Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
The June 15 Rushford Village council meeting was in large part, discussion regarding a number of proposed and ongoing developments related to planning and zoning.
A hearing was held prior to the meeting regarding the application by Bonnie Norstad for a second solar array on her property, located between Highway 30 and Highway 16. The proposed array is the second on the farm owned by Jim and Bonnie Norstad. The new ground mount system is expected to generate 37.5 kilowatts and will be located approximately a half mile from the first array. After recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the council unanimously approved the application.
Zoning Administrator Jon Pettit also brought forth information regarding what he called a “lengthy discussion” between himself and Mathy Construction. The company purchased a mining pit on Deep River Road and has sought to separate off two parcels that came with the sale.
“Looking at it further, there is a parcel that’s okay to split on south side of Deep River Road. It meets the requirements,” noted Pettit. There are some adjustments to be made on the legal description of the property, as there was discrepancy between Mathy Construction and the neighbor’s legal property descriptions. To address this, Mathy Construction will be accepting the neighbor’s legal description, officially granting roughly eight feet of their legally described property to their neighbor. There is no need to make any adjustment of property market pins, but a Quit Claim Deed will be drafted and signed.
The other proposed parcel sits along Highway 16. “It’s really a different piece of property,” said Pettit. “It’s not continuous and it’s coming off different parcels. There’s one piece owned by the state in between these parcels. It got difficult for me to understand,” he added. The area in question is where the Root River State Trail is situated. The Department of Natural Resources has been contacted and Mathy Construction has been sent instructions to have their engineer determine the floodway and flood fringe zones and map them out. Once that’s been done, they are to bring the matter back to the city council.
If the city opts to grant the request to split the parcels, the property will be salable. “It’s buyer due diligence from that point for that particular property,” said Pettit. The properties are not buildable, but would be sold as woodland, agricultural or recreational land. While one portion, between Deep River Road and DeSoto on a section of bluff behind them, has a small gravel access, if they are split, it was noted there will be no easement access to the other. The council took no action in relation to the discussion. More information will be provided at a later date.
The Planning and Zoning Commission also met with property owner Vern Bunke regarding what Pettit said was his Foothills Project. “We do not have plans to bring forward, but there was a ton of discussion. At this time, Planning and Zoning is not willing to make any decisions. Whatever decision you want to make is fine, but it’s dead in the water at Planning and Zoning,” said Pettit.
“This has been in the works since I was on Planning and Zoning long ago. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the third or fourth plan,” said Councilor Mike Ebner. “Right now, there’s no legal access to the property and it has not been engineered. We keep going back and back. Is there something we can say that unless you meet these two requirements we won’t be discussing it?”
Mayor Dennis Overland noted that’s the reason the project hasn’t been brought to the council for consideration. The city did submit a letter to the state noting their support of the state considering granting access to the property, but for some unknown reason, the letter was not accepted. The city’s Community and Economic Development Associates’ (CEDA) representative Rebecca Charles offered to approach the state on behalf of the city to determine why the letter was not accepted, but the council opted to have Clerk Mary Miner contact the state.
“We’re not against it at all, but we’re spinning our wheels,” said Councilor Roger Knutson.
“He’s not asking the city for anything. No sewer, water, roads – nothing. If approved, the city would be in it for nothing,” suggested Pettit. The council had no further discussion and took no action regarding the project.
Road work on the Village’s many gravel roads continues. Public Works is still waiting on crushed rock from Bruening Rock. “I haven’t heard when the road is going to come, but hopefully sooner rather than later,” noted Trenton Chiglo. Every ditch along Village roads has been mowed with at least one pass, but grading has been at a standstill. The department is also working on marking culvert markers. “There’s a lot more to do, but otherwise, it’s going good,” added Chiglo.
The council did approve reimbursement for dust control for a Village resident residing on a county-owned portion of Tower Ridge Road that is within city limits. The county allows dust control to be applied after June 1. The city does have a precedent of having done this before and opted to approve the request. Current city policy allows reimbursement for up to 500 feet twice per year provided the property owner notifies the city with a least a week’s notice. “They have to contact us first,” said Miner.
There was some question over application when grading and gravel application is yet to be done. “There are places where there’s potholes. When gravel is put on in those areas, those spots get missed,” said Councilor Rick Ruberg. Often operators will skip areas where dust control has been put down to avoid disturbing the covering. This leaves potholes and other issues untouched, however. “It’s a double whammy. We have to figure out how to get gravel down on these spots. Otherwise, there’s problems both ways,” added Ruberg.
Chiglo suggested reviewing the road before the dust control is applied. Miner also suggested letting the property owner know the road is scheduled to be rocked, so that if it is put down, the property owner was aware it was coming. “Otherwise, we would never get them rocked because they’d get that dust control down as soon as possible,” added Miner.
The council also held a closed session meeting to discuss the pay and benefits of the new maintenance personnel, as their probationary periods end July 25. A summary was later provided by Miner. It was noted that Councilors Hart and Ruberg had held a meeting with Trenten Chiglo that went well. They had not been able to set up a time to talk with Preston Lecy. Discussion consisted of setting goals regarding work that needs to be completed, that both employees are expected to know all jobs and be able to run all equipment and that both need to get their Commercial Drivers’ License.
The amount of full- and part-time hours per week was also discussed, as way pay. However, it was decided to wait to set any amounts until Hart and Ruberg had met with Lecy. The implementation of a tier type pay scale was considered. The council tabled the issue until Lecy’s meeting is completed.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, July 6, at 7 p.m., at the Village Hall. The meeting is open to the public.
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