HERMANN — It began recently as an effort to fill some of his retirement time by lending a hand part-time at the Gasconade County Health Department. It has suddenly evolved into a full-time gig — at least for the time being — for former Hermann Ambulance District chief Doug Smith. And it’s no small task that Smith is taking on.

Health Department Administrator Kenna Fricke Monday morning advised the Board of Trustees that Smith, who retired in the last couple years after a long tenure as chief of the county seat-area’s ambulance service, will be taking on the environmental and health inspections role — along with being the agency’s emergency planner — with the recent departure of Thomas Boettcher. Boettcher left the department earlier this month.

Fricke said Smith, who became involved with the agency recently out of a desire to lend a hand and stay active in the public health field, has been receiving training from environmental and health inspection personnel from neighboring counties in an effort to get up to speed. He’s also spending a good bit of time preparing for his role in emergency planning.

Indeed, Smith has a limited amount of time to get ready as emergency planner. The Health Department is a key player in the upcoming graded emergency response drill set for April 18 at the Gasconade County courthouse. The drills are regularly scheduled exercises aimed at ensuring the local emergency service agencies are prepared to deal with situations that arise at Ameren’s Callaway County nuclear power plant.

Federal and state emergency management personnel monitor the drills, which are conducted by Gasconade County Emergency Management Director Clyde Zelch in the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The drills — as well as the county’s formal emergency response plan  regularly receive high marks from federal and state emergency response officials.

Meanwhile, Fricke was meeting with only three of the agency’s five trustees — the bare minimum needed to conduct business — during Monday morning’s monthly session. The department’s financial standing remains strong, thanks in large part to funds still on hand received as part of the pandemic response effort from the state and federal governments. There are plans for using those funds, she says.

“It’s going to get a little busier as the year goes along,” she said, noting that the agency’s bottom line shows about $100,000 more on hand than was available this time last year.

Some of that money is expected to be used for equipment upgrades at the Hermann and Owensville offices. And agency officials are considering a remodeling of the Hermann offices to provide additional and accessible space for client visits and treatment. There also is a new roof coming for the Hermann offices at Schiller and 3rd streets in downtown Hermann.

Board members Ruth Bock, Mary Leeper and Molly Steinbeck Monday morning approved a bid by Moritz Roofing of Owensville to put on a new roof at a cost of $37,875. Several bids had been received for the project, but Moritz is the only in-county roofer submitting an offer. Bock noted that the agency historically has done business with in-county companies whenever possible. Moritz’s bid is about $5,000 higher than the joint offer made by Brautigam and Aholt of Washington.

Because of the location of the Health Department building, Fricke said she still has to receive final approval for the new roof from the city’s Landmarks Commission, which oversees rehab work done to structures in the Historical District.

Agency officials continue to consider the future of the Owensville offices — whether to find a new location or remain in place a while longer. The department is scheduled to remain in the current location at least through October of 2024. Fricke is recent months has been looking to bolster the staffing of the Owensville offices, noting the increasing amount of business in the southern end of the county.

One area in which an increase is being seen is the Womens, Infants & Children’s (WIC) program, which provides nutritional products for expectant mothers and children up to age 5. Fricke pointed out that about 160 WIC clients were seen in February, up from the 150 in January, at the Owensville offices. However, she said, the number of clients are dropping somewhat in Hermann, down from the 60s seen this time last year to 50 in January and 54 in February.

“We flipped for some reason” in Hermann, the administrator said, recognizing the population of the county seat is smaller  and older — than the population of Owensville.