By Watertown Current - April 16, 2026 in Official Proceedings
County of Codington
Codington County Court House
14 1st Ave SE
Watertown, SD 57201
March 24, 2026
The Codington County Commissioners met in regular session at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at the Codington County Court House. Commission members present were: Lee Gabel, Tyler McElhany, Myron Johnson, Randall Schweer, and Troy VanDusen; 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 Gabel, second by McElhany, to approve the agenda for March 24, 2026, as posted; all voted aye; motion carried.
MINUTES APPROVED
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to approve the minutes of March 17, 2026; all voted aye; motion carried.
APPROVAL TO SELL ALCOHOL AT EXTENSION FOR A WEDDING EVENT
Carla Coplan met with the Board to request authorization for alcohol sales at the Coplan/Bach wedding scheduled for July 18, 2026, at the Codington County Extension Center Complex. The liquor license held by Cloud 9 will be transferred for this event. Cloud 9 will be regulating all alcohol sales, security, and minor control. Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to approve the request for alcohol sales on July 18, 2026, at the Extension Center Complex, as requested; all voted aye; motion carried.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Glen Vilhauer, District V Senator, met with the Board to update them on some of the bills that passed during the session which there is only 1 day remaining. Property tax and election bills once again were a couple of the top topics. Glen mentioned that it was a challenging session. Commissioner Johnson commended Glen for good job that he has done.
MONTHLY REPORTS
Emergency Management Director, Andrew Delgado, updated the Board: Fire Chiefs meeting discussing mutual aid – came with a new way forward; discussed Code Red with local radio stations; did an ICS overview for National Guard Leadership; hosted a roundtable discussion on how they would fit into local response efforts with leaders and local responders; LEPC meeting; attended the annual township meeting to discuss Crisis Track, got a couple more permissions to set up, the training is scheduled for tonight at 6:30 p.m. for townships and tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. for city, county and municipal utilities; the first spring hydrologic outlook was released with no surprises, lower than average chance of flooding this spring; coordinated with local partners due to the forecasted blizzard the weekend of the Girls State Basketball Tournament, talked with school staff and arranged for Red Cross and state shelter trailers to be staged there, got permission for the use of both trailers, Search and Rescue staged the snowcat at the Fire Department; applied for the Homeland Security Grant and Cheri applied for the HEMP; weather spotter training is open to the public, it is scheduled for April 8th, 2026, with one session at 1:00 pm, the other at 6 pm, at the Codington County Extension Center, classes last about 2 hours.
WORSHIP SERVICES AT MEMORIAL PARK
Motion by Johnson, second by Schweer, to allow the Lutheran Church of our Redeemer to conduct worship services at Memorial Park during the 2026 park season, in the picnic area on Sundays from Memorial Weekend, through Labor Day Weekend, the worship services begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at approximately around 10:30 a.m.; all voted aye; motion carried.
SD DOT NOXIOUS WEED CONTROL CONTRACT
Motion by Johnson, second by McElhany, to authorize the Chair to sign the contract with the SDDOT to authorize the County Weed Dept. to provide noxious weed control in 2026 within the State highway right of way for an estimated cost of $32,395.00; all voted aye; motion carried.
CONTRACT TO ASSIST WITH COMMUNITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Motion by Johnson, second by Gabel, to authorize the Chair to sign a contract with Production Monkeys, to assist with the Community Awareness Campaign, for up to $40,000 per year which will be covered utilizing the SD Opioid Settlement funding grant, Community Service Director, Sara Foust, appeared before the Board to explain the details of the grant; all voted aye; motion carried.
SURPLUS OFFICE EQUIPMENT AT CODINGTON COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE
Motion by Gabel, second by McElhany, to declare the following office equipment, at the Codington County Extension Service Office, surplus to be destroyed: 1- Kensington Keyboard, S/N E1029A004950; all voted aye; motion carried.
RESOLUTION TO COMBINE PRIMARY ELECTION PRECINCTS
Auditor, Brenda Hanten, presented the Board with a resolution to combine voting precincts for the 2026 June 2, 2026, Primary Election in Codington County. The Board approved the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 2026-07
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Codington County, South Dakota, is required by the provision of SDCL 12-14-1 to provide for election precincts throughout the County and shall designate polling places within such precincts, and
WHEREAS, a Primary Election is to be held on June 2, 2026, and where the Board of County Commissioners may change the boundaries of election precincts already established and where it has been determined it would be in the best interest of County taxpayers to combine some of the current precincts for said election.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the following precincts are established for the 2026 Primary Election to be held on June 2, 2026.
Precinct A1, A2, A3, A4 & D1
Precinct B1, B2, B3, B4, C1, & E5
Precinct C2, D2, D3, & D4 & Elmira Township
Precinct, C3, C4 & Pelican Township
Precinct E1, E2, E3, E4, & Lake Township
Dexter Township
Eden & Phipps Townships & Wallace Village
Fuller Township & Florence Village
Germantown and Rauville Townships
Graceland & Henry Townships & Henry Village
Kampeska & Richland Townships
Kranzburg Township & Village
Leola Township & South Shore Village
Sheridan Township
Waverly Township
The above and foregoing resolution was moved for adoption by Commissioner Johnson, second by Commissioner McElhany, all voted aye; motion carried.
Dated this 24th day of March 2026
Troy VanDusen
County Commission Chair
ATTEST:
Brenda Hanten
Auditor
COUNTY AND CONSOLIDATED BOARDS OF EQUALIZATION
The Board noted that the County Board of Equalization will meet at 1:00 p.m., April 14th, 2026, at the Court House and the Consolidated Board of Equalization will meet at 6:30 p.m., April 14th, 2026, in the chambers of the Watertown City Council.
EASTER HOLIDAY
The Board noted the Court House, and all County offices will be closed on Friday, April 3rd, 2026, and Monday, April 6th, 2026, in observance of the Easter Holiday.
NOTE NO BOARD MEETING
Due to previously adopted policy the Board will not meet Tuesday, March 31st, 2026.
CLAIMS
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve for payment the following claims: LEWIS & CLARK BHS 450.00 SVC, MINNEHAHA COUNTY AUDITOR 843.77 SVC, STEVE’S WORLD 12170.83 EQUIP, all voted aye; motion carried.
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve for payment the following jail claims: Beckenhaurer Construction 1,569,846.19, Architecture Inc., 26,082.00, Geotek 868.00, Tegra Group 20,998.30; all voted aye; motion carried.
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve for payment the following claim: SV Commissioner meeting/Kingsbury County 70.00; all voted aye; motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUEST
Motion by McElhany, second by Gabel, to approve the following travel request: Veteran Service office staff to attend conference; Community Service office staff to attend training, and Director of Equalization office staff to attend meeting; all voted aye; motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Commissioner Gabel provided a construction update on the new jail. The steel columns and beams erection is progressing well; Commissioner Gabel and Commissioner Schweer toured the plant where the precast walls are manufactured.
OPEN
Public Comments – Ryan Kohl, candidate for District 4, State Representative introduced himself to the Board.
Commission Comments – Commissioner Johnson will be attending the SD State Retirement meeting.
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 9:38 a.m.; all voted aye; motion carried. The Board returned to regular session at 10:07 a.m., and no action was taken. Veteran Service Officer, Jay Roberts, Facility Manager, Steve Molengraaf, and Auditor, Brenda Hanten, were present for executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon conclusion of all business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Johnson, second by Gabel to adjourn at 10:08 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 April 16, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $91.00 and can be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.watertowncurrent.com.