City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, I call this meeting to order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands nationy and justice for all. Thank you all for attending. Would the clerk please take attendance? All council members are present. Mr. Mayor, city attorney Vince Jones is joining us via conference line. All right. Thank you. Item three is the approval of the agenda. Entertain a motion to approve the agenda. So moved.

Second. Are there any comments on the agenda from the public? Comments from councel. Please call the role. Avery. Hi. Doran. Hi. Haggar. Neymireer. Hi. Specker. Hi. Tilton. Hi. Wendell. Hi.

All right. In order to uh open forum is next. In order to provide equal access to all during the open forum and public comment portions of the meeting, each individual offering comments shall not exceed the allotted three-minute period. The podium light turns green to yellow when there is one minute remaining. Your time comment is expired when the podium light turns red. Is there any member of the public who wishes to address the council on an item not listed on tonight's agenda? All right, seeing none, we will move on to next item of business. Action on the consent agenda. Are there any items to be removed from the consent agenda?

Seeing none, entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. So moved. Second. All right. Are there any public comments on this item? Council, any questions, comments? Please call the role. Doran. Hi. Haggar. Hi. Neeem. Hi. Specker. Hi. Tiltenber. Hi. Wendell. Hi. Avery. Hi.

Okay. Presentation and reports. The first thing I have is I have a merclamation. Invite Mark Sternhagen to come up. All right. Meril proclamation. Whereas development developmental disabilities are often pres present present at early birth in those impacted and endure across the length lifespan of a person. I'm sorry. I'm going to do that over again. Nobody understood that at all and neither did I. Whereas developmental disabilities are often present as early as birth in those impacted and endure across the lifespan of a person. And whereas disability is the natural part of the human experience that does not diminish the right of individuals to enjoy self-determination and experience full inclusion. And whereas family, friends, and the community may play an important role in enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities, especially when provided with necessary services and supports. And whereas the goals of our community include providing individuals with disabilities the opportunities and support to achieve full integration in society in an individualized manner consistent with unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of each individual. And whereas through increased awareness of programs and activities, the public will better

understand the potential and needs of individuals with disabilities. Now therefore, it be resolved, I, Opki Garrett Neemire, mayor of the city of Brookings, do hereby proclaim March 2026 as developmental disabilities awareness month and call upon the people of Brookings to recognize the special observance and witness therefore placed by the seal of the city of Brookings. Here you go, Mark. Thank you, mayor. Developmental disabilities, something that starts early or maybe pre-birth and often some of the happiest people that you'll find, but also somebody that that so often we look away from. We see them, we look the other way, and we walk the other way. we go to the other side of the street or whatever. Why do we do that? Because of fear. Fear that that could have been me. Fear that maybe that what what about my next child, grandchild, it could be them. But I think we should embrace that fear and look at it and say, if what if it did happen to me? What if it had been me? Wouldn't I want things better? Wouldn't I want things to be the best they could be? That accessibility and inclusion would be part of it. Wouldn't I want that? So, when we do better for the disabled, don't do better for the disabled, do better for you. Because in the long run,

the really dirty secret is everybody's going to fit into that category sometime as we get older. And and sometimes it's even a much meaner way because quite often, as I said, many of the developmental disabled are some of the happiest people on earth and often because they don't really know anything different. And but when we get older and things happen, we maybe do no different and it makes it much harder to deal with. So the sooner that you embrace it and come to terms with it and then try to do better for everyone for yourself, we're all going to do better. So thank you tonight and uh I hope you've given you something to think about. Thank you. All right. Our our next presentation is uh Brookings annual free share and care day. I invite Trish Matson Boo up to give us some ideas details.

Thank you mayor. Good evening everyone. Is the mic? Okay. My name is Trish Matson Booth and I am here Oh, that got a little That looks pretty funky. Um, I am here to present a small idea that can solve issues in Brookings. And I like to come out of the gate by saying it really doesn't need to cost the city anything much at all. Um I do kind of operate under the assumption that if you build it they will come. And so what may start as a small idea can really um in my mind at least um turn into something um like a bit of a movement actually. And this isn't a brand new idea. There are um free share events in some city neighborhoods around the country but in my research I haven't found a city that does a citywide event. So, um, is this how I move forward? Oops.

Oh, okay. Sorry. All right. So, the problems people have too much stuff these days, right? Um, in our town, a significant amount of people move at the end of the spring semester or before the summer starts. And when people are ready to part with their usable excess items, sometimes they prefer to have a a better option, a better feel-good option than just dropping things off at a at a thrift store. Um, pricing rumale items is tedious. Excess usable items end up in landfills or overwhelmed donation centers like thrift stores. And today, many families are under financial pressure and could benefit from others excess usable items. But sometimes giveaway events don't focus on dignity for people. Um, neighborhood connection is more limited these days compared to decades of the past and giving away free stuff to our neighbors could just be normalized here in Brookings. So my idea is an annual share and care day. It's a decentralized event. It's not a one central location that would provide or would um cause parking issues or anything like that. It's not run by the city. It's a volunteer-driven event. Basically, if you think um like a citywide rumage sale, but all the participants agree that everything is free. There's no cost to anything that you're putting out. All items are completely free. And there is a participation map that helps local residents who want to um shop around. It helps them locate the share spots. How it works, residents who want to participate sign up on a Google form. Um they set up their share spot just like a rumage sale in their driveway, their yard, a porch, or maybe a shared space

eventually for those who don't have um their own driveway, yard, porch, etc. The public map shows the share spot locations for the participants who have agreed on um the details of the event. Event hours are just in the morning on on the last Saturday of April which coincides quite closely with um Earth Day. And then the hosts are responsible for removing their leftovers. So what this is not, it's not a cityrun event. It's not a curbside dumping day. It's not held in conjunction with the bulky items cleanup. Um it's it's nothing like like that. It's really if you think in your mind again just having a rumage sale, but everything is free. No money is exchanged. Um it's not an ongoing thing. It's a one-time event and it's not a replacement for proper waste disposal. Things that are not usable are not the the focus of this event. So, it's a community-led sustainability initiative, a structured time limited sharing event, a simple way to reduce landfill waste, a support system for families and students, a neighborhood connection opportunity, an Earth Day aligned civic effort, and an excellent model for other cities. Um, and again, clear host expectations and event guidelines will ensure responsible participation. So there are several benefits to Brookings. Kind of touched on some of those already, but it would provide an excellent model to other cities too. Other cities who already look to Brookings for some of the things that we just do here and we do well. So this could be a small part of that picture. So I I do uh humbly ask for your support

