With Lilian Turcotte and Sandra Koenig taking the oath of office on June 3, the Timber Lake City Board has all five seats filled. Both have served on the board before and accepted appointments for oneyear terms. The other board members are Tom Hermes (chair), Mike LaCompte, and Jess Schlosser.
Finance Officer Karla Nordyke reported that the city’s wastewater system study had been completed by Clark Engineering and approved by the S.D. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR). The board voted to authorize the Central SD Enhancement District (CSDED) to apply for the study to be accepted on the State Water Plan, which makes it eligible to be considered for funding.
The board reviewed the Water Planning Study, also prepared by Clark Engineering, which included cost estimates. The board voted to approve three options for the study:
• $2,604,298 to replace and upgrade 4 inch mains with 6 inch PVC mains and extend water service to the rodeo grounds;
• $1,578,430 to construct a new 50,000 gallon water tower near the city shop, extend water service to the rodeo grounds, and demolish the existing water tower.
• $4,034,725 to do all of the above.
The board decided that, even though the estimated cost of demolishing the water tower was about $100,000, the risk of maintaining an empty water tower and the cost of insuring it was higher.
David Reiss of the CSDED, who is tasked with finding funding, discussed the options of keeping the improvements as one $4 million project or making the water mains and the water tower replacement as separate projects.
He also said the engineers’ cost estimates may be “very low.” The cost of materials and sourcing materials has been rising. A recent project bid at Ft. Pierre saw a 33% increase from the original estimate, he said.
Reiss said an income survey has to be completed to determine whether the city qualifies for the State’s Community Development Block Grant funding. He is also looking into other funding sources, including USDA Rural Development.
In discussions leading up to the board’s recent decision to join the Mni Waste’ water system, the Indian Health Service (IHS) was suggested as a source for funding a new water tower.
Neither Reiss nor the city had any update from Mni Waste’ or IHS.
Restricted Use Site
The board reviewed a warning letter from the Dept. of Ag and Natural Resources stating that a recent inspection had found the solid waste facility is being operated in an unacceptable manner. Violations include burning of material that is supposed to be buried, and failure to improve previous deficiencies.
The city was warned to submit a plan for dealing with the deficiencies within 30 days and implement the plan within 90 days.
For more on the city board meeting, see the official proceedings on pages 12-13.