By Aberdeen Insider - September 10, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
GENERAL 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 Wiese 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
RICHMOND DAM UPDATE: None
SURPLUS WOMEN’S/HOME ARTS/COMPETITIVE ARTS BUILDING AT THE FAIRGROUNDS: Dennis Jones informed the Commission that he is working with the City of Aberdeen at the possibility of moving this building to Wylie Park. He also shared what DANR told him needs to be done if the building has asbestos in it, if don’t follow the state regulations could be fined up to $1 Million, so he again asked for the Commission to put their plan on hold. Chairman Sutton shared that the plan is to declare the building surplus and utilize the salvageable timber and build a Cold Storage Building at the Highway Shop and that the County is aware of the DANR regulations and the building is going to be inspected either today or tomorrow for asbestos. Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, shared that it will cost $900 for the inspection. Dennis still believes that it will cost less to preserve this building. After further discussion, Commissioner Wiese moved to defer this to next week to get the results of the asbestos inspection, seconded by Gage. Motion passed with all members voting aye except for Dinger who voted nay.
ORDINANCE #332 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to adopt Ordinance #332. Applicant Michael & Caroline Sommers to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring these parcels into compliance for its current use. Description of property: Lots 7 & 8, in the SW 1/4 of Section 17-T123N-R64W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (38310 133rd Street; Aberdeen Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #333 – SECOND READING/POSSIBLE ADOPTION: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to adopt Ordinance #333. Applicant Wayne & Janeen Haas to rezone from Agriculture Preservation District (AG-P) to Mini-Agriculture District (M-AG) to bring these parcels into compliance for its current use. Description of property: Thomas’ Outlot 1 in the SE 1/4 of Section 23-T126N-R64W of the 5th P.M. Brown County, South Dakota (38696 116th Street; Oneota Twp.). All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
DISCUSS SPEED LIMIT CHANGE ON BC #13:
Commissioner Dennert brought the following Resolution
RESOLUTION #2026-37
WHEREAS, Chapter 6.03 Speed Zones of the Second Revision of Brown County Ordinances authorizes the Brown County Commission to change the speed limit or the extent of any such limited speed zones, at any time they may deem necessary, and
WHEREAS, all Speed Zones throughout the County were established by Resolution #46-05, as amended by Resolution #66-06, Resolution #39-08, Resolution #72-08, Resolution #101-08, Resolution #94-13, Resolution #69-14, Resolution #15-16, Resolution #26-17, Resolution #30-18, Resolution #51-21, Resolution #25-23, Resolution #37-23, Resolution #41-23 and Resolution #44-24.
WHEREAS, the Brown County Commission has recommended amending the speed zone on County Road #13
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Resolution #46-05, as amended by Resolution #66-06, #39-08, #72-08, #101-08, #94-13, #69-14, #15-16, #26-17, #30-18, #51-21, #25-23, #37-23, #41-23 and #44-24 be amended as follows:
AMEND: County Road #13, beginning one third of a mile east of the intersection of County Road #13 and 390th Ave. located between NE Corner of Section 5 and the NW corner of Section 4, Township 123N, Range 63W of the 5th PM, then two thirds of one mile to the intersection of County Road #14, at 45 mph.
Seconded by Commissioner Dinger.
Following further discussion a roll-call vote was taken with the following results: Dennert-aye; Dinger-aye; Gage-nay; Sutton-nay; Wiese-nay. The Chairman declared that the motion failed and Resolution #2026-37 was not adopted.
