by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Last Monday, January 9, the Garretson City Council met in regular session. While they covered 2023 water and sewer rates, set a date for municipal elections, and approved an amendment to the land purchase agreement, the topic that dominated the meeting was one brought up during public comment, the need for a fleshed-out Emergency Disaster Plan.
Leslie Black addressed the council about ensuring there was a solid emergency disaster plan in place for Garretson, which she said was difficult to pin down during the latest weather event. Black spoke on behalf of the Garretson Food Pantry, and as a concerned citizen who is working as a volunteer with an at-risk population.
The Garretson Food Pantry serves many families in the area who may not have the resources to get through the month, with food, toiletries, and other necessities and resources as needed. The volunteers often hear of things that may not be addressed but could be. According to Black, one of those is the need for an emergency disaster plan that doesn't rely solely on county services, especially as those services may not be available during a disaster.
She pointed out that this was made clear during the New Year’s blizzard, which made travel difficult- to- impossible for 24-48 hours. She had been contacted by a family whose furnace had gone out in their residence, and due to the storm, were unable to get a technician in to work on the unit and did not have other external heating sources without making a treacherous trip into Sioux Falls to obtain them.
While both Black and the council acknowledged that members of the community will often step up in cases like these, in her attempts to help rectify the situation, Black said she found that many of the resources she tried were not knowledgeable about what their status was in the case of a natural disaster or emergency.
"What I found out, after three hours of phone calls, was that the Lutheran Church had no idea they were the default emergency shelter for people in this community," Black said. She acknowledged that much of this miscommunication could be due to near-complete staff changes at both the city and Zion Lutheran Church in the past year, resulting in the loss of legacy knowledge.
Black said once the church was aware of the situation, "they were very hospitable... and they reached out to the people in need."
However, this prompted discussion among the council regarding the city's emergency plan, and it was discovered that there truly was not one. While Economic Development Director Jessica Fueston had put together a list of resources that were available, there was an assumption that they'd be able to use mostly county resources if the occasion arose.
In conversation with the Emergency Director of Minnehaha County, Jason Gearman, Black said, "[Gearman] said they have a small amount of money to house people in an emergency situation, but they heavily rely on independent communities to have a plan in place to house people either temporarily or long-term in the situation there is an extended disaster or emergency."
Black pointed out that while there is an emergency plan in place for those who are visiting the community, such as campers, there didn't appear to be a solid one for the community's citizens.
"I do believe that's one of the responsibilities of a city, is to safeguard their citizenry," Black said. "I just want to make sure there is a backup plan for these people if there is a natural disaster."
She offered resources for the city to utilize in its development, both in the form of grants and training. She also pointed out that other communities have published lists of numbers to call in several areas and ensure those resources are posted in public areas such as the post office, grocery store, and the city website.
The order of priority for the contacts, said Black, "According to the Minnehaha County Director, usually its area non-profits if you're large enough, then churches, fire department, school, and then the American Legion/VFW in that order."
"When we're looking to the future, if we do continue to have aberrant weather conditions... I want to have options for [citizens]," she concluded.
While no concrete action was put forth during the meeting, it was clear everyone intended to ensure there was forward motion on this concern.
Municipal Election to be held April 11
City Billing Clerk Sonya Swanson then presented natural gas rates for January, which are $1.27/ccf. Despite showing disappointment, the council did not discuss the reasoning behind the substantial price increase from December, which was at $1.11.
Increasing prices was a continuing topic during the meeting, with a proposal that water and sewer rates go up by 3% for 2023.
"We've been talking about keeping our rates comparable," said Mayor Beaner. "Instead of waiting until there's a big project and then having to increase everything by a huge amount."
Part of the impetus behind the raise is due to an increase in rates from Minnehaha Rural Water, which will be going up for rural customers substantially this year. The city is contracted for a bulk amount, but expects that large increased rate to be passed to suburban areas in the next few years.
It is, according to the mayor, a way to prevent the city from having to make a large increase all at once.
This insinuates that the rate is likely to increase by this amount each year.
"In this world, three percent is pretty reasonable," said Councilor Bill Hoskins, referring to inflation rates of up to 9 percent over the past year.
The council then discussed, and voted, to have the municipal election on Tuesday, April 11 at the Legion building. Three council seats are up for two-year terms this year. Currently, those seats are filled by Bill Hoskins (Ward I), Tom Godbey (Ward II), and Bruce Brown (Ward III).
Nomination petitions for election will be available January 27 at city hall, and must be turned back in by February 24 by 5:00 p.m. in order to be on the ballot. All residents of Garretson who are registered to vote are eligible to run, and must obtain at least 5% of their ward's eligible voter signatures on the petition.
As a final act of business, the council approved an amendment to the property purchase south of Sarah C Street that will be finalized on February 14. The amendment agreed to take over the property tax responsibilities for 2023 for the full year, instead of a pro-rated amount.
While the city had hoped to close on the land by December 31 of 2022, publishing requirements had moved the date back. Taking responsibility from the first of the year would help streamline taxes for the seller and the county, and the council voted unanimously to approve the amendment.
Before adjourning, the council reminded everyone to stay on top of snow removal on their property and to ensure vehicles were moved off the streets during snow emergencies. This helps to ensure the safety of children on their way to school each day. Councilor Brown requested the city include a PSA with the next utilities bill, if at all possible.
The latest storm prompted the council to recognize the hard work of the maintenance employees, who put in many hours of overtime trying to get snow cleared from city streets. They also expressed kudos to those who stepped up and helped their fellow community members.
The next regular meeting of the council will be held on Monday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion. All members of the public are invited to attend. Agendas can be found at CityofGarretson.com/agendas.
