The Dell Rapids City Council made a recommendation for potential property-owner assessments for the 10th Street Improvement project.  The project will improve the street between Orchard Hills and Iowa Ave as well as utilities, drainage, sidewalk, driveway approaches, and retaining walls.  The project is estimated to cost around $1.05 million.

The city received a grant from the Department of Transportation in the amount of $400,000 for the project.  The Dell Rapids City Council discussed different options for assessments to fund the cost of the project during it’s regular meeting on Monday, December 21st.

Dell Rapids resident Terrance Nemec was in attendance at the meeting and spoke against the assessment.  He said, “The presence of that section of 10^th street does virtually nothing for those property owners.  They get virtually nothing out of having that street there.  If anything if I was one of those property owners, I wouldn’t want it to go through because it’s going to be such a busy street.  They don’t gain enough value in this process to warrant any assessment to them.  If there is any benefit to that street, it’s to the City of Dell Rapids, the citizens of Dell Rapids, not to those property owners.  So we as citizens of Dell Rapids have a responsibility to pay for that street.  Let’s not expect them to pay our bill.  I encourage the council to not place any assessment on these property owners.”

City Councilman Mark Crisp noted, “The land to the south side of 10^th street…is prime development land, and also to the east of Orchard Hills, there’s more developable land.  So you think the taxpayers should pay for that, and not the developers?  Then I would say turn the clock back to 15^th street.  There was some haggling and negotiating back and forth, and we came to a compromise.  Did I want that street?  No.  Did I want the assessment?  No.  But I was a developer along that, and for the future for the City of Dell Rapids, we came to an agreement and the street was put in.  It is no different than this situation right here.  Do I think the full assessment should probably be put on the owners?   No, but I think the fairest to the taxpayers would be the second option.”

The second option discussed by the council is to apply the $400,000 DOT grant to the cost of the project, which will cover 38% of the total cost.  The remaining amount of the project would then be assessed to the property owners along the street.

The roll-call vote passed unanimously for this option as the recommendation from the council to move forward on the assessment of the project.