By Watertown Current - March 5, 2026 in Official Proceedings
County of Codington
Codington County Court House
14 1st Ave SE
Watertown, SD 57201
February 17, 2026
The Codington County Commissioners met in regular session at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at the Codington County Court House. Commission members present were Lee Gabel, Tyler McElhany, Myron Johnson, Randall Schweer, and Troy VanDusen; Chair VanDusen, presiding. The pledge of allegiance was led by Commissioner Johnson.
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 McElhany, second by Schweer, to approve February 17, 2026, agenda as posted; all voted aye; motion carried.
MINUTES APPROVED
Motion by Johnson, second by Gabel, to approve the minutes of February 10, 2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
MONTHLY REPORTS
Veterans Service Officer, Jay Roberts, updated the Board: metrics for the month, 125 open claims (working claims) 55 pending action from VA, 28 completed (YTD), Hamlin 17 open (working claims) 9 pending from VA, 2 completed (YTD), currently working for 8 veterans and have completed 0 claims for veterans from outside our county; $3,494 for the month January 2026, increase in monthly compensation for veterans or their dependents YTD monthly increase $14,456; $80,014 for the month of January 2026, retro-payment to bring a claim current to monthly compensation YTD retro-payments $104,933; 2 veteran DAV transports in January, 2 – currently scheduled for February, currently 4 drivers with 1 application being processed to become a driver; CURRENT – Normal day-to-day business processing claims; assisting veterans with getting their 1099-R from DFAS so they may file their taxes; small increase in the number of veterans walking in due to the Farm Show, with the VA having personnel at a booth talking to people as they walk through the Farm Show; FUTURE – meeting with the commanders on March 3, 2026 at the VFW; radio shows KWAT – 8:30 and KXLG – 9:05 on March 5th, 2026; March 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. M-Day Pre-Retirement Seminar held at the Watertown Readiness Center; March 24, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. What’s Brewing outreach event at the Watertown Readiness Center, SDDVA will provide information on the following: burial benefits including grave markers, SD State Veterans Cemetery, SD State Veterans Home; Sioux Falls VHA will provide information on the following: VA Health Care eligibility, caregiver support, including respite care, nursing care, and nursing home services. railroaduperintendent, Randy Falvey, updated the Board: Grangaard Construction Inc. is continuing ahead of schedule on the 14th Ave. bridge project, the east piers are complete with the sheet piles removed, concrete work is moving along, a good amount of rip rap has been placed, good shape come Spring; initial drawing from the architects and mechanical/electrical engineers are complete for the second phase of the Truck Storage upgrade project on the north end of the county shop, need to look them over, waiting on updated cost estimates; have continued to be very fortunate with the snow so far this season, we’ve had one minor snow squall since last month that didn’t require a full day to clean up, may be something toward the end of this week; with the warm weather the frost has started coming out of the roads so load limits may be going up shortly; continued Crack Sealing and are currently on CR-6 by the Country Road Barn, the rail road crossing is very rough, warning to the public to be careful; sent the last of our new guys to Hazmat training at Lake Area Technical College; have completed our annual MSHA Training for the year; everyone is trained on the Time clocks and is going well.
Welfare Director, Sara Foust, updated the Board: 47 unique individuals were served in January; Medicaid Reimbursement – $785.45 for January; DOH CHW Grant reimbursement – $2,432.70, Community Service Office, new Admin. Assistant is starting new week; sending out information about IMPACT and the services that we provide; Systems of Care/Codington Connects –the Agency of the month is Project Success through HSA and Haley Roe, is the individual of the month; Housing – Housing Conference was last week and went great, 200 registered to attend, housing team presented the local housing initiatives; Childcare – currently doing a community survey, encourage all parents and guardians to fill it out; Centralized Location – plans are moving forward, there are a lot of moving parts to coordinate; HEART (Healing, Education, Awareness, Resilience, Trauma) is working on a strategic plan with goals of improving trauma education, supporting schools, and supporting families; Tifanie Petro will be coming March 30th & 31st to present ACEs training, there will be 3 trainings, started doing weekly spots at Northeast Radio to promote the work that is happening with Codington Connects, have sent out RFP’s for the Community Awareness Marketing Campaign to marketing companies; Mystery Dinner Theater Fundraiser is happening this week; check out Codington Connects at www.codingtonconnects.com for more events and information about the community. Facility Manager, Steve Molengraaf, Ag. Building – the new concrete in front of the doors has frost heaved causing doors either only partially or not opening, the contractor ground the concrete to allow the doors to temporarily open, they are planning on fixing the concrete this summer; Court House – new maintenance tech – Charlie Dally started this week; Detention Center – Park – online booking began February 1st, 2026, at midnight for any days of the camping season, as of 2-15-2026 there were 163 reservations with revenue of $30,806; Weed – Annual Weed board meeting and soup supper with the Townships has been set for March 11th, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the kitchen of the Codington County Extension Complex, worked the weed booth on January 30th at the Sioux Falls farm show, larger crowd than previous years; State Weed Conference is February 17th-20th in Deadwood, Randy Schweer has volunteered to attend the conference; WNV –
CRACK SEALING MACHINE FOR HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve the purchase of new Crafco 44100 Supershot 250D Crack Sealing machine from Crafco, Inc., source well bid in the amount of $78,415.65 for the Highway Department; Highway Supt., Randy Falvey, presented the Board with 2 bids, Crafco, Inc. in the amount of $78,415.65 and Midstates Equipment & Supply in the amount of $83,277.00; Highway Supt., Randy Falvey, recommended the source well bid from Crafco, Inc., in the amount of $78,415.65; this is a budgeted item; all voted aye; motion carried.
SKID STEER TRAILER FOR HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to approve the purchase of new Delta Skid Steer Trailer from Schuchards Trailer Sales, in the amount of $9,500 for the Highway Department; Highway Supt., Randy Falvey, presented the Board with 2 quotes, Delta Trailer Manufacturing in the amount of $9,500.00 and Midsota in the amount of $10,700.00; Highway Supt., Randy Falvey, recommended quote from Delta Trailer Manufacturing, in the amount of $9,500.00; this is a budgeted item; all voted aye; motion carried.
RESTART ANNUAL REPORT
Angie Collignon, Substance Use and Justice Program Coordinator, updated the Board with the RESTART initiative since the implementation in April 2025. The Diversion Program from July 1, 2025, – December 31, 2025 there were 84 individuals referred with 90% successfully completing the program; assists with housing support to Brothers and Sisters behind Bars; provides case management to the individuals living in sober housing; partnered with Emily’s Hope and distributed 800 doses of naloxone throughout the community; helps support a Peer Support specialist; assisted with 47 Recovery events hosted by Brothers & Sisters Behind Bars; and currently conducting a marketing campaign called RESTART.
CELL PHONE STIPEND
Motion by, second by, to approve a monthly cell phone stipend, effective March 01, 2026, in the amount of $25.00, to Maintenance Tech, Charlie Dally, as requested by Facility Manager, Steve Molengraaf; all voted aye; motion carried,
PROPERTY INSURANCE COVERAGE
Motion by, second by, to approve the renewal of Codington County property insurance coverage with EMC insurance, in the amount of $175,927.00, Raleigh Kettwig, Client Advisor with Acrisure, provided the Board with information regarding the increase in coverage from last year’s rates; all voted aye; motion carried.
FEBRUARY 24th MEETING DATE
The Board will meet on Wednesday, February 25th, 2026.
OPENING OF ANNUAL BIDS FOR HIGHWAY SUPPLIES AND WEED CHEMICALS
The Board noted the opening of annual bids for Highway supplies and Weed Chemicals will be on Friday, February 27th, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission Chambers.
CLAIMS
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve for payment the following list of claims; Boys & Girls Club – $14,282.50; Watertown Public Opinion – $190.25; EMC – $17.00; Beck Motors Inc. – $48,416.00; Watertown Municipal Utilities – $15,228.34; all voted aye; motion carried.
Motion by Gabel, second by Schweer, to approve the following new jail claim; all voted aye; motion carried. – Beckenhaurer Construction – $1,241,564.54; Architecture Inc., – $39,824.00; Geotek – $20,485.30; Tegra Group – $21,023.40
PERSONNEL CHANGE
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to approve the following personnel changes: Mallory Towle, Administrative Support, Community Service Office, G25/Step A, $23.71 per hour, effective 2-23-2026; Zachary Dargatz, part-time Administrative Support, Auditor’s Office, G20/Step A, $21.96 per hour, effective 2-16-2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Commissioner Gabel informed the Board that a few panels have gone up, contingency fund is in good shape, lost 4 days in December so a little behind schedule. Thanked Sara Foust and anyone else for organizing the Housing Conference and mentioned there was a good program on TIF’s. Commissioner VanDusen mentioned the Cracker Barrel that occurred at the Farm Show that went well.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion by Schweer, second by McElhany, to enter executive session, per SDCL 1-25-2 (2) Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters (SDCL 1-25-2(2)) at 8:59 a.m.; all voted aye; motion carried. The Board returned to regular session at 10:08 a.m., and no action was taken. Michael Cole and Community Service Director, Sara Foust, were present for executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon conclusion of all business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Johnson, second by
McElhany to adjourn at 10:09 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 March 5, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $115.44 and can be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.watertowncurrent.com.