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Record of Proceedings

Aberdeen City Council Meeting - September 22, 2025: Main Street Two-Way Conversion Approved

City Council — Monday, September 22, 2025
BodyAberdeen, South Dakota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, September 22, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:54:48

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
2:43

Monday, September twenty second.

2:46

Jordan, would you start us off with a roll call, please?

2:48

Please respond by stating present.

2:50

Council member Ronane.

2:51

Present.

2:52

Hoberg, present.

2:53

Libelt, present.

2:54

Ward.

2:55

Present.

2:55

Johnson present.

2:56

Econger.

2:57

Present.

2:57

Nelson.

2:58

Present.

2:58

Orpstrom.

2:59

Present.

3:00

Mayor Shaunman.

3:01

President, please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3:35

These are just some late ads to the party.

3:37

I've got item five G is a public hearing to consider an ordinance.

3:53

And finally five I would be uh reserving a time to set a public hearing for a one-day alcohol license for refuge retreats.

4:07

So I would take a motion to approve our agenda with those three additions.

4:11

Move to approve the agenda with the addition of the three new business items.

4:21

All in favor, please say aye.

4:26

Motion carries.

5:01

So we'll kick things off with Mr.

5:03

Brent Fisher.

5:04

Brent there you are.

5:05

Closest to the podium.

5:06

That one's easy.

5:07

Make sure the little green light is on so people can watch you.

5:13

Yes, we are.

5:14

Great.

5:15

Sounds good.

5:16

I told a few people we would.

5:17

So that is good.

5:19

Brent.

5:20

The floor is yours.

5:21

Welcome.

5:21

Okay.

5:22

Um I'm Brett Fisher.

5:23

I own property in 500 block of South Main Street for the past 40 years.

5:27

And I know I spoke before, but I just have some new things tonight that I'd like to address, some kind of nuts and bolts of the plans.

5:34

I've kind of looked at your um your agenda for tonight with your uh plan A or option one, you're calling it, or plan B option two.

5:43

And the ironic thing I see, if you have those before you and you look at those in the 500 block with both plans, you're eliminating 10 parking spots.

5:53

So to say, well, let's go with plan A with just restriping.

5:56

You're still taking 10 spots out of there.

5:58

Currently, there are seven spots in each of the quadrants, which is a total of the right.

6:02

I wonder if you don't have to pull that up slightly modified version.

6:06

Travis, Travis, I'll pull it up.

6:08

Oh, okay.

6:08

That'd be great.

6:10

On Friday, Brent, uh, we took a field trip down there, and I expressed my concern with that uh in agreement with you, and I had our engineering department redraft that intersection, so that that would not be the case.

6:22

I have the notes for tonight's meeting, you know, the original the gender.

6:25

Yeah, so it was a late edition because the quickest I could get everybody down there to pencil in the new plans was on Friday.

6:33

So we are what's it?

6:34

Thursday, but we got the plans on there on Friday.

6:37

So missed the original cutoff and it's been uh updated on those.

6:41

Okay.

6:41

Well, it's still a significant loss of parking on the 500 block.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Transportation Safety███████████████15%
Procedural████████████12%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Public Engagement████████8%
Workforce Development█████5%
Public Safety███3%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Aberdeen City Council Meeting - September 22, 2025

On September 22, 2025, the Aberdeen City Council met and approved a plan to convert downtown Main Street from one-way to two-way traffic, following extensive public comment and council debate. The meeting also approved the 2026 budget, adopted a capital improvement plan, and passed the first reading of a home daycare ordinance.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda with additions: public hearing (item 5G) and a one-day alcohol license for refuge retreats (item 5I).
  • Approved proclamations, reports, lottery notice, water/sewer contractor license, malt beverage transfer, and daycare license renewal.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Brett Fisher (property owner, 500 block S. Main): Opposed the two-way conversion, citing loss of parking (10+ spots) and safety concerns. He warned of a possible referendum if the project passed.
  • John Eichinger: Opposed, stating "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" and criticized city spending priorities.
  • Stuart Burks: Opposed, urged letting the people vote on major projects, sharing a story about a recall election in West Covina, CA.
  • Jean-Christophe (bakery owner downtown): Supported the two-way conversion, believing it would increase business and encourage use of underutilized parking structures.
  • Dawn Shepherd: Opposed, detailed congestion at the 500 block, said state DOT may require a no-right-turn-on-red, and argued $200,000 could be spent on more urgent street repairs.
  • Bill Cantaloupe: Strongly supported two-way Main Street, citing historic vibrancy and examples from other South Dakota cities. He argued congestion is good for retail.
  • Spencer Summers: Indicated he had nothing to share.

