[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6485674,"mediaKeyId","5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6","parentId",5595104,"title","Aberdeen council approves liquor license, airport invoices, construction pay requests and routine claims","audioSeconds",1253,"startMs",3447000,"endMs",4700000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6&start=3447&end=4700","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6/thumbnail_3447000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6485674/South-Dakota/Aberdeen-council-approves-liquor-license-airport-invoices-construction-pay-requests-and-routine-claims","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485674-b27ba0291fb98986b50196eea1e9a819/orig.mp4?Expires=1770990020&Signature=aRB8BDWavLpT-5JYQag~08G0JxzJ3tSg4OLqGu6HAk7xbWAOpvYnSFe-DaJ64HI-W2GtAmgYTeENFCcrJHsnzoRn917HHpPlOOyHTid2oJRs7nG2F2ZAhdfSAVXDDSXMLLGuKxrzfxYIZlRHradGCGAivtXa9XqyA5x4VcvNzCJ4PTqbO5uWLQu5fteVrzSVCD24ncHZMAVLAnS1eEVDWZ4Fo7Nhn2fpQtjgvwsGKMcw1F3VqnkS1v6mnGNbqpEgieOL1tb7L9KupyptDzCeXdTeSNBG5bLMFsJLw9za4ApMQqYooEnbyTMy6f8qxo5SbMTSnkucNNB01CYuNvDAcw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Aberdeen","date","2025-08-18T20:59:35Z","article","The City of Aberdeen Council on Aug. 18 approved a set of routine and project payments, granted a new liquor license and acknowledged several airport- and public-works-related contracts.

Liquor license: The council granted a retail on/off-sale malt beverage and South Dakota farm-wine license for Very Necessary LLC, doing business as Irie Vibes Sip and Paint (application produced no speakers in favor or opposition at the hearing). A motion to approve carried.

Airport projects and invoices: Council approved payments tied to airport projects and recommended contractors. The council authorized payment of Helms and Associates invoices for terminal access road and parking-lot engineering services (bidding services invoice no. 4 for $900.17 and construction-administration invoice no. 5 for $6,203) and authorized the city manager to sign the vendor invoice. Council also approved an apron-reconstruction pay request: Helms administrative/resident-engineering services for $47,032.72 and Reedy Construction estimate number (work completed through July 25) for $3,643,701.60. The council approved payment for a pre-conditioned-air unit project tied to the JetBridge with Helms invoices (amounts presented in staff report as $13,009.40 and $13,940). Staff said federal and state funding covered most airport project costs (typical splits cited: 90–95% federal, remainder state and local shares) and that work would not affect flight schedules.

FAA lease: Council approved acknowledgment of an FAA no-cost lease for a building in the general aviation area and authorized the city manager to sign the lease after city-attorney approval; the lease term described in staff remarks runs from October 2026 through September 2046.

Other public-works payments and change orders: The council approved multiple engineering and construction pay requests, including a pay request and change order to Prom Construction related to an unexpected abutment discovered during bridge work (change order ~ $65,001 and pay request ~$533,079 — amounts as stated in staff remarks), CWF Masonry payment for concrete repair work ($34,007.88 noted for pay request number 3), a Klein Street storm-sewer retainage release ($152,768.48 to B & B Contracting), and approval of Jacobs and Sons for granular fill material for the new Public Works building (contract amount stated as $456,003.79). Council members and staff discussed schedule expectations and seeding/landscaping outcomes where relevant.

USGS agreement: Council authorized the city manager to sign the U.S. Geological Survey joint-funding agreement for water-resource investigations (stream gauges on Moxon Creek and Foot Creek). Staff said the agreement covers routine stream gauging; Brown County Emergency Management will reimburse the city for half the cost after invoicing.

Claims and payroll: The council approved claims and payroll. Councilmember Nelson announced an abstention on payment to Banner Associates; additional line-item abstentions were recorded by the mayor for three vendors (climate-control, sewer dock, Jarmons Water); Councilman Ward announced an abstention for a payment to a relative (Joy Ward) and the mayor recorded abstentions as noted. Apart from those abstentions, the motion carried and bills were approved.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Meeting August 18th, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","On Aug. 18 the City of Aberdeen Council approved a retail malt-beverage and South Dakota farm-wine license for Irie Vibes Sip and Paint, multiple airport-related pay requests and construction pay estimates, a USGS joint-funding agreement for stream gauges and payment of claims and payroll; council recorded a small number of abstentions on claims.","taxTitle","City of Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota","taxId",64107,"location","South Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6485679,"Aberdeen council awards water-tower and transmission-line bids pending federal concurrence; members flag high costs",759,3669000,4428000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6&start=3669&end=4428","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6/thumbnail_3669000.jpg","/articles/6485679/South-Dakota/Aberdeen-council-awards-water-tower-and-transmission-line-bids-pending-federal-concurrence-members-flag-high-costs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485679-abaf9bf2f2cfcd24bd0a5e12ba94336e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770990020&Signature=FE5zcbizzrySykkXn0Fb1vT8jXi83K7CzV8agqd2A~Jcu7hBTRf~EIHZO6A9q8-heoAsry23bcqB4j2Cfx2mwa3dnXeXOr4Hh8FpJG6uvOlPWpODN9V1pQxV2Lk0jV2hNbmk~crk~FBMxKkMBTciFt3S8~S7C65SflMUebAz9dlrLg85NPHHj9y6GB5DdzgJ-2m3ZT7jtVz-xfAJfhQQGDGlVhSozTRjXdm4s4Wj-qHj7AehgzYOSGzjZtPgrOOPpT2~ka1B7d5B5PqvrPTma2uUmUaM0zVUSlAFeohN6NaTICMVZW5~lxd4vRFFX4iaSduzM~ANdJeZnyrwwuAknQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Aberdeen Council on Aug. 18 voted to award bids for the Aberdeen Water Tower and associated transmission lines, contingent on concurrence from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR). Council members and staff discussed large cost increases since the project was first estimated and described ongoing efforts at value engineering.

