And suddenly summer is over. I love me some fall in the Black Hills and am looking forward to cooler temps, so it’s cool!

My wife and I are sudden grandparents…to cats. My daughter moved back in with us while we are getting another place remodeled for her. And she brought her 2 bonded cats with her. And then she left for 2 weeks. I don’t remember signing up for litter box clean out duty but here we are. They have been mostly ok - fun to watch sometimes, annoying when they are meowing for attention when I hit the bathroom in the middle of the night. haha

May you find the time this September to slow down and enjoy the change in seasons. You are awesome.

Tristan

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

Sports Complex Construction Manager: Approved the Construction Manager at Risk agreement with Skull Construction for the new municipal sports complex.

Public Safety Grant Application: Authorized applying for the federal DOJ Model Cities Initiative grant to fund collaborative city-county programs focused on violent crime, gun violence prevention, and homeless outreach services.

FY 2027 Municipal Budget Amendments:

Property Tax Adjustment: Voted 7–3 to accept the state-authorized Consumer Price Index (CPI) property tax increase, retaining approximately $780,000 in city revenue.

Staffing Additions: Approved adding 1 Code Enforcement Officer FTE ($93,443) and 1 Community Planner FTE ($145,946).

Budget Reductions: Reduced the Council Contingency Fund to $100,000, trimmed the Mayor's office budget by $100,000, and capped city contributions for the annual Fourth of July / America 250 celebration at $100,000 (down from $500,000).

Community & Transit Support: Increased annual funding to $50,000 each for the Canyon Lake Activity Center and Minneluzahan Senior Center, allocated $182,523 for Rapid Transit System driver wage adjustments, fully funded 4 Parks FTEs ($124,969), and added $120,000 for Parks professional maintenance services.

Ordinance Continuance: Continued the First Reading of the annual appropriation ordinance to the September 8 meeting to incorporate all adopted adjustments.

Landfill Waste Diversion Partnership: Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Dakota Biochar to process stockpiled wood waste at the municipal landfill into biochar, aiding in removing residual herbicides from city compost and diverting landfill volume.

Smart Street Lighting Infrastructure: Authorized the sole-source purchase of 350 street light monitoring devices ($48,898.50) from Ubicell to enable SCADA fault tracking, dark-sky compliance, and automated dimming during non-peak hours.

Water Reclamation Facility Progress: Received an update on the $250 million Water Reclamation Facility upgrade, which stands at 50% completion with 0.55% total change orders. Approved adding an automated two-product vehicle fuel dispenser for emergency city vehicle refueling.

Sports Complex Management Advisory Services: Recommended approving an amendment to the Sports Facilities Management agreement ($12,000/month increase) to provide expanded design and construction advisory services, saving the city approximately $660,000 compared to hiring an independent owner's representative.

Property Tax Resolution: Approved a resolution declaring intent to take the statutory property tax increase for the 2027 budget, passing on a tie-breaking vote by the chair.

Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance: Recommended second reading approval of the ordinance creating a standardized administrative review for federal ADA/Fair Housing land-use accommodations.

Sports Complex Agreement Finalized: Approved the First Amendment to the Sports Facilities Management agreement, formalizing internal project management advisory roles and securing $659,000 in net savings.

North Police Station Renovation Approved: Passed second reading of the supplemental appropriation ($1,280,319) for the North Police Station remodel, with officials confirming final project construction bids came in $500,000 under budget estimates.

FY 2027 Budget First Reading: Passed the first reading of the annual appropriation ordinance after restoring $100,000 to the Mayor's office budget. A separate proposal to add $125,000 for an airport project manager was withdrawn to be addressed via a future supplemental request.

Subdivision Approvals & Traffic Impact: Approved preliminary subdivision plans for Black Hills Industrial Center and Shepard Hill South (105 residential lots). Council addressed resident concerns regarding heavy construction traffic on Diamond Ridge Boulevard, noting relief will arrive with upcoming connections to East Anamosa Street and Homestead Street.

Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance Enacted: Defeated a substitute motion requiring neighbor notification and public hearings (7–2) and passed the second reading of the housing accommodation ordinance (7–2). The measure establishes an administrative approval process for qualifying disability housing accommodations in full compliance with federal law.

Did you know we have a huge thrifting community?

I showcased recently opened Starburst Thrift a week ago and wow - the engagement was off the charts.

They are at 1655 S Valley Drive in the valley- just south of E Hwy 44 in the building that used to be a veterinarian.

From their FB Page: We are a small group of family and friends that were born and raised in Rapid City. We have been small business owners, have taken part in volunteer groups, and we still support both as active members of our community!

Now taking donations during business hours 10am to 7pm.

Check them out to see what treasures you can find!

Black Hawk and Summerset:

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