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351 WISCONSIN SW, HURON, SD • PHONE (605) 353 1439 • FAX (605) 352-5322 WINTER 2016
President’s Column …...2
Notes from the State…...3
2016 Legislative Session..4
Legal Insights…...…..5&6
Scholarship Applications..6
New Resolutions…….7&8
Township Districts……..9
40 Year Awards….……10
Winter Driving…..…...11
Sample Agenda………..12
O.E.M Programs……...13
Memorial…………......14
“Thank You’s”...………15
FRERICHS RECEIVES SDATAT HIGHEST HONOR
The highest award given by South Da-kota Association of Towns and Town-ships is the “Friend of Local Govern-ment” award. This presentation is awarded to a recipient that shows ex-ceptional support to local govern-ment. Senator Jason Frerichs, at the 36th Annual South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships Conference, December 2, in Huron, SD, was pre-sented this award.
Sen. Jason Frerichs, a fourth genera-tion farmer/rancher and 3rd genera-tion legislator from Wilmot, SD, cur-rently serves in the South Dakota State Senate. Jason, along with his wife Ashley, manage a 150 head beef
cow/calf operation. They also raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa. Jason grad-uated from South Dakota State Universi-ty in 2007 with a Bachelors Degree in Agriculture Education and minors in Speech Communication and Animal Sci-ence. Frerich at the age of 23 was elect-ed to the South Dakota State Legislature in 2008. He served as a Minority Whip in the South Dakota State House of Repre-sentatives from 2009 to 2010. He was elected to the South Dakota State Senate in 2010. While serving in the State Legis-lature, Jason has been a strong advocate for township government, drainage, agri-culture, education and the development of renewable energy.
The 2016 SDATAT Calendar is Now
Available
The 2016 calendar will be made available at your
county township meetings.
Pictured Above (from left to right) Dan Thyen (District 5 Director), Jim Puffer (SDATAT President), Sen. Jason Frerichs, & Richard Howard (SDATAT Lobbyist and Transportation Consultant)
Continued on Page 2
PRESIDENT’S
COLUMN By Jim Puffer
Another year has ended; legislation was successful, we hosted the Quad State Meeting in Brook-ings, attended the N.D. and MN. Annual Meetings and our own SDATAT Annual Meeting in Huron was well attended. Hopefully, everyone took some new infor-mation home that will help in their local townships.
The new year will bring new challenges in Pierre. Watching for bills that could effect townships is always a concern and trying to get townships a fair share of the tax dollars is always forefront on our minds.
Personally, this year in farming, for the most part, was good. Yields were good, if you missed the hail, but crop prices remain low; which makes the budget a little hard-er to balance. Also, cattle prices are still o.k. for those who have cattle.
In early December I got a new hip, so by spring I should be able to run faster and jump higher...or at least walk without limping.
There are many county meetings coming up this spring, so do your best to attend and get your opinions heard. Also, if you have a chance to attend a committee meet-ing on the new legislation in Pierre, you may find it very interesting to get involved in the process. Your legisla-tors really do appreciate hearing from you and you CAN make a difference.
PAGE 2
Frerichs has consistently served as a leader for the Senate Minority. He is actively involved in the Farm-ers Union at all levels and currently serves as the Roberts County Farmers Union Education Director. He is also currently a member of the following or-ganizations: South Dakota Education Association, SD Stockgrowers, United States Cattleman’s Associa-tion, Wilmot Saddle Club, Sons of the American Legion, and Peace Lutheran Church. In his spare time Sen. Frerichs enjoys spending time with his family, horseback riding, participating in ranch rode-os, boating on the lakes, golfing, and hunting.
Frerichs has been a co-sponsor on every bill that SDATAT has proposed and has been a strong sup-porter of increased funding for local governments. Sen. Frerichs has truly been a friend of local govern-ment and is very deserving of this award.
*If readers have any comments, corrections, submissions or display ads for this publication, call: 605 353-1439 or FAX (605) 352-5322.
SOUTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATON OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS(SDATAT) ISSN 1072-2505 Published quarterly to provide information, education and technical assistance to local governments, by the SOUTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS, PO BOX 903, HURON SD 57350
Registered with the Library of Congress.
