Nov. 14, 2019

The Gasconade County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, Southern District Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, Northern District Commissioner Jim Holland at the Courthouse beginning with Pledge of Allegiance.

PRIOR MINUTES

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve prior commission minutes dated Nov. 7, 2019. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: Jerry Lairmore (Yes), Jim Holland (Yes), Larry Miskel (Yes).

WARRANTS FOR PAYMENT

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve the following items: warrants for payment 114704 through 114729.

Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ROAD CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Robert Schneider, Bickmeyer road, came into Commission session again to talk about the condition of the road after the grader operator has come through; he listed several problems in various areas and doesn’t know what to do other than offer to buy one load of rock himself to put down in front of his property if the county would pay for another one. Rather than agree to that, Commissioner Holland suggested another meeting between himself, Mr. Schneider, the operator and the supervisor.

Commission received a fully executed copy of the partnership agreement between Gasconade County and Missouri Department of Conservation for rock placement and road department can now proceed this year as they had hoped.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel said he was notified by MoDOT that the Highway T bridge would be completed by Dec. 2 and hopefully opened by then or shortly thereafter; at that time, the road department will determine if there is any additional payment due the county from MoDOT for maintenance of the detour route for an extra month.

Commission agreed the road department could offer the job openings for posting on the state tech college website at Linn; Commission will also look at the information road department gathered regarding four neighboring counties’ and their road department pay rates and benefits packages and how they compare to Gasconade County as we move into the new budget year.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel will ask road department to make a new sign for the Courthouse parking lot that says “Unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owner’s expense”.

Commissioner Lairmore ask Commissioner Holland if the Solid Waste Management board he serves on will be offering any tire drop off places yet this year, as the road department has several large truck and grader tires to dispose of and he will find out.

Commissioner Lairmore brought a list of four pieces of equipment that the road department would like to offer for sale on Purple Wave online auction site: 1995 Freightliner bucket truck, 2000 International 4900 dump truck, Entyre oil distributor Model M2325, and 1991 Entyre lowboy trailer model FR25TL; Commission agreed to sell.

