By Aberdeen Insider - May 29, 2025 in BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
May 20, 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 Gage led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: Vickie Wilson expressed several concerns regarding 135th Street which goes by the Beef Plant. She stated the semis are ruining the road, they are barred but are ignoring the signs and are not following the speed limit either. Vickie asked to have deputies patrol the road more. Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, said he agreed with her, the road is in bad shape. He will look at using some different material because current material is not weather resistant.
COURT RESOURCE HOME GRANT: Kelsie Vinger, State’s Attorney Grant Program presented the Court Resource Home (Fiscal Year 2026) Grant for approval, which will go from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, in the amount of $30,000.00. She shared this is the fourth year for this grant and is still looking for License Foster Families. It is for a short-term stay; the maximum time would be 7 days but generally they are only 24-48 hours, and you do receive a stipend so if anyone is interested, please contact Kelsi at the State’s Attorney Office. Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Court Resource Home Grant Application. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
RACIAL & ETHNIC DISPARITIES GRANT: Kelsie Vinger, State’s Attorney Grant Program presented the Racial & Ethnic Disparities (Fiscal Year 2026) Grant for approval, which will go from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, in the amount of $24,100.00. She shared this is the third year for this grant. They started the Wo’Takuye Oyate Kinship Center. Meetings are held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. They will have an Open House on June 12th. Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dinger to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Racial & Ethnic Disparities Grant Application. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY FOR NORTHERN ELECTRIC: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve the following application submitted by Northern Electric for occupancy of Brown County Hwy 13 in Section 28-T124-R64 and Section 33-T124-R64, Brown County, South Dakota for electrical service. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
BID OPENING FOR SAND LAKE BRIDGE PROJECT: Time and place as advertised to open, read and consider sealed bids for Sand Lake Bridge Project: BRF 6251(00)25-1, PCN 0A70. Bids were received from the following:
NAME OF BIDDER TOTAL BID
Industrial Builders – Fargo, ND $6,486,900.10
SFC Civil Construction – Sioux Falls, SD $3,731,109.40
KEA Constructors – Milford, NE $5,221,290.35
R.R. Schroeder Construction – Glennwood, MN $3,379,000.45
Prahm Construction – Slayton, MN $3,037,891.10
General Excavating – Lincoln, NE $4,512,526.90
Dirk asked to defer the awarding of the bid for a week for the Engineers to review and get approval from the State of S.D. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.). Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to defer the awarding of the bid until next week. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR BOUNDARY LINE HIGHWAYS ON COUNTY SYSTEM BETWEEN BROWN COUNTY & CITY OF ABERDEEN: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, highlighted parts of the agreement that the Commission had reviewed. Two factors come into play: 75% or more of property annexed within the City shall be assigned to the City and/or if over 50% of the vehicle traffic is predominantly by municipal residents, shall be assigned to the City. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Intergovernmental Agreement for Boundary Line Highways on County System between Brown County and City of Aberdeen. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, informed the Commission that the S.D. D.O.T. is going to try one more time to see if they can get any bids for the Elm Lake Bridge Project, otherwise they may lump it with another project. The employees have done some patching and paving but now they need to wait until the rain stops. The Richmond Guard Rail was starting today. Commissioner Dennert mentioned that they need to do striping on Co. 14 by the water because it is hard to see at night. Commissioner Sutton mentioned concerns on the roughness of road going into Warner off of 281. Dirk stated he would check into them.
SOFTWARE PURCHASE: Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor, discussed with the Commission a Financial Software Package for Project Accounting and Grant Management that she would like to purchase for an annual cost of $7,538.00. Commissioner Wiese moved to defer this decision for a week so they could look take a closure look at the software, seconded by Dinger. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes of May 13, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims/Payroll: Claims: Insurance: Insurance Plus $675.00. Professional Fees: Certified Languages International LLC $1,075.80; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $852.00; Dohrer Law Office, PC $1,680.00; Healthstream, Inc $2,452.50; IMEG Corp $5,401.00; Kristi Brandt $51.75; Kuck Law Office $936.00; Medical Waste Transport, Inc $212.40; Network Center, Inc $5,482.68; Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association $1,075.00; Rebecca Young $18.02; Sanford Health Occupational Medicine $ 207.00; Sanford Health $1,341.