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Record of Proceedings

Vermillion City Council Joint Meeting with Clay County - October 20, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
BodyVermillion, South Dakota
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:21:42

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:07

Major O'Kelly.

Unassigned speaker

0:16

Call

Speaker 2

0:16

me to order all call, please.

Speaker 3

0:19

Michael.

Speaker 4

0:22

Brady.

Speaker 2

0:23

Eric.

Speaker 4

0:24

Easy.

Speaker 2

0:25

Eric.

0:25

Kilbertson.

0:26

Here.

Speaker 5

0:30

Very good.

0:31

We uh do have a minute chance to put the agenda for a good meeting.

Speaker 2

0:43

All over?

0:52

Um

Speaker 6

0:59

may I uh may I ask a question?

1:01

So I just was sitting down here at uh meeting and I don't see listed specifically approval of this map.

1:10

I see uh ordinance refers to chapter 2.0, so I was just wondering should we um add uh an item C approval of map one

Unassigned speaker

1:20

as

Speaker 6

1:22

appropriate or necessary?

1:24

It may not be I just I can see this on our agenda in any discussion to be a map.

Speaker 2

1:29

It's specifically

Speaker 7

1:30

it's it's this so this ordinance would replace the current meets and balance description with the map.

1:42

That's what this is doing.

Speaker 6

1:43

Okay, all right, that's okay.

1:45

So at this time that is map one,

Speaker 7

1:47

yeah.

Unassigned speaker

1:47

And in future should be changed

Speaker 6

1:49

back, and you

Unassigned speaker

1:50

would

Speaker 6

1:51

modify

Speaker 7

1:51

the map map

Unassigned speaker

1:53

one in the

Speaker 7

1:53

ordinance.

1:54

Correct.

1:54

Yeah, because it's the same one as yeah, the same one as the comprehensive plan.

1:57

Okay, then if we ever update it, we just update both.

Speaker 5

2:12

So I see we have to visit, but first we're having a joint meeting with the county and the city.

2:17

Are there any physics for heard uh on uh items one of the agenda for the city

Speaker 2

2:22

and county joint meeting?

2:24

Or sorry?

2:26

Did you say either one or four this joint meeting?

2:31

We're gonna have a city meeting afterwards on the board.

Unassigned speaker

2:39

I'd

Speaker 4

2:39

like to ask if we have any contact

Unassigned speaker

2:42

by the council members, you know.

Unassigned speaker

2:45

Uh yeah, okay.

Speaker 2

2:51

If

Speaker 8

2:51

you want to use this one,

Speaker 2

2:53

you can't.

3:03

We could actually have

Speaker 4

3:09

a motion in a second.

3:10

All of us in favor.

3:14

Motion passes.

3:16

Thank you.

3:17

Okay.

3:17

And then I'd like to go do we have any conflict of interest.

3:20

Okay.

3:23

Thank you very much.

Unassigned speaker

3:24

I appreciate that.

Speaker 9

3:26

So I want to be clear.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████30%
Zoning And Land Use████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Utilities Management█████5%
Pending Litigation████4%
Nuisance Abatement████4%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Water And Wastewater Management████4%
Youth Programs███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Vermillion City Council Joint Meeting with Clay County - October 20, 2026

The Vermillion City Council and Clay County Commission convened in a joint session on October 20, 2026, to advance updates to the Joint Jurisdictional Zoning Area (JJZA) ordinances. Following the joint session, the City Council held its regular meeting, approving a water rate surcharge, revenue bonds, and receiving the annual Blue Peak Cable report.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Robin Shirell (former Clay County Commissioner, Elk Point resident): Alleged a series of crimes and injustices involving IRS impersonators, identity theft, and city hiring discrimination. She claimed the previous council and county administration failed to act on her complaints and urged the new council to investigate.
  • Dan Nuttleton (17 South Yale Street, Vermillion): Stated the property at 321 East Main Street has been in continuous violation of city nuisance codes (Chapters 90 and 94) since 2024, creating a public health hazard. He reported filing formal complaints with code enforcement in June 2025 and May 2026 with no successful resolution, and requested the council direct administration to expedite enforcement and abate the nuisance.

