Spearfish City Council Regular Session – October 20, 2025

The Spearfish City Council met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 20, 2025, in the City Council Chambers at 625 5th Street, Spearfish. Mayor Senden presided; all six councilmembers were present (Hafner, Hourigan, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, and Rath). Council amended Item 14A to use an updated City Administrator employment agreement before approving the agenda, and no conflicts of interest were declared. After invocation by Countryside Church and the Pledge of Allegiance, the council worked through the consent calendar, public comment, the hockey lease hearing, the Legacy Ranch Estates preliminary plat, public works items, bills, and the City Administrator agreement. The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes of the September 29, 2025 City Council study session and the October 6, 2025 regular session.
• Added Tucker Graeff, Frederick Reth, and Alexander VanOsdol to the 2025 Volunteer Firefighter list.
• Approved the September 2025 Treasurer’s Report. The consent agenda was approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Bill Klapperich, 2244 Top Shelf Avenue and a former city employee, said there is no perfect snow-removal solution and recalled older center-street plowing creating fewer driveway problems. He cautioned that more services mean higher costs or taxes and cited truck rental costs around $125 per hour and possible snow-hauling costs of $2,000–$3,000 per day. He encouraged councilmembers to ride along with plow crews.
• Rose Jarvis, 421 North Eighth Street, said she was part of the effort that led to the 15-year-old snow-removal ordinance and described residents being plowed back into driveways. She said research showed snow gates cost about $10,000, or about $25,000 if staff could not install them, and compared that with the $620,000 skate park. She asked the city to try a different approach before removing the ordinance.
• Greg Dias, 740 North Eighth Street and a Spearfish resident since 1975, said he had been plowed in countless times, sometimes by compacted snow and ice that had to be removed by hand. He noted the proposed ordinance restricts citizens from placing snow in streets but does not restrict plows from blocking driveways. He argued the initiated measure was a direct instruction from voters and has not been fully implemented in 15 years, and asked council to consider residents seeking quality-of-life improvements.
• Nathan Hoogshagen, 2194 Bridgestone Street, said government should not pick winners and losers, should follow precedent and apply ordinances equally, and should evaluate spending against core government duties. He suggested shifting unnecessary spending to snow removal, called for transparent decision-making to ease community tension, and said Spearfish was built by private-sector investment, not government-directed development or tax increment financing.
• During the Resolution 2025-53 public hearing, Dennis Servaty, President of the Northern Hills Amateur Hockey Association, said the association has 62 kids registered this year, up 10 from last year, and is excited to hold practices and events in Spearfish. Tammy Benedict, who lives adjacent to the soccer field at 425 Hillsview, opposed the location, said the site is not adequate, and asked the council to consider locations outside residential areas, citing parking and property-intrusion concerns from soccer events.
• No online public comments were received during the general public comment period, which was closed at 5:52 p.m.

Human Resources

• Council held first reading of Ordinance No. 1405, adopting revisions to the City of Spearfish Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. Council reviewed the item in a prior study session, had no further questions, and approved the first reading unanimously.

Parks and Recreation

• After the public hearing, council considered Resolution 2025-53 to authorize the Mayor and Finance Officer to sign a one-year lease with the Northern Hills Amateur Hockey Association for property described as Hillsview Addition Lot 4A of Lots 3 and 4, under SDCL 9-12-5.2. The hearing was closed at 5:58 p.m., and the resolution was approved unanimously.

Planning and Zoning

• Council approved the preliminary plat for Lots 1 through 16 and Tract L of Legacy Ranch Estates. The item came without a committee recommendation after extensive staff and applicant work. Council discussed comparable subdivisions with cul-de-sacs previously approved without connective roadways, the need to balance ordinance validity for future street planning with case-by-case variances, and cited precedent. The motion by Councilmember Myers, seconded by Councilmember Rath, passed unanimously.

Public Works

• Change Order #1 for the 2025 Chip Seal Colorado Blvd Project #2520 was approved. Staff explained the change was needed to reseal cracks that surfaced during pre-chip-seal street sweeping and to adjust pavement-marking groove footage. The agenda and transcript list the increase as $23,838, while the approved minutes record the increase as $28,070; the discrepancy is not explained in the source materials. The change order was approved unanimously by roll call.
• A quantity adjustment to correct a drainage issue for the Airport General Aviation Taxilanes Project was approved, increasing the contract amount by $23,436.80. Staff said the constructed section did not match the design where the taxi lane extension ties into the existing lane, and the recommended replacement with reinforced concrete would ensure drainage; the contractor and consultant absorbed some costs. Approved unanimously by roll call.
• City staff presented draft Ordinance 1409 to revise Chapter 153, Section 011 on snow removal. Staff said the draft was intended to resolve contradictions between the initiated measure and current ordinance, would initially address windrows by having the city assist with driveway windrows, and would remove the restriction limiting funding to sales tax so fees, frontage, or other funding could be considered. Rather than voting on first reading, Councilmember Myers moved to refer the draft to a committee of city staff and community members to seek a compromise and report to the study session no later than November 12, 2025; Councilmember Rath seconded. Councilmembers who spoke supported the referral and praised city plow operators’ work. The motion passed unanimously.

Bills

• Approved the bill list dated October 20, 2025, totaling $874,441.17, by unanimous roll-call vote.

Mayor and Council Discussion

• Council approved the City Administrator Employment Agreement for Bobby Falcon. The agenda had been amended to use a revised copy specifying salary at step seven, not step eight. Mayor Senden praised Falcon’s work, including added fire and police responsibilities after a retirement and progress at Skyridge with about 40 homes expected this year. One councilmember provided wage-study context, citing a grade 28 mean of $184,499 and a FY2026 budgeted salary of $187,970; another councilmember opposed the agreement, saying the increase was too large for taxpayers. The motion by Councilmember Hourigan, seconded by Councilmember Rath, passed 4-2, with Hourigan, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, and Rath voting aye and Hafner and Myers voting nay.

Departmental Discussion

• Assistant Planning Director Ecker said a comprehensive update on the Spearfish Safety Action Plan and the development analysis will be presented at the next council meeting and reminded everyone that October 20, 2025 is the last day for public input on the Safety Action Plan.
• Mayor Senden and Public Works Director McMahon reminded the public about the October 28 open house on the proposed US Highway 85 and Colorado Boulevard intersection reconstruction at the Heritage Center.
• Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ehnes responded about the Spearfish City Campground water replacement project: a revised scope is being developed with Public Works and Interstate Engineering; staff will try to isolate and locate the leak while the campground is closed and the ice rink is not up; if not found, the original project plan will proceed after Labor Day 2026 into 2027.
• City Attorney Knox said he will convene the committee on the initiated measure and snow removal, including reaching out to staff and requesting suggestions; the committee report is due back to council no later than November 12, 2025.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the amended agenda and consent calendar; no conflicts of interest were declared.
• Approved first reading of Ordinance No. 1405.
• Approved Resolution 2025-53 for the Northern Hills Amateur Hockey Association lease.
• Approved the Legacy Ranch Estates preliminary plat.
• Approved Change Order #1 for the Colorado Blvd chip seal project, with the amount discrepancy noted, and the Airport taxilanes quantity adjustment.
• Referred draft Ordinance 1409 to a staff/community committee for compromise recommendations by November 12, 2025.
• Approved the October 20, 2025 bill list totaling $874,441.17.
• Approved the City Administrator Employment Agreement for Bobby Falcon by a 4-2 vote.
• Adjourned at 6:25 p.m.