West Dam work date extended

Work to haul sediment out of West Dam will continue until mid-June after the Custer City Council voted to allow the contractor doing the work, Moss Rock Landscaping, to work up to that date with the understanding mud and dust should be kept off the haul roads.
The council approved the extended date at its May 5 meeting after hearing from Steve Bareis of RESPEC engineering, who said initially the work was to cease May 2 and pick back up in mid-October so as to not impact golf course operations. However, the contractor was allowed the option of still doing limited work past the May 2 date provided it was approved by both the city and the board of directors at Rocky Knolls Golf Course.
The golf course board, like the city, is agreeable to the continuation of the work provided the mud and dust is kept to a minimum. Bareis said the contractor is agreeable to those terms and understands the importance of keeping the mud and dust off the haul roads.
Bareis also discussed a change in requirements contained in the phase two contract, which initially said reservoir sidings could be in part disposed of in the area being called “Wazi Park,” which is below the dam between the dam and Waze Lane. However, it has come to light that area is likely going to be developed into park land, and whatever structures or athletics fields placed there should not be built on top of sediment. As such, structure fill needs placed instead, and Bareis said there is excess structural fill coming from the reservoir embankment. While most of that fill is going to be used to build the new dam, the excess could be left there. The better fill is being stockpiled at the Wazi Park site.
Trent Bruce of DGR Engineering, another entity working with the city on West Dam, also spoke at the meeting, appearing via teleconference. Bruce told the council initially as phase one of the project—the breaching of the dam and excavation of the pilot channel—was being done, the contractor was excavating the material and placing it adjacent to its trench. However, both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources said that was a violation of approved permits and the material must be moved. As such, the contractor hauled the material away, but by that time the dirt had frozen and was difficult to move with. Therefore, a change order in the amount of $25,000 was sought by the contractor to compensate for the hauling of that material. The council approved the change order.
The council also heard from Custer Volunteer Fire Department first assistant chief Matt Spring at the meeting, who was following up on a fire department request to have the city fund the department with an additional $170,000 for this fiscal year on top of the current contract amount of $30,000.
“As you are all aware, the cost of doing business is continually increasing and it is no different for the fire department,” Spring wrote in a letter to the council. “These additional funds help us to continue the services CVFD provides to you and our community.”
Spring said the department still has the long term goal of upgrading its first station, which he called the department’s number one priority. While that is a long term goal, he said, the department must still maintain its existing fleet and improve it and try to make it more efficient, he said.
Spring said the department has to be selective in the trucks it brings in, as its fire hall has only 10-foot tall doors. The department is eyeing a new generator for its building, and two engines have varying leaks that need addressed. The council unanimously approved the request, with Spring saying the department could give requested information to see where the money will go and accounting of where the money the city gave the department last year was spent.
Finally, the council approved a temporary lease with the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce through Sept. 15 for the chamber building, after which time the city will “sell” the chamber the building for $1. The date was initially supposed to be Aug. 1, but was pushed back as that time of year is busy for the chamber.
Under the agreement the city will give the chamber the building and the three city lots the building sits on, while keeping the other lots with the lawn east of the building as well as the sand volleyball courts.
Mayor Bob Brown said in an interview after the meeting the purpose of giving the chamber the building was to save city money on building maintenance, etc., similar to what it did with giving the nursing home building to Custer Cares. The chamber will be responsible for upkeep of the building, along with snow removal, lawn care, utilities, etc. This does not affect the amount of money the city gives the chamber annually.