Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Monday, in a 3-2 vote, the Garretson City Council voted to repeal the weapons ban in city parks that had been in place.
The ban, which read, "It is unlawful for any person to possess, use, or display any firearms, including air guns, explosives, bows and arrows, or other weapon within the park," had been passed in 1998 and was challenged last month by newly-appointed councilor Brayden Beaner.
At that meeting, he had argued that a law passed by the legislature in 2020 prohibited the ability of municipalities to implement such a ban, and on Monday, he stated that having it on the books opened the city up to lawsuits.
"The reason behind why the legislature passed that is because they don't want a bunch of municipalities having a hodge-podge regulation of firearms," Beaner said. "They just want one regulation of firearms at the state level, and that's why we're prohibited from passing regulations prohibiting the regulation of firearms. There's also no exception for law enforcement in our parks, so our law enforcement officers patrolling our parks would be in violation. There's also the constitutional issue. So with the with the SDCL and the Constitution issues, we open ourselves up to quite a bit of litigation with keeping an old ordinance like that on books."
That said, Mayor Bruce Brown cautioned the council on repealing an ordinance without having anything to replace it, a point the city attorney, Meredith Moore, had made at July's meeting.
"My biggest concern with this, since it's on the books right now, is we don't have anything right now to replace it, such as what Sioux Falls has, and I would much rather see us move forward with an ordinance and a first reading, a second reading, and then repeal of this ordinance once that ordinance is ready to go into effect."
Councilmember Tom Godbey noted that often, alcohol is a factor in the campground.
"I hate handguns," Godbey stated. "I lost one of my best friends to a handgun. A second point, camping usually involves alcohol, and guns and alcohol don't mix, so I won't be supporting this."
SDCL 22-14-7 does regulate the unlawful use of a weapon, stating that recklessly discharging a weapon or possessing a weapon while intoxicated is a misdemeanor. Fireworks are prohibited to be fired on city land or within a block of downtown by city ordinance 94.30.
Despite these cautions, councilmembers Beaner, Dave Bonte, and Ryan Story voted to repeal the ordinance. Councilmembers Alysha Kientopf and Godbey voted against, and councilmember Jackie Rotert was not in attendance.
Later in the meeting, the council discussed implementing an ordinance prohibiting the use of off-road vehicles on property owned or operated by the City.
This proposal came about due to an issue this past weekend, where visitors to the campground had brought and operated dirt bikes in the park, tearing up park land. Public Works employee JR Hofer had recommended the council allow him to place a rule prohibiting off-road vehicle operation on anything other than a public road or street on the campground policies, and suggested that an ordinance that covered all city parks would help mitigate issues that have been found at Devil's Gulch and the Jaycee's Athletic Complex, as well. The council voted to allow the rule, and to develop an ordinance with Attorney Moore.
In connection with a prohibition of off-road vehicles, Hofer also requested an ordinance prohibiting semi-truck/large commercial vehicle parking at the Jaycee's Complex, as the roads there are not graded for large-scale vehicles. The council agreed to also send that request to Moore.
Parking campers on city streets has also been an issue this summer, according to the council report given by the code enforcement officer. Currently, Garretson prohibits parking campers, RVs, and boats on the street for any length of time longer than 48 hours consecutively, and the city did inquire with Moore as to whether that ordinance was well-worded and in consensus with other communities in South Dakota. She did find the possibility of weaknesses regarding length of vehicle and owners being able to move it slightly to circumvent the ordinance, and the council agreed to have Moore work on a revision.
Items of note:
The final day of the Garretson Pool being open will be Friday, August 16. They will be holding a "Back-to-School Bash" on Tuesday, August 13.
Newly-hired Economic Development Coordinator Chris Fields introduced himself to the council (see full story in this week's Gazette), and stated he is working on tying up loose ends for the Economic Development Board and designing a logo for the entity.
Eastern Avenue will not include the replacement of utilities, as those were done during the 3rd Street project. However, that street will have asphalt, curb and gutter, and sidewalks replaced.
Over 3,000 visitors have been logged inside the Split Rock Bathhouse Visitor's Center since June. This does not include those visitors who did not visit the bathhouse, but shows that Split Rock Park continues to be popular.
The next regular meeting of the city council will likely be held on Monday, September 9 due to the Labor Day holiday.
