By Aberdeen Insider - July 24, 2025 in BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
JULY 15, 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.
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: Thomas Leonhardt asked the Commission about finishing the culverts by his place, stating they were never finished. Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent explained that he told him ‘No’ because didn’t think any Construction companies knew what to do but he talked with Jacobs Construction, and they understand how to do it. Mr. Leonhardt wants to do the work himself, Dirk said that it is fine but then do not complain to the County if something doesn’t stand up. Mr. Leonhardt also asked about County Hwy. 27 being black topped; Dirk figured within the month based on other projects.
PUBLIC HEARING – TEMPORARY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE PERMIT FOR SPECIAL EVENT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Temporary Alcoholic Beverage Permit in conjunction with a Special Event for Malt Beverage and Wine License to Richmond Lake Association, Aberdeen, SD for Poker Run to be held at Richmond Pavilion, Richmond Resort Outlot 2 in the NE ¼ Section 25-T124N-R65W, Brown County, SD; effective July 26, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #304 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #304. Applicant Dawn Weismantel 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 Lots 1 & 2, “Weismantel Farm First Addition” in the E 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 33-T126N-R62W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (11747 397th Avenue; Shelby Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #305 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #305. Applicants Earl & Amanda Maier 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, “Maier’s First Addition” in the SW1/4 of Section 17-T126N-R63W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (11450 389th Avenue; Brainard Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #306 – FIRST READING: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dinger to approve the First Reading of Proposed Ordinance #306. Applicant Matthew Olsen 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: Lots 2A & 2B, “Lockheed Replat of Lot 2 of 2nd Subdivision of O’Dea’s Outlot 1” in the SW 1/4 of Section 34-T122N-R64W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (38518 & 38534 142nd Street; Warner Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
DACOTAH PRAIRIE MUSEUM UPDATE: Patricia Kendall, the Museum Director, met with the Commission to give them an update on the Building Campaign; they completed the Feasibility Study and were surprised how many people were not aware of everything they do, where their funding comes from, etc. The next step is the Campaign Readiness Phase, where they will be conducting information gathering sessions. The goal is in one year to be at the Public Phase and break ground on the addition.
Patricia informed the Commission of other ongoing updates: the new Squire Gallery will open this fall; Buntrock Gallery will be ready by the end of the year; Gift Shop has moved to the second floor; they received a $7,000.00 Grant from 3M for their STEM Camp.
QUOTE FOR PADDED CELL: Sheriff Dave Lunzman presented a quote from Marathon Engineering Corporation for the Padded Cell that we did not receive any bids for the on July 8th. The quote was for $32,712.00 but would provide a “Deduct Alternate” of $3,677.00 if they did not pad the ceiling, which brough the quote to $29,035.00. They offered an additional deduction of $1,472.00 if the County waved the Bid Bond. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to accept the quote of $29,035.00 and require the Bid Bond. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the General Meeting Minutes of July 8, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve the following claims/payroll: Claims: Insurance: SD Public Assurance Alliance $604.21; SDACC $21,569.00. Professional Fees: Certified Languages International LLC $1,168.20; Christy Griffin-Serr Law Office $450.00; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $1,908.00; Dean Schaefer Court Reporting $72.00; Den Herder Law Firm $192.00; IMEG Corp $22,010.70; Jerald M. McNeary $230.00; Jeremy Lund – Siegel Barnett & Schutz, LLP $12,701.50; Kuck Law Office $4,184.25; Language Line Services, Inc $1,062.19; LexisNexis Risk Data Mgt, LLC $200.00; Lucy Lewno $192.00; Mark Katterhagen $20.00; Motorola Solutions, Inc $9,681.69; PharmChem, Inc $1,296.00; Saber Shred Solutions $2,300.50; Satellite Tracking of People, LLC $591.50; SD Dept of Health $1,315.00; SDHSC $600.00; State of South Dakota PMB 0112 $102.33; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $4,926.00; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $2,073.14; Tyler Technologies, Inc $1,080.50; Valerie Larson $20.00; Zylstra Investigations $680.