Commissioners discuss rural zoning, mental health needs, and local service funding

The Lincoln County Board of Commission meeting was held Tuesday, May 13 in the Lincoln County Boardroom. With all members present, commissioners heard the agenda items. 

Chairwoman Tiffani Landeen read the first reading for an Ordinance of Lincoln County, SD, changing the zone of a portion (approximately 2.07 acres) of the property described as Lot 4, Quonset Addition, S1/2 SE1/4, Section 31-T100N-R50W Delapre Township from the I-1 Light Industrial District to the A-1 Agricultural District and amending the Official Zoning Map of Lincoln County. 

The Planning Commission recommends approval (4-0). Location: 27277 471st Avenue. A second reading and public hearing for the Ordinance will be held on May 27.

Auditor, Sheri Lund was present for board discussion with possible action to allow for an over hire in the Auditor’s office. 

“My payroll specialist will be retiring in September and I’d like to hire a new person to get trained in by June 29, no later than July 13,” she said.

With no questions or public input, a motion to approve was made by Betty Otten, seconded by Doug Putnam, motion carried.

Lund next asked the commission to consider a motion to authorize the County Auditor to proceed with the requirements of SDCL 31-12A and SDCL 6-16 regarding a petition that was submitted for the establishment of Meadow Ridge Road District. 

“I received the petition on April 29; we did certify that there was a valid number of signatures. We just need to move forward now. This is basically a formality to authorize me to set the election and move forward with it. Once the election is done, if the voters say they do want to establish it, we will come back with an order establishing a road district,” she said. Motion carried.

Civil Deputy State’s Attorney, Drew DeGroot Unit R-4 with Arlen Hauge Trust was seeking approval of a new Ground Lease Agreement with Vanguard Squadron, Inc. 

“This is our standard procedure when hangers are transferred out at the airport to terminate the Ground Lease with one party and enter into a new lease with the new owners of the hangers,” DeGroot said. 

A rental rate study was completed in the area and new market rates are expected to be adjusted on all leases at the airport. Motion carried.

Assistant Commission Administrative Officer, Paul Anderson was present to introduce Tiffany Wolfing, the CEO of Southeastern Behavioral Health, who asked for a funding request of $65,161 per SDCL 27A-5-9 and 10. 

“We are the accredited community mental health center that’s assigned to serve Lincoln County. We are here to make the annual request based on the statute and based on the 2020 Census, our request is for $65, 161. Those dollars really help to support the services that we deliver through our community mental health center system,” she said. 

Wolfing reported in 2024, 7,887 hours were spent serving 700 community members in Lincoln County. Commissioner Jim Schmidt asked if there were any trends that Southeastern Behavioral Health has been seeing in those that they serve whether good or bad. 

“Prior to this role, I spent 28 years with the state working at the state level, looking at the state trends and kind of things that we’re seeing. I think South Dakota at times can be insulated from what we are seeing on each of the coasts, but we eventually do get impacted and opioids obviously have been in that topic of conversation,” she responded. 

Methamphetamine is another drug that can be potentially mixed with other substances, that the team focuses their efforts heavily on. The Commission thanked Wolfing for her report.

Jessica Wells, president of the LifeScape Foundation was next to ask for a 2026 funding request of $55,000. 

“We did see an increased growth in every service line this year and have several wait lists, including in adult services. LifeScape has 39 adult residential homes and last year we opened an eight-person group home in Harrisburg. These homes are about $1.2 to $1.6 million homes really built to meet the needs of those individuals,” she said. 

The goal of LifeScape is to keep people in their communities and be supported in their environment. 82 per cent of LifeScape funding is provided through Medicaid. The LifeScape Foundation helps support with food and rent assistance for adults, specialized therapy equipment, opportunities for individuals to get out into the community, and purchase land for adult residential home construction. With no questions or public comment, the commission thanked LifeScape for the update.

Paul Anderson returned to introduce The Link who is requesting $30,000 in funding for 2026. 

“In previous years, we have used opioid funding the national opioid settlement dollars to offset some of the funding in the past and we will have to decide going forward,” Anderson said.

According to representatives from The Link, Sanford Health, Avera, the City of Sioux Falls, and Minnehaha County get together annually to each give $400,000 annually to create the base of the budget. 

“It’s a $2.2 million budget and we get $1.6 million just from these four entities,” the representatives said. The Link offers four services, Acute Intoxication, Substance Withdrawal, Mental Health Crisis, and Post-sexual Assault Care. 

Commissioner Joel Arends asked if there were any discussions that have taken place between the organizations to see if they could merge, or integrate services together to avoid potential overlap. 

“That is something we’re looking at, the sustainability of Lincoln County specifically is something we are very actively working on because there is a delta there that needs to be worked out,” The Link representative responded. With no further questions, the commission thanked The Link for their update.