OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS

DUNN COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

April 1, 2026
Members Present: Commissioners Heiser, Pelton, Dolezal & Kleemann

Others Present: Sally Whittingham, Mike Karey, Riley Rohde, Carl Rohde, Darin Schaeffer, James Kadrmas, Gary Kuhn, LoAnn Roshau, Dessie Calihou, Lisa Guenther, Matt Johnson, Willard Tormaschy, Adeline Ingold, Julie Karey

Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Heiser, to approve the March 18, 2026 minutes as presented. All voted aye, motion carried.

Motion by Commissioner Kleemann, seconded by Commissioner Heiser, to approve the April 1, 2026 agenda with the following changes: Bill Jorgenson Water Depot Land Correction, Road Superintendent, Election JPA’s and JLG Amendment. All voted aye, motion carried.

Public Comment: None

Carl Rohde with Civil Science updated the commission on their projects. 12th St. SW, 404 permit is secured, tentative bid opening for May 6th. 16th St. SW, we will need to purchase wetland credits for .60 acres. The cost from Ducks Unlimited is $51,000.00. Motion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Pelton to authorize Civil Science to move ahead and purchase wet land credits in the amount of $51,000.00. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Darin Schaeffer with Bartlett & West appeared to discuss their projects. 119th Ave. SW, erosion control is being installed and minor tree removal is proceeding. 99th Ave. SW has begun placing topsoil. Once that is finished the erosion control can be staked and seeding can begin. Manning project, all contracts are signed and a notice to proceed has been issued.

James Kadrmas with Interstate Engineering updated the commission on 82nd Ave. SW, North Segment. The 404 permit is expected before the end of May. All easements have been signed except one. There has been positive feedback from the landowners. Would like to potentially advertise in June for a bid opening.

Riley Rohde with Northern Plains Engineering appeared to discuss their road projects. 10th St. NW, 113th Ave. NW and 7th St. NW (paving phase), a preconstruction meeting has been scheduled for April 16th. 103rd Ave., a preconstruction meeting was held on March 23rd, construction is expected to begin soon. 92nd Ave. SW, has a bid opening today at 10:00.

Mike Karey, Interim Road Superintendent, gave updates on the department. Hauling scoria and will start crushing again this fall. Mulching at the safety center so the scoria can get hauled out. Culverts are being worked on in Manning.

Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Kleemann to move the four people that got the lead positions to be moved up a grade in the pay scale. Commissioner Dolezal would like to keep them at the differential until the pay scale gets corrected for the entire county. Upon roll call vote, Commissioners Heiser, Pelton and Kleemann aye. Commissioner Dolezal voted no. Motion carried. Clarification to the motion; the dollar differential gets moved into the base pay.

Sheriff Kuhn would like approval to purchase a new system for body cameras, tasers and in-car videos. Kevin Pirehpour with AXON gave the commissioners a presentation. This would affect officer safety and public transparency to include, battery power, video retrieval, upload stability and workflow efficiency. New Body Camera’s, Tasers, In-Car Video, AI Assisted Report Writer and Auto Tag. This programs total cost is $717,352.60, it is broken up into five payments of $143,255.31 per year starting in January of 2027. One payment of $1076.05 for the remaining part of 2026. The total discount of $262,339.40 overall. Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Heiser to purchase the AXON program for the Sheriff’s Department as presented. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Sheriff Kuhn would like approval to donate a computer the Killdeer Area Ambulance. This computer was from a deputy vehicle that has been upgraded. Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Kleemann to donate the computer to the Killdeer Area Ambulance. All voted aye, motion carried.

Commissioner Kleemann presented a section line encroachment document for William Jorgenson. It appears the description may not be correct. The Auditor and Recorder will look into the legal description.

Commissioner Kleemann discussed the Road Superintendent position. Some of the employees have called him and asked that Mr. Karey be appointed the Road Superintendent. Commissioner Kleemann made a motion to appoint Mike Karey to the Road Superintendent and not advertise the position. Seconded by Commissioner Pelton. Upon roll call vote, Commissioners Heiser, Pelton and Kleemann voted aye. Commissioner Dolezal voted no. Motion carried.

At 10:00 a.m., per call for bids, all qualified bids were opened for the CP-13 (26) 08 92nd Ave. SW Project, a Northern Engineering project

* Baranko Brothers $918,570.48
* Central Specialties $937,405.00
* Edward Schwartz Construction $723,564.21
* Gladen Construction $900,604.45
* Martin Construction $794,826.68

Engineer Rohde will review the bids and bring back a recommendation

Mike Schollmeyer with the Dunn County Airport Authority discussed a partial parallel taxiway and taxi lane project. This project will increase the safety on the airfield by reducing the number of back taxiing needed to operate the airport. This would also open up hangar development. The additional hangar space increases opportunities for funding and increases infrastructure. It highlights another resource in Dunn County. The state is willing to fund the project at 50%. The Airport Authority is asking the county for $1,547,461.11 to help fund the project. Motion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Pelton to fund the Dunn County Airport Authority $1,547,461.11 for the project. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Communications Director, LoAnn Roshau, updated the commission on completed and ongoing projects in her department. County wide clean up week is April 20th through 24th, LoAnn would like to ask for funds for cleanup and to buy flowers for the communities. She is asking for $3600.00 this year. Motion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Pelton to fund the cleanup week and flowers for up to $3600.00. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Auditor Whittingham presented an amendment from JLG on the footings for the Public Safety Center. By redoing the plan, the county will save close to $157,000.00 on the project. The amount of the amendment is $9000.00. Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Heiser to approve the JLG amendment in the amount of $9000.00. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Auditor Whittingham presented signed Election JPA’s with the cities. The current ones needed updating. Motion by Commissioner Dolezal, seconded by Commissioner Heiser to approve the Election JPA’s as presented. All voted aye, motion carried.

