White, South Dakota

White City Council Minutes

December 5, 2016

               The regular meeting of the White City Council was called to order on Monday, December 5^th, 2016 in the McKnight Community Center at 7:00pm by Mayor Terry Wright. Roll Call was taken: present –Chris Wilts, Wayne Kelm, Julie Westberg and Deborah Hopfinger.; Absent – Martha Brandt.

With no additions or deletions to the agenda, motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Kelm to approve the agenda; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The meeting minutes were read from the November 7^th regular meeting. Westberg asked for 1 change to be made. Final copy of the minutes can be found online. Motion was made by Wilts, seconded by Kelm to approve the minutes with the change; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The following bills were presented for approval:

Motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Westberg to approve payment of all bills; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

At 7:05pm, the Council welcomed Randy Hanson, Manager of Investment Group, and Casey Crabtree, Heartland Consumer’s Power, to discuss the progress of the White Care Center, now known as The Centre. City attorney, Jesse Ronning, was also present to answer and legal questions. Crabtree explained how the Investment Group has applied for a low interest loan through the USDA. All of the paperwork and such has been submitted and they are just waiting to hear back regarding if the loan has been granted to them or not. This loan is granted on a quarterly basis and Crabtree was optimistic that they would know by January. However, there is no guarantee. Since the Investment Group has not been given a response, they are not willing to move forward with the construction of the building at this time. Hanson explained how the numbers will not work if they do not get this loan. The Council discussed the option of requiring the Investment Group to pay for expenses associated with the existing building starting January 1, 2017. Crabtree discussed the possibility of having the City apply for an Economic Development grant through Heartland that would grant up to $5,000 to help offset the costs associated with maintaining the building such as insurance, water and heat, and snow removal.  There was also discussion on updating the clinic in order to keep their business operating as best of possible. Mayor Wright suggested doing a walk-through with Hanson and talk with the clinic to see what the City and the Investment Group could do to ensure satisfaction. After some discussion, the council agreed to allowing the Investment Group to change the deadline on the purchase agreement to June 30, 2017 allowing enough time to get the funds in line.

The Council proceeded to discuss the hall cleaning position, as Bruce Wilts had turned his resignation effective immediately. Chris Wilts offered to do the cleaning for the time being until the position is filled. She also suggested hiring a lady who lives in town that would be interested in helping. Westberg also agreed to help if necessary. The Council agreed to let Chris do the hall cleaning with the help of whomever she’d like for the time being. Mayor Wright appointed Wilts to the Hall Cleaning position effective immediately. Wilts also presented the Council with pictures of the kitchen and Legion room after a breakfast put on by the American Legion Post #88 of White. The floors and cabinets were left dirty and made for a longer clean-up than expected. Since Legion representative, Erik Gutormson was present at the meeting, the Council asked Erik if he would relay this information to the Legion and ask for them to be more careful and maybe clean-up better after they use the facility. Gutormson agreed to discussing this with the Legion. Haber was asked to follow-up with Cooks to see if they would be able to supply the City with a recycling bin.

The Council discussed any progress being made on the hall improvements. Haber had spoken with Cobb Creek about getting the new door installed and doing some work in the hall over the winter months. Mayor Wright also talked with Mike Robbins about installation of glass board and he was told to contact him after the first of year when he would have more time to look at the project. In the meantime, it was suggested to purchase a couple of door drops to be placed under the west door so the snow and cold air cannot get into the building until the new door can be installed. Erik Gutormson also stated that the Legion would be willing to volunteer their time to paint wherever necessary as long as the City purchased the paint. The Council discussed what colors they would prefer to be used on the beams and the walls if they opted to paint. They also talked about replacing 4 of the window air conditioning units with 1 efficient unit. Mayor Wright stated that he talked with Francis Anderson and they estimated that the new unit would cost approximately $2,000 each. It was also suggested that the smoke heaters be taken down during the remodel process and left down. The Council was also presented with a price sheet from Servall for mop heads. Haber will get a price sheet from Hillyard as well to compare costs.

The Council proceeded to discuss updates to the Policies and Procedures Handbook.

A second reading for Ordinance 141 regarding Parking Tickets was read. Westberg asked about these ordinances being published in the ordinance book on the website. The ordinances will not be put into the ordinance book until effective date, which is January 1, 2017. Motion was made by Westberg, seconded by Hopfinger to approve of the reading as is; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

A first reading of Ordinance 142-Budget Appropriation for 2017 Budget was reviewed. Motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Wilts to approve ordinance as read; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

                Dan DeYoung, City Maintenance Superintendent, stated that he has a couple of projects he is working to get done before it gets too cold. He discussed trimming trees and snow removal. There was a complaint e-mailing into the City regarding the plow knocking over mail boxes and throwing gravel into residents’ yards. The council advised Dan to be more careful however, in order to get the snow off of the streets sometimes accidents will happen.

                Melanie Haber, Finance Officer, notified the Council that she will be gone January 2^nd, when the next regularly scheduled meeting is to be held. The Council opted to leave the meeting date as is and one of the councilmembers will take minutes. She also notified the Council of dates that she will be taking time off in December. Mary Raine, Finance Office backup, will be contacting and will work the days she is available. It was also suggested that Haber find a way to change the voicemail in the office when she is out. Haber also presented the Council with a quote from A&B Business Solutions to set up the fax on the big printer in the Finance Office since the other fax has not been working correctly for a couple of months. The quote was for $395.00. The Council asked to get a couple more bids to compare. They also discussed the option of purchasing a new unit that would be able to print color, black and white, and fax. Haber will get more quotes for next month’s meeting.

                Upcoming Meetings/Dates/Agenda Items included:

•          Festival of Trees: December 2-11
•          Santa Night: December 16
•          Legion Christmas Party: December 19
•          New Year’s Eve Dance: December 31
•          January 2, 2016 - Next Regular City Council meeting, McKnight Hall, 7pm

Haber was asked if the Festival of Trees could remain up until after Santa Night. Haber stated that the Brookings Singles Dance is that Saturday prior and that last year they did not want the tree’s set up during their dance. She was told that the Singles would be okay with leaving them up this year. Haber will follow-up on this.

No Old Business was discussed.

Public comments – Westberg asked about creating better lines of communication when it comes to the hall calendar. There were some issues with postponing events and days of set-up, etc. Westberg asked if she could be copied on any e-mails that are sent out regarding events. Arlene Madsen also asked to be on that list as she is the treasurer for the Community Club. Haber was also advised to change the McKnight Hall form online and put Julie’s contact information on the form for the White Community Club bar.

Correspondence – None.

Nuisances – An issue was discussed regarding dogs in neighbor’s yard. The ordinance currently in place states that a dog is supposed to be leashed if outside of home. However, if the dog is on the neighbors caught on the neighbor’s property, that person may call the Brookings Sheriff’s office and the dog will be impounded. There was also concern about large commercial vehicles creating a nuisance.

                The delinquent utility bill statement was read and discussed. Motion was made by Wilts, seconded by Hopfinger to shut all services off if past due balance is not paid by 20^th of December; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.         

The Council was presented with the financial statements for the month. Motion was made by Wilts, seconded by Hopfinger to approve of the Financial Statements; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

With no further business to come before the Council, motion made by Wilts, seconded by Hopfinger to adjourn; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:47 pm.

Terry Wright, Mayor

Melanie Haber, Finance Officer