By Aberdeen Insider - October 16, 2025 in BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
NOTICE OF OCTOBER 7, 2025 – GENERAL MEETING
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, Sutton and Wiese. Commissioner Dennert led the Pledge of Allegiance.
AWARD PRESENTATION: Aaron Walberg, Veteran’s Service Officer and Mike Herman, Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve (ESGR Area Volunteer presented Commissioner Gage and the Brown County Commission the Patriot Award from The Secretary of Defense for their support of the employees that serve in the armed forces.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Darin Beckius, Executive Director with Homes Are Possible, Inc. (HAPI) asked to expand their relationship with the County and to have the tipping fees waived at the Landfill. This request is due to the number of homes and/or lots they purchase and need to tear down and clean up to either build or move in an affordable home. Currently they have 5 properties to tear down, there will be 6 soon. Chairman Sutton informed Mr. Beckius that he would need to get on the agenda to discuss this further and they would need to visit with the Mike Scott, Landfill Manager. Auditor Heupel will put him on the October 14th agenda for further discussion.
Scott Bader, Planning & Zoning Director informed that Commission that due to the Government Shutdown he hasn’t been able to get registered for the FEMA Managing Floodplain Development CEU that is to be held on October 20-24, 2025 in Sioux Falls, and travel had been approved, so he is not sure if they will be having it or not.
CERTIFICATION FORM FOR 5-YEAR HIGHWAY PLAN: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Certification Form for the 5-Year Highway plan that Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent presented at the September 30th Commission meeting. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PROPOSED RICHMOND LANE & DRIVE ROAD DISTRICT: Auditor Heupel presented the petition along with Plat of the proposed Richmond Lane & Drive Road District to the Commission. State’s Attorney Deputy, Ross Aldentaler suggested postponing any action at this time so that Scott Bader, Planning & Zoning Director, Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent along with 2 Commissioners could meet and go over the information. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to postpone any action at this time. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
DISCUSS REDUCTION OF PRECINCTS IN BROWN COUNTY: Auditor Heupel presented 2 proposals to the Brown County Commission in reducing the number of precincts within the City of Aberdeen due to HB 1130 that passed and goes into effect on January 1, 2026 that municipalities and schools are to combine in the Primary or General Election. Currently, with this change there is a potential to have 294 ballot styles, based on the number of races that could potentially be on the ballots, along Constitutional Amendments, Ballot Measures and Referendums. Auditor Heupel is looking at saving money for the County and reducing the number of ballot styles and making is easier for the Election workers. The two options were going from 11 precincts within the City of Aberdeen to either 6 precincts or 4 precincts. The 4 precincts match with the Aberdeen City Council boundaries. After some discussion, Commissioner Gage moved to reduce the number of precincts to 4 and match the City of Aberdeen to simply it for everyone. Seconded by Commissioner Wiese. The motion passed with a 3-2 vote: Gage-aye; Sutton-aye; Wiese-aye; Dennert-nay; Dinger- nay.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the General Meeting Minutes of September 30, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following claims/payroll: Claims: Professional Fees: Avera St. Luke’s Hospital $470.02; Birmingham & Cwach Law Offices, PLLC $288.00; Carrels & Bain Family Dental Care, LLC $701.61; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $852.00; Dohrer Law Office, PC $7,284.00; Foerster Testing Limited $917.50; Helms & Associates $12,217.40; Jerald M. McNeary $840.00; John Noyes – Bantz, Gosch & Cremer $1,572.00; Kuck Law Office $714.00; Lenling Law Office, Prof. LLC $930.00; LexisNexis Risk Data Mgt, LLC $200.00; Lincoln County Auditor $289.33; Lucy Lewno $132.00; Luz del Carmen Bremmon $514.40; Marco Technologies, LLC $185.00; Mark Katterhagen $8.00; Modern Day Health Care Prof LLC $179.56; Northern Plains Animal Health $228.00; Sanford Health Occupational Medicine $290.00; Sanford Health $2,831.51; SD Dept Of Public Safety $5,400.00; SD Dept of Transportation $2,211.68; Taylor Bell $212.50; TJ Counseling $2,500.00; Valerie Larson $8.00; Yankton County Sheriff’s Office $50.00; Yankton County Treasurer $278.50; Jury Duty Participants $1,738.36. Publishing: Friends of SDPB-Underwriting $4,000.00; Groton Daily Independent $581.25; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $1,360.20. Rentals: Aberdeen Housing Authority $310.00; Advantage Self Storage $276.00; Linde Gas & Equipment Inc $63.18. Repairs & Maintenance: Butler Machinery Company $671.00; Custom Installation Solutions $1,610.00; Diamond Mowers LLC $35.13; Ducks Unlimited, Inc. $26,400.00; EcoLab Pest Elimination Division $132.12; Graham Tire Inc $30,209.77; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $172.50; K&S Plumbing, Inc $174.69; Ken’s Alignment $238.96; Lawson Products, Inc $187.88; Leidholt Electric, LLC $2,925.96; Olson’s Pest Technicians $455.00; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $91.33; Precision Kiosk Technologies $3,000.00; RDO Equipment Co $8,472.31; Sign Solutions USA, LLC $1,189.84; Subsurface, Inc $70,715.00; Transource Truck & Equipment, Inc $8,555.36. Supplies: Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry $235.00; Advance Auto Parts $228.63; Agtegra Cooperative $46,787.63; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $1,577.29; Arts South Dakota $350.00; Artz Equipment, Inc $156.77; Auto Value Aberdeen $407.01; Bimbo Foods USA, Inc $690.90; Birmingham & Cwach Law Offices, PLLC $16.78; Bob Barker Company Inc $401.15; Butler Machinery Company $974.38; Central Network Retail Group LLC $412.50; Century Business Products $624.86; Cole Paper Inc $2,278.28; Crawford Trucks & Equipment $ 1,948.22; Dakota Electronics LLC $1,610.00; Dakota Fluid Power, Inc $653.18; Diamond Mowers LLC $85.14; Dohrer Law Office, PC $5.55; East Side Jersey Dairy Inc $1,038.19; Fastenal Company $614.08; FedEx $24.24; Graham Tire Inc $26.40; Jebro Inc $30,580.37; Jensen Rock & Sand Inc $156,853.80; John Noyes – Bantz, Gosch & Cremer $54.49; Kessler’s $1,198.74; Kuck Law Office $20.94; Lawson Products, Inc $2,559.08; Leidholdt Tool Sales, LLC $106.22; Lien Transportation Company $744,262.20; Lucy Lewno $2.25; Menards $416.27; Midstates Group $460.00; Midwest Pump & Tank $ 172.92; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $92.00; Performance Oil $137.64; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $64.83; RDO Equipment Co $545.12; Runnings $1,584.87; Russ Bassett Corp $476.80; Safety Service $177.00; Share Corporation $928.80; Sign Solutions USA, LLC $29,449.60; Transource Truck & Equipment, Inc $3,788.86; Tri-State Water $35.00; US Food $11,425.72. Travel & Conference: Drew Dennert $727.40; Heather Wilkinson $478.20; Junia Hofer $457.20; Kyler Dinger $427.00; Pat Wolberg $785.88. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $140.64; CenturyLink $350.03; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co $38.52; Northwestern Energy $15,073.01; T-Mobile USA Inc $577.86; Town of Frederick $77.00; WEB Water Development Association, Inc $131.05. Other: Lisa or James Kiesz $50.00; Tony Arampatzis $50.00. Payroll: Commission $4,896.51; Elections $1,930.76; Auditor/Welfare $11,404.97; Treasurer $18,764.32; SA $37,471.50; Public Defender $9,778.21; Maintenance $12,863.19; Assessor $16,581.78; Register of Deeds $10,905.91; VSO $4,741.87; GIS $2,946.49; IT $9,855.68; HR $5,419.28; Sheriff $59,315.82; Jail $70,470.05; Coroner (Voucher) $1,500.00; Court Security $8,745.92; JDC $31,586.44; Museum $13,173.01; Parks/Fairgrounds $9,551.43; Fair Board $2,788.58; 4-H $39.13; Weed $6,419.63; Planning & Zoning $9,630.65; Highway $56,368.63; Dispatch $40,355.73; Emergency $5,498.56; 24/7 Sobriety $2,556.25; Landfill $18,490.66; Meal Benefits $84.00; FICA $28,627.71; Medicare $6,695.16; HSA $2,309.40; Health Insurance-Wellmark BCBS $135,535.42; Dental Insurance-Delta $9,430.44; Life Insurance-Dearborn $1,140.02; Retirement-SDRS $61,138.63. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Chairman Sutton stated this was being moved to after Executive Session, for Personnel.
