By Aberdeen Insider - August 27, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
AUGUST 18, 2026
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
Meeting called to order by Chairman Sutton at 8:45 A.M. in the Commission Chambers, Courthouse Annex, Brown County, SD. Present were Commissioners Dennert, Dinger, Gage and Sutton. Commissioner Wiese was absent. Commissioner Dennert led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Gage to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
DISCUSS HOME ARTS BUILDING AT THE FAIRGROUNDS: Dennis Jones wasn’t in attendance at the time on the agenda. The Fair Staff, Fair Board Members and Foundation Members were in attendance regarding their support for replacing the Home Arts Building with the new 4-H Building and a discussion was held. Rachel Kippley, Fair Manager, stated that a decision needed to be made on where to put the new 4-H Building and the location of the Home Arts Building is key, the 4-H’ers need to know they come first because it is 4-H Achievement Days and make that a priority. Rachel then shared they had a Fair Board meeting yesterday and turned it over to Nancy Radke, Fair Board President to share what was decided. Nancy stated we need the new building, the current one is falling apart, and don’t know how Dennis came up with the figures he had because any other carpenters have stated it is shot; they had to move a lot of things on Wednesday with the rain to keep the quilts from getting wet and we need something for the 4-H kids, I’ve been involved with 4-H with my kids and grandkids for 40 years, and Nancy feels they need something new. Rachel shared that at the Board Meeting a motion passed unanimously to ask the Commission to give them the new building and demolish the current building yet this fall. Rachel stated that they have back-up solutions if the new building is not completed by next fair.
Alley Shelton informed the Commission that she was the Chair of the Home Arts Building, and she spoke with her son who is a Contractor also – he stated there is no recommendation to fix it if the foundation is falling in.
Pearl Holt commented that 4-H Kids have never had a place at the Fairgrounds to meet so this would be simple this needs to be at the Fairgrounds.
Char Akkerman shared that she has been in the Home Arts Building for several years, working with the Fair Board to make it look nice; people have commented on how nice the building is but there is a reason the quilts are hung up along the walls, to cover how bad of shape it is in. The 4-H Kids shouldn’t have to clean shops to have meetings or practices. She feels there is a lot of support for the 4-H Kids and the Community so this would be beneficial. Char also visited with another Construction person that had walked around the building at the Fair and he stated that it needs to go, there is no way you could even move it in one piece, and you need to do that in order to build a new foundation for it.
Chairman Sutton stated that several surrounding communities (Roberts, Grant, Spink County) have built new 4-H Buildings. It’s time for Brown County to have one, the 4-H Kids and the Community deserve it. Would be only building on the fairgrounds that would be a multi-use, climate controlled with heat and air-conditioned building that can be used year round. The Highway Department will demo the building and haul it but that would save the County considerably. Dennis Jones has still not shown up, and we all know his position on this because of the history behind the building, but we are not discounting any of this – it is an important part of our history – but the three buildings he knew of, and this is the only one left. Feels the others have gone away because like our building they have served their purpose. We as a Commission need to declare the building as surplus. Commissioner Gage made a motion to put on the agenda next week to surplus the Home Arts/Women’s Building. Seconded by Dinger. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
RICHMOND DAM UPDATE: None
ORDINANCE #332 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #332. Applicant Michael & Caroline Sommers to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring this parcel into compliance for its current use. Description of property: Lots 7 & 8, in the SW 1/4 of Section 17-T123N-R64W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (38310 133rd Street; Aberdeen Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION ON HOME ARTS BUILDING AT THE FAIRGROUNDS:
Dennis Jones showed up at the meeting about preserving the Home Arts/Women’s Building at the Brown County Fairgrounds. He stated that 90% of the people want to preserve this building and turn it back into the Women’s Building. Dennis shared thoughts from others he has met with and then asked the Commission to pause the demolition of this building. Need to preserve the past and its history, this is the most important building in Brown County because it was built in 1921 for the Tri-State Fair and name the Women’s Building after Women were given the ‘Right to Vote’, it may be the last one standing, so it has history. They have no issue with a new 4-H Building but build it somewhere else. He’d like to see this building become a Tourist Attraction, teach history and the past such as Mount Rushmore, it is the most important building in Brown County.
