BrandonInfo.com

The City Council meeting area includes pictures of the six mayors Brandon has had since the city incorporated in 1973. Photo by Alica P. Thiele

The Brandon City Council will hold its special meeting Tuesday instead of Monday because of a conflict with the senior athletic banquet.

The Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at City Hall, to talk about possible changes to the city’s ambulance license application. The Council also may talk about cha nges to the recently-passed Ordinance #381.

City Hall is on Main Street.

On April 23 at a special meeting, the Brandon City Council made some changes to the recently-passed Ordinance #381, the ambulance ordinance. That would be considered the first reading.

The Council scheduled a second special meeting for April 30, to discuss changes to the ambulance license application. At that meeting, the Council may hold the second reading of the ordinance changes.

If they do, and pass it, the ordinance would have to be published in the Brandon Valley Challenger. The earliest that could happen would be May 9. Then, if no one turns in a petition referring the matter to a public vote, the ordinance changes would go into effect 20 days after publication, or May 28.

If the Council doesn’t hold the second reading of the ordinance at the April 30 special meeting, they would probably do so at their next regular meeting, which is May 7. Then publication would be May 16 and the law would go into effect June 4 if no one contests it.

The founding fathers knew what they were doing when they devised a system of government with many checks and balances. The first amendment guarantees citizens the right to petition the government. That’s to help keep bad laws from being passed. The first amendment also guarantees citizens the right to voice their opinion of government proceedings. That promotes discussion. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s pretty good.

City administrator Dennis Olson works in his City Hall office. Photo by Alica P. Thiele

The Brandon City Council is considering hiring an assistant city administrator. Administrator Dennis Olson is eligible for retirement in slightly more than two years. It would be a good idea to find someone who can learn the job and become familiar with the ins and outs of the city before Olson retires. It’s a big job, especially with Brandon’s growth, and it will take a good year or two to get acclimated.

It would be to Brandon’s benefit to find someone who has past experience with a growing city.

Olson isn’t the only city employee nearing retirement. Police Chief Phil Youngdale, and public works director Wayne Fletcher, will each be eligible for retirement within a year. They may choose to continue to work, but it’s still a good idea for the council to keep in mind that replacing a couple of the top city employees will come sooner rather than later.

How do you feel about the city possibly replacing three top employees roughly the same time? That could have an impact on the continuity and quality of service the city provides. It’s very possible the new employees will come from other areas and not have a knowledge of the history of the town. That could affect city government also.

What do you think?

The Brandon City Council have made some changes to the recently-approved ambulance ordinance that they hope address some of the concerns the public had.
They addressed response time, availability of service, medical oversight and insurance.
It remains to be seen whether those answers all the questions the public has.

Every spring the problems associated with underage drinking seem to intensify with events including the high school prom and graduation.
Brandon this spring has seen the arrest of more than a dozen young people at a house party and another arrest for an adult providing alcohol to juveniles.
Groups have stepped in to try to prevent the problems with a public awareness campaign and an after prom party to give kids an alternative to drinking.
It’s unclear whether than message gets through. Every year the same problems seem to spring up along with the warmer weather and special events.
The solutions appear to be evasive.

Check out a live blog this afternoon on www.argusleader.com. The state is trying to make Roger Hunt reveal where he got $750,000 that went to the Vote Yes For Life group before the 2005 vote on abortion bans.

Roger says the law doesn’t require him to tell where he got the money, or rather, where a corporation called Promising Future Inc. got the money. Roger created the corporation. Secretary of State Chris Nelson thinks Roger should reveal the source of the money, so he filed suit against Roger, who is a Brandon lawyer.

A 90-minute hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. today at the Minnehaha County Courthouse. Chuck Baldwin of the Argus Leader will attend the hearing and post continuous blog entries on the Argus Web site as the hearing progresses. You can post your comments and questions on the site during the live blog.

I had to come to the office on Saturday this week. Weekends are a lot more casual in the office. There are fewer people, and we can wear more comfortable clothes.

Do you ever go in to the office outside of regular business hours? How do you like it? Do you work a shift that allows you to have a weekday off each week? Some people might prefer to have their two days off in a row, but it might be nice to have that weekday off to get things done, like get your hair cut, buy new shoes or change the oil in the car.

What is your work week like? Do you like the way it’s set up?

Have you checked out the reader photos posted on brandoninfo.com lately? Carissa Gross seems to be quite the photographic artist. Carissa, have you ever thought of having a public viewing (other than on the Web site)? Maybe Neighbors Coffee would display your pictures for a few weeks. They’re pretty cool.

I also like the “Challenger on the Road” pictures, both on the Web site and in the paper. It’s especially fun when the background of the picture shows where the people are.

