Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
The Rushford City Council held a closed session on August 8, before the start of their regular meeting. The purpose was to discuss the potential purchase of the Farmers Win Coop properties downtown.
The cooperative merged with Farmers Co-op Elevator in 2018 and began selling equipment on the downtown Rushford site in 2019. The company had already consolidated its workforce at another location, just south of the Root River in Rushford Village, and the property was eventually put up for sale.
In the fall of 2020, the council authorized City Administrator Tony Chladek to negotiate the purchase. In August 2021, the city made its final offer on the property. Farmers Win ultimately accepted another offer, but the sale did not happen. The property went back on the market earlier this year. Back up for sale, the city may have a shot at getting a property for downtown and trailside development.
The council approved moving forward with drafting the language and attorney review of an offer to purchase the site. Final approval of the purchase offer will still need council approval before submission to Farmers Win as an official offer. The action does not bind the city to any purchase at this time.
The council received an update from City Engineer Derek Olinger, of Bolton & Menk, regarding the progress of the Highway 30 Reconstruction Project, including a summary of cost changes impacting the city.
“It seems to change by the day, sometimes by the hour,” began Olinger, referencing the timing of paving and sidewalks of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) led project. The contractor will put down the first layer of asphalt from the Highway 43/Mill Street intersection to West Jessie Street and Stevens Avenue on August 15.
Councilor Andrew Linder asked for paving postponement to allow for road settling. “I tried to make my case to MnDOT to hold off. They said absolutely not,” responded Olinger. “MnDOT’s compaction requirements are further than we’d typically do on a project, so we can’t leave that out of the consideration. There’s also quite a bit more sand on this project.”
Linder also noted some sloping changes looking to the west. It may be due to new road and curb grading. “Everything was way flatter than what I would ever design. Part of the design was changing slopes for curb grade. It might be an illusion from the grading perspective,” he said.
The contractor will be following up with sidewalks as soon as the business district paving is done. “That’s what is affecting businesses the most,” he added.
Watermain, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer work in the business district is complete. Change orders for some issues are needed. At the corner of West Jessie Street and Highway 43/Mill Street, plans called for sidewalk removal around a four-way flashing stoplight. “Normally it’s not a big issue, but MnDOT has changed their requirements associated with these and the metal conduit housing the wiring is no longer considered crash-worthy,” explained Olinger. “MnDOT’s new rule if it is damaged ever, the replacement must meet the standard.”
An approved breakaway pole is estimated at $4,000-5,000. The city could put a non-flashing sign on the spot. However, Public Works wants the intersection, which used to have an aerial flashing stop light, consistent for safety. Solar would avoid the need for wiring, but it’s not been effective in other locations. If the phasing for the sign doesn’t work out, the contractor will skip the panel for now.
On the far west end of the project, there are several more weeks of utility work on the west end of the project. Here, there will be change orders, too. Approximately 630 feet of transite (asbestos) watermain was discovered between Bluffview Road and Stevens Avenue. During construction, a small amount of the watermain was found and tested. “Normally, we try to avoid disturbing that pipe. If you’re not disturbing it, there’s no danger. With MnDOT, if they know about it, they require removal and replacement,” noted Olinger.
Because of the toxicity of asbestos, Zenke Construction needs to hire an approved asbestos abatement removal contractor. Based on 650 feet of length, the cost could fall between $20,000 and 80,000. Workers removing the pipe need to be fully suited in protective gear, spraying water on the area during removal to keep the toxic dust down. A large part of the cost is trucking the material to an approved asbestos site.
“It’s all over the board and I have no idea where it’s going to land,” added Onlinger.
“I get why they’re doing it. I’m not saying I’m happy about it, but I get why,” said Mayor Terri Benson.
“Fingers crossed we don’t run into anymore,” said Olinger. “Based on records, it looks like just this section. Records, prior to the ‘60s, are hit and miss.” Had engineers and contractors known, they’d have avoided the pipe. However, old records for the project area were minimal. There is a contingency of $120,000 for the project.
The transite could set the project back further. Just how far it is behind already is unknown. “Phase one work is several weeks behind. I would expect there to be extensions and I haven’t heard an expected completion date for the first phase,” added Olinger. “There’s been delays. Realistically, the reasons need to be discussed. There will be negotiations between MnDOT and the contractor and I have not been given full details on that. I hear you. It’s getting to be a long time.”
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Monday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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