Dell Rapids council adopts special-assessment roll for Third Street; city pays for added parking-lot work

The Dell Rapids City Council on March 3 adopted Resolution 2025-07, approving the special-assessment roll that assigns individual assessment amounts to properties that benefited from the Third Street project.

The resolution requires property owners identified in the roll to either pay the assessment directly to city hall by the end of 2025 or have the city file the assessment with Minnehaha County to appear on property tax bills spread over a 10-year period with a 9.5% interest rate. City staff said final assessments were lower than initial estimates and that the first installment will appear on tax bills in 2026.

Council members heard one objection at the public hearing. A representative for property owner Joe Weihart notified the council that Weihart objected to the assessment and asked whether a parking-lot cost included on the Third Street assessment was a separate charge and, if so, how large that amount was. Lance Mayer of DGR Engineering told the council the parking-lot work had been added after assessments were calculated and was a city expense. "The parking lot was added on as after assessments had been determined," Mayer said. "...that parking lot was is totally being paid for by the city." The council did not provide a separate dollar figure for the parking-lot work during the hearing.

City staff outlined the scope of work covered by the assessments, including street surfacing, curb and gutter, sidewalks, driveways and approaches, sewer, water, drainage, utility services, backfilling and reestablishing boulevards, and related ancillary costs. DGR said it applied Dell Rapids' adjusted-frontage method to allocate special benefits and that property owners received notices and a copy of proposed assessment amounts ahead of the March 3 public hearing.

The council moved to adopt Resolution 2025-07 with an amendment process available for individual property discussions before finalizing the roll. The motion to approve was moved by Councilmember Hawk and seconded by Councilmember Cavigelli; the finance officer called the roll and named votes in favor. The resolution passed.

City staff said property owners will receive a final special-assessment bill the week of March 3; owners can pay the assessments any time during the 10-year period without penalty through the county. The city noted it was providing more than the required 30 days for owners to pay before the county deadline to file assessments for tax-year placement.

The council did not set a specific date for any follow-up review of individual assessment objections during the meeting, but the public-hearing process and the council’s option to amend individual amounts were made clear.

Sources at the meeting said DGR Engineering was present to answer technical questions about the assessment calculations.

The council moved next to routine business following the vote.