The annual bridge report from Fillmore County garnered the majority of discussion at the April 6 Rushford Village Council meeting. Public Works Supervisor Trenton Chiglo noted he’d reviewed the report and it appeared correct with his assessments. One bridge, on the east end of Ridgeview Road, had specific deficiencies noted.
“It has settled and there’s a section of iron sticking up, that could be caught by grader or plow,” said Chiglo. “It also needs to be cleaned out underneath.” Kyle Chiglo, who served as the previous supervisor had noted these deficiencies prior to his resignation, thinking the frost might cause heaving. “Something is going to catch on it.”
To address any settling and clean out debris, the bridge would have to be accessed from the water. The city owns the roadway and thus has a right-of-way easement, but there was some question about whether the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) needed to issue access permissions or if it had any responsibility to address bridge issues, being the managing department of waterways.
“As far as logistics, we should be able to address as needed. We’re not pleading ignorance here. We’re doing what has to be done,” noted Councilor Roger Knutson.
“It’s going to start underwashing the supports,” cautioned Councilor Mike Ebner.
“If it’s never been discussed with the DNR, I’d encourage discussion so we don’t have to go through too many hoops,” added Knutson.
Ebner also had some access concerns on the south side of the bridge, where the landowner has previously not granted access. However, as it was clarified that the issues sit within the right-of-way, the land won’t need to be accessed to remedy them.
“If this is in the right-of-way. It doesn’t matter,” said Knutson. “Obviously, you want to talk to them.”
“It’s general bridge work; little things here or there, but that’s the biggest thing. All the other things are very minor,” concluded Chiglo.
As spring begins to unveil other work to be done, the council also set the date for the annual road tour. The tour provides an opportunity for the entire council to tour all city roads, taking note where maintenance is particularly needed. It’s also a time for the council to review the ongoing Road Maintenance Plan compiled by the city engineer to ensure regular maintenance and any needed upgrades are being scheduled, when possible, for the city’s hard surface roads.
Due to COVID restrictions, the tour was a bit of a challenge last year. This year, the council and city staff will once again tour together in a bus rented by Rolling Hills Transit. The cost of the rental for the approximately two-hour tour is $120. The tour has been scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on May 4.
The city’s gravel roads are in need of attention, especially considering the wildly fluctuating late winter/spring temps and recent lack of rain. Supervisor Chiglo is anticipating heading out in the grader this week to try and tackle the worst areas. In addition to putting together a plan for grading, he’s gathering plans for tree trimming, ditch cleaning, and gravel reclaiming.
“It [the reclaimer] would be good to use it on a few of them. I don’t know that I’d use it on the full length of any of them though,” said Chiglo. “It’s going to make a mess for a while, but after a good rain it’ll settle down. It’ll save a lot of gravel.”
In discussing roads, the council approved the lone crushed rock bid for 2021 from Bruening Rock Products. Comparisons within the various rate categories for both the currency bid and last year’s contract showed very little change. There was no specific end date within the bid for when rock needs to be done on roads, which has been a concern in the past. City Clerk Mary Miner indicated it’s typically agreed upon that road rock is all applied by the end of June and that winter rock is in the shed for storage by September. Last year was particularly troubling due to the lack of a crusher at the quarry.
Upcoming events for and within the city include the annual audit, with Engleson & Associates, April 7, locating being done on Highway 43 for upcoming projects, and hydrant flushing in South Rushford April 19.
The next council meeting will be Tuesday, May 4, at 7 p.m., at the Village Hall. The second meeting in April has been canceled due to lack of agenda items. The meeting is open to the public.
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