VIENNA — The Maries County Commission received a visit from Rep. Bennie Cook, who represents House District 143 including Maries, Phelps and Texas counties, during its March 11 meeting.

Cook came to the meeting to share an idea with the commission. He said that this year he has invited residents of both Phelps County and Texas County to the Capitol to see the legislative process in action and speak with state officials about their concerns.

“The Capitol is an interesting place,” he said.

Cook said he would like to schedule a Maries County day for any residents to come and observe what happens in Jefferson City. He said during the four-hour visit with residents from Texas County, about 25 people ate lunch and discussed issues that impact them, such as traffic around Fort Leonard Wood, initiative petitions and career and technical education programs. The people got a chance to voice their problems to a variety of elected officials and budget chairs.

Tuesday, April 23 was Cook’s proposed date to allow the commissioners to attend if they wanted. The county commission meets on Mondays and Thursdays. Cook said because it is also after the municipal election, it would be a good opportunity for newly elected board members to get an idea of what is happening around the state.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked if people would need to commit to attending the gathering ahead of time.

Cook said residents did not need to let anyone know before going to the Capitol. He just wanted to run the date by the commission to see if there would be any conflicts with other events.

The House is scheduled to begin its session at 10 a.m. on April 23. Cook said people arriving for the Capitol visit would want to get there around 9:30 that morning to ensure they make it through security and find the rest of the group in time for an introduction in the House. He also plans to observe a hearing room so he can get everyone in one space to talk with officials. Plans for who to invite include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and more though their availability will vary.

“If there’s something specific that you want to advocate for in Maries County, that’s the time,” Cook said.

Cook said he also recently hosted Family, Community and Career Leaders of America students at the Capitol for a job shadow day. While the students were there, he had them present a budget request to one of the General Assembly’s budget chairs.

“They did a really good job at it,” he said. “That’s a great program that they do; getting those kids up there to see the legislative process.”

Later, Drewel asked Cook about the impact he expected the upcoming Outkast Sports Complex would have on the community in Belle. Drewel wondered if Belle has the amenities to host families coming to town for weekend tournaments at the facility.

Cook said he expects to see a hotel and restaurant open in Belle after the complex opens. He mentioned that a location like the sports complex in combination with the sizes of the Belle Fair and the Maries County Fair could bring many visitors to the county.

“And if they get that (Rock Island Trail) done through there, that may even help more,” Drewel said.

Cook said if the Rock Island Trail gets completed in the Belle area, then it could give families visiting the sports complex something to do outside of games or tournaments.

“That sports complex will put Belle on the map, and I think help bring, potentially, industry into Belle,” he said. “Tourism is what’s going to grow Maries County. That’s the main thing.”

During the visit, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman also asked if Cook could do something in the House to honor the memory of longtime Maries County Sheriff’s Office employee Donnie Chambers, who died in 2022.

Cook said he could introduce a resolution and present it to Chambers’ family.

Grant

Chief Deputy Scott John came to the March 14 commission meeting to give an update on some of the new technology in the sheriff’s office.

Last year, the sheriff’s office received a grant from the United States Department of Health and Senior Services to slow the spread of infectious diseases in jails. The grant includes cleaning supplies, new washer and dryer units, improvements to ventilation, magnetic locks and cameras with facial recognition that can help the sheriff’s office trace the path of a person known to show symptoms.

John said the new camera system is installed and working well. At the time of the meeting, the sheriff’s office had already used the new cameras twice to review incidents in the jail and immediately download the footage.

“We’re happy with it,” he said.

The new locks still had a few installations before they were complete. John said the sheriff’s office had noticed a few new access points to provide convenience for staff members. The new locks will feature a new wall and door at the top of the stairs leading up from the sheriff’s office to the main floor of the courthouse.

Stratman asked if there would be any money remaining in the grant to buy a light for the west side of the courthouse. He said that the side of the building gets very dark at night.

John said he did not think it would qualify under the purpose of the grant, but he would check. The new camera system has night vision capability, which will help the sheriff’s office monitor at night.

Tax Revenue

Treasurer Angie Stricklan reported the county’s sales tax figures for March.

The first sales tax fund brought $30,657.17 to General Revenue in March, which was a decrease of about 17 percent from last March.

The second sales tax brought the county $30,581.17 to split into thirds between General Revenue, Citizen Safety and the two road funds. The figure is a decrease of about 17 percent from last March.

The third sales tax brought the county $30,581.12 in March, which is also a decrease of about 17 percent from last February. Citizen Safety receives two-thirds of the revenue. General Revenue and the road funds split the other one-third.

The law enforcement sales tax brought the county $10,153.15 in March, which is another decrease of about 17 percent from the previous March.

The county received $16,090.84 in revenue from the use tax in March, which was an increase of about 21 percent from the previous March.

Bridge Study

Stratman asked the other commissioners if they had any bridges in their districts that they would like to submit for the Bridge Engineering Assistance Program (BEAP) through the Missouri Department of Transportation. The program helps local government agencies cover the costs of engineering studies before the construction of a new bridge.

The Maries County bridges eligible for the program are Maries Road 614, Maries Road 519 and Maries Road 405. Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said next up would be one of Maries Road 405 or Maries Road 519 because they are in the eastern district, and the most recent project, which is the ongoing bridge over Fly Creek on Maries Road 213, is in the western district.

The commission did not choose a bridge for the BEAP study during the meeting.

Maries Road 501

Fagre said the Road One crew met with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to look at Maries Road 501 and discuss how the government could potentially mitigate frequent washouts on the road.