HERMANN — Months after the bridge itself has been built and weeks after a nagging problem with standing water at the site has been dealt with, Gasconade County administrators Thursday still were wondering why the final paperwork for the Valentine Ford Road span project had not been sent to the state transportation agency closing out the effort.

The County Commission ended last week’s session hoping that a telephone call to the project engineer would be the final push needed in finally closing out the project — and removing the status of the Valentine Ford Road bridge as an agenda item, one that has been on the administrators’ weekly to-do list far too long.

“I think we need to table this and have a phone call” with project engineer Travis Hernandez of Archer-Elgin, said Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann. Archer-Elgin is Gasconade County’s consulting civil engineering firm.

The submission of the final phase of paperwork has been delayed several times — for a variety of reasons that pulled Hernandez off this project and onto something more pressing. Schulte said he appreciates how busy the engineer is.

“Everbody’s busy, but MoDOT’s getting impatient,” he said.

Also being delayed is the start of the repair work to the exterior of the courthouse, which recently was approved along with the installation of an elevator in the building. According to county officials, the delay is the result of application documents not being filed soon enough with the Hermann Landmarks Commission, the city government organization that oversees proposed renovations to historic structures in the county seat.

“We’re in a holding pattern, I guess,” said County Clerk Lesa Lietzow of the exterior repairs.

The Commission formally awarded the construction of a new slab on Elk Head Road to Barry Krause Construction. The bid to replace the slab was the only offer received.

“That’s a sign of the times,” said Schulte. “Everybody’s slammed,” he said, referring to the difficulty in receiving bids for construction work.

Assessment appeals in July

Contrary to initial expectations, a flurry of requests for appeals of new assessed property values has not taken shape. Lietzow said Thursday morning that only one request had been received for this year’s Board of Equalization hearings which will be held next month.

“You might have another one,” said Schulte, referring to his own property assessment statement showing the value of his property increasing nearly three-fold.

This year is a property value re-assessment year and generally speaking property values took a sharp jump statewide. The assessed value of real estate and personal property is the basis for the property tax that funds local government agencies — cities, counties, ambulance and fire protection districts and, of course, school districts.

A county’s five-member Board of Equalization (BOE) hears property owners’ appeals of their assessments and can lower, raise or leave in place the value of property as determined by a county assessor.

In other matters, Sarah Rothermich of Hermann was reappointed to another term as a Gasconade County representative on the Board of Directors of Scenic Regional Library District.

Because of vacations this week by two of the county administrators, there will not be a Commission session tomorrow. The next meeting will be Thursday, July 6, at Owensville City Hall.

The Gasconade County Courthouse in Hermann is closed Tuesday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday. Normal office hours resume on Wednesday, July 5.