By Patrick Tepoorten

There was an air of anticipation in Rush City Monday night, as mayor Jim Ertz, and councilors Nancy Schroeder and Nic Malchow took their oaths of office, and their seats.

Ertz dug right in, noting repeatedly throughout the meeting that he would like to keep the city's various committees as busy as possible for the foreseeable future.

Ertz, who chairs the county Housing Redevelopment Authority-Economic Development Authority board, said the HRA-EDA as well as other county and state organizations could be a potential source of funds for the city, funds that could be used to complete some of the more expensive projects within the city.

Prior to this week's meeting, Ertz had asked councilors to list what they felt were issues requiring the most attention.

Some of the items councilors expressed as high priorities included recreation issues such as attention to parks, trails, and the pool, as well as the need to address vacant buildings through revitalization and condemnation.

Attracting business, upgrading infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, streetlights, and creating solutions for both groundwater and wastewater were also discussed at length.

One issue that the new council will be discussing in the near future is the municipal liquor store. The study the city commissioned to outline options for the future of the business has been completed for some time, and is waiting in the wings.

The new council will have to make weighty decisions on that front: Should the liquor store move to the freeway, or stay downtown? Should it continue with on-sale, which is costing the store money, or switch to a strictly off-sale facility? Should the city even continue to operate the store?

In an effort to keep the issues and goals in the forefront, Ertz instructed City Administrator Amy Mell to place them on the council agenda quarterly.

In other city news:

• Committee assignments were agreed upon as follows:

Amundson:

Library
Planning, zoning, and ordinances
Public safety, fire, police
Park board

Malchow:

Airport
Buildings and grounds

Schroeder:

Cable TV
Public safety, fire, police
Personnel

Louzek:

Community Education
Public works, liquor
Rush Line Corridor

Ertz:

Department of Corrections
Community relations
Public works, liquor
Personnel

In addition, Louzek was re-appointed as acting mayor, and the Cambridge Star was retained as the city's official paper because of the lower bid.

• The city council approved a builder's agreement with Freberg Construction for a single-family home to be constructed at Rush Creek Bluff.

• The council accepted the resignation of Ken Lupon from the planning commission. According to Mell, Lupon served on that committee for 20 years and has indicated a willingness to stay on until he is replaced.

• It was noted that the city is in need of residents to serve on various committees. If anyone is interested, call City Hall at (320) 358-4743.