Board Descriptions

 

Air Quality Board

The Air Quality Board is responsible for establishing and administering programs for air pollution control. The Air Quality Board is made up of seven members, six of the members appointed by the Mayor and one member appointed by the County Commission. The Air Quality Board has the responsibility to review and approve compliance plans, serve as an appeal board, make recommendations to the City of Rapid City Common Council regarding budget and administration of the Air Quality Program, and make recommendations to the City of Rapid City Common Council and the Pennington County Board of County Commissioners on policies relating to the air quality of Rapid City and the urbanized areas. The city of Rapid City funds the budget for administration and enforcement of ordinances including staff, equipment and other expenses.

 

Black Hills Resource Conservation & Development

Black Hills Resource Conservation and Development encourages and improves the capability of volunteer, locally elected and civic leaders in the RC & D Area to plan and carry out projects for resource conservation and community development as well as development of local leadership and community pride. The Board is made up of local volunteers who represent each of the sponsoring organizations.

 

Board of Mental Illness and Review

Pennington County Board of Mental Illness and Review is an administrative decision-making board which conducts hearings as needed to determine the facts regarding a person named in an emergency commitment petition. All proceedings are confidential, the Board members are prohibited by law from discussing Board decisions with any non-Board member. Presently, hearings are scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 9:00 a.m. and normally concluding by 10:30 a.m. Board members must be residents of Pennington County and are appointed by the Board of Commissioners for a term of 3 years.

 

Central States Fair Board of Directors

The Central States Fair Board is formed to hold an annual fair or exhibition to promote and encourage agriculture, horticulture, mining, mechanics and manufacturers, stock raising and general domestic industry; to conduct, manage and operate expositions, contests, entertainment, and amusement enterprises; to buy or otherwise acquire, sell or otherwise dispose of, hold and deal in all kinds of property; to borrow and lend money; to act as trustees, agents or entrepreneurs; and generally to do all things and transact all business necessary to expedite or carry out the foregoing purposes and to the conduct an annual fair and other related events in Rapid City, Pennington County, SD. The Central States Fair board is made up of fourteen Directors, none of which may be employed by CSF, twelve who shall be elected by the members from the membership at their annual meeting. There will be three directors elected each year at four year terms. The other two directors will be appointed, one by the Pennington County Commission and one by the Rapid City Common Council. Appointed members can serve no more than four consecutive years. They will be voting members only and are not eligible to hold office. A majority of the board (8) must be residents of Pennington County. Any person who has served on the Board of Directors as a voting member is ineligible to serve again until he/she has been out of office for one full year.

 

Community Health Center of the Black Hills Board of Directors

The CHCBH is organized to formulate, plan, develop, organize, staff, and administer a program to provide primary health care services to an underserved population designated in Region VII by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CHCBH is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes within the meaning of section 501 (c) (3) of the IRS Code of 1954. The board is composed of not less than nine and not more than 25 as determined by the Board. At least 51% of the board shall be composed of individuals who are served by the CHCBH and who, as a group, represent the individuals being served. Other members of the community in which the CHCBH’s catchment area is located. No more than one-half of the non-consumer Board members may derive more than ten percent of their annual income from the health care industry.

 

ESCC User’s Board

The User’s Board has the power to apply for, receive and expand grants of money from any local, state or federal government and from any private individuals, foundation or corporation. The User’s Board has full authority to enter into contracts and agreements with other entities under the authority guidelines and constraints set forth by the regulations of Pennington County and the laws of the State of South Dakota. The User’s Board shall consist of seven members including the Pennington County Sheriff, Rapid City Police Chief, Rapid City Fire Chief, a representative from Emergency Medical Services who shall be appointed for a two year term by the User’s Board, a representative from each the Pennington county Commission, Rapid City Common Council, and Pennington County Volunteer Fire Department as determined by the Fire Service Board.

 

Emergency Management

The Emergency Management User’s Board has the responsibility of planning, organizing, control, and management of Emergency Management and such related programs as may be utilized by Pennington County or the City of Rapid City. The User’s Board has the authority to apply for, receive, and expend grants of money from any local, state or federal government and from any private individuals, foundation or corporation and has full authority to enter into contracts and agreements with other entities under the authority guidelines and constraints set forth by the regulations of Pennington County and the laws of the State of South Dakota. The User’s board consists of seven primary members. These members are the Pennington County Sheriff, Rapid City Police Chief, Rapid City Fire Chief, a representative from each the Pennington County commission and Rapid City Common Council, the Director of military Support for the South Dakota National Guard, and a Pennington County resident appointed by the Fire Service Board who is a volunteer member of an agency represented on the Pennington County Fire Service Board.

 

SDSU/County Extension Advisory Board

The purpose of the Extension Advisory board is to provide guidance and direction to the County Commissioners in the development, delivery, and evaluation of 4-H programs and services. The Board will assist the 4-H Advisor in developing and presenting the County budget to the Board of County Commissioners. The board will review the budget throughout the year to assist with prioritization of spending. The Extension Board is advisory in nature and has no authority to make or amend Pennington County policy. The Board is comprised of seven members, one County Commissioner, and six at large members. At least two members shall be farmers and one a member of the Board of County Commissioners who may also be a farmer representative. The membership shall be representative of the racial population mix in the County and of the various interest groups served by extension.

