Pulscher addition platted, ready for twin homes

The Flandreau City Council has approved the plat for the Pulscher Farms Addition, a new twin home development that is under construction north of Edgewood Vista.
Pulscher Brothers Construction has started work on the first twin home with plans to add up to an additional 19 or a total of 10 sets of two homes each, as interest dictates. The first homes are being built off of Lafayette Avenue.
The city’s planning commission first recommended approval of the project. The council’s motion on Nov. 4 stipulated that water and sewer lines that will go under a private drive in the development are owned and maintained by the property owner, not the city.
Alderman Don Whitman made the motion to approve the plat, which was seconded by Tufty. Alderman Brad Bjerke also voted in favor of the plat. Alderman Bob Pesall abstained from the vote because of a conflict of interest. Council members Dan Sutton and Jason Unger were absent.
The development fills in an area of the community that already has services, said Jeff Pederson, city administrator. It also is being done by a local contractor.
“This is a very good thing for the community,” he said.
The planning commission’s only concern was the drainage way in the area, Pederson said.
“There’s not a lot of flow that goes through there. There really wasn’t much at high tide this year,” he said. The drainage area does have to be maintained and periodically cleaned out, he said. “There’s not concern on the city’s part on the capacity of that ditch.”

In other business,
•Residents who install a backwater valve to prevent sewage from entering their basements will be reimbursed up to $800 by the city.
In September, large rains soaked the town and several homeowners on Bridge Avenue reported sewage in their basements. So far, the city’s insurance company has said the city was not negligent, and insurance won’t pay for claims.
Homeowners had complained at previous meetings that they were living in limbo because they didn’t know whether to repair their basements in case a sewage backup happens again in the spring.
The backwater valve, which can be installed inside of a home or outside, would prevent any backups in the future, Pederson said.

“They have to be maintained. That is a tradeoff for having the protection,” he said.
•Pederson reported on a recent meeting with two consultants to find out if there were some suggestions for the golf course, which had half the members this year because it was flooded and had limited play. The city is first going to ask the Corps of Engineers what is possible in terms of building berms or increasing the elevation of some of the playing areas.
While that could increase the amount of time that golfers could play the course, the community will have to look at the big picture of the golf course’s future, too, he said.

“Hoping for the best is not a viable strategy,” he said.
The course becomes a money issue, said Mayor Mark Bonrud. “If a golf course is built around the Big Sioux River, and we keep having these issues, you can’t just keep throwing money at it,” he said.

•Council members listened to a presentation on smart meters and what it would cost the city to use them. The Advanced Metering Infrastructure would allow the city to take readings right in the office or disconnect a resident that hasn’t paid without going to the home.
The city had budgeted for installation of the meters over the next two years.