Tag: Public works
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Two Sidewalk Waivers, One Agenda: Committee Grills Corporate Request, Punts the Other to September
Rapid City SD – The Rapid City Public Works Committee meeting opened with a chaotic public comment period. Concerned citizen Mark Millar was first to the microphone, telling the committee they were starting to look like a “bunch of clowns” before noting the state is stepping in to fix the deck of the bridge that…
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The Sidewalks to Nowhere: A Stroll through Rapid City’s Sidewalk Variance Routes
Rapid City SD- Tuesday’s Public Works Committee agenda is, for the most part, the routine business of running a city: a $129,450 tracked conveyor for the Solid Waste Division, a $21,102 change order for Well 13 pump equipment, $235,000 in advertised bids for upgrades at McKeague Field. Sixteen items, most of them numbers nobody will…
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What We Know – and Don’t Know – About Rapid City’s Water Infrastructure Cyber Incident
Rapid City SD- The City of Rapid City recently disclosed a cyber incident involving one of its lift stations, part of the city’s wastewater system. According to the city, officials discovered the attempt quickly and took precautions to protect the system. The city says at no time was its water or wastewater infrastructure placed in…
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The 2027 Budget Brief: Balancing the Thin Line and the Bottom Line – The First Two Special Council Sessions
Rapid City SD – The story of Rapid City’s proposed 2027 budget is a tale of two distinct ledgers. The first two days of the Special City Council Budget Sessions laid bare the growing pains of a rapidly expanding municipality. On one side, public safety departments are straining against historic call volumes and shifting workforce…
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Chapel Lane Bridge Replacement Delayed to 2027 as City Pursues Temporary Crossing
The Chapel Lane Bridge replacement — the sole access point for more than 500 homes in the Chapel Valley neighborhood — has been pushed back over a year, from a May 2026 completion target to June 1, 2027, after the city was passed over for a 2026 state Bridge Improvement Grant that would have covered…
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Public Works Agenda Roundup For 7/14: Star Village Demolitions, A Contractor Lien, A Dropped Exception, and A Park Moves Forward
Rapid City SD- The City of Rapid City is spending at least $133,500 to demolish 28 detached garages in the Star Village neighborhood after owner Tzadik Rapid City Portfolio I failed to meet two separate city-ordered demolition deadlines — November 13, 2025, and February 20, 2026. The city’s own agenda language describes the structures as…
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Buren Properties Appeal Hits a Wall: Public Works Committee Sends It Back For Two More Weeks
Rapid City S.D.- On June 30, the Rapid City Public Works Committee took up Exception 26EX042 — a request from Longbranch Civil Engineering, on behalf of Buren Properties LLC, to skip dedicating right-of-way and building a collector street across a 42-acre unplatted balance north of Deadwood Avenue and I-90. Staff had already denied it once.…
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The Snowball Effect: How a Bowl of Soup Can Help Your Neighbors in Rapid City
The anatomy of a financial crisis rarely starts with a single, massive catastrophe. More often, it’s the quiet pile-up of everyday setbacks. A flat tire, an unexpected repair, a surprise medical bill — suddenly, the monthly utility payment gets pushed off. Shannon Truax, Admin Operations Manager for the Rapid City Public Works Department, sees this…
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When A 9,000 Pound Spinning Boulder gets Tagged, Rapid City’s Public Works and Parks Departments Shows Up, Quick
Rapid City SD – There’s a rock in Memorial Park that spins. Not metaphorically. Rockspinner 6 — an 11-foot-tall, 9,000-pound slab of granite from Stone Mountain, Georgia — is mounted on a bearing-filled base and will actually rotate if you push it. It took three people and a crane to place it on the Promenade…