Moody County is owed more than $2 million, mostly from defendants who haven’t paid for their court-appointed lawyers and jail costs.

Kristina Krull, county auditor, said she is going through the list of liens and will pass on any that qualify to a collections agency. The county also tries to collect first, she said.

“There’s probably a few people that just need a little push,” she told county commissioners at the Feb. 6 meeting. Some owe up to $20,000.

“A lot of it is court-appointed attorney fees,” she said.

Krull also will use a new collections agency, AAA Collections of Sioux Falls, for a better rate. The agency will charge a 25 percent fee on money collected.

While a majority of the liens are from people going through the court system, the county also has a few liens that they have given for poor relief, she said.

“We probably won’t send anything to collections right away. I want to come up with a good list,” she said.

In other business,

• Commissioners heard an update on plans for a new jail in Lake County, which Moody County uses for those arrested and jailed. The county averages five people in jail each day, said Sheriff Troy Wellman. The county pays a daily fee to house those in jail and also transports them to and from court hearings in Flandreau.

Lake County is looking at building its jail on 7.7 acres on the north side of Highway 34 west of Madison, said Jerry Doyle, commission chairman. The construction cost is estimated at $10.5 million, but the decision wouldn’t go to a ballot vote until November, he said. Lake County would pay $1 to the Lake Area Improvement Corporation for the property.

Both Moody and Lake counties want Moody County to be involved in the project but no decisions have been made, Doyle said. “They have no idea yet how we’re going to be involved.”

Lake County has said it could have to close its jail within five years because of its condition.

Moody County also has jail arrangements with several other counties because space is so limited in many areas, Wellman said. Minnehaha County is so short on space at this point that they have trouble just housing their own, for example, he said.

Commissioners hear frequently about the jail costs for the county and the shortage of space. “I’m just glad we’re not talking about building a jail in Moody County,” said Commissioner Tom Ehrichs.

• Commissioners approved paying for an Automated External Defibrillator, or AED, for the courthouse. The building doesn’t have one at this point, said Terry Albers, emergency management director for the county.

The device is expected to cost about $1,000, money that would come out of the commission’s budget.

• Wellman and Albers are applying for Homeland Security grants that could help with some improvements needed at the sheriff’s office. The office needs to replace its outdated security camera system, and Wellman would like to replace an outside window with bullet-proof glass. Costs estimates are $8,000 for the window plus installation.

“It’s not a secure window by any means. It’s showing its age,” he said. “I think it’s a factor for the safety of the staff.”

Commissioners voted to cost-share up to 20 percent of the project if the county gets a grant.

• Commissioners approved paying 20 percent of the cost for a new ICAP bus if the agency gets a grant to replace one of its vehicles which has higher mileage and has broken down twice on the interstate. The cost to the county would be $11,600 but likely would be in the 2019 budget, Doyle said.

Each month, the bus is used by 400 to 600 people in the county, including children, disabled residents and elderly citizens. In December, for example, 800 people rode the bus, including 347 elderly people and 381 youth.

• The county will begin advertising to sell a property it has seized at 201 W. First St. in Egan because taxes haven’t been paid in three years and the home is abandoned. Bids will be due March 2 and will be opened March 3.
• The Board of Adjustment gave Toni Taylor a variance to move a 1973 mobile home onto an acreage north of Colman on a township road. Zoning laws say that nothing older than five years can be moved onto a property. Taylor will follow some guidelines the county has established to make sure her home meets standards.
• Farmer Mike Schmidt who lives north of Dell Rapids met with the Board of Adjustment to express concern that the process of getting a road haul agreement for a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation in Moody County is frustrating and takes too long.

“It’s just not working,” he said. Schmidt is working on putting up a hog facility that would be limited to 2,400 pigs. He said rather than having him put continual money in escrow for road damages once the facility is operational, the county already has the ability to come after him if he damages the road. “I think they’re unnecessary,” he said of escrow accounts.

Commissioners said that while the road haul agreement process is relatively new to the county, the commission has addressed many of the problems.

“Hopefully, going forward it will go smoother,” said Commissioner Rick Veldkamp.

• Because of the President’s Day holiday on Feb. 19, the commission will meet 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21.