. The village�s contract with the city states that the city police will be called for emergencies; as a result, the village does not want to pay for non-emergency calls such as fallen rocks or dead deer on the road. Mayor T.S. Roberton suggested that he initiate an informal discussion with Sheriff Jim Connolly to attempt to resolve the problem amicably.

Library Parking

Citizen concerns about parking at the library and the school were next on the agenda. Currently, library reserved spaces are filled when school is in session. Noting that librarian Susan Hart has left notes on windshields and called the school to have students move the cars, the council resolved to have the �reserved signs� clarified and then to have the city police enforce the restriction. The yellow painted curbs in front of the school were explained to mean merely, "Please don�t park here." Technically, yellow lines on the state highway are not enforceable by the city police. Mayor Roberton suggested citizen complaints and comments should be shared with appropriate department heads for their input and answers before presentation to the council.

Liquor License Fees

The council also revisited the liquor license fees. After checking with area communities, the council found Rushford fees ($1,400) to be in the ballpark with most cities charging between $1,150 and $1,500. They did find, however, that many communities differentiate between not-for-profit service clubs and for-profit private businesses.

Posing the question, "Is there a value to having these not-for-profit clubs in Rushford?", the council answered with a strong affirmative. Since applications were due at the state now, the clubs were advised to pay the fees now with the possibility of a rebate later. The council intends to amend the ordinance to take the fees out of the ordinance and then set the fees to differentiate between the service clubs and private businesses.

Budget

Before closing the meeting for negotiation issues, the council once again discussed the city budget, stressing their common belief that they need to prioritize budget items to prepare for the possibility of cuts and that they need to make capital expenditures such as vehicles last longer.

With a chuckle, Larry Johnson exclaimed, "We might just have to keep that yellow truck a little longer!" to accompanying groans from the rest of the council.

Other Business

The council revisited the snow ordinance, discussing the letter city attorney Dennis Rutgers sent after reviewing the ordinance. They decided there was no need for a new snow ordinance since the city was not interested in towing vehicles in order to keep city streets snow-free. The council chose to stay with the current, simpler snow policy instead.

The council also:

� Passed a resolution to create a charter commission;

� Heard that Central Cable lawyers were perusing the letter from the city of Rushford regarding the repairs to the tennis courts;

� Approved a proposal to perform runway evaluation for the airport;

� Agreed to go with the site recommendations of the electric commission for installation of generators (if such generators are indeed purchased);

� Heard the ambulance received a $20,000 grant to split 50/50 with Good Shepherd for training and equipment

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