Gasconade County Commission Minutes

Posted 12/30/20

Dec. 30, 2020

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Gasconade County Commission Minutes

Posted

Dec. 30, 2020

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

PRIOR MINUTES

Southern District Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a motion to approve prior commission minutes dated Dec. 17, 2020. Northern District Commissioner Jim Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

ROAD CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

Lairmore had stopped at the road department this morning but really didn’t have anything to report; Holland said he addressed a few concerns and talked with operators. He also reported road department is finished with cooler construction at Swiss for the coroner and the unit has been installed and should be ready soon for operation; he said as always road department did a great job.

Clerk Lietzow asked if any of the commissioners had a copy of the budget they had worked on when at Drake and Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel gave her his copy. Lietzow asked Lairmore if he had any information from Archer‑Elgin engineers about soft match credit trade and he has not heard from them. She also mentioned that Purple Wave online auction representative stopped by to pick up a title to a dump truck being sold, but she wasn’t aware of it, so Wayne Kottwitz called her to confirm they were selling it along with a couple smaller items; bidding takes place through Jan. 26.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Holland wanted to recognize Miskel’s birthday today.

EMD Dan Dyer came into commission meeting to see if commission had a copy of the budget he had submitted last month with some preliminary numbers and unfortunately, they did not, so he will prepare another one and have it to Lietzow by Monday. One of the items he mentioned was being contacted by RAVE emergency calling system saying they had not been paid in 2020 and he said he had not been billed; they will send one, which won’t be paid until 2021 so there will have to be two payments budgeted to catch up. He also let the commission know there would be one graded drill in 2021 with a dress rehearsal preceding it. One thing he wanted to mention for the public, particularly the Morrison area residents, that the calendars Ameren distributes to them asks everyone to respond if there are any special care needs within the household that they need to be aware of in case of emergency; he and Commission encourages everyone that receives the survey to please answer and submit. He also announced that he will continue to stay on as EMD until commission finds a qualified replacement; Miskel is contacting legal counsel Ivan Schraeder to find out if they can move forward without advertising again, since that was just a month ago, and look to recruit or move forward in another manner.

Sheriff Scott Eiler came into the meeting only to introduce new hire Isaiah Herbel as deputy sheriff.

Commission then held the budget hearing which begins the process; Lietzow said all officials and department heads had received their budgets a couple days earlier than planned and they are due to be returned by Jan. 5; she asked commission if they could possibly meet on that day or the next to begin looking at the expense side and they agreed, just let them know when, since the Thursday session is in Owensville. With Treasurer Mike Feagan out sick and uncertain of his date of return, it will be more difficult for revenue projections to be made on time as planned, but her office will do the best they can. She also asked commission if one of them would contact Circuit Judge Ike Lamke to find out how much longer the courthouse will remain in this Phase and when we might move on as the officer at the front door will now start costing General Revenue money since CARES funds can no longer be spent; Holland placed a phone call and Judge later returned the call to say it was his intention to change the Phase level effective Monday, Jan. 4 to No. 2, barring any complications.

Mary Weston, prosecuting attorney and Pam Greunke, circuit clerk, came into commission meeting to talk about the preparations they have been making for holding a jury trial during the pandemic; Weston has arranged for all the equipment be purchased for travel to whatever sight is chosen and CARES Act funds can be used for the purchase. Regarding location to hold the trial, both the Showboat Theater or Hermann Hill would have large enough facilities to not only social distance the jury, but also all the participants necessary including the general public; also fitting would be school auditoriums, but not when school is in session. Obviously, both facilities would need thorough sanitation requirements prior to the proceedings and at this time, there is no way to know the cost of that; currently all trials that were scheduled for January 2021 have gone away. Commission asked if moving to another courthouse, such as Franklin or Phelps would be an option, and Weston agreed that was possible, but then the question arises as to whether a Gasconade County case would be heard by those counties’ juries and isn’t it better to have a Gasconade County jury hear the case for the crime committed here, which everyone agreed was right; that would mean paying for their transport and necessities. Greunke explained that every year in her budget, she allows for such expense, usually $6,000 so everyone agreed that would have to be used if required; she has also purchased all the PPE necessary for the jurors to safely do their job, along with all the masks, shields, sanitizer for everyone’s use. She also mentioned that Office of State Courts Administrator notified her of funds available through the state to apply for, so she asked for four or five air purifiers; Holland asked about the ozone machines the county had two of and Lietzow said last time they were used was at Swiss building so he will look there.