CLAIM ASSIGNMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Auditor Heupel to sign the Claim Assignments against individuals to Credit Collections Bureau for the purpose of collecting liens. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LANDFILL TONNAGE REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to acknowledge the Landfill Tonnage Report for September 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve the following Travel Requests: Alain Perry & Jessica Peunte Castro with Dacotah Prairie Museum to attend MUSE Institute on Oct. 6-10, 2025 in St. Paul, MN; Jon Lemke, Chief Deputy Sheriff & Keith Baker, Jail Administrator to attend Pepperball Armorer/Instructor Recertification on Oct. 8-9,2025 in Sioux Falls; Brad Borge, Public Defender along with his support staff: Christal Burckhard & Tracy Madsen, to attend Criminal Defense Training Conference on Oct. 22-26,2025 in Las Vegas, NV. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANT (LEMPG): Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the 4th Quarter Report for LEMPG Grant. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR JULY & AUGUST 2025: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the Auditor’s Report of Accounts for July 2025: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances $19,677,221.78; Total Savings Account Balances $1,135,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $11,279,270.64; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $32,099,639.84. General Fund Cash & Investment Balances by Funds: General Fund $15,522,711.39; Road & Bridge Fund $5,181,870.58; Road & Bridge Fund-Restricted $231,883.27; 911 Service $1,012,481.61; Emergency & Disaster $112,804.05; Domestic Abuse $1,276.29; Federal/State Grant $32.11; SA Grants $115,688.67; Truancy Court $110.99; 24/7 Sobriety $106,148.76; ROD M&P $90,709.81; Rural Access Infrastructure $559,577.54; TIF Debt Service $76,292.73; Landfill + Cash Change $7,461,409.00; Landfill-Restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust & Agency Funds $1,858,526.31; Grand Total General Fund Cash & Investments $32,099,639.84. For August 2025: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances $18,095,339.04; Total Savings Account Balances $1,135,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $11,279,270.64; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $30,517,757.10. General Fund Cash & Investment Balances by Funds: General Fund $13,761,118.36; Road & Bridge Fund $4,469,250.84; Road & Bridge Fund-Restricted $231,883.27; 911 Service $952,749.89; Emergency & Disaster $96,863.24; Domestic Abuse $1,331.29; Federal/State Grant $32.11; SA Grants $122,289.76; Truancy Court $110.99; 24/7 Sobriety $104,860.71; ROD M&P $91,843.81; Rural Access Infrastructure $559,577.54; TIF Debt Service $76,292.73; Landfill + Cash Change $7,595,218.62; Landfill-Restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust & Agency Funds $2,686,217.21; Grand Total General Fund Cash & Investments $30,517,757.10. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to go into Executive Session for Personnel and Legal per SDCL 1-25-2. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
The Chair declared the executive session closed with No Action taken.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the amended Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Return of Wyatt Youngblom as Brown County Jail Detention Officer; FT, starting wage $21.93/hr. – effective October 15, 2025.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:59 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on October 16, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $117.78 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com