Summerset, South Dakota

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Summerset, South Dakota is the newest incorporated city in the western part of the state of South Dakota and the first new city to incorporate in the state since 1985.

Summerset was incorporated in an election that was held on June 7, 2005. Opponents of the city's dissolution insist a population of more than a thousand, despite the formal pre-incorporation census indicating 597 residents. The city is located west of Interstate 90, between the towns of Blackhawk, South Dakota and Piedmont, South Dakota.

During its first year, Summerset faced a few challenges. There was confusion about the location of the city's boundaries. A lawsuit was filed to dismiss the incorporation election. And, the citizens petitioned to have the town dissolved for a multitude of reasasons, including high taxes; but, the petition failed.

"Although city officials had problems to deal with after they stepped into office, controversy began before that. Soon after voters approved incorporation, controversy started about whether the city should even exist and who should have been included in the boundaries. Some residents said they were confused about whose property was included in the city, which was incorporated based on a map drawn by developer Ron Baker and his company, American West Communities. Many citizens said they didn’t know their property was included in the city, and others said they did not realize they could have voted in the incorporation election. Complaints eventually led to a lawsuit against Meade County, Baker and American West Communities. The suit was filed by a number of Meade County residents and property owners.

The suit alleged that the election to incorporate was not fair and asked a judge to invalidate it. That lawsuit was eventually dismissed by 4th Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich, primarily because the city of Summerset was not included in the lawsuit. Eckrich said the omission was fatal to the success of the lawsuit....

Opponents of Summerset didn’t even wait to hear the result of the lawsuit, which was dismissed in late March, to fire off another attempt at dissolving the city. Two of the businesses included in the city’s boundaries — Haggar’s Grocery and Rookies Sports Bar and Restaurant — helped circulate petitions in February to call for another vote on whether Summerset would remain a city. Under a state law regulating the dissolution of cities of fewer than 1,000 people, the city would be required to hold an election on dissolution if enough properly verified signatures were collected. City officials verified that petitioners succeeded in collecting enough signatures.

However, in a March city commission meeting, city attorney Kent Hagg announced that the dissolution issue could not be referred to a public vote because the city contains more than 1,000 residents. Although the census that was completed before incorporation indicated 597 residents, city officials now say that the population is more than 1,000. Hagg said the new estimate is based on information from the Black Hawk Water District and the Summerset Homeowners Association that showed 378 homes, which likely hold multiple residents, along with a trailer park and other homes on well water." Rapid City Journal

This issue went to trial on September 14, 2006 in Meade County. A decision was handed down by the jury in the trial on September 15, 2006 siding with Summerset that there were indeed more than 1000 inhabitants at the time of the vote to incorporate. The plaintiff, Casey Dolney of Summerset, can appeal the decision to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Rapid City Journal

A former, five-year resident of Summerset, Jeremy Huber (formerly of 6805 Townsend Street), only had this to add: "I am just happy to have my Summerset home sell after 4 months on the market. And, to no longer be burdened with what the leaders of this community have turned Summerset into...well, it just feels good." [31 August 2006]