Folks, post some more pictures. With spring in the air, there ought to be lots of opportunities to practice with the camera.

I’m looking forward to seeing your images.

The Brandon City Council will hold a special meeting Monday, April 23, at 6 p.m. at City hall to discuss changes in the application for ambulance service and changes to Ordinance #381.

The council may or may not take action at this meeting. If not, the next regular meeting of the Council is Monday, May 7.

I wonder what changes the Council is considering for the application. They just passed it in January.

Please contact your Council representative before these meetings to voice your opinion. It would be good to show up at the meetings too, but contacting them ahead of time is best, because it will give your Council representative time to think about your comments. Please, also post your thoughts here. I suspect Council members are reading the blog even if they do not post. (Or maybe they do. We don’t know who the screen names belong to.)

Contact information for the mayor and City Council members can be found on www.brandoninfo.com. Look under the “Welcome To Brandon” section and follow the links to city government.

On Monday when the City Council canvasses votes for the election, the ambulance Ordinance #381 will become law and the Council can start taking applications. So I looked at the application approved Jan. 2, 2007, and compared it with the application the city used when Ordinance #286 (the old ambulance ordinance) was in effect. They are different. In general, the new application is more relaxed than the old application and doesn’t require as much documentation. Also, the new application doesn’t require written plans for the type of service to be offered or for staffing.

Here is a detailed list of differences:

1. The old application requires documentation of 15 points. The new one has only 10 points. The five points that are omitted from the new application are A) a detailed statement of the type of service to be offered; B) a written plan for staffing levels; C) verification of direct medical control with documentation of an agreement with at least one Sioux Falls hospital for such control; D) a plan to comply with sanitary and safety standards; and E) proof of safety inspections by a certified mechanic.

2. Both require a listing of vehicles to be used. The old application requires documentation; the new one does not.

3. Both require a listing of employees along with their certifications, training and experience. The old application requires certification before the application is approved and again afterward, before the employee has contact with patients. The new ordinance does not require the double certification.

4. The old application requires documentation of equipment and medications by “the city’s quality assurance entity.” The new one requires documentation of equipment by REMSA standards and medication by state standards. Both applications require proof of inspection.

5. The old application requires verification of availability of a medical director, including a copy of the contract that includes certification that the medical directo has staff privileges with a Sioux Falls hospital. It also requires a copy of the doctor’s license and D.E.A. certificate. The new application requires only th name, address and phone number of the medical director’s state license.

6. Both applications require proof of insurance.

7. The old application requires a fee to “be established by resolution of the city” and requires that payment be included with the application. The new application requires a $25 but doesn’t say that payment must be included with the application.

Now that Ordinance #381, the ambulance ordinance, has passed, what is the next step? Presumably the city will start taking applications for licenses. It seems likely that Med-Star will apply. Rural Metro, which has been serving the city, didn’t say before the election if they planned to apply or not (at least not publicly).

Perhaps the Garretson ambulance service will apply for a license in Brandon. A representative from Garretson came to one of the public forums.

Or maybe the Brandon Volunteer Fire Department, or even the city itself, will decide to get into the ambulance business.

What other options can you think of? Which do you think are most likely? Any predictions as to what will happen next?

We’ve been putting our ambulance thoughts under the “All Things Ambulance” thread. But now that the ordinance has passed and we’re looking ahead to the licensing process, let’s start using this thread for our discussions.

Thanks.

The City Council forum that was supposed to be re-broadcast Thursday will be broadcast instead tonight at 8 p.m. on Alliance Cable Channel 18.

The mayoral candidate forum will be broadcast again on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the forums, please take time to watch them on tv.

And be sure to vote on Tuesday. Residents will decide on a City Council member from Ward I, the mayor and the proposed ambulance ordinance. Also, Ward II residents will vote on their City Council representative even though there is only one person running for the seat.

We’ve had lots of discussion on why to vote for or against the proposed ambulance ordinance. But who do you favor for mayor, or for Ward I? Let us know.

How is the earlier Daylight Saving Time working out for you? It started a few weeks earlier than usual this year. I’m surprised that it’s light out at 8 p.m., in early April already. It sure seemed like spring last week. But yesterday there were snowflakes in the air! It’s spring hours but still winter weather. It’s all screwy.

How about you? Is your internal clock telling you that it’s too cold to be spring, or too light to be winter? Is this earlier Daylight Saving Time working out?

The Mighty Corson Art Players are celebrating their 25th season this year. That means there are 50 or so shows to look back on. How many have you seen? How many have you participated in? Do you have any favorites?

What are your MCAP or Corson Playhouse memories?