By Aberdeen Insider - April 9, 2026 in BROWN COUTY
MARCH 31, 2026
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 Dinger 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: Senator Carl Perry shared with the Commission that they passed SB121D in the amount of $8,212,974.00 for the Richmond Dam Project. Completion date is projected to be in 2028. Chairman Sutton thanked Senator Perry and the other Legislators for their efforts on this bill.
ORDINANCE #322 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLY ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to adopt 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.
APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the application submitted by Northern Valley Communications for occupancy of Brown County Highway 16 in Section 7,8,17 – T122-R62, Brown County, South Dakota to install new fiber option cable/broadband; boring under the road. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
APPROVE & AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING FOR COLD IN-PLACE BIDS ON BROWN COUNTY HWY. 16:
Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to set hearing date and authorize advertising public hearing to open, read and consider bids for Cold In-Place Bids on Brown County Highway 16 from Bath going south at 8:45am on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 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 10134070. 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/brown-county-bids. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent informed the Commission that the flood gates are closed at 84” down on both ends. They are continuing to crack seal, hauling pea rock, doing some signage and blading. He has a meeting at 9am tomorrow (Wednesday, April 1st) regarding the Sand Lake Project and then on Thursday, April 2nd with D.O.T. regarding the Elm Lake Bridge project.
LOTTERY PERMITS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the application submitted by SPURS Therapeutic Riding Center for a lottery to be held on July 31, 2026 to raise funds for operating costs. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the application submitted by SPURS Therapeutic Riding Center for a lottery to be held on September 19, 2026 at the SPURS Barn Dance to raise funds for operating costs. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the application submitted by SPURS Therapeutic Riding Center for a lottery to be held on December 15, 2026 or when all the tickets are sold to raise funds for operating costs. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SURPLUS PROPERTY: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve to surplus a 2015 Chevy Traverse from the Department of Equalization and sell at auction or salvage. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
GAME, FISH & PARKS (GF&P) AGREEMENT: Joe Galbraith with GF&P met with the Commission to request putting the 20 acres of land owned by the County in Ordway Township in the walking area program for hunting and possibly fishing. Mr. Galbraith stated that the County would not be liable if anyone was to get hurt while hunting on this land. They offered two agreements; one was that they would pay the County $200.00/year or the County would give permission without compensation. Commissioner Dinger moved to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the agreement without compensation, seconded by Wiese. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Commissioner Wiese asked if GF&P would be interested in taking over the property if the County would gift it to them. Mr. Galbraith said he would have to check with his superiors to see if they would be open to that idea. No decisions were made at this time.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes of March 24, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims: Professional Fees: CenturyLink-Lumen $195.68; Christy Griffin Serr Law Office $3,812.50; Emergency Services Marketing Corp. $6,589.00; IMEG $3,316.62; Kennedy Pier Loftus & Reynolds, LLP $329.40; Kristi Brandt $103.50; Kuck Law Office $657.40; Lenling Law Office $6,458.00; Maher Law Office $1,056.00; Matthew Bender & Co. $130.43; NVC $350.00; Sanford Health $270.00; SD Dept. of Health $1,240.00; Tammy Stolle Court Reporting $29.10; William A. Moss, Psy.D., LLC $2,500.00; Yankton Co. Sherrif’s Office $50.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $118.20; McQuillen Creative Group $329.94. Repairs & Maintenance: Farm Power Mfg. $480.00; Graham Tire $1,287.73; Hoven Auto Repair $245.00; Newman Signs $12.04; Precision Kiosk Technologies $3,000.00; Sewer Duck $575.00. Supplies & Materials: Amazon Capital Services $454.44; Bob Barker Co. $695.47; Century Business Products $342.16; Custom Installation Solutions $330.00; GovConnection $688.68; Graham Tire $12.60; Great Western Tire $2,679.80; Hoven Auto Repair $315.58; Kuck Law Office $29.96; Leidholt Tool Sales $397.23; Menards $258.43; Midstates Group $37.00; National District Attorney’s Assoc. $100.00; Newman Signs $58.20; Running’s $69.82; Safety Service $1,295.50; Sander’s Sew ‘n’ Vac $161.97; Schwan Welding $1,002.00; Stan Houston Equip. Co. $83.90. Travel & Conference: Alex Conn $28.00; Kyle Kost $78.00; Lenling Law Office $440.00; Lynn Heupel $159.65; Neil Bittner $19.00; Nick Juenger $78.00; Scott Kolb $19.00; SDACC $20.00; SDSU Extension $72.68; Terrance Evans $300.00; Tyler Richards $28.00. Utilities: AT&T $141.34; CenturyLink $345.87; Dependable Sanitation $202.00; MDU $53.89; NWPS $7,056.98. Other: Aberdeen Development Corp. $15,000.00; Area IV Nutrition $6,000.00; Aspire $10,000.00; Boys & Girls Club $5,000.00; City of Groton $2,000.00; Emma Burnham Public Library $1,000.00; Glacial Lakes & Prairie Tourism Assoc. $750.00; Groton Community Transit $1,000.00; NESDCAP $2,500.00; Warner Library $1,000.00. Machinery & Equipment: RDO Equipment $16,600.00. 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:
- Resignation of Tyler Kampa as Brown County JDC Detention Officer, FT; effective March 20, 2026. Request to fill.
- Transfer of Payton Beidler from PT Brown County Jail Detention Officer to FT Brown County JDC Detention Officer; effective March 29, 2026.
- Amendment to March 17, 2026 HR Report: retracted resignation of Payton Beidler as Brown County Jail Detention Officer, FT; effective March 23, 2026.
- Hiring of the following Temporary Election Workers from April 13th to June 5th at $16.00/hour:
- Approve the job description, wage and posting for Seasonal Weed & Pest Control Technician at $24.93/hour.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LEASE AGREEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to the sign the following lease agreements: Brown County 4-H to lease the Hog and Sheep Barns on May 21, 2026 for the Lamb & Meat Goat Exhibitor Educational Event; Brown County 4-H to lease the Holum Expo Building on Sept. 10, 2026 for the 4-H Gala; Emily Hatlewick to lease the Clubhouse on June 19-22, 2026 for a wedding. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the following Travel Request: Lynn Heupel, Welfare Director, to attend the SDACWO Spring Workshop on April 9, 2026 in Pierre, SD. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TEMPORARY SPECIAL EVENT ALCOHOL LICENSE PERMIT HEARING FOR SPURS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to authorize advertising public hearing for the following Special Alcohol License Permit: SPURS Therapeutic Riding Center, Aberdeen, SD – SPURS 2nd Addition – NW ¼ of Sec 6-T123N-R63W Brown County, SD on April 21, 2026. (Special License effective September 19, 2026). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Chairman Sutton shared that Commissioner Brock Greenfield will attend the Commission meeting next Tuesday, April 7, 2026 to give an update on the Richmond Dam Project.
Commissioner Wiese commented to let the public know that the County Offices will be closed on Friday, April 3, 2026 and Monday, April 6, 2026 in observance of the Easter Holiday.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Personnel and Legal. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 10:24 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on April 9, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $103.48 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com