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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
No milk today
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Monday, December 7, 2015
Raising the roof?
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Recycling 101
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Volume 31 Issue 11
4-H officers announced page
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Ostrander discusses dogs and drain pipes By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
The Ostrander City Council met on December 1 with all members present (Erin Brugh, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, Clerk Chris Hyrkas, Heidi Jones, and DJ Start). No visitors had signed up to address the council, so following the consent agenda items, the council heard from Dustin Tart, reporting on city maintenance. He said, “We’ve used the plow and sander, and it’s all working good.” He added that a replacement seat for the pickup should be in next week. Fire Chief Brian Miner reported that November was a quiet month. Police Chief Tom Mosher discussed the city’s dog problems. He said in the past seven years, he’s gotten only one report of a dog biting a person, and regarding problems with dogs barking, he stated, “There might have been one or two in seven years” but he said dogs running loose is an ongoing issue. In his report on police activity for the month of November, he reported on handling a variety of issues, including dealing with a pot-bellied pig, a dog in need of licensing, attending training on November 23, and mailing out to two citizens whose vehicles have expired tags. Dave and Debbie Olson again asked the council to consider allowing them to keep their five dogs. Dave said he knows the city ordinance states no more than three dogs, and he said he understands the council has tough decisions to make, but he asked them to please consider if there’s any way an exception could be given. Regarding his
five dogs, he stated, “There won’t be any additions, period. When they pass away, that’s it.” Chief Mosher pointed out that if the city makes an exception for one household, it would set a precedent and make it nearly impossible to enforce the ordinance for other households. Chris Hyrkas shared that she’d contacted eleven other cities to find out about their dog ordinances, and she said “only one is less strict than ours”. Council members voiced compassion for the Olsons’ situation, and agreed that their dogs have not caused problems. There was discussion of possible ways to inform citizens of the city’s ordinance, so people would know the rules up front. In the end, the council chose to consult with the city attorney on the matter, and instructed the Olson’s to get permits for their dogs. DJ Start said, “This is your exception, for now”, until the city decides if the ordinance will be changed or amended. The council heard an update from Scott Wiederhoeft from Rochester Plumbing & Heating, regarding the Dan Miller farm, where the city’s sanitary gravity pipes run. The city needs to know where the pipes run, so that stakes can be put up to allow the tiling to happen without breaking the pipes. Wiederhoeft said they had attempted to float a GPS-enable device through the pipes to map it out, but the device wouldn’t give an accurate reading, so another method is required. He said this involves bringing a trailer to the manholes on the property and then using a push rod. But he said recent rains have made it impossible to get the trailer
into the field. The council discussed ways to handle that, and decided to look into borrowing or renting equipment to pull the trailer to the necessary spots. Wiederhoeft said his crews are busy, but he knows this project is necessary and urgent, so he’ll make arrangements so his crew can get the job done as soon as conditions allow. He showed the council the pictures that have been taken of the pipe so far, and said, “It’s a whole new line, the whole way” so he was surprised that there aren’t already records showing exactly where the pipe runs. The council reviewed city council pay rates, which Kunert said have only been increased once in the years she’s served (since 2003). She explained in that time the rate went from $800 to $950. After discussion, the council voted to increase the council pay rate by $150, the mayor’s rate by $250, and they chose to leave the special meeting pay unchanged at $25. Next, there was discussion about approving the final budget for 2016, but members noted several discrepancies in the proposed budget, and Kunert said, “I don’t think we’re ready to finalize this yet”, so Hyrkas will consult with Mike Bubany, and the council will consider it again on December 10, at 5:45pm. This will be followed by a public hearing at 6 p.m. on December 10 to further discuss the 2016 infrastructure project with Bolton & Menk and David Drown Associates. The Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) has been approved; funding partners See OSTRANDER Page 2
Rushford Village preps for public hearing By K irsten Zoellner kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com
In a remarkably short council meeting, Tuesday, December 1, the Rushford Village Council briefly touched on details of an upcoming public hearing which they hope will shed some light on a path to fixing city roadways. S c h e d u l e d Mayor Gordon Johnson for Wednes-
day, December 9, at 7 p.m., the hearing will discuss proposed street improvements and financial options for funding those improvements. In 2013, the city had proposed at $1.3 million street improvement project, but bonding for the project was halted due to a citizen petition. At the time, the city could either move forward with the project through other financial means or wait one year before trying again. The council chose the latter. However, the city has acknowledged spending See RUSHFORD Page 3
Up-Up And Away On a perfect fall afternoon in October, a huge Phoenix balloon rose into the sunny sky with three passengers and a balloonist. The passengers were John and Bernie Finke and Sama Karram, an exchange student from Israel/Palestine, who is staying with the Eric and Tara Corson family of Preston. The occasion was to celebrate the Finke’s 65th wedding anniversary. The ride lasted about an hour and they covered crop lands with golden corn, grassy green pastures, tan bean fields already harvested, and the colorful tree-covered hills of Forestville Township. An unexpected event was the brushing the tree tops and picking an oak branch with rusty wine leaves and skimming a cornfield and breaking off tips of the corn stalk. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Photo submitted