Jim Puffer, President…………... District 7 Darwin Bettmann, Vice Pres…….District 2 Cindy Foster, Secretary...……… District 10 Tom Bisek, Treasurer................District 3
Calvin Musch, Exec. Board.…...District 6 David Scott, Exec. Board…...…District 11 Jerry Lingen, Director…...…...District 13 Dan Thyen, Director….………District 5
Ken Siemonsma, Director..…..District 12 Mike Vande Weerd, Director...District 9
REMINDER: UPCOMING REQUIRED MEETINGS
The township board of supervisors shall hold a regular meeting on the last Tuesday of February, the first Tuesday of March (Annual Mtg), third Monday of March (Equalization) and last Tuesday of March (first mtg of new board members). The meeting shall be held at the office of the township clerk or the location established in SDCL 8-3-1 at a time determined by the board. **In case of inclement weather the meeting may be rescheduled for the fol-lowing Tuesday at the same place and location without further notice. Be sure to put the reschedule date in the first publication. SDCL 8-5-1 (See Dept. of Revenue note on page 3 regarding township tax levy.)
FRERICH’S RECEIVES HONOR(Continued from Page 1)
PLAN TO ATTEND!
The SDATAT Legislative Day is set for February 3 in Pierre. Come and participate or just watch and learn how the process works. Contact us for more information at: [email protected] or call 605-353-1439.
A NOTE FROM THE DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
By Doug Kinniburgh
Just a reminder:
This past SDATAT Annual Conference I gave a presenta-tion on Senate Bill 1.This coming annual township meeting the following will be available: 10-12-28.2. Authorization of tax levy for second-ary road capital improvement fund. The voters of an organized civil township at the annual township meeting may authorize an annual property tax levy not to exceed fifty cents per thousand dollars of the taxable valuation of the township for the secondary road capital improvement fund for projects and purposes as de-fined in § 31-13-3.1. The secondary road capital improve-ment tax levy authorized by this section is in addition to the levies authorized in §§ 10-12-28 and 31-13-22. Any tax levy imposed pursuant to this section is exempt from the tax limitations imposed on a township pursuant to chapter 10-13.
Allows for up to $ .50 / thousand levy for road and bridge improvement
In addition to current levies
Must be approved each year
Can only be passed at the Annual Meeting
Anyone, that is a registered resident voter, in attend-ance at the meeting may vote on the issue
Clerk must inform County Auditor if levy is passed and provide meeting minutes showing vote outcome
If you have any questions: Wendy Semmler – Dept of Rev/Property Tax – 445 E Capitol, Pierre, SD 57501 – Ph: 605-773-4923 – Fax: 605-773-6729
A NOTE FROM THE DEPT OF REVENUE
By Wendy Semmler
We had 46 Counties that have submitted Five-Year Road and Bridge Plans to get themselves eligible for Bridge Improvement Grants (BIG) and each one of the 46 (at least the ones that have Townships within their county) should have sent a letter to each Town-ship inviting them to comment on the plan. If this did not occur and/or the Townships have a specific bridge they are wanting to get replaced, I encourage them to visit with their County Commission to en-sure the Township’s comments are recorded and considered. Please also note that of the 46 Counties, we have not yet verified that each will have a wheel tax implemented to be able to receive a BIG this first go around.
If you have any further questions you may reach Doug at:
Doug Kinniburgh - D.O.T. Local Gov’t Assistance Dept. of Transportation Becker-Hansen Building 700 E. Broadway Ave. Pierre, SD 57501 605.773.4284
PAGE 3
2016 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
By Richard Howard
The 2016 Legislative Session opens at noon on January 12, 2016 with the Governor’s State of the State message. The main run of the 38-day session ends on March 11 with the last day reserved for considera-tion of Gubernatorial vetoes on
March 29, 2016. As of December 31, 2015, thirteen bills (eight in the House and five in the Senate) had been pre-filed.
