Council approves street maintenance fee increase

The Lennox City Council met Monday September 8 at Lennox City Hall. Mayor Danny Fergen and board members heard agenda items including future council member budget concerns and maintenance fee increases. 

At the last city council meeting, City Administrator, Nate Vander Plaats was asked to do additional research and gather information regarding the seating of the new City Council, specifically whether a new City Council would be seated after the first reading of the budget and prior to the adoption of the budget. 

“I did discuss the scenario with the City Attorney, and we’re in agreement that South Dakota Code dictate that newly appointed members are qualified by taking their oaths at least within 10 days after the first meeting in December,” he said. 

Vander Plaats notes there will be no changes to an ordinance or a resolution, and the council would be reminded through the City Finance Officer.  

“I continue to believe that’s the right move for us,” said Vice President, Bill Daugherty, will the full council agreeing to his statement.

The City of Lennox is scheduled for a $.50 per linear foots increase in the annual Street Maintenance Fee. 

When presented at the August 11 meeting, the council directed Vander Plaats to gather information and he along with City Engineer, Mitch Mergen were available to answer questions. 

“We’ve been tasked with trying to help you devise where this rate needs to be applied for your street maintenance program. Right now, you have an annual assessment in place of $2 per foot that the county collects for you and then distributes it back to you and that’s restricted funds, as far as I understand, that have to go back towards the street system,” Mergen said. 

Mergen believes Lennox’s rates need to be in the $3 range to be able to maintain the streets properly. 

“We’ve been doing a good job with the seal coats, but now we’re getting some of these streets that are reaching that 20-to-25-year lifespan where we need to start looking at a mill and overlay program,” he said. 

Mergen stated that of the 90,700 feet of streets in Lennox over 50 percent are in A and B condition according to his reports. Mergen went on to discuss the maintenance schedule and estimated costs. 

“If we take the 90,700 ft and divide that by our seven-year cycle that we want to achieve, that gives us a number of 12,900 ft that each year we are trying to slurry seal,” he said. 

Currently, it is $3.50 per square yard is budgeted, which equates to $151,000 per year which is needed to continue with the rotation. 

Mayor Fergen asked when the residents would start to see the new reassessment rates. 

“It will be next spring’s first tax bill, and when they get their tax bill for 2026, on the property tax side it pays for year ’25,” Vander Plaats responded. A motion was made to advance resolution 2025-08-11-03 by Daugherty, seconded by Lauren Van Driel, motion carried.