By Aberdeen Insider - December 11, 2025 in BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
NOTICE OF DECEMBER 2, 2025 – 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, Sutton and Wiese. Commissioner Gage led the Pledge of Allegiance.
MOMENT OF SILENCE: A Moment of Silence was held in remembrance of Patrick Keatts, who served many years on the Planning & Zoning Board.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the agenda, with the amendment of postponing second reading/possible adoption of Ordinance #302, Wind Energy Systems. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
ORDINANCE #312 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to adopt Ordinance #312. Applicant Tim & Judy Siedschlag/Gerald & Kathy Goldade to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring these parcels into compliance for their current use. Description of property: Proposed Lot 1 & Lot 2, “Siedschlag First Addition” and Lot 2, “Gehrke 1st Subdivision” in the SW1/4 of Section 13-T124N-R65W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (37910, 37926 & approx. 37930 127th Street; Ravinia Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #313 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to adopt Ordinance #313. Applicant Sub Thirty Ventures, LLC – Brett Deibert/Brock Ball to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Lake Front Residential District (R-3) backlot without a residence to bring this parcel into compliance for its future use. Description of property: Lot 2, “Greg Hoffman Addition” in the E ½ of Section 14-T124N-R65W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (126757 W Shore Dr., Ravinia Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #314 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to adopt Ordinance #314. Applicant Michael Carrels to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Lake Front Residential District (R-3) backlot without a residence to bring this parcel into compliance for its future use. Description of property: Lot 1, “Jerke’s First Addition” in the SE 1/4 of Section 24-T124N-R65W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (379710 N Shore Dr, Ravinia Twp). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #315 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to adopt Ordinance #315. Applicant Vision Quest Real Estate, LLC – Brad Meehan 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: Lot 5C, “Gederos’ Replat of Lots 5 & 7 of Evelo’s Outlots” in the SE 1/4 of Section 35-T123N-R64W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (602 Buick Dr. SW, Aberdeen Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #316 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to adopt Ordinance #316. Applicant Sea Atwood to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Highway Commercial District (HC) to bring this parcel into compliance for its future use. Description of property: Lot 1, “Lowary Family First Addition” in the NE1/4 of Section 27-T123N-R64W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (2208 S Highway 281; Aberdeen Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #317 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to adopt Ordinance #317. Applicant Paul Larson 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: Proposed Lot 1, “Paul Larson Second Addition” in the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 6-T122N-R63W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (13653 389th Avenue; Warner Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve the application submitted by Northern Electric Cooperative for occupancy of Brown County Highway 13 in Section 30-T124-R64, Brown County, South Dakota to install primary electrical infrastructure. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
APPROVE & AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING FOR BROWN COUNTY HWY 14 IMPROVEMENT BIDS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to set hearing date and authorize advertising public hearing to open, read and consider bids for Brown County Highway 14 Improvements at 8:45am on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 in the Commission Chambers, Courthouse Annex, Brown County, SD. Bidding documents may be viewed and obtained at www.questcdn.com by entering QuestCDN project number 9970284. If you need assistance with the website, please contact QuestCDN Customer Support at 952-233-1632 or [email protected] or via the County website at www.brown.sd.us – Bids. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, informed the Commission that they have been out plowing last Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday. There first pass is to get the road open, then they go back to clean it up. They are still cleaning up today. Dirk shared that they do not salt or sand straight aways, they only do that on hills, intersections and at railroad crossings. They will be hauling rip rap and have some shoulder work to do yet if weather permits. Scott Sundberg with Hub City Radio asked about 19A outside there building if someone called if they could get salt or sand because of the solid ice and Dirk said as a business no but possibly due to the School Stop there that may warrant a reason to do it. A question was asked on what it cost for snow removal, Dirk replied that is runs between $16 to 20 thousand for just one-time.
Dirk shared with the Commission that he was contacted by the State asking about the readiness of Highway Departments and how long they could go without getting fuel. In the winter, the Highway Department can go 6-8 weeks. Dirk stated that he does plan to look into a Generator for the Highway Shop.
Commissioner Wiese commented that Dirk does a good job with stretching his limited budget and having to balance everything to provide the best road systems overall. People need to be patient and slow down this time of year.
