The city of Rushford Village discussed the next steps necessary for the recently installed solar energy system at the Jim and Debbie Kitchens’ home at its regular February 18 city council meeting. The Kitchens have installed a 13.056 kilowatt solar system which should have had a public hearing before the installation due to the size of the system. The system does meet all the city ordinance requirements and is installed properly.
After discussion, the council decided that a hearing still needs to occur and set the date and time of the hearing for March 18 at 6:45 p.m. at the CRV city hall prior to a regular city council meeting. The Kitchens will be responsible for the usual hearing charge of $450 as well as a fine of $250 since the installation of the system was completed before the hearing and permitting process occurred.
Alcohol Ordinance
Currently the CRV has no alcohol ordinance; the county has notified the city of Rushford Village that they have approved one event for the coming year in the CRV, but they notified the city, they will no longer be approving any others within the city limits.
General consensus was that the city has an “obligation to have something in place.” When the alcohol ordinance was discussed in the fall, the comment was made that if the city didn’t have an ordinance in place, it would be assumed to be a “dry” city.
The ordinance used by the city of Whalan was examined and found to be something CRV could possibly use as well. Attorney Joseph O’Koren advised the council that they should have an ordinance that not only covers a single event, but also a business. Such an ordinance might have licensing types available such as 3.2 beer, Sunday liquor, on and off sale businesses, etc.
Planning/Zoning has asked for further direction from the council. O’Koren will look into the situation and bring back his findings to the council for their action.
Olinger Presents Chip Seal Bids
Derek Olinger of Bolton & Menk presented the bids for chip sealing in the city. Of three bids, Olinger advised the city to accept the low bid of $48,237.70 from Pearson Bros. According to Olinger, Pearson Bros. does most of the chip sealing for the area cities and does a good job. The council was happy to have the bid come in under budget.
Olinger was asked if it would be appropriate for the city to have people with projects contact him to see if the projects are suitable for the city. He replied, “I can take a quick look at plans, but not detailed though. If more is needed, they would need to hire their own engineer.”
CEDA update
Rebecca Charles gave an update on the work CEDA does for the city. Charles works for the city 208 hours (two days a month). She spent 40 hours on the Safe Route to School and 14 hours on the CRV park this year.
Charles reported that CEDA has brought in $58,200 in grants to the city. Currently, she is checking on grants for engineering fees for recreation use. Her main focus will be to get the city of Rushford Village Comprehensive Plan completed.
Roads/ Utilities Update
Public Works/Maintenance Supervisor Trenton Chiglo urged citizens not to plow snow across the roadways. Doing so leaves ridges of snow on the roads that freeze and become like concrete on the road.
At the suggestion of Mike Ebner, the council gave Chiglo permission to begin looking at trucks for the city and to get package deals put together for a replacement CRV truck.
Other business
In other business, the council:
- Approved the revised employee guide which had been reviewed at a previous meeting;
- Included mowing in the man & machine hours in the pay rate fee schedule;
- Added an additional fee of $1.00 a month for residents using 95 gallon trash receptacles;
- Tabled the proposed mowing ordinance so the council has time to fully read it; this ordinance will require a public hearing as well before acceptance;
- Approved and accepted the Fillmore County Hemp and Cannabis ordinance; the city could have written their own ordinance providing it was more restrictive than the county ordinance.
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