County Commission can’t make a decision – again.

By Gary Dickson, Editor garydickson@siouxlandobserver.com

It was Tuesday morning, November 28^th, and I was running late. I peeked out the living room shades and saw through the dark that the northeastern sky was starting to get bright. Carmelo Lattuca, the morning meteorologist on KTIV was explaining it was 9 degrees in Sioux City and 16 degrees up in Le Mars, Iowa. He said with the wind it felt like a negative 2 degrees. He proceeded into something called his “Dog Walk Forcast” saying the temperatures were going to increase to 32- 39 degrees by afternoon.

I went back to the bedroom crawled in bed and fell back asleep.

Of course, I hadn’t planned to. That’s one of the problems when you’re retired – your brain is always giving you permission to go back to sleep. At least mine does.

Anyway, my wife asked me if there wasn’t a meeting that I had planned to attend that morning and if didn’t I need to take her to work before leaving to go to it?

I thought for a second or three. Then said, “Oh shit! I’ve got to go to the Union County Commissioners meeting in Elk Point today!”

This was the day the commissioners were going to decide the fate of the county’s lone medical cannabis license. They were also going to determine whether or not the Blue Tin Ranch was going to be allowed to increase the number of people that attend celebrations at their event center west of Elk Point.

My long-suffering missus sighed and told me to hurry the hell up and get showered and my clothes on. I practically flew (as much as a 70-year-old man with arthritis and other ailments can defy gravity) out of bed and into the bathroom. I quickly dressed, ignored shaving, brushed my teeth, and headed for the door.

“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Nancy asked. “Why don’t you sit down and eat a bowl of cereal. There’s plenty of time to get me to work. And be sure to take your heavy coat – it’s only about 15 degrees right now.”

“Fine,” I said. “It’ll be near noon before I get a chance to eat again. Unless these guys take an hour-long break for an executive session.”

As I sat there eating a bowl of Vanilla & Almond Special K cereal, I realized I had selected the product out of order. Today was Tuesday, and I usually eat Wheat Chex on Tuesdays. Special K Vanilla & Almond Special K was reserved for Wednesdays. Well, that’s what I get for rushing things.

As I finished my breakfast, I suddenly realized I didn’t have my notebook or today’s meeting agenda. So, I swore out loud and ran to the office where our computer was. I waited while the computer booted up and found an empty paper file folder to put everything in. I found the agenda online and then found the previous meeting’s minutes online. Then I printed them both out. Both would probably be available at this morning’s meeting, but I wasn’t trusting that other attendees may have snatched copies up before I got there.

I grabbed my coat, notebook, paperwork, a mug of coffee, and cell phone, and Nancy and I headed out the door. By then it was 8:00 a.m. It took 15 minutes to drive my spouse to her job in downtown Sioux City. Then I turned the vehicle around and headed north to Elk Point. Twenty-five minutes later I drove up by the Union County courthouse. Nearly all the parking spaces in front were full, but I found an empty one on the south end along the street. The sky was cloudy and the courthouse was bathed in a grey light. Perfect for a county commission meeting.

As I walked down the hallway towards the commissioners’ meeting room I glanced at my watch. It was 8:43 a.m. I hoped I hadn’t missed much. I could see quite a few people in the room. It seemed to be standing room only.

The suspects: usual and new

People filled the chairs at the back of the room separating the commissioners from the county auditor’s office. Sheriff Dan Limoges and Chief Deputy Jim Prouty were standing behind the chairs. The sheriff motioned to the only empty chair suggesting I sit there. On my left was Trinette LaFleur, the attorney for Dune Budz, LLC the group wanting to take the medical cannabis dispensary license from Dakota Wellness, LLC. On my right was Dan Lederman, one of the principal owners of Dakota Wellness, LLC, chairman of the Union County Republican Party, bail bondsman, and lobbyist for Saudi Arabian businesses.

To Lederman’s right was a stiff-looking guy named Sam Nelson, Attorney at law from Canton. He was the legal counsel for Dakota Wellness. To the lawyer’s right and kind of stuffed in the corner against the window sill, sat a woman wearing a Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt. She had a notebook on her lap. Beside her on the windowsill was a small recording device.