in just kind of giving it the blessing moving forward and um being aware of what's going on. Um at minimum, you know, endorsing it, maybe Sherry helping with social media shoutouts, just sharing the information about the event, that'd be great. Um even putting it on the city calendar listing, that would be great. um even you know if there was to be any kind of a partnership using the city of Brookings um on any of the publicity efforts would be great. So that's minimum. Um moderate level participation from the city could include and maybe not this first year but eventually maybe one or two public spaces for hosts that don't have a yard or a driveway. Um, we talked about uh I checked with the Brookings Activity Center already and they are booked for that weekend, but um we when Paul and I met, we also talked a little bit about um Fifth Street gym. That's not a Saturday that the um farmers market is using it. So, just a lot of possibilities there. And then in the future, there are some additional opportunities of course. So, the timeline it's happening this um this April 25th, the 4th Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. There is some mostly social media um publicity out there already that has received a favorable response so far and I haven't really pushed a whole lot be because I wanted to come to this meeting first before y'all are seeing it and going, "What in the world is this?" Um but I have flyers and press releases ready to go and things like that. So, In closing, to reiterate, this is about reducing waste, sharing freely, and caring locally. And I think I mean really that's something that everybody

can get behind, right? So I think lastly, I've just shared some contact information, Facebook page, things like that there. All right. Does anybody have any questions about it at all? Questions for Trish? Yes. Yes. Council member Specker. Thanks, Trish. I It's a great idea. Uh, one thing that in my mind might be nice, but it might be a timing issue is to do it before the pickup, um, the citywide pickup because I know I have a couple things like we always put stuff out that still work. Sure. and hoping somebody will pick it up and use it.

But, you know, if I hold those back and wait for this and then nobody takes it, it's

Well, um, thank you for that concern. I think that in the last couple of years, the city has really tried to focus on the bulky items and so like in the past, we saw every little trinket out by the curb and so I think we're getting a little bit away from that. Um but then that leaves that a little bit of a gap for the smaller things that people would normally have at a rumage sale, right? So I think that's an opportunity. And then um my other thought with that is that it's aligned with Earth Day, the timing of Earth Day. So that kind of helps the um promotion as well as I mean those of us who have been around here participating in city cleanup for a number of years know that sometimes it snows on top of everything. So, not great for a rumage sale type setup.

And what what would you do with things that are left? Yeah. So, very good question. And that's the number one concern that I've heard from city officials and um other people. Uh really they they when they sign on the Google form, they are agreeing that they are responsible that they're held responsible for the cleanup of those. Um, and so, you know, at that point it might be a trip to the thrift store. Um, but it's not something that the city is responsible for, you know, coming around and cleaning up or anything like that.

Okay. Um I did check also with I have been involved in the past with a pretty successful um savers fund drive where they where we had pods full multiple pods full of um usable goods that people were getting rid of. But in this kind of case, Savers doesn't participate um with anything that was already an event like they they don't want to participate after citywide rumage sales, for example, because they feel like everything's kind of picked over by the time it gets to Savers. So, one thing that we talked about is just maybe a possibility of for the participants who are officially signed up for the event, maybe they could have just a voucher to go out to the landfill if they need that if things are really not usable or um you know, something that can be brought to a thrift store. Like instead of making it a citywide mass free day at the land, nothing like that, but just specifically for the participants who are signed up. That could be a possibility.

Okay. Thank you, Council Member Dur. Thank you, Mayor. Um, thank you, Trish, for taking the initiative and planning this in the community. I really appreciate that you have seen a need. You know, we've seen the Facebook groups of starting over, buy nothing, and those are constantly filled. So, I really appreciate this concept. Um, one question I have is, uh, how do people get involved if they want to host? It send sounds like a Google form. How can they find that information?

Well, um it is on the Facebook page and things like that right now, but like I said before this meeting, I didn't want to do any mass efforts out there, but it's a simple link that can be shared around. Um it's shared on the Facebook page and then it's in like the press releases and and whatnot. So, it's a pretty simple form and it's pretty laid out and very specific as far as what's required. Um, another thing with your com to just go off of your comment about, you know, people starting over and stuff like that. A lot of times what I have found is that people who who have things to give away don't necessarily they're not connected maybe with um uh avenues to get that to the right place. So, this kind of um there are some key people in the community who have already been sharing this with those kind of groups. And so I feel like um the people who need this will be able to easily locate those share spots rather than a bunch of people in the community who maybe aren't already connected trying to find where they need to give to. And as I've um seen before with previous positions, sometimes a uh an organization might have a need for XYZ stuff for people starting over, but they might not have that need right when you have the extra stuff. So it's not always a match that way, but if the people who need the stuff are coming to the people who have it, then it's more of a match, I feel like. I I completely agree and I really appreciate uh the aspect that this breaks down that isolation and creates community engagement and just brings neighbors talking to neighbors. Um two considerations that I have and you know you're never going to cover every need and this could maybe be phase 2 year 2 consideration um is just to think about one tables for displays for individuals who might not have those um aspects to to display their items and then

transportation is a big consideration too. It's hard when it's on the weekends, right? A lot of families don't have transportation and Beta unfortunately doesn't run on the weekends. So, something to think about with maybe churches or volunteers. If anyone's willing to provide transportation for families to find those items, that would be fantastic. I love that idea. As far as the tables, you know, sometimes people just put out a tarp or a blanket on their lawn. And so, um, that's still a way that they can participate even if they don't have tables. But, um, well, I like I like that idea, too. That's great.

Council member Hager. So, I have a similar comment as council member Specker. So, when I was looking at this event showing up in our agenda and I actually did seem did see some stuff on Facebook about this already for what it's worth. And so, I was like, "Oh, hey, that's that's that thing you saw."

Um, so yeah, I thought it sounded like a really cool and innovative idea when I did see it. But yeah, I was kind of thinking about whether it would be beneficial to put this closer to when folks are putting together items for bulky item pickup. I know what you're saying. This is not actually generally bulky items and yes, the weather would be nicer at the end of the month and you can coordinate it with Earth Day, but at least for me, I kind of think about bulky item pickup is coming up. I need to start purging. And maybe it's just me, but I often don't want to keep my stuff around. I want it out of my house. So, you know, again, take that for what it is, but you know, maybe trying to consider in the future moving the event based on feedback that you get.

Thank you for that feedback. Okay, any other questions, comments? Paul, I just want to say thanks Trish for bringing this forward in this pro project. Uh just so the public knows and council knows one of the things I did ask staff to do is was to work with trash on this especially with the trash but also potentially sustainability council and human rights commission in the future. This is a successful project. I'm sure it's going to be maybe year two maybe three uh there's more participation. Thank you so much everyone.

