HERMANN — A room full of elected Gasconade Ccunty government officeholders and their staffers Thursday morning voiced their frustrations about conditions in the historic courthouse, upgrades that were not included in the initial round of allocation of $1.4 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.

“There’s so much to be done in this building alone,” said Prosecuting Attorney Mary Weston to begin the officeholders’ discussion with the County Commission, which had asked for input from the various elected officials on possible uses of some of the ARPA money.

The officials and their staffers filed into the Commission Chambers to give that input, which ranged from the need for structural improvements to the courthouse to development of another office building to venting about courthouse employees feeling slighted in their work space and safety needs by administrators while ARPA money was being given to non-profit organizations and others.

Weston, who spoke first to enable to return to work preparing for a trial, noted that attention should be given to providing more office space.

“We have two administrative offices that aren’t even in this building,” she said, referring to the Public Administrator’s Office and the Coroner’s Office, both of which are located away from the courthouse.

The prosecutor was the first to question the Commission’s decision to accept applications from outside organizations and businesses for a portion of the $2.8-million allocation of ARPA money earmarked for Gasconade County. Half that money was received last year while half is scheduled to be received this month. That federal money is aimed at helping local economies recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. There use of the money is left largely to the discretion of county commissions with few federal limits.

Also, a late decision by the federal government allows counties to claim up to $10 million of their ARPA money for their own use to cover revenue loss because of the virus — even though a revenue loss does not have to be documented. If they claim that money for revenue loss, it can be used on whatever government projects a county commission deems appropriate.

The ability to claim the money for its own use — which the Gasconade County Commission did, like others within the Meramec Region — came after county administrators here set up an allocation system in which they sought applications from organizations looking to finance infrastructure projects of some sort. Infrastructure projects — putting people back to work on projects large and small — was the initial thrust of the ARPA program. More than 30 applications were received during the first round of funding and the County Commission recently approved allocating about $500,000 in ARPA money for those requests.

Weston was the first of the elected officials to question the use of the money for those outside organizations and businesses.

“I don’t think we should be using that money for LLCs, non-profits…” she said. “We have a new roof, but we still have incredible issues in this building.”

She called for county administrators resurrect considerations for an annex — a project first considered a decade ago that would provide more office space for county government.

“The annex, I believe, would solve just about every problem I’ve thought of as I sit here making my punch list,” Weston said, adding that county government offices are busier now than ever and providing services in the same amount of space they began with when the courthouse was opened. “We serve more people now than was ever served 100 years ago and we’re doing it with the same space,” she said.

The prosecutor likened physical conditions in some parts of the courthouse to a “sucking chest wound” that needs immediate attention.

“I think that money needs to be utilized for the benefit of the taxpayers of Gasconade County,” she said.

Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, asked Weston what she proposed to do with the courthouse if an annex is built. The prosecuting attorney said the courthouse could become a judicial center with the administrative offices moved into the annex. “I think for the taxpayers’ sake, build an annex and keep this building,” she said.

She noted that during the first week of July there are two jury trials scheduled and a Municipal Court session set. That will make for a very crowded courthouse, she said.

But regardless of action that might be taken on an annex, Weston said issues within the courthouse must be dealt with. “We’ve got a lot of problems that have to be solved,” she said.

Circuit Court Associate Judge Ada Brehe-Kruger also talked about an annex.

“That was one thing, I thought, 10 years ago, we were serious about,” she said.

The judge said courthouse employees feel slighted by the Commission.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” she said. “The sense I left with was that we were an afterthought. We come here every day and we work hard for the citizens of this county.”

Brehe-Kruger said she questioned whether the officeholders’ lists of suggestions for using ARPA funds “will be taken seriously.”

Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, refuted the comments about employees not being considered during the initial stage of using ARPA money. 

“You weren’t an afterthought,” he told the judge. “That’s why we asked for input,” he said, noting that administrators were trying to consider the needs from all three county properties —ºº the courthouse, the Sheriff’s Department annex in Swiss and the Road Department site in Drake.

Miskel also reminded the officeholders that upkeep of the courthouse for years was under the eye of the Courthouse Society, a citizens group that raised funds to make improvements to the historic structure, one of only two courthouses in the nation built with private money. The Courthouse Society became defunct in recent years.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, said he was unaware of the employees’ concerns about courthouse issues. “I didn’t realize people were frustrated. No one said a word to me,” he said. “We can’t approach the problem if we don’t know about it.”

But Collector Shawn Schlottach replied that if officeholders reached out to administrators with all the problems in the building, there would be a steady stream of visitors to the Commission Chamber. 

“There’s so much wrong with this building for us to come to you guys with every little thing,” she said.

Schlottach added that county officials have long wanted to make improvements to the structure, but have been hampered by a lack of money. Now, with more than $2 million still available, some improvements can be made, she said. 

“We’ve always been wanting to do something, but the funds were never there,” she said, adding, “I wish you would take care of this first.”