By Aberdeen Insider - June 18, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
JUNE 2, 2026 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 Dinger led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the amended agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
RICHMOND DAM UPDATE: Chairman Sutton shared the following information from Commissioner Greenfield. They are going to look at deploying another pump south of Aberdeen to move the water out of the mog. They have shut down two of the three pumps at Richmond. Journey is monitoring the water levels and will adjust accordingly.
Scott Meints, Emergency Management Director, shared they are monitoring the water levels on the Elm due to all the rain. Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, informed the Commission that they have the first layer on the detour but with the rain that set them back a little bit. There have been no more reports of people messing with the pipes.
SPEED LIMIT ON BC HWY. 13: Chairman Sutton reminded everyone that they had received a request to lower the speed limit from 55 to 45 on Br. Co. Hwy. 13 from Hwy. 281 to Br. Co. 14. He heard from several people that they want it to be left alone. Commissioner Dinger stated he had no interest in lowering the speed limit and even would like to shorten the 45 mph at Prairiewood from ½ mile instead of a mile. Commissioner Wiese shared that they got the traffic incidents and there were no concerns; people need to obey the traffic signs and not to pull out and cut people off. Chairman Sutton also pointed out that this was intended to be the North Bypass for traffic around Aberdeen. After the discussion, Commissioner Dinger made a motion to deny the request to lower the speed limit on Br. Co. Hwy. 13 from 55 to 45, seconded by Gage. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #324 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to adopt Ordinance #324, Applicant Shawn & Melissa Schultz 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: Lot 3, “Jones 2nd Subdivision” in the SE1/4 of Section 22-T123N-R62W of the 5th P.M., Brown County, South Dakota (39756 134th Street, Bath Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LANDFILL CELL #5 CONSTRUCTION – PAYMENT #1: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Payment #1 for Landfill Cell #5 Construction to Midland Contracting, Inc. for $657,385.84. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Dennert to approve the General Meeting Minutes of May 26, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS/PAYROLL: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims/Payroll. Claims: Insurance: Insurance Plus $675.00. Professional Fees: CenturyLink-Lumen $221.00; Courtney Wolff $320.00; Credit Collections Bureau $627.40; ISI, LLC $120.00; Jerome Akin $163.00; Kylee Boomsma $1,338.40; Modern Day Health Care Prof LLC $4,725.00; PRIA $60.00; SD Dept of Transportation $1,549.38; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $1,177.30. Publishing: Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry $200.00; Groton Daily Independent $341.31; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $421.26. Rentals: Dakota Electronics LLC $123.00. Repairs & Maintenance: Crawford Trucks & Equipment $27.41; Dakota Pump & Control $531.63; EcoLab Pest Elimination Division $118.47; Gary’s Engine and Repair $216.29; House of Glass $1,748.79; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $1,489.02; Prahm Construction, Inc $285,087.59; Steven Lust Automotive $1,101.29. Supplies & Materials: Amazon Capital Services, Inc $903.05; Cartney Bearing $25.56; Century Business Products $206.69; Charm-Tex, Inc $367.20; Cook’s Direct, Inc. $163.48; Crawford Trucks & Equipment $1,118.02; Fire Safety USA, Inc $98.71; L.G. Everist, Inc $9,029.31; Lien Transportation Company $1,245.50; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $125.00; Menards $628.14; Midstates Group $92.00; Midwest Pump & Tank $282.00; Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc $5,031.00; Performance Oil $131.08; PharmChem, Inc $1,151.34; Pitney Bowes Global Financial Services LLC $1,046.10; Precision Kiosk Technologies $175.00; Runnings $1,848.22; SD Secretary of State $3,308.00; Share Corporation $1,227.60; Steven Lust Automotive $79.90; Trav’s Outfitter Inc $174.99; TrueNorth Steel $2,145.03; Yokselin Garcia $99.98. Travel & Conference: Heather Wilkinson $106.00; Joe Kretchman $19.00; Kendel Simon $171.00; Linda Marcuson $19.00; Makayla Madsen $219.25; Makendra Ochsner $19.00; National Rifle Association $745.00; Neil Bittner $38.00; Scott Kolb $38.00. