Monday night’s Balaton City Council meeting included an active public comment period, an audit report of the 2024 budget, and more news on a new Lake Yankton project.
Community member Theresa Zaske brought concerns to the council about illegal, unpermitted golf cart drivers and illegal fireworks. Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen said the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office should be called if any community member sees illegal fireworks or unpermitted carts around town, and a deputy would be dispatched to address the situation. Wallen also reported a typical number of calls for the month of May.
Lake Yankton in Balaton will soon get a new upgrade: a new pier will be installed on the lake within the next four to five weeks. At the meeting, the council accepted donations for the pier from the Balaton Area Community Foundation, Balaton American Legion Post 237 and the Chet Johnson Foundation.
Darci Anderson gave the council the audit of the 2024 budget, noting that the real revenue was $104,000 above what was budgeted, and real expenses were $18,000 less than budgeted. The audit also revealed that the fire department had a loss of $15,000, but the majority of this loss is in the form of a loan payment for a new truck bought in 2019.
The department pays half of the annual payment and the city covers the other half. The $14,000 that the city is paying is then marked as an expense to the fire account in the budget, creating what appears as a major loss in the account. Fire Chief Kasey Holm pointed out this dilemma, and the council decided to address it with the budget review in December to see if the loss could be mitigated by a transfer payment into the fire account.
Another concern raised at the meeting was the inconsistency of building permit fees. Public Works Superintendent Josh Torgeson posed questions about what constitutes a “structure,” which is the current wording of the city building permit statute. The council tabled the issue until the July meeting.
After the regular meeting, a subsequent open personnel meeting was held. The meeting was originally intended to be closed, but City Clerk Kimberly Wall requested the meeting remain open. In the open meeting, the council discussed concerns that had been raised by community members about unprofessionalism within the city office. Discussion ensued between council members and Wall, with council members stating that they want community members to feel “more comfortable” in the city office. Wall was taken aback by the feedback.
“That just derails me a little bit,” she said, although Wall also stated she was appreciative of the council for informing her.
