Minutes of Regular Meeting of Southern Black Hills Water System Board
Crazy Horse Monument
Thursday, April 23, 2026
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Southern Black Hills Water System was held at the Crazy Horse Monument on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Chairman Wick called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL – Board Members present were Wick, Baird, Krump, Nase, Smith, and Zolnowsky; Kowalski was absent. Others in attendance were manager Don Peterson.
AGENDA – Motion by Smith, 2nd by Krump to approve the agenda; motion passed unanimously.
MINUTES - Motion by Baird, 2nd by Nase to approve the minutes of the March 26, 2026 meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT – Peterson presented the treasurer’s report for March 2026. The report was reviewed by the board members. The check sequence ending March 31 was check #4902, check #4903 was voided, and beginning April 1 was check #4904. Motion by Smith, 2nd by Baird to approve the treasurer’s report, transfer $15,000 from the regular checking account into the RD savings account, and pay a $156,986.70 partial work completion invoice from Fuller Construction; motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS –
Managers’ Report
Despite the repair of a major water main line break along Argyle Road found January 22, subsequent monthly water usage reports included continued evidence of a significant leak in the Phase 1 line; the leak is now up to 75% of water supplied to Phases 1, 2, & 4. SBHWS solicited the aid of leak isolation resources from SDARWS, who found that the fix for the January 22 leak had failed. The Hymax pipe coupling used for the fix in January had slipped from an adjacent pipe; this was addressed by using a longer MJ coupling with an additional PVC grip. The service outage was minimized by filling storage to capacity before replacing the failed coupler; only three customers were affected for two days.
Fuller Construction has completed erection of the PP/SCA water storage tower.
Ketel Thorstenson will present the results of their audit of 2025 operations and finances to the Board at the June 25 meeting.
Management provided the 2025 water report to the US Forest Service; no in-person presentation was required this year.
Two developers along Argyle Road, West Wind and Mower Subdivision, are boring under Argyle Rd in preparation to establish connections to the SBHWS main passing those areas. Management met with those developers and the engineer for a third, Trophy Ridge, to discuss the possibility that rather than using the per-site cisterns as has been approved by DANR that both for better service and later development, water service in new developments along Argyle Rd would best be provided with additional ground-level storage at the booster pump station. There was pushback on cost, and the board discussed options for financing the alternate approach.
Management asked for an engineering estimate to serve nine ranches north from Daughenbaugh Rd along SD Hwy 79. The primary service line for such a project would be about eight miles long, and the total engineering estimate came back at $2.4 million. Again, prospective customers were dismayed by the infrastructure cost of providing water service.
NEW BUSINESS -
The 2017 Dodge pickup has deteriorated to the point of requiring frequent repairs which too often are only temporary. Dakota Ludwig has located a replacement vehicle, a 2025 Ram 1500, for $39,377 and trade in. Motion by Krump, 2nd by Nase to authorize staff to purchase this vehicle and to transfer $45,000 from the construction (the amount of setoff already accepted by Flatland Industries) to regular checking; motion passed unanimously.
EXECUTIVE SESSION -
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Krump to enter into Executive Session at 2:32; motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Nase to come out of Executive Session at 2:52; motion carried unanimously.
There were no motions arising out of Executive Session.
UPCOMING MEETINGS -
The next meeting of the Southern Black Hills System Board will be Thursday,, May 28, 2026 at 1:00 PM at the Crazy Horse Monument in Custer. Future board meetings will be June 25.
ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business, the chair declared the meeting adjourned at 3:00.
Crazy Horse Monument
Thursday, April 23, 2026
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Southern Black Hills Water System was held at the Crazy Horse Monument on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Chairman Wick called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL – Board Members present were Wick, Baird, Krump, Nase, Smith, and Zolnowsky; Kowalski was absent. Others in attendance were manager Don Peterson.
AGENDA – Motion by Smith, 2nd by Krump to approve the agenda; motion passed unanimously.
MINUTES - Motion by Baird, 2nd by Nase to approve the minutes of the March 26, 2026 meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT – Peterson presented the treasurer’s report for March 2026. The report was reviewed by the board members. The check sequence ending March 31 was check #4902, check #4903 was voided, and beginning April 1 was check #4904. Motion by Smith, 2nd by Baird to approve the treasurer’s report, transfer $15,000 from the regular checking account into the RD savings account, and pay a $156,986.70 partial work completion invoice from Fuller Construction; motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS –
Managers’ Report
Despite the repair of a major water main line break along Argyle Road found January 22, subsequent monthly water usage reports included continued evidence of a significant leak in the Phase 1 line; the leak is now up to 75% of water supplied to Phases 1, 2, & 4. SBHWS solicited the aid of leak isolation resources from SDARWS, who found that the fix for the January 22 leak had failed. The Hymax pipe coupling used for the fix in January had slipped from an adjacent pipe; this was addressed by using a longer MJ coupling with an additional PVC grip. The service outage was minimized by filling storage to capacity before replacing the failed coupler; only three customers were affected for two days.
Fuller Construction has completed erection of the PP/SCA water storage tower.
Ketel Thorstenson will present the results of their audit of 2025 operations and finances to the Board at the June 25 meeting.
Management provided the 2025 water report to the US Forest Service; no in-person presentation was required this year.
Two developers along Argyle Road, West Wind and Mower Subdivision, are boring under Argyle Rd in preparation to establish connections to the SBHWS main passing those areas. Management met with those developers and the engineer for a third, Trophy Ridge, to discuss the possibility that rather than using the per-site cisterns as has been approved by DANR that both for better service and later development, water service in new developments along Argyle Rd would best be provided with additional ground-level storage at the booster pump station. There was pushback on cost, and the board discussed options for financing the alternate approach.
Management asked for an engineering estimate to serve nine ranches north from Daughenbaugh Rd along SD Hwy 79. The primary service line for such a project would be about eight miles long, and the total engineering estimate came back at $2.4 million. Again, prospective customers were dismayed by the infrastructure cost of providing water service.
NEW BUSINESS -
The 2017 Dodge pickup has deteriorated to the point of requiring frequent repairs which too often are only temporary. Dakota Ludwig has located a replacement vehicle, a 2025 Ram 1500, for $39,377 and trade in. Motion by Krump, 2nd by Nase to authorize staff to purchase this vehicle and to transfer $45,000 from the construction (the amount of setoff already accepted by Flatland Industries) to regular checking; motion passed unanimously.
EXECUTIVE SESSION -
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Krump to enter into Executive Session at 2:32; motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Nase to come out of Executive Session at 2:52; motion carried unanimously.
There were no motions arising out of Executive Session.
UPCOMING MEETINGS -
The next meeting of the Southern Black Hills System Board will be Thursday,, May 28, 2026 at 1:00 PM at the Crazy Horse Monument in Custer. Future board meetings will be June 25.
ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business, the chair declared the meeting adjourned at 3:00.
