Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Janet Brekke, Christine M. Erickson, Alex Jensen, Rick Kiley, Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr Council Members Absent: None Council Chair Greg Neitzert called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. Committee/Commission Reports A. Metro Management Council: Wednesday, December 16, 2020 (Council Members Erickson and Kiley) The report will be given at a future meeting. B. Municipal Band Task Force: Thursday, December 17, 2020 (Council Members Jensen and Erickson) Council Member Alex Jensen explained that a good portion of the meeting was focused on Band collaboration with the Washington Pavilion. David Bixler, Budget Analyst, also presented a funding report for municipal bands from communities throughout the state and region. Council Member Janet Brekke provided an update on the the Tuthill House committee. She discussed the composition of the three subcommittees and explained she was part of the design committee. 3. Councilor Remarks 4. Presentations A. COVID-19 Update by Jill Franken, Director of Public Health Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Jill Franken, Public Health Director, opened the presentation by reviewing active cases, new daily cases, the 3-day average of new cases, and hospitalizations. She noted general trends over the past several months: there was a surge beginning in mid-October with active cases decreasing since mid- to late November. She thanked the Council for actions taken to raise the awareness of mitigation measures. Sandy Frentz, Public Health Manager, then reviewed vaccination trends  across the nation. She indicated that South Dakota has a 3.5% vaccinate rate; Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties have a combined vaccination rate of 4.62%. She explained the vaccination process and how data is compiled. Vaccinations are placed into groupings by the CDC and healthcare systems are generally responsible for administering the vaccines according to CDC schedules. BryAnn Becker-Knecht, Mayor's Office Communications Coordinator, next discussed mitigation efforts through community education. She explained ongoing projects and methods to best inform the public along with an overview of a campaign to educate the community about vaccination. The campaign will use funds appropriated by the Council. Discussion followed about: how consistent messaging will be coordinated amongst organizations; funding and costs for ads; length of the campaign; regulations governing testing sites; eligibility for vaccines; implications of not getting second vaccine dose; side effects of the vaccine; any challenges to date; and, the timeline for vaccinations. B. Update: South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance Policy- Ethics Rider by Council Members Pat Starr and Janet Brekke Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion Council Member Pat Starr opened the discussion by explaining that an e-mail was recently sent to the City Council describing changes to coverage through the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance. Among the changes is an optional endorsement resulting from new defense coverage being offered this upcoming year for any public entities who have their own ethics board. The endorsement provides an expert attorney to defend an elected official from the moment the complaint is filed, through the administrative processing of the complaint before an ethics board, and through the conclusion of any hearings before the governing body. The coverage covers up to $10k in attorney fees and expenses per occurrence, or up to $20k aggregate for any calendar year. Starr explained that he believes the special endorsement should come before the Council for approval and disagreed with the coverage being limited only to elected officials instead of employees. He also noted concern about the ability of citizens to bring complaints forward if there is a presumption legal representation is required. Discussion followed about: the process for approving changes to the policy; the difference between the contract and the policy; costs incurred by ethics allegations; when the coverage is available; interpretation of the ethics ordinance; the differences between a lawsuit and an ethics investigation; and fairness of the rider. 5. Public Comment There was none. 6. Adjournment Council Chair Greg Neitzert adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk