City Council election to be held April 8

The City of Tea will hold an election on April 8  at City Hall, located at 600 E. 1st Street. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Three individuals will be vying for one Ward 1 three-year seat. Those candidates include incumbent Joe Weis and challengers Michael LeVan and Josh Chapman.  

The following are running unopposed:

Aaron Otten, Council member Ward 2 three-year term

Ruby Zuraff, Council member Ward 3 three-year term

 A Ward Map is pictured at left. 

If the polls cannot be opened because of bad weather, the election may be postponed one week.

Any voter who needs assistance, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may contact the municipal finance officer at 605-498-5193 before the election for information on polling place accessibility for people with disabilities. 

A sample ballot can be found on page 6.

Tea Weekly sent questionnaires to each of the candidates, what follows at right are their responses: 

Joe Weis Ward 1 - Incumbent

Joe Weis

Ward 1, Incumbent

Q: What motivated you to run for a seat on City Council?

A: I was asked to run for Council by my predecessor Jo Niles. She had been on for many years and wanted to quit. I thought it was my civic duty to do my part. I have found it to be a great experience.

Q: Can you tell us about your background and how your experiences prepare you to serve the city?

A: I have been on the Council for many years and know the challenges we face and our limitations. I also am the only representative of the retired, living on a fixed income demographic.

Q: How long have you lived in Tea, and what do you appreciate most about our community?

A: I have lived in Tea for over 30 years though I was coming to Tea since I can remember visiting my Grandparents. Tea has always felt like home.

Q: What do you consider to be the most pressing issues facing Tea today? 

A: Our biggest challenge is growth management, we need to maintain what we have and build for our future with the resources we have.

Q: What are your top three priorities for the city if you are elected to the City Council? 

A: My biggest priority is to continue to provide as many services as possible without raising taxes.

Q: In what way are you currently active in the community?

A: I am currently a member of the Tea Area Historical Society and a Board member of the Tea Veterans Memorial committee.

Q: Who does your family include? 

A:It is just me as far as family living in Tea, except for a cousin that lives down the street. The rest are in Sioux Falls.

Michael LeVan 

Ward 1, Challenger

I want you to stand at 1st & Main and convince me that we’re not just really poor. For that matter, I challenge you to stand anywhere in Tea and tell me that we’re not just really poor. The center of our city, around 1st and Main, should be the most valuable part of town. Recently, the city put out a survey for their comprehensive plan asking people what they think of downtown Tea. 

The results were dismal - with Dead, Decrepit, and Dilapidated being the top three answers. Obviously, I’m not the only one wondering how a city that experienced 400% growth in the last 20 years still looks like an outhouse. 

As I talk to people around town I hear three common themes:

“Why are taxes so high?” 

“Why are the cars going so fast?” and 

“What is up with all these apartments?” 

The short answer to all of these questions is this: for some reason we force our city to take on a form that loses money. The taxes are high because we build more things that cost money than make money. The cars are going too fast because we prioritize getting through a place rather than to it. And the apartments are nonsense because we have draconian, segregationist zoning practices that try to keep “those people”, “over there” instead of focusing on building cohesive, functional neighborhoods. The number of times I have heard someone talk to me about “apartment people” is appalling. These people are our brothers and sisters, our cousins, our parents, and our grandchildren. They are coworkers and friends. We ought not give them second class citizenship in our minds or in our building practices. As long as I have anything to say about it, we will only have “people” – with an understanding that everyone is pursuing happiness.

To make matters worse we are subsidizing our own demise. There is something called a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district that is being used to fuel the “growth” by the interstate. The land between Sundowner Avenue and Interstate 29 is in the Harrisburg School District. Because the City of Tea has made this area into a TIF district the taxable valuation (and subsequently the property taxes) for everything built there is taken away from the school district and the county and given to the City of Tea for improvements to be made in the TIF district itself. Yes, you read correctly, the taxes that are paid are taken away from the school and Lincoln County and given to the City.  Since it’s the Harrisburg School District, who cares?  It’s like a free money glitch.

This is extremely short sighted for a number of reasons. First, it is causing us to construct a nonsense place that is not a part of our city or community and causes any investments that someone would want to make in the middle of town to be less valuable.  Secondly, we’re building all of the businesses that rightfully should be in Tea in the Harrisburg School District. When the 20 year TIF district incentive expires, we’re going to be left holding the bag while Harrisburg School District collects all of the taxes on the last 20 years of growth in Tea. The Tea School District simply won’t ever have those businesses as part of their tax base, and 1st & Main will still be extremely poor.

