Jan. 21, 2021

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 1/14/2021 8:30 AM. 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 said road department is busy hauling gravel on several county roads which they really needed; Clerk Lietzow mentioned her road was one of those and it was needed. He ask the other Commissioners’ if they were aware that Ameren UE was marking both sides of Old Woollam road to bury lines; neither Commissioner was aware. A landowner contacted him to see if he knew about it and he was surprised the road department had not been contacted because it looks like they intend to dig along the road, and even if it is in the easement, companies usually let the road dept. know in advance.

Holland had three or four issues he reported and they have been taken care of, including some trees cut down along First Creek road. Commission also noticed the Courthouse hill has been graded and is in better shape. Treasurer Mike Feagan mentioned that it was done yesterday when it was a heavy court day and there was not a lot of room to maneuver when he got to the top of the hill. Commission said he should probably be told to avoid Wednesdays.

Commission was ask if road department was aware of the bridge closure on Hwy. J starting Monday, which will likely direct more traffic through some gravel roads as detour routes; school buses are altering their travel routes also to be able to reach kids on both sides of the bridge.

Clerk Lietzow ask Commission for more detail on road and bridge projects for her budget message, particularly the chip and seal projects; Lairmore said on his end they had planned to work on Holzschuh road and on the north end, and on Frene Creek road. Both of these have been started, or partially done, and even though that line item of the budget had been reduced, they hoped to be able to get some more work done, but likely neither one finished.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Miskel had been notified that the upcoming Hazard Mitigation meeting being held via ZOOM has been rescheduled for 1:00 pm on Feb. 9; it not only includes the Commission, and hopefully a new EMD, but also representatives from law enforcement, E911, Cities of Hermann and Owensville, schools and health dept.

Commission had received a contract for their consideration from E911 board offering to take over the EMD office procedures in exchange for the funds provided by Ameren UE to the county; there seems to be a lot of questions and issues it doesn’t address so they will discuss that further during closed session later this morning as it relates to the EMD position.

Each Commissioner and Lietzow had received a letter from Jeff Arnold, Coroner which addressed some concerns he has regarding the cuts made to his budget after he left session last week; Miskel started by addressing several points made in the letter starting with the Coroner’s office being the redheaded stepchild of all county offices. Miskel explained that there are two offices of elected officials that just do not require a lot of interaction with the Commission on a regular basis, except at budget time, and that is the Coroner and Surveyor. As far as never getting a day off or vacation being the reason why he wanted a deputy, Miskel said he will not support using county funds to finance family time; he is aware that he has to have another job and family time, but he is also a 24/7 elected official governed by the statutes he had provided them copies of, and he is expected to meet those. Miskel went on to say that everyone gets time off and someone else takes up the slack, but putting a deputy coroner in position just so he can have family night, the answer is no.

Regarding reimbursements ,Arnold paid out of pocket, Commission had already told him to submit those receipts for reimbursement. Regarding the home office, while the Commission appreciates it, it was also a convenience for Arnold rather than having it at Swiss, which is the other option. As far as getting paid to drive to work, no one here gets paid for that and neither will he if his office would be at Swiss; furthermore, if it wasn’t for the CARES Act funding, Miskel told him he would be driving a 15 year old Suburban because General Revenue couldn’t have afforded all he received through that funding. When the Commission agreed to decrease the deputy coroner funding from $6,000 to $3,000, it was based on if the deputy would have to go out on call 50 times in a year at $60 each time and Commission does not think even Arnold will have to go out on call that many times in a year, let alone the deputy, so that was a number the Commission felt comfortable cutting back. There was some back and forth discussion about the protocol Arnold has in place as it relates to Nursing Home deaths and how that may be different than what former Coroner Ben Grosse had done as Commissioner Holland had found out.

