June 25, 2020

The Gasconade County Commission met at the Courthouse beginning with Pledge of Allegiance.

PRIOR MINUTES

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve prior commission minutes dated June 18, 2020. 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 115693 through 115714. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ROAD CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Commissioner Lairmore said when he stopped at the road department this morning, everyone was out working; he said they did get a load of culvert pipe delivered in. Commissioner Holland said he had a couple issues out in the Pershing area, and a sign problem elsewhere; he also mentioned quarries are running out of rock and Clerk Lietzow said it was probably because MoDOT was using it all on Highways F and J to patch holes in their pavement. Commission agreed that was an unusual situation and they have gotten calls on it which they have passed on to MoDOT who say they are doing the best they can. Commission had talked to their legal counsel about the damage being done to the county gravel roads by the excessive amount of dump trucks hauling rock from quarries and whether they could be held liable for repairs and the answer was only if there was documentation to prove they were the cause of the damage. The Commission discussed this issue further and believe the local property owners would be able to testify to the amount of damage being caused due to this traffic as compared to normal traffic.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Commission asked Clerk Lietzow to update the commission on the meeting hosted by MRPC yesterday at Phelps County Courthouse regarding distribution of the CARES Act funds; she gave commission a copy of the spreadsheet showing applications MRPC has received for fund requests as of June 23 and our county has had three presented and are in various stages of approval. Travis Elliott, attorney for Missouri Association of Counties representing 39 counties working their way through this process offered the county distribution agreement he had prepared in comparison to the agreement drafted by MRPC, with minor differences in detail. Tammy Alsop, partner with Hochschild, Bloom and Co. auditors, spoke of what they will look for as they make their way through county single audit’s next year; for some counties, it could be their first time for single audit which is only triggered when a county spends more than $750,000 in federal funds in a calendar year. Representing MRPC were Bonnie Prigge, Kelly Sink and Eva Voss who are contracted to help six of the seven counties in their region, through this process; their assistance is most beneficial when the public entities or businesses are requesting reimbursement Everyone noted, that unfortunately, guidelines are constantly being updated from the federal level, which requires constant monitoring for compliance. Presiding Commissioner Miskel had received in the mail, the Scenic Regional Library request for funds and Commission voted to approve and pass it on to Treasurer Mike Feagan for payment. Presiding Commissioner Miskel is also going to return a call to a FEMA representative who had reached out to him some time ago regarding FEMA Cares funds available that can be used in conjunction with these CARES Act funds and now that more information is available he will find out.

MOTION/VOTE

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve CARES Act application for Scenic Regional Library. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Commissioner Holland said he also attended a meeting via Zoom method with MRPC’s office in St James regarding SBA loans being offered to qualified applicants for six month interest only payments.

Commissioner Holland had attended the county fair board meeting last Thursday evening, along with 60‑70 other invited guests along with board members, all offering their opinion and perspective on why the county fair should or should not be held this year; the resulting vote was overwhelming 22 to 5 to not have the fair. According to Governor Mike Parson, the Missouri State Fair will be taking place this year.

Commissioner Lairmore talked this week with funeral director at Gottenstroetter Funeral Home in Owensville about the upcoming change in the position of coroner; it will be the first time in many years, if ever, that the position will not be held by a local funeral director who normally has access to all necessities required of the position, including established office space, storage facilities and transportation. Since there is only one candidate filed, the results are virtually just a formality and Presiding Commissioner Miskel had asked the candidate to come in to meet with them after the August Primary election to discuss all these issues after the candidate had reached out; he also encouraged him to gather as much information as possible before the meeting on how to address these issues including options and costs.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel mentioned that all commissioners’ had been contacted by the Derby family, who has recently suffered a tragic loss of a family member, and they felt the publicity generated and released to the media by Sheriff Mark Williams was improper in it’s timing and detail; he will be having discussion with him soon.

Commission had received for file the 2020‑21 preliminary budget from the Scenic Regional Library district; once adopted in September, that official document will be sent too. Steven Campbell, Director said while he had always presented the annual report in October to the Commission, he had not been presenting the budget, and has since learned he should have been. In a separate mailing, Director Campbell sent notice that the term of Diann Wacker on their board will expire on June 30 and since she is willing to continue serving, he asks for her re‑appointment and they agreed.

MOTION/VOTE

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to reappoint Diann Wacker to Scenic Regional Library Board. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Last issue needing action today, is adopting the Flexible Benefits Cafeteria Plan for July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021; this allows employees the option of having any health, vision, dental, voluntary insurance premiums deducted from their paychecks on a pre‑tax basis and has been in place for many years and commission agreed.

MOTION/VOTE

Commissioner Jim Holland made a motion to adopt resolution No. 473 Flexible Benefits Cafeteria Plan. Commissioner Jerry Lairmore seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ADJOURN

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to adjourn commission until July 2, 2020. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.