by Carrie Moritz, Gazette

The Garretson City Council held its September meeting on Tuesday, September 8. The council approved the final budget for 2021, received an estimate for installing water lines from Railroad Ave to the trailer court along Dows, and had a positive update on the street project.

The first item of business included an update on natural gas, which had little change in pricing from the month before. The switchover to Clayton Energy will be in October, and the pricing for the new contract will be reflected on November’s bill. With the change, while the pricing will still need to be approved every month by the council, the community should see fewer changes in pricing throughout the year.

The Garretson Parks Advisory Committee had member Bruce Rekstad step down from his position due to family demands, and council member Jodi Gloe and Mayor Greg Beaner recommended Sonya Swanson to serve the rest of his term. The council approved the recommendation.

A short discussion then ensued about the possibility of taking the Split Rock Park bathhouse off the National Registry in order to expedite improvements and upgrades such as a roof and tuckpointing. Council member Bill Hoskins, also the director at Siouxland Heritage Museum in Sioux Falls, expected that this should not be necessary, as the improvements would help the building last longer. He suggested the City gather estimates, drawings, and material lists and present them to the Historical Society in South Dakota for approval. Mayor Beaner volunteered to call the Historical Society to learn more.

The council then addressed a question they had brought up at a previous meeting with regards to the property utilized by the fire department. The City wanted to ensure whether they had ever finished the deed transfer from the City to the fire department. All records still show the land being owned by the City of Garretson. The fire department had reached out with an idea to potentially sell the current fire department land and structure and build something larger in another location, but this wouldn’t be possible if they didn’t technically own the land. The council approved a motion to authorize the mayor to sign a deed transfer, ensuring that it belonged to the fire department.

John Brinkman then presented on behalf of both the Industrial Development Association and the Garretson Commercial Club. He thanked the City for its work on improving the area around the industrial development, making it more enticing to businesses that may want to come in. He also discussed the sound system that the Commercial Club is pursuing, and asked if the City would be willing to set aside some funds to contribute. He plans to have Commercial Club members and private donations support a large portion of the cost as well.

After noting that a sound system downtown is a win/win, the council agreed to place $10,000 in capital outlay for the current conduit. They also agreed to allow a contractor to bore under 3^rd Street to install conduit while the current intersection is under construction. Brinkman noted that there will also be an extra cost for boring under the new sidewalk from 3^rd to 2^nd Street in the future, plus the cost of the sound system itself. Council member Richelle Hofer requested Brinkman present the council with estimates of costs once he knows what they are so the City can set aside further funds in the future.

Next up for discussion was the Citywide Clean-up, which was held on August 29. City Finance Officer Anna Uhl noted that this year’s clean-up was smaller than usual, which may have been due shorter hours and the lateness in the season, but also because Garbage N More has also been taking items throughout the summer from customers that they normally wouldn’t have. She wondered whether doing the clean-up twice per year would be a good idea, and the council agreed. They asked her to contact Garbage N More to discuss it with them, to see if they would be interested.

Cole Gebhart with Sayre Associates, the engineer for the street projects, then updated the council on First Rate Excavate’s progress. He stated that the warm weather had caused the subcontractors to get backed up with too many requests, and that the curb and gutter and sidewalks should be installed along Main within the next week and a half, with the asphalt following shortly. He estimated that Main should be fully complete within three weeks, barring any further delays from subcontractors. The truck route had been started, with temporary water installation occurring within the next week. The end date for the entire project is slated for mid-November.

Next, Chad Hanisch with Infrastructure Design Group presented the council with an estimate for costs of installing a water main under BNSF property in order to introduce redundancy into the system and to provide water and fire protection to Central Valley Dairy. The cost, which came out to $270,000-$300,000, along with the costs of permitting, caused the council to wonder if installation for one business and redundancy for the industrial park was worthwhile. Hanisch noted that a second option was directional drilling, which would be a much lower cost but would not introduce the redundancy. The council asked Hanisch to pursue the cost for the second option.

The following item on the agenda, annexation, was discussed for a short period of time. The City attorney had responded, saying that annexation works best if the property owners request it. No further decisions were made, but Uhl pointed out that she, Hanisch, and Hofer were scheduled to meet with Palisades Park representatives on September 18 to discuss bike trails.

After approving the cost to pursue an update to the City Employee handbook with Alternative HRD for $3000 and an update that six basements were slated to be dug the next week in the new housing development off Sarah C Street, the council approved the budget and capital outlay for 2021. They also approved a cable franchise agreement with Alliance Communications, which allows them to do business within the community and establishes standards that they must follow. The last agreement had been approved twenty years ago and was due for an update.

In other comments, the final portion of the meeting before they entered executive session, council member Tom Godbey requested the City pursue further action with regards to the land on the corner of 3^rd and Center. A hole had not been filled properly there, which was making land maintenance difficult.

Council member Bonte asked for further information regarding issues with the area near Decker Storage and Crete Pros, and after hearing they were having issues with a renter, noted that he would approach the property owner to see what could be done to improve it.

Bonte then updated the council on the next step for acquiring the ball field. He said confusion surrounding the Blue Dragon Foundation land and shed had been cleared up, and that Superintendent Guy Johnson was ready to receive a letter of interest to present to the school board.

Uhl then introduced the council to Jess Fueston, who had been hired as an administrative assistant. Fueston, a Garretson native and college student who is majoring in psychology and human resources, will be working part-time.

The council then voted to enter executive session in order to discuss personnel.

The next meeting of the City Council will be held on Monday, October 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.