HERMANN – With an upgrade delayed twice by two more-pressing projects requiring county matching funds, residents of Stony Hill Road on Sept. 17 renewed their plea for a portion of their road to receive a chip-and-seal coat.

The residents have been successful in getting Stony Hill Road to the top of the list of county highways scheduled to be upgraded from gravel to chip-and-seal. Because of the cost of the upgrade, county officials usually convert a gravel road one mile at a time.

Neal Traub, one of the residents of the road, made his latest appearance before the County Commission at the Sept. 17 session. “I appreciate your consideration,” Traub said.”We’ve been asking now for several years” he added.

Making it to the top of the list of roads to receive chip-an-seal, the section that was to be upgraded was sidelined when county administrators had to allocate matching dollars for two major projects during the past two years –- the development of the county’s portion of the Rock Island Trail and the upgrade of three roads in the Owensville area. Those projects were funded primarily with grant money, but they required a significant amount of county dollars as a match to in order to qualify for the grants.

Southern District Associate Commissioner Ron Hardecke, R-Owensville, noted that a portion of Blue House Road needs to be upgraded, as well, pointing out that the road carries a lot of traffic to and from Sullivan. Hardecke also explained that a road usually receives chip-and-seal only a mile at a time because it is more expensive “to maintain chip-and-seal tan it is blacktop.”

County officials noted that a typical chip-and-seal project needs to be repeated every three to five years.

It was mentioned during Traub’s conversation with the Commission that there is about 2.3 miles of Stony Hill Road that needs a chip-and-seal coat. “I don’t doubt that it needs to be done,” said Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, who added that Blue House Road also needs an upgrade.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, told Traub the Stony Hill project will again get attention when the county administrators begin putting together the 2027 operating budget later this year. Much of that work will be done in December with final touches put on the budget in January. “Come in and put your 2 cents’ worth in,” Holland told Traub.

In other matters during the Sept. 17 session, the Commission heard Sheriff Scott Eiler’s report that his agency is in the process of obtaining four new vehicles. The new ones will replace vehicles that have logged 150,000 miles or more. The Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department has five vehicles with leases that are ending, Eiler said.

The Sheriff’s Department prefers leasing vehicles while the County Commission favors outright purchase.