 

Fire Service Board

The Fire Service Board is a non-profit organization, formed by the Pennington County Commissioners. The objective of the Fire Service Board is to promote and develop all segments of fire protection in Pennington County, to include hazardous materials control and preparation for support in other public emergencies. The function of the Fire Service Board is to act as a coordinating body between Pennington County fire departments, other agencies related to fire protection, and the Pennington County Board of Commissioners. The Board shall make recommendations, including dispersal of the Pennington County Fire protection fund, to the Pennington County Board of Commissioners. The Board will consist of not less than fifteen members, one representative of the Pennington County Board of Commissioners, one representative of the Ellsworth Air Force Base Fire Department, one representative of the Rapid City Fire Department, one representative of the US Forest Service, one representative of the SD Division of Wildland Fire Suppression, the Rapid City-Pennington County Emergency Management Coordinator, the Pennington County Fire Administrator, two members elected from each of the following districts: East, East Central, West, and West Central. All representatives on the FSB must be Pennington County residents and/or an active member of a department with jurisdictional authority.

 

Health Care Trust Board

The purpose of the Health Care Trust Board is to create an entity to hold and accept the contributions of Pennington County, separate and distinct from other funds, solely for the benefit of the participating employees of the County and their participating dependents, and to administer the Pennington County Health Plan. The Health Care Trust Board is responsible for Health Care Plan administration. The HCTB shall consist of eleven members including the Pennington County Auditor or designee, Pennington County Treasurer or designee, Pennington County Highway Superintendent or designee, Pennington County Sheriff or designee, Pennington County Human Resources Director or designee, one Pennington County Commissioner, and five Pennington County participating employees from departments other than those five listed, selected by other seated members and designated as "at large members". Terms for the five seated members are unlimited. Two of the at-large positions shall be selected in even numbered years, and three of the at-large positions are selected in odd numbered years, serving no more than two consecutive two-year terms.

 

JSC Compact Board

The JSC Compact Board is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Juvenile Services Facility and Juvenile Transportation System in the Pennington County, under the supervision of the Sheriff. The members of the JSC Compact Board shall be the counties of Pennington, Meade, Lawrence, Harding, Butte, Fall River, and Custer, and political subdivisions of the State of South Dakota. The Board of Directors shall consist of one representative from each member County. The term of office is three years.

 

JDAI Advisory Board

The purpose of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Committee is to establish a cooperative relationship in order to replicate the eight core strategies of JDAI in order to eliminate the inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure detention, minimize re-arrest and failure-to-appear rates pending adjudication, ensure appropriate conditions of confinement in secure facilities, redirect public finances to sustain successful reforms, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. The JDAI committee is made up of members from Seventh Circuit Court, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office, Pennington County Public Defender’s Office, Seventh Circuit Court Services, Rapid City police Departments, Western SD Juvenile Services Center, Pennington County, City of Rapid City, Rapid City School District, SD Department of Corrections, SD Department of Social Services and the SD Council of Juvenile Services.

 

LEPC Committee

The purpose of the LEPC Committee is to develop Pennington County’s hazardous materials emergency response and preparedness capabilities through better coordination and planning, annually review and update the Pennington County Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan, provide technical information and assistance to all facilities within Pennington County on hazardous materials emergency action planning, receive and coordinate the response to emergency notifications of release of hazardous materials, provide for reporting of hazardous materials inventories and release reports where it is available for emergency planning and response by local agencies, support emergency response agencies within the County in their planning, trainings and operations, provide public access to information gathered and developed under SARA Title III and promote public awareness in safety risks, community rights and responsibilities, and bring suits against facilities for failure to meet responsibilities under SARA Title III. Members of the LEPC Committee are made up of State and local officials, law enforcement, fire, emergency management, public health professionals, environmental, hospitals, and transportation officials, community groups, media, organizations with a primary role in hazardous materials and emergency response planning and representatives of facilities subject to Title III notification. Members are appointed to represent their organizations and confirmed by action of the South Dakota State Emergency Response Commission.

 

Planning & Zoning Commission

The purpose of the Planning & Zoning Commission is for development and enforcement of ordinances that regulate matters such as land use, construction activities, on-site wastewater treatment systems, public nuisances, subdivision improvements, floodplain, and water quality. They also have authority to review current development proposals such as building permits, conditional use permits, rezoning, subdivisions, and variances. The Planning Commission shall consist of seven Pennington County residents. One member must be a Pennington County Commissioner. Each of the six remaining members are appointed by the Board for a term of three years beginning July 1st and ending June 30th of the appropriate year.

 

Public Defender’s Advisory Committee

The Public Defender’s Advisory Committee shall appoint and dismiss a public defender. The Public Defender is responsible to provide an Annual Report to the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is made up of one person not admitted to the practice of law, not an employee of Pennington County, and not a law enforcement office as appointed by the County Commissioners; two members of the Board of County Commissioners; and two attorney’s practicing in the County.

 

Weed & Pest Board

The County Weed & Pest Board may employ administrative personnel and determine duties and conditions of employment, coordinate activities with state and federal agencies and enter into cooperative agreements, control and disburse money received from any source, and secure and maintain bonds or liability insurance. The Weed & Pest Board shall consist of five or seven members. One shall be a County Commissioner. Each member will serve for a three year term.