All right. Thanks Trish. Uh SDSU Student Association I invite Anna Hunt up. Uh SDSU Students Association Government Affairs Chair. Hi, good evening. Um, so before spring break happened, our student promotion fund committee met. We ended up funding two different clubs this week. Um, Equip campus ministries is hosting an event on campus on April 9th and April 11th. So, we ho we are funding them along with SDSC rodeo for the Jack Rabbit Stampede, which also happens that same weekend, the 10th and 11th of April. We also have election day for new vice president and president. It is today and tomorrow. So voting wraps up at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. So we'll have those results out after that. And then the April Board of Regents meeting is coming up. It's next week, Wednesday and Thursday. So we're taking a few of our students who weren't able to go to Students for Higher Education Day with us as well. Student federation will also be meeting there. And our student federation elections are also coming up. And we are pretty close to transition. So this is my second to last meeting with you guys. Um, and just around campus this weekend, we do have Wajipi, which is happening, and Little International along with a softball triple header Friday through Sunday against UND. End of report.

All right, thanks, Anna. Anybody have any questions for Anna? All right, enjoy your enjoy the rest of the week. Thank you. All right, we're on to item 7A, action on resolution 26-022, a resolution authorizing the city manager to retain a construction manager at risk for the replacement of the Brookings Police Station. John Thompson, our public works director, will present this item.

Good evening, mayor, city council members. John Thompson with public works. Item 7 A is a resolution authorizing the city manager to retain Hosman Construction Incorporated to provide construction manager at risk semar services for the design and construction of the new police station. The city received proposals from 14 firms. These were reviewed by the city selection team which shortlisted the those firms to three for further consideration. And those firms those three firms were invited in to give an in-person presentation. Following the presentations, the selection team evaluated and ranked the firms based on criteria outlined in the request for proposals. The overhead screen shows a rubrics that we used. The criteria included experience, qualifications, availability of proposed team leaders, overall team structure, history of the team working together, technical approach, proposal and interview responses, and general conditions and fees. Hosman Construction is being recommended based on the firm's background, relative exper relevant experience, strength of proposed project team, the project approach, and demonstrated knowledge of local and regional subcontract market. Tonight, if this resolution is approved, the city manager will begin negotiations with Hosman Construction. If an agreement cannot be reached with Hosman, city manager will be authorized to proceed to the second ranked firm, Henry Carlson Construction. Once an agreement is executed, the construction manager at risk will work closely with the architectural and engineering teams to provide pre-construction services during the conceptual design, schematic design, and design development phases. This will include establishing a guaranteed maximum price at the end of the design development phase. The construction manager at risk will also provide a broad range of services

during the construction phase, including on-site project management, bidding, cost control, QAQC programs, safety programs, and project closeout. This concludes staff's presentation. I would like to thank the members of the city selection team for their time and effort and thoroughly reviewing all 14 proposals, as well as dedicating an initial full day to in-person interviews and final deliberations. The selection team included city manager Paul Burcino, chief of police Michael Drake, finance director Ashley Rich, and our owners representative from Tegra, Julie Dodson Rod, and myself. With that, the representatives from Tegar and I are available for any questions.

Thank you, John. Entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Second. Is there any public comment on this item? All right, council have any questions, comments. Um, we were there was three of us that were privy to the interviews. It was done very professionally. Uh, we had three good top candidates. Uh, Houseman outshown the other two quite a bit more. And so, um, we did view but we did not have anything to do with the vote part of it. Uh, staff recommendation completely to us on this. So, any other comments, questions? Please call the role. Haggar, Neee,

I. Specker, I. Tilton, I. Wendell, I. Avery, I. Dorren, I.

Okay. Item 7B, action on resolution 26-023, a resolution awarding the contract for the slurry seal project. Charlie Richtor, our city engineer, will present this item. Uh, good evening council. As your city engineer, I'm here tonight requesting approval of resolution 26023 to award a contract for the slurry seal project utilizing the city of Sou Falls bid 26-1019 surface treatment program slurry seal for Sou Falls and surrounding communities. This project will slurry seal approximately 17th of the city and focusing on residential streets south of 12th Street South between Maderi Avenue and 22nd Avenue. Residential streets south of 20 20th Street South and west of Maderi Avenue and portions of Western A Mader a West 8th Street South and 22nd Avenue. Bids for this project were opened by Sou Falls on February 19th and results were received by the city on February 23rd. The lowest bidder for this project was Asphalt Service Technologies Corp. from St. Joseph, Minnesota with a low bid for the city at 1,37,15062. Sufficient appropriations of $1.35 million exist in the adopted 2026 fiscal year budget CIP fund for this work. Public works recommends that Asphalt Service Technologies be awarded the contract for this project.

Entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Moved a second. Is there any public comment on this item? Council have any questions, comments? Council member Specker, Charlie, I think I asked you this every year, but when we first started with the slurry seal, you you were going to be sort of keeping track on whether it is holding up as good as what we used to use, and I'm just wondering if you still are finding that it's holding up good.

Uh, yes. Uh, we found favorable results so far. um it seems like to to be holding up well um throughout the the winter months. Um so we're very satisfied with the product. It goes down uh it's very user friendly. Uh especially for the public, we're able to do the project and get out of there within a few hours and people are able to get on the street pretty quickly. Um there's minimal dust related to it. Um, so we think it's a great uh it lowers the impact on residents but also provides us with a quality product. We think it's um we feel it's superior to the chip seal that we've been using. Thank you. Council member Rendle.

Thank you, Mayor Charlie. Can you just uh take a moment to explain sort of how Brookings began to participate in the city of Sou Falls bid program and how many other surrounding communities that are referenced in the resolution are also participating in this group. Yeah, back about two years ago, um we reached out to Sou Falls, um knowing that they used a different product than we did for for sealing streets. Uh we came to learn about the slurry seal pro pro uh process. We started on um trying it out on 22nd Avenue uh and found favorable results. Um we've continued to be a part of their program for the last couple years. Um, Sou Falls has an extensive reach for their project. Uh, they they deal with about dozen communities uh in the area. Um, and uh they've they've it's a nice um effort put out by Sou Falls to allow us to be a part of that bid and for other communities to be a part of it. Um, we appreciate their expertise as well. Um, so we've learned a lot from Sou Falls and from from this project. Uh we've also done some educational uh seminars on this as well to become more versed in it. Uh but we find that the the product is is holding up well.

Any other comments? Question. Council member Tilton Burn. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Um I my question is about uh kind of part of the process. Um if I remember correctly, last year when we did uh the slurry seal, they had kind of avoided the crosswalk uh white u marker lines. uh and that created a little bit of a lip that seemed to be a bit of a trip hazard um for pedestrians as they're crossing that crosswalk. And so eventually uh we had folks go out and kind of ground uh down that that lip that had formed there. Do we plan to do that same process where we avoid the markers and then uh go back and grind it down or this time will we instead just kind of cover and then redo the crosswalk lines?