MOTION/VOTE

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to sell listed items at online auction. Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ROAD CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Present for the annual Transportation Needs of Gasconade County meeting with Preston Kramer, MoDOT and Bonnie Prigge and Anne Freand, both of MRPC were: Hermann Mayor Robert Koerber and City Administrator Mark Wallace and Owensville City Administrator Brian Samples. Mr. Kramer reviewed the entire list from 2019, with Commission agreeing to leave all of those on the list and agreed to add two more: passing or turn lanes on certain sections of Highway 50 both east and west and redesign of the Highway 28/Route B intersection at Bland. He also pointed out the Route T bridge will be complete by Dec. 2, the Route A bridge over Third Creek is due to be replaced in 2020, the Route J bridge over First Creek is due to be replaced and shoulders added to Route B from Highway 28 to Phelps County line both in 2021. Mayor Koerber presented his handout on behalf of the City again pointing out the importance of replacing the Missouri 19 bridge over Frene Creek in the City of Hermann; they are going to have engineers look at the underneath side and having gone through another flood this year where the structure was submerged, detouring all traffic through town was challenging, but more successful this time with MoDOT’s help. Commission decided to change their No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 choices for FY-2020 only slightly; No. 1 remains safety improvements at the intersection of Route J and Highway 100, six miles west of Hermann; No. 2 remains the Highway 19 bridge over Frene Creek in Hermann. No. 3 will now be safety improvements on Route 19 from junction of Route 28 north to Owensville city limits at the school complex; this project is prime for partnership with state, school, and city. Mrs. Prigge reminded those present who serve on the Transportation Advisory Committee how important it is to be present at MRPC on Dec. 12 when the priorities of the entire region are chosen.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Present representing the Brush and Palette Club were Lois Kruse, Matt Wesselschmidt, Walter Els and John Wilding; Mrs. Kruse gave the Commission the history of their organization and purpose since formation in the 1950’s, which is the preservation and restoration of the historical culture of the many old buildings in the City of Hermann. Through grants and fundraisers, the Rotunda in the upper city park, the Bandstand also located there, and the Deutscheim property have all benefitted from their efforts; recently they looked at the Fullgraf property owned by the county that sits below and to the west of the Courthouse and wondered if that could be next on their list which brings them to this meeting to find out the Commissions’ intent for the property. More specifically, if it was renovated to meet all accessibility requirements, would the county use it for possible office space. Everyone is aware when this property was given to the county, there was a covenant attached for 50 years it could not be destroyed, but must be maintained; the extent of the maintenance was not specific, so in Commissioner Lairmore’s opinion he does not support the renovation and as he has stated in the past, would prefer moving the structure to a more suitable location which would free up more area for the construction of an annex building which has been planned for some time. Presiding Commissioner Miskel’s opinion was that his support has always been for the annex to be constructed on the east side, rather than the west, but agrees to the idea of moving the house to a more suitable location as he considers it an albatross for the county; once funds would be spent to renovate it, it likely will remain where it is at, and it could be used for an office. He went on to say that the Commission has not given a lot of thought to this issue because of the remaining 40 years left on the covenant. Mrs. Kruse ask Commission if they would be interested in possibly renting it out to those who would have business at the Courthouse, i.e.: attorney’s office and Commission agreed they did not want to become landlords; Commissioner Lairmore asked if the Brush and Palette club has an office, and Mrs. Kruse said they do not, so he suggested it could make an office for them. She also mentioned that the structure itself is very sturdy and sound, but the foundation has a considerable size hole that has allowed three foot of water to accumulate due to poor drainage; she asked if Commission would consider pumping that out and then sealing it off and they did agree to that. Everyone also agrees that if it is left sitting for the remainder of the covenant, it will be destroyed by time; the question was asked about the Courthouse Society and while they do have some funds, they are not active. Commissioner Holland agrees it is worth saving and could see where someone like Jim Dierberg would possibly consider it a valuable addition to his properties on the east end of town. Mr. Els asked if he was understanding Commission to say they would prefer it not be fixed up while it is here because then the county is tied to it which is correct; even if it is fixed up and left sitting here and used, at the end of the covenant, whomever might be in office, could do whatever they choose with it. Details of the covenant need to be reviewed.

Correspondence received by Commission included, packet of information from the R-2G school in Owensville detailing the state of the schools annual event held; the annual soil and water report and budget request. Upcoming meetings include reschedule of University Extension awards dinner for Nov. 21, MRPC meeting this evening and annual MAC meeting starting Sunday through Tuesday.

Allison Benney and Scott Whitehill, Gallagher Insurance Agency, presented Commission with proposal for property and liability insurance for 2020; Clerk Lietzow said Bruce Paneitz, Naught‑Naught Agency, will be bringing MOPERM renewal and two other proposals to session within the next two weeks. Clerk Lietzow asked Ms. Benney for quote on tail coverage the county would have to buy when eventually leaving them in case of a lawsuit, since their liability coverage is not occurrence based, but is claims‑made; Ms. Benney pointed out they do have the full prior acts clause though.

Commissioner Holland had been notified by Circuit Judge Ike Lamke that he would like to meet with them the next time he holds court in Hermann, which is Dec. 5th, to look at the courtroom renovation estimate; while Commission is in session in Owensville that day they will come here between 11 a.m. and noon to meet and asked Clerk Lietzow to call Glen Englert to be present also.

Clerk Lietzow had sent information to Ivan Schraeder, legal counsel as they requested for an opinion on the Gascony Village road barricade issue; Mr. Schraeder has questions and she asked one of the Commissioners’ to respond as she likely would not know the answer, so Commissioner Holland will call him.

Last issue Commission mentioned is to offer sympathies to the family of L. James Held of Stone Hill Winery at his passing; his contribution to tourism industry in Hermann is unparalleled. Presiding Commissioner Miskel has invited State Representative Aaron Griesheimer to the Courthouse tomorrow morning to meet with elected officials who would like to make him aware of the financial impact on third class counties by actions taken legislatively that he might not even be aware of; he was also encouraged to support Governor Mike Parson’s efforts to expand the usetax not only for state but counties.

ADJOURN

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to adjourn commission until Nov. 21, 2019. Commissioner Jim

Holland seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.