HERMANN – It was a night of giving — dollars, that is — at the Oct. 12 session of the Hermann Board of Aldermen.

City Hall received recognition in the form of a grant and plaque for taking measures to reduce risk while seven organizations received various amounts of donations from the Blue Oval Car Club in the wake of this year’s Car Show downtown.

Kelly Beets of the Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (MIRMA) presented the plaque to City Administrator Patricia Heaney and announced the city would receive a grant for $7,880 for the risk-management steps it has taken.

The city was awarded $3,300 to help cover the cost of purchasing tasers for the Police Department and another $4,580 for putting in place an exercise regimen aimed at protecting the shoulders, backs and knees of city employees in a move to reduce the risk of injury to the workers that could result in a loss of work time and possible insurance claims.

MIRMA was founded more than 40 years ago as an organization providing pool insurance coverage for municipalities in Missouri. Hermann was one of the nine founding member cities. Beets said MIRMA now provides insurance – and expertise on ways to reduce risk – to 103 municipalities.

The Hermann Board of Aldermen at its previous session adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a Loss-Control Program establishing a protocol for strengthening safety on the job for city workers and increasing safety for the public using city services. MIRMA long has reviewed city services ranging from playgrounds and swimming pools to police training and sidewalk conditions as a way to reduce the city’s liability risk.

As for the seven organizations receiving funds from the Blue Oval Car Club, the club’s Greg Howe was on hand to present checks from this year’s Car Show in August. Receiving a share are the Hermann Music Boosters, which supports music program at Hermann schools, for $430; Historic Hermann Museum for $600; River Bluff Industries, the Hermann-area’s sheltered workshop program, for $1,000; the organization that conducted the Car Show’s 50/50 raffle for $1,000 for its building fund; Rhineland Ballpark, which is used by Hermann teams, for $1,200; the Hermann Youth Hunt organization for $2,000; the Jack Schneider Foundation for $2,000.

Howe noted that during the eight years the Blue Oval Car Club has held a show in Hermann, the club has donated more than $20,000 to a variety of groups. From the time the Car Club has been holding events in other communities, it has distributed more than $59,000 to various community organizations, Howe said.

In other matters at last week’s first regular BOA session of the month, Heaney reported that the city’s monthly sales tax reimbursement from the Missouri Department of Revenue came in below last month’s amount, but for the year-to-date, it is running about nine percent ahead of the 2025 amount.

The city administrator reminded the mayor and board of tomorrow morning’s local Transportation Improvement Plan meeting following the weekly session of the Gasconade County Commission. At that annual meeting, officials of the county, municipalities, the regional planning agency and the state transportation agency will craft the newest version of priority transit projects that will be considered as part of the drafting of the State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP).

The current county priority list has the elevation of Highway 100 on the east side of town and at its intersection with Highway 19 as the top item. However, when the statewide list of projects was announced by the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission it did not include the Hermann project. Those attending the meeting tomorrow morning could keep the Highway 100 work at the top of the list, move it to another position on the list or drop it from the list.

Heaney is one of three Gasconade County representatives on the Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC will convene later in the year to consider the TIPs from all eight counties in the region in drafting an overall list to submit to the planning agency’s Board of Directors.

Other Gasconade County representatives on the TAC are Owensville City Administrator Randy Blaske and Southern District Associate Commissioner Ron Hardecke, R- Owensville.

Also, Heaney used her report to the BOA to remind residents to sign up for the city’s Code Red alert system to receive updates regarding emergencies affecting the public, such as the boil-water order that was issued several weeks ago.

In other matters, the BOA confirmed the hiring of Luke Bigelow as a reserve office in the Police Department. Bigelow is a full-time deputy with the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department holding the rank of corporal. He also is a reserve officer with the Rosebud Police Department and he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

As a reserve officer with the Hermann Police Department, Bigelow will receive pay of $23 an hour.

The board agreed to continue having a billboard along Interstate 70 at Highway 19. The city’s contract with Lamar for the billboard at the intersection is up for renewal. “This billboard is perfect placement to welcome visitors to Hermann and direct them south for 15 miles,” said Tammy Bruckerhoff, the city’s director of tourism and economic development in her memo to the board.

The BOA approved Conditional Use Permit renewals for the Graystone guesthouse at 202 W. 6th St. sought by Jenna Schaefer and to Hermann 1837 for outdoor liquor consumption sought by Steve Vollmer.

The board also ratified Festival Event Applications for Bunkers & Barrels for brat and soda sales at 400 Market St. on Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 18; a garage sale in the 900 block of Wein Street sought by Jennifer Rogers on Oct. 10; raffle ticket sales by Hermann Football at 218 E. 1st St, on Oct. 10, 11, 17 and 18; a drive-through prayer event with free bottled water held by Hermann Christian Fellowship at 100 East 1st St. on Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31.