Staff told the board the campground received about $30,000 from the State of South Dakota tied to the Highway 37 project and to use of right-of-way for a trail; the department had expected roughly $14,000 but received about $30,000.

"We were expecting about $14,000 and ended up with about $30,000," a parks staff member said, describing payments covering landscaping, a replacement sign, a gate, lighting and driveway/easement compensation related to the highway project.

On a larger capital item, staff reported bids for a planned storm shelter came in about $400,000 higher than the $739,000 capital outlay that had been budgeted toward the shelter. Bids were opened last week and staff said the bids specified FEMA-rated concrete slabs, walls and roof assemblies; the engineering team will review options and whether non-FEMA-branded local products could meet the needed specifications at lower cost. "So we're going back to the engineer to see what can be changed on that," staff said; further information is expected in the next few weeks.

The board also heard that the city was awarded $78,709 toward a railroad-trail project; the city had requested approximately $240,000 and received about one-third of that request. Staff said volunteers have finished much of the trail work and a new trail was poured at the southwest corner of the cemetery expansion; a slab was poured at Camparoyah and a shelter is expected to be built on that slab in the coming weeks.

A board member moved to approve the financial reports for September, the motion was seconded and the reports were approved. In discussion the board noted insurance covered most of a vehicle repair while the city paid the deductible and staff reviewed campground revenue trends, including accessibility improvements and year-to-date fees.