Union County commissioners approve claims, insurance plan, and transportation certifications

ELK POINT, S.D. — The Union County Board of Commissioners met in regular session April 2 and approved the agenda, minutes and a slate of claims that included payroll and multiple large vendor payments, the board’s minutes show.

In the session that opened at 8:30 a.m., commissioners approved claims and warrants that included payroll of $166,372.07 and vendor disbursements such as Custom Truck & Equipment for $108,954.00, Rinker Materials for $54,628.60 and Ulteig Engineers for $32,594.63. A motion to approve claims was made by Headid and seconded by Kimmel; the motion carried.

The board voted to continue with the county’s existing Wellmark insurance plan, accepting a 5.14% premium increase. The motion to continue the plan was moved by Joffer and seconded by Headid and was recorded as carried.

Commissioners also authorized Chairman Milton Ustad to sign a Business Associate Agreement with the South Dakota Department of Health for Family and Community Health Child and Family Services. The motion was moved by Kimmel and seconded by Joffer; the minutes record the motion as carried.

Highway business included authorizations for utility and right-of-way permits. The board approved a permit application allowing Alliance Communication Cooperative, Inc. to install fiber optic cable in various county locations and authorized Chairman Ustad to sign a permit application for a Northern Natural Gas crossing at County Road 1C/471st Avenue and 317th Street. The board additionally authorized Chairman Ustad and Deputy Auditor Traci Torrez to sign the Union County Transportation Plan Certificate. The motions for these items were recorded as carried.

The board recessed briefly midmorning and later entered an executive session under SDCL 1-25-2(3) for personnel matters at 9:58 a.m.; the minutes show the board leaving executive session at 10:12 a.m. (the published minutes list the exit time as “10:12 p.m.,” which appears to be a typographical error given the meeting start and other timestamps). No formal action from the executive session is recorded in the minutes.

A Colonial Life representative, Steve Melnick, asked to meet with county employees to discuss insurance plan options. Sheriff Prouty discussed applicant pay with the board; no change in pay rates is recorded. The meeting was adjourned at 11:06 a.m.; the board scheduled its next meeting for April 9 for the Board of Equalization.

The minutes record motions as "carried" but do not include roll-call vote tallies for the motions listed.