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $184.89; CenturyLink $0.86; Northwestern Energy $12,887.93; T-Mobile USA Inc $1,302.48. Other: City of Hecla $500.00. Payroll: Commission $5,165.81; Elections $5,449.32; Auditor/Welfare $12,064.02; Treasurer $20,150.88; SA $38,050.70; Public Defender $14,449.33; Maintenance $13,604.29; Assessor $17,541.97; Register of Deeds $11,511.04; VSO $5,006.26; GIS $3,110.76; IT $10,616.94; HR $5,721.14; Sheriff $62,722.77; Jail $79,779.47; Coroner (Voucher) $1,500.00; Court Security $7,665.93; JDC $32,217.57; Museum $14,073.12; Parks/Fairgrounds $9,118.04; Fair Board $5,123.36; 4-H $1,146.60; Weed $5,759.04; Planning & Zoning $8,568.33; Highway $53,270.38; Dispatch $34,556.93; Emergency $5,805.33; 24/7 Sobriety $2,822.75; Landfill $16,578.50; Meal Benefits $73.00; FICA $31,199.87; Medicare $7,296.72; Health Insurance-Wellmark BCBS $138,141.19; Dental Insurance-Delta Dental $9,642.36; Life Insurance-Dearborn $1,139.85; Retirement-SDRS $94,802.21. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Hiring Grace Anderson as PT (as needed) Bartenders at $10.00/hr. + tips. Bartenders filling in as Leads will be at $12.00/hr. + tips – effective June 1, 2026.
- Hiring of Alexandra Zumbaum as temporary PT office worker for the Register of Deeds Office; wage $21.50/hr. – effective June 8, 2026.
- Return of Spencer Hunstad as Brown County Fairgrounds Seasonal Worker, starting wage $15.25/hr. – effective June 15, 2026.
- Hiring of Abrianna Holler as Brown County Jail Detention Officer; FT, starting wage $22.59/hr. – effective June 17, 2026.
- Promotion of Randy Zens from Brown County Assistant Building Maintenance Superintendent to Brown County Building Maintenance Superintendent; starting wage $2,888.65/pay period – effective June 21, 2026. Request to fill.
- Promotion of Mickey Schulz from Brown County Building and Grounds Maintenance Worker to Brown County Assistant Building Maintenance Superintendent; starting wage $28.91/hr. – effective June 21, 2026. Request to fill.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
AUDITOR’S REPORT OF ACCOUNTS FOR APRIL 2026: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dinger to approve the Auditor’s Report of Accounts for April 2026: Total Cash and Checks on Hand $7,700.00; Total Checking Account Balances: $39,200.841.72; Total Savings Account Balances: $2,625,447.42; Total Certificates of Deposit: $13,329,732.53; Grand Total Cash and Balances: $55,163,721.67. General Fund $21,456,569.39; Road & Bridge Fund $2,313,259.98; 911 Service $609,166.49; Emergency & Disaster $217,208.43; Domestic Abuse $1,109.03; SA Grants $175,442.47; 24/7 Sobriety $64,190.29; ROD M&P $69,953.52; Opioid Settlement Fund $40,956.81; Rural Access Infrastructure $376,393.85; TIF Debt Service $530,127.16; Landfill + cash change $8,418,254.71; Landfill – restricted $1,894,495.06; Trust and Agency Funds $20,891,089.54; GRAND TOTAL GENERAL FUND CASH AND INVESTMENTS $55,163,721.67. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SET BID DATE & AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING FOR WEED & PEST VEHICLE: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to set bid date and authorize publication for the Weed & Pest Vehicle. Bid Opening Date will be held on June 23, 2026 at 8:45 A.M. for a 4×4 Chassis Truck or Flatbed Bids. Details can be found on Brown County website at https://www.brown.sd.us/brown-county-bid. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
SHERIFF REPORTS: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Gage to acknowledge the April 2026 Sheriff Reports: Incidents and offenses, Prisoner Care, JDC, and money deposited with the County Treasurer. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: Ross Aldentaler, State’s Attorney Deputy had an amendment for approval but wanted to go into Exec first to discuss contracts.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Contracts and Personnel. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
OTHER BUSINESS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign amendment to change closing date of purchasing the EAC Building from June 3rd to June 11th. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 9:45 A.M. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on June 18, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $98.80 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com