Notes from the County Commission
by Alan Aker, Piedmont-Summerset-Black Hawk District 4 commissioner.
We're organized. The Meade Commission held its organizational meeting January 5 and elected Commissioner Galen Niederwerder Chair and Commissioner Bob Bertolotto Vice-Chair. I'm looking forward to not having to run the meetings this year, and I think it's good for the public to see this position rotate. Our board has always decided how to run our meetings by consensus and discussion among all five board members, and the chair of the board only runs the meeting, not the county, and I think the public can forget this if they see the same presiding officer year after year.
We also discussed the need for some of our smaller entities to get some audits, in light of the alleged theft of over $140,000 from the Kadoka Volunteer Fire Department by their treasurer. There is no requirement for any outside audits of volunteer fire departments, road districts, ambulance districts, fire districts, and sanitary districts. Townships file annual reports with the county commission, which are published. The consensus of the board was that we do not have authority to require audits or public financial reports from these entities, but their members/taxpayers do have the right to ask to see the checkbooks of these entities, and we encourage them to do so. We noted that it is also a wise practice to require two signatures to write checks and/or rotate the treasurer position every year or so. We discussed whether it would be a good use of county funds to offer to pay the expense of random audits of those entities which would like to be audited. Please let any of your commissioners know if you see value in this. We're not accusing any of our entities of any mis-spending; we're just trying to learn the lesson from the Kadoka incident the easy way instead of the hard way.
We had a good discussion with our new Highway Superintendent, Lincoln Shuck, about whether the county could save money by hiring its own engineer. It appears to me that there is a good chance we could. We asked Shuck to report back with cost projections. Conservative government isn't always just cutting the payroll: in this case, it's looking for the lowest-cost option between having a county employee and hiring an outside firm. Pennington County, with fewer miles of roads and fewer bridges, does have staff engineers. Towns as small as Belle Fourche also have a city engineer, so it would not be unusual for a county our size to have one.
Shuck also spoke about the poor quality of some of the gravel the county has paid for. He stated that just looking at the gravel reveals some was taken from parts of the pits that had too little stone to be gravel. In the past, the county has relied on random testing of the gravel by outside engineers. Shuck stated he will now have county employees, including himself, frequently checking on the crushing while it's happening. Just meeting the minimum standard will no longer be good enough in Meade County. Amen and amen!
We also discussed use of some of the money paid to the county by Glencoe Campground owners as a fine for their illegal damming of Bear Butte Creek. The money is required to be spent on land conservation. The commission set a hearing on creating a budget category for these funds, and there was support for helping Black Hills Trails, a volunteer trail-building group, with supplies for the newly-approved Seventh Cavalry and Deadman Trails near Sturgis and Piedmont.
The county's checkbook balance continues to improve year-over-year. This year should bring us additional significant savings just from lower fuel prices alone. The extremely low cost of the first phase of Fort Meade Way adds another $300,000+ in savings. The legislature is considering a bill to give counties a slice of liquor taxes that would bring in over $100,000 in new revenue. I know that other counties in the state are telling legislators that they're falling behind on maintenance and equipment and are otherwise starved for money, but it's certainly not true for Meade County. It's partly explained by our growth in new construction and low crime rate. Another factor is our staff cuts over the past six years. The commission began the process with some staff cuts which were fairly vigorously opposed, but after the cuts happened, with no ill effects, the process gained a momentum of its own: departments which had not seen staff cuts came to us with their own proposed reductions, and they've all worked well. Good job, Meade County employees. All this is making me itch to cut the county property tax levy even further than what's allowed by statute again this year. I would love us to be the lowest-taxed county in the state. The other thing we could do with the extra money is road improvement projects. Stay tuned and let us know what you think.
Permit Plans Required at Time of Application
When applying for a permit through the Meade County Equalization & Planning Department, the applicant will be required to submit all required plans and documentation, as well as payment, before their application will be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Please reference Meade County’s website for a listing of the required plans and documentation, as well as the permit applications.
Applications can be accepted in person at our office, by mail, or online through our website.
Please contact Jennifer Williams at the Meade County Equalization & Planning Office with any questions, at 605-347-3818, or jwilliams@meadecounty.org.
