Park visions one step closer

The Keystone Town Board has approved a request for $6,500 from the park board. The money will be used to hire local Mark Jobman to create a  master plan design for Watson Park.

“This would just give us a place to start,” said park board member Jake Rapp. Rapp said the board has had a “hodge podge” of ideas and that Jobman’s plan would help outline what is feasible in the boundary of the space.

Jobman has already walked the park with Rapp who says Jobman has “a lot of good ideas.”

The park board plans on getting input from residents by forming a committee. That input will be used in creating the final vision of the park.

Work on the master plan could begin as early as March 1. The $6,500 was not previously budgeted for.

Two supplemental  budget requests from the Keystone Area Chamber of Commerce were discussed at length. Chamber director Robin Pladson, with chamber board president Leah Serrano by her side, requested  $5,250 for promotional materials for the town. The money would be used to produce 10,000 copies of the Black Hills and Badlands Magazine featuring Keystone on the cover. 

Trustees Casey McNulty and Bill Babcock were opposed to the additional funding.

“Every year you guys spend money to get Keystone out there but nothing ever comes to town,” Babcock said of the Chamber’s marketing strategy, adding, “It’s the same year after year.”

McNulty wasn’t opposed to the additional funding, but rather to the mechanism being used, saying, “no one uses print anymore.”

McNulty asked for the return on investment numbers, which neither Pladson nor Serrano could supply.

“With 10,000 magazines I don’t see the return on investement,” McNulty said, and motioned to deny the request. That motion was supported by Babcock. 

Trustee Sandi McLain explained that the state is now promoting the entire region and that  “Keystone  is competing with the entire state now” for tourists’ dollars. She was in favor of supporting the supplemental request as was trustee Matt Fullilove, who said the town needed to be “diligent” in trying to get numbers up.

The tie vote was up to town board president Rick Greene to decide. Greene paused before making his decision. Greene says he sees people in his hotel “are always holding something  because people  have a difficult  time sifting through digital” and voted against denying the request. A substitute motion to approve the request was then approved.

However board trustees did not approve the chamber’s request for a supplemental budget for a new chamber office/cabin and ground lease from the town. Serrano explained that the chamber “needs a home for Robin to work from,” and that different options have been explored. Serrano outlined a Harney Street location asking the town to write up a lease for that property and to pay the cost of a $7,000 cabin and a $7,500 transport fee for the cabin to be relocated from Custer.

McNulty did not want to consider taxpayer dollars on the matter. 

“In the meantime we don’t have a home,” Serrano said, urging trustees to consider  that the cabin could be resold by the town if a more permanent Visitor Information Center and chamber office was ever built. However, trustees voted to unanimously table the discussion until the March 1 meeting.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is holding up the approval of one of the Roy Street bridges, despite both the South Dakota Department of Transportation and state having approved plans. 

According to town finance officer Cassandra Ott, FEMA is the “only entity that’s decided it’s not acceptable,” and according to Ott the “main entity” not allowing the bridge replacement. 

The bridge was taken out of use in 2018 or 2019 and Ottaid if the town chooses “not to replace the bridge it’s a lot cheaper and easier.”

The town has already gone out to bid on the bridge and awarded a contract to the lowest bidder. The board voted to approve that city attorney Mitch Johnson draft a letter to the  bid winning construction firm explaining the situation. The bridge, No. 317, is located behind the town gas station. The property has threeother points of access and is not landlocked.  Johnson is also requesting FEMA’s concerns be put in writing to the town. The town will make a decision at a future meeting to determine how it will proceed.

Black Hills  Council on Local Governments will work with Pennington County on the new hazard mitigation plan. The board approved Ott as the primary  liaison and point of contact for the city. Once completed, the plan will be online for the first time and new issues like climate change and vulnerable populations will be addressed.

Area residents with good condition roller skates are encouraged to recycle them with the town of Keystone. McLain is appealing for donations to help cover the cost of new skates for the increasingly popular Friday winter skating nights. McLain estimates new skates to cost between $8-$12 each and that some skates the event currently supplies are as old as 1993. Donations can be dropped off at city hall during normal business hours. McLain is also considering using proceeds from skating to purchase new skates in the future.

Johnson was directed by the board to draft an ordinance for an unusual issue brought to the attention of city officials.

Currently there is nowhere in city ordinance that clearly states that utility customers with private wells using the town’s sewer system need to have well water metered. Since sewer charges are based on usage  the only way sewer usage can be calculated would be via metering water.

“We can’t charge for sewer unless we meter water,” Ott said.

There is only one property in town that is impacted by this situation.

The Keystone Town Board meets again March 1 at 6 p.m.