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Record of Proceedings

Brookings City Council Meeting - June 25, 2024: Downtown Safety Study and Regular Agenda

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 25, 2024
BodyBrookings, South Dakota
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 25, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:46

All right.

0:46

Call this meeting to order.

0:49

Please stand and and uh join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:11

Will the city clerk please take attendance?

1:13

All council members are present, Mr.

1:15

Mayor.

1:15

Councilmember Wendell is joining us via phone.

1:18

Okay.

1:20

Item three, approval of the agenda.

1:22

Entertain a motion to approve the agenda.

1:25

Second.

1:26

Please call the rule.

1:27

Specker.

1:29

Hi.

1:30

Tilton Byrne.

1:31

Hi.

1:31

Wendell.

1:33

Hi.

1:34

Avery.

1:34

Hi.

1:35

Dorian.

1:35

Hi.

1:36

Neemaier.

1:37

Hi.

1:37

Rasmussen.

1:38

Hi.

1:39

All right.

1:39

We're gonna go right on to a study session on downtown safety.

1:42

Presenting this item would be Samantha Beckman, our assistant city manager, Chief Michael Drake.

1:47

And Christian Gestel, maybe also.

1:50

Thank you.

2:06

Glasses.

2:30

All right, good evening, everybody.

2:31

Mr.

2:31

Mayor, Council members, employees of the city of Brookings and the community.

2:36

Tonight we're gonna discuss briefly the um the subject matter of the downtown safety that was requested by you folks uh almost about a year ago now, as some issues had arose and there were some questions uh that were needed to be answered on how safe downtown Brookings are.

2:55

And I'm gonna go through some slides, but at the end of the when you look at the the bunch of slides that we've all put through you know forth here, I can say as your chief of police there was a reason why I moved here, and that's because the downtown is safe.

3:06

I would let my family wander down there at any time of the day or night and not worry about their safety or security.

3:12

So I'll start with that.

3:15

When we look at these graphs for the downtown police stats, I just captured 2023 really quickly.

3:22

To just give you a snapshot of what the last three and a half years, 21, 22, 23, and up to date to 2024, what it looks like.

3:30

This is a snapshot for just 2023.

3:34

But these graphs are identical over the three and a half years.

3:36

And what you look at is on the left-hand side where it's calls for service by month.

3:40

And for right now, you can kind of ignore the five hundred and forty-two calls.

3:44

But that's about what we deem the calls for service the police department answers, which is not only just positive non-enforcement engagement that we see through community policing, but it is also response calls that we receive either through our seven-digit phone line or the emergency nine one channel.

4:00

So if you look at this real quick, it will be no surprise to anybody that's been in this community for longer than about a month.

4:06

That during the months of the year from January through December, the busiest time that the police department sees, and please keep in mind it's not always a negative connotation of how many calls for service we have.

4:17

We have a little bit of activity between February and May.

4:21

Then there's a little bit of a dip.

4:23

And then as we get through the summer months and we get into August and we go through to December, there's a peak.

4:32

No coincidence, that's right around Hobo Day.

4:35

So with the divide of the semesters with the South Dakota State University and the influx of our population, you can see that because and also environmental with the weather and the climate, you can see our busiest times are usually once the city returns to normal and we start operating into the fall as we get closer to very cold weather when everyone then hibernates for four to five months in South Dakota.

5:00

Then we look by calls for service by hour on the right hand side, again, no surprise.

5:02

Our busiest peak times when the police officers are downtown, either through their own on foot or answering calls.

5:08

Between seven and nine in the morning, there is a little bit of a spike.

5:12

As you could tell, businesses are open, people are coming around, there's foot patrols down there, and there's going to be those interactions with all the business owners, the folks down there that want to get their early shopping done, and then also how as the business owners open and people want to get into their stores and get business done.

5:27

Then we have a drop-off and it's pretty steady for the rest of the day.

5:30

And then as you can see from 9 p.m.

5:32

to about two or three in the morning, we are busy again.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement████████8%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis██████6%
Miscellaneous█████5%
Tax Increment Financing█████5%
Public Works█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Commercial Corridor Design████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Brookings City Council Meeting - June 25, 2024

The Brookings City Council met on June 25, 2024, at 5:30 PM for a study session on downtown safety, followed by a regular meeting at 6:00 PM. The study session featured presentations from Police Chief Michael Drake, Downtown Brookings Executive Director Kirsten Jezdal, and Assistant City Manager Samantha Beckman, focusing on data, community partnerships, and upcoming initiatives. The regular meeting included public comments, a mayoral statement on inclusivity, approval of a consent agenda, several resolutions, ordinance first readings, public hearings, and other business items.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved unanimously: consent agenda including minutes of June 11, 2024, Resolution 24-062 declaring surplus property, temporary alcohol/special event licenses, and appointments to the Human Rights Commission.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alan Ostreim (Brookings resident) raised concerns about city ordinance enforcement (e.g., weed violations on active construction sites, noxious weeds on city-owned properties), drainage issues, and difficulty accessing the city’s agenda online (stating it requires nine clicks). He suggested placing the agenda on the city’s front page.
  • A second anonymous speaker echoed the website accessibility concerns.

