New County Road Grader to Arrive Soon

The Grant County Commissioners met Wednesday, April 3, at 10 a.m. in the Grant County Courthouse. Grant County Highway Superintendent Kerwin Schultz reported the county’s new road grader will arrive soon. The grader was purchased for $500,000.

Schultz said a letter was sent to Grant County residents who participate in dust control application to inform them roads will be graded prior to the application. He stated this should not interfere with the integrity of the dust control product. The roads will be graded an additional time before the end of the season.

Annual bids for highway department supplies were received. Duininck Incorporated of Prinsburg, Minnesota was the lowest and received approval. Duininck’s bid was $1.10 lower in every category except for plant pick up. The Bituminous Paving bid remained the same as previous years, and for added convenience during patching, will be picked up from the plant. The superintendent also stated the county has posted advertisements to hire a blade operator, as the former operator has resigned.

Sheriff Kevin Owen discussed the county’s contract with the City of Milbank for dispatching services. He said the contract costs the city $1000 per month, but the terms of the contract have not been revised in over ten years.

Currently, two thirds of logged calls are made by the Milbank Police Department. In 2017, the Milbank Police Department had 2315 logged calls (meaning needed action taken); the sheriff’s office had 796. Sheriff Owen said the disparity exists because the sheriff’s office focuses more on investigative work. He noted the dispatchers are also jailers, and the higher volume of calls coupled with the high inmate population is affecting staff performance. He requested additional hours for part-time employees during the busier weekend shifts.

Two drainage permits were approved, both in Georgia Township. Sheryl Atkins, received approval to drain onto an adjoining parcel, and Eric Anderson received approval to tie to existing tile across the road from his property.

The current rate for copies at the offices of the courthouse was brought into question from a concerned citizen. The citizen had requested a copy of the conditional use permit for wind energy, which was 1300 pages. After over 800 copies were made at the special copy rate of one dollar per page, the citizen was contacted and canceled the request. The citizen sent an email asking if the cost could be lowered to twenty five cents per page. The commissioners decided to consider a resolution or ordinance for future permits to be filed electronically to reduce printing costs.

Weed Supervisor Nathan Mueller requested approval of bids to send to the South Dakota Department of Transportation for pocket gopher baiting. The amount totaled $6000. Mueller noted pocket gophers are becoming a nuisance. The rodents often tunnel three or four feet deep and up to eight feet. Mueller also requested approval for a contract with department of transportation for ROW spraying in the amount of $24,930.

Approval was granted to add the 2018 volunteers from the snowmobile club to the workers’ compensation list. Approval was also given to Rufee’s in Strandburg for a special event malt beverage license for the fundraiser at the old Grant Deuel School this Saturday.

The next regular meeting of the commissioners will be Tuesday April 17, 2018. The regular meeting on May 15, was rescheduled to May 14, due to scheduling conflict for Auditor Layher