by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson City Council met on Monday, February 1. At that time, they approved a new configuration for tent sites and day use sites in Split Rock Park, a major change in the City of Garretson website, and discussed likely upcoming marijuana ordinances.
The meeting began with a report from the Park Board, who gave their final recommendations for tent site configurations in the north end of Split Rock Park. They were adding one more space in the middle, and one more space along the water's edge/west side of the tent area. They had initially recommended at the prior meeting to add a second site on the west side, to the northwest of the new day use site, but they were pulling that recommendation in favor of leaving it open for public use. This would allow campers on the north side of the park to have water access for kayaks. There was also discussion about potentially placing more parking along the north end of the tent area, so campers and kayaks were not blocking the roadway or parking in grassy areas.
They also finalized their recommendation to remove the tent site located along the water's edge to the north of the bridge (former site #28) to convert the entire area into a day use/public access area. They requested the current fire ring and picnic table remain, and said they intended to install more picnic tables and fire rings as funds were available. Council member Tom Godbey asked about other potential day use sites, and Park Board members Carrie Moritz and Colleen Collier outlined two more spaces that were currently in progress; one that is planned for this summer and one that will be installed within the next few years.
With the changes, they were requesting the council also approve re-numbering all of the tent sites on the north end of the park.
The council approved all of the recommendations.
Next, the council moved onto a resolution requesting the current smaller entrance/exit from Palisades State Park remain, instead of being closed off when the new entrance is built. The resolution had been initially requested in early 2020 by township member Oran Sorenson, and it had been tabled in favor of trying to work more closely with the State while those entrance plans were made. Sorenson was requesting it be passed, as he intended to bring the resolution to a meeting in Pierre. As a former State legislator, Sorenson is well-equipped to help ensure the local connection to the park remain, and he wanted the weight of the City behind him.
The resolution brings up the history and attachment the city of Garretson has to Palisades, and notes that the two areas are very closely interconnected. It also points out that moving the main entrance may have a negative impact on the growth of the town, and while the City fully supports the expansion of the park, it requests that the smaller entrance stay intact, even if only as an exit where park-goers can easily access the town.
Council members Richelle Hofer and Bill Hoskins had some concerns with the way the resolution was worded. Council member Hoskins wanted to ensure the State understood the City is "enthusiastically" behind the expansion project, while Hofer wanted more clarity within the text. Mayor Greg Beaner requested he be allowed to work closely with Sorenson to ensure those areas of concern were taken care of. The council approved the resolution and gave Mayor Beaner the go-ahead.
New website host approved
The council then approved a tax abatement, and moved onto a presentation by City employee Jessica Fueston about a new City of Garretson website. If approved, it would replace the current website the City already has, and would move onto a new system with a new URL.
The proposed site would go through a web manager called GovOffice, a popular content management software (CMS) system utilized by several municipalities across the state, including Baltic and Brandon. Baltic highly recommended the system.
GovOffice states it delivers a solution with less hassle and expense, and includes on-line forms, audio and video file integration, news sections, and image gallery capabilities. It is also optimized for both mobile and desktop users. The CMS is intentionally geared toward city governments, and is headquartered in Minneapolis. It also provides initial design, hosting, and security.
It would also move back-end options back into City management, so changes could be instantaneous. Currently, the City's website is managed by an outside web designer.
While much of the discussion revolved around costs, council member Hofer did bring up a concern about the intention of the initial website, which was also targeted toward potential tourists. Fueston said she had been in communication with the GovOffice team, and they were able to accommodate for that.
As for cost, the City would be paying $8,150 up front, with $500 per year after. Currently, the city pays $1200 per year for maintenance and updates to MAS Media.
The council was enthusiastic about the idea, and gave Fueston permission to move forward with the option. Once the site is set up, the new URL will be cityofgarretson.com, with plans to re-direct the current URL to that address.
Next, Mayor Beaner presented to the council regarding the baseball field acquisition. He had met with Superintendent Guy Johnson and Don Snyders, and Supt. Johnson stated the school board was giving permission to move ahead with the changeover. Mayor Beaner noted that normally, cities tend to own their ball fields, and Garretson was unique in the fact that the school owned it.
There was a discussion regarding maintenance and upkeep, including water/sprinkler lines and costs, spring and winter prep of the field, and insurance, along with shared space agreements. City Finance Officer Anna Uhl didn't believe water or insurance costs would be a very large increase. However, there were no final answers on sprinkler maintenance costs.
There are potential concerns with the High School Activities Association bringing on softball and baseball as sanctioned sports, and Supt. Johnson wanted to ensure the City would work smoothly with that. Council member Jodi Gloe asked if the Ball Association would continue running the concession stand and other areas that they currently are in charge of, to which Ball Association member and council member Dave Bonte responded that they would. Bonte, however, requested the council table a vote on the matter until he'd had a chance to speak with Snyders. They agreed to take the issue back up in March.
Finance Officer Uhl then helped schedule a Zoom meeting between the council and ISG Architects' Josh Muckinhern so he could give the task force recommendations to the council regarding a new city hall/community events center. Despite several conflicts, the council ultimately decided on February 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Council to consider ordinances on marijuana
The council then moved on to upcoming planning for city ordinances surrounding marijuana. At the time of the meeting, both recreational and medical marijuana use were slated to be put into law as of July 1 (though recreational use was currently under challenge in the court, and not likely to go into effect on that date), and City Finance Officer Uhl wanted to not only have the council begin thinking about the ordinances that would have to be put in place, but wanted to update them on the ordinance committee that has been established within the Municipal League that will be creating templates for cities to work from. Ordinances must be passed by June at the latest in order for them to be in effect by July 1, and would likely be set up in similar ways as alcohol sales and consumption. Council member Hoskins stated that having first readings in April would likely be the best idea, if it can be accomplished by that time. Hoskins also had questions about sales tax revenue and licensing.
Next, Uhl and Fueston explained the use of the new tablets to the council. Each member of the council received Windows Surface tablets, which they will be able to use for City business. Council members will no longer receive paper packets for each meeting. The tablets were purchased with CARES Act funds, as they will allow the council to also attend meetings via Zoom as needed.
Next on the agenda was an update on the recreational trails, which Infrastructure Designs' Chad Hanisch and council member Hofer are working on together. Hanisch intended to set up a meeting with the Game, Fish & Parks and Palisades State Park Manager Luke Dreckman in order to ensure all pieces were put together properly in time for a grant request in April.
Mayor Beaner then opened the floor for public comment, and the Gazette's Carrie Moritz spoke on HB 1050, which was a request in the SD State House of Representatives to modernize how public notices are billed and laid out in newspapers. She explained what it meant for a local business, information to the public and the public's right to know, and upcoming legislation being introduced by local legislator Jon Hansen that may have a final intention of taking public notices out of newspapers in the long run. She requested that council members look into the information about the two bills, and to contact the local District 25 representatives to speak up for HB 1050.
The council then moved into executive session, and adjourned. The next meeting of the council will be on March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
