Lake County Commission Talks County Roads and Personnel

The Lake County Commission took action on a number of personnel items during their meeting on Tuesday. Commissioners accepted the resignation of Veterans Services Officer Matt Pillar. Pillar had served in the part-time position since October of 2021. This past summer he received the New County Veterans Service Officer of the Year award from the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs. Pillar has accepted a full-time Veterans Service Officer position elsewhere. His resignation will be effective May 5th. 

In other personnel action, the commission accepted the resignation of Josh Oberloh as a Correctional Officer, and approved the termination of Jeff Poncelet as a Heavy Equipment operator from the Highway Department. 

Also Tuesday, the commission heard the quarterly report from Highway Superintendent Nels Nelson. Nelson said that, with the heavy snow and winds this past winter, the Highway Department has spent over 382-thousand, 600 dollars in just equipment and labor cost since the start of 2023. That includes nearly 60-thousand dollars in plow blades, and over 36-thousand dollars in salt and sand. Nelson also says that all employee overtime has been exhausted since the start of the year. 

This spring the Highway Department has been working on blading gravel roads, and patching and flagging broken spots on paved roads. He says the harsh winter has damaged many roads throughout the county.