by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
At the City Council meeting held Monday, December 13, new ward districting lines were proposed.
"We have to do this every 10 years with the census," City Finance Officer Anna Uhl explained. The South Eastern Council of Governments (SECOG), a planning and developmental district entity, helps the city with this endeavor. Two options were provided, according to Uhl.
"I followed the one option that I thought would work best with regards to future growth within the city," she said. That option split the wards into sections numbering 400 voters for Ward I, 427 voters for Ward II, and 427 voters for Ward III.
"Right now our deviation is way out of whack with the way things have changed," she explained. Growth is currently happening on the south end of the city, but the development was not ready when the census was taken.
The district lines for Wards I and II would be moved slightly, while Ward III would stay the same.
The proposed districting would merge the block north of 5th Street between Center Ave and Canyon Avenue, and the block east of Canyon and north of 4th Street, into Ward 1.
The lines are also left vague for areas west of Highway 11, according to Uhl. This allows for the areas to be integrated seamlessly into Ward II if it should be annexed in within the next ten years. Areas to the south of Essex Street will stay in Ward III, and areas to the north would be in Ward II. (Currently, only the property south of Essex is within City limits. This property includes Palisade Oil.)
The area south of Sarah C St is also written into the ward ordinance with the same wording, as the area to 254th St is likely to be annexed within the next decade. This means Ward III will have more eligible voters within its lines before the next census, and that Garretson will likely see a larger ward change in 2031. The council will vote to accept or reject the proposed wards at the next council meeting, which will be held on Monday, January 10 at the American Legion.
Other pieces of note from the council meeting:
Natural gas prices are down $0.06 to $1.12 for December, still substantially higher than normal, but a small relief as the weather turns colder.
Mayor Greg Beaner announced that Sioux Metro Growth Alliance recently helped Blue Dragon Academy secure $690,000 to help with expanding its building, and thanked Executive Director Jesse Fonkert for his proactive help with that effort.
City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum is retiring at the end of December, after 28 years in his position. He is likely to help the city out on a part-time basis in the coming months, but will be officially handing his baton over to successors Jordan Doane and Ryan Nussbaum. A retirement party/open house will be held on December 30 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Legion Dugout, and Mayor Beaner invites everyone to come and wish Nussbaum well.
