The Saddleback Road District recently published a “Ministerial Safety Inspection” document listing various roadway concerns identified during a trustee inspection. Many of the listed items appear to involve ordinary maintenance concerns such as: However, residents have also observed that portions of the roadway have been substantially widened at certain curves and turns — yet those…
Imagine a small road district. One trustee becomes unhappy with a resident who runs a website criticizing the board. The criticism may be sharp. It may be uncomfortable. It may be embarrassing. But ask yourself: Is that now a road district problem? Or is it a personal problem? Because road districts are not general governments….
Recent meeting minutes from the Saddleback Road District included discussion regarding relocating several mailboxes located on Ghost Canyon Road: “There was discussion regarding the moving of the first five mailboxes on Ghost Canyon closest to Saddleback Drive…” The minutes further state: “No action will be taken by the Trustees if the mailboxes are not relocated…
Sometimes the best way to judge a board is by what they feel they need to ask their lawyer behind closed doors. Imagine this scenario:A landowner submits a public records request. Shortly afterward, the board calls a special meeting and puts “representative engagement with legal counsel” on the agenda. What might they be asking their…
“Requesting an Attorney General Opinion on the legality of flat “special maintenance fees” in 31-12A districts.” I am hesitant to ask this because he could easily just say that it is legal and fine as it has been done for so long. He could just interpret that as part of the statute where it say…
For years this website has asked uncomfortable questions. Sometimes sarcastically. Sometimes bluntly. Sometimes with frustration. But over time the focus changed. Less opinion. More statutes. Less rumor. More records. Less “he said / she said.” More agendas, minutes, bylaws, financial reports, Attorney General opinions, maps, surveys, and public documents. The purpose was to ask whether…
Recent Saddleback Road District meeting minutes stated: “While statute SDCL 9-43-138 assigns the Trustees the responsibility of passing an annual resolution to set the annual maintenance levy…” There is a major legal problem with that statement: SDCL 9-43-138 does not mention road districts. It applies specifically to municipalities. The statute states: “The governing body of…
The board just sent out an agenda for a special meeting tomorrow night, and it’s another example of the ongoing transparency issues. Here are just a few highlights: This is the same board that was already publicly reprimanded by the Open Meetings Commission. Yet here we are again with vague agenda items that don’t give…
The Minutes state: Discussed that research was completed through the Secretary of State office and the Custer County Treasure’s office. This research showed that the Road District is not authorized to have fund raising methods outside of the Road District Levey’s placed upon landowners. Any fund raiding events cannot be endorsed by the Saddleback Road…
One of the biggest sources of confusion surrounding South Dakota road districts is this: A road district is not a private neighborhood club. It is not a homeowners association.It is not a private board of volunteers managing shared amenities.And it is not a social committee that gets to “do what seems reasonable.” A road district…
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