Yeah, it was more of an experiment last year. Um, we spent a lot of time and money putting in these what they call thermoplastic uh, crosswalks. Uh, we wanted to try to save them as best we could. Um, but like you said, they proved to be tricky um, with the thickness of the slurry seal. Um, so in this year, um, we're going to just be removing all the the markings on the street and putting them on fresh. Uh, and then, uh, we'll get in that cycle every seven years to remove them and put on fresh markings. uh thermo thermoplastic lasts about seven years anyways. So it should work out pretty well in that that cycle.

Great. Thank you for your willingness to kind of adjust the way the process is going and evaluate what's working and what isn't. Um it is a learning process as we use something new, but thank you for that. Yeah. All right, Council Member Hager. Since this is a relatively new process to Brookings and even though like you said this process allows for the work to be done in a few hours and people to be driving back on the streets, could you still walk through the process that citizens will experience if their address is on this route like how much forewarning they will get and whatnot about this work being done on their prop near their properties?

Uh yes. um about u 48 hours prior to us arriving to their street, they'll actually post no parking signs, alerting the neighborhood about the upcoming slurry seal. Um and then we'll go through and our um personnel will go out and look at uh if there's anybody parking on the streets hours before we arrive to ensure that everyone's off the street and try to contact them to make sure that they're off the street. If uh we find any vehicles that are left on the street, we'll tow them and then put them back after the street has been finished. So, will those signs let folks know kind of a window essentially when the work will be done

as best we can? Yes. Yeah. Um unfortunately, um especially during the summer months, uh weather sneaks up on us, right? So, it's um it's tricky to try to predict exactly what street you're going to be on at any exact moment. Um they uh if you remember last year, they were here for about six days and they did a seventh of the city. So, they are moving. They're working 15 hours a day trying to squeeze out every bit of daylight out of their project. Um so, it's tough to try to gauge where they might be the next day. Um, but we do a very good job of getting ahead and and marking those those streets to make sure that people are aware we're coming. Perfect. Thank you.

One thing I would mention, number one, sign up for our social media uh page, right, Sherry? We'll be make sure and putting plenty of information out there. The second thing is uh to check out our our community construction website as well. We constantly post information on where we're at uh with plenty of projects on that website. And just uh one other thing, we're going to have an open house tomorrow for to uh talk about our major projects around the city. I encourage anyone to to to come if they're interested in knowing about further about the projects. All right. Uh any other questions, comments? Please call the role. Neymireer. I. Specker. I. Tilton Burn. Hi. Wendell. Hi. Avery. Hi.

Doran. Hi. Hager. I. All right. Now we're on to our first readings. Item 8A, introduction and first reading on ordinance 26-011, an ordinance amending chapter 14, animals of the code of ordinances of the city of Brookings, South Dakota. Chief Michael Drake might present this along with another person that I don't have a name on.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Appreciate the introduction. And with me is Hudson Spoonmore. He is the community service unit supervisor. Uh along with MIJ Christensen, who is the executive coordinator for the police department who is not with us. Uh I believe she's sunning herself in Florida. So uh she told me to eat my heart out when I got here. But uh I would say that MIJ and Hudson did a tremendous amount of work on this um one topic that we're going to uh be discussing with you. So good evening, Mr. Mayor, City Council. As the mayor indicated, I'm Mike Drake, your chief of police here in the city of Brookings. I'm going to be discussing in the first reading the ordinance 26-011, the revision of the city code ordinances, uh, where we did some amending and cleaning up of the ordinance of chapter 14 as it pertains to animals. The staff I had mentioned recently had done a complete and comprehensive review of chapter 14 of the city code of ordinances pertaining to animals. That review process included comparison uh applicable with South Dakota codified laws and it also brought in a review and comparison with animal ordinances from other cities similar to and within close proximity of Brookings. Uh the existing animal ordinances that we operate currently under in chapter 14 last got modified and adopted in October of 2013. So, as you can see, 12 and a half years have passed since we've revisited it. But because of attention from the community um that we encouraged, uh we thought it was time to look because of the population growth and some of those substantial uh things that we've been leading um been dealing with with when it comes to animal ordinances and the complexities of them recently, at least since I've been here in the last three and a half years. Uh this change to the ordinance and the revision gives us the ability to respond efficiently and effectively in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare not only of the community members but

also the animals involved. It tends to clean up the law, uh gives us a better clear uh view and definitions of certain terms, cleans up some of the language, and then it actually enforces and changes some of the things that we can get progressively punitive. and it kind of not only clarifies it for pet owners and the community, but it can shift the responsibility to to be responsible pet owners. Um, and we couldn't really do that until we clarified this ordinance. Some of the key changes that were made to this uh under review of the city attorney done with the work with MIJ and Hudson is it updated definitions um especially with the use of animal control officer. Uh since my arrival in 2022, under the city manager's direction, we rebranded that unit to in uh not only include animal control, but we also started doing code enforcement and other things as traffic control and uh certain escorts and nonlaw enforcement duties that the police were doing. And so that we rebranded it under that community service unit. So some of the law or the the uh uh cleaning up of the language had to replace animal service or animal officer with the new terminology of community service officer and unit. It also had to change some of the terminology that we use because in 12 1/2 years when it comes to animals um through different things those uh terms change and then start meaning something different. So, we had to clean up some of that and then add in some new definitions like feral animal and and such so that it be the law becomes much more clearer than it was in the past. Uh Hudson put in there a revising pet licensing structure and this really has to do with encouraging folks to license their animals when they're here in the city. Um, that's not just for us to watch over them, but it ensures vaccinations are kept up to date and in case animals are lost or misplaced and need to be reunited with their owners, it's a lot easier to have that pet licensing to help encourage that uh ownership reunification and following those vaccinations. It also will allow

us, if this is passed through the second reading, to start adjusting the fines and fees schedule and making it a little more step related through the matrix of punitive fines and fees. And that becomes so there's progressive punishment for repeat and habitual offenders or folks that uh have run-ins with the uh community service officers on a more frequent basis. It also uh clarifies fowls which is includes chickens. I know that's everybody's favorite term and and what we deal with in the city. Um but before we really ran uh with the vague law that we ran and if you look at the federal statutes, the state, county, and then the city ordinances, uh chickens can fit under a plethora of different uh definitions. So in this ordinance, it would clean that up under the fowl and it includes chickens. It also aligns our municipal codes with provisions of South Dakota codified law, especially when we talked about injured and diseased animals and how they're treated and how the community service unit needs to uh act accordingly when there's bites or injury or and stuff like that. Um the biggest change that you'll see is enhancing section 14-126 as it pertains to restricted animals and also which and again I'll talk about it in a second about it's our old dangerous animal or dog section. It also adds in the new section of 14-130 which then we'll go into vicious animal designation. And then we talk about the Dunar aggression assessment scale which is used in modern um animal control and ordinances throughout the nation. And that's that new section of 14-131 that you'll see. And then it also cleans up the appeals process which was extremely vague if any one of these uh ordinances are enacted whether it's restricted vicious uh animals or there's bites involved. When we talk about the old dangerous uh dog or animal section it was one section and it was pretty vague. Um and we started to run into some issues with interpretation and then recent actions

