Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
At the August 12 meeting, the Rushford Council learned that local business El Barco Mexican Restaurant would hold a Latina festival over Labor Day weekend. Celebrating culture, music, and food, the two-day festival will be held outside the restaurant on August 31 and September 1.
The city has approved the closure of Elm Street near the restaurant, which sits at the intersection of Highway 30/West Jessie Street and South Elm Street. Owner and chef Juan Bacilio Vaca will contact neighboring businesses in preparation for the event. The restaurant will utilize the former Farmers Win parking lot for the event and a certificate of insurance will be secured due to the use of the city street and parking. Local Rushford fire department, ambulance service, and police department, along with the city’s public works department will be made aware of details.
“That sounds very fun,” said Mayor Terri Benson. “He’s reaching out to his neighbors which I find encouraging.”
“If it’s a true Latina Festival, there will be families there,” noted Councilor Sally Ryman.
“He said he had an agent that is specific to this type of music,” added City Clerk Kathy Zacher. “There’s a big group of people interested in what he’s bringing.”
He’s bringing a lot of Hispanics into town and they’re not just eating at El Barco, and that’s good for business,” said Ryman.
In other news, the city will offer a new on-call position in the ambulance service. Any Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) within the service can sign up for daytime coverage at a premium of $5 per hour. This amount reverts to the standard $1.50 per hour during any calls. This comes on the heels of the impending retirement of longtime EMT Curt Courrier. Though Courrier’s contract is still in place through retirement, Ambulance Director Joey Busse looks to fill the difficult shift.
Several EMTs will likely be needed to cover the multiple, 12-hour, on-call hours. Those hours will be tracked within the app currently utilized by Busse. The earnings will be paid quarterly.
“Joey will be testing the waters to see if people…,” said Ryman. “I think we should at least try it.”
“They have to be an EMT. We have plenty of Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) and drivers,” stressed Zacher. “Some EMRs may want to take it further to become an EMT. It’s a lot of hours, but on top of that, it’s a lot of dollars.”
Councilor Jim O’Donnell questioned the impact on the city’s budget. The higher on-call rate is decidedly not sustainable in the long term but is needed to draw in interested persons. According to Zacher, the service may need to hold off on purchases and rely partially on the more than $170,000 fund balance.
“It’s not sustainable forever, but if it keeps people interested. Meanwhile, he’s still going to do recruitment,” she added. “The crew knows this is something. At least they’re compensated.”
“Right now, where we’re sitting, we’re fine,” said City Administrator Tony Chaldek. “We’ve got time.”
Plans are also underway to fill the public works department positions due to the August retirement of Dave Howe and the proposed December 30 retirement of Courrier. One will be filled this month and the other in mid-October. Eleven candidate applications were reviewed and scored before candidates took the required test. While four candidates were originally looked at, three were interviewed.
Lastly, Chladek provided an update regarding the community-wide survey on the former Farmers Win site. According to the survey consultants, 428 surveys were submitted thus far, far exceeding expectations. Chladek noted it isn’t simply for citizens, but anyone who comes into the city for business or other reasons.
“We have a few weeks to go. That’s outstanding,” said Chladek.
The survey can be found by visiting the Rushford city website or by visiting: memphis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_01bi6B3WeiRpVEa?Q_CHL=qr.
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