By Patrick Tepoorten

Rush City has been looking for someone to work part time in the city office. Not just anyone, but someone who is capable of cleaning up files and addressing issues that have piled up over the years. At the Sept. 20 meeting of the city council, Mayor Jim Ertz announced that the city has found just that individual, former Rush City School District Superintendent Tim Eklund.

"Tim can do what we need done," said Ertz. "He's a good negotiator and is detail oriented."

Eklund will be responsible for bringing resolution to a host of outstanding files in the city office, from determining restrictions on land long purchased by the city to pursuing solutions for outstanding loans made by the city. In short, his focus will be getting years of city files updated and organized.

"We need to clean all this stuff up," said Ertz.

Councilor Mick Louzek, who knows Eklund from his days as an employee of the Rush City School District, also endorsed Eklund as the person for the job. "He is a very good negotiator because he does his homework. He would do an excellent job," he said.

The council agreed, voting to hire Eklund on a contractual basis. He will be under contract for roughly 80 hours a month, at a cost to the city of between $4,000 and 5,000 per month. Ertz speculated that Eklund's work for the city could take from six to nine months.

In other city news:

• The Olson Funeral Chapel and Horizon Mill continue to work on an equitable solution that will allow for the vacation of Avenue C and expansion of the chapel.

The public hearing on the matter was opened and ultimately tabled again, this time until Oct. 22, to allow the mill time to put together costs for changing its parking and loading area to accommodate the vacation.

Currently, semis use Avenue C to depart the mill after unloading cargo. With the vacation, they would have to be re-routed to Hwy. 361, which in turn will force the mill to move much of its parking. Horizon Facility Manager Mike Ginal indicated that it can be done, but he must submit the costs to the company and await approval for the next budget year. With approval, he thought the project could be commenced next May at the earliest.

After the public hearing, Olson Funeral Chapel's Mike Carroll requested the city send a letter to Horizon stating that trucks should not be using Avenue C as a departure as the road is only rated for 7,000 pounds. The council agreed and also directed public works to place another sign on the road noting the restrictions.

• City administrator Amy Mell updated the council on Rush Landing/Jay Ave. road construction and possible funding sources.

As to the work itself, curb repairs began at Rush Landing as of Monday, and the schedule calls for that project to be completed in about two weeks. Jay Ave. improvements are set to begin on Sept. 17.

As to funding, Mell informed the council that it would be possible to use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district funds for Jay Ave., as long as they come from a housing district. This is possible because Jay Ave. is the only road in and out of housing TIF district number four. Because of that, the city is allowed to use surplus funds from any of its housing districts to finance the project.

The advantage for the city is eliminating interest payments on bonds purchased to finance the project. Rather, the city would use water and sewer funds in the short term, and pay itself back with surplus TIF funds. The council approved a resolution allowing for an internal loan and payback with five percent interest.

The city is also still looking at funding options for Rush Landing, but is much more limited in its options. Rush Landing is not eligible for TIF funds like Jay Ave., and the city will likely purchase bonds for the construction costs. Regardless if the city finds the cash or bonds for the project, it is not likely to affect a proposed 25 percent assessment to Rush Landing residents. Mell indicated that she felt the council would approve that assessment at a hearing soon after the project's completion.