Informational Meeting

MINUTES Monday, October 31, 2011 Informational Meeting 4:00 PM at Carnegie Town Hall Sioux Falls City Council 235 West Tenth Street Members Present: Sue Aguilar, Kenny Anderson Jr., James Entenman, Michelle Erpenbach, Greg Jamison, Dean Karsky, Rex Rolfing Members Absent: Vernon Brown and Mike T. Huether Staff Present: Sue Roust, Interim City Clerk, and Denise D. Tucker, CMC, Assistant City Clerk 1. Call To Order City Council Chair Sue Aguilar called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 2. Staff Report A. Sue Roust, Interim City Clerk Roust said there is one week to go until the Election and 3,700 absentee ballots have been taken out. She presented two spreadsheets to show how the absentee voting compares to previous elections. Roust said voting has been steady with about 175 voters a day. She said the Auditor's Office feels they can get by without hiring anymore temporary workers, which is good for the City because the City is paying that cost. Roust said the City Clerk's Office has helped by filling ballot boxes and working in the Auditor's Office. She reviewed upcoming election preparation. Absentee voting will be held on Saturday and during the week days in the County Auditor's Office. She reiterated that this is a regular election and voters vote in their regular polling place. Roust provided information on how to find your polling place. Council Member Vernon Brown arrived at 4:02 p.m. Roust said two weeks ago, during an Informational she discussed a Citywide scanning project. She provided an update. The Planning Department is going to begin working with a vendor to scan documents. An RFP is being worked on for scanning and indexing. It may be for up to five years, because it will be a large and costly project. City directors were asked to have their departments prepare for the project. A request has been made to Kendra Siemonsma, Project Manager, to manage the project. 3. City Council Open Discussion Aguilar asked Mark Cotter, Director of Public Works, to give an update on Rail Road Relocation. Rolfing said they were blindsided at a Breakfast Club Meeting that Brandon residents were upset about potential sites out in the Brandon area. He wanted to be brought up to date. Cotter said, we have focused on two alternative sites, by Timberline Road, for the rail switch yard. In late 2010, he said they started looking at another alternative and have discussed it. Cotter thought everyone was fully aware of the option. The Ellis and Eastern lot is in an industrial park area in Brandon, which looked like a feasible alternative. Communication with the Brandon Chamber began in August 2010. Additional discussions were held with the City Council and the Southeastern Council of Governments. We'll continue to look at feasible alternatives for rail switch yard. Discussion followed. Aguilar asked Mike Cooper, Director of Planning and Building Services, to discuss why the Council has been asked to have a Joint City Council/Lincoln County Meeting on November 28th. He said last Monday they had an extensive joint meeting to discuss proposed rezoning southwest of Sioux Falls. It was discovered, after the fact, that the meeting had not been properly posted and now a joint meeting needs to be scheduled. Cooper said the required posting was to be done by County staff and it was not done to requirement. Discussion followed. All Council members indicated that they would be available for a November 28th, Joint City Council/Lincoln County Meeting at 7:00 p.m., at the Carnegie Town Hall. The Informational and Land Use Committee Meetings for November 28th will also be held. Rolfing said the Land Use Committee would be discussing: a zoning ordinance regarding ATVs and utility trailers, Urban Agriculture, economic development, and a couple of other things. Anderson Jr. said he will not be in attendance next Monday for any of the Council Meetings. He will be traveling to the American Softball Association National Convention. He said Sioux Falls has a bid to be a host for a national tournament in 2013. Anderson Jr. will be giving the presentation. 4. Presentations A. September Monthly Financial Report by Tracy Turbak, Director of Finance 5. Adjournment City Council Chair Sue Aguilar adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Denise D. Tucker, CMC Assistant City Clerk