Council fields more questions about tax

More questions about the proposed food and beverage tax were on the lips of several of the audience members who attended the Carrington City Council meeting last Monday.

During the meeting held on Monday, February 13, Foster County resident Ed Anderson addressed the council about the new tax.

He asked several questions and gave his opinion.

Carrington Mayor Tom Erdmann said there will be a special meeting toward the end of February, beginning of March about the tax, but no date has been set yet.

A member of the audience asked to see the ordinance for the tax. City Attorney Leo Ryan said the ordinance will be released to the public as soon as they get it back from the state.

He, along with the mayor, urged the audience members who have questions or who have an opinion on the tax to attend the special meeting.

In other business:

• Carrington resident Travis Wong attended the meeting to address the council about a fireworks display for the upcoming 4th of July.

He said it was upsetting that there was no display last year.

Wong reported that he spoke to several individuals about having a role in a 2023 fireworks display in the city. He asked the council if the city would want to help with the display.

Erdmann replied that the city generally has never had a role in the fireworks display, as it is always funded by private donations.

City Auditor Jennifer Gast said she spoke to the insurance reserve fund and they said a one time fireworks event can be held for a cost of $50 to cover the insurance for the city.

• Kelly Hagel addressed the council about drainage issues on another property he owns.

Committee Reports

FIRE:

• Carrington Fire Chief Ken Wangen reported that there were four calls for service since the last council meeting, with two being false alarms and two being motor vehicle accidents with injuries.

Wangen also said they received a grant from the Lions Club for $500 for the community haunted house.

FINANCE & LEGAL:

• Erdmann reported that Harold Rotunda assured the city he will continue to do the city audits in the future.

CCEDC:

• In the minutes of the February 7 CCEDC meeting, it was reported that the board moved to approve the Main Street Revitalizaton Plan as presented by AE2S with comments being accepted until February 23, 2023.

• A public meeting for the Carrington Rainbow Gardens project overview held on January 10 at the Chieftain was not well attended with only about a dozen people in attendance.

CVB:

• The Birding Drives Dakota for Carrington will be discontinued and birding information will be available on the Jamestown Tourism/Chamber website.

• The Live@5 in December went well.

• After a discussion on the Rainbow Gardens, the consensus was to place emphasis on the garden and build a smaller structure.

AIRPORT:

• The new AWOS will be installed at the end of February.

LIBRARY:

• The City Library board discussed a slight increase in the rates to rent the community room at the library.

POLICE:

• The new Silverado is out on the streets.

PUBLIC WORKS:

• SIRN 2020 is moving forward.

• The city is investigating purchasing a snow blower.

BUILDING OFFICIAL:

• No building permits were issued for the month of January.