The Custer County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday morning (April 14) starting at 9 AM. District 7 supervisor Sara Parliament was the lone absence.
Highway Allocation Fund Pledge Bonds given ‘OK’ to move forward, not exceed $3.1 million
Austin Partridge with Northland Securities came before the board to continue discussions about bonds for road construction and paving, specifically the ‘Anselmo south’ project. The discussions were began after Board President Chip Blowers was approached by hard surfacing vendors that did not have their upcoming summer schedule full of projects, indicating they would give ‘a pretty good bid’. He stated on Tuesday that the project and bond process will not result in any kind of tax raise for citizens.
Partridge reiterated that there is some volatility in the bond market due to the conflict with Iran, but that rates on five year bonds were still achievable at under 3.9%. The board had been in talks about options ranging from $2 million to $3.1 million and resulting payments of $450,000 per year and $690,000 per year respectively. A ‘call period’ would be in effect with each option, after which time a refinancing or complete paying off is an option.
Conversations ultimately circled around using a portion of existing county funds in combination with a bond. A motion given would have paired $1 million from the county’s inheritance fund with a $2.1 million bond, although that motion was withdrawn. Instead, approved unanimously was the general pursuit of a bond to not exceed $3.1 million. Tabled to the next meeting was the decision on the county fund/bond amount split, the creation of a new fund account for the bond to run in and out of, and a compiled one page sheet explanation.
Speed limit change west of Merna approved
The small stretch of north/south Road 433 west of Merna was approved unanimously to have its speed limit reduced. Citizens in the area had expressed a desire for the drop in speed limit, and a recent state engineering study recommended the change as well.
Trucks, particularly those traveling south and going onto the road from Highway 2, were cited as one reason for concern as they are often seen not slowing their speed onto the road.
District 4 Supervisor James “Bump” Markham added that the town of Merna had also been working on getting the speed limit on Highway 2 through Merna dropped to 55 MPH which could help with the Road 433 speed issue as well.
Ansley communication tower purchase
After short discussions, the board approved the drafting of a purchase offer of $10,000 for a communication tower in Ansley, contingent on the town signing an easement agreement.
Custer County Emergency Manager Mark Rempe indicated that sufficient funds were in his department’s budget for the purchase.
Contract with Central Plains Valuation approved
A contract with Central Plains Valuation, initially discussed at the March 31 meeting, was approved. Supervisor Anne Gibbons was the lone vote of ‘no’.
The contract will allow the private company to assist County Assessor Elise Taylor with parcels needing review for the 2026-27 cycle. The challenge for Taylor to complete the assessments herself came as a result of an attorney general opinion that the county assessor is not exempt from trespassing violations like the county surveyor is. ‘Consent to Access’ forms asking for permission from property owners to access all sides of properties necessary have been slow to come back, or sometimes have not been returned. The resulting process of mailing forms, knocking on doors for permission, and sometimes leaving door hangers has slowed the process for Taylor significantly, she said.
The contract approved Tuesday was to include verbiage that the company would be liable for trespassing issues, rather than the county, should they arise.
Gravel and asphalt bids awarded
Gravel bids opened at the previous board meeting were brought forward with recommendations from the highway department. The lowest bid received for each township in the county were awarded and pit prices were also recognized. (See sheet showing all of them in this story)
Werner Construction of Hastings was awarded the asphalt surfacing contract for the ‘Anselmo South’ project (OCE# 4-C-47) for an amount of $3,098,433.20, which was over $450,000 under county engineer partner Oak Creek Engineering’s estimate.
Lance Harter with Oak Creek Engineering said that a project cost less than or near that bid was highly unlikely to occur in a long time, if ever. Supervisor Anne Gibbons even called the project and its now accepted contract cost a moment where the “stars aligned”.
Werner Construction indicated they would like to begin the project as early as mid-May (with the contract now awarded, the bond discussed earlier in the meeting would now need finalized). Plant establishment and raw material hauling is likely to happen soon.
Other items from Tuesday’s meeting
- The board gave approval for county employees, headed by a possible 8 person committee overseen by Supervisor Clay Govier, to spend between $450 and $500 on projects to ‘shine up’ the courthouse for the Semiquincentennial anniversary of the United States. Projects could include painting the lobby, small woodwork repairs, flowers in the outdoor flower pots, bunting hung on the building and maybe the vets building, new flags, and red/white/blue lights shining on the courthouse.
- An application to cross right-of-way for Custer Public Power was approved for underground line under Road 430
- Custer County Steve Bowers made the board and audience aware of the passing of Glenn Clark earlier this month. Clark was a county attorney for Dawson, Phelps, Custer, Valley, Logan, and Blaine counties.
The board went into closed session at 10:51 AM for business contract negotiations. It was stated that no decisions would be made during the closed session.
