Council could vote tonight on land swap

The Mitchell City Council could vote on a proposed land swap this evening following a hearing at City Hall.

The proposed swap is between the city and local resident Jerry Thomsen.

The city would get Thomsen’s 3-acre lot and 11,360-square-foot building at the corner of Industrial and Tower roads, adjacent to the city’s new Pepsi Cola Soccer Complex.

Thomsen would get the city’s wooded, 9-acre lot across from his lakefront home. The northwest corner of the roughly triangular-shaped lot is at the intersection of North Harmon Drive and National Guard Road.

This evening’s agenda says the appraised value of Thomsen’s property is $390,000, and the appraised value of the city’s property is $136,500.

The proposed deal includes a $150,000 payment from the city to Thomsen. To arrive at that figure, the two parties subtracted three figures from the $390,000 appraisal of Thomsen’s land. Those three figures are $28,700 for a basketball floor that is currently in Thomsen’s building, $136,500 for the value of the city property that will go to Thomsen, and a $74,800 donation from Thomsen to the city.

Beyond the hearing about the swap, the agenda includes a resolution that would annex the city-owned lot into the city limits, a resolution that would plat the city-owned lot, and a resolution to approve the proposed contract for the swap.

Additionally, the agenda includes a resolution titled “Authority to Sell Stock” — an item that is listed between the proposed plat and swap contract. The stock resolution says “a donation is being made to the city of Mitchell in the form of stock,” but it does not say whether the donation is the $74,800 one from Thomsen as part of the proposed land swap.

This evening’s City Council meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 612 N. Main St.

The council meeting will be preceded by meetings of the Traffic Commission at 6:40 p.m., the Finance Committee at 6:45 p.m. and a Focus 2020 presentation about unspecified matters at 7 p.m.

In scheduled business this evening, and in the following order, council members plan to:

• Consider, during the Traffic Commission meeting, a request to approve a stop sign at the west entrance/exit in the city parking lot at Second and Main, north of Charlie’s Shoe Repair.

• Hear, during the Finance Committee meeting, about an accidental overpayment of sales taxes to the city of $14,617.08, which will be deducted from the city’s December sales-tax revenue.

• Begin the City Council meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, invocation by the Wesleyan Church, roll call, and approval of the agenda and prior meeting’s minutes.

• Invite citizens’ input on non-agenda items.

• Witness a presentation described as “American Legion award.”

• Witness a presentation from Davison County Emergency Management Director Jim Montgomery titled “City, county and state disaster declaration process and response and recovery procedures.”

• Conduct, sitting as the Board of Adjustment, a hearing on the application of Tracy Palmer for a variance to construct a 32-by-28-foot shed at 3313 N. Ohlman St.

• Hear oral reports from the Traffic Commission and Finance Committee.

• Approve written reports from seven city departments and boards.

• Conduct the hearing on the exchange of property between the city and Jerry Thomsen.

• Conduct a hearing on the application of One-Eyed Jack’s Casino, 1401 N. Main St., for Sunday sales for 2010 and the remainder of 2009.

• Conduct a hearing on the applications of Walgreen Co. for an off-sale malt beverage license and an on-off sale wine license at 901 S. Burr St.

• Conduct a hearing on the application of the Palace City Lions Club for a special-event malt beverage license Jan. 8 at the Corn Palace and City Hall for a cage-fighting event.

• Conduct a hearing on the application to transfer an onoff sale wine license from Wade Greenwood, doing business as Wine Cellar, to Kelly Hohn (the agenda says “application withdrawn” after the entry about the hearing).

• Consider the annexation of the lot that the city is seeking to convey to Jerry Thomsen.

• Consider the plat of the lot that the city is seeking to convey to Jerry Thomsen.

• Consider a resolution titled “Authority to sell stock.”

• Consider the contract for the trade and transfer of land with Jerry Thomsen.

• Conduct the second reading and final vote on an ordinance that would supplement the 2009 budget with 12 items totaling $78,100.

• Conduct the first reading of an ordinance that would supplement the 2009 budget with $30,000 for an ice arena dehumidification system, with funding from the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department’s cash balance; with $11,375 for AKG Midwest Tax Increment Financing District bond interest, with funding from district revenues and bond-fund capitalized interest; and with $37,000 of Westwood Tax Increment Financing District bond interest, from district revenues and bond-fund capitalized interest.

• Set Jan. 19 as the date to receive and consider bids for a used wheel-loader.

• Consider approving an automatic supplement to the general fund for the Police Division in the amount of $1,000, from a donation of funds.

• Consider approving an automatic supplement to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program fund in the amount of $20,000, from a grant for computer hardware.

• Consider an automatic supplement to the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department fund in the amount of $138, from vandalism restitution.

• Consider an automatic supplement to the general fund for the Police Division in the amount of $9,000, from a grant for computer equipment for the Internet Child Protection Program.

• Consider an automatic supplement to the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department fund in the amount of $891 for football program supplies, from a donation.

• Consider approving a design contract with H.R. Green Company for traffic lights at the Spruce Street and Cabela Drive intersection.

• Consider an insurance committee’s recommendation to renew the third-party administration of medical insurance with Dakotacare Administrative Services.

• Consider requests to conduct raffles from the Dakota Plains Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Davison County Child Protection Team, the Mitchell Extreme Gymnastics Academy, the Multicultural Committee at Dakota Wesleyan University, the Mitchell Skating and Hockey Association, and the Mitchell High School girls’ basketball team.

• Consider approving pay estimates and bills.

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