The Monday, January 13 meeting of the Garretson City Council focused mainly on a request for a variance on the Paterson-owned land located west of Granite Ave and on the need for a new community center/city hall.
Two councilmembers were absent from the meeting, along with City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum. The council started by approving natural gas prices, and received committee updates.
Jeff Frerk with the Garretson Fire Department presented, noting that overall in 2019, the GFD put in over 1700 combined training and volunteer hours. They had 140 total calls, which was slightly above 2018’s 135 and 2017’s 134 calls, but still within average. Mayor Greg Beaner recognized the GFD for its service, noting that all of those hours are volunteer, and are valued at $150/hr.
The ambulance report was given by Anna Uhl, who noted that at 198 calls, 2019 was the second busiest year on record after 2015’s 225 calls. They are more stable financially, but they are still having trouble attracting and retaining qualified staff and volunteers. While this is an issue nationally, it is a trend the Garretson Ambulance would like to see reversed.
The Park Advisory Committee gave a final update on Light the Park, which had substantial success, raising to date $3,697 (and waiting on payouts from a few donations, which will bring their picnic shelter fundraising efforts to over $4,000). Once those final amounts are received, they are planning to have at least the cement and footings installed this spring. Installation of the structure will be done once the full amount is received through further grants and fundraising. They are currently in the process of getting an on-line campground registration system set up. The committee suggested removing the piles of dirt that are stored along the entrance of Devil’s Gulch, and leveling and placing more gravel on the RV campsites in Split Rock Park this spring.
Council member Tom Godbey then brought up the north road by the tent area in the park, wondering why the Park Committee wasn’t suggesting the road be leveled out. Committee member Carrie Moritz, who was presenting, responded they had suggested it a few times to increase visitor satisfaction with the park, but had been turned down each time.
Council member Bill Hoskins wondered if the council had ever actually voted on the issue, and City Finance Officer Uhl responded that she didn’t believe it had. City Maintenance Supervisor Nussbaum was not in attendance, so was unable to corroborate. Council member Godbey then made a motion to have the road leveled out and re-graveled, and the council voted in favor of that measure.
The council then moved to a conditional use permit for the property west of Granite Ave. This property was recently re-zoned to Commercial, and Dean Koehn was in the process of purchasing the land on the condition that the City approved his use for it as a storage lot. He had added the installation of a storage shed as well, and the council balked at that suggestion. Council member Greg Franka stated that it was basically like writing a blank check, since Koehn did not have any plans for the shed drawn up. They amended the resolution to remove the shed, and said if Koehn had plans drawn up, they would likely approve them in the future. The amended resolution passed unanimously.
The next resolution was from Deanne Park, who was attempting to sell her house on 5th Street. The property has been on the market for a while, and Park noted that it was mostly due to the lack of a garage. She was seeking a variance to have one placed, but she was unwilling to place the garage itself. She then went on to say that the type of garage she was seeking a variance for was not a stick-built garage, but a steel structure, as that would be cheaper and more likely within the budget constraints of the first-time home-buyers that were seeking to buy her property.
The council noted that since Parks was unwilling to build the garage herself, that it would be the responsibility of the new home buyer to seek the variance. They indicated that they’d be willing to approve the steel structure shown at the meeting, but were not willing to, again, basically write a blank check to the future homeowner. Park was given instruction to let future home-buyers know it would likely be approved, but that a normal stick-built garage would not need a variance request as long as it followed set-backs and building ordinances.
Mayor Beaner then opened up the meeting to public comment, and Marcia Gnadt of the Jesse James Players stepped forward. She spoke of the difficulties the Jesse James Players were having finding a performance space after the Opera House was lost to a roof leak and subsequent mold infestation last year, and was requesting help with not only removing the props and seats from the space (65 seats are original to the opera house) in the next week or so, but also to lobby for a new Garretson Community Center. She noted that the Jesse James Players had found practice space at Zion Lutheran Church’s basement for the time being, but that the Legion was unable to accommodate their request for a performance space. While they had not yet been able to inquire with the school, in the past, the school has been mostly unwilling to rent for non-school-related events, citing a policy of school-first and an over-full schedule. The council listened to her remarks and asked a few questions, but did not attend to the subject in full until the end of the meeting.
