A community-wide event regarding the possible fate of the former Farmers Win Cooperative site was planned for Wednesday, December 3 at the Rushford-Peterson Schools Forum Room from 6-8 pm. Childcare provided by five R-P senior high girls, earning their silver cord volunteer hours, during the event. At the November 24 meeting, the Rushford City Council and members of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) stressed that the event is not just for citizens, but members of the Rushford Peterson Valley community at-large.
The event will focus on two ideas that have been put together as possible options for the site. The EDA has been working with Kristin Prososki, Community Development Specialist at SEH, Inc. and Technical Assistance for Brownfields (TAB) Communities, for more than a year. As noted at a previous meeting, TAB services are free to participant cities due to an EPA grant. Prososki and the city have also been working with a team from the University of Minnesota in the development of a governing body, establishing a governing body, conducting market analysis, and developing marketing and sustainability strategies to see the project forward.
The event schedule includes a welcome and overview, a 15-minute summary of what the process to date, and a time for community feedback. Visual boards with different information will be laid out in various engagement stations for the public to rotate through. Feedback from the event on visual preferences and the types of activities the community would like to see will be handed over to the governing entity and the university team for their portion of the project.
“People who come to Rushford and stay 30 minutes or less spend $10, but people who stay 30 minutes or more spend $40. Traffic by that site on a daily basis is about 5,000 vehicles. It’s a shocking number to people,” said Derek Colbenson, EDA chairman.
“Those stats are valid and important for people to hear,” responded Mayor Terri Benson. “I hope we wow them with a little of what this could do for our community economically.”
EDA members and Councilors Leigh Volkman and Sally Ryman also stressed the idea that green space isn’t a park competing with other city areas. The hope is to really get the community and others coming into town to use the space, providing a driving force for the economy and for people to stay and enjoy the city. One point that clearly resonated was that whatever the space be used for, it must complement existing and future businesses and spaces and not compete with them.
The financial piece will also be highlighted.
“I didn’t want people to say, ‘Oh, you’re just going to raise taxes.’ All the information will be on one piece of paper and can all be defended,” said Volkman, reiterating that the numbers are estimates.
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