Rushmore Area Reconstruction Information

• Access To Your Home During Construction: Please be aware that the streets will be under construction including the utilities as previously described. Anticipate these streets to be under construction for 3-4 months with no direct access. Should special assistance be necessary please contact the City. 
• General Services: General Services include garbage, mail, and emergency services, etc. If you live within the project limits, please contact your garbage service as they should have experience with these types of projects and can provide you with information on continuing this service. Temporary mailboxes will be placed near the Rushmore Drive and Kirkwood Boulevard intersection. Emergency services including the Brandon Police Department, Brandon Volunteer Fire Department, and Ambulance services will be coordinated with throughout the project and will be updated on a weekly basis of the of progress.
• Water Main / Sewer Main Services: The contractor will be responsible to notify the engineer of temporary planned water main shutdowns. Adjacent property owners will be notified of planned shutdowns a minimum of 24-hours prior with a notice typically in the form of a door hanger. These shutdowns should not last more than 4-8 hours and are necessary to make connections to the existing water main and assure that the proper steps are in place for correct construction methods. Please understand that during construction, the contractor could have unforeseen circumstances with a utility that may not be planned, and notification and installation could take longer. Sanitary sewer services should not be interrupted during construction, however, in the case this happens property owners will be notified. 
• Landscaping In the Right of Way: Numerous property owners have landscaped the public right of way which will be affected during construction. If you wish to salvage landscaping outside of your property, please have this pulled back from the project prior to the start of construction. Landscaping in the right of way will be removed by the contractor during the removal phase of construction. 
• Streetlights: The City has requested that street lights be left in place as long as possible during construction. When removal of streetlights is necessary due to grading and utilities please be prepared with a flashlight or other means to navigate the construction area. New streetlights will be installed as soon as possible in a location coordinated with Sioux Valley Electric in accordance to standards and may be in a different location than previously installed. 
• Tree Removal and Replacement: Effort was made during design to save existing trees where possible. Trees within the project limits will be removed primarily for three reasons; the tree is determined to not be healthy, is an Ash species threatened by the Emerald Ash Borer, or is located in the grading area for the proposed improvements and utility work on the project. The City has put together a tree voucher system for the replacement of trees. Information on the voucher system will be mailed to homeowners. 

Project Funding

The City will be funding this project with a Sales Tax Revenue Bond. A Sales Tax Revenue Bond is a loan to the City to be paid back with sales tax revenue. 

Your city property taxes will not increase due to this project. Council has made the decision to not special assess for sidewalks. Therefore, property owners will not be charged for the sidewalks being installed. However, a portion of this project is water, sewer, storm sewer and street-lights, all of which will be funded with utility rates. The City reviews rates each year to accommodate the capital improvement projects and make sure these funds cash flow. There is a chance that utility rates will increase to pay for this project.