APPROVE MOU WITH SDSU FOR 4-H ADVISOR: Moved by Commissioner Weise, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the MOU between SDSU and Brown County for 2026 4-H Educator. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes for November 25, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the following Claims/Payroll. Claims: Professional Fees: Avera St. Luke’s Hospital $8,383.12; Christy Griffin-Serr Law Office $5,550.00; Kristi Brandt $246.15; Kuck Law Office $3,936.00; Richardson, Wyly, Wise, Sauck & Hieb, LLP $2,520.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $1,746.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $327.17; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $228.02. Rentals: Dakota Electronics LLC $3,768.00. Repairs & Maintenance: Graham Tire Inc $807.77; Honeywell International Inc $8,421.93; House of Glass $108.16; Interstate Powersystems $3,265.78; Lien Transportation Company $2,280.00; Little Falls Machine, Inc $850.00; Loiseau Construction, Inc $155,789.28; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $342.54; Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, LLC $497.00; Sander’s Sew-N-Vac $214.50. Supplies: Amazon Capital Services, Inc $793.73; Buckstaff Public Safety $2,154.60; Capital Equipment Sales LLC $3,000.00; Century Business Products $177.54; Cole Paper Inc $2,381.00; Faulkton Drug $156.33; Geffdog Designs $24.00; HBD Inc $651.92; Intoximeters $1,347.00; Kuck Law Office $206.28; Leidholdt Tool Sales $56.04, LLC; LexisNexis Risk Data Mgt, LLC $132.43; Little Falls Machine, Inc $19,100.00; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $32.00; Performance Oil $176.04; Sherwin Williams $110.40; Tyler Business Forms $154.36. Travel & Conference: Christy Griffin-Serr Law Office $148.00; Kent Karlen $14.00; Neil Bittner $14.00. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $140.30; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co $38.88. Machinery & Equipment: Capital Equipment Sales LLC $9,000.00. Other: Lisa or James Kiesz $34.14; Tony Arampatzis $65.86. Payroll: Commission $4,896.51; Elections $2,045.77; Auditor/Welfare $11,624.25; Treasurer $15,425.14; SA $37,110.17; Public Defender $9,778.21; Maintenance $12,890.23; Assessor $16,634.54; Register of Deeds $10,905.91; VSO $4,741.87; GIS $2,946.49; IT $9,855.68; HR $5,419.28; Sheriff $59,937.54; Jail $76,518.08; Coroner (Voucher) $750.00; Court Security $6,938.66; JDC $33,210.92; Museum $14,290.71; Parks/Fairgrounds $7,546.68; Fair Board $4,601.46; 4-H $834.79; Weed $3,397.43; Planning & Zoning $8,123.81; Highway $45,573.74; Dispatch $40,216.73; Emergency $5,498.56; 24/7 Sobriety $2,910.79; Landfill $20,373.40; Meal Benefits $70.00; FICA $28,127.70; Medicare $6,578.30; HSA $2,258.08; Health Insurance-Wellmark BCBS $137,772.62; Dental Insurance-Delta $9,589.38; Life Insurance-Dearborn $1,141.04, Retirement-SDRS $60,123.77. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Allison Tunheim, Human Resources Director:
- Resignation of Shanae Florence as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; effective December 20, 2025. Request to fill.
- Job description, title and grade for Communications Training & Quality Assurance Coordinator to be place in grade 16.
- Hiring of Sylvester David as Brown County Jail Cook, FT; starting wage $17.13/hr. – effective December 1,2025.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR OCTOBER 2025: Moved by Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the Auditor’s Report of Accounts for October 2025: Total Cash and Check on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances $38,761,563.79; Total Savings Account Balances $2,110,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit $11,302,725.57; Grand Total Cash & Balances: $52,182,436.78. General Fund Cash & Investment Balances by Funds: General Fund $18,085,832.94; Road & Bridge Fund $3,319,278.65; Road & Bridge Fund Restricted $231,883.27; 911 Service $785,674.45; Emergency & Disaster $56,534.54; Domestic Abuse $1,196.66; Federal/State Grant $32.11; SA Grants $123,503.80; Truancy Court $110.99; 24/7 Sobriety $92,681.58; ROD M&P $96,704.10; Rural Access Infrastructure $559,577.54; TIF Debt Service $76,292.73; Landfill + Cash Change $7,176,597.44; Landfill-Restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust and Agency Funds $21,808,419.25; Grand Total General Fund Cash & Investments $52,182,436.78. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Travel Requests: Lynn Heupel, Auditor, to attend SDACO Executive Board Meetings on December 10-11, 2025 in Pierre. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SET HEARING DATE/AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING FOR TEMPORARY ALCOHOL PERMIT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to authorize advertising public hearing for the following Temporary Special Event Alcohol Permit: Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce for Business After Hours to be held at AgTegra Innovation Center, Lt 2 SDWG Bath – Grebner Terminal ADD (39278 133rd St., Bath, SD) Brown County, SD on December 30, 2025. (Temporary Special Event Alcohol License effective January 8, 2026). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Commissioner Wiese shared that the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive is happening December 1st – 3rd at the Yelduz Shrine and encouraged people to donate for Law Enforcement.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Personnel. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:49 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on December 11, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $128.44 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com