Hope arises for downtown sidewalk improvement

By Carol Walker

After many years of discussions over sidewalk options for improvement in downtown Hill City, the Hill City Council was given news that could result in action. At the city council meeting on Monday night, Brett McMacken, city administrator, announced he had received a letter from the South Dakota Department of Transportation notifying him the city was awarded $300,000 in response to a grant application sent in October 2010.
The city received this money for a streetscape project and the city, at that time of application, also pledged $75,000. The council believed that $375,000 would cover the cost of the work.
“This is great news because we’ve been talking about sidewalks for decades. We also talked about partnering with the arts council, making this something that would not only be functional but aesthetically pleasing, unique to Hill City,” said McMacken.
Before they go any further, McMacken plans to look more closely at the wording and the details of the grant, to make sure the city knows what it is getting into.
Lesta Turchen, vice president of the Hill City Arts Council, spoke to city council members, thanking them for their support and giving them a brief overview of projects in the past year. First, she talked about World Fest, relating the success of the first group of four scheduled in two years.
“The Egyptian group was very well received. The number of students who participated was tremendous, and the public concert was just packed. We actually had to close the door and turn people away,” said Turchen.
The next group, this one from Israel, comes on May 7 and, as before, they will be in the Hill City Schools, as well as schools in the Custer School District. She said there is a link on the website enabling people to view a video of the group.
Secondly, she mentioned Sculpture in the Hills, which will have its fifth anniversary this summer. She said it has grown over the past four years with support now coming from entities both inside and outside the Hill City community. There are 25 artists scheduled to be in Hill City in June for the show, and a waiting list of other artists who would like to be there.
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