Sixty items, a 6:30 p.m. start, and a consent calendar long enough that Council will pass most of the night in a single vote.

Rapid City SD – Rapid City Council meets Monday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m. Forty-four items sit on the consent calendar, five are non-consent, seven carry public hearings, and two are bill lists.

Public comment on consent items 3-46 opens before the consent vote, and any item can be pulled for separate discussion.

Before the Votes

• Act of Heroism Award to Jameson Mallon-Echols.
• Sustainability Award to Goodwill.
• General public comment (3 minutes per speaker, non-agenda topics).

Consent Calendar

Public Works

What’s on the Tuesday, Sept 29 Rapid City Public Works Agenda

• Item 4, PW091526-10: Founding Equity Land Partners (FELP) is withdrawing its appeal of the denied exception (26EX075) that would have waived improving Moon Meadows Drive.
• Items 5-6: Resolutions 2026-076 and 2026-077 write off credit-balance and uncollectable utility billing accounts.
• Rapid City Is Writing Off $33,840 in Past Due Tzadik Utility Debt Deemed Uncollectable
• Item 7: A temporary construction easement and permanent utility easement from West Golden Investments, LLC, $27,550, for Project 2834.5.
• Items 8-11: Authority to advertise bids for 2027 sanitary sewer televising (est. $475,000), Well 4 improvements (est. $3.5 million), WRF digester exterior coating and insulation (est. $680,000), and Reder Street pavement rehabilitation (est. $350,000).
• Items 12-13: Seeking engineering proposals for the E. Anamosa Street extension (Diamond Ridge Blvd to Turbine Dr) and the North Rapid Reservoir at Elk Vale Dr. Both are charged to TIFD 103.
• Item 14: Asking the Historic Preservation Commission to present on projects and goals at a December meeting.

Legal &Finance Committee

Rapid City Legal & Finance Committee Preview: AI, Bonds, and a $7.2 Million Budget Change

• Item 15: Acknowledging two RSVP+ volunteers for workers’ compensation purposes.
• Item 16: A special Council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 29, at noon for end-of-year business.
• Item 17: Change Order #2, Fuller Construction, Library First Floor Reimagination, +$13,652.60.
• Item 18: FEMA BRIC grant. The agenda lists $2,492,010, but the award paperwork shows a $2,616,610 total with a $373,801.50 city match.
• Items 19-21: Three Gwendolyn Stearns grants: Parks’ Beautification Committee ($5,000), Urban Forestry ($18,000), and RSVP ($10,000).
• Item 22: CivicPlus point-of-sale software, $66,667.50.
• Item 23: Yamaha golf cart lease for Meadowbrook and Executive golf courses, $8,990/month for five years (about $539,400 over the term).
• Items 24-25: The FY27 State Highway Safety Grant ($435,110.62) and the FY26 Byrne JAG award ($122,405), with a joint powers agreement with Pennington County.
• Item 26: August treasury and General Fund update.
• Item 27: Resolution 2026-078 authorizes a tender offer on the Series 2021 taxable sales tax revenue refunding bonds and the issuance of new refunding bonds. In plain terms, the city invites bondholders to sell their bonds back and pays for it with new bonds. Legal & Finance took this up as a separate vote on Sept. 30, but Council has it on the consent calendar.
• Items 28-29: Expenditure and contingency funds for the Youth City Council’s 2027 NLC Congressional City Conference.

CIP Committee

The CIP Committee’s work has rarely shown up on Council’s agenda. This one carries 14 items from two committee meetings (Aug. 21 and Sept. 18). Per the committee’s memos, last year’s Government Facilities plan reached Council on Oct. 6, 2025.

• Items 30-36 and 41-43: August CIP minutes and the 2027-2031 capital plans (Fire & Emergency Services, Parks, Government Vehicles, Information Technology, PW Infrastructure, Equipment, Government Facilities), plus the CIP financial report.
• Equipment (item 41): Departments requested $2,536,000 for 2027 general fund vehicles and equipment. Staff recommends $1,870,000, with $129,291 held in contingency. The memo says specific vehicle descriptions were replaced with general ones to reduce how often requests return to the Committee and Council. Police gets $443,000, and Streets gets $477,000.
• Public Works (items 36 and 42): Two versions of the 2027-2031 plan appear. The July 31 version shows a cumulative budget shortfall of about $8.1 million by 2031. The Aug. 21 version shows about $5.5 million, with annual deficits in 2028-2030. The memo says needs for roadway improvements exceed the budget.
• Financial report (item 35): As of July 31, it lists $38.7 million of the $56.4 million 2026 budget as uncommitted. Its footnote says that column should only equal contingency not earmarked for a project.
• Item 37: Moves $300,000 from the Various City Parking Lot Improvements fund ($703,081 available) to the parking portion of Fire Station #9/City Park (Project 2858, CIP 10002).
• Item 38: Moves $500,000 that the Government Facilities plan had listed for a 2029 Police/PSB Remodel, split evenly between 2026 and 2027, to cover the Sept. 8 bid award for the RCPD North Precinct (Project 2895, CIP 30002). The memo says contingency in both years is sufficient.
• Item 39: Combines $45,274 left on the completed PETT Building Rooftop Units project and $12,223 left on the completed Fencing and Security Cameras project into a new project, PETT Evidence West/North Precinct Access Control ($57,497).
• Item 40: Creates a new 2027 project for the 18.05% local match on the SD DOT Transportation Alternatives Program grant for the Legacy Trail, not to exceed $180,000. Council accepted the grant July 1. The memo says 2027 contingency covers it and that more funding is expected from 2026 sales tax receipts.

