Letter to the Editor: April 27, 2020

Dear fellow New Rockford residents,

It has been an honor and a privilege serving as city commissioner of New Rockford for the past 12 years. With the current COVID-19 pandemic limiting my ability to discuss some of my views face-to-face, I opted to proceed with this Letter to the Editor to express my views/concerns and goals for the community’s future.

I am committed to maintaining our small-town charm by ensuring the safety and integrity of our neighborhoods, the quality of services and vitality of our businesses. A great deal of work continues to be necessary towards attaining and maintaining this, which is why I made the decision to run for Commission President/Mayor in the coming June city election.

Proactive measures have to be taken in order to achieve our goals.

In my 12 years as city commissioner, I have been involved in numerous projects, including the demolition of the city hospital and subsequent reinvestment of a new apartment complex on this location. I was involved in this project as a City Commissioner as well as a member of the New Rockford Area Betterment Corporation, for which I now serve as President. I was also involved in the new swimming pool construction and now very involved in our water project. This project was originally going to be a water and sewer project. The plan was to separate our combined sewer system, as it takes all rain water and wastewater and puts it through our lift stations and lagoons. After we had multiple water breaks, we shifted focus. We then had all of our sewer lines photographed, showing we needed a cleaning of these lines, rather than replacement. This was obviously very beneficial financially, so we changed plans for strictly water line replacement and control a portion of rain water through the street gutters. From that point on, we have been working diligently at completing this.

My concerns for the next four years are as follows:

1) Completing our water project- We need to have good communication among our engineering firm, city staff, and our construction crews, so there is no delay in work completion or major interruptions in water service to our residents. I feel I have the communication skills required to see this project through efficiently.

2) Our next concern is our water plant. It too comes with many challenges, such as the acquisition of land to the east of the plant to allow a water spreading area, if you will, to allow for a sediment area. I have been working with engineers weekly to come to a resolution on trying to get a more conservative liner. Long story, but I will explain what I know to anyone who wants to hear it, just call me. I am very passionate about this and want to ensure that New Rockford residents will have quality water for the future.

3) Other concerns include, but are not limited to repairing all city streets in the near future and rebuilding the airport using only two sources- funds the Airport Authority currently has and the city’s annual budget. Later on we will need to address possible issues with our landfills, ie. expansion, and concerns about our lagoons.

All of these and any other projects I haven’t touched on, are very important to us all. We need to work together to see these projects through, all while being diligent with our finances.

I have been the commissioner in charge of finances the past four years and feel we are in decent shape financially. We need to be even more prudent going forward to leave our city better than when we took office.

Proactive measures need to be on the forefront of our thoughts in order to control our own destiny. I will always remain committed to working with our dedicated staff, city officials, business leaders, and the residents to not only maintain, but hopefully enhance the services that we can offer. We need to continually look for new opportunities, so we can remain economically competitive, while always enjoying the quality of life we all

On a lighter note, we have many events that we hope are supported by our city residents, such as the 4th of July festivities, Steam Threshers Reunion, beautiful parks system and pool, and hopes of creating more in the near future.

With the help and support of you all, we will continue to be a vibrant community with a bright future.

If elected, my decisions will always be based on the answers to these questions:

Is it good for New Rockford?

Will it benefit our residents and city?

I want to thank my wife, Vicky, and my family, who picked up the slack while I left work to assist in city duties. I also want to thank them and the residents of New Rockford for all the support given to me during these years.

Residents, I would appreciate your vote and support in the coming June election. Mail ballots are arriving soon.

Thanks in advance for your support. Please contact me with your constructive ideas and concerns.

Stuart Richter

Candidate for Mayor

New Rockford, N.D.