At the swift June 27 meeting, the Rushford council approved a number of items in the consent agenda including a new update regarding the Highway 30 Street & Utility Improvement Project.
Phase One, downtown construction, began May 9 and was scheduled to preliminarily wrap up early July. At that point, Phase Two, from the West Stevens Avenue and West Jessie Street Intersection through the west edge of the city, would commence. Early rainfalls hampered the timeline slightly and per the update, the project is now expected to shift phases in mid-July. It was noted there will be a period of time where there will be active work for both phases.
From Mill Street to Elm Street, in the heart of the downtown business district, work includes street grading and placement of the sand gravel base over newly upgraded utilities. From Elm Street to West Stevens Avenue, work includes sanitary and water main construction, sanitary and water services, and storm sewer installation.
Another update, from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) was also on the agenda. According to CGMC, a potential special legislative session was likely to be held after there was a failure to pass any major legislation at the regular session which ended in late May. The deal under consideration hit at tax, spending, and capital investment, including a $30 million increase in Local Government Aid (LGA) to cities in the greater Minnesota (non metro) area. Governor Tim Walz met with some legislative leaders June 3, but there was no progress and to date, a special session hasn’t been held.
The CGMC works to move legislation forward for cities like Rushford. The summary noted that LGA and tax provisions are crucial, as is funding for infrastructure projects for smaller cities. The budget was passed last year, so the passing of tax and spending bills is not required to avoid a shutdown. Surplus and the bonding bill will be at the forefront next year as incoming legislators are elected to offices this November.
The council did approve a recommendation from Rushford Police Chief Adam Eide accepting the resignation of full-time officer Darin Daveau, effective June 30. The officer has worked with the department since August 2019 and will be moving to a full-time position in another area city.
The vacancy will be posted internally for five days for interested current city employees. If there are none interested, qualified persons currently employed by the city, the city will begin the process of advertising the position publicly.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Monday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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