Mayor Mark Chada called the meeting to order with Sean Gromer, Angie Larson, and Angie Meier in attendance. 

A motion was made by Gromer, seconded by Larson, carried, to approve the December 18th, 2022, minutes as read.

A motion was made by Larson, seconded by Gromer, carried, to approve the financials as presented.

Old Business:

Discussion was held on the letter received from Davison Rural Water in regards to a water increase.  

The Board will be looking into this to see if they will need to make an increase on water bills. This will be decided at the next board meeting on January 9th, 2023.

Discussion was held on the water sample report. 

New Business:

Discussion was held on the letter received from Davison Rural Water in regards to a water increase. After going over numbers, as of now, the Board will not be raising the water fees. If they receive an increase from Davison Rural Water next year, at that time, water fees will have to have an increase.

Dawson Construction was contacted, and the next time they plan to come this way, they will be winging back on some of the streets.  

Chada was talked to about seeing if the Board could apply for a grant for an Electric Car Charging Station. Discussion was held on where it would be placed, looking into the cost of one and if there is a grant out there. Meier will be doing some checking into this, and it will be discussed at a meeting at a later time. 

The Board Went over dates for meetings for 2023: January 29th,  February 5th and 19th, March 5th and 20th (Equalization Meeting), April 3rd and 17th, May 1st and 15th, June 5th and 19th, July 10th and 24th, August 7th and 21st, September 5th and 18th, October 2nd and 16th, November 6th and 20th, December 4th and 18th. Discussion was held on moving the meetings in January, February, and March to Sunday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. due to snow days with school and moving basketball games to other days to make up games. A motion was made by Gromer, seconded by Larson, carried, to approve to move the meetings in January, February, and March to Sunday afternoons at 4:00 p.m.

Discussion was held on Election information for the newspaper and circulating petitions. The election date is April 11th, 2023. Interested individuals may pick up petitions January 27th, 2023. Petitions are due back to the Town of Letcher Finance Office on February 24th, 2023, by 5:00 p.m. Angie Larson’s term is up for re-election. It is a three-year term.

A motion was made by Larson, seconded by Gromer, carried, to approve wages for 2023 as listed:

Mayor – $120.00 per meeting;

Trustee – $100.00 per meeting;

Finance Officer – $18.50 per hour;

Water Superintendent/Tester – $600.00 per month salary;

Custodian – $18.50 per hour;

Meter Reader – $90.00 per month;

Lost Time – $30.00 per hour;

Mileage Reimbursement – $0.51;

Grounds/Summer Help – $12-$15.00 per hour DOE;

Annual Report – $700.00;

Maintenance – $600.00 monthly salary;

West Nile – $100.00 a time.

A motion was made by Larson, seconded by Gromer, carried, to approve the Official Newspaper and Lawyer for the Town of Letcher for 2023 as listed:

Official Newspaper – Sanborn Weekly Journal;

Lawyer for 2023 – Tim Bottum with Morgan Theeler LLP.

A current listing of the Letcher Volunteer Fire Department personnel has been received. The current listing is: Curtis Adams, Sean Gromer, Tara Morris, Chuck Amick, Cassidy Hinker, Aaron Roth, Clay Amick, Cote Hinker, Kenny Stach, Darin Amick, Ed Hoffman, Bob Steckel, Dave Brooks, Mark Jensen, Brett Stekl, Mason Bruns, Shana Jensen, Lacey Swenson, Rod Clarambeau, Sam Kretschmar, Cindy VanLaecken, Andy Ettswold, Matt Meier, Murray VanLaecken, Melanie Ettswold, Rich Moe, Jeremy White, Denny Fouberg, Shawn Moody, Mike Salathe, Carter Star and Kurt Stekl.

A motion was made by Gromer, seconded by Larson, carried, to approve the following claims for payment: 

GENERAL AND WATER/SEWER:  Brooks Oil – $255.24 – Fuel for snow plow, Dawson Construction – $519.75 – Blading Streets, Miedema Sanitation – $20.00 – Garbage Removal, NorthWestern Energy – $1,080.77 – Utilities Electric: Water Valve – $10.62, Rossy Park – $24.86, Community Center/Fire Hall – $232.66, Lagoon – $15.00, Street Lights – $561.39, Water Plant – $179.96, Lift station – $56.28, Planning & Development District III – $432.00 – Membership Dues, Public Health Lab – $30.00 – Water Sample, Quill – $134.36 – Office Supplies, Sanborn Weekly Journal – $123.96 – Advertising Minutes, Santel Communications – $236.27 – Utilities:  Community Center – Internet – $55.00, Community Center – Phone – $25.17, Office – Internet – $80.50, Office – Phone – $30.05, Lift Station – Phone – $45.55, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources – $150.00 – Permit Dues, Angie Meier – $843.18 – Finance Officer Wages, Angela Larson – $547.10 – Trustee Wages – six meetings, Ed Hoffman – $600.00 – Water Superintendent Wages, Mark Chada – $629.92 – Mayor Wages – six meetings, Michael Hoffman – $83.11 – Meter Reader Wages, Sean Gromer – $1,143.10 – Wages – Maintenance Worker, Trustee Wages – six meetings, and reimbursement of supplies of $34.90. 

The next board meeting will be held on January 29th, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. at the Town Office. 

Angie Meier

Finance Officer 

Published once on February 2, 2023, at the total approximate cost of $57.00 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com.

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