Grant County Commissioners Move Voting Station for Security Reasons

The Grant County Commissioners met Tuesday, May 1, at the Milbank Courthouse. It was decided and put into effect immediately to move the voting station for Precinct 47 Melrose Township from the community room in the Ottertail building to the community room in the Grant County Library. The switch is due to security changes at all Ottertail facilities.

The Commissioners reviewed a quote for replacing the windows on the north and west sides of the courthouse to mitigate energy loss. The Window Place, a Milbank company, submitted a quote for around $35,000. It includes replacing 46 windows at an average of about $760 per window. A motion was passed to hold the hearing to start the replacement process.

Grant County Public Health Nurse, Jennifer Meyer, reported she, Jessica Anderson, and Elli Weiner will attend training in Watertown for mental health education this month. She also reported Elli and Jennifer recently met with doctors at Milbank Area Hospital to increase awareness of the agency’s purpose in the community. She noted there was a point of distribution meeting at the hospital on May 1, and a full scale exercise is planned in October. She also gave an update on the agency’s Reach Out and Read program which gives books, provided by the State of South Dakota, to children six months old to five years old at wellness checks.

The commissioners announced Grant County received a letter confirming the award of a grant for bridge repair. The grant does not cover all the costs and the county will make up the shortfall. The grant will assist in repairing three bridges and replacing the bridge south of Revillo. The State of South Dakota will conduct the bidding process. Repairs are expected to start next year.

The board approved the hiring of Lauren McDonald as a part time library assistant at the Grant County Library to assist with the summer programs held at the library. Barb Robinson was also approved as a part time library assistant to replace Anne Wells, who moved to Oregon.

2019 property reassessments are slated for Troy, Georgia, and Adams townships, and the towns of Troy, Revillo, Albee, and part of Milbank. According to Kathy Steinlicht, Grant County Director of Equalization, on the current schedule, reappraisals will take nine years to complete. During the assessments, photos of the sites will be taken and information will be updated. Examples of updates include purging buildings that were demolished or adding new structures such as grain bins, etc. Steinlicht says typically she goes onto each property, takes the photos, and compares the changes to the previous assessment. New construction is reviewed annually as it comes through the office. She said the office also uses Google maps for aerial views and to verify findings. Appraisals on old buildings, even unusable and uninsurable, are lowered but not eliminated until the building is completely removed. Assessments are available online at the Grant County website. To view, go to the main page and click on the First District link for subscribers.

The next meeting of the Grant County Commissioners is Monday, May 14. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the Grant County Courthouse.