City of Pierre

Severe Weather Preparedness Guide

The time of year is upon us where severe weather may impact our area. Knowing what to do in the event of severe weather or a disaster is important, and may save a life! The attached guide is a free resource from the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management and will serve as a reference on what to do when severe weather or disaster strikes.

Download/View Guide

A Reminder from your Community Resource Officer:

Spring has sprung and it’s that time of year to start sprucing up the yards. I would like to remind all property owners to please keep your properties up to code. It is against city ordinance to allow any grass, weed or any other noxious growth to reach the height of 12 inches. Once notified of the violation you have 5 days to come into compliance. If after the 5 days and you have not complied, I then have the right to have the property mowed at owner’s expense. It is also the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the growth of any weeds or grass growing on the sidewalks adjacent to your property.

It is also against city ordinance to allow any bough or branch of a tree or bush to reach less than 8 feet above a sidewalk and 12 feet above any street, road or alley. It is also against city ordinance to allow any tree branch, bush or any other growth to encroach out onto the sidewalk, street or alley.

Section 7-4-102. Notice to destroy weeds and other growths - contents and procedures.

The Commissioner of streets and public property is hereby authorized and empowered at the beginning of, or during, the growing season to notify in writing, or by public notice, each owner, occupant, or person in charge of any such lot, place or area, to cut, destroy or remove any such weeds, grass or deleterious or unhealthful growths or other noxious matter found growing, lying, or located on such property or upon the sidewalk abutting same. Such notice shall be served to said owner, agent, or occupant at his last known address, or by one publication in the official newspaper, and shall notify said owner, agent, or occupant to cut, destroy, or remove any such weeds, grass or deleterious or unhealthful matter within five (5) days after the service of such notice or publication in the official newspaper.

Only one notice will be served or published for each growing season.

Any questions please contact Officer Brandon Boyd at 605-773-7412.

The 4th Annual
Go Green and Clean campaign spring kick
off was a great success this year.

The event kicked off with an Earth Day program sponsored by the Farmers Market and Discovery Center that was an educational opportunity reaching over 250 students in science classes at Georgia Morse Middle school. Clean up activities were conducted at multiple locations within the city.

Bankwest was named the Go Green and Clean Business of Spring by Mayor Gill. The business contest is expected to continue in future years. The Go Green and Clean committee meets monthly to discuss and plan future events. May events are a clean up at the Veterans Memorial next to Capitol Lake, the cleaning of the main highway right-of-ways to the City and the planting of trees at the Sports Complex. The next meeting of the committee is June 6th at 8:30am at City hall.

The public and interested business’s or organizations are invited to attend. For more information please contact Tom Farnsworth at Tom.Farnsworth@ci.pierre.sd.us

30th Tree City USA Anniversary

On April 30th the City of Pierre held its annual Arbor Day program and planted trees on the Capitol Grounds, at the Governor’s Mansion. First lady Linda Daugaard joined Mayor Laurie Gill, members of the Arbor Board and 5th Grade students from St. Joe’s elementary.

During the ceremony, Tiffany Arp, Community Forester Specialist, presented Mayor Gill with a beautiful crystal and signs from The National Arbor Foundation recognizing Pierre for achieving 30 years as a “Tree City USA”.

Tree City USA is a community improvement project sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities. Pierre was also recognized with its 3rd “Growth Award” from the Arbor Day Foundation. This award recognizes an environmental improvement and a higher level of tree care in our community as evidenced by additions or significant improvements to our tree program during the previous year. This was made possible by the high level of tree plantings the City is doing since the flood of 2011. Mayor Gill gave special thanks to the Arbor Board who guides this program and assists the City Commission with urban forestry issues. Mayor Gill said we are grateful for this 30th year special recognition and for this high level of national support.

The city of Pierre will benefit from rail crossing improvements and upgrades scheduled to begin April 29th, 2013.

More information regarding the rail crossing improvements can be found in Mayor Gill’s press release.

The City of Pierre Go Green and Clean Campaign kicked off this week.

The recent snow and cold weather has forced some changes to the schedule of activities. If you would like to volunteer for the Saturday morning clean up event, contact Tom Farnsworth at 773-2527.

View Schedule

Summer Recreation Sign-Up Opens Soon!

