Council expects to wrap up ‘13 budget

• City also to accept transfer of Gateway property from bank at Tuesday meeting

BROOKINGS – Money will once again be the primary topic Tuesday when city councilors gather for their regular semi-monthly meeting.

Approval of the proposed 2013 budget will be the first item the board will consider when it begins its 4 p.m. work session.

There are a number of changes the councilors will review in the draft budget, but as the matter stands, the general fund remains balanced with about $14.99 million in both expenses and revenues.

The first and second readings of the budget adoption ordinance will be held during the Sept. 1 and Sept. 25 meetings.

Another highlight of Tuesday’s meeting will take place when councilors accept a major gift: the transfer of the park-like area on Sixth Street, across from McCrory Gardens, to city ownership.

Most recently dubbed the “Gateway Property,” the green space has long been owned by First Bank & Trust of Brookings. With the initiation of the Gateway Project – the creation of welcoming spaces and signage for community visitors – the bank is giving the property to the city.

As a condition of the transfer, however, the bank is entering into a conservation easement with the Northern Prairies Land Trust, which will mean restrictions on any changes to the property.

If the transfer is completed, contractors will begin construction of the Welcome to Brookings monument sign at the corner of Sixth Street and 22nd Avenues. The work will also involve pedestrian pathways, lighting and landscaping improvements.

A third major item scheduled for action Tuesday is the council’s approval of a $10 million financing plan for Brookings Health System’s skilled nursing facility.

The $15 million construction project will be financed in part through certificates of participation, under which the issuer, First Bank & Trust, becomes the lessor (or landlord) for the nursing home property. The bank will receive lease payments over a 15- to 30-year period, after which the property reverts to health system ownership.

Details of the agreement have been worked out by the health system and the bank, and council will now have to sign off on the agreement.

Following that action, health system executives will deliver a quarterly financial report and an update on the nursing home construction.

Finally, the council will award the contract on a small drainage project to V.J. Ahlers Excavating of Brookings. The $51,000 project will involve storm sewer pipe installation on Copper Mountain Circle and on 15th Street South between Moriarty Drive and Doral Drive.

The budget work session begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the regular meeting at 6. Sessions are held in council chambers, Room 310, in the Brookings City & County Government Center at 520 Third St.

Both sessions are open to the public.



Contact Ken Curley at kcurley@brookingsregister.com.