Tracy to take oath as mayor; five council members to be sworn in

• Mayor-elect Tracy

Mitchell Mayor-elect Ken Tracy, seen here in front of City Hall, will be sworn in July 2. (Chris Huber/Republic)

Talk about it

Ken Tracy will take the oath of office as Mitchell’s 34th mayor tonight.

Three current and two new City Council members will also be sworn in during the council meeting. Four of the council members were elected to three-year terms and one will be named to replace Tracy, who will resign his council seat in a letter before the current council ends its business tonight and the new city government is formed during the meeting.

Magistrate Judge Patrick Kiner will administer the oath of office to Tracy first. He will then swear in Councilmen Jeff Smith, Marty Barington and Mel Olson, all of whom were not challenged for re-election, and Randy Doescher, who claimed his first term without an opponent.

Tracy will then recommend the appointment of a Ward 1 council member to replace him. That selection needs council approval before being chosen to serve the final two years of Tracy’s term.

The mayor-elect declined to reveal his selection on Sunday.

“I had several people in mind and contacted them,” he said. “A couple of the women I was going to consider respectfully declined, and said they weren’t interested. I ended up interviewing two people and selected one.”

The council will also elect a president and vice president. Smith is currently the president and Barington the vice president.

Mayor Lou Sebert ends his six-year run today. Sebert did not seek a third term, nor did Councilman Travis Carpenter, who will leave the city panel tonight as well.

The council and mayor will go into executive session for two reasons tonight, including one linked to the new mayor.

They will discuss department heads as well in the executive session, Tracy said. The agenda said they will be “discussing the qualifications, competence, performance, character or fitness of any public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee.”

Tracy had earlier said the department heads would be sworn in as his first act as mayor, but that is not on the agenda tonight. He said he wants to hear what the council thinks of the department heads first. They serve at the pleasure of the mayor.

They also will prepare for contract negotiations with employee representatives. That part of the closed-door session was requested by City Attorney Randy Stiles.

The council meets at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, 612 N. Main St. The meeting, which will be divided into two parts with the current mayor and council dealing with ongoing matters and the new mayor and council starting on new issues, is open to the public.

In other business, the current council will:

*Hear reports from the Public Health & Safety and Finance committees, which will meet prior to the council.

The Public Health & Safety Committee will meet at 7:10 p.m. and consider issuing a noise permit to the new skate park.

The Finance Committee will meet at 7:15 p.m. to review second quarter sales tax reports and consider $7,410 in contingency transfers.

* Sit as the Board of Adjustment to:

Review the application of Kay L. and Boyd A. Reimnitz Sr. for a conditional use permit to build mini-storage buildings in the 400 block of West Birch Avenue. The Mitchell Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval.

* Review the application of Jack and Jamie Wipf for a variance for a front yard setback of 4 feet instead of 30 feet at 1123 S. Duff St. The planners tied at 3-3 on this and it was sent to the council without a recommendation.

* Hold a hearing on the application of Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village for a Special Event Malt Beverage and Wine License with a noise permit on Aug. 4 at 3200 Indian Village Road for the August Moon Festival.

* Award bids on phase two of the bike path. Three firms have submitted bids: Robert Johnson Construction, of Mitchell, bid $250,619.65; Carstensen Construction, of Pipestone, Minn., bid $250,770.70; and VanderPol DragLine, of Mitchell, bid $333,352.57.

The engineer’s estimate for the project is $262,866.

* Discuss the Mitchell Activities Center second ice sheet.

Representatives of the Mitchell Skating and Hockey Association made a presentation to the Council at its June 18 meeting. The MSHA said it would work to raise about $500,000 for the $2.4 million project, which it said would bring people to town in the fall and winter for tourneys and other events.

The council seemed very receptive to the idea of adding a second sheet office. Tracy said he considers it a project that could be undertaken and completed in a relatively short period of time,

* Consider adopting Resolution 3007, a contingency transfer of $2,410 for a shredder and $5,000 for the city’s website.

A&B Business Solutions has submitted a bill for $2,408.36 for an office shredder. GovOffice Web Solutions of Minneapolis has submitted a proposal for building a website for the city for $5,175. The city would pay an anticipated cost of $900 in the second year of the agreement.

* Hold the second reading of and considering adopting Ordinance 2407, supplemental appropriations of $130,000 for a street project and $7,200 to purchase the water line to BankWest.

* Approve these pay estimates:

Ash and Langdon sidewalk, Project 2012-4A contracted to Colwell Concrete Inc. Pay estimate 3 in the amount of $5,776.28.

Hazardous sidewalk project 2012-4C contracted to Big “O” Concrete. Pay estimate 3 in the amount of $22,241.26.

Water meters transmitter supply project 2012-11 contracted to HD Supply. Pay estimate 4 in the amount of $2,970.

Paving and overlay Project 2012-15 contracted to Commercial Asphalt. Pay estimate 3 in the amount of $39,970.25.

Old landfill leachate monitoring Project 2012-28 contracted to Leggette, Brashears & Graham. Pay estimate 3 in the amount of $2,253.96.

* Hear an invocation from a Word of Life representative.

The new council will conduct new business once Tracy and the five council members take their oaths of office. It will:

* Set a July 16 date for a hearing on proposed resolution of necessity for construction of base course, bituminous paving, curb & gutter, miscellaneous expenses, engineering services and project interest on 2500 block of South Mentzer.

* Set a July 16 date for a public hearing on the application to transfer an on-sale liquor license including Sunday sales from Daisy Properties LLC, 1610 South Burr St., to Ty’s Casino, 1610 South Burr St.

* Consider adopting Resolution 3006, authorizing the filing of an application for a grant for Palace Transit from the South Dakota Department of Transportation

* Consider Resolution 3008, the of the plat of Lot 6, Block 2 of Woods First Addition in the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 23, T 103 N, R 60 W of the fifth prime meridian in the city of Mitchell. The planners recommended approval.

* Consider a request for permission to apply for an Assistance to Firefighter grant to obtain a ladder truck.

* Declare Department of Public Safety guns as surplus property to be traded in to a federal firearms licensed dealer in exchange for new equipment.

* Consider an automatic supplement to the general fund, Finance, in the amount of $2,700 for fabricator’s sales tax rebate from use tax collections.

* Consider an automatic supplement to the special revenue fund, Parks, Recreation and Forestry, in the amount of $3,900 for park improvements from a donation of funds.

* Consider an automatic supplement to the enterprise fund, Corn Palace, in the amount of $175,000 for roof repair from an insurance reimbursement.

* Consider approving an automatic supplement to the general fund, Fire, in the amount of $1,600 for smoke detectors from a donation of funds.

* Consider the application of the Make a Wish Foundation for a Special Event Malt Beverage and Wine License to change location from the Lake Mitchell Day Camp to Mitchell Hitchcock Park for Sept. 8 for Summer’s Last Dance.

* Consider the application of the Palace City Lions Club for Special Event Licenses, at the Corn Palace and City Hall: Special Event Malt Beverage and Wine License on Aug. 22-26 for the Corn Palace Festival; Special Event Malt Beverage and Wine License on Sept. 14 for the Billy Currington and Jake Owen show.

* Consider raffle requests from the Davison County Democrats, with the drawing to be held on Oct. 16; the Mitchell Quarterback Club, with the drawing to be announced; and the Avera Queen of Peace Foundation, with the drawing to be held on Aug. 18.

Tags: city council, election 2012, news, updates, mitchell, local, mayor