where we did have vicious dog attacks. it was very hard for even the owner to interpret some of that with the new ways that animals are handled, especially when it comes to vet care and the criminal justice system. So, Hudson and MIJ uh went through that diligently with the city attorney and changed the dangerous section. You'll see it replaced by restricted animals and then creation of a vicious animal designation, which is much more specific, much more um direct language in the law. And then also the inclusion of that Dunar aggression assessment scale. Um, and then cleaning up the appeals process to ensure that if someone does run a foul of the ordinances, they are afforded due process under the Constitution of the United States and the state of South Dakota. And then adding in article 7, which really establishes collaborative and proactive rabies control measures. And this really tightens the spread of the disease throughout especially our community, but not only that, but in the county of Brookings and the state of South Dakota. Uh, one thing I can mention is all these ordinances that we look at, especially when we talk about dogs, we're not looking to discriminate against a breed or a type of dog. That's irregardless to these ordinances. Um, this covers all dogs. This is a very anti-discrimination towards breeding dogs because a lot of times we hear those words and we immediately are like, well, what breed are they? These laws, it doesn't matter. It looks at just the dog, the injury or the action that has occurred and then it follows almost the matrix. I think that's much easier for the public and the community service unit to follow with that. We worked well with staff uh coming up with this with the city attorney's office, but more importantly, they worked with the humane society with the local vets coming up with this. But I couldn't leave out that there were members of the public that encouraged us and worked with us to get this done. So again, it was an extremely collaborative effort that fits under our strategic plan of safe and inclusive community. Um, other than that, we don't anticipate any uh anything that would increase funding for the department

other than just cleaning up the ordinances. And later on, if this does pass, uh, look for us to clean up and make the that matrix of fines and fees uh, to be able to go along with the new ordinances. With that, staff recommends approval of this and Hudson and I will answer any questions that you may have. Thank you, Chief. Entertain a motion to Oh, no. This is just comments. We got a second reading next time. Never mind. So, uh, any public comments on this item? Council, have any questions, comments? Council member Tilton Burn.

Uh, thank you, mayor. Um, my question is regarding section 1488, and that is the fowl at large. I think you had mentioned that, uh, this kind of clarified some things around chickens. Um it's been uh my understanding at the guidance of different um city officials that uh up to this point individuals have been able to uh keep chickens as long as they have that 125 ft distance. Um and what I'm trying to understand is if this particular change uh now actually just outlaws chickens outright.

Uh I don't know if this mic works. Hello, I'm Hudson Spoonar, the community service officer, uh, supervisor with the police department. Um, this ordinance changed as far as the chickens go. Um, it will outlaw them from the city. Um, based off of research that we did, um, we had a we actually had someone in town that had chickens and we've had multiple questions about, uh, whether chickens are allowed or not. Um 2016 the city voted against allowing chickens to be kept within the city limits. Um we also found that uh zoning came into question as well. Um so you couldn't have chickens unless you were in an agricultural zone with the city um or within the city. So, um, with all the with how vague the the ordinance was and with all the questions that we were getting from the public, um, because it was confusing for them just as much as it was for us, uh, we just decided to make it easy and just outlaw chickens alto together.

Um, my follow-up comment will be that, uh, I think it's no secret in this community that I am, uh, a big supporter of of backyard chickens. Um, I I'm uh, passionate about raising chickens in a responsible way. um that would be appropriate for in city limits and um I I would actually I support many of the updates that are being proposed here and I appreciate a lot of the work. Um I would say that myself I would probably not be able to support that particular change. Uh we don't have many lots within Brookings that would even have that 125 ft distance. And so uh so in my opinion continuing to allow 125 ft setback for keeping of chickens really doesn't impact a lot of of neighborhoods or individuals um but would take away that right from individuals that do have a large enough space in order to be able to do that. I would also maybe just uh give the correction that the city did not vote on chickens. It was voting on a pilot project at that time. Again, I'm very passionate about this particular item. Um, so I could probably give you the full history on all of it. Um, but I do think that that that nuance is important as we think about the way the community feels about backyard chickens. Um, because it wasn't necessarily outright voting on chickens and keeping of chickens. It was a particular pilot program.

No, it's a good point. Uh, just to go one further with that, ma'am, uh, we did look at a lot of the parcels. We had a complaint not only last year but the year before. We when when I had instructed staff to do the research on it, we actually did pull various uh lots and different parcels and we found that it was uh over 90% of the parcels within city proper couldn't conform no matter where they put the coups or the pens or where the chickens free Rome. There were only some of those agricultural ones that were on the periphery of the city uh that came into play that would almost fit it. are certain pieces. There's always the exception to the rule that would uh what really prompted this was people weren't following it to begin with and we had a structure fire last year that was caused by backyard chickens and they were outside of the uh violation. Folks were keeping them and they wouldn't have been able to. So what it prompted was the research behind it and uh I love chickens as well. Um but on my property I couldn't either. I don't have the amount of of space, but we did look into that and took the holistic view of how many would actually be impacted by it by lot size and you would find it was extremely small. And that's why we and and when I say we, I decided to uh out, you know, outright uh remove the chicken uh ownership. It just cleans it up because then we're only talking about a handful of properties. Just for for full transparency, I if for me personally, I would probably uh propose an amendment to change that particular piece. I don't know if there is support for that amongst the rest of the council. I am just one of many. Um but uh just full transparency on that.

I appreciate that. Any comments, questions? Council member Specker, do you see what Holly was talking about as being in conflict with 1490 where you talk about the 125 ft distance because I'm not sure if there's different there are different fowls that be can be kept if you have permits for them. So, we did have to keep the distances for some of them in there. So, there's different game birds and different permits that can be issued by the state and others. So we couldn't just remove it entirely or we would be in conflict with the state codified law. Bonnie, what which section was that again?