It appears that the main issues to be considered during the Session are: school funding, expansion of Medicaid and the State budget. In addition, the Legislative In-terim Committee on the County Funding is proposing several bills (four bills dealing with reporting require-ments for the county general fund, revising certain county administrative functions, making form and style revisions to certain statutes and increasing cer-tain fees for county services). They are also proposing bills to revise the distribution of revenue from the alcohol beverage tax and to authorize counties to im-pose sales and use taxes.
Based on Resolutions adopted by the SDATAT mem-bership at the Annual Meeting on December 3rd (see pages 7 & 8), SDATAT’s main effort will be to work with the counties and cities to make minor revisions to the vehicle registration fee distribution factors to give townships more funding for road and bridge re-pair and maintenance. Efforts will also be made to work with the counties to establish a reasonable reim-bursement rate for county replacement of structures and culverts with openings over 16 square feet on township roads. (Pursuant to SDCL 31-14-27)
PAGE 4
AFFORDABLE BONDING THROUGH S.D. BOND ALLIANCE
Bond your clerks, treasurers or finance officers paying as little as a one time $600 premium. Contact the South Dakota Association of Towns and
Township’s office for more information. 605-353-1439 [email protected] www.sdtownships.com
RECORDS RETENTION & DESTRUCTION
In 1967, the South Dakota Legislature established the Rec-ords Management Program and the Records Destruction Board. This board has prepared a “Records Retention and Destruction Schedule” for townships. This manual is avail-able on the SDATAT website under the “Members Only” tab.
The procedure (in part) to dispose of township records us-ing the manual include:
The Township Board must adopt this manual as its Rec-ords Management Policy.
Each Township is required by law to retain a perma-nent list of all records destroyed pursuant to SDCL 1-27-19.
Each Township planning to destroy records shall notify the State Archivist 30 days before the date of the pro-posed destruction.
Records Management will review a Township’s list of records that it plans to destroy to ensure the appropri-ate retention periods have been met.
For a complete listing of this procedure and more infor-mation on records retention and destruction go to our website: www.sdtownships.com or call our office at: 605-353-1439.
You may also contact:
S.D. Records Management 104 S Garfield Ave Pierre, SD 57501 605-773-3589
Continued on Page 6
LEGAL INSIGHTS Conducting Township Business
By Jay Leibel
As the laws addressing public meetings come under more scrutiny as well as enforcement of the Open Meet-ing Law, there is an increasing burden on towns and townships to conduct business in a precise and formal manner and keep more detailed records than in the past. This emphasis combined with pressures being put on governmental entities to inform the public and address issues which didn’t even exist years ago may result in some pretty contentious meetings.
Occasionally questions come up as to how to address this situation. I offer the following suggestions or guidelines:
Be sure to post the agenda at least 24 hours before each and every meeting. If your town-ship has a web site, it is required the agenda also be posted there.
Board members should come to the meeting prepared to address the agenda items. Re-view the agenda in advance. An ill prepared board member looks bad if he is unfamiliar with the agenda topics.
Board members should arrive prior to the start of the meeting. Be prompt. Do not walk in after the meeting has already started. It is discourteous to the other board members and the citizens in attendance.
Being on time allows the meeting to start on time and significantly increases the chances of ending in timely fashion.
Bring a pen and paper so you can make notes or have the Clerk have a pad of paper and pen available for the board or council members.
Exercise good cell phone etiquette. Set a good example by turning off your cell phone. Don’t be afraid to announce all cell phones should be turned off or on silent mode during the meeting. If it is necessary to take a phone call or respond to a message, step out of the room as a matter of courte-sy which will allow the meeting to continue without interruption.
Stay on topic. While you are talking about one agenda item, do not let someone interrupt and try to discuss another item on the agenda or bring in a non-agenda item. This should apply to the board as well as the audience.
Be brief and concise in your comments. Re-quire that of the board as well as the audience. If someone is repeating the same point, advise them the board understands his/her position and if they have nothing new to add, ask them to sit down so others may speak on the issue. If necessary, place a time limit on each speaker.
If people are interrupting take charge. Ad-vise them they are not to interrupt and advise them they will be given an opportunity to comment and no one will interrupt them when they make their statement.
