by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson City Council met on Monday, May 5. The main item on the agenda was regarding extending the limits placed on businesses due to the pandemic, or whether to allow for a “soft open.” However, several items were discussed, including natural gas, proposals for the community center, and a discussion about connecting Leslie Drive to Sarah C Street via Lacey Avenue.
All council members were in attendance at the meeting. Councilors Richelle Hofer, Dave Bonte, and Greg Franka attended through Zoom.
The meeting started with two requests for variance, so that neighbors on 3rd Street could share a fence on their property line. After a clarification on whether that variance would be transferred to any future homeowners (it would), the council voted unanimously to pass the request.
Next on the agenda was a question as to whether there was an update on the pool’s 2020 season. Councilmember Tom Godbey (who is on the pool board) responded they were taking it day by day, and that they were watching Sioux Falls closely. He did note that currently, things were not looking very optimistic, and if lifeguards were offered a job elsewhere, they were being given the recommendation to take it.
An update regarding natural gas came after the council approved prices as recommended. The request made to Centerpoint Energy to terminate the contract and take back control of the natural gas pipeline had been received, but Centerpoint was requiring some conditions to be met prior to termination. The main thing was having a point of management. Crooks has agreed to take the reins as point manager. While the official contract with Centerpoint does not expire until October 1, Clayton Energy will begin obtaining pricing and locking it in. The City signed a 2-year contract with Clayton Energy two months ago with a start date of May 1; however, the City will not be billed from Clayton until the contract with Centerpoint is completed. Councilmember Bonte requested that the City have Clayton Energy look into the 5-year market future prices as well as the 2-year prices, to ensure the City is receiving the best cost. Later in the meeting, the council also discussed the requirement that a larger TBS (Town Border Station) tap line will be required very soon, as Crooks, Garretson, and Humboldt already find themselves at top capacity during peak times. Each of these communities is experiencing growth, meaning even more capacity will be required. Garretson and Crooks will likely be expected to require $200,000 each, and Humboldt will require $100,000 in order to move forward with the expansion, but final pricing was not yet available. Fortunately, the loan that had been taken out in order to pay for the original natural gas line has just been paid off, which opens up some major funding options.
The council then moved to an update on the Park Board (also known as the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee, or GPAC), starting with appointments. When the board was created, it was started with two 1-year appointments and two 2-year appointments, so that the 2-year appointments made subsequently would all be staggered. The terms of Kelli Schleuter and Colleen Collier were up, and both had requested to be re-appointed. The Parks Board has been spearheading several projects, and has enjoyed the full support of the council since its inception. The council approved the re-appointments of Schleuter and Collier without hesitation. GPAC reported that they had been recently working on some miscommunication issues between the group and the Parks Maintenance Supervisor Randy Megard and City Utilities Supervisor Craig Nussbaum, and Councilor Jodi Gloe informed the council how those issues were going to be mitigated in the future. She stated that weekly check-ins with the City were becoming a higher priority, and that as council liaison, she would be the point of contact between the two entities.
Then, with regards to the parks, the council debated the pros and cons of fully opening up the parks. At the April meeting, GPAC had recommended to close the campground, picnic shelters, playgrounds, and toilets. After more consideration, and noticing that surrounding communities had re-opened many of their facilities, the council opted to re-open everything. Gloe pointed out that signage regarding sanitizing may be a good idea, but no decisions regarding that were made at the council meeting.
The council moved into old business, asking City Utilities Supervisor Nussbaum whether a new City-Wide Clean-Up date had been agreed upon with Garbage N More. Nussbaum responded that it had not, and as of press time on May 12, the decision was still in a holding pattern. Many community members rely heavily on the clean-up days, but concerns about virus spread on common touch points have lingered. However, Nussbaum did note that he was working with the contractor.
Updates were then given regarding the request for proposals for the community center. Twenty-one firms had responded, and many of them had given spectacular proposals, according to Mayor Greg Beaner. The council members were each given rating sheets for each of the proposals and the assignment to narrow the proposals down to their top recommendations before the next meeting.
