HERMANN – Gasconade County government officials are having to continue their effort to make utilities and their contractors aware of the need to know when cables are being buried alongside county roads.

The latest incident of not knowing arose at last week’s session of the County Commission when administrators discussed a project they weren’t aware of but luckily were able to respond to before a major problem occurred, thanks to a county resident noticing the cable and alerting local officials.

The problem of being unaware of buried cables often occurs when the county is cleaning out a ditch alongside a road. Known as “pulling a ditch,” the process involves gravel being removed from a ditch to be used again on the county road. Ditches are pulled for two reasons: Recover gravel for reuse and to improve the flow of water to prevent culverts from becoming clogged and flooding the gravel roads, which can become washed out in a heavy rain.

County government requires an agreement be signed between a utility company, or their contractor, and the county before work begins — not just to become aware of a buried cable but to ensure the contractor repairs any damage done during the work to the road.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, praised the Road Department’s co-supervisors for handling the most recent incident before a significant problem developed.

“Todd (Troyer) and Dennis (Godi) did a good job staying on top of this,” Holland said.

In other matters, the Commission opened a half-dozen bids for a new skid loader ranging from a high of $108,000 to a low of $76,000. The Road Department supervisors, who were provided with the bids documents and proposals for consideration, are scheduled to be at this week’s session to make a recommendation on which bid to accept.

The administrators also received a single bid from J&T Trailers of Swiss for a light trailer and four bids for a brush cutter.

The bid solicitation for courthouse security resulted in only one proposal. Rocky Gall of Gall Defense Security of Beaufort, who was awarded the job until bids could be obtained, was the only bidder. The security firm’s bid of $25 per hour was accepted by the Commission.

The Commission agreed, at the recommendation of Sheriff Scott Eiler, to use a private security firm at the courthouse after the deputy sheriff who has been in that position left the Sheriff’s Department for another law enforcement agency. The sheriff decided against assigning another deputy to the front-door security post. The contract with Gall Defense Security will be in effect through Dec. 31.

The Commission also formally adopted the agreement that provides three-way funding for security at this summer’s Gasconade County Fair. With the Owensville Police Department replacing the Sheriff’s Department as the agency in charge of security, the cost will be divided among Owensville, the Fair Board and county government.

The county also is looking for additional applicants for the courthouse custodian position. The current custodian is taking a position in one of the courthouse offices. An initial call for applicants resulted in three inquiries. County Clerk Lesa Lietzow said more applications are needed, so another effort will be made to find applicants.