Commissioners hear update from local legislators
Codington County commissioners learned Tuesday morning that state funding supporting regional jails is unlikely.
Each year the commissioners invite local state legislators to review expected county-related issues when the South Dakota Legislature begins its 2023 session next month. District 5 Representatives Hugh Bartels and Byron Callies were on hand and District 5 Senator Lee Schoenbeck joined virtually after the discussion started.
Bartels served as vice-chair on a legislative summer study on regional jails, and Commissioner Troy VanDusen asked him about the results of the study.
“The summer study really kind of realized counties didn’t really want us to change anything,” Bartels said. “They thought they had plenty of authority to group together and work together. Counties that aren’t going to have the jail don’t want to pay for it. Counties that are going to have the jail want to run it. (They) don’t want to have other counties tell them how to run it.”
Bartels also said money was set aside in last year’s budget and a bill will be introduced to make those dollars available as loans or grants. But he added that there is no funding mechanism in place.
The funding Bartels referenced was set aside in an Incarceration Construction Fund. In her budget proposal to the legislature, Gov. Kristi Noem has proposed using those funds for prison facility improvements.
Another expected bill would allow the establishment of a regional jail authority, which would give multiple counties the ability to join together to borrow money and levy taxes.
The other main topic Tuesday was the Rural Access Infrastructure Fund, a three-year program offered by the state to assist townships in the repair and replacement of bridges and culverts. The allocation is based on each county’s number of miles of township and county secondary roads and the number of stream crossings within a county. Codington has received almost $300,000 for the first year of the program.
The S.D. Department of Transportation released a 45-page guide in August 2022 providing details of the program. County commissioners will be awarding projects no later than Jan. 15. Townships had to either impose a secondary road tax levy of 50 cents per 1,000 for tax levy to participate in the program or have an opt out in place.
Although the responsibility for applying for funding rests with township officials, the commissioners want to be ready to assist with the application process.
During department head reports Welfare Director Sara Foust said a new non-profit organization, Watertown Cares, has secured a $1.2 million grant from the S.D. Housing Authority. The grant allowed for the purchase of eight apartments, currently known as 612 Flats, from Crestone Companies of Watertown that will be used for emergency housing.
A five-person board with representatives from the county, city, Watertown School District and two non-profit organizations will provide leadership for Watertown Cares. The grant will also provide for required renovations, furnishing and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Highway Superintendent Rick Hartley told commissioners last week’s freezing rain and an ensuing blizzard has completely altered his department’s tasks. He also asked that riders of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles give wide clearance to snowplows.
Auditor Cindy Brugman noted that the county offices and the courthouse will be closed Friday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 26 due to the Christmas holiday.
In other actions the commissioners:
Approved plat resolutions for the Gebhart Addition in Lake Township and the Stark Addition in Kampeska Township. Both had been previously approved by the county zoning board.
Authorized Chairperson Brenda Hanten to sign lease termination agreements between the county and Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons, allowing the county to take over a building located at Memorial Park.
Approved declaring a 4-year-old printer and a tablet computer from the sheriff’s office to be declared as surplus and destroyed.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Codington County commissioners hear update from local legislators
