Garretson may have a dog park within the next few years, if the vote taken at Monday evening's city council meeting is any indication. There, the council voted to dedicate land toward the effort, a necessary measure to be able to apply for grants. During the same meeting, Matthew "Jake" Jacobson was appointed to the Ward 2 open seat, the council again had a first reading on the off-road vehicle ordinance, and a discussion occurred on where personal property responsibility ends and city responsibility begins if a water main or sewer line develops issues.
New Ward 2 Councilor
As one of the first items of business, Mayor Bruce Brown gave a touching memorial to Tom Godbey, a long-time councilor for Ward 2 who passed unexpectedly after last October's meeting.
"I met Tom for the first time when I was running for the first time to be Mayor of Garretson," he said. "I got to know Tom very, very quickly because he searched me out and said, 'We need to talk.' And we sat and talked about what our ideas were, what our thoughts about Garretson and the things we were interested in doing, and we walked away from that pretty friendly and pretty much in line with each other.
"Tom was pretty much the backbone of the park system here in Garretson. He cared deeply about the parks, about the city, about the businesses. And over the years, Tom was involved in a lot of different businesses in Garretson. He was always promoting the town.
"I'm happy to say that a lot of things that Tom pushed for, we've managed to do."
Despite that, Mayor Brown said, Godbey still had more he wanted to get accomplished, and promised that the city would continue to take those suggestions into account in their future planning.
After the memorial and approval of the agenda, Mayor Brown introduced Matthew "Jake" Jacobson and said he was nominating Jacobson to be appointed to Godbey's seat. After the approval of the council, Jacobson took the oath of office for Ward 2.
Jacobson, a Garretson native who is the son of former Mayor and city councilor Dwayne "Jake" Jacobson, moved back to town with his wife, Heather, and two daughters a couple of years ago. According to Brown, Jacobson had approached him with questions about running for council not too long ago, so he was a good choice who had interest in the position.
Jacobson graduated from Dakota State University with a double major in Business Management and Marketing, and has experience in banking, construction, agriculture, and landscaping. Heather works at First Bank & Trust in Garretson and currently sits on the board of the Garretson Commercial Club.
A Third First Reading
First, the council passed ordinances ensuring water and sewer hook-up fees were up to date, and ensured rural districts in city limits would retain their agricultural status until the land was developed. This came about because land south of Garretson that is owned by the city, which is still farmed, was recently annexed into city limits, and land near the industrial park is still farmed.
The council then re-visited an issue that has been under discussion since the summer, when motorbikes tore up park and private property. They have been attempting to write an ordinance placing regulations on where off-road vehicles can go within city limits, relegating those vehicles to roads only.
However, consistent protestations by councilor Brayden Beaner on the necessity and wording of the ordinance continued at Monday's meeting, resulting in pushback from both Mayor Brown and City Finance Officer Paetyn Dreckman.
"The purpose of the ordinance was originally and still is, is to prevent off road vehicles and motorcycles from tearing up the parks," said Mayor Brown.
"Do we really need an ordinance?" asked Beaner. "Because I would think state law would cover the driving in the parks, or I would like to pass an ordinance more specific to just the park, so then we don't have to have any issues and whether or not we're affecting our other ordinances."
"Our city attorney says it does not affect other ordinances, so I guess it becomes an issue of, do we follow our city attorney's recommendations or not, as far as enforcing the off-road vehicles?" asked Brown. "That's what brought this up to the attention of the council, because there were people using ATVs and tearing up the grass and the parks, and when the County deputies came out and talked to them, there was nothing they could charge them with, because we didn't have an ordinance prohibiting them from doing it within the parks. So that's the reasoning why the ordinance was developed in the first place."
Beaner responded that reckless driving, driving without a license, and intentional damage to property laws should already cover those issues.
City Finance Officer Dreckman pointed out that these same issues had already been brought up, and the ordinance had been re-written at least twice, the second one with the city attorney.
"If our officers are saying they can't ticket them, then we need to have something," said councilor Jackie Rotert.
"I personally like the ordinance," said councilor Dave Bonte.
The differences between this writing and the October writing added an exception for alleyways to allow off-road vehicles, removed the possibility of imprisonment, and reduced the fine from $200 to $100, but otherwise remained mostly the same. It would ensure that off-road vehicles by non-maintenance personnel remain on streets or alleyways unless given specific permission on private property, are street-legal, and are driven only by licensed operators within city limits.
The second reading is scheduled for the December meeting, at which time the council will be able to vote to pass or deny the ordinance.
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