The bulk of the Monday, January 14 council meeting was items within notices or reports and updates, but there was a number of agenda items, as well, including a number of annual designations, committees, and renewals. The item garnering the most attention was consideration of action on a engineering studies discussed at previous meetings.
First up was an update on a Minnesota Department of Transportation speed zone engineering study. The city is considering applying for a speed reduction in the area of Highway 43 and Pine Meadows Lane. Prior to any state changes, however, municipalities must undergo a speed study. The estimate is not to exceed $7,000. The amount has been reduced considerably from previous estimates as past information was applied.
The intention of the reduced speed is to address the needs of higher pedestrian and bike traffic due to the new school facility. The council has not received any information regarding a minimum traffic threshold that would need to be met in order to change the speed and concerns have been raised about spending the money and not having enough results from the study to warrant a change. Clerk Kathy Zacher indicated the state reviews items such as the number of crossings, who is crossing, number of crashes, and the number of intersecting streets. The city will take the new estimate to the Rushford-Peterson School District to see if there are cost sharing opportunities.
An Outdoor Recreation Grant for the canoe launch project east of the Root River bridge crossing has potential to reduce the costs of the launch installation. The not-to-exceed $3,150 grant would be a 50/50 match between the city and state. A grant is already in place to construct a road over the levee to the new launch. According to Zacher, the grant may also help layout parking and other available amenities. The council approved seeking of the grant.
In other news, the City of Rushford received a letter from the City of Rushford Village, dated December 18, indicating a desire to work cooperatively in the development of several sites for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Last year, Rushford was approached by a landowner in Rushford Village, whose land sits on the border of the two, regarding possible development. Rushford council approved a preliminary study of utility extension to the area.
Councilor Sally Ryman suggested the city meet to talk with representatives from both cities regarding the West Area General Development Plan. “I don’t think it would hurt to talk,” she stressed.
“Right now, there’s nothing to talk about. It’s all public information,” responded Mayor Chris Hallum.
“It’s different than inviting them to come and share information. We can ask if they’re willing to share the cost,” added Ryman.
City Administrator Tony Chladek indicated some uneasiness about that option. “It doesn’t feel comfortable to me to have a public conversation about a property where the landowner hasn’t made any decision,” he said. Ryman countered that there are studies that the Village hasn’t been apprised of in any detail, but Chladek indicated they are publicly accessible documents.
“We don’t want to have a great big discussion about things, yet, because we haven’t had to decide anything yet,” added Hallum.
Councilor Andrew Linder noted that it may be perceived that the City of Rushford is rooting around in the backyard of Rushford Village. “Maybe they see we have a plan, but there’s no plan yet. If they’re gonna benefit from it and we’re gonna benefit from it, maybe we should see how much skin they want to put in the game, prior to Highway 30 reconstruction.”
City Clerk Kathy Zacher confirmed that, as was stated in previous meetings, the city has no intention to be the developer of the property. The council opted to invite representatives from Rushford Village to meet with representatives from the city to discuss cooperative planning.
The Electric Commission met and reviewed upcoming project goals and plans. It was noted the substation by the mill needs upgrades. More information will be coming in March.
Applications for the new library director are being reviewed by the Library Board. Interviews will be conducted in February.
The city has received notice from the Department of Natural Resources regarding restroom facilities. The DNR recently opted to no longer fund a portion of the Rushford Depot utilities, which includes the restroom portion of the depot. The department has indicated it plans to set portable restrooms at various points along the trail and it’s possible that plan may get pushback from cities and other entities.
Sally Ryman, who is a part of Root River Trail Towns, a nine-city group along the Root River Trail System, said the group may have some collective pushback. “They’re saying, ‘This doesn’t make any sense. Why are you spending your money on this? We already have facilities that we can put information in,’” noted Ryman. “In most of the cities on the trail, it was noted that cities owned facilities, not historical society, but we’ll wait and see if they decide to fight it.”
The city has received a levee flood mitigation grant in the amount of $162,000 to update the Elm Street pumping station. Replacement of the original 1969 pumps is one of the last big punchlist items the city needs to complete with the levee system. “They found money for us,” said Clerk Zacher. “We couldn’t have done it without that.”
The last update addressed was the R-P Facilities Committee meeting. “We had a discussion with the city and school,” began Chladek. “We laid out for them that our position has always been, if they decide they want to go with the city, we have some ideas. There’s a new board. We have to discuss and to take the opportunity to lay out for them what the city has available. The city has done a lot of legwork, looked at complexities of this facility, and we’ve done our homework. We’re one of the few folks that could to something that could do something with it. The long and short of it is we hope the school comes back and listens to us.”
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Monday, January 28, at 6:30 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
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