Split vote approves $825K Justice Center furniture purchase

With all members present, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, Feb. 10 in the Lincoln County Boardroom to discuss agenda items including justice center furniture, hourly rate of Qualified Mental Health Professionals, and department head reports.

Commissioner Doug Putnam asked for the final proposal for furniture for the Lincoln County Justice Center for $825,336.80 be removed from the consent agenda. 

Chairwomen Tiffani Landeen opened the floor up to Julie Dotson with the Tiger Group for further clarification. 

“I want to first state how much time and effort we put into this item. We had 10 hour-long meetings. We went through every single room in the courthouse, determining exactly what type of furniture needed to be in there to function properly on day one so this building will operate efficiently. We put in a lot of time and effort going through the quote probably three or four times to review it and make sure the furniture is accurate and that the pricing to see if there were more cost-effective items,” she said. 

Commissioner Putnam stated his questions were answered through Dotson’s explanation but asked if the furniture in the existing courthouse would be suitable for the new courthouse. 

“We did and it didn’t quite match and fit the spaces, so we took that price into consideration, what it would cost to take it out of the current facility, have it refinished or modified, and then try to find things that match because we have an 80,000 sq. ft. courthouse, versus what we have now, and we want to keep it consistent,” Dotson responded. 

Chairwoman Landeen opened the floor for public comment. Beth Quail from Harrisburg stood to express her views. 

“A half a million dollars for furniture just seems ridiculous. The whole new justice center, I don’t understand why there’s always all this money to buy these things and pay for all this big fancy stuff, so we look good. And yet we struggle with our property taxes. We struggle with so many things. I am very disappointed that this is what’s happening in our county,” she said. 

Motion made by Jim Schmidt, seconded by Betty Otten to approve, motion carried 3-2 with Putnam and Joel Arends being the nay votes.

Civil Deputy State’s Attorney, Joe Meader and Megan Bush asked the commission to consider a motion to set the hourly rate of Qualified Mental Health Professionals at $130 per hour. 

“I am the attorney in our office that works in mental health courts. Under South Dakota law, when an individual in our community, whether that be a family member or a police officer that petitions for someone to be involuntarily committed, South Dakota law says that the state’s attorney’s office is automatically appointed to represent that individual in mental health court. Part of my requirement is to present an expert opinion of how that person is or is not a danger and that’s what qualified mental health professionals do,” he said. 

The pay for the position has not been addressed since 2020. Commissioner Arends asked why the group comes every five years and not yearly like most departments. 

“As a board, I think that is on us, I think that we have failed to do that, but I do not believe it was intentional to forego the pay increase and to wait as long as we have. But I can tell you that part of the discussion as a board about this request was coming before the commission yearly,” Bush said. 

Motion to approve made by Schmidt, seconded by Otten, motion carried 4-1 with Putnam being the nay vote. 

Building Superintendent, John Rombough requested the commission consider a motion to authorize the Building Superintendent to enter into an agreement with Midwest Engineering Company for up to $7,500 for an analysis of the structures. 

“As I was looking into next year’s budget and this year’s budget, I’d like to start putting some numbers towards maybe looking at doing some stuff to the old courthouse,” he said. 

Commissioner Schmidt asked what parts of the building would be assessed. 

“Just the rafters and the roof elements,” Rombough responded. 

Chairwoman Landeen asked Rombough if this request is coming from the Old Courthouse Committee to expend the funds for the project. 

“No, it’s me moving forward and wanting to resolve some issues. I wouldn’t want to do any repair up there unless I do it with professional advice. I feel like we’re taking on all the liability if we just go up there and start pulling this rafter out and replacing it with this without having some expert advice,” Rombough said. 

Motion to approve made by Otten, seconded by Schmidt.

“I just want to be transparent. I believe that it came directly from this commission that you’re doing this to settle some issues,” Commissioner Otten said.

