BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council next week will consider bids to widen 22nd Avenue. 

The council meeting will start at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the City & County Government Center at 520 Third St.

The 22nd Avenue Phase 1 Reconstruction Project will take place between Minnesota Drive and Eastbrook Drive and includes full reconstruction to widen the current roadway to have five 11-foot wide driving lanes, new 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk on one side of the street, 8-foot wide concrete shared-use path on the other side of the street, replacement of underground utilities, traffic signal upgrades and new street lighting, according to the attachment to the agenda, which is available on the city’s website.

The city received four bids, and Timmons Construction submitted the low bid of $2,835,903.

Another item on the council’s agenda pertains to the Brookings County Detention Center Expansion Historical Review and a request for a judicial determination.

“It appears that reasonable efforts to resolve the impasse with the County of Brookings have been fully pursued. In order for the city to determine that it has the authority to complete its 11.1 (historic) review, and obtain a judicial determination which will be binding upon both parties, it would appear that legal action will be required. The outcome remains uncertain because (state law) does not clearly address whether a county can conduct an 11.1 review of its own project,” according to an attachment to the agenda.

“The City of Brookings’ Historic Preservation Commission initiated and conducted an 11.1 review of the proposed Brookings County Detention Center Project Expansion Project, and on July 31, 2018, submitted its official comment to the South Dakota State Historical Society,” reports a memo from City Attorney Steve Britzman. 

“The South Dakota State Historical Society issued its recommendation on Aug. 29, 2018, and concluded that the proposed Brookings County Detention Center Project does not meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. On Nov. 6, 2018, the County of Brookings completed its own 11.1 review and determined that there were no feasible and prudent alternatives to the construction of the Brookings County Detention Center Expansion in the manner and location as outlined in its project plans,” according to the memo.

“Because of the issues raised, it will likely require a judicial determination of the correct 11.1 review procedure to be utilized,” Britzman’s memo says. “Legal action, involving retaining outside legal counsel, will likely be required to address the issues discussed above.”

“The City will bear the cost of litigation, which will likely take at least 100 hours of legal work, and extend over a period of possibly a year or more,” the memo adds.

In other business, the council will:

• Consider a gift of real property in the Valley View Subdivision;

• Hear a report by the Human Rights Commission;

• Hear the Chief Financial Officer’s report;

• Appoint five people to the Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities: Mark Sternhagen, Jenny Grendler, Brianna Doran, Matthew Weiss, and Rachel Holm;

• Consider support of a polling location on the campus of South Dakota State University.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.