Be careful not to make side comments or communication with other members of the board or the persons in the audience. When things are done in secret, it appears you have some-thing to hide, are trying to manipulate the situation, or you aren’t sharing relevant information. Such action will certainly cause controversy, although it may not be divulged, which will likely come out as confrontational.
Everyone at a public meeting has a right to participate by making statements. Simply because they aren’t a resident of the township does not mean they don’t have a right to speak and voice their opinion. The weight the board puts on their statements is within their discretionary authority.
Be courteous. Try not to make the discussion personal. Challenge the idea or position the person is making, not the person. Try to disagree without being disagreeable. Remember the saying, ‘you catch more flies with honey than you do with vine-gar’.
PAGE 5
LEGAL INSIGHTS (Continued From Page 5)
Share all relevant data. The board members are public servants. If you have data or reports, the public has a right to that information just as they have a right to review records of the town or township.
Keep in mind individuals who attend the meeting but do not speak generally are in agreement with the governing body. If not, they will either provide their own commentary or at least make it known to the gov-erning body they agree or approve of the statements previously made on the issue.
By trying to keep the meeting running and less confrontational, it increases the likelihood of con-ducting the business in a timely and efficient manner. If for some reason the meeting does appear to be get-ting out of hand and the participants are getting angry or hostile or information has not been previously known to the governing body, consider recessing the meeting until a later date to allow the governing body the opportunity to inves-tigate and research the information and/or gives time to allow the hostilities to settle down in the hopes cooler heads will prevail at the next meeting.
This article is intended to provide general legal advice to our readers on new and developing issues and to provide some common sense an-swers to complex legal questions. You are urged to consult legal counsel of your choice or the author of this article if you wish to obtain a specific legal opinion regarding how these legal standards may apply to your particular circumstances. If you have specific questions, you are encouraged to contact the attorney of your choice, or me, Jay Leibel of Issenhuth & Leibel, LLP at 205 North Egan Avenue, PO Box 28, Madison, South Dakota 57042 at (605) 256-9161.
PAGE 6
2016 SDATAT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE
The South Dakota Association of Towns & Townships is offering one $1000 and one $500 scholarship to two sen-ior high school students who reside in South Dakota, are currently attending a South Dakota public, private, paro-chial high school or a home school program, and lives in a town or township that is a current member of SDATAT. (Call our office if you are unsure of member-ship status or contact your local town/township board. You may also check our website map under the “About Us” tab.)
Graduates of the class of 2016 are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The student must use the scholarship for a college, university, or vocational school which has a physi-cal presence in South Dakota.
Applicants must complete an application form and submit it along with information needed on this year’s top-ic: "Do you plan to vote in the next election? What does the privilege of voting mean to you? What quali-ties are important to you in a candidate?”
Guidelines for the essay are:
Essays must be no more than 500 words, and must be typed with double spacing.
Applicants can not name themselves, their school, town or township, or their local officials in the essay.
Essays will be judged on the following guidelines: originality, knowledge of subject matter in relation-ship to the title, correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The application may be accompanied by no more than two, one-page support letters.
The completed application, typed essay, and letters of support, if any, should be submitted in one envelope addressed to: SDATAT Scholarship, PO Box 903, Huron, SD 57350.
Deadline for the application is April 1, 2016. No late applications will be considered.
The scholarship award will be paid to the appropriate financial aid office upon receipt of verification of enrollment at a SD college, university, or technical school in September of the winner’s second year of study.