1490. I mean, could you add chickens to 1490 and along with the geese and ducks because that's giving it the 125 ft.

That's where the interpretation was actually was 14-90. the original one when we did the pilot program and then it sunseted um it was found under there. So when we had ordinances that was actually the section that would encompass foul. So what we did is and because of the ambiguity of that term when you look at the federal regulations for them under agricultural and then you look at the state codified law it chickens actually fall under livestock, cattle, there's there's a multitude of different things and when we got the city ordinance there wasn't an actual definition for it. So that's actually where it rested was in that um 14-90. Originally, we just removed chickens entirely um as a as a mount of of saying, "Okay, we're going to prohibit them within the city." But yes, that's actually where originally lied, if that makes sense, ma'am.

Any other questions? Council member Hager. So going off of that, if there was an amendment that would allow folks to keep chickens, if they had a distance of 125 ft from all of these different types of properties, would there be a limit then on how many they can have or is that now gone because of the revisions?

Yeah, when we did the pilot program a few years ago, there was a a total of six. Um, so we could revisit that if there was a support for it and we were to amend it back then we would have that conversation of now how many we just saying that it's prohibited totally we wouldn't have that but we would reflect back on the um original uh laws which were a decade or so ago it was up to six and there were certain requirements if you look at the way the law was written we would just look back at what we did have when we piloted it and then uh it would be up for discussion of how where we would go from there if we if we wanted to add it back in. Okay. As a followup to that, would the the ordinance does also outline that uh no individual can own more than six animals. Would it default to that? So if you had one cat, one dog, you also would then not be able to have you'd maybe be at a max of four chickens then, right? Is that correct?

Yeah, I think we could have that discussion depending on domestic animals as opposed to livestock or fowl. Um, I don't know that we'd have to automatically default back because I would just look back at the original resolution back 10 years ago. It was pretty specific. I thought there was it was well written and very specific of what I think we would revert back to what past president was and then go from there if we were to add chickens back in and then we can have that discussion because it was pretty well laid out if that makes sense.

Council member Specker. Um, I'm I would agree with Holly that I think this needs to go back in. I mean, I was not on city council when this all happened, but I heard a lot about it from a lot of people that were in support of it and a lot of people that were not happy that there was a distance restriction. So, I think it, you know, keep the distance restriction, keep it the way it was, but get chickens back into this.

Yeah. No, I I appreciate it. There was just the consideration was uh due to the the the distances based on the incubation and the fire hazard that we have in the city. Um when you do these things that the fire can spread quickly. That wasn't all of it but it was one piece of the research but we can definitely revisit the chicken piece of this which is why we actually defined in the law in case the city ever like this instance or in the future wanted to revisit it. It was just very vague in the old 14-90. And when you revert back to the pilot program 10 years ago, it was very specific. It just had it got allowed to be sunseted in August of that year. So it would I think we would just in my estimation we would revert back to it, look at it, um and then we could add it back in if you if there was support for it. Uh we have no problem adding it back in. We just the research we did led us to this conclusion.

Any other comments, questions? Council member Hager. So, moving on from chickens, um you mentioned how you had done some research about how it doesn't make sense to necessarily ban certain breeds of dogs, but instead to use the Dunbar aggression analysis. So, with respect to the research you did, how many of the communities did ban any particular types of breeds? Because that was often a comment that I've gotten when different incidents have happened in Brookings.

Yeah. What what ends up happening with the breeds from the research that I've conducted and looked into this is that it can unfairly just jeopardize one breed. Right? So when we looked at it and Hudson's national going through his national certification, he we had a great discussion over it and then I tasked him with looking into it and I he could probably speak better at this is that if we just focus specifically and there are certain communities that have done this, you end up when a dog say let's fill in the blank Doberman pincher and we say that's the animal that's the breed we're looking at then automatically are we biasing towards if there is a bite by a Doberman pincher are we automatically elevating it just based on the breed. And from the research that we did is that it it could unfairly jeopardize the euthanizing of a of a dog that may only be oneoff and have that based on its genetics if that makes there are still some municipalities that follow it but we're I think as a nation we're moving away from it and we're doing more of a the action of the dog because there are docile breeds as we've seen just in our own community that be can become vicious and then yes the laws will be in place for it but we just didn't want unfair fairly designate one breed as being well overall the stats say this nationwide but then are we are automatically artificially inflating it for that breed based on genetics

right no that makes total sense I really appreciate that response and I think that's useful for folks who have that question appreciate that any other questions comments so Holly go back to to when we uh did the pilot programs I was on the council at that time um I can't remember my my my vote. I'm sure I I recommended for it because I grew up with chickens myself. Um but then there was a petition that came out and there was a public vote uh by the city of the citizens of Brookings and they voted not to have chickens in the city. So I don't know how that will play into all this if we decide to adjust that. I don't know as if that contradicts that that vote did not impact code.

What's that? That vote did not impact code. it impacted the pilot project. Well, I think it was basically said that no chickens in Brookings. That's how it was was voted on. So, I we should probably have that clarified by Vince and and Bonnie maybe bring that up to see how that was written. I I think at the end of the day, uh the current ordinance that's in place right now was probably put in place after the the vote or whatever took place 10 years ago. Therefore, it was existing law which allowed uh 125 ft. So, I I guess just a point of clarification from Bonnie, if you'll you'll help me out here. It sounds like there's an interest in here with keeping it 125 ft.

Um, should they can they make a motion or something to add that to next week's uh next meeting so we don't end up with a third reading? Can I just clarify it? It's sunseted. So, in the pilot program, there was a drop deadad date in August of that year, and it didn't come back on the floor for a vote, and it automatically sunset it from my research. Okay. Go ahead, Bonnie.

To amend the ordinance at this point, I think it would be just to have that third reading because I feel if we're going to put something back in, that is a substantial change. um just to give the public and the council adequate time to digest what motion could be brought forward to put that back in there. I I agree with that. I guess my clarification or my question for clarification is at the next meeting, do we provide two ordinances, this one and then the other one, or could we just provide the one with the suggested changes? If if the if council member Tilton Burn wants to make a motion to put that back in there, then we can bring forward one amended motion next time for a second reading, but we should have a third reading following that.

I agree. Thank you. I would make the motion for that amendment. Is there a second? Second. Been moved and seconded. We vote on this obviously tonight. Any other discussion from the public on this amendment? Council questions, comments. Council member Tilton Burn, my only comment would just be that this amendment would just keep things as status quo. It would not change anything. It would just continue to allow the community to operate the way that it does today.

The the one request I would have is to define what a foul is. Um because that does come into play even if it's outside the 125 or within the 125. What we're finding is uh individuals that have the smaller lots might have a chicken or a different type like a guinea and because our our ordinance just says chicken, we can't address the guinea.