Mayor's Statement

  • Mayor Niemeyer condemned hate incidents following Juneteenth and Pride events (three pride flags stolen from downtown), expressed support for city staff and the library’s inclusivity efforts, and declared “Hate has no home here.”

Presentations/Reports

  • Proclamation: July 2024 proclaimed as Parks and Recreation Month, presented to Parks and Recreation Director Kristen Zimmerman.
  • Progress Report: Samantha Beckman highlighted Engage Brookings app, street maintenance projects, BMU projects, police department activities, recreation programs, library summer reading (888 children, 127 teens signed up), and park updates (Prairie Hills Trail Phase 2 complete, band shell rededication July 7).

Contracts/Change Orders

  • Pioneer Park Bandshell Restoration: Approved change order #01 for $8,192.56 (funded from parks building maintenance budget) to expose and restore original fluting beneath the brick facade. Motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance First Readings

  • Ordinance 24-015: Budget Amendment No. 6 increasing solid waste disposal contract services by $75,000 for additional leachate hauling. Second reading scheduled July 9, 2024.
  • Ordinance 24-009: Rezone of 2311 Yorkshire Drive from R-3 to B-2A (owned by Brookings Health System). Planning commission recommended unanimously; second reading and public hearing July 9, 2024.

Public Hearings

  • Resolution 24-061 (Airport Lease): Intent to lease airport property to Altitude Investments, LLC for a 12,000 sq. ft. hangar. Lease term 25 years at $0.18/sq. ft., prorated revenue $2,032.60 for 2024. Two changes added: lender rights assignment and city manager authorization. Approved unanimously.
  • Commercial Corridor Design Review (534 22nd Ave): ITC building expansion with requested exceptions (reduced window glazing, landscape, setbacks). Planning commission unanimously recommended; approved unanimously.
  • Resolution 24-068 (Comprehensive Plan Amendment): Change future land use from urban low to urban medium intensity for a 7.4-acre area near Main Ave South and 40th St South, to allow future B-3 zoning. Applicant cited water infrastructure challenges for prior affordable housing plan. Approved unanimously.

Other Business

  • ARPA Funds (Resolution 24-073): Amended distribution of $580,000: $16,173.89 to BEDC for child care feasibility study, $563,826.11 to Brookings School District and Boys & Girls Club for collaborative implementation (zero-to-three child care, 130 slots, total project over $2 million supporting 360 children). Approved unanimously.
  • TIF District #1 Dissolution (Resolution 24-069): Decertified tax increment district #1 (Research Park infrastructure) after accumulating $4.399 million. Approved unanimously.
  • Charter Review Commission (Resolution 24-060): Appointed 12 members (recommended by mayor) to review city charter; meetings public; process to conclude by April 2025. Approved unanimously despite public comment questioning youth representation and voting participation of appointees.
  • CIP Sinking Fund Transfer (Resolution 24-063): Transferred $45,000 to Public Safety Center fund to analyze up to four potential sites for new police/public safety facility. Approved unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All motions passed unanimously with no roll call dissent.
  • Several items will return for second reading or further action on July 9, 2024 (ordinances 24-015 and 24-009, possible executive session).
  • The downtown safety study session was informational; no formal action taken but council thanked presenters for collaboration and data.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Call this meeting to order. Please stand and and uh join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Will the city clerk please take attendance? All council members are present, Mr. Mayor. Councilmember Wendell is joining us via phone. Okay. Item three, approval of the agenda. Entertain a motion to approve the agenda. Second. Please call the rule. Specker. Hi. Tilton Byrne. Hi. Wendell. Hi. Avery. Hi. Dorian. Hi. Neemaier. Hi. Rasmussen. Hi. All right. We're gonna go right on to a study session on downtown safety. Presenting this item would be Samantha Beckman, our assistant city manager, Chief Michael Drake. And Christian Gestel, maybe also. Thank you. Glasses. All right, good evening, everybody. Mr. Mayor, Council members, employees of the city of Brookings and the community. Tonight we're gonna discuss briefly the um the subject matter of the downtown safety that was requested by you folks uh almost about a year ago now, as some issues had arose and there were some questions uh that were needed to be answered on how safe downtown Brookings are. And I'm gonna go through some slides, but at the end of the when you look at the the bunch of slides that we've all put through you know forth here, I can say as your chief of police there was a reason why I moved here, and that's because the downtown is safe. I would let my family wander down there at any time of the day or night and not worry about their safety or security. So I'll start with that. When we look at these graphs for the downtown police stats, I just captured 2023 really quickly. To just give you a snapshot of what the last three and a half years, 21, 22, 23, and up to date to 2024, what it looks like. This is a snapshot for just 2023. But these graphs are identical over the three and a half years. And what you look at is on the left-hand side where it's calls for service by month. And for right now, you can kind of ignore the five hundred and forty-two calls. But that's about what we deem the calls for service the police department answers, which is not only just positive non-enforcement engagement that we see through community policing, but it is also response calls that we receive either through our seven-digit phone line or the emergency nine one channel. So if you look at this real quick, it will be no surprise to anybody that's been in this community for longer than about a month. That during the months of the year from January through December, the busiest time that the police department sees, and please keep in mind it's not always a negative connotation of how many calls for service we have. We have a little bit of activity between February and May. Then there's a little bit of a dip.

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