Applications are available by contacting SDATAT through any of the following approaches:
Call: 605-353-1439 Email: [email protected] Website (online applications): www.sdtownships.com
NEW RESOLUTIONS FROM THE
2015 SDATAT ANNUAL MEETING (Adopted at the SDATAT Annual Meeting 12-3-15)
PAGE 7
1. RESOLUTION - State Funding for Small Struc-tures and Large Culverts
WHEREAS, counties and townships are responsible for over 65,000 miles of rural roads, and
WHEREAS, a substantial portion of counties’ and townships’ budgets are expended on roads and bridges; and
WHEREAS, SB1 provided addi-tional funding for repair and maintenance of local roads and established a Bridge Improvement Grant program for bridges (over 20 feet in length); and
WHEREAS, a critical need exists on small structures (less than 20 feet in length) and large culverts; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Commission and Department of Transportation admin-ister State-funded grant programs to assist local govern-ments with 1) Industrial Parks, 2) Community Access and 3) Agri-business road projects; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Commission and De-partment of Transportation discussed the possibility of providing additional funding for these programs, at their March 26th 2015 meeting and agreed to consider such funding at a later date, and
WHEREAS, SDATAT presented a proposal to the Transportation Commission at their October 1, 2015 meeting, to establish a 3-5 year, $2-3 million per year grant program focused on smaller structures and larger culverts on township and county secondary roads. It was proposed that the grant program be established in conjunction with a designated farm to market road sys-tem to improve priority roads, as a component of the existing Agri-business grant program; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Commission, at their November 20, 2015 meeting, increased the funding for the Industrial Park Community Access, and Agri-business grant programs from $2 million to $4 million
for 2015 and awarded $3.14 million in Community Access grants to 11 small communities, a $400,000 Agri-business grant for a new ethanol plant in Sully County and $240,000 for an industrial park near Dell Rapids.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that SDATAT contin-ues to support the concept proposed to the Transportation
Commission on October 1, 2015 to es-tablish a state-funded grant program to provide funding to assist local govern-ments in meeting the critical need to improve or replace structures less than 20 feet in length and replacing culverts with an opening of 16 square feet or more (54 inch diameter or larger) on township and county secondary roads; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Townships will work with their County
counterparts in resolving this critical need on priority farm to market roads within the county.
2. RESOLUTION - Distribution of Registration Fees for Non-Commercial Gross Weight Vehicles
WHEREAS, Farming practices have changed significantly during the past several years, and the size and weight of farm equipment have greatly increased; and
WHEREAS, local roads and bridges were not built to han-dle the larger vehicles and heavier loads; and
WHEREAS, it has been recognized that larger farm equip-ment and trucks cause significant damage to local roads and bridges; and
WHEREAS, motor vehicle registration fees have been in-creased dramatically for non-commercial gross weight vehi-cles (farm trucks) since 2011 with justification for the large increases based on increased damages to local farm to mar-ket roads and bridges, and
WHEREAS, townships only receive approximately 17% of the registration fees for the large
Continued on Page 8
non-commercial trucks for repair and maintenance of county secondary and township roads.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that SDATAT supports re-distribution of the registration fees for non-commercial gross weight vehicles to provide additional funding for repair and maintenance of township and coun-ty secondary roads and bridges.
3. RESOLUTION - Distribution of Highway User Fees among State and Local Governments
WHEREAS, the 1985 Legislature established a new pro-cedure for distribution of highway user fees between the State and local governments; whereby the State receives all of the motor fuel tax and motor vehicle excise tax and local governments receive all of the motor vehicle regis-tration fees; and
WHEREAS, the 1985 legislation also established factors for distribution of vehicle registration fees for each munic-ipality, each county and townships within each county, based on demographic factors, including miles of road, relative funding need, and population; and
WHEREAS, the distribution factors have not been updat-ed in the 30 years since 1985 and demographics have changed significantly in different parts of the State.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that SDATAT supports a comprehensive review and modification of the distribution of highway user fees as warranted.
4. RESOLUTION - Clean-Up of Existing Township Laws
WHEREAS, In 2013 SDATAT conducted a thorough re-view of township laws, going back to before statehood, and
WHEREAS, HB 1133, which repealed obsolete township laws and amended and updated certain sections of existing law, was enacted by the 2014 Legislature, and
WHEREAS, in 2015, additional statutes were identified which are obsolete or need to be updated to current prac-tices.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT SDATAT supports repeal or amendments to the following statutes:
a. Repeal of a section of SDCL 8-3-13, dealing with
election of a constable,
b. Amendment of SDCL 8-4-3 and 8-10-2 dealing
with the dates for submittal of oaths of office and
tax amounts by the Township Clerk to the County
Auditor,
c. Amendment of SDCL 32-20-12 to give townships
the authority to regulate off-road vehicle travel on
township highway ROW,
d. Clarify the authority of Township Supervisors to
determine the size of culverts on township roads.
