Spearfish City Council Regular Session - January 20, 2026

The Spearfish City Council met at 5:30 p.m. on January 20, 2026, in the City Council Chambers, 625 5th Street, Spearfish. Mayor Senden participated via Zoom, and Council President Jacobs presided. Members present: Hourigan, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, and Rath; Hafner was absent. The council approved the consent agenda, waived a $1,000 pavilion rental fee for Black Hills Christian Academy, passed Ordinance 1414 on a 4–1 vote, approved two liquor licenses, approved the revised Top Shelf subdivision development agreement with a single-family housing restriction plus the associated preliminary plat, authorized the airport water main design, approved the $750,435.76 bill list, and appointed Greg Dias to the Historic Preservation Commission. The meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m. (Note: the minutes state the meeting was held Monday, January 20, 2026, but that date falls on a Tuesday.)

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the January 12, 2026, City Council special session.
• Approved the minutes of the January 5, 2026, City Council regular session.
• Approved the December 2025 Treasurer's Report. (Minor discrepancy: the agenda item reads “Approve the December 2025 Treasurer's Report,” while the minutes read “Approve the minutes of the December 2025 Treasurer's Report.”)
• Added Connor Weatherby, Jane Nichols, and Brad Noisat to the 2026 recreation center volunteer list.
• All consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Toby Bordewyk, an adjacent property owner north of the Top Shelf subdivision, asked the council to include in the revised development agreement a limitation to single-family homes subdivided per the proposed preliminary plat, and to keep the existing berm as separation from his property or adjust it in a manner agreed to by the developer and adjacent property owners. He said his conversations with the developers (the Rossis) had been positive and that they were open to moving the berm partly onto his property to create buildable room on the north-end lots.
• Doug Markworth praised city staff and department heads, expressed support for a strong council–weak mayor form of government, and argued the city is unnecessarily complicated, which he said drives up cost, complexity, positions, and hiring.
• Nathan Hoogshagen, describing himself as a fellow elected official, distributed a document he helped author on the city's form of government and council responsibilities, and urged transparency measures such as opening each agenda item to public conversation and answering previously unanswered public comment questions. He also reported contractor concerns that building permits take a significant amount of time with repeated redline cycles, and stated that a couple building a new home was told new code requires garage doors to withstand 115 mph straight-line winds—25 mph faster than the 91 mph highest recorded non-tornado wind gust in Spearfish history (2020). He asked that new departmental regulations be brought to the council for a vote.
• Stan Triplett asked questions about the city's 95-page Safety Action Plan prepared by Bolton & Menk, noting public comments are due January 31. He said the plan cost $200,000, of which the city paid $40,000 and the federal government $160,000, and asked how many similar projects Bolton & Menk has prepared, how long implementation would take, and noted the plan must be adopted in the first quarter of 2026 for the city to apply for implementation grants.

Items from Visitors

• Reed, representing Black Hills Christian Academy, requested a waiver of the $1,000 pavilion rental fee for a public Daddy Daughter Dance on February 28, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.). He said admission is $10 for fathers and free for daughters, the event is open to grandfathers, uncles, and male role models, and the fee waiver was requested because the event is being run under the academy's nonprofit status while he personally funds it. The request was approved unanimously.

City Attorney

• Ordinance 1414 (second reading) amends Title III: Administration; Chapter 32, Officers and Employees, specifically Section 32.09 on the powers and duties of the city administrator, restoring the hiring and promotion language that existed before Ordinance 1366 was adopted in 2022. City Attorney Knox said no edits or revisions were received since the first reading. Passed 4–1, with Hourigan voting nay and Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, and Rath voting aye.

Finance — Public Hearings

• Retail (on-off sale) malt beverage & SD farm wine license for Tiffany Zubrod of The Remix Room, 3425 N. Fairgrounds Loop, Suite D: public hearing opened at 5:57 p.m. with no comments. DeNeui described the Remix Room as a new bookable event venue for birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and corporate functions that wants to offer adult guests a social beverage. Approved unanimously.
• Special on-sale liquor license for Josh Fritz with Spearfish Public House for the Chinook Days Beerfest, January 24, 2026, 2:00–6:00 p.m. at the Lookout Amphitheater: public hearing opened at 5:58 p.m. with no comments. DeNeui noted the applicant is a current license holder and the event is on private property, and that two other special event licenses have been issued for Chinook Days, with multiple vendors permitted by law. Approved unanimously.

