By Aberdeen Insider - April 16, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
APRIL 7, 2026 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: Paul Meyers, Ordway Township shared the concerns of the Township regarding the lease agreement that the Commission passed last week with Game, Fish & Parks to allow walk in hunting and possibly fishing. The Township fought for five (5) years to get things cleaned up, so stressed that Law Enforcement will need to be active in this area to avoid the issues they have had in the past.
Julie Johnson, Lobbyist Thanked the Commission for the opportunity to discuss the Richmond Lake Dam project and for Commissioner Brock Greenfield for attending.
UPDATE ON RICHMOND LAKE DAM PROJECT: Brock Greenfield, SD Commissioner of School and Public Lands, met with the Commission to give an update on the Richmond Lake Dam Project. Commissioner Greenfield shared that this was just supposed to be a Spillway Project but discovered that the cut-off wall was in bad shape so needed to expand the project. They had secured two separate appropriations, with what they thought was enough funding but after receiving bids it was determined that they needed more funding. It was pushed back due to the Government shutdown and no response from FEMA until January, at which time they received the go ahead to proceed. There received three bids for the project. Commissioner Greenfield shared there were a number of people that were helpful in wrangling the number of votes needed to approve of the additional funding needed for the project. Joshua Didde, with Journey Construction DBA: Sioux Falls Contractors, had informed Commissioner Greenfield that they are working on completing the upfront items such as permits, contracts, etc. They have a pre-constructions meeting set for April 27th; week of May 6th they will be moving to site at which time the roadway will be closed. The week of May 13th they will draw down the lake and begin prep on the cut-off wall. Phase I is the cut-off wall and projected completion date is April 16, 2027. Total project is to be completed by June of 2028. They have pertinent information on the SD Public Lands website, or the Richmond Lake Association has also posted it on their Facebook page. Commissioner Greenfield shared that he has been in contact and working with Dirk Rogers, Brown County Highway Superintendent and Scott Bader, Director of Planning & Zoning, Richmond Lake Sanitary District and others who have skin in the game per say. Charlie Rea and Todd Campbell shared some concerns they have regarding the lake filling back up and how this is going to be handled. They believe there is a Dam north of Richmond Lake that controls the water levels, so they want someone to reach out to the owner of that property to get water back into Richmond Lake. Last summer fish died due to oxygen level in the lake and not enough fresh water going into the Lake. The County will look into this matter. Dirk Rogers informed the constituents of his plans for the detour on 127th and plans for traffic control at the intersections. Concerns were discussed regarding the speed limit, dust control and if load limits were going to be set on that road due to amount of traffic. Dirk will look into these things and keep everyone informed of the decisions that will be made. Chairman Sutton shared that due to the size and scope of this project which includes the Township, Richmond Lake Association, the County along with SD School and Public Lands Office we plan to be transparent and keep everyone updated throughout the process and again the County will look into the authority of the Dam north of Richmond. Commissioner Greenfield was asked about installing a walking/bike path but then it was shared that the Richmond Lake Association will be stepping up for this project and will visit with the contractor.
DAVISON COUNTY JAIL CONTRACT FOR SHERIFF’S OFFICE: Sheriff Lunzman presented a contract with Davison County for housing prisoners in the Davison County Jail located in the City of Mitchell. The cost is $105.00 per prisoner per day. It was noticed that the term dates stated 2025, so asked that be updated to 2026. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the contract with Davison County once the dates under the terms are updated. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MODERN DAY HEALTH CARE CONTRACT FOR JAIL: Sheriff Lunzman presented a contract with Modern Day Health Care to provide 24/7 Clinical Triage Services to assist the Jail Staff by phone or video consultation with medical questions, concerns and coordination of care for inmates housed at the Brown County Jail. The cost is $75.00 per bed per month. Sheriff Lunzman also shared information regarding the Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) system they are using for the medications, also. Moved by Commission Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the contract with Modern Day Health Care for 24/7 Clinical Triage Services. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS & DIRECTOR OF EQUALIZATION: Gene Loeschke, Director of Equalization, met with the Commission, per SDCL 10-3-14 to give his Annual Conference. Equalization Board meetings will start on April 14th; County Equalization Board will meet in the mornings, following Commission meetings and Consolidated Equalization Board will meet at 1:00 P.M.