5. RESOLUTION – County Construction or Re-placement of Bridges and Culverts on Township Roads
WHEREAS, SDCL 31-14-27 provides that counties may construct or replace any bridge or culvert with an opening of 16 square feet or more on Township roads with the township reimbursing the county up to five hundred dol-lars; and
WHEREAS, SDCL 31-14-27 was last amended in 1981, and inflation has significantly increased the cost to con-struct or replace such bridge and culverts; and
WHEREAS, construction or replacement of these bridges or culverts on township roads are placing a financial bur-den on the individual counties, it is recognized that further financial assistance from townships may be necessary to help deal with these failing structures; and
WHEREAS, the SD Association of County Commission-ers at their 2015 Annual Meeting approved a Resolution requesting the SD Legislature to amend SDCL 31-14-27 to increase the involved bridge or culvert opening from 16 square feet (54 inch diameter culvert) to 35 square feet (80 inch diameter culvert) and to modify the required townships reimbursement to a minimum of $500(from $500 maximum).
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that SDATAT is opposed to a large increase in size of the bridge or cul-vert opening for county participation in replacement of such bridges and culverts on township roads, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SDATAT supports working with the counties to establish a reasonable reim-bursement rate for construction or replacement of such structures.
NEW RESOLUTIONS FROM THE 2015 SDATAT ANNUAL MEETING
Continued From Page 7
Page 8
In case you missed this year’s SDATAT Annual Confer-ence, we would like you to know that the on-going problem of having part of South Dakota townships not being represented by an SDATAT State Director has finally been addressed. Previously, any township in South Dakota that was not part of an existing County Township Association was represented by one “At Large” director. This director needed to attempt to stay in touch and represent 33 counties with a total of 507 townships.
The new map shown below was approved at the
SDATAT Annual Meeting on December 3rd. This will not effect current county township associations except to invite any townships outside the county township association, within the district, once every three years for an election of the State Director.
Creating districts has been a work in progress for many years to alleviate the problem of these townships having no representation on the SDATAT Board and to align our system of township organization to our neighboring state township associations, where it has worked for countless years. A district map is available on our web-site: www.sdtownships.com
PAGE 9
PAGE 6 PAGE 10
FIVE RECOGNIZED FOR TOWNSHIP SERVICE
Honored at the recent SDATAT Conference in Hu-ron December 2nd and 3rd were five South Dakota township board members who had a total of 229 years of service to their perspective township boards.
Our first recipient, Larry Hofer, has been on the Sil-ver Lake Township Board in Hutchinson County since 1974. After 41 years Larry still serves as a township supervisor. He has worked on the family farm, at Park Lane Feeds in Freeman, joined the Ar-my National Guard and worked with his cousin doing custom baling. Currently, they have their land rent-ed out and he and his wife, Brigitta, are employed at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls. Larry and Brigitta have three married daughters; Kelly(Brian), Stephanie(Michael) and Robin(Mike); and six grandchildren that all, thankfully, live nearby.
Our second recipient, Leo Niemann has served on the Havana Township Board in Deuel County for the past 41 years. Leo became a supervisor of the town-ship in 1974. He has also been a member of the American Legion for the past 30 years. He is a re-tired farmer and mechanic. Leo and his wife, Aria, have three children; Tammy, Shelly and Kristen. They are also blessed with two grandchildren.
Third, Jimmy Hoffmann still serves as treasurer on his board in Benedict Township, Sanborn County and has for the past 46 years. He and his wife, Karen, farm near Artesian and have three children; Matt, Melissa and Tyler. They also have six grandchildren. Jimmy also served on the school board for 25 years and the elevator board for 30 years.
Our fourth recipient, Ronnie Uttecht, has been su-pervisor on the Warren Township Board in Sanborn County since 1966. After 49 years of service, Ronnie stepped down in 2015. He and his wife, Carol Ann,
have farmed and raised two wonderful children; Darren and David. They now have six grandchildren.