“A-ha,” I thought, “a fellow member of the Siouxland media!” I vowed to find out during one of the board of commissioners breaks.

To LaFleur’s left was an Elk Point resident who frequented the county commissioners’ meetings. Robin Schiro has had issues to bring up to the governing board about her property or assaults. At the last meeting, she talked to the commissioners about being assaulted – possibly by someone posing as a county employee – and wondered what they were going to do about it. Not getting any satisfaction from the board, she walked out. Although she spent 5-10 minutes discussing her problems with the board members and the sheriff, county auditor Jackie Sieverding chose not to put anything about Schiro in the board minutes. This could always be a tactic to avoid legal responsibility in case Schiro’s allegations turn out to be true. Nonetheless, it appears abusive when a government entity refuses to acknowledge someone’s presence.

I was informed by LaFleur that Schiro talked to the commissioners about issues she had with license plates and the county treasurer. This occurred before I got to the meeting. I figured I’d check the board minutes after they were posted online to see what they said about Schiro’s license plate problem, but nary a word was mentioned about the plates or Schiro.

Next to Schiro sat Noreen Jorgensen, owner of the Blue Tin Ranch, an event center west of Elk Point on Burbank Road. Next to her was her attorney, Mitch Peterson from Sioux Falls. He sat next to the door opening into the room. Various people would pop into the room and stand by Petersen to give their presentations to the board. Some would inch over to the middle in front of the commissioners. The commissioners sat in a horseshoe-shaped arrangement, beginning several feet in front of LaFleur.

The first commissioner to our left was Rich Headid, the commission vice-chairperson and North Sioux City Police Chief. I’ve wondered what the dynamics were like between Headid, the police chief, and Limoges, the sheriff. Did Headid have his eyes on Limoges’ job once the sheriff retires? Does Limoges secretly resent the police chief being part of a board that is his boss? How does everyone feel about the choice of material for the divider curtain that sometimes separates the commissioners’ meeting from the auditor’s office next door? I have questions.

Next to Headid was Michael Daily, a commissioner. At the head of the table sat board chairperson Milton Ustad. If we were eating turkey, he’d be the one to carve it, I suppose. Next to him was Traci Torrez, deputy county auditor, who appeared to be learning from auditor Jackie Sieverding who sat to her right, which things to ignore in taking meeting notes. Next to Sieverding sits Commissioner Kevin Joffer, but he was absent today – traveling or visiting family out of town, I believe, and on the far right is Tom Kimmel, the commissioner from Dakota Dunes. 

Not to be forgotten was the county’s attorney, Jerry Miller. The barrister sat by himself, slumped down in a chair tucked into the southwest corner of the board room. It was a place where he could easily gain the commissioners’ attention to tell them they needed to go into executive session and out of the public’s eye and ear — which was something that usually occurred two or three times a meeting.

I looked at my agenda, then at the commissioners, and discovered they had just approved the hiring of a new part-time jailer Claudia J. Chasing Hawk at $18.62 an hour. She started on Nov. 14.

Before the agreement to hire Chasing Hawk, who had already started, a quorum was established, allegiance to our flag was pledged, today’s agenda was approved and the last meeting’s minutes were approved.

Yes, they NARCAN

First, Emergency Management Director Jason Westcott edged into the room to meet with the commissioners to discuss the need for NARCAN or Naloxone in the courthouse.

Naloxone is important stuff for a business or any organization to have around, Westcott told the commissioners. He said it would be especially important to have it in the county courthouse and near the county jail. In fact, the 2023 South Dakota Legislature passed an act authorizing businesses and organizations to acquire opioid antagonists like Naloxone or NARCAN.

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Opioids are highly addictive narcotic substances commonly prescribed for chronic pain after surgery or injury. Opioids must be used with extreme caution even though they can provide powerful relief for those struggling with chronic pain. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to reverse an opioid overdose. Naloxone is a temporary treatment that binds to opioid receptors and can reverse the effects of opioids such as heroin, morphine and oxycodone.

