HERMANN — Almost $31,500 worth of Gasconade County’s CARES Act allocation has been pre-approved by the County Commission for the purchase of a new vehicle for the incoming coroner.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, abstained in the vote that approved $31,489 requested by presumptive Coroner-elect Jeff Arnold. Voting in last week’s session to approve the funds were Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, and Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville.

The vote came a week after the Commission expressed doubt about the use of CARES Act money for the truck. However, if personnel at Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) didn’t question the legitimacy of Arnold’s request, neither would he, said Lairmore.

“If it came through MRPC and they support it, I don’t have a problem,” he said.

Holland was successful in arguing that the coroner’s vehicle remain parked either at the courthouse or at the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department site in Swiss and not be available for personal use by Arnold.

Arnold’s request was one of three dealing with CARES Act money taken up last week by the Commission. The county administrators granted approval for $67,605 requested by Gasconade County R-1 School District. In addition to this money, the superintendents of the R-1 and R-2 school districts will be asking MRPC officials about receiving up-front CARES Act funds for, among other things, equipment purchases.

According to county officials, up-front allocations of the money now is an option, which is a change from the practice at the outset of the program designed to reimburse local government agencies for expenses incurred in battling the coronavirus.

Lairmore voted to approve the request from R-1, but he said if the district has other sources of funding — such as the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which also has received a share of the federal coronavirus dollars to pass along to school districts — they should be tapped before applying for some of the money allocated to county government to disperse. Gasconade County received $1.725 million as its share of the $2.2-trillion CARES Act that was approved by Congress this spring.

While school districts can apply to other sources, as well as applying for some of the county’s funds, they can’t request money from multiple sources for the same expense, county administrators said.

Of the $1.725 million allocated to the county, $700,000 was set aside for a business grant program. A third request taken up Thursday morning is asking for $100,000 from this fund, which is aimed to help companies recover some of their profits lost because of the coronavirus.

Eldercare of Mid-Missouri, which includes Stonebridge nursing homes in Hermann and Owensville, will  have to wait a while to receive the money. The request was tabled. “I want to make some phone calls” about the request, said Holland.

This is the second large request that has been tabled in recent weeks. Missouri Thistle of Owensville, a manufacturing firm that produced conference- and convention-related products, has a request for $150,000 hanging fire.

Companies with more than 20 employees can request up to $50,000 at one time. They can apply multiple times, as Thistle has done. The company’s initial request for $50,000 was approved.

The Commission is holding up the Thistle request to ensure availability of funds for other small businesses. If it appears a significant number of businesses aren’t going to file in the next few weeks, the Commission likely will approve the larger requests. Indeed, county administrators Thursday morning again encouraged small businesses throughout the county to apply for a share of the money.

In addition to most of the county’s CARES Act money still being available, MRPC also has available standard loan money for business growth and  retention. “There is all kinds of money for loans,” said Miskel, who encouraged area businesses to contact the regional planning agency for information on the loan programs.

Also related to the CARES Act funding, Miskel reported that Gasconade County will indeed have to contract with an auditing firm for a single financial audit covering the use of the money. County officials had hoped to avoid a separate audit and be included in an audit of MRPC covering its role as the administrator of Gasconade County’s CARES Act funding. However, Miskel, who is on the MRPC Board of Directors, said the agency will not have to undergo a single financial audit to make sure the funds were used properly.

That means Gasconade County will have to solicit bids from auditing firms for a detailed single financial audit covering the use of the CARES Act money and other federal dollars that have been sent to the county. That audit is estimated to cost between $15,000 and $20,000 and is to be completed by next September.