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Record of Proceedings

Vermillion City Council Meeting – January 21, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
BodyVermillion, South Dakota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:01

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:10

Vermillion City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January twentieth, twenty twenty-six at six PM.

0:15

We'll come to order.

0:16

Alex, will you call roll?

0:18

Taller.

0:19

Weaver.

0:20

Price.

0:20

Holland.

0:21

Here.

0:21

Gentleman.

0:22

Howig?

0:23

Cheese.

0:24

Murray.

0:25

Mayor Cole.

0:26

Here.

0:26

We please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:29

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:34

And to the republic for which it stands.

1:03

I move to approve.

1:05

Motion approved by Councillor Holland.

1:06

Is there a second?

1:08

Second.

1:08

Second by Council Cheeseman.

1:10

Any other discussion on the minutes?

1:12

All in favor say aye.

1:26

A second by Council Lever.

1:28

Did you hear something, Council Holland?

1:29

No.

1:30

All those in favor of the agenda being adopted signified by saying aye.

1:37

Agenda's hereby adopted.

1:38

Visitors to be heard.

1:40

For persons addressing the council, please use the microphone at the podium.

1:44

Please raise your hand to be recognized and then go to the podium and state your name and address before being heard.

1:49

For items not on the agenda, public testimony.

2:17

Unless there's unanimous consent from the council or questions from council members are directed to a member of the public or staff through the presiding officer.

2:39

Also for uh spirit.

2:46

Also for visitors to be heard, if there's any items on the consent agenda, we also ask that you speak under visitors to be heard as well.

2:59

Seeing none, uh first item we have is a public.

7:29

You guys really want to.

7:34

Dan, it sounds like the TV is not having any sound it started and now it's not.

7:40

Should we back now?

7:41

Okay.

7:42

Hopefully that works.

7:43

I promise I'm not just putting the dials.

7:47

Thank you, Dan.

7:54

Give it a second.

7:59

This is true, that's fair.

8:00

All right.

8:01

New uh threw me off where we had resolution adjusting electric rates.

8:07

Just in case.

8:07

I know Dan's busy.

8:11

Thank you.

8:12

He may get to it for you.

8:14

Um back into early June uh 2024.

8:16

The city uh completed a rate study of our electric rates in cooperation with Missouri River Energy Services.

8:22

In that rate study, I came back with uh three years of rate increases.

8:26

That was presented to the council during the first half of 2024, and the city council in 2024 adopted the first rate increase that became effective uh in early January of 2025.

8:38

Uh reasons for that rate increase was uh WAPO was increasing their rates uh some fourteen percent uh over two years of split between two different years.

8:46

Just this last year, Missouri River Energy Services raised their rate four percent.

8:50

The cost of materials and their capital improvements are uh different factors that all led to these rate increases as we looked at it.

8:57

Um the rate increase was presented as I noted there were three different rate increases.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████████36%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████17%
Economic Development████████████████16%
Energy Management████████████12%
Personnel Matters████████████12%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Vermillion City Council Meeting – January 21, 2026

The Vermillion City Council met on January 21, 2026, to consider electric rate adjustments, utility extension planning, and janitorial service contracting. The meeting was called to order at 6 PM with all council members present.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jim Peterson, representing the Chamber of Commerce, expressed support for the utility extension project at Princeton Street and SD Highway 50 bypass, noting that the Grow Vermillion campaign may provide funding for engineering costs.

Discussion Items

Resolution Adjusting Electric Rates

  • John Prescott, city finance director, presented the resolution to adopt the second and third years of a three-year electric rate increase, effective March 15, 2026, and March 15, 2027. The increase is approximately 2% for residential single-family customers and includes adjustments to the customer service charge and energy/demand rates. The utilities committee reviewed the proposal on December 29. Council discussed comparisons with other municipalities; Vermillion remains on the lower end. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Resolution to Extend Utilities Under SD Highway 50 Bypass at Princeton Street

  • John Prescott described a proposal to extend 12-inch water and 15-inch sanitary sewer lines northward under the highway to serve annexed land. Estimated costs: $100,000 for water, $250,000 for sewer. The resolution authorizes design and bidding; the council retains final approval. The utilities committee and the council’s noon meeting on January 5 discussed it. Councilor Hellwig noted that grant opportunities were limited. Councilor January asked about budget implications; no competing projects have emerged. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Bid Award for Janitorial Services

  • José presented bids opened on January 14. Low bid of $48,857/year from Service Master of Southeast South Dakota (current contractor). The second bid had an irregularity and was adjusted to $100,364.76/year. Staff recommended awarding to Service Master. The 2026 budget includes sufficient funds. The council approved the low bid unanimously.

City Manager’s Report

  • Upcoming meetings: Library Board on January 21; Business Improvement District #1 on January 27; Public input meeting on SD Highway 50 on January 26 at 6 PM in council chambers.
  • Administrative: Plat filed for Lot 3A of AMS Industrial Park (parcel deeded by Masaba).
  • Vacancies on Human Relations Commission: one term to May 2026 and one to May 2027; applications due by January 22.
  • Raffle notifications approved for St. Agnes Knights of Columbus (NCAA basketball and Monday Night Football), Eagles Club, and Vermillion After Prom (Super Bowl squares). Details provided.

Key Outcomes

  • Resolution adopting electric rate increases for 2026 and 2027 passed unanimously.
  • Resolution to proceed with design and bidding for utility extension under SD Highway 50 bypass passed unanimously.
  • Contract for janitorial services awarded to Service Master of Southeast South Dakota for $48,857/year, effective after current contract expires February 20, 2026.
  • Council received city manager’s report and adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Vermillion City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January twentieth, twenty twenty-six at six PM. We'll come to order. Alex, will you call roll? Taller. Weaver. Price. Holland. Here. Gentleman. Howig? Cheese. Murray. Mayor Cole. Here. We please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands. I move to approve. Motion approved by Councillor Holland. Is there a second? Second. Second by Council Cheeseman. Any other discussion on the minutes? All in favor say aye. A second by Council Lever. Did you hear something, Council Holland? No. All those in favor of the agenda being adopted signified by saying aye. Agenda's hereby adopted. Visitors to be heard. For persons addressing the council, please use the microphone at the podium. Please raise your hand to be recognized and then go to the podium and state your name and address before being heard. For items not on the agenda, public testimony. Unless there's unanimous consent from the council or questions from council members are directed to a member of the public or staff through the presiding officer. Also for uh spirit. Also for visitors to be heard, if there's any items on the consent agenda, we also ask that you speak under visitors to be heard as well. Seeing none, uh first item we have is a public. You guys really want to. Dan, it sounds like the TV is not having any sound it started and now it's not. Should we back now? Okay. Hopefully that works. I promise I'm not just putting the dials. Thank you, Dan. Give it a second. This is true, that's fair. All right. New uh threw me off where we had resolution adjusting electric rates. Just in case. I know Dan's busy.

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