The Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates got the final go-ahead from the city Monday on the proposed location for its Native American art market and powwow gardens.

The Rapid City Council unanimously approved a lease agreement with the nonprofit organization for city land north of The Journey Museum.

Under the lease, ATTA will pay the city annual rent of $1 and be responsible for the property's maintenance. The lease runs until May 31, 2013, with the option to renew up to nine times for 10-year terms.

The city has set aside $812,000 in 2012 funds for the project. Plans include an open-air amphitheater, a Native American art market and a living history garden to complement the museum's collections.

"We're ready to go fundraising now," ATTA project manager Randy Ross said after the meeting. "The most important thing was to secure the site and show our prospective donors that we have a location under lease. Things are looking really good."

The council was also set to consider a similar lease agreement with Soccer Rapid City for its 25-field soccer complex, but the soccer group requested a continuance until the next council meeting.

The soccer fields are to be located on 80 acres off north Elk Vale Road that developer Doyle Estes donated to the city. The city has allocated $3.8 million in 2012 funds for the project

Aldermen had nothing but good things to say about the ATTA project but spent considerable time discussing whether it was fair to ask ATTA and Soccer Rapid City to recommit to not asking for any additional city funding.

Mayor Alan Hanks made the request after someone not affiliated with ATTA said the powwow gardens deserved a city subsidy at a recent community meeting.

"The mayor's office should require nothing of ATTA that was not also required of all the other 2012 projects," Alderman Sam Kooiker said. "We must be fair."

But Hanks said neither project will be delayed if the groups choose not to sign the commitment letter, because the city already has similar letters on file from 2005.

"It doesn't concern me whether either of these associations sign the letter or not," Hanks said. "There's nothing in that policy that says any organization can't come back and ask for money. We can't restrict them. The point I was trying to drive home to Soccer Rapid City and ATTA was this was the agreement through 2012.

"I just wanted to make sure that was clarified."

Ross said ATTA just wanted to ensure the process was fair to everyone.

"We've always taken the position that the project be self-sustainable," Ross said.

Also, the council unanimously approved the second reading of changes to public nuisance code enforcement.

Revisions include a provision that gives chronic offenders three days to comply with code enforcement officers, down from 10-14 days. The city can also start issuing tickets to owners or tenants of the most problematic properties.

The city has the legal authority to abate code violations - such as mowing grass or hauling off junk - if property owners refuse to take action after being notified. The cost is then assessed back to the property owner.

Contact Emilie Rusch at 394-8453 or emilie.rusch@rapidcityjournal.com.