Council awarded Schedule A (transmission line) to Dami Construction for $4,669,716.37 and Schedule B (water tower structure) to Landmark Structures of Fort Worth for $8,935,000, with the awards explicitly conditioned on concurrence by EDA and DANR. City Engineer Stu Nelson said Schedule B drew a single bid because several firms declined to bid under the grant’s hard timeline (completion by the end of 2026). Nelson said preserving an approximately $2 million EDA grant made moving forward with the single bid the most viable option.

Nelson reviewed the project history: initial cost estimates were roughly $3–$4 million when the project was first conceptualized; COVID-era supply-chain impacts, longer permitting and FAA coordination for tower siting and other delays extended the timeline and increased cost. He said the city negotiated a site after multiple FAA rejections of earlier locations and that process alone took about 18 months.

Councilmember Johnson described the Schedule B award as “painful” given it exceeded the engineer estimate by roughly $2.4 million and asked whether the council should signal resistance to change orders that would raise the price. Nelson said staff is working with the contractor to identify about $600,000 in potential value-engineering savings but cautioned some of those options require acceptance by engineers and funders.

Councilman Ward made the motion to award the bids subject to EDA and DANR concurrence; the motion carried on roll call. Council members asked staff to continue pursuing value engineering and to make clear to contractors that the council may not be willing to accept significant cost increases through change orders.

What happens next: the awards are pending formal concurrence by EDA and DANR; staff will continue value-engineering work and coordinate with funders and the contractor to finalize the contract and schedule.

","The council voted to award bids for the Aberdeen water tower and transmission lines, subject to concurrence from federal and state funding partners; council members noted the award exceeds initial engineer estimates and discussed value engineering.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6485684,"Aberdeen council votes to publish notice to amend handbook after state voting statute changes",472,2544000,3016000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6&start=2544&end=3016","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5595104-a04513ac0c4e69cb0738f29ccfa564c6/thumbnail_2544000.jpg","/articles/6485684/South-Dakota/Aberdeen-council-votes-to-publish-notice-to-amend-handbook-after-state-voting-statute-changes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485684-051f8405526c661d1ab0fa501b2db128/orig.mp4?Expires=1770990020&Signature=NIkz-aRxq6sQaHbSvbL~oaBQV~10G1ZIQsMlFm6g6AhVIM~srlDvnqJF182cDMXcRnhfZ3~JYvDQ2lH~sXOTr3WCtCyJXWgIqA83HFmWnBQJSBSOah8ELMTeUTHaxpo1rr~AqySGaeyi95iPwRFCKWpckmsVKDjggn3xC97kV8rOO0N9oul0rwZ3EsVprhJI6EWc3vrIrL4aXMAdwvGiAdcXyfH564dSt~~6OLWmuCKRceQVbRJRvLx-8YSBOz7bZYnNOsK6uCldXOh0MHiOwgI1cIPnr4o7UQv87bOQI3I1QVJe1DS2p4ar5200Y1XWfAQeoW9FzlDdxIYqHOk-tQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Aberdeen Council on Aug. 18 authorized publication of a notice of intent to amend the council handbook so it conforms to a 2025 change in state law governing council voting and vacancy-filling procedures.

The change follows a 2025 statutory amendment to section 9-8-10 that, as described to the council by city staff, requires that certain ordinance amendments receive the affirmative votes of a majority of all council members (not simply a majority of members present) and forbids secret ballots when the council fills vacancies.

City Attorney Ron Weger told the council he reviewed the statutory changes and proposed matching edits to several handbook articles, including Article 9 (voting), Article 16, Article 17 (filling council vacancies) and Article 19. Weger said he had drafted two options for the vacancy process: a spoken (oral) ballot and a written ballot that would be publicly read and recorded; the proposed handbook language uses a spoken ballot but staff will present both versions at the Sept. 2 meeting.

Weger said the handbook changes are procedural and required a published notice of intent so council members would have the opportunity to attend and consider the revisions. He recommended publishing notice for final consideration at the Sept. 2 meeting.

Council members discussed the two ballot options for filling vacancies. A spoken ballot would have council members announce their vote aloud, moving around the room; the written option would require reading each member’s written vote aloud and recording it publicly. Weger said the objective was to remove secret ballots from the vacancy process, per the statutory change. He also described an elimination process for multiple nominees whereby the lowest vote-getters would be eliminated until a majority selected a candidate.

Councilman Ward asked the city attorney to prepare both versions of the procedural language for the Sept. 2 meeting so members could choose. Councilwoman Liebelt and other members expressed no objection to publishing the notice; the motion to publish the notice and bring final language back Sept. 2 passed by voice vote.

What happens next: staff will publish the notice of intent to amend the handbook and return proposed red-line language — including an alternate written-ballot draft for the vacancy process — for council consideration on Sept. 2.

","The City of Aberdeen Council authorized publication of a notice to amend its council handbook to conform to a 2025 change in state law affecting voting and candidate-selection procedures. Council members will consider final language at the Sept. 2 meeting.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Aberdeen council approves liquor license, airport invoices, construction pay requests and routine claims

Aberdeen council awards water-tower and transmission-line bids pending federal concurrence; members flag high costs

Aberdeen council votes to publish notice to amend handbook after state voting statute changes