BROOKINGS This past summer was, indeed, a nightmare when it came to mosquitoes a fact further borne out Tuesday night when $24,000 in contingency funding for mosquito control was OKd by the Brookings City Council on a 7-0 vote.
Essentially, the citys Street Division burned through its entire 2025 budget battling the bloodsuckers and needed a little extra financial help.
We spent about $141,000 on mosquitos this year just in supplies, Public Works Director John Thompson said. That does not include equipment or labor.
Another complicating factor was the loss of state grant funding. Thompson said the city received around $9,000 on average in previous years, but that went away this year, and he doesnt think itll ever come back.
We were probably one of the lucky ones in the state of South Dakota because we didnt really receive that much money, Thompson said. Other jurisdictions received quite a bit more money, and they lost, basically, everything they budgeted for mosquito control.
Councilor Brianna Doran asked about how the city benefited from the state grant money.
That grant was used for supplies, but it really had no strings attached, Thompson explained. We could use it for labor, equipment purchases, anything so it was kind of nice in that way.
Doran then inquired about the severity of the mosquito season. Thompson said the amount of rainfall, combined with the moisture already in the ground, made for ideal conditions this past summer for the bloody pests.
This year was (the) perfect climate for mosquitoes, Thompson noted.
Downtown at Sundown
This late-summer tradition continues to do well, according to a report from Ainsley Bennett, who is the event coordinator for the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce.
Councilors learned several tidbits from the music festival, which celebrated a decade of existence this year, including:
- Its revenue came in at $87,957.55, with expenses of $73,370.20. This translates into a profit of $14,587.35.
- There was a total of 41 vendors 27 returning vendors, with 14 new vendors. They provided a mix of services, ranging from food to retail to multicultural and more.
- Attendance this year varied from week to week the concert series started July 24 and continued through Aug. 21 with the biggest crowd of 4,219 on July 24. The next most popular date was July 31, when 4,154 people showed up for Bobcat Night.
- Overall, 17,898 people took part in Downtown at Sundown this year, an increase from 15,603 last year. The most popular year was 2023, when 20,123 people took part in the festival.
The city does its part to help the music festival as well, providing $20,000 for it this past summer.
Other business
- Councilors heard the first reading of the citys 2026 budget ordinance, which totals $72,527,765. Thats a decrease of $642,014 from this years budget. The second reading and action is set for Nov. 18.
- Approved updates to union agreements with Teamster Local Union No. 120 on a pair of 7-0 votes that affect law enforcement and general city workers.
- Approved a resolution on a 7-0 vote authorizing a special assessment for lawn care. It affects three private properties in Brookings where the city carried out work this past summer, and totals $3,213.40. The citys work brought the properties into compliance with city code.
The City Council will next meet on Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Brookings City & County Government Center, 520 Third St.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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