The definition of fowl is listed in the document. Correct. So this would be amending it to be an exception from the definition. So I don't know that we would need to further define what foul is. I think we would just be stating that chickens would be an exception in that regard. We can make sure and clarify that for next week's meeting and next. Okay. Please call the role. Specker. I. Tilton Burn. I. Wendell. I. Avery. Nay. Doran. I. Hager. I. Neymireer.

I. All right. Uh, we'll have second reading on April 14th. Uh item 8B, introduction and first reading on ordinance 26-012, an ordinance to change the zoning within the city of Brookings, a portion of Bluegill second edition, a portion of Bluegill third edition, and a portion of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter in section 1, township 109 north, range 50 West from an agricultural A district and residents R1D single family district to a residents R1D single family district and residents R3 apartment district. Mike Struck, our community development director, will present this item.

Thank you, mayor, and members of the council. Uh the ordinance before you tonight is a reszone in the Bluegill addition, uh kind of in the southwest portion of the community. Uh the overhead map does a pretty good job of explaining kind of where the resoning is occurring. If you look at Ace Avenue, primarily the areas uh east of Ace Avenue will be zoned R3 and the areas west of Ace Avenue are R1D. Um and it's primarily uh you know a portion it's pretty much south of the um waterfall circle area. Uh and so it's just a continuation of the uh bluegill edition as they're preparing it for residential development. The R1D is a single family uh zoning district where the R3 is kind of a apartment multifamily type area. Uh this one of the things if we can go back to the preliminary plat that shows there's a large R1D lot uh just south of Grey Goose Street there that's actually uh going to be a detention pond. And so, uh, there was some questions that came up during the planning commission and even when staff met with the developer. Um, we worked with the developer and originally it was zoned R3, we just said it would probably present better as an R1D. It's not going to be a a buildable lot. It's going to be for detention purposes and then there'll be uh a piping westward to the to the pond. Um, and so that's kind of wanted to point that out. So, if anybody had any questions on what could be built there, it's really designated for detention. Um, this is consistent uh with our future land use map. Um, and it's a continuation of uh this existing uh subdivision providing opportunities for more housing in the community. Uh, it does come to you with a unanimous recommendation from the planning commission and staff supports the

resoning request and I'd stand for any questions you may have. Thank you, Mike. Is there any comments from the public on this item? Council, any questions, comments? All right. Thanks, Mike. That will also be revisited on April 14th. Uh we'll go on to second readings and public hearings. Second reading on action and on ordinance 26-0, an ordinance to revise chapter 62, division 3 on dead, dying, diseased, or infested trees. Kristen Zimmerman, our parks and rec forestry director, will present this item.

Good evening, mayor and council. Tonight, I'd like to briefly walk through the proposed update to the city's tree ordinance related to the management of nuisance trees that are dead, diseased, infested, or otherwise pose a risk to health in our urban forest. Um, the primary purpose of these updates is to modernize the ordinance language and make it more adaptable to emerging trees, diseases, and pest. Historically, our ordinance language has referenced specific diseases such as Dutch elm and emerald ashbor. While those remain important threats to our community, um we are seeing more frequent and emerging issues that are affecting our tree canopy such as like pine wilt and some other maple varieties that are making their way here. Um because of this, the proposed change broadens the language so that the city can respond to tree the tree health in a more quicker more quickly sorry. um rather than having to update the ordinance every time a new pest or disease appears in our community. Um the key changes it's expanding the definition um to be broad. So it includes dead, diseased, infested or otherwise compromised trees that may threaten our trees or public safety. and the revised language. Revising the language so that the city takes action in a way that prevents or limits the spread of tree diseases, insects, pests, or other damaging agents affecting our urban forest. Um, the city of Brookings has invested a lot of money into our trees and we care deeply about our trees. So, we just want to make sure that we're taking care of them to the best of our ability. Um, I stand for any questions, but we recommend the approval.

Thank you, Kristen. Entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Second. Second. Is there any public comment on this item? All right. Council questions, comments, please call the role. Tilton Burn. Hi. Wendell. Avery. Hi. Doran. I. Hager. I. Neymireer. I. Specker. I. All right. Item uh 10A, action on 2026 election agreement with the city of Brooking between the city of Brookings and Brookings County. Bonnie Foster, our city clerk, will present this item.

Mayor and council members, uh during the 2025 legislative session, House Bill 11:30 was approved and requiring municipal election dates to be held the same as state and federal, so either June or November of the year. The city council as a result of that chose to put our election on November. So we will have our elect first our municipal election will be in November of this year. With this change the city council also gave direction to hold the municipal election in conjunction with the county's November election. So the agreement in front of you is a result of some conversations that was held with city school and county individuals. We had election staff president this meeting. We had elected officials and from the city council it was council member Wendell and council member Haggar that were present for the discussions. So what this agreement does is it outlines the duties of the election and which governmental or election body is going to handle those and then it clarified the cost sharing and how that's going to be divided. Um so this has been approved by the county commission. a week ago on the 17th and I recommend approval and stand by for questions.

Thank you, Bonnie. Entertain a motion to approve. So moved. Second. Move and second. Is there any public comment on this item? Council, any questions, comments? Council member Duran.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, I know there's been a lot of thoughtful discussion about this agreement and so I just had two kind of clarifying uh questions. One, for the amount that was listed that um about $20,000 $21,000, is that comparable to what we would spend on um a joint election? I know it's pretty comparable to the special election that we held. I was just wondering within comparison to our cost sharing, where does that lie? Well, we're going to find out what a combined election cost is going to be um in November. We can watch and see what the county and the school does in June as they were will hold the first combined election with those combined duties. I'm hoping it's going to be around the same that $21,000 figure that we've budgeted before, but we'll know more once we actually do the details.

Okay. And then I was curious, are there any significant changes in the uh duties or role of the city with this agreement than what we've done in the past for elections? Yes. So the majority of the work will be done by county election staff. So that's the hiring of the workers. It's the layout of the ballots. It's making sure we have supplies at all of the I think it there it is. Um, so for my duties, it pretty much starts with just the notices and then I'll sit back and be a partner and then I will be there to help on election night. The duties in between will all be handled by the county staff. Okay. Thank you.

