Walworth County Commission meeting Tuesday, September 3, 2024

A regular meeting of the Walworth County Commission was held on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Treasurer

Walworth County Treasurer Cindy Geier informed the commissioners that her last day as Treasurer will be September 27th.  Leah Holder will take over the position, and they have several candidate applications for a deputy in the Treasurer’s office that they will be considering.

Emergency Manager

Walworth County Emergency Manager Jeff Jensen discussed the on-going issue with state radio connectivity that the EMS, fire, ambulance and law enforcement agencies all operate on.  Jensen says another tower is needed, but he says the State is not going to fund such a project on its own.  He has received a South Dakota Public Safety Communications Council worksheet that covers how much the counties or cities would be willing to put in and how much would it cost the State.

Highway

Highway Superintendent Tom Hannan told the commissioners that the KLJ engineering bridge project paperwork will be ready in April, and he had estimates on the County’s costs for each bridge.

Also for the highway department, the commission passed a motion to follow State guidelines specifying that surplus property valued under $2500.00 does not need to be appraised.  They also approved allowing Hannan to surplus unneeded property at the highway department, which he listed for the commissioners during the meeting.

Landfill

A motion was passed to approve Commissioner Duane Mohr’s list of items for surplus at the landfill.

Also at the meeting Tuesday, the commission approved the planning and zoning plats for both the Brehmer Addition and the Shempert Addition.

Lyle Lindeman visited with the commissioners about roads that need some maintenance work.

Jamie Fisk discussed the referendum to repeal Senate Bill  201 – called “The Landowner Bill of Rights” by supporters.  Referred Law 21 will be on the November 5th ballot.  Fisk wants voters to say “NO”, and invited the commissioners to attend an informational meeting on the issue at the Ramkota in Aberdeen on Monday, September 9th.

The commission passed a motion to adopt the provisional budget for 2025 as presented, and they approved authorizing the county auditor to publish the adoption of the annual budget.

The solar farm ordinance hearing will be held Thursday, September 5th, at 9am, in the Walworth County Courthouse courtroom.

The next regular Walworth County Commission meeting will be on Tuesday, September 24th.