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POSTAL PATRON
“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
Crowning of Fillmore County Dairy Princess Page 13
Monday, April 9, 2012
Knowledge without wisdom page
All-county basketball teams
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Volume 27 Issue 19
A View From The Woods
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Weather launches perennial forage page
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Canton l Chatfield l Fountain l Harmony l Lanesboro l Mabel l Ostrander l Peterson l Preston l Rushford l Rushford Village l Spring Valley l Whalan l Wykoff
“The Rushford Question” gets its answer By K irsten Zoellner kzoellner@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Prominent members of the Rushford’s council, the Rushford Area Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Authority, and the Rushford Area Branding Council were among the 30 gathered this past Monday to hear the results of “The Rushford Question.” As an area survey conducted by the Rushford Area Branding Council (RABC), “The Rushford Question” was a questionnaire mailed to a random 536 of 1700 households in the Rushford, Rushford Village, and Peterson areas. Intended as a way to generate buzz among social circles, those receiving the packet were asked to keep the question secret. Begun in December of 2011, the survey was concluded to tabulate results this past February. The
response to the survey was better than anticipated, with 25 percent of the total sample responding, when 3-10 percent is considered good on an average return. The presentation was led by Carolyn Dunham, who had conducted the survey efforts. According to Dunham, the single, open-ended question methodology was intended to seek input from residents for an area brand, as well as to encourage residents to begin talking and thinking more positively about their community. “It’s so essential to get some positive buzz going,” noted Dunham. “My approach is that of social capital; a capital that comes from the people. A community can’t depend solely of financial resources to flourish. It must have the people’s spirit and energy.” The Rushford Area Branding Council (RABC) revealed the results of the “Rushford Question” Photo by Peggi Redalen See RUSHFORD Page 16 survey.
Request for County to be fiscal agent for Greenleafton sewer By K aren R eisner kreisner@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Sheila Craig, Southeast Minnesota Wastewater Initiative, explained the community’s request at the board’s April 3 meeting to have Fillmore County act as the fiscal host for the Greenleafton Sewer Project. Craig said there has been an ongoing effort to have a community sewer system in Greenleafton started late in 2009. York Township had applied for and received a grant of $25,000 to study the current septic conditions in the community. A report was issued. Three current septic systems pose an imminent
threat to public health, several more are non-compliant. The township has also applied for a Total Maximum Daily Load grant which could cover up to 50 percent of construction cost. The deadline to apply for 2012 funding is past. Greenleafton was also eligible for a Small Community Wastewater Treatment Program grant which would pay another 25 percent of the cost. A loan would be necessary for the final 25 percent. A Subordinate Service District (SSD) has been established so only those residents within the district who would benefit would be charged. York Township supervisors
decided early this year to “not continue with the sewer project, feeling that it is too large of a project for them to be able to handle.” Therefore, the the community has requested the county act as the fiscal agent. The fiscal agent must be an elected government entity in order to accept state funds. If the county were to take over the project, they would be responsible for reapplying for grants and applying for the loan, overseeing the engineering and construction, and would own and operate the system. Costs would be charged to residents See GREENLEAFTON Page 8
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Preston considers developing street plan By K aren R eisner kreisner@fillmorecountyjournal.com
The Preston City Council at their April 2 meeting seemed to be in agreement that there are numerous streets needing repair or reconstruction in the city. City Administrator Joe Hoffman had asked Stantec Consulting Services (formerly Bonestroo) to put together a proposal for the completion of a pavement management plan. Stantec would evaluate roadway surfaces, drainage facilities and rate them along with providing estimates on construction and maintenance costs. Utilities will also be evaluated. These eval-
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uations will help the city with long and short term planning. Hoffman explained that most of the city’s capital outlay is for street improvements. He acknowledged that they have had a lot of complaints from the public. Hoffman added they can only do so much patching, adding they know the streets are in tough shape. The only way to repair or reconstruct the streets is to increase the levy. Property owners may pay up to one-third of the cost in assessments. Hoffman suggested if they caught up needed improvements, the increase in the tax levy could See STREET PLAN Page 2
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