08/16/2016 A Voice From the Gallery

The August 10, 2016, Alcester city council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Tom Glas with council members Lance Johnson, Audri Carlson, Kama Johnson, Mark Dykstra and David Larsen present. Conspicuously absent was councilman Mike Burke. Anybody keeping track?

During public input I asked the question why does Alcester not have a city website, why is Mayor Glas so intent on spending some $10K on cosmetics for the south bar wall which faces the alley and why does Mayor Glas’ obdurately persist in parking on state right-of-way impeding clear vision for drivers turning off First street onto South Dakota Highway 11? No answer.        .

Union County Attorney Jerry Miller contacted the city about the annexation resolution of FCS Lot D relating to the mapping/platting. Mr. Haugland informed the council an affidavit was sent to the Union County Register of Deeds attaching a map to the certified Resolution of April 2016 and should be recorded on August 11, 2016.

Upon a complaint from Councilman Lance Johnson about fireworks clean-up, an ordinance update was discussed. City Attorney Haugland felt the existing ordinances against littering in a public place was sufficient without enacting a superfluous ordinance.

City Attorney Chuck Haugland was dismissed at 7:36 p.m. by Mayor Glas. Evidently Mayor Glas didn’t feel the need for legal oversight. Imagine that!

The Alcester Bar ‘wailing’ wall came up, once again. Several bids came in with one at $8400.00 and two at $10K+. Discussion took place repeating the brick in question were just cosmetic facing brick and were not structural. Mayor Glas  commented on the 2007 insurance audit, the structural engineer, a 100K+ price which (according to Mayor Glas) was why the city didn’t fix the wall and that $10K+ was a bargain (Mayor Glas’ words). Gotta wonder what Glas was smokin’ because the engineer found the brick were cosmetic, his report was submitted to the city’s insurance company, the insurance company accepted the report and insured the building with no further action needed by the council. It was mentioned Jesse Duncan had been consulted and he affirmed the brick were cosmetic. Once more the brick wall was tabled. Dang—the ‘Wall’ is started to weigh heavy on that there ole table. Mayor Glas sure does want to waste tax dollars on an alley view!

Ward II needs  a councilman and the council is entertaining volunteers. Mike Burke decided that being a councilman was not working with his job schedule.

Councilman Mark Dykstra resigned from the Union County Fairboard and according to Councilman Dykstra, “he just could not in good conscience put up with dumping grain on city ground”. He finally ‘got it’ that Mayor Pete Larsen was acting responsibly by forcing the Union County Commissioners to get city permission to sublet the city ground and bar any grain dumping on city property. After Mayor Larsen’s visit with the commissioners, they did run the city ‘fairground’ land sub-leases past the city council. But alas when Mayor Rick Johnson and Mayor Tom Glas took office it appears the commissioners no longer felt the need to get Alcester city approval anymore and with no one to hold their collective feet to the fire the commissioners got away without city approval.

Gotta wonder about good ole Beck Drive. It seems the first interest payment is due sometime in the near future and it doesn’t appear any lots have been sold to make the payment. So how much of the HRC fund is remaining to cover regular wear and tear maintenance of the four-plex AND Beck Drive construction cost. Whose hobby-horse was Beck Drive?—Mayor Glas and Councilwoman/finance officer Pat Jurrens and where is Councilman Mark Dykstra in all this. He certainly should have had some input given he sits in the ‘council seat’, he works with loan figures and just who is holding the bank bag if Beck Drive/HRC loan goes south?

Vickie A. Larsen