Grant County Commission Proceedings - January 17, 2023

Grant County Commission Proceedings 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     January 17, 2023
The Grant County Commission met at 8 a.m. with Commissioners Buttke, Mach, Stengel, Street and Tostenson. Chairman Mach called the meeting to order. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Buttke to approve the minutes of the January 3, 2023, meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes filed. Motion by Street and seconded by Stengel to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
There were no members of the public present. Staff members present were Deputy Auditor Folk and State’s Attorney Schwandt.
Public Comment: Chairman Mach called for public comment. There were no comments. Chairman Mach closed the public comment.
The Auditor’s Account with the Treasurer for December was noted.
AUDITOR’S ACCOUNT WITH THE COUNTY TREASURER
To the Honorable Board of County Commissioners, Grant County:
I hereby submit the following report of my examination of the cash and cash items in the hands of the County Treasurer of the County of Grant as of the last day of December, 2022.
Cash on Hand, $1,284.80 
Checks in Treasurer’s possession less than 3 days, $23,699.64 
Cash Items, $0.00 
TOTAL CASH ASSETS ON HAND
$24,984.44 
RECONCILED CHECKING First Bank & Trust, $20,142.32; Interest, $0.00; Credit Card Transactions/TIF Fee, $6,473.88; First Bank & Trust (Svgs), $7,151.131.00. 
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT First Bank & Trust, $0.00; First Bank & Trust (TIF), $0.00. 
TOTAL CASH ASSETS
$7,202,731.64  
GENERAL LEDGER CASH
BALANCES:
General, $3,291,824.20; General restricted cash, $2,050,000.00; Cash Accounts for Offices General Fund, $656.00; Sp. Revenue, $1,008,758.66; Sp. Revenue restricted cash, $0.00; Henze Road District, $0.00; TIF Apportioning, $0.00; TIF Milbank, $0.00; TIF Milbank Rosewood, $0.00; Special assessment Land Rent, $0.00;  Trust & Agency, $851,492.78; (schools 34,145.08, twps 57,183.31, city/town 13,622.66); ACH Correction, $0.00.
TOTAL GENERAL LEDGER CASH
$7,202,731.64 
Dated this 10th day of January, 2023
Karen M. Layher
County Auditor
The Register of Deeds fees for the month of December were $12,097.50. The Clerk of Courts fees for the month of December were $5,711.97. The Sheriff fees for the month of December were $5,205.59 with $2,705.59 receipted into the General Fund. The 2022 Annual Weed Report showed $41,525.90 in revenue. The 2022 yearend spray report listed a total of 3,555.5 miles were covered for spraying. The chemical cost was $10,397.10.
Recycling: Jason Sackreiter with Whetstone Sanitation reported on the issues of recycling such as finding vendors to accept the products being recycled. Jason asked the Commission to approve a three-year contract at the current rate of $650 per month. The reason for the request is to provide stability for his business operations. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Street to approve the three-year contract with Whetstone Sanitation at $650 per month. Motion carried 5-0.
Highway: Supt Daren Peterson presented two bid letting authorizations for bridges to be replaced under the BIG grant program. The SD DOT will advertise the projects with the county to concur after the bid letting. The cost share is 80/20. The two bridges are 26-056-020 located on the Roberts County line and 26-032-070 on County Road 8. Both bridges are in Blooming Valley Twp. Motion by Street and seconded by Tostenson to authorize Chairman Mach to sign the bid letting authorizations for BRF-B 6266(08) PCN 08MN (structure 26-032-070) with an estimated cost of $1,380,827.37 and BRO-B 8026(36) PCN 08MP with an estimated cost of $590,696.96 (structure 26-056-020). Motion carried 5-0.
Small Structure Grant Program: The Commission discussed the meeting held with SDLTAP and township personnel on the Rural Access Infrastructure Improvement Funds (RAIF) process. Information was presented on the qualifications required to apply for the funds and the application process. The purpose of the monies allocated from the SD legislature is to provide financial assistance to the townships for repairing or replacing their structures. The township must commit to a 20% match. With this program in place, there will be less financial burden placed on the county to provide materials such as culverts. Currently four townships have applications pending with the county with actions on their requests to be considered at a meeting in February. Items: Supt. Peterson reported he is in the process of getting quotes for replacing the furnace in the office area of the shop. The aged furnace had quit working but is currently operating. The Commission expressed appreciation to the highway employees for their work on clearing the roads of snow.
4-H: The budget supplement hearing for the 4-H static building was held with no members of the public present. The purpose of the budget supplement of $50,000 is to adopt budget authority for the change to budget #523 4-H Building for furnishing various items needed to be purchased to complete the building. The source of cash being from the designated donations in Fund 101 in the amount of $50,000. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to approve the budget supplement with the source of cash being a $50,000 donation in the 4-H Building Fund. Motion carried 5-0.
