Aug. 20, 2020

The Gasconade County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel at the Courthouse beginning with Pledge of Allegiance.

PRIOR MINUTES

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve prior commission minutes dated Aug. 13, 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 115993 through 116017. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes),

Jim Holland (Yes),

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ROAD CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Road department has been working on Benson road repairing a wall they have in place that was damaged by the recent high water; Commissioner Lairmore said they have also been working on 4th Street where the asphalt they put down is bleeding through so they are adding sand and rock trying to get it stopped. He also said a problem reported on County Line road was because road department is trying to build up the base on the road by using big rock and it just needs rain to settle it down before adding the smaller rock on top; clay trucks hauling have been tearing it up.

Commissioner Lairmore is working with MoDOT for clarification on a quit claim deed for a portion of old Highway 19 MoDOT no longer needs and wants to give to the county, including all rights to the property; it’s just not clear the amount of acreage to be given. Commissioner Holland suggested giving it to Assessor’s office to look at the legal description to decipher.

Commissioner Lairmore had been in contact with EMD Dan Dyer when the representative from Purple Wave online auction wanted to take pictures yesterday of the mobile command post camper trailer that the county wants to sell; Clerk Lietzow said the representative came in after getting the pictures taken and picked up the title and said the road department did not have anything to sell at this time.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Correspondence received by Commission included: notice from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services encouraging counties to share the CARES Act funds with county health departments to help their contract tracing efforts which Commission agrees with and has approved one request from them so far; also notice from FEMA Emergency Management offering public assistance funding during this COVID‑19 disaster; notice from MoDNR of their Intended Use Plan and Priority List as it pertains to the 2021 Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel announced that unfortunately the annual fourth grade field day event has been canceled this year which is always an opportunity to see the future of the county is in good hands; also canceled is the annual MAC conference normally held in November and their annual County Commissioners’ conference in February 2021. He said the annual MRPC dinner and awards banquet has been postponed until spring 2021. Both Clerk Lietzow and Treasurer Feagan said their conferences scheduled in September are still on track.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel said he had the opportunity to serve as an auditor for the University Extension office annual audit; he said it is an extremely comprehensive audit of financial records and the result was very positive as they work to streamline the records. Clerk Lietzow had been contacted by the Extension office about the boundary lines that are in place for their board members and after discussing, it was determined that it follows the County Commission boundary lines for north and south.

He also said that MRPC has been awarded $780,000 for microloans to businesses; it is to be used as a grant and is available for two years and if not used, has to be sent back; further if a business defaults on repayment, MRPC does not lose. When asked if it can be used in conjunction with CARES Act funds, the answer is yes, but not for funding the same items. He said MRPC also announced that Maries County will be hosting an electronics waste collection on Oct. 3 that counties within the region may participate in.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel had been contacted by Joann Bradford, county resident asking some questions about County Health Department and county commission meeting minutes; Clerk Lietzow had also talked to her yesterday and answered some of her questions about the county health department board but wanted to talk today about her questioning whether the Commission meeting minutes could be posted online. The website that county uses is hosted by a third party and it was agreed Clerk Lietzow should talk to her about if the minutes could be added weekly and if so, what would the charges be; everyone agreed it would be another good way to get the news out. Clerk Lietzow said the local newspapers haven’t been publishing the minutes lately, and she thought it was because both have been sending reporters to cover the meetings in person and they report on it, but both Ray Scherer of the Hermann AC and Buck Collier of the Gasconade County Republican say it is a matter of space now with smaller papers each week due to less advertising.

Presiding Commissioner Miskel wanted to address the questions raised last week regarding mask‑wearing within the Courthouse by personnel; after reviewing the policy, it was agreed to issue a new directive that clarifies that when out in the public areas, i.e.: hallways, masks or face coverings shall be worn but when within the office, it can be at the discretion of that elected official. The general public will still be required to wear a mask when entering the building and if conducting business within an office the employees’ should put one on also. Commissioners’ Lairmore and Holland commended Presiding Commissioner Miskel for keeping them up‑to‑date on the COVID‑19 virus cases within the county, which is now at 64, with 20 in quarantine and unfortunately this week the county suffered it’s first death. While the Commission would like to know where there is a concentration of cases so they could reach out to stress social distancing, they understand the privacy issues the county health department must abide by and it was noted they are doing a great job.

Clerk Lietzow received notice this week from MoDNR that the Energy Loan the county entered into in 2012 has been paid off; the $17,298.27 was used to make energy efficiency improvements to the building and with the savings on utility bills, given eight years to pay it back.

Assessor Paul Schulte had delivered earlier this week, the new county road maps; everyone agreed they looked really nice. Since the cost to produce was $2.50 each, Commission agreed to sell them for $4.00 each; Clerk Lietzow will sell them in the Clerk’s office and Commission agreed the money will go into General Revenue fund even though this printing was paid from Assessment fund. There are 200 of them for now, with next printing being done in‑house assuming the EOC printer will print two‑sided.

Commissioner Lairmore said he has a GVEZ meeting this afternoon; last issue the Commission had today was another CARES Act application approved by MRPC for Gasconade County R‑2 School district in the amount of $74,210.19. Commission approved and gave to Treasurer Mike Feagan for payment; Presiding Commissioner Miskel mentioned that both schools are starting session on Monday and he has learned they have been doing a lot of communicating with each other as they move forward into this new school year.

MOTION/VOTE

Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds from Gasconade County R‑2 School District. Commissioner Jim Holland 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 Aug. 27, 2020. Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.