After years of planning, a new fire station in Flandreau is one step closer to becoming a reality. This past Monday night, the Flandreau City Council approved the authorization of January 4th, 2023 to begin accepting bids on the project. February 2nd, 2023 at 2:00 pm was chosen for the Fire Station Bid Opening.
The project currently sits at an estimated $3.9 million, the architect’s best guess at what the project cost might be. Turnquist said that the estimate also includes funds that the City has already expended, so the remaining project cost is fairly lower than the full 3.9-million-dollar estimate. “We are optimistic that bids will come in closer to the original estimated amount,” he added.
Construction would begin in March or April, the hope is it would be completed within 18-24 months of the ground breaking.

During the regularly scheduled meeting of the Flandreau City Council on Monday, December 5th, City Council members also heard:
- City Administrator Cohl Turnquist report that he and Finance Officer Lori Kneebone have been working with FEMA for months to recover funds from the May 12th wind storm. It was finally determined that the City will be receiving $44,000 from three separate projects for reimbursement costs for damages incurred by the storm.
- A representative from Valley Fiber Com will be at the December 19th Council meeting to present information about the company’s possible expansion within the City.
- Administrator Turnquist said that he has been in contact with the city’s Code Enforcement Officer and further information will be shared with Council at a future meeting about Code Compliant updates.
- IMEG Engineer, Shane Waterman updated the Council on the proposed water/wastewater project. The project would further bring aging infrastructure throughout the city up to date with the work being done primarily in the south and southeastern areas of the city. IMEG’s Proposal for Engineering Services for Design fees was approved, which are included in the price of the project — $330,000 for the Wastewater Collection System Improvements and $334,000 for the Water System Improvements fee. The total project cost of the proposed water/sewer project is 8.8 million dollars. $4,440,000 on the water side and $4,380,000 on the sewer side. Turnquist said that it is important to note that the City will be receiving an approximate 32% grant from the DANR to assist with the project.