Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: David Barranco, Alex Jensen, Rich Merkouris, Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr Council Members Absent: Sarah Cole Council Chair Curt Soehl called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. Councilor Remarks Council Vice Chair Alex Jensen noted that the Audit Committee will be meeting at 3 p.m. on March 1st in the Council Chambers. Council Member Rich Merkouris spoke about a neighborhood meeting being held at The Point is to Serve Church on March 2nd at 6:30 p.m. 3. Presentations A. Landfill Update by Donny Kuper, Sanitary Landfill Superintendent Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Kuper explained that for over a decade free passes to the landfill have been mailed to Sioux Falls residents annually based on their inclusion in the utility billing database. The passes have generally been redeemable from April to September of each year by the resident presenting the postcard at the landfill where staff would manually track and maintain the postcards. The overall goal of the program has been to help keep the community clean. Under the annual free pass program, over 55,000 postcards are distributed each year and approximately 25% of them are used, on average. In 2023, however, the annual free pass will "go digital". This means that Landfill staff will now scan Sioux Falls residents' driver's licenses or state-issued identification instead of using and collecting postcards. As a result of the new process, all residential address points in Sioux Falls will have access to the benefit including apartments and other multi-family housing. The program itself will remain the same in terms of allowing one load per address with a limit of 10,000 lbs. In 2023, the program will run from April to December 31st; in 2024 and beyond it will be all year. Kuper discussed the many benefits of going digital which include: accessibility, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and the fact that digital passes are a proven model in other jurisdictions. There is a public outreach strategy in place that will be implemented to ensure there is widespread understanding of the new process for redeeming the landfill pass. Among the outreach will be a postcard  mailer informing residents of the change. Discussion followed about: how the software to track addresses works; how apartment units are handled; the public outreach strategy; changing the wording of the draft postcard mailer to ensure there is no confusion about what "digital" means; and ongoing and planned projects at the landfill. B. 2024 City Election Update by Tom Greco, City Clerk Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Greco stated that the purpose of the presentation was to provide the Council with an overview of the election scheduled for next year. The regular election will be held on April 9, 2024, with a runoff on April 30, 2024 if needed. There will be four offices on the ballot: At-Large Council Member, Southwest District Council Member, Northwest District Council Member, and Northeast District Council Member. There is also the possibility that the City may combine with the Sioux Falls School District and there may be charter amendments or other ballot measures. He explained the process for approving a combined election and outlined the various ways charter amendment proposals can be made. He reviewed the 2024 election calendar, the processes for nominating petitions, voter registration deadlines, absentee voting, and the start of terms. Greco concluded the presentation by reviewing agreements currently in place along with key tasks that will need to be accomplished over the course of the next year. Discussion followed about election workers and terms of office for school board members. 4. Public Comment There was none. 5. Executive Session A. Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25- 2(3) A motion was made by Council Member Jensen and seconded by Council Member Selberg to enter Executive Session at 4:42 p.m. Roll call vote to enter Executive Session. 7 Yes: Barranco, Jensen, Merkouris, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. A motion was made by Council Member Jensen and seconded by Council Member Merkouris to exit Executive Session at 5:25 p.m. Voice vote to exit Executive Session. 7 Yes: Barranco, Jensen, Merkouris, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 6. Adjournment Council Chair Curt Soehl adjourned the meeting at 4:42 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk