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Record of Proceedings

Brookings City Council Meeting - June 9, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 9, 2026
BodyBrookings, South Dakota
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 14:11

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:43

I call this meeting to order.

0:46

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:08

Welcome to the Tuesday, June 9th meeting of the Brooking City Council.

1:12

Will the City Clerk please take attendance?

1:15

There are six council members present.

1:17

Deputy Mayor Wendell.

1:19

Mayor Neymar is absent this evening.

1:22

Thank you, Bonnie.

1:22

I will once again be filling in for Deputy or for Mayor Nemeyer.

1:26

You're all in luck.

1:27

We have a very brief agenda this evening.

1:30

Item number three is action to approve the agenda, but I'd like to make a motion to amend this evening's agenda to include at the end of the meeting an executive session pursuant to South Dakota Codified Law 125-2 for the purpose of discussing the qualifications, competence, performance, character, or fitness of any public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee.

1:53

The term employee does not include any independent contractor.

1:56

That's the first amendment.

1:59

The second amendment is to remove items 10A, the Brookings Transportation Plan, and item 10B, adopting the Brookings Area Safety Plan and the 2050 Brookings Vision Zero from the agenda.

2:15

These items will be brought back at a later date.

2:17

The plans are available on the city's website for viewing.

2:21

So the agenda is to add an executive session at the end and to remove items 10A and 10B.

2:28

I would second that.

2:34

Okay, there's a motion and a second.

2:36

Will the city clerk please call the roll?

2:38

Avery.

2:38

Aye.

2:39

Doran.

2:40

Aye.

2:40

Hager.

2:41

Aye.

2:41

Specker.

2:42

Aye.

2:42

Tiltonburn.

2:43

Aye.

2:44

Wendell.

2:44

Aye.

2:45

Motion passes.

2:46

I'd now like to entertain a motion to approve the agenda as amended.

2:50

So moved.

2:51

Second.

2:52

We have a motion and a second.

2:53

Are there any comments on the agenda from the public?

2:58

Are there any comments on the agenda from the council?

3:06

I just wanted to note uh that transportation plan was on last week's uh our our last regular meeting agenda.

3:13

We had a nice discussion and overview on that plan.

3:16

It's now been posted on the public website, but we wanted to give members of the public adequate time to read that plan before we take action on adopting the recommendations that are in the plan.

3:25

So that'll come back at a future meeting.

3:27

The reason we removed it is because it's a comprehensive plan as promised, and we wanted to make sure you all had adequate time to review it.

3:35

Okay, if there's uh no additional comments from the council, will the city clerk please call the roll to approve the agenda as amended?

3:42

Doran, aye.

3:43

Hager, aye.

3:44

Specker, aye.

3:45

Tilton Byrne, aye.

3:46

Wendell?

3:47

Aye.

3:47

Avery.

3:48

Aye.

3:49

Okay, motion passes.

3:51

Item number four is the open forum in order to provide equal access to all during the open forum and public comment portions of the meeting.

3:59

Each individual offering comments shall not exceed the allotted three minute period.

4:04

The podium light turns green to yellow when there is one minute remaining.

4:09

Your time for comment has expired when the podium light turns red.

4:13

Is there any member of the public who wishes to address the council on an item that's not listed on tonight's agenda?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Water And Wastewater Management████████12%
Racial Equity██████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Brookings City Council Meeting - June 9, 2026

The Brookings City Council met on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 12:00 PM. Deputy Mayor Wendell presided in Mayor Neymar's absence. Six council members were present. The meeting included amendments to the agenda, approval of consent items, a Juneteenth proclamation, ex officio reports, and a move into executive session.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously with no items removed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public addressed the council during open forum or on any agenda items.

Discussion Items

  • Agenda Amendments:
    • Councilmember Avery moved to amend the agenda to add an executive session at the end (pursuant to SDCL 125-2 for discussion of a public officer/employee) and to remove Item 10A (Brookings Transportation Plan) and Item 10B (Brookings Area Safety Plan and 2050 Brookings Vision Zero) from the agenda. Councilmember Hager seconded. The council expressed support for removing the items to allow public review. The motion passed unanimously (6-0).
    • The agenda as amended was then approved unanimously.
  • Proclamation: Juneteenth:
    • Deputy Mayor Wendell read a proclamation declaring Friday, June 19, 2026, as Juneteenth. Mark Aberley, Vice Chair of the Brookings Human Rights Commission, accepted the proclamation and invited the council and public to the seventh annual Juneteenth celebration at Pioneer Park on June 19 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM, featuring speakers, music, and food.
  • Ex Officio Reports:
    • Councilmember Hager reported that the Brookings Health System Board of Trustees had no May meeting.
    • Councilmember Avery reported on the Brookings Municipal Utility (BMU) meeting: highlighted new security at the facility, recognition of Tim Harvey for 20 years of service on the BMU board (standing ovation, plaque forthcoming), and an open house at the new water treatment plant. Avery described the plant as a $115 million project with a 2-million-gallon storage facility, daily production capacity of approximately 6 million gallons, and eight wells (including four new ones). He noted that while pumping capacity increased, the total water drawn remains limited by the aquifer.
  • Future Agenda Items:
    • City manager noted that the next regular meeting on June 23 will include a proclamation, a sculpture award presentation at Dakota Nature Park, and a city progress report. The removed items (10A and 10B) will also be added to the June 23 agenda. Councilmember Tilton Byrne confirmed this with the city manager.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda amended to add executive session and remove Items 10A and 10B (unanimous vote).
  • Agenda as amended approved unanimously.
  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Juneteenth proclamation adopted unanimously.
  • Council voted to enter executive session (pursuant to SDCL 125-2) with a unanimous voice vote; no action was anticipated upon return.

Meeting Transcript

I call this meeting to order. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Welcome to the Tuesday, June 9th meeting of the Brooking City Council. Will the City Clerk please take attendance? There are six council members present. Deputy Mayor Wendell. Mayor Neymar is absent this evening. Thank you, Bonnie. I will once again be filling in for Deputy or for Mayor Nemeyer. You're all in luck. We have a very brief agenda this evening. Item number three is action to approve the agenda, but I'd like to make a motion to amend this evening's agenda to include at the end of the meeting an executive session pursuant to South Dakota Codified Law 125-2 for the purpose of discussing the qualifications, competence, performance, character, or fitness of any public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee. The term employee does not include any independent contractor. That's the first amendment. The second amendment is to remove items 10A, the Brookings Transportation Plan, and item 10B, adopting the Brookings Area Safety Plan and the 2050 Brookings Vision Zero from the agenda. These items will be brought back at a later date. The plans are available on the city's website for viewing. So the agenda is to add an executive session at the end and to remove items 10A and 10B. I would second that. Okay, there's a motion and a second. Will the city clerk please call the roll? Avery. Aye. Doran. Aye. Hager. Aye. Specker. Aye. Tiltonburn. Aye. Wendell. Aye. Motion passes. I'd now like to entertain a motion to approve the agenda as amended. So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Are there any comments on the agenda from the public? Are there any comments on the agenda from the council? I just wanted to note uh that transportation plan was on last week's uh our our last regular meeting agenda. We had a nice discussion and overview on that plan. It's now been posted on the public website, but we wanted to give members of the public adequate time to read that plan before we take action on adopting the recommendations that are in the plan. So that'll come back at a future meeting. The reason we removed it is because it's a comprehensive plan as promised, and we wanted to make sure you all had adequate time to review it. Okay, if there's uh no additional comments from the council, will the city clerk please call the roll to approve the agenda as amended? Doran, aye. Hager, aye. Specker, aye. Tilton Byrne, aye.

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