By Dave Baumeister, County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky was sidelined during for the Tuesday, Sept. 1, meeting due to possible exposure from COVID-19.
Karsky seemed to be feeling well and was still present for the meeting via video conferencing, but he stayed away to make sure others were safe.
But even without conferencing, he would not have missed much at this 16-minute meeting.
The weekly bills were relatively low, there were no property tax abatements or lien compromises, and for the first time in the past few weeks, no one came in for public comments.
Kevin Hoekman of the Planning and Zoning Department gave information in a first reading for a Sept. 29 public hearing to amend the county’s zoning ordinance for permanent foundations placed under manufactured homes.
Currently, those foundations must be put down to the frost line, and the amendment would change the regulations to comply with federal Housing and Urban Development skirting rules.
This change was approved unanimously by the planning commission, Hoekmen said.
Anyone wishing to speak about this can attend the second reading and public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m.
County Highway Superintendent DJ Buthe was also present through video conferencing and had some good news and mixed news about bridge repairs.
First, he called for an addendum to the budget of $25,000 for four bridge repair projects.
He explained that when they planned for the projects, they thought they could use standard plates for repairs.
However, the age of the bridges required custom engineering, as current, standard plates will not match the connections on the older bridges.
On the bright side, though, when finished, the county will be able to apply for historic preservation bridge grants which could pay for 80% of the repairs.
And it was on a similar “80/20 matching” note that Buthe said grant money from the state Department of Transportation came in for three other county bridge repairs.
In addition, he added, while the grant called for a 20% county match with the grants, recent state legislation eliminated that requirement, so the grant money will now cover the entire cost of the project.
The Minnehaha Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
