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Box Elder council approves consent items, hears first reading of cable-franchise ordinance and appoints assistant finance officer
Summary
At a regular meeting, the Box Elder City Council approved multiple consent-agenda items and contracts, presented Ordinance 754 on first reading to update the cable franchise code, confirmed the appointment and oath of Renee Baker as assistant finance officer, approved a final sidewalk change order that reduced the project cost, and moved into executive session for personnel and contractual matters.
The Box Elder City Council approved a slate of routine consent items, heard the first reading of an amendment to the city's cable-television franchise ordinance and confirmed an appointment to the finance office at its September meeting.
Mayor Larry G. Larson opened the meeting and the council completed roll call before taking up the agenda. Committee reports delivered earlier in the evening summarized several items forwarded to the consent agenda, including resolutions authorizing agreements and grant applications and multiple bid awards for public projects.
On the consent agenda the council approved the presented items with a roll-call vote; the clerk recorded aye votes from the members present and the motion passed. Among items discussed during committee reports and placed on consent were resolutions to authorize an encroachment and management agreement with the U.S. Air Force REPI program and to authorize submission of financial-assistance applications to relevant funding sources.
On new business, Matt Naas presented Ordinance 754, an update to the city's cable-television franchise ordinance. Naas said the redlined draft removes the city's prior requirement that franchisees provide in-kind services to city buildings when the same franchisees pay a 5% gross-subscriber fee. He cited recent Federal Communications Commission guidance that requires municipalities to account for the value of in-kind contributions when calculating any reduction to the 5% gross-subscriber receipts. The council approved a motion to present Ordinance 754 on first reading.
The council moved and approved the appointment of Renee Baker as the city's assistant finance officer. After the roll-call vote, Baker took the statutory oath of office, swearing to support the constitutions of the United States and the state of South Dakota and to faithfully discharge the duties of her appointed office.
The council approved a recommended abatement from Pennington County concerning parcel number 73204, a cell-tower site that the county said had been double-assessed because it is already evaluated by the state utility division. The clerk noted the county requested the abatement so it could meet a 30-day statutory deadline.
Scott Langs, the city engineer, presented Change Order No. 2 (final) for the Sidewalk Phase 2 project. Langs said the change order is a net deduct of $101,004.44 to align pay quantities with constructed quantities and reported the overall project finished $294,002.44 below the original bid. The council authorized the mayor to sign the associated pay application documents.
Langs also presented an engineering proposal from Albertson Engineering to design two concrete abutments for a previously approved bridge. The council approved the proposal and authorized the mayor to sign the contract documents; Langs said the abutment work is within the existing project budget and anticipated for spring construction when the bridge components are delivered.
Derek Wingfield, the city's public information officer, provided routine communications updates, including continued work on citizen inquiries, social-media coverage of Patriot Day, preparations to launch the Polco budgeting platform, and planning for the upcoming Box Elder Expo.
Mayor Larson closed the public portion of the meeting with routine community updates and requested an executive session under South Dakota Codified Law '1-25-2 to discuss personnel and contractual matters. The council voted to move into executive session, later returned with no further business, and adjourned the meeting.
Votes at a glance: motions to approve the order of business, the consent agenda, Ordinance 754 on first reading, the appointment of Renee Baker, the recommended abatement for parcel 73204, Change Order No. 2 for Sidewalk Phase 2 (net deduct $101,004.44), and the engineering proposal for bridge abutments were all adopted by roll-call votes during the meeting. The council also approved a motion to convene an executive session under SDCL 1-25-2 for personnel and contract purposes and later adjourned.
