At the March 8 Rushford Council meeting, Public Works Director Roger Knutson presented a list of projects undertaken by the department in 2020. “You’d think it would be slow because of COVID, but I think it was the busiest year we’ve had, because of COVID,” said Knutson.
Utilities comprise a sizable portion of work for the department. The city’s system breaks down into what is basically 12 grids and the department has made a commitment to work on three per year. “We’ve made some tremendous progress. We’re sitting really good,” noted Knutson.
The city’s water system saw several longstanding issues resolved, including the cleaning of the 20-year-old reservoir. It was drained and washed, the sediment removed, and then inspected. “It was the first time in 20 years,” stated Knutson. “Miraculously, it was in good shape.” The process was extremely challenging. “Somewhere along the line, someone made a mistake in engineering. We have to fill the reservoir while it’s building pressure and have to hope no one uses water. We were there, even at night, for a solid week opening and closing valves to make sure there was pressure. It was very stressful.” The recommended time for this process is every 10 years.
Another issue that was resolved was the 100,000 gallons of water per day in the lift station due to Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) in underground laterals in the trailer park between Stevens Avenue and Highway 16. “We knew it had significant leaks,” noted Knutson. Last year, all lateral lines were filmed by the department. “Water was pouring into the pipe.” After consulting with Bolton & Menk, the city worked with property owners to repair the problem without disruption to citizens.
Other water issues for the year included ongoing problems with Wellhouse #2. The department is discussing the construction of a new, smaller wellhouse. “That building is shot and we shouldn’t be spending money on it,” stressed Knutson.
Repairs and upgrades are also a constant at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Several costly issues were resolved last year by the department’s commitment to doing all it can in-house. One big project included repairs to an aerator on the oxidation ditch. “It was quite a task,” noted Knutson. “It took a solid week. If we’d paid to have it done it would have been ridiculous.”
The department spent a good deal of 2020 determining streets that could be addressed without involving utilities, but rather just base and asphalt due to availability of the asphalt company. The majority of work included checking and verifying that areas had proper base and then patching.
When it was noted that the parking lot at the corner of Park Street and Mill Street, adjacent to the bank was paved last year, the issue of parking lots in general ended up being a greater talking point for the council. The city owns several lots including at Norsquare Mall, Nordic Lanes, Rushford Foods, the American Legion, and the new bank lot, in addition to those at Creekside Park and the municipal pool.
According to City Clerk Kathy Zacher, when redevelopment in the 1970s and ‘80s was underway, the biggest thing the community wanted was parking lots. A parking lot fund was established and businesses paid into it for maintenance. “Eventually, people didn’t want to pay and we stopped charging everybody. We’ve offered to sell or even give the parking lots to the people [businesses], but they don’t want them. There is no fund anymore and we don’t levy anything for them, so we have to be careful so streets, storm drains, and parking lots are all taken care of.”
Councilor Leigh Volkman noted the usage of city lots for particular business isn’t fair to other businesses and stressed concern over liabilities. While no follow-up discussion was had, Zacher indicated the city is covered for liability and documents all time for maintenance to avoid any negligence accusations.
As for the newer lot, it was a project that’s been discussed for years, following the halting of plans to potentially have a new city library on the spot. Public Works gathered information on other parking lots to determine green space and other aspects of the project. “It’s almost always full,” noted Knutson. “If you ever need a place to build a business, you can tear it right out of there, as it didn’t cost much.”
“It gives people options and suits our needs right now,” added Mayor Terri Benson.
Work at the city’s levee included addressing washouts at the train trestle bridge, maintenance on outfalls from storm drains to the levee, removal of trees and debris, and adding rip rap for stability. The Army Corps of Engineers wants bank areas taken out, called ‘shoaling,’ in 2021. In addition, it’s expected that the department will continue to maintain clearance 15 feet from the toe of the levee. “It’s always encroaching, so we’re always keeping it clear,” said Knutson.
The city’s airport terminal/lounge was remodeled by the department, including removal of a wall, old furniture, addition of new flooring, updates to the office, and deck work. Underground electrical, landscaping, and blacktopping are expected to happen at the airport this year. “There have been nothing but good comments,” added Knutson.
The department is continuing work at the new canoe launch. A great deal of trees were cut and removed, but additional trees will need to come down due to damage from beavers girdling them. Progress on design of a parking lot at the launch is underway, but the department is being cautious to find ways to make it resilient with flooding, including creating some swales to see how flood water reacts to it. Approval for the latest leg of the project finally came through, according to Zacher.
At Creekside Park, the ice skating rink will see it’s board walls removed in lieu of proposed berming to keep the flooded area contained and frozen in the winters. The walls are in poor condition and will not be put back up.
Tree planting within the city, particularly on the Highway 43 corridor continues. The department is planning to add more this year, in addition to 20 trees in residential areas. One hundred sixty Ash trees have been removed and it was noted it will take time to replace them.
“I hear from community members that we don’t have trees where we used to,” said Benson. “It’s important that we incorporate it in projects.” The city is limited on placement of trees on its main thoroughfares, all state highways. The possibility of adding some ornamental grasses and plantings, along with trees in permitted areas, is being discussed.
“We appreciate what you do and we appreciate you taking the time to go through this,” said Benson to Knutson, regarding the report.
“It’s really nice to have when people are asking what public works is up to,” added Volkman.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m., at City Hall. The meeting will be held in person and is open to the public.
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