Grant County Commission Proceedings • March 1, 2022

     March 1, 2022

The Grant County Commission met at 8 AM with Commissioners Buttke, Mach, Stengel, Street and Tostenson. Chairman Stengel called the meeting to order. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Street to approve the minutes of the February 15, 2022, meeting with a correction in the drainage portion of the minutes on Chairman Stengel called the question which failed due to a lack of a second. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes amended and filed. Motion by Mach and seconded by Street to approve the agenda with the addition of a report from Chairman Stengel on the 911 meeting held in Watertown. Motion carried 5-0.

Members of the public present were Allen Heuer, Jon Wold and Jim DeVaal. Staff members present were Drainage Officer Steve Berkner and States Attorney Jackson Schwandt.

Chairman Stengel called for public comment for any items not listed on the agenda. There were not any comments offered. Chairman Stengel closed the public comment period.

Drainage: Chairman Stengel adjourned the Board of Commissioners and convened the Commission acting as the Drainage Board for Permit DR2022-01 for Allen Heuer located in SW1/4 EX 1½ A & EX Lot H-4 in 27-120-52 Mazeppa Twp. The motion to approve the permit had been tabled at the January 18, 2022 and the February 15, 2022 meetings. The reasons for the delay were: 1.) the applicant needed to obtain a signature from Hwy Supt Schultz to cut through the county road with the outlet to be on the Korth land, 2.) provide a copy of the agreement with Butch and Judy Kaaz to remove the tile from their land and to restore the land and 3.) to obtain a signature from Korth for the outlet. Drainage Officer Berkner reported all three requirements had been completed. Commissioner Street asked for clarification for the outlet being located on the Korth land. Commissioner Mach asked what the length was from the inlet to the outlet. He also commented on the loss of nutrients from the rain because the inlet flushes the water away at a fast rate. Commissioner Tostenson asked the applicant if he had any questions. Applicant Heuer asked if the Board would like him to experiment with plugging the inlet versus an open inlet and to report his findings back to the Board at a future meeting. Heuer explained the SDSU test plot that he works at uses tile to control erosion and ponding of water. He agreed that he will take pictures of this tile project and present his findings in the future. Commissioner Street acknowledged that the addition of laterals instead of inlets could be done in some cases. This completed the Board’s discussion. Chairman Stengel asked for the vote of the motion on the floor to approve DR2022-01. The motion to approve the application was 5-0. Motion carried.

This concluded the business for the Drainage Board. Chairman Stengel adjourned the Drainage Board and reconvened as the Board of Commissioners.

Highway: Supt. Schultz asked the Commission if they wanted to re-apply for an Agri-Business grant for a rebuild on the two miles of road from Hwy 15 into LaBolt. Commissioner Street stated he would like to move forward with the application for the reconstruction of the road. He believes it is in the best interest for the town and elevator to improve the road. He would like additional width added to the road surface to accommodate farm implements.

Commissioner Tostenson remarked he would like to discuss prioritizing the repair and rebuild of the infrastructure based on the boring samples taken of the road base, high volume traffic areas, the county’s comprehensive land use plan on development and rating the roads based on business locations. He suggested to build for the future and would suggest applying for the Agri-Business grant for County Road 34 by the ethanol plant.

Supt. Schultz explained during the last round of the Agri-Business grant awards, the committee awarded 4 million in grants with over 15 million in applications. The cost to reconstruct the two miles of road is estimated to cost $1.4 million. The maximum amount of the grant would be $600,000. In addition, the replacement of the culverts would cost $37,000 plus the cost of labor. The cost of a leveling course with a three-inch asphalt lift would cost $687,000 for the two miles plus the cost of the culverts and labor. Additional shoulder width could be accomplished with the overlay.

Commissioner Stengel remarked the county cannot afford interstate roads throughout the county. The Hwy Supt has done a good job of keeping the roads repaired. The Commission should look to the Hwy Supt for direction, the engineer and the highway dept for their recommendations on prioritizing road repair either through an overly or reconstruction.

Commissioner Mach stated he does not want a band-aid fix to roads, but a long term solution for infrastructure. Commissioner Buttke remarked if the road base is good and the road is not breaking up, an overlay will save the County money for other funding issues.

Commissioner Street introduced LaBolt’s mayor Jon Wold who spoke on the amount of truck traffic, the need to increase the width of the road, keeping roads to elevators in good shape and to apply for grants when there are opportunities.

Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Street to apply for an Agri-Business grant for the reconstruction of the two miles of County Road 18 into LaBolt from Hwy 15. Additional discussion on an alternate plan of replacing culverts and an overlay of asphalt if the cost of a rebuild is not financially feasible. Motion carried 5-0.