Summer Rec Sign-up Opens April 29th at 12:01 am. The Summer Recreation Brochure can be found here. Click here to sign-up.

Registration for all sessions will begin May 14th at the Recreation Department office in the Aquatic Center, 900 E. Church St., Monday thru Thursday 12:00 - 3:00 pm.

There will be no phone registrations or early registrations.

QQuestions can be directed to Mindy Cheap, Recreation Director at 773-7445 or Mindy.Cheap@ci.pierre.sd.us

Pierre Green Map showcases the assets and resources that make Pierre a sustainable community. Learn how you can help Pierre go green! View Map!

Pierre Begins Installation of 115 kV Transmission Line

The City of Pierre (City) is adding an electric distribution substation in the northeast part of the City along North Garfield Avenue. Plans for this project began four years ago to keep up with increasing electrical demand within the City and to provide necessary system reliability. The City will begin constructing the new 115 kV (115,000 volts) transmission line facilities this week to connect the substation to the existing electric system. The transmission line project will consist of approximately 3.1 miles of new overhead 115 kV transmission line. To lessen impact to property owners along the line route, the City is proposing a route that will follow utility-easement corridors or existing road right-of-ways.

The proposed route of the overhead line intercepts the City’s existing 115 kV transmission line half way between East 4th Street and Hwy 14 and follows east to the new substation on North Garfield Avenue. From the substation, the line will cross back over the road and continue north in the west right-of-way of Garfield Avenue. At Hwy 14, the line will turn west and follow along the north right-of-way of Hwy 14 for approximately ½ mile, then continue west in public right-of-way along the section line, and terminate at the City’s existing 115 kV transmission line.

Poles will primarily be steel single-pole structures with custom-designed steel poles used where the line route changes direction. The transmission project was designed to the extent possible to lessen the impact to landowners by installing custom-designed steel poles on concrete pier foundations. The transmission lines will carry four wires (three electrical and one for lightning protection/communication).

An aerial image depicting the transmission line is presented below. Click on this YouTube link for a video flyover of the proposed transmission route. The poles and cables in the video are images only. The actual transmission construction will begin this week. If you have questions or if you need additional information please call Brad Palmer at City Hall at 605-773-7341.

Mayor Gill Invites Business's and Volunteers to Participate in Earth Awareness Week

PIERRE -- The City of Pierre is asking businesses, organizations and volunteers to participate in “Earth Awareness” week April 21-27. The event, in its fourth year, is part of the City’s “Go Green and Clean” campaign initiated by Mayor Laurie R. Gill. According to Mayor Gill this is a “call to service” for business’s, civic groups, organizations and citizens to give back to their community, “Pierre is a great community in which to live, work and play. With the winter snows leaving us, we need to prepare our community for the tourists, guests and visitors that come here each year. Therefore, I am asking you, your organization or your business to consider giving a few hours of your time to participate in an activity that will help prepare the community.” said Gill. Continued

2012 Annual Financial Report

The Pierre City Commission received the 2012 Annual Financial Report at the March 5th Meeting. Click here for a copy of the Report. For comments or questions, please contact Twila Hight, Finance Officer.

2013 Strategic Plan

Click here to view/download document

2013 Project Map

The City of Pierre has issued a list of proposed construction projects for 2013. The projects include water main replacement, concrete and asphalt paving, rebuilding of City streets, and milling & paving of City Streets. In addition to projects depicted on the Project Map the City will be completing other infrastructure improvements including sewer main relining, street light replacements, electric system improvements, sewer cleaning, patching of potholes, chip-sealing, crack-sealing, and painting & striping of City streets. Refer back to the City WEB site for updates on these and additional projects as they are completed. The local media is also an excellent source of information for updates on projects through the year. The 2013 project map can be accessed through this link.

Proposed Street Maintenance Fee

The City Commission is considering an Ordinance that would establish a new Street Maintenance Fee that would be assessed to property owners based on the front address footage of their property. The Fee is proposed at $0.40 per front footage. For an average property owner with 100 feet of address frontage, the fee would be $40 per year. The Fee would be assessed with the property taxes due and collected by Hughes County. The proposed Street Maintenance Fee is a result of the Curb & Gutter Task Force that was established by Mayor Gill and asked to review the City’s former Curb & Gutter funding mechanism and options for an alternative funding plan. The Street Maintenance Fee was one recommendation from the Task Force, among others that included implementation of a Storm Drainage Fee, use of General Fund dollars, and use of special assessments for work performed at the property owners request. The combination of these funding options replace the former curb & gutter special assessment funding that was deemed unallowable by Circuit and Supreme Court. The Commission will consider the Ordinance for 1st Reading on February 5th and 2nd Reading and Adoption on February 19th. To view the January 29th Presentation click here. To view a copy of the proposed Ordinance click here. Comments or questions can be directed to Brad Palmer, Utilities Director.

