White, South Dakota

The regular meeting of the White City Council was called to order on Monday, July 11, 2016 in the McKnight Community Center at 7:00pm by Mayor Terry Wright. Roll Call was taken: present –Chris Wilts, Wayne Kelm, Martha Brandt and Deborah Hopfinger.

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

The meeting minutes were read from June 6^th and June 14^th. Motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Brandt to approve the minutes as read; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The following bills were presented for approval:

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

At 7:05pm, the Council discussed updates with the White Care Center (now known as The Centre). A new purchase agreement was submitted and reviewed by city attorney, Jesse Ronning. Ronning saw nothing wrong with the agreement so motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Kelm to approve of the new purchase agreement; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The Council discussed what to do with the remaining surplus items in the building since everything that had been bid on and accepted has been removed. It was suggested to sell the items in a rummage sale type format by setting a date for the sale and allowing cash and carry for the items. Another suggestion was made to sell items in a silent auction type format. Councilmembers felt that some of the items need to have a minimum price to avoid underpayment. Mayor Wright also suggested getting all the items in which the Investment Group requested to be left in the building moved into 1 or 2 rooms in order to avoid them being sold. Wright and Randy Hanson, manager of Investment Group, will meet at the facility on July 22^nd and 23^rd to get all those items moved. The Council set the sale date for Tuesday, August 2^nd from 4:00pm – 7:00pm. Items will be sold in a rummage sale type format accepting cash only. Items must be removed by the end of the sale.

Randy Hanson, manager of Investment Group, was present and discussed the potential to move forward with the remodel of the facility in association with Heartland Consumer’s Power District. HCPD is planning on funding the project and are also offering growth and energy incentives for business operators within the facility. Hanson stated that he does have tenants interested in all the commercial spaces at this time. He also stated that he has spoken with the propane gas company about renting out the propane tank for the facility. The company has agreed to push the reissue date until the investment group has committed to the project.

The Council received a bid on a wheelchair for $25.00 from Rodney Foster. Motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Kelm to accept Foster’s bid; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The Council discussed the plans for Pioneer Days 2016. This included approving giving a $1,000 donation to the committee to pay for half of the band on Saturday night. The committee also submitted an application for a beer license in the park on Saturday July 16^th along with the $10.00 fee. Motion was made by Hopfinger, seconded by Wilts to approve paying the donation and accepting the beer license; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried. The Council was also notified that the street in front of the hall will be roped off for bean bags starting Friday evening and will be removed by Saturday morning. Finance Officer, Melanie Haber, asked if the cleaning crew had been confirmed for the weekend with all the events taking place. Wilts stated that custodian, Tim Cariveau, will be available however with an event taking place at 11:00am on Sunday morning after the Saturday night dance, she was concerned with the cleaning getting done in time. Kelm and DeYoung will contact part-time summer help, Tracey Haaseth, to ask if she would be available to help Tim on Sunday morning.

The Council opened up 2 sealed bids for the water heater that was surplused. A bid for $275.00 and a bid for $307.50 was read. Motion was made by Wilts, seconded by Kelm to approve of the bid for $307.50; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

The Council proceeded to discuss the McKnight Hall remodel updates. Hopfinger stated that she will be getting bids for the installation of the glass board around the interior of the big hall by August 1^st. Discussion about replacing the east hall door including questions regarding how big the door could be and possibly removing the existing furnace closet. Midwest Glass will be getting an estimate for a new door to the Finance Office for next month’s meeting. A new motion detected light will be installed by Amp Electric as approved last month. A new floor scrubber was mentioned by Wilts stating that the existing one is not working properly anymore. She will be contacting Hillyard with the cost to replace the rubber on the unit. Painting the pillars and ceiling in the big hall was discussed. DeYoung was also asked to check out a possible leak in the roof. Council also asked Wilts to get a bid for laying concreate on the west side of the building where the dumpster is located. It has become an issue with the gravel being drug into the hall and wrecking the floors.

The updated department roster was presented to the Council asking for replacements for the spots in which Chris Willmott held. The organizations and departments can be found on the city’s website,

The Council was presented with a copy of the Policies and Procedures Handbook. Brandt suggested revisiting the harassment and maternity leave polices especially. The Council will take the book home and make their suggested changes to the policies for review at the August meeting.

A cease and desist letter was reviewed by the Council regarding former Councilmember, Tammy Byers. Discussion took place questioning if the letter was necessary or not. Motion was made by Brandt, seconded by Hopfinger to send the letter to Byers; roll call vote taken as followed: Hopfinger – Yes, Kelm – Yes, Wilts – No, Brandt – Yes; with a 3-1 vote, motion carried.

                Dan DeYoung, City Maintenance Superintendent, stated that the new mosquito sprayer arrived. Brandt asked DeYoung for advice on removing a tree and where the branches should be hauled to since the dump is very full. DeYoung stated that he planned on burning the dump soon so the branches should be fine to be hauled down there. Mayor Wright read a thank-you letter from Rolefsen Implement for the purchase of the new mower. DeYoung will also be spending some time getting ready for Pioneer Days.

                Melanie Haber, Finance Officer, updated the Council on the training progress with temp, Mary Raine. Both Haber and Raine asked the Council if they were okay with allowing one employee to work alone in the office somedays when help is not necessary from the other. Wright stated that as long as the office is open, there shouldn’t be a problem. Raine is okay with being flexible and working when needed. Wilts suggested implementing a shared calendar between employees and council members such as a Google Calendar. This way all parties involved would know when employees will be gone or when councilmembers will be out of town. The Council agreed that this would be a good system to implement. Kelm will check into this and report back next month.

                Haber also asked about getting some Farmer’s Market signs to display on Tuesdays. They had a paper sign but it was ruined by the weather. Hopfinger suggested looking at the UPS Store. She will contact them to see what the prices for a couple of signs would be, but estimated that 2 signs would be around $200. Motion was made by Wilts, seconded by Hopfinger to approve spending up to $200 for the signs; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried.

                Haber also notified the Council that the city did receive a $940.00 grant from the SD Department of Health for mosquito control.

                Mary Raine, Finance Office temporary, suggested implementing some different techniques in the Finance Office such as depositing methods, adding new software and adding a signature line to the building permits. The Council agreed to add the Mayor’s approval signature on all building permits issued. Haber will look into the cost of adding a new software program in the office.

                Upcoming Meetings/Dates/Agenda Items included:

• July 14-17: 2016 Pioneer Days
• August 1: Next regular City Council meeting, McKnight Hall, 7pm

No old business was discussed.

Public comments – None.

Correspondence – The City received a letter from Cook’s Wastepaper stating that a 2% rate increase will go into effect immediately. The Council asked the Finance Office to look into the contract with Cook’s to see if this was allowed. 

Nuisances – Wilts submitted pictures of nuisances that she found for the month. Letters will be send to the violators with repercussions made for those not complying with ordinances.

                Haber also stated that she received a complaint about the fireworks in town going off late into the night. The Council will revisit the ordinance in place and bring their suggested changes to the next meeting. It was also suggested that the ordinance be published in the paper the week of July 4^th next year to remind residents of the policy in place.

                The Council was presented with the financial statements for the month. It was noticed that construction was taking place within town with no building permits issued. Wright stated that he will be keeping a closer eye on this. 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 Hopfinger, seconded by Kelm to adjourn; roll call vote taken with all present voting aye; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:54 pm.

Terry Wright, Mayor

Melanie Haber, Finance Officer