This is the first of my monthly columns. These will cover many topics including what the council is working on, what our extraordinary city employees are working on, current topics of interest, and upcoming events. In addition I will highlight topics of interest and how we can all work to make Garretson a destination. As you probably have seen, half of our council are new members in addition to myself as Mayor. Many of our city staff are also relatively new and have taken on many new responsibilities, and are excited to develop our town. May brought difficult weather for our City Wide Rummage Sale week end and the City Wide Clean up day. I personally think we need to move those days to later in the month of May, but I would like your input before I work on that task.
One of the reasons we have have city wide cleanup is to assist and encourage folks to clean up their property. The Springdale kids help people who can't do it themselves or have no way to haul it to Garbage and More. (Just an aside, The Garbage and More folks do a great job to organize and help with this project every year. With out them it would be a nightmare) This is a great community project and my thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success.
Star and I walk morning and evening and we can't help but notice that a few of you either didn't get the message, or didn't bother to clean up! Garretson is a cute town with beautiful parks, clean well kept business's and nicely kept homes. It is a shame that a few don't want to follow rules and clean up. Our Compliance Officer will be knocking on doors and working with some of you to make things clean, neat and safe. PLEASE work with him to keep Garretson clean.
Some additional thoughts on clean up, we do have ordinances regarding tree trimming, noxious weeds control and grass cutting.(Including not blowing grass into the street) I know spring is tough with grass mowing but lets keep things looking great. If you have questions or concerns please reach out to our compliance officer.
So what else is new this month? Splitrock Park is open and campers are showing up for the weekends. Palisades State Park is also open. Our parks board and city staff have been prepping the parks, ball fields and swimming pool for a great summer.
We have a really nice opportunity at the beginning of June to highlight what a great town Garretson is. RASDaK (Ride Across South Dakota) will gather on June 1st in Garretson to kick off this years ride. We are expecting about 220 bike riders, there will also be support staff and rider support teams. We could have up to 400 people here for this event. They will be here in the afternoon/evening and departing the next day for the beginning of their ride and returning on the 7th. Some will be camping in the park, some staying at the high school. As you see these folks around town, please welcome them and assist with anything they need!
Another really cool thing is the new Garretson app. It is already filing with lots of useful information. It will be a long process to get it fully filled, but it is available and running now. GET IT, it will guide you to the information you need.
Have questions or comments, they can be sent through the Garretson City App under staff, or feel free to stop by city hall on Monday or Tuesday mornings between 8:30 and 11:30.
-Bruce Brown, Mayor
Garretson, SD