GRANT AGREEMENT FOR WEED & PEST: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Grant Agreement with SD Weed & Pest Control Commission for Yellow Toadflax Mapping and Spot Spray Project in Brown County. The Grant is for $1,000.00. Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Grant Agreement with SD Weed & Pest Control Commission for Yellow Toadflax Project. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes of March 31, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims/Payroll. Claims: Professional Fees: Convergint Technologies LLC $510.20; Dohrer Law Office, PC $688.20; Helms & Associates $7,985.00; Sanford Health Occupational Medicine $564.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $565.59; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $518.84. Repairs & Maintenance: Auto Glass Solutions Inc $449.59; Axon Enterprise, Inc $19,000.20; Butler Machinery Company $270.59; Custom Installation Solutions $20.950.00; EcoLab Pes Elimination Division $127.56; Graham Tire Inc $904.72; Heartland Heating and Cooling, LLC $382.65; House of Glass $285.49; Hoven Auto Repair, Inc $88.00; Lawson Products, Inc $73.74; Leidholt Electric, LLC $742.34; Matheson Tri-Glas, Inc $209.96; Olson’s Pest Technicians $455.00; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $32.00; Transource Truck & Equipment, Inc $18,573.03; Valvoline Inc. $47.76. Supplies & Materials: Amazon Capital Services, Inc $2,095.35; Auto Value Aberdeen $412.10; Central Network Retail Group LLC $2,105.82; Cole Paper Inc $1,347.34; Crafco Inc. $26,239.50; Crawford Trucks & Equipment $154.89; Dakota Fluid Power, Inc $484.55; Dakota Supply Group $132.96; Duininck $1,456.00; Fastenal Company $142.00; Fulcrum Biometrics $2,065.43; Full Circle Ag $3,083.10; Graham Tire Inc $5.05; Heartland Heating and Cooling, LLC $374.84; High Point Networks $15,997.50; Hoven Auto Repair, Inc $112.00; Interstate Battery System of South Dakota $498.85; L.G. Everist, Inc $8,719.49; Lawson Products, Inc $796.91; Menards $172.25; Performance Oil $8,789.36; Transource Truck & Equipment, Inc $2,258.35; Tri-State Water $72.60; Valvoline Inc. $106.99. Travel & Conference: Axon Enterprise, Inc $209.31; Derek Hoefert $421.80; Drew Dennert $469.80; Duane Sutton $310.45; Kent Karlen $19.00; Kyler Dinger $228.38; Michael Wiese $269.08; Neil Bittner $19.00; The Lodge at Deadwood $375.00. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $43.73; Butler Machinery Company $1,082.35; Northwestern Energy $12,666.40; T-Mobile USA Inc $613.00; Town of Frederick $77.00. Payroll: Commission $5,165.81; Elections $2,063.17; Auditor/Welfare $12,026.89; Treasurer $18,430.88; SA $38,198.15; Public Defender $14,449.33; Maintenance $13,472.75; Assessor $17,506.93; Register of Deeds $11,511.05; VSO $5,006.26; GIS $3,110.76; IT $10,616.94; HR $5,721.14; Sheriff $60,042.24; Jail $74,159.73; Coroner (Voucher) $1,750.00; Court Security $7,582.90; JDC $31,578.44; MI Board $80.00; Museum $14,507.82; Parks/Fairgrounds $7,370.50; Fair Board $4,858.36; 4-H $881.60; Weed $1,245.44; Planning & Zoning $8,553.88; Highway $54,564.94; Dispatch $35,262.59; Emergency $5,764.44; 24/7 Sobriety $3,022.23; Landfill $17,365.88; Meal Benefits $38.00; SDRS Pay-out $150.00; FICA $28,769.99; Medicare $6,728.47; HSA $2,360.72. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Updates for Museum Curator of Exhibits Job Description.
- Return of Terrance Dosch as Brown County Seasonal Fairgrounds Grounds Worker, PT, starting wage $14.50/hr.; effective April 7, 2026.
- Hiring Lee Buechler as Brown County Seasonal Fairgrounds Maintenance Worker, FT, starting wage $14.50/hr.; effective April 7, 2026.
- Return of Jesse Hernandez as Brown County Seasonal Fairgrounds Grounds Worker, PT, starting wage $14.50/hr.; effective May 4, 2026.
- Hiring Aiden Hernandez as Brown County Seasonal Fairgrounds Grounds Worker, PT, starting wage $14.00/hr.; effective May 18, 2026.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Travel Request: Aaron Walberg and Jesse Milbrandt, Veteran’s Service Office to attend the SDDVA Mini Conference on April 16, 2026 in Sioux Falls, SD. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LANDFILL TONNAGE REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to acknowledge the Landfill Tonnage Report for March 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Contracts. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 11:24 a.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on April 16, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $111.80 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com