And last but certainly not least, with 52 years of service un-der his belt, James R. Miles serves on his township board in Ramsey Township, McCook County. He is also still secre-tary/treasurer of the Montrose Rural Fire Truck Associa-tion. He and his wife, Kay, have 5 children; Steven, Mi-chael, Mark, Patrick and Paul. They have 17 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. James served a tour of duty in Korea while in the Army, 4 terms on the Montrose School Board, 3 terms on the McCook County ASC Committee, Director on the McCook Electric
Pictured from Left to Right: James Miles, Jimmy Hoffman, Larry Ho-fer and Leo Niemann (Presenting Award: SDATAT Director, Tom Bisek. Not Pictured: Ronnie Uttecht)
Continued on Page 13
No one knows how to handle large vehicles in inclement
weather better than snow plow operators. The safety
precautions these drivers take are appropriate for drivers
of any sized vehicle driving on snowy and icy roads. Re-
gardless of the type or size of your fleet, consider these
following five tips from Michigan County Road Com-
mission snow plow operators:
1. Aim high in steering. Hold the vehicle steering
wheel at the 2- and 10-o’clock positions. This al-
lows the driver to keep total control of the vehicle,
especially during evasive maneuvering.
2. Get the big picture. Look far enough down the
road to see hazards before you arrive. This helps
you spot problems ahead and on either side of you.
3. Keep your eyes moving. Don’t lock onto any
one item for too long. Keep scanning from side to
side to identify changing conditions.
4. Leave yourself an out. Don’t box yourself into
a poor situation as you travel. Try to keep other
drivers out of your blind spots.
5. Make sure they see you. You can generally spot
a large vehicle from a great distance. To help make
sure they see you, keep your lights and beacons
working at all times. Take extra precaution by
lightly tapping on the horn to make eye contact
with the driver.
In addition, drivers are encouraged to:
Use the three-point contact method when entering
and exiting vehicle cabs.
Wear a seat belt at all times.
Walk around the vehicle to check side mirrors and
lights.
Make the necessary vehicle adjustments before get-
ting on the road.
Avoid unnecessary backing maneuvers whenever
possible. For additional winter driving tips to share with your driv-ers, download a copy of EMC’s Winter Driving Tech Sheet. (Available in online version)
PAGE 11
SAMPLE AGENDA FOR ANNUAL TOWNSHIP MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH ____, 20____.
Time, place and notice of annual meeting are set forth in §8-3-1.
Registration and Residence Requirements are set forth in section 8-3-7.
1. Call to order by Township Clerk (§8-3-6)
A. Members present:
B. Others present:
2. Preparation for Election of Township Officers (§8-3-6)
A. Voters select 3 election judges from registered voters of township
B. Voters select moderator
C. Judges determine qualifications of voters (8-3-9)
D. Clerk shall keep minutes (to be filed within two days §8-3-11)
3. Moderator states items on agenda (§8-3-10)
A. Read prepared agenda
B. Ask for any additions to agenda
4. Moderator proclaims opening of polls (§8-3-14)
A. Nomination of township officers (§8-3-12, 13, or 13.1) (depending upon size of township)
B. Officers elected by ballot (§8-3-16 and 8-3-17)
1. Supervisor
2. Clerk
3. Treasurer
C. Close nominations
5. Reading and approval of minutes of last annual meeting _________
6. Submission of Treasurer’s Financial Statement (§8-10-29)
A. Board’s Report on Audit of Financial Statement (§8-10-28)
B. Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report
7.Establish Sum to be Raised by Taxes (§8-3-2(2)
A. Establish General Tax Levy (§10-12-28)
B. Establish tax levy for secondary road capital improvement fund. (§10-12-28.2) *
C. Establish Fire Protection (§10-12-28.1) and/or Snow Removal Reserve Fund (§31-13-22)*
8. Set Salaries of Township Board (§8-4-8)
A. Establish annual salary
B. Rate of daily compensation – for meetings, inspections etc.
9. Ratify and Approve all Board actions for Fiscal year 20___
10. Supervisor report on road maintenance designation (§31-13-1)
11. Weed Control (determine who pays landowner or township (§31-31-5 & 6)
12. Purchase of equipment in excess of $15,000.00 (§8-9-3) (may be done at separate election)
13. Voters Designate Depository (§8-10-5) (Only needs to be done if changed)
14. Closing of Polls, Ballot Count & Announcement of Election Results
15. Adjourn
* Optional Revised 01/5/2016
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Coop and East River Electric Coop. He also served as di-rector on the McCook Farm Mutual Insurance Co. and presently serves on the Farm Mutual Insurance Group. An amazing service record!