Jeff Kippley commented that we have a very tight budget in the County; roads don’t get fixed, bridges get put off 3-4 years, the County Fair is ran on a shoestring budget and the Fair Board Members donate a lot of their time and finances. What you are asking is probably a Million Dollars to get it to a place that would be sustainable for 10 years, not a 100. The time this should’ve been done was 40 years ago, now it’s cost prohibitive to do all this. It would be irresponsible to make this a Tourist Attraction, we need to do what benefits 4-H. This building is the one place that would be air-conditioned that would allow Fair goers to cool off, move the 4-H Concession stand inside and give them an upper hand over the other concession stands due to having seating with A/C. This would be a great benefit to 4-H.
Dennis stated that he has talked to 4 contractors and it won’t cost that much to preserve it, doesn’t need modernization. He doesn’t believe it would only be around $50 thousand; it will cost $100 thousand just to tear the building down, which could go a long way to preserving the building. He has also been speaking with the City of Aberdeen to get involved in the endeavor. Dennis suggested putting it on the ballot and letting the people decide. Nancy Radke commented that she could poll people that want to replace it as well.
Commissioner Dinger informed Dennis that the Commission already motioned to surplus the building next week. Gave him and his group an option to purchase it and create a museum, but they would need to move it off the Fairgrounds.
Conald Burgard reminded Dennis of him of the comment he made at the Fair, we wished we could move the building off.
Chairman Sutton reinstated that the Commission plans to surplus the building and they are moving forward with their plans because the building is beyond repair, not ADA compliant. He has only heard from 3 people that want to preserve the building, but several others that want the new 4-H Building. Chairman Sutton informed Dennis he has a week to visit with his group to come back with a plan to either move it or it will be demolished this fall.
Commissioner Dennert shared that a 4-H Building is needed because they need a home for their activities. The County cannot afford to preserve the current building and build a new one.
Chairman Sutton asked Dirk for a rough estimate cost to demolish the building. Dirk stated it would take about 2 days and estimated $40,000 but that is on the high side. Dennis then mentioned that you need to see if the building has asbestos because that is a whole new ball game.
Commissioner Gage informed Dennis that they plan to have a display of the current building in the new building with a scale model, and the history of the building can be included with that. They plan to incorporate some of the old building into the new building as well. They are not against women – over 50% of the people that work at the Fair and are on the Fair Board are women. A lot of farms are going with steel structures instead of repairing older buildings. 4-H is about ‘Building Leaders of Tomorrow’.
Dennis suggested having the 4-H kids work with the construction workers to preserve this building. 4-H is about growing things.
Chairman Sutton again mentioned that Dennis and his group have a week to come up with a plan to move the building if they wish, otherwise the County will demolish it this Fall.
ORDINANCE #333 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #333. Applicant Wayne & Janeen Haas to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring this parcel into compliance for its current use. Description of property: Thomas’ Outlot 1 in the SE 1/4 of Section 23-T126N-R64W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (38696 116th Street; Oneota Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #331 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dinger to adopt Ordinance #331. This Ordinance will impose a County Gross Receipts Tax and A Use Tax for Brown County, South Dakota for the purpose of providing additional revenue for Brown County, South Dakota, by imposing county gross receipts tax pursuant to the powers grant to the county by the State of South Dakota, by SDCL 10-XX entitled Uniform County Non-Ad Valorem Tax Law and acts amendatory thereto. The purpose of the county gross receipts tax is to provide property tax relief on the county property tax levy for all property classified as owner-occupied. All monies collected by the county from the gross receipts tax must be deposited into a property tax reduction fund, which is hereby created. From and after the first day of January 2027, a one half percent (0.5%) on the gross receipts of all persons engaged in business with the jurisdiction of Brown County, South Dakota, who are subject to the South Dakota Retail Occupational Sales and Service Tax, SDCL 10-45 and at the same rate upon all transactions or use, storage and consumption which are subject to the South Dakota Use Tax, SDCL 10-46, and acts amendatory thereto. Referring to a vote of the people in the General Election on November 3, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried. (Full Ordinance on file in the Auditor’s Office)
AMEND RESOLUTION #2026-06 – VOTE CENTER LOCATIONS: Auditor Heupel informed the Commission that they wanted to use Primrose Gym in place of the Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Convention Center for a Vote Center so asked to amend Resolution #2026-06. Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Gage to amend Resolution #2026-06 to replace Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Convention Center with Primrose Gym for Vote Center-2. All members present voting aye. Motion carried. (Complete Resolution is on file in the Auditor’s Office).
APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the following application submitted by Northern Electric for occupancy of Brown County Highway 13 in Section 6, Township 123N, Range 63W Brown County, South Dakota to plow and directional bore to install new 3 phase primary power. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, informed the Commissioners they finished paving on Co. Hwy. 9 and will be going back to chip seal it. Bituminous will be working on 14. The Cold-In Place Project on 16, south of Bath will starting next week – August 24th. Dirk shared they will need to set bid dates next week for a couple of projects.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the General Meeting Minutes of August 11, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to approve the following claims: Professional Fees: Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. $1,912.60; Certified Languages International LLC $1,854.60; City of Aberdeen Treasurer $262.00; Delaney, Neilsen & Sannes, P.C. $6,657.00; Dependable Sanitation, Inc $39,638.00; Dustrol, Inc $498,099.32; Fox Law Firm, PLLC $84.00; Horn Law Office Prof LLC $164.70; IMEG Corp $7,500.00; Kristi Brandt $46.00; Kuck Law Office $1,839.10; Kylee Boomsma $244.00; Lewis & Clark BHS $240.00; Lucy Lewno $300.00; Mark Katterhagen $40.00; Modern Day Health Care Prof LLC $8,500.85; Sanford Health $2,305.00; SD Dept of Health $2,235.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $2,055.34; Tammy Stolle Court Reporting $72.75; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $595.49; Valerie Larson $40.00; William A. Moss, Psy. D., LLC $3,000.00; Yankton County Sheriff’s Office $100.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $348.33; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $113.99. Rentals: Dakota Electronics $11.00; Vestis $270.72. Repairs & Maintenance: C Express Inc $36.00; Custom Installation Solutions $400.00; DG Investment Intermediate Holdings 2, Inc $1,191.85; House of Glass $269.99; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $115.00; Meister Mowing LLC $74.34; Safety Service, Inc $22.50; Titan Machinery $1,352.64. Supplies & Materials: Amazon Capital Services, Inc $497.13; Avera LTC Pharmacy Aberdeen $4,587.56; Century Business Products $976.85; Cole Paper Inc $613.86; Fox Law Firm, PLLC $1.86; GovConnection, Inc $185.13; Hall Sand & Gravel, Inc $3,965.96; Hub City Equipment $14,136.28; Jensen Rock & Sand Inc $106,978.50; Johnson Brothers of South Dakota, Inc. $565.10; Kuck Law Office $50.27; Lien Transportation Company $148,140.90; Lucy Lewno $8.53; Menards $400.93; Midstates Group $2,568.50; Performance Oil $559.44; Pitney Bowes Global Financial Services LLC $15,000.00; ProLine, Inc. – Watertown $165.00; Safety Service, Inc $209.44; Shela Haugen $18.92; Thee Glass Doktor, LLC $60.26. Travel & Conference: Brian Koens $665.60; Delaney, Nielsen & Sannes, P.C. $650.00; Kent Karlen $19.00; Neil Bittner $19.00; SDACC $250.00. Utilities: CenturyLink $85.15; City of Aberdeen Treasurer $5099.83; Northern Electric $132.50; Northwestern Energy $6,176.71; NVC $2,293.78; State of South Dakota PMB 0112 $88.00; T-Mobile USA Inc $2,486.40. Other: The American Legion Sidney L Smith Post 24 $1,787.50. Machinery & Equipment: Benco Products $11,183.83; Cole Paper Inc $12,657.26. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Gage to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Last day for Seasonal Worker, Jackson Bahr, Brown County Highway; effective August 6, 2026.
- Hiring of Michael Volz as Brown County Deputy Sheriff, FT; starting wage $27.52/hr. – effective August 17, 2026.
- Re-hire of Aleigha Allison as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; starting wage $22.59/hr. – effective August 19, 2026.
- Hiring of Jayden Dorn as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; starting wage $22.59/hr. – effective August 19, 2026.
- Hiring of Jacob Rombs as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; starting wage $22.59/hr. – effective August 31, 2026.
- Payment of retirement award for Cynthia Mitchell in the amount of $150.00 before taxes, requirement was met.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the following Travel Requests: Patty VanMeter, Treasurer to attend 2026 SDACO Fall Convention. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dinger to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Personnel, Contracts and Legal. All member present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 11:40 A.M. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on August 27, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $165.53 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com