BROOKINGS — Severe weather warning sirens were among the issues discussed at last week’s Brookings County Commission meeting, including the fact that Aurora doesn’t have one as storm season once again dawns.

“I have been approached by individuals from the Aurora area that they’re concerned that they don’t have a siren right now in this type of weather,” Brookings County Emergency Manager Bob Hill said. “I do have a line in my budget for emergency-type situations and I believe this would fall under that … we’re not funding the whole thing for them. They’re just asking to give them some assistance if at all possible.”

Aurora had a siren in place, but it was atop the city’s administration building. That building was torn down some months ago because of safety concerns. So now the community finds itself in a bit of pickle as it seeks to re-establish its siren. To that effect, Hill said Aurora is looking to purchase a telephone pole and to mount the siren on it, with an estimated cost of $3,000 to $3,500.

After some discussion, a commitment was made to help Aurora with the bill, up to one-third of what the final cost is.

Besides re-establishing Aurora’s severe weather warning siren, discussion also turned to the possibility that Aurora, along with Volga, might each eventually need a second siren, since the communities are experiencing growth toward the east/southwest and west, respectively.

Commissioner Ryan Krogman asked how a study would be conducted to determine the need for a second siren, along with questions regarding the range and coverage of each siren.

Hill said he could approach warning systems provider Federal Signal with those questions to get informational studies, which could then be presented to residents in Aurora and Volga.

Fountain Cemetery project

Commissioners gave the go-ahead to James Dahl’s proposal to restore Fountain Cemetery, which is northwest of Bushnell. Dahl is undertaking the project as part of efforts to earn his black belt from Brookings TaeKwonDo and his Eagle Scout rank from the Boy Scouts of America.

“We’re looking to ask permission to restore the Fountain Cemetery,” Dahl said. “(It’s) completely overgrown and abandoned. It was previously taken care of by a Boy Scout troop; however, the people who took care of it, they moved away.” 

The two-phase project would entail a number of tasks, including coordinating a controlled grass burn with the Aurora Fire Department. This would give Dahl a clean area in which to, among other things, locate and reassemble any damaged headstones. Beyond that, and where the county would assist, includes new signage, a replacement gate and grading of 477^th Avenue from County Road 46 to the cemetery’s entrance. 

“The road was upgraded a little bit last year. If it hasn’t rained or anything, I don’t think the trucks would have any problem,” Commissioner Larry Jensen. said. “Once the fire department gets done with their burn, you might need a little blading or something, but I think it’s a good project. … There’s a lot of people that go up there and look for their ancestors and stuff.”

Dahl’s efforts drew praise as well. “James, I just want to say thanks for doing this,” Commissioner Kelly VanderWal said. “This is a great project. I wish you the best in this.”

Pipeline presentation

Commissioners also listened to a presentation from community liaison Sean Quinlan, a representative for the Office of Pipeline Safety within the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Some tidbits passed on included:

• There are six pipeline operators in Brookings County: transmission operators Northern Natural Gas, Northern Border Pipeline and Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and distribution operators Montana-Dakota Utilities, MidAmerica Energy and NorthWestern Energy.

• The leading causes of national pipeline incidents from 2005 to 2022 were equipment failure, corrosion and excavation practices.

• In South Dakota, the leading cause for gas distribution pipeline damage from 2010 to 2022 was excavation damage.

• Among the findings of PHMSA’s Operation Safer Shovel Campaign is that South Dakota received an “inadequate” determination for last year’s One Call Law Enforcement Program inspection. Alaska and Florida were the other states to receive the same ranking; every other state was ranked “adequate.”

• Want to avoid damaging buried pipelines? Call 811 to get locates before digging.

In other, unrelated business, commissioners:

• Approved a 36-month contract to house pre-trial inmates from the U.S. Marshals Service in the Brookings County Detention Center. Ten male inmates will be housed at a time, and the county will be paid $95 per inmate per day. 

“We’ll always have 10,” Sheriff Marty Stanwick told commissioners. “If two get sentenced, two more will come in.”

He added that the number can be adjusted if necessary. 

• Heard an update on intersection mitigation measures from Stanwick, who said 10 intersections had been identified as candidates for additional safety measures. 

Seven of those intersections could use what Stanwick called “twirlers,” which would be attached to stop signs. Fourteen would be needed at an estimated cost of $840. It was also discussed in passing about possibly installing flashers at the Bruce four-way stop just south of the community.

In the end, commissioners gave the go-ahead to buying 14 “twirlers” for seven intersections. 

• OK’d an election services agreement between Brookings County and Election Systems & Software LLC.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.