NARCAN is an over-the-counter nasal spray whose active ingredient is Naloxone. It competes with opioids to bind the same receptors in the brain, reversing the effects of an opioid overdose in 2 to 3 minutes. This allows time for emergency medical help to arrive. No special training is required to use NARCAN.

Westcott expressed concerns that with next year’s federal election, there could be a chance that courthouse workers could be exposed through mail laced with fentanyl. He said people may be trying to stop the vote counting, to stop the election. Westcott warned that an amount of fentanyl as small as a grain of sugar or a tip of a pencil could bring things to a halt. He said they would have to clear the courthouse to conduct an investigation that would take “one or two days”.

Commissioner Milt Ustad appeared to have questions about the cost of providing Naloxone to protect jail inmates and courthouse workers. In the end, the commissioners approved the purchase of three boxes of Naloxone at $80.00 a box to have in the courthouse. They also approved of the training of courthouse employees in the administration of Naloxone.

Up next was county treasurer Myron Hertel to discuss a $2,000 delinquent tax payment on parcel 02.05.04.1030. Hertel said the land owner had asked for the opportunity to make monthly payments on the delinquent amount. The commissioners agreed to a 16-month contract from December 2023 to March 2025.

By this point, the agenda appeared to be out of order, which isn’t unusual. While the commissioners had reviewed the financial claims for the county, they seem to have forgotten to pay them until now.

But they carry on. The commission then approved and paid for the claims on the county. In other words, they pay the county’s bills. Some of the selected bills and payments include:

• Courthouse payroll on 11/31 – $156,616.82
• Amazon Capital Services – supplies – $116.45
• Bob Barker Company – supplies – $854.62
• Century Link – utilities – $803.99
• City of Elk Point – utilities – $4,038.24
• Dave Reiff – mileage – $26.52
• Dean Schaefer – court report – $310.00
• Equipment Blades, Inc. – supplies – $17,810.00
• Jack’s Uniform and Equipment – supplies – $235.85
• Lewis Family Drug – meds – $1,212.20
• Marisa Landwehr – mileage – $168.30
• New Century Press – publishing – $250.20
• Olson’s Pest Technicians – maintenance – $150.00
• Overhead Door Co. – repair – $4,025.00
• Robert Ballard – mileage – $15.30
• Sanford Health – autopsy – $7,910.26
• Total Stop – supplies – $76.19
• US Bank – credit card – $5,937.23

Looking at the claims, I was surprised to find an autopsy cost nearly eight grand. I made a note to myself to call my life insurance agent to ask if my policy covered autopsies. I also thought that maybe I should check my wife’s policy for particulars as well. One needs to be aware of these little details.

Moving on . . . The county department heads all popped into the room to give their monthly reports. They included custodian Scott Sexton, nurse Karley Heirigs, Emergency Management Director Jason Westcott, County Extension Agent Shawn Tabke and Sheriff Dan Limoges gave monthly reports.

The county nurse reported on new cases of Covid in South Dakota, saying there have been 1,110 cases reported as of Nov. 22. Heirigs said there have been 53 new hospitalizations and two new deaths. That brought the total cases of Covid in the state up to 4,233 as of Nov. 22 with 257 hospitalized and 16 deaths.

There have been 129 cases of Covid in Union County as of Nov. 22, Heirig said. None have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported as of that date.

The sheriff told the commissioners about a moisture problem in the jail. He and the commissioners discussed possible solutions, including the use of fans to alleviate the problem.

After a short break, it was time for Highway Superintendent Jerry Buum to report on the activities of the county highway department. Buum told the commissioners about various road projects his crews were working on across the county. He also said that on Dec. 8, employee Dale Jurens was leaving. He said they had hired a replacement and wanted the board’s approval to hire Jamie Jurgensen at $19 an hour as a Highway 3 classification. The commissioners approved the hiring of Jurgensen, who starts Dec. 4.

By now, those who came to the meeting in the belief that their business would be addressed earlier were starting to get a little antsy. Two groups — those that were here for a decision about the medical cannabis license and those present for the second and final reading of the ordinance to increase the number of people that can attend an outdoor event — had been waiting since the beginning of the meeting, thinking their issues were going to be dealt with earlier. Boy, were they wrong!

