By Watertown Current - February 12, 2026 in OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS
COUNTY OF CODINGTON
CODINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE
14 1st Ave SE
Watertown, SD 57201
January 27, 2026
The Codington County Commissioners met in regular session at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at the Codington County Court House. Commission members present were Lee Gabel (via ZOOM), Tyler McElhany, Myron Johnson, Randall Schweer, and Troy VanDusen; Chair VanDusen, presiding. The pledge of allegiance was led by Commissioner McElhany.
CALLS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST ITEMS
Chair VanDusen called for public comments to be taken up during the open portion of the meeting; none were offered. There were no conflict-of-interest items to note.
AGENDA APPROVED
Motion by Gabel, second by Johnson, to approve January 27, 2026, agenda as posted; all voted aye; motion carried.
MINUTES APPROVED
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to approve the minutes of January 20, 2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
HOME BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION REQUEST TO SERVE ALCOHOL AT A PRIVATE VENDOR EVENT AT THE EXTENSION CENTER COMPLEX
Julie Kneeland, Executive Officer with the Watertown Area Home Builder’s Association, met with the Board to request authorization to serve alcohol to vendors at a private social event following the close of the Home Show on March 14, 2026. Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to allow the request as presented by Ms. Kneeland; all voted aye; motion carried.
MONTHLY REPORTS
Emergency Management Director, Andrew Delgado, updated the Board: Cheri and I completed the State Communications Drill and survey January 13, 2026; Region 2 in-person meeting, and Crisis Track Training on January 14, 2026; participated in meetings concerning cyber security incident planning with TwoTrees; updated the Weather Spotter list, LEPC roster, County contacts and Fire Dept. Rosters; uploaded State Personnel Action Forms, State Timesheets, and other quarterly reporting documents in WebEOC; January 16th-18th, 2026, Search and Rescue hosted an Ice Dive Operations class by Dive Rescue International, 16 members of CCSAR and members of Beadle County Dive Team attended and received either a dive or shore support certification; several members of the team had done this before, but had been several years for having this course in its entirety, it was good to provide new members knowledge and refresh things that may not get covered through more condensed in-house training, it also ensures our team is consistently performing these higher-risk operations as safely and efficiently as possible and gave us time for prolonged operations, building more reps and proficiency, I would like to give a shout out to DJ for lining the training up, and to the volunteer members who attended, they sacrificed approximately 24 hours of their time on a workday and two days over the weekend, CCSAR brings fantastic capabilities to the county and the region.
RANGELAND FIRE ASSISTANCE RESOLUTION/FIRE PROTECTION AGREEMENT
The Board received correspondence from the SD Dept. of Agriculture addressing a need for updated contact information regarding the County’s designee for obligating funds in the event of a county request for fire suppression assistance. Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve Resolution 2026-02; all present voted aye; motion carried.
RESOLUTION 2026-02
“BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the list of individuals set forth below, are hereby authorized to request rangeland fire assistance, on behalf of Codington County as specified in SDCL 41-20A-11. The authority to request assistance as provided shall continue in full force and effect until terminated or modified by resolution of the Codington County Board of Commissioners.”
Effective Date: January 27, 2026
County Fire Assistance Authorization List:
Name Position Daytime Phone Emergency or Cell Phone
_____________
Andrew Delgado Emergency Management 605-882-6272 605-520-6272
Director
Troy VanDusen County Commission 605-882-5238 605-881-8527
Term ends 12/31/2028
Cheri Howell Emergency Management 605-882-6272 605-956-0609
Deputy
“BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that Andrew Delgado, Codington County Emergency Management Director, is appointed County Rural Fire Coordinator for Codington County, South Dakota. The Codington County Rural Fire Coordinator is hereby authorized to act as a single point of contact, on behalf of Codington County, in dealing with administrative matters such as burn bans, billings, or questions about this Rangeland Fire Agreement specific to Codington County. This authority shall continue in full force and effect until terminated or modified by resolution of the Codington County Commissioners.
Dated this 27th day of January, 2026
Troy VanDusen, Chair Codington County Commission
ATTEST:
Brenda Hanten, County Auditor
VOLUNTEER ROSTERS
Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to approve the following volunteer rosters for the purposes of workers compensation insurance coverage: Codington County Search and Rescue Team, Codington County Weather Spotters, and Emergency Management on-call/back-up staff; all voted aye; motion carried. The volunteer rosters will be kept on file in the Auditor’s Office and updated as needed throughout the year.
CODINGTON COUNTY LEPC ROSTER
Motion by McElhany, second by Schweer, to approve the Codington County LEPC Roster as submitted by the Codington County Emergency Management Office; all voted aye; motion carried. This list will be kept on file in the office of the County Auditor.
GUARDIAN CELL CHECK SOFTWARE SYSTEM
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve Sourcewell quote for Guardian Cell Check Software System to include 5th Spartan and Medication Manager, in the amount of year one amount $9,948.50 and $9,466.75 annually on the 1-year anniversary, Chief Correctional Officer, Matt Blackwelder, explained to the Board that this software tracks the inmates medications which is currently being done on paper and will use Key Fobs instead of ID cards for employees, this system will be used in the new jail facility so purchasing this now will allow us to train the employees before the move to the new jail; all voted aye; motion carried.