SDATAT would like to thank all of these men for selflessly serving all these years for the good of their townships. Their hard work and dedication is much appreciated.
OEM PROGRAMS PRESENTED AT SDATAT CONFERENCE
Jack Dokken presents on how mitigation grants can be used to solve drainage issues dur-ing the SDAT&T Annual Conference
By Jack Dokken
Were you in Huron on December 2nd and 3rd for the South Dakota Association of Towns and Townships 36th Annual Conference? If you missed the conference, here are a cou-ple of the highlights from the Office of Emergency Manage-ment presentation. Jack Dokken and Jim Poppen did a presentation on Public Assistance Project Worksheets, sec-tion 406 mitigation and section 404 Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP). Presentation included possible ways to apply for both programs to provide a solution to a problem area. Staff also visited with many of the attendees about problem areas within their jurisdiction. During these discussions, solutions to these problem areas and the possi-ble funding sources were considered; to include Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant funds. HMGP applications are currently being accept-ed for the Father’s Day windstorm until May 1, 2016. If
you did not attend the Towns and Townships conference and have prob-lem areas that you wish to discuss with the mitigation staff, please contact Jim Poppen at either 605-773-3231 or [email protected].
(At Left) Jack Dokken from SDOEM visits with Bonnie Rusche from Le Sueur Township in Kingsbury County.
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Michael Donovan McAreavey of Crooks, SD passed away on December 2, 2015 in Sioux Falls, SD at Sanford Hospital.
Michael was a long time board member for Benton Township in Minnehaha
County, covering both as clerk as well as a supervisor in all his years of service. “He was a very hard work-ing and knowledgeable board member.” stated fellow board member, Dave Vinzant, “He will be sorely missed.”
Mike married Karen Mosenden and followed his life-time passion of becoming a farmer.Mike also had a passion for youth and education. He served 15 years on the Tri-Valley School Board, most recently serving as board chairman. This also flowed into several com-munity roles. Dearest to him include 4-H, the SD Hunter Safety program, Crooks Optimist Club, Min-nehaha County Envision 2035 Task Force and Benton Township Board. He has been a long time member of West Nidaros Lutheran Church.
He is survived by his wife Karen; 4 children, Jon (Dot) of Watertown, Jeff (Gidget) of Crooks, Matt (Laura) of Crooks, and Megan of Sioux Falls; 9 Grandchildren, Paige, Ireland, Colby, Jay, Kendall, Brendan, Ian, Keira and Blake; 2 brothers, Dave (Thu) of Gallatin, TN and Tim (Kathy) of Omaha, NE; 2 sister-in-law, Diane (Steve) Schertz and Marsha Renier; 1 brother-in-law, Gordy Mosenden; and an extended family too numerous to mention. He was preceded in death by his parents Marty and Margaret, and sister Connie Wicken.
Michael Donovan McAreavey 1949-2015
800-456-4005 DIESELMACHINERY.COM Sioux Falls Aberdeen Rapid City
Sioux City, IA
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A Special “Thank You” to All of Our 2015 Conference Sponsors:
Platinum Contributors ($500+)
Employers Mutual Co. Schwebach Insurance Company
Z & S Dust Control Systems
Diamond Contributors($250-$499) Butler Machinery
Diesel Machinery Inc. H.R. Green Inc.
Milbank WinWater Works True North Steel
Golden Contributors ($100 - $249)
Dakotaland Federal Credit Union
Glacial Lakes Energy LLC Huron Regional Med. Center
NTA, Ltd S.D. Public Assurance Alliance
Trussbilt
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THANK YOU!!
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South Dakota Association
of Towns and Townships
PO Box 903
Huron, SD 57350
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Huron, SD 57350
