Carrie Moritz, Garretson Gazette
On Monday, January 10, the Garretson City Council held its regular meeting. The council opted to pass a salary increase of 5.9%, cemented the new Ward boundaries, and discussed changes that needed to occur due to the resignation of City Finance Officer Anna Uhl.
The council heard first about natural gas pricing, which up to that point had been hovering at a market rate of $5 or more per MMBtu, significantly higher than normal. Fortunately, since the council voted last year to lock in 100% of normal winter usage for December through March, most costs are not higher than 30% of normal. The council voted to decrease rates to $1.10 per ccf, $0.02 less than December. At the end of the season, heightened rates will help Garretson when unused amounts are sold back to the market.
A short discussion ensued regarding the council's need to vote on the prices each month. Mayor Greg Beaner proposed moving natural gas to a notification report only, since prices are set and already billed out.
However, councilor Bill Hoskins responded that voting on the prices was a way to help cover the actions of employees. The rest of the council agreed on that point, and they passed the prices as recommended.
Finance Officer, Maintenance Supervisor positions change hands
Mayor Beaner then informed the council and those in attendance that City Finance Officer Anna Uhl had accepted a position elsewhere, and to wish her well. Uhl had served in the position for over ten years, and was the only front office employee for over nine of those years. She was a major source of information and expertise on city matters, as was Maintenance Officer Craig Nussbaum, who retired at the end of December.
"We are currently in the process of hiring for a new finance officer," Beaner said. He requested council members help interview prospects and stated Alternative HRD (the company that helped with the employee handbook) was helping form questions for interviewees. At that time, applications had been received, and initial calls for interviews were going to begin on Tuesday, January 11.
In the interim, Billing and Economic Development officer Jessica Fueston would be standing in for Uhl, and the council authorized her to be a signer on checks. Schoenfish & Co, a law firm out of Parkston, will be finalizing the 2021 financial reports, as Uhl would not be able to complete them prior to her final day. Schoenfish would also be completing an audit of the 2020 financial reports.
Carrie Moritz with the Parks Board gave an update on Light the Park, which was complete for 2021. She thanked Colleen Collier and Sonya Swenson and other volunteers for the sheer number of hours they put in to ensure the event's success, stating that while donations overall were down, there was enough to ensure the event would happen again in 2022.
Councilor Hoskins asked Mayor Beaner if ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funds had been earmarked yet, questioning if some of those funds could go toward increasing the sidewalk fund, or if they were going toward sewer upgrades.
While Mayor Beaner and Fueston were unsure whether they had been, Maintenance Supervisor Ryan Nussbaum stated he believed sewer main replacement was higher on the priority list. Several pipes around town still consist of clay tile, which was the original sewer piping placed in the community.
R. Nussbaum has now taken over full-time maintenance supervisor duties after the retirement of C. Nussbaum, who had served in his position for 38 years.
R. Nussbaum gave an update to the council that they were studying and working to move forward on connecting the two dead end water mains located on Dows. Currently, both lines end just before the railroad tracks on each side.
This not only creates inefficiencies in water delivery, but also leaves Central Valley Dairy without any water sources. CVD Owner Rod Tillma had requested the city look into adding water to his business location in 2020. The process is made more complex by the existence of the railroad.
When the agenda came to the Annexation Committee, councilor Dave Bonte requested the meeting be moved into executive session. While the reason was not stated openly, further inqury by the Gazette indicated that it was to talk about information and advice from legal counsel.
Fence Variance denied, Cost of Living increases
Next, the council re-visited a request from Linda Burkett, who was proposing to place a chain-link fence on the property line around her entire property, including the front.
Burkett's initial request had been presented at the December meeting, but the council wanted further information and to view the property in question, so had tabled it.
Burkett, who was not in attendance for the January meeting, stated in December that her side yard and back yard spaces were very small. Her front yard comprises the majority of her open property, hence the request to place the fence around the entire perimeter, except the driveway.
Her goal was to provide a large enough space for medically disabled dogs to roam, as she intends to rehab and foster them.
Mayor Beaner stated he was questioning what the line was for variances, and that they should be for a hardship. The rest of the council discussed whether the fence should end before the front of the house. Councilor Karen Stainbrook opted to abstain from the vote due to Burkett being her direct neighbor. The council then denied the variance request as presented and moved into salary adjustments.
Salary adjustments are cost of living increases, or the amount of adjustment needed to ensure a living wage for City employees. A living wage is estimated to be $45,000 in South Dakota, or $22.50 per hour for a 40-hour workweek. South Dakota's minimum wage increased to $9.95 per hour, or $20,696 per year on January 1st. A cost-of-living adjustment takes inflation into account, which is normally 3%. For 2021, that was adjusted to 5.9%. Rate of pay and salaries are published within this week's Gazette.
With that increase, the council also voted to move payroll deposits to Thursdays at midnight, which would place funds in employee accounts on Fridays.
New Ward distributions decided
Next, the council voted on the Ward distribution that had been presented in December. Two options were given to the council at the January meeting. The first was described in the December 23 issue of the Gazette. Both options impacted the 5th Street and Canyon areas of Garretson, with option 1 placing Center to Canyon Avenue and 2nd to 3rd Streets within Ward 2, and option 2 placing that area in Ward 1. In both cases, the blocks between Center and Eastern north of 4th Street to 5th Street would now be part of Ward 2, and Center to Eastern north of 5th Street would be part of Ward 1.
The council voted to implement option 1, placing 415 residents in Ward 1, 412 residents in Ward 2, and 427 residents in Ward 3. Option 2 would have split wards into 400, 427, and 427 residents each, respectively. Since Ward 3 is expected to continue to grow over the next decade, larger adjustments will likely be made after the 2030 census.
After discussing a request for a tax abatement, which was tabled until the council could obtain further clarification, they set the date for elections to April 12, 2022. At that time, any council positions which have two or more applicants will be up for a vote. This year, seats up for election include one position in Ward 1, one position in Ward 2, two positions in Ward 3, and the mayor’s seat.
Fueston then notified the council that the land under consideration for the events center and city hall building will not be open for negotiations until the end of May, as the landowner wanted to honor the right of first refusal from the development corporation that had put first dibs on it.
After noting that permits for construction on the 5th Street bridge were being obtained and that city ordinances were under their final approval process from American Legal and would be connected to the new city website soon, the council entered executive session and adjourned.
The next regular meeting of the city council will be held on Monday, February 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion Dugout. The public is always invited to attend in person or via Zoom (email the City to request log-in information).
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