Hot Springs council debates park-fee waivers, affirms holiday-decorations support and approves airport contracts

The Hot Springs City Council on Feb. 18 voted to back a winter-decorations program and approved multiple airport contracts and budget supplements, while deferring a decision on a Chamber of Commerce request to waive Centennial Park reservation fees.

The council adopted Resolution 2025-7, titled “support the Christmas in the Hills Committee, Light Up Our Town campaign,” with no direct municipal cash appropriation attached for 2025; councilmembers emphasized the city will continue to provide labor and maintain decorations and that fundraising and a restricted account will be used to buy additional decorations. Council also approved a set of airport contract items, accepted a hangar taxi-lane extension, and authorized a professional-services agreement for AWOS-3 work at the airport. Separately, the council approved a city services request from SHEDCO to support an end-of-construction event and waived related labor fees; a Chamber request to waive Centennial Park fees was discussed at length and is scheduled for a future council vote.

Why it matters: the votes commit city staff time and approve multi-thousand-dollar contracts tied to airport infrastructure, while the resolution and event-support decisions shape seasonal décor, downtown promotion and how the city balances support for community events against limited budget resources.

What the council did and decided

- Resolution 2025-7 (Light Up Our Town): Council approved a resolution supporting the Light Up Our Town effort. The mayor and staff clarified the resolution asks the city to partner with the volunteer group by allowing city staff to place and remove winter decorations and by housing a restricted donation account; the resolution does not ask the council for a direct appropriation this year. Staff said the city has transitioned to LED decorations and the account used for donations currently has a nominal balance. Council discussion centered on consistency, labor costs and the length decorations remain in place each winter.

- SHEDCO end-of-construction celebration (new business B): The council approved a recommendation from the city administrator to allow SHEDCO to use city services and personnel to construct a planned cone “burn” celebration for the end of construction, and the council voted to waive labor fees for that event. City staff estimated total labor value for that project between about $195 and $260. Safety committee members reported they reviewed the plan and raised no unresolved safety concerns; emergency-management staff were consulted about contingencies and staging.

- Airport contracts, change order and budget supplements: The council approved change order #1 with Western Construction, increasing that contract by $5,435.39 to a new total of $280,562.59 for adjusted installed quantities; accepted the hangar taxi-lane extension work (383 ft. by 25 ft.) as complete; and authorized the mayor to sign a professional services agreement with KLJ Engineering LLC for AWOS-3 design, construction administration and observation at a total cost of $127,238.47, funded from the budget line cited by staff. The council also approved two automatic budget supplements (one for $1,433.68 and one for $2,687.07) to record reimbursement revenue and cover construction administration costs tied to FAA/AIP grant reimbursements, per staff recommendation.

Other substantive discussions

- Centennial Park fees and Chamber request: Josh Kopinski, Chamber president, asked the council to consider waiving park reservation fees for a suite of community events the Chamber organizes (concert series, BalloonFest, Salute to Valor, Oktoberfest). Councilmembers debated fairness across organizations, administrative costs for reservations and whether the city should waive only electrical fees or the entire shelter reservation charge. No final vote was taken; the council directed staff to place the matter on a future agenda for a formal decision and to provide clearer policy proposals.

- School Resource Officer (SRO) contract: Hot Springs School Superintendent Dr. Kylie Cumbow told the council the existing SRO contract technically expires March 1 but said the district’s payment has been received through May, giving the council time to decide. Cumbow said the district submitted a proposed contract for 2025–26; she stressed the SRO position's value for continuity and school safety and said the district is under financial pressure and cannot cover more than the amount it proposed.

- Public comments and parks items: Public commenters included representatives from Southern Hills Recreation/Hot Springs Disc Golf seeking council approval to place an initial nine-hole disc-golf layout at Butler Park and to be placed on a future agenda to start fundraising and course design. Parks committee members said they will bring a more complete plan to council. A resident raised neighborhood/jurisdiction concerns about a county property and road impacts; staff said they are investigating authority and options.

Votes at a glance (motions and outcomes)

- Approve amended agenda (add exec. session under codified law for contractual matters; strike city share of ~$33,500 from one item): Passed (voice vote).

- Approve minutes, Feb. 3, 2025: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve “bills in between” $210,555.19: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve current claims $37,037.33: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve 2,024 payable claims $61,949.93: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve personnel actions A–D: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve Resolution 2025-7 (Light Up Our Town): Passed (voice vote). No city cash appropriation requested in the resolution for 2025; city labor and a restricted donation account discussed.