The council then moved on to new business, approving the publishing of wages and salaries for 2020 and the first reading of Ordinance 653, which removes confusing language from the snow removal ordinance, which currently reads in part, “It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of any lot or parcel of land in the city abutting on any sidewalk to keep such sidewalk free from snow within twenty-four (24) hours after any fall of snow before 9:00 a.m. of the next day if it occurs after 12:00 midnight of that day. If such fall of snow should occur the preceding day, he shall remove the snow from so much thereof as adjoins the premises owned or occupied by him.”
There was some discussion regarding when the 24 hours would begin, but Mayor Beaner pointed out, “Scott [Dubbe, code enforcement officer] isn’t out prowling around and putting up hangers at 24 hours and 1 minute.” He noted it was mostly for those who hadn’t made an effort to remove snow, and having the exact times listed in the ordinance wasn’t necessary. Since this was the first reading, the council took no further action.
The council then approved the funds for a salary and wage study, to ensure that Garretson’s wages are in-line with the rest of the State of South Dakota. The study could cost up to $2,000, but it reviews the city’s compensation plan, salaries, and benefits for employees. The salary study had been requested at the December meeting by Council member Richelle Hofer, who was absent from the January meeting. Uhl had been able to find the company Alternative HRD, Inc, which had recently completed a salary study in Brandon. This meant that Alternative HRD could use some of Brandon’s information to complete the study, which could help save funds and time to completion.
In further new business, the council discussed a request to have a breeding-dog kennel small business within City limits. A prospective homebuyer had inquired if this was a possibility, but the council didn’t seem too keen on the idea, especially on the heels of the most recent tensions regarding the limits on animals in the pet ordinance. While the wording currently allows for application of kenneling licenses, the council noted that it is quite vague and they leaned toward removing that language altogether. No further action was taken, as the official request for a small business had not yet been put through.
In old business, the street project was on the docket to have the bondholder do a walk through with the City, Sayre Associates, and a couple of prospective contractors that week. It will still be completed this summer, and because the project is now held by a private company, the bondholder is not required to choose the lowest bidder. The 5th Street bridge project is also on track to be completed this summer, and Infrastructure Design was going to be doing more studies that week, including measuring the depth of the water.
Before entering executive session (after which, they voted to approve a 3% annual raise for employee Al Winterton), the council discussed Gnadt’s community center request more in depth. Council member Hoskins had met with an architect between the December and January meetings, doing a walkthrough of the Senior Center/Opera House building, and had noted some structural concerns. However, the building had just entered a possible purchase agreement with a private buyer, which took those concerns out of the City’s hands.
After noting that low-interest loans are available for a building similar to the Blue Dragon Academy’s, Mayor Beaner requested that a community-based committee be formed, consisting of council members, commercial club members, committee members, and community members. Council member Hoskins agreed, saying that a couple community meetings and well-orchestrated brainstorm sessions would not be out of line.
They discussed the need for a new City Hall, a need for a new location to hold elections, meetings, and community rooms, and the possibility of a few locations in Garretson. While Mayor Beaner would love to see the new City Hall/Community Center be located on Main Street, it’s currently not a possibility due to space and parking constraints. The council discussed the need for an architect, budgeting, funding, and how it would work into the long-range plan of the City (Uhl noted that a new City Hall is in the Community Improvement Plan, or CIP).
The council then opted to wait until February to issue an RFP (request for proposals), but they requested that Uhl put together a more information and a presentation, which she will be give at the February meeting.
The next meeting of the City Council will be held at the Legion on Monday, February 3, at 6:30 p.m.
