Grant County Commission Proceedings
Grant County Commission Proceedings
June 2, 2026
The Grant County Commission met at 8:30 a.m. with Commissioners Mach, Stengel, Hoff, Street and Tostenson present. Chairman Mach called the meeting to order. Motion by Street and seconded by Hoff to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
Present from the public were Steve Hiniker, Greg Bohn, Dave Street, Lowell Boe and Traci Stein. Staff members present were Drainage Officer Berkner, States Attorney Schwandt and Commissioner Assistant Owen.
Public Comment: Chairman Mach called for public comment three times. There were no comments. Mach closed the public comments.
Drainage: Chairman Mach adjourned the Board of Commissioners and convened the Commission acting as the Drainage Board.
Permit DR2026-08 for Greg Bohn for land located with the SE1/4 of Section 1 in Twin Brooks Township.
Chairman Mach called for a motion to approve drainage permit DR2026-08 for Greg Bohn. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to approve permit DR2026-08.
Drainage Officer Berkner reported the permit is for tiling 30 acres located in the Whetstone River Watershed. The project includes four inlets and five outlets, two 6”, two 8” and one 10”, each draining into a USGS designated blue-line waterway. The estimated maximum design capacity of lateral tile could flow as much as 300 gpm using the Drainage Co-efficient Formula (DCF). During heavy runoff events the four open inlets could see peak water flows of over 900 gpm. The water collected would greatly reduce surface erosion. Berkner concluded that it is his opinion that the drainage project conforms to the County’s Drainage Ordinance.
Chairman Mach asked Bohn for any additional comments. Bohn said he would be available for comments if needed. Mach opened the public hearing for DR2026-08 asking three separate times for comments in favor or against the project. No one responded. Mach closed the public hearing, inviting drainage board discussion. After a brief discussion, Mach called for the vote. Motion carried 5-0.
Permits DR2026-09a and DR2026-09b, for the Marilyn Baille Irrevocable Trust, for land located within the N1/2 of Section 27 in Vernon West Township.
Chairman Mach called for a motion to approve permits DR2026-09a and 09b for Marilynn Bailee Irrevocable Trust. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to approve permits DR2026-09a and 09b.
Berkner said that due to an oversite by the Marilynn Baille Irrevocable Trust, the drainage project has already been completed and the applicant’s representative, Steve Hiniker with Hertz Farm Management, has acknowledged the error. In preparing the delinquent drainage permit, Hiniker had taken full responsibility for the mistake. According to the county’s drainage ordinance that matter could be considered separate from the current drainage permit application. States Attorney Schwandt stated a separate motion from the Commission could be used to have his office pursue a penalty for work starting without a permit.
Berkner stated the permits are for tiling 80 acres located in the south branch of the Yellow Bank River Watershed. The project would connect to an existing 12” tile main from previously permitted DR2014-20 and DR2015-06 and drain into a USGS designated blue-line waterway. By using the 3/8 inch DCF calculator, Berkner estimates the lateral tile design could flow at an estimated maximum rate of 400 gpm which would be in addition to the water already draining through the shared main 12” tile installed over ten years ago. It is Berkner’s opinion that the drainage project’s design conforms to the county’s drainage ordinance.
Chairman Mach asked Hiniker for any additional comments. Hiniker said Hertz Farm Management was accepting full responsibility for not getting the proper drainage permit in advance. Berkner concurred with Hiniker’s statement adding that all communication with Hiniker on the matter had been professional and done in a very timely matter with no delays and all permit fees were paid promptly without any hesitation.
Chairman Mach opened the public hearing asking three separate times for comments both in favor or against the project. David Street spoke in detail of his concerns about all the aggressive tiling going on in that area of the township. The additional water flows are causing a portion of his land, located in the NW1/4 of Section 23, to have flooding problems. David said he is not necessarily against this project as much as collectively all the upstream projects from him which are causing the problem. David also has a concern about whether the county is documenting all the open inlets in his area. He feels they sometimes seem to just appear in already completed drainage projects without discloser during a public hearing. David inquired on whether the county would have any authority over past township sponsored drainage and road culvert modifications to their township roads. He felt most of his flooding problems were related to past decisions made by the township that changed historic water flows by creating new ditches, and either upsizing or removing culverts.
States Attorney Schwandt stated the drainage work performed prior to the mid- 1980’s did not require a county drainage permit and any drainage work performed cannot cause any undue harm to a downstream landowner. Schwandt added that work performed by any state or other local government entity can normally only be legally challenged for six months from the date of its completion. Schwandt concluded by saying the items David Street has mentioned are basically between landowners and do not involve the county.
Vernon Township Supervisor Lowell Boe spoke on the water flow design changes criticized by David Street, saying those past drainage changes made by the township were meant to improve the overall water flow through the township. Those improvements were made with the township working directly with the adjacent landowners where the objective was to protect township roadways and infrastructure. Boe said some of the privately owned waterways in the area need maintenance. Hiniker offered to work with David Street jointly to help perform some of those maintenance needs identified by Boe located on David Street’s property.
With no more public comments, Chairman Mach closed the public hearing, inviting drainage board discussion. After brief discussion Tostenson made an intervening motion to have the States Attorney investigate if there is a need for a penalty for the drainage project being completed without a permit. Bill Street seconded the motion. Mach called for the vote. Motion carried 5-0.
After a continued board discussion on granting drainage permits DR2026-09a and DR2026-09b Tostenson made a motion to table the original motion until the next County Commission meeting on June 4th. Bill Street seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.
This concluded the business of the Drainage Board. Chairman Mach adjourned the Drainage Board and reconvened as the Board of Commissioners.
GCDC: Traci Stein, Director of the Grant County Development Corporation, gave an update on GCDC’s recent activities including their recent annual meeting as well as GCDC’s attendance at a national conference in Las Vegas recruiting possible new businesses for Grant County.
Correspondence: Commissioner Assistant Owen reminded the Commission of the upcoming South Dakota County Commission Convention to be held in Sioux Falls in September.
Executive Session: None
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 June 4 (Thursday) and 16, 2026, at 8 a.m. in the basement Commissioner room. Motion by Street and seconded by Stengel to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned.
/s/Michael J. Mach,
Chairman,
Grant County Commissioners
/s/ Kathy Folk,
Grant County Auditor
