On Monday night, Lennox City Council held their final meeting of the month, council-members Chad Wulf and Chad Reilly were absent.
With no agenda changes, City Council approved the agenda and approved the consent agenda which included minutes, claims and several reports; all reports can be read online at cityoflennoxsd.com.
Under old business, Council approved the second readings of Ordinance #609: Amending Lot and Yard Regulations and Ordinance #611: Zoning Penalties
Under new business Council heard from Lincoln County Emergency Management, Harold Timmerman. He shared with the council that he was able to provide Personal Protective Equipment to area departments at the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic. He said the Department of Health does alert the first responders when there is a COVID-19 case in their jurisdiction so that responding personnel can take the necessary precautions when treating patients at those 911 calls.
Timmerman said that activation of the tornado siren is triggered when a trained spotter calls in the tornado to the county dispatch. The National Weather Service has very good capability of seeing these rotations, Timmerman said. He stated although spotters will still be used, when the NWS sees a rotation in-line with Lennox the NWS will contact dispatch to activate the siren.
The Council approved the Title IX: Building Services Policies & Procedures. Within the document it outlines items requiring a permit in Lennox. Construction work requiring building permits includes: Fences-of any material, Masonry work (brick or stone), Foundations, New or replacement siding, Doors/window replacements, Roofing-new or replacement, Electrical systems, Plumbing systems, Decks, Storage buildings (over 200 sq.ft.), New Homes, New Commercial building/structures, Additions, Exterior remodeling/renovations, Interior remodeling/renovations Carports or Garages, Prefabricated structures, Grading, Temporary Buildings, Demolitions, Driveways or Sidewalks, Swimming Pools or Hot Tubs, Retaining walls over 4’-0”, Excavating.
Citizens can find the entire Building Services Department Standard Operating Policies and Procedures online at www.lennoxnews.com within the Lennox Council article or on the city’s website.
Council approved Resolution 2020-7-27-01 and Local Government Recovery Fund Reimbursement Agreement.
Vander Plaats explained that the state of South Dakota received funding from the federal government to assist in expenses incurred for addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic. The state will be passing a portion of these funds to communities to help them do the same. In order to get started, the City Council must pass a resolution authorizing participation and execution of an agreement with the state for reimbursement.
Vander Plaats said that Lennox is eligible to receive up to $560,442 in recovery funding. The majority of this funding will cover public safety salaries and wages from March through December. Additional cost recovery will be sought for PPE, extra soaps and sanitizers, and remote work equipment.
Council heard an update regarding the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System. The board of directors has issued estimates for the system expansion from 45 million gallons per day (mgd) to 60 mgd. Vander Plaats said there is no firm timeline for this project at this time, but assumed somewhere in the eight to 10 year range.
LCRWS has provided initial estimates for what this expansion would cost and for what amount of water.
Vander Plaats said, “In our case, the system expansion would increase our reserve capacity by 243,000 gallons, bringing our total capacity to 683,000 gallons per day. This expansion would be expected to cost approximately $1.1m in today’s dollars.”
There’s was some discussion about selling water and storing water to recoup costs.
Council approved the start of the 2020 Asphalt Repair Project.
Earlier this year, the City of Lennox put on hold this project due to uncertainty in the Sales and Additional Use Fund (Fund 212) sales tax revenues.
Vander Plaats said those revenues have not been severely impacted, and there is remaining time available this year to complete a portion of this project to resurface several asphalt streets throughout Lennox.
Discussion on the streets to be addressed followed, as well as the ongoing issue of drainage and affording the needed solutions.
Council approved the motion to prepare bids for the $100,000 2020 Asphalt Repair Project.
Council approved the City Administrator to hire a temporary part-time grader operator at up to $25 per hour.
Vander Plaats explained, “With the departure of the Streets Foreman, the City lost its motor grader operator. I approached a neighboring township and inquired about contracting with them or their contractor to perform the work on our gravel streets until the City hires a Streets Superintendent. The township was gracious and offered to have their operator work for the City of Lennox on a part-time basis.”
Council moved pool seasonal staff to executive session.
Following executive session, Council approved the promotion of Jenaka DeCou to Head Lifeguard with hourly wage increase from $12 per hour to $13 per hour retroactive to Friday, July 24.