“I’ll comment on that part, basically, we never came up with any solidified recommendations but listening to the public and listening to make sure that we do this in the best way possible, not make any hasty decisions, or do anything that jeopardizes the longevity of the building. It seems to me that the continual deterioration of the building, if we don’t do anything, it just gets worse. So, I like the idea of giving you something to work with, some idea that you can report back to the commission on the overall condition that they find as a professional. I think it’s an investment that some people may question, but I think it’s money well spent,” Commission Schmidt responded. 

Chairwoman Landeen asked to call the roll. Motion carried unanimously.

4-H Advisor, Wendy Sweeter was present for a department head presentation. 

“Each of our programs fosters an innovative, learn by doing approach to achieve four outcomes in the areas of social, life, leadership, and workforce,” Sweeter said. 

Sweeter’s role is to provide the tools and information necessary for clubs to be successful and providing in school and after school educational programming to youth of all ages in the county. 

“Our expectations for 2026 are to implement the national Beyond Ready initiative, provide more workforce experiences, and adapt to the changes set forth by the state office,” she said. 

“Wendy, I just want to thank you. You’ve greatly improved our program here in Lincoln County and really appreciate all the work you put into it as well as your staff,” Chairwoman Landeen said. 

Airport Manager, David Myers presented the department head presentation. 

“This is my third year at the airport and part-time for a few years before that. The airport is a public asset, it’s not a private toy. Think of it as a fire station where you don’t use it daily, but when it’s needed it’s always there,” he said. 

Myers reports pilots from the area, visiting pilots, businesspeople, a flight school, emergency personnel, and the civil air patrol all use the facilities. 

“We have two businesses out there, Premier Aviation, that draws aircraft there for maintenance from all across the Midwest, employing five people. There is also a flight training school, Legacy Aviation. They train several pilots, and they also have a maintenance program there,” he said. 

Myers told the board the economic impact of the airport is close to $4.3 million from a study performed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation. Development is the main goal for 2026. 

“We need to develop the South 20 acres and once that is produced, I think we can have our own fuel system. Right now, the county doesn’t own the fuel system, it’s operated by Legacy Aviation. If we have that other option of fuel for pilots out there I think that would be an economical advantage to the airport,” Myers said. 

The commission thanked Myers for his work at the airport.

Lincoln County Coroner, Dr. Kenneth Snell gave a department head presentation. 

“Not many changes for us. Just a reminder, we are driven by the state law that tells us what we’re supposed to do as the county coroner, the cases we investigate, and how we proceed and go forward,” he said. 

Sanford Health Pathology Clinic has worked with the county since 2017. Snell and his team of four deputy coroners receive death notifications throughout the county and make a determination whether that is a coroner’s case based on state law or not and then certify the death. 

“The deputies certify all the non-criminal cases, and I certify the criminal cases,” Snell said. 

State law determines when an autopsy can be ordered. 

“One thing that’s different about our state law is that it doesn’t mandate autopsy in any one particular case. So there’s no mandate for that, it is a decision of the coroner. If it is criminal in any aspect, the sheriff or state’s attorney could order that autopsy,” he continued. 

Dr. Snell reported the autopsy fee that Sanford charges has not changed since 2015. Last year, the coroners office had 97 calls, 25 consults that were not accepted, 72 accepted, 26 autopsied, 17 external, and 39 non-review. Last year, the team reviewed one homicide, two drug deaths, and three traffic related deaths. 51 transports were brought to Sanford for the examination and 18 of those were storage. 

“Going forward and even into 2027, our case load is pretty stable, right around 100 cases every year. I don’t expect any transportation cost increases for ’26, I don’t know about ’27 yet, we’re still getting some feedback and that may change. Sanford Pathology has hired a fifth pathologist assistant who will serve as a deputy coroner. That won’t affect the fees to the county, it just divvies up what we bring in, so instead of by four, we divvy it by five,” he said. 

The commission thanked Dr. Snell for his report.