Rod Darr, representing Darr Realty, was present at the Monday, September 10 Rushford Council meeting to seek a one-year renewal on the city’s contract, aimed at selling of city-owned lots, specifically in Himlie Park. The current contract expires October 15. The partnership has been successful in securing two closings and one pending sale on three of the nine lots. Created in 2009, the lots had no viable activity until the contract began.
Prior to bringing Darr Realty on board, any marketing was done by city and was minimal. “There’s a marketing component to this that’s far more powerful than just a sign sitting out there,” noted City Administrator Tony Chladek.
Darr brought forth comparisons of lots in other municipalities, but they varied widely from what Rushford has available. “I’m hoping that’s good news for you,” added Darr.
“We need to keep going with this. It’s working,” said Councilor Terri Benson.
Construction of townhouses on the far east side of the Himlie Park are nearing completion. The hope is one will be finished by the end of the month. It’s expected that an open house will be held when completed.
In other news, the Rushford Municipal Electric Commission (RME) put forth a recommendation to the council following a request by the Rushford-Peterson School District to install underground electrical service to the newly developed practice/soccer field. The goal is to provide service for future press box and field lighting needs.
The city has consulted with its electrical engineering firm, Star Energy. It’s been recommended by the RME to allow $1,500 of the cost to be covered by the city with the remainder of installation costs to be covered by the school district.
“The commission felt this is standard practice for this type of project,” noted Councilor Sally Ryman, who sits on the RME Commission. “It’s our understanding that this is not an immediate need, but something they want to plan for in the future. We’re letting them know what the costs are, what the city contribution would be, and what their options are.” It was also noted that this recommendation is comparable to policies offered by other providers. “It’s definitely not unreasonable,” added Ryman.
The council approved setting aside the funds for the developing project, if it moves forward in the future. The information will be provided to the district.
The council reviewed the 2019 draft budget, ahead of the preliminary tax levy certification to Fillmore County at the end of this month. “We had a really good fund balance at the end of last year and hopefully, we’ll be able to maintain that,” noted City Clerk Kathy Zacher. “We did a lot of different things last year to get to that point.”
The current draft includes an anticipated three-year labor contract, as well as other projected costs. Some funds, such as the Library Fund, which have not seen monetary increases in recent years will see bumps in funding. In addition, several debts will be ending in coming years and projects have been structured to provide the most flexibility with the least impact.
“It’s great. I love seeing that, but have we provided enough cushion that we don’t put ourselves in a pickle. This is very comfortable?” asked Councilor Terri Benson.
“It’s a good first pass,” noted Benson of the preliminary budget. “I just don’t want to go backwards; don’t want to fall behind.”
“There’s still some tweaking to do on it,” stated Zacher. “We’ll just have to shuffle and shift.” The council is expected to review the budget further and approve a preliminary levy at the next meeting.
Five residents of the Rushford Manor apartments, in the Brooklyn area of Rushford, spoke during the time for public comment. The group brought forth concerns regarding several ongoing situations at the apartment complex that they call, “uncomfortable,” and which they say are making it difficult to live there.
Management for the manor is run by Life Style, Inc. property management out of Owatonna. There is no property manager on site. Complaints included unauthorized persons and non-contract residents to sharing of security codes and property vandalism. They also claimed other offenses are taking place. The information has been reported to the Rushford Police Department by residents and the city will be following up with Police Chief Adam Eide regarding the issues.
“All of you who expressed concern; you live here and you can come here and talk. That’s your right. We’re going to address it,” said Mayor Chris Hallum.
Root River Jams, a recent downtown music event held Saturday, September 8, was highly successful in its inaugural year. The event was the brainchild of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) and was helped along by the Rushford Peterson Valley Chamber of Commerce and specifically by contributions from City Administrator Tony Chladek, Gary Marcoux, and Amy Feller. The event featured the band, “The Jimmys,” and drew quite a crowd. It was noted that a vast number of attendees were non-locals, which showed the successful marketing campaign for the event.
Businesses including Il Luigi Italian Restaurant, Jessie Street Java, Nordic Lanes, Shawnee’s Bar & Grill, and Stumpy’s Restaurant & Bar donated $200 each towards event costs. The chamber assisted with advertising costs and the EDA will pick up the remaining balance. Next year, organizers intend to apply for a Legacy grant to assist with the cost of the music.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Monday, September 24, at 6:30 p.m., at City Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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