Community Planning

Preview: Rapid City Zoning Board/ Planning Commission – Sept. 24, 2026

• Item 44, 26TP028: Final report of the Railyard Relocation and Railway Configuration Study.
• Item 45, 26TP029: The 2027 Unified Planning Work Program final report.
• Item 46, 26RS008: An appeal of a denied historic review application for window replacement at 1805 West Boulevard. The item asks Council to find no feasible and prudent alternative.

Non-Consent Items

• Item 47, 26RZ031 (first reading, Ordinance 6749): Parks and Recreation seeks to rezone land at the eastern terminus of Knollwood Drive from Medium Density Residential to Public.
• Item 48, LF093026-09 (first reading, Ordinance 6750): Supplemental Appropriation No. 4 for 2026, $7,202,497.23.
• Item 49, LF093026-02: Resolution 2026-069, the city’s Artificial Intelligence policy. Legal & Finance recommended approval 3-1, with Council President Tamang voting no.
• Item 50, 26PL080: Preliminary subdivision plan for Northline Business Park, Lots 1-34, north of E. Mall Drive and east of Haines Avenue. Staff recommends approval with stipulations. Elevate’s own flyer describes seven commercial/retail lots along Mall Drive, 23 business park lots, and three office commercial lots.
• Item 51: A special event license for Firehouse Brewing at O’Hare Stadium, Oct. 17.

Public Hearings

• Consent (Items 52-55): Alcohol licenses: a new wine and cider and malt beverage license for Sodexo at SDSM&T’s King Center, plus special events for Quintessence Salon & Spa (Nov. 6), Western Dakota Tech Foundation (Oct. 22), and Youth and Family Services (Oct. 23-24).
• Item 56, 25VR005: Resolution 2026-011 vacates right-of-way at 101 E. Madison and 110 E. Watertown. Staff recommends approval.
• Item 57, 26RZ030 (second reading, Ordinance 6745): Black Hills Area Community Foundation requests rezoning from Light Industrial to Office Commercial, north and south of E. Anamosa Street, for multifamily housing. The parcel sits in TID #91, the Camden Heights Affordable Housing & Infrastructure district approved in 2024. Staff recommends approval.
• Item 58, 26PD016: An appeal of the Planning Commission’s Sept. 10 decision on a triplex at 401 Hanover Drive.
  • The request: Steven Anderson, for Kaelem Brooks, wants to change the lot’s Planned Development designation from single-family or duplex to triplex. The owner of record is the Wade Reynolds Trust. The 2020 approval set the lot at one or two units.
  • The plan: Two stories, three units of two bedrooms and two baths each, about 26 feet 10 inches tall. The lot is 76 feet wide against a 100-foot minimum for multifamily, so the plan needs an exception. The applicant says a deep foundation, quoted at more than $80,000, makes a duplex uneconomical.
  • Staff’s position: Staff recommended approval with stipulations. The report found no unique size, shape, or topography conditions, and no hardship from applying the regulations. It supported the exception because the lot meets the other area rules. Stipulations include six standard parking spaces (the submitted plan showed five, including an ADA space), a driveway no wider than 24 feet, an engineered foundation, and a fire sprinkler system.
  • The Planning Commission: It approved the request 5-3, with Roseland, Stuck, and Vidal opposed. Draft minutes record neighbors speaking on parking, traffic, notice time, and fit with the street.
  • The appeal: Filed Sept. 11 by nearby residents. It argues the decision overlooked how neighbors feel and notes the area already has fourplexes and duplexes but no triplexes. It cites street parking on a narrow road and emergency access.
  • Hanover Drive Triplex Approved on 5-3 Vote after Contentious Planning Commission Hearing

Executive Session: Council will consult counsel on proposed or pending litigation under SDCL 1-25-2(3). The agenda names no case.

Bills

• Item 59, CC100526-01.1: $190,834.38, which matches a single Visit Rapid City line on the vendor list.
• Item 60, CC100526-01.2: $12,742,949.36. Of the combined $12,933,783.74, payroll and payroll taxes account for about $4.3 million, and the computer bill list by vendor totals $7,722,523.23. Three vendors make up about 70% of that vendor total: PKG Contracting ($3,365,078.89), US Bank Trust-SPA Lockbox ($1,087,020.39), and Mainline Contracting ($930,214.48). Others include RCS Construction ($198,464.81), Sports Facilities Management ($18,000), and TSP ($10,941.12). Elevate Rapid City appears for $15.00. The list was run Oct. 1, so most payment dates fall before Council’s vote.

What We Don’t Know Yet

• What does the additional $500,000 for the North Precinct cover, given the $1,294,000 contract awarded Sept. 8 and the 2029 PSB Remodel still on the five-year plan?
• What changed between the two Public Works plan versions, and how will the 2028-2030 shortfalls be closed?
• Is there a soils report behind the triplex’s $80,000 foundation claim, and does the site plan fit six standard spaces?
• What did the largest bill-list payments (PKG Contracting, US Bank Trust, Mainline, RCS Construction) cover?
• Does the Railyard Relocation Study’s final report address the Ellsworth AFB and AICUZ questions raised about the draft?
• What is the litigation behind the executive session?

Sourcing

City of Rapid City, Oct. 5, 2026 Council agenda and the October 5 bill list (rcgov.org), accessed Oct. 4; CIP Committee memos dated Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, 2026; CIP Financial Report and capital plans as of July 31, 2026; Planning Commission draft minutes (Sept. 10, 2026), project report, appeal, and attachments for case 26PD016; BRIC award figures and the Sept. 30 committee vote from the Sentinel’s Legal & Finance guide.

---