Walworth County Commission sets Feb. 7th date for solar farm ordinance public hearing

The Walworth County Commission has set Wednesday, February 7th, for a public hearing on the solar farm ordinance.  They also passed a motion to add wording of “no battery storage system of any size” to the ordinance.  They asked Eric at Northeast Council of Governments (NECOG) to work on the specifics and definitions regarding the inclusion of battery storage and cadmium in the ordinance.

Highway

Walworth County Highway Superintendent Tom Hannan told the commissioners there is $55,000.00 on hand in Rural Access Infrastructure Funds to spend on two upcoming projects, along with a $46,000 supplement that had not been budgeted for 2023.

The commission approved a motion for the highway department to return to a five-day work week as of January 1st.

Public Hearing for Budget Supplements

A public hearing was held for Commission and Courthouse Supplements and all were approved.

Emergency Manager

Walworth County Emergency Manager Jeff Jensen informed the commissioners that the Local Emergency Management Performance Grant (LEMPG) funds through the State for fiscal 2023 have been received in the amount of $41,183.54 and given to the Auditor.

AFLAC

Tonya Schoenhard and Lance Thorson of AFLAC visited with the commissioners about insurance coverage options for county employees.

Sheriff

For the Sheriff’s Department, the commission approved jail contracts with Brule County at $72.00 per day for adults and Beadle County at $95 per day for adults and $325 per day for the juvenile detention center.

The commission also approved an addendum to the Winner City jail contract for changes in transport and usage of staff.

Auditor

A motion to keep county offices open on December 26th failed for lack of a second.  The commission then passed a motion to close county offices that day.

A motion was approved for the county to cover $6,000 in ambulance insurance (ground and air) for all full-time employees.

2024 membership dues for South Dakota Association of County Commissioners (SDACC) and N.A.C.O. in the amount of $1,747.00 total were approved to be paid.

The courthouse lift has been repaired, but there is a labor billing issue that needs to be resolved with the company that sent two repairmen from Sioux Falls to do the work.

Poor Relief

The commissioners approved a funeral assistance request of $813.75, to be paid to the funeral home.

New Business

Under New Business, Commissioner Duane Mohr mentioned the possibility of demolishing the old jail structure and building on to the newer portion.

Next Meetings

Thursday, December 28th was set for the commissioners’ end of the year meeting at 9:15am, and the first meeting of 2024 will be Thursday, January 4th.