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $191.04; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $461.62; Midstates Group $15.00. Rentals: Jackson Heights $330.00; Linde Gas & Equipment Inc $63.18; Vestis $266.48. Repairs & Maintenance: Butler Machinery Company $594.00; C.I.S. Company $650.00; Dakota Supply Group $52.86; Double A Plumbing, LLC $2,910.84; HF Jacobs & Son Const. Inc $577.50; Hoven Auto Repair, Inc $74.00; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $929.62; Parkview Nursery $618.10; RDO Equipment Co $8,753.59; Steven Lust Automotive $394.84. Supplies: Agtegra Cooperative $14,051.76; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $403.64; Applied Concepts, Inc. $3,642.00; Bimbo Foods USA, Inc $729.30; Brown Conservation District $1,473.12; Butler Machinery Company $1,545.85; Central Network Retail Group LLC $94.39; Century Business Products $328.18; Cole Paper Inc $1,426.89; Dakota Supply Group $224.95; East Side Jersey Dairy Inc $820.29; Ellwein Brothers Inc $1,866.05; Hoven Auto Repair, Inc $345.79; Jensen Rock & Sand Inc $10,233.00; Ken’s SuperFair Foods $1,288.06; Kessler’s $113.95; Kuck Law Office $121.20; Leidholdt Tool Sales, LLC $189.27; Lien Transportation Company $6,665.40; Linde Gas & Equipment Inc $204.91; Lucy Lewno $6.73; Menards $40.14; Midstates Group $85.00; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $60.00; Performance Oil $58.92; RaceWestEast $279.00; Rinse & Go Car Wash $13.00; Runnings $271.38; Schwan Welding $620.00; Steven Lust Automotive $34.95; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $337.57; Tri-State Water $35.00; US Foods $10,020.55; Van Diest Supply Company $790.02. Travel & Conference: Anna Johnson $94.00, Becca Tullar $94.00; Joe Kretchman $14.00; John Andersen $14.00; Lexipol, LLC $1,670.34; Neil Bittner $14.00; Scott Kolb $14.00; State 4-H Office – Fair passes $85.00; The Lodge at Deadwood $904.00. Utilities: City of Aberdeen Treasurer $2,189.06; City of Hecla $165.90; Economy Propane, LLC $785.24; Northern Electric $93.50. Other: SD Assoc of County Officials $814.00; SD Dept of Agriculture & Natural Resources $5,679.78. Machinery & Equipment: Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $48,536.00. Payroll: Commission $4,896.51; Elections $1,936.80; Auditor $10,443.10; Treasurer $18,430.39; SA $36,570.82; Public Defender $5,384.61; Maintenance $12,195.75; Assessor $16,581.75; Register of Deeds $10,905.91; VSO $4,728.51; GIS $2,946.49; IT $9,855.68; HR $5,490.97; Sheriff $62,038.77; Jail $75,670.40; Coroner $750.00; Court Security $6,593.00; JDC $33,045.29; Welfare $1,002.11; Museum $12,296.26; Parks/Fairgrounds $10,286.94; Fair Board $4,591.91; 4-H $1,734.44; Weed $6,299.59; Planning & Zoning $8,062.16; Highway $60,181.36; Dispatch $37,458.81; Emergency $5,498.55; 24/7 Sobriety $2,692.81; Landfill $17,717.63; Meal Benefits $70.00; FICA $28,809.88; Medicare $6,737.74; HSA $2,309.40. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Re-hire of Kendall Titze as Brown County Highway Seasonal Worker, FT; starting wage $21.93/hr. – effective July 14, 2025.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LEASE AGREEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the following lease agreements: Exchange Club of Aberdeen to lease the Fairgrounds Parking Lot for Flag Retirement on July 17, 2025; Joseph Berns to lease the Richmond Lake Youth Camp for a wedding on August 1-2, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the following travel requests: Brad Borge, Public Defender, to attend Continuing Legal Education Conference in Minneapolis, MN on July 9-12, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LOTTERY PERMIT: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the application submitted by Richmond Lake Association for July 26, 2025 to raise funds for Richmond Lake Projects such as Fireworks Display. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIM ASSIGNMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese 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.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR MAY 2025: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the Auditor’s Report of Accounts for May 2025: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances $34,454,457.79; Total Savings Account Balances $2,465,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $11,202,175.24; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $48,129,780.45. General Fund Cash & Investment Balances by Funds: General Fund $24,779,194.49; Road & Bridge Fund $1,886,286.17; Road & Bridge Fund-Restricted $231,883.27; 911 Service $614,591.40; Emergency & Disaster ($20,671.09); Domestic Abuse $1,154.79; Federal/State Grant $32.11; SA Grants $117,073.19; Truancy Court $110.99; 24/7 Sobriety $7,087.14; ROD M&P $91,813.23; Rural Access Infrastructure $559,577.54; TIF Debt Service $76,292.73; Landfill + Cash Change $7,399,775.55; Landfill-Restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust & Agency Funds $12,617,462.21; Grand Total General Fund Cash & Investments $48,129,780.45. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Chairman Sutton reminded everyone of the Lake Region Meeting that will be hosted by Marshall County on Thursday, July 17th and will be held at Snappers Dry Bean in Britton, SD.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Move by Wiese, seconded by Dennert to go into Executive Session for Personnel 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 Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:14 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on July 24, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $120.64 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com