Committee authorizes three Star Village demolition contracts after staff describe notice and outreach

The Rapid City Public Works Committee on July 14 approved three contracts to remove condemned outbuildings in the Star Village neighborhood.

The consent-calendar approvals authorized the mayor and finance director to sign three demolition agreements: PW07142609 with Ridgeline Construction LLC for up to $33,000; PW071426-10 with MMI LLC for up to $50,500; and PW071426-11 with HC LLC for up to $50,000. The motions passed by voice vote after council members pulled the items for discussion.

City Attorney Carla Cushman told the committee the structures at issue are garages and sheds that were condemned in October 2025. "The timeline for all of those has run," she said, explaining the condemnation process includes inspection, formal notice and an opportunity to challenge. Cushman said the city is now in a position to demolish the remaining condemned structures and to assess costs back to the property owner.

When asked who owns the affected properties, Cushman and staff identified the owner as Zadik RC Portfolio LLC and said staff had individually notified tenants of planned August demolitions. Building Services will post final notice signs on the affected buildings in the weeks before work begins, staff said.

Finance Director Daniel Ainsley said the Repair and Demolition Fund will pay immediate costs and book them as receivables. "Once the assessments are made and the taxes are paid, it would go back to that individual fund," Ainsley said, adding the city also applies an administrative fee to assessments.

Council members raised concerns about tenant impacts and the potential loss of personal property stored in condemned structures. Councilman Bill Evans urged staff to follow up on where removed materials are taken, saying, "We're getting a lot of junky buildings... I just want to find out where that junk is all going because we might be creating another problem that might be just as bad as the one we're solving." Staff said outreach has included offers of storage and other assistance to residents.

Jamie Kirsch, who the chair identified as a staff member involved in Star Village outreach, described multi-year efforts: a large cleanout in 2024 removed nearly 36 tons of trash with 82 volunteers (an estimated 222 volunteer hours valued at about $33.49 per hour, roughly $7,000 in volunteer time) and additional donated contractor support (estimated $4,245). Kirsch said volunteers and staff have offered to help tenants remove items and provided storage totes, locks and other assistance in advance of demolition.

Council members also asked why multiple contractors were contracted; staff said using three firms allows work to proceed simultaneously to reduce neighborhood disruption. Concerns were raised about unpaid utility bills tied to properties; Ainsley said state law currently prevents the city from assessing unpaid utility bills to those properties, but demolition and mitigation costs can be assessed to the owner.

The committee voted to approve the three demolition contracts on the consent calendar. The approvals authorize the mayor and finance director to execute the agreements and allow staff to proceed with the scheduled work and related outreach steps.