By BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
NOTICE OF 3.17.26 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 Wiese led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
BID OPENING FOR LANDFILL CELL #5: Time and place, as advertised, to open, read and consider sealed bids for Landfill Cell #5 Construction project. Bids were received from the following: Midland Contracting for $2,524,525.07; Loiseau Construction for $2,560,000.00; Foothills Contracting for $1,753,967.68; Dahme Construction for $2,830,959.50; Border States Paving for $4,536,824.00 and B&B Contracting for $3,315,466.48. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to defer for a week for review. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #322 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #322. Applicant Donna Keatts to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Lake Front Residential District (R-3) to bring this parcel into compliance for its future use: Description of property: Proposed Lot 1, “Keatts Tenth Subdivision to Richmond Lake” in the W1/2 of the NW1/4 of Section 23-T123N-R65W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (approx. 37840 Richmond Drive; Ravinia Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
FAIR CONTRACTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Fireworks Permit for RKM Fireworks Co. to do the Fireworks Display at the Brown County Fair on Saturday, August 15, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Entertainment Contracts which details are confidential for Sevendust, Blackhawk and Theory of a Deadman. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SURPLUS PROPERTY: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve to surplus some phones from the Treasurer’s Office and be disposed of at the Landfill. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
2026 DECLARATIONS WITH SD PUBLIC ASSURANCE ALLIANCE: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the 2026 Declarations with SD Public Assurance Alliance. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes of March 10, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims: Insurance: SD Public Assurance Alliance $3,248.22. Professional Fees: Aberdeen Cardiology $7.56; Aberdeen ED $596.15; Aberdeen Imaging $41.65; Acute Care Aberdeen $398.52; Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. $1,586.40; Certified Languages International LLC $808.50; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $3,698.60; Dakota Group LLC $2,500.00; Dependable Sanitation, Inc. $32,974.00; Emergency Services Marketing Corp, Inc $413.28; Faulk County Sheriff’s Office $900.00; IMEG Corp $7,000.00; Karpel Solutions $11,450.00; Kristi Brandt $28.75; Kuck Law Office $5,994.70; LexisNexis Risk Data Mgt, LLC $200.00; Network Center, Inc $3,057.77; Northeastern Mental Health Center $1,968.75; PharmChem, Inc $2,308.65; Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association $1,250.00; Sanford Clinic Aberdeen $309.71; Sanford Health Occupational Medicine $673.00; Sanford Health $4,826.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $4,231.50; Target Solutions Learning LLC $6,903.86; Telerad Prof SA10 $41.65; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $595.49. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $138.35; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $1,095.36. Rentals: Dakota Electronics LLC $4,501.00; Vestis $273.74. Repairs & Maintenance: Artz Equipment, Inc. $210.90; Brown Flooring LLC $1,146.00; C Express Inc. $12.74; Custom Installation Solutions $675.00; Dakota Doors Inc. $683.38; Diesel Machinery, Inc. $8325.00; EcoLab Pest Elimination Division $132.12; Graham Tire $15.20; Interstate Powersystems $1,800.26; Leidholt Electric $79.73; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $895.96; Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc $132.95; Service Signs Inc $1,275.61; Steven Lust Automotive $575.35. Supplies: Amazon Capital Services, Inc. $688.71; Artz Equipment $1,295.27; Avera LTC Pharmacy Aberdeen $40.00; Borns Group $12,577.26; Century Business Products $684.67; Cole Paper Inc. $223.92; Cook’s Direct, Inc. $327.01; Dakota Doors Inc $635.95; Dakota Oil $438.90; Diesel Machinery, Inc. $23,263.20; FedEx $14.60; Graham Tire $5.05; James Straatmeyer $2,210.00; Kessler’s $136.86; Kuck Law Office $203.55; LabSource, Inc $767.80; Leidholt Electric, LLC $156.58; Matthew Bener & Col, Inc $130.43; Menards $257.08; Midstates Group $118.45; NVC $30.63; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $1,896.91; Titan Machinery $972.93. Travel & Conference: City of Aberdeen – K.O. Lee Public Library $50.00; Kent Karlen $19.00; SD Narcotics Officers Association $100.00. Utilities: CenturyLink $582.03; City of Aberdeen Treasurer $508.92; City of Hecla $236.62; Economy Propane, LLC $1,763.20; Northern Electric $117.50; Northwestern Energy $312.14; NVC $399.77; State of South Dakota PMB 0112 $94.00; Verizon Wireless $460.29. Other: SD Assoc of County Officials $650.00. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Resignation of Brianna Chaviano as Brown County 911 Communications Officer, FT; effective March 12, 2026. Request to fill.
- Resignation of Payton Beidler as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; effective March 23, 2026. Request to fill.
- Hiring of Wesley Jones as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT – starting wage $22.59/hr.; effective March 17, 2026.
- Hiring of Blake Martin as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT – starting wage $22.59/hr.; effective April 1, 2026
- Promotion of Makayla Madsen from Brown County 911 Senior Communications Officer to Brown County 911 Shift Supervisor, FT – starting wage $28.91/hr.; effective March 15, 2026.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR JANUARY 2026: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the Auditor’s Report of Accounts for January 2026: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7700.00; Total Checking Account Balances: $21,038,703.12; Total Savings Account Balance $1,375,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $13,302,725.57; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $35,724,576.11. General Fund $17,084,062.68; Road & Bridge Fund $2,952,402.33; Road & Bridge Fund – restricted $231,883.27; 911 Service $600,376.15; Emergency & Disaster ($27,048.14); Domestic Abuse $649.03; SA Grants $181,253.80; 24/7 Sobriety $77,967.45; ROD M&P $71,357.52; Rural Access Infrastructure $376,393.85; TIF Debt Service $102,156.92; Landfill + cash change $7,739,631.78; Landfill – restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust and Agency Funds $3,524,415.93; Grand Total General Fund Cash And Investments $32,724,576.11. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the following Travel Requests: Lynn Heupel, Auditor to attend Lake Region Meeting on March 25, 2026 in Milbank, SD; Lynn Heupel and Sara Swisher, Auditor’s Office to attend Spring Workshop on May 5-7, 2026 in Pierre, SD; Mike Wiese, Commissioner to attend SD Narcotics Officers Assoc. Conference on April 29-May 1, 2026 in Deadwood, SD. The motion passed with 4 votes; Commissioner Wiese abstained due to one being for himself.
ABATEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the following Abatements: For Tax Year 2026: Parcel #29398-$69.19; Parcel #20571-$52.10; Parcel #5492-$283.95; Parcel #26492-$104.20. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: None
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 8:58 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on March 26, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $86.58 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com