OPIOID GRANT FOR COMMUNITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to authorize Chair to sign Opioid grant for Community Awareness Campaign, in the amount of $50,000; all voted aye; motion carried.
OPIOID GRANT FOR TRANSPORTATION AND CELL PHONES FOR PRE-TRIAL CLIENTS
Motion by McElhany, second by Schweer, to authorize Chair to sign Opioid grant for transportation and cell phones for pre-trial clients, in the amount of $5,000; all voted aye; motion carried.
FLOOR SCRUBBERS FOR GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve a quote for Scrubber IMop from Hillyard, in the amount of $3,906.52 and to approve a quote for IPC CT30B45 18” Scrubber from Proline, in the amount of $5,250.00; Facility Manager, Steve Moloengraaf, explained to the Board that the smaller IMop will be used in the smaller spaces in the Courthouse and the larger Scrubber is the same Scrubber that was purchased at the Extension Center, he received two quotes and recommended purchasing the IMop from Hillyard and the 18” Scrubber from Hillyard, these are budgeted items; all voted aye; motion carried.
COMPENSATION FOR JUDGES OF ELECTIONS
Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to compensate 2026 Judges of elections at $225.00 for election day, plus $50.00 for attending election schools and training, as recommended by Auditor, Brenda Hanten, all voted aye; motion carried.
CLAIMS
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve for payment the following list of claims; all voted aye; motion carried. HEALTHEQUITY 81.00 SVC, SDPAA 118.98 MAINT, THOMSON REUTERS-WEST 794.96 SVC, TWOTREES TECHNOLOGIES 1255.20 SUP, WATERTOWN PUBLIC OPINION 1433.56 PUB,
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve the following new jail claim; all voted aye; motion carried. – ARCHITECTURE INCORPORATED 12339.00 SVC, BECKENHAUER CONSTRUCTION INC 416089.73 SVC, THE TEGRA GROUP, INC 20688.00 SVC,
SALARY CLAIMS
Motion by Gabel, second by Johnson, to approve for payment the following January salary claims. All voted aye; motion carried.
Commissioners: 12,182.73 total salaries. Auditor: 23,780.17 total salaries. Co. Treasurer: 50,510.38 total salaries. States Attorney: 61,112.73 total salaries. Gov. Buildings: 17,220.25 total salaries. Dir. Equalization: 62,580.57 total salaries. Reg. of Deeds: 33,615.32 total salaries. Veterans Service: 13,349.31 total salaries. Sheriff: 157,010.36 total salaries. Jail: 203,382.47 total salaries. Coroner: 2583.60 total salaries. Welfare: 33,935.57 total salaries. CO. Nurse; 6,456.63 total salaries. Park: 0 total salaries Ag. Bldg.: 14,443.53 total salaries. Co. Extension: 14,573.75 total salaries. Weed: 6,285.26 total salaries. Planning Board: 485.95 total salaries. Road & Bridge: 127,352.13 total salaries. Emergency Management; 17,202.86 total salaries. Crime Victim: 9,332.90 total salaries. W.I.C.: 6,001.76 total salaries. 24/7: 7,882.75 total salaries. Total 881,280.98
Breakdown of withholding amounts which are included in the above: S.D. Retirement 80,614.34; VSP 953.00 eye insurance; S.D. Supplemental Retire. 5,290.00 suppl. retire.; Sanford 113,974.21; Reliance Standard Life Insurance 1204.17 life ins.; Delta Dental 7,598.40 ins.; Codington County 7,826.73 employee HSA contribution; AFSCME Council 65 482.04 employee union dues; AFLAC 4,216.98.; VSP 443.05 eye insurance; John Hancock 3,500.00 suppl. retire.; AFLAC 1,783.30 ins.; Sioux Valley Credit Union 21,164.60 employee payments; John Hancock Roth 400.00 suppl. retire.; SDRS Supplemental Retirement 4,705.00 Roth retirement; Teamsters Local Union 120 438.00 employee union due; Codington County Deputy Sheriff’s Association 135.00 employee union dues; ReliaBank Dakota 60,977.86 federal withholding; ReliaBank Dakota 80,924.88 social security; ReliaBank Dakota 18,926.04 Medicare; United Way 25.00 employee contributions; Health Equity 7,826.73 employee HSA contribution.
OLD BUSINESS
Commissioner Gabel informed the Board that the foundation work is almost complete, prepping for the pre-cast, some additional change documents, Commissioner McElhany will visit pre-cast plant.
OPEN
Commission Comments – Commissioner McElhany attended two TCP meetings, staff commented that the Friday meeting was best meeting so far, errors are getting corrected; 14th Ave. bridge project is going well and ahead of schedule, footings are in and are ready to start running concrete.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion by McElhany, second by Schweer, to enter executive session, per SDCL 1-25-2(1); (3) Preparing for contract negotiations or negotiating with employees or employee representatives at 9:26 a.m.; all voted aye; motion carried. The Board returned to regular session at 9:44 a.m., no action was taken. Human Resource Representative, Natalie Remund and Community Service Director were present for executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon conclusion of all business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Johnson, second by
Schweer to adjourn at 9:46 a.m., all voted aye; motion carried.
ATTEST:
Brenda Hanten
Codington County Auditor
Codington County does not discriminate on the basis of color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or
disability in employment or the provision of service.
Published once on February 12, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $118.04 and can be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.watertowncurrent.com.