City recognizes Calvin Schriever with mayoral proclamation

The Tea City Council met Oct. 5 and honored Tea resident Calvin Schriever.

In honor of Schriever, Mayor Casey Voelker proclaimed Oct. 8 as Calvin Schriever Day, his 102nd birthday. The proclamation includes information about his family’s roots in the community, how the community has changed during his lifetime and his involvement in the community.

The council discussed two variances and a conditional use permit. Community development director Albert Schmidt said Lewis & Clark Regional Water System at 1800 E. Monty St. applied for a variance regarding a fence placement. The request is to reduce the front yard setback from 25 feet to 19 feet to replace a fence along their parking lot that was damaged during a storm. Schmidt recommended approval as long as the fence is removed when the area is urbanized. After no pubic comment, the council approved the variance.

They also discussed a variance at 2030 E. Industrial St. for dumpster screening. The council approved the front yard setback from 25 feet to 19 feet. After no public comment, the council approved the variance.

Schmidt presented a conditional use permit for contractor shops at 2901 N. Enterprise Ave. on 6.09 acres in Bakker Landing Addition. The current building plans show about six contractor shop units. He recommended approval with some conditions like trees required at a ratio of one per 50 feet of frontage along all street frontage and a separate paved pedestrian pathway from the sidewalk to the main entrances. In his motion to approve the CUP, councilman Aaron Otten added having a paved asphalt area and fencing with some type of screening. The council approved the CUP with the conditions put forth by Schmidt and Otten.

The council held a public hearing for a liquor license transfer from JAT Ventures Co. DBA Titans Tavern to The Tea LLC DBA The Tea at 215 S. Main Ave. The applicant said they plan to open the venue as an event center and slowly bring in a restaurant. The council approved the transfer.

The council spent the remainder of the meeting discussing the 2027 budget, which lasted until about 10 p.m. 

City administrator Justin Weiland thanked the department heads for their work on identifying needs in their departments. 

In the police department budget, they budgeted $60,000 to go toward updating to encrypted radios. Police chief Jessica Quigley said the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is transitioning their radios. Since Tea Police is a backup for Lincoln County Sheriff and vice versa, being able to communicate back and forth is important. Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, Rapid City and Pennington County have all moved to encrypted radios. 

Quigley noted it is a significant financial investment. The amount tin the budget will not cover all that is needed for the system.

In the fire department budget, councilman and volunteer firefighter Lynn DeYoung noted that call volumes are increasing for the department. Having an all volunteer staffed department, it is difficult to get staffing from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The proposed budget for the fire department is $400,960 that would go toward staffing. 

The council also discussed the parks and rec budget. Weiland said they have $1.7 million in the budget for completion of the south side of the Athletic Complex. Of that amount, about $800,000 is for a comfort station/bathroom. Most council members suggested dropping that from the budget and just getting the field and parking lot done.

The council will hold a first reading on the budget at the Nov. 2 meeting.