New pit and housing coming next year; December Murdo city meeting

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. The agenda was approved with a few additions. Last month’s meeting minutes were approved with a correction. There were a couple of building permits; each by two different people. One was to fix the foundation of a home, and the other one is for a new storage shed. The permits were approved.

Ashley Geigle was in attendance for the public forum. She had nominated Krysti Barnes for Dakota Resource’s Local Partner of the Year award. She felt that Barnes was an integral part of Ashley’s position as an economic development director. Out of over 30 different communities, Barnes received this award. Geigle wanted to publically recognize her. The award is given by Dakota Resources and sponsors.

At this time, the council reviewed vouchers. Barnes explained one item where someone had sold their house, and so a reimbursement was given. Vouchers were approved. 

Jeff Sonder was back from his medical leave and gave the public works report. He reviewed the process for the storage shed to be built at the airport. It is going to be assembled off the premises and brought in.

The council then discussed pricing for their concrete and delivery. They also discussed uses for the concrete they’re not selling. Discussion continued for awhile on many aspects related to the concrete. They want to compare prices to a few other sellers before setting a price.

There was a situation with Housing which the council addressed. They had helped haul some dirt for the entity and were trying to decide whether to bill for this little bit of labor or not. Council ultimately decided not to bill them this time around.

Next, the council conferred about the alley going into west housing. When water accumulates in this alley, the gravel gets washed down and blocks parking. Sonder is not really sure of any solutions to this problem. Any water diversion would lead the water to other structures, and the council doesn’t want to restructure that entire area at this time.

Sonder met with WRLJ on the Luke Newsam project. It would be a challenging project for the city to get involved with construction-wise. Financially, it could be beneficial to the city, as it is an opportunity to sell more water. If the city decides not to do this project, WRLJ will need to ask the city for permission to put their lines down. The council explored the different dynamics involved with future development of this property if the city was in charge of the water. The city would have to sell enough water to pay for any maintenance costs. A long discussion was had on what would be needed to go through with this project. The council ultimately decided that they will need to wait for more information and bids. 

Sonder was approached by someone from the school board about taking over snow removal responsibilities for the high school. Barnes brought up the snow removal agreement between the school and the city that had been found by the school board member. Sonders then described how snow removal has been handled in the past few years. The city and the school board need to visit with their attorneys to make amendments to the agreement, or to rescind the agreement completely. The issue will be talked about  with the school board as well. They then talked about priorities for snow removal. The council will wait until the school board meets to discuss this issue further. The next school board meeting was Monday, December 9.

Sonder met with John Herber, who gave an estimate and diagram of the goal/plan of the new pit at the restricted use site. He explained a state law on storm water flow and how the pit plan accounts for that. Sonder also described how the pit would be covered every month using dirt from one side of the pit. This way, the pit would slowly expand over time rather than digging the pit all in one go. The hired help wouldn’t be able to come to Murdo for this project until June or July 2025. The board, in general, agrees that they would like to hire Herber to dig the pit. Discussion was had on tearing down structures and whether there is still space for some structures in the current pit. More discussion was had on this later on in the meeting. Sonders said that they have been bringing the dozer into the pit and crushing the debris before burying it and it has saved some space and time before the new pit can be built.

They discussed 4-way lights. Sonder got a quote for the electricity to the stop signs. He had asked for another quote but hasn’t received it at the time of this meeting. The council considered other options available for bringing awareness to drivers of the upcoming 4-way stop signs. 

At this time, Quade Slovek asked about a timeline for the teardown for the two properties belonging to economic development that will be replaced by new homes. They discussed the remaining space in the pit and what to do if the space is filled before the new pit is dug.

The issue is that the new ED houses are arriving anywhere between spring and early summer, and the new pit digging will only be started around June or July. The old ED houses will need to be torn down before/when the new houses arrive. The council agreed that working on teardown sooner rather than later was the way to go and they considered when to do the teardowns by. Slovak proposed coming up with a date to set the teardown deadline, to relay to ED when the teardown will be done by. The council decided that having both houses torn down by April was reasonable. The public works report was approved.

Barnes gave the Financial report. The MNCC did the decorating at the gazebo again, as nobody showed any interest in doing decorating this year. Barnes then informed the council of days she will be gone. A letter was received from an auditor. It was about an agreement for him to do their audit this year in April. The audit proposal was approved.

Then discussed the supplemental budget. The contingency resolution was shown to the council. Barnes supplemented the items in the general fund that seemed to be running low. Council also did their first reading of an ordinance for supplemental appropriations. Barnes described the reimbursements that were received. Carrie Lolley asked why this one is with an ordinance and not a resolution. Barnes explained the law requiring it this way when supplementing with assigned cash. After the ordinance reading, the contingency resolution was passed. 

The council then addressed setting a date for the End of the Year meeting. They decided on the Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Barnes then discussed the Christmas supper pricing and date, she needed to know who all is going. They decided on Dec. 20 for the city council’s Christmas supper. The finance report was approved.

The council then held a public hearing to approve a temporary liquor license for Circle E Drive-in. It was approved.

At this time, the council opened the bids for the airport and south dam hay. There was only a $35/bale bid was received. The council did not accept the bid because the city advertised for a price per ton, not per bale, and each bale varies in tons. The city will run the advertisement for hay bids again. 

Then discussed old business. They started with the Murdo Development Corp. agreement amendments. They decided not to act on it tonight, but rather the End of the Year meeting, as Lolley brought up some concerns from an article she read on open meeting laws that had talked about “action items” being separate from discussion items.

Next, council discussed law enforcement. It's too late to supplement the county budget for law enforcement, so there’s not much that can be done with the county right now, as budgets need to be set before a decision on law enforcement with the county can be made. The council discussed possibly advertising around for a police officer. Esmay asked what to do with the county if someone is hired. Donna Fischer suggested to maybe create a subgroup for communication between the city council, new police officer, and the county to work together. The council will discuss this further in January. 

Next discussed new business. Jon Esmay briefed the council on what was talked about at the meeting for the North Dam development. The main concerns were getting the dam stocked, camping spots, and possibly getting a walking path. The next meeting for the north dam will be on December 18 at the gun club and is open for anyone to attend.

The conversation turned again to law enforcement. There was a Facebook post about a dog issue and Esmay asked if he was allowed to round up troubling dogs on his own time or if that would bring issues with the city. He also asked if there are fines in place for issues like this; there are.

Next discussed the Geisler annuity beneficiary resolution. A resolution was made to authorize a different signor for the annuity and was approved.

Next the council discussed the auditorium agreement and the lights on the north side of school. There are complaints of the area being too dark, which could be a hazard with icy conditions. Barnes talked to someone at West Central Electric, and he said he could replace some lights on the street but the only way to light up closer to the building is to install new lights on the building. The council deliberated on what type of lighting to install.

Next discussed was the Central SD Enhancement District. There is a regional survey that the enhancement district is urging council members to complete. Also brought to the council was the Joint Powers agreement for 2025. Barnes described what the Joint Powers agreement entails. If the city joins the agreement, they will get free or discounted services. The city usually pays for half of the county’s fees, and the fee is due at the 1st of the year. The city cannot enter the agreement without the county. The Central SD Enhancement District Joint Powers Agreement was approved to be renewed.

At this time, Barnes reminded the council of the after hours shopping event on December 11.

The council then went into executive session for personnel reasons and the meeting ended afterwards.