After months of discussion, the Rushford Village Council is nearing the end of plans to update its longtime revolving loan program. Initially developed in 2012 after substantial flooding damage in the valley, the program sat stagnant for years. Admittedly different from other cities, with no downtown business district, the demand for the business loans has been slow to nothing.
Another problem plaguing the program was a lengthy and complicated application and guidelines. Working with Community Economic Development Associates’ Community and Business Development Specialist Jayme Longmire, the program is now undergoing a revision in hopes that businesses will seek out the financing assistance. The loan review committee includes Councilors Travis Link and Bob Hart, and Planning & Zoning Board member Glen Kopperud, with City Attorney Joe O’Koren, City Clerk Mary Miner, and Longmire advising.
At the February 17 meeting, the Village council learned the update process is nearly complete. The council discussed addition of wording related to a sort of pre-approval process where applicants will be screened for strong applications prior to it heading to the committee for approval and a $100 loan application fee to approved loans. The fee seeks only to recoup administrative costs related to the loans.
Once completed and approved, Longmire will work on putting the program out to businesses and the public. This will include in the village newsletter and on the website, possibly publishing in the paper, and by contacting banks directly. She noted that banks can refer those who don’t qualify for small bank loans or need gap financing to the program.
Final approval of the updates is expected at the March meeting.
Other updates soon to come includes a review of the village’s ordinances on subdivisions, water, and sewer. The Planning & Zoning Board is looking into them and Zoning Administrator Jon Pettit has some things he wants to talk about, according to Miner.
With that, Hart indicated he also wanted to discuss building permits, noting there are some items where he doesn’t see the need for a permit. Mayor Dennis Overland suggested he discuss it with the board.
“They can probably explain the history of why we do it the way we do,” said Overland.
In relation to the water and sewer ordinances, O’Koren indicated they came up in the context of the overall fee schedule. His recommendation is to have all fees as part of the ordinance, rather than in policies. Any changes to the ordinance will require a public hearing before the council can approve it. O’Koren suggested the village look at the fee schedules for comparable cities.
O’Koren also touched on the topic of adjusting council pay to a set monthly amount, rather than per meeting. He noted that the change may increase the tendency for the requirements of the role and attendance to be abused and recommended it be adopted for a set calendar year. He also cautioned that it’s best to put council pay changes into effect at the start of a coming year so the council isn’t effectively changing their own pay.
He also briefly discussed rules that have now changed which allow council members to attend meetings virtually when needed. The requirements are roll call votes and that all council members, and the public, can see and hear each other. Council’s do not have to allow the public access to attend virtually, but O’Koren questioned why a city wouldn’t if virtual meeting access is already being granted to a council member.
In other news, the village well is repaired and according to Public Work’s Supervisor Darrin Dessner, it’s now pumping 11,000-15,000 gallons a day. The council approved payment for $8,830 to McCarthy Well for the repairs.
Dessner also spoke regarding an ongoing request by the Rushford Postmaster to update street signage in the village. He requested $1,000 to purchase the necessary tools and materials, which was unanimously approved.
The council also approved a purchase order of $1,350 for installation of two overhead doors on the maintenance shed. The project came in under budget and addresses identified safety issues.
Leave a Reply