- New business B — authorize city services/personnel for SHEDCO event and waive labor fees: Passed (roll call; motion recorded as passed). Staff estimated labor value $195–$260.

- Change Order #1 with Western Construction (increase $5,435.39; new contract $280,562.59): Passed (voice vote).

- Accept final review/acceptance of hangar taxi-lane extension (383 ft by 25 ft) as complete: Passed (voice vote).

- Approve professional services agreement with KLJ Engineering LLC for AWOS-3 design/CA/obs., $127,238.47 (budget line 212-21200-45420): Passed (voice vote).

- Approve 2024 automatic budget supplement $1,433.68 to additional sales tax fund (construction admin / costs — AIP reimbursement): Passed (voice vote).

- Approve 2024 automatic budget supplement $2,687.07 to additional sales tax fund (construction admin / costs — AIP reimbursement): Passed (voice vote).

Follow-ups and next steps

- The Chamber-of-Commerce park-fee-waiver request will return on a future council agenda with staff recommendations; council members asked for clearer policy language and cost/budget impacts before a vote.

- Parks staff and the Parks & Rec committee will work with Southern Hills Recreation and Hot Springs Disc Golf to refine the Butler Park course plan and return with a formal concept for council action.

- School and city staff will continue SRO contract conversations; the district confirmed payment for the current school year runs through May, giving the council time for deliberation.

Speakers (selected; quotes in the body are from these speakers)

- Bob Nelson, Mayor (government, City of Hot Springs) - Jacqueline Kelsey, City Administrator (government, City of Hot Springs) - Misty (last name not specified), Finance Officer / city staff (government, City of Hot Springs) - Josh Kopinski, Chamber president / director (nonprofit, Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce) - Andrea Powers, Executive Director (nonprofit/business, SHEDCO) - Kylie Cumbow, Superintendent (government/education, Hot Springs School District) - Danelle Rose (resident/public commenter) - Wally Castro (resident/public commenter) - JR Huddleston (council/ald.) - Larry Pratt (council/ald.) - Deborah Johnston (council/ald.) - Hal Glanville (council/ald.) - Bill Lukins (council/ald.) - Gary Telkamp (council/ald.) - Linda Varvel (council/ald.)

Authorities referenced (as stated during meeting)

- South Dakota Codified Law 1-25-2(3) (referenced for executive session on contractual matters) — referenced_by: ["agenda amendment to add executive session"] - Resolution 2025-7, “support the Christmas in the Hills Committee, Light Up Our Town campaign” — referenced_by: ["resolution approval item"] - AIP grant reimbursements (grant references provided by staff in budget-supplement motions) — referenced_by: ["budget supplements for hangar/taxi lane and construction administration"]

Clarifying details (from council and staff statements)

- Park reservation fees: standard shelter fee $50 per shelter per day; electricity fee $25 per day, per staff statements during the Chamber discussion. - Chamber’s cited total for a year of scheduled Centennial Park reservations as presented by the Chamber: approximately $1,075 (breakdown included multiple events and a summer-concert series figure of $625 for five dates). Council requested staff verify exact totals before a vote. - SHEDCO estimated labor value for cone-burn event: approximately $195–$260 total (staff estimate). - KLJ Engineering AWOS-3 contract total: $127,238.47 (funding line and AIP reimbursements referenced in the motion).

Proper names (extracted)

- Hot Springs (city) - Butler Park (park) - Centennial Park (park) - Chamber of Commerce (organization) - SHEDCO (organization) - KLJ Engineering LLC (business) - Western Construction, Inc. (business) - Evans Plunge Mineral Springs (facility) - Mueller Civic Center (facility) - Hot Springs School District (organization) - Fall River County (county)

Searchable tags: ["park-fees","chamber","light-up-our-town","SRO","airport","AWOS","disc-golf","shedco","budget-supplement"]

Provenance (transcript highlights supporting this article)

- topicintro: discussion of Chamber park-fee request and Light Up Our Town discussion (transcript tc_start ~2618.70 to tc_end ~2748.85; Chamber introduction by Josh Kopinski and follow-up council debate). - topfinish: final roll-call votes on airport and budget supplements and motion to enter executive session (transcript tc_start ~5186.80 to tc_end ~5379.94).