The Lennox City Council met twice in December, and took action on a number of items that are primarily routine and procedural in nature.
At the December 11 meeting, the City Council took the following actions:
- Approved a Pay Application for the Central Basin 4 Project. This pay application is the 8th and final pay application for the year. While progress is for the most part suspended for the winter, there will be work ongoing through the winter to install utilities underneath the Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe Railroad.
- Approved the application for several grants for the Lennox Community Library. These grants are very important to the library’s ability to offer new programs and materials to our patrons, and Library Director Audrea Buller has a great track record of securing additional funding!
- Renewed three Garbage Hauler Licenses for Novak Sanitation, RBS Sanitation, and A-OK Sanitation.
- Passed the first reading of the annual supplemental budget ordinance. This ordinance is an annual occurrence for most communities, as they need to essentially finalize their numbers by the end of the year.
- Approved the findings of the 2022 fiscal audit. The City is happy to report only one finding this year, and it is a finding that cannot be avoided for a community of our size.
The December 27 meeting was a bit longer, but still largely consisted of annual procedural items, including the following:
- A public hearing on final approval of the City’s new Comprehensive Plan. This document guides and directs development in and around the community as we expand. It identifies policies and guides staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council in approaching specific planning and zoning decisions. Several community volunteers helped in crafting this document at the request of Mayor DuChene, and the City of Lennox is incredibly grateful for their hard work and dedication on behalf of the community’s future!
- Final passage of the annual supplemental budget ordinance.
- Final change order and pay application for the 2023 Slurry Seal Project. After all adjustments were made, the final amount for this year’s project came in at approximately $148,000.
- Final change order and pay application for the 2023 Pool Parking Lot Project. This project – in conjunction with the School District – came to a total of approximately $480,000.
- Final change order and pay application for the 2022 Boynton Avenue Project. Due to project deductions and savings, this project totaled $3.57 million – over $400,000 under the original contract amount of $4,008,000!
- Approval of 2024 wages and salaries for the City’s employees. South Dakota law requires municipalities to publish all wages and salaries for employees in January of each year. This resolution will be published in the Lennox Independent in the coming weeks, and will be available on the City’s website at www.cityoflennoxsd.com.
- Approval of the City’s schedule of fines and fees for 2024.
- Approval of a resolution of support for Lewis & Clark Regional Water System’s application for additional water rights. Lewis & Clark (LCRWS) supplies the entirety of the City’s drinking water, and the City has agreed to expand the system in the coming years. To do so, additional water rights must be approved, per the System’s application.
- Reviewed a sales tax revenue analysis that reviewed revenue increases over the past several years.
- Discussed clarification of the City’s ordinances on solid waste collection. The City Council requested a draft ordinance clarifying whether garbage haulers may offer bi-weekly garbage collection to their customers.
Remember, City Council meetings are regularly scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, and the public is welcome & encouraged to attend! Agendas and supporting documentation can be found for each meeting at https://go.boarddocs.com/sd/col/Board.nsf/Public, or by contacting City Hall at 605.647.2286.