LANDFILL CELL #5 CONSTRUCTION – PAYMENT #4: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Payment #4 for the Landfill Cell #5 Construction to Midland Contracting, Inc. for $368,271.76. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
BENEFIT PLAN: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Brown County Benefit Plan Documents amended from July 1, 2025 to be effective September 1, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
NEW CHECKING ACCOUNT FOR THE JAIL: Sheriff Lunzman met with the Commission and informed them they were switching to cloud-based software for the Commissary, and the software company recommends the Jail open a new account to start with a zero balance. The old account would remain open for 90-120 days until balanced then will be closed out. After further discussion Commissioner Wiese moved to approve and authorize the Jail to open a new checking account due to new software recommendations. Seconded by Dinger. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the General Meeting Minutes of August 25, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Gage to approve the following claims/payroll. Claims: Professional Fees: Avera St. Luke’s Hospital $1,286.23; Black Hills Land & RV Rentals, LLC $4,185.00; Brick’s TV and Appliance $2,763.75; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $1,120.60; Devnet $3,789.84; Dohrer Law Office, PC $817.40; Helms & Associates $34,565.05; Kristi Brandt $141.20; Kuck Law Office $1,072.00; Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, LLC $413.15; Northeastern Mental Health Center $1,662.50; Sanford Clinic $1,479.31; Sanford Health $648.00; SD Dept of Transportation $1,767.40; Sewer Duck, Inc $200.00; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $5,774.15; Tammy Stolle Court Reporting $42.50; Yankton County Sheriff’s Office $50.00; Yankton County Treasurer $153.75; Zylstra Investigations $820.00. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $180.30; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $186.04. Repairs & Maintenance: Ace Refrigeration, LLC $277.95; Jake’s Heating & Cooling $115.00; Lawson Products, Inc $69.92; Precision Kiosk Technologies $3,000.00; TripleC Pros LLC $650.00. Supplies & Materials: Aberdeen Awards $25.00; Amazon Capital Services, Inc $432.18; Bon Homme Colony $38,350.00; Cartney Bearing $125.31; Central Network Retail Group LLC $63.93; Century Business Products $956.18; Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country $34.00; Cole Paper Inc $1,867.48; Dakota Electronics LLC $63.50; Dakota Fluid Power, Inc $387.27; Dakota Supply Group $15,611.31; Fastenal Company $40.15; FedEx $43.57; Great Western Tire $1,874.00; Jensen Rock & Sand Inc $103,317.30; Johnson Brothers of South Dakota, Inc $1,157.58; Josh Lee $89.20; Kuck Law Office $31.74; Lawson Products, Inc $770.15; Lien Transportation Company $11,008.80; Menards $191.39; Midstates Group $260.50; Performance Oil $101.70; Phil Baker $750.00; Pitney Bowes Global Financial Services LLC $1,046.10; Pressure Washer Central $262.00; Pro Ag Supply, Inc $275.07; Runnings $60.72; Sadie Frey $300.36; Safety Service, Inc $126.50; Sheila Haugen $21.75; Stan Houston Equipment Company, Inc $114.97. Travel & Conference: Beadle County or Jill Hanson $206.59; Lynn Heupel $360.90; Neil Bittner $19.00; Scott Kolb $19.00. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $3.65; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co $33.40; Northwestern Energy $12,844.75; NVC $59.06. Other: Midland Contracting Inc $368,271.76. 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:
- Last day of internship for Gentry Pigors and Addisyn Heinrich, Brown County Fair/4-H Summer Interns; effective August 21, 2026.
- Resignation of Hunter Miller as Brown County Landfill Grounds Worker, PT; effective August 24, 2026.
- Resignation of Jeree Meyers as Brown County Jail Transport and Court Security, PT; effective August 21, 2026. Request to fill.
- Last day for seasonal worker, Greg Markley, Brown County Fairgrounds; effective August 5, 2026.
- Last day for seasonal workers, Lee Buechler and Aiden Hernandez, Brown County Fairgrounds; effective August 19, 2026.
- Resignation of Kramer Lummis as Brown County 911 Communications Officer, FT; effective August 27, 2026. Request to fill.
- Job description and title update for Senior Deputy Auditor-Elections Coordinator.
- Job description update for Chief Deputy Auditor.
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LEASE AGREEMENTS: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the following lease agreements: Cole Holmes to lease the Richmond Lake Youth Camp Lodge on October 18-19, 2026 for a wedding reception; Aberdeen Area Humane Society to lease the Holum Expo Building on September 25-27, 2026 for the Fall Second Paw Sale; RDO Equipment to lease the Holum Expo Building and parking lot on September 8-9, 2026 for Fall Field Days Event. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Personnel, Contracts and Legal. All member 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 10:26 A.M. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on September 10, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $103.49 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com