Planning and Zoning — Top Shelf Subdivision

• The council considered the revised development agreement for the approximately 16-acre Top Shelf subdivision, which was rezoned from AG to R3 in 2018 with a development agreement anticipating a senior living facility. The proposed revisions would allow the developer and future landowners to modify the existing northern berm if building code is met, and require two trees to be planted on a lot if the berm is removed entirely.
• Assistant Planning Director Ecker presented three options: (1) approve the agreement as presented, which would default to R3 zoning code allowing a variety of housing types including duplexes, triplexes, and multifamily; (2) add a maximum density of one unit per 400 square feet, comparable to the original town area; or (3) follow the Planning Commission's January 6 recommendation (passed 3–2) to limit the property to single-family residential uses only. Staff noted option 3 would effectively change the zoning through contract rather than a formal rezoning process.
• Community Development Director Wysocki expressed concern that a contractual use restriction could be administratively difficult to track over time and would bypass the public hearing process of a zoning change. City Attorney Knox noted a late-proposed amendment would require future agreement modifications to be approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council.
• Attorney Eric Ness, representing the developers, said the single-family restriction was offered voluntarily as a good-faith response to neighbor concerns, that the property is designed for single-family lots like the rest of Top Shelf, and that the restriction would be recorded and enforced through covenants; he stated any of the three options would be acceptable to the developers.
• Council discussion addressed the berm: Ecker confirmed the berm covers almost the entirety of some north-side lots and will be partially graded for public infrastructure and buildable area, with future landowners required to plant two trees if they remove it entirely. Several council members noted the inconsistency between the R3 zoning and the proposed single-family restriction; Wysocki said the city could initiate a future rezone to R1 to clean up that inconsistency.
• The council voted unanimously (Klarenbeek motion, Hourigan second) to approve the revised development agreement with the single-family-only restriction (option 3), following the Planning Commission's recommendation.
• The preliminary plat for Bowmore at Top Shelf subdivision was approved unanimously (Klarenbeek motion, Hourigan second).

Public Works — Airport Water Main Design

• Public Works Director McMahon and Airport Manager Channing Wagner requested authorization for Mead & Hunt to proceed with design of the airport water main project. Wagner said the airport has no fire hydrants, the existing well tap will be lost with the new apron expansion, and the airport has 26 flight school students plus ongoing hangar and taxi lane development. The approximately $800,000 project will satisfy most of the city's roughly $900,000 local match requirement for the airport terminal grants. Design is scheduled for completion by spring, with construction advertised for summer/fall 2026. Motion passed unanimously by roll call (Hourigan, Jacobs, Klarenbeek, Myers, Rath all aye).

Approve the Bills

• The bill list dated January 20, 2026, totaling $750,435.76, was approved unanimously by roll call vote. Notable items include RCS Construction Inc. East Low Zone Water PE #18 ($404,210.70), Ainsworth-Benning Inc. Sky Ridge Irrigation PE 5 ($57,196.57), HDR Engineering Inc. ($40,713.85), CBH Cooperative December 2025 fuel ($32,534.49), and Belle Fourche Landfill December 2025 ($32,196.00).

Mayor and Council Discussion

• Greg Dias was appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission for a 3-year term ending December 31, 2028. Approved unanimously.

Departmental Discussion

• McMahon reported that work continues at Exit 14 with the contractor completing the bore under 27th Avenue and working on the bore under Colorado Boulevard; PSAs will be distributed soon advertising traffic impact schedules. The Rainbow box culvert project has started, with a detour route planned for early February for about a month, weather permitting.
• Wysocki said the Safety Action Plan will be presented at the January 28, 2026, study session. Clarion is finishing the zoning and subdivision code review; the final draft was presented to the Planning Commission that evening, with another Planning Commission review in two weeks and a final report and path forward expected in 30–60 days.
• Police Chief Smith reported the department has 22 sworn officers, with less than half on street duty and roughly two officers per shift; full strength would be 25 sworn officers, and three positions remain on the books but unfunded. He said he will ask to reinstate those positions given a strong influx of quality applicants.
• DeNeui said the council chamber microphones have been adjusted and listening devices are available for the public.
• Mayor Senden said the TIF discussion will be held at the February 11, 2026, study session, and Mike Carlson from the South Dakota Department of Transportation will present on safety items and traffic calming measures planned at Exit 10 at the February 2, 2026, regular session.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved unanimously.
• Black Hills Christian Academy pavilion rental fee waiver ($1,000) approved unanimously.
• Ordinance 1414 passed 4–1 (Hourigan dissenting).
• The Remix Room retail malt beverage & SD farm wine license approved unanimously.
• Spearfish Public House special on-sale liquor license for Chinook Days Beerfest approved unanimously.
• Revised Top Shelf development agreement approved unanimously with a single-family residential use restriction (option 3).
• Preliminary plat for Bowmore at Top Shelf subdivision approved unanimously.
• Mead & Hunt authorized to proceed with airport water main design (unanimous roll call).
• Bill list totaling $750,435.76 approved unanimously.
• Greg Dias appointed to Historic Preservation Commission unanimously.
• Meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m.