Open council seat up for grabs in Rush City

Posted 1/10/01

Open council seat up for grabs in Rush City

By MaryHelen Swanson

When Rush City Councilman Mike Robinson took the oath of office as 5th Dist. County Commissioner recently, that technically bumped him off the Rush City Council, according to state law.

Therefore a vacancy exists on the Rush City Council that can be filled by appointment, also according to law.

On Monday, Jan. 8, the city council made official note of the vacancy and agreed to seek applicants to be considered for the position. The position will be advertised and interested people can submit their name, along with a resume that includes such things as community involvement, civic actions and reasons for wanting to be on the city council.

The final date for submitting an application is Feb. 9. City Administrator Daniel Hoffman expects a decision will be made by the end of February.

The position vacated by Robinson is up for election in fall of 2002.

In a number of start-of-the-year actions, the council nominated Councilman Bill Schneider for a position on the East Central Regional Development Commission and approved official designations and appointments for the coming year, including council committees and board memberships.

While many appointments remain the same as last year, the board approved Howard Hanson and Mark Nelson for three more years on the airport advisory board, Burt Hartmann on the planning commission for another five-year term, and noted a vacancy on that commission also.
The cityís planning commission members include Paul Carlson, Wayne Peshia (chairman), Ken Zupon, Bill Schneider, Roger Allen and Hartmann.

Members of the cityís Economic Development Commission include Clare Lillis, Jim Bohaty, Ken Zupon, Daniel P. Hoffman and Helen Leier.

The Park Board members are Bob Frandsen, Nancy Sterk, Dean Goebel, John Sterk, Ken Lind and Hoffman.

The ECM Post Review was reaffirmed as the cityís official newspaper, Jennings, DeWan, Miller and Anderson as official law firm, and First State Bank of Rush City as primary depository with the following as secondary depositories: 4M Fund, Smith-Barney, Prudential Securities and Miller, Johnson, Kuehn.
Councilman Mic Louzek will be acting mayor when needed.

In other action, the council called for a public hearing for 7:10 p.m., Jan. 22 on a tax abatement request by Anita Lind. She is proposing to construct a 20,000 sq. ft. office/manufacturing facility in the cityís industrial park for her company RTS-Maxxim, Inc.

RTS, which stands for Recycled Technology Solutions, assists companies that are getting rid of used and excess PC and computer-related equipment. They work with corporate entities that are upgrading systems or relocating, Lind explained. RTS does not deal with individuals in computer equipment.

The company currently employs 11 full-time and three part-time employees. Lind told the news that the expansion of her business capacity would probably double her workforce.

Lind told the council she is anticipating significant growth this year, and that the only hindrance now is lack of space. Of the 20,000 sq. ft. proposed building, 3,500 sq. ft. will be office, the rest warehouse. The proposed 100í x 200í building would be steel frame with a decorative front.

The cityís first-ever tax abatement would come in the form of subsidy so Lind can purchase 3.15 acres from the city at a cost of $25,000/acre or $78,850 and include site work and bringing utilities to the building. The abatement can extend eight to 10 years. A developerís agreement will be drafted to set the specific details of the abatement if it successfully passes through after the public hearing.

In anticipation of the cityís approval, the council agreed to proceed with preparation of a purchase agreement for the land.
The abatement request will also go before the county, which has approved 11 such projects under this process since 1997.
Vahlsing told the council the county is very supportive of manufacturing projects and he assured the council that Lindís project would meet most of the countyís Business Subsidy Policy criteria.

In another action, the council approved an across the board three percent salary increase for city employees from administrator to the mobile meals coordinator. This is the first year the city has adopted a two-year salary program which includes a similar three-percent increase next year. It was also noted that the dependent insurance coverage has increased and that increase will be borne by the employee.