Spearfish City Council Special Session – December 30, 2025

The Spearfish City Council held a special session on December 30, 2025, beginning at 4:19 p.m. (agenda listed 4:15 p.m.) in City Council Chambers. Mayor Senden presided and presented the invocation; all recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmembers present were Hafner, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, and Rath; Hourigan was absent. Staff present included City Administrator Falcon, City Attorney Knox, Finance Officer DeNeui, Parks and Recreation Director Ehnes, and Public Works Director McMahon. The council approved the agenda, reviewed the January 5, 2026 council agenda, took public comment, and voted unanimously on consent, finance, bill, and appointment items. No conflicts of interest were declared. Note: The minutes list the day as Wednesday, December 30, 2025, although the meeting date supplied is December 30, 2025.

Agenda Approval and Review of the January 5, 2026 Agenda

• Council approved the special session agenda as presented.
• Staff reviewed the draft January 5, 2026 regular council agenda, including upcoming finance, planning and zoning, public works, liquor license, and other items.
• Council agreed to add an item under City Attorney to review Ordinance 1366, after the council president requested that the ordinance be rewritten to its pre-amendment version.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ryan Wordeman (258 Evans Lane) commented on liquor license prices. He stated that a non-restrictive on-sale liquor license transferred from Spearfish to Elkorn within the last year for $215,000, and questioned whether it is justified to increase the price of a restrictive restaurant on-sale liquor license that requires at least 60% food sales. No action was taken on the comment.
• No further public comments were received. The public comment period was open from 4:33 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.; Councilmember Jacobs joined the meeting at 4:35 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Rath moved, Jacobs seconded, and all present voted to approve the consent agenda item: a $2,000 Visit Spearfish sponsorship for the Dakota 600 Dirt Bike Race, a new event in Spearfish, for 2026.

Finance Actions

• Write-off: Council approved writing off a utility account balance of $564.11 because the account holder is deceased and no estate exists to collect from. DeNeui noted state statute requires council action for utility account disposal.
• Contingency transfer: Council approved transferring $106,000 from Contingency to Finance-Professional Fees ($5,000 for audit costs), IT-Software Maintenance Fees ($31,000 for annual Office 365 licenses, with the full yearly subscription totaling about $38,000), Cemetery-Salaries/Wages ($10,000 for summer cemetery staff time-clock coding correction), and Planning & Zoning-Professional Fees ($60,000 for Safe Streets for All grant safety action plan costs that will be reimbursed).
• Ordinance 1413: Council approved the second reading of Ordinance 1413, amending Title III, Chapter 33 (Elections) to move the municipal election from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, complying with House Bill 1130 passed during the 2025 legislative session. No changes were made since the first reading.
• TIF#8 transfer: Council approved transferring $12,500 from the TIF#8 Fund to the Water Fund to reimburse the water line cap at the Sawmill property, an eligible TIF#8 expense.
• All finance motions passed unanimously with Hafner, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, and Rath voting aye.

Bill List

• Council approved the December 30, 2025 bill list totaling $783,885.67. The largest item was a $333,910.12 pay estimate for the Black Hills Airport project; the list also included utilities, engineering services, equipment, and year-end purchases.

Mayor and Council Discussion

• Council reappointed Nicky Winterstein and appointed Eric Skavang and Dalton Wademan to three-year terms on the Parks, Rec and Forestry Advisory Board, with terms ending December 31, 2028. Parks and Recreation Director Ehnes explained the appointments fill vacancies left by departing board members, including a longtime board chair and one member with 30-plus years of service.

Departmental Discussion: 2025 Budgets and Snow Removal

• Finance Officer DeNeui presented the 2025 budget status. The budget posted online anticipated spending about $8 million above revenues in aggregate across all city funds, but the projected year-end use of cash on hand is about $608,000 — approximately $7.4 million less than budgeted. DeNeui said the difference reflects projects not completed, grant/loan funding, and timing; none of the budgeted or actual spending uses city reserves, which require council action to access.
• Snow removal: Councilmember Myers asked when snow removal would be brought back to council. Public Works Director McMahon said the January 14, 2026 study session will include options and associated cost estimates developed by the snow committee. Discussion covered snow-gate equipment with a 12–18 month lead time, using toolcats for driveway clearing, historical contractor use, state bidding requirements, FEMA reimbursement concerns, and the need for contractors to have guaranteed work. Ehnes noted that moving toolcats from sidewalk/rec-path clearing to driveways would shift complaints, not eliminate them, and asked council for clear direction. Staff illustrated the tradeoff using a “good, fast, or cheap — pick two” framework. A council member observed that, given equipment lead times, this may be a 2027 budget decision.
• Annual reports: Myers requested that the January 5, 2026 council meeting include a discussion on bringing back city annual reports; DeNeui said copies from 2011–2016 are available to share with council.
• Staff announced that new Community Development Director Peter Wasaki starts January 7, 2026, with a public meet-and-greet and one-on-one council meetings to be scheduled in January.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the agenda, consent agenda item, all four finance items, and the bill list unanimously.
• Directed that review of Ordinance 1366 be added to the January 5, 2026 agenda.
• Reappointed or appointed three Parks, Rec and Forestry Advisory Board members.
• Set snow removal discussion for the January 14, 2026 study session and annual reports discussion for the January 5, 2026 meeting.
• Adjourned at 5:14 p.m. on a motion by Myers, seconded by Rath.