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $3,666.00; Taylor Bell $170.00; TJ Counseling $2,500.00. Publishing: Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry $200.00; Dakota Broadcasting, LLC $1,960.00; Friends of SDPB-Underwriting $2,850.00; Groton Daily Independent $38.32; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $100.63; The Watertown Current $198.00. Repairs & Maintenance: Dakota Pump LLC $2,663.27; Dakota Supply Group $291.09; DMC Wear Parts LLC $195.00; Eilers Water Conditioning and Lawn Irrigation $553.00; Gary’s Auto Body & Accessories $1,280.46; Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc $165.60; Steven Lust Automotive $259.30. Supplies: Advance Auto Parts $252.26; Agtegra $1,292.40; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $670.69; Avera LTC Pharmacy Aberdeen $438.47; Black Book $257.32; Century Business Products $908.56; Cole Paper Inc $656.46; Dakota Oil $5,000.65; DMC Wear Parts LLC $19,200.00; Eddie’s Northside Sinclair $125.00; Election Systems & Software $933.94; Gary’s Auto Body & Accessories $39.00; Johnson Brothers of South Dakota, Inc. $405.60; Kuck Law Office $26.06; Leidholdt Tool Sales, LLC $14.73; Mac’s Inc-Capital One Trade Credit $223.87; Marco Technologies, LLC $3,584.22; Menards $79.30; NVC $36.29; Pauer Sound, LLC $195.00; Performance Oil $377.20; Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc $1,143.69; Pro Ag Supply, Inc $234.06; Runnings $2,471.21; Russell Metz $11.26; SD State Historical Society $55.00; Sprocket Ventures, LLC $70.00; Stan Houston Equipment Company, Inc $106.68; Steven Lust Automotive $89.90; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $2,010.00. Travel & Conference: Aaron Walberg $782.90; Adelaide Mounga $309.50; Jason Erickson $525.80; Jesse Milbrandt $296.80; Karla Nelson $523.00; Karly Winter $509.72; Lynn Heupel $277.00; Mariann Malsom $244.00; Neil Bittner $28.00; Sarah J Jesz $312.20; Scott Kolb $28.00; Tuckor Anderson $1,003.20; Wes Graff $120.00. Utilities: CenturyLink $496.08; City of Aberdeen Treasurer $648.48; City of Hecla $193.63; Dependable Sanitation, Inc $396.00; Northwestern Energy $1,749.94; NVC $3,194.40; Verizon Wireless $1,722.14.
Payroll: Commission $4,896.51; Elections $1,945.88; Auditor $10,402.86; Treasurer $18,183.01; SA $36,667.83; Public Defender $5,384.61; Maintenance $12,129.75; Assessor $16,589.50; Register of Deeds $10,905.92; VSO $4,741.87; GIS $2,946.49; IT $10,005.68; HR $5,575.72; Sheriff $56,698.68; Jail $66,170.25; Coroner $1,250.00; Court Security $7,078.37; JDC $35,440.50; Welfare $1,002.11; Museum $13,640.94; Parks/Fairgrounds $9,717.06; Fair Board $3,626.66; 4-H $877.19; Weed $5,484.93; Planning & Zoning $8,062.16; Highway $55,893.41; Dispatch $38,712.18; Emergency $5,498.56; 24/7 Sobriety $2,706.96; Landfill $20,819.49; Meal Benefits $56.00; SDRS Pay-out $2,182.12; FICA $28,135.19; Medicare $6,580.02; Discovery -HSA $2,707.60. 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 Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Transfer of Abby Jones from Brown County 911 Communications Officer to Brown County Jail Records Technician, FT; starting wage $19.87/hr. – effective June 9, 2025.
- Promotion of Jerremias Vega from Brown County Home Detention Officer to Brown County Jail Sergeant, starting wage $28.07/hr. – effective May 25, 2025.
- Hiring of Bernel Lee as Brown County Highway Truck Driver, FT; starting wage $21.93/hr. – effective May 19, 2025.
- Hiring Part-time (as needed) Bartenders at $10.00/hr. + tips. Bartenders filling in as Leads will be at $12.00/hr. + tips – effective June 1, 2025.
- Jerri Bierman
- Chase Bradfeldt
- Bailey Frericks
- Laurie Gibson
- Lexy Herrer
- Joselyn Kiefer
- Kristi Kreich
- Jasmine Locke
- Abigail Johnson
- Brooke Solas
- Adding Campground Host, Ben Johnson, to the approved volunteer list for Work-Comp purposes.
- Adding NSU Student, Stella Meier, to the approved volunteer list for Work-Comp purposes.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LEASE AGREEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the following lease agreement: Dacotah Prairie Museum Foundation to lease the Holum Expo Building on June 12, 2025 for Trivia Night Fundraiser; Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce to lease the Club House on September 18, 2025 for their Field to Fork Event; Boys & Girls Club of Aberdeen Area to lease the enclosed Corn Trailer on July 9-10, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUEST: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Travel Request: Brandon Mills, Sheriff ‘s Office to attend Advanced Sexual Assault Training on May 23, 2025, in Watertown, SD. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LOTTERY PERMIT: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign application submitted by Dacotah Prairie Museum Foundation for a lottery to be held on June 12, 2025, at the Brown County Fairgrounds. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Rachel Kippley, Fair/Fairgrounds/Parks Manager met with the Commission to discuss options for Holum Expo Building Dry Mains and Valve Replacement for the Sprinkler System. It was decided to defer this for a week and have it on the agenda to discuss further.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to go into executive session to discuss Contracts & Legal per SDCL 1-25-2. All members present voting aye. Motion carried. The chair declared the executive session closed with no action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 10:37 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on May 29, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $107.35 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com