Wait! Where did I put that contract?

Everything came to a sliding halt when the commissioners tried to pay Architecture Inc. of Sioux Falls for its services for a tower project. Before ayes could be sounded or nays could be muttered, the board members realized they either 1. weren’t sure of the amount owed to Architecture, Inc., and/or 2. weren’t clear about what the firm’s reimbursable expenses were and how much. Unfortunately, neither did auditor Sieverding, nor her understudy, Torrez.

This is when the utility of having the commissioners’ meeting room attached to the county auditor’s office becomes evident to those assembled. Sieverding jumped up and wove her way through the commissioners on the west side and then around those folks waiting their turn to speak to the board that was assembled at the back of the room. She then zipped over to a desk in the auditor’s office, sat down behind a computer monitor, and started typing.

The rest of us looked around and at one another, shrugged our shoulders, and waited. There was no official recess declared by the chairperson — just a lot of looking around impatiently by the board members. After about 10 minutes Deputy Auditor Torrez gets to her feet and wanders back to where Sieverding sits; to see if she could help, I suppose. Headid gets up and steps out to the hallway to make a phone call. He returns a few minutes later.

I glanced over at Lederman, the Dakota Health & Wellness partner. He had an uncomfortable look on his face like he was feeling constipated. I decided to initiate a conversation with him.

“Hurry up and wait, huh?” I said to Lederman. I thought I was adding some levity, but maybe I was just acknowledging his constipation. I don’t know.

Anyway, he just sort of grunted and said, “Yeah, uh huh.”

I was going to ask him if his Saudi clients had increased their need for lobbying now that the war between the Israelis and Hamas had broken out, but just then Torrez came back into the commissioners’ side of the room, sat down next to Ustad, and sighed.

“Figure it out?” Ustad asked Torrez.

“Uh-huh,” she replied.

The rest of the commissioners kept looking at their phones. Except for Daily, who was reading paperwork. Eventually, Sieverding returns to the room and sits in her chair. She reaches over and hands the Architecture, Inc. contract to Ustad who says, “It’s $14,000 plus $2,300 for expenses.” After all saying “aye” and no one saying “nay” the contract and expenses are approved to be paid. A little more discussion reveals that Architecture, Inc. designed a communications tower that went up somewhere in Elk Point.

Let’s inconvenience everyone one more time.

Now it had come to the time that some of the attendees had been waiting for. This was where representatives from two organizations hoped to make riches off the possession of one medical cannabis dispensary license in Union County. Of course, they probably wouldn’t admit to the desire for monetary enrichment, only for the betterment of humankind.

To my right were those from Dakota Health & Wellness, led by Dan Lederman, Sioux City bail bondsman/lobbyist for Saudi Arabian businesses/and Union County Republican Chairperson. Next to him was his lawyer, Sam Nelson from Canton. To my left was Trinette LaFleur, the attorney for Dune Budz, LLC the group wanting to take the medical cannabis dispensary license from Dakota Wellness, LLC. Dune Budz, LLC’s primary owner is Trinette LaFleur’s brother, Joe LaFleur, owner of LaFleur Auto Sales in North Sioux City.

The people from Dune Budz believe Dakota Health & Wellness, LLC which already has the lone license to operate a medical cannabis dispensary in Union County, has defaulted on the terms of the license because they haven’t opened a dispensary yet. Not so, say the Dakota Health & Wellness folks. Actually, Dakota Health & Wellness also owns a medical cannabis cultivation license from North Sioux City for their operation along Northshore Drive across the road from Lantis Fireworks. They apparently plan to have a dispensary somewhere on that property in the future. There is a building at the south end of the property that looks like a storage facility, but it is unclear if that is where Dakota Health & Wellness plans to put its dispensary. Nonetheless, says Dune Budz, they don’t have a dispensary in operation yet, and that means they have defaulted the terms of the license to have a dispensary by now.

So, you would think the commissioners would be able to make a decision today. After all, it has postponed the decision for at least one month while they meet with the county attorney, and I suppose, do more research.