MPO Citizen Committee - Notice of Vacancy
Sturgis, SD - The Meade County Board of Commissioners is accepting applications from individuals who are interested in serving on the Metropolitan Planning Organization : “Citizens Advisory Committee”
- One opening
- Two year term
- Appointment will be effective January 27, 2016
- Committee meets eight times per year
- Meade County residents must live within the MPO Boundary
The Citizens Advisory Committee represents the following: (1) freight or private providers of transportation freight, (2) under-represented minority group(s), (3) advocates for people with disabilities and (4) bicycle and pedestrian advocates. This committee is one of three established to review transportation related issues in the Rapid City area. Membership consists of citizens representing all sectors of the community including Rapid City, Box Elder, Summerset, Piedmont, portions of Meade and Pennington counties, the Meade County School District, the Rapid City Area School District, the Douglas School District and Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Individuals who want to be considered for an appointment are asked to fill out a Citizen Interest Application form and submit to Jerry Derr at jderr@meadecounty.org or by mail toMeade County Board of Commissioners, 1300 Sherman Street, STE 212, Sturgis, SD 57785. Citizen Interest Application available at: www.meadecounty.org via Human Resources Office.
All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., January 22, 2016
Notes from Commissioner Linda Rausch - District 3
News from the Meade County Commission Meeting held December 23, 2015
Winter arrived just in time for the last meeting of the year for the County Commission. It hasn’t been cold long, but we are looking forward to spring.
We approved the last of the liquor license renewals for this year. Two licenses had been delayed from the previous meeting to get additional information. These two are held by the Glencoe campground.
In January, Meade County will have a liquor license available for sale. The license comes back to the county after the annexation by Sturgis of the Beaver Bar. This establishment will now have a City liquor license. We established the procedure for bidding on the new county license. Contact the Auditor if you have an interest. If the license does not sell at auction, it will be available on a “first come, first served” basis for $150,000.
We approved supplements to the 2016 for four departments. Overall county spending was well with in budget.
We opened bids for three new Sheriff’s vehicles. The award went to the low bidder, Scott Peterson Motors, for three Ram trucks.
We recognized our Veteran of the Month, Ms. Kathy White.
We officially appointed and recognized the new Highway Superintendent. He is Mr. Lincoln Shuck. We reviewed with Mr. Shuck the 2016 projects and his plans for gravel crushing and testing.
We approved hiring of two replacements (deputy sheriff) in the Sheriff’s office.
We enjoyed nice pot luck with the county employees to celebrate the Holidays. On behalf of the entire commission, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Meade County Veteran of the Month - December 2015
Ms. Kathy Carson White
Kathy Carson White joined the US Air Force in 1977 and completed basic training at Lackland AFB TX. Upon graduation, she attended technical school at Shepard AFB, Texas as a Medical Technician.
Her first assignment was at Offutt AFB, NE where she worked in OB/GYN, Labor and Delivery, and Newborn Nursery.
On 14 Oct 1978, Kathy married Ronald White at Scott AFB, IL. She was transferred there in January of 1979, and assigned to the hospital.
In 1981 she sought further training in the social actions career field as a substance abuse counselor.
In December of 1983, Kathy and Ron were transferred to 44 Air Base Group, Ellsworth AFB where they remained until April 1986 when they were transferred to Bitburg AB Germany. In 1990 they received orders to Edwards AFB in California and remained there until Kathy retired as a Master Sergeant in Feb 1995.
Following her husband’s retirement in 1997, they moved to Sturgis SD.
Kathy’s civilian career found her with Youth and Family Services in Rapid City. This tenure was followed by a position as a substance abuse counselor at Northern Hills Alcohol and Drug. There, she worked her way up from addiction counselor, counselor trainer/supervisor to clinical director.
In 2012 Kathy began working for the Department of Veteran Affairs as an Addiction Therapist in Hot Springs, SD. In August of 2014 she transferred to the Community Based Outpatient Treatment Clinic in Rapid City where she continues to work as the Lead Addiction Therapist.
Kathy is a licensed Addiction Counselor, as well as an international certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor.
Kathy was appointed by Governor Rounds to the Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals in 2004 and was reappointed for two additional terms by Governor Daugaard. Kathy remained on the Board of Directors until October 31, 2015 when her final term expired.
Kathy is a member of the South Dakota Association of Addiction and Prevention Professionals, as well as The National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC).
Kathy and her family sponsored four foreign exchange students; two from Germany and two from Spain and received the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2012.
Kathy and Ron are members of St. Francis Catholic Church in Sturgis and Kathy volunteered with the catechism (CCD) program for nearly seven years.
Kathy is a member of the Sault Ste Marie Tribe Of Chippewa Indians, (pronounced "Soo Saint”) Sault Ste Marie Michigan.
Kathy enjoys fishing, camping hiking and rock hunting. She is also likes ceramics, gardening, craft painting, genealogy, cooking and spending time with her family.
