By Aberdeen Insider - August 28, 2025 in BROWN COUNTY COMMISSION
AUGUST 19, 2025 – GENERAL MEETING
Meeting called to order by Vice-Chairman Gage at 8:45 A.M. in the Commission Chambers, Courthouse Annex, Brown County, SD. Present were Commissioners Dennert, Dinger, Gage, and Wiese. Commissioner Sutton was absent. 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.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
DISCUSS PURCHASE OF NEW COPIER FOR PUBLIC DEFENDERS’ OFFICE: Brad Borge, Brown County Public Defender, met with the Commission to request purchasing a new copier for his office since the one given to him wasn’t under contract and was told that it is rather expensive to fix if something goes wrong. Pat Wolberg, IT Director, got him a quote from Century Business Products for $13,391.43 to be like another copier purchased by the Sheriff’s Office. Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve purchasing the copier from Century Business Products for $13,391.43. The motion passed with 3 votes; Commissioner Wiese abstained due to being employed by Century Business Products.
LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR LAWRENCE WELK 70TH ANNIVERSARY: The Brown County Commission was contacted and asked to do a letter of support for the 70th Anniversary of “The Lawrence Welk Show” national debut. Vice-Chairman Gage read the proposed letter of support. Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Vice-Chairman Gage to sign the letter of support. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ELM LAKE BRIDGE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, shared with the Commission that S.D. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) rejected the bid for the Elm Lake Bridge because it was $2.2 million higher that the Engineer estimated. The bridge will be replaced but looking at different options to lower the costs; one option would be to shift the bridge 40 feet to the west. The Feds recommend scour protection, which drives up the costs. D.O.T. is going to be replacing the Platte/Winner Bridge, which is a large project, which in turn has a ripple effect so the 6th Ave. Bridge here in Aberdeen has been moved to 2027. Dirk stated they will do an interim fix to the road at Elm Lake until the Bridge project is completed.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent informed the Commission that the James (Jim) River is 32” below crest level and Crow Creek is 60” below crest level. There is water over the road by Pierpont and the golf course in Groton is probably flooded. They will be shooting oil and paving on Co. Rd. 5 then moving to Mansfield. They are still patching and mowing. Dirk shared that Matt Heupel and he were in Pierre for training last week, Matt completed the certification. Commissioner Dinger asked if the Richmond Dam was still on track for Spring of 2026, Commissioner Wiese is also interested in their plans for that. Dirk will check into it because he hadn’t heard anything recently. Commissioner Wiese inquired about the Guardrail at Richmond and Dirk stated that it was completed.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the General Meeting Minutes of August 12, 2025. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the following claims: Professional Fees: Birmingham & Cwach Law Offices, PLLC $420.00; Clark Thares $25.00; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $3,048.00; Dependable Sanitation $45,734.00; Dohrer Law Office, PC $576.00; IMEG Corp $9,139.00; Kennedy Pier Loftus & Reynolds, LLP $446.00; Kuck Law Office $3,006.00; Lenling Law Office, Prof. LLC $2,700.00; Lewis & Clark BHS $225.00; Lincoln County Auditor $242.67; Northeastern Mental Health Center $700.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $6,408.00; TMS Production Integration $41,300.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $252.66; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $276.43. Rentals: Pantorium Cleaners Inc $207.36. Repairs & Maintenance: Ace Refrigeration, LLC $226.95; B & B Contracting, Inc $301.02; Dakota Pump LLC $1,845.00; EcoLab Pest Elimination Division $127.56; Graham Tire Inc $189.75; HF Jacobs & Son Const. Inc $581.63; J & K Painting $338.00; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $144.90; Les Schwab Group Holdings LLC $370.97; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $235.96; Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc $331.88; Quality Welding, Inc $163.95. Supplies: A-1 Locksmithing $10.00; AASLH-American Assoc for State & Local History $237.00; ADAPCO LLC $3,373.50; Advance Auto Parts $764.65; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $1,945.18; Artz Equipment, Inc $1,477.78; Avera LTC Pharmacy Aberdeen $1,334.11; Birmingham & Cwach Law Offices, PLLC $8.73; Cartney Bearing $206.60; Century Business Products $547.41; Clarke Mosquito Control Products, Inc. $382.71; Cole Paper Inc $1,461.08; Cornwell Drug $13.79; Crescent Electric Supply Co $28.93; Dakota Electronics LLC $634.70; Dakota Oil $3,477.03; Dakota Supply Group $46.91; Geffdog Designs $3,154.18; Graham Tire Inc $800.38; Hall Sand & Gravel, Inc $598.10; Hillyard Sioux Falls $21.05; Intoximeters $409.75; Jensen Rock & Sand Inc $59,727.60; Kuck Law Office $78.78; Les Schwab Group Holdings LLC $86.96; Lien Transportation Company $141,300.00; Menards $133.01; Midstates Group $348.00; Minn-Kota Communications, Inc $23,378.28; Nelson Sales & Service, LLC $29.98; NVC $32.36; Performance Oil $29.30; Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc $603.12; Pro Ag Supply, Inc $45.73; Runnings $38.97; Sander’s Sew-N-Vac $689.24; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $72.50; Thomson Reuters – West Payment Center $2,010.00. Travel & Conference: Derek Hoefert $20.00; Kent Karlen $14.00; Lenling Law Office, Prof. LLC $120.00; Steve Westby $14.00. Utilities: CenturyLink $496.08; City of Aberdeen Treasurer $458.49; City of Hecla $162.44; Dependable Sanitation, Inc $396.00; Economy Propane, LLC $864.30; Northern Electric $93.50; Northwestern Energy $110.44; NVC $3,952.50; Verizon Wireless $600.29. Other: Office of Weights & Measures-SD Dept of Public Safety $103.00; SD Assoc of County Officials $944.00. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Resignation of Carlos Caraballo Rodriguez as Brown County Assistant Jail Administrator: FT, effective August 16, 2025. Request to fill.
- Hiring of Ian Cole as Brown County 911 Communications Officer: FT, starting wage $23.04/hr. – effective August 18, 2025.
- Hiring of Abigail Rang as Brown County 911 Communications Officer: FT, starting wage $23.04/hr. – effective August 25, 2025.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIM ASSIGNMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, 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.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the following Travel Requests: Dirk Rogers & Matt Heupel, Highway Department to attend Superintendent Certification & Office Staff Training on August 13, 2025 in Pierre; Mike Scott, Landfill to attend SD Solid Waste Annual Conference on September 10-12, 2025 in Mitchell; Jessica Puente-Castro, Brandon Duxbury, Alaina Perry, Jay Hopkins-Entzel, Marianne Marttila-Klipfel from Dacotah Prairie Museum to attend Tour of Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center on August 18, 2025 in Chamberlain. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: District 3 Senator, Carl Perry wanted to give a Thank-you to Rachel Kippley and the Fair board for all their hard work and putting together another great Fair, where there is ‘No Parking or Admission Fee”.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to go into Executive Session for Legal per SDCL 1-25-2. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
The Vice-Chairman declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:38 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on August 28, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $78.26 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com