Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
The brief August 18 Rushford Village Council meeting held only one item receiving council action.
Minnesota MN Pump Works conducted its annual inspection. They recommended the village replace the guide arms that the pumps seat into. According to Public Works Supervisor Darrin Dessner, they are scheduled to be replaced every 20 years. The current parts are original, installed in 1996.
“For the most part, it looks like last year’s,” said Dessner of the report.
A replacement quote of $2,159 for the parts and labor was reviewed.
“He recommended we order them because he doesn’t know what the price is going to be next year. They could be way up. Get ‘em. Put them on the shelf. If he’s in the area, he’ll put them in. If it’s not an emergency, we can also wait until he does his service next year,” said Dessner.
“It’s something that’s going to have to get replaced. We get them, we leave them or we take the chance that they could be more extensive by the time he comes for next year’s service,” he added.
“It’s been what 34 years since we did it? And they recommend every 20?” asked Councilor Travis Link. “I think we’ve done good on it. Let’s do it now. It’s gonna be the same thing next year.”
The council unanimously approved ordering the parts.
In other new, the new Zoning Fee Schedule went into effect August 17. The council reviewed two options related to permit application paperwork.
Option one is to keep the application as it is currently, which lists some of the permit fees. Option two would remove the fees listed. Both options would highlight a disclaimer for permit applicants that no work can begin until a permit is granted and that there are monetary repercussions if property owners do. It would also state that all permitted work must be completed within one year from date of permit issuance.
All work within the village requires a permit, however, there is no permit fee for certain projects. Miner cautioned the council that if option one is chosen and the fee schedule is modified in the future, the application would require updating to reflect the fee changes. By utilizing option two, the issue of not having all permit fees listed on the application is also eliminated.
“I thought it was important that anybody getting the application or looking at it would know that they have to have an application and if they don’t, this is what will happen,” said Miner.
The Planning and Zoning Committee recommends the second option. The council asked for an opinion from City Attorney Joe O’Koren. Since the two options hadn’t been initially listed in the council packet, O’Koren asked for time to review both options. He did suggest referencing the fee schedule itself on the application. A decision will be made at the next council meeting.
The new fee schedule can be found on the village website: www.rushfordvillagemn.gov/.
New Community Economic Development Associates (CEDA) representative to the village, Andrew Hoiness, attended the meeting to introduce himself to the council. Hoiness replaces CEDA Community and Business Development Specialist Jayme Longmire in working with the village.
Dessner also provided an update regarding low flouride levels in the water system. After looking into the system, Dessner found a clogged injector that feeds the main pipe. The part was replaced and the levels were brought back up. Dessner ordered additional spare injectors to keep in the maintenance supply.
Mayor Dennis Overland reminded the council that a planned budget workshop will be held August 25, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.
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