City of Pierre Housing Study

An analysis of the overall housing needs of the City of Pierre and the surrounding areas. View Document

Ribbon cutting officially opens new Pierre trail

Pierre’s newest multi-use recreational trail is officially open.

A ribbon cutting was held at the west end of the new historic bridge that crosses Mickelson Pond. The bridge is part of a 10,000-foot path that begins at Governor’s Drive, goes through a culvert under Fourth Street, across the bridge, winds through the bluffs to the neighborhood near Bristol Place and extends to Garfield Avenue.

The eight foot wide path was built in two phases with the last phase, Governor’s Drive to Bristol Place being finished last month. Mayor Laurie Gill, who led the ribbon cutting, says this project is a quality of life effort, which allows walkers, bikers and runners to move along in a safe environment, away from the busy Fourth Street traffic.

Plans for additional features are currently underway and include the possibility of adding playground equipment along the trail and fishing docks at Mickelson Pond.

City Administrator Leon Schochenmaier says the entire path cost about $2.1 million; with most of the money coming from federal funds and grants.

Pierre Awarded $25,000 Cities of Service Grant to Re-establish Trees.

photo at left: Tree grove at Sports Complex

Grant funds, provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, will support a new “impact volunteering” initiative to tackle the removal of dead trees, stumps and debris in SE Pierre and re-establish a tree grove

October 23, 2012, Pierre, SD - Cities of Service announced that it has awarded Pierre a $25,000 grant to implement a service initiative designed to address the loss of a “visibility screen” tree grove that surrounded a sports complex in the SE part of the city. Pierre is one of 18 U.S. cities to be awarded a grant to support mayors who are harnessing the power of volunteers in a strategic way to address priority problems in their communities.

Pierre Mayor Laurie R. Gill said she will lead the effort to engage citizens, “As mayor, I am committed to fostering a city culture of civic engagement and volunteerism. This grant will help us leverage the power of our citizens to strategically and measurably address the clean up and re-planting of the trees surrounding the sports complex and restoring the quality of life to the citizens living in this area of the city.”

The Cities of Service model focuses on “impact volunteering” – volunteer strategies that target community needs, use best practices, and set clear outcomes and measures to gauge progress. Dozens of cities across the nation have adopted the model since its introduction in 2009. Using this approach, New York City has coated more than 4 million square feet of rooftops to reduce carbon emissions by 745 metric tons, Nashville has upgraded more than 240 homes to increase energy efficiency and help the city recover from historic floods, and Pittsburgh has removed 20,000 pounds of litter to revitalize its neighborhoods.

Pierre’s $25,000 grant will support the training of volunteers and help fund the supplies and equipment needed for cleanup of the old tree grove and preparation of the area for planting. It will also support the purchase of trees and related supplies.

More than 60 mayors competed for this initial round of grants. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 will also support volunteer initiatives in Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL; Duluth, MN; Fall River, MA; Flint, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Kalamazoo, MI; Little Rock, AR; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; and Richmond, CA.

Backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Cities of Service Impact Volunteering Fund is a $2 million fund. Nearly $1 million is being granted through this initial round, with an additional $1 million available for deployment in 2013. Grantee cities were selected based on the quality of their initiatives, potential for impact, and implementation plans, among other criteria.

About Cities of Service

American cities face serious challenges and many mayors want to take advantage of every resource available to them – including the time and energy of public-spirited residents – to address those challenges. But in cities across America today, citizen service is often an underutilized or inefficiently utilized strategy by municipal governments. Founded in September 2009, Cities of Service supports mayors to leverage citizen service strategies, addressing local needs and making government more effective.

CiCitizens wishing to volunteer to help with this project should contact Larry Weiss at 222-4339 or e-mail Larry at Weisscl@aol.com