The council then fielded a request from Dwayne “Jake” Jacobson regarding “Ft. Jake,” the property he owns on Granite Avenue. He wanted to ensure that his 10-year lease on city land between Ft. Jake and the railroad would be continued. Nussbaum suggested the lease be extended for as long as Jacobson owns the property, as he does a good job of maintaining it. After some discussion regarding possibly vacating the property (which was rejected) and some trailers on the property that violated ordinance, Jacobson opted to move the trailers and to continue working with the code enforcement officer. No final decisions were made about continuing the lease, but the council appeared amenable to it, and the lease was not yet due.
Streets was next on the agenda. No word had yet been received on final negotiations between the bond company and the contractor for the Truck Route and Main Avenue completion, and the council expressed its frustration on the delays. Railroad Avenue, for instance, had been further torn up by the heavy equipment required to clean up the chemical spill near Nachurs’ Alpine, and potholes plague Main Avenue. When the patching crew comes through town, Nussbaum is planning to have them attend to those streets regardless. He was just waiting for the weather to warm a bit before the crew could come through town.
While the council was frustrated and asked whether more follow-up could be done, both Mayor Beaner and City Finance Officer Anna Uhl stated that not much more could be pushed. Both the city attorney and engineer Sayre Associates were doing what they could, and everything was waiting on the response from the bond company. Luckily, later that evening, word was received that negotiations had been completed and First Rate Excavate had been awarded the contract. Further information, such as a start date, is still unknown. It is still entirely possible that it may not be started this year.
As for whether Nachurs’ Alpine or BNSF Railroad are responsible for covering the costs of some of the damages to Railroad Avenue, Nussbaum stated that he was still in conversations with them in attempts to have them follow through with their insurance companies.
The bridge on 5th Street, which is a separate project, has had most of its requirements met. That project is now going out to bid from Infrastructure Design Group, the engineer selected for the project. That project is likely to occur later this summer.
The next street under discussion was Lacey Avenue. The final half-block portion of the street from Leslie Drive heading south had not been completed, and nothing could be found in writing as to whether the city had agreed to be financially responsible for its placement (in most cases, the developer is responsible for placement, but there was some disagreement with that, including testimony from a former councilor that said the City had agreed to do it). While developer and realtor Terry Johnson had taken a lot of long-term risk and put a lot of money into the community, normally, he would have been financially obligated to finish it. Since timing is an issue (developer Kelly Nielsen is currently putting in the infrastructure for the extension of Sarah C), the council opted to forego pursuing further financial obligations from Johnson as long as the placement of the street is within financial reason. They voted to allow Nussbaum and Uhl to make the final decision if Nielsen was able to place the infrastructure extension for under $35,000.
Next, the council looked at Ordinances 655 and 656. Both dealt with the City’s response to the pandemic, but the council had the choice to extend 655 or to let it lapse and adopt 656. The new ordinance loosened restrictions on eating establishments, allowing for groups of up to six adults to be seated within a restaurant as long as each group could maintain a minimum of 6-foot distances. It also opened up patios and outdoor spaces, and allowed for entertainment and recreational venues to host up to 50% of its capacity as long as social distancing and hygiene practices were maintained. The council voted to adopt the new ordinance with a 6-0 vote, and businesses began the process of re-opening within the next few days.
The final pieces on the agenda were employee evaluations and the approval of a special meeting on May 26 at 6:30 p.m. for audit approval purposes, but the council then fielded some extraneous requests from council members.
Bonte would like to see forward movement regarding annexation. It continues to be brought up every so often with no decisions made.
Hofer would like to see forward movement on the prospect of a bike trail. It too continues to be brought up and never fully pursued. With the changes that will be seen at Palisades State Park within the next five years, this needs to be pursued more seriously in order to keep a link between the park and the town. Hofer stated she would continue to stay in conversation with Chad Hanisch, owner of Infrastructure Design, on the subject.
Godbey proposed converting the northern third of Split Rock Park into day-use-only sites, effectively eliminating several tent camping sites, within the next five years. Mayor Beaner responded that while he liked to hear ideas, this needed to be brought to the Park Board. He and other members said they would like to see more expansion of the park. Gloe said she had brought his proposal to the park board at their prior meeting but no full discussion had yet been had.
The council then adjourned. The next regular meeting of the city council will be on Monday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. Information on joining the meeting via Zoom can be obtained by contacting City Hall.
