Three new council members take seats

There was a full house at the Hill City Common Council meeting July 8 as community members gathered at city hall to say farewell to those stepping down and welcome to those taking their seats at the table for the first time. 

“It’s been a real honor for me to serve as your mayor for this short time,” said mayor Mike Verchio. He offered additional thanks to the council members, city staff and the public works department for working together as a team. 

“I also want to thank our new mayor and new council members for stepping up to do a very tough and sometimes stressful position. Trust in yourself and your judgment above all. There will always be those very few who will try to intimidate you, bully you and practice gotcha politics. Ignore them. If you wrestle with pigs, you only get muddy,” said Verchio. 

Victor Alexander added his own thanks to the departing council members and best wishes to the oncoming council members. 

“You guys are up there. You’re doing what needs to be done. One of my favorite deals is Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘The Man in the Arena,’” said Alexander. “It can’t be always perfect when you’re dealing with the dynamics of a small government, but you guys are in the arena, and I appreciate you being there.” 

City administrator Brett McMacken presented alderman Jason Gillaspie, alderman Dale Householder and Verchio with plaques in recognition of their service. 

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for the city,” said McMacken. 

As a gag gift, these three also received a Grogu plushie from “The Mandalorian” holding a giant fork. On the forks, it read, “I’m done.” McMacken said the tagline for this gift was either, “Put a fork in me, I’m done,” or “May the fork be with you.” 

Followed by laughter and applause, Householder, Gillaspie and Verchio gathered their things and left city hall. 

Tana Nichols was then called to the head of the table to be sworn in as Hill City’s new mayor. 

Nichols offered her thanks to the outgoing council members as well, and said, “Hill City’s been lucky to have them.” 

“I’d like to thank the voters for their faith in me, and I promise to do everything in my power to do right by the City of Hill City,” she said. “My goal is to open the lines of communication and bring unity and trust to local government. With each public or personal meeting, I’ll make it my mission to make sure that everyone feels like their comments and their concerns are actually heard. I hear that a lot on the streets. That includes the citizens of Hill City, the city employees and each council member sitting here at the table. I’d like to see them really come together as a team.

“So please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend meetings to keep up with the inevitable changes of our growing community, and let them know that they will be heard. Let’s work together to build up our community without losing its small-town charm,” said Nichols.

Nichols then swore in Ethan Walker as a Ward I alderman for a one-year term, Justin Thiry as a Ward I alderman for a two-year term and Dennis Siebert as a Ward II alderman for a two-year term. 

Next came the election of council president and vice president. Nichols said the decision was completely up to the council, but she suggested nominating alderwoman Lori Miner as president and Walker as vice president out of seniority. 

The council took this recommendation to heart. Thiry made a motion to nominate Miner as the council president, and Miner nominated Walker for council vice president. The council unanimously voted in favor of both nominations. 

Appointments for the city attorney, city engineer and city administrator were next on the agenda. Since Nichols had never met the attorney or engineer, she requested that the council table the appointments for up to 90 days so she could do her due diligence. 

Siebert said this made a lot of sense and motioned to table appointments as requested. The council unanimously approved this. 

Finance officer Stacia Tallon requested approval of changes to the signatory cards for First Interstate Bank and Black Hills Community Bank. 

Currently, Householder and Gillaspie are signators on the bank accounts, and Tallon would like to add the new council members as signators instead. This would give council members the ability to sign checks and access the accounts if Tallon was unavailable. 

The council unanimously approved the changes to both signatory cards. 

Before the former council left, they reviewed the approval of the Sunset Creek Phase II Sewer line repairs. This was tabled at the June 24 meeting while the council waited for the results of the final mandrel test.

“As part of the mediated settlement, there was a provision between Highmark, Black Hills Traditions and the city where the city would inspect the replacement of sewer mains and manholes up on that Phase II part,” said McMacken. 

Work commenced in the fall of 2023, paused over the winter and restarted once the ground thawed. McMacken served as the city inspector for these sewer lines, and the final mandrel test, which needed to be conducted at least a month after the pipe was laid, took place July 8. 

“I went over there and observed it, and the mandrel went through just fine. So the inspections from the city standpoint are complete. I’m happy to report I don’t have any concerns with the construction of the sewer lines,” said McMacken. 

The council was not yet voting to accept the upper Phase II sewer lines, but rather to approve that the work was completed satisfactorily. 

Jim Peterson with Black Hills Traditions said in the settlement agreement there is a provision for a three-year window in which a house can be built on Phase II and hooked up to the sewer line. At this point, the city would accept the sewer line. If Black Hills Traditions goes beyond the three-year mark, Peterson said he would have to scope the sewer line. Hence, Peterson asked to establish the start date of the three-year window as July 8.

Peterson also asked that the council accept the smaller section of sewer line connected to three homes where effluent is already flowing. Householder said this was part of his motion at the June 24 meeting, and Verchio said it was documented in the minutes. However, Peterson asked for formal documentation of the acceptance of that line, and McMacken said he would look into it. 

With that, Miner, Householder, Gillaspie and Walker unanimously approved the Sunset Creek Phase II sewer line repairs. 

The next meeting of the Hill City Common Council is Monday, July 22, at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.