All right, Council Member Wendell.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I had one comment to make. it is about the cost share acknowledgement that's in the agreement just so that folks that are perhaps looking at the agreement or wanting to understand kind of how we arrived at that model. We recognized approaching a joint uh ballot uh would likely mean that in most cases the county would have more items on that ballot than the city would have. Typically, we would have our council candidates, maybe we'd have a like a chicken issue or something like that that would be on a ballot, but most often most of the ballot would include county related issues. So, this breakdown really is an acknowledgement that we both have to operate an election and there are going to be just basic costs of operating an election regardless of how many issues your entity has on a ballot. That's really captured in the first 25%. The second 75% of the total cost is more driven by the number of issues you have on the ballot. And so we're anticipating in November the county will likely have more issues represented on that ballot than we will. So more of the cost will then be carried by the entity that has more issues on the ballot. So that we don't get caught up in a scenario where there's potentially a two or three page ballot, but we only have two or three issues on the whole thing, but we're dividing the cost 5050. That doesn't really seem like an appropriate approach. So, I think in this first year, uh, Bonnie and her team, I think, reached a nice agreement with Brookings County that I think better represents an equitable approach to cost sharing. The question I have, um, that I just wanted you to clarify for us, if it's been contemplated or just tell me if it's not impacted at all. One of the things that's maybe not articulated clearly in this agreement is the approach to early voting. And I think in Brookings, we've gotten really used to that early voting window and how that's managed. Does this new approach to a shared election change early voting in Brookings? Does the decision kind of rest in their hands and not ours anymore? What does that look

like? Yes. So, as um as the city is going to be working with the county, normally the city would only have a 15-day early absentee window. We will now have a 45day absentee window. Um so, that does change dramatically from what we're used to. And that will all be managed by county staff. That earlier start to the early voting window, I assume, backs up when, say, petitions for council candidates are due and kind of the whole timeline has to back up a bit. It does. The whole the whole um election calendar shifts to accommodate the federal and state requirements for that November election.

Yeah, you know, we're all moving through this. I think it was something that was discussed when the entities came together after this legislation was passed. I wonder if something like that is another one of those unintended consequences that wasn't really thoroughly thought through. What that would mean for local folks that might be interested in running for a school board or a city council seat that now have to be sort of thinking about that and getting their petition circulated that many more weeks in advance of where is sort of customary in a municipal election. Yeah, I will put out on the city website what the calendar looks like in May. Great.

Um, as that will precede the June election, but that is also the start of the petition carrying for anybody who wishes to run for city council. Yeah. Thank you. All right. Any other questions, comments? Please call the role. Wendell, I. Avery, I. Duran, I. Hager, I. Neee I Specker I Okay. Uh item 11, Samantha Beckman, our assistant city manager, will give us a monthly review of what happened in the last month in Brookings, South Dakota.

Tilton Burn, we did not record your vote. Thank you.

I was going too fast. Good evening and this is the March progress report. A couple general announcements for us here. We've got the Bell Brands uh hosted their ceremonial groundbreaking for their expansion in Brookings. They're investing about $200 million and expecting to have that expansion done in 2028. that will add about 160 new jobs and will allow the plant to double their production of the mini baby belell cheeses. Um, and then the city staff, Brookings County staff and Brookings mun municipal utility staff all joined together for a generational leadership training. Uh, this will help uh gain insights to adapt leadership and supervision styles for multigenerational workforces. in the public works department, the engineering division. Uh we've got another reminder here for our upcoming construction open house tomorrow night from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. right here in the council chambers. We've also got a number of routine maintenance projects going on this year and the widening of the 22nd Avenue and 20th Street South intersection. Amongst many community policing efforts, uh here to highlight that officers were at several hockey games, uh breakfast with badges, career fairs, and our school resource officers were also guest speakers at a high school class to discuss healthy relationships and responsible social social media usage. Um, our staff also had opportunities for training in the last month, specifically working with the fire department to to do their CPR reertification

class and attending crime scene investigation training. And one of our officers was able to work with the Sventum management team to update their safety plans as well. The library hosted their third annual craft swap. Uh they had 105 people come through the doors in the first 10 minutes. 260 people were able to find something to walk home with and uh through the generous donations we had about $1,100 that will go towards the Brookings Arts Council and the Friends of the Library Group. Staff also held a ceremonial toilet paper ribbon cutting to uh kind of mark the occasion for their first floor ri uh bathrooms being done. And we also have the summer reading program coming up. We're getting ready to unearth a story. In the parks, wreck and forestry department. We've got several park and park facility updates here. Uh preparations are underway for the removal of the existing skate park to make way for the new modern facility. Installation for that will be anticipated this spring. Uh installation for the new shade structure at the Hillrest pool is complete. Concrete work has also been completed um as a part of the ongoing facility upgrades at the fifth street gym to enhance usability and extend the life of the building. Uh we've got new dugouts at the ball fields that have been constructed and painted and those will be finally inst installed um once weather kind of allows for us to do that. and also working on several seasonal transitions of our facilities like the Larsen Ice Center and gearing up at all of our parks. The summer recreation program is off at the printer and is now available online. Um, and be sure to mark your calendars

for the registration opening on April 15th at 7 a.m. And we're happy to recognize that the city has now had the 44th year of the Tree City USA recognition. And lastly here, a big congratulations to Josh Bowman, the assistant parks, recreation forestry director. He just earned his certified parks and recreation executive certification. Uh now one of two individuals in the state to hold this certification, the other being Kristen, our parks director in the public works solid waste division. Um, another one to mark your calendars for, we talked about it earlier, spring bulky item pickup right around the corner. Uh, you can start placing your items on the curb on April 8th with pickup starting April 13th. And again, during that week, uh, e-waste will be free to drop off at the landfill. And wrapping it up here, the city hosted two public open houses last week to continue the conversation about the Dakota Bank Center. We had over a hundred people attend those open houses and we'll continue to have public discussions on that topic in the future. Uh but you can find survey results on our city's website. This month the city or the facility will host 14 events. Uh there were about 2,000 people that attended the Jack Rabbit memorial calf show, about 2,000 at the Ian Municip concert and about 3,500 attended a pool tournament recently. And make sure to grab your tickets for those events that are listed up on the screen that will be happening in the me next next month as well. Take any questions.

Thank you, Samantha. Any comments, questions from council? All right, Paul. I just want to publicly thank Sam and Angie. Uh, tomorrow night we're going to be hosting the District 2 uh league uh for the state meeting here in Brookings. Normally, we have about 30 people attend. I hear there's about 70 people that want to attend. I know council member Nick Lindle is going to be speaking. I imagine that's what drew a lot of them to to the event. Uh but we're also going to be doing a tour of all the great things that we're doing here in Brookings. And so hats off to Sam and Angie. They worked really really hard putting that together and once again almost double the participation. So really excited to show off the great things that Brookings is doing.

All right. Thank you. All right. Our next meeting is April 14th. some of the items on there um we're getting a presentation from police officer Rhett Larson. Um for no first readings at the moment and then we have the two first readings this evening that we'll have on there and then if one of those passes we might have a preliminary pat plat put before us on the bluegill edition if that passes. Is there any other item that the council would like to bring up for future discussion? Entertain a motion to adjurnn. So moved. All those in favor say I. I. Meeting adjourned.