HERMANN — An effort has fallen short in obtaining a small piece of county government’s 2023 operating budget to help pay for the law enforcement presence at the Gasconade County Fair.

Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, at the Jan. 19 County Commission session noted that there is no money in this year’s operating budget set aside for the Fair’s security detail. The Commission was scheduled to give final approval to this year’s proposed budget at a special session Tuesday morning.

Fair Board President Nick Baxter during a session late last year in Owensville City Hall formally requested about $14,000 in county revenue to help the Fair pay for the law enforcement personnel who work inside the fairgrounds at Owensville Memorial Park during fair week. Owensville Police Department is responsible for security outside the fairgrounds perimeter.

Baxter made the argument that because several groups use the Fairgrounds throughout the year and that the Fair is representative of the entire county and has earned high marks for being one of the safest fairs in the region, the organization was justified in seeking a small portion of the county’s funding to help pay for the personnel hired from outside law enforcement agencies to provide security during the four days of activity held each year in late July.

The Fair Board apparently has not sought county funds previously; however, the additional funding generated by the recently adopted half-cent sales tax for law enforcement was seen as a possible source of money to help finance Fair security.

County administrators estimated the law enforcement sales tax to generate about $1 million a year, based on revenue generated by the county’s half-cent sales tax for its General Fund. The law enforcement revenue will be split between the county (the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department) and five of the county’s six municipalities on a 75 percent-25 percent basis. The cities — Owensville, Hermann, Rosebud, Bland and Gasconade — receive their portion of the 25-percent amount according to population. Morrison, the county’s sixth municipality, does not receive a share because it does not have a certified law enforcement officer on duty in the city. At last report, Morrison city government officials were considering hiring a certified policeman, which might enable that city to receive a portion of the 25-percent amount in succeeding years.

In other matters at the Jan. 19 Commission session, representatives of Phillips 66 told county administrators that the company plans to begin work March 1 replacing a section of aging pipeline that runs through the county. Dubbed the “Rosebud Replacement Pipeline Project,” the effort will stretch across about 16 miles of Gasconade County and will involve substantial work with the replacement line being buried to a depth of about 4 feet, according to Mike Codd, Phillips 66 real estate agent for the project.

Codd said the work will take place across 35 parcels of land, involving 17 different owners, all of whom have reached agreement with Phillips 66 to allow access to their properties to replace the line that was installed in the 1950s.

“We’ve negotiated and come to terms with every single one of them,” noted Bryan Quinlan, the company’s construction liaison for this project. He added that the company will have two right-of-way agents on staff during the project to deal with any land disturbances that might occur.

This section of line is part of Phillips’ Blue Line that runs from Texas to East St. Louis and normally carries butane and propane. This is the last replacement project for this particular line in Missouri, Codd said.

“It’s reached its lifetime,” he said of the pipeline that will be replaced.

The project is expected to run from March through August with the replacement being connected to the main line by Sept. 1. During that time, he noted, there will be many employees of contractors and subcontractors staying in the area, eating at local restaurants and spending money at local stores. Their presence could have a noticeable impact on the local economy, he explained.

“There’s going to an 80-foot swath of construction” taking place across the county, Codd said, giving an indication of the space needed for equipment and personnel to do the work.

County government’s interest in the project involves the burying of the pipeline under county highways. There will be several crossings involved throughout the 16-mile stretch and Codd said county roads will not be disturbed. He explained that trenching will not be necessary at the crossings.

“All of your county roads are going to be bored,” he said, explaining that the pipeline will be placed 4 feet below the surface of the road. It’s a process that has been used successfully on other replacement projects, Codd said. “We haven’t seen any issues with it,” he said.

County administrators have had problems in the past with some utility companies and their contractors damaging county roads while burying cable or line. County officials are adamant about utilities signing a Roadway Agreement in advance of any work in which the companies agree to repair any damage done to the county right-of-way. If the county has to use Road Department crews to repair damage, the companies will be billed for the cost of that repair work — such as the recent case of repairs made to Woollam Road after a utility upgrade project. Several weeks after the work was done, the county finally received its reimbursement check for less than $2,000.