Lairmore offered comments regarding this discussion first by saying the budget is just a yearly process and this year is new and different for everyone and time will tell whether the right decisions were made and next years’ budget may look different again; their point is that every elected official submits very conservative budgets which sometimes require negotiations and Lairmore appreciates Arnold working with them on it. He says the Commission tries to do the best they can with the limited resources available to them. Regarding the job duties, Lairmore points out that technically all elected officials are 24/7, and some more than others’ experience that on a regular basis, but just as important is family time; he admits Gasconade County was very spoiled by the ability and generosity of the Grosse family for all those years. He too, feels that the amount budgeted for deputy coroner is sufficient because everyone knows that while Sheriff Scott Eiler is legally required to perform the duties, he can’t be expected to do it all, just the basics. Holland offered his thoughts that this budget is 1/3 more than past years and will have to be looked at next year; while the CARES Act paid for things this year, General Revenue will be responsible for maintaining it all in years’ to come. All Commissioners’ agree that elected officials should be here to do their best for the taxpayers and even during the last few years when budgets were cut deeply, services to the taxpayers continued on as always.

Arnold wanted to point out on the record that while he appreciates everything for the budget, he feels his generosity can only go so far; he opened up a room in his house in an effort to save the county money on him driving back and forth to an office in Swiss, but Commission never even offered to pay him rent, let alone thank him for the efforts he was making. Holland made it very clear that he will start construction on an office at Swiss tomorrow if Arnold continues to be unhappy with circumstances. Lairmore did thank Arnold for the efforts he was making, as did Miskel who also pointed out that wanting recognition and thank you doesn’t always go along with being a county official; Arnold has already received thanks from families he has served. As far as deputy, Arnold will make it work his choice for the position by working out a pay rate which he will give to Lietzow. Miskel said he will work together with Arnold same as every other elected official because what is best for the county is for all of us to succeed in our individual capacities in serving the citizens of Gasconade County.

Treasurer Feagan reported working with Kelly Sink at MRPC this week to settle some minor discrepancies in the final balance remaining in CARES Act funds, ie: removal of an interest earning logged twice by MRPC, correction in records of one payment made that was difference of $49.28. The final question was in the amount of the check the county paid itself for interest earned for $3,897.52; while the rules are rather vague and open to interpretation as Sink said, as long as the funds are used in the same capacity, ie: restocking of COVID‑19 supplies for Courthouse, then it would be fine. Feagan and Lietzow agreed that would not be a problem and Commission concurred. With that said, the final balance agreed upon by all is $65604.31; as far as the timeline on spending it down, Sink said with all documentation properly filed by January 31, Governor Mike Parson has given until June 30, 2021. Commission will contact MRPC and get an accurate list of the applications on file and the amounts attached to them and when were they received by MRPC; they will use that information in deciding how to disburse. Holland said he received a thank you from Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church for their CARES Act funds. Lietzow’s office is struggling with whether some or all of the recipients of the CARES Act funds are to receive 1099 income tax forms; she has conflicting information from different sources.

Lietzow said the budget will be ready for adoption next Thursday; the final numbers she provided Commission are what they expected them to be with minor adjustments made. She also updated them on an accident one of the Sheriff’s deputies had; while there were no injuries, it is possible the car will be totaled. She is waiting to hear from the insurance company.

Commission then agreed to go into closed session to discuss the EMD position and announced that they will reopen to likely announce a decision.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Lairmore made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters authorized by RSMo 610.021 and in compliance with RSMo 610.022. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes)

Jim Holland (Yes)

Larry Miskel (Yes.

RECONVENE

Lairmore made a motion to close Executive Session and reconvene as the Gasconade County Commission. Holland seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes)

Jim Holland (Yes)

Larry Miskel (Yes).

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Commission reconvened to announce they have hired Clyde Zelch as EMD beginning Feb. 1, 2021; current EMD Dan Dyer will remain available for up to 4 months to help with the transition and upcoming drills.

MOTION/VOTE ‑ APPOINT CLYDE ZELCH AS EMD EFFECTIVE FEB. 1 2021

Commissioner Jim Holland made a motion to appoint Clyde Zelch as EMD effective Feb. 1, 2021. Commissioner Jerry Lairmore seconded the motion. The motion passed by vote:

Jerry Lairmore (Yes)

Jim Holland (Yes)

Larry Miskel (Yes).

ABATEMENTS AND ADDITIONS

Commission received for file addition #8919.

ADJOURN

Lairmore made a motion to adjourn commission until 1/28/2021. Holland seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.