By Dave Baumeister, County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – “We can rebuild (it)…make (it) better: better, stronger, faster…”
While they weren’t looking to create a “bionic man,” this week, the Minnehaha County Commissioners have spent almost exactly $6 million dollars paying their regular bills and buying new radios for county fire departments.
Although the bills amounted to almost $5.2 million, most of that money ($3.5 million) were “pass-through” dollars going from the county treasury to the state for a variety of licensing fees, according to Commissioner Jeff Barth who gave a break-down of the larger bills toward the end of the meeting.
Along with that, the three commissioners present, Barth, Gerald Beninga and Cindy Heiberger, approved the expenditure of $826,000 for 20 new emergency radios for first responders and firefighters.
As has been discussed at previous meetings, the state is going to a new system for emergency radios, so the older radios will no longer function.
Mike Harstad, president of the Minnehaha County Fire Chief’s Association, said that most departments had been able to purchase much of what they needed, but there was still a shortage of 20 radios for the county.
He asked that commissioners approve the use of federal ARPA funds for that purchase.
Harstad noted that the longer they delayed, the more the costs were increasing.
In just the past six months, he said, costs for the radios had risen 32%.
Beninga made the motion to allow the expenditure, and it was approved 3-0.
Another bit of regular business of note was a briefing from Commission Assistant Tyler Klatt on a proposed pipeline moratorium for the county.
The draft ordinance points out that the 1990 Zoning Ordinance does not deal with transmission pipelines, and that it is “in the interest of public health, safety and general welfare” to look at those things.
The moratorium, if passed, will not allow substance transmission pipelines in Minnehaha County for the next 12 months, while county and planning commissioners “study best practices and industry standards concerning county regulations.”
Because of an odd meeting schedule over the next month, the county commission won’t re-visit this issue until their June 21 meeting.
Commission Administrator Carol Muller went over the unusual upcoming meeting schedule.
As Tuesday, May 31, is the fifth Tuesday of the month, there will be no meeting that day.
The next Tuesday, June 7, is the primary election and voting on proposed Amendment C, and usually, the commission doesn’t meet on that day.
The Tuesday after that, June 14, is the second Tuesday of the month, another day when the commission does not meet, although there was some talk of there being a brief meeting at that time.
And that all means there will be a regular meeting next week, Tuesday, May 24, and then not again until Tuesday, June 21.
When the meetings do take place, they are on the second floor of the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