ROW: Supt. Schultz presented a right-of-way occupancy application from Northwestern Energy for the installation of a gas line. Motion by Mach and seconded by Buttke to approve ROW 2022-02 occupancy application for Northwestern Energy on County Road #12 in 17-120-48. Motion carried 5-0.

911: Chairman Stengel reported on the regional 911 meeting he had attended in Watertown. The 911 center had answered 1,100 calls in 2021 for the County. A suggestion was made at the meeting for cell phone users who purchase minutes from a secondary market to check and know what circuits their plan is using as it may not call the closest 911.

4-H: Advisor Sara Koepke provided the Commission with a proposed lease agreement for the 4-H complex and grounds. The lease agreement will be added to the March 15 meeting for approval. An estimate for office furniture and floor mats was presented. The Commission asked Sara to prepare a list of all items needed to furnish the building complex such as chairs, tables, refrigerators, stoves, etc. Sara reported she had submitted a grant proposal to Wellmark which is for furnishing the complex.

Unfinished Business: None

New Business: None

Correspondence: None

Consent: Motion by Mach and seconded by Street to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried 5-0.

1. Set budget supplement hearing date of March 15 at 9:30 am for 4-H building allocation amount of $200,000

2. Set County land lease sale for March 15 at 9 am

Claims: Motion by Mach and seconded by Street to approve the claims. Motion carried 5-0. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, supplies 17.99; DELORIS RUFER, lib rent 100.00; FARM & HOME PUBLISHERS, ref books 175.00; FIRST DISTRICT, prof services 480.14; GRANT CO EC & DEV BOARD, allocation 8,750.00; GRANT CO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, allocation 5,000.00; GRANT COUNTY REVIEW, periodicals 38.00; GRANT/ROBERTS AMBULANCE, allocation 2,458.33; MCLEOD’S, supplies 70.07; MICROMARKETING, audio visuals 55.79; MIDCO, lib internet 85.42; NORTHWESTERN ENERGY, natural gas 2,474.61; SANFORD HEALTH, health services 4,680.00; SCANTRON, prof services 2,212.00; SCOTT BRATLAND, court appt atty 4,211.65; SD ASSN CO COMMISSIONERS, CCPR 976.00; SD DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, teletype 2,340.00; STATE OF SD, supplies 22.00; THOMSON REUTERS, ref books 2,726.46; TOWN OF STRANDBURG, lib internet 275.28; UNZEN MOTORS, repair & maint 796.45; VALLEY RENTAL & RECYCLING, allocation 650.00; VALLEY SHOPPER, publishing 26.58. TOTAL: $38,621.77.

Payroll for the following departments and offices for the February 28, 2022, payroll are as follows: COMMISSIONERS 3,335.90; AUDITOR 8,061.93; ELECTION 116.56; TREASURER 5,297.65; STATES ATTORNEY 7,116.60; CUSTODIANS 3,068.76; DIR. OF EQUALIZATION 4,629.40; REG. OF DEEDS 4,570.55; VET. SERV. OFFICER 1,211.10; SHERIFF 14,225.38; COMMUNICATION CTR 8,821.40; PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE 903.66; ICAP 123.50; VISITING NEIGHBOR 1,567.11; LIBRARY 7,789.62; 4-H 3,588.86; WEED CONTROL 2,023.40; P&Z 1,628.00; DRAINAGE 203.50; ROAD & BRIDGE 34,354.20; EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 2,376.00. TOTAL: $115,013.08.

Payroll Claims: FIRST BANK & TRUST, Fed WH 8,930.79; FIRST BANK & TRUST, FICA WH & Match 13,964.90; FIRST BANK & TRUST, Medicare WH & Match 3,265.98; AAA COLLECTIONS, deduction 34.08; ACCOUNTS MANAGEMENT, deduction 100.00; AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE, AFLAC ins. 1,507.22; WELLMARK-BLUE CROSS OF SD, Employee and Commission health ins. 51,293.00; COLONIAL LIFE, ins 37.98; DEARBORN NATIONAL, life ins. 269.54; LEGAL SHIELD, deduction 76.70; OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT, child support 210.00; OPTILEGRA, ins 452.73; SDRS SUPPLEMENTAL, deduction 1,369.33; SDRS, retire 12,997.99. TOTAL: $94,510.24.

It is the policy of Grant County, South Dakota, not to discriminate against the handicapped in employment or the provision of service.

The next scheduled meeting dates will be March 15 and April 5, 12 and 19, 2022 at 8 AM. Motion by Mach and seconded by Buttke to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned.

/s/ Douglas Stengel, Chairman,

Grant County Commission

/s/ Karen M. Layer,

Grant County Auditor