Joint Meeting: JJZA Ordinance Discussion

  • Ordinance 2026-07 / 1571 (Boundary Map): Replaces the legal metes and bounds description of the JJZA with a map (Map 1 from the Comprehensive Plan). Amended during the meeting to clarify it only applies to Section 2.01A. Advanced to second reading.
  • Ordinance 2026-08 / 1572 (Annexation Boundary): Addresses how the JJZA boundary shifts after city annexation. Amended to specify the boundary must shift in the "general geographic direction" of annexation (adding "geographic" for clarity and changing "which" to "that"). Advanced to second reading.
  • Next Steps: Second reading for both ordinances set for November 2, 2026.

Discussion Items

  • Termination of Street Utility Easement: Approved the petition by William Wood to vacate a 60-foot easement on Adam Street for future apartment development. Residents on the property are on month-to-month leases, and a private utility is working with the owner.
  • Blue Peak Cable Annual Report: Regional Managing Director Mike Carn presented the annual report, highlighting 99.99% network uptime and a 97% customer approval rate. He noted over $100,000 in community investments over four years. The council thanked Blue Peak for their community engagement.
  • Water Surcharge Rate Resolution: Finance Director Wendy presented the revised rate structure to support SRF loan repayments for the water facility plan. The base charge changes from $0.45 to $18.10, and the per-unit charge from $2.49 to $2.74. A typical 700 cu ft bill increases from $33.63 to $37.28. Effective for billing after December 1, 2026.
  • Revenue Bonds for Water Facility Project: The council approved a bond resolution for the $8.06 million water facility project (main replacement, SCADA, treatment plant upgrades), funded by SRF loans ($7M from 2023, $1.15M from 2026 at 4% for 30 years).
  • Proclamation: The council recognized the Vermillion High School Boys Golf Team for winning the 2026 South Dakota Class A State Championship by a 19-stroke margin, including individual champion Ryland Moran.
  • City Manager's Report: John Prescott noted the recent resolution of the French investment assessment issue. He reported the Bluffy Cemetery mausoleums have a continued comment period for National Register listing. Water hydrant flushing begins the next day.

Key Outcomes

  • JJZA Ordinances Advanced: Both Ordinance 2026-07 and 2026-08 passed first reading (joint vote) and advanced to a second reading on November 2, 2026.
  • Street Easement Vacated: Unanimously approved by the City Council.
  • Water Rate Increase Approved: The City Council approved the water surcharge rate resolution, effective December 1, 2026.
  • Water Revenue Bonds Approved: The City Council approved the bond resolution for the water facility project.
  • Broadcaster Press Payment Approved: A $1,200 payment to Broadcaster Press was approved; Council member Dave Lias abstained.
  • City Manager Recognized: The council and mayor congratulated John Prescott on receiving the South Dakota Municipal League Employee of the Year award.

Meeting Transcript

Major O'Kelly. Call me to order all call, please. Michael. Brady. Eric. Easy. Eric. Kilbertson. Here. Very good. We uh do have a minute chance to put the agenda for a good meeting. All over? Um may I uh may I ask a question? So I just was sitting down here at uh meeting and I don't see listed specifically approval of this map. I see uh ordinance refers to chapter 2.0, so I was just wondering should we um add uh an item C approval of map one as appropriate or necessary? It may not be I just I can see this on our agenda in any discussion to be a map. It's specifically it's it's this so this ordinance would replace the current meets and balance description with the map. That's what this is doing. Okay, all right, that's okay. So at this time that is map one, yeah. And in future should be changed back, and you would modify the map map one in the ordinance. Correct. Yeah, because it's the same one as yeah, the same one as the comprehensive plan. Okay, then if we ever update it, we just update both. So I see we have to visit, but first we're having a joint meeting with the county and the city. Are there any physics for heard uh on uh items one of the agenda for the city and county joint meeting? Or sorry? Did you say either one or four this joint meeting? We're gonna have a city meeting afterwards on the board. I'd like to ask if we have any contact by the council members, you know. Uh yeah, okay. If you want to use this one, you can't. We could actually have

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