At their third special workshopping session with SiteLogiQ, the Houston School Board reached a consensus on their proposed building referendum. While no vote was taken and nothing is written in stone, the board decided on an approximate cost, the projects to be included, and the question (questions) to be asked when the public vote is held. To begin the session, Andy Fields … [Read more...]
Clean audit for city of Houston
Andrew Forliti of Smith Schafer presented the audit recap for 2022 to the city of Houston at their regular meeting March 13. The certified levy for the city increased 2% (an additional $11,000 increase. LGA revenues were only up $676 for the year with an expected $4,000 increase anticipated in 2023. Unassigned fund balance ($377,802) as a percent of expenditures for 2022 was … [Read more...]
RULER curriculum in use at Houston Elementary
Houston Elementary social worker Jessie Reed joined the school board at their regular March 2 board meeting to explain RULER, an emotional intelligence curriculum, being used at the elementary school. RULER, which stands for recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating, was developed by Yale. To begin her presentation, Reed had the board jot down as many … [Read more...]
Lanesboro School’s long-awaited solar panels on the grid
Superintendent Matt Schultz finally got to report to the Lanesboro School Board at their March 8 meeting that the solar panels were installed and hooked up to the grid. After an inspection on March 9, the meters will begin recording exactly how much energy the panels collect. Schultz said they were hopeful for $20,000 in savings each year. Since there are no tiered electric … [Read more...]
R-P Trail Extension community meeting set
At their regular February meeting, the Rushford-Peterson School Board was reminded that there will be a community meeting March 8, from 5:30-7 p.m., in R-P’s auditorium on the proposed trail extension project. The project is a collaborative effort of the city of Rushford and R-P Schools. There will be a short presentation at the beginning of the meeting followed by time for … [Read more...]
Houston Council passes OHV exit resolution
In a special meeting on February 17, the Houston City Council passed a resolution to exit the OHV trail agreement that had been made with the DNR. The meeting had only one agenda item, the OHV exit resolution. Prior to the council discussing and voting on the resolution, the meeting was opened for public comment. Dan Larson, representing the Minnesota 4 Wheel Drive … [Read more...]
Rushford-Peterson Valley Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Take root in Rushford-Peterson Valley
The R-P Valley Chamber of Commerce held their annual meeting February 15 at The Creamery. Treasurer Ross Himlie emphasized in his report that the Chamber is trying to be as diligent as possible; the $10,000 received during COVID has been set aside for the future. New board members include Tony Becker who took over for a member who had resigned, and newly elected Rhonda … [Read more...]
Houston School Board considers referendum projects
Andy Fields from SiteLogiQ started out the special workshopping session February 9 by asking the Houston School Board four questions. To answer the questions, the board was asked to split up in teams and write their answers on large posters before regrouping to discuss their responses. The first question was, “What do you see as the ultimate goal of your referendum?” The board … [Read more...]
OHV exit resolution tabled until March
The OHV exit resolution returned to the agenda at the February 13 Houston City Council meeting, after consultation with the city attorney. The exit committee updated the resolution following the recommendations of the attorney; the updated resolution and accompanying background were shared with the council members Friday, February 10. While some members of the council wanted … [Read more...]
Houston School Board “workshopping” about potential project
After an abbreviated regular meeting February 2, the Houston School Board spent much of their time “workshopping” with representatives from SiteLogiQ and Baker Tilly. SiteLogic has been working with Houston Schools as they assess facility needs; Baker Tilly presented financial information to the board. SiteLogiQ had recently helped survey the community about possible project … [Read more...]