Mayor Dan Sutton stated that it’s been a long time coming but the groundbreaking for the new Flandreau Fire Station is scheduled for this Thursday, June 29th at 10 a.m.
“We had our preconstruction meeting, you probably all got an invite today for the groundbreaking ceremony. Long overdue but we’re there,” Sutton told City Council members this past week. “It’s been sometimes a very frustrating process, but the end result I believe will be worth it for the community to have a state of the art fire station built and constructed here that will serve our community and meet the needs of our fire department for years to come. It’s an exciting day.”
Construction and dirt work will hopefully start after the 4th of July. The completion date is scheduled for October of 2024.
Also heard at the most recent meeting of the Flandreau City Council:
An update on the Crescent Street Bridge project, which the Flandreau Santee Sioux now are in charge of. Mayor Sutton said that he spoke with Brenda Red Wing, an engineer with the BIA, on the status of the project. Red Wing informed Sutton they are awaiting federal grant funds, but is hoping to hear soon if funds will be awarded to rebuild the bridge.

The Airport Board will be meeting soon to review appraisers for the airport expansion project.
The Housing Authority Board will also be meeting to discuss possible housing expansion in town.
Turnquist spoke with Aquatic Center Manager Lori Williams about the difficulties of staffing the pool on the weekends. Turnquist mentioned to Council the possibility of providing incentives to pool employees who work the weekends.
A sales tax update was given to the Council and Turnquist stated the numbers are down slightly from 2022, but stated the City is still in line with what was budgeted for sales tax revenue for 2023.  
The Second Reading of Ordinance No. 613-IPMC Book Adoption was held. Administrator Turnquist recommended that the Council adopt these codes as they are widely used throughout the state. Alderman Bjerke spoke in favor of adopting the Ordinance, but would like to change the wording of Section 303.2, which deals with underground and above ground pools. The Council decided to adopt the IPMC Codes, but to revisit them in the future to rewrite Section 303.2.
A Second Reading of Ordinance No. 614-Amending Parking Regulations was also held. This ordinance states that the same regulations used for vehicle parking on front yards will now be in effect for rear yards also. Vehicles must be parked on a hard surface, which would include gravel, asphalt or concrete. The motion passed.
In a move to reorganize the City Electric Department, administration has created the Journey Electrician position and corresponding wage scale. The City Journey Electrician will serve under the Electric Superintendent and must obtain both their Journey Electrician and Journey Lineman Certifications. The wage scale associated with the position contains five steps ranging from $31.95/hourly to $35.96/hourly.
A motion to approve a bid from Pulscher Brothers Construction to replace the City Park Picnic Shelter roof was also approved.