Auditor Whittingham presented the School Grant Funding Applications for approval. All of the money is used to pay down bonds, sinking interest and certificates of indebtedness. This helps with tax relief to the residents. Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Kleemann to approve the applications as presented. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Matt Oase with the City of Killdeer appeared to discuss the Rodeo Ridge Street paving project. The total cost of this project would be approximately $3.5 million. The city would like to know if the county would be interested in a cost share for this project. They will be going over the project at the next city commission meeting. The city commission is open to discussion with the county commission. Discussion on the traffic count prior to investing.

Kirsten Kukla and Christy Larsen with the NDSU Extension Office presented the Lead Local event that is coming up on April 30th. Put on by specialist, it is for elected and appointed positions. Would go over how to be an effective board and work with others. It is a $25.00 cost per person. They are inviting all commissioners. Kirstin also gave updates on the Live Stock judging.
Engineer Rohde brought back the results from the bid opening. The lowest bidder is Edward Schwartz Construction at $723,564.21 for the 92nd Ave. SW project. They recommend awarding the bid to Schwartz Construction. Motion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Pelton to award the 92nd Ave. SW project to Schwartz Construction for $723,564.21. Upon roll call vote, all voted aye. Motion carried.

Road Superintendent position, needs commission approval to close the job notice. Motion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Kleemann to send a notice to applicants and close the position. All voted aye, motion carried. The position is a salary exempt position we need to make the adjustment and look at the salary. If we look at making it hourly, we would need to look at all exempt positions. Recommend to work with pay scale. Motion to table the salary discussion by Commissioner Heiser, seconded by Commissioner Pelton. The position does qualify for overtime until further discussion. Upon roll call vote, Commissioners Heiser, Pelton and Kleemann voted aye, Commissioner Dolezal voted no. Motion carried.

Motion to remove the Friday Holiday pay from the table by Commissioner Kleemann, seconded by Commissioner Dolezal. All voted aye, motion carried.

HR Director came to the board. The policy committee did look at the pay and brought back the original proposal of all employees working the same hours in a Friday holiday week of 36 hours. The committee did look at different ideas but none were good options for the residents. Move to adopt the Friday holiday pay as presented by Commissioner Dolezal. No second. Motion dies. The road department will get six more hours of pay than the rest of the county employees.

Motion by Commissioner Kleemann, seconded by Commissioner Heiser, to approve the following voucher as presented:

Merriman, Pat $4,000.00; Advanced Business Methods $1,089.26; Applied Concepts, Inc. $287.50; Balco Uniform Co, Inc. $1,995.71; Benz Oil Company Inc. $6,651.40; Bronson's Marketplace $11.80; CATALIS $440.00; Cenex Fleet Fueling $4,103.40; Column Software PBC $256.12; Dunn County JDA $415,000.00; Everspring Suites $440.00; Fenstermaker, Jamie $681.73; Grimco Inc. $124.99; Gushwa, Joseph $833.30; Heiser, Allen $235.60; Isaak, Beth $433.92; Just-In Glass $1,532.35; K2 Towers II, LLC $1.00; Kissinger, Christina $175.76; Lawrey, Sara $113.80; Matthew Bender $312.96; Miller, Michael $50.00; NDACo NRG $5,118.04; North, Amy $36.25; NW Tire $2,319.36; Prairie Auto Parts $83.98; Red Rock Ford of Dickinson $4,925.22; Rhode, Sandra $175.45; Roll, Kirk $800.00; Roshau, LoAnn $50.00; Service Pro $198.38; Verizon $3,346.88; Brosz Engineering Inc $22,445.70; Fire Equipment Company $2,177.50; Verizon $342.19; Acme Tools Bismarck $4,015.00; Bierschbach Equipment $12,000.00; Boespflug Trailers $163.70; Dirkach/Darcy $28,870.00; DTE Inc $1,020.00; Highlands Engineering $10,314.00; Hotsy Equipment Company $166.00; Hutz Welding Service $147.43; Jimmy Macks $1,214.05; Konecranes Inc. $3,370.80; Larsen/Robert $43,800.00; Lawson Products Inc $914.47; Murphy, Sheila $11,430.00; ND Department of Trans $8,164.82; Northern Plains Engineering $64,042.50; Radisson Hotel Bismarck $113.50; Ray's Auto Electric Inc $505.21; Rocky Butte Fencing $15,405.00; Sax Motor Company $158.00; Source One Supply Inc $354.49; Steffan Saw & Bike $107.96; Total Safety U.S. $2.35; Zylka, Randall $100.00; Verizon $82.08; Advanced Business Methods $261.78; Bronson's Marketplace $51.49; Cenex Fleet Fueling $76.79; Kukla, Kirsten $228.35; Larsen, Christy $50.00; Cenex Fleet Fueling $159.26; Verizon $160.04; Verizon $47.07; Benz Oil Company Inc. $2,825.55; Braun Distributing $455.27; ETSystems Inc. $160.00; Fire Equipment Company $150.00; Johnson Controls Fire Protect. $464.40; Killdeer, City of $452.98; MGM Rural Sanitation LLC $666.52; Midwest Doors of Dickinson $15.26; Halliday, City of $75.61; Yes LLC $337.50.

Upon roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Financials

Motion by Commissioner Kleemann, seconded by Commissioner Heiser to adjourn. All voted aye and the meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
____________________________ April 15, 2026

Tracey Dolezal, Madam Chair Date
ATTEST:

_____________________________

Sally Whittingham, Auditor

(Apr. 22, 2026)