County turns over part of road

A nearly three-quarter mile section of Sidney Park Road will come under the jurisdiction and maintenance of the city of Custer following action by the Custer County Commissioners on Wednesday. The stretch of road in question runs between Custer’s Park Avenue on the south and the intersection with Hwy 16 and provides access to Wildcat Lane and  the Stone Hill subdivision.
County Highway Superintendent Jess Doyle presented Resolution 2022-09 to the commission at its regular meeting which had the effect of transferring ownership and maintenance responsibilities from the county to the city.
The subdivision contains approximately 80 residential lots, most of which empty onto Sidney Park Road, and Doyle said the growth of the development would put added traffic on the road. He also noted the city had annexed the property in 2006 and stated that in recent months the county had invested half a million dollars in rehabilitating the bridge over French Creek on that section of roadway.
“I think we should have done this in 2006,” commented commission chairman Jim Lintz.
The resolution further stated that the county had an obligation to be “good stewards of secondary road tax funds collected from the Custer County taxpayers and use such funds judiciously for roads within Custer County.”
Several commissioners spoke in favor of the resolution and voted unanimously to approve.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the commission took action to formally approve a county Property Tax Committee to work with the legislature to bring about statewide property tax relief. Founding members of the committee will include Monica McGowan, Lea Anne McWhorter, Todd Fish and Fred Mills. The commission also voted to fund the work of the committee with $25,000 from the county’s contingency fund and will look into utilizing a lobbyist from the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners to aid in the committee’s work. Several commissioners said they plan to attend the next meeting of the association to work on building consensus for the effort. Several also planned to attend Tuesday’s Property Taxpayer Community Forum at the High School Theatre.
In other matters coming before the commissioners at the meeting:
•The commission heard from Hermosa Town Board Trustee Bob King regarding the upcoming end of the Custer County Sheriff’s six month agreement to provide law enforcement services to the community after the loss of its town marshal last year. Sheriff Marty Mechaley said if a new contract called for a higher level of service to Hermosa, he would have to hire an additional deputy. He noted that one deputy currently lives in Hermosa and another one is considering moving there. Lintz said if the contract meant an additional deputy needed to be hired, the contract with Hermosa should cover that cost. A meeting was set up for Friday, April 29, to discuss the contract and Mechaley concluded his remarks by promising “We’re not gonna pull out when the contract is done.”
•A request from the 1881 Courthouse Museum for $100,000 to go toward six upcoming renovation and repair projects was tabled. Historical Society president Brock Hoagland, who made the request, said funding had already been obtained for a project to repair the front steps of the old courthouse and upgrading toilets which is being done leading up to the museum’s opening  April 29. Commissioner Craig Hindle remarked that the county didn’t have as much in surplus as in previous years so the request was tabled.
The commission also heard a request for an on-sale liquor license from Brian Hadrick, owner of Spokane Creek Cabins and Campground along Iron Mountain Road. Hadrick said he is turning the Iron Mountain Road Cafe at the campground into a full service restaurant which will be open from May 15 through October. No objections were voiced to the proposal but it will need to be advertised and go to a public hearing prior to approval.