By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
On Tuesday, October 1, the Ellsworth City Council met to tie up the last of the loose ends before the ground breaking ceremony for the new city hall. After an hour of going over project details, the ground breaking ceremony took place inside Zion Presbyterian Church due to inclement weather. There were approximately thirty people who came to take part in this historic event.
Mayor Tasha Domeyer welcomed the citizens and guests who attended. She stated “the January 15th fire was a decision that was MADE for the city of Ellsworth, NOT a decision that the City of Ellsworth made. So here we are today to make history.”
The City council awarded the $874,000 contract to Swift Constructors Inc., Sioux Falls, SD. Terry Kelley and Dan Kelley from Swift were present along with architect Jeff Nelson, Falls Architecture Studios, LLC, and Gary Kurth, DGR Civil engineer. This group will have 270 days to complete the one story, 3,583 square foot building. The city shop will be rebid because the bids were over the Council’s budget and the Multi-purpose room was put on hold until the funding can be secured.
Several area elected officials were also present for the ground breaking. State Representative Rod Hamilton and Senator Bill Weber, both spoke about the bonding proposal. They touched on the fact that although the bond failed the first time, it would be reintroduced. This bond would fund a 50/50 matching grant for the city. Both officials stated that they would continue to work to see the bond pass. County Commissioner Gene Metz was also present along with City Attorney Don Klosterbuer. Metz pledged his time to do whatever he can to engage citizens to make the trip to St. Paul if necessary to get this bond passed. “The things that towns like Ellsworth can be proud of is the viability of main street and the speed that you put this project back together. It’s got to be exciting for Ellsworth and the citizens around here. Anytime I can do something, call me. Good luck to you.”
Despite the cooler weather and the rain, ground was officially broken for Ellsworth’s new city hall. Domeyer ended by thanking all for coming. “People can say a lot of things about small towns,” she said, “but I’ve never been more proud to live in a small town that I am right now. People fight for what they believe in and what they want and I hope we continue to do that.”
One item that Terry Kelley cautioned about, was people just walking onto the job site. He wanted to stress to the public that this is a hard hat area and is restricted to the public. It is not allowed to just walk on to the site to see what’s happening. People are excited to see the progress being made, but safety for everyone comes first!
The opening date for the new city hall is set for June 26, 2020.