Discussion Items

  • Old Business: Second reading and final adoption of Ordinance 250901 (2026 appropriations budget). Passed unanimously on roll call.
  • New Business:
    • Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Resolution 250901R (2026-2030, excluding Main Street): Approved unanimously after a separate vote to avoid tying the full CIP to the Main Street issue.
    • Main Street Two-Way Conversion: Council debated the motion. Councilman Johnson presented a lengthy opposition citing grassroots opposition, parking loss, safety issues, and flawed study assumptions. Councilman Knobstrup and others supported the change, citing potential traffic increases and downtown revitalization. Councilman Ronane suggested postponing until a full infrastructure rebuild. Mayor spoke in favor, arguing delay makes projects more expensive.
    • First reading of Ordinance 250902 (home daycare regulations): Proposed by city staff to streamline licensing, create small family daycare option, and improve resources. Unanimously approved first reading.
    • Approved bids for 2025-26 snow removal services (modest cost increases noted).
    • Approved Change Order No. 1 for the Aberdeen Water Tower and Transmission Line Project, reducing costs by $520,000.
    • Approved pay request for street maintenance concrete repair (CWF Masonry, $82,531.87).
    • Approved bills and payroll for September 7-20, with one abstention (Councilmember Foberg abstained on item 5I earlier).
    • City manager reported on employee service awards and upcoming events.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda approved with additions (5-0 voice vote).
  • Budget ordinance 250901 (2026 appropriations): Adopted unanimously (roll call 9-0).
  • CIP resolution 250901R (excluding Main Street): Approved unanimously (roll call 9-0).
  • Motion to configure Main Street for two-way traffic: Passed 5-4 (roll call: Foberg, Ward, Nelson, Norpstrup, Mayor in favor; Ronane, Liebelt, Johnson, Conger opposed).
  • Motion to use Option 1 (two lanes) for the conversion: Passed 6-3 (roll call: Norpstrup, Nelson, Conger, Ward, Foberg, Mayor in favor; Johnson, Liebelt, Ronane opposed).
  • Resolution 250902R as amended (appropriating $200,000 for Main Street and $300,000 undesignated): Approved 6-3 (roll call: Norpstrup, Nelson, Conger, Ward, Foberg, Mayor in favor; Johnson, Liebelt, Ronane opposed).
  • Daycare ordinance (250902) first reading: Approved unanimously (roll call 9-0).
  • Snow removal bids: Approved (roll call 9-0).
  • Change order (water tower): Approved (roll call 9-0).
  • Concrete repair pay request: Approved (roll call 9-0).
  • Bills and payroll: Approved with one abstention (roll call 8-0-1).
  • A special meeting was called for September 26, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. to interview city manager finalists in executive session.

Meeting Transcript

Monday, September twenty second. Jordan, would you start us off with a roll call, please? Please respond by stating present. Council member Ronane. Present. Hoberg, present. Libelt, present. Ward. Present. Johnson present. Econger. Present. Nelson. Present. Orpstrom. Present. Mayor Shaunman. President, please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance. These are just some late ads to the party. I've got item five G is a public hearing to consider an ordinance. And finally five I would be uh reserving a time to set a public hearing for a one-day alcohol license for refuge retreats. So I would take a motion to approve our agenda with those three additions. Move to approve the agenda with the addition of the three new business items. All in favor, please say aye. Motion carries. So we'll kick things off with Mr. Brent Fisher. Brent there you are. Closest to the podium. That one's easy. Make sure the little green light is on so people can watch you. Yes, we are. Great. Sounds good. I told a few people we would. So that is good. Brent. The floor is yours. Welcome. Okay. Um I'm Brett Fisher. I own property in 500 block of South Main Street for the past 40 years. And I know I spoke before, but I just have some new things tonight that I'd like to address, some kind of nuts and bolts of the plans. I've kind of looked at your um your agenda for tonight with your uh plan A or option one, you're calling it, or plan B option two. And the ironic thing I see, if you have those before you and you look at those in the 500 block with both plans, you're eliminating 10 parking spots. So to say, well, let's go with plan A with just restriping. You're still taking 10 spots out of there. Currently, there are seven spots in each of the quadrants, which is a total of the right. I wonder if you don't have to pull that up slightly modified version. Travis, Travis, I'll pull it up.

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