Department Reports: Librarian Tammy Wollschlager reported the State Librarian had visited the library and reported on changes in the library world and adapting to the current needs of the patrons. She reported an increase in marketing and Facebook presence which has been well received. The number of programs offered has increased as well as the number of individuals attending the programs. The program on English as a second language has been a big success with another session beginning in March.
DOE Kathy Steinlicht reported on the proposed changes to valuation that must be sent to SD Dept of Revenue for the 2023 tax year. The small acreages up to 20 acres will be reassessed based on a formula of $15,000 per acre for the first two acres, then $5,000 for acres 3-6 and then $2,000 for acres 7-20. The average cost of cropland is $3,124.79 and for grass is $1,836.47. Kathy reported she has completed the reappraisal for Blooming Valley, Lura and Farmington townships and areas in Big Stone City and Milbank. Kathy also reported on legislative bills she is following during the session.
Register of Deeds Becky Wellnitz reported good progress has been made in streamlining office procedures. The Dept of Revenue is changing the format and the reporting function of the PT55 report which is the report on transfer of property. The total amount of monies collected in 2022 by the Register of Deeds office was $131,490.75.
EM Director Kevin Schuelke reported he has ordered and supplied enough PT25 compliant radios for the required personnel. The next step is the programming of the new digital radios with West Central Communications completing this process. In addition to the new programming, West Central will be cleaning up other programming issues to provide better communication between the first responders. The changeover date is scheduled for September 2023. A new program called Prepared Live is an interactive live camera feed with the 911 caller. Grant County will be hosting a state tabletop exercise in April 2023 and a planning exercise in February 2023.
Planning & Zoning: Officer Steve Berkner informed the Commission that the 90- day review period of the proposed FEMA Flood Plain Map goes through April 4, 2023. The process to update the maps of Grant County began back in 2018. The maps are used to determine homeowner’s eligibility for flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. Residents can view their location to determine if their home is in the flood plain by typing in FEMA Preliminary Floodplain Map Viewer into any search engine. Steve asked the Commission if a joint public information meeting should be held with the City of Milbank. After further discussion, a motion was made by Street and seconded by Tostenson to authorize Berkner to set up the joint public informational meeting with the City. Motion carried 5-0. Waters of the US: Steve reported he had received information from Jay Gilbertson on the reinstatement of the Waters of the US ruling by the Biden Administration. This ruling could have possible effects on drainage permitting. Water in a femoral stream which has occasional water and an intermittent stream which has water most of the time, is now again considered in the ruling. It is suggested that the drainage officer add to the drainage permit notification process, the agencies of the EPA, Corp of Engineers, FEMA and the first upstream landowner of the drainage project be notified. All this does is provide notice, it is up to the agency to respond if so inclined. Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Buttke to direct the Drainage Officer to send all the permit hearing notices and the map of the tiling projects to the agencies of the EPA, Corp of Engineers, FEMA and the first upstream landowner of the proposed drainage permit application. Motion carried 4-1 with Street voting nay.
Renodry: Michael Clancy, owner of Renodry, was on site to do the three-year test on the courthouse basement walls for moisture content. The Renodry dehydration system removes humidity and moisture from cement using radio frequencies. Michael provided the commission with the test results of his analysis which indicated the moisture has been removed and the basement walls are dry.
Travel: Motion by Stengel and seconded by Tostenson to approve the following travel requests. Motion carried 5-0. 1.) EM Director Kevin Schuelke to attend SD I Mat Conference in Pierre. 2.) Weed Supervisor Nathan Mueller to attend Annual Weed and Pest Conference in Huron. 3.) 4-H Advisor Sara Koepke to attend Spring workshop in Aberdeen, 4-H Camp in Arlington, State Horse Show and State Fair in Huron. Extension Conference in Brookings and NAE4-HYDP Conference in Pittsburgh.
County Assistance: Motion by Stengel and seconded by Buttke to deny case PR2023-01. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Street and seconded by Buttke to deny case PR2022-06. Motion carried 5-0.
MOU: Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to approve the Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement with the Milbank School District for distributing the National Opioids settlement monies to the school district for the purpose to fund prevention efforts to prevent the misuse of opioids in school based or youth focused programs. Motion carried 5-0.
Unfinished Business: None
New Business: During the budget 2023 budget cycle, a review of funding provided by the county to the Grant Roberts Ambulance indicated an increase was necessary. The county was informed of revenue loss for the Milbank location. Currently, the county allocates $30,250 per year for ambulance service. Research was done by State’s Attorney Schwandt for options on funding an ambulance district. In his research, he informed the Commission that Roberts County has three ambulance districts and he had contacted the Wall, SD district. Once a district is formed, the district is operated by a governing board who has the authority to levy funding and to contract with an ambulance service. The district can be formed by the county and each municipality passing a resolution to form the district or through an initiated measure. Funding options and forming a district were discussed with personnel from the City of Milbank. Estimated funding scenarios were done. As an example, a levy of nine cents per thousand of valuation would raise $112,600 per year. If a district is formed, the county allocation of $30,250 would not be part of the county budget.
