by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson City Council met on Monday, October 11, and covered a lot of ground. They approved a natural gas incentive for new and existing businesses, had a lively discussion with community members about the proposed areas for the event center, and opted to put chickens on the next month's agenda after a new community member asked to re-analyze the ordinance.
Natural Gas incentive for new businesses
The natural gas incentive was proposed as a way to encourage economic development. The city has a very strong natural gas system, and by selling it at a wholesale price for the first year of a new business, it could entice more business owners to consider Garretson as a location.
This incentive could also encourage revitalization from current businesses, by giving a discount on any markup from the City on natural gas prices.
Markups occur as a way to provide funds for continued maintenance to pipelines, and the incentive would give a 100% discount on retail costs for the first year, 75% for the second year, and 50% for the third year.
However, Garretson Gazette co-owner Carrie Moritz questioned the bar that was set for improvements, noting that the council could inadvertently be cutting out current businesses that are making improvements. The bar set was at $30,000 and includes requires a business plan that shows increased square footage and/or a plan to increase customer base or staff.
Council member Greg Franka concurred, stating that in a town the size of Garretson, $30,000 is a lot of money.
Council member Bill Hoskins questioned if the purchase of a plot of land would be included in that, or if a new business has other parameters that need to be followed. Mayor Beaner reminded the council that other parameters included a sales tax license and operation on a commercially zoned property, as well as a system that requires natural gas.
However, the city was looking to ensure the improvements would be substantial, and were following county guidelines for a tax break as far as cost. Mayor Greg Beaner stated they knew of no other towns that were incorporating this type of incentive and were working to promote the strengths Garretson has. Economic Director Jessica Fueston noted that she felt the amount was fair.
It was questioned whether a real estate purchase was included in the final cost of those improvements, which the council agreed should be included.
The ordinance was approved, though the council will be reviewing each application request.
Sheriff's Dept states assaults, citations are up
After approving a fence variance, the council heard from Minnehaha County Sheriff's Patrol, Captain Adam Zishka. He focused on the outreach he expects from his officers, which includes re-directing non-positive behavior from youth by working with the school resource officer.
He pointed out that often, much of the behavior from youths can be addressed in this way, and that it's common and expected in small towns such as Garretson. Whether it's burnouts in cars or underage behaviors, they can usually pinpoint who the culprits are fairly quickly and address it if the behavior is reported.
He stated that most citations issued in Garretson have been for not stopping and for speeding. While citations had dropped substantially in 2020, the numbers were back up this year.
As far as emergency calls went, overall, assaults have been up this year. He said his officers have been called out on 13 assaults in Garretson this year, though one residence appears to be the main offender for those calls. He noted as well that three DUI's have been issued.
He then explained the contracted hours Garretson has with the Sheriff's Department, which are 3.25 hours during the day and 3 hours at night on top of emergency and non-emergency calls. As of September, Garretson was 107 hours over their contracted hours from calls and cases.
He was aware that like any town, there were certain areas that needed more focus than others, and was in communication with his officers to ensure they were being patrolled.
His highest recommendation to council members was not to wait until issues built up, but to remain in contact with him regularly so patterns could be established. He also recommended community members use the non-emergency number to report non-emergent issues, such as stopped trains.
Flags around town explained
After the council approved natural gas prices, city finance officer Anna Uhl gave a report on a municipal league conference she attended. During that report, she spoke about federal funding that the DANR should be receiving in January. This funding is slated wholly for infrastructure improvements, and has been expected for a while. Being granted the funding is not assured, but the City intends to apply.
In preparation of applying for the funding, the City hired a surveyor team, hence all the flags around town that are being spotted. This will allow the City to make informed decisions about which infrastructure should be prioritized.
Parks reports were next on the agenda. Campground manager Bruce Rekstad stated that overall, camping in Split Rock Park has been popular the past two summers. While some of that can be attributed to the pandemic, he also stated it was because of the implementation of the RoverPass campground management system, which brought bookings on-line.
Garretson Parks Advisory Committee (Park Board) member Kelli Schleuter then pointed out the rundown of projects that had been sent to the council. Several had been completed or were in progress after this summer. Council member Jodi Gloe and Mayor Beaner both commended the Park Board on their work, and they in turn thanked the city employees for their contributions.
Later in the meeting, during other items brought before the council, council member Tom Godbey expressed a wish to improve the road heading into the north tent site. An estimate had been procured earlier in the summer to re-surface the road, and Godbey wanted to move forward with it as soon as possible.
Three of the four advisory committee members were in attendance along with council advisor Gloe, and expressed to Godbey that they were looking at the options in that area. They did not recommend moving forward with that estimate yet, as it was for approximately $12,000.
Schleuter stated this kind of money could easily be used in other areas, such as erosion prevention on the beach area, or even within town on alleyways, if it's coming out of the street repair budget.
However, the board wanted to ensure the fix made would last as long as possible without costing the city too much. They intended to contact engineering and landscaping experts to get their opinion on resurfacing that area and create a comprehensive plan.
Godbey was unhappy with that recommendation, wishing for the contractor to be locked in for next spring as soon as possible. He felt the board was not taking his request seriously and wasn't prioritizing well. He accused them of thinking he was stupid.
Board member Carrie Moritz explained her reasoning that the board was happy to have the estimate and the request, because now they had a place to start from. They weren't recommending the re-surfacing for the reasons stated, because they were looking to ensure priorities were in the right order and that any work done would last. Mayor Beaner reassured Godbey they could afford to wait a few months so all avenues could be pursued.
Ambulance Director Kurtis Nelson then updated the council on the Garretson Ambulance Department. The ambulance crew have had a busy year so far. Nelson reported they're on track to have an overall increase in calls so far this year, with 165 calls and 124 transports from January to September. (More about the ambulance can be found in the October 14 issue of the Gazette.)
Economic Development Director Jessica Fueston gave an update on meetings that have been hosted by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance with the goal of improving economic development in Garretson. An initial step that will be taken soon was the creation of a central economic development group, which would then have subcommittees that all served the same goal in different ways.
Several members of the audience then expressed opposition or concerns to the proposed location of the city hall/events center. (Full article on this subject can be found on page 1-3.)
As a final piece, new community member Erica Dellman asked about allowing chickens within city limits. A few years ago the council had completely re-crafted the animal ordinance, and had eliminated a provision that allowed for chickens.
Dellman asked if the ordinance could be re-visited with regards to the animals, and the council agreed to place it on November's agenda.
The next meeting of the council will occur on Monday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
