Many topics were discussed at the Rushford City Council meeting on September 23. There were three main topics of discussion; the review of the 2019 Municipal Improvement Project, letter review of the new FEMA flood plain maps for citizens that may be impacted, and looking at the purposed ordinance for the sale of tobacco products and to separate use of tobacco products.
For the Municipal Improvement Project, Engineer Derek Olinger came to the council to say that the project is substantially complete. Olinger also said that there was an uncommonly low number of obstacles hit in the construction process. The council brought up that there were many compliments from the community. They also brought up that the contractors were very responsive and did the work well. Another topic within the project was Zenke Inc.’s request for reimbursement on the dewatering costs. The company asked for $11,500.00. Council member Andrew Linder said that they need to keep the good relationship and the other members agreed with him. The council came to the consensus of paying the $11,500.00 since it was not an unreasonable request.
A sample letter was passed out to the council to review for the residents of Rushford, informing them about the changes to the FEMA flood plain map. The map shows whether your house is at risk for damage from flooding. Council voted to send out the letter; it will go into detail about flood insurance and the changes made to the map. The council recommends to come to the city hall if there are any questions or if you would like a copy of the flood plain.
Another visitor for the evening, Brenda Pohlman, Public Health, came to discuss an ordinance that has been in the works. This ordinance considers the youth vaping epidemic and overall young adult’s use of tobacco. The school, city, and local law enforcement have noticed the pattern of young people finding ways to get ahold of (mostly) electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, and also other forms of tobacco. Pohlman suggested to educate more people and regulating the sale of tobacco. This ordinance will now take the place of the ordinance that is currently in place. There will be a public hearing for this ordinance on November 12.
Some updates about local events were also brought to the council’s attention from other council members. One being how Taste of the Trail was very successful even though the weather wasn’t the most favorable. Another update that was discussed was the city swimming pool winning Fillmore County Journal’s “Best of the Best.”
Other business in brief
•Consideration of the ordinance granting a franchise to Mediacom Minnesota, LLC to maintain/operate a cable television system in the city was passed.
•The council decided to enter a partnership deal with MnDOT for the Highway 30 Reconstruction Project. With that agreement, there was a Work Order Agreement with Bolton & Menk for the first three phases for the Highway 30 Project.
•The Proposed Property Tax Levy for 2020 is $973,000. This is the maximum levy and is to be adopted by December 30.
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