Hill City Prevailer

Council approves miscellaneous matters

Published by admin on Wed, 12/04/2024 - 9:32am
Nov. 12 was a busy night for the Hill City Common Council with 14 action items. Among these were several smaller matters that the council unanimously gave its approval for. 
To start, two purchases were reviewed for the Hill City Public Works Department, including a generator for the maintenance building and a generator for the water room. Director Justin Asher said the generators have been on the budget for the last four years. 

Museum Drive bridge repair report

Published by admin on Wed, 12/04/2024 - 9:31am
Daniel Cichosz and Doug Wessel of Brosz Engineering came to the Hill City Common Council meeting Nov. 25 to give a bridge inspection report. 
“Our team inspected your bridges this last summer, and we had two of them. The first one on Major Lake Drive, that was replaced. It’s in excellent condition. The other one—the steal truss on Museum Drive—that one’s in tough shape. We currently have a grant now in process. We’re in design to replace that now,” said Cichosz. 

Looking closer at the jail expansion project

Published by admin on Wed, 12/04/2024 - 9:30am
Pennington County residents may be asked to vote on a proposed jail expansion project.
The jail complex has a long history, originally being run out of the end of the public safety buildings. At one point in time a temporary jail was constructed outside of the courthouse. The facility we see today was built in stages between 1989 and 2006. Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller said the county was forced to build this jail, and that it was built with the idea of adding an additional floor on top of it.

Funding approved for walkway design

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 9:06am
The Hill City Business Improvement District (BID) is working on purchasing a 10-foot portion of the walkway between Jon Crane Gallery & Custom Framing and the Tin City Saloon on Hill City Main Street. The vision is to create a walkway from Main Street to the public restrooms at the Hill City Center. 
This project has been discussed for around 20 years with various designs and drafts to direct visitors to the public restrooms and businesses on that side of town. 

Transparency topic of board’s marketing talk

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 8:53am
Keystone Town Board of Trustees members heard briefly about a Keystone Chamber of Commerce deep dive into a savings account at the board’s Nov. 20 meeting. John Wells, president of the chamber board, said he was not yet prepared to discuss the matter fully until the internal informal audit is complete. Wells has a background in accounting. 
Wells wanted to make clear to the public that currently, and for the last several years, funding for the chamber occurs via a reimbursement system.

Next steps for Tracy Park traffic enforcement

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 8:53am
Discussions continue about the Tracy Park traffic problems and how to enforce some potential improvements. 
Following up with a presentation given by a group from the Newton Avenue neighborhood at the Oct. 15 Hill City Common Council meeting, the planning and zoning commission (PZC) invited the group to share its concerns at the Oct. 21 PZC meeting. 
The neighbors again presented their concerns about traffic congestion, parking, the impact of events, bicyclists crossing private property and being physically and verbally accosted. 

Board seeks volunteers for funding board

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 8:50am
The Keystone Park board is looking to set up a separate funding board. The news came at its Nov. 12 meeting where about 10 people came to find out more about the board and its plans.
Park board members began by  introducing themselves.
“As a board we have been doing fundraisers here and there getting dollars here and there,” said president Jake Rapp.
Rapp said that business owner, town trustee and citizen Sandi McLain approached him about an active 501(c)3 she had set up but has not been used since Covid.

Get ready for a Hallmark Christmas in Hill City

Published by admin on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 9:22am
“Everything about Christmas in Hill City just feels kind of magical,” said Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Erin Loder. “I feel like we have our own little, unique Hallmark town.” 
With Thanksgiving just a week away, Hill City is quickly transforming into a winter wonderland minus the snow with Christmas wreaths, lights and boughs around every corner. 
This year, along with Hill City’s signature holiday proceedings, the chamber is introducing some new and old Christmas shopping events. 

Council confirms water, wastewater funding requests

Published by admin on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 9:20am
After submitting the Water and Wastewater Facility Master Plans to the State Water Plan, Joe Nobel with city engineer AE2S came to the Hill City Common Council meeting Nov. 12 to get confirmation regarding what projects within each plan the council wanted to request funding for. 
In total, the Water Facility Master Plan included a list of alternatives and potential projects adding up to around $15 million. Of that, Nobel said they wanted to confirm exactly what projects the council wanted to seek funding for. 

Learn more about water, sewer rate increases Dec. 5

Published by admin on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 9:19am
Monthly water and wastewater rates are expected to increase with the  projects on the horizon in Hill City.
Recently the Hill City Common Council had a water and wastewater rate study completed by Miranda Kleven with city engineer AE2S. During the Nov. 12 meeting, Kleven, along with Joe Nobel of AE2S, presented the rate study and their recommendations to the council.