Attorney Nelson rises to his feet and starts to talk about the issue of medical cannabis and how he is so qualified to be the spokesman for his client. “And let me say to you,” Nelson warns the county board members, “I am known for being very direct.”

But not so fast. Just before Nelson has the chance to hold forth very directly any further on this medical marijuana decision, the board decides — or at the whispered urging of County Attorney Jerry Miller — to go into executive session. Why not? They haven’t gone into a closed session yet, and we’re about halfway through the agenda.

So out go the spectators, lawyers, lobbyists, department heads, sheriff and deputies, media members and landowners. The big folding curtain separating the commissioners from the auditor’s office gets pulled closed, and the door to the hallway gets shut. Inside the commissioners, the auditor, auditor understudy, and county commissioner confer. Big legal thoughts, no doubt about the fate of medical cannabis distribution, and how to protect the county’s hind end. Or so I would guess.

After 10 minutes, the public is allowed back into the commissioners’ chambers, and the folding door is slid back open. Then chairperson Ulstad says, “Due to a memo we received at 6 p.m. last night, we are postponing the decision [on the medical cannabis license] until December 12.”

Apparently, the commission or the county attorney received a memo or a legal petition from Dakota Health & Wellness, LLC the previous evening. Why it was so late and why they didn’t notify Dune Budz, LLC wasn’t clear. It appeared to be some last-minute legal maneuver by Nelson to catch everyone off-guard so they wouldn’t be able to process new information and maybe go ahead with the hearing anyway. If that was his purpose, it didn’t work.

Nelson also said the Dec. 12 date wasn’t convenient for him as he had to be in court. After some discussion, it was finally agreed that the commissioners could meet at 10 a.m. on Dec. 8. Still, the county auditor made it clear she wanted to assess Dakota Health & Wellness, LLC the costs of having the special meeting since they were the ones that sent the memo at such a late time that forced the board to postpone the decision. Nelson, of course, objected to that. But it may have proved futile to argue with the Queen Bee of the Courthouse. In the end, it wasn’t clear whether Sieverding relented or Nelson and Lederman accepted their punishment. And if you look in the meeting’s official minutes, I’ll bet dollars to donuts you won’t find mention of the verbal transaction nor a fine amount.

But both lawyers hadn’t come to the commissioners’ meeting for nothing. And Nelson especially wanted to show off his legal chops.

“I want to remind you – again – that I’m known for being very direct,” Nelson told the county commissioners and everyone else. Several commissioners and the rest of us sitting in chairs at the back of the room roll our eyes like annoyed teenagers. And then he went on citing statute numbers and saying how “section this or section that” shows they’ve been compliant with the state. He added that his clients have invested $440,000 – but he didn’t mention that money was invested primarily in the cultivation operation.

LaFleur took less of the commissioners’ time and read from what looked like a prepared statement or petition pointing out just how Dakota Health & Wellness had not been compliant with the county’s standards for the license.

The two attorneys agreed to exchange memos or petitions and went on their way.

In planning and zoning matters, Planning and Zoning Director Dennis Henze came to the meeting for the second reading to adopt two ordinances that would approve the number of events a business could have per year, from 36 to 52 and to increase the maximum capacity from 150 people to 200 people per event. Both ordinances — Ordinance NO #2023- 003 and Ordinance NO #2023-004 — were passed.

The last item on the agenda related to a personnel matter involving the sheriff’s department. Of course, this could not be discussed in public, so those not having anything to do with the issue were shooed from the commission chambers. The folding curtain was pulled tightly closed. Lawyers and complainants filed into the room along with sheriff’s department personnel, and the door was closed.

Forty minutes later they opened the door and took about one minute to adjourn the meeting. It was about 11:30 a.m.

After exchanging pleasantries with a couple of people and briefly discussing the state grant for the Union Crossing Addition housing development in North Sioux City with two commissioners, I was on my way out of the courthouse. The sun was shining, the clouds had cleared away, and it was warming up. It was about 11:45 a.m.

It had been another day of adventure at the Union County Courthouse in Elk Point.