The municipal election that was originally planned for April 14 was postponed because of COVID-19 and is now scheduled for June 23. Voting location will be at the Lake Preston Community Room right off of Main Street. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 23. Absentee voting, which has been a popular option due to COVID-19, can be done until June 22 at the Finance Of- ce, or, if disabled, by messenger until 3:00 p.m. on election day. For questions regarding absentee voting, call (605) 847-4140.
Ward I: Alex Post
Council History: Ward 1 newcomer. Post is a fresh newcomer to the council; he is very involved with the community as well as the school.
What improvements for the city would you like to see happen in the upcom- ing years? What experience do you bringing to the table?
“I would like to see our infrastructure fixed, and I would love to listen to the people’s ideas. Also, I would like to see if the council and I can fix some of the problems in our town. I think the experience that I bring to the table is that I have a little bit of business experience. I’m also good at solving problems and coming up with ideas to help solve the problems.”
Ward I: Gary Buer
Council History: Ward I veteran. Buer has served on the council for several years and held several roles during his terms – Council President and Vice President.
What improvements for the city would you like to see happen in the upcoming years? What experience do you bringing to the table?
“Streets, water system, clean up — a lot of things need to be addressed. Things have been let go so long that it’s a financial burden – if we don’t work at it, it won’t happen. There’s lots of room for improvement. Lots of years of experience, when on the council we got projects done but still operated in black and not red. Experience in street maintenance and general maintenance of the city. Council needs to work as a team not as an individual to make it work.”
Ward III: Jim Conrad
Council History: Ward III incumbent (one-year term). Conrad has been involved with city affairs for several years and involved in the community. Member of the Fire Department.
What improvements for the city would you like to see happen in the upcoming years? What experience do you bringing to the table?
“I would like to see:
• More businesses locate in Lake Preston
• What would need to be done to expand the approved materials that our rubble site can take
• About a permanent fix to the intersection of Main St. and 5th street north and stop all of the dirt encroachment and potholes in that intersection
• The city campground improved and expanded
• The industrial park expanded to allow more local employment
• The water and sewer projects completed with minimal costs to our residents
“The experience that I have brought to the City Council:
• Human resources & Business management. I was Personnel Director for a large multi-state corporation. I also was General Manager of a large trucking operation.
• Technology – I am trained to a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer level and very familiar with all forms of technology.
• Roads & Streets – Early in my career I worked in road construction and am very familiar with road construction materials and what it takes to design durability.
• Trucks & heavy equipment – With 40+ years in trucking, I am very familiar with vehicles, heavy equipment and their maintenance.
• Safety – I have many years of safety experience and OSHA compliance and safe work practices.
• Hazardous Materials – I have been certified as a Hazardous Materials Incident Commander and was part of a hazmat emergency response team for over 5 years.
"Although I was not raised here, I am a local small business owner and have come to love this city and South Dakota. I love small towns and the people in them. This is where I have chosen to live, retire and use my experience to make a wonderful city even better.”
Ward III: Brian Verhey
Council History: Ward III veteran. Verhey has served on the council for several years and has helped with city maintenance. He is very involved with the community.
What improvements for the city would you like to see happen in the upcoming years? What experience do you bringing to the table?
“My biggest priority is getting the streets and alleys xed up. Ob- viously, we can’t get all the water, sewer and streets done overnight, but I believe we can do a better job maintaining what we have. The boys have had a lot of work to do this spring, my hopes are to start concentrating on getting some maintenance done on what we have with what we have to work with. It’s going to take a little time, but I believe we have a pretty good crew on staff to get things done.
"I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but what a teacher once told me back in high school, a little common sense will go a long way. I have always remembered that. Sometimes we tend to over-analyze a situation. Sometimes some good old-fashioned solutions work the best.
"I have served on both the Ambulance and Fire Department, so I have some knowledge of this also. We have two very good programs there that we can be proud of, we need to keep it that way.
"There is a lot going on with the city right now, we need to make Lake Preston the place where peo- ple want to come sh, hunt, camp and have a good experience.”