The Commission decided the next step is for two members of the Commission to attend the town council meetings and explain the issue of forming a district. This will be done starting in February. Public meetings will also be scheduled to explain the process and the reasons for retaining a service with advanced life support personnel.
Correspondence: None
Consent: Motion by Street and seconded by Stengel to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
1. Approve step increase for Joanne Urban, library staff member, to $16.85 per hour effective 1-4-23
Executive Session: Motion by Tostenson and seconded by Stengel to enter executive session at 12:10 PM for the purpose of a personnel issue pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2. Motion carried 5-0. Auditor Layher, Deputy Auditor Folk and States Attorney Schwandt were present. Chairman Mach declared the meeting open to the public at 12:27 PM. No action was taken because of the executive session.
Claims: Motion by Stengel and seconded by Tostenson to approve the claims. Motion carried 5-0. 15 HOTEL GROUP, motel 979.00; A-OX WELDING, supplies 522.45; AL'S BODY SHOP, repairs & maint 927.00; AUTOMAXX, parts 663.55; AVERA MCKENNAN, blabs 62.00; BEACON CENTER, 4th quarter allocations 342.00; BORNS GROUP, mailing expense 1,091.26; BOYER FORD TRUCKS, repairs & maint 399.45; BUTLER, supplies 2,330.95; CENTER POINT, books 578.50; CENTURYLINK, telephone 153.38; CHS, diesel & ethanol 8,232.34; CITY OF MILBANK, water & sewer 555.24; CITY OF WATERTOWN, 911 surcharge 6,255.36; COLEPAPERS, supplies 244.89; COLONIAL RESEARCH CHEMICAL, supplies 266.50; CRAIG DEBOER, car wash usage 51.36; CRIMESTAR, support renewal 2,450.00; DENNIS AMBERG, equipment 1,310.70; DETCO, supplies 507.76; EQUIPMENT BLADES, supplies 10,701.30; FIRST BANK & TRUST/VISA, supplies 244.64; FOELL PC, health services 80.00; FREMAREK, supplies 508.74; G & R CONTROLS, repairs & maint 436.09; GALL'S, supplies 102.91; FOOD-N-FUEL, supplies 23.97; GLACIAL LAKES & PRAIRIES, dues 784.00; GRAJCZYK LAW OFFICE, prof services 300.00; GRANT CO EC & DEV BOARD, allocation 8,750.00; GRANT CO SOIL CONSERVATION, allocation 13,000.00; GRANT-ROBERTS RURAL WATER, water usage 41.10; HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY, 1st qtr appropriations 9,586.06; ITC, internet 214.82; ISTATE TRUCK CENTER, repair & maint 426.17; JACKSON SCHWANDT, prof services 62.50; JASON SACKREITER, garbage service 315.00; JEREMY WIESE, supplies 18.86; JOSEPH KANTHAK, tower rent 600.00; KASSEBURG CANINE TRAINING CENTER, detector canine 8,000.00; LARRY'S REFRIGERATION, repairs & maint 5,264.50; LEWIS, supplies 419.40; MICROFILM IMAGING SYSTEMS, scanner rent 642.00; MIDCO, library internet 103.94; JODI DEVAAL, temp worker 260.85; NARTEC, supplies 194.05; NORMAN GIESEN, supplies 76.00; NORTHWESTERN ENERGY, natural gas 813.55; NOVAK SANITARY SERVICE, shredding services 16.00; OTTER TAIL POWER, electricity 4,959.19; OVERDRIVE, prof services 1,500.00; PHOENIX SUPPLY, inmate supplies 202.60; QUICK PRO LUBE, repairs & maint 374.85; R.D. OFFUTT, repairs & maint 2,220.13; RC TECHNOLOGIES, 911 transport & tower rent 95.96; RELX, reference books 198.10; RENAE SUE KRUSE THORNTON, prof services 194.70; RIVER STREET PETROLEUM, diesel 15,811.47; RUNNINGS, supplies 398.56; SCANTRON, prof services 5,615.58; SD DEPT OF HEALTH, blabs 320.00; SD SHERIFF'S ASSN, dues 726.68; STAR LAUNDRY, rentals 127.63; STAR TRIBUNE, periodicals 220.90; STERN OIL, supplies 6,437.70; TRAPP PLUMBING, repairs & maint 152.24; VALLEY OFFICE PRODUCTS, supplies 396.30; VERIZON, hotspot 38.52; WHETSTONE HOME CENTER, supplies 61.92; WHETSTONE VALLEY ELECTRIC, electricity 1,552.37. TOTAL: $131,515.54.
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 February 7 and 21 and March 7 and 21, 2023 at 8 a.m. Motion by Stengel and seconded by Street to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned.
 /s/ William J. Tostenson, Chairman,
Grant County Commission
/s/ Karen M. Layher, 
Grant County Auditor              
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