A swift, 30 minute Rushford Council meeting November 14 hit at just five agenda items ranging from standard fare to contracts and a land sale. A notification from the Minnesota Department of Health also garnered a significant portion of the meeting.
The city has received notification from the Department of Health “approving the delineation of the wellhead protection areas, delineation of the drinking water supply manangement areas, and public information meeting.” The meeting must be held before the end of January 2017. The department is working with several area cities on wellhead protection and the topic doesn’t typically earn much public interest, according to Brian Malm, engineer for Bolton & Menk. “They typically want to know, ‘How does this affect me?’ The answer is, it really doesn’t.”
The wells for the City of Rushford are deep and many of the delineated areas are outside of the city limits. This makes control over them virtually non-existent for the city. “There’s a low degree of vulnerability. Let’s emphasize that right off the bat,” stated City Administrator Tony Chladek.
Malm went on to explain that typically it becomes a zoning or land use issue, which allows the city to help avoid problems. “It’s one situation where you cooperate with other municipalities on zoning,” added Malm. “Deep wells are less vulnerable. I’d be surprised if there’s a lot of impact from a zoning or land use impact.”
The council also considered renewal of an annual contract with Community & Economic Development Associates (CEDA) for consultant services. The contract is recommended by the city’s Economic Development Authority. The 2017 contract is for $39,926 for 16 hours of work per week. Essentially, the contract is the same as 2016, with a minor increase in amount and more flexible hours, according to Chladek.
Councilor Jim O’Donnell questioned whether or not the contract was worth it. “Hands down, yes; it’s worth it,” stated Councilor Terri Benson. “I’m impressed by her wealth of knowledge from experiences, she understands what the business owners are going through, and she’s not afraid to go out and talk to them,” she added, speaking of the city’s CEDA representative, Donna Mack.
The city has worked with CEDA since 2010 and feels it is drawing resources from the organization. Councilor Mark Honsey acknowledged that the city is closer to getting its money’s worth with Mack’s work, more than with its previous representative. “This year’s 2% increase is modest. I’m okay with that, but if we go back to double digit increases again, I’m voting against that,” he said, comparing that cost to having the city’s own in-house position.
“It doesn’t sound like much, unless you’re not getting anything,” added Benson of the increase. “We’re getting more than our money’s worth.”
Chladek echoed the sentiment of more bang for your buck, noting his aim is to keep that focus. Councilor Vern Bunke agreed. “We need to make sure we’re really driving this position. We really need to get a lot out of that person and they need to bring something to the table.”
City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Zacher noted that the CEDA representative also works cooperatively with the Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Hengel. “It’s good to work together to fill in the gap and come up with a cooperative plan. There’s an opportunity there and we don’t want to miss it. We’re going to maximize that.”
In other news, the city council has sold .52 acres of the Rush Creek Business Park, Lot 6, Block 1, Parcel B to Jason Lesmeister for the purpose of a storage facility. The lot is zoned light industrial and is located on the east end of the lot just south of the gravel drive. Price for land sales in the business park equated to $10,400 for the parcel. Contracting with Darr Realty to market available parcels, the company will receive 5% commission, or $520.
“It’s a moment when you sit back and say, ‘Our strategy feels good right now.’ I feel pretty good about that,” said Administrator Chladek, referring to the city’s decision to use Darr’s real estate marketing. The city has just one lot left in the Rush Creek Business Park and has six lots remaining across Highway 43 in the Himlie Business Park.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Monday, November 28, at 6:30 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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