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The lighthouse at the entrance to Codger's Cove, where Pierre's Vic Utech and his son, Andrew, built a 118-lot housing development. The Utechs would like to develop another 384 homes nearby.
Spring Creek Place road intersections with the entrance to Codger's Cove meet.
Building continues in Codger's Cove.
The lighthouse at the entrance to Codger's Cove, where Pierre's Vic Utech and his son, Andrew, built a 118-lot housing development. The Utechs would like to develop another 384 homes nearby.
Spring Creek Place road intersections with the entrance to Codger's Cove meet.
Building continues in Codger's Cove.
During Wednesday’s Cow Creek/Spring Creek Sanitary District meeting, trustees did not accept an offer from Pierre developers to pay for the expansion of the water and sewer system for a proposed 384-lot housing project.
In September, Vic and Andrew Utech also offered to buy land for a larger lagoon and build the district a 1,200-square-foot shop and office valued at $240,000.
In exchange, hookup or impact fees would not be charged to the development on the Lake Oahe Peninsula, according to the proposal.
“It’s in our best interest to own the (infrastructure) and work with you on that,” Trustee Bryan Wiseman said. “(That way it’s) not just you paying for the system. I believe this is a fair and just way of doing this.”
To help pay for expanding the systems, trustees on Wednesday proposed requiring developers to pay $4,000 to get sewer service to each new home on the peninsula. Right now, the sanitary district does not charge developers anything.
In addition, the proposal asks that owners of vacant lots who build homes must pay $4,000 to connect to the sewer system, up from the current $2,500 fee. The connection fee for water will remain at $2,500.
“We’re trying to keep rates as low as we can, but we have to be cognitive that this district is growing,” Wiseman said.
In related matters, trustees plan to increase rates for both existing sewer and water customers by $24.91 a month. Residential users will see their $53.91 bill increase to $78.82
The Utechs have proposed developing Codger’s Castaway RV Park and Development 15 miles north of Pierre on the corner of Spring Creek Road and to the west of state Highway 1804.
One year ago, the Utechs purchased the closed 40-acre Oahe Speedway and farmland to the west for the 210-acre development, all of which lies in Sully County just across the Hughes County border.
Lots will range from 0.25 acres to 1.55 acres and priced between $25,000 and $80,000. Twenty will be waterfront lots. The development includes single-family homes, recreational vehicles, mobile homes, pole buildings and garages.
In addition to homes, the development will include 275 recreational vehicle sites and 100 storage units.
Also, the Utechs are negotiating with Bruce Peterson to purchase the nearby Oahe Trails golf course, which closed around 2012 or 2013. The Utechs had hoped to begin repairing the sprinkler system, establishing greens and cleaning out sand traps by May 1.
The father and son developed the nearby Codger’s RV Park on 30 acres of cropland purchased in the fall of 2014. They developed 275 RV sites. All are rented.
The Utechs also developed an adjoining 65 acres for Codger’s Cove. In three years, they sold all of the 118 lots, ranging from 0.25 acres to one acre. Considered a recreation development, it allows for a diversity in the building construction, including homes, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, pole-building living areas and garages.
Issues with the 384-lot expansion are for the district’s lagoon and water storage.
At full capacity, the lagoon can handle another 200 hookups and 300 additional RVs. The district will have to control the expansion, including owning the property.
“The current water tank is for 222 homes,” Wiseman said. “We are at 290 homes plus commercial (developments). We are already over capacity on hookups we have today. If we were a city, like Pierre, we’d be in a lot of trouble today.”
Trustees by December hope to have a schedule for installing a 200,000-gallon water tank, which would serve 687 homes, including the current 290 and campers at Dakota Sky and Codger’s Cove RV parks.
Wiseman said trustees felt the Utechs’ initial proposal was too vague and broad.
As for the Utechs’ proposal to buy the land for a lagoon, Wiseman said it is premature and it’s not known if the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which regulates these matters, will approve the lagoon build-out.
“The proposal doesn’t appear to be a viable solution that works for the district,” Wiseman said. “It gives control of the district expansion plans to a private individual.”
The district needs $2.1 million to expand the lagoon and would have to borrow the money.
“I’m pretty open to what you are proposing,” Vic Utech responded to Wiseman’s statement about the district owning the land being “fair and just” approach. “I just want this whole venture to move forward.”
In other matters, trustees have included $200,000 in the district’s 2023 budget to build an office. Right now, the clerk doesn’t have an office and works from another location.
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Gwen Albers | 605-224-7301, ext. 107
For more than 30 years, assistant editor Gwen Albers has worked for community newspapers in Pennsylvania, Montana, Idaho, Virginia, North Carolina and New Mexico. She received a master's in journalism from Ohio University.
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