City initiates water needs task force

The Brandon City Council covered a lot of ground at its Oct. 16 meeting, approving the creation of a water needs task force, hearing from residents about traffic blockage near Marmen Energy and giving the green light to hiring a new police officer. 

Alderman Don Wells will head a water needs task force made up of Brandon residents. The advisory committee of volunteers will review and make recommendations to the council regarding the city’s water system. Meetings will last one hour with dates and times to be determined by the committee. 

Interested parties may submit their name, address, number of years they have lived in Brandon, and why they are interested in being on the task force to Wells at dwells@brandonsd.com or by mailing it to Don Wells at Box 95, Brandon, SD 57005. The deadline to submit applications is 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.

The council agreed to waive the community room rental fee for the Food Pantry to hold its annual fundraiser on Dec. 1 and gave Brandon Police Chief Dave Kull the go-ahead to hire a new officer. Kyle Zigan, 23, hails from Rochester, Minn., with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. Zigan will join the department in mid-November. 

City administrator Bryan Read announced the city had purchased 32 acres of land from James and Darlene Petersen south of Aspen Park. 

James Petersen was in the audience. 

“We’ll do our best to make you proud of what we put on there,” said alderwoman Barb Fish, who also serves on the park advisory board. 

Alderwoman Jo Hausman brought up the possibility of lowering the city’s $125,000 liquor license fee. The council agreed to research fair market values for city liquor licenses and return to the topic at an upcoming meeting.  

The council also took up discussion of extending Meadowbrook Trail from its last meeting. Read shared a 2009 traffic study with the council on traffic outside the Eagle Creek subdivision. Residents reported the neighborhood’s single outlet is leading to backed-up traffic at peak rush-hour times.

“We need to find a way to get these people in and out of their homes,” Mayor Larry Beesley said. 

Norman Fish lives on the northwest corner of the signalized intersection. He said he’d owned the land a long time and had looked at early plans that showed streets connecting.

“The developer changed the plans and he was allowed to do that at that time without approval from the city,” said alderman Blaine Jones. “That’s the best answer I’ve got for you.”

Read said he would look into having an updated traffic study performed, and the council will revisit this topic as well.

Cory Hanson and Todd Dathe, both who live north of Brandon, addressed the council about traffic troubles in their neighborhood along 260th Avenue, near Marmen Energy.

Hanson approached the council about the noise level at Marmen.

“Those guys run all night, so their machinery is running all night long, and it’s particularly loud some nights,” he said. 

Read referred Hanson to the disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace ordinances. 

“We don’t set decibel levels. If it unreasonably annoys you, call the police and they’ll come out,” Read said. 

Hanson also brought up landscaping ordinances at the industrial park, the condition of the train tracks in Corson and traffic blockage on 260th Street.

“Those Marmen guys will block both sides of that road so you cannot get to work or to school. They’ll sit there and they will not let you around. They’ll stay in both lanes and they won’t move. And even if there’s one in one lane the pilot car behind and in front will not let you around them,” Hanson said. 

Police chief Dave Kull said he has addressed the issue with Marmen and the pilot cars are not allowed to block traffic.

“At 9 a.m. they’re doubled on both sides and you aren’t going anywhere,” Hanson said. “My thing is just respect us as far as right next to the city. If there’s some way to keep the ordinances, if there are ordinances, just uphold them. Don’t give people variances like some people get for some reason.”

Alderman Don Wells said he’d contact Marmen Energy. 

“I think the Marmen thing is solvable. It’s just a matter of being a good corporate neighbor and staying on them,” Hanson said. 

City engineer Paul Sanow said he’d talked to the county and was trying to set up a meeting for getting the tracks repaired. 

“As a resident of Brandon and someone who lives out there, my requests are quite simple,” Dathe said. “I’m in favor of development I’m in favor of expansion, but the more it expands I just want us to do it proactively together. If we can to enforce ordinances that we have and also maybe to strengthen and take another look at some of the ordinances that are in place maybe they should be a little stronger so that when we have these industrial parks we create buffers.

Can we be proactive now before there’s new building to create a buffer to keep it beautiful for all of us? I feel like if we don’t speak up we’re just part of the problem.”

“I don’t know what the exact definition of parking is, but when it’s nine in the morning, and they’re digging into their coolers and sitting on their tailgates…” 

Dathe passed around his tablet with a photo of the scene he was describing.  

The Brandon City Council’s next meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, at council chambers.