Valley Springs officials discuss new building for museum

The Valley Springs Museum may be getting a new home. The Museum currently operates out of a cramped log cabin next to City Hall.

The building was originally a gift shop at Fort Yankton. It was moved to Valley Springs where it was acquired by Larry and Margaret Long. The two maintained the cabin and museum on their property before the building moved again to its current location on the backside of City Hall.

The cabin contains many Valley Springs items that the Longs acquired over the years. Those items include historical documents, maps and photos, along with other Valley Springs memorabilia. 

The museum is open by appointment and during Valley Springs Booster Days.

At the Valley Springs City Commission’s Tuesday, May 13 meeting, the museum building was a topic of discussion, more specifically, the cabin’s roof was discussed. A bid of $2,362.50 from CE Construction was reviewed. 

However, the Board suggested that the city seek out grant money to replace the building all together instead of just fixing the roof.

“It’s in need of some tender, loving care,” Valley Springs Mayor Rick Larsen said. “We’re going to move ahead and try and decide if we’re going to maintain the current building, or replace it. There’s some nostalgia value to the cabin, but when you put important historical items inside of it it’s not nearly as waterproof as any building built today.”

Larsen said even if a new building is constructed, the city would keep the cabin for historical purposes.

“I don’t think you can make that building environmentally safe, but we’ll probably keep the building just because of the historical significance,” he said.

New furnace and AC - The Board unanimously approved $5,950 to replace the furnace and AC in the City Hall building.

To repair the unit, the cost is less than $700, but the commission instead moved forward with replacing it.

“I like to solve problems, not chase symptoms,” Larsen said. “I think it’s a good philosophy to fix things so you don’t have problems that keep creeping up.”

The city maintenance budget is $5,000.

“So we’re $950 over budget,” Larsen said. “That’s liveable.”

Helgeson honored - Larsen publicly recognized Dean Helgeson, who served on the City Council for 17 years. Helgeson’s term came to an end at Tuesday’s meeting.

Larsen presented the longtime commissioner with a plaque for his service.

“Seventeen years is a lot of experience that we’re losing,” Larsen said. “I appreciate what you taught me while you were here.”

New city website on the horizon - The commission unanimously approved the motion to continue their partnership with Catalis, a technology company that partners with thousands of U.S. and Canadian government entities.

The motion included upping the amount the city would spend with Catalis from $1,000 per year to $2,000. Part of the cost is for upgrading the city’s website to become ADA (American Disability Act) compliant.

It can be a tricky balance of bringing a website up to ADA standards, which is why the city wants to continue its partnership with Catalis. An ADA-compliant website includes accessibility barriers such as low-contrast text, ambiguous anchor text, and keyboard accessibility issues.

City attorney Patrick Glover said it’s important for the city to get the website ADA compliant to avoid filing a complaint.

The upgrades will now enable the city to have fresh content, such as school closures, road closures and any emergency communication where residents need to be notified.

“There are certain things we can’t do,” said city employee Tabitha Sehr. “It isn’t very user friendly. We do get complaints that people can’t find things.”