The Meade County Commission met in regular session on May 10th. A group of citizens north of Sturgis who use Sly Hill Road and Bear Butte Road were in attendance. They voiced their concerns about the roads and the possibility of another slide/closure on Sly Hill. Sturgis Mayor, Mark Carstenson was also present to give an update on the City portion of Sly Hill Road. The County Highway Superintendent, Lincoln Shuck, informed the Commission there was a water leak under Bear Butte Road which could be the cause of a slide on that portion of the road. Fort Meade VA is making arrangements to fix the leak (their waterline) and hopefully eliminate any further slides.

The new District Ranger for the Northern Hills Black Hills National Forest, Mr. Steve Kozel stopped by to introduce himself and express his desire to work together on any issues that may arise.

Next was a lively discussion on the merits of our discretionary formula and the positive results we’ve seen with industrial, commercial and residential commercial development. The Sturgis Mayor, City Manager and the Sturgis Economic Development Executive Director, Pat Kurtenback were on hand to tout the millions of dollars of real estate that have been added to the tax rolls. This can be attributed to the discretionary formula.

For those of you following the highway department news, a box culvert will be replaced on Elk Vale Road, possibly in October. The County received a Bridge Replacement Grant from the State for Ball Park Road near Union Center.

Finally, the Commission voted to abate the 2016 taxes on the new Scott Peterson Motors Holdings in Sturgis; to honor the agreements that were made regarding the use of the discretionary formula.