I am loving these fall temps. Even 85 in October feels good after 100s in the summer. haha We might actually get 1 last boat ride in this week.

Officially, I am painted out. Getting our property on Oak Ave ready for sale took more work than I wanted to admit. Got some final outside painting to complete yet and yard clean up. I’m ready for to be done with projects!

Have you been leaf looking yet? Our annual Mickelson Trail ride with dad is coming up this Saturday and then we got plans to hit the pumpkin patch and maze in Spearfish. Cause it’s really cool. :)

Enjoy the fall!

What news caught the most eyeballs or stirred up the most trouble?

Duplex Variance Approved: Granted a lot-size variance (reducing the minimum required lot size from 8,000 to 7,000 sq. ft.) for an existing duplex at 1616 1st Street to enable a pending property sale, subject to obtaining a building permit and adding paved off-street parking.

Annual Open Meetings Law Overview: Reviewed state open meetings requirements, including 24-hour public notice rules, meeting recording policies, public comment structures, executive session criteria, and restrictions against serial email communications among a quorum.

General Public Comment Added: Announced the addition of a dedicated general public comment period at the end of future Planning Commission agendas to increase public engagement.

Community Announcement: Highlighted the upcoming Red Gala fundraising event to support the construction and launch of Rapid City’s first Ronald McDonald House to assist families of pediatric patients.

Railyard Relocation & Railway Study: Approved the final study report recommending the long-term relocation of the downtown railyard to an expanded facility east of Box Elder along Highway 14-16 and reconstructing the Y-intersection at Pressler Junction to reduce downtown traffic congestion, noise, and train emissions.

Moon Meadows Drive Exception Withdrawn: The applicant withdrew an infrastructure exception request after reaching a compromise with city staff to provide a letter of credit instead of immediate road improvements, postponing full street construction until major regional projects (such as the Sanford hospital development) progress.

Historic Preservation Committee Briefing: Passed a motion requesting the Historic Preservation Commission to present its current projects and strategic goals at a December City Council meeting.

City Artificial Intelligence Policy Debate: Discussed Resolution 2026-069 establishing citywide AI usage principles. Committee members debated whether broad guidance should be passed via formal resolution or administrative toolkits before forwarding the item to the City Council.

$7M+ Supplemental Budget Allocation: Approved the first reading of Ordinance 6750, allocating over $7 million in supplemental funds—headlined by transferring $6.6 million into a dedicated Sports Facility Fund for design work, alongside funds for fire station remodeling and storm damage repairs.

Summit Arena Bond Refinancing Plan: Approved Resolution 2026-078 authorizing a tender offer to repurchase outstanding 2021 taxable sales tax revenue bonds for Summit Arena at a market discount and re-issue new bonds, projecting potential taxpayer savings of over $2 million depending on institutional participation.

Historic Window Replacement Appeal: Approved an appeal for 1805 West Boulevard to replace 20 severely deteriorated wood windows with composite Andersen windows on a historic property after finding no feasible restoration alternative.

Hometown Hero & Service Recognition: Honored South Dakota Mines football captain Jameson Mallon-Echols with an Active Heroism Award for saving a teenager from a burning vehicle wreck. Presented an award to Goodwill of the Great Plains for recycling over 221,000 lbs of textiles and 2,000 lbs of e-waste in the past year.

City AI Policy Direction Revised: In response to public and council feedback, the Council voted to replace adoption of the proposed AI resolution with a substitute motion directing staff to develop a clearer, more actionable policy and operational toolkit.

Hanover Drive Triplex Approved on Appeal: Voted 7–3 to deny a neighborhood appeal, upholding the Planning Commission's approval of a major amendment to allow a triplex at 401 Hanover Drive while confirming off-street parking and emergency access standards were met.

Public Comments on Data Center Concerns: Received testimony from residents raising questions regarding water consumption, acoustic low-frequency noise (infrasound), and infrastructure expansion at the proposed Sequador Edge data center.

Ordinance Approvals: Formally passed rezoning for Parks & Recreation property to a Public District (Ordinance 6749), approved the preliminary subdivision plan for North Line Business Park (lots 1–34), and adopted the supplemental budget appropriations.

This is a post from City Council Member Stephen Tamang on his Facebook page. He chats about data centers, the upcoming ordinance in play, and how the public can get involved:

Currently data centers are a permitted use in light and heavy industrial zoning districts. On appropriately zoned property, a project meeting applicable requirements can proceed through building permit review without a separate data center conditional use hearing or Council vote. (my comment: at the moment, if they are in the right zoning, they don’t need approval from anyone - just a building permit) Developers must already document adequate electrical, water, and sewer capacity. Other approvals may be necessary depending on the property and project.

The city is working on Ordinance 6746 to strengthen data center regulations and expand opportunities for public input. The current proposal would make the following changes:

• Large data centers would require a conditional use permit, including a public hearing before the Planning Commission.

• Qualifying “micro” data centers, using no more than 10 megawatts and 4,000 gallons of water daily, could remain permitted uses when located at least 500 feet from a zoning district allowing residential uses. The water definition excludes initial system fill and irrigation. A closer location or additional data centers on the same property would require conditional use review.

• “Hyperscale” centers, defined in the draft as requiring 50 megawatts or more, or more than 10,000 gallons of water daily, would be prohibited within city limits.

The proposal also adds requirements addressing cooling systems, noise, vibration, utilities, and separation from residential zoning.

On September 10, the Planning Commission continued consideration of the ordinance until November 5. The Community Development Director explained that the group requesting more time generally supported much of the proposal but had concerns about requiring a conditional use permit.

Residents can learn more and provide feedback at the October 14 open house, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. The listed schedule then calls for Planning Commission consideration November 5, Legal & Finance November 10, and Council readings November 16 and December 7, subject to further action or changes.

These are proposed rules, and public input can still help shape them.

Local small class swimming lessons!

Dakota Fins is a family-run swim school right here in Rapid City, owned by Meagan and Shawn Palmer.

And this isn’t your typical giant swim class where you’ve got a bunch of kids in the pool and one instructor trying to keep track of everybody.

They teach out of their private backyard pool, with small class sizes and a big emphasis on individual attention.  Plus they've recently revealed a really cool indoor pool in their garage - so the South Dakota winters won't be a factor.

A new program they’re introducing called Little Fins Survival Swim.

This is an intensive, one-on-one program specifically for infants and toddlers from 6 months all the way up to 6 years old.

And the focus isn't on teaching your toddler how to swim laps.

It’s survival skills.

For at least an 8-week course, kids work on things like learning to roll onto their back and float, getting themselves to the wall, independently floating, and learning swim-float-swim techniques.

Really cool local stuff!

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