Before adjourning for the swearing‑in ceremony, commission took care of some other items of business; the public notice was posted regarding Hazard Mitigation Planning meeting for Jan. 26 via ZOOM. Miskel will participate and maybe the two associates. Correspondence received included the annual report from Gasconade County R-2 school and a thank you from Gasc. Co. R1G school for Commissions’ financial support through CARES Act funds. Commissioner Holland had received a Christmas card from Art Works on Main also in thanks for CARES funds. Commission was also notified of a self‑support telecommunications tower in Bland Tall Oaks area allowing for them to comment if necessary.

Lairmore said he has confirmed that Dr. Jeri Hardy, R2G superintendent will be appointed to the GVEEZ and Owensville Mayor John Kamler reappointed, but there is still one at‑large vacancy.

Upon returning from the swearing‑in ceremony, commission then moved to act on all CARES Act applications remaining on the final day, the first being the request from earlier today from the courts for the possible jury trial.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve purchase of equipment necessary for conducting jury trial offsite. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Commission approved the CARES Act application from Gasconade County R‑2 School district in the amount of $35,139.27 approved by MRPC and ready for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for Gasconade County R‑2 School District. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application for CARES Act funds was from City of Hermann in the amount of $17,154.08 and was approved by MRPC and the commission and ready for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds from City of Hermann. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application that had been approved by MRPC was from City of Owensville in the amount of $13,377.68 and was approved by commission and ready for payment; Holland did not agree to the purchase of radar guns and considered it far-fetched.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds from City of Owensville. Miskel seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (No), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application approved by MRPC was for St Paul UCC in Hermann in the amount of $146.88 and was approved by Commission for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for St. Paul UCC Hermann. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application approved by MRPC was from University of Missouri Extension Council in the amount of $537.16 and was approved by commission for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Holland made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for University of Missouri Extension Council. Lairmore seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application approved by MRPC was for Warden Publishing Company in the amount of $30,000 and commission approved for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for Warden Publishing Company. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application approved by MRPC was from Owensville Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $8,000 and approved by commission for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds from Owensville Chamber of Commerce. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Abstain), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The next application approved by MRPC was for Peerless Industries d/b/a: Spirit Hill Guest House in the amount of $10,000 and approved by commission for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for Peerless Industries d/b/a: Spirit Hill Guest House. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The last application for action that had been approved by MRPC was from Owensville Lions Club in the amount of $11,304.03 and was approved by Commission for payment.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve application for CARES Act funds for Owensville Lions Club. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (Yes), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Since this is the last day for checks to be written from the CARES Act fund, Treasurer Mike Feagan had calculated the interest earned as of today in the amount of $3,897.52 and that amount can be transferred to General Revenue and commission agreed. After calculating today’s expenses from the fund’s remaining balance, there would be approximately $131000 left to disburse. Commission placed a telephone call to MRPC to see how many applications were being held due to their assumption of funds being depleted; there were 14 more that overall totaled $300,000. Commission began reviewing the list and chose three nonprofits that had not yet received funds plus one more nonprofit that received one small distribution; it was pointed out that MRPC had not yet vetted these applications because they assumed there was not enough money left. After much discussion, Miskel proposed to approve the four requests based on the assumption that MRPC will eventually find them to be in order and if they are not acceptable, then they will not be paid. Holland could not agree to such proposal simply because there was no approved documentation in their hands to look at. Their final action was as follows: Gasconade County Historical Society $25,000 of their requested $37,392.20; Rosebud Community Park Association $25,000 of their requested $34,416.00; Hermann Chamber of Commerce $25,000 of their requested $36,888.00 and Gasconade County Fair Association $25,000. Based on this additional $100,000 to be spent, there should remain approximately $68,169 to be returned to the federal government.

MOTION/VOTE

Lairmore made a motion to approve final applications for CARES Act funds totaling $100,000 as detailed pending MRPC approval. Miskel seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote: 

Jerry Lairmore (Yes), 

Jim Holland (No), 

Larry Miskel (Yes). 

ADJOURN

Holland made a motion to adjourn commission until Jan. 6, 2021. Lairmore seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.