Thirdly, since the money is required by law to be used in the TIF district we have perverse incentives to build inside the TIF district itself. The most recent example of this is the proposal for a Recreation Center. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a rec center but the way we’re going about this is not even close to the way we should be. Lastly, when you see all the growth happening out by the interstate, you should know that it is not the result of a market preference. You are not looking at the free market being free; you’re looking at a very centrally planned, tax-subsidized area.  We are subsidising our own demise.

At the North end of the TIF district lies 85th St. I was at a city council meeting recently and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The entire conversation about the 85th Street project was how to spread the cost of the project across multiple years and they were literally changing the phases of the project to allow for the budgetary restraints. This one road project is the city’s entire discretionary budget, for 2 years. It doesn’t matter what my dreams are; it doesn’t matter what your dreams are.  It doesn’t matter what anyone wants. Our hopes and dreams for the next 2 years are being squandered on the completion of 85th street.  And the pattern continues. In two years we will have more hopes and dreams but instead there will be the next road to nowhere, or the next project that loses money. 

All I really want is to put my money where my mouth is. But for many reasons I can’t. I want to build more housing by building on the land that I own, in my backyard. I want people that I like to be able to live near me. But this is completely illegal because of those draconian zoning practices I referenced earlier. I would like to invest my own money around 1st & Main but it is extremely risky because of the systematic neglect of the place. There are a few brave souls who have built in downtown Tea. I want to give you my most esteemed applause. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. 

I paint a bleak picture here but the reality is if we don’t start rethinking the way we’re shaping our city, 20 years from now we’re going to be handing our posterity nothing more than a place of decline, liabilities, and debt. I don’t know about you, but I have more respect for my sons than that. Henry and Lewis may be little now, but 20 years will go by before we know it and all of this will be on their shoulders. Not only are these problems important, they are also urgent.

Josh Chapman

Ward 1, Challenger

Q: What motivated you to run for a seat on City Council?

A: Now that my kids are getting older, I feel like an effective use of gaining some additional free time is to help serve our local community. It’s normally a positive move to get fresh blood and mindsets in elected positions. I enjoy working with people and feel I can really do a great job with my contributions I could add as a city council member.

Q: Can you tell us about your background and how your experiences prepare you to serve the city?

A: My background in owning and operating J&R Mechanical for the last 17 years will definitely be a positive addition for the community. Being a service company, every day I am involved in problem solving and working with customers from Tea and the surrounding areas. 

Q: How long have you lived in Tea, and what do you appreciate most about our community?

A: I moved to Tea in 2001 and have never wanted to live anywhere else. My favorite part of Tea is the people. I have always been involved in everything I can for the kids of Tea.  I set up free lunches when Covid hit, I have paid off the school lunch accounts multiple times, I have coached in multiple sports, and I always try to help with any kids that need it for any serious medical issues.

Q: What do you consider to be the most pressing issues facing Tea today? 

A: The biggest pressing issue the city is facing is growth.  Our little city is now becoming a destination to raise a family. We need to have good people helping make the right decisions for the future of Tea.

Q: What are your top three priorities for the city if you are elected to the City Council? 

A: One priority I believe is sometimes I feel the city gets taken advantage of on construction projects. Another priority issue is that we do not have a safe crosswalk for the kids to get across First Street.  I would hate that we had to put some lights up after a tragedy has already occurred when it’s something we can currently fix now. Another priority on my mind is to make sure the fire department has the proper funding and equipment they need. I don’t know everything the councilman or the mayor is dealing with week in and week out but having an open mind and doing what I do for a living, I feel I will be an asset to help the city grow in the right direction.

Q: In what way are you currently active in the community?

A: I am active not only by attending multiple local and school events, but also always trying to pay it forward. I have a great relationship with the Tea school district and always try to help with anything they need. Also, I donate to wrestling, baseball, football, scoreboards, and Tea Weekly to honor any sports. I also have The Ethan David Chapman Scholarship that I only award to a Tea High school graduate every year. Beyond financial gifts, I enjoy driving around in my loud Chevy snowplow truck and helping any elderly person I see or know that can use help during the winter season.

Q: Who does your family include? 

A: My household includes Courtney, Gavin, Ava, Grace, Trigg and Dravlin. My animals are Stella, Shelby, Bodhi, and Eleven.