Steve Rice, Dan Allen leave longtime council seats bullish on Mitchell's future

Jul. 7—MITCHELL — For more than a decade, Dan Allen and Steve Rice have been fixtures on the Mitchell City Council.

On Wednesday night, their time on the council came to an end. After the duo bid farewell to their fellow council members, recognition for their combined 28 years of serving on the council came pouring in at City Hall.

Mayor Bob Everson declared Wednesday as Dan Allen and Steve Rice Day and gave the longtime council members a key to the city. The two were also named this year's Modern Woodmen Hometown Heroes, which grants them the opportunity to donate funds to a local nonprofit of their choice.

"I went in at 45 as a young man and left at 63 as an old, gray man," Allen joked.

In the 11 years Rice served on the council, he learned patience is a vital tool.

"One thing I learned is you have to be patient. Government is slow with a capital S-L-O-W. It has been fun, and I would not have done it if I didn't like it and it wasn't challenging," Rice said during his brief speech at Wednesday's council meeting.

Allen spent 17 years on the council and represented Ward 2 and Ward 3, which made him the only council member during his latest three-year term to be elected in two different wards. Allen said he's grateful for the relationships he formed with city staffers and the constituents he represented.

"We have some great people who live in this community and work for the city. The department heads made our job easier," Allen said.

While they found joy in being elected officials and made fond memories, their time on the council was far from easy. From navigating a once-in-lifetime pandemic that shut down schools and businesses to tackling the algae woes plaguing Lake Mitchell, Rice and Allen have been faced with plenty of tough decisions.

Of all the challenges, both agree none was more difficult than navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic. Rice called it a challenge that's in "a category of its own" and one he hopes won't reemerge for future council members.

The uncertainty of the highly contagious respiratory virus and divisiveness it created in the community made the decision-making process much more tricky, Allen said.

"We had no idea what was coming. This whole virus was new to everyone, even for the health care people. But I listened to our doctors from Avera and Sanford through it all because I felt that is a must to get through it," Allen said. "I'm just glad that's over, and we made it out of it."

Rice has seen plenty of changes throughout his time representing Ward 1. One change that's improved operations, Rice said, is the creation of the city administrator role in 2015. Sorting through the city's budgeting process prior to hiring City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein, who oversees all departments and the respective annual budgets, was much more challenging, Rice said.

"The budgeting process was not like it is today. The council really didn't get much input, and everything was just kind of forced fed to us. It wasn't really a structurally balanced budget," Rice said.

The impact Rice and Allen had on the community has been felt by the city's top-elected official, Mayor Everson.

"Without those contributions, Mitchell would not be the community that it is today," Everson said.

The council's June 20 decision on a $25 million loan application to fund a Lake Mitchell dredging project was dubbed by many residents as a tough vote facing the council, but it wasn't for Allen.

Among the hundreds of key projects Allen voted on throughout his 17 years on the council, he said voting against the $25 million loan application to fund dredging Lake Mitchell stands as his easiest decision.

"It's a $53 million project that might get you a temporary Band-Aid and not a long-term fix for the lake. We haven't worked enough upstream yet," Allen said. "Why would we dredge when the water coming into the lake from Firesteel Creek is still full of phosphorus and nutrients that cause the algae? It baffles me."

The council's 4-4 vote on the lake dredging loan application during the June 20 meeting revealed Rice stood in favor of the loan while Allen remained opposed.

Known among the council as an "analytical numbers guy," Rice came to the conclusion the city could handle the financing of the multimillion-dollar dredging project through careful budgeting. Financing concerns aside, Rice said he views the lake as a big asset to the community that would greatly enhance quality of life if the algae issues are greatly reduced.

"From a general fund standpoint and the rate of growth we had, to pay this loan off, I think the general fund can handle that. It might be a little tight for three to four years if I'm a department head who wants this or that. I don't see those department budgets shrinking, they just won't grow as fast," Rice said of the $25 million state loan the city is eyeing to fund dredging.

In the wake of the council's June 20 deadlocked vote on the loan application, which denied the city from submitting it, the new-look council with two members, Mike Bathke and Tim Goldammer, who replaced Rice and Allen approved putting the dredging loan to a June 4, 2024, special election. Although it was the first council meeting without Allen and Rice in their seats on July 5, they both support putting the fate of the dredging project in the hands of the public.

Although Rice and Allen have split votes on key projects such as the lake dredging loan, the two always managed to keep a strong working relationship despite some differences.

"I always respected the way he goes about his business as a councilman," Allen said of Rice.

Looking ahead as former council members turned residents, Allen and Rice are bullish about Mitchell's future.

Attracting more large employers and adding housing options are steps that Rice believes will bring growth to a stagnant Mitchell. With a handful of housing developments in the early stages, Rice said he's "glad housing has become a focus" among city leaders.

Allen pointed to the new soybean plant coming to the south edge of Mitchell and the city's focus on improving its aging infrastructure as key indicators that things are in good hands.

"I'm proud we are tackling our city's old infrastructure. I'm glad as a council over the past years we got major roads fixed, upgraded our wastewater plant and pipes. Those are things we take for